Real superhuman powers? Intuition? Divine providence?

This is a very strange series of events.

Sunday night, 7:00pm- Joel got in the car for work. I had a "feeling" he didn't have his ID.

Sunday night, 7:10pm- Joel pulls in the driveway and tells me he forgot his ID.

Sunday night, 7:45pm- I got bit by the spider. Called Dad. Dad asks me if I'm sure it wasn't a brown recluse. I am sure. I wash my swelling hand with soap and water. Everything is fine but I keep thinking about spiders because I've never been bit by one before

Tuesday morning, 10am- I post about my superhuman powers from getting bit by the spider because I'm still thinking about spiders.

Tuesday morning, 10:30am- Silas and I go play at the pool while Micah naps. From more than 4 feet away I see a small piece of dirt or something stuck to the hem of his shorts. For about 5 seconds I disregard it until I realize I'm having the same feeling I got when Joel left his ID. I thought about how I was right about the ID, and this new feeling that I should get whatever is on Silas' shorts ("it might be a spider!"; because I have spiders on the brain) off his shorts IMMEDIATELY.
It's a spider. It's a suspicious looking spider. I'm not sure if he's dead or not so I flick him off and he lands in the pool. He's NOT DEAD!!!! I catch him a plastic container with a lid and think to myself that I'll look him up to see if he is indeed what I fear: a brown recluse.

Tuesday afternoon, 3:30pm- I look up brown recluses on the omniscent internet, but I can't remember what my spider trapped in the tupperware box looks like.

Tuesday evening, 6:30pm- I tell Joel about the "feeling" and the spider and we return to the box.
It was a brown recluse.

Most parts of this story are non-fictional

I got bit by a spider. I paged Joel at work because my hand was beginning to swell. He was busy so I called Dad at home during Emily's 21st birthday party. He said if I knew for sure that it wasn't a brown recluse, the only thing I could do was wash my hands and that I shouldn't be worried. I knew it wasn't a brown recluse but what Dad didn't tell me (or Joel, when he did call back) was that I should be aware of possible genetic mutations that would give me super powers.

With great power comes great responsibility. I used my powers yesterday to clean off the patio and cook macaroni and cheese for supper. I responsibily made macaroni and cheese by adding broccoli. We also ate fresh peaches and kiwi.

There is not enough adult conversation around here.

Buckle up for the BIGGEST MOST GREATEST yet poorly formatted post ever

I picked up 4 empty or nearly empty water bottles in our bedroom yesterday. There are more in the car.

The Poteets had a yard-sale and we got rid of a bunch of stuff. It was wonderful. I sold some maternity clothes that were unused by me and pregnant friends. Joel threw in some books and we sold all our VHS tapes. The biggest sales were in mom's blankets and comforters and, if you can believe it, the prarie bride books. It was a good time with the sisters, and brought in a surprising amount of money.



Laura graduated from high school. This is significant to me because Laura is the first sister that I can clearly remember the details of birth on. She was valedictorian and gave a great, short speech. Afterwords, we had a great Poteet party. I was in charge of the food and drinks. Want the list? You do. You might want me to cater your next party. With the help of Andrea, Emily and others, we had prosciutto wrapped roasted asparagus, Baja shrimp cocktail salad, blue cheese with pears and honey, brie with raspberry preserves, chicken and tortellini skewers with tomato and basil, and a chocolate mousse dish. Oh, and White Sangria. I wish had thought to take a picture.



Another great part of vacation was returning the blue jeans that I bought at Gap outlet on our last vacation. I decided after one day of wearing them that I didn't like them that much. I got a skirt instead. Now I have a skirt.

Silas and Micah had a great vacation, except for all the sleeping that Micah DIDN'T do. He woke up a minimum of 2 times per night but the good news is we're working through this now. I am fully expecting him to sleep all night tonight, after 3 nights of putting his paci in over and over, but not getting up to eat. Silas had fun "swimming", that is- dumping pool water into cups and bowls by the pool, or occasionally standing on the first step of the pool. He also had fun playing with the cousins, eating cupcakes, taking walks with Gramma and Papa Fank., and going to the park with daddy and Uncle Heath.


