The State of Our Union is...4!

The natives are restless...so desperate for a blog update that they've taken to texting (you know who you are!!). Life has felt busy enough that I can't even seem to make phone calls to good friends. I get my child to bed and both Seth and I are exhausted. How did we turn into our parents overnight? (My mom reminds me how I used to make fun of her and my dad when they were ready for bed at 9:30 or 10pm).

So, as you might be able to tell from above, Myles celebrated his fourth birthday a few weeks ago. We had a big pool party at the YWCA, followed by snacks and cupcakes. The best part for Myles might have been the fact that his cousins stayed the night. The making of the birthday crown has become a tradition; and I do think Seth could make a side career out of it. Actually, I'm hoping he makes a Valentine crown for me tomorrow...but I'm not holding my breath since he has class.

All is well with the church. At the end of January, we hit a new record, 75 people in worship on a regular (non-holiday) Sunday. We are growing! We look much smaller, since a good 25 of those people are babies, toddlers and young children. I am so incredibly thankful that we seem to be over the hump of last year's "winter of our discontent" when anxiety would wash over me that only a dozen folks might show up for worship. We have a critical mass, an active, thriving community, and we are on the road to sustainability, thanks be to God! It's a total miracle, and I often feel like I'm just along for the ride. I love what I do.

We have been encouraged by what's happening in the Middle East right now. It's amazing when dictators are toppled by non-violent direct action, without guns or bombs. I saw a beautiful photograph last week of Egyptian Christians holding hands in a ring around Egyptian Muslims bowing down for prayer time. The caption read, "Christians protect praying Muslims during protest." What a testimony to the world!

Myles Says: The other night, when asked who he wanted to pray for before bed, Myles replied, "Jill." When I asked who Jill was, he said, "You know Jack and Jill went up the hill? I want to pray for that Jill." So we did. I also overheard this over the weekend, "Papi, you're stinky, but I still love you!" Is that devotion or what? Tonight he told me I can be his Valentine all night. Sounds pretty good to me; he's still got those sweet chubby cheeks, even though the rest of him has melted into a body that is 100% Seth junior.

Mylestones: We are slowly transitioning into a no-naps time. He now has one or two days a week without the nap, going to bed early instead. We just built a privacy fence and hope to add a swingset to our backyard so that he can go out and play in the afternoons when it's warm...and it is finally starting to warm up! Myles is now taking a gymnastics class in school that he loves, and he's just started writing his name (kinda behind the curve on fine-motor skills, but that's okay!). He's still at his happiest when he's creating a play scene with his action figures...we overhear many a fight and rescue scene, but a lot of kindness and compassion too. We've recently begun to be very consistent with consequences, because Myles sometimes has a hard time being a good listener, following directions, or controlling is emotions (don't we all?). I think it's been good for Seth and I to feel like we have non-violent ways of handling what can be very challenging situations. We're not perfect, Myles is not perfect, but he's so full of life, energy, and joy that we are constantly reminded of how blessed we are.

Seth is taking a class on budgets this semester in his master's of public affairs program. Turns out, he's a budget geek! (i.e. he actually likes it). He's also discovered his latent love for presidential non-fiction, which runs in the Hendler family. He's reading a book on John Adams. I'm falling in love with him all over again. Our running has been on again, off again with snow storms, minor injuries, and bitter weather...but we're both back on the wagon right now, and Seth is training for another relay this spring.

Much love to all of you; we miss you! It's hard to believe how the days fly by...