In Case They Ever Wonder

I've mentioned that my mom celebrates every holiday known unto man, and she has definitely passed on a love of celebration to her my sisters and me. Of course, Mom always went all out for the major holidays, but she found ways to celebrate the minor holidays as well. The big six were Christmas, Easter, Thanksgiving, 4th of July, Halloween and Valentine's Day. The next tier of holidays included First Day of School, Last Day of School, Labor Day, Memorial Day, St. Patrick's Day, Super Bowl Sunday, and I feel like I may be leaving something out here... Mom once had a "I Have a Dream" party on MLK day, and I'm fairly certain we celebrated Ground Hog's Day at some point in my childhood. (Mom is the same woman who comes up with the most awkward sitting around the table games for each holiday, but that is another post... That being said to celebrate all the holidays is only natural for me, and Halloween is particularly special because it is also Matt's birthd...

I come from a long line of strange people. I've already written about how my parents are reinventing grandparenthood, and this week I was reminded that my grandparents are reinventing great grandparenthood. I got a call on Tuesday afternoon from my almost 79-year- old grandfather and my 72-year-old grandmother that they would be arriving at our house in around three hours. I mean, who has spontaneous grandparents? Well, I really should not have been surprised because my grandparents have always been anything other than normal grandparents. They are both extraordinary people who share a love for new adventures and the open road. They are the same couple who just last year asked if Matt and I would meet them for dinner at 9:30 at night, after which, they drove back to Birmingham! (I remember that night thinking how strange it was that I was trying to stay awake until I got a call that my grandparents had made it home safely!) It wasn't actually a desire for adventure that broug...

One of the many reasons I love Matt is that he is a learner. He does not have the family background that he wishes he had, but he is very intentional about creating a healthy family life for us. In college, he took marriage and family courses and spent time with professors trying to learn about healthy marriage and family relationships. Since we married, he has listened to messages and podcasts and has read many books on creating and leading a healthy, God-honoring family. I love that he likes to discuss with me what we want the atmosphere of our home to be. Recently, we were discussing what we want our family to look like, and Matt later emailed me this quote about parental responsibility from  H. Clay  Trumbell's   Hints on Child Training .   T hey must see to it that the atmosphere of their home is such as to foster and develop in their children those traits of character which their loftiest ideal embodies.  That atmosphere must be full of pure oxygen of love to God and love t...

William James Roden entered the world on February 6 of this year. I have experienced countless unexpected joys in getting to know Will. Will is the child for whom I asked the Lord, and the child that I am certain is His gift of joy to me. I've only known this precious boy for eight months, but I already  have impressions about him that are proving themselves to be true each day.     One of the most noticeable things about Will is that he is all boy - and a big one at that. Born at 8 pounds, 13 ounces and 22 inches long, he really never looked that much like a newborn. By the time we went for his five day appointment, he was already at 9 pounds and couldn't fit in the diapers from the hospital. I know it sounds weird, but I didn't realize how distinctly masculine he would be as an infant. I guess I thought babies are babies, and the differences would come more over time. I should have had some clue since he was so much wilder than his sister - even in the womb. I felt him ...

At four years old, these are a few of Sophie's favorites... the color pink the books, Pinky's Sweet Tooth , Tony's Bread , The Kissing Hand , (a Mama and Sophie favorite)   When the Relatives Came , (a Daddy and Sophie favorite), Fancy Nancy show - Curious George songs - Sweet Pea by Amos Lee (her favorite Daddy-Sophie song), You Cannot Lose My Love by Sara Groves , (her favorite Mama-Sophie song), Remember Surrender also by Sarah Groves (another favorite from her "Sophie CD") making the sign for "I love you" as our special signal (from the book, The Kissing Hand ) playing with Will in our bed when she wakes up her family friend - Jack Disney princess - Sleeping Beauty (no doubt related to her love of pink) inside activities - coloring, playing "bear puzzle," and working her Cinderella puzzle over and over again outside activities - riding her bike restaurants in Georgia - Fabiano's, Covalli's , and Subway restaurant...

There was a little girl Who had a little curl Right in the middle of her forehead And when she was good,  She was very, very good And when she was bad - she was horrid This nursery rhyme is the best explanation of my precious Sophie. (Actually, it is the rhyme my mom used to describe me, as well.) Sophia Paige Roden entered the world on July 7, 2004, and she revealed who she was from the very beginning. She was... Intense - I remember how long she stared at me the night she was born. She wasn't at all the typical sleepy newborn. I remember reading in all the books about how much newborns slept and wondering at how little Sophie closed her big eyes. (In fact, after Sophie, I was so accustomed to newborns being awake that I called the doctor to see if Will was sleeping too  much!) I remember the third day home from the hospital, looking up "High Need Baby" in my Dr. Sears Baby Book . It wasn't that she cried all the time - far from it. Most of the time she was amazing...

We have a definite bedtime routine at the Roden house. In fact, our routine really begins when Matt arrives home from work. I finish up dinner while Matt plays with the kids, we eat dinner with devotions, do a quick pick-up just to get the dishwasher running, head out for a walk or go to the playground, and return for baths and bedtime.  The kids love to take a bath together, and there is much splashing and laughter before I scoop Will out of the tub to get him ready for bed while Matt helps Sophie finish up. Will loves listening to stories during the day, but he is usually a little too fried at bedtime for books. So after enjoying his wet squishy-ness, kissing him like crazy, and wrestling him into his pajamas, I sit with Will in the rocker, sing "He's Got the Whole World in His Hands" and pray for my son...   Meanwhile, Matt has helped Sophie dry off and get into her pjs . I may pick up with her in time to brush out her hair and to brush her teeth. I almost always fi...