Moving on up...

When we first put Miles in his new highchair he was all smiles and totally excited. He was so cute, I wanted to stay in the moment and enjoy, instead of hopping behind the camera. By the time I got the camera out, he was all business and pretty serious. He sits in the highchair for about 5-10 min. and then he's over it. He's a long way off from eating solids, but we figure we could start getting him used to sitting up with us for dinner.


Once he got grouchy, out of the chair he went and into Daddy's arms.

I had to include this photo. Stamp had her nose to the door for the longest time and I couldn't figure out why. She would sniff and sniff and sniff and every once in a while she would let out a funny yelp. Well, I looked outside and there was nothing there, so I just figured she was being a nutty pug. Well, come to find out, there was a next day air envelope that had slid under our welcome mat (outside, mind you) and Stamp was enthralled. I guess you had to be there, but she seriously sat there and stared at the door for like an hour. She cracks us up. ; )

I'm going to completely change gears now....

This is a photo of a turtle dove that has created a nest in a landscaping tree (otherwise known as "cousin It" for it's bushiness) outside of John's office window. John found it when he was pruning "Cousin It" and it scared the daylights out of him when it decided to come flapping wildy out of it's nest in protest. We have been keeping an eye on it and watching for babies, of course while keeping a safe distance. From what I have heard, doves mate for life and of course there is the connection to peace, so it's nice to have her energy nearby.


John snapped this photo and I think it's beautiful.

To go along with this photo, I would like to post a poem written by Mattie Stepanek when he was twelve years old. Mattie is a boy who was ill from a neuromuscular disease and was confined to a wheelchair gravely ill his entire life. Mattie, who published many books of poetry, was amazingly mature and had vision beyond his years. (If you don't know who he is, look him up.) He passed just weeks short of his 14th birthday. Mattie's poetry comes to mind around this time of year for me and with all the craziness in the world, I wanted to post this poem. He has a million poems that are awesome, but I came across this one today and considering I have the news on a lot and everyday there is just more and more chaos going on in the world, this one spoke to me this evening. So instead of reading about what's going on with the war or how many more days Paris Hilton has in jail, read this poem. The child was a genius.

FOR OUR WORLD

We need to stop.
Just stop.
Stop for a moment.
Before anybody
Says or does anything
That may hurt anyone else.
We need to be silent.
Just silent.
Silent for a moment.
Before we forever lose
The blessing of songs
That grow in our hearts.
We need to notice.
Just notice.
Notice for a moment.
Before the future slips away
Into ashes and dust of humility.
Stop, be silent, and notice.
In so many ways, we are the same.
Our differences are unique treasures.
We have, we are, a mosaic of gifts
To nurture, to offer, to accept.
We need to be.
Just be.
Be for a moment.
Kind and gentle, innocent and trusting,
Like children and lambs,
Never judging or vengeful
Like the judging and vengeful.
And now, let us pray,
Differently, yet together,
Before there is no earth, no life,
No chance for peace.

September 11, 2001
Matthew Joseph Thaddeus Stepanek
from Hope Through Heartsongs, 2002