alright, i realize it's been over a month since i've posted and i could tell you all the things that have happened in that time, but i won't. instead, here are some recipes i just discovered and think you all should try.

pico garlic rub* (great with talipia)(this is for 2 fillets)

3/4 t olive oil
1 T garlic powder
1 T parsley
1/5 T cilantro
1/2 t paprika
1/2 t chili powder

just mix ingredients together. then i coated the fillets in flour (per recipe directions) and fried in a little bit of olive oil, 3 minutes one side, then turned and put rub on the cooked side while the other side fried for 3 minutes. i also took a little bit of the oil and sprikled it on top of the filet (while side two was cooking) so the rub would set in. the recipe suggests squeezing a lime over the top of the fillets. i forgot this step but it's probably pretty good. the fish was fantastic, not fishy at all (it's talipia) and the flavor was delicious.

*allrecipes.com "fish with pico garlic rub" with some alterations


spicy rice pilaf*

1/2 cup chopped onion
2 T olive or vegetable oil
2 cups chicken broth
16 oz black beans, drained and rinsed
1 cup salsa
1 cup uncooked long grain rice
1 cup cor (frozen or canned)
1 t chili powder
1 t ground cumin

saute onion in oil, add broth and all other ingredients. bring to a boil, then reduce heat and cover and simmer for 20-25 minutes (for some reason it took a lot longer than this... maybe my simmer button is broken). make sure the rice is nice and tender.

this is a great side, or like people suggested, add beef or chicken, already cooked of course. i'm quite impressed with this rice recipe. there aren't too many out there. i halfed the recipe for just me and tom. i also omitted and exchanged things. check it out if you want details.

*allrecipes.com "spciy rice pilaf"

just a heads up, per t.j.'s suggestion, i might be trying this adsense deal. it's more of an experiment, so needless to say, "we'll see".

well it seems it's been a while and that could be for a number of reasons: wyatt's been sick, cassie's got a new tooth, i've been sick, tom's been working like a dog. most recently i've pulled a muscle in my neck and this new adventure leaves me moving like a robot. so i'll make this short. here are some photos of the cutest kids this side of mastin (who can compete with noah?)

alright, paulie, 'nuf said. the hairs are looking good. deal with it. even wyatt wanted to get on and vote, but i told him that wouldn't be fair. and this wasn't a close race, like some you've claimed were clear winners on your blog ("the poll clearly shows..." see embracingchange-shaul.blogspot.com post titled "back by popular demand!"). check it out, the numbers don't lie.

but even if you do grow it out to john the immerser length again, we'll still love you.

and if this video doesn't work, cut and paste this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9CxDHAvyBRc

here's something frustrating: i just watched the video in the preview screen! why doesn't this work for everyone else?!!!!(the extra exclamation points are for susan)

if this isn't CUTE, then really, what is?


baby cass and her cousin, baby noah. will they ever outgrow those names? we call her baby cass because there's an older cass -- big cassie. and baby noah may have to be referred to as baby noah for a while so as not to confuse him with the noah of biblical proportions.

some photos from the last few days:
a day at the park (after a very windy walk)





he loves honking that horn!

a superhero and his sidekick

sometimes being faster than a speeding bullet is tiring

this is entitled: yo. 'sup?

wow, nothing like a landslide. congratulations are in order. first to cassie for the great name, and second to massen who now has her very own blog name: maasenyourface.blogspot.com (i would give you a link to click on but this doggone blogger takes my link and only types "a", see the link below that doesn't work) the blog is actually up and running! hopefully we'll get some awesome insight into the life of our beloved typing hero, angela maasen (every time i hear her name i think of tony danza). i'm stoked, and apparently you are too! check it out!

a

yeah, that's the "link" you're supposed to be able to click on. what happened to my posting skills? cut and paste: http://www.maasenyourface.blogspot.com

it has been brought to my attention that i overlooked the pocket tee in the recent photographs. so, here, check it out:



he wants to be like his buddy sam, isn't that so cute? sam is one of two non-family members on the fridge. the requirement to get on there is simple: give us a picture of yourself. ahem... (i only wish i had a picture of sam in one of his 400 gray pocket tees. that's hyperbole, not exaggeration, right sam?)

also, thanks to sammy's girlfriend (can i call you sammy?) for the maasenyourface concept. she's a creative girl and it looks like people are really appreciating it. she might call it a collaboration, but it's pure genius on her part. keep votin' folks, it's good practice.

one more thing: don't forget to vote for maasen's blog name. see right side panel.

also, a new video of baby cass in the exersaucer. it's pretty cute. she pulls out her peewee laugh and frantic bobbling. it's been determined that she's an extrovert and most likely will take after tom more than me. that's alright, i've got wyatt to be quiet with...

