An Excursus

excursus : noun : an appendix or digression that contains further exposition of some point or topic

Here is how I see (and as you can tell, take so seriously) where we shop for groceries. As a mother and homemaker, my primary ministry is to my husband and family. Bill works hard to provide for us and, for a large portion anyway, I spend the money. I decide what to feed my family and how to serve them. I decide what's important enough to spend our money on. So the actual cost of food is important. But the other side is missional ministry. Being a stay-at-home-mom, my missional ministry is limited by nap time and the demands of three kids. My outside contacts are generally the people we meet each week as we go about our routine. The lady at the library storytime. The seniors at the retirement center that oooh and aaah at the kids as we visit. And our grocery store friends.

When I see our grocery store friends and they ask how things are going, I try to give a better answer than "fine." I try to give a real answer, whether things are going good or bad. I hope to build a relationship and minister to people in whatever way they need. And in turn it's been a blessing and they have ministered to me. It might seem silly. But if we are all in full-time ministry, regardless of what we get paid to do, this is how I want to approach my weekly routine. This is partly why I don't want to just grocery shop wherever has the best coupon deal that week, but stick with what I know. For the cash and for the relationship that God has put in front of me.

Being "on mission" extends farther than what bible study I'm in, it should be something ongoing all the time. It wouldn't be bad if I shopped at Albertsons, because after a while I'd probably have some grocery store friends there, just like at Cost Cutter.

Just some thoughts. Although take it with a grain of salt as it is nearly 1am. The point though is we're always to be in ministry, wherever God has placed us. For me that ministry includes the people I meet while choosing what cereal to buy for the week. :)

Disclaimer: Here is a glimpse into the mind and heart of a homemaker. I write this partly for fun (see my past entries to Cost Cutter here and here), but also because it's been on my mind seriously as I learn new ways to steward my husband's paycheck into our budget, over which I have a great deal of control and responsibility to spend wisely.

Dear Cost Cutter,
It's been a while since my last letter so I need to write. I have been a Cost Cutter shopper for going on 7 years, with a few breaks in between, but loyally for about 5 years. I can't believe it. It's a real relationship now. Pastor Mark Driscoll cited that in a marriage the hardest years are the first 9-15, and I'm feeling it again in my relationship with you, dear Cost Cutter.

You have a special employee, Jane, my "grocery store friend." She is so sweet and kind to me and my kids. I feel an inexpressible joy when I walk in your store around 1pm on Wednesdays every week. Some weeks I don't see Jane, but I do see my other grocery store friends Barb, Lisa, and Cindy. In my head I hear "Where everybody knows your name..." Jane and I have exchanged gifts for holidays and the birth of my son Wesley. My daughters are so excited to see their grocery store friends each week too.

But, I'm torn. I am being lured by the thought of spending less, by cutting coupons. You are not a major chain, not one of the stores listed on the coupon blogs with amazing deal matchups. You have great prices and I only have to go to one store. But I'm torn. I want to jump into the world of couponing. All my friends are doing it. But if I shop at another store I feel guilty. I feel like someone will see me "cheating" on you. I'm not even kidding. I feel like I've invested 7 years into knowing your store, knowing your employees, feeling comfortable with the whole grocery experience...too much has been invested to throw it away on a trip to Albertsons or Safeway. And by the way, they ARE more expensive than you and you carry the same items. But you don't have all the glitter and shine.

I admit I cheated a few weeks ago. Thursday evening I gathered my coupons and headed to Albertsons to score an awesome deal on some cereal and other sundry items. But it was so frustrating. Wesley was very tired and cranky and hard to manage while shuffling coupons in an unfamiliar store where I didn't know anyone and felt anonymous. Like someone in the movie WALL-E shopping at a "Buy'n'Large." I probably saved some with the coupons I had, but on a good week at your store, with in-ad coupons and some manufacturer coupons, I probably would have saved more. But...everyone else was doing it. All I read on the coupon blogs was how great of a deal it was this week at Albertsons. But it left a sour taste in my mouth.

