Music on the Apple Computer

Micah is loving music these days (he always has but is on a big kick lately), and Owen is really catching on. Micah will sing along and strum to the beat, while Owen will wave his hand up and down and bounce like crazy.

The New Practice

I know many of you have asked how the business is going, so I wanted to share a couple of pictures I took recently. Matt and his partner Bradley have both been working part time at other locations and will continue to do so until the business gets established (one of the benefits of sharing a practice.) The building has finally passed Franklin codes (which are apparently pretty strict) and the contractor got the go-ahead to finish up. They are predicting two weeks. At that time, the business will be open but only really advertised to friends and family. This will hopefully allow some of the kinks to be worked out prior to the grand opening a week later. The building is located in the Westhaven Town Center which will contain several other businesses. The Spectacle Shoppe (the decided name for the business) will be one of the first retail shops to open, which is exciting. Aside from being an optometrist's office, the front part of the building will display designer frames (sunglasses and eyeglasses) and the hope is to draw shoppers as well as patients. We are very excited, and the boys and I are so proud of Matt for all his hard work. I will post more of the inside as things get finished.

Easter Morning

The boys actually awoke early (early for Micah anyway-8:00), and we were happy to spend some time with them before getting dressed for church. Micah greeted everyone with "He is risen indeed!" and we listened to Christ the Lord is Risen Today over and over again. Matt found a version with a trumpet intro that Micah loved. Then we put the boys in their Easter clothes. Owen had an adorable pair of seersucker pants that a friend gave us. We paired that with a white button down dress shirt and light blue gingham bow tie. He looked absolutely adorable. Micah had a green sweater vest with khaki pants that had a small pinstripe, and a blue and green tie (just like Dada wears.) He looked so handsome. We tried several times to get cute pictures, but it was pretty windy, and the boys wore out quickly. I figure it is just another excuse to put them in the clothes again on a warmer day. Notice how they will only look down in the pictures by the flowers. I think they were disgusted that I would set them in the dirt! They had a look on their faces that said "are you crazy, don't you see this mess?" Ha, they are my children! The church service was wonderful as always. Micah loved that he recognized some of the hymns that we sung. After church we headed home to get ready for Matt's family to come for lunch. It was great to spend the day with everyone, and they all brought wonderful food.

Easter Baskets and Uncle Andy's Birthday

We had a wonderful, busy Easter weekend. My mom, Nana, came to visit for her Spring Break. While she was here, we decided to celebrate my brother's birthday (he also lives in Nashville.) We hadn't spent nearly as much time contemplating our Easter traditions this year. We did use a book with Micah at bedtime prayer time called Passion Hymns for a Child's Heart. He got very excited about Nothing but the Blood of Jesus and Christ the Lord is Risen Today. We also tried to convey the sadness of Jesus' death and the joy of His resurrection. I think he understood the best that a 2.5 year old can. He said it made "Micah sad" that Jesus died but that he was "back to happy now" because Jesus conquered death for us. We decided to give the boys their Easter baskets on Saturday morning, so we wouldn't be too rushed to get to church on time Sunday. They enjoyed their books and treats. Micah got a candy this year (he loved the jelly beans) and Owen got dried blueberries in his basketball and baseball "eggs." His face lit up when he found an egg with jelly beans in it on the floor. He proceeded to crawl around to every egg and open it to see if we misplaced another one! We then tried dyeing Easter eggs. I think I had the most fun with that project, trying out some different techniques. Micah did like pouring the vinegar and water in the cups, but gave up decorating after he broke two eggs. My brother, his wife, and her mom came over Saturday night for dinner. We used our new grill and enjoyed steak, potatoes, and punch bowl cake.

Palm Sunday

“Everyone who lined the streets of Jerusalem that day so long ago had a different reason for waving those palms. Some were political activists; they'd heard Jesus had supernatural power, and they wanted him to use it to free Israel from Roman rule. Others had loved ones who were sick or dying. They waved branches, hoping for physical healing. Some were onlookers merely looking for something to do, while others were genuine followers who wished Jesus would establish himself as an earthly king. Jesus was the only one in the parade who knew why he was going to Jerusalem--to die. He had a mission, while everyone else had an agenda.” J.I. Packer

Matt and I were talking the other night about why none of the Easter hymns seemed to catch on like the Christmas ones, and furthermore why Christmas has become such a enormous celebration, while Easter seems to sneak up and leave without much more than an egg hunt after church. We decided that Christmas is so easy to accept. Who doesn't like the happy feelings that come along with a new precious baby boy, one who came save the world? On the other hand Easter is harder to grasp: a man dying when he was not guilty and rising from the dead? People don't want to accept the fact that Jesus wasn't in the tomb that third day because that would mean he truly was who he said he was. Even with the faith that Christ did indeed rise from the dead, Easter is still harder for me to get excited about than Christmas. Why? I think maybe it's because I have to accept the fact that my sin nailed my Lord to the cross. I want to be one of the people shouting "Hosanna! Hosanna in the highest!" not one of the ones shouting "crucify Him" less than a week later. I know that I am both and that is why Christ had to die for me. Jesus says "for this purpose I have come to this hour." Jesus came to die. Praise the Lord! While this week leading up to Easter brings solemn feelings as we remember our sin and the death of our Savior, let us not forget to rejoice and celebrate our King's resurrection, for this is the crux of our faith.

