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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!"

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