It's All My Fault.

Babies nap a lot. When they first come home, they take something like 4-5 naps a day, each significantly longer than the intervals they are awake. By the time they turn one, at least for mine, they are down to two -- morning and afternoon. Then, over the next few months, I wean them off of the morning nap to end up with one long afternoon one.

Jonathan has been reluctant to lose his morning nap, and frankly, I'm okay with it. It gives Kathryn and me time to read, work on letters, have tea parties, and the like, without the distraction of her fun brother. Still, there are some days that I could do without the morning nap. Like today. We were pretty much out of groceries and I don't have time to go this afternoon, so I had to get it done in the morning, but I couldn't get everything together in time to go before naptime. I decided to ditch the nap and feed the kids lunch a little early so that Jonathan could go in for an early afternoon nap.

I plated some lunch for the kids in my short-order kind of way, set them up, and went back into the kitchen to heat myself up some tomato soup since I've been cold all day. Jonathan was excited to finally get to eat one of the bananas he saw me pick up at the store. The trouble is, the poor kid couldn't stay awake long enough to eat more than a couple of bites. I don't think he even touched his PB&J.

Babywearing

Three of the newer moms at our church are big on baby-wearing, so it didn't suprise me when Kathryn described a baby sling in asking me to "tie Baby Nicholas" onto her tummy. As soon as he was fastened, she took baby Nicholas AND Lovey around the playroom on errands, buying things like soymilk and baby wipes. Here's the busy momma in her babywearing glory:


Baby Nicholas used to be named Josh, until Kathryn met a baby from church named Alex...then K changed her baby's name to Alex. Since then, those friends had a baby named Nicholas, and Alex became Nicholas. Kathryn obviously has no idea what kind of trauma she's going to put the poor kid through when he has to go to the DMV some day. Here's a picture she took of him...

Photos by Kathryn

So I haven't posted pictures in awhile. And my cute kids are the only reason most of you are here. I figured if I didn't hurry and post some soon, 7 of my 10 readers would bolt. So here they are.

In all honesty, I haven't posted pictures because I haven't taken any. I turned the camera on this morning to see what goods I could post for you, and they were pretty much all pictures Kathryn took. Which means they look like this:

Or this. This one actually isn't bad. Just don't be fooled...it's not of me. I remember her taking this, and she said she was taking a picture of Lovey. I just happened to be babysitting her at the time, so I'm in it too.

And what's a series of Kathryn's photograhy without a picture of Jonathan with his head cut off, eyes closed, and bruise on his head from the many head injuries that 14-month-olds get? Notice, however, that his socks not only match each other, but his outfit. If that doesn't earn me mom of the year, I'm not sure what will.

Same Old Stuff

We're straightforward, habitual kind of people. Over the summer, few non-rainy evenings passed that we did not go for a family walk after dinner. Now that it's dark after dinner, few evenings go by without Mike playing his guitar while Kathryn slowly, slowly, slowly eats the remainder of her dinner and Jonathan smears gunk on the high chair tray. It's hard to remember sometimes when the grooves began, but once we're in them, we're there for awhile. I'm happy this way. Perhaps my biggest struggle is with unpredictability. I'm not a huge risk-taker.

The bad thing about this is that I constantly find myself cooking the "same old stuff" around here -- I get into a shopping and cooking rhythm and, like the other cadences in life, don't even notice after awhile. When I do add new things into the mix, and we like them, they slowly take over the other things until I have a new rotation of same old stuff. Lather, rinse, repeat.

The good thing about this, if there is a good thing, is that in the process of slowly replacing one recipe with another, I eventually remember a gem that was replaced and forgotten. And since it was such a part of life for a season, there is no induction awkardness...just an oldfound sense of life. Like old-fashioned cookies, just like Grandma used to make.

As an aside, feel free to send me your favorite fall recipes. We could use a mix-up around here.

15 Years of Faithful Ministry

Last night, I was given the incredible opportunity to publicly thank and honor one of the Christian women I admire the most. Mike and I returned to Capitol Hill Baptist Church for the evening to celebrate Mark Dever's 15 years of faithful ministry there, and I was tasked with speaking on behalf of the many younger pastor's wives that his wife Connie has discipled. It was daunting to say the least, and I didn't say enough, but, all hatred of public speaking aside, I was glad to have the privilege of thanking Connie. This is what I said:

Well, first let me just say that I can stand up here and give God thanks for Connie in part because one of the things I learned from her is that you don’t have to relish the connotations of being a “pastor’s wife” in order to be an effective wife of a man in ministry. Wives standing up and speaking at gatherings in Baptist churches are a dime a dozen, but one of the truest and most important things I’ve learned from Connie is that marrying a pastor is not about position, but juxtaposition – in Connie’s words, being closely connected to your husband for the glory of God. I remember sitting in Connie’s living room about 4.5 years ago, the first time I heard those words. I was a new wife then, having married Mark’s latest assistant, and was at the first of many “Wives of Men in Ministry” meetings that she and Adrienne would lead. These meetings typically span the length of the Intern program, but I’ve sat through several sessions because I need all the help I can get – and each time I’m struck by Connie’s humility, as she constantly looks for new ways to serve and encourage Mark. Each time, I’m struck by her sacrificial obedience to Christ, as she lays aside the comforts of a quiet evening to teach younger women to love their husbands and children. And each time I’m reminded that success as a wife of a man in ministry is a humble willingness to do those things that no one will know about or see, but that will help your husband in his ministry.

