Alexander's Birth

**Disclaimer: This post contains details about Alexander's birth. I'm posting both for my own journaling purposes and because I know a lot of you gals out there enjoy some of these not-too-graphic details.... but feel free to skip this post if you're not into birth stories!

Alexander's due date was August 1, but a couple weeks before his birth my doctor started talking about the possibility of a planned induction and gave us the option to move ahead with that once we got a little closer to his due date. Since the doctor said I was progressing and everything looked favorable for the induction, we decided to proceed with that plan. I'm so glad we did!

This was our best birth experience yet, and that combined with all of the help and rest Aunt Carol had given me in the week leading up to the birth made for a very smooth delivery day and adjustment to life back at home with three. What a gift from God to me during a tough milestone without my mom here- I've been so thankful.

On Wednesday, the day before Alexander's birth, Lucas' mom drove in from her new home in Missouri, less than two hours away from us. What a change in distance from her and Tony's previous home in Oregon! I am thankful to have them so much closer. She arrived in the afternoon just in time to watch the kids while I went to my final doctor's appointment. Aunt Carol came with me, and I was able to get some final questions answered before moving forward with the induction, which we had scheduled for early the next morning. My sis-in-law Meagan treated me to a manicure after the appointment- what a great gift; it was such a relaxing thing to do on the evening before Alexander's birth!

We had decided to deliver at the hospital in Siloam Springs, and we were supposed to check in at 5 a.m. for the induction. We left the kids in great hands with Gramma Cheryl, and amazingly enough for Lucas and I, who neither one do well with early mornings, we were walking out the door at 4:55 a.m., ready for the big day:

Leaving for the hospital: 4:55 a.m.

We arrived at the hospital right at 5:00 a.m., and Aunt Carol met us there. We sat down at the check-in desk, and I was feeling a little bit jittery and nervous and excited.... and mostly just ready to have this next part over with and have our son in my arms.

A very kind woman at the desk wanted to quickly verify the information we had on file with the hospital. Name, Address, phone number, Emergency contact... "Still Kerwin and Vicki Dees, grandparents?" Gulp. Lucas jumped in and corrected the information, and I took a deep breath as the L & D nurse came and got us and took us to our room.

When we got to our room and settled in about 5:30 a.m., Lucas decided to text my dad and let him know we were at the hospital and getting started. Less than two seconds later, my dad texted back: "I'll be right there." My sweet dad came at the crack of dawn and wanted to be up there all day, even though this is an extremely busy week for him at work.

Aunt Carol was by my side all day and went to work immediately, asking the nurses to find and send the nurse who was very best nurse at IV insertion, and holding on tight to me as the anesthesiologist got my epidural in after three very uncomfortable attempts. I was so relieved to have those two parts of the day over with!

After that, the morning went by pretty uneventfully. The doctor came in and checked me– I started out the morning at 2 cm dilated– and then he broke my water. I was having some regular contractions, but not enough to get things really moving, so they started me on pitocin. We kept the room pretty quiet and dark all morning, and I was able to relax and sleep a little, and Lucas and I also made a final decision about what our son's middle name would be. The nurse checked me again at 11:30 and said I was at a 4 and the baby was still basically as high as he could be at a -3 station. I settled in and figured that it might be a long day of waiting, but I was comfortable and not having any pain.

About an hour later, the contraction pain started to ramp up just a little, and Aunt Carol came and sat by me and helped me relax through them. She was asking me all about our trip to Cancun in May and had me describe the most serene parts of our trip.

I had been nervous about my epidural wearing off, because my legs weren't really not numb at all, and I thought "there's no way this epidural is going to get me through transition,"especially since they had just checked me and I was only at a 4! The nurse told me they needed to refill the medication in the epidural line, so I thought I was feeling the contractions more because they were changing out the meds. After she took care of that, the nurse decided to check me again when she saw I was really having to breathe through the contractions. I was shocked when she told me at just before 1 p.m. that I was fully dilated to a 10!

She said if I could hold off on pushing for a little while that it might make the delivery go more smoothly, so I decided to try to do that. My dear friend Anna had just come by to check on me, and she came and sat with me for a few minutes until the nurse came in and said it was showtime! I started pushing at about 1:15ish, and Alexander was born at 1:28. I really couldn't have asked for a more smooth labor and delivery!