We counted all the words we could think of that Silas uses correctly. We counted 140+. A couple of my favorites words and phrases are "Good job, Micah! You did it!" and "High five!" and "mouse". He chants "mouse, mouse, mouse," when he's looking for this little stuffed mouse that Andrea gave him. He has also changed our cat's name again from her German name, Frau Frau, to a middle eastern name, Namina. I'll add, "Namina, come here!" to one of my favorite phrases, especially when he tries to pick her up while shouting this to her.



Micah is getting REALLY wiggly. I can't leave him by himself anymore on couches or beds. He hasn't fallen off or anything, but he's started doing full circles in his crib. He can also roll over- but doesn't because he hates being on his tummy. He's also started eating solids. I'm glad for this because at his last dr.'s visit, he was too skinny and has dropped off his growth chart. He loves rice cereal, and we've also added apple sauce to keep the little system going. When he's not waking us up, he's such a good-natured and easy going baby.

If I may, I will toot my own horn by saying it's miraculous that I'm averaging reading a book a month. I have finished my fifth book of the year: _A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier_ It's a good book. Disturbing, redemptive, and eloquent.

We bought a pool for $9 at Walmart. I think this will be a fun summer.









STRAPPED FOR CASH, EVEN AFTER THE YARD SALE
Here's a few photos Joel and I plan to submit to a local modeling agency.











SNAKE BITE (no insults intended, mom)

This is where I got bit by a rattler. Ok, actually Joel threw a rock at me.
Alright, well, what really happened was this: I told Joel he should throw this rock that I tied to a rope over a tree so we could hang this hammock swing so I could read in the swing while Silas plays outside because swinging is so much more relaxing than sitting on the hard bench and I can see the whole yard from the corner but if i sit on the bench I can only see like half of the yard and it's not even the dangerous half. Anyway, the rock fell off the rope and rolled down the hill at breakneck speeds of more than 100 miles per hour and hit my ankle dead on. Joel suggested we call an ambulance because Micah was already asleep. I told him that was a good idea, but I would rather just watch the movie we got on Netflix. It was United 93. Very confusing.

A Supremely Interesting Fact

I took a supervillain quiz on the Lumpkin's blog today. Here are the results.

Your results:
You are Mystique

Mystique 80% Lex Luthor 68% Magneto 67% Poison Ivy 66% Apocalypse 63% The Joker 62% Dr. Doom 58% Venom 57% Riddler 57% Catwoman 54% Kingpin 49% Green Goblin 48% Dark Phoenix 45% Mr. Freeze 42% Juggernaut 36% Two-Face 20%

Sometimes motherly, sometimes a beautiful companion, but most of the time a deceiving vixen.

Click here to take the Super Villain Personality Test

The Age of Information

Silas picked out his own clothes on this day. He kept bringing me things to help him put on. This was the final product.

Here are the important developments we've been experiencing in physical growth, emotional stability, speech and language, and occupational skills.

JOEL
-Learned how to put the babies to bed ALL BY HIMSELF!!! I got the night off last night and he took charge of it all. When I came home it was so quiet and peaceful. I'm really thankful for the little break. I should say after putting the babies to bed all by myself night after night while Joel is hard at work in the ER, it really is no small task.
-Learned that he cannot send OB patients from the Children's ER to the UAMS ER when there are 10,000 bees swarming the ambulance entrance.

ALICE
-read the instructions for BOB Dualie and learned this: "to fold stroller: remove children from stroller..."
-Learned that even a couple hours away from home, deserved or not, improves mothering.

SILAS
-Learned that he cannot step off the edge of the deck without at least one bruise.
-Learned that taking toys away from Micah gets him a trip to time out. He's learned this and forgotten at least 8 times.
-Learned how to say mouse, umbrella, octopus, lion, recipe, drill bit, "Come on, Lewis!" and "I'm sorry,"

MICAH
-Learned that he can put things in his mouth.
-Is learning that nap time means nap time.
-Learned how to laugh.

