Abundant Recompense Copy

Note the blue bangs. Leah and I have spent a whole lot of quality and quantity time together lately. I suppose we can attribute it to the potty training and school being back in. It has been delightful and maddening all rolled into one bundle. I have decided that being two must just be really hard. In the last five months she's quit naps, had the pacifier taken away, become a big sister, and gone through the potty training ordeal. I think she, like her mother, craves control and routine. And when you're growing and changing as quickly as she is, control can be hard to come by. This sometimes causes her to be, shall we say, less than pleasant to be around. That said, she and I have come to an understanding over those months, and we're pals. It is so great to see her finally figure something out and be able to relax about it and move past it. She's doing a great job. And she is so prissy and girly, I find it hilarious. And endearing. Thoroughly enjoying her reward of a cr...

We recently got two little birds from some friends in our ward.They're zebra finches; one male and one female. I'll let the kids introduce them. Are you in love with the names as much as I am? I think their little beeping sounds are cute and also hilarious. Jenna was here a couple weeks ago and took a slow motion video so we could get a good look at their flapping wings. Once you hit seven seconds or so on this beauty you'll understand why we watched it like 50 times and died laughing every time.

The tale of three adventures. Ryan and Kaylyn showed us this amazing chimney right on their property. It looks like an old homestead, complete with old glass bottles and other archaeological artifacts. How cool is that Michelle's family OWNS ruins? Michelle and I always have a bit of a tug of war when it comes to the annual trip to Georgia. She gets to Mom and Dad's house and understandably wants to stay put, just bask in the glow of being Home. I really enjoy that, too, but it's also fun to get out and explore, get to know the lay of the land. One of these years I'm going to finally convince her to go to Savannah, but in the meantime we have started taking at least one day trip each year - usually to the mountains in the north. This year, Michelle's stress fracture meant she was out of commission for some things. So one night I took Addison, Bryn, Ryan, and Kaylyn to Stone Mountain. We got to drive in Dad's fancy new car, Ryan was a great navigator in the front...

There was a short time in my life when I wondered if I'd actually been adopted. You see, there are no pictures of me and my parents in the hospital when I was born. (Don't worry, Mom and Dad, I got over it after six months or so, started talking again . . .) So this post is dedicated to the future 14-year-old Asa. You're not adopted, my dear. Mommy and Daddy have been here for your entire upbringing and we love you very much. That said, blogging has not been my number one priority since Asa joined our family, so I wanted to post a little about him, and a lot of pictures. He's grown so much! Asa is a wonderful baby. He's mellow and easy-going and generous with his smiles and squeals of delight. Lately he's gotten into rolling. He can go both ways, but sometimes forgets that and gets stuck on his tummy, which makes him quite upset. All the children adore him and I probably don't let them hold him often enough. They love to do it and ask to frequently. A little...

 Nate had a birthday a few weeks ago. We partied in a major way. Here's the photo documentation. Bryn made this heart days in advance and hid it very sneakily. She was so excited to give it to him.   Some of the loot. He got books and toys. Really. A nerf gun and a remote-control helicopter, to be exact. Really, really excited to be 32. The cake was delish. Milestones for the year: Published his first book, took over the Joseph Smith Papers website, made great strides in honing his handyman skills, got called as the ward mission leader, took up kite-flying, learned to pronounce the word "kiosk" properly.