thinking out loud at 6 am

Ready?

1. I really am difficult to live with, especially when someone wakes me up. When I used to lead youth trips, I would tell the kids that I turned into satan at midnight, and friend, it really isn't that far from the truth. Try waking me up at midnight and see what happens - wrath ensues. All of that to say, at 5 am I was yelling at Brian, "It's so unfair that because I'm a lighter sleeper than you I always have to get up!" and by the time he sat up in bed, it didn't matter anymore because I was awake anyway. Hrrrumph.

2. I haven't had much to say here lately, because life is good. Silas is feeling better, the sun is out again, and we've been busy. Monday? I think, we had a picnic at the park with some friends. Toddlers are like puppies; pull out the peanut butter and they'll follow you around the world. I opened up our lunch bag, and felt like the Pied Piper. Other moms just started handing me pieces of fruit, because the kids had no sense of ownership over the food. If they saw a Goldfish, it must be theirs. Anyway, it was really cute to feed them that way, open a clementine and pass around the pieces until they were gone. Like fish and loaves or something.

3. Asher has been into asking what everything means lately. EVERYTHING. "'Apple' means?" "'Rock on' means?" etc. He has decided Mama means 'happy.' Also, yesterday afternoon I was looking for him (it's always a little disconcerting to realize I don't know where he is, because that also means I don't know what he's doing), so I called, "Asher Paauull ..." and he responded (from the bathroom shower) with "Asher Mamaaa!" As though Asher was a surname.

4. Every Protestant should attend a Catholic Bible study. It is FASCINATING. I just didn't realize completely the significance of the Reformation until now, how much Protestant beliefs are in response to the original teachings of the Church. I have a new appreciation for Martin Luther. There are a few things I love about the Catholic church, though. I love their interest in people's lives above philosophy or theology. While the Protestant church would voice that, I just don't see it practiced the same way as in the Catholic Church. I also love their teaching on being open to the possibility of life - in the new life of a baby, or in the possibility of redemption for criminals. Not that I personally am practicing this at this moment, but I still love the teaching. And, at least among my Catholic friends, there is a passion for their faith that I haven't seen in a long time. This is probably a statement more about my own complacency than anything else, but either way it is good for me to be around them.

5. Out of nowhere, Silas is into everything. He has taken off since starting the reflux medicine. He is crawling all over the house (chewing on lamp plugs and dog toys along the way), and is pulling up all the time. He's also laughing more, trying to make some sounds (more than just cooing), and interested in whatever his brother is doing. It's fun to watch him do new things, but I have also become aware that my baby days with him are numbered. That is hard to believe, but it was like this with Asher too. They are little, immobile babies for so long, and then out of nowhere, they just ... aren't anymore.

So that's what's going on here. What's new with you?