Reading My Mind

A juggling act--that's my new profession. Wife. Mama. Sister. Friend. Church member. Gardener. Writer. Editor. Author. Cook. Family calendar administrator. Taxi. Bell-hop.

And all the veteran mamas, nod their heads (and probably roll their eyes) . . . you know what I mean.

With so much on the ol' plate, a lot has been shuffling through my mind. So here, now you can read my mind:

• Some days (like yesterday) Anna is fussy for no apparent reason; well, except teething. And that is a major reason. I'm just trying to pretend it's not true. :-)
• On Saturday, I saw an elderly woman who suffered from a severe arched/humped back. She seemed homeless, since she was carrying several tattered bags loaded down with goods. She was dressed in several layers, one of which was a winter coat. (Did I mention it was nearly ninety degrees on Saturday?) And this lady was trying to cross a busy street. My heart was blessed when I witnessed a van stop to help. Three ladies from the van helped put the struggling woman's items inside, took off her coat, and offered her a ride.
• Addressing the recent end-of-the-world predictions, I read a marquee this weekend that said: "You can be a good person without a belief in God." Strange. It's as if the person thought the goal of a relationship with God was to be a good person. Clearly, he or she does not know much about God.
• What is the difference between the hand wash and delicate cycle? Really, the washer seems to be doing the same thing.
• How in the world do mothers across the globe clean their homes?
• Cloth diapers will make me crazy. Whose bright idea . . . .
• Anna is growing faster than I can keep up. I'd like to relish each milestone, but at this rate, her baby book will soon turn into a novel.

Here's a picture of Anna because no blog post is complete without one. :-)

Home Movies Galore

A few of our Anna movies are too long for the ol' blog to load; so I've (I hope) uploaded them to YouTube.

Click here to see our gal talking up a storm.

Click here to see Anna when she first started becoming more mobile and interactive.

(If these links don't work, I have uploaded them to Facebook too.)

People told me babies grow and change fast. They weren't lying. It bumfuzzles me everyday how Anna just wakes up with a new skill, a new trick up her sleeve. :-) One day it's rolling over; the next she's clasping her hands. Tomorrow, I'll walk into the nursery to find her standing in her crib, saying, "Good morning, Mother. I would enjoy some milk, please."

And it's been refreshing to me to watch her become amazed. She stares at her fingers as they move. She's enthralled by the feel of a blankie. Just today, we sat on the back deck as a storm approached. The trees were whipping around. She was absolutely entranced by the moving limbs and leaves; the best mobile around. Watching her little face glued upward prompted me to look up as well and enjoy the show. Oh, how fun it is going to be as we watch her grow and discover all the wonders in life, giving us a happier, more appreciative perspective all the while.

Here are a few more--shorter--snipits of Anna Zane's wonderful world.


In this one, I was soooo hoping to catch her rolling over. She'd just accomplished that feat moments before. At this point last week, rolling over was still more of an accident than intentional.

Last week, Anna laughed for the first time. Her daddy was making funny sounds, and she let out three giggles. I ran for the camera; but of course, no laughs on film. Still, she's cute.

Finally--captured on camera! See, I wasn't lying!

Grace in the Empty Spaces . . . Is on Bookstore Shelves!!!

Grace in the Empty Spaces: Transformed by the One-Another Passages, a Bible study I co-authored with Mark McPeak, is RELEASED!

Last Friday, I received copies in the mail, making that moment the first time I'd see the final hard copy. And I'm so excited about the final product!

So, what's the study about? Here's how the publisher put it:

If you could improve—even remedy—the dysfunction in your local congregation, would you? Of course, we all strive for unity in various settings, but we often ignore direct instruction given in Scripture on how to treat others. This is an excellent small group study that will teach those principles and give practical instruction on how those should impact every life. Imagine the significant turnaround in today’s society if such principles were practiced.

FEATURES

God’s design for close relationships is intentional. He means for our closeness with each other to be a benefit and a blessing. This is a six-week small group study that is centered on the instructions in Scripture on how to treat one another. The following subjects are covered:

• Love One Another
• Pray for One Another
• Forgive One Another
• Fellowship With One Another
• Submit to One Another
• Minister to One Another

Visit your local Christian bookstore to pick up copies. If it's not yet on the shelves, ask to order it. The study retails for $10.99. You can also find the study on Amazon.com; or you can go straight to the source and order from the publisher--randallhouse.com or 1-800-877-7030. If you order by the case, you get a discount price of $8.99 per book--a great deal for use in small group settings.

Mark and I also wrote a Leader's Guide to aid study group facilitators in leading discussion for church groups, etc. The Leader's Guide is FREE and can be downloaded at randallhouse.com/page.asp?pg=downloads.

