Who let the moms out?!

I love these girls for a million different reasons. Favorite being, is that God brought them right to me.

And I am blessed.

These women inspire me to godliness, stewardship, beauty, parenting, friendship, health, and being a great wife. We talk about everything under the sun and have a hilarious and/or serious time doing it. Basically on the day I met them, we shared our deepest darkest. Our honesty was not timid...it was vivid! It was freeing. And together, we learned that it was possible to change, and together, we did change. And together, we know we need more change! Another bonus is that we all have baby boys who are great buddies too so they don't mind if we hang out! But, sometimes we kiss and put them to bed, and head out on the town to enjoy being ladies...not just moms. Ladies...celebrating friendship.

Thank you Lord for these women! And thank you women, for your love.

On the Move

The Wight house is moving.
About 5 minutes away.
We are excited for the change, with the right amount of mourning over the home we have loved so much these past 2 years. It won't be that bad, the new place is a whopping 500 sq.ft! Only half the size as what we have now! There are popcorn ceilings that have retained every asian inspired meal that has been cooked in the past 50 years and smells anything but delightful, and we will be sharing a room with Silas- yikes. But there are great things too. Like...saving hundreds of dollars on rent, sinking toes into carpeting this winter instead of the cold hardwoods we have throughout the house now. When it comes time to clean up, there will be nothing to clean because there is no space to bring excess "stuff" into the new apartment. We are closer to church and the YMCA- (so I have to join.) And imagine our electricity bill! It's basically going to be free. And in order to squeeze into the kitchen to open the fridge, whose doors open the wrong way, you have to weigh about 75 lbs. That will be great since we are trying to get pregnant, so I guess I can't gain too much weight. By 5 months I am going to have to climb over the counter to get around the fridge door. So I'll get my exercise in! And since we won't be within walking distance to downtown, I won't feel guilty or lazy driving.

And did I mention saving hundreds of dollars on rent??!!??!!

All joking aside, oh wait, I wasn't joking... but I think it will be sweet for our little family to figure this out. Living in such close proximity could be really great for us. It feels good to be selling things we don't need/can't use there. And our dear friends are letting us store boxes at their house! I am excited to embrace the challenge of keeping things simple...which will be a very complex task! Today we hope to paint the ceilings and maybe the walls and maybe shampoo the carpets. Maybe we are crazy. Maybe I don't care. Still trying everything possible to minimize the fragrance of the space, and any and all ideas are welcome, though we've probably already tried it. And to all my friends...I apologize for being so absent lately, I miss you all dearly and am excited for things to chill out a bit.

Well, back to packing and planning! We are excited to attend a parenting conference at Mars Hill this weekend lead by Paul Tripp, an excellent author and man of God. We pray that the experience will teach Thadd and myself how to better shepherd, love and lead our babies. Love to all!

Beckham Is Born!!!!

Our sweet nephew, Beckham Gage Flick was born this morning, at 7:03! We are so thrilled to welcome this blessing into our lives! He is a beautiful baby boy and is already so very loved! Welcome sweet child! And congratulations Mark, Laura and Ethan! I was so nervous to meet him, and so excited, that I had been worried about my outfit and trying to figure out what to wear - had to make a good first impression! I hope he likes us as much as we like him!Mark, my sister, Laura, and tiny Beck! 6lbs 12oz!

Adorable! He looks so much like his big brother!

Cousins! I love Beckham's lips in this one! Si was grumpy that we wouldn't let him grab B's face!

We love you Beckham!

Si Si and Jacky Boy!!!

Best buds! These handsome little men are quickly growing into wild banchees! They are already practicing for a lifetime of playing, modeling, and wrestling. Yes, these boys truly enjoy one another and they are so fun to watch! Yay for devoted cousins! Only 12 days apart! In most instances, Jack dominates with his strength and smooth moves. In the wrestling department, as seen below, the masher is often left in the dust. Silas is left with one or so war wounds, which we actually love. My son is starting to catch up weight-wise though, and I hope Jack is ready. Because there is no one he would rather play with. Even though Jack-attack is such an unstoppable force physically, he is the most genuinely sweet baby I have ever met. Thadd and I are always talking about what an angel he is. He is such a dear cuddle bug and he is so patient and respectful (if you can be at 8 months) well, he is. And the best thing about Jack, besides his parents and big sister, is his cheeks. Yep. Softest skin in the world. Very plush too! We love you Jack Timothy!

Summer Lovin.

Don't mind Si's speedo, he wanted to impress his Beauty.
And both sets of parents are quite okay with that.
This is sweet Glory- isn't she so precious?

A Dog On My Face

Last night was hard. I won't complain, I'll just explain. I do know that I have a very blessed sleep schedule and that isn't so common with a babe in the house. However, this was redic!

So Boof had a really rough night...has to be working on some more teeth, even when I nursed him he was unhappy and needed coaxing and as much comfort as a mama can muster for the young love of her life. Poor buddy! Anyways, he would wake up yelling and crying, we'd go get him trying to console him, then resort to food. Finally I nursed him to peace and rest and began the transfer- out of our bed with him on my shoulder, back into Silas' room, and into the crib...DANG! He is usually more than thrilled to be placed back into bed with a full belly and all his nigh-nighs, but this night was just too sad to think about leaving the mom. He immediately stood up with the saddest face streaked with tons of tears, and reached for me like his life depended on it. I rescued him and literally 1 second later he was sleeping on my shoulder again. Pat pat pat rock rock rock...shhhhhh...try again. Same story! Saddest face. Back in my arms. OUT COLD! And again...to no avail. No matter how long I waited.

