Thanksgiving Part 1

We're back from Richmond after a full, lovely, delicious Thanksgiving at "Uncle Greg's" house. Greg and Megan were wonderful hosts, always offering a drink or food, making sure everyone had what they needed. Megan even brought home some toys and books from her special education classroom so Myles could play with new things. As always, Seth's Dad did wonders in the kitchen, and our meal was sooo good! Myles had such a fabulous time that he didn't want to go home...will tell more later with Thanksgiving photos posted.

On our way home we stopped at the central prison in Raleigh to meet Robby, my pen pal on death row, who I've been writing to for over two years. It was so wonderful to see him face to face! Here's an excerpt from last night's sermon in which I talk about our visit:

"The last time I tried to visit Robby I learned about the rigidity of central prison. First, there was paperwork to fill out, which I sent to the wrong address. Next, I had failed to include a photo copy of Seth's drivers' license with his paperwork. And once our paperwork was finally approved, I called too late to schedule our visit. It turned out another visitor was already scheduled for that particular day, and more than one visitor per day is prohibited. This time, I finally got my ducks in a row and successfully scheduled the visit. We checked in at the visitor's station, threaded through the metal detector and followed another visitor up the elevator to the second floor. We signed in again, and faced a circular series of small, concrete rooms, each featuring a greasy window. Behind each window sat a prisoner. Some doors were closed and some rooms were filled with entire families. Others were empty, with prisoners waiting for loved ones with the calm persistence that I imagine comes from years of enacting this routine over and over and over.
We recognized Robby from the photo he sent us last year, but this time he was smiling as we filed in, introduced ourselves, and Myles said (unprompted), "Hi Uncle Robby!" We visited for the better part of an hour and when Seth had to take Myles to the bathroom, Robby leaned forward, looked me straight in the eye, and asked the most compassionate question I'd heard all week: "How's your mom?" He's been praying for her since my dad died. "I know how hard Thanksgiving and Christmas always were after my mom died," he confided, "and I just wanted to know how you all are doing." When compassion comes unannounced from the unlikeliest place--a visiting cell on death row, where embrace is prohibited and the best you can do is press your hand against the security glass--that is when I encounter the living Christ. He was in prison, and I was lucky enough to pay a visit. God is indeed among us, if we but notice."

This photo, which I couldn't resist posting immediately, was taken last night at church for a flash photo series we will have on the church website's home page. We each are taking a phrase of a verse and having our photo taken by Jesse Kitt, a professional photographer whose family attends our church. We first met Jesse when Irene and Corey gifted us with professional photographs after Myles' birth, and we got to choose the photographer. Seth looked online and picked out Jesse. We soon found out that her son Sergio was born within weeks of Myles, and luckily I kept her on my email list so she heard about the new church when we started it up. Anyhow, I love her work and this family photo is a testament to her skills!

Myles Says: "Mama, listen. The car is crying." "Why?" "Because it's sad. It doesn't want to go home." (Myles the extrovert...always wants to be out and about!)

Myles Says

We had a fabulous weekend, with the highlight being Finn's 2nd birthday party. It was not lost on me that this is the first birthday party of Finn's or Kaleb's I've been able to attend, aside from Kaleb's first (which was at my mom's house)...and so we are once again so grateful that my sister's family is close by. Myles is too! Both Seth and I got a great run in on the Creeper, I was just feet from a beautiful pair of white tailed deer. The weather was incredible.

This is a quick post to share some of what Myles has said recently:

He calls the tag on clothes a "name tag" as in "where's the name tag on this shirt?"
He calls a belt a "seat belt" as in "I want to wear papi's seat belt on my pants!"
He has even taken to calling his friend from church, whose name is Ivy, "poison Ivy" because that's the only context in which he's ever heard us say the word Ivy.

More later...

Seth the Superhero

So the title of this post isn't actually referencing the above photograph of our beloved superstar, as handsome as he is with a handlebar mustache. It refers to the FIRST PLACE (yes, I'm shouting now) award he received in today's Asheville Pizza Brew superstar 5k, which he managed to complete in a dizzying 17:20. For this feat, he received a 5X7 tile that we must find a way to incorporate into the decor of our house. Seth's only flaw in this race is that he failed to dress like a superhero. I did, however, manage to see the fastest costumed superhero in the race, who wore a zip up red face mask with golden lightning bolts coming out of the side and a blue cape. He ran with a kid whose body was painted red. As I've mentioned before, never a dull moment in Ashvegas. It's a good thing Seth doesn't keep up with this blog any more, or I might get an exasperated talking-to for bragging about his race. But he deserves it. The man can fly.

Myles had an excellent Halloween, nevermind the rain. We found the closest thing to a purple monster costume that we could find, and lucky us, it was on consignment. He refused the hood, and could barely put one foot in front of the other as we trick-or-treated down Montford, so wide were his eyes with every costumed kid we passed.

Myles Says: A new addition to our blog posts, one I believe will be used with great frequency in the coming months. A few days ago I asked Myles, "What do you think we should get Finn for his birthday?" Myles: "How 'bout a cake?" Later, he was pantless (potty training demands it!) and pulling his t-shirt down in the front, and back between his legs. Mama: "What are you doing, Myles?" Myles: "I'm patting my butt." Mama: "Why?" Myles: "Because I love my butt."

And with that, I'll sign off for the night happily, as it looks like that health care bill will pass momentarily...