Zippity Doo Da

This was our calendar a few months ago


This is our calendar tonight


And away we go.

Enough is enough

I took Bennett to the mall this week. She wanted to have a special Mommy/daughter day and so I obliged. We went to the merry-go-round. She got three rides on her favorite horse. Then I took her to the Disney store. She played for a long time with all of the toys there. I bought her a special Ariel figurine that dances with prince Eric (who is her boyfriend by the way.) On our way out we stopped at the cookie place and she and I split a peanut butter cookie. Perfect morning, right?

WRONG! She started screaming on our way out. "I WANT TO RIDE HEM-OR-REE!!!"

** Hem-or-ree stands for Henry. Every horse is named Henry. My daughter is special.**

I explained to her that she already rode Henry three times. She flung herself on the floor of the mall. I acted like she wasn't mine, but the red hair gave me away. I told her that I had bought her an Ariel toy. She didn't care. I showed her the cookie crumbs all over her mouth. No luck. She was devastated that I wouldn't let her have a 4th turn on Hem-or-ree.

I finally got her in the car and calmed her down. As we drove home I felt myself getting so annoyed with her. Hadn't I done enough? We had a special day filled with treats, surprises, and special time together. Yet it wasn't enough. That meant nothing to her. She wanted more.

The it struck me. That's how I talk to the Lord all the time. Lord, I want more! Yes, I have a great house, but I want hardwood floors. I love having a two story house, but I don't have iron spindles on my stair case. Iron spindles, really? Did I seriously have the audacity to be bummed because I didn't have iron spindles? The answer that humbles me is yes, I did. I always want MORE!

When I think about it like that, I feel so ashamed. I am far worse than my daughter. Sometimes I can't see the blessing right in front of me because I am too busy looking at what I don't have. And I have enough. I have so much more than enough. In fact, God has blessed us far beyond the point of necessity. I have a huge basement that we rarely go in and how many people in Haiti are living in tents? Just my basement alone would be a mansion to them.

How can I complain about my lack of funds for new clothes when there are people less than 30 miles from my house that don't have shoes and winter is fast approaching? How dare I complain? How dare I feel like I am lacking anything? I have clean water to drink, clothes to keep me warm, and enough food to eat. That alone with no other added luxury should be enough in of itself. When is enough enough?

My daughter teaches me more on a daily basis than she will ever know.

Philippians 4: 11-13 "Not that I was ever in need, for I have learned how to be content with whatever I have. I know how to live on almost nothing or with everything. I have learned the secret of living in every situation, whether it is with a full stomach or empty, with plenty or little. For I can do everything through Christ who gives me strength."

Catching up with friends

Some of our dearest friends in the world came to visit us this past weekend. I have blogged about our trips to visit the Segars family before and in those blogs I gushed about how much we love their family, so I will refrain from doing so again. Here are a few shots from our weekend with no gushing allowed.

Bennett LOVES Cade! He came to see her in the hospital when she was born and it has been love ever since.

Posing around an ice cream cone is a perfectly normal thing to do, right?

Bennett loved being the only girl surrounded by 5 boys. She honestly adores all of them. Even when she was really little, she would always go to the Segars boys. She prefers older brothers to her little one. Will was just happy that he had protection from Bennett.

Shane and Rob exemplifying Matthew 25:31-46

We all went to visit the Haines family because we were all involved in ministry together in Montgomery, Alabama. Who would have known 6 years ago as we hung out in 'Bama that we would all end up Midwesterners. Craziness.

And finally- enjoying special time together while discussing the difference between a cow with spots and a cow without. These things are of the utmost importance to a 2 year old.

My heart

We had to leave a park today because Bennett wasn't nice to another little boy. This was our conversation as I tucked her in for her nap.

Me: Bennett, What did you do today?
B: Bennett not nice, Mommy.
Me: I know, sweetheart. Can you tell me what happened?
B: I not nice to a little boy.
Me: Mommy doesn't like it when you aren't nice.
B: I so sad Mommy.
Me: It's okay, baby. I love you.
B: I a little bit sad.
Me: Don't be sad.
B: I cry a little bit.
Me: Are you sad because you hit a little boy?
B: Yeah. I so sorry little boy. I so so sorry.
Me: That was nice Bennett.
B: Yeah. I go night night now, Mommy. I a little bit sad.

