Still Waiting

We heard from our realtor that the bank may make a decision on our house offer on Monday. Every time I think about it, I get nervous. The good news is, we submitted our offer seven weeks ago, and they haven't received another offer since then. I think that has to mean that our offer is looking better and better every day.

Please pray with us and for us. Our unselfish prayer is that God will use this process to show us His path (and that if we're not supposed to have this house, the offer will be rejected). Our selfish prayer is that the bank will accept our offer as it is, without asking for more money. Join us in which ever prayer you can agree with. Or both!

A Side Note on the Photos

When Lorien was younger, I took more of her portraits on the black backdrop. I don't do that as much any more, and here's why...

Nine Month Portraits and Update

Lorien turned nine months old on April 19. The last month (mid-March to mid-April) has been a big one. She cut two teeth. She started standing up (holding on to a chair or something, but with no help from mom or dad). She is doing great with actually getting her finger foods into her mouth. The cutest thing is that she has started responding in kind to certain interactions. So if you shake your head at her, she shakes her head back. If you clap your hands, she claps also. She is also getting the hang of waving. Crawling is still elusive. She rocks, scoots backward and now pivots on her belly, but no forward motion yet.

She had her nine-month checkup on April 21 (the same day I took these pictures), and she weighs 17 lbs. 14 oz. (33rd percentile) and measures 28.5 inches long (81st percentile).

Sweet and clean after her bath

If you look very closely, you can see the two bottom teeth. She is still a drool monster too.

Here, she is making a daddle-addle-laddle-daddle sound with her tongue. This is one of the things she will do "conversationally" if you do it to her first.

Lorien loves books...

...both reading them and eating them.

Standing up!

Not Burying My Talent

Recently, my coworkers and I read Matthew 25 together. I think it's the first time I've read that passage since Lorien was born, and it got me thinking about a conversation I had pre-kids. Pre-marriage, actually.

I was working at Plugged In at the time, and this discussion probably occurred on a day when I had put in about 6.5 hours slogging through a pile of Seventeen magazines or something of the sort. I don't remember precisely what brought on my ennui, but I know I was feeling really discouraged by the state of our culture. Now, I am not a Chicken Little, and I won't be making any doomsday prophecies here. I find plenty of things in this world that delight me. But I also find plenty of things that make me weary and sick. And frankly a little worried about the challenge of raising kids and helping them stay childlike for the duration of their childhood. It was that feeling that prompted me to admit to my editor, "I'm not sure I want to raise kids in this culture."

I have never forgotten his one-line reply: "Wouldn't that be like burying your talent?"

I didn't reply because I couldn't reply. I knew he was right. The admonition to invest my talent, rather than burying it, has been working on me ever since. Raising kids to thrive in this world won't be easy. But that doesn't excuse me from the responsibility.

I want to raise kids who get to keep their innocence for as long as possible. I want to raise kids who know how to think—not just what to think. I want to raise kids who aren't afraid to ask good questions and actively seek out the answers. I want to raise kids who have strong biblical moorings, but who aren't afraid to interact with others who believe differently. I want to raise kids who know God—not just ones who know about Him. I want to raise kids who love Him with all their heart, soul, mind and strength, and love their neighbors the way they love themselves.

All of this was part of the thinking behind Lorien's name. Josh and I love the way J.R.R. Tolkien described the woods of Lothlorien as a place of light in a dark world. It's a place of refuge. Rest. Beauty. Light. The rest of Middle Earth may be growing darker, but Lorien is a land that has a healing effect on all who enter it. I pray that if we invest our talents well in raising her (and, someday, her siblings) the same will be said of her also.

I'm back!

Yes, it has been several weeks since I posted. I'm not really sure what I've been doing in those weeks that has kept me soooooo busy. It's strange, but it seems that living in a new place that doesn't really have space for all of our stuff has eaten up a bunch of extra time. I'm not really sure how that happens, but maybe it's because I spend so much time just trying to keep the general clutter contained.

If we were going to be here very long, I would 1) take a HUGE load to Goodwill and get rid of a bunch of stuff, and 2) make a concerted effort to organize and find a place for everything. As it is, we've decided to live with the boxes, since this is just a temporary arrangement. And might I add that it's one for which we're super thankful? It's flexible, isn't costing us much at all, and leaves us free to move at the drop of a hat, which we may have to do if we get the house we're hoping for.

Anyhow, while I've been away from the blog, I have definitely been thinking about writing. And writing some stuff in my head. Tonight, Josh is out working on Jeepish things, so I am treating myself to a little blog therapy. Hoping to work a few things out of my brain so that I don't have to carry them around in there anymore.

We shall see how many posts actually appear tonight...