a few of our favorite things

since i uploaded the photos in the wrong order, this list is dave letterman style... number three on the list, but number one in our hearts, is jack. he is such a good puppy...a little, okay, alot stinky, but a good puppy. it's so sweet to see caleb play with him. he loves to throw the ball to jack. i have been amazed that jack will restrain himself long enough for caleb to toddle around and throw the ball (usually on top of jack's head). jack has even stopped attacking the ball when i tell him "no!" and lets caleb pick it up to throw again. it's so sweet to see my boys play together. a close number two, is the church bus. caleb has learned the word bus. or as he says, "BUH." you have to imagine the s...it's silent. he requests to go see the bus at least once a day. since we live less than a football field length from the church parking lot, i almost always indulge his request. it's good exercise for a little guy and his momma. tops on my list is neo-to-go. it's convenient and healing all in one little package. i promptly went out and purchased some today after caleb got his first ever skinned knee. he only shed a few tears. i was so proud...okay, a little weird, but still proud!

family fun in franklin

this is the good stuff! riding in style this past week, we had made plans to attend one of the famous street festivals in franklin (just south of nashville). we were pretty bummed when we awoke to rain on saturday morning. however, around lunchtime, the sun made an appearance and we decided to venture forth. after we were lucky enough to find a parking space (who knew that you could cram so many cars into so few vacant fields?), we were greeted by the wonderful smells of food and the sounds of country music (we do live in nashville, would you expect anything less?!). franklin has an adorable downtown. in fact, the street vendors detract from it's architectural and historical beauty. however, seeing all of the local (and some not so local) merchants displaying their crafts was the best window shopping ever. there were quite a few things there that i wouldn't mind seeing on mother's day-hint, hint :) alas, tom and i minded the budget and didn't purchase anything...shocking, i know. caleb was in a relatively pleasant mood considering we didn't leave enough time to walk around before it was nap time. the highlights of the day for him were riding on daddy's shoulders, the balloon, and the mikshakes! who knew that 15 month olds were so proficient with straws? given his gene pool, we should have!!! just glad he didn't give himself an ice cream headache.

songs for saplings

recently tom and i decided that we would like to look into different methods for catechizing children. while searching monergism.com, i stumbled across an unexpected resource: "songs for saplings." seeing that caleb is (almost) 16 months old, music is the perfect tool for getting God's Word into his heart. he loves to dance and clap to all types of music so i try to keep the cd going during free playtime before his morning nap. the first cd, titled songs for saplings, is geared for toddlers and pairs the letters of the alphabet with a word and a corresponding scripture verse. for example, a is for keeping me as the apple of Your eye, psalm 17:8. pretty juvenile you say? try this one, e is for the word of the Lord endures forever, 1 peter 1:25. awesome stuff...and i typed all of that from memory! the cd's work, i learned something :) i bought 3 more of the cd's entitled "questions with answers" even though they are geared for pre-k and early elementary age kids. i highly recommend these resources. check out the website at www.songsforsaplings.com. you can listen to snippets of a few of the songs...and don't worry, they aren't cheesey and vary in genre/song style. one word of caution, when i received our cd's from monergism.com, the envelope had been split and all four cases had been cracked. i wasn't too happy. but, b/c i downloaded them into itunes and my ipod, it wasn't too big of a problem for us. monergism.com was couple dollars cheaper, but you might want to consider ordering them directly from the manufacturer if you want the cases in one piece.

first trip to the zoo

not the greatest choice in lighting, but two cute boys: ethan & ephraim i tried to keep his head covered, but caleb had other ideas nashville zoo at grassmere leigh, ethan, and ephraim invited us to the zoo today and we jumped at the chance. it was caleb's first time and i think he enjoyed it. i say think because i'm pretty sure he spent more time looking at the other people than the animals. although he did perk up when we saw the elephants. they were big enough to distract his attention away from the crowds-ha! the nashville zoo is located on an 200 acre plantation called grassmere. it is expanding to fill all 200 acres with greenspace, exhibits, and parking (which it desparately needs!). the current exhibits/habitats are very "natural" looking and pretty. can you tell i'm not zoologically inclined?! we didn't get to stay too long because nap time was quickly approaching for all the boys. hopefully, we'll get to take another trip soon. thanks leigh, ethan, and ephraim, we had a great time :)

backyard adventures

today was such a beautiful day that caleb and i went for a walk around our yard and did some exploring. we have two lilac bushes!!! i was super excited and cut a small bouquet. it smells woooooonderful. we also have a dogwood tree that has started to bloom. as we were making our way into the front yard, i noticed some tiny purple flowers growing underneath caleb's bedroom window. we walked over to take a closer look. i picked one and gave it to caleb. he promptly tried to eat it. after he discovered that it wasn't to eat, he waved it around a few times, dropped it, and proceeded to walk all over the remaining tiny purple flowers. poor flowers :(