(you'll have to cut and paste. since blogger "updated" it's not as user friendly)
http://www.youtube.com/beahblake see: "'saucing it up"


and here's big guy, sporting a new look, levi's jeans that tom found in a thrift store years before we even met. doesn't he look great?


notice the orange tag.


and the ever-growing curls.


with his blue eyes we're thinking he may be paul newman for halloween.



posst script: this post is brought to you by coca-cola classic. the drink that keeps you awake at night when everyone else, including your sometimes tempermental daughter, is sound asleep. and you should be too.

currently i'm uploading a video of bro in-law paul cutting down a branch in our backyard. with a chainsaw. on an aluminum ladder. over a power line. at our house. it's dangerous, and i warn you, lauren, you may not want to watch.

don't worry, he doesn't get hurt. no, he almost got severely hurt cutting down the limb prior to this video recording. that's when he cut the branch his ladder was leaning on a little too close to the ladder. i'll let him tell you about that one.

watch the power line. the dialogue goes like this:

paul: i'll wait till you've moved all the way out of the way.
tom: thank you.

tom: wait, which one are you doing? where's the dog?
paul: ready, tom?
tom: yeah.

paul fires up the chainsaw...

leah: oh my goodness. oh my.
paul: hey the lights are still on.

(again, cut and paste)
live action at http://www.youtube.com/beahblake

like it was said at the beginning of this whole adventure: never climb trees near overhead lines.


this is all really good advice. for more safety tips, go to http://www.kcplkids.com/bb_2007winners.htm

there's one day left to vote on your sleeping behaviour, so don't miss out on this opportunity to vote -- it's oh so important.

it's 9AM, do you know where your kids are?

mine are back in bed. the opperative word being BACK. yup. cass got up at 5:15, ate and went back to bed, then they both got up around 7. and this shouldn't really be too shocking, since they both went to bed around 7. but this morning was too much.

it's not really that surprising for cass to be asleep again, she's a growing infant. wyatt is another story. let me tell you one thing: when the little guy starts to crab about everything -- changing his clothes, not being played with, being played with, hitting his chin on the counter (oh wait...) -- i know he's done with being up. or maybe i should say, out. when i say, do you wanna go nightnight? he usually says, no. but not an adamant NO!, more like, what are you offering. so i suggest the little guys from bob the builder, bob and wendy, and the magnetic blocks they go with (thanks landon) and we mosey on back to the bedroom. he's still not sure so i pick up some other little favorites, cowboy carl, a little person, and his drink. the clincher is the pacifier.

now, leah, i thought you broke him of the pacifier. well, we did, until he could put it in his mouth by himself. that was the real problem; it would fall out and then he'd cry for it because he wasn't able to get it himself. now that he's bigger he can do it alone. sometimes i wonder if he is too big for a pacifier, but i see kids older than him still sucking their thumbs and fingers, so i'll wait till i get a month's worth of good sleep and then tackle that. i can't wait till we have to teach cass not to suck her thumb...how do you do that exactly?

so, while i can still hear wyatt playing in his crib, i'm stoked he's not crying or crabbing and just chillin'. it's a good feeling. if only he would just do that at 7 instead of yelling MAMA!

but on a cute note, here's baby cass in her breckenridge shirt from auntie rachey. she's trying to pull off rachel's comfy but cute look. see the velour cargo pants. now that's style.



i'm off to take a shower. praise the Lord for cribs and hand-me-down toys. and generous cousins. and mima's who come to watch little kids so moms can go out and be free for a couple hours. and papa's who work hard. and...

stay tuned, wyatt's wearing a pair of levi's tom got at a thrift store years ago and he's looking a bit like my ol' flame, mr. cool hand himself.

hats off to everyone reading and commenting. so fun! i might have a part time job here. i only wish there was some kind of way to put a monetary value on the fun of blogging and having people enjoy it.

