Danny's First Painting

We really enjoy making homemade gifts at our house, so for Alejandro's birthday, I had a last-minute inspiration.  I decide to let Danny paint for the first time.  I pulled out a set of body paints (the only paint I happened to have in the house) and let Danny go to town.  I sort of expected a mess.

I should have known our neat-freak of a child would dirty no more than the tip of his finger.

And promptly ask me to clean it off between each color.

So I quickly gave in and let him paint with a spatula.

See the ferocious concentration?

Happy Birthday, Papa!  

Love, Danny

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Primera Pintura de Danilo

Disfrutamos mucho de hacer regalos en casa, así que para el cumpleaños de Alejandro, me inspiré al último momento.  Decidí dejar a Danilo pintar por primera vez.  Saqué el juego de pinturas, y él empezó.  En parte esperé un desastre de color por todo el lado.

Jumpy

A week ago, my husband came home from work with a box.  

"It was injured," he said.

"¡Pájaro!" exclaimed my son.

"Oh..." I said.  

"I'm going to rehabilitate it," Alejandro said.  

He really meant me, because he would be working each day all day.  

Fortunately, rehabilitating a wild bird requires nothing more than leaving it alone in a box with plenty of food and water and keeping the dog and child from loving him to death or eating him.  

"By the way, his name is Jumpy," my husband sent me in a text message the next day.

"We are not keeping him," I thought out loud in the kitchen as Danny watched him from the kitchen stool through plexiglass.

Fortunately, wild birds won't be kept.  And actually, within a few days, he was flitting his way around our living room when we had him out one day. It was clear, he was soon ready to fly.

Jumpy, you've been a great week-long pet.

Except, of course, when you're pooping on my floor. 

Or in my hand.

And now, my friend, as much as a certain little boy would love to let you stay,

it's time you go back home.  (Danny's waving hello. He looked, but was not too eager to touch.)

Fly away, little Jumpy! And have a good life!

The end.

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  Salto

Hace una semana, mi esposo llegó a la casa con una caja.    

Eleven

When my son comes to me for help, I often sneak in a kiss, and if he'll linger long enough I usually steal a hug and give him a good tickle too.

A while back I read a post by Sarah over at kingdomtwindom.com about how many kids get no more than eleven seconds of eye contact with their parents each day. Ever since then, occasionally I will grab Danny's cheeks, pull his face in two inches from mine, stare deeply into his twinkling eyes and count to eleven. Inevitably by the time I get to 5, he's giggling, and I rarely get to 9 without a knot in my throat. I love that boy so much it hurts. Counting to eleven at our house has come to mean, {I love you higher than the heavens, deeper than the oceans, and more than life itself}.

There are LOTS of times when Danny and I are together. Indeed, most days we are together 24/7. But we're both pretty busy little bodies, always occupied by something. It's easy to spend a whole morning occupied with his activities and mine without ever really spending quality time just loving on each other. Then he'll come interrupt the all important thing I was doing (not) and ask for help putting on a shoe or taking apart Lego pieces and I'll realize that right at that moment I REALLY needed to give him a good squeeze.

I do that with my Lord WAY too often. I go about my daily business, taking for granted that He's by my side and forgetting to look fully into His face. Then I need help putting myself together or taking apart something I'm stuck on and He so graciously helps me. Then He pulls me close to steal a kiss, to hold me for a moment, and to get me laughing with a good tickle.

In that moment I realize I've forgotten that He wants so much more than to just be by my side. He wants to be "all up in my business." He wants to talk about every decision. He wants to help me make a mess and clean it up. He wants to stare into my face and count to eleven, or as high as it takes to get us both laughing or crying or both.

Lord, help me to remember today that the most important moments are the ones just counting to eleven.

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 Once

Cuando mi hijo me busca para ayuda, frequentamente le robo un besito y si se queda por más tiempo antes de ir a jugar, le doy un ataque de cosquillas y abrazos también.

Thankful

I'm thankful tonight to The Chatty Mommy for her giveaway of a Toile Tales gift certificate!

AND for how cute I feel wearing Amy and Lori's crocheted sweetheart.  Boy oh boy, is it sassy or what?! 

I'm thankful for the most amazing hot cocoa EVER and for friends who bring me Kleenex with aloe when I'm sick.

I'm thankful for my son's creativity and how he loves to pretend he's cooking.  I'm thankful that today he wanted to cook with me.

I'm thankful that Kleenexes stay stuck up noses and that I don't always have to be the put-together skin care consultant... even to you all.  Yup.  I posted it.  (Only because I look so cute in the photos above.)  And man am I thankful I don't feel like this often, because it's awful.  

I'm thankful that Alejandro was approached with a request for yet another estimate for a job in San Diego and for the way God has just opened the floodgates of work for him there.  But mostly...  

I'm thankful for the plane ticket that will bring him home for four days this weekend.  (Read: REALLY BIG SMILE on my face.)

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Agradecida 

¡Hoy, estoy agradecida por The Chatty Mommy por regalarme este gorrito hecho por Toile Tales!

I'm At My Whit's End

I'm just kidding.  I mean, we went to Whit's End.  At Focus on the Family's headquarters!  Last week with my Mom!  

It was a blast!!

We parked the stroller and headed into the 0-4 playroom, with padded floors, walls and climbing things. Danny was pretty hesitant to leave my lap for the first 10 or 15 minutes. 

But once he did...

...there was...

...no stopping him!

He climbed.

Once he found this little climbing bridge...

...we could not...

...get...

...him...

...off of it.

He climbed it and slid down...

...again and again.  And AGAIN!

He also enjoyed the other activities in the room and then we headed into the theater room. 

Danny thoroughly enjoyed a place where he had free reign and could explore to his heart's content.  

It was a great day!

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Visita a Enfoque en la Familia

La semana pasada, mi madre, Danilo y yo fuimos a visitar el edificio del ministerio Enfoque en la Familia.  ¡Qué diversión!

A Doctor? A Writer? A Piano Player?

¿Doctor? ¿Escritor? ¿Músico?

Love

Is sittin' on Papa's shoulders, pullin' on his ears.

Amor... es estar en los hombros de Papa, jalandole las orejas

I love you, Papa!

¡Te amo, Papa!