Life in the Convergent Zone

Some updates: Marcus loves me. So much in fact that last month he bought me a solitary plane ticket to go see one of my favorite people ever, Margaret, Mags, the Magi, or just Maggie. It was blissful. I slept in my own comfy bed and didn't worry about baby sounds in the middle of the night. I got to spend uninterrupted time chatting about all matters of life with a very dear friend. I played Scrabble and Guillotine (LOVE it!) with Casey and Maggie. We shared a platter at Azteca. Did I mention I didn't have to listen for baby sounds? :) Its very fun to feel free and single, but ultimately, I really missed my little fam. They give me so much joy, I can hardly bear it at times.

This isn't Marcus' blog but since I directed you here, I'll give you a snippet :) Marcus is still teaching and sometimes wondering why, but overall he realizes he is here for a reason. We both try to focus on "being where we are" so to speak, but it is hard. In a class discussion recently, he couldn't believe his ears as teenagers were admitting that, thanks to the world of texting and e-living, they were quickly losing ability to communicate IRL (that's In Real Life, for non-techies). To me that is a really big deal for these kids to admit. The lack of taking responsibility for oneself seems to be at a high, but the grace of God and conversations like this will hopefully keep them, and us, grounded.

Let's see...Bradie is now 17 months old! What a funny character she is! Occasionally I will punch in her age into the good ol Google search engine, just as a litmus. Apparently kids don't really kick balls, attempt to jump and only throw underhand when they're 17 months. But not our superstar. Not only does she love to "feed" and "diaper" her babies, but she also scales sheer faces whenever possible and currently only says ball. Quite the Renaissance baby if you ask me. Of course, her parents addiction to college basketball only encourages this :) She's really into rock collecting, sorting and gardening. In fact, a few days ago, Bradie "weeded" her rock garden of all pine cones. Below is a picture of us working in her garden :) Mostly, she makes my heart ache in the sweetest way. It is so amazing watching her grow into a little person. All the little details...watching her face screw into a grimace as she tries a new task, grunting and pointing at every object for us to name, putting a tube of deodorant up her shirt...its a crack up and so so precious.

uh-oh. I lost a picture, trying to tab down :( This Lenten season has me enjoying God without the consumption of chocolate. Don't laugh. Well, you can laugh a bit. I did at first, when I discussed what might be a good sacrifice. I had no idea I was truly addicted to chocolate. Its really silly in the big picture, but it has been an accurate mirror to the contents of my heart. Yes, I will celebrate on Resurrection Sunday with a peanut butter chocolate egg. But just one. My goal is to have only one Master. And that master shall not be a chocolate bunny! :)