Weekend in Pictures

So this weekend I was in Chicago.  I love Chicago.  But this was especially cool because my best friend came along for the trip PLUS I was at all these Commission on Women activities meeting some pretty impressive and accomplished women.  Many of the women have served decades to ensure equality in all corners of our country and the world.  The downside was it was the second weekend out of the past three I've been away from the kids.  I will not do that again.  It was too hard for me, for Bray, and for the kids.  When I reunited with them last night, the first thing the little lady said was, "no go bye-bye no more."  I quickly replied, "No ma'am!  No more bye-byes.  The next time I get on a plane it will be the whole family going to Disney!"  She was delighted.  So was I. 

Since I was in meetings non-stop, I haven't had much of a chance to write.  I do have a lot I want to write about this week, so I'll work on it tonight.  In the meantime, here's this weekend in pictures: 

Eating - Whether it was celebrity cuisine with Rick Bayless or classic Chicago pizza at Lou Malnati's, we ate our way through Chicago (and at BOTH celebrity chef restaurants talked to BOTH celebrity chefs - Rick Bayless pictured below, Art Smith no photo opportunity):

Boating - I had just a smidgen of free time on Friday morning, so we squeezed in a short boat ride of Chicago.  I've done it before, but I always love seeing Chicago by water:

Friending - I know I mentioned this, but I got to spend time with my best friend Mary.  She and I haven't had a weekend out since her 40th celebration in Manhattan last March.  She is just the coolest person on the planet and we had so much fun, and always do.  The cherry on top was seeing my college roommate and dear friend Alicia and getting to meet her new baby girl Hannah (how gorgeous is she!?!?!):

Mary and I before going to the Chair's Dinner

Breakfast with the sleeping beauty Hannah

On a funny note, Bray sent me an email with this picture from the farm and this text, "Lillie is in charge!"  I know it's blurry, but it's obvious she has caged the boys in Aunt Jinx's dog kennel.  He rocks:

Chicago

I started out to do today's post on Elohim, a name of God that has recently had some real significance for me, but the research was so exhaustive I decided to do this short little post instead and save Elohim for next week when I can appropriately finish my research (so stand by). 

Growing up, I listened to Barry Manilow.  Scoff if you will, but I still love me some Barry Manilow.  (And Neil Diamond to boot - there's nothing like a little Jazz Singer Coming to America to make your day!)  I remember one album we had in the house growing up had a song called Only In Chicago on it - I can still sing it:

Only in Chicago,
Love is in the air,
In Chicago,
There's a magic there in Chicago,
Our Chicago,
Baby you and I we tried to take it with us

If you ever listened to music in the '70s you've got that tune stuck in your head now.  I had no idea what the love lyrics meant at the time nor had I ever been to Chicago, but I have loved Chicago for as long as I can remember.  I tried to go to law school there (I didn't get in) and tried to get a job there after law school (couldn't find one), but I do get to go back every once and a while, largely because the American Bar Association is based there. 

I am delighted that I get to go back today.  More than that, I get to go with my best friend and will get to be a part of a lot of ABA Commission on Women activities as a result of a book on leadership I have been working on for them.  They recognize outstanding achievement by women in their field, and I am so excited to meet dynamic women from across the country.  The cherry on top is that I get to room with my best friend and meet up with my college roommate and her new baby for breakfast. 

The biggest downside is that I have now had to be away from the trio for two weekends within one month.  This is a first and I couldn't help but feel guilty driving away this morning.  I know they'll have a blast with their dad at the farm, but still..... 

So I'm working on a series that I will roll out with the new website about working mom and what we have to juggle and how do we decide what we say yes to and what we prioritize.  I'll also be restarting the fall downtown working women's bible study over the lunch hour.  I can't wait to see what God unfolds and I am so looking forward to learning from you as we figure out how to keep our focus on God and be good wives, mommies, and workers.  Until then, I leave you with a little Neil Diamond for your weekend viewing pleasure - it would have been Barry but I couldn't find Only in Chicago on YouTube and given that the Olympics are going on I couldn't resist some Coming to America (besides, who can beat that jacket?):

Wordless Wednesdays (road trip version)

I Need To Talk To You (despite the bronchitis)

I have bronchitis.  And a sinus infection.  And some other stuff.  It made me a less than ideal companion to my family at the farm this weekend. 

I've been burning my candle til there's not much left.  And my darling husband has too.  Yet he completely stepped up and let me be a slug the past few days despite it being his birthday weekend. 

I do have a rockin' doctor who gave me a ton of meds yesterday and promises that I will be in travel-able shape by the time I have to catch a plane to Chicago Thursday. 

As a result, I've been a little iffy keeping up my writing this week.  But I do have a few precious vignettes from our weekend at the farm which may put a little smile on your face - it did mine. 

The eldest absolutely adores his grandfather (Bray's dad).  He worships the ground he walks on.  Apparently, last weekend when Bray was at the farm without me, grandfather allowed him to have some coffee milk in a little mug while the "men" sat out on the front porch having their morning cup o' joe.  Well, my funny child now knows exactly where his little mug is that grandfather designated for him (and put in a kid friendly location) and asks for coffee once in the morning and once in the afternoon when grandfather is enjoying his.  (The children had been calling him grandpa, but now that the eldest calls him grandfather, the other two followed suit.)

