swines and theology (naturally!)...

Tucking Lauren into bed tonight, she asked for me to pray instead of her...because she "forgot the name of that flu that's bad." So, I said a prayer for all the people with Swine Flu.

Then (whammo!), she asks :: "Did God put that flu here on earth...or was it Satan?"

I, again, realized I should've gone to seminary as a prerequisite to parenthood. I did my best to answer saying that God could've stopped it, but He chose not to because He doesn't want to make everything perfect without us doing anything at all...we wouldn't be the smart people He created if He did everything for us. I gave a brief synopsis of free-will...I can't even be sure it applies, but it's always worth interjecting "we have the ability to choose right and wrong" in any conversation with an almost seven year old.

She smiled and once again declared she would be a doctor someday and help all the people with "whatever the name is of that flu". (I'm sure they'll have a terminology class at med school for all those little pesky details)

running around the old stompin' grounds...

It was a family affair at another 5K race this morning. We packed up the kids, and headed over to our alma mater, Calvin College, where we also met my parents and brother and nieces. It was great to also see quite a few familiar faces around the campus!
We all lined up for a 9am start. The kids were happy to be part of the race too. Sarah and Julia got the easy ride in the stroller pushed by my dad, while Lauren and my niece, Kate, walked...and ran too!
The sudden onset of summer temps was a shock to our systems, but it must've worked for us as Jeff posted a time of 22:56 (wowza!) and I finished at 27:40.

After the race, we headed into the new track facility at Calvin, where it was the kids' turn to race. After a bit of stretching, they were off with the gun for one lap (.25 mile). Lauren did well, and while we knew she'd run faster than Sarah...that fact was not known to Sarah.

She was upset after the race. We initially thought it was because she got clocked by someone pushing a stroller and lost her shoe... But later we learned that she was really just mad that Lauren beat her.
The thrill of victory...
You guessed it...the agony of defeat...
It took awhile, but she cheered up after some hydrating and fruit snacks.It was a fun morning, and fortunately wrapped up before a major storm started. The next race is in two weeks...it's a wee bit longer than a 5K though.

oh good grief...

Monday is laundry day.

Here's how that should go: Gather dirty laundry. Sort. Place in washing machine. Add soap n' stuff. Wash. Put in dryer. Get out of dryer. Fold. Put clean clothes away.

Here's the reality: Wait until Julia finishes cereal. Take milky jammy layer off Julia and add to all the dirty laundry being gathered. Go to laundry room and sort. Hear screaming. Ignore. Place laundry in machine. Hear footsteps running. Move faster. Get soap. Hear Sarah yelling, "Mom, you're going to want to get down here!!!" Put soap down. Run. Access situation and grab camera:
Get second layer of milky jammy off Julia to add to yet-to-be-started load. Clean up milk mess and empty cereal bowls on table (which should have been done before, I know...). Hear Sarah, "Mom! Julia is still hungry I think!!!" Put down wash cloth. Access situation near pantry and grab camera:
Follow crumb trail to find Julia (please note the crumbs...everywhere):
Looks like Tuesday's going to be laundry day too.

buzzin' right along...

In our pursuit to collect obscure t-shirts and goodie bags, we ran another 5K race this weekend. The Yellowjacket Challenge in Greenville, Michigan. It was a fun little community race...which allowed us to wear the badges of Jeff being second in his age group and me running fourth in mine. Hey, I'll take it. I managed to shave a respectable minute off my time in the Irish Jig and finished at 29:07.

I admit I was hoping for better, but I do believe my legs went on strike after the higher mileage week I put them through...so the wire running info from my brain to my legs was clipped somewhere along the way and the "go faster" message wasn't received. Once again I was joined by my niece, but only briefly as her legs got the message loud and clear and off she went to catch up with the menfolk.

Here we all are, sporting our new t-shirts...
Next race is this Saturday at the Calvin College Spring Classic.

it's getting greener out there...

I was fortunate enough to take some pictures this spring weekend of my very sweet little nephew. Go take a look at 'em at the photoblog. The pictures get pretty big over yonder there.

happy easter...

(yes, I'm going to pretend like it hasn't been a coon's age since I updated the blog and just proceed as if I've been here all along)
This past Easter weekend, we hopped on over to Ann Arbor, MI to spend the holiday with Jeff's parents. The kids always love hanging out in daddy's old house with grandma and grandpa.
This year, we even had the chance to share Jeff's second Ann Arbor home with them...Michigan Stadium. There was a spring scrimmage "game" open to the public free o' charge and when you've got three kids who get the wiggles in their seats after 20 minutes, that's the right price to pay.
No, I did not take the above picture. We thought they wouldn't allow the big camera in the Big House...so I did not have it around my neck for once (I'm still shopping for the perfect pocket camera!).

After the game, the girls got to decorate eggs in the backyard on a gorgeous afternoon. While the eggs were soaking and drying, they had fun running around and finding signs of spring (I knew it would get here someday).
Easter arrived at the crack of 6:45am, thanks to our little munchkins bounding about. In addition to digging into their baskets and getting all gussied up in matching clothes, I was even able to catch a few pictures of them before heading off to church. The following photos just prove how impossible it is to get three kids smiling and looking at a camera at the exact same time.
The baskets included a chocolate bunny (hollow...of course). G.G. Gigglesworth (as he is named), quickly lost his ears that Easter day. Little did he know, he would soon lose his ability to see as well...which is best, because he wouldn't have wanted to see himself get eaten to smithereens anyway.
Lauren was thrilled to change into the dress below and wore it with pride for most of the day. This was her Aunt Lisa's dress back in "the day". I antiqued the photo a little bit just for fun.
We returned home later that evening and on a day filled with yummies and bunnies, we nearly melted when we found the picture below lying next to Lauren's bed as she slept. At the top, she spelled "Imagination Easter" and drew the baskets and eggs and bunnies. And below the line dividing the page, she wrote "Real Easter" and you can see what she's illustrated there. wow...

a little man in the house...

We have 6,000 plastic toys. They litter the house and clash a bit with my attempt at interior decorating. The kids like some of the toys more than others. But, without a doubt, when their little cousin, Brandt, comes in the door...they'll drop everything and focus on him.

They all play a little differently with him. Sarah started out reading him a book that she has memorized. He had fun just watching her.
Then she moved on to "showing" him how to draw with a water pen so that "he can learn".
She willingly let him try once by my count and then he just took the pen back by force (thankfully, she allowed it).
Lauren gladly read him any and every book. He was just up from a nap, so he sat and listened to every one.
Julia was a little shy at first, but then they shared some common interests (having a snack and drinkypoo) Then, she was comfortable enough to snatch his sippy cup and give hers in return. When he made an attempt at getting his back, she was not as gracious as Sarah and simply took hers too.
She later said "C'mon Bant!" and gave Brandt a lesson in climbing stairs...something he was not doing until then. My apologies to his mom and dad!!!