popsicles and pools...what summer is all about!

I've let so much time go by since my last post that there is soooooo much updating to do. Where to begin? Well, it has continued to be CRAZY hot here in Columbus. We keep cool by playing in the baby pool and sprinklers in the back yard. Also, I'm loving the cheap little popsicle molds you can buy and use to make your own homemade popsicles. We make apple juice and orange juice popsicles to have on hand at all times. They are a little messy, but the kids LOVE them, and don't even know that these popsicles are relatively good for them!



This is Deo, our second half nanny. Her birthday was yesterday, so "Happy Birthday, Deo!"


We were lucky to have visitors this past week! Matt and Caitlin Clyde spent a few days with us. They were our first guests since we purchased our new "guest bed" (a queen size air mattress), and we discovered that we actually have a decent make-shift guest room...the air mattress fits perfectly in the play room, the window unit A/C keeps it cool and quiet, and there's a door and blinds for privacy. Who needs a fourth bedroom, anyway? Matt and Caitlin, happy first anniversary (a few days early)! Thanks for gracing us with your presence. We always enjoy your company. Come back soon!


We also got a visit from one of our last-summer nannies, Skwirlie (aka Alissa). I'm wondering what was going on in Landry's mind while Skwirlie was here because of this conversation:
Mommy: "Landry, who's this?" (pointing to Alissa)
Landry: "Oh! A skwill!" (Skwill = squirrel in Landry language)
So funny! Even funnier...Hank saw that we laughed at Landry when she said that, so for the rest of the evening he continued to repeat, "Oh! A skwill!" and laughing histarically, so hard in fact that he almost fell over at one point. Alissa, it was so fun to see you and catch up! We'd love to see you again soon! We're praying for you...keep us posted on where the Lord leads you!


Tucker has a couple new talents. First of all, he's sitting up like a champ! He's getting so big...I can hardly stand it! Secondly, he knows to smile for the camera (as seen below)...what a cheese ball! He'll be crawling any day now...I'll try to post a little video as soon as he does! Also, he's building up quite the repetoire of foods he's eating now. I'm not noticing any obvious favorites yet. I think he just enjoys the groceries. And this hot of the press...he may be an all bottle-fed baby pretty soon. He seems a lot more satisfied after a big bottle of formula than he does after nursing these days. We'll see???




So, Hank started swim lessons this week! The James' nanny, Fairy, has taught swim lessons with her mom since she was 12, so she and Deo taught Grace and Hank this week. I wouldn't go so far as to say Hank is swimming...yet. He is fearless in the water, and his eagerness is probably his biggest enemy at this point. He's just too excited to actually concentrate on learning. He's working on "locking his head up" (putting his arms above his head), putting his face in the water, and kicking his legs...all at the same time. He loves jumping into the water for Deo to catch him, and he's able to swim a couple of feet. It's been a fun week, and we're excited to see how he continues to progress.


Mr. Hank is getting so big. Besides learning to swim, he's also developing quite the little vocabulary. I decided to start keeping a list of the words he uses that surprise me, especially because he uses them in the right context. You'll find the list in the margin on the left. One quick funny story. One day this week when he was getting ready for swim lessons, Deo and Skwirlie were putting sunscreen on him. He saw a picture on the bottle of a little dog tugging at the swim suit of a little girl. Hank put up his hand and said, "Wait. Is that for dogs?" Deo and Skwirlie, laughing, quickly assured him that it was indeed for people, not dogs, and he seemed satisfied with that answer. Oh, to know what he was thinking!

So, I'm saving the best part of the post for last. I want to share a conversation I had with Hank the other night as I was tucking him into bed...one that I won't soon forget:

Mommy: Hank, do you want to thank God for anything?
Hank: No, Mommy, I want you to.
M: What do you want me to thank him for?
H: Going camping with Daddy, playing in the playroom, my cars-cars...
M: Any people?
H: Walker and Miller and their mommy. My mommy, my daddy, my stista, and my baby bwudda Tucka.
M: OK. (then I proceeded to thank God for the things Hank had listed and to pray for Hank, but I prayed in a much more conversational way than normal) Amen.
H: I want to tell God some stuff.
M: OK, go ahead.
H: God, thanks for my new toy (referring to his McDonalds happy meal toy he had gotten that night). I hope it doesn't break and stuff like that. Thanks for my mommy, my daddy, my stista, and my baby bwudda Tucka. Amen.
M: Hank, that was great!
H: Mommy, I want to go in the sky and be with God.
M: Well, Hank, did you know that God is everywhere...even right here with us.
H: No, Mommy, God doesn't fit in the Mesquite house.
M: Well, I know it's hard to understand, but even though God is bigger than our house, he's still here with us, but we can't see or hear him...that's called faith. Did you know God is in my heart?
H: I want him to get out of there! (very serious face)
M: No, I want him there. I asked him to come in. Want to know why?
H: Yeah.
M: Do you do bad things sometimes, things that you get a whopper for?
H: Yeah, I hit Landry like this (hitting one had with his other) and that makes her feel bad.
M: Well, that's called sin, and God doesn't like sin. But God sent his son Jesus to the earth. Jesus was perfect, he didn't do anything wrong... he didn't hit his sister, or bite his brother, or disobey his mommy and daddy. So God put all our sins on Jesus, and he died on the cross. But then he came back to life. And if we want him to, he can wash all our sins away and come live in our hearts.
H: I want him to walk out of your heart into mine.
M: Oh, buddy! He can be in my heart and your heart at the same time. He's in Daddy's heart, too!
H: I want God and Jesus in my heart.
M: Why?
H: Because I love them!

So, the conversation continued on a little while after than...mostly rehashing some of the things we had already talked about. And even though he expressed interest in having Jesus "in his heart." I didn't feel like it was time to lead him in a prayer. I could see the wheels turning, and I know he's starting to "get it". Later I was telling Jeff that the comforting thing is that if he gets it, he gets it...it doesn't take a magical prayer to make it official. And if he doesn't really get it yet, at least he's curious! Oh, I can't tell you how that conversation blessed me. Of course, as a parent, probably my biggest goal in life is that my children know and love the Lord. What a blessing it was to begin to see some of the fruit from the seeds that Jeff and I (and probably many of you reading this) have planted over the past three and a half years!