"The best birthday party ever"

Everett's words to describe his 6th birthday party yesterday. It was an incredibly cool party, filled with friends, neat animals, and deliciously edible dirt. My overwhelming after-party emotion is generally relief... relief that it went well, relief that everyone had a good time, and relief that it's over. But I'm also incredibly thankful for all of the above, as well as for the good health to enjoy it, the almost always cooperative Arizona weather, and the friends and family that gave up their Saturday afternoon so that they could come celebrate with Everett. We are blessed.















And really, all the animals and cake and sunny weather aside, what really matters is that my little boy have a fun day to remember. And he did.

Babies and New Chapters

Our next door neighbors have a six month old little girl. She's perfect and beautiful... big, expressive eyes, happy smile, cheeks that defy you not to squeeze them. She is sweet, easy-going, and curious.

I must admit, I'm actually not the kind of girl that gets all crazy about babies. I'm crazy about my babies, but I was never one of the ones who cooed and gushed and made a spectacle of myself just because I was in the presence of a cute baby. This baby though, she turns me into that kind of girl. She does. She makes me gush.

Which is why I was so surprised by the realization I made when I was lucky enough to babysit her a few days ago. Our friends had gone out to a show, so we had her all evening. We fed her dinner, gave her a bottle, and rocked her to sleep. I was looking at her face, sweet and peaceful as she lay, passed out, in my lap. I always marveled at my babies when they were sleeping. Their perfect little eyelashes, their tiny noses, the way their lips stayed permanently pursed. Yes, it was undeniably wonderful to even hold such a young baby again, as my baby is now a busy and oh-so-active active 30 pound toddler, and it made me fondly nostalgic for all my kids' baby days. She was just a warm and delicious bundle of squish. And yet... instead of an inner voice screaming, “I want another baby!!,” a voice I feared would never be completely silenced, I was met with another voice. Quieter and calmer perhaps, but every bit as absolute, it told me “I’m done.” I don’t want another baby. I feel happy and blessed and complete with our family exactly as it is, and I no longer feel the acute ache of someone “missing” that I felt before we got pregnant with Tegan.

Bidding a definitive farewell to baby days is bittersweet. Those first weeks and months (and years!) go so quickly. So, so quickly! I don’t understand why everyone is in such a rush for their children to grow up, celebrating everything from sleeping through the night to weaning to potty training, as if they’re one step closer to being done parenting. If there is one recurring adage I try to continually live by, particularly when it comes to parenting, it is to embrace the moment… to embrace all the moments. I loved having babies, and I have loved every age since. I love that our family is growing and changing as the kids get older, and I love knowing that it’s bringing new adventures, new discoveries, and yes, even new challenges.

I have been thinking a lot about the future lately, partly to dream and to plan, and partly to satisfy the ever-growing “itch” I’ve been feeling. When the boys were around Tegan’s age, I felt that same itch: it was time to do, to move, to grow. It was time for more. And all three times the answer was another baby.

This time there will be no more babies, and while I was fully prepared for the reality of that truth to make me sad, it does not.

Instead, I feel excited to welcome a new chapter of our lives. I’m excited to be nearing the completion of my Nutritional Consultant certification, and I’m excited to begin the Master Herbalist, the next piece of my Bachelor’s degree. I’m excited about researching a future business, and I’m excited about doing it together, as a family.

I’m EXCITED!

I’m excited, and I’m peaceful with what God has currently placed into my heart and into my life. It’s all unfolding, and it’s good. I’ve been reminded lately, in fact as recently as yesterday, that I won’t always receive support from everyone outside my own little 6 member family. In fact, it’s been my general experience that most people – including those who you’d expect to be the most encouraging – go out of their way to deliver nothing more than negative and nay-saying comments when given the opportunity. I will not let others’ negativity affect my life, my joy, or my drive. All I can do is feel sorry for them, and the way they’re limiting their own potential happiness. What a sad way to go through life!

I choose Joy.

i am exactly where i need to be
i need to be exactly where i am
i am a blessing manifest
i can undress the moment
naked time unwinds beneath my mind
and from within i find the kind of beauty
only i can find ~Amy Steinberg

Happy Birthday Everett

May 2nd, 2004:



2005:


2006:


Last month:


Last night:





Happy, happy birthday Everett. You're still the sweet, beautiful, pure soul you were when you were born six years ago, and we're so blessed and thankful that you're ours.

Book Review - Lies the Government Told You

Lies The Government Told You, by Andrew P. Napolitano

"If we fear our own government, if we accept its deceptions, its lies to us, if we take no action to redress them, our freedoms are doomed." - Andrew Napolitano

Part history lesson, part cautionary tale, "Lies the Government Told You," gives an honest and extremely unflinching look into the various ways we have been, and continue to be, lied to by the government. Using his vast knowledge and experience as a Superior Court Judge, Andrew Napolitano takes the reader through 17 specific lies, and shows us again and again how our freedoms are being assaulted by the very people we trust to protect them.

This book is an eye-opening must-read for anyone who is interested in learning the truth, no matter what your political affiliation. I was apprehensive to read it at first, as I didn't want to read a book that would disparage any one political party. My fear was unfounded. Democrat, Republican, and everything in between were all fair game for Napolitano and his no-holds-barred look at everyone from Lincoln to Obama. It in turns taught me and terrified me, but more than anything else it angered me.

It should be noted that this is not a light-hearted beach read. It is heavy on facts, court cases, and dates, so readers who tend to get bogged down with details may have difficulty with certain sections. Otherwise, it is an engaging and interesting book, one that should be read by every concerned American, particularly those that are not content with just sitting back and doing and believing as they are told.



Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Thomas Nelson Publishers as part of their BookSneeze.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Wine on Computers

Two weeks ago, just a few days into our vacation in San Diego, Tegan spilled my entire glass of wine onto my netbook. It wasn't a splash, it was a flood, and the computer promptly responded by making a sizzling sound, followed by a whoosh and a whine as it shut off into silence.

Now, aside from the obvious lesson - move glass of wine before two year old approaches, or better yet, no wine by the computer! - there were two other lessons to be learned as well. First, the one that's been the recurring theme my entire life: Don't sweat the small stuff. Yes, I was bummed about my computer, as well as the fact that we don't currently have the money to replace it. But in the grand scheme of things, a fried netbook is small stuff! It just doesn't matter. Secondly, it told me in no uncertain terms that I didn't need to be on the computer while I was on vacation. I needed to be with my family, live life, and let my little online world continue to spin without me. Even now, back home with 3 desk tops at my disposal, my computer time needs to be more carefully managed, planned, and balanced. And it's good.

Some other insights from the trip, in no particular order:

You need to stop to enjoy the flowers


Sometimes, you just have to eat straight from the carton


Elephants are cool even when they're made out of legoes


Japanese gardens are beautiful


Roller coasters are so much more fun when you share them with the people you love


So are flumes


And rides that go up and down


Baby animals, of any kind, are to be enjoyed and appreciated


Bugs are interesting



Learning about the Marines, aviation, and World War II is interesting too





Even pretending to sit at a school desk bores Paxton


Good friends, the kind that you can see twice a year and still pick up like no time had past, are rare, and precious






The ocean is beautiful, peaceful, and awe-inspiring











And finally, it really is about the little things in life: