Backyard Soccer

Brennan is enrolled in a Good Sports class through our local Romp 'n Roll kids gym. It teaches kids the basics of different sports in a non-competitive environment. It's really helped him in many ways, including developing a greater interest in playing sports in our backyard. Today, he kicked the soccer ball around and had a blast showing off his new found skills!

Who can resist the sight of this cute little face? Especially with those dimples and four of his six teeth peeking out!

And since I'm so rarely on the blog, Brennan and I caught this shot just as a bit of rain started to fall (this is the 9th wettest September on record in Richmond--seriously, the rain can go somewhere else already, like Texas where they need it!).

Fall

I found this on Pinterest. It's a pretty accurate description of why I love fall so much! Now if only the heat would retreat to the deep South...

The Best Part of Baking...

...is licking the beaters!

8 Days

There has been good reason for our utter and complete blog silence lately. We had a very unwelcome visit from Hurricane Irene which plunged us into a nearly eight-day power outage nightmare. The day of the hurricane started off fine. We ended up going to the mall play area for the boys to burn off some energy.


Our mall outing was our lifesaver that day. Being cooped up in the house with two high-energy boys is not our idea of a great Saturday! Our power flickered a few times, but stayed on long enough for us to heat up some dinner. Then, 5:20pm, it died. We had prepared for a power outage. Honestly, having been through three major hurricanes in Florida, Irene was really no big deal. No one slept well that night due to a warm, stuffy house and no nightlights for the boys. We finally surrendered and got up before 6am. We quickly surveyed our yard and the house. No damage, just some small sticks littering the yard. We were hopeful our power would be back on soon. Then, to pass the time, we took a walk around our neighborhood. Nothing prepared us for what we saw.

This tree fell on a house three doors down. The house eventually was condemned.

This tree took out power lines at one end of our street.

This tree took out power lines and blocked the road a couple blocks over.

This tree took out power lines at the other end of our street.

We really only made it through the next eight days due to the assistance of wonderful friends who provided us with warm meals, places to rescue some food from our freezer, and places to stay while we waited for our power to finally be restored. We are so, so very grateful for their help!

On Our Nightstand, Part 11

Here's another installment of some great recently-read books:

1. "One Thousand Gifts: A Dare to Live Fully Right Where You Are" by Ann Voskamp
2. "Free-Range Kids" by Lenore Skenazy
3. "Mudhouse Sabbath" by Lauren Winner
4. "The Power of a Praying Wife" by Stormie Omartian
5. "Radical Homemakers: Reclaiming Domesticity from a Consumer Culture" by Shannon Hayes
6. "Same Kind of Different as Me" by Ron Hall and Denver Moore

Another First

We've thought and said for a long time that Owen would be the child that required the first visit to the emergency room. John mentioned this again just a couple weeks ago on our weekend visit with friends. Little did we know how soon that would be fulfilled!

Owen has become the child that challenges our childproofing capabilities. Just this past Saturday, he located a drinking glass that had been left out and forgotten on our small filing cabinet. Both John and I had stepped into another room briefly and not even 10 seconds later, we heard the sound of breaking glass followed by persistent crying. We ran back into the room and there was Owen standing in a pool of blood and the glass was laying shattered all around him. I scooped him up and ran into the bathroom to see what the damage was. It quickly became clear that this was going to land us in the emergency room. Our neighbors graciously stepped in and watched Brennan for us so we could whisk Owen off.

Thankfully, the bleeding slowed on the way to the hospital (after layering four gauze squares on it!). That turned out to be a really good thing because we rushed in the doors and...no one was there. No nurse, no registrar, no one. It took about 10 minutes for someone to finally come out and get Owen triaged and back in a room. An X-ray revealed that nothing was broken and that there was no glass in the cut. The doctor was able to use Dermabond to glue it shut and off we went. Owen did fabulous through the whole thing. The cut didn't seem to bother him that much; he was really only annoyed that he couldn't move his foot since we had to hold it the whole time to keep pressure on it. Of course, having the doctor take a look at it wasn't any fun either (that cut was DEEP!), but all things considered, he did quite well.

