I guess Carter is officially a preacher's kid.

You know you're a preacher's kid when. . .

1. Your mom finds 5 little rocks in the washing machine and you tell her that you put them in your pocket to kill Goliath but you only needed one.

2. You have an obsession with "Rack, Shack, Benny" and the "burnace."

3. Your favorite bedtime story is "the hurt guy" aka "the good Samaritan."

4. Every prayer starts with "Dear Heavenly Father, to have a beautiful day."

5. You believe that Jesus' last name is "amen." (In Jesus' name, Amen)

6. You can use the word Levite in context.

7. You happily tell all of your friends that sharing makes Jesus happy when you would like for them to share their toys with you.

8. You know exactly where the donuts are kept in the nursery and help yourself to one every Sunday after church.

9. Your favorite song is "this little light of mine."

10. One of your favorite activities is taking money out of your piggy bank so you can give it to Jesus!

I love it that at the age of 3 Carter-bug already has such a cool understanding of the Lord!

Nan

Today was the funeral of an absolutely amazing woman, Nannette Barrett. She passed away on Friday morning after battling cancer for 27 years. To say that she will be missed is an understatement. I have wrestled with whether or not writing about her on my blog is "appropriate," and came to the conclusion that she most definitely made a mark on my life and her passing has caused me to really reflect on several things that are worth writing about. So it is with a great deal of love and respect that I share the following thoughts.

Obviously your prayers for her family are coveted. Her son, Brooks, graduated from high school the night before she died and her daughter, Baylee, will be a sophomore in high school next year. Her husband, Danny, has spent his entire life caring for her and there is no doubt that he will miss his wife more than I can imagine. These are precious people and my heart hurts for them.

One of the things that God continues to show me is that He is big enough to stand in the gap for a mommy. The human side of me and the mother in me knows that the little things in life like laundry, cooking, wrapping presents, buying toothpaste, planting flowers, and goodnight kisses are about to not feel so small and insignificant for this family. And I find myself asking God how this family can be expected to carry on without their mom and wife. And time and time again, He reminds me that He is not only my Heavenly Father, but He is big enough, gentle enough, kind enough, patient enough, loving enough, and more than enough to be a Mother as well. I know that this sounds so simple, but this truth stretches me in so many ways.

Nan was a beautiful woman. She took care of Carter every Friday for the first year that he was alive. I feel so blessed that my little man got to soak up even a small part of who she was. What a gift for our paths to get to cross in such an intimate way. I found a book that Nan gave Carter and she wrote in it challenging him to love God with all of his heart. I know that she did. I know that she is home now.

It seemed appropriate that there was a beautiful rainbow in the sky on my way to the viewing last night. I am reminded that God does keep His promises. She is restored. There is no more pain. And I know that she must have an incredible head of hair now! Today at the funeral I sat behind a little girl and her mother. I watched as the little girl kept looking at her mom while she silently cried. Watching her process her mother's grief was really moving for me. The mom put her arm around her daughter and the daughter rested her head against her mom and I was reminded that the best way to honor Nan is to keep living. To keep comforting my babies. To turn their eyes to the Lord. To laugh and savor and sing. Being a mom has completely changed the way that I process grief, maybe because I know an entirely new dimension of love now too. I am so thankful for each day that God has given me to spend with my babies. And I am so thankful for the life of Nannette. She was an inspiration to so many and I feel honored to say that she was my friend. Her legacy will live for a long time to come.

Thank you, Nan, for reminding me how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ.

My tender hearted boy.

I said goodbye to Brigitte tonight and managed to only fall apart a little until I got in the car and accidentally melted into a teary mess in front of the kids. I guess I don't cry very often in front of Carter. Our conversation went a little like this:

Carter: Mommy are you blowing or sucking?
Me: (doing that awkward exhale/gasp crying) Neither, baby. I am just a little sad.
C: Are you crying?
M: Yes.
C: Why are you sad?
M: I am going to really miss my friend.
C: Don't worry. We will see them again soon.
M: Not for a while. They are going very far away.
C: I will take you there tomorrow. We will get on an airplane.
M: Thank you, baby. I wish we could do that but it is too far.
C: Well, I will stay with you. I am still your boy, mommy. Don't be sad.
M: That's right. You will always be my boy.
C: Yep. Even when I am 27.
M: Thank you, buddy. I sure do love you.
C: I love you too, mommy. But I love you better happy than sad so can you be happy now.
M: Sure.
C: When you stop crying you can have a brownie.
M: (smile)

All of this was followed with the sweetest unprompted hug and kiss when we got home. I have to say that he did a pretty great job of being the man of the house in his daddy's absence. I can honestly say that I felt better after our little exchange. I am blessed.

