little worshiper

on thursday i was able to capture jayden having a little worship time. he LOVES to sing and worship (and apparently dance too!) two of his three favorite songs are "happy day" (tim hughes) and "skeleton bones" (john mark mcmillan). enjoy his worship set!

north park with cousins

because it has been SUPER hot here in texas and my boys like to get out and do things - we have been to northpark quite a bit lately. it is cool, has the fun pond with ducks and turtles, and we can get lunch in the food court. we went the other day with my mom and sister. emery kate and campbell are wearing matching outfits that sweet kelli gave them. (aren't they precious?)

(you may be wondering - what is that blue band aid doing on jayden's left upper cheek - don't worry we just almost had to get stitches on sunday after church - classic thing to happen when you have a 3 week old - thankfully we didn't and thankfully we have a friend from church who is a surgeon and could tell us that we didn't have to!)

emery kate was SO excited to hold campbell - i think that this was her first time to do it. in fact - she didn't want to let her go and got a little mad at us when we made her!

she is going to be a great big sister!

attempting a picture of all the cousins, apparently duncan has better things to do

this is as good as it gets!

sweet

The Week

So I survived my first week of flying solo with the kids. It went a lot better than i could have imagined. I think it is due to the people who were interceding on my behalf (so if that was you - a big thank you!). We are getting into a groove of how life is going to be. It is fun, busy, and very active. I think you might call it organized chaos - but I don't know if it is really organized or not?!?! Campbell is doing great! She is growing and becoming a bit more "awake" so that has been fun.

Here are some pics and a sampling of what we have been doing.

(obviously i am partial to taking pictures of her right now - i am not neglecting my other two :) just giving them a break from the camera!

the boys loving on their little sister

j has been really into me taking pics of him lately

the slighs came up to meet little miss campbell

i guess this would be a good picture of:

"walking in daddy's shoes"

campbell all dressed up for her first sunday at church last week

(i love the sweet little smocked dress - she looked so pretty in it!)

we went to the zoo for sara's bday - unfortunately i didn't get a lot of pictures

jayden had his first experience on a carousel

Guest Post: Thoughts on the character of the old lady from "Babar"

There are different portions of the storybook Babar that are at the same time simple and complex. The character that I choose to illustrate my point through is the Old Lady.

The Old Lady randomly gives Babar her purse, without knowing him. After furnishing himself quite nicely at a department store, being accompanied by a floorwalker after an escape on the elevators, Babar joins the Old Lady at her mansion.

He joins her in what some could find as trifling matters: setting up exercises, visiting in the ballroom, etc. These things tire out our main character, Babar, to the point that he must retire to an uninterupted sleep - suggesting a similar experience being shared by the Old Lady.

The Old Lady, we come to find, has also given her car to Babar to drive everyday.

All in all, the Old Lady seems to be an enabler of non-domesticated animals, taking them in and giving a more 'proper' upbringing. There are more comments to be made on the aim of the author here, but one can be appreciative of the Old Lady for rescuing poor Babar from the wicked hunters. For example, If one can remember the opening pages with the portrait of the dead mother, we could see the Old Lady's treatment of Babar as off-setting the difficulty of his childhood. For now, let this one example suffice.

Let me close by offering a suggestion at the overall treatment of Babar and his upbringing in the forest, his domestication in the city, and his ensuing return to the forest for his coronation. Having now read Babar every night for several weeks, I have been afforded a unique perspective furnished by repetition. When approaching Babar's coronation - I continue to ask, ' Has he been groomed for this moment by the Old Lady?' ' What is the author suggesting by this sequence of events? ' The non-city dwelling animals do not bat an eye at the suggestion of Cornelius that Babar be made king. Taking his liberties, Babar joins Celeste to himself, Celeste who also has spent time in the city eating pastries and enjoying other activities.

I make this blog post having not read the extant literature on Babar, authorial intent, or scholarly reviews. So let grace be extended for any postulation that has previously been posted on the topic, but could Babar represent colonialism or imperialism in some way? A further question to consider for the future is the combining of roles sacred and secular in Babar's appointment of Cornelius as both general and officiant at the wedding. With all of these questions up in the air, we can rest assured in Babar's good heart; we see this in his offer of his derby hat to Cornelius when Babar's crown arrives:)

bows

i didn't know what i thought about them. would i like them for my little campbell or would i think they were too much . . .

i think they look pretty darn cute (and jordan thinks so too!)