When all was said and done, we were able to see the grace of God in the whole thing. Neighbors watched Brennan so we didn't have two kids to manage in the E.R. John's quick thinking to start layering gauze on the cut. No glass in the cut. No stitches needed. And a brave little boy who managed quite well during the whole event!

Weekend Getaway

We were fortunate enough for schedules to align so that our annual weekend gathering with friends happened a couple weeks ago. We love this group of friends so much! It was such a joy to get together again this summer and see what God has done in these friendships (some of which have spanned 17 years!). There was plenty of pool time, outside play time for some pretty active kiddos, and lots of great quality grown-up conversations mixed in as well. We're hoping this happens again sometime before next summer!

Eucharisteo

After hearing about One Thousand Gifts by Ann Voskamp from several people, I decided it was time to finally read it for myself. After months of waiting for it from the library (one copy with many, many holds!), I finally got it and finished it only a few days ago. It's one I can't get out of my head. And it's one I can't recommend highly enough.

The entire premise of the book focuses on eucharisteo. One simple word so rich in meaning. Thanksgiving. Joy. Grace. Living a life of gratitude. And not just gratitude for the big things of life. Embracing joy every day, in every day moments. We often become so busy, so wrapped up in just doing life that we neglect to see the good gifts showered on us by our Heavenly Father all day, every day. As the author's eyes opened to this idea of eucharisteo, she began to realize that incorporating gratitude in her life required intentionality. She began keeping a gratitude journal to record those gift-moments. Thus began her list of 1000 gifts (and it's still going!). Writing the gift list helped her develop the spiritual discipline of gratitude, which in turn spilled over to create a heart of worship for the everyday love poured out by God Almighty.

I am still digesting this book, but already the intentionality to see gift-moments is growing stronger. My own gift list will soon be started. And I can't wait.

Garden Harvest

We definitely enjoy heading out to the backyard and picking produce that we've grown to supplement our dinner or create John's lunch. So far, we've enjoyed lettuce, green beans, and a few tomatoes. Our tomato plants are heavy with fruit; we're just waiting for them all to turn red before harvesting them. I pulled a few carrots this morning in an attempt to thin the plants. They are small, but they should do well in John's lunch salads.

This, though, is the prize of our garden. And it grows bigger by the day. I can't wait until it's ready to pick and enjoy. We have a few other small watermelons coming on, but nothing like this one. A few that were really small have shriveled in the heat. Hopefully diligent watering will help the other fledgling melons stay strong and not succumb to this brutal heat.

Crib Fun

Water Play

In an effort to conquer the heat, rather than lay down in defeat, we headed to the Children's Museum backyard for some water play fun. We've been there many, many times, but this was Owen's initial introduction to the water play. After a few minutes of looking on, he jumped right in. The best part was it was completely not crowded, so the experience was much more enjoyable for the boys.

Belle Isle

Eight years ago, I first experienced Belle Isle here in Richmond. John and I were engaged and he wanted to show me the island. We haven't been back until today. We took advantage of the (relatively) cooler temperatures and headed out there this morning. Belle Isle used to house a Confederate prison during the Civil War. Now, it's a popular spot for rock-hopping, hiking, running, and biking. We got to see rafters take on the rapids while we were out on the rocks. Owen didn't really care about getting wet, but he really wanted to wander all over the rocks by himself. As John put it, his spirit was willing, but his legs were a little weak. Maybe when he's a bit more steady he'll get to do more exploring on his own. We capped the morning off with a picnic lunch on one of the rocks and then an impulse stop at Sweet Frog for the best frozen yogurt Richmond has to offer. Definitely a day we'd like to repeat sometime soon!

