sweet saturday

things i LOVE about today - this last sweet saturday before school starts back:

1. Canoeing on Fairfield Lake with hubby and the two big kids
2. Teaching those two about lily pads, canoes, kayaks, and wonderful, simple, outdoor pleasures.
3. Walking trails holding Will's hand watching the kids run ahead.
4. Drinking a dirty martini and cutting fresh veggies from the market for dinner.
5. Sitting on the back porch with a cup of coffee this morning. Sitting in the hot tub.
6. Playing on the monkey bars at the playground. Reading bedtime stories.
7. Giggling and snuggling with baby Floyd.
8. Sleeping until 8am.
9. Cooking dinner. Yes. Honestly, I think i'm transformed... on vacation at least.
10.Resting before the wild Fall starts.

It has been a sweet saturday, and my heart is full.

Buggle

We have a saying in our house.

You've been Buggled.

There is a girl who calls herself "Doonie-Bug!" and she is the Buggler. Kind of like the Ham-burgaler. Anyway... if you haven't been buggled lately, let me give you a few examples.


1. You know you've been Buggled when you reach for the lipstick before running out the door and it looks like a monster took a bite out of it.

2. You know you've been Buggled when you reach for the strawberries in the fridge, and it looks like a mouse took a bite out of each of them.

3. You know you've been Buggled when the clock says 3am and there is a tiny, shrill voice asking for multiple objects of little consequence, slamming doors, waking up a baby, and altogether acting like Chicken Little.


4. You know you've been Buggled when there are five wardrobe changes inside of an hour. Usually settling on a Frincess Ballerina appropriate outfit.

5. You know you've been Buggled when 35 yards of dental floss get pulled out and twisted around the 'living room-kitchen-loop' multiple times.

6. You know you've been Buggled when there is no moment of the day that is not filled to the brim with humming, singing, talking, whining, crying, mix, blend, repeat.


I love my daughter, I love my daughter, I love my daughter. She has an amazing sense of humor, her laughter is contagious, she is extremely confident, and quick to the punch (ask her Dad what she told him this week). She is also a high maintenance little broad and getting her from age 3 to age 21 is going to be WORK.

William Floyd Gibbs, III

We welcomed our sweet little boy in April. It's only taken me four months to share that on this venue. I guess Facebook has overtaken for immediate notifications.

Suffice it to say - he is a JOY. In the midst of exams and the end of his Dad's first year of law school, he was the calm that arrived in our storm. The eye of the hurricane. We were forced to stop for a minute and relish the new life that was gifted to us. I went in for an induction - my first one in three deliveries - on Will's 30th birthday. It was a little unnerving, since I didn't want to mess up a good thing. My last two babies came quickly and with no complications. Fortunately I had great nurses and an OB who had just had her third to assure me, all would be well. We checked in at 8am, the doc broke my water at 10:15, I had an epidural at 11:15, and by 12:45 I told the nurse we were ready for showtime. They had to gather everyone back from lunch and set up the room, so we just waited calmly until they gave me the green light, and he took his first breaths at 1:30pm. We kept his gender a secret throughout the pregnancy, but everyone was certain this was going to be another boy. I didn't want to believe it, because I knew that Will wanted a brother for Red. I knew that I wanted another boy for his little cousins, Cal and Leo. And I knew that Junebug has such a strong personality, that a boy just sounded easier to me- whether or not that logic makes sense! He has been the easiest, most laid back baby. He is guy smiley, and loves entertainment from his siblings. Happy to eat, happy to sleep, and if unhappy - there is a very good reason. I know that he will hit 16 months and bust wide open like all toddler boys do, but for now I am soaking up his sweetness, and the time that passes entirely too quickly. We are so, so blessed to get to be his family!

He who is able... is already there.

A sweet friend sent me a message this morning to tell me she is already praying for our L2 year. The wave tsunami is coming that is Daddy back to commuter/student, Mommy back to full-time work, kids to pre-school and baby to starting solid foods. It's all little changes, that amount to a very big amount of shifting weight around and accommodating little growing pains. My tendency is to 'take a deep breath' and start working as hard as possible at being wife/mother/employee/friend with such a fierce determination that I don't leave much room for grace to enter the picture. It was a good reminder this morning, to have a friend remind me that we don't face these growing phases in a vacuum. And it made me stop and hear, in the stillness of a napping baby and the click of my work emails, and happily playing toddlers downstairs (for now)... He who is able is already there. He knows what September, October, November will look like. He has already sketched out the trials and triumphs. And wants for me to walk through them with Him. It is easy in 'Merica to look at our own strengths. We have SO much, and a culture of hard work that makes it more challenging sometimes for me to see dependence on the Lord as a strength. But I know that His power is made perfect in my weakness. So I start this next semester, this next season, yes - with a deep breath. But I'm not holding my breath. I'm taking one step at a time, one day at a time, hoping I can know what choices to make to graciously shepherd our children, to support my husband as he studies and commutes, to work at my job to the best of my ability, and see the areas where His grace is being made perfect as just that: weakness there is not failure, it is an opportunity for better relationship, for more of Him and less of Me. Because He is able, and wants to surprise me, and is already there. I have a feeling I'm going to need to read my own post at least once a week for the next four months ;)