March 23, 2009

friends


great friends!
Originally uploaded by gennabby.
The Maynors came to Davis for a visit! The last time they were here was 3 years ago, when Grayson (turning 4) was a year younger than Noah is now! This trip was "supposed to be" a great time to celebrate our new job, to finish the quilts we started last year in St. Louis, and to be out and about as much as possible... But it was better than that, in ways we wouldn't have chosen or expected. We're still waiting to figure out the job situation; Noah and Lillian had fevers almost the whole time; Bean's nose ran (and ran and ran and ran); the daddys worked on fixing cars; and the fabric was looked at longingly from time to time...

What DID happen, and what we wouldn't give up for the "perfect" vacation: we loved each other in a very real life kind of way. We ordered more take out, took more naps, and prayed together in our weakness. It felt good to be loved for the mess we are :)

There was ladybug catching, car patching, smoothie chugging, laundry lugging, mess making, cookie baking, chair swirling, hair curling, singing, hugging, laughing, loving, bathing, reading, dancing, cheering, little-boy-spat interfering, merry-go-rounding, fire-truck sounding, tooting, hooting, wii-game rooting, pizza, thai food, striped noodles, coffee, pancakes, dishes? OODLES! Happy hellos, sad goodbyes, and hopes to do this all again, these are the things that make us LIVE, these, the things that make us friends.

Favorite quotes from the weekend:

Grayson: Noah, what did you do?
Noah: oot ! (Noah's word for "toot") *now imagine them repeating this conversation more than 100 times in 4 days.

Abby (talking about Matthew and Peter): Those two are great together!

We miss you guys already.

March 17, 2009

clever man


clever man
Originally uploaded by gennabby.
Glad my cake stand is coming in handy.

Greener than a Green Thing's Green Bits


St. Patty's Day!
Originally uploaded by gennabby.
I get that saying from Bronwyn--my most wordish friend. You can have fun with it: "Noah, your feet are stinkier than a stinky thing's stinky bits" (etc.) Abbs had a great time greening up for school today. There was NO way she was going to get pinched.

March 11, 2009

"Mee-go!"


"Mee-go!"
Originally uploaded by gennabby.
Hang in there with us...we hope we will have job news soon! In the meantime, check out the Bean on his favorite merry-go-round! He calls it the "mee-go" (hands swirling to get his point across). His animal of choice? The horse.

It was "pig day" at the Farmer's market on Saturday. See the flickr pics for one of Noah petting a (stinky) piglet! I am SO glad we are not pig farmers.

March 6, 2009

TOOTH! Or, lack thereof.


TOOTH! Or, lack thereof.
Originally uploaded by gennabby.
Her smile will never look the same. That row of perfect little baby chicklets has a noticeable and sizable GAP now! You should see the girl eat a banana; the bite pattern leaves a big notch where she is missing her top tooth. Oh and she can't whistle anymore (I don't know why, exactly, but she thinks this is the case. I don't think she could really whistle before the tooth was missing). Her cute S's are even more cute because you can see her little tongue working to make the sound :)

After she got the tooth out (a major process--it was several weeks of daily reporting on the state of the tooth, the struggle with eating and with making her tongue sore from fussing with the tooth, etc.) she said: "Momma, look how wiggly my tooth is!" As she pointed to the NEXT tooth over. I told her that other tooth had better stay put for a while! We can't take another month of daily tooth drama! That next sucker is NOT very wiggly, so we are encouraging her to leave it be lest she be unable to bite things until she turns 8.

But isn't she a cutie?

sweet nap


sweet nap
Originally uploaded by gennabby.
My boys are tuckered out. It is rare that Noah will sleep outside of of his crib--he is too distracted or excited by other venues (and having people around) to get shut eye without the safe enclosure of crib bars and his trusty bear, "Boo."

This day, however, we spent time romping at the Farmer's Market, the library, and a stop at the post office. Noah was pooped. Apparently, Matty was too! Bean was asleep in the car by the time we got home and remained asleep!!!! (for the first time in over a year, for sure) as daddy carried him in the house! So Matty took the opportunity to get snuggles from the little guy. They used to sleep like this all the time in Bean's early days. Daddy's chest was the BEST spot in the house! I'd argue that it still is :) I'm so glad I have pictures of the two of them just like this at different stages. Look how our Noah Bean has grown!

These are moments I treasure deeply.

March 3, 2009

how sweet


for mommy
Originally uploaded by gennabby.
Long days of waiting.

Don't we all know how these are? Well, no matter if you are waiting for Spring, for a job, for a proposal, for healing, for a tooth to come out, for a paycheck to come in, for a baby to come home, for glory...you are not alone. We humans are so often obsessed with the future, with what will come? When will it be here? When will I know?

DEEP BREATHS. My seven year old (yes, SEVEN YEARS!) reminds me of how sweet it is to delight in the simple pleasures all around us, despite the looming doubts and uncertainties. On a walk the other day, she picked this little bundle of flowers for me. She was so happy to be able to give me something beautiful. Little does she know how much beauty she brings to our lives every day!

Last week, Abby handed me a white sheet of paper, rolled up diploma style. She said it was for my graduation. I unrolled my diploma and read (between stars and exclamation points drawn in crayon): "You have finished the level of kindness!!!!!!"
I got my degree in KINDNESS?! The people who know me are chuckling... But really, this funny little piece of paper signifies more achievement than my master's diploma (which is still sitting in a file in the registrar's office, waiting to be picked up after three years...). I value my MA. I value getting a PhD. But when I think about the deepest treasures we have, I think of people I love, not things I've done. Between Abby's gestures like picking wildflowers and making precious declarations that I'm "the best mommy in the world" and Matthew is "the best daddy" and Noah is "the best brother", I think--does it get any better than this?

So, as we wait through times of disappointment, angst, and testing on the job market, we have this sweet girl seeking out the things we overlook, the things all around us that cry out: "You are loved! You are provided for SO well! Do not worry about tomorrow!" And those things challenge the disappointment and the doubts. We have it SO good.

I'll write in soon about the results of the job search. We hope we'll have resolution in the next 2 weeks or so. But in the meantime, know that the Pearsons4 are more than just "hanging in there"--we are being tended to day by day, by a good God who knows us, who loves us, and who provides faithfully all that we need (and even some things we want!). Yeah, we have tears and we have the regular moments of joy and of dashed hopes, but we have each other. And we are being reminded that life is bigger than this job market.