Mommy Date

Even though I'm with both boys pretty much all day every day, I don't really get the luxury of much one-on-one time with either of them, so I have to be intentional about finding ways to get more time with each boy. Our local library hosted a "Superhero Night" last night with all kinds of fun activities for kids, so I decided it was time for a Mommy Date with Brennan. He and I headed off for our date and he had a blast. He colored a mask and made a cape, completed a scavenger hunt, did a Superhero obstacle training course, and scooped up kryptonite. Now, Brennan is not much for doing anything dress-up, so I was pretty impressed when he asked me if he could wear his mask and cape. I was even more impressed by the fact that he loved wearing them both and has been wearing them around the house today. He's our little Super-Brennan!

Bean Play

With the heat wave gripping the East Coast, it was time to find some fun indoor activities for the boys yesterday. We spent some time outside in the morning, but I just couldn't bring myself to go outside with them in the afternoon when it was nearly 100 degrees and humid. Yuck! So...it was time for beans. Brennan has played in them before, but this was Owen's initiation into the bin of beans. My fears that he would try to eat them (since everything, everything goes in his mouth) were unjustified. The novelty and joy of grabbing handfuls and dumping them outside the bin trumped any desire to sneak a taste. It was totally worth the localized mess they made since they both had a blast. They're already looking forward to another round with the beans!

Making "waterfalls" with the beans was most entertaining!

Dumping and pouring were great fun as well.

Crayon Tree

With the completion of one roll of paper towels today, I found a fun activity to do with the empty roll courtesy of a toddler activity blog. Brennan and I made a crayon tree. Boy, did his eyes light up when he saw the finished product! And it gave him renewed enthusiasm for coloring...and material for a new song called "The Crayon Tree Song". He loves to sing and makes up all kinds of songs using whatever comes to mind. Pretty cute stuff!

Crayon Magic

While Brennan was coloring today, I purged his crayons of broken pieces. Rather than throwing them out, we turned it into a fun activity--recycled crayons! After peeling off the remaining paper, we baked them in a muffin tin to create a conglomeration of color. He's looking forward to testing them out after his naptime today!

July 4th at Lewis Ginter

We took advantage of the free admission to Lewis Ginter Botanical Gardens today and enjoyed a morning stroll through the gardens, splashing around in the water play area and exploring a house made out of branches and twigs. This has become a favorite Richmond destination, and as long as we're here we'll take advantage of the annual free day on July 4th. Here are some highlights from the day:


I can think of few pictures that so succinctly capture what life is like with Owen. He's our daredevil, our wild man -- the reason small children wear life jackets and why the tether harness was invented. This was supposed to be a "stand still and look at the camera" shot, but it turned into a "let's dive into the water" attempt.

We like taking picture of Owen sitting in trees. Soon all the pictures will be of Owen climbing trees.


Fun in the water play area. Owen's rocking the "board shorts" or swim capris, if you prefer.



Brennan's grin is due to the fact that he's standing on two of the water squirters. That's one way to clean between the toes.


After this picture was taken Naomi thought it'd be a good idea to sit down in the grass with the boys for another nice shot. Then a spider crawled on her as soon as she sat down and that put an end to that idea. The screams attracted quite a lot of attention, I must say.



Something new this year ... and pretty darn cool.



Owen on the butterfly bench. As you'll see below, we have a similar shot of Brennan, age 1 1/2 wearing the same shirt, July 4, 2009. He's growing up fast.

PandaMania!

The boys and I spent this past week at Third Presbyterian Church, me helping out with VBS and the boys attending. I preferred a little more "behind the scenes" type of job, so I got to help prep and serve snacks for all the kids. I loved getting to know some new people and really enjoyed the opportunity to serve in this way. It was made even sweeter by the fact that both boys got to attend. Owen was able to participate in some of the activities on a very limited scale, but Brennan got to experience all that PandaMania had to offer. He even asked during the week if he could go back to VBS! It was a great environment for them and I'm already looking forward to helping out next year!