A little taste of summer.

Aside from Mike being gone, this weekend has been a little slice of heaven. I had the precious opportunity to soak up a bit more of Brigitte and the girls before they head home on Wednesday (sniff). I am so blessed by her friendship and presence in my life. Not many girls ever have a friend like this.

How cute are these two together?

Our newest additions. Wouldn't it be amazing if they grew up to be bestest buddies too?

I heart these girls.

While I know that she will kill me for posting this, I could not resist a picture of the pirates on the boat at the park! Gotta love crazy aunt B!

Evyn's first time in a swing.

Ever the ladies' man.

And today I got to go to my favorite place (Roaring Springs) with some of my favorite people (Grammy, Papa, Mark, Carter and Evyn). The weather was perfect and my babies were precious. I soaked up the warmth of the sun in my hair and the smell of sunscreen on my sweet babies' skin. It was so nice to get to spend time with the family and get just a small taste of summer. I can't wait!

Grammy and her girl.

Carter and his best friend, Uncle Mark.

Grammy and Papa soaking up the sun.

Carter going for a little spin on an inflatable jet ski.

My sweet little monkey.

Look at her looking at Papa. Pretty sweet, no?

All in all, a wonderful weekend! Too bad I didn't get pictures of Kelli in the indoor playground at McDonalds! Maybe next time, Kelli!

Pictures for Daddy!

I just got off the phone with Mike in Morocco! He has had an amazing time and feels like their time there is just the beginning of something amazing that God is doing. I am so anxious to hear all about the trip. I wanted to post a few pictures of the kids for Daddy now that he has internet access again! Carter was less cooperative with the camera, so there is only one of him. I can't wait to see you on Wednesday!

(This picture was after Carter choked me.)

This and that.

I took this picture of Mike and the kids this morning before he left for Morocco. Please notice that Carter was far too cool to smile for any pictures.

Evyn moved out of her infant carseat this week and into her big girl carseat. I can't believe that she is big enough to do that, but she is! Carter had a blast playing with the box!

Where is Carter?

Peekaboo!

I absolutely never know what I will find when I pick my kids up from my mom. Today Carter was in full Indian dress and greeted me with "How." He then insisted on wearing the outfit home and even wore it on our bike ride tonight. He was quite the sight with his helmet and Indian outfit!

My sweet, sweet Evyn!

I love this picture because it captures how much Carter enjoys his sister! She kept touching his ears and he thought it was hilarious! Then he started singing "mister clown" and clapping and she was rolling. I can only imagine what kinds of mischief these two will get into together!

Pity party.

Mike leaves tomorrow and I miss him like crazy already. It is a blessing and a curse to be married to your best friend.

Brigitte leaves next week and I can't even talk about it without ugly crying.

Kelsey and Monica are bailing on me at work. While I am happy for them, it stinks for me.

Carter pooped his pants twice today.

I have decided that I do not like possums.

Somebody said the most unpleasant thing to me at work today and it left me feeling confused and unsettled.

My post baby body is simply not ready for swimsuit season.

And my house is a mess.

I will snap out of my funk soon- I promise, but for now I felt like throwing a little pity party.

Critters

I often wonder if other people secretly have wild adventures and are just more discrete about what they tell people or if I have a disproportionate amount of unusual things happen to me. It really seems like something "blogworthy" happens in our house pretty often. For example, I was recently reflecting on the amount of wildlife that we have discovered in or around our house- who can forget the great mouse infestation of 08, then there was the pigeon in the fireplace, the man in the dumpster, and now we have ducks practically taking up residence in our front yard and a family of possums in the backyard cohabitating with three known yardcats. I love that I never know what a day will hold in our life.

These are the ducks that come by almost daily for bread. One of them is really loud and insistent. We are growing rather attached to our web-footed friends.

