The Week of Being a Single Mom

Erik flew away Sunday afternoon for training in Los Angeles. We have done okay the past three days. It has helped that I've had amazing friends come for dinner each night. That is the time of day when the boys expect Erik's arrival the most, thus inducing the worst behavior when he doesn't appear. Some might think I'm nuts for inviting others into that environment, but sweet, non-judgmental friends who don't run screaming from the house are so helpful to me during these times. Just last night, wonderful Ashli did the dinner dishes while I put the mildly surly boys to bed. I came out to a clean kitchen and almost started crying. It's just beautiful to me when folks act as the hands and feet of Jesus, serving selflessly in everyday situations. I want to be like that.

In other news, Luke was honored this morning with his first marriage proposal...sort of. We had friends over to play. When the sweetest, sassiest three-year-old on the planet walked in, she rushed right over to Luke and said, "I'm gonna marry you." Luke said, "Oh," and invited her to sword fight with him. About five minutes later while both moms were standing in the kitchen waiting for the coffee to finish brewing we heard Luke say, "You can marry Jacob (her brother). I don't need to get married." Dang! I thought I had a good thing going there.

Here are a few pictures to keep the fans happy.

Luke is shading his face from that bright yellow orb in the sky. The aforementioned sweetest, sassiest three-year-old on the planet who shadowed him all morning doesn't seem to mind his ridiculous behavior. :-)

Paul making a really funny face. Love it.