I really want to figure out how to make it work. I want to learn how to combine my manufacturer coupons with the in-ad coupons at your store. You already have good prices, it's been proven in the 5 years I've shopped with you. We eat well, healthy, and it doesn't blow the budget. The system I've been using has worked well. I want it to work better.

With love,
Addie

First trip

Wesley, the girls and I made the trek to Astoria today. This is Wesley's first trip anywhere remarkable. He did a great job on the ride and it was surprisingly calm for a 4-hour drive with three kids and just me. I hope to have some fun pictures to post about our time here.

Tomorrow we are hoping to "play clams" at the beach and have a tea party with Grama. On Monday Great Grandma Evelyn will be visiting too.

Month 1

Wesley's been an official part of our family for over a month now and it seems like he's always been here. The girls adore him and it's so encouraging. They are fairly helpful with getting me things, putting his binky in when he cries, and being very gentle when touching him. He is sleeping well and I'm feeling pretty much back to normal. I'm learning to see the little blessings throughout the day and God is teaching me how to truly enjoy serving my family. At Wesley's 1 month appointment he weighed 9lbs,7ozs and in about the 30% compared to other babies. Here are a few pictures from our time with Wesley in our family so far.

This was over at MommyLife.net today and it is particularly relevant to me in this season so I wanted to post it here too.

Martin Luther on Motherhood

Our natural reason looks at marriage and turns up its nose and says, "Alas! Must I rock the baby? Wash its diapers? Make its bed? Smell its stench? Stay at nights with it? Take care of it when it cries? Heal its rashes and sores? And on top of that care for my spouse, provide labor at my trade, take care of this and take care of that? Do this and do that? And endure this and endure that? Why should I make such a prisoner of myself?"

What then does Christian faith say to this? It opens its eyes, looks upon all these insignificant, distasteful and despised duties in the spirit, and is aware that they are all adorned with divine approval as with the costliest gold and jewels.

It says, "O God, I confess I am not worthy to rock that little babe or wash its diapers, or to be entrusted with the care of a child and its mother. How is it that I without any merit have come to this distinction of being certain that I am serving thy creature and thy most precious will? Oh, how gladly will I do so. Though the duty should be even more insignificant and despised, neither frost nor heat, neither drudgery nor labor will distress me for I am certain that it is thus pleasing in thy sight."

Happy Birthday Caley!

This post is two weeks late, but we want to wish our big Caley HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

Caley we are thankful for you and look forward to how you will grow and learn in the future. You are a smart girl with a strong personality, but you can be reserved at times. You are thoughtful and silly, you love your daddy and sister and brother. You are gentle but passionate. You love your blankets and stuffed animals. You love foot jammies and wearing dresses.

You are learning to love Jesus, and I pray that you would grow to be more like Him.

The last five years have been fun and difficult, at times, but we could not imagine our lives without you.

We love you silly girl!

The long version

It seemed like all last week (actually now more like 2 weeks ago) was spent driving back and forth from Evergreen. Monday night I woke up with regular contractions that were mildly to very painful and were about 2-3 minutes apart. I woke up Bill at 3:30am and told him it was time so we drove to Evergreen. They admitted us to triage, checked me and I was 3cm, which I couldn't believe since at my OB appointment the Thursday prior, I was supposedly 3cm and I'd been having contractions semi-regularly for 4 days. The nurse made me walk the halls for an hour and checked me again, and I hadn't made any progress, so we had to go home. Tuesday, let's just say I wasn't in the best mood.

Wednesday I had another OB appointment, so before leaving I squeezed in a brisk walk with the girls and got some good contractions going. At the appointment Dr Tsuang said she could stretch me to 4cm and I thought, it's going to happen soon!! Wednesday afternoon I took another walk and really pushed myself. Wednesday night around 7 I started having contractions that were pretty close together, and although they started out not too painful, quickly became the type I couldn't talk or walk through. I began timing them and they were 5 minutes or less apart. I wanted to make sure it was the real thing because I didn't want to get sent home again, so I timed them for at least an hour and then told Bill we should probably go into the hospital. We left for the hospital around 9:30. I could tell this was more the real thing than on Monday night, the contractions were definitely hard to ignore and I had a lot of back pain.