It is the most precious thing you have ever seen.  Those two fellas having their morning coffee together - with my baby either sitting next to grandfather or on his lap.  I hope it doesn't stunt his growth :)
Check out Saturday's adoration session over coffee:

Blowing on my lil' coffee



Cheers-ing coffees with grandfather



Proudly displaying my little mug

While the eldest follows grandfather around, the baby won't leave daddy's side.  He wants to do everything daddy does and will work earnestly around the farm to the extent his two-and-a-half-year old self allows.  He spent an hour and a half cutting hay with dad and then rode the family around on the buggy to survey his progress (yes, he steered on Bray's lap - lord help us)!  

C'mon mom, I got my boots on and am ready to go

THIS one is my favorite tractor

But my favorite moment of the weekend (despite the lobster feast for Saturday's dinner which nearly outshone everything) was the little lady's newest past time.  She is not nearly the tractor enthusiast that her brothers are, though she does love to ride horses, so we hung out some while the boys were cutting hay.  I could be sitting on the ground or in a chair watching her play and she would come over, spread my legs, pull a kid-sized chair over in between them, sit down and say, "Mommy, I need to talk to you."  She would then sit there facing me in her chair and jabber on about half a dozen things, only half of which I actually understood.  She would explain the goings-on of the family, the activities that had taken place, why she liked certain songs, and so forth and so on.  She would punctuate her steady stream of conversation with laughter about some statement she made that cracked her up.  She did this over the course of the weekend on at least three occasions.  I loved it.  I love that she wants to talk to me.  I love that she engages me close up and face to face.  And I promise that I will engage in this dialogue for as long as she wishes to do so, hopefully until she's 50 and I'm in hospice.  But in those teen years, when she's less receptive, I will happily turn the tables and pull a chair up in her space and jump start these conversations.  I hope this weekend's were the first three in three million. 

I'm just dying to know what she's thinking

How could you resist a conversation with this?

The Other Shoe

I heard this amazing man speak at last weekend's conference - his name is Tom Davis and he runs Children's Hope Chest which sponsors orphans in many countries and rescues children from sex trade.  During his speech, he began to draw a beautiful picture for the audience:

It's a beautiful snowy night at Christmas time.  A mother and father are driving down the road in their car while their children sit in the backseat singing Christmas carols and laughing.  It's dark outside and the snowflakes glisten in the street lights. 

Then he said:  End scene.  What happens in Scene Two?

Think about it.  You just heard Scene One.  What is the first thing you imagine happeninng in Scene Two? 

Do you know what almost everyone said?  Scene Two shows a car accident.  Almost everyone who heard that beautiful scene pictured it as a movie and believed the next image would inevitably reveal a gruesome car accident. 

What does that say about us?  About me?  The first thing we think about, the first place our mind heads when we see something so perfect, is the disaster that will inevitably come next. 

We have become such a apprehensive people.  We almost wish against experiencing a beautiful scene in our own lives for fear of what will come next.  There couldn't be an instance of unadulterated joy unmarred by misfortune.  Misfortune must follow.  What does that say about our faith?  Our perception of God?  Even the most optimistic among us, including me, sees the car accident as an inevitable consequence of the beautiful moment of blessing.  We spend our lives waiting for the other shoe to drop. 

It doesn't have to drop.  Sometimes, there is no other shoe. 

Psalm 21:  You have granted him his heart’s desire and have not withheld the request of his lips. You came to greet him with rich blessings and placed a crown of pure gold on his head. He asked you for life, and you gave it to him—length of days, for ever and ever.  Through the victories you gave, his glory is great; you have bestowed on him splendor and majesty.  Surely you have granted him unending blessings and made him glad with the joy of your presence.

Ephesians 1:  Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love he predestined us for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will - to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves. In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace that he lavished on us. With all wisdom and understanding, he made known to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which he purposed in Christ. 

Does that sound like a God standing around dropping shoes on our heads?  Granting unending blessings and LAVISHING the riches of His grace? 

Can I paint you another story?  A real story?  A story from my life on Friday night:
It's a beautiful summer day.  The Vincent family is driving to the farm to celebrate the husband's birthday.  Their three two year olds are in the back seat singing songs and laughing.  The wife is looking back at them while the husband answers his phone.  Their rear tire blows out as they suddenly hear bump, bump, bump, bump against Interstate I-10.

Do you know what Scene 2 is?  A car crash?  Stranded for hours while waiting for a tow truck while the birthday is ruined? 

No.  We were in traffic so we were not driving fast.  We were mere seconds from an exit.  Off of that exit was a Sears Auto store that told us the tires were rare and would have to be special ordered.  Yet less than a mile from that Sears store was a Discount Tires that had our exact tire in stock and we could limp there without a tow.  It was near closing time, but we arrived before 6.  They finished the repair in less than an hour.  We still had birthday dinner at the farm.  The blow out had not happened the weekend before when Bray was taking the kids to the farm without me.  There was money in our bank account to cover buying a brand new tire.  There was even time for everyone to indulge in birthday cake after dinner and sing the birthday song to my precious husband who kept his head level the entire time. 