Lucas and I both said out loud as soon as he was born- "Wow- he's big!"

At 8lbs., 4 oz., He looked so much bigger than Max and Maggie had when they were born

(Max weighed 6 lbs. 15 oz, Maggie was 6 lbs. 12 oz.).

I had plenty of tears of joy as I met him for the first time.

Very soon after he was born, we were able to introduce Alexander to his big brother and sister, who were SO EXCITED to meet him. Maggie had this amazed smile on her face and was completely speechless for at least 30 seconds- perhaps a new record for her. :-) She quickly snapped out of her state of wonder and exclaimed, "Give me my baby!" Max was practically glowing with pride.

We were so thankful to have a lot of family there to welcome Alexander on his first day in the world. Gramma Cheryl, my dad, Aunt Carol, Uncle Russ, Aunt Meagan, Uncle Tyler, my cousin Brandon and several great friends were there in the hours after his birth to meet him. I was thankful to be feeling very well in the afternoon after an easy delivery, and I really enjoyed celebrating with everyone!

Meagan made this adorable sign to hang on our hospital room door!

We stayed one night in the hospital, and we were able to take Alexander home on Friday after lunch when he was exactly 24 hours old.

First car ride: 1.3 miles from the hospital to home.

Thank you, Lord, for bringing Alexander James into the world safe and healthy. We are so grateful for our new son and can't wait to see what God has in store for him!

Welcome, Alexander!

Alexander James Roebuck

July 28, 2011 • 1:28 p.m.

8 lbs. 4 oz. • 20.25 inches

On Receiving Help

I'm less than one week out from my due date, and it looks like this little guy is going to arrive in the next few days. We are all excited and eager to meet him!

My mom's sister, Carol, has been here all week helping me prepare in body and soul for this baby's birth. She has given so much to me– she's been taking the kids on outings every day (which they are loving, of course!) so that I can sneak a nap in here and there; going to the doctor with me; and offering a hug and a teardrop or two that we both understand at just the right moments. Her arrival has given new meaning to the term "Godsend" for me.

Since Aunt Carol's been here, I've been thinking a lot about what my mom taught me about receiving help. She taught me, especially in her last three years of life, that simply and gratefully receiving and accepting help when we need it is a posture of humility and grace. It's a posture that recognizes that we are weak, that we can't do it on our own. It's a posture that understands that God has sent help not only because He loves me, but because He loves the giver.

My pride bucks against this idea, of course. I want to prove that I'm capable and strong and independent– which is actually laughable to anyone who's around me for more than about 30 seconds! When I'm able to simply and humbly accept help– without trying to downplay or repay the gift– the Gospel is at work in my life. I want to live in that place more.

The Lord knows that I've been at a pretty needy place the last few weeks. And the truth is, I didn't even know how badly I would need my Aunt here until she arrived. The Lord knew. And I'm truly grateful to the point of being overwhelmed. Out of love for me and for Carol, He sent her at just the right time. I'm actually feeling rested in body and soul for the first time in months. I actually feel like I can do this now!

Thank you for all of you who have been praying for me in the last few weeks. I know you have been. I've been receiving your help, too. Thank you, thank you, my dear friends.

Happy news is on the horizon! Can't wait to introduce you all to the new little man.

Happy Birthday, Grandpa Chaney!

Here's a little birthday message for one of our favorite Grandpas.... these video clips also happen to offer some insight into the personalities of these two little Roebucks, hence the inclusion of the outtake. :-)

A message for Grandpa Chaney, Take 1:

A message for Grandpa Chaney, Take 2:

We love you, Dad/ Grandpa Chaney. Wish we could be with you on your special day!

School Supplies!

I have a big master "To Do" list going of all the things to keep me productive and on track until this baby makes his grand entrance. One of the items on the list: Get Max's school supplies. I couldn't believe it when I pulled out the calendar today because Max wanted to know how many days until school starts. Three Weeks and Three Days until Kindergarten Open House!!! Wow- and I know it is going to be a whirlwind between now and then with the baby's arrival.

So off to Walmart we went with school supply list in hand. Max was so excited, and so was I. I always loved school supply time when I was a kid- and it was so fun to see Max enjoy it as well. He wanted to sit in the cart to organize the items as we picked them out. He told me, "I've got them all organized, because it's important to be organized when you're in school." :-)

Kindergarten, here we come!

