Random Saturday Evening Thoughts

1.  I'm so thankful for the times when God wakes me up early in the morning--not with an alarm clock or crying baby--but slowly, gently wakes me out of a satisfying sleep so that I can spend some time with Him before the day begins.  Like a lover might wake his beloved because he can no longer stand to only look at her.  What a sweet reminder of His love this morning.

2.  I feel healthier just walking into a place like Sprouts.  I might start shopping there regularly for this reason alone.

3.  I don't know that I would ever want to live in France, but I sure do enjoy reading about the French!  (Currently enjoying "Bringing Up Bébé")

4.  Lately Finn lies awake in his bed for an hour or more before going to sleep at night.  I'm thinking he doesn't need as much sleep as before and could probably stay up later.  He doesn't seem to mind hanging out in his bed, though, so I think we'll keep the early bedtime for now.  It's best to keep a good thing going as long as possible, right?

5.  I'm so, so glad that men don't wear those powdered wigs like in colonial days anymore!  What in the world were they thinking???  I mean seriously, who came up with that horrid idea? (Watching HBO's John Adam's series)

6. I continue to be amazed at the incredible significance of the parallel God created between His relationship with us and the marriage relationship of a husband and wife.  What a weighty thing it is to accept the responsibility of portraying God's relationship to His chosen bride.  Sin and betrayal exist frequently in both relationships.  Just as God loves and forgives us unconditionally despite the way we frequently break our marriage vows to Him, we are called to love and forgive our spouse over and over again.  Not because he/she deserves it, but because God does this for them--and for us.

7.  Sometimes I think I would like to be a one year old again.  There are so many moments in Finn's day that might as well be the happiest moment of his life.  He smiles in delight at so many trivial and simple things all day long.  But then, a moment later I'm reminded that there are also many moments in his day that might as well be the worst moment of his life.  A mere diaper change can completely crush his spirit and you'd think the world was melting before his eyes.  It's so emotional to be a 1-year-old.

8.  I wonder if we will one day look back on our earthly lives as never ending fluctuations of emotion over relatively inconsequential things - the way I now view the life of my 1-year-old.
 
- Laura Dougherty

Comprehension!

In the past couple of months Finn has started responding to so much of the things we say.  It's so fun to see evidence of comprehension!

When we say...
outside - he runs for the door
Go for a walk - the door
inside - he heads for the porch
lunch time - he goes to the kitchen or his high chair
bath time - he goes and bangs on the gate at the stairs so that we can take him up to his bath.
shoes - he looks down at his feet
nap time - he heads for the gate
music - he goes over to and stares longlingly at the CD player


Whenever he gets his hands on a remote control, he holds it high over his head and looks at the TV.  Sometimes he even points it at the TV.

Whenever he rubs his eyes in the morning he instantly starts saying "Bebe" (his new word for his wubanub) and heads for the gate, because he's apparently learned that eye rubbing is one of my ques for sending him to bed (where his wubanub resides).

When I go to get him up from a nap, he always has the wubanub in his grip, so I say, "You have to put down the wubanub if you want to get up."  To this he responds immediately by either placing the wubanub down in his bed, or by pretending to do so (but then keeping it).

Usually when we're going to go for a walk outside as a family (which we do at some point most days) Finn is the first one to the door.  Sometimes one of us is a little slow in getting there.  When this happens, Finn tries to speed things along for the slow family member by finding their shoes by the door and carrying them part way to the person (though not all the way, because he can't stand to get too far from the door).

Finn's slowly starting to understand that we pray before we eat, and that no amount of protest will cause us to do otherwise.  This is a work in progress.  

Finn's also learning to dance!  Often when we have music playing, he will bust out a few moves with a huge smile on his face while watching us expectantly (his joy for dancing can be contagious).  

Other words Finn understands: ball, snack, bottle, O's, water, books, diaper, no no, Curious George, socks, Daddy, Mama, all done, banana.


Below are some pictures of our recent family trip to railroad park.

(Above) Finn grabbed these guys' basketball and tried to walk off with it.

Finn would have gone up and down this staircase 20 times if he could have.

 Finn met a very nice dog named Finley

Right before he walked into the purple bar getting knocked in the face.