...On the fifteenth day of this seventh month is the Festival of Sukkot, seven days for the L-RD. -Leviticus 23:34

here are some cute pictures of the kiddos in the sukkah, aka tent. we celebrated sukkot, that is until the threat of hail came on sunday and we took the tent down. but we celebrated in our own gentile way. the kids enjoyed it.

i like to think this is their early start to modeling. cass certainly has the pouty look down. and wyatt's just a dreamer with long locks.


here's an awesome and important feature of the sukkah. you have to be able to see through the top in case Messiah comes. and tadah, we have a built-in see-through roof. it made for some wonderful time of reading and eating strawberries, not to mention the glorious weather.

here's an assignment. our friend maasen is an avid reader of the blog network. whilst encouraging her to blog herself, she commented, "i don't have a name." she said if i came up with a name then she would blog (oh that it was this easy to get everyone to blog) this theme of needing a name seems to be a common problem. i've been informed that tom doesn't like to comment on other people's blogs because it comes up as "tom & leah" and most people assume it's me. i stole his name, essentially. canoeamericana was his idea.

1) what's a good name for maasen's blog?
2) should i give tom his blogspot back and find my own? will it really change anything?

i got in an accident last thursday. doesn't the truck look sad. it's like my front light is frowning.

obviously everyone is okay. we're waiting to see if the car will be as well. i was coming off of the ramp from i-35, getting ready to turn onto 95th street when a guy ran a red light and i slammed into his passenger side door. the babies were both in the car and didn't really know anything had happened. but boy did i know, and the car that got hit knew for sure. there was a woman riding in the passenger side and she was a bit disturbed by the whole thing, but physically okay. i pray she's doing alright. the man admitted he ran the light and the police officer took our information, and gave me the man's and i thought, well this is easy.

turns out he's not on the policy number that i have. i'm waiting for the police report to be available to get more information. we're praying that we'll have some sort of recourse, because the front of the truck is a bit off-center. at first glance he looks alright, but upon inspection you'll notice the disfigurement. looks like we're driving ol' jasper till it's time to put him out to pasture. i'll keep you "posted" (haha) on the insurance fiasco. isn't this so interesting?!

this is tom trying to get wyatt to ham it up at the end of a song. his cousin abbie can pose like there's no tomorrow, but wyatt's just not as into it.

can you see where wyatt gets his good looks?

i've been informed by maasen that i need to blog more. i'm sorry. things are busy (i can use that excuse for at least the next five, probably six, years.)

seriously.

stephanie and jack ( iwannabeyourblog.blogspot.com ) came over for supper the other night. when did i start calling it supper? my parents don't call it supper. tom doesn't call it supper. ever since wyatt started understanding my words, though, i've called it supper. i like it. it feels very comfortable. check out the definitions. this proves my point on the comfort level. look at the third definition for "dinner". table d what?

supper:
1. the evening meal, often the principal meal of the day.
2. any light evening meal, esp. one taken late in the evening: an after-the-theater supper. –adjective
3. of or pertaining to supper: the supper dishes.
4. for, during, or including supper: a supper party.


dinner:
1. the main meal of the day, eaten in the evening or at midday.
2. a formal meal in honor of some person or occasion.
3. table d'hôte.

maybe some day you'll be invited to a supper party over here. but for now, it was steph and jack's turn. we ate and talked, tried to get wyatt awake to play with little success, and once the kiddos were settled in, we talked some more. i went to high school with both stephanie and jack and we have some serious history together. i like to think that when the three of us get together it's getting even with tom about all his talk of high school with, well, almost everyone.

this time it was about ten year reunions. jack had his this summer. steph and i are next summer. we're not going. it's been decided. there's very little reason to go back to see people you didn't keep in touch with so you can pretend you have the energy to talk to people you really don't have the energy to talk with again.

don't get me wrong, i like running into people every now and again. but i lack the real social graces of most people, and if it weren't for tom, more situations would be awkwardly avoided then confronted. you may talk to everyone you can, at any given opportunity, but for steph and me, it's just hard. and more often than not, painful. every now and again we'll run into people we're curious about and give it the ol' heave ho, but usually no. we'll hide behind clothes racks or avoid eye contact or have fake conversations on our cell phones just to not talk. this is the way we are. this is why we are still friends. this is probably also why we married men like jack and tom. it's a balancing act.

