My New Favorite Photos

Have you ever taken a photo and immediately know that you will treasure it forever? I found Mom and Maggie like this tonight, reading together by lamplight:

The Minnie Mouse Birthday Brunch

The Minnie Mouse Birthday Brunch was a smashing success. What a great time! We had perfect weather, good friends, a house full of laughing children, and yummy Minnie Mouse pancakes to decorate!

The birthday girl gets ready to party!

Aunt Brandy and Susan help set up. We loved our balloons from The Balloon Closet!

Welcome, friends!

Max is proud of how he decorated his pancake!

Proud mommy with the birthday girl.

Opening special gifts.

"Thank you, Grandmama."

Checking out the new toys.

Snuggles with Grandmama and Grandpapa.

Thanks to everyone who helped make Maggie's party so special!

Maggie's Birthday

We've been busy with lots of little girl birthday celebrating around here! Here's how we spent our Friday, Maggie's actual birthday:

Maggie started the day by getting a special gift from her daddy: A little Mermaid doll that she absolutely loved!

Then she went to the park with her brother.

We took time to stop and smell the flowers. :-)

A little stop at Jolly Roger's Sweet Shoppe, where Maggie got to choose any candy she wanted.

Not surprisingly, she chose chocolate kisses, or "Chocs" as she calls them.

We went to see Grandmama.....

..... who let Maggie borrow a very girly pink feather boa for her birthday.

It's fun to be a girl!

She got to go play with her cousin Susan while I worked on getting ready for Saturday's party.

And we ended the day at Maggie's favorite place to eat: Chick-Fil-A.... or as Maggie calls it: "Chick-il- YAY!!!"

Happy Birthday, Maggie Mae!

Happy 2nd Birthday, baby girl! We love you so much!

Introducing: Conversations between Max and Maggie!

Well, friends, we have entered a new phase in our family's life. Max and Maggie now regularly carry on extensive conversations just between the two of them. It's fascinating (at least for their mom!). Here's the first real conversation I witnessed between them. I was driving and the two of them were riding in the back in their car seats.

Max: Hey, Maggie, say "fireman."

Maggie: (whispering) Fah-man.

Max: No, Maggie. Say it louder so I can hear.

Maggie: Louder, I hear.

Max: NO! Say, "FIREMAN!"

Maggie: (whispering) Fah-man.

Max: NO, MAGGIE! SAY IT LOUDER SO I CAN HEAR!

Maggie: Louder, I hear.

Max: [Loud Sigh].

A Strange Thing Happened Today

This is it:

In almost four years of parenting, I don't think I've ever seen one of my children lay down in the middle of the floor and fall fast asleep. It was only about 15 minutes before naptime, so I just moved her to her bed, where she slept soundly for the next 2+ hours.

She woke up with a fever.

Aha. Mystery solved. So we had to cancel some fun plans for tonight so that we won't expose anyone else to whatever Maggie has. Hopefully it's just a little 24 hour bug that will pass quickly. At least she's getting this over with before her birthday this week!

In the meantime, while Maggie is getting over her little fever, the Roebucks are holing up for the night with the doors and windows open on this gorgeous August evening. We're renting 'Enchanted' for a family movie night and crossing our fingers that no one else will get sick. :-)

We're Baaaa-aaaack!

Okay, folks. The Roebuck family is back online. Since it's a futile endeavor to get the blog caught up on the last month of life, I will instead give you a quick and totally incomprehensive pictorial overview of the last month of our lives:

1. We packed a. whole. lot. of boxes.

2. We watched movers pack our entire life into a semi. Then we said many, many sad goodbyes to our dear friends in Idaho.

3. We moved into our fab new loft in downtown Siloam Springs, which we love, despite the fact....

4. ..... that this is the color of the living room walls.

5. We got settled in. And Max and Maggie find out how great it is to have late night parties every night, now that they share a room.

6. We enjoyed some great Roebuck/Huckaby mania when Erick, Brandy, Susan and Jackson moved to Siloam the same week we did (Erick is now a professor at JBU), and Jacob and Laura got to come for a visit for the weekend!

