The Saturday 7

1. Our church is attempting to put together a pictorial directory for the first time in . . . 13? 14? . . .  years.  We were warned repeatedly throughout the month of September that it was coming, and had 3 chances every Sunday in October to get our pictures taken. But Justin and I both started teaching Sunday School this month, and it's very hard for us to get all our ducks (aka children) in a row and still make it to church on time, so it's been a rough month. Last Sunday, we finally got our act together, got up on time, were all showered and wearing clean clothes, I even curled my hair. It was finally the day we were going to make it to church early enough to have our picture taken and make it to our Sunday School class on time. I told Justin I wanted to leave at 10:20. At 10:15, Levi started yelling from the couch (where he was watching Netflix on my phone), "You're getting a phone call!" When I saw that the caller was my brother, my stomach dropped in excitement. When I answered, the first thing he said was, "I can't get ahold of Mom. Can you meet me at the park n' ride to pick up Ruby?" It was baby time!!!!!! I unplugged my curling iron, threw on some shoes, and flew out the door. 15 minutes later, Luke and Esther pulled in. He didn't even park in a parking spot. He almost literally threw Ruby at me, threw her bags in my car, and said, "We have to make this quick! Thanks!" I attempted to ask Esther how far apart her contractions were, but she could hardly talk. I prayed the whole way home that they would make it to the hospital. Hahaha. Actually, I drove straight to my mom's house. (She went to the early service and had her phone off.) I left Ruby there with Mom, then busted off to church, where I was only 5 minutes late to my Sunday School class! Whew! I got a text an hour later that the baby was born. So they cut it pretty close getting to the hospital! Another hour later, we got the first pictures and the name: Casper James. 8 lb. 10 oz! Ruby was just over seven pounds at birth, and you've all seen how dainty she is. Casper is going to outweigh her in 6 months! Haha. (Although Lena weighed more than Casper at birth, so birth weight is not always indicative of future size.)

2. Thanks to Covid, we were not allowed to go visit at the hospital. 😭 I've never not been at the hospital when a new niece or nephew was born - at least not since Tyler was born. That was the middle of the night. And I was 8. Haha. But we were finally able to see Casper on Tuesday! I could hold him all day. Newborns are my favorite thing in the whole world. I want to have 25 of them . . . but I don't want to be pregnant, give birth, or raise them. 🤷

😍😍😍

He's even cute when he's crying!

Our great-grandpa's name was Casper, and his grandpa's name was Kasper. You're welcome, Luke and Esther, for all the genealogy research I did during quarantine! 😁

3. In non-baby news . . . Justin and I have been trying to be more strict about Levi sleeping in our bed lately. He's getting way too big, and flails/kicks/talks way too much. But Justin and I both really cherish our sleep, and nothing Levi ever does is easy. It's not like we can put him back in his bed, then go right back to sleep in ours. If only. On Tuesday, I decided we'd start to transition. I told Levi he could sleep on the floor next to me, but not in our bed. I even made him a little blanket nest on the floor. But when he climbed on top of me at 12:30 a.m., he wanted nothing to do with the new arrangement. It ended up being a five hour process of hauling him out of my bed to put him on the floor, re-arranging blankets and pillows, turning on music, putting him back in his own room, hauling him out of our bed again, holding his hand over the edge of my bed, I think I even handed him my phone and turned on Netflix at one point. Justin sat with him in his room for an hour to no avail. Finally, at 5:20, Levi said, "Mommy, can you put me back to bed in my room?" I sat next to him for 10 minutes and he finally went to sleep. He didn't sleep at all during those 5 hours. I just don't understand how he can be that stubborn . . . or need so little sleep. Justin and I managed to doze on and off all night, and we both thought we were going to die of exhaustion in the morning. 

On Wednesday night, Levi climbed into bed with me once. Justin said, "Where are you supposed to be?" and he laid down on the floor without issue. Thursday night he slept in his own bed all night! And last night, he was in bed with us from 4 a.m. on because Lena had a bad dream and was sleeping in "his spot" on the floor. 🤦🤦🤦 

