These Pics are Too Cute Not to Share

Wednesday evenings are one of my favorite times with Silas. He is always thrilled to see me when I pick him up at the nursery. He is getting tired and snuggles as we chat with friends a bit and head to the doors. Then we walk outside, Silas sees all the kids playing in the parking lot, and he starts talking and laughing, pointing and squealing. Ball, ball! He waves and says bye-bye to all the cars driving away. And he looks right into the wind with pure satisfaction and joy. Seriously. Happens every week.

Tonight as I put him in his carseat he kept wanting to play, tickle, and laugh. We stayed there and giggled for a while. Then I got in the front seat and almost cried with all the happiness. Know what I mean? When your heart is so full that you think it might break? I felt that way tonight.

I love this boy.

And I have to add...it helps that he's so cute when I pick him up at the nursery and he calls me dada. Still. Someday he'll call me mama unprovoked. Just not tonight.

Sun, Fall, and a Friend

It was a gorgeous early fall day today. Silas and I wore light sweat pants all day, along with jackets on our evening stroll. The sun was shining at last after a whole week of rain that finally ended yesterday. We were thrilled to be outside.

But mid-day we stayed inside when Silas' friend Jonah came over for a bit. The boys are actually starting to play together, except when Silas just wanted to sit in my lap. Territorial, I think. What cuties...

I just wish it wasn't so hard to get a good picture of them both at once!

Staying Put

I unpacked several boxes of winter clothes today...and put the clothes back into our closet. Then I put empty, folded-up boxes in our attic. Our bedroom looks like a bedroom again. And I almost can't believe how much space we have to play in the loft now that the boxes are gone. Shane hung our pictures back up on Thursday, so the house is starting to feel a little homey again.

We never thought we would still be in this house now, the end of September. This whole closing-on-the-house situation has been one issue after another, along with what has felt like a multitude of proposals for how to deal with the issues. But finally a decision has been made and the papers are signed. We are staying put for now, and are confident this is the best outcome.

I won't bore you with the details, but let me testify that our Jesus came through for us. We have extended our contract with the buyers until January. We are ending up not losing any of the money we invested in the rental house. And we get to stay put.

Ironically, the buyers are moving into our rental house. That's just a side note and makes the whole situation more bizarre. But who cares about life being bizarre when the Lord is leading?

"But I trust in You, O Lord;

I say, 'You are my God.'

My times are in Your hands..."

Psalm 31:14, 15

Big Boy Shoes

I declare that we have officially said goodbye to babyhood. We now have a little boy running through the house.

This week I admitted that Silas had really outgrown most of his pants and that he needed new shoes desperately. So we went shopping a few different times to get him set for the fall. We even made our first visit to a real shoe store.

This morning for church Silas had on new jeans and new shoes. Those shoes are real kid shoes. And they made him look like such a big boy...

As you can see, we're still living with boxes, playing and watching videos around them.

.

But still smiling...

Basket. Ball.

Yesterday we had a moment. Silas made his first basket.

After church last night, Silas and I walked out of our main church building toward the youth building. As usual, there were high school and middle school kids playing football and basketball in the parking lot and on the court. Silas got very excited when he saw them and started saying "ball" over and over again, laughing and pointing. So when we got to the court, one of the guys let Silas have a basketball. Then Shane lowered the hoop so he could lift Silas up to shoot. Silas loved it.

And today as Silas and I came and went on our various outings, he pointed to the hoop in our driveway and said "ball" happily.

Since it was after church, I did not have our camera with me. So today Silas and I played ball in his room in honor of the event.

Hiccup

There has been a little pause in our moving situation. We are waiting to hear exactly how and when things will proceed. So in the meantime, we are living in a house that is half-packed with boxes everywhere, and all the personality of our home already sitting in our rental house. I'm missing seeing pictures of our families and feeling the warmth that makes a house a home.

This little hiccup in our plans was not expected, and has pushed us to draw nearer to the Lord in every moment, but especially in moments when we are tempted to fear.

Last week my Mom sent me a message that included this note from Beth Moore's Esther Bible study. My Mom is doing the study right now and thought of me when she read this...

"Beloved, in the times of greatest struggle when you make the Godward decision over convenience, earthly comfort, or carnal pleasure, you too have come to a critical moment in the fulfillment of your destiny. A defining moment. A war is being waged over your head in the unseen realm, and a great cloud of witnesses is cheering you on. You have no idea what's at stake."

Then my Mom wrote...

May He lift your spirits each time they start to flag as you move. If nothing more is at stake than obedience, it is enough. If more is at stake that none of us can ever figure out, it's still enough.

I have been thinking this all day today: We have no idea what all is at stake, but ultimately, He is enough.

Late Birthday and Some Good Video Footage

Just so you all don't think I'm the most un-thoughtful wife of all time, I needed to show you that we did celebrate Shane's birthday! Last night we put packing and cleaning aside, had a sweet family dinner at home, opened cards and presents, and played in the backyard before Silas' bedtime...

As we were having dinner, I turned on the video camera and asked Silas to show us some of his new tricks. I have been teaching him body parts recently and he has finally learned "head"!



And because so many of you haven't seen our baby boy lately, here is a look at how well he is moving around these days...

Weekend Travel

So this was the best travel experience have had in a long time. After piling 2 adults, one baby, and two very large, hairy dogs in a Honda Accord for a 6-hour drive multiple times this past year, we felt like we were driving in luxury in the new Odyssey. Luther and Auggie sprawled out with the whole back to themselves. It was joyous.

On Sunday, Shane's extended family had a reunion. It fell right at lunchtime/naptime so our Silas-boy was a bit cranky. I didn't take many pictures as we spent the majority of our time on the play equipment...
Sunday was also Shane's birthday so the whole family sang to him. And he had 2 delicious cakes. I was glad someone did something special because between us moving and this trip, we hadn't planned anything to celebrate.

Later that day Shane's brother and his wife came over to hang out for a while. Silas entertained us all with a little dancing...

And showed Aunt Brooke his treasures...

Grandma and Grandpa live on the lake so Silas, who has recently become quite the nature-lover, soaked up every minute outside. He could barely contain himself when he saw this...

It was more rocks in one place than he had ever seen in his life. A dream come true for this boy who just last week cried when I had to pry a rock out of his clenched fist at bedtime.

Lu and Augustine had their share of fun. They romped all over the property, went swimming, got dirty, endured baths, then did it all over again.

Silas was thrilled to watch Grandpa on the tractor...

And loved time with Grandma...

We got home this evening and promptly packed a load of stuff in the van to take over to the new house. Getting back in the car after being home less than an hour was not too much fun for anyone. While Shane was unpacking the van, Silas ran around the empty living, dining, and kitchen areas at the house nonstop. It was hilarious. Then Shane and I cleaned while Silas watched a Baby Einstein. So we're tired. But the weekend was wonderful so we're energized to close the doors on our current house this week and move into another.