miscellany monday

1. gopher boy.

ethan is teething. big time. bless his heart, his two top teeth just came in and i think the next two are coming any day now! he drools like it's his job and is constantly chomping on his fingers. and his crib, apparently. i noticed this the other day. so that's what he's doing before he actually goes to sleep.

2. cuteness.

my nephew, wesley, is a week old today! he is so handsome and such a sweet baby!

3. discovery.

i am amazed at child development. it is fascinating to watch ethan grow and change. each new stage brings unique challenges but incomparable joys! now that he is older, i love watching him take in the world around him, as if his tiny brain is processing it all as fast as it can. i love how he is starting to find his toes, not just his feet, but his and other people's toes. i love that i have to stop on walks now to show him ducks, geese, other babies, etc...and he watches in amazement. and even though it is challenging, i love that he wants to touch, taste, and experience everything!

here he is in his new "fort" (aka: box that his big boy car seat came in; aka: the blockade to try to keep him from climbing up the stairs) that his daddy made for him. he is looking at brian in this picture, which makes it even sweeter to me!

4. then i found 4 dollars.

this past weekend, i was organizing my closet-- switching my cold-weather clothes for warm-weather ones-- and, as i was going in and out, i found cash on the ground...twice! i am usually too aware of my cash to leave it lying around, so i was super excited to find it in my closet! and for those of you who think this story is lame, well....then i found 4 dollars! :)

5. a seed. this is our easter lily. given to us two years ago, it was a beautiful plant...until it was chopped down by our neighborhood lawncare workers! we learned our lesson-- always mark the plants you want to keep! last year, no growth at all, so i assumed that the lily was a true goner. well, this year, our easter lily made its appearance! i was so excited! it started me thinking about seeds: once the seed is planted, it's there. it may not grow right away, it may get chopped down, there may not be any fruit immediately, but the seed is there. and with enough water, the necessary circumstances, and the right timing, it will flourish! plant seeds, water seeds, and reap the harvest!

6. resources galore!

we are extremely blessed to live in a nation where we have religious freedom and endlesss opportunities for believers to gather together, to learn and grow in our faith. when i think about the countries where people groups could walk for days and not find a Bible in their own language, a church, or another Christian, i am overwhelmed by God's grace to me. we have so many resources at our fingertips. the Gospel Coalition website is one such bottomless resource. check it out for sermons on any and every topic you could ever imagine by Godly teachers. new listening material for road trips, tasks around the house, and driving across town...more than your ipod can hold, FREE!

happy monday!