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in Heaven for you, who by God's power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. 1 Peter 1:3-5

I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. Galatians 2:20

Snow Day

So I am late in posting this; I honestly had forgotten until today when we were out walking. It is a fabulous day today, near 70. The windows are open and the sun is brightening the whole house. Springtime makes me so happy. I hear the birds chirping and see the buds on the trees, and I can't help but smile. God is so good to give us Spring! Anyway, I was thinking while we were out on the trails "I can't believe there was 3 inches of snow on the ground less than a week ago." Yes, last weekend we awoke to a blanket of snow. Snow is pretty first thing in the morning before all the footprints (I didn't get out with the camera soon enough,) but honestly I wouldn't care if I ever saw it. I hate being cold! Micah had fun throwing snowballs with Dada and building a snowman on the deck. Ellie didn't know what to think as she sunk almost to her belly when we put her out. Owen was very unsure.
Lately, we get glimpses of a side to Owen that we wouldn't have expected. He is generally very easy going around here. He is mostly content all day roaming around pulling out all his toys, talking to himself. He will even stay in his crib for 30-45 minutes and just talk and roll around (we are working on dropping his morning nap, so that he will just take one long nap with Micah in the afternoon, but he still needs a rest in his room around 10:30 or so. The time change has him sleeping till 9 now, so he was wanting to nap around 11:30-2, which unfortunately didn't give me much of a break as Micah was laying down right when Owen was waking up. He is quite adaptable though and has been laying down for me around 1-2 and sleeping till 5 or so.) I say all that to preface my surprise when he got visibly upset as I set him in the grass the other day, and definitely didn't want us to put him down in the snow. He held on for dear life when we tried to have him go down our little baby slide that Micah loved when he was 1. I think the little boy that I thought was so laid back, may not be so after all. Content, adaptable, and happy, yes; but he seems to tense up in certain situations that affect his senses of touching and hearing. He does not like chaos, though he loves when people come to our house to hang out. I think he will be like me in that sense. I love comfortable social situations, but chaotic ones (parties, think college, are not really my bag). Matt and Micah, on the other hand, would avoid social situations of all kinds. They prefer to have one or two close friends, and get very nervous to step out of their comfort zones. I laugh and think that it is good that they have Owen and me to make the friends, so they can enjoy the relationships without the pains of having to develop them! Okay, I got way off track. I didn't intend to go into all that, but I wanted to jot down some things that I have recently noticed in Owen. Maybe one day, when the boys' wives ask, "what was he like as a baby?" I can pull this blog up. By the way, all you bloggers out there, you can have your blog put into a book, so that you can have a hard copy to look at.

The Morrisons Recommend

I thought I would share some things we are loving right now.
Movies:
Once
Any of the Jane Austin Masterpiece Theater (showing on PBS, but you can rent them too. We like Pride and Prejudice best, but the others are worth watching too. I am sure the books are better, but by the end of the day my brain is too shot by mommyhood that I doubt I could focus my attention that much!)

Owen is loving On the Go (a baby Einstein movie,) and Micah is out of the movie phase for now. He seems to go in and out, I think he got burnt out after being sick.

Books:
I am reading Jan Karon's book Home to Holly Springs, and it is wonderful as all her books are. I highly recommend this one. Matt is reading The Micah Mandate by our pastor George Grant, and sings its praises. Owen loves Touch and Feel the Baby Animals, and Micah is into the Max books by Rosemary Wells.

Micah is loving music right now, and he currently finds (on the iPod) Night Mantra by Renee and Jeremy, Put it on Me by Ben Harper and the Innocent Criminals (also a favorite of mine) and Nothing but the Blood of Jesus. We are learning some hymns from a passion hymn book for children, and Micah likes this one best because it was easy to learn the words and sing along. Jars of Clay has a redemption CD, and Micah likes their version as well. We all also really like Falling Slowly from the movie Once.

Hope you get a chance to check out a few of these Morrison favorites!

Interesting Article

A friend sent me an article the other day that sums up a few of the reasons why Matt and I have decided that we will either educate our children at home, or send them to a classical Christian school. You can click on the link to read the article

http://jewishworldreview.com/cols/thomas030408.php3

Beautiful Day

We have had a couple of pretty days lately, and it has done us all good to get out of the house. There is a great walk around our neighborhood, and Micah loves to stop at one spot in particular and throw rocks into the river. Matt got home early today and was so glad to join us.

So Sweet

Owen is so sweet at naptime. He loves to put his head on your shoulder and rest before he lays down. He also gets in some funny positions lately while napping. I went in today to wake him so we could go on a walk (it is gorgeous today) and he was in the craziest position with his leg hanging out of the crib.

Visit From the Browns

We had a wonderful visit with friends last week. One thing that we haven't gotten a chance to do since moving here is make good friends. It just takes time, and we know that, so it is good to get a chance to have quality time with some friends that we miss dearly. Owen was very interested in Dylan. He tried very hard to get her bottle and "binky," and I am pretty sure Dylan popped his paci in a couple of times. Micah loved spending some time with Nathan; they developed a friendship last summer while we lived with them. Everything was going great until Taylor got food poisoning and had to spend the last day in the bed and bathroom. We felt terrible for her as we know the stomach thing all too well around here, and there just wasn't much we could do except try to help out with Dylan. It certainly was a bummer that we had to end a great couple of days with one very terrible one. Here are some pictures of the more happy times.