Remembering

Today we were opening up a package of sight word magnets to work on, and I mentioned that Grandmama Vicki had bought these for us. Max asked why she got them for us, and I said it was because she loved to see her grandkids learning to read and write. I told them that before she had cancer, she was a kindergarten teacher at the same school Max will be going to in a few weeks.

A huge smile came across his face and he giggled. "I wish I could be in that class," he said through his giggle.

And it just made me so happy and sad all at once. Happy because he remembers. Happy because he knows how much she loved him and how much she loved to teach him. Sad because we won't be able to share this huge kindergarten milestone with her, and she would have loved it. Sad because it's only been four months, and so many years stretch out ahead where we'll be missing her.

Mom never really felt like being a teacher was her calling in life. But she sure was good at it.

"But Mom, My Animals *Really* Needed a Bath"

Bitter–Sweet

It's been a hard few weeks. I'm waging a mental battle between gratitude and sadness. I know I have so much to be grateful for, and I believe that should be enough to keep me from being so sad. And yet, I'm sad.

Nowhere is this tension more poignant than in the preparations to welcome our sweet baby boy into our home. Of course I'm so thankful that God has blessed us with this little life, I'm excited to meet him, and I am so grateful that he appears to be healthy and growing. But as his due date approaches (just about 6 weeks away), I'm finding myself having such a different response than I have in my other pregnancies. It's hard to explain, but instead of the eagerness I felt at this point with my other two, I'm facing a slight sense of uncertainty, even dread– if I'm willing to admit it.

I don't want to do this without my mom.

It's not that I'm afraid or dreading making the transition to three kids without my mom's physical and emotional help, although she was such a tremendous help when my other two babies were born. I just don't want to cross this line. I don't want enter a new phase of life that she will never have touched. And yet this little one is coming and life is moving on. It's a newborn baby, for Pete's sake! Pure sweetness. But tinged with bitter these days.

Last week I washed all his tiny clothes, set up his dresser and put together his crib. But I couldn't quite figure out how to finish the assembly on the crib, and then burst into tears realizing that my mom had assembled this crib before both Max and Maggie were born. My poor husband came home from work to find me sitting at the computer sobbing as I tried to see through my tears to google the make and model of the crib to find assembly instructions. Not a good moment.

But I will do this. God has so graciously heaped blessing upon blessing upon blessing on me during the last three months, and this child is certainly the greatest of those blessings. I am certain that the timing of his life and his arrival's intersection with my own grief is not arbitrary, but orchestrated by a gracious God Who loves me and Who loves him.

We are just about ready to welcome the new little buddy. He's coming into a family with a whole lot of grandparents, uncles, aunts and cousins and love. So even if his mommy is a tad bit sad underneath the celebration, I think he'll be okay. I suppose that sadness is born of love, too.

What Maggie Thinks About A Lot These Days

Maggie: "This is Aunt Laura with her baby in her womb, and Uncle Jake when he was a little boy."

Great Deal on Groupon today

Old Navy fans, don't miss today's Groupon deal:

Get $20 of merchandise credit to Old Navy for just $10. Love it!

I thought this was hilarious and so true!

I'm thinking back to every computer problem Lucas has ever solved for me (there have been a few!), and I now realize that he followed this exact flow chart every time. Genius! :-)

http://xkcd.com/627/

Conversations with Max and Maggie

Me: Maggie, I really loved how you and Anna and Mikaiah all three played together so nicely today so that no one was left out.

Max: What's 'left out?'

Me: It means when some kids are playing together and they don't include all the kids in whatever they're doing. It can be especially tricky when there are three friends because two friends might play together and leave the other friend out. Next year when you're in school, I bet you'll get a lot of practice showing kindness by including all the kids– by helping make sure nobody gets left out.

Max: Or, I could just go play with the kid who's alone and being left out.

Lucas: That would be a very honorable thing to do. That would make me proud.

Maggie: (quickly interrupting, as if she's looking for some hypothetically honorable action she could contribute...) Well, if I'm in school and I see girls being silly, I'll just DO A BOOTY DANCE!!!

Oh, my.

Conversations with Maximus

On our way to the restroom in Sam's Club, Max spots a poster on the wall of their offices titled "Entrepreneur's Creed" with a picture of Sam Walton's face under the title.

