Timothy is four today!

My Dearest Timothy,

Today you are four! You are such a big boy! You have grown from a happy, chubby little baby, to a smart, intense, and independent young man. You have recently discovered, and love to tell people that you have three names: "Timothy David Keisling." You love to share with me all the new revelations that you are discovering about the world around you, and I love to hear them. Family relationships, such as how your grandparents are your parents, parents, fascinate you, and you reiterate them often.

You love to help me with chores, especially cooking, and want to help by showing your brother how it's done... even if he doesn't want to know. =) You love to be a big brother though, and he loves you. When you two are playing together, it's one of my favorite sights and sounds.

I love to listen to you when you're playing alone also. The conversations that you have with the characters in whatever story you're acting out, is so neat to hear. Your imagination constantly surprises me and makes me proud. You have decided that you want to be a fireman when you grow up, and remind me often of this goal. Never lose that determination. =)

Last week, you got your first library card, and you were so excited! You danced up and down with excitement, and when it was in your hand, you had to show it to someone. Then, as you played, you wouldn't put it down, but gripped it as if you would never let it out of your sight. I'm glad that I have managed to pass on my love of reading to you, even if I do sometimes wish you'd discover another author besides Richard Scarry. =)

I love to cuddle with you, and I love that you still do too. You are growing up, but you are still my little man. You make me proud to be your Mom, and I am so glad that you are part of our family!

Happy Birthday Timothy!

For Andrew, on his Second Birthday

(More pictures to follow)

Andrew,

2 years ago, you joined us, just before a major move. You were tiny and precious, and we were so excited for you to be here. Your big brother Timothy was especially excited to get a brother.

Now, we're making another major move, and we are still so excited for you to be here. You have grown so much. From that tiny infant, to the wonderful boy you are now. Your current favorite phrase is "Big Boy," and you want to be one so badly. Anything your big brother does, you must do too...And pretty much anything Daddy does too. They are your examples, and you think the world of them.

It seems you are always on the go, although that's normal for your age. You want to always be doing something. Until you could move on your own, you always seemed so frustrated. Now, there is very little that stands in your way.

You are just fearless! While Timothy had to warm up to the pool this summer, you literally jumped right in. (Thankfully you waited until I got your floaties in first, but only just.) This trait is true in almost any situation. Sometimes you pretend to be shy around people, but it's only an act. You know those baby blues will soon have people eating out of your hand.

Your smile will light up a room, and always makes my day brighter. But, I love the way you cuddle too. Especially when you're feeling sleepy, or just waking up. You wake up slowly, like your Mommy, and resent being rushed, even though your brother has been waiting and waiting for your nap to be over. =)

You are strong-willed, but compassionate too. You will stop your play to try to comfort a hurt crying child. Usually you clown to try to make them laugh, but you will hug them if they need it. I love that about you.

You don't seem to feel the need to talk much, probably because your brother is happy to do it for you, but lately you have been naming everything, so maybe the words aren't far off. I'm excited to hear what's going on in your head.

Andrew, we are so blessed to be your parents. There is so much inside you, and we can't wait to see it all come out as you grow. Happy Birthday Little Man!

Anniversary

Six years ago today, Margaret and I were married. (Since I'm write this at 1:30 in the morning, it was technically yesterday)

In past years, we've tried to make our anniversary a romantic occasion, with candlelight dinners, evenings out, etc. This year was a lot more quiet than usual. We're preparing for a move and are simply busy right now.

I had taken the week off to help with packing the house for our upcoming move. I ran in for a Dr. Appointment this morning, Margaret did some grocery shopping while Andrew was taking a nap, and we went to Best Buy to look at lap tops for my schooling this fall.

We did have a young woman from our church babysit our children this evening and we went out for a simple meal at a Greek restaurant, and saw oneof the plays I had worked on at the University.

I did spend a lot of time thinking about the last six years today, however. A lot has happened in that short amount of time. We've moved 4 times to three different states, and will be moving for a fifth time next week. We've had trials, blessings, and just plain normal days. The biggest blessings we've had are definitely our two children, Timothy and Andrew.

I can no longer imagine what my life would be like without the boys in my life. Last week, Timothy told me that I was his best friend. I like to think that Andrew feels the same way, he just doesn't talk much yet.

The past few days I've been thinking a lot about consecration. Specifically what it truly means to be wholly consecrated unto the Lord. To me the word consecration means more than committed, maybe even more than dedicated. It means that all I have I give to the Lord. My children are in the Lord's care. I am his steward to provide for them on this earth. That I understand.

I'm beginning to realize that it is the same not only with my marriage but with my wife. She is in the Lord's care. I have trust in Him in that. What I am beginning to understand after six years of marriage is that I am His steward for her as well as for my children. Not only is it my duty to provide physically for her, it is my duty to lead the family in our Spiritual lives as well.

That involves a lot. More than I can understand now. What I do know is that she deserves it. Margaret is one of the most spiritually sensitive people I have ever met. She is quiet about it, never flaunting, and always humble. I have learned a lot about communing with the Spirit from her. Because of this, I believe the Lord holds me to a high standard.

Margaret, on our anniversary I want you to know that I want to grow to be this man. Because I love you, and more importantly, because I love the Lord. Thank you for being patient with me while I continue to learn what this means. Thank you for all you are, and for all you give to our family. I love you.

