i'm ridiculous

seriously. seriously. you'll wish i never learned to post videos. this is one of the first youtube videos that i ever saw. and it's one of my favorites. i love it. i'm wondering if any of you have seen it. let me say it again. i.love.it.

finally learned (from Shari) how to post a video!

the most bloggable kid in the family

I've kinda felt badly that Miles gets more posts than the others. A friend recently wrote of their third child, "Kate is the queen of one-liners...". A family with four children has one that is quoted significantly more often. That made me feel much better. Part of the reason Miles is quoted most is that he talks incessantly. He has SO much to say that he'll accuse you of interrupting even if he hasn't said anything. "But, I'm trying to think of what I want to say! Don't talk until I've said it!". Yikes. So, without further adieu, here's just a few recent quotes from Miles:

With a sinister laugh, "Hey, Mommy, I told Corene today that the three wise men were Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego." (yeah, Jenny, you'll want to undo that!)

Looking at a Pepsi delivery truck, "Mommy, is that a global warming truck?"

"I told Nathaniel today that before you die you have to take all your clothes off." What???

"Mommy, I have a new rule. It's called 'child's choice'. If I choose something, you have to give it to me."

And a chant he made up: "Say a prayer; Make it clear; and in'ves'ti'gate your beer!"

well, goodness, i know there must be more, but's all i've got for now!

the Bible according to Miles

The scene: Miles and Avery have these lego Bionicles (about 7 inches tall) that look like medieval knights, equipped with medieval weapons like a spiky ball on a chain. They are doing battle and apparently they've carved out some rules for the guys.

Miles: AVERY! That's not fair. You are being just like a pharisee.

Avery is dumbfounded.

Miles: The pharisees wanted to make sure that everybody else followed God's rules, but they didn't want to follow them their selves.
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This reminds me....
About this time last year, we were at the grocery story when Avery and Miles were misbehaving. I made them promise that they were going to behave. I was super redundant, "Avery will you stay off the cart?" He replied, "yes". Within seconds, Avery nearly brought the cart over on its side. Miles chimed in, "Avery, remember, 'let your yes be yes and your no be no'...".
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And that very night, Brent was reading to them about Adam and Eve in the garden and how Eve disobeyed God by eating the fruit which God had forbidden her to eat.

Miles thought for a moment and said, "This reminds me of a verse, 'Through the disobedience of one man, the many were made sinners', but it seems to me that it was through the disobedience of a woman."

the only time when swimsuits are 100 percent cute

So, for my birthday, our family is going to the Water Park of America. It's ridiculously fun. Even for someone who thinks wearing a bathing suit is a totally awkward thing to do in public. Water slides and lazy rivers make the embarrassment go away within minutes.

Jillian is ready for some splish-splashy fun!

not bragging. just wondering.

Okay. Jillian's been saying, "ma ma", "da da", "neh neh", and "ba ba". We're quite sure these are arbitrary ramblings of a baby. But this morning she looked at my coffee and said, "da!". The boys and I looked at each other and Miles said, "She said 'that'." Well, I thought I heard the same thing, but doubted the probability of such. And then moments later she looked at my coffee again and said, "dat!", actually pronouncing the 't' sound. We looked at each other and Avery said, "that's weird". Could it be?

i know. it's totally annoying.

I mean, if you're going to have a blog, update the dang thing, right? I guess I've been kind of blank. I mean, trust me, I say, "I'll be blogging about that" like 10 times a day, but by the time the kids are in bed, I'm so exhausted, I've got nothin' left. But, I know how you think. I'm one of you, too. You're like, "Okay. Surely by now they've at least posted a funny picture." And then, same old thing, same old title, same old pictures. It's almost like when you're on hold and it sounds like someone's going to finally pick up, but no. "Your call is very important to us." The nice difference between that and this week-long abandoned blog is that you are not held captive here. You are very free to just click away.

Following the suit of a friend in town, Molly, I think I'll just blurt out the random thoughts of my brain:


1. I hate shopping. Swim suit? The worst! Thought it would be easier to go to Sam's and pick one up. Imagine walking through the store with this. It's awkward. Worse even is that it's more low cut than it appears on the manequin-hanger. Gross. Now I have to take it back.

2. Pictured below is last week's culinary success. Brown rice, apples, cashews, red peppers, curry...and so on. Yum.

3. This is my view when I'm rinsing my hair. One day, I decided I couldn't take the ridiculously ugly wallpaper anymore. And five minutes later, I couldn't take it down anymore. typical.

4. Today I read a chapter from C.S. Lewis' Grand Miracle entitled, "The Trouble with X...". In this article he suggests that we abstain from thinking about anyone else's faults (unless we are in a parent or teacher relationship with the subject). That seems so obvious to some of you and so remarkable to me. I hope that I really take the suggestion to heart and think more tenderly towards those who would normally receive my mental wrath.

5. I'm also reading The Three-Martini Vacation (finally). Very funny. Read this if you are a mommy and if you're not easily offended by off-color humor. Not a Christian book, but contains many Christian principles.

6. Last week, Brent took the boys to Denny's on the "free kids' dinner" night. I know. I would never admit it, but let me just defend myself by telling you that Avery can read the flourescent paint on the windows and has been begging to go eat for free almost every Tuesday night for three months. I was going to go, but Jillian fell asleep in my arms as we were about to leave. I was not desperate for a Moons over My Hammy, so I stayed back. This is what I missed out on. Apparently, a cartoonist draws pictures of the patrons for free. The boys' pics look freaky, but he almost has Brent perfectly. I've never had one of those cartoony drawings in all my life. I don't think I want one because they always exaggerate the little flaws. No thanks....well, actually, I'm a bit curious. If I get one, I'll post it. (But that would mean going to Denny's and then admitting that fact!)

