Dinnertime!

Dinnertime has become a slightly messier proposition lately.

Evidently peas are the newest facial treatment.

Sweet potatoes work, too.

Cheerios are the newest trend in hair products.

Cups work best upside down.

And the best bibs provide full-body coverage.

9 months

I tried to get some "nice" pictures today since Caleb just hit the 9 month mark.

Maybe I should hire a professional.

Woodchuck

Ever since Caleb's top teeth finally broke through his gums, he has been biting anything he can get his hands on--paper, cups, fingers, toys, etc. So on Sunday Luke affectionately called him our little woodchuck. I didn't realize until Monday morning how appropriate that was.

This is what I found when I went into Caleb's room on Monday morning:

This is what I saw when I looked at the inside edge of his crib:

Doesn't Caleb look proud of his handiwork? As proud as I am of my son, I really don't want to have to extract splinters from his mouth. So here is the solution I worked up as soon as I could:

Catch-Up

Hello world.

It's been awhile.

We're recovering from the nasty cold that is making its tour of our neighborhood. Caleb caught it first and passed it on to both Luke and me. Thankfully, Caleb was on the road to recovery before I was in the worst of it.

When I'm sick I tend to notice (and help others notice) gross-ness more than usual. So it's probably a very good thing that I avoided posting to the blog while we were sick. Although the suction bulb is pretty impressive.... Like I said, it's a good thing I didn't post anything.

But I'm sure there are several fans waiting for an update on Caleb. Caleb has started to mimic us more often--clapping, stretching, playing peek-a-boo. We also played a rousing game of hide and seek around the kitchen island yesterday. He's also started shouting. I'm not sure who he learned that from. Fishlips are really cute on an 8-month-old. Caleb climbs the full set of stairs when he gets tired of playing with the basement toys.

On Valentine's Day, Luke and I were able to find a babysitter and go to the Valentine's Gala that several people from our church organized. I had a blast! We got to dress up, we laughed with friends, and we even left with a certificate for free babysitting. It was a wonderful way to spend Valentine's Day!

My parents visited on Monday, bringing dinner, homemade noodles (which we used for chicken noodle soup on Tuesday), doubly good chocolate cake, hugs, and grandparent hands itching to play with their grandson.

While we were sick I read several Dean Koontz books. If you haven't started reading his books, don't. If you've read one, you've read them all. I suppose they served their purpose of making me rest instead of doing stuff around the house. I'm sure there are better ways to rest.

I also rediscovered Library Thing. I'm really not sure what it's purpose is, except for people like me who read books and then can't remember if they've read them or not, or who can't remember titles of books they read.

After this random post, maybe I'll redeem myself with a picture from our game of hide and seek:

Grief

Today I am amazed at the God who spoke the world into existence. He made something, everything, out of nothing...by saying a word. The tulips standing on my dining room table are the result of God's word (and Luke's thoughtfulness...at least the fact that they are on my dining room table). The baby boy sleeping in his crib with fingers and toes, working body parts, and an independent spirit is also the result of God's creativity. This is a God who can do anything.

Today as I grieve with friends over their loss, I'm praying that the God who can do anything will do the impossible. And when I ask him why he hasn't already done it, I expect an answer like he gave Isaiah and Job.

Isaiah 55:8-11
"'For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,' declares the LORD. 'As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts. As the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return to it without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish, so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater, so is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.'"

To me these words mean not only that God knows better than I do, but also that he will keep his promise and accomplish his purpose. And that purpose is good--not just good like awful tasting medicine, but good like the double chocolate cake sitting in my refrigerator.

Ephesians 3:14-21 seems perfect for this time and situation. At a time of emptiness, I pray that my friends would be filled with the fullness of Christ--his love, his strength, his sympathy, his patience, his hope.

Should we have named him Sampson?

I cut Caleb's hair for the first time on Saturday morning--nothing significant. I just trimmed over his ears and in front where it was reaching his eyes. By Saturday evening he had a fever and was congested.

Pray for us this week. The nights haven't been as bad as when Caleb cuts teeth, but he's not his usual smiling, active self during the day either.