With one thing or the other, I hadn't been to the gym in about, oh, 5 months. So the plan was to start going again once we returned from California. I was further inspired after a brief conversation with E. We were sitting on the couch together, and she was taking one of my upper arms and kind of slap/smooshing it between her two hands. After 30 seconds of this she said, "Mommy, your arms feel like wet sand". I don't know what trait of wet sand she was thinking of--softness, moldability? She didn't quite know either, but she firmly pronounced them as "wet sand". Well, I have been faithfully getting the kids and myself out the door by 8 a few mornings a week so that I could go to the gym and resolve my wet sand issues. E just reassessed my arms , and to my dismay, said that they now remind her of jello. Great. I think I prefer wet sand.

There is a River

There is a river where mercy flows

I'm gonna follow where it goes

Where it goes, where it goes,

Follow wherever it goes.

There is a fountain that will cleanse

All those who wash there from all sins

From all sins, from all sins,

All those who wash from all sins.

There is a refuge for wounded souls

Where broken hearts will be made whole

Be made whole, be made whole,

Broken hearts will be made whole.

There was a death

That empties tombs

There was a scar

That heals all wounds

Heals all wounds, heals all wounds,

A scat that heals all wounds.

There is one name

That leads us home

It is no other than Christ alone

Christ alone, Christ alone,

No other than Christ alone.

We have had friends, two couples, who have been pregnant together for the last 9 months. Today their two babies were born. The first one was a healthy baby girl, Lauren. And although I don't know the specifics, the second baby, Joshua, didn't survive the delivery.

There will be a service on Sunday, and although we have known about this for months, it doesn't make the reality any easier. All day long my thoughts and prayers have been on our friends, and for the moments they had with their baby.

In times like this I cling to the promise of heaven. One day Joshua's parents will be able to hold their little boy again, and he will be whole, perfect, made new. Without that promise, there is no glimmer of hope in the midst of this deep, deep, sorrow.

^{I Thessalonians 4:13-14}

¹³Brothers, we do not want you to be ignorant about those who fall asleep, or to grieve like the rest of men, who have no hope. ¹⁴We believe that Jesus died and rose again and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him.

15 Months

N just had his 15 month check up. Here are his stats: 28 1/4 inches long (2nd%), 21 pounds (10th%), head circumference 18 1/4 inches (63rd %). He is saying several words now. In addition to Mama, Dada, Ba-Ba (Bye-bye), he has added "Tck,tck,tck" (tickle-tickle, complete with fingers scrabbling all over his own belly), "Baa" (ball) and just this morning, "Woo" (Woof, as in "what does the doggy say?").

He is climbing up and down things- stairs, chairs, the rocking horse. Walking with our help, although hasn't graduated to the one-hand walk. And of course, crawling everywhere, always on the go.

Yesterday we had an in-home evaluation to see if he would be eligible for some county funded physical therapy. Four women came to our house and stayed for about 40 minutes to watch him play and interact. They were very pleased with what they saw. They said that his social, play, speech, fine motor and cognitive skills were great, right on target. And, as we knew, he is lagging behind in his large motor skills-- about 2-3 months behind. So he is operating at a 12-13 month level instead of 15 months. But to qualify for the program, he would have to be at 11 months or younger. All in all, it was a very encouraging visit. I think that if we had done this evaluation before the ear tubes, he would have qualified, but since he got them, he has shown so much progress and "catching up" in his development. The recommendation we got was to basically do everything we have been, and keep encouraging N to be on the move. If he isn't walking by 18 months, then give them another call, but I have a feeling he will be walking sometime in August.

Final Day

Some final pictures from our last day:

E and N playing

Alice on the beach

E and Grayson playing tag with the waves

The fireworks

"I like playing with Grayson
and I like reading.
The best thing I like playing with Grayson
is swinging.
The other thing I like to do is ride bikes,
swimming in the backyard,
and the slip 'n slide."
-E


"What I like about E
is when we dance to 'Jesus Walks'.
And I like playing on the swing,
and I like riding bikes,
and my slide into the pool.
And most of all I like playing."
-Grayson

Sequoias and PCH 1

Saturday, 02 July 2005

So we took a 1000 mile road trip between Tuesday and Thursday. We drove up to the Sequoia National Park on Tuesday (hiked up Moro rock-on right), stayed overnight in the lodge there, drove toward the coast and down Big Sur on Wednesday. Stayed in a beautiful little motel in Cambria, and then finished our drive down the coast to Ventura on Thursday, stopping briefly in Solvang Danish village for lunch.
Let me say, Wednesday was one of the most amazing days of my life. We woke up in a forest of giant trees (so big and beautiful that you can't help but to marvel in amazement), drove down the mountains , across the state with hills and farms stretching as far as you could see, and then over to California's most dramatic coast. We drove along cliffs that were hundreds of feet tall with green waves crashing on the black rocks below, each curve in the road revealing a view that took our breath away. We ended our drive at a motel on a beach that had seals basking on the rocks with their funny whiskered faces, and sleek grey/white/spotted bodies.