Big Boy Room

Wow! Even though Luke's big boy room has been finished for weeks now, and he's been sleeping in his big boy bed like a pro for almost two months, I've yet to post anything about it. Well, here are some pictures of the transformation from slightly sophisticated French-style guest bedroom to Luke's construction machine-inspired blue room. Perfect for the kiddo who can spot a backhoe over a football field away!

The room began as our standard neutral that is throughout the rest of the house, and the whole room is now this great blue that is perfect for him. Of course, I'm not supposed to paint, so the tribute goes to my mom, my dad, and my wonderful husband!





Luke loves to sit in his big boy chair and listen to his music. He's becoming quite adept at controlling his CD player! He can turn it on/off, load CDs, skip tracks forward, adjust the volume, press "play" and "stop". Now we're working on the tape player! :)

Adoption

Has anyone else been really moved by the whole idea of adoption? Of the fact that there are many orphans without homes in our world? My whole life, I have ached with the characters in stories like "Oliver Twist" and "Anne of Green Gables", and rejoiced when they found homes. Now that L is a huge part of our family and little girl is on the way, my heart goes out even more for those little children without a home!

As a follower of Jesus, adoption has a particularly special meaning, since that is how I'm included in God's family. Jesus deigns to call me sister and I am counted a daughter of God because of what He did on the cross.

Please take a moment to watch the following video. Even though the website that it promotes is fictional, there is an organization called "The Shepherd's Crook" that is dedicated to international special-needs adoption. And pray for these dear children who need homes and to know the love of God through a family...

http://www.vimeo.com/12307403

First Roses of the Year

I've tried so hard to be original. Some ladies claim daises as their favorite flower, others peonies or daffodils. But for me, it's roses. It's always been roses. :) One of the best parts about our house (and worst in the heat of the summer) is the full sun that most of our yard enjoys. That means tons and tons of roses! I so enjoy scanning the Jackson and Perkins catalogs looking for new and interesting roses. For those of you who didn't know, roses come in four major varieties - climbers, floribundas, grandifloras, and the favorite - hybrid teas. I believe all are derived from antique roses, some of which are still in cultivation and available. I would love to have Teddy Roosevelt's favorite rose one day, but I need to have Chris dig out more flower beds. :) And, yes, this is a bouquet of my first blooms!

Right now, I have a yellow-red hybrid tea, one white and one purple floribunda, and a pink climber. I've also killed a white hybrid tea - oops. Learned an important lesson about the root bud with that one. I think I'll stick with those for this year and plan for next summer. This fall, I'll focus on my new favorite flower - the iris! :)

New little one

Now that I'm six months pregnant, I suppose that I should post an update that we are pregnant! :) We found out on December 14, 2009, meaning that many of our big events as a married couple have occurred on the 14th - married October 14, found out we were pregnant with Luke October 14, now again on a 14! Isn't our sovereign God amazing?

I do wish we had a scanner so that I could scan in some ultrasound photos of our beautiful baby, but alas...perhaps I will remember to take some to my parents' and use their scanner. This pregnancy has flown by, filled with general illness during the winter (flu, stomach virus, ugh, ugh) and work and church activity. Now that work is coming to a close, I hope to be a better blog poster. I do have some ideas for posts (which is usually a problem for me) and I'd like to keep a better record of Luke and little one's growth. What a gift that will be for them when they're older.

When we ask "where's your baby brother or sister?", Luke used to lift my shirt up and point to my tummy. Now he points to his tummy. Don't know where the confusion occurred. :) Today marks the second night that he's fallen asleep in his big boy bed, in his new room! He has done so very well! I'll post some pictures of the new room soon, since I need some ideas as to whether to paint or not. I think I'd like to - it would add more character. He really has not looked back to the nursery, though. "Whither Ernie goest, so I will go" seems to be his modus opperandi. Posts including Ernie the elephant are forthcoming as well. Turning over a new page... Ha!

Balloons

A trip to Publix is a weekly event in our household. Sometimes, it becomes biweekly; other times, it is triweekly; you get the picture. Luke is a good helper as we shop, pointing out "grapes", "flags" (yes, they do have a flag inside the store), and, most importantly, "balloons". Our son LOVES balloons, a feeling that was compounded around his birthday as he was surrounded by colored balloons that he could chase! Publix, being the wonderful store that it is, kindly gives children free balloons and cookies (we try to skip the latter)! Now Luke knows that the balloons are found at the end of the produce section, so he starts asking "please" somewhere around the bananas and flowers. This green balloon spent the afternoon following Luke around everywhere. Unfortunately, they only last a day before the helium escapes and the balloon drifts to the floor. Then, they aren't nearly as interesting. :)

Pancakes

This post is quite delayed, since pancakes are a Saturday ritual in the Morris household. Thus, the pictures are from last Saturday. These are not any common box-mix pancakes...these are the Swedish pancake box-mix pancakes! Chris grew up with his mother making them and introduced them to me when we first were married. I do not generally like pancakes, but these are so thin and small that I love them. Particularly, I like to roll them up rather like tortillas and dip them in syrup. Mmmmm.... Luke adores them as well, as evidenced by the pictures. The box mix is only available at our local Fresh Market, so we have to make regular trips to stock up, which also provides Chris with the visual reminder that fresh roses win high marks with his wife. :) He has become such an expert at Swedish pancakes that I prefer his above all other pancakes I've tasted! Luke and I are looking forward to this Saturday! :)

First Fig

For those of you who are literary types, Edna St. Vincent Millay was an amazing poet. She lived around WWII and was the first woman to be awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry! I LOVE literature and poetry; I first read her poems in high school American lit. What does this have to do with figs, you may ask.

We ate the first fig off of our transplanted fig tree last summer, and wondered what would happen this summer. With all of the wonderful rain across the Southeast, our two "fig sticks" turned into the beginnings of a proper fig tree. We're actually going to have to move it away from the house before it starts tapping on the window! Not only did more shoots emerge, but we also ate more than six figs straight from our tree this year!

Last year, when we ate the first fig, I recalled Millay's poem of the same name (First Fig):

My candle burns at both ends, it will not last the night.
But, ah, my foes and, oh, my friends, it gives a lovely light.

Her poem, Second Fig, is also intriguing but with questionable morality:

High upon the solid rock the ugly houses stand.
Come and see my shining palace built upon the sand.

How amazing to be able to eat fruit straight from a tree in your own yard, and a fruit that is constantly mentioned in God's Word! Till next summer, and another display of God's provision...through simple figs.