Daddy See Daddy Do

So Luke and I are are out walking. We're near the L tracks, and a train goes by. I squat down to get at his level and say, "look at the train!"

Then he squats down to watch the train go by.

Hmmm....

He's watching us.

And that's encouraging and frightening at the same time.

Did I Just Say ...?

Having a toddler desensitizes me to kiddie words that didn't used to be in my vocabulary. Now those words slip out in conversation with other adults, with or without the kid around.

I walk away from conversations thinking, "Did I just use the word 'doggie?' They must think I'm a dork!"

At least now I have an excuse for being a dork.

Rainbow

Luke saw his first rainbow a few days ago. (Was it Saturday?) Then the next day we saw another little piece of one.

Now Luke goes to the window saying, "rainbow!" I try to explain that they're only a once-in-a-while thing.

And God said, "This is the sign of the covenant I am making between me and you and every living creature with you, a covenant for all generations to come: I have set my rainbow in the clouds, and it will be the sign of the covenant between me and the earth. Whenever I bring clouds over the earth and the rainbow appears in the clouds, I will remember my covenant ..."

Genesis 9:12-16

It'll be a few years before he gets that.

Happy Father's Day!

Anyone who reads this blog knows Jim loves being a Dad....and that's he's pretty good at it. I came across a quote today that made me appreciate all the more who Jim is as a father and husband, since I often take for granted how lucky we are to have someone like Jim hanging around our home.

It is a shame that as social currency, fatherhood has been so drastically devalued. A man’s honor is cheap… Boys must see the pride in their father’s smile, feel the firm hand of a father’s discipline, and hear the bite of correction in his voice. Boys will not grow into men unless men lead them…Boys do not need male role models and they don’t need father figures; they need fathers in the home. (Joseph C. Phillips)

Jim Bell, this world would be a different place if there were more fathers like you. Here's just a few reason why I love being a parent with you:

1. You are clinically depressed when you travel for work because you can't be with us.
2. You feed Luke dates.
3. You keep a journal of Luke's life.
4. You constantly say "Luke's the coolest kid in the world."
5. You feel genuinely cheated if the babysitter puts Luke to bed before you could hug him goodnight.
6. And lastly (though I could go on and on), you make me feel like a good mom.

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY, JIM!

We love you!

Hand Washing

I let Luke wash his own hands in the sink. He had a blast.

I learned that you have to take his shirt off before he washes his hands.

Now he gets this reward when he messes up his hands. Uh oh.

After this I found him trying to move that stool over to the door--to reach the upper lock. What have I taught him?!?!

Parenting a toddler, it seems that I always have a sticky spot on me. On my arm, my hand, the back of my hand, my foot. There are worse things to have stuck to me than sticky stuff, though!

Veggie Tale

After reading an article in Consumer Reports, Kirsten signed us up for this organic produce program at our neighborhood organic food store.

Every Saturday morning we walk over and bring back a bushel of fruits and vegetables! It's through King's Hill Farm in Wisconsin.

I'm skeptical of the whole organic food thing, but it's been a lot of fun getting this big grab-bag every week. It forces us to eat more fruits and veggies (only a good thing). It's been fun to give some away. It's full of surprises, including some strange stuff we've never seen before. Like what are these things?


The hippies folks who work at the store are very friendly and helpful. They answer our questions and have lots of ideas on cooking what we get.

Here are our first two bushels...



See the whole set of photos here.

P.S.: The Consumer Reports article is here though subscription is required.

P.P.S.: Here's my skepticism in a nut-shell. First, it seems like they're using fear to sell some pretty expensive stuff. Second, why do they get a free pass on all the pests that other farmers have to battle? I doubt that non-organic farmers would waste money on pesticides they don't really need. (Bah! Humbug! Grumble grumble grumble...) Oh, well.

Larry Crabb's Gift and Mine

Some internet searching eventually led me, by accident, to a Christianity Today article: A Shrink Gets Stretched. It's about Larry Crabb:

The evangelical mystic, who—in the words of one of his best friends, Trip Moore—has the gift "to remain miserable in the midst of blessings."

Yeah, I have more than a little of that in me, too, or so I'm told as I'm reminded now and then. Maybe that's one reason Larry Crabb is my favorite author. (Caution: it's a very long article, but good.)

Accumulating Injuries

Luke's courage is getting ahead of his coordination.

We came home Thursday to a crying, bloody kid. Moving too fast with toys in both hands, he fell and got a fat lip. Our poor babysitter Sarah had his blood on her shoulder and everything. (It happened right before we walked in.) But after a few minutes he was over it and on his way.



This morning he decided to climb on his toy truck and knocked his noggin pretty hard. Poor kid. Where were his parents, you ask? Right there but distracted by our conversation (and computer).





From now on we're going to wrap Luke in bubble-wrap as part of his morning routine. OK, how about a football helmet and pads?

P.S.: Sarah (our poor baby-sitter) had a triply rough day. I'll spare you, gentle reader, the details. Sarah: know that we appreciate you very, very much!

Dinner with the Johnsons

A big shout-out to the Johnsons! Great having you over for dinner tonight! Hope you enjoyed it.

Nate has been Luke's part-time big brother, and boy do they love playing together! It's great to watch.

They're on their way to Alaska to serve at Alaska Christian College.

We can't wait to see what God has in store for you.

Visit their family blog: The Johnson Journal.

Rob Bell

Rob Bell is a pastor in Michigan who we really like a lot. Kirsten got a hold of all his videos and our small group went through them.

Sunday's Chicago Sun-Times has an article about him: find it here. They're asking if he's the next Billy Graham. I never thought of him that way, but mabye so...

More info:

• Nooma.com
• Mars Hill -- the church he pastors in Michigan
• Tour schedule for his "Everything is Spiritual" tour. It's sold out in Chicago. I have no idea what to expect if you go.
• Velvet Elvis, Rob's latest book.

By the way, he's no relation to us, at least that we know of--it would be hilarious if he was distantly related. My Dad's family does come from Michigan, but it's a big state.

Yes, No, Or ...

Few people know that between Yes and No lies a secret third option...

Kirsten: "Luke, are you done with breakfast?"

Luke: "Elmo!"

Navy Pier

We spent one of the first nice days visiting Navy Pier. We did the savvy city-dweller thing and took the bus (which always seems to take way longer). Being one of the first nice days, it was a madhouse.

It was a bit much for Luke. The music was pretty loud, the crowd was pretty rambunctious, and the rides pretty big and fast (we just watched them). Luke wound up pretty overwhelmed and overstimulated.

We had dinner at Capi's because the legendary Bubba Gump Shrimp Company was packed to the gills.

Luke got to see a couple boats up-close, which might have been the highlight for him.

Sorry about the picture quality. Not-so-great pictures of oh-so-great people.

Luke's First Junk-Mail

Luke received his first piece of mail. That is, the first piece not sent by a loved one. Guess what it is?

A credit-card offer!

The credit-card company's careful research into Luke's potential as a responsible credit-card holder indicates that he would be. It's amazing how they can determine that for a kid under two years old. And we share their confidence: if anyone under two can handle a credit card, he can.

We're very impressed. After all, they wouldn't send an offer like that to just anyone, would they?

That would be crazy.

What do you think, Matt?