Max: Look- There's Sam Walton.

Me: Max, how did you know that was Sam Walton?

Max: I just checked my brain.

Her Grandmama's Girl

Maggie spotted these 5-inch beauties in TJMaxx and just had to try them on. She looked up and said, "OOoooooh, Look, Mommy! These shoes totally fit me!"

She definitely did not get this shoe fetish from me. I'm pinning this one on Grandmama Vicki. :-)

Conversations with Maximus

Max: I love this Batman shirt. I just LOVE Batman! What does 'love' mean, anyway?

Me: Well... it means you care deeply about something or someone. It's more than really, really liking something.

Max: (thinking for a moment) Huh. I really like Batman. But I love, LOVE God!

After a Week with Paul T. Semones

Max and Lucas just returned from a week-long road trip adventure to visit the Kennedy Space Center with our good friend Paul. I need get to some photos of their trip up here, but in the mean time, here are some of the things Max is saying since his return from studying all things NASA. Basically, he likes to use the word "engineer" as many times as possible in any given sentence:

Max: Mommy, come look at the tall castle I built. At first I didn't have it properly engineered. I didn't have it built right on the bottom to make it work on the top. But then I engineered it and added these parts at the bottom so that it would work.

Getaway ideas

Lucas and I are hoping to take a trip together before baby #3 arrives. Does anybody out there have recommendations for an affordable, relaxing destination? I would love a beach, but our budget is pretty tight and so we'll need to drive there from NWA. I'm willing to get creative, though. So if anybody knows of any scientific studies in teleportation that would to take us from Arkansas to, say, the Canary Islands, Spain or Goa, India or Anguilla for a week... I think we'd consider giving it a shot. :-)

Seriously, though... any good ideas for getaways out there, friends?

Jenna-Clare is publishing her first novel!

My dear friend and college roommate Jenna-Clare is publishing her first novel! Check it out: click this link and like her page, and/or pledge some support to help her reach her publishing goals and get a first-run copy of the book! So excited for J-C!

A Royal at Heart

Somebody woke up early to watch the Royal Wedding of William and Catherine with her mum and auntie. I see many days of princess bride dreams ahead of us....

He is Risen Indeed

It's Easter night, and I just tucked my children into bed. Max asked if we could sing "Christ the Lord is Risen Today" as a bedtime song. After we sang it once, he asked if he could write some new words for the song. Here are his new lyrics, to the tune of "Christ the Lord is Risen Today":

A-lle-luia, Praise the LORD,

Alleluia.

The Holy LORD, He is Love,

Alleluia.

What a perfectly sweet way to end this Easter.

A Blink

My mom died one month ago today. It seems like a lot longer to me. I wonder if it feels like just a blink to her.

Entrepreneur

Maggie: Mommy, what is that place?

Me: That's the Soderquist Business Center.

Maggie: When I'm four, I'm going to have a business.

Me: Oh, yeah? What kind of business?

Maggie: A princess dress-up business.

Me: That sounds neat. How will your business work?

Maggie: I will get lots of money out of my piggy bank, and when the people come, I will give them the money.

Me: Well, that's going to be a very popular business.

Maggie: Yes.

Lucas Roebuck's Son

Max: Mommy, can you come watch me play?

Me: What are you playing?

Max: I'm playing "Take Over the Universe." I made it up. It's just a demo.

Conversations with Max and Maggie

Last night as I was tucking Maggie into bed:

Maggie: Oooooo, I like your earrings. Someday will you buy me some earrings like these?
Me: Someday when you're a grown-up lady you can have earrings.
Maggie: And we can even share our earrings!
Me: We can! Someday when you're grown up I won't even have to tell you what to do or give you spankings.
Maggie: [Giggles]
Me: Then we can be friends, because you'll be all grown up and you'll know how to make good choices.
Maggie: AND WE CAN SHARE OUR EARRINGS!!
Me: That's right. Do you want to pray tonight or do you want me to?
Maggie: I will:

"Dear God, Thank you for our beautiful day. Thank you that Grandmama Vicki is at heaven. Thank you for my new clothes. Thank you for my clothes that aren't new but are still pretty. Thank you for a Daddy that always likes to give me ice cream every day. Amen."