15 months and counting

tuesday, caleb and i went to his new pediatrician's office for his 15 month old well check. he is now 30 7/8" tall (i guess you don't say long anymore since he's walking/50th percentile), 20 lbs. 11 oz. (still in the 5th-10th percentile), and i forgot head circumfrence (50th percentile). he had a grand time walking around, climbing on the chairs, and eating cheerios. he enjoyed himself so much that he had a poopy diaper...lovely surprise for the nurse to dispose of-ha! but alas, it was immunization time and after three quick sticks, quite a few tears, and a why-did-you-do-this-to-me look, we were on our way back home to play with jack. i really love being able to stay at home with caleb. it's amazing to watch how much he grows and develops from month-to-month. here are a few of his favorites for right now (things change pretty quickly around here!): mo=more milk or food ma, ma, ma (usually while pointing to object)=mine ja=jack no, no, no=no...doesn't say this too frequently (thank goodness), but when he does, it's usually directed towards jack :) nak, nak, nak=snack...only repeats this after i've said snack grapes=although i think this stage has passed since he's eaten 2 lbs. of them in 4 days (no kidding) cheese & yogurt=can always get him to eat these kissing=loves kissing jack and daddy...no love for mommy! throwing=balls (sometimes will say ba), plastic easter eggs, cell phones, pretty much anything if you don't restrict him walking=will spend better part of an hour walking around the house practicing different speeds and stopping and starting swinging=we love going to the park shaking head "no"=will do this in response to every question you ask him. makes for an interesting conversation! shoes=loves to put on and take off his own shoes as well as anybody else's that are lying around the house

the o religion

tonight i had planned on blogging about caleb's 15 month checkup (that will come), but i saw something that troubled me deeply. reading blake's post on two institutions (www.twoinstitutions.org), led me to youtube and the clip of oprah winfrey espousing her latest theology. i have been joking for years that oprah is the anti-christ. i was basing that assumption on her power and influence through the mass media (tv show, book club, magazine, dr. phil/rachel ray shows, etc.) and the fact that she could tell people what was cool. i wish that my words had not been so prophetic. oprah is no longer telling people what is cool, but what God is, or in her case, is not. while her talk may be smooth and her plea passionate, her logic is faulty and her worldview inconsistent and incomplete. i have so many thoughts regarding the o religion that i cannot possibly write them all down right now. maybe i'll have more coherent thoughts tomorrow. until then, please visit the two institutions blog and check out the youtube clip. i'm sorry that i'm not tech-savy and cannot post it directly to this blog.

should we all be prudes?

recently, i have completed a book by carol platt liebau entitled "prude: how the sex-obsessed culture damages girls (and america too!)." the title is unfortunately not the most shocking quality of the book. while i like to consider myself in the know of student culture (i use student b/c i can't stand the terms "teen" and "youth"), i found out that there are quite a few things that i was clueless about. i mean, i have a facebook page AND a blog, i should know things...but i (along with 99% of parents) do not. we have no idea what our students read, watch, chat, im, or google. and if we do have an inkling that our students are involved in things a little too "mature" for their years, we pretend not to notice and hope for the best. shame on us all. perhaps the most telling chapter of the book is entitled, "do-me feminists and doom-me feminism." after a brief summary of the history of the women's liberation movement and description of the modern-day social scene, it becomes obvious that women do not have the societal freedoms for which they have so long fought. women have exchanged the lie of unresponsive, doormat-type submission to a man, for the lie of "having sex like a man" (author's words). by fighting so hard to love who, when, and how they want, women have lost...well, what makes them women. they have no mystique, no allure, no...femininity. why would a guy want to hang out with a female who pays for her own way, talks like he talks, and think like he thinks? other than the fact that she has parts that he doesn't have (and boy, do they feel good), i can't think of a reason. therein lies our problem. men aren't men and women aren't women. not that i would be upheld as the picture of biblical femininity (i am not even close to mastering the beauty of a quiet spirit), but i do want to strive for it...and now more than ever, i want to help students strive for it too. the obsession that our society and sadly, even professed christians have with sex is scary. however, we cannot run away from the problem. we must proudly commit to being prudes and teaching students to do the same. if you want to read more on the book go to prudethebook.com. **read with caution. it is an HONEST and FRANK look at student culture**

going green(er)

it seems like everywhere you turn, you here the message to go green. besides buying those new funky lightbulbs for our lamps, i haven't really given green a second thought. that is, until tom and i joined the y about a month ago. when we started exercising again, we started drinking more water. and natually, we purchased our water from the store...in plastic bottles. after a couple of weeks, i became disturbed with how quickly our garbage can filled up from the bottles. yesterday, i purchased a brita filtered water pitcher and a nalgene bottle for tom to put an end to the bottle problem. we started off the morning well...tom remembered to take his nalgene to work, but forgot to bring it home. not sure what he will do for his morning workout. hey, it's a start. i even plan on finding the local recycling center next week. come to think of it, i did switch to the green smart cleaners from clorox. they cut through the grease and grime really well and are affordable. however, after handling raw meat i still use bleach to clean up the kitchen...yuck! caleb drinks organic milk and i always try to buy organic (or preservative free) when economical. i've even switched to using whole wheat flour when i bake. alot of people point to studies that say there are no benefits from eating organic, but i just can't help but think that your body runs cleaner without all that gunk in it. i wish that we drove hybrid vehicles, but they are pricey and caleb's carseat would take up the entire backseat. not to mention that his stroller would leave no room in the trunk for groceries. i also wish that i could say we use cloth diapers, or at least the chlorine-free type, but we don't. maybe, we can figure out a cost-effective alternative before the next kiddo (no announcement forthcoming). the agnew family isn't totally green, but working their way towards a lighter shade of yellow.