Toddlers and Scholars

If you don’t believe me, check out my faux pas in the comments section of Erin and Sydney’s blog.

By the way, Lisa and I again are writing a top ten list for the daily newspaper at this year’s CMC annual conference. The potential topics are “Top Ten Mennonite Put-Downs” and “Top Ten Mennonite Gift Ideas.” It’s due tomorrow–any ideas?

Remember our kitchen decor decision? Believe it or not, we only recently decided on a color for the paint. That’s right, the walls have been sitting there, primed a clean but boring white for several weeks while we stare at various colors of paint swatches taped to the wall. We currently have one wall painted a light very-neutral greenish-beige, but I think we’re going to have to try again with a different color. I’m pretty convinced that nothing really matches the particular shade of green on the countertops (sigh). So the kitchen is still a work in progress.

For now, here’s a project that actually got finished: the bathroom.

Fortunately for our time and skills, it didn’t need much. Just a fresh coat of paint, some Ikea blinds and a new showerhead. I’m not convinced that the ivy on the window will stay there, but it needed something.

Some highlights of the past couple of days:

• We enjoyed a nice dinner with Marty and Hannah Troyer. They just moved to nearby Elkhart so Marty can finish seminary at AMBS. Marty comes from Madison County, Ohio, and went to Wheaton with me. Hannah grew up in Hesston, Kansas, with Lisa.
• The boys have been little terrors recently. They’ve begun throwing little temper tantrums and fighting with each other a lot.
• Today, we did some shopping, landscaping, mowing, painting, assembling our new bunk bed. Basically, anything and everything but studying.
• Last Wednesday we went to the Elkhart County fair, where Lisa’s cousin Valerie showed her rabbits. We spend a lot of time the rabbit barn. Sadly we weren’t able to sample any rabbit barbecue.
• We’re looking forward to CMC’s annual conference. My mother and father are coming in Tuesday evening, then David and Ann Marie on Thursday evening, and other friends and relatives on Thursday. If you’re coming in on Thursday and have a few hours to spare, come on over! We’ll give you a tour of our house and campus–and feed you some hummus.
• I’m now two-thirds through a rough draft of chapter nine.

Some photos . . .

of the boys inspecting some spilt milk

of the boys petting a rabbit

future National Guardsmen?

And playing when they’re supposed to be eating

Here are a few pictures of us playing with bubbles in the yard yesterday.

This might be my favorite–it will probably never make it into a picture frame, but I love the face.

I think he looks a little like Calvin

This is what I found while I was making dessert for small group tonight and the boys were (I thought) playing in the living room:

This is what I found while I was taking a break from a sewing project to check my email :

And this is what I learned today: NOTHING is safe!

–L