I can sleep anywhere...

When Adam and I first found out I was pregnant, we felt the weight of raising a decent human being heavy on our shoulders--not to mention the fervent hope that he would one day embrace our faith, be able to put 2 and 2 together to get 4, and tie his own shoes.

We still feel that weight, and the weight of finding the best way to teach him through these stages of life. In turn, Zachary has given us the precious gift of laughter amidst the newfound responsibility. Every day he does something that gives us a chuckle, and many days he offers something that requires outright belly laughs.

Each night we check him in his bed before we turn in. Many times he's kicked off the covers, or scooted into the corner of his bed sleeping with his bottom in the air. Then there have been the times that we've found him without his jammies on...or his diaper. Well, this week we turned a corner. Upon entering his room, we couldn't find him. Where could he have gone without us noticing? So, we looked in the only logical place--underneath his bed. And this is what we found:

He had taken all of his friends under his bed with him and fallen asleep covered by the bedskirt...so we came in to a completely empty bed! Amazingly enough, he didn't wake up even though we took several pictures before moving him. There is always room for laughter, even under the bed.

8 Years

Happy Anniversary, Adam Self! You're still my favorite guy after 8 years of marriage and almost 10 years of knowing each other. In fact, I like you more now than ever. I appreciate that you love me, the whole package, flaws and all. I knew something was different about you on that first date sitting by the firepit while eating dinner at Desert Fire, and afterward hanging out on the Kirkland waterfront. I guess it's a good thing my neighbors wouldn't come with me on that first date after all, huh? Thanks for taking this ride with me, making me laugh, listening when I cry, playing Ginny Owens when I am at the end of my rope, and for "getting" me (much of the time). God sure knew what He was doing when He paired us up. No one else would be able to live with me, I'm sure of it ;). Here are a few of my favorite memories:

Long naps

I remember when I was a kid, I hated naps. I fought them, and remember telling my mom on more than one occasion, "I'm NOT tired!"...only to wake up after a sweet two hour nap. Now, as an adult, I long for naps and average one a month (if I'm lucky).

What I really crave these days is a long naptime for Zachary. I had no idea that a two year old could have so much energy! It takes everything in me to wear him out in the morning enough to get a peaceful two hours to myself in the afternoon. No, I'm not complaining, because I know many moms would give their right eye and left arm for two hours of peace and quiet. I'm just coming to the realization that I didn't know how great it was before it was less and less available. Kind of like the water situation in my last post, but...okay, maybe not.

So, Zachary is taking a longer than normal naptime right now, and I'm reveling in thankfulness. Soon he'll be up asking for "lemonane" and cookies, and our world be be "right-size-up" again. Amazing what a little rest can do.

Waterless

Do you remember the song, "You don't know what you got, till it's gone"? I feel that way today. The great city of Aurora decided to give us little notice that for some unknown reason we would be without water from 6-8 a.m. this morning. It is now 3:20 p.m. and, you guessed it, our water is still not on...well, not properly at least. We have water in some rooms of our house, but the kitchen faucet pretty much just drips. So, without the capability to shower, I feel a little grimy and icky today. It's given us a good chance to catch up on some of that stuff that gets shoved to the back burner until something offers the "opportunity" to take care of it. Of course, there's always more to do than time in which to do it. Oh well...

Summer in Chicago

Ahhh, summer in Chicago. On the days that aren't stifling with humidity, it's so enjoyable! Tonight we (Z and I) took Poppa to pick Adam up at "Dawwy's Station" (translated: Adam's train station), grabbed Subway sandwiches, and headed to Centennial Beach in Naperville. The beach is a converted rock quarry and is one of our favorite places to hang out. We've decided this is a great way to end the week, so will be making it a tradition from now until they kick us out (maybe we won't want to go in December when it's freezing).

I took some pix of Z in the pool with Adam and Poppa, but it'll probably be a miracle if I can figure out how to get those suckers uploaded from my phone. If I can, they will be up soon!