so here's a funny story. (before i continue, i can hear tom saying, "ouch! that must have hurt!" when i say "ran into" i don't mean literally. c'mon.) stephanie ran into an old high school friend (actually someone we both have known since elementary school) who ran into someone else from high school in the bathroom of a restaurant. this girl who walked in and saw our old elementary school friend was so excited. "kerry pritchard!(not her real name) i'm so happy to see you!" she exclaimed. "jen cross. i feel completely neutral about seeing you." yup. don't ask me what happened after that. imagine it yourselves. rude, yes. but pretty funny all the same.

tom is a vicarious perfectionist.

we're working on organizing (always) and while he was at classes tonight i put stuff away. we moved a desk up earlier and started shifting things around, so i sorted through notes and cds and moved stuff around and threw stuff away. i did this for SEVERAL hours. he came home and was so excited about how things look. ooohs and ahhhs were quickly followed by "what's this?" and questioning looks about why certain things were NOT put away. the subliminal picking up of dog hair (yes, there is dog hair on the floor where my children play) is a prime example. i did so much to get us to a better place and he's noticing the smallest (although admittedly gross) things.

we laughed about it as soon he started doing it. he doesn't mean to. and he's so good looking that it's excusale.

he's learned a phrase from my old boss kelly. the scenario goes like this: you tell someone about a situation, then instead of asking them outright to do something about it, you say, "can we ___________(fill in the blank with a task)?" you look at them with a smile and then say, "and by 'we' i mean you." argh. that's the story of my life when it comes to organizing. that's how it was at work and that's how it is at home. and i'm not really that good at it...must be why tom feels the need to correct me. if only he'd lead by example.

while we were in colorado we spent some time at the pool. one day sarah, tom and i went down to the pool with wyatt and cassidy. tom sat on the edge of the pool while sarah and i got in. our goal: to get wyatt in the water. there was something about being in a pool that size without any kind of kid area that didn't sit right with the big guy. we got to talking with some older people at the pool, new hampshirians, and before i knew what had happened, i looked over at baby cass. i left her in her carrier by the table, happy as a clam, but she had decided she was happy no longer. she had turned herself around and wiggled her way out of the carrier, i'm sure determined to show wyatt there was nothing to worry about with the big pool. we looked like negligent parents, but tom passed it off by saying he was actually proud of her for doing that. it is a bit funny.

here's the long awaited video. take three.

post script: this actually took a long time to upload and it still didnt't really work. i can't believe how much trouble i had with this. argh!

wiggle worm...

i'm not sure why the video at the bottom of the last post doesn't work. it shows up in the preview. but i'm trying again...

i'm blogging simply because no one else is. except janet, i guess. that bathroom looks amazing! some updates. cass is sleeping through the night. she is also sittin up. wyatt is getting smarter by the minute -- picking up his toys and helping unload the dishwasher. also, fyi, our computer is getting a little wacky and currently the g and y are not cooperatin. so if i miss a letter assume it's a g. tomorrow is rosh hashanah so i'm oin to be bakin all day today -- i just spent the mornin grocery shoppin and the kids are about ready to crash. so what's new with you?

you know what i'm looking forward to?

hot chocolate. mmmm.

i made eggplant parmesan last night. it was yummy! here's the recipe (i'm pleased with the little concoction myself. although it wasn't difficult it was fun to have it work out on the first try)

1-1 1/2 cups fine cracker crumbs (i put saltines in a ziplock and mash them up with a rolling pin)
1 Tb garlic salt
1 Tb dried oregano
1 Tb dried basil
1/2 cup finely shredded parmesan
2 eggs
1/4 c milk
oil for frying
1 eggplant, sliced 1/4 inch or 1/2 inch at most
1 box penne (8oz)
1 jar pasta sauce (25 oz)(i use whole foods pesto and tomato, yum!) or you can make your own
1 cup ricotta
slices of mozarella, provolone, or monterrey jack

preheat oven to 350'.
put a good coating of oil in frying pan and heat on medium. boil water and cook penne.