We got to Evergreen and checked into to triage. Got all settled in and she checked my cervix and said I was only 3cm! I was really mad, frustrated and disappointed. I knew what would happen next, and it just made me cry. So I walked the halls for an hour. The contractions were frequent, and getting to be very painful, lots and lots of back labor. As I was walking I saw a nurse I recognized, Becca, who was in Campus Crusade at UW when I was there. She gave me a hug and assured me it's less about the centimeters and more about there being change. I went back to triage and got checked again around midnight--no change. It was so frustrating. It felt like he just didn't ever want to come out but he was giving me so much pain in my back I couldn't believe the nurse. I don't think I was very friendly to the nurses. Especially with my OB telling me I was "ready" and nearly 4cm it made me question who was right and who was lying to me.

The nurse, Joni, was actually really nice and patient with my tired, frustrated, hormonal self and explained that I was having so much pain because he was probably turned posterior. We had Joni as our nurse when I labored with Amelia, although she wasn't there for the delivery. She sent us home with Vistaril, a drug that is basically Benadryl and would make me sleep but not knock out my contractions. She suggested I sleep in a way that would help him turn. She also suggested I call my OB in the morning if I'm still having contractions and maybe she could order an induction or break my water. I asked, angrily, "Why can't you do that now?!" and she replied because they don't induce in the middle of the night and my doctor isn't on call, it was someone else. So we went back home. I was really tired and frustrated, but able to sleep about 6 hours.

In the morning I still had contractions, although they weren't as painful in my back, but still close together. I was also not in a good mood, all I felt I could do was cry and feel sorry for myself. I checked my email and my friend Karina sent me some scripture, which also made me cry because it reminded me how much my friends love me and, moreover, how much God loves me. I also checked Facebook, which I wish I hadn't done actually, and saw that my friend Ande had had her baby boy Magnus around 3am. I was so happy for her, but at that moment it just felt like salt in the wound. Where's my baby? Why doesn't he want to come out? Why? So many emotions and thoughts, most probably not rational.

I called my OB and didn't hear back for an hour, so being the persistent pregnant one, called again and got right through. The nurse said we should come in. So I, again, told Bill that we needed to go back to Evergreen (3rd time!). He was actually getting ready to go to work, but probably the look of desperation on my face convinced him to instead drive me back to the hospital. The kids stayed home with Adam (thank you!). When we got to Dr Tsuang's office, she checked me again and said I am progressing, just slowly, and she could tell I was done with the contractions, they were kicking my butt. She also said when women come into triage the 3rd time, it's like, "Okay let's get things going." She told me she'd make some calls and I would get admitted to triage and get an IV for the antibiotic to protect the baby from Group B Strep (I have the joy of being a carrier, with all three pregnancies) then she'd come break my water. With my other labors, once the water broke it went pretty fast, so she felt confident from there it would be a quick show.

We went to the maternity center and checked into triage and got the IV. The whole time I was so scared they would say again, "You're not progressing, go home." Even after the IV was in and Dr Tsuang told me she'd come back in an hour and get things going, I felt the fear that I'd have to go home. Which is really illogical, why would they send me home after pumping me full of antibiotic? So I got the meds and waited and walked for 4 hours in the maternity ward. Bill waited in the waiting area and made lots of calls. When I was walking I'd have contractions, but when I was sitting or laying on the monitors, they'd seemingly disappear. The nurse, Lisa, who was really a sweet lady, even said to me, "Your contractions go away when you're sitting, you're not in active labor." Not something a girl wants to hear. I felt like saying to her, "I don't care if that's true, I'm not leaving here without my baby in my arms, not in my belly." It was a long, long day.

Around 4 my antibiotic was done and Dr Tsuang came to check up. She told me she'd be back at 430-5 to break my water. Around 415 we got moved into a room (actually got admitted!!) and settled in. Once in the room, I felt I could finally relax. "They won't send me home now" is how I felt.