Conversations with Max and Maggie

Maggie: Mommy, this is a picture of Grandmama dying.

Me: Tell me about it.

Maggie: This is Grandmama dying in the hot lava.

Max: Ummmm Maggie, Grandmama didn't die in hot lava.

Maggie: Fire?

Me: Maggie, remember Grandmama's body was broken and it didn't work anymore. She died of cancer.

Max: I don't think Maggie understands.

Me: It's okay.

Max: She doesn't understand. She's just a very tiny girl but I'm a big kid, so I understand.

Conversations with Maggie

Maggie, strapped in her carseat on the way to her Grandmama's funeral:

Maggie: Well, I've got great news and really bad news. The bad news is, Grandmama is gone. The great news is, the trees are still here!

Not The Way It's Supposed To Be

I've never really given sin the respect it deserves.

When life is moving along pretty smoothly with lots of happy things happening around me, it's easy to tuck sin behind a closet door or prop it up out of the way in a back corner. Out of sight, out of mind. It's easy to not think about how our whole existence was marred when humanity chose to bring sin into this world. It's easy to think that humanity is doing pretty well for ourselves.

Truth is, sin is a powerful force. No corner of this creation is left untouched.

I've never understood that truth more than while sitting at my mother's death bed. I watched her body slowly waste away. Day by day, I watched helplessly as death stripped every piece of life from her and replaced it with a something foreign and unwanted: trading walking for sitting; mobility for confinement; appetite for revulsion; privacy for intrusion; talking for silence; comfort for pain; consciousness for sleep; breath for stillness.

Several well-meaning and compassionate professionals tried to comfort me with reminders that what I was watching happen to my mom was "natural." At one point I really thought I would scream if I heard the phrase "the natural dying process" one more time. I wanted to burn all those little booklets on the dying process. Send them all up in flames– all those little blue booklets they give you describing what to expect in the final days of a loved-one's life.

I wanted to yell: Natural?! There is absolutely nothing natural about what is happening to my mom. This is not the way it was supposed to be! We were never created to have to endure this! Just because something has become "normal" doesn't make it "natural."

And in the midst of all this- now, NOW I can give sin the respect it deserves. I can look around this room and see my mom lying limp and dying on her bed, and I finally get it. Look what humanity has done! Just look what we've accomplished for ourselves! Death!

And so there's finally room in my world-contented heart for the Gospel– and a love for my Savior I've never known.

The Sad Things

My mom died.

I was with her, and I am so thankful. There are a million possible scenarios where that wouldn't have been the case, but God gave me that gift. It was one of many, many gifts God has given me over the course of the last few weeks; one of many whispers: I'm here. I love you. I'm making this all new. I Am.

I feel like I've received a whole new education in faith, life, loss and grace in the last few weeks as well. It's not a degree I wanted, but it's one I'm glad I have. There is, of course, still so much to process, so much to grieve.

I'm suddenly and painfully aware of all the life events and milestones that stretch out in front of me where she'll be missing. How does one do the next big thing? The next load of laundry, the next art project with the kids– I can do those things. She's not missing there. But what about family meals? Holidays? The birth of this little one?

I believe now more than ever that there will be grace for those moments, too. It still feels a little overwhelming, though.

I couldn't sleep last night, so I picked up my phone and found a voice mail my mom left me on my birthday. Sometimes it pays off to never erase your voicemail. :-) I lay in the dark with the phone up to my ear and listened to it over and over and cried. It was just so good to hear her voice.

As I sat with her in the moments after she died, with my dad and my brothers and my aunts, I was truly shocked to realize that literally the moment she died, she didn't even look like herself anymore. I leaned in closer and wondered if, in another circumstance like an accidental death, if I had to identify this body, would I even be able to tell if it was my mom? She actually looked that different to me. It was just so obvious that she was no longer there.

And I thought about something that I read at least 10 years ago. At that time, I read this paragraph in a book and it stopped me cold. I thought it was one of the most accurate description of my mother I had ever read. Long before she had cancer. Long before I knew she was dying. Just in the midst of her 'normal' life. I came home after she died this week and found the dusty book on my shelf and found that paragraph and read it again. This was the woman I called Mother:

"Let the Word break over your heart and mind again and again as the years go by, and imperceptibly there will come great changes in your attitude and outlook and conduct. You will probably be the last to recognize these. Often you will feel very, very small, because increasingly the God of the Bible will become to you wonderfully great. So go on reading it until you can read it no longer, and then you will not need the Bible any more, because when your eyes close for the last time in death, and never again read the Word of God in Scripture you will open them to the Word of God in the flesh, that same Jesus of the Bible whom you have known for so long, standing before you to take you forever to His eternal home."