LEWIS AND SABRINA
-Continue to ignore that the best way to avoid Silas is to leave the area.

"As Different as Silas and Micah"

Many of you have been asking me, "Alice, did that phrase originate with your boys? I've been hearing it all the time."
Well, it sure did. Here's the differences between Silas and Micah.

Silas liked to swing.
Micah doesn't. (who doesn't like to swing?)

Silas likes MAM pacifiers.
Micah likes Nuk pacifiers.

Silas still liked to be swaddled at 3.5 months. We had to "wean" him off the swaddling blanket.
Micah wants his hands free and gets really mad if we swaddle him.

Silas insisted on crying it out before he would sleep through the night.
Micah seems as though he's going to do it on his own.

Silas rarely slept in the carseat.
Micah really likes to sleep in the carseat.

Here's a picture of Silas at 3.5 months. As you can see, from the following picture, Micah is beginning to look like Silas.



Here is a picture of Silas at 19.5 months. I tried to upload my picture of Micah of the Future at 19.5 months, but iPhoto had some sort of problem exporting it.

Conspiracy Theory

Silas and Micah keep waking each other up. It's very frustrating. It's most frustrating not because I especially need the time to myself, but because when they don't sleep they get overly tired, thus mean and cranky. Silas does things like throw 2 forks at the cat, or spitefully pulls all the socks out of Joel's sock drawer. I wouldn't mind if it was a game, but he cries and yells things at me while he does it. Sometimes he walks around in circles, saying in a half crying, half whining voice, "Where's the water?" or, "the bed. the bed." Sometimes I oblige and put him in bed. He doesn't want to sleep. He just wants his pacifier.

Micah, on the other hand, expresses his over-tiredness by not wanting to do anything. He doesn't want to swing, exersauce in the exersaucer, play on the couch or play with the dangling barnyard toys. He doesn't want to be cradled, swaddled or doodle-dumped. He just wants to be held like an old boring sack of russet potatoes.

Come thou long expected book review

I've condensed the book review of Wayne Grudem's "Evangelical Feminism: A New Path to Liberalism?" into these two paragraphs and included a picture so you'll be encouraged to read the second paragraph:

A few criticisms I might list are these:
I had a hard time keeping in mind that his point was not to refute evangelical feminism, rather to list the ways evangelical feminists undermine or disregard the authority of Scripture, thus leading to liberalism. In a few instances, he was contradictory, as in his chapter on teaching in the parachurch. And in several places it seems he does not follow his own method of interpretation, but this is difficult to determine since the purpose was not to give an exegesis on the disputed passages. Finally, he leaves some very important terms undefined, such as how evangelism is neither teaching nor presenting passages authoritatively.



I have to hand it to him. He's got some good points. He listed and refuted 15 arguements that evangelical feminists use to justify their position, as well as listed and refuted 10 views evangelical feminists use that are based on claims he says are untruthful or unsubstantiated. Many of these views and claims I was taught both as an undergrad and graduate student in Bible and theology classes. Particularly convicting was his conclusion: many evangelical feminists approach Scripture with the assumption that because men and women are equal, they should share full equality in ministry. We ought to be careful when we come to Scripture that we regard it as truthful and authoritative (as the Word of God Himself). And we ought to realize that we cannot use experience, calling, "prohpecies", tradition or circumstance as our primary reasoning through what we would claim to "know" to be true.

The end is only the beginning

What's the secret?

Why are we celebrating?

It's Joel's last day to be 27.


April 17, 2007: rejoice one and all.
Happy Birthday, loved one!

Day's Events

Several things have happened today that I would like to remember.

BY MORNING, NEW MERCIES
This morning Micah woke up at 6:20, a full hour and 40 minutes before I was hoping he would wake up. I fed him and for the next hour and 40 minutes tried to get him back to sleep. As the clock moved closer and closer to 8, I found myself feeling more frustrated and tired. I especially didn't want to get Silas out of bed while I was STILL trying to get Micah to sleep. I felt a sigh escape from the very depths of my soul when I heard Silas at 8:15. I asked God for just 15 minutes of power-nap type sleep. I didn't hear Silas cry or talk again, Micah fell asleep at 8:20, and exactly 15 minutes later, I woke up to a happy Silas, both of us ready to face the day. I guess God cares about the little things at home too.

