Post Category → william

a ramble

I’m tired. The boys just went down for their naps, and my down comforter sounds awfully nice, but I’m telling myself that if I just sit here in the delicious afternoon sun for a few minutes, it will be positively energizing. Right?

It’s fall here. That means that at the peak of the day, the sun will warm you all the way through, and you may even want to put on a skirt and flip-flops. But come evening, when that sun goes down, the temperature plummets, and all you want is the biggest sweatshirt you own. And so we’ve begun the cold-weather habits of lighting candles, eating soup, and settling in for evenings of togetherness. Is that so bad?

Several weeks ago, I tried to take a step back, get a fresh look at this season of life and our family’s needs, and come up with a new game plan. I’m not always very good at that. Getting off track is way too demoralizing for me, considering it’s just part of life. (I need to get better at that.) I’m also learning, though, that most of the time when we’re off track, it’s because our train changed direction, and I need to get a track in place. Does that make sense? I don’t think of myself as a routine, organized person. My spices, for instance, are a chaotic mess, all dumped into a basket and hidden behind a cupboard door. (Not that I wouldn’t prefer something else, but I’m not enough of an organizer to figure out what that something else is.) However, I’m realizing how inflexible I am about life and how I think it should go. I figure our house should be continually getting prettier and tidier. It is a shock to my system when I realize that the needs of husband, children, or household rhythm dictates that instead, my house has to become more functional. I figure my house should get cleaner and cleaner, and then I realize that Jameson needs me more, I want to spend time with friends, church events happen, and my housekeeping gets bumped further and further down the list. Things like that. Recognizing where the train is going and getting a new track in place. Embracing my call to be a student of husband, children, and home, and then adapt to their needs. And finding joy in knowing their needs are met. Even if my bathroom gets cleaned only once a week. (Get over it, Danica. It’s still not about you.)

I’m loving reading with Jameson lately. He’s old enough now that we can read any book on the shelf — even long, complicated stories — and he gets thoroughly engrossed. Yesterday he pulled out a Happy Hollisters book, sat himself down with it, and then sadly discovered there were no pictures. “I not know how to read this one, Mama!” So I told him I’ll help him read it. I think it’s time for chapter books at bedtime. (How fun!) He found a pictorial encyclopedia of military uniforms of the last century, and has been poring over the pictures, examining the Chronicles of Narnia action figures he has, and delighting in all of the weapons he’s finding. He is particularly fascinated by the German entrenching tool. I’m not sure why, unless digging a hole in dirt and hiding in it is just universally appealing to the male gender. I just slipped into his room and found his arms wrapped around the book, the page opened to military bands. I love, love, love watching his curiosity and fascination with life and the world around him. It’s exhilarating.

I had my first cleaning-with-a-mobile-baby day on Monday. Over the weekend, William officially began crawling. He’s been scooching himself via a series of hysterical movements for several weeks, but now has figured out the efficiency of being on his knees. This means the outlets need to be checked, magazines lay in torn fragments on the living room floor, and he’s finding out the world is not his oyster. It also means that I can fold laundry for 20 minutes undisturbed, because Jameson and William are outside playing and laughing together. I like the undisturbed part, but I absolutely adore the laughing and together parts.

Tonight, I’m finally doing what I’ve been thinking about and wanting to do since I first realized there were women my age at church: I’m starting a small group. I’m incredibly excited about the prospect of being encouraged, challenged, and growing close to these girls. We’re going to start by reading Feminine Appeal, which I’ll do a review of soon. Suffice to say, I really, really enjoyed the book myself and highly recommend it. Perhaps I’ll post my thoughts as we read through the book in our group, so you can read/study along.

Okay. The sun has warmed me in that wonderful way autumn sunshine does. Time to get up and pull the house together a bit.

william bo dilliam

There’s another little man in my life. He reminds me every day that he’s not just the baby anymore. Nope, he’s all boy.

Right now, he’s playing on the kitchen floor with his big brother’s train station and trains. His crazy wiggles and scooches and squirms manage to get him where he wants to go. Now and then he looks up at me with the biggest of smiles and laughs. Then he gets himself up onto his hands and knees, rocks back and forth a bit, and starts the whole routine over again.

He’s perfected the art of the fake laugh, as this is the surest way to get a chuckle out of the rest of us. And he loves nothing more than to see a room full of laughing people.