Dr Tsuang broke my water at 5pm, which was such a weird feeling. It was like an internal exam and then a gush and continual leak of warm fluid. I thought, "I can't believe my baby is going to be here." She said she tried to make a big break that wouldn't close up and stall my labor. I walked through the halls one last round, this time with an IV and monitor cables, and the contractions got stronger and harder. Going back in the room I sat on the birthing ball to encourage his head to descend, the contractions were very painful during, but it was nice to rest between them. I tried sitting in the tub, which was not helpful at all because it leaked and the noise was just too annoying. Plus seriously, a laboring pregnant woman in a little tub that seems to have been designed by a skinny old man? No thanks. When I was in the tub though the contractions got a lot more painful and when I got back out things started to kick into a higher gear.

I think after that I laid in the bed on my side. Bill put on some Mars Hill worship music, I think Northern Conspiracy and E-Pop. This is where things got really painful. I was monitored occasionally and the nurse, still Lisa, checked me and I was about 6-7cm. It was hard to get comfortable, I think I changed positions a few times and got out of bed to labor standing up and taking advantage of gravity. Lisa suggested laboring in the bed with the head of the bed raised and me leaning over the back. At this point the contractions felt back to back and I was starting to feel the urge to push. I think it was about 715pm. It felt like there was a lot going on in the room but I was facing the wall. I think they brought in the delivery equipment and Dr Tsuang was on her way. Suddenly on my right a lady put her arm around me and asked, "Can I be your labor nurse?" and it was Becca, my friend from UW. I think I started crying and said, "I'm so glad I know you!" Dr Tsuang arrived and checked me, I was nearly 10cm and "a lip" which means it's almost time to push. During each contraction, which felt like all the time, I almost cried in pain, but also cried because of the whole experience. My son is being born! I was hearing the music in the background and it just reminded me how wonderful and amazing God is! I can't believe this is my life! This is so much more than I deserve--a husband who loves me and my first son will be here any moment!

I think around 730-35 I started to push. That was "fun." I'm one of those crazies who opts out of pain meds. But the pain during pushing is actually productive and I didn't mind it, I guess. I pushed and his head came out and his cord was wrapped around his neck twice. I pushed again and Dr Tsuang pulled him while the nurse pushed on my belly to help him come out. It felt all bumpy because of his shoulders and limbs. He was born at 7:49pm. Bill cut his cord and they wiped him all down and put him on my chest. Looking at this little baby, it was so surreal. He looked perfect, although a little strange because his face was blue but his body was pink. He'd had a lot of bruising on his face. He looked so much like the girls when they were firstborn, but definitely with a "boy" look. Bill kissed me and I just had to cry because I still couldn't believe this was happening.

My labor with Wesley was very different than I expected. It was a long, drawn-out process. It made me think about running. Wesley's labor was like the half marathon I ran in March. It took a long time to train and a long time to run the race. I had to have endurance. I had to keep my eye on the finish line, not just quit because I was tired. In the last mile of the half marathon on Mercer Island there was a huge hill that nearly killed me. That was like the time after my water broke, it was the most painful but also the most productive and satisfying because I knew it would all be over soon. The 12 miles before the huge hill were just long, long miles like the week before he was born was just long, long, waiting and hoping things would pick up soon.

As I write this Wesley is laying on my lap all swaddled up and sleeping. He has changed so much in the last 11 days and much of his bruising is gone, but he has a good shiner on his left eye. His hair is in a perpetual mohawk. He really only cries if he has gas or is getting his diaper changed. He's a champ nurser although we have had to overcome mastitis. Thank goodness for antibiotics. He's an excellent sleeper for being 11 days old, sleeping about 3-4 hours at night and off and on during the day. His eyes are beautiful and I love when he opens them.

God has been so gracious with us in giving us Wesley. I can't wait to see what kind of man he grows up to be.

A week ago...

I'll post the long version soon, but here's the short:

Wesley Robert Gerlach is here! He was born Thursday, January 28, 2010 at 7:49pm. He arrived quickly, my active labor was about three hours! Subsequently he had a lot of bruising on his face and arms. He weighed 8 pounds and was 20 inches. Bigger than the girls, which was very unexpected!

So far he's fitting in quite nicely to our family and the girls love him to pieces. He sleeps a lot, which is such a genius design by our creator. (Not like I'd expect anything less!)

More to come!

