Word

"I gonna bake it"... Maddox's favorite new phrase. What he means as he says this with much mischief in his voice is "I'm gonna break it". His favorite time to pull this one out is at bed time when I am trying to calm him and smooch his cheeks. It is so stinking cute, and very random. He mostly quotes phrases he has learned from me, like: made a mess, gonna bake it. He quotes other things from Bing, we'll leave those a mystery.

Things Maddox loves right now:
-holding hands and leading you around
-watermelon and corn on the cob (video included)
-balls, any type of ball. Baseball, golf, basketball and football especially
-guitars
-books
-swimming
-I'm gonna get you!

Daddy has some free time during the day and has taken Maddox to the pool. Maddox throws Bing's sunglasses so he has to retrieve them and then takes a running leap into the pool with no one to catch him. I will try to get this on video, promise.

He has amazing coordination for an almost-2-year old and is very good at hitting a baseball, making contact with a golf ball and throwing. He is hilarious as he slaps the ball before lifting his leg and throwing like a real pitcher/quarterback.

Guitars are affectionately called "tars" even when singular. Same with "more"... he uses his sign language while emphatically repeating "mores, mores, mores". The kid is seriously repetitive, but does a good job of saying "pease and tay tooo". Dad is called mama, most of the time. And when he isn't gender confused, he sometimes just shouts out "Bing"!

He has a distinct lack of boundaries when mom and dad are using the bathroom, sometimes wanting to sit on your lap and read books, or sometimes getting a very close look :)

Today he kept looking at my belly and, with his hand really close to his face, waving and saying hi to his brodder (brother). He then tried to feed a blueberry to my belly button.

With each passing day, he becomes less of my baby and more of a boy. It is so much fun to watch, but also kind of sad. I hope he always likes me enough to give me hugs and kisses and tell me wild stories.

Fun time

Maddox has taken quite a liking to the rocking horse and gets going so hard you are sure he is going to tip it over. He also insists on wearing the cowboy hat everytime and it is only good if it is on sideways with the string hanging in his face.



He is on his way to being potty trained. He usually tells us when he has to go potty and names which one it is. What a punkin!

Words are coming fast and furious, and he mimicks everything you say. When he is around older toddlers and his cousins he copies whatever it is they do too. Tonight he watched Blake drop his trousers and pee in the yard and Maddox acted out what he saw, trying to get out of his own britches, quite a task with a onesie snapped at the crotch and a diaper to get through!

A lesson on submission

I have long been a "worrier". You name it, I have probably fretted over it. Bing and I have had many discussions about me worrying and it usually goes like this. "Honey, you know that I worry about ... and I think that maybe you just don't worry enough".

Bing is blessed with the gift of "anti-worry", I know it isn't a word but what else do you call it? He not only doesn't worry, he talks a big talk about how everything is going to be ok and not only ok but awesome. HE is going to be "awesome" and make lots of money doing something. Yada, yada, yada. Meanwhile, I go on worrying.

At church, Pastor Stan talked about trusting God. If you say you trust him, but then go on worrying you are a liar. Worrying is like saying, " I know better than you God and this might not be ok".

I don't know how many times I have heard this basic concept, or read the right verses in the Bible, or prayed that I might stop worrying, and nothing changed. This weekend I heard it, and then read it somewhere else and it all of the sudden hit me. It became a TRUTH in my heart and I realized that it is SIN for me to worry and God is my ultimate protector. When has He not taken care of me?

I repented, I tithed more than I thought we could "afford" and I have consciously let the worry go.

Today, we received a large check from a very kind man who was a patron at the wine bar and barely know us. Enough to make our mortgage payment this month. The mortgage on the house the we have been talking about selling because we can't really afford it.

Thank you Lord, for richly blessing my family, this house, and my relationship with Bing. The more you reveal to me and the more I listen, the better and more joyful my life gets. Thank you for protecting us and generously providing for us. I love you.

Lane