Still Here

Oh...why, hello! Was I saying something?

Things got a bit busy this week. And just when I was gonna pop back in and tell y'all about Jason's parents being here for a visit, and show you some cute photos, and tell you some funny Nate stories, I came home Friday evening to live footage from Japan.

And then all my stuff just seemed so...silly. (I mean, more than the normal amount of silly that you get from me.) In the face of such disaster and heartbreak. I didn't know what to say about it that isn't already being said anywhere and everywhere. Except it just reminds you, doesn't it, how uncertain life is. I keep thinking of this time right after 9/11 when I read a passage in Hebrews that (basically) says that when everything is shaken, only the unshakeable remains. And it's made me think: what are the unshakeable things in my life? And have I been attending to them like I ought?

I guess then, that we need to take joy in the everydayness of life, don't we? Friday night, Jason was out at a church event, Jason's parents looked after Grace, and I took the kids to a movie night at the school. Despicable Me was showing on a big outdoor screen, and the kids had a great time doing everything but watching the movie. Nate ran around with his little kindergarten buddies and made a general nuisance of himself. Ava bought glow sticks and drank slushies till I thought her tongue would be permanently blue. And when the music started at the beginning of the movie, she said, "Mom, I'm gonna go dance with my friends." And she pranced off to do just that. I had one of those surreal fast-forward moments where I could hear her saying, "Mom, can I have the car to go out with my friends?"

The audience sat on bleachers to watch the film, and Nate and his buds were running around down on the ground in front of the screen. At one point, I saw him crawling around in the dark down there. I went down to see what he was doing and, yes, he was eating popcorn that had been dropped on the ground. Cramming it into his mouth like he hadn't eaten in days. Not his popcorn, mind you. Just random pieces of anonymously dropped popcorn. He's five, and he definitely knows better. I thought I'd passed the threshold with the older two about warning them what not to eat. I guess I was wrong.

Here's a few of my unshakeable things...

Our friends Jessica and Shawn took some family photos of us the other day. In spite of serious crankiness on the part of the kids (and, ok, me--a little) they managed to get some beautiful shots. I love this one of Gracie. She's lulling you into thinking that she's sweet and gentle, so she can steal your wallet when you look the other way. Keep yer hands where I can see 'em, girl.

And this is a fun one of Ava and Nate. This speaks volumes about the little brother-big sister dynamic, doesn't it?

That's what's doing over here. How are you? Everything just feels a bit tender right now. Or is that just me?