She makes my heart explode on a daily basis.

We're still here!

Hi there. How are you? My name is Lauren. Long time no see. Sorry about that, but we have had a rough two weeks around here. I haven't been on the computer much except to stare blankly at e-mails I needed to return and hope for that perfect game of spider solitaire. Sad, but true. So here is what the red headed Websters have been up to in my time away from blogging world. I'll start with Will since his news is the biggest.

Will- He started walking!!! I came downstairs one day and he just walked to me. No joke. He didn't walk very gradually like his big sister. He just decided that he wanted to walk that day. Fine by me. Here is a video of the cutest little thing on two legs.


Bennett- Let's focus on the positives, shall we? I think I will skip the new phrases that have crept into her vocabulary. The main one being, "Get out of here, little boy." She says that to every child she encounters whether it be at the store or on the playground. She is also unable to do anything we ask her. If I tell her that it's time for bed she will say, "Bennett CAN'T go night night anymore. I too sad to sleep." Whatever.

But she wrapped up a good summer by taking gymnastics and swim lessons. She absolutely adored her teachers and she misses them already. Here are some shots from her summer activities.




Rob-
Rob spent a week this summer in Africa with a team from our church. He shared his story on his blog (he thinks he's too cool to contribute to this one) and you can read about it here. I am so proud of him and so thankful that he uses the gifts God blessed him with to serve the Lord.

Me- I've been pretty darn sick. I had a terrible infection that causes extreme dizziness. I have never asked Rob to take off from work before because I was so sick, but I had to. I was laid up in bed for several days and then just as I was feeling better, I threw my back out again. Terrible stuff. So, that's why we haven't had a lot of blog updating going on around here. I just couldn't.

Our house- This is not my house, but this is what it has felt like. Conveniently coinciding with my illness was major water damage to our house. Our house has been filled with dehumidifiers, plastic sheets, ripped out drywall, broken windows, etc... Lovely. And try keeping a 13 month old away from all of that. And then try doing that when you can't lift him because of back pain. It's been rough.

Meg- She's still guarding our house, chasing the workers fixing our water damage, allowing her tail to be pulled by Bennett, and demanding to be petted every 10 seconds.

Kirby- He's still alive.

Who needs plastic toys?

I will be back with this regularly scheduled blog soon. We have had a few disruptions in our lives these past few weeks and to be be quite honest, I just haven't felt like being on the computer much.

Fortunately, my children don't really need me to amuse them. Here is a video of Will having he best time of is life. All he needs is a table.

Please note how serious he gets as he drops behind the table. Hiding from Mommy is serious business.

When you wish upon a star....

Bennett went to a tea party with some friends a few days ago. These are some shots of her that we captured as she was walking to the car. What a beautiful little princess.

28 Days

Mi Familia

Love actually?

We have a good friend visiting us from Alabama this weekend. More on him later because he is all kinds of awesomeness. But last night we were flipping channels and landed on a good old fashioned romantic comedy. Do you all remember, "Runaway Bride?" It is a Julia Roberts vehicle from 1999. It is a formulaic chick flick that you enjoy while you are watching, but forget 10 minutes later.

However, it triggered something in me. I remember loving this movie when it came out in the theaters. I was 20 years old at the time. I was idealistic and sure that was the way true love happened. I remember thinking that Julia Robert's character, Maggie, was a quirky and fabulous woman and she was the kind of chick I wanted to be.

In one scene Richard Gere's character says to Maggie, "You want a man, who will lead you down the beach, with his hand over your eyes, just so you can discover the feel of the sand beneath your feet. You want a guy, who will wake you up a dawn, just bursting to talk to you, he can't wait another minute just to find out what you'll say. Am I right?"

Of course my 20 year old self swooned. Who wouldn't want that? That was TRUE LOVE! A guy who woke you up at dawn to just be with you. How romantic is that?

However, as I was watching the movie last night as a slightly more cynical 32 year old, that scene made me burst into laughter. I turned to Rob and said, "If you ever wake me up at dawn just to hear what I would say, I would kill you." If anyone for that matter woke me up at dawn, I would silently curse them as I changed Will's diaper at 6:30 am for robbing me of much needed sleep.