REFLECTIONS AFTER THE MORNING OUTING
We took Sabrina to the vet this morning for a routine check-up. We walked around PetsMart and then Toys'R'Us, which is right next door. I was amazed at all the things I suddenly felt like my pets and children NEEDED for a happy, healthy existence. I was especially drawn to playground equipment and fish tanks, and doggie chew toys. Thankfully, I had already resolved not to spend any money whatsoever, except on flea and heartworm medicine (for the pets, not children) so I didn't get sucked in all the way. But it was drafty somethin' aweful.

I also noticed that toy kitchens and cleaning supplies were marketed in the girls' section of Toys'R'Us. Silas has been especially helpful with the broom lately, and really enjoys making snacks with his Cookie Monster dishes. I haven't finished thinking through the meaning of "Biblical Manhood and Womanhood" yet, but something about this scenario doesn't seem quite right. And I DON'T think the problem is Silas' interests.

IMPORTANT PHONE CALLS
Someone called Silas on his hotdog bun at lunch today. I couldn't hear what the other person was saying, but Silas had to hang up and call back several times.

BAD INFLUENCE
Last week we went to Waco with the Morgans. Shortly after we arrived, new baby Corinne had to be changed because she was all yellow and sticky all the way to her shoulder blades. Micah pulled a similar stunt after lunch. He somehow had poop on his upper thighs, knees and feet. I should have just put him in the bath because it took 10+ wipes to clean him off.

Up for discussion

Hi. I read this article today and thought it was interesting as well as resonating with my experience with church, adolescence and ideas of virtue.

http://www.cbeinternational.org/new/E-Journal/2007/07winter/07winterbarger.html

It may be a little early in the season, but 4 1/2 innings in and my Braves are on course to go 162-0 and Brian McCann will bat 1.000 with 162 homers. It's opening day...

Around the House

I've titled my post this because that where I've been for the last week with a few exceptions. Here's the news, starting from last Saturday.

DANCE PARTY
We went to a huge birthday party last Saturday and I somehow managed to not take any pictures. We did have fun though and happy birthday to Katie. Thanks to the sisters for the dances, chocolate fountain, green party punch, chinese lanterns and chocolate ravioli. (There were other delicious foods, but I especially appreciate the chocolate things). By the way, Katie is a sweet 16.

THE BIG GAME
On Monday we went to watch Joel play on his kickball team. But nobody showed up except for the opposing team, which consisted of some really big black guys that Joel felt he couldn't take on without a team, and since neither I, nor Silas, nor Micah signed up to play, we decided to go to the hospital to eat hamburgers. We beat the hamburgers.

PLAY DAYS
There was no fun Bible study this week, but we got to play with Melody and Eleanor two days this week. On Tuesday, Silas and Eleanor took turns not sharing toys until we took a walk and played on the swings at the park. On Thursday, we went to Melody's where we got to see some men hard at work at replacing not one, but TWO windows in Matt's truck. Then we played with water on the deck. That was a blast and Melody gave us delicious homemade pizza. This picture, by the way, is in our back yard. Because of a good rain last night, there's too much water standing around to try to keep Silas out of it. And why should he stay out of it?


WHY THE DMV IS WORSE THAN THE WIC OFFICE
Sandwiched between two fun play days was a trip to the Department of Motor Vehicles. The state of AR has ensured that everyone who goes there will leave in a crabby mood. They start by calling their building "AR Revenue Dept". Doesn't that make you think of paying large sums of money? Yep. After my SECOND trip to the DMV, I learned exactly what a large sum of money the DMV wouldn't take via credit card or monthly installments. The first and second trips were child-free. OK, now imagine having to take 2 small babies and a huge chunk of check-book, taking a number, and then w...a...i...t...i...n....g for a cranky government employee to call your number. It finally happened but because I had 2 babies, I couldn't get up very fast. She tried to SKIP MY NUMBER!!!!!!!!! I was totally prepared. I had downed a cup of coffee and listned to "Eye of the Tiger". I was ready to conquer and I did in fact, walk away with a license plate.


