Advise for 2010

Some of our best discussions are in the car.  This is one reason I have always loved road trips...whether it is just me and God, or me and my man, or our whole family, something about being strapped in to one spot, an open road, and the excitement of an adventure or just a night out makes us want to talk...so sometimes you just have to turn off the radio and listen.  The most amusing lately has been the little conversations between Addie and Ry (for all you facebook friends...I used your advice...Ryland as a rule but "Ry" for short).

Most recently they were talking about getting older and debunking Ryland's apparent belief that he was forever going to be a kid.  He was surprised and a little hesitant to think that he was going to grow up in to a man..."Are you still going to be my mom when I grow up?"  (so sweet!) Addison responded casually saying, "She will always be our mom, even when she dies she will be our mom."  - Nice, glad she understands that, but how disconcerting. That is our little realist I guess. 

I do remember when I was young being convinced (possibly by fault of my dad:)) that I would grow up to be a man.  I just thought that was how it was...girls grew up in to men and boys...well, maybe I didn't think it through really.  Glad I got that one straightened out!

Moment of Insight for the Week:
Ok, so one night at the dinner table, of all places, Richard and I were having some silly conversation...ok, maybe it was a fight...we tend to "converse" loudly at times when we are upset.  It was over something really ridiculous...mostly on my part, and after really beating our differing points of view into the ground, Addison pipes up "Let it go...it's over!"  -  We both looked at her and at each other...she was soooooo right!  It was silly and it was over.  
So, I challenge you this January...whatever you may be mulling over or hanging on to from 2009...
"LET IT GO...IT"S OVER!"

Just to make you laugh!!!!!

Year 2010: 1.4% complete

Addison, who likes to be called Addie Grace most of all (but I am her mom and will 82% of the time still call her Addison...because that is, after all, what I named her), is about 79% Richard + 21% me = 100% totally unique Addison.  It is totally awe-inspiring and quite incomprehensible how God takes two individuals and somehow combines them in some strange, fully unique, and always beautiful new way.  And somehow you see traces of your smile or his laugh in this new and individual person.  And then you see it happen again, but totally different....it is 100% miracle!  I could go on about how I like percentages because they are so simple and how God is so infinitely not simple in his ways, but then I remember that this blog is intended to be roughly 92% about Addison and Ryland and how THEY see the world...not me. 

So...

Addison, being very much (79% to be exact) like her father, has a great entrepreneurial spirit.  The other day when it was about 29 degrees outside she set up, not a lemonade stand, but an ICE WATER stand on our front porch (Really?)...she made a table, got a pitcher of ice water, a stack of cups, a chair, a money box, made a sign and sat outside to sell water...so she comes in to me, as I was sitting by the fire (oh the warmth!), to see if I wanted to buy some water from her.  Seriously?  How much? She says $8!  I told her that was crazy and nobody would buy water for $8...so she crossed out $8 on her sign and put $2...I told her the price was still too high and that she needed to be reasonable, but she said that was how much she needed...well, I was quite thirsty....and about a minute later there I was drinking a $2 cup of ice water.  She went back outside to wait on the next customer...from where I don't know.  Finally Richard showed up and somehow she suckered him in to it too.  I had to stop her when she wanted to charge the babysitter for water also.  She told me she wouldn't ask her to pay she would just let her read the sign...oh dear! 

We have also been trying to get Ryland to stop sucking his two middle fingers...PLEASE, anyone have ideas?  So far our pretty unsuccessful tactic has been to scare him by saying if he keeps it up he will have to get braces...so the last couple days he has asked me if he is going to wear bracelets when he grows up even if he is a boy.  Uh oh...I think we need to explain!