7. Brent has just informed me that WEEKLY, Miles ponders over this question. "How can you NOT sell an air guitar?" (This reminds me of the time when I told Miles that Daddy was going to sell one of his guitars and he said, "Well I hope he doesn't sell his air guitar. I LOVE that one." What????)

Well, I guess that's a wrap for now. Thanks for checking in!!!!

sewmiles.blogspot.com

Miles wanted to make a pillow for his sister.

First, he ironed his fabric.

And then he stitched and filled.

And, voila!

ahhhh...the comfort of a pillow...

sidewalk counseling

This morning I started my day like I have started every Saturday morning for at least a month. I wake up with a passion for life and for God's sovereignty over it. And then what? I dress as warmly as possible, which includes pulling my corduroys over my pajamas, because the sidewalk where I stand is on the north side of the building. That never meant anything to me before I moved up to this frozen tundra. The fourth floor of the building is home to an abortion clinic. So, now you know.

I am not a picketer. I am relying on God's wisdom to give last minute counsel to women and men in crisis who are hoping in abortion to solve their problems.

My sister's blog detailed last week's events when God used me to help a couple decide to leave the abortion clinic. It was all God. He gets the glory. I get the joy. The week before, a couple who my friend Marty spoke to kept their baby. And I just found out another couple that yet another counselor and I spoke to also kept their baby just today. (And I'm quite certain if they heard anything helpful, it was from the other counselor.) I can't say this enough: Only God can change hearts. Not logic alone. Not truth alone.

That's three babies...saved. Three mothers and three fathers rescued from the pain of abortion. I'm so grateful to God to let me witness such mercy and grace.

Okay. I don't want this to be long. So, I'll get to my thought from this morning.

It's discussed in courtrooms and coffee shops whether the life that is destroyed is a "baby". But, out there on the front lines, the moms, and the boyfriends, and the parents who give their approval for their teenage daughters to have abortions know exactly what it is. Do you know how I know? They say, "We can't keep this baby." A grandfather said this morning, "We already have a grandchild and she doesn't want this baby." A lady told me last week, "My sister is willing to take this baby, but I can't do this."

It's a baby...and they all know it.

back on the dating scene, part 2

I really intended on writing a post about my "date" with Miles. But, I think there's just too much back story on this kid. I want to share more about who he is before I move on to our date...which I may never write about, or maybe I'll get into it at the end of this post...we'll see.


He's quite different from his older brother. Miles is expressive and artsy and chatty. He is neither quiet nor enamored with sports. I feel so badly for the guy when Brent tosses him a ball (or whatever it may be as I've learned boys are likely to toss around a used napkin, or a sugar packet, or dirty socks...seriously...). At least 50% of the time, Miles doesn't catch it. And he has such a sweet disposition about the thing. "One more try," he naively suggests. Oh, it just breaks my heart to even conjur the many memories of watching him peeking under his long bangs in bright hopes of a catch. And he doesn't care nearly as much as I do. At least, I hope not.


Miles is not wimpy though. He lacks ball skills, but he'll take you down. He's a scrapper. If you're an adult, he'll call you out on your inconsistency or your hypocrisy or your poor logic. And if you're his brother, he'll take you down hard and fast. I've often thought wrestling could be the perfect sport for him, but the idea of one of my sons in a wrestling singlet is just something I can't handle right now.


moving on...


Some of you know that Miles has another family. Not a real one. Don't worry. He made one up when he was two, and it started with stories of his "Jet Father", then pronouced, "Jet Fozza". We loved it. Since then, there have been many additions to the "Jet" family. There was his "Jet Mother" who was born with one arm, who died when she was little. There was his "Jet Sister" by the name of Ada Jackson who also died. When he was just four, he told us that his "Jet Father" was a widow and that he lives in our neighborhood. The story is always changing with new members who die and come back to life. continuity schmontinuity.


This little buster prefers fiction to reality. For example, about a month ago, I said, "Let's take turns sharing with the family our favorite memory." I caught sight of Miles thinking, "and it has to be a REAL memory," I added. We each shared one thing. Then it was time for round two of our favorite memories. And on Miles' second turn he said, "Does it have to be real???? Because, I have so many really good memories with my Jet Family."

Despite Miles' love for fiction, he can hardly sit still to listen to a book. But, he can move and listen to a book. He's an "active listener". It's strange because, by all appearances, he's not paying a lick of attention. Then you ask a comprehension question and he nails it. It's astounding to me.

Well...I guess I'll just tell you the nutshell of my date with Miles, which I thought would go over better than the one with Avery, because I feel like I understand him. He knew with certainty that he wanted the plain cheesecake, despite the fact that I can easily make it at home. He ate 98% of it, which surprised me because he's usually so generous. After he was done, he whipped out a walkie-talkie that he'd smuggled on our date and attempted to have a conversation with his brother (who was approximately 7 miles from our restaurant). The only thing he wanted to talk to me about was the possibility of our neighbors moving out and their home being occupied by the actor who played Bubba Fet (from Star Wars...which he hasn't even seen.).

And that was our date.

So, struggling for closure for this post, I'll just say that whether I'm with quiet Avery, or chatty Miles, simply sitting together with a dessert, sans agenda is what this mother needs right now because these moments are helping me to love my boys more...and, ironically, the intention was to fulfill their needs.