AROUND THE HOUSE
Yesterday was Joel's day off. We worked outside, picking up sticks, mowing the lawn, pulling up bushes. At the end of the day, Joel and I ate our favorite desert and watched nearly 6 episodes of "the office" from Netflix, including my favorite episode, "Diversity Day." I have included this picture of our disaster room because while we have been working around the house, very little has been done inside the house. Not enough naps. Too much nice weather.


Stay tuned this week or next for a book review and something that will attempt to make Andrea mad.

Poll

Under what conditions would you be willing to read an entire book review on someone's blog?

Amendment to Previous Post:

I have translated the babies' growth stats from number of dominos into lbs and inches and percentiles:

Micah: 10lbs 13oz (15th percentile)
22 3/4 inches (22nd percentile)

Silas: 28lbs 4 oz. (77th percentile)
33 3/4 inches (84th percentile!)

Great Deals with Daylight Savings!

In this week's Fank. news:

SPRING BREAK
I took my first road trip with the babies. Amazingly, we didn't fill the car with all our stuff. We did take a pack n play, 2 strollers (no, BOB Duallie wasn't one of them), 3 duffle bags, a dog crate, applesauce and fig cookies, 15 cloth diapers and a suitcase.

Phase 1: Shreveport- we began with this quick little jaunt to celebrate the life of a friend in Shreveport at a funeral. It was great to see friends at Shreveport Bible Church and see the adult Fanks even if it was for a very short amount of time. I was glad that Joel was able to join us for this leg of our journey.

Phase 2: Texarkana- this was highlighted by a trip to Target, the mall and twice to the grand opening of Kohl's on Saturday which I vow I will never do again as long as I have two children in strollers. Then daylight savings hit and Silas has been sleeping until 7:30 or 8 instead of 6:45 or 7! We went to church with the Poteets and then we were off to Andrea's.

Phase 3: Caddo Mills- we had a GREAT time with the cousins. Andrea took everybody to the store in a wagon while I got a chance to zip to Plano for much needed heart-to-heart with 2 very dear friends. Anabelle and Ava are so much fun to be with. I got to be um...Tiko the squirrel (??), Silas got to be Baby Jaguar and Anabelle was Dora. Andrea, Heath and Ava were other Dora characters, but I can't remember their names. Ava sweetly showered Silas with hugs around the neck and told me a VERY funny knock knock joke. If I tell it here, it won't be as funny so you'll have to call or perhaps even ask Ava herself.

Phase 4: the drive home- I learned the time limit for car travel is 1hr 45min at a time. Thankfully, we were able to stop in Texarkana and Arkadelphia on the way home. THanks to Emily for feeding us on the way back. Silas was greatful for several chances to walk thru mud and splash in puddles before we drove the last hour home.

COMPANY
*photo courtesy of Matt Lumpkin*
We had the pleasure of a surprise invitation to a picnic last Thursday from the Lumpkins. Matt brought his camera and got some fun shots of the picnic fun. We had to end it a little early so we could make it back for "the Office". I've been especially grateful for the many ways they show me their friendship.

The adult Fanks and Emily came to visit this weekend. We ate a lot of food. We played a lot of games. Debbie washed a lot of dishes. Joel was off so it was a lot of good ole family fun together.

SUCCESS AND FAILURE
I'm happy to share the many successes we've been enjoying as a family. Though Silas really, really enjoys pushing the envelope, he is learning to obey me without discipline as often. I can't believe how much he watches and learns when I don't think he's paying attention. He understands that he has to eat vegetables before he can have something to eat off my plate, he (occasionally) picks up a box of toys before he asks me open a new one, and today I watched with my jaw dropped to see him pick up a plastic cup from the stairs, carry it to the kitchen, open the dishwasher and put it on the top rack! He's also very helpful to throw away diapers (even the cloth diapers) after Micah has been changed. *photo courtesy of Melody Lumpkin*


Micah is also such a joy to be around. He is very smiley now and starting to coo and goo. His eyes are adjusting to normal and the tear duct is no longer blocked. He likes every thing except facing forward in the Bjorn carrier.

