Smoosh

Don't you just want to smoosh those cheeks and kiss those lips? Check out Vaughan's face in the background!

These two have been hanging out a lot lately.

Sweet V has been attacked by the pollen. I kept her home for a day or two last week so there was plenty of time for her to get all up in Latham's business.

Vaughan is patiently waiting for Latham to start playing "peoples" with her. In the meantime, she's taken to lots of hugging.

Do you want to play a game?

"Vaughan, do you want to play a game and our Mama and Daddy don't clean and we have to clean all day?"

That is what I heard Ellery say this morning and my answer to that is umm.....heck yea. Let me get you some cleaning supplies.

These girls have very, very active imaginations. The storylines they dream up are intricate and deliberate and sometimes.....a little worrisome.

I wonder, why are we always poor or better yet - why am I always dead?

"Vaughan, let's pretend like we are poor and we have no parents."

Today is a teacher educator day. That means that me and the girls will be hanging in our pjs until at least 11. Then we will head out into the world....exploring.

Hope you can squeeze in some exploring of your own!

From Texas

We had visitors last week. Alan's sister and her kids came in from Texas.

The kids were thrilled to share their room with their cousin, Mary Helen. Things started off swimingly until night two....when Ellery started to complain of a stomach ache. I instinctively thought that she might have strep again. A trip to the doctor the following day confirmed my suspicions.

Strep didn't stop the fun. We hit some site with our visitors and they hit some sites on their own.

When Ellery came home on Friday, the house was empty. She said she felt "gloomy." Ugh, it broke my heart. These girls LOVE LOVE LOVE their cousins. I only wish we could see them more often

You asked and you can help

So many of you have asked what you can do to help Nathan and Elisa. I know I mentioned previously that you can help...

- by sending encouraging emails

- by sending encouraging stories

- by praying

There is now another way you can help.

A fund has been established to help with the astonishing medical expenses these two will amass.

You can donate by clicking here and then going to the donate link.

Spread the word. Spread the love.

One little, two little, three little

Three in a row (plus a daddy!)

Not a Box

We read a lot of books around here. Sometimes we read in the morning, sometimes in the afternoon, and always - always at night.

Ellery and Vaughan have their favorite books -- and sometimes (actually pretty much always) I am perplexed by their book selections and favorites. I think Vaughanie goes for the thickest book. Ellery tends to like stories about girls her age. Since Lent began, Alan has been reading them stories from the children's bible. Vaughan has been requesting the one with the blood. Alan's out of town this weekend but last night was no exception. When I told them they could each select one story from their children's bible, Vaughan insisted on the one with the blood. The one with the blood? Do you think she will be one of those people who likes gory, horror movies?

As far as children's books go, I have my favorites too. This is one of them - Not a Box!

We have our own version of Not a Box in these parts. This is NOT A BOX.

This - Not a Box - box has been modified to accommodate two girls. Who needs a bicycle built for two when you have a box?

Inspector Gadget

I have my very own Inspector Gadget.

With goggles and fire-broom in hand. You are probably wondering what types of missions this inspector is sent on.....

I wish I could tell you but it is all VERY top secret.

Hope you enjoy your Saturday.

An Update

This morning, I read a prayer that said something like this:

Today I pray to respond to each spill, squabble and conflict with love and patience...

For the record....I failed - miserably.

Parenting is hard. No really, I mean this is the hardest job in the world. Sometimes, somedays I am pushed to my limits. Patience is hard to find.

Obsessive thoughts about Elisa and her family have been consuming me. Her story puts things into perspective. It reminds us of what is important and what we should be grateful for. I am obsessing because of the absurdity of what has happened to Elisa over the last few weeks. It is incomprehensible. And that is the struggle - making sense of the things in life that simply don't make sense. With every struggle I am confronted with in my life, I ask myself - what is the lesson I am being taught? In what way will this experience help me evolve? In some situations these questions are harder to answer.

When I try to put myself into Elisa's shoes I feel especially heavy hearted because both she and her husband are fighting cancer. Since becoming a mother, there have only been a few times that I have been too sick to get out of bed. I have been able to stay in bed - to rest and recover - knowing that Alan can pick up the slack. I rest easy knowing that the children are in the amazing hands of their FATHER. Now I understand now everyone has this luxury.

So many of you have emailed me, called me, texted me about this family. Some of you have taken the matter into your own hands to do something to help.

You want to help and the good news is that you can. Today I received this in an email...

We’ve created an email address: inspireteambond@gmail.com to collect stories of inspiration, well wishes, etc. for both Elisa and Nathan.

If you have 10 minutes to spare, we ask that from time to time you send them both a note, through this email address, to help keep them going and staying strong. If you, your friends, or friends of friends have faced similar challenges, have battled either form of cancer (rectal or breast), have triumphed over cancer, or just have something inspiring to say, please use this address and pass it along to others so that stories of inspiration can be shared with both Nathan and Elisa.

The Big Picture

This weekend we went to Sparkles. It was a blast, Ellery loved it, I have a video to share. Oh and I still want to tell you about the play we went to see last week, about my girl's night out with Ellery and Vaughan but I can't. I can't because I have a burning pit in my stomach. I feel physically ill and I can't concentrate. And, unfortunately, it is not due to the stomach bug that has been making its rounds.

A college friend of mine is sick. She has just been diagnosed with stage 4 breast cancer. GULP. Nine days prior to her diagnosis, her husband was diagnosed with stage 3 colo-rectal cancer. GULP. They have an 18 month old baby. SOB.

Normally, I wouldn't share this kind of information about someone else in this forum. But then I read this on her blog:

Nathan and I will never ever be able to express the depth of gratitude we feel for all that is being done on our behalf during this time. And it is a testimony to you, our loved ones, when we find out that, for example, one of our friends' cousin's aunt's church is praying for us. It is a testimony to you because that means they honor the relationship they have with you. Please take a moment of gratitude for yourselves to see that the love coming to us is often coming through you and that means you are a conduit of love and kindness and generosity. We are blessed to have you in our lives. This is a perfect example of ripples of love. And if there are any positive side effects to having cancer, feeling waves of love coming from all corners of the planet is definitely one of them.

And so here I am - hoping that each of you will spend some time sending good thoughts, sitting in prayer, doing whatever it is you do for this very precious family.