He puts his hand to his ear and says something similar to “Hi.”

He waves to airplanes and says something along the lines of “Bye-bye” as they disappear beyond the treetops.

He sits on my lap for book after book after book, especially if it’s something good and fun like Pat the Bunny.

And recently, he screws his face up into an expression of full-fledged fury and screams at me when something doesn’t go the way he thinks it should. And you should see the bottom lip and sad eyes he fixes on his daddy when Mama says No.

But his toes are still the yummiest baby toes in the world. Not that I’ve been nibbling or anything.

lately

:: I’ve been taking care of an under-the-weather Jameson. And marveling at the long, scrawny boy he’s become. He’s been talking about his birthday for months now, and a couple of weeks ago, amazed me by holding up three fingers and telling me that’s how old he’ll be. Who taught him that?? He can’t wait. What does he want for his birthday?

“Cake.”

Easy-peasy.


on tip-toes, watching the lawn crew

:: I’ve been smiling at William’s chubby California-baby toes. Nice and brown. And adorable. I could eat them. I’ve also been laughing lots, thanks to his constant attempts at humor. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a baby so eager to laugh and make laugh. It’s awesome.

There have been lots of frustrated cries the last couple of weeks, because he gets down on his belly and then is stuck. I smile as I watch those brown toes pushing against the floor for all they’re worth, trying so desperately to move forward. But I get a little catch in my heart, too. Remember my new baby William? Well, he disappeared before I even had a chance to notice. And I love this little guy who excitedly reads books with me, does adorable dances to any and all music, and belly-laughs at his brother’s [naughty] antics, but. But.


chubby toes

:: I’ve been looking forward to Ryan’s return from work each evening. Some weeks don’t seem quite so long, but this one has, and I just like it so much better when he’s around. So do my boys. And did I mention that he watched both boys here at home last Sunday while I went to see Julie and Julia and then went out for dinner? Yes, he did. I was very, very blessed. He tells me in a million ways how much he loves me.


out with his boys

:: I’ve been thinking about joy. Actually, that’s always on my mind after a trip back home. There are just so many people who have purposed to live out joy, people who I know have been around the block a few times, people who just set their sites more firmly on the prize to come — and somehow that infuses here and now with joy.

It doesn’t come naturally for me, this joy thing. There’s a tad too much pessimism and idealism in there. (How is it that I ended up with all the cons of my temperament, while she got all the pros?) But the good news is that the Scripture’s command to rejoice is just that: a command. Do joy.

I want to do joy. There’s just so much life in the exuberance of pure, Jesus-inspired joy. It’s battery-charging to be around, you know? Shouldn’t our countenance remind fellow pilgrims of our journey’s destination, and speak of Good News to the world?

Loving this quote on joy.

more “new things”

Jameson has been cracking us up lately. And making us think, “Man, kids are amazing. How does he know all of these phrases and concepts?” What little sponges!

Along with garage sale goodies, last week we made one of the more significant purchases of our married life: the long-awaited (by Ryan!) flat panel TV. After getting by with humongous freebies for the last four years, a rearrangement of living room furniture “necessitated” an upgrade. So one evening last week, Ryan came home with a huge box (and quickly assured me that the box was much bigger than the actual television!), and Jameson excitedly danced around, waiting to see what this obviously momentous surprise was. As Ryan opened the packaging and lifted the TV out of the box, Jameson, with wide eyes, whispered, “That’s awesome, Dad!”

We didn’t even know he knew that word! (Perhaps his uncle Merrick helped him make the association of big screens = awesome? Ha!)

The next evening as we were sitting together, I asked Jameson to do something, and he quickly replied, “No.” (Which is a new thing, but not all that funny!) Ryan promptly stood up, signifying that this was not going to pass unnoticed. Jameson just as quickly got up, sailed past his father, came to me and said, “Sorry, Mama, no-ing you. [Okay, more funniness!]” I told him I forgave him, and he turned to Ryan with a totally serious face and said in the most old-man in-charge tone of voice, “That’s it, Dad.” And went back to his seat.

We died laughing. Obviously any attempt at disciplining had been thwarted!

What’s not-so-new is the Daddy Adoration that goes on around here. William has always been enthusiastic about Ryan’s return from work, but lately, he goes into full frenzy mode the minute he hears Ryan’s voice, and I had better get him to his father quickly or else it’s hysteria! So cute, I have to say.