Here are the stats from today's 18mo. and 2mo. doctor visit:

The only major failure I can report is that I did not dominate in dominos as I told Emily I would. Some might regard the excessive number of laundry baskets full of clean laundry to be put away a failure, but I don't. It's all organized by room.

NEXT WEEK'S NEWS
Will hopefully be posted on time. Already, a week's worth of events have transpired before I could publish this post. I guess you'll have something to look forward to... *photo courtesy of Matt Lumpkin*

Spring is in the Air

THE MAIDEN VOYAGE OF BOB DUALLIE
A couple weeks ago my 5/9 of my (Poteet) family came to visit. We shopped, watched a couple of movies and ate nice food. The weather was really nice so the LKS and I took Silas for a walk on the nature trail. There were no rocks or roots that BOB Duallie couldn't take. It was a lot of fun and since then, I've been out walking a lot with the babies.

BABIES REPORT
Silas has reached an important mark in language development: He has started putting 2 words together! The most memorable phrase so far has been "bye bye, mama". He said this as he turned to run away when I asked him to follow me at the Rock Creek playground. Silas is also getting better at using a spoon and fork, and has started responding to "time out" for touching the computer and pulling Lewis' hair.

Micah rolled over twice today! He is smiling when he's in a very good mood (that is, when he's fed, dry, and just woken up from a 3 hour nap). Otherwise, he seems to be content to watch me fold laundry or swing while we all eat lunch. I'm glad he's around.


BAKING AGAIN
After all the coffee I drank post-Micah-call, I was feeling somewhat manic and baked petit fours and decorated them with my new mechanical pastry bag that I got for Christmas. It was a lot of fun and they turned out quite delicious. Please someone, give me another reason to bake cake.

MICU IS DONE
We stay-at-home Fanks are hoping to get reaquainted with Joel again this month. He was really busy pronouncing people dead last month in the Medical ICU. It should be noted that he did a great job balancing an emotionally stressful job with what can be an emotionally stressful family life (2 kids crying at once can drive anyone crazy).

Running on empty

Micah had his first bad night last night. From about 2am until Silas woke up at 7, he woke up at least every hour crying. Every other time I fed him and he quickly fell asleep. When Silas woke up, he cried too, I think because I didn't bring his milk into his bedroom. I never bring his milk into his bedroom. I'm not sure why this was a problem today.

So I think I'll make some coffee, light a candle, take a couple tylenol and spit this yucky day in the eye. Rain, bring it on. Crying children, I can take it. There's a God in heaven who's behind me all the way. He was awake all night too.

Long time readers will no doubt begin to be disappointed with blog post titles such as this one

I do not have the mental energy anymore to think up clever titles or make sure that most words are spelled correctly in my posts. I hope that's not why you read them anyway. You're supposed to be looking at the cute pictures. But for you "readers", here's this week's news brief.


BODY BUILDING
Today I went in for a 4 week post-partum, well person check-up. I was irritated the nurse didn't tell me I looked great. Then I realized it was because I have over 15 lbs to lose to be just pre-Micah-pregnancy weight. That's ok with me though. I'm breast feeding AND I'd like to introduce you to our new family member: BOB Dualie, our new jogging stroller! Don't worry. I'm not about to do anything crazy like jogging just yet. For one, it's too cold. For two, Micah can't hold his head up yet. For three, I'm at least a good 10 lbs away from being able to jog without hurting my knees and hips. BUT...I can go walking over rough terrain. BOB Dualie has 3 inch shocks. We know for sure that it can run over most toys we own so we assume it can also easily go over roots and rocks.