combine the cracker crumbs, seasonings and parmesan. blend eggs and milk. coat slices of eggplant with egg mixture and then crumb mixture. fry both sides till golden brown. drain on paper towel (with a plate underneath).

drain noodles and put on bottom of 9x13(or so) glass baking dish, then mix in sauce and ricotta, stirring together all three. place eggplant slices over the pasta, overlapping when necessary. cover the top with slices of cheese. bake for 20 minutes till cheese is melted.

yummy yummy. add a little salad and some bread and you've got a good meal. i was really stoked. hope you try it and enjoy it.

let's see if i can put this into my own words.

tom was telling me about a debate between a messianic jew, dr. michael brown, and a jewish rabbi. one of the points dr. brown made was for the point of Messiah coming before the destruction of the second temple. this is the point that i keep coming back to: Jesus came as the final offering, the one that takes away our sins in a way that a sheep or bull cannot. the second temple was destroyed in 70 AD (CE), shortly after Jesus died and was resurrected. sacrifices were no longer possible without the temple. Jesus fulfilled the torah when the Lord commanded sacrifices, not removing the importance of the temple but the importance of the sacrifice for the atonement of sins. this is why 1)Jesus makes sense as the Messiah, and 2)yom kippur is so important.

yom kippur is the day of atonement, and as people who believe that God is the only one that atones for our sin we should take the time to fast and pray and focus on what God has delivered us out of through His mercy. if we did not have God and His commandment for yom kippur we would not have forgiveness for our ugliness. if we did not have Jesus as Messiah, we, as non-jews, would still be in need of grace! being grafted in means we get to participate in the holy day to mourn our sins and then praise the Lord for His grace.

observe yom kippur on september 22, and obey his commandment (lev. 23:26-28).

the day is getting better. yesterday was great. i took the kids to sam's club and whole foods and they did wonderfully. they both napped well and by 7 o'clock dinner was done, the kitchen was clean and the kiddos were back in bed. but then the night went downhill.

we're trying to get to israel next summer for the umjc conference, but the money is a little tight. i called our airline connection (we have rewards through our credit card) and it seems the few carriers they have that do go to tel aviv are already booked. what? yeah, that's what tom said too. that's just the way it goes. my helpful but booked assistant suggested using our points to at least get to new york. that might help with some of the cost. i thought this was a great idea.

i fell asleep around 9:30 from exhaustion (vacation will do that) and woke up at 10:30pm for cass's last feeding. it was a fitful night as our littlest tried to scream her way to my bosom. the trip to colorado and sharing a room really messed her up. after getting up several times to remind her that we were playing according to a new set of rules, i decided 6am was the last straw. i nursed her, laid her back down, and then laid in bed, listening to wyatt cry. i got up around 6:30 and found mr. magoo's pj's and bed wet. totally wet. ick. so before the sun made it's full appearance i had him in the tub. it's been downhill since.

cass has been fussy all day. wyatt spent more of the morning whining than laughing. he took a nap but she refused to. then when she did finally fall asleep he was up. and at least in a somewhat better mood. i tried to leave him alone for most of the afternoon, and with a surprise visit from gigi things got a little better. but now that he's in bed for nap #2 she's up fussing again.

while checking my email amidst a moment of trying to ignore the drama around me, i stumbled upon more drama about a friend and the mess she's in. it hurts to see the people around you hurting and not know how to make a difference. argh!

to top it all off my sister informed me that the cute video of wyatt and abbie in the tub together has gotten more than twice the hits as any other video i've posted. creepy people out there are being, well, creepy. no more tub video.

also, that great advice to use our airline points to get to jfk isn't really helpful, because the total for the trip doesn't include air to new york. will we go...God only knows.