Please feel free to ask me any questions about the study! I'm dee-lighted to talk about it. :-)

Baby's Got Her Blue Jeans On

Just last week, Anna Zane wore blue jeans for the first time. She loved it . . . . What am I talking about? She didn't even know. But Mama loved it. :-)

I attempted a photo shoot, which did not turn out very well thanks to a little gal who now loves to throw around her arms and feet. These are the best of the crop.

I laugh at the stunned look on her face.

Such a pretty face!

Her feet crack me up in this one!

Yeah, the photo shoot wasn't all fun and games.

Daddy's favorite!

"Uh, Mom, what are you doing?"

Blockbusters, Starring Anna Zane

Meeting Grandmama: In Honor of Mother's Day

A few weeks back on our first out-of-town trip, we were able to visit Grandma Deanna for the first time . . . well, Anna's first time. :-)

A DeAnn, a Deanna, and an Anna.

Cousin Baylee and Anna were fast friends.

Uncle Chris has the knack for getting Anna to sleep!

All About Anna

Have you ever seen anything so sweet? Sigh.

I love those lips and those chubby cheeks. We often joke she's gonna keep bruises on her cheeks because we kiss them so much!

Anna Zane is now in the double digits--10 weeks old. So crazy to believe . . . . it's nearly two months since we brought her home.

Here are a few facts about life in Youree house:

• Playtime is more and more fun with her now squealing and talking. She's also become very fond of "chewing" on her left fist. Bryan and I are impressed by how much of the fist she can actually get in her mouth!
• When we lay her down to change her diaper, she starts marching in place--every time. Those arms and legs swing just as if she's in army. If she starts saluting, I"ll be worried . . .
• Size 0-3 months is getting tight. I'm predicting two more weeks in those clothes and then we're moving up! We've already purchased size 2 diapers. Oh, our growing girl.
• Anna still loves to eat. She's downing 6-7 ounces every four hours.
• And the most glorious of all . . . . (bragging drum roll, please) she is sleeping 10-11 hours straight per night!!!!!! Thank the LORD!
• When I hold Anna up on my shoulder, she's now wrapping her arms around my neck--voluntarily. Talk about melting a mama's heart.
• For whatever reason, she likes looking at bears, especially polar bears.
• Taking a walk (er, ride in her stroller) is one of the top five activities Anna enjoys. When we go under a tree, her face lights up.
• Riding in the car puts her to sleep.
• Anna still cries when we put lotion on her. But she loves bath time (except when you wash her face). She's just beginning to kick her leg a bit in the water.
• When she's playing on her back, I walk by periodically just so she can see me and hear me. After a few minutes of not seeing me, she'll grin from ear to ear when I talk to her just like she's been waiting for me to say something. So cute.
• If I'm holding her and Bryan is walking around the room (or vice versa), she trails him with her eyes. "What's my daddy doing?" She needs to be "in the know."

Property Tax Joke, i.e. not Practical

Horror crossed his face. With an emphatic smack, Bryan set the envelope's contents on the counter. The bad news? Our property tax assessment came in 10 percent higher than last year--a year in which it increased 6 percent from 2009.

Oh the drama.

Bryan spent the next 30 minutes surfing tax records online only to find that most of our neighbors' property taxes actually went down, not up. A few simply stayed the same. Yeah, we did replace a rotting chimney last year, and we've remodeled one bathroom . . . . but folks on our block have added a master bedroom suite, extra square footage, and so forth. And our house is probably one in more need of improvements compared to the rest of the block. So, how in the world does our house cost so much more per square foot????

We've heard horrible stories of those who've gone before us to protest the property tax assessment . . . . in essence, "don't waste your time." Thus, Bryan collected a lot of information, well-organized and succinct.

He called on Monday. After briefly explaining the situation, Bryan was hoping for some explanation as to how the assessor's office came to such a conclusion on our property. What he received was a casual, "Yeah, that looks like a problem. So, what would you like your tax to be?"

Really?

Really.

While we did negotiate lower property taxes with little resistance from the city, this is not a comforting response from the assessor's office. We are not trying to evade paying any reasonable taxes; we'd really like to know HOW our property taxes are determined.

We shall see what next year holds . . . . .

On the Road Again . . .

The week after the family reunion we headed north to celebrate Pop's 80th birthday! And what a party it was . . . so. much. food.

Of course, we were also able to show off our sweet girl. :-)

Anna was a dream traveling via car too. She is still really little; so it's mostly sleepy time when she feels that car moving. The real trick/test will be when she's like 8 months old. I have a feeling that travel blog post will be a bit different . . . .

The birthday boy (I was so worried the cake was going to hit the floor!)

Gunnar loves his cousin!

Pop & Anna

Anna loves Aunt Christi and Uncle John!

Gracyn playing "baby doll" again :-)