DC Day

We opted to add a little spontaneity to our routine this weekend by adding in a day trip to Washington, D.C. The weather was perfect for all the walking we did! We started the day at the National Building Museum, the highlight of which was the Building Zone, a special play area designed for kids six and under. The boys had a blast!


There was even fun for kids at heart as well! There was also a LEGO Architecture exhibit as well, which was pretty amazing that people could design such buildings as the Sears Tower, the White House, and the World Trade Center out of Legos! Brennan even got to try his hand at creating his own Lego building, but alas, the pieces were far too small for Owen so he missed out on the fun.

After lunch, our walk took us right past the Capitol. The boys loved the chance to get off the stroller and enjoy some grass time. It also provided a great photo op!

The next museum stop was the National Air and Space Museum. Owen slept a good chunk of time away. Brennan's initial fascination with the planes quickly faded...until we entered the "Explore the Universe" exhibit. This boy loves, loves, loves the moon. And was he ever excited to see the moon up close! Maybe he'll end up working for NASA?!

The National Mall provided the perfect place for some snack time and a bit of relaxation. It was definitely nice to take a bit of a break before finding the energy to keep on walking!



Our final stop was the Old Post Office where an elevator ride to the top of the tower provided some fantastic views of the city. Similar views to the Washington Monument without the wait time.


The day wasn't complete without a quick stop to IKEA, just south of DC (the closest one to us). Oh, how I love IKEA. I am, however, glad that we don't live too close to it because I don't think I'd appreciate it as much if I was able to go whenever I wanted to. And the Swedish meatballs become a special treat instead of a regular lunch option!

All in all, a long day, but a great day. We're already looking forward to our next DC outing (and IKEA trip)!

Garden Experiment

We decided to try our hand at planting a garden this spring. It definitely took some work to get it started, considering we were starting from scratch, but we have been thrilled with the continuing results. We've already enjoyed some cherry tomatoes and John's had some salad with our leaf lettuce. Brennan and I picked some green beans this morning to have with our dinner tonight. We're looking forward to more tomatoes, more beans, more salad, and carrots. Even one of our four watermelon plants has begun to blossom (if you live around Richmond, we may be blessing you with some watermelon as the summer progresses!). Only the peas have been having issues. Oh well. More space for something else next year!

Blueberry Solstice

Blueberry picking and a picnic marked how the boys and I ushered in this first day of summer. Thankfully, a slightly overcast sky kept the heat at bay for a while which made picking that much better. Brennan was so excited to carry the bucket and gather berries off the bushes. He needed very little guidance this year and enjoyed getting to taste the fruit of his labor. Owen spent most of his time pushing his stroller around and sampling all the delicious grass, sticks, and dirt that he could get his hands on. Gross, I know, but what can you do? He did successfully pick a blueberry and put it in his mouth; he managed a couple of chews before he promptly spit it back out! Oh, well. He will enjoy the blueberry waffles that are on tap for dinner tonight! When I asked Brennan before naptime what his favorite part of the morning was, he answered "Eating blueberries". Definitely a fun summer outing!

The view from our picnic spot--can't beat it!

Backyard

We've always been thankful to have such a fabulous backyard, but this summer we really feel blessed to have such a spacious place for two active young boys to play. I think we'll be having a "backyard summer" this year! Don't get me wrong...we definitely enjoyed it last summer, but this year Owen is old enough to have a good time outside and Brennan really does well with wanting to be outside and finding ways to occupy his time. We try to find ways to get outside as much as possible (the OCD in me cringes when it rains because I just don't want to clean up a mess if we go out and play in rain and mud, so we tend to find other ways to keep busy). Pool time, bubbles, playing in and with the wagon, and hide and seek have all been great ways to enjoy our yard. Can't wait for more outside time!