Holding Pattern

Honestly I expected baby Stagcock to have arrived by now. At my last appointment on Thursday my doctor said I was nearly 3cm dilated and it looked like my body was ready, we are just waiting on the baby. All weekend I had a lot of back pain and cramps, and contractions here and there, several that took my breath away. I went for a walk Friday, Saturday, Sunday and today we played at a park and the beach for almost two hours. I'm a little afraid to think about what the active labor will be like because if I was at 3cm four days ago, and my body's already done this twice, labor might be hard and fast. It's ironic that labors generally get faster with each birth because finding a place to put the other kids seems like it'd work better if labor was longer each time. I'm very grateful that we have supports in place such as Bill's brother Adam and our neighbor Cristi, in the likely event that the show starts at an inopportune time such as Bill being at work and the labor being strong and fast from the get-go.

But even though I've had more days than I anticipated, God is showing me the blessings. It's nice to have a crazy-clean house because I have nervous energy. It's nice to sleep through the night. It's nice having less laundry than if we had 5 in our family. It's nice to spend time snuggling the girls. It's nice to have time to read with them without juggling a newborn quite yet. It's nice having fewer commitments outside of the home. It's nice having a freezer full of meals I made a month ago.

Although a few days ago if someone said to me, "Could be another 2 weeks," I'd punch them. By "someone" I mean Bill, he actually did this and I actually reacted that way too. It made me cry and then feel stupid for being so worked up about something I know will eventually happen. The baby really CAN'T stay in there forever. Eventually he will come out and we will start this new season. It's happened twice before for us, I'm sure three times a charm.

Hopefully the next post will be an update from the hospital. Or not. But eventually yes.

Pregnancy Photos!

My dear and talented friend Angie at One Thousand Words Photography offered to take some belly photos of all the pregnant ladies in my bible study and last week was my turn! Thank you Angie I love the photos! Here are a few of my favorites.

Community Group Love

I'm so excited about where God has placed me at this point in my life. I am blessed to lead women in a bible study and they've become many of my best friends. I took the reigns of this study back in May and about a week after, we found out I was pregnant. In the following weeks, nearly every lady in our group announced their pregnancies as well (and one gal, Bethy was already a few months along). Here are the pregnants of the group, thanks for letting me steal your picture Ande! :)L to R: Bethy with Ethan born in October, Lauren due Jan 29 (baby born today!), Ande due February 1, me due February 7th, Karina due February 12th, Christie due April 14th, and Patricia due in April as well.

Now that Lauren had her baby today, it made me get especially excited about all the other babies arriving soon! Thank you Jesus for community!

10 years ago

Ten years ago it was the Y2K "scare" and ringing in the new year was a little scary but whatever. I remember the night well; my parents had a party and I spent most of the evening with my bestest friend Jennie. It was also her 18th birthday (yes she is a tax baby). We were pretty good kids, never did anything bad or got in trouble, at least that anyone knew about. Once though we had a bit of rum in our cherry Coke before going to our college English class. I'd bought a little bottle on a cruise in Mexico where the drinking age was 18. Woohoo! Anyway on New Years Eve 1999 we decided to try one of my dad's cigars, since we were both of age to smoke. I was very uncool about it, and took a drag (or whatever it's called) and tried to blow the smoke out of my mouth whilst still holding the cigar in my lips. The cigar fell out and burned me on the hand. Very uncool!

That story isn't the point of this post...

My point is 10 years ago I was 18, a senior in high school, planning on attending the UW in the fall, and really had no responsibility whatsoever. The idea of not being 18 and instead being 28 with a husband and 3 kids (almost) seemed so far in the future it wouldn't even be worth considering. But that's my life now. A lot of responsibility, lots to do, lots to consider. And I love it. God is good and I'm learning more through my daily tasks than I even could imagine as an 18 year old.

I imagined 10 years ago if I did have any kids by now I'd also be working full or part time and would be busy busy outside the home, with kids in classes and camps, etc. But now I look at our calendar and it kind of looks like we don't do much...at least compared to the idea I had in my head of what busy is. We aren't always going places, but we are very busy inside our home.