- Geoffrey Thomas, Reading the Bible.

The Happy Things

Here's our sweet little guy- 3D ultrasound image at 19.5 weeks. The second one is my favorite,with his little arms up next to his face... although the printer on the ultrasound machine jammed up and wrinkled this one. I just love his sweet little face!

Conversations with Maggie

Maggie walks into the kitchen carrying an arm-full of ponies and fairies.

Maggie: These girls are going to jail.

Me: Why do they have to go to jail?

Maggie: Because they made bad choices to other people, not just to their moms and dads.

Just Because They're Cute and I Love Them

Conversations with Maggie

After playing outside at Grandpapa and Grandmama's house last week:

Me: Ewwwww! Maggie, I forgot to make sure you washed your hands after you accidentally touched the dog's bottom. Gross. Gag. Cough. Gag.

Maggie: It's okay, Mom. Things happen.

Announcing... A New Roebuck Baby BOY!

Yes, friends! We are expecting a BOY!

New Roebuck baby boy on the way and due around August 1. I am 14 weeks along, and we saw on the ultrasound today definitive proof that we indeed have a little boy on the way! We are thankful and excited.

One of the reasons we decided to find out the gender before the birth this time is that Max and Maggie both had their hearts set on their hope of gender for the baby. Max really wanted a baby brother while Maggie really, really wanted a sister. We hope that by finding our early, each of them can process that news early on and by the time baby arrives, it will just be what's expected and we can be all excitement and no disappointment when the big day arrives.

SO.... Maximus is of course overjoyed that it's a boy. He has been studying the ultrasound pictures and is beyond excited about the new brother on the way.

Maggie was, to put it delicately, disappointed. Here's how she took the news:

Lucas: We are having.... a baby BOY!

Maggie: (collapsing to the ground and bursting into tears) NO!! BUT I WANTED A GIRL!!

Lucas: I know, but how about a chocolate bar instead?

Maggie: (tears immediately stopping and she stands up) okay.

And that was that. Nothing like chocolate to soothe a girl's dashed hopes.

Now that we're past that little disappointment for Maggie, we're all excitement. We're thanking God for this great news and praying for health and safety all along the way!

Places I spent the night in 2010

I saw this on a friend's blog and it got me thinking about all the places I've been in 2010. Here's my list, as far as I can remember:

Aurora, NE
Branson, MO
Siloam Springs, AR
Mubai, India
Tenali, India
Kolkata, India
Malvern, AR
Roswell, NM
Calexico, CA
Fallbrook, CA
San Diego, CA
Costa Mesa, CA
Livermore, CA
Escalon, CA
Grand Canyon, AZ
Albuquerque, NM
Los Angeles, CA
Camarillo, CA
Lakewood, CO

What a year! My first time out of the continental U.S., two trips to California, and lots of other adventures as well. I was reminded of all the hard work Lucas and some other family and friends did to take care of Max and Maggie while I was in India and California- THANK YOU! I can't wait to see what 2011 holds. Although I don't expect my 2011 destinations list to be nearly this long, I'm looking forward to whatever adventures we do have ahead.

What about you? Where have you rested your head in 2010? I think it's fun to see!

Conversations with Maggie: Christmas Edition

Max and Maggie are playing with those annoying musical dancing Santas at the Walgreens checkout. The cashier tries to ask Maggie about Santa:

Cashier: Who's coming to see you this Christmas?

Maggie: Grandmama Vicki!!!

Cashier: No, who's coming to your house to bring you lots of presents?

Maggie: GRANDMAMA VICKI!!!!

Smart kid. :-)

COYOTE COUNTY LOSER now on DVD and Blu-Ray!

Coyote County Loser, the romantic comedy that my brother-in-law Jacob produced and Lucas helped to write, is now available for purchase on DVD and Blu-Ray! This is a fun movie with a great message you can feel good about sharing with all of your family and friends!

