Coleman is talking non-stop, i think he is just trying to catch up w his big brother. About a month ago, i looked over and saw him standing on the table in the den. I told him "coleman, get down." He looked at me with those big eyes and said "why?" I was so stunned that he knew that word that I was speechless. Since then that question seems to follow everything I tell him to do. Initially I started to try to explain "why" to him, then I decided that he is 15mos old and does not need an explanation.

although he knows i am mommy, for some reason he has taken to calling me daddy. when i leave the room, he'll yell "daddy are dooo?" (translation "mommy where are you?") i have told him again and again that i am mommy and he'll say "mommy" until a demand needs to be met, or we are in public...so everyone thinks he is very attached to daddy.

Keller has taken up "construction" in the form of the tape measure. He LOVES it and measures the house, his toys, himself...the other day i was standing in the spot where i spend 90%of my life (in front of the kitchen sink) and i look over my shoulder and see a tape measure spreading the width of my bottom....keller looks up and declares "mommy, that's too big..."....thanks keller, perhaps i should start doing some squats while washing dishes....

More pictures w our personal photographer Hope

Good people to know on a personal level: a pediatrician, an OBGYN, a massage therapist, and a photographer. I was zero for zero until my good friend Hope, decided that she wanted to pursue her photography passion...and here are some of the results of that. We had a great time w her. She took 150 pics so it's hard to narrow down my favorites but here are a few....

there but for the grace of Him

i am aware. aware of my own mess. aware that i will not be the perfect parent. aware that there is no perfect parent and perfection should not be a goal. aware that there will be issues that i will instill in my children that will cause them pain. who can save me from this wretchedness? praise be to God!...i had a friend who is pregnant w her first child ask me to jot down tips or any advice i could give her about parenting. the only thing that i could think of was that having children is like having a mirror lifted up and constantly exposing parts of you that were previously dormant. children will bring out both your best and your worst. revealing the amazing capacity you have for love and the amazing capacity you have for sin. children (like marriage) are a vehicle of redemption. i did not know i was angry until i had kids. It was revealed in my "mirror". I know that God can redeem this in me but man, being exposed hurts. it is much easier to continue to live in the denial of our own sinfulness and hurt in this world. but freedom does not exist there. redemption does not exist there and relationship as we long for does not exist there. i believe one of the best gifts i can give my children is my own sense of self. That ultimately i am more sinful than i dared believed, yet more loved than i dared hope and we are a part of something much bigger than ourselves. so why am i writing this for anyone and everyone to read? honestly, i dont know. it is just one of those thoughtful days....

i'll try for a funny story later on :) or at least some cute pics of the boys

More spring pics...

The boys playing in a box on a rainy day in April
coleman LOVES keller's bike
i caved....note the monogram. no one will wonder whose outfit it is :)

spring pictures

Daddy and the boys. K loves his "army pants"
"where's keller?"

Keller at the lazy 5 ranch, feeding pigs