We think that this is the daddy possum. His tail gives me the heeby jeebies.

This wildlife is a bit more cuddly! I love my morning snuggle times. Just a few more weeks and I can start every day with two babies and a bear in my bed! Evyn's hair seriously looks like Don King in this picture!

And how precious is this critter? I love this little girl so much. She perfectly completes our family. Carter calls her "Ev" or "sister" and I love watching him love her. The other night he was praying and he said "Thank you, Jesus, for throwing Evyn in mommy's tummy." So sweet. She has been a little "off" with her tummy this week, but even when she feels funny, she is the sweetest baby ever. I seriously did not know that babies could be this easy. It is a good thing that Carter was born first or I might have asked for a refund! (Carter- if you read this one day, I am teasing and I love you more than you can imagine. But your sister is a MUCH easier baby!)

This, that, and the other.

I always forget how busy May is. I expect it at Christmas time and then every year at the end of the school year, I am surprised by how quickly my calendar fills up. You would think that I would learn, but I don't. Amidst the busy-ness of the week, I managed to get some fun pictures of the munchkins that I thought I would share!

Carter has completely mastered his big boy bike. When he started riding it a few months ago, he was VERY cautious and wanted me to hold the handle bars the whole time. One of our favorite evening pastimes is to ride around the block and now he trucks it ahead of the rest of us for most of the ride. He has even had a few good crashes without crying. That is definitely progress!

Evyn loves to play in her bouncer. She really gets into the toys and can turn all around. I don't realize how much she is growing until I think back to when her feet did not touch the ground in this.

One afternoon, Carter put a rubber band around his head and insisted that we go outside to hunt monsters. Somehow he felt very empowered by his new magical headgear. We ended up in the neighbor's garage where he was using a leaf blower. Carter insisted that the noise was the monster growling. Luckily, Homer (our neighbor) was a good sport- Carter ran into the garage, screamed, and started ninja chopping the air.

Look what lives in our backyard. We currently have a possum with at least three babies attached to its back and two "yardcats" (Carter's words). I think it might be time to start trapping again. . . The possum is cute and all but I hear that their teeth are insanely sharp and I would rather not find out for myself.

She is seriously almost always this happy. And, could she be any cuter? I love the color of her skin, and I cannot get enough of that curly hair. I sit around and smell it all day long. Weird, I know, but so wonderful.

This is what happens when Daddy and Carter get into the markers. You should have seen the one that Carter drew on Daddy. Melts my heart.

Look who is sitting up all by herself. Doesn't she look just as proud as punch?

Saturday morning in the Lewis house. Carter looks rather disgruntled, but he really was just very into his cartoons.

One last story before I sign off. I had to go to our school 8th grade banquet last night. I was gone for no more than two hours. When I came home, at least 4 pairs of shoes were spread across our bedroom floor. Carter had found an old thing of Mike's "shoe wax"- you know that spongy thing that polishes shoes. Mike told him that you used it to clean shoes, and clean shoes he did. The problem was that Mike neglected to tell Carter what kind of shoes and that you only use it on the outside. So, my flip flops are now nice and waxed down all over and the inside of my tennis shoes looks so super shiny that I can hardly wait to try them on. The best part of the story is that Mike was in the room the whole time that Carter was working and somehow failed to notice what was happening. This, my friends, is the difference between men and women. Good times in the Lewis house.

A Mother's Love

I recently read Zephaniah 3:14-17 and love this picture of how God loves us.

"The Lord your God is with you, he is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, he will quiet you with his love, he will rejoice over you with singing."

As I read that, I thought of a mommy rocking her baby, quieting the baby with her simple presence. I imagined humming a lullaby and that sense of still and calm that falls over you as your baby relaxes in your arms, completely satisfied to just be near you. I love that Evyn knows my presence- she knows my smell and my voice and she finds comfort in me. I quiet her with my love.

I so often think of God as my Father. I love the mental image of Him also loving me like a Mother. As much as I love my precious little monkeys, He loves me more. He takes great delight in me. He will quiet me with His love. And He rejoices over me with singing. I want to know Him intimately- His fragrance and His touch. I want to find quiet in His love. That is some good stuff.