The Princess of Wails Gets New Chariots

This week I have spent hours upon hours perusing TheBabyWearer.com and its forum. What an excellent site for anyone remotely interested in digging into the world of baby wearing. Upon little Faith's request (and my shoulders) I needed to do some serious reading on two shoulder type carriers. So, after many, MANY hours of research on the forum for TBW and also looking over hundreds of reviews in their product section, I just purchased two Mei Tai carriers from Mei Tei Baby. I'm so excited! They look so beautiful. I purchased the Pink Brocade and Red Plum Blossom.

Faith has been taking all of her solid naps in the sling. And while I can tell that my baby wearing muscles are definitely strengthening -two weeks of heaving duty babywearing makes a difference, the sling has its limitations. Summer is heading our way, and we need some more airy options. Also the need to get housework or light cooking done works best with a back carry. With the fleece sling I can put Faith in a back carry cradle for toodling around the kitchen, but that's all I dare to do with a back carry, her size and a sling.

I did consider making my own Mei Tai -- but then I got real. Those 99in curtains are still sitting in a heap in the basement waiting to be finished. Time is money --- BUY the Mei Tais.

As I write, I'm enjoying the BEAUTIFUL Georgia weather. Faith is snoozing in the sling (buck naked w/ a diaper), tummy to tummy, I'm seated on the porch rocker, and every man and child is napping in the house. And yesterday, I got that haircut. All is well with my soul.

The Itch To Move & An Analysis On Wealth

The itch is here. We knew it was coming, but I think both of us were hoping that by paying off the house last year we might delay the itch. The desire to move is directly related to the cleanliness of the house. When everything is put in its place, and gleaming like a show home, we love the place and could think of living no where else. But on normal days, when we live in our six year old house like normal people, lately the urge to flee from the random toy and junk drops around the house has been great. Moving won't take care of the day to day messiness that a family home incurs, but there is that false sense that going somewhere shiny and new will give us a clean slate.

We are truthfully outgrowing our house, but it is nothing probably some greater organizational skills and bunkbeds can't fix. Visiting new construction homes is an instant realization that we could have so much more space and glitz, but then we come home from the trip and feel "too lazy to move". And then we wrestle with the issue of how much house is too much...is immodest...or reflects poorly on our Christian values?

Ken and I have been round and round on a discussion that touches this issue. We have been blessed with abundance in our lives. However, the Bible is very clear and very stern about the pitfalls that accompany wealth. The definition of wealth is so hard to nail down. What IS abundance? It is such a matter of perspective. To the man living on a street corner, I am sure that his idea of wealth would be starkly different from the man living in a 5 bedroom home on a 1/2 acre lot. And why is it that a million dollar home seems so ostentatious while a $200,000 home sitting on a $800,000 plot of land seems less?

The perception of wealth is also an obstacle. When people know what other people earn, it can be very damaging to relationships or be a major influence on first impressions. A man with a modest income and multiple problems might feel like a man making five times his salary should have no problems to complain over at all. Leaving the man with the larger salary, feeling like he has very few individuals to talk to on personal matters.

My husband was speaking with a very wise mentor on the topic of how much house and property is too much, and his mentor made such an excellent point. He said always to keep in mind that what you are living in when your children leave the house will be the benchmark for their idea of achieving success. Especially for the boys in the family. This is so true!! So as an extreme example, if 15 years from now we happen to live in a gated community with a million dollar home, a membership to the country club, and vacation home on the lake, our son(s) may never feel that he's "arrived" until, no unless, he is living similarly. While that style of living may or may not be wrong, is it wise for the future of our family?

It is natural to want to improve in life, and this includes your living quarters, quality of living, and following through on some long held dreams for the future. But where does society draw the line? And for the part of me that could care less about what society thinks, the more important question arises: Where does God draw the line?

A Lesson In Rocketeering

This blog has been ever so quiet since the birth of Faith, but I assure you, we are still schooling! Sometimes there is only so much you can write about learning how to read and write. But THIS was really fun!

Ken has been working on an idea to bring dads and their children together for some recreational learning. The first outing schedule is for rocket launches. Naturally, the guys are loving this and having just as much fun as the kids with the planning and ordering. Jack, Grace, and Ken all painted and worked on constructing their own rockets. It has been a great project for the three of them to sit down, paint and build.

Last Saturday, we thought we would get some practice launches in before the official big day. We immediately realized it was really difficult to find enough open space for recovery. Most of the football fields around us have "No Trespassing" signs, and many parks have too many people or not enough open space. We ended up getting approval from a Veterans facility that had a decent amount of land and was located next to a park.

After a few false starts, the kids had their first success! All I can say is, rockets are pretty dog-on cool, and the launch just sounds neat. Our highest launch was estimated at 900 ft. All three of the rockets were recovered without injury, but we found that the hardest part was simply trying to chase them down to their final landing spot. (It was also the most humorous.)

One rocket landed in someone's backyard and when Ken went through some bushes to retrieve it, a large dog was there to greet him and remind him that he was not welcome. Ken and Jack later knocked on the door to obtain that rocket.

Another rocket was armed with a parachute rather than a streamer and it seemed like it was never going to land. Ken took off running and disappeared over the hill towards the little league ball fields at the park. A good number of minutes later he came back winded and with an odd amused look on his face. The rocket had landed in the middle of a baseball field with a little league game in full play. He mentioned he thought there might have been a moment there when a number of over hyped little league dads could have done him in. We had a good laugh over that one.

So the search is on for an even better launch location, as some dads have rockets that will launch up to 2000 ft!

The Office Lounger

"So...this is what Daddy does all day down here. Not bad...not bad. I could get used to this kind of living."


"Hey milk woman! Hold all my calls this morning, I'd really just like to check out the nifty light patterns coming through those windows. And really, enough of the pictures already -- it's embarrassing."


"And they call this thing WORK. They should be ashamed of themselves --- Hey, you got any milk duds hiding around here?"