My Sweet Little Binky

Yesterday our family was driving home when Brooklyn composed the following sonnet to her sweetheart. Here's an honest-to-goodness literal transcription:

Where's my sweet little binky?
She's lonely.
She needs me.
I love her.
I want to suck her thumb.
Oh, my sweet little binky!

It's amazing the passionate inspiration that a piece of plastic can inspire in a three year-old.

McWisdom

Sometimes we encounter wisdom in the most unlikely of places. Yesterday our family was walking out of McDonalds when we met a friendly employee who commented on our cute kids while emptying the trash cans. Jason thanked him for the compliment, and asked if he had any children of his own. He replied, no sirree, he wasn't married yet, and he wasn't gonna have no kids outta wedlock. Happy to meet a stranger who so openly professes morality, I smiled and felt grateful for the lesson I had learned about standing up for goodness.

However, my lesson in wisdom was just beginning. After Jason slipped out the door with a baby in one arm and a diaper bag on the other, this man pulled me aside. Looking me straight in the eyes, he said, "I hope you know how lucky you are to have a man who does what he's supposed to do. I'll bet you got a dozen friends who would kill to have a man like yours."

My eyes filled with tears as I walked into the parking lot and realized how right he was. This man, humble in speech and appearance, possessed a wisdom and insight so profound that I thought of the angels that walk among us.

Indeed, I am lucky. I feel so grateful to have a husband who is intelligent, funny, creative, talented, but most of all loving, considerate, thoughtful, and good. It sounds cheesy, but he truly inspires me to be better every day. In those moments when I have questioned the sanity of juggling graduate school, an assistantship, and motherhood, I have felt peace knowing that each moment the girls are not with me, they are building loving relationships with their father. He truly is the best Dad.

And so, please bear with me if I brag on Jason yet again by sharing a link to a video of him telling the story of Goldilocks and the Three Bears to our daughters. I recently posted this video for my ESL students since we're doing a mini-unit on fairy tales. The storyline is familiar, but Jason's academy award winning sound effects give it a life of its own. :)

Trying out Technology

As part of my course in Computer-Mediated Communication, I recently had to make a movie. (I also was required to post it somewhere. That explains why you are being tortured with this.) While you may be impressed with my slow-motion acting ability, Jason is truly the star. He was kind enough to let me record a wonderful paper he recently wrote about technology and how it is changing our perceptions of reality. If you'd like to read part of it, you can click here.

Warning: this was definitely an amateur production! Fortunately, in the process I've learned a lot about podcasting, so if you stay tuned, you may find cuter (and shorter) videos of our girls in the future. That assumes, of course, that I survive my comprehensive exams over the next couple weeks....a very big assumption!

A Different Answer

So our family went on a nice little outing to fill the car with gas today (in the process we spent our life's inheritance, but that's a story for another day.) I thought I'd share our conversation with Brooklyn in the backseat.

Brooklyn: Can I play with Mommy's camera?
Daddy: No.
Brooklyn: Please?
Daddy: I'm sorry, no.
Brooklyn: Pleeeeeaaaaase?
Daddy: I already gave you an answer.
Brooklyn: Give me a different answer.

The dialogue sure made me chuckle. Yet when I stopped to think about it, I realized that I often do the same thing. How many times have I prayed and been given an answer, only to turn around and ask God to please give me a different answer because His didn't suit my fancy. Maybe I need to trust that since earthly parents generally know what's best, Heavenly parents probably do too.

Book Tag

Tag, I'm it! My book-club pal Jackie posted the challenge, so here goes...

Rules:
1. Pick up the nearest book.
2. Turn to page 123.
3. Post the fifth sentence.

Drumroll please, this is gonna be a thriller...

"They are therefore unlike the formulaic essays often assigned in English composition courses."

Yup, that's it. Quote taken directly from the fascinating and intriguing textbook, "Teaching ESL Composition." Let's just say this book is a little intellectually-challenged. Honestly, I can't figure out how they managed to publish it. Even at its most profound, all I can say is "duh." I'm just glad that I borrowed it from Interlibrary Loan instead of paying sixty bucks for it. Tag me again in a month when I'm done with classes and my comprehensive exams, and you might get a more exciting sentence. :)

So who to tag next... Brittney, Bruce, and Brianna, you're it!
(I'd tag Brooklyn too, but she's not up to page 123 yet...)

Easter Sunday!

Here are a few cute shots of the girls in their beautiful Easter Sunday dresses. As you can see, Talia was feeling a bit camera-shy, whereas Brooklyn definitely was not. Thanks Nomi-Ann, for dressing our daughters like the princesses they are!

Crossin' the Mighty Mississip'

Growing up in the Andrus family, we had our share of unique family traditions, a.k.a. quirks. It's not every family that concludes family prayer with a chant of "one two, I love you" (Callie's version) or "One two three, I love thee" (Kara's never-to-be-outdone rendition.) However, few traditions bring back memories as vivid as those connected with crossing the Mighty Mississippi during our many minivan marathons. You always knew when you were crossing those muddy waters because the whole vehicle erupted into spontaneous song about how it was "a treat to put your feet on the Mississippi Mud," immediately followed by soul-felt soliloquies to the barges "flickering light."

This past weekend we were fortunate enought to relive some of my childhood memories by traveling to St. Louis with our friends Bruce and Brittney. It was so fun to lie on the green grass and gaze up the white Arch silhoutted against a bright blue sky. The arch was still as tall and grand as I remembered from my field trips there as a Brownie scout, with the cars still appearing just as tiny from the top. I hope that someday my own girls will come back with their children and reminisce about their quirky parents, passing the traditions on to even more generations.

Oh, and in case anybody wondered whether or not the Mississippi is any higher than usual, the last picture is worth a thousand words...