Tuesday, March 18, 2008 

     Sitting at the breakfast table with Joshua ably feeding himself in his highchair and Lucy blowing bubbles and cooing in her bouncer chair, it's hard to believe that three years ago this was all a dream.  Three years ago today we were rehearsing our wedding, entertaining out of town guests, and in general feeling nervous and jittery.  Now we're a family with two kids and I'm the Mom.  This is where I always imagined I'd be, but it's hard to believe that I'm living that dream.

     As I write, Joshua is leaning over the couch at my shoulder with a book about cars in his hands ardently naming them off.  "Dump truck!  Fire truck!  Tractor!"  We are constantly amazed at his broad vocabulary: he can name pretty much anything, even things we haven't explicitly taught him.  He doesn't quite say complete sentences yet, but he does string two words together and we are excited to be adding this new element of parenting: conversation.

     Lucy is my precious baby doll.  She is in my favorite baby phase right now: out of the needy, uncertain, learning-how-to-live infant phase, but she doesn't move around or do much yet.  She just sits around looking pretty and acting cute.  Some things I've noticed about her are: her love of sleep, especially in her own bed (snoozing in Mommy's Moby Wrap on Sundays just isn't the same thing); and her dislike of loud noises and crowds.  She has always startled easily and she prefers cool, quiet rooms to hot, noisy parties.  She and Daddy will have to stay home and keep each other company while Joshua and I go out and socialize!

     Eli has been excitedly taking the Exodus website to the next level, though you probably won't be able to see any difference for a while, unless it's in a faster processing of your order and more cheerful customer service.  Our data entry has been very inefficient and these new tools will speed everything up.  But you'll have to talk to Eli for specifics, though you shouldn't ask unless you have plenty of time ("Did you want to talk about [my projects] or were you just making chit chat?" - Groundhog Day).  Along with the able assistance of our newest employee, Caleb Crossman, Eli has been working feverishly on another project, one that you can see the results of.  This one involves reviewing every curriculum in our catalogue and writing a description of every category.  Hopefully all this hard effort will help customers all over the Internet be able to make informed decisions and have the benefit of Eli's personal advice without leaving the comfort of their own home or our website.

     We have been working on projects here on the home front as well.  Our backyard wasn't very kid-friendly when we first moved in but we have been gradually taking dominion of it.  The cement shed is gone, the rubble is cleared out, the old grass is dug off, the cement is covered, a fresh layer of topsoil is on, and a lovely little raised flowerbed is built around one end.  Soon we will be planting grass and flowers and once we clean all the mud off the back porch our new paradise will be ready to play in.  Neither of us were outdoorsy people growing up, but now that we have this to take ownership of (and thanks to garden gloves!) we have been enjoying a project that involves muscles, dirt, and fresh air.  Pictures will be coming soon!

     Why has God chosen to bless us with a life as wonderful as this?  Sitting down here at the computer, I can hear Joshua happily driving his riding toy across the hardwood floors above my head.  Lucy is peacefully sleeping (probably sucking her two fingers) and Eli is off at a job he loves.  We are warm, dry, healthy, and full of yummy food (scrambled eggs with potatoes and ham, toast with strawberry jam, and fruit).  We didn't even catch the bug that had half the city coughing, sneezing, and feverish!  Whatever God's reasons are, we thank Him and praise His holy name, "for His mercy endures forever!"

Knowing the Signs
     Shower Devotional, Part 1

     I had the privilege of giving the devotional for my sister-in-law Leah's bridal shower and I thought I would share it here in three parts.

     I had three simple things I wanted to tell you, Leah. You've heard lots of wonderful advice over the years and I don't have the wisdom of Doug and Nancy Wilson, Debbie Pearl, Aunt Connie, and all the rest, but I have heard their guidance. These are some of the things that seem important to me after a couple years of marriage and I'm writing them to myself just as much as to you.

     First of all, be a woman of the Word. I don't know how many shower talks we've heard that have reiterated the importance of reading the Bible and one of the first chapters of Nancy Wilson's book The Fruit of Her Hands stresses this point. In the Silver Chair, by C. S. Lewis, Aslan gave Jill three signs by which he would guide her in her quest. He told her to memorize the signs and know them - to say them to herself when she woke in the morning, when she lay down at night, and when she woke in the middle of the night. Having such a thorough knowledge of them was important because they would not look as she expected them to look when she met them in Narnia. She couldn't be too busy trying to remember the signs when she was supposed to be recognizing them. This is a metaphor for God giving us His word. We are to write them on the tablets of our hearts and talk of them when we walk by the way, when we lie down, and when we rise up. In preparation for marriage, you will get lots of good advice and you've probably read books full of wisdom about marriage. But after you get married, you must review this wisdom constantly because the application will look different than you will have imagined. You must know God's will and be continually learning it so that you will know what to do and how to behave when trials or conflicts come up. 

To be continued...

Fewer Movies, More Books
  Book List 2008
  Movie List 2008
  Book List 2007

Amanda's Short Stories...
Go Back to Sleep, Baby
Amy's Math
The Importance of Fathers
The Little Yellow Dress with Blue Flowers

...and Book Reviews
100 Cupboards,
     N.D. Wilson
Anna and the King of Siam,
     Margaret Landon
The Golden Age,
     Kenneth Grahame
Horatio Hornblower series,
     C. S. Forester
Kim, Rudyard Kipling
Mary Poppins series,
     P. L. Travers
Master and Commander,
     Patrick O'Brian
Reforming Marriage,
     Doug Wilson
Shaping of a Christian Family
     Elisabeth Eliott
So Much More
     Anna Sofia and Elizabeth Botkin
Story of the Trapp Family Singers,
     Maria Trapp
Stepping Heavenward
     Elizabeth Prentiss
Weight of Glory (CD)
     Jamie Soles

Links
Exodus Provisions
Karen's Cookbook
Choosing Home
Moby Wraps
   -The most comfy baby carrier (and cheapest, too!)
Jal Duncan Photography

...Etc.
October 7th, 2007
     A Letter to Lucy
January 24th, 2006
     The Birth Story
     A Letter to Joshua
December, 2005
     Christmas Letter
March 5th, 2005
     Bridal Shower

     If you have any questions, comments, corrections, or communications, I can be reached at "amanda at exodusbooks dot com".