A Night Under the Stars

Tonight I left the spaghetti dishes to get crusty on the table and went out to the backyard. I sat on a lawnchair on the back grass with Hannah and Daniel in my lap, and we watched the stars come out. It's lazy Indian summer evenings like this that make memories. I remember fun evenings swimming under the stars with my parents when I was not much older than they are. And so it was, with my own happy memories tucked inside, it was priceless to sit and cuddle with my little ones and enjoy God's creation together. This is the next generation. I love that they know Who made the stars, Who made them, and that He loves them so very much, as do I.

Alternate Identities & Ebonics

Hannah has become quite adept at "make believe." She has whole conversations with her dolls during tea parties, doing the talking for each of them, and they aren't just discussing tea and cake.

Recently, she's taken to renaming many of us, according to her (incomprehensible) alternate reality. For example, Daniel is now Michael, Caleb is now Samuel, and she is now Maggie Malone. I don't have another name, I'm just Mom.

Peter's name is another story. Peter suggested today that he might be named "Sponge" for all the crumbs and beverages spilled upon him by one multi-named two-year-old, but Hannah says his name remains still "Lawyer," pronounced with heavy ebonics.

On the Market

After much prayer, Peter and I listed our house on the market this week. We don't know what will happen, but we would like to find a place with more space for our little family, and hopefully my parents.

We found what we want. It's nearby, but we felt like we need to have an offer on our place before we make an offer on another.

So were "in the market," so to speak. In the 2 days so far, we've had one showing already, and 17 agents have come by to see the place. Yikes! It isn't easy to keep this place in tip-top-tidy shape with 3 little people!

Please be in prayer with us as we go through this process. We really and truly just want God's best, whatever that may be.

Check out Peter's Bankruptcy Blog

Peter set up a banrkuptcy blog to talk about bankruptcy issues that affect the central valley. fresnobklaw.blogspot.com.

How Peter's Coat Caught Fire...and Other Events at the Wedding

"You're on fire!" a woman shrieked, as she began batting at Peter's coat.

Peter and I went to his cousin Brent's wedding last weekend in Steamboat Springs, Colorado. It was a lovely wedding at a yacht club (no yachts) overlooking a river (I'm not sure why it was called a yacht club). The bride and groom were radiant and very stylish, and we were so happy to be there, joining Peter's family for the big event. As our big kids were sunning at home with Mimi and Papa, we were having a second honeymoon with just one baby, and some rain!

The rain began shortly before the wedding, and stopped just in time for the ceremony on the outdoor deck. As soon as the vows were exchanged, the showers resumed, and when we were dismissed, we all headed indoors for shelter. The yacht club was very cozy - for 30 people. But I understand there were more like 190 people there and we were like sardines inside a can.

There were softly lit candles all around the room, the ambience of which was in direct contrast to the amount of volume inside the club. Everyone was shouting to be heard. Caleb's crying wasn't even audible unless you were right next to him.

Then I hear a woman yelling about fire. My heart dropped into my stomach when I turned to see large flames shooting up Peter's back. Peter spun around to see where the fire is. He had been standing (apparently) a little too close to an ill-placed votive candle. Fortunately, a quick-thinking woman had the flames extinguished before Peter even realized she was referring to him. The fire caught his coat in the small of his back where his sport coat was furthest away from his body. His dress shirt was blackened, but his undershirt was completely undamaged. Peter was calm. It had been taken care of before he was made aware of it. I was completely unnerved. I couldn't stop hugging him. I just wanted to cry! There is nothing like seeing someone you love so entirely on fire!

The place was so packed that I'm not even sure how many people were aware of the commotion, so Peter and I slipped out and quietly put his coat in the car. No sense in wearing a coat with a softball sized burnt hole in it, right? Besides, it smelled awful from the smoke.

So we went to the reception - also outside but underneath a lovely pavillion. I was shaking still, so Peter was trying to calm me down. We sat down at our table and a waitress walked behind us carrying bottles of wine. She then tripped on a root or something in the grass and dropped a wine bottle, which promptly sprayed up a large portion of its contents - all over Peter's shirt. He was soaked and now with a new stinky. We looked at each other in amazement. Who would ever believe this? All we could do was sit back and laugh and blurt out at the same time - it will make a great story for the blog.