Also, I know what sand feels like beneath my feet. Why is that romantic? If a guy had his hand over my eyes walking down the beach, I would think he was trying to drown me.

My 20 year old self would be horrified. Have I really become this cynical, jaded, and unromantic? When I did I start to laugh at speeches that would at one time have left me breathless? The answer: when I got married.

Do you know what romance is now? Waking up with the children so I can sleep longer. Unloading the dishwasher with me asking. A quick shoulder rub at the end of the day. A phone call in the middle of the afternoon to say I am thinking about you. Putting down the laptop or turning off the TV to really focus on one another.

Real life isn't like the movies. It isn't swoon worthy speeches or quirky characters who find love despite all the odds. It's so much better than that. Who wants to see Richard Gere riding on a horse when I get to see my husband carrying his daughter on his shoulders every day? Real life love is watching Rob run down a slip-n-slide just to make his kids laugh. It's having someone remember my favorite candy and then just having it magically appear on my pillow. It's having the coffee brewed in the morning and brought to me exactly the way I like it- 2 sugars and 1 cream.

All these thoughts were running through my head last night as I watched Hollywood's version of love. And as I watched Julia Roberts embody this quirky character that I once thought was an ideal woman, I realized what I now think an ideal woman should be. I think the Bible sums it up perfectly in Proverbs 31.

Here are a few excerpts from that passage-

Who can find a virtuous and capable wife? She is more precious than rubies.
Her husband can trust her, and she will greatly enrich his life.
She brings him good, not harm, all the days of her life.

She is clothed with strength and dignity, and she laughs without fear of the future. When she speaks, her words are wise, and she gives instructions with kindness.

Her children stand and bless her. Her husband praises her:
There are many virtuous and capable women in the world, but you surpass them all!”

Charm is deceptive, and beauty does not last;
but a woman who fears the Lord will be greatly praised.
Reward her for all she has done. Let her deeds publicly declare her praise.

I think Hollywood could take a few cues from real life.

Stepping back in time

Oh, Jeff Probst. You know that you hold me hostage on Thursday nights, right? Because of you and your little sidekick over on NBC, Michael Scott, I am usually stuck inside on Thursday nights wondering who the tribe will speak to and what pants Andy Bernard will wear. It's a tough life.

But in the summer, I don't have these worries. I am free to roam about town as I please on Thursday nights. You may read this and wonder why I am held hostage. I hear you all silently wondering is if I am the last person in America to have a DVR. And no, I do have one, but I also have friends that call right at 8:00 and say, "OH MY WORD! Did you see that?" So, therefore Rob and I feel obligated to watch these shows live.

I digress. Last night we had no tribe to root for, so we did what any normal family would do. We went and visited a working farm that was a stagecoach route in the 1800's. Doesn't everyone do that on a Thursday night?


We entered the visitors center and were greeted by a very large boot. Of course. Makes perfect sense.

This sight greeted us as we headed out to the farm from the visitors center. I almost fainted. I was so excited. I tapped into my inner Laura Ingalls and decided to get my prairie life on.

We saw these volunteers harvesting wheat. You could then go to the kitchen where a woman was making bread from the wheat germ and churning butter. Maybe if I would get off the couch and quit watching "Survivor" then I could make my own bread too. Until then, I'll drag my lazy self to Wal-Mart.

It may not look like it here, but I am secretly pretending that I am traveling from Walnut Grove to Plum Creek.

Just call me, "The Horse Whisperer."

I don't know. But it's pretty.

Bennett got to grind corn to feed some chickens. She couldn't really get the hang of it, but believe me, you had better not even try to help her. Her favorite new phrase is, "Bennett. do. it. myself!!!!"

Will was not amused by the chickens. He's too high brow for farm life.

Bennett didn't mind getting down and dirty. She had no fear of the chickens and did a great job letting them come and eat out of her hand.

Great shot of two of the loves of my life.

A parting shot beckoning me to come and volunteer on the farm. You just wait. One day you will see me in a bonnet harvesting wheat with the best of them.

Who knew my kisses were so funny?