Also, my parents are interviewed on the special features section, along with Jim Walters, as one of the real-life love stories that inspired the message behind Coyote County Loser. I think that is just so cool!

Order here!

The Inverse Power of Praise

Photo by Phillip Toledano as seen with the linked article.

I found this New York Magazine article very interesting. The basic gist of the article is that research shows that praising our children for being "smart" or "intelligent" will make them less likely to try new things and can actually hamper their confidence instead of building it up. Instead, it might be better to praise their hard work instead of their "giftedness." This really makes me want to re-think how I praise my kids.

I read one commenter on this article who suggested praising liberally with our children for virtue, but only praising for intellect when it is used to further virtue or in a virtuous way. I think there's a lot of truth to the concepts in the article. It makes sense to me. Any thoughts?

The Sweetest Words

Some of you may remember that Maggie has not exactly been uber-interested in spiritual things, a fact which I haven't been too worried about, knowing that this is something only the Holy Spirit can do. But I have certainly been praying that God would speak truth into her little heart. This morning her Bible Study Fellowship truth was that "Jesus is the Light of the world." This afternoon, she told me this:

Maggie: Mom, I do love Jesus. I love Jesus, and I have light in my heart. [pause] I don't always make good choices, but I do love Jesus.

It's quite a shift from the dozens of other conversations we've had about Jesus. It's especially thrilling to me coming from my little Maggie Mae, who isn't one to say things just because she thinks it's what other people want to hear. Probably just about the sweetest little words I've ever heard.

You should join us!

Most of you know that I was able to travel to India in March with my sister-in-law Laura and International Princess Project. I am thrilled to let you know that IPP is bringing a piece of that experience right here to Siloam Springs this week!

If you live in Northeast Oklahoma or Northwest Arkansas, I'd love to see you at this free event Thursday night! Your eyes and heart will be opened to how God is working and moving in India.

Summer Visits

Fall is here!! With the cooler weather that has (finally!) arrived, I've been thinking back over the past few months and reminiscing about summer. We had a truly wonderful summer this year, complete with lots of visits with special friends. We didn't get photos of everything, but here are a few highlights of some of the special visits we were able to enjoy with friends and family during Summer 2010:

Friends Sarah and Ryan and their two boys came through town just a few weeks ago, and we enjoyed a great evening with them. So great to catch up with this dear friend!

Grandma Norris, Aunt Debbie, Lucas' brother Joe and sis-in-law Tammy and our friend Jim (taking the photo) at Downtown Disney during our trip to Southern California.

Lucas' brother Sam and Anne at their home in the Bay Area, California.

We loved getting to see our dear friends Jeff and Amy and their two kiddos during our trip to California as well!

The Dees crew enjoyed a very special evening at Nibbles Academy of Cooking for an evening of learning to cook together! What fun!!

Our niece Susan had her piano recital at our home. I was so proud of her!

Laura's parents, Bill and Polly, and their Grandson Seeley in Roswell, NM.

Uncle Manlio and Aunt Alva in Calexico, CA.

John and Janel and their precious kiddos came and stayed for a weekend- we had such a great time together!

The kids and I went to Owasso for a day to spend the day swimming and hanging out with Rita and her little girl, Ziva. Three months later, Maggie still says "Thank you, God, for the day at the swimming pool with Ziva" just about every time she prays.

Our fun and wonderful friends Gene and Mollie from Idaho brought their two sweet girls to visit for a day as they were in the area visiting Gene's family. Max was so thrilled to have his best little friend from Idaho here for a day!

Lucas' Dad, Maria, and Maria's Mom Elisa in Temecula, CA.

I wish we had photos of everyone we got to visit with over the summer– we feel so blessed to have so many friends and family to love in our lives. Thanks for the awesome summer, everyone!

Farewell, Summer! See you next year!

Conversations with Max

After church on Sunday, Max heard me talking to a friend who was being induced last night to give birth to her fourth child and first girl (Congrats, Stephanie!) As we walked to the car:

Max: She's having a baby tonight?

Me: Yes! And it's going to be a little girl!

Max: How do they know it's going to be a little girl?

Me: The doctors have a special camera that takes pictures of the baby while she's still inside the Mommy's womb. Isn't that neat?

Max: (thinking for a few seconds) But how do they know it's a girl? Do they look at the hair?