A Fat Rat

You might be thinking, "Gross!" Let me explain. Luke read his first book all by himself this week on Wednesday. It's title is A Fat Rat. He was SO thrilled! I was pretty excited myself. My favorite moment was on the page with the words "a fat mat" when Luke looked at the picture and said, "A fat piece of cheese." I burst out laughing and he joined in. We belly laughed for at least a minute before I explained the importance of looking at the words and not just the pictures. He finished the book and was ready to read it again. Erik was even able to come home from work in the middle of the day to have Luke read to him for the first time. Pretty special day.

In other news, I am at the beach right now. My friend Liza and I have run away from home for the weekend. We are watching movies, enjoying the amazing view from the windows of this beach front house (a huge thank you to neighbors John and Nancy for letting us stay here!), and scrapbooking. The weather is stormy and fun. There are some brave souls out on the beach at this moment. Liza and I are making cinnamon rolls, drinking coffee and wearing pajamas. I love it.
And now for the pictures!

Daddy and Luke made this rainbow using his cars last week. Super cute.

Luke helping Paul to "read" A Fat Rat. Adorable.

Other learning fun...we have been reading about levers in The Berenstain Bears Big Book of Science. On Thursday Luke looked at our long, black tube (used for zooming matchbox cars) and said, "Mommy, it's like a lever. I push here and it goes up on the other end." Nice application of learning, buddy!

Not what you would expect

It happened today! The Nordstrom's Holiday catalog arrived at our house. I immediately dropped everything and made this poster for my husband.

"Another 2 Reasons You Love Me: Neither the most expensive NOR the least expensive bags (nor anything in between) from the Nordstrom's Tossmas Catalog appeal to me! Happy Advent Conspiracy!!" Under the picture on the left: "$2695 = the cost of 28 farm animals that could save 10 families from starvation in the third world." On the right: "$450 would provide 9 families with tools, training, and seed to begin subsistence farming drought-resistant vegetables and grains."

I think I'll keep the sign up for awhile. It's a great reminder for me and those I love. We will celebrate differently. This is our new tradition. Catalogs will be tossed. Gifts will be relational. The ones who need it the most will get the food, water, shelter, clothing, medical supplies, and education for Christmas. I'm so excited to teach my boys the story of Jesus' birth again this year. And I can't wait to live it for them through sacrificial giving. What will you teach? What will you give?

New Birth

One of my closest friends on the planet gave birth Sunday morning to a beautiful baby boy. It was my honor and privilege to care for her other children during this time. God timed the birth perfectly so that Erik was home with our boys and I could head over to their house at 2am. :-) Visiting her at the birth center later that day, I was astounded again by the newness of birth. The soft skin. The sleepiness of a newborn. I held a baby who was four hours old and introduced myself, telling him how much I love his family and that we are bonded not by a blood relationship, but through the blood of Jesus Christ. I prayed over him, that he would trust in the Lord with all his heart and lean not on his own understanding; that in all his ways He would acknowledge God and He would make his path straight. (Proverbs 3:5,6) Pretty amazing moment.

My boys are good. Erik has been at a business meeting since Monday, so we are all looking forward to his return this afternoon. I realize I haven't blogged since Halloween...it didn't go down like I thought it would. The boys tried on their costumes and decided they didn't want to wear them. At the same time, the Oregon vs. USC game started at 5pm and I really didn't have a desire to take the boys out. So we all stayed in and watched the Ducks TROUNCE the Trojans. It was a good night. :-) Here's a pic of the Ducks fans.

Thanks for the t-shirts, Grandma! The boys wore them to BSF on Wednesday and were a big hit, even with the Beaver fans. :-)

Luke and Paul with Luke's lion costume. Sorry, folks.