HIPPIES?
I bought cloth diapers for MIcah. My friend, Kim, who lives in Tanzania said she uses them with her baby who is 2 weeks younger than Micah. She doesn't have a washing machine and is still able (well, her household helper is able) to wash out the mustard-poo that sweet little breast-fed infants have. Also, Micah is now 28 days and we've gone though at least 140 diapers. But the REAL reason I bought these diapers that will no doubt add hassle to my currently hassle-free life, is that I'm tired of looking for the diaper rash creme or petroleum jelly that I have to slather on M's little bottom to keep him from getting a diaper rash.
ADDENDUM: in accordance with the Fank. Family Policy 12.22 to promote companies that have provided good service, we add cottonbabies.com to our list ( http://www.cottonbabies.com/ ). I ordered diapers on Monday and they arrived Wednesday. Today is our first day to use them with Micah but as I mentioned before, I really like using cloth with Silas. And just like we enjoy saying BOB Dualie, we enjoy saying bumGenius!

AND SPEAKING OF MICAH
Someone said yesterday that he has my mouth. I agree. He and Silas and I all have my mouth, that I think we got from my mother, but it might have come from my father, who has a beard, so it's hard to say.
Silas and Micah have been keeping me especially busy these last 2 days. Micah apparently doesn't like to have air in his stomach after eating and Silas apparently doesn't like our clothes to be in closets or dressers.


FINAL REFLECTIONS
I have to remind myself that the every day trials of having these little people around me are merely a season. In the blink of an eye this time will have passed, and I fear I'll regret not taking note of the precious moments that come with all the diapers. Silas still loves to sit in my lap and listen to me read books to him. He explores his world with the determination of his father that I so greatly admire. Micah is so sweet to hold. When he's awake, he's so easy going and seems to enjoy studying my face. When I remember what I'm doing here, I'm thrilled to be the one to disciple these boys thru their childhood and adolescence.

photo experiment: by ann

The Fankhauser News Brief

PARENTS
We're really grateful for all the moms that came to help when Micah was born. Mom Poteet drove 2 hours in the middle of night and stayed with Silas while we were in the hospital in spite of having a dying gall bladder. When she left us, she didn't waste too much time before heading to the hospital herself. Mom and Pops Fank came too. Pops was only able to stay for one night but we covered the important stuff while he was here: Jack Bauer Power. Silas had a great time with Debbie and she was even gracious enough to take him to get his shots so there will be no flu around here. Then Andrea came and we had a great time making delicious chocolate things. Thanks to Andrea, the wallpaper shadow of the tv wall stand is gone. She also brought a billion new toys for Silas to play with. He especially likes Smart Street. I was inspired by Heath's fun parenting (see the Bradley blog post "Daddy's Girls") to take Silas to home depot and not make him ride in the cart. It was raining and I would not have imagined that the most fun part of the trip was stomping through the puddles on the way in and out of the store. I got what we needed as quickly as one can while holding a squirming hand and we made our way to the front of the store. People kept staring at us, but not in the way that says "oh what a cute toddler". I guess they haven't had to keep their children inside for the last week because of the rain and cold. Maybe it doesn't rain at their house.

CHURCH
Yesterday Joel and I went to a class to tell us about Fellowship Bible Church, the church whose ministeries we're considering committing our time and money to. Towards the end of the class, a man stood up to ask a question that went a little something like this:
"I just WASTED a year at a church because they didn't have something like this. I think the Bible teaches a lot of good things but I think there's a lot of truth found in other places and I don't think that everything the Bible says is true. Jesus was certainly a good guy but y'all don't teach ridiculous things like that Jonah was really swallowed by a whale, do you?"

The pastor answered unapologetically that yes, they do teach that Jonah was an actual person and there have been other acounts of people being swallowed by sea creatures and still living just fine. The man said this:
"That is absurd! Are you serious?! Y'all don't have any snakes in the back of this church, do you? Well, thanks a lot, but I'm not going to waste any more time here!" And he pretty much stomped out of the room.