---

but i forgot to mention why this day is getting better. today in the mail came our first installment of ihop's limited edition cd. yay! and not only that but it also has a second disk with the best of limited edition! two cd's for the price of one. what a gift from the lord.

also, while having people over a lot wears me out, tonight is one of those nights when comfortable people are coming to hang out. i'm looking forward to a "lite night" as some call it. since they're comfortable people maybe i can get away with wearing my comfortable clothes, like say, my new lounge pants from rachel...

we're back from vacation, and trying to recuperate. wyatt's having a tough time getting back in the swing of things; i laid him down at 8:30 last night and he didn't get up until 1 this afternoon. and then after being up for two hours he went back to sleep, waking up for a few more hours and then going to bed at 9. we'll see what tomorrow brings. i wish i could sleep that much, but alas, lil' cassie and tom need to eat and someone has to do the laundry.

check out youtube.com/user/beahblake for some videos of the trip. that's cousin abbie being a brave little girl on the alpine slide and the rock wall and the trampoline. wyatt mostly kicked the ball and threw rocks. it was a good time, but we're glad to be home.

i'm trying to pacify those who want just a little something. i don't want to disappoint you and then lose my readership. it's cool here, about 70' or so and for the mountains that's warm. but still glorious. we've been out on the playground and kicking the ball and eating. wyatt is learning a lot of words, and figuring out how to open and close sliding doors and especially how to share.

it's an adventure when the three franz girls get together. rachel got here today and we're waiting for the crazy to officially start. saturday night we played hearts and it got a little out of control, ending with my parents rolling their eyes, sarah laughing hysterically and me laying on the floor trying to imitate michael scott dancing on the booze cruise. i guess you had to be there.

i'll post some pictures for you all soon, if there are any post-worthy ones. on a side note, as food is a hot topic, i made gnocchi for the family last night and it was a wonderful success. dad was especially impressed and said he's going to give it a try himself. try out the gnoocchi recipe i told you about. you won't be disappointed. just make sure you make the gnocchi bake like susan does, otherwise it's a little boring.

i tried several times to just post the videos here, but it keeps giving me errors and even when it didn't i had two youtube tv screens of the same thing. "it's the same thing!" so go to youtube (youtube.com/user/beahblake)(because now it's not letting me link you there -- the things i do for you!) and check it out for yourself. there are a couple of new videos. happy vacation to me. happy school/work/heat to you.

we've had a breakthrough. cassidy is getting used to the crib with her fun blanket and little dolly and laughing bear. and no pacifier. there are times when she fights for more than 5 minutes, but usually it's a little fuss and then out. she's going in the way of her awesome brother and playing in her crib when she wakes up. it's a much easier transition than crying. i like it and propose all children wake up in such a manner.

as a sidenote, we're going to colorado for a week on friday, so i can't promise anything spectacular. in the meantime, here are some photos from fillthewell. it was a lot of fun. maybe you should space out how many photos you look at so you can come back in a few days and see another one that you haven't seen. then you'll feel like i posted something new...

this is tom and wyatt with their rockstar buddy sam.

this is jessica and maasen. aren't they some of the prettiest girls in town?

and here's auntie lauren and her little son noah. he's growing so much, he smiles and coos now. i love having a nephew across the street. and a sister too.

here's wyatt with big cousin harrison. wyatt was drinking decaf, don't worry.

take care of yourselves and i'll try to keep you updated on the 70' weather.

1:42 am
cassidy is crying.
and crying. and then stopping. and then crying.
tonight is the first night, sans pac, that she's woken up in the middle of the night. so she's crying.

2:1o am
i go in and rub her back, try to "shhh" her back to sleep. i leave the room, her cries echoing in the hallway.

2:11 am
still crying. then stopping. then crying some more.

2:50 am
she's having it all out now. one last wail...

2:53 am
quiet.

3:03 am
still quiet. i get in bed, the dishwasher is unloaded and the kitchen is clean.

3:15 am
lots of thoughts racing in my head and i decide to get up and turn on the computer.

3:35 am
write some e-mails, blog, stomach is starting to growl. all i want is to be sound asleep.
like tom.
like wyatt.
like cassidy.

things i'm loving right now:
-wyatt leaning into me as i clean off his hands from lunch
-stacking blocks as tall as wyatt
-listening to "whad'ya know"
-two sleeping babes with their special blankets in their cribs
-making time to read
-keeping the house picked up
-the thought of being in colorado in a week

things i'm not loving right now:
-cass's next sleepytime adventure
-i'm hungry
-reading elie wiesel's _night_ and realizing he lost his faith in God because of hitler

slowly, slowly, she's learning that her crib is nice without the pacifier. tip #1, make sure she's good and tired when you put her in there. she'll have less energy to cry about it if she's pooped out.
and yes, she did open her eyes when the flash went off, but she fell back asleep. glorious!

