Houseguest

We have a visitor for a few days...say hi to our dog nephew, Noah. His mama went to Mackinac Island for a few days. Here's the hitch - we live in a pet-free community, and after two years of living here, I've come to believe that they really are nazis about this. I have never seen a snuck-in dog or cat. We're being risky here, people, but it's all worth it, no?


Noah was pretty skittish at first, as we were hearing noises from the neighbor's apartments, but Josh's mom tipped me off that a heating pad will calm him right down. I pulled mine out from the nightstand, and man oh man did he get excited. She was right, he chilled right out! What a funny little guy.

As is appropriate (given his heritage), we'll be taking him to TexasNorth tomorrow...for a hayride...and if you're lucky, I'll get a picture of him playing inside the dishwasher.

On disappointment...

I recently told you about a potential living situation that, at the time, seemed unbelievably God-driven. A friend of mine, her husband, and their four children were very, very likely going to be moving to China for a two-year-long job assignment. They asked if we'd consider living in their house while they're gone. Rent-free.

Yeah, you heard me.

In a surprising turn of events, what was once a 95% certainty became 0%. They've been told that, as a family of six, they're too expensive to send there. I got the e-mail yesterday afternoon.

Yesterday was a rough day, to be sure. I had to drive Josh back to church for his guitar-playing artistry. I had been planning to attend that service, but I was a crying, sorrowful mess...and to be perfectly honest, I was not feeling at all worshipful and was pretty angry. Fortunately that's abated now, but in the meantime I was determined that retail therapy was my cure. I left the mall empty-handed, as the pants I wanted did not want to fit me yesterday. Insult to injury! (Though it was a bit comical.) Thanks to those of you who sensed something was a bit off with me and offered me e-mails and/or MySpace comments of encouragement. Your words were incredibly helpful, even if you didn't quite know what you were comforting me about.

I did have a much better day today, though. I forced myself to think about the positive outcomes of this - we can still move come January if we want to. We could lease month-to-month and move at some point after that. There's some freedom involved, even if it isn't the financial freedom we were so looking forward to. We're not sure what we'll do, but it's good to have choices. It also helped that yesterday morning (prior to getting this news), I cleaned the bejeezus out of our apartment and thought to myself, "I love my home." There's something to be said for all this.

But it's still a bummer.

On a totally unrelated note, I'd like to recommend a fine drink called Chaider. Now, if you're totally culinarily-challenged, you can go pick one up at Kava House...hot or iced. (I love me some Kava.) OR OR OR if you'd like to save money and feel like a domestic god-dess (yes, say it that way), go buy yourself some Tazo Chai concentrate (they have it at Target and other fine establishments) and some cider. Pour 4 oz Chai into a mug, then fill it up the rest of the way with cider. Work that microwave for 2 1/2 minutes, stir well, and collapse on the floor in ecstasy...fer real. It's way up there with Kate's mac and cheese.

You can thank me later...with lavish gifts, if so inclined.

Little wonders...

Ok, so I'm going to hijack Chris' subject matter tonight...our dear Shauna Niequist has published a gorgeous book about the joys of the minutiae of life. Albeit, I have yet to read the whole thing (aside from the sample chapters on her website), but I am confident I can assign the word gorgeous to it, because nothing she produces could possibly be otherwise.

Today was another one of those great days in which I got to hang out with Adam and Sarah's kids. There's four of them. They're very busy. They're usually clambering all over each other. But gosh, they're fabulous little people. I spent the evening lamenting the fact that I'd forgotten my camera (my apologies for the pictureless post)...but let me tell you the highlights of my day with each of them.

Lainey...at 14 months, she has just mastered the art of standing up on her own and will walk if you hold her hands. She loves to hold entire conversations with you...you may not understand all the dialogue, but no worries - she does. Everything she sees, she points at, looks at you, and says, "wassat?" Tonight I gave her and Preston a joint bath, and let me tell you - the girl loves her some splashing. As I got concerned about how wet I was getting, I had to keep reminding myself of the pure joy she was in the midst of, and to just savor it.

Preston...what a little man he is. It's so hard to believe that he was only five months old when I first met him. He's surely bound for MENSA membership one of these days, and the expressions he makes with his chocolate brown eyes (set against his white-blond hair) are just priceless. The last time I watched him, he announced that he wanted "cornedbeefhashandeggs" for lunch. Tonight for dinner, he requested salami and cheese. Gosh, it's SO hard to believe that he and Josh were born on the same day. (Ha!) I also had to put him in time out twice today. He gets so so upset when he's put in time out, but he totally forgives me. Immediately.

Evan...well, lately we've been a bit concerned about Evan because he's a bit of a drama queen. Something tiny doesn't go his way? Total meltdown. Today, though, he had the most fabulous day. I've never had such an easy time with him. He showed me how to use the ridiculously complicated TV/DVD/cable hookup in the living room. He told me that Lainey takes soymilk in her bottle. He dressed as Darth Vader for our walk around the neighborhood. He told me that yes, in fact, he would like broccoli with his dinner. Sarah and I later concluded that it was because Spencer wasn't home and thus Evan got to be my helper and was therefore involved. Poor kid. Classic middle child...so often, I think he's just trying to make sure he doesn't get lost in the shuffle. I just love Evan.

Spencer...well, admittedly, he was at a friend's house all day and I saw him for exactly 2.5 seconds when he got home. However, he called TWICE prior to coming home to let me know where he was at, and could I please tell Evan that he could sleep downstairs with Spencer in his room tonight? This was very important. What nearly-12-year-old boy makes such a point of having his six-year-old brother down to his room for a slumber party? I can't speak highly enough about Spencer. He's such a phenomenal kid.

Here's to all of us taking note of the glorious little moments of our day...