someone's turning thirteen

Lucy turns 1. Peeps turns 3.
What's a parent to do but give a double party??

Too windy for candles to stay lit.
We had to pretend to blow them out.

You choose a caption:
"Shhh. This is my fourth cupcake." Or, "I'm one now."

To ensure party fun, we rented a jumping castle

It did not disappoint

Dave & Lucy

Peeps & Jaylee

Me & Jen: short hair rules!
(well, hers does, anyway. I'm actually desperate to grow mine out these days...)

This is my party coordinator (and son).

Yahoo! Presents!

Lucy & Bella
For the record: No, they could not be any cuter

The Party Princess struggles to keep her eyes open.

Happy B-day, girls!

bloomsbury

Round about a hundred years ago, Virginia Woolf and her pals formed a little group called Bloomsbury, where they basically got together and discussed the good stuff: literature, philosophy, politics, food (Virginia really did dote on a good meal).

Then, round about ten years ago, my friend and I ripped off the idea and formed our own Bloomsbury, of which we were the sole members. It was a beautiful thing.

And then, a few months back, we had the idea to share Bloomsbury with the masses. We wrote up some articles of incorporation and became an official non-profit organization.

Let me pause my narrative here to say that ever since I was 12 years old, I've felt 12 years old--a proverbial and perpetually awkward preteen. And then, suddenly when I turned 30 (which, to keep things in perspective for you, was like three months ago), I just felt 30. I felt like a legitimate adult. It was kinda cool. Anyway, so then when my hater-voices crept in and asked me what I was thinking, starting a non-profit organization?? And that that's what real adults did and didn't I know that I didn't do things like this? I was able to inform them that I was old now. In a good way. And I can do whatever I want. And then I stuck my tongue out at them.

Anyway, so...yeah. Now I'm part of a new-founded nonprofit organization: The Bloomsbury Foundation. Go check it out. See if it might suit you. Tell me what you think. And, if you feel so inclined, go ahead and donate to the cause. I dare you. :)

suffering

Yesterday at church, one of the teachers asked why we might have collectively "shouted for joy" at the thought of coming to earth. I offered up my theory: Like any big and as yet un-experienced event (getting married, having a baby, etc.), we didn't quite know what we were getting into. You know, how buying miniature pink headbands can be fun, but staying up all night with a screaming baby for nights on end can throw one into shock.

My answer was a bit tongue in cheek. Still, life can really draw from a deck of horrific cards, can't it?

I heard one Rabbi's excellent take on suffering--where a merciful God fits into it all--on an NPR series last week, The Long View. Many of you may already know/believe this stuff. But you know how sometimes a new phraseology can just strike you? That's what this did to me. So, in case you are, were, or will ever be in the earth-shattering dumps, have a listen.

a ride

After dropping the girls off at my mother-in-law's today, I suddenly decided I would go for a bike ride. Because the weather was nice and because I haven't gone on one in, like, three years.

So, I went. And it was lovely--as liberating as Meg Ryan's character undoubtedly felt careening down the highway before being struck by that semi truck in that horrible City of Angels movie.