after months of putting it off and then a couple failed attempts, i have resigned myself to breaking cassidy of her pacifier addiction. it's an ugly situation and i'm not sure how the rest of the family will handlle it, but so far no casualties. at 6am i fed her and then tried to give her the pacifier. repeatedly. she did not want it. i wanted her to sleep, so i tried one more time and then gave up. i let her cry. i crawled back into bed. (mind you i had already fed cassidy and made tom's lunch at this point) i listened to her cry. waiting for wyatt to cry. she cried and then stopped. and then started crying again. and then stopped. then cried. i told myself, two more cries and i'll get out of bed. one...two. i got up and decided to be productive. oh no! not another productive day!

appropriately, as i listened to my daughter scream out for her beloved pac (soft c, pronounced "pass" and definitely not a binky) i turned on pedro the lion. david bazan's ep 'whole' seemed the most appropriate album. he wails about addiction on it, and quite wonderfully. after sitting on the sunporch where it was a little bit nice, and asking God for his grace to handle today and whatever happens, i entered the house welcomed by silence. no david bazan screaming "almost there" and no cass screaming about her missing pac. even wyatt was peacefully sleeping. or reading silently. i spent the morning reading 'copernicus and the jews' (daniel gruber) and then took a 5 minute nap.

now for round two...

i went into wyatt's room last night to change his diaper (i forgot to put a big one on him before bed) and found him like this. he was breathing, but thanks to the blanket didn't flinch when i took the picture.

today i did some hebrew action. actually, i put hebrew thought into action. one of the fundamental concepts of hebrew thought is obedience first, understanding later, maybe. God gave us instructions on how to live life, not as suggestions or things for us to explain to eachother, but to do them. DO. yes, this makes sense. but still, our little brains want to understand something before we do it. and in most instances that's wisdom. however, knowing that God is good and his ways are good is enough of a reason do anything he tells us to do.

so this morning i got up at 5 to feed cassidy. then again at 7 (i'm trying to feed her more right now because i don't think she's getting enough to eat. although currently she's going on a 5 hour stretch. you figure her out) and continued with the morning. i made tom's lunch and tried to soothe cassidy. i emptied the dishwasher and thought, ooh, wyatt's still quiet. i'll put cass in her exersaucer and take a little nap while he's still quiet. so i put her in and slide into bed. as i pulled the blanket up, more like yanked, i hit the cup on my nightstand and water went everywhere. and then i heard him. wyatt's waking up.

i cleaned up the water and then decided, this is useless. i headed downstairs to do laundry and realized, this is good. i'll get lots of stuff done this morning. even though i'd much rather be in bed right now, i will feel satisfied getting these things done. and i am satisfied. no nap but i have clean bathrooms, clean clothes, clean counters and qualtiy time with paul and lauren. just a quick lunch before cassidy decides she is really hungry and then on with the rest of the day.

and that's a simplified version of hebrew action. there are so many bad slogans coming to mind: just do it, why ask why, etc. this little scenario may not prove helpful to you, but it's God's way of showing me what action does...it gets things done.

cassie sines wins the award for best commenter! congratulations, cassie. i consider myself a giver of words of encouragement, but it feels great to receive them as well. here's a link that will put you to all the videos; this is so easy. http://youtube.com/user/beahblake

also, don't forget fillthewell.org. the benefit is tomorrow night at 6 and there are bands and food and humanitarian reasons. it's at paradigm, which is right across from antioch family worship center, antioch and I-35.

sound the alert...there should be a new video of cassidy on youtube by the time you all check this. i don't have the link, but if you go to the other videos it should show up. just a friday morning treat. shabbat shalom.

hooray! susan has officially started her own blog. this girl is funny and smart and cute. wow. even though it's still in its infancy it's a great little place and this first post is definitely worth reading. welcome, susan. i'm glad you're here...

arrowsofhope.blogspot.com

more! more! more! they cry. so i will give you more. here's video taken just this afternoon of the little pro practicing his moves with his papa. he's rocking it up! we're thinking wyatt will be a public school soccer star. it would be great if his games were on thursday nights and not fridays...
http://youtube.com/watch?v=funMsXDt_98

also, i just want to make it public that i love my husband. i watched "the holiday" last night with the girls. jude law plays this great dad of two girls and jack black is this loser-in-a-cute-way artist guy and i realized i have the best man --he's a combo package. dorky but funny, cool but kind. he loves the kids and me and everybody else. and he's really really ridiculously good looking.