7. We squeezed in some mega quality time with good friends.

8. And somewhere in the midst of all this, Lucas started his new job as Director of University of Communications at John Brown University! It's been a C-R-A-Z-Y few weeks, but we are thrilled to be back in Siloam Springs and calling it home once again!

Maximus' First Imaginary Friend

We have a new member of the family: Max's imaginary friend "Beedy." Beedy made his grand entrance on Friday when we were on the way to a friend's house for lunch. Max was a little distressed to learn that, no, we would absolutely not be asking our gracious hosts to set another place at the table for Beedy.

Since Beedy's arrival, I have learned that Beedy is a way for Max to express his view of an ideal world. For example, here are some of the things Max has told me about Beedy in the last three days:

• Beedy goes to the doctor, and she is a nice doctor. But there are no shots or medicines.

• Beedy lives next door to Addison and Preston. He gets to see them every day. Oh yeah, and "actually, Uncle Jacob lives next to him, too."

• Beedy goes to the park, and there is a swimming pool right by the park. After he swims, he gets cookies and Kool-Aid for a snack.

I'm wondering how long Beedy will stick around. He's a pretty interesting figment of Max's imagination.... and offers quite an insightful look at what's going on in my child's mind.

Moving to Arkansas!

Big news for the Roebuck family: We are moving from Idaho to Arkansas. In two weeks. :-)

This week, Lucas accepted a job as Director of University Communications for John Brown University. He is really excited about this new challenge, and we are both thrilled to be moving back to the town we consider home: Siloam Springs, Arkansas.... where we met and fell in love, and where we both have family close by.

The next couple weeks will be a whirlwind, so don't worry about us if the blog gets a little "stale" between now and August 1st. We'll be sure to update as often as we get the chance.

Catching Up

Wow..... looks like I need to up my blogging game. I haven't posted in forever!

Life has been a little crazy around here this week.... crazy in a good way. We're having a great summer in Arkansas and enjoying lots of really special time with my mom and dad. We are so thankful to be here.

Check out what we did tonight:

Moooo-oooooo! We dressed up like cows to get free dinner at Chick-Fil-A. It was so fun! We met our friends the Fields there for dinner and had a splendid time. Maggie followed the poor Chick-Fil-A employee dressed in a full cow suit around the restaurant for an hour. Literally. She was OBSESSED with the cow.

The best moment of the night was when Dave and Jen's 4-year-old daughter crawled up on the cow's lap and starting asking him for what she wanted for Christmas. I about died. It was so sweet and funny.

I don't know why, but this picture of Max just cracks me up. I love that boy.

After dinner, we met up with mom and dad at KMart. Grandpapa treated the kids to the kiddie ride out front of the store. Maggie was grinning and giggling the whole time. It was sweet!

Conversations with Maximus

[Our awesome friends Mollie and Gene sent the kids a gift from InsectLore: a set of live catepillars which spun cacoons and then emerged as beautiful butterflies, all right in front of our eyes. The kids LOVED it.)

Lucas: Max, pretty soon we're going to release the butterflies and let them go outside.

Max: (crying) No!! I want to keep them! Don't let them go!

Lucas: If we leave them in the cage, they will die. They need to be free.

Max: (still crying). Okay. We will let them go so they can live. [Pause.] But maybe if we leave them in their house, they will die, but then they will wake up later.

Lucas: No, when things die, they don't wake up. It's like Simon [grandpapa and grandmama's dog]. He died, and he didn't ever come back.

Max: Daddy, are you going to die?

Lucas: Yes, someday I will die. But it won't be for a long time. You will probably grow up and be a man and have kids before I die.

Max: When you die, will you go to heaven?

Lucas: Yes, because of Jesus, I will.

Conversations with Maximus

[This little interchange happened as we were driving along one day. Max calls out in a panicked voice from his car seat:]

Maximus: Mom! I need to talk to God!

Me: Okay, what do you need to talk to God about?

Maximus: I need to ask God if, when I grow up to be a daddy, if I can have work.

And then he bowed his little head and prayed that God would give him work. Poor little guy. Even he is feeling the stress from the economy. :-)

Happiness is a visit from a friend

What a glorious treat! Casey, Abbe and Asher are in Arkansas this weekend speaking in their former church about Lahash International. We've had SUCH a good time visiting with them! We spent yesterday morning at the pool and then enjoyed lunch with them. We're looking forward to seeing them a bit more before they head to Texas to see family and then back home to Portland.