Summer

Even though it's not officially summer, it sure feels like it! Activities have been winding down, the library story time is on a small break, and our days feel so much more free. During the school year, it seemed like I was heading off to one thing or another every single day. It's been a nice change of pace to have more relaxed days. We have been managing to stay busy, though! Wagon rides, pool time, long walks around our neighborhood, followed by trying to cool back down in our wonderfully air conditioned house (thank you, Jesus, for AC!).

Owen has been daily growing in confidence with his walking ability. He still crawls, mostly because he can get places faster that way. But it's not unusual these days to turn around and see him practicing his walking skills! It's a little bittersweet to watch him quickly leave babyhood behind and enter toddlerhood.

I recently purchased a Groupon that enables Brennan to take a few classes through Romp 'n Roll. For the past two weeks, he's been participating in a class called Good Sports which teaches preschoolers fundamentals of different sports while giving them plenty of play time. He has one week left and has enjoyed it so much that we will be signing him up for a much longer class session this fall (we were slightly concerned since Brennan is pretty cautious and doesn't really enjoy trying new things). I've been able to covertly watch him during some parts of his class (it's parent drop-off), and it's been wonderful to watch him participate and really have a good time with what he's learning. It's also a fabulous outlet for this very active boy to expend some excess energy!

Sparking Compassion

The month of May was Missions Emphasis month at our church. One of the Sundays focused primarily on Compassion International. Both John and I have heard about Compassion through the years. In fact, my college roommate and I sponsored a child for a while during college (the sponsorship ended when the child's father found a job and he no longer needed sponsorship). We've talked about sponsoring a child, but have never done anything about it.

But then on that particular Sunday, something stirred again within us. A stirring we couldn't ignore. We looked at each other and we knew that we'd be going to the table outside the sanctuary and choosing a child to sponsor. Our only criteria was that we wanted a child who was somewhat close in age to one of our own kids. We found a little boy named Frank from Rwanda who is nearly a year older than Brennan.

There is definitely excitement surrounding this decision to sponsor a child. We have Frank's photo on our refrigerator as a reminder that there is a little boy halfway around the world who needs our prayers, our friendship, and our sponsorship. And what a great teaching opportunity for our kids!

Now, I will admit, the most I know about Rwanda is that there was a devastating civil war. So I thought I'd share some basic facts about this country that's home to our sponsored child.

Rwanda Fast Facts:

• Kigali is the capital
• Nearly 10% of the population suffers from HIV/AIDS
• Approximately 900,00 children have been orphaned by war, genocide, or AIDS (nearly 30% of all Rwandan children!)
• Soccer is the most popular sport
• The evangelical church has flourished in the post-war years, aided by an increased missionary presence and support ministries such as Christian radio and the JESUS film
• The average person in Rwanda uses roughly 4 gallons of water per day. The average person in the United States uses roughly 152 gallons per day. Yes, you read that right. It definitely makes you think! (Thanks Data 360 for the info!)
  

Prayer Points:

• Continued reconciliation and healing from the past civil war
• Discipleship and heart transformation to take precedence over seeing numerical growth in the church
• Church leadership--godly men and women need training and Bible study materials to step into positions of leadership in Rwandan churches
• There are many ministries already working with orphans, AIDS victims, and women at risk, but there is still great need for more help with these different populations

(Thanks to Operation World and 24/7 Prayer for the great information!)

On Our Nightstand, Part 10

Here are some recent recommendations from the Downer household.

1. "The Power of a Praying Parent" by Stormie Omartian
2. "Generous Justice" by Timothy Keller
3. "Every Woman's Marriage" by Shannon Ethridge
4. "Love Mercy: A Mother and Daughter's Journey From the American Dream to the Kingdom of God" by Lisa Samson
5. "Unplanned: The Dramatic True Story of a Former Planned Parenthood Leader's Eye-Opening Journey Across the Life Line" by Abby Johnson
6. "The Preacher and The Presidents" by Nancy Gibbs and Michael Duffy
7. "Waking the Dead: The Glory of a Heart Fully Alive" by John Eldredge
8. "The Way of the Heart" by Henri Nouwen