There was no other shoe.  The blown tire was not a shoe but rather a reminder of Him LAVISHING His grace all over our lives.  That was a display of His splendor and majesty.  That was the mystery of His will according to His good pleasure. 

I will sit still today and rejoice over our blessings.  I will not run around in circles worried that the sky is falling.  Because friend, when the sky falls, He will be in it and it will just be one more thing to marvel at. 
(Mark 13:26: At that time people will see the Son of Man coming in clouds with great power and glory.)

An Ode On My Beloved's Birthday

I love July 27th.  It was the day God sent my fantastic husband into the world.  Bray's not a huge birthday person, but I love birthdays so I always make a fuss.  When I asked him last night what he was hoping for on his birthday, he said, "a nap."  I responded, "C'mon!  Ask for something more exotic."  To which he replied, "A nap with a pineapple."  Y'all, I laughed so hard I snorted.  Talk about sexy.  This man is so freakin' funny he can pull a snort out of me.  So in honor of my funny, handsome, super terrific husband (who's also a rockin' dad), I give you, fully realizing my poetic limitations, An Ode On My Beloved's Birthday. 
(In case you just don't "get" all of it, know that this man loves God, his family, fishing and hunting, and being on a tractor at the farm.)

Yea! Today is your birthday,

Hop the tractor, bale some hay.

Let's grab the kids and have a party,

Head to the farm and not to be tardy. 

You say you are dreadfully blunt,

And we all know you like to hunt,

But I find you super charming,

Even when you have to do some farming. 

I hear love songs and I think of you,

Though we've been together 9 years it still feels new.

So whether we are naked or we're clothed,

I'm glad we're no longer just betrothed.

The kids think you are super neat,

A dad like you is hard to beat.

You take them fishing and feeding cows,

They get to ride horses and even use plows!

You are the reason I've got so much love in my heart,

And I pray that we never shall part. 

So on this special day,

Let me just shout hip, hip, hooray.

For he's a jolly good fellow which nobody can deny.

A date from our first year together

Our birthday date last night

My Love Cup Explodeth

Seriously?  I have the most adorable children on the planet.  I know you mommas may be reading this and disagreeing, to which you are fully entitled, but right now I'm going to soak up the preciousness of these little love bugs.  You well know all my posts do not start out so gushy.  Between bed time drama and potty training disasters, we have had our share of meltdown posts which is why I LOVE to write these.  Overrunneth just did not seem to be expressive enough of a word to use in the title - so explodeth is the best I could come up with.

Ever since I got back on Sunday they have been little globs of love.  Kissing and hugging and laughing.  And not just with me, but also with each other.  Plus I swear they learned 100 new words while I was gone.  So they are talking a mile a minute.  They explain everything with a "because" or in the little lady's case, "cause, cause, cause," or in the baby's case, "otherwise..." 

The little lady, who has her seriously mean moments, has just exploded love - giving big kisses and hugs and staring me right in the eye and saying, "I love you TOO mommy," or "I love you SO much," or even extolling how much she likes her brothers, daddy, and other family members. 

The baby can not get off of me.  He attacked me when he got out of the car Sunday with this big bear hug and has hung on ever since.  It is delightful.  He's still got a little of that baby fat so he's just so cuddly, and he has this very distinctive smell that is like a drug to me.  I keep kissing his little cheeks just to inhale more of it. Last night, he climbed into bed with us about 3 am and just wrapped his arms around me and patted my back in little circles.  How on earth do you kick a kid out of bed when that love is happening?

The eldest, in addition to being a love bug, is also being such a helper.  He goes around helping clean and pick things up and carry things in the house and proudly announces, "I a helper!"  The past two mornings he runs down the hall to jump up in my lap and cuddle.  I can not move I am so crazy about this little charming fella.  Yesterday morning, Bray went out in the hall to meet him and came back into our room to announce, "He wouldn't even stop for me.  He just wanted to get to you."  I couldn't even feel bad about it because he is such a precious prince. 

Not only did I miss my kids and they miss me, but I missed my husband and he missed me.  I can't stop kissing on him too!

We have gotten to do such fun things, low key hanging out as a family.  Story time at night.  Family shopping excursion to Costco.  Dinner I actually cooked.  Swimming.  And the little lady excitedly announces, "Whole Family!"  The kids want us to all do everything together which means everything from all five of us playing ring around the rosies to a family unit cannonball into the deep end. 

My favorite part has been the nights which usually kick my butt.  But this week I have taken the time to sing and tell stories, and then I crawl into bed with each of them.  Their beds are on the floor now so I can cuddle up behind each one and whisper little stories or songs for a couple minutes before going to the next one.  It is precious time.  Time that I realize won't exist years from now when they will not want to cuddle with mommy.  But right now, my little love bugs are all about the hugs and kisses and cuddles.