4. I let myself get sucked into some facebook drama this week (re: the John Piper article and subsequent rebuttals). It breaks my heart that this is one more thing for the church to be divided on. One person from church posted the Piper article. An hour later, another person posted a rebuttal. Both are mature, godly people who love Jesus and the church. Truth be told, I wasn't a big fan of the Piper article. And in a move that is totally out of character for me, I actually commented on my friend's post with my opinion. I think it was up for 5 minutes before I chickened out, felt bad for creating conflict, and deleted my comment. Lol. (Much more in character.) Apparently, at least a handful of people read the comment before I deleted it, because I got a few facebook messages about it (they were nice messages from people who agreed with me). But I decided I'd rather not contribute to the culture of divisiveness, and keep my opinion to myself. It was mostly defensive, anyway, and not particularly helpful. If you want to know my thoughts, we can talk. (Maybe. If you're nice to me. Lol.) But I'm not just going to spew my opinion, because there's enough of that already on the internet. Haha. #humblebrag 

5. I read a terrible book yesterday. I'm going to tell you about it to save you from making the same mistake. 

Here's the Goodreads synopsis:

Where do you see yourself in five years?

When Type-A Manhattan lawyer Dannie Kohan is asked this question at the most important interview of her career, she has a meticulously crafted answer at the ready. Later, after nailing her interview and accepting her boyfriend's marriage proposal, Dannie goes to sleep knowing she is right on track to achieve her five-year plan. But when she wakes up, she’s suddenly in a different apartment, with a different ring on her finger, and beside a very different man. The television news is on in the background, and she can just make out the scrolling date. It’s the same night—December 15—but 2025, five years in the future. After a very intense, shocking hour, Dannie wakes again, at the brink of midnight, back in 2020.

The reviews all referred to a shocking twist at the end. I love twists. I read the same genre 90% of the time, so I'm pretty well acquainted with the formula, and appreciate being truly surprised. Unless the surprise is terrible . . . as this one was. This is your last warning if you intend to read the book spoiler free. I'm about to spoil it all up in here . . . .

Here's the thing. I read romance novels. They're usually Christian. I usually steer clear of outright smut. This was not a Christian book, but it also wasn't a bodice ripper. It had a storyline and a plot. Unfortunately, the more I read, the more I realized this wasn't a romance between a man and woman, but a story about friendship between two women. (Just friendship - nothing weird.) I read the book trying to figure out how she could go from being engaged from one man, to waking up engaged to another man 5 years later. I wanted to watch her fall in love, anticipating a love triangle or something. What I got was a depressing story about watching your best friend die a slow, agonizing death of cancer, and then having a one night stand with her fiancee a month after you broke up with your own fiancee. 🤦 Are you kidding me? They slept together out of shared grief for the one they lost. Who does that? That's gross. And there was no happily ever after. The friend is dead, the wedding is off, and the guy she just slept with basically says, "Well that was nice. Have a good life." Blech. What a waste of time. You're welcome for the fore-warning.

6. I actually haven't been having much luck with reading anything good lately. I've been thinking about finishing Lynn Austin's The Chronicles of the Kings series. I read the first three back to back in August when I was reading Hezekiah's story in my yearly Bible plan. I took a break from the books when my chronological plan led me to the Psalms. And then I ended up taking a break from my Bible reading as well. 😬 I finally picked it back up this week, and made it halfway through what I should've read in July. 🤦 I finished the Psalms and moved on to Isaiah. Today I read something I don't ever remember reading before. (Is. 20:1-3)

20 In the year when King Sargon of Assyria sent his commander in chief to capture the Philistine city of Ashdod,[a] 2 the Lord told Isaiah son of Amoz, “Take off the burlap you have been wearing, and remove your sandals.” Isaiah did as he was told and walked around naked and barefoot.

3 Then the Lord said, “My servant Isaiah has been walking around naked and barefoot for the last three years. This is a sign—a symbol of the terrible troubles I will bring upon Egypt and Ethiopia.[b]

Isaiah walked around naked and barefoot for three years?? Wow. Maybe my life isn't so rough after all . . . 

7. Pictures

Kids these days. Where do they learn to do that peace sign? Is that even what it means anymore?

Ruby came over for an hour this week while Luke got his car worked on down the street from my house. I'm going to miss her so much while Esther's on maternity leave!!

Root beer floats - something that does not tempt me in the least. I can't stand root beer, and I'd never ruin a good glass of Dr Pepper by adding ice cream to it!

It's been perfect soup-and-bread weather lately. #bettyhomecrocker

Look! I made an "m!" That was his letter of the week at school. I guess he's been paying attention! Don't mind that face. That's his new smile. If we ever do get our picture taken for church, this is likely what he'll look like. Lol.

Take my picture like this!

Sibling reading time. Can you see how Levi's playing with Lucy's hair? He's been doing that with me too, only twisting it around his fingers into a massive knot. Neither Lucy nor I appreciate it.