youtube. here's some wy-guy fun. this is really more fun for people who haven't seen the curls. it's gone beyond the euro-mullet, although his footskills are definitely looking like premier league quality. check out the hair...he does have the hiccups in this episode so he's a little hard to understand...oh wait, that's just his babbling. there's one word you can definitely understand, "yeah!"
http://youtube.com/watch?v=chsMY1pEEQY

there may be more videos that you haven't seen or that i loaded after this post... so check it out. he's a funny little guy doing things that make him happy and they make me laugh. soon cass will make her debut; the last video really turned out to be all about wyatt, now didn't it? she'll probably smile through the whole video. that's just what she does.
http://youtube.com/watch?v=XUUW7r_cSCY

please check this out and come if you can -- it will be a great time for a really great purpose. and this little video is rad. fillthewell.org the artwork, the layout, the links, the information -- it is all wonderful. i'm personally excited about seeing the sailor sequence. they sound very nice. and jordan and friends because they really are friends. and kyle blake because he's family. and i don't know anything about mccoy, but i hope they're country folk.

come, eat sweeties, drink some good strong coffee, rock out to local music and maybe even buy some art. if nothing else, it's a good reminder that we live in a country where we can tell people that jesus is free and water is clean. so bring your dollars and your dancing shoes and be prepared for a good time.

i'm telling you, if you get bored because i'm not a consistent poster, read miss janet's brilliance. if you don't laugh out loud at least once i'll bake you something yummy.

also, august 4th is a benefit event for our friend matt anderson -- music, art, food, charity. he's going to africa to dig wells. he's taking the holy spirit with him. i'll give you details soon*

shabbat shalom.

i know it's been a while. it's been another busy week and now i'm at my folks' house with the kiddos. tom's in chicago for the umjc conference and i'm vacationing. yesterday we just hung out and had good dinner; we did pretty much the same today. i made challah and cinnamon rolls* and now we're waiting for sarah, james and abbie to show up. seeing as it's raining we'll have to put the pool on hold but there's always something fun to do at gigi and papo's house.

i watched "the man who knew too little" with bill murray. he didn't watch it with me, he's in it. it's the first time i've seen it from start to finish and i highly recommend it. hilarious if you like mr. murray. annoying if you don't.

i'm working on another album for my sister and stayed up late working on that and watching "burn notice" on usa. it's a brilliant show. the writing is good and the acting as well. i haven't watched a current sitcom in so long (minus "the office" which i watch over and over thanks to itunes) it was kind of addictive. reminds me why we don't have cable any more. it sucks away the hours. hours i should be sleeping or reading. but for vacation it was nice to just indulge. it used to be that i watched tv for hours. last year i remember when the christian radio stations promoted turning off our tvs for the month of august. i wondered if we could do it. i almost talked to tom about it but didn't want to give up survivor and the cosby show. a couple months later we went cold turkey and there's no looking back. i love the life we have without television. more room for people. and baking. and the big man. it's a good trade.

(*these cinnamon rolls are INCREDIBLE. people ask for them all the time. and even if they don't i make them anyway. they make about 24 rolls if you're smart and rise a ton when you bake them. i put them in round cake pans instead of cupcake tins. they get big! yummm)

(sorry it took me so long, cassie. you probably won't even read this till monday, but know that i tried to post before 5...)

sarah and i took the kids to the swimming pool yesterday and then got to hang out once the kiddos were asleep. we talked about album design and then she gave me these photos from my birthday. talk about cuties. we had fun. well, we had fun most of the time. sorry, rachel. here are some happier moments for the little guy.

this is so hilarious. my mom is part of a group of ladies called the pink flamingos. they get together and do old lady things. and they dress like wild women. they collect all the pink flamingo stuff they can find (see, bri, flamingos aren't too scary, right?) abbie is really kind to feed these birds that live at my mom's house.

that's a lot of candles. recently i've found that i've forgotten how old i am. all i have to do is remember it was my "golden" birthday. what a special one that is.

on a sidenote: anybody recognize this face? it must run in the family. you're right, DeAnn.