Father Son Camping Trip

Back in May our church was scheduled to have a Father/Son campout. Timothy and I were planning to go, and Timothy was so excited for the day. He knew it was coming weeks ahead of time, and he would often ask me: "How many days until the camping trip?

Margaret and I talked about Andrew going. She wanted me to take him. Being the one who was actually going camping, there was no way I was going to take a 20 month old with me, especially one who still has a hard time sleeping in his own bed oftentimes. However, when my friend Dave called the day before the trip and asked if he and his 10 month old could tag along with us, I was backed into a corner. Margaret was ever so excited to have a night to herself. Timothy was excited to go camping, and I was excited, because the best part of this trip in years past is sitting by the fire after all the kids are asleep and getting to really know the other dads in our congregation.

Of course the most important part about the father/son campout is the bonding experience between fathers and sons, but I feel the chance to get to know other dads may be almost as important. I have always had a hard time really "getting to know" the other men in our congregation. We're all busy. Many of them are doing advanced training in medicine, or in law school. Most of us have young children at home, and when we get a chance we want to spend our time with them. We also all have responsibilities in the church that take a considerable amount of our time. We really don't get that many chances to just talk and get to know each other. That was the part I was looking forward to.

However, the Friday of the camping trip we got horrible storms in our little corner of Iowa. There was thunder, lightning, hail and the threat of tornadoes. Wisely, the camping trip was called off. The last place I would want to be in a tornado is a tent in the middle of a large open field at the youth campground. However, when I got home and told Timothy that the trip was cancelled, he looked at me with the dejected eyes of someone whose puppy had just died, and then after about a 5 second delay, began to ball.

I held Timothy for a long time then. My heart broke. He had been looking forward to this trip for over a month. It would be a year until the next father/son campout. Then, I came up with a plan.

We kicked mom out of the house (she was allowed upstairs in her bedroom only)

We moved all the furniture out of the living room

And we put the tent up inside.

I fired up the grill on our back porch and cooked the hot dogs and banana boats in the rain. We played cards, we talked, we made funny faces at each other with flashlights. We stayed up late (way past my bedtime, let alone Timothy's). And the best part about camping in the living room, we were able to watch Toy Story 3 on the TV.

And for those of you wondering, I even avoided the temptation of going to my own bed after Timothy fell asleep, and chose to spend the night in the tent with Timothy, just as we had planned.

This past weekend, we finally were able to do an outdoor father/son activity to sort of "make up" for the missed camping. (Not that we missed out on camping, or that anything had to be made up for, it was just nice to be outside).

Iowa had a free fish weekend, in which you were allowed to fish even if you did not have an Iowa fishing license. I grew up on a lake, and would spend nearly every day with a pole in the water before it got too hot in the summer. I LOVE fishing. However, I don't get to go often enough. When I really get an itch, I can talk Margaret into bringing a book and joining me by a lakeside, but I don't go often enough to justify paying for the license. So this was perfect. Timothy had never been before, and once again, he was excited.

Our church had planned an activity on a Friday night and reserved a section of a nearby lake. Only a couple of families showed up, but the morning of the trip the first words out of Timothy's mouth were "Daddy, today is fishing day". I had bought Timothy his very own fishing pole for the trip (with Spiderman on it) and I was nearly as giddy as Timothy. We went again on Saturday night, and Margaret and Andrew joined us.

Timothy did not want to touch the worms or the fish, but he was perfectly happy holding his pole, and it turns out, he's a really good net man. He even caught two fish. He wanted pictures, but said he would only hold the fish if they were in the net. They were two little baby bass, but they were fish nonetheless.

Mindless ripping... =)

We're on a budget. We do okay, but there's not a lot of room for expensive non-necessities. In my case, that means nice yarn for my knitting/crocheting projects. One hank of really nice alpaca wool can run you about $17. For one! Then I remembered that some of my friends recycle thrift store sweaters, and I wondered how hard it could be. It sounded complicated, but maybe it would be worth it. I did some internet research, found some great tutorials, and hit the clearance section at the local consignment store.

For about 3 bucks, I came up with this:

Now, the top gray one is an old one of mine. I had shrunk it, and thought, why not try recycling the yarn? The others cost me between $0.25 and $1.40 each. Not bad for one morning of digging through the discount bins.

I washed, dried, and began.

First, I ripped out the seams. Except for my shrunken one (which was really fuzzy, and kind of "felted", all I had to do was find the right end, and with one pull, I could rip from cuff to bottom hem. Goodbye side seam! A little more work with the collars, and shoulders, and I had a pile of sweater pieces that looked something like this:

Then I found the top string, dug it out, and started unraveling. The bottom of my end table made a perfect winding area, don't you think?

I ended up with several hanks from each sweater that looked something like this:

They were all kind of kinky from being in a sweater of course, so once the sweater was finished, I gave them a cold bath and hung them up to dry, in hopes of getting most of the kinks out. I forgot to take pictures of this, but let's just say, my family got a kick out of seeing peanut butter jars weighing them down. =)

I've only done 4, and stopped to work on a project with the yellow yarn, but so far, for my work, I have all this yarn, just waiting to be used!

Now two of the sweaters pictured in this yarn pile were cotton, and two were wool, so I'm not sure exactly how much money it would have cost me new, but I'm guessing I probably got around $75 worth of yarn for less than $5 ( don't remember how much the old sweater of mine cost, but it wasn't much)

The best part? It was mindless, and fun, and I needed mindless lately. =)

I realize most of you probably won't care in the least, but I wanted to share anyway. It made me happy. =)