I'm not really sure that was the point of this post either...I think I'm just rambling. So nevermind, but Happy New Year!

:)

We wish you a merry bleemp blomp

Merry Christmas from our family to yours! We are thankful for God's grace and humility that He would come as a tiny little baby to save us from our sin.

Luke 2

The Birth of Jesus

" ¹In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. ²(This was the first census that took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria.)³And everyone went to his own town to register.

⁴So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. ⁵He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. ⁶While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, ⁷and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.

The Shepherds and the Angels

⁸And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night.⁹An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. ¹⁰But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. ¹¹Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ^{a]" style=" line-height: 0.5em; ">[a]} the Lord. ¹²This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger."

¹³Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,
¹⁴"Glory to God in the highest,
and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests."

¹⁵When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, "Let's go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about."

¹⁶So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger.¹⁷When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, ¹⁸and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. ¹⁹But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. ²⁰The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told."

We haven't joined the bandwagon with Christmas cards this year, but we did get a visit from Kermit and wanted to share the Christmas cheer.

Checking In

Hey Blah g people

It may look like we've fallen off the face of the planet; it's been too long since our last post. Rest assured we are alive and well! According to my pregnancy ticker, we have 50 days until Baby Boy, affectionately nicknamed "Stagcock," is set to arrive. I'm thinking it'll be more like 35-40 days, since I was two weeks early with Amelia. I can already tell my body is getting ready to expunge this one. We spent about 2 hours in the doctor's office yesterday running tests because I was having lots of contractions and back pain. Of course, they seemed to disappear when I was sitting in the comfy testing chair with the monitors around my belly. Haha Stagcock you silly! My OB also did a test to see if I would likely go into real labor in the next few days, and it was negative. I suspect the contractions were caused by stress and me freaking out over nothing. Whatever the reason, I'm glad he's not looking to emerge just yet.

Here are some photos of my 32-week belly! Enjoy!

Caley took this one.
Here's my view!
Yeah baby!

God has been working in our hearts and we have been busy listening to Him and how He is teaching us. We are mostly prepared for this new bundle, physically anyway. I'm having a harder time adjusting to the thought of having three kids, since I grew up imagining I'd only ever have two. Thankfully though, God is patient and loving and is teaching me things in His timing, not mine. I'm continually learning the meaning of Eve's curse in the garden, "To the woman he said, 'I will greatly increase your pains in childbearing; with pain you will give birth to children. Your desire will be for your husband, and he will rule over you,' " Genesis 3:16. Pain isn't always bad, it teaches us. I'm also learning that we are sanctified through childbearing and it keeps happening even after the baby is out and running around. These are all good things God is teaching me and I'm thankful to be in this situation where I can learn more about God and His love for me.

We can't wait to meet "Stagcock"!

Boys Who Can Shave

In a recent sermon by Mark Driscoll, he discusses adolescence and how it's not really a life stage as much as something our culture has created to defer responsibility. Adolescence is loosely defined as being the time between childhood and adulthood. The problem however, arises that it's debatable what makes one an adult, thus adolescence is lasting longer and longer. From the Wikipedia article on adolescence, "This transition involves biological, social, and psychological changes, though the biological or physiological ones are the easiest to measure objectively. Historically, puberty has been heavily associated with teenagers and the onset of adolescent development. In recent years, however, the start of puberty has had somewhat of an increase in preadolescence (particularly females), and adolescence has had an occasional extension beyond the teenage years (typically males). This has made adolescence less simple to discern." View this clip:

More thoughts to come...

20 weeks

25 weeks
28 weeks

We can't wait to meet this little guy!!

This week Bill and I were laying on the couch, sick and unable to do much. Caley came downstairs and started rubbing Daddy's feet and he asked, "Caley, why are you so nice?" To which she replied, "That's the way Jesus made me. Jesus died for sin so we can be with him."

Being sick all week was made worth it when we were able to see Jesus transforming her heart through loving others.

Thank you Jesus for this chance to spend time with Caley and Amelia, snuggling on the couch watching movies and reading books.

cowboy beans, cracklin wood, red hot coals, it's all good

Here's some pictures of the firepit progression!