Solution! Grabbing a nigh-nigh and Dog (The Bounty Hunter-although Thadd calls him Woof Woof -just a cute stuffed animal that Si is obcessed with-yay! It's a cute one this month!) We sauntered back to bed and I got to sleep with my baby, blankets, and Dog. This was really precious because Silas has not been interested in relaxing with me all that much anymore, he has to be playing with my hair and talking. I guess he thought my hair looked so good that he didn't need to pull it;) (see our new haircuts below!) But he just snuggled right in. Of course there is a perfect spot waiting for him in the crook of my arm, it will always be there and he will always fit just right. Then he reaches down, grabs Dog, and pulls him close to his face...which also means, my face. Which means, I'm now laughing. There's a dog on my face. I am finding a beautiful rest, finally, with the Man and the Boy that I love more than words. More than life.

Sometimes happiness means sleeping with a dog on your face.

"New Do's" For Me and You!

Silas got his first real haircut!

But never fear, he continues to rock the hawk like it's his job...just with a little more sophistication. He looks great, and it really does make his hair seem more full. It was fun getting our hair done together by my dear friend, Nicolette. Thankfully, I got my highlights and some style back. I was way better at staying still for my cut that Silas was for his, if it weren't for cheerios and spray bottles, he definitely might have lost an ear...or two. Nic-thanks for making us fancy! Si-thanks for being a good sport! And Blonde-I love you, welcome back!

Before...

AFTER!!!

Love this Girl.

Last week, my dear friend and cousin, Callie Cal-tron Callie Cat Tron-a-lon, came home! But only for a week. We had a really fun outing at Palomino on Thursday night though, and the time was priceless, as always! Silas loved spending time with Miss Callie, almost as much as she loved cuddling and coddling him. So now the Tron is back in Missoula, MT to finish up school and amp up to spend the rest of her life chasing her dreams. I love you Cal, come home (again) soon!!!

My Oh My! it's been a while.

We have some pretty awesome friends who gifted us their Mariners tickets for today's game! And wow...the seats were incredible! What could possibly be better than a free Mariners game on a Sunday afternoon- complete with family and kettle corn?! THE VIP PARKING!!! Talk about living the life of luxury! I felt so blessed to have this type of experience with little, actually, with no hassle! Silas could not have been better. We were at the game for his entire afternoon nap, which he did not get to take, but he just relaxed and smiled at all the other fans and held me tight when everyone erupted in cheering...which happened a LOT because we got 8 whole home runs and won the game!!! We played great today! It has been a while...and I can't say that we have been at all interested in the Mariners for the last few years, but this was sweet, and my favorite new guy (maybe he's been in Seattle for 5 years, I don't know, but he's new to me) his name is Rauuuuuuuuul!!! and that was fun. I learned a couple other things about the 2008 team, the pitcher's name is Felix, the lady behind us helped everyone get that point. And, the fact that everyone in Seattle is still in love with Ichiro. The top was on the stadium since "it's raining all day...it's raining all day" as Ethan pointed out in the car...loudly...but only for about 10 minutes. Anyways, it was very fun to be there with the Flicks, all of us getting more and more excited for Beckham's anticipated arrival, which will be sooo soon!

But my all-time favorite thing today, was the painted hallway with MY 1995 Mariner Champions! I am still proud and often brag about that fantastic season, and yes I do own my own copy (VHS) of My Oh My! I admit to being super tomboy and being obsessed with these guys. (You Gotta Love These Guys!- VHS 1996 season...own that too...uh...) Granted, that was 13 years ago and I was 9, and I knew all the stats and Joey Cora was my fave. How could he not have been?! Laura, today, was dreaming about that same past in which she came to games holding the "marry me A-rod" signs.... we were very different kids! And we THANK GOD have come a long way!

So, we have one grandpa rooting very strongly for little Si's future to be wrapped up in this American pastime. And Thadd and his brothers were all very gifted in the sport. I have to say football is way more fun...but if my future consists of badminton games and Oboe concerts, this love will not shift. I might just have to muffle a giggle once in a while. But for now, Silas likes baseball, at least his baseball rattle and his first baseball game.

Did I mention that he loved Randy and Griffy?! :)

A Call and a Promise

For those of you who didn't know about my newest tat...

It is Greek and says "Lift them to Who they belong" with Thadd and Silas' initials underneath. In Stormie Omartian's book, The Power of a Praying Parent (fabulous) she starts out with this great verse from Lamentations 2:19

"Pour out your heart like water before the face of the Lord.
Lift your hands to Him for the life of your young children."

It is a sweet call for me as a mama and a wife to pray for the Loves that God has so graciously blessed me with. It is my promise to give them back to God every day. Lifting them to Him in prayer, giving God ownership over their lives for His will, not mine to take place in these lives. Yes, by my Father's sovereignty I can cry to him with my desires for them while lifting the burden of past, present, future to Him still. And also me lifting my hands to Jesus in thanksgiving, praise and glory for these ones that I adore. Maybe someday our "quiver" will be so full, that this tattoo will at some point run out of room on my spine!

Lord, thank you for this righteous, wonderfully difficult call! Instill in me the courage, humbleness and heart it takes to keep this promise. I put them in the Hands of the One who holds them best. Thanks. Amen.


(Not everyone loves a tattoo. I understand that respect that and I thank you for respecting me in this journey of experiencing freedom in Christ with this decision for my own life and body.)