I really wish I lived closer to this dear friend.... but I'll certainly take what I can get! This unexpected visit has been good for my soul. Love you, Abbe!

We LOVE being close to these friends for the summer!

I'm WAY behind on posting this, but last Saturday we had a FANTASTIC day with Brian and Anna and crew. Boy, do we love living close to these dear friends for the summer!

We started the day at the botanical gardens, moved on to a fun lunch and park-play at Chick-Fil-A, scooted on over to Old Navy to try to find some $2 tank tops, then ended up at Best Buy where Lucas offered his professional Apple computers personal consulting service- his idea of a perfect ending to a fun day with friends.

We had a great time, and our kids were nice and worn out by the end of the day. :-) Thanks, Brian, Anna, Sam, Kate, and Kai!

My husband's interview with Jim Bob Dugger

There's been a lot of buzz this week about Jon and Kate and other reality TV families. People are reading about it in tabloids, newspapers and blogs and talking about it around their kitchen tables.

Lucas had a great opportunity to speak with Jim Bob Dugger (of TLC's 18 Kids and Counting) yesterday and write a column for the NWA Times. You can read the column here.

Lucas and I really appreciate the Duggers and their genuine faith lived out in front of a watching world. One of the things I really respect about them is that they have very strong convictions that are certainly counter-culture in our world today, but they live out these convictions in a way that is gracious and nonjudgemental. That's something that we just don't see often enough in our world.

I hope you'll take a few minutes to read Lucas' column. I thought he and Jim Bob both did a great job of reminding and encouraging us all about the value of working hard to keep our marriages strong.

The Modern Marriage: Death By Romantic Comedy

Why should we be surprised that more marriages fail than succeed, when the most pervasive and persuasive textbook for love and romance in our culture is the mainstream film genre of romantic comedies? The lies are staggering.

I just watched a mainstream romantic comedy that left me feeling physically ill. The underlying lies of the film pile up with every new character the audience meets: Marriage is a wretched endeavor that will certainly squelch any ounce of fun and romance out of your life. The only reason a man ever marries a woman is because she manipulates him or forces him to do so. Marriage is hard, so it must not be the best way. The way to true love and happiness is to cast tradition aside, follow your heart and do what feels right.

Is marriage hard? You bet. The hardest thing I’ve ever done. The only thing I’ve ever done that is worth failing at on a daily basis, and worth getting up the next day and trying again. Marriage is teaching me what it means to truly love and be loved; what it means to give grace and desperately need grace.

I am married to a real man, a man’s man, who pursued me with a vigor that I still don’t understand, who could hardly wait 11 weeks to marry me, who committed to love me until his dying breath, who loves me too much to sit passively beside and let me become the worst version of myself, who is strong enough to lead with patience and humility, and who reminds me every day that his decision to love me cannot be undone.

Six years ago this week, Lucas set his love on me. For life. And nothing could be more romantic than that.

I’m sick of Hollywood telling me that true love is a fluttery feeling and marriage is worthless. Tonight, I’m going to kiss my husband like I mean it, and thank him for being my own personal textbook on true love in real life.

Love is patient, love is kind.

It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.

It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.

Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.

It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

Love never fails.

We love music!

Here's a quick update after our first full week in Arkansas: We are having such a special time! The home that has been loaned to us for the summer is probably the most generous gift anyone has ever given us. It has made our time here relaxed and double-special because we can spend great time with my parents during the day and then get the kids home to their own space for a good night's sleep. It's been SO good for everyone!

Today, we had a really special opportunity to take Maggie and Max to a Musikgarten preschool music camp taught by my mom's dear friend Jill. Jill was so gracious and welcoming to us! And the class was awesome!

Bean Bags

Dancing with scarves. I love my mom's face in the background!

The scarves were a big hit!

Maggie could not have been more into the class. After EVERY song and activity, she would yell, "MORE, MORE!!"

Jill giving Max a little hug. As we were leaving the class, Max asked, "Do you think we could go to that music class three more times? Just three more?"

Thanks, Jill, for the special day at Musikgarten today!Kenneth@flores-associates.com