Connie, one of the ways the Lord especially encouraged me during the trial at our former church was through your friendship. Having lived on the block at CHBC, I know how many people go in and out of your home on a daily basis, and being made by God an introvert like you are, I know how exhausting that can be for people like us. I was extremely encouraged that time and time again, even though I was no longer on the block or under your husband’s care as a member of CHBC, you made time to talk to me on the phone or visit me in Arlington. I remember one day that I was feeling particularly discouraged, you came over and prayed with me and reminded me of the great hope we have of eternity with Christ. Thank you for knowing, living, and breathing truth. Thank you for sacrificing your time and space to care for others. That day I was very weak, and you brought God’s grace to my doorstep. I am confident that you had children’s curriculum to write, dinner to make, hospitality to plan, and at least 25 hours worth of things to do in the next 24, and it would have been easier to focus on those things. I’m thankful to God that instead, you caught your husband’s vision to train up pastors and see healthy churches established, and cared for me so that I could encourage my husband.

You might not remember this, but one night at Wives of Men in Ministry, you gave us blank calendars and asked us to write things in them every day that our husbands did that were marks of grace or encouraged us, or that we otherwise appreciated about them. Well, I took the calendar home and I started right away. One of my greatest faults is beginning projects that I will never finish, and this was no exception – I have no idea where the calendar is now. BUT – I did faithfully write in it for about 4 months, every day. One day things got especially bad at Ballston, and I gave the calendar to Mike (I was still keeping it up at that point. I had been keeping it a secret and saving it for a desperate time). We both sat amazed as he read the account of the ways that the Lord had held him firm and allowed him to be faithful and fruitful in the midst of much opposition. Thank you, Connie, for sharing a specific and creative way for me to encourage my husband in his ministry. I will never forget that night that Mike and I were able to give God great praise as we tangibly saw the fruit coming forth even in hard circumstances.

I had the sobering joy only a month ago; in fact, the week of the 15th anniversary of Mark’s installation as the pastor of CHBC, to see Mike installed as the pastor of our church in Arlington. And I couldn’t help but think about you, Connie, and thank God for having sustained your faith and given you grace day by day, week by week, year by year, to encourage your husband. As I’ve learned over the past year especially, being the wife of a man in ministry is not without its challenges, but it is never without grace.

This is just one person’s account of the seemingly small things you have done that have greatly influenced wives of men in ministry. Connie, I am grateful to God for having given you to Mark, and Mark to CHBC. I am eager to hear reports of the Lord’s work here over the next 15 years, as I cannot imagine a more fruitful church on this side of Heaven. It is my prayer that you will continue to be closely connected to Mark, for the glory of God. I pray you would not grow tired of complementing his work here and serving him with gentleness and care. Your labor alongside Mark has not been in vain, and I pray that it would continue to advance the kingdom, to God’s glory!

Old Friends and New Loyalties

Over the weekend, Ben and Meredith (of Babiease fame) were married. Happy Day! One of the selfishly fun aspects of this marriage, for us, was getting to see them and many other friends from our old church in DC at the wedding.

About 10 minutes after I tucked the kids in bed on Saturday night, I heard Kathryn crying in her room. This was odd, so I went in and checked on her. When I asked what was wrong, she told us she missed our (new) church. How sweet! She was afraid that visiting another church meant that we were leaving all of our new friends at Grace Baptist. What an answer to my prayer that the Lord would give her a love for our church! I was glad to inform her that she needed to go to sleep so that she could be well-rested to go to our church in the morning. (Gasp!) "And Daddy will preach?" Yes, Daddy will preach. "Okay, please don't forget me." This is where I tried not to laugh since I've yet to leave her anywhere on accident. But I pledged not to forget her just the same. And we went to church in the morning, and saw all of our new friends. It was lovely.

A Day at the Fair

This year and last, my parents kept Kathryn over the weekend of the St. Mary's County Fair. You must understand, this is no Arlington County or other suburban type of fair. No, in St. Mary's County, kids get off of school the Friday of fair weekend so that they can go. Kathryn traced my rural roots and enjoyed some good old-fashioned fun at the fair, including 2 pony rides!

This was a huge feat for my dad, who wagered with me last year that he would get her on a pony (I knew much better than that. After all, she was afraid of cats and even squirrels at that point). She lasted about 2 seconds last year, but this year she requested and took 2 full rides around the pony ring. She hasn't stopped talking about it yet...thanks, Mom and Dad!

She also enjoyed the parade. When Uncle Sam came out on stilts, she announced that he was Cap and Trade. Where would she have gotten that idea?