VACATION
Today is Joel's first day of vacation. He's catching up on the all the medical journals I've been threatening to recycle. We ate some delicious banana bread that Melody made us for breakfast and Silas is already down for a nap (he's sick and coughing on everything and everybody). Micah's asleep too (but not in the sink. That's just while Silas is taking a bath. We don't have any beds in the bathroom). He's a sleeping champion. Last night he slept from 11pm to nearly 5am. This was great since the new pediatrician (who we LOVE) told us not to wake him up at night to feed him anymore. He's not supposed to be back to his birth weight until this Thursday. But he was already last Thursday, plus and extra 6 oz.

Joel just told me that when a kid has rotavirus, in only 1 gram of their stool there are 100,000,000,000 virus particles. Now I'm going to do all the things that I can think of to prevent the spread of communicable diseases in this household: wash my hands and take a nap. A well rested body can fight illness better than a tired one.

P.S. I forgot to mention that Joel might have saved Silas' life when he was choking on a bite of apple. Silas was trying to swallow and cough at the same time. It didn't work out, but all's well that ends well.

Micah Alden Fankhauser

he's one cute baby.

Poll

Over Christmas, I got some new stretchmarks. At my doctors appointment yesterday, my uterus (and thus the baby in some way) had grown 3 centimeters from top to bottom. I don't know how much weight I've gained since I lost the half pound before Christmas. I figured with all the candy I got for Christmas, and that it's nearly gone now, this time I really would not want to know how much I weighed.

I feel like this baby is getting pretty big. If anyone would like to guess his birth weight before he's born, there will be a prize for the winner, or the closest without guessing over (think "the price is right"). Also, for all you who have been DYING to know what you can give this baby as a gift- he really would like money for cloth diapers and a swaddling blanket I've placed a bid for on ebay. You're so kind. So generous.

Here's my guess: 8lbs 7 oz. (if I guess right, the prize will still go to the next closest guesser).

New Years Resolutions

#1 Do not agree to puppy sit for a week within days of baby's due date.

#2 Give my immediate family more kisses

#3 Save money in a savings account

#4 Update our OS so I can post pictures of the growing family

#5 Lose at least 10 lbs (I like to be able to check things off my list and this one should be pretty easy so long as I don't have the baby today, tomorrow, Saturday or Sunday.)

#6 Be able to do addition in my head more quickly

#7 Print and label more pictures

#8 Join a church

#9 Accessorize

#10 Finish a book (not by Doctor Seuss) in a timely manner


I'll post the rest as I come up with them. 2007 is going to be great!

Fun facts about being Great with child

On Thursday, I will be 36 weeks pregnant. I wonder how many weeks Mary was when she gave birth to little baby Jesus. Maybe Jesus was born around the same time our baby will. Mary and I have this in common: we both are/were likely deliver early (she because of her likely young age, and I for having had a delivery within 18 months).

At my doctors visit today, I told the nurse I didn't want to know how much weight I had gained because I didn't want to feel guilty for eating fudge or other Christmas foods. She asked if I wanted to know if I had lost any weight. I thought she was kidding so I said sure, cause then I could know how many extra cookies I could eat. She said, "OK, well you lost half a pound. It's probably from holiday stress so I wouldn't worry about it."

Worry about it? The baby is growing fine so that was music to my ears.
Bring on the holiday cheer!

For Hire

I burned my index finger, part of my middle finger and thumb on my left hand. My index finger currently only has a partial print. If anyone has any crimes they need committing, let me know and I'll quote you a price because I'm pretty sure I could get away with it.

Update on divinity

It's gone. But I'll make some more. Here's a few more important updates.

There's a huge pile of Christmas cookies in the kitchen that need to be decorated. I could sure use some help...

Silas has really started to enjoy reading books. Since I'm not up for too many fun and games on the floor, he likes to bring me books to read to him. This morning, we've read a book about dump trucks three times. He is better at walking all the time and has now mastered going down the stairs. The other day we went to Target AND Walmart. At Target SIlas was really shy when people talked to him, but at Walmart, he yelled at everyone in the produce dept and in the check out line.

Yesterday was the last day of my Bible study for the semester. THe speaker was one of the singers of "point of grace". She's been one of three ladies leading music the whole time and I never knew she was once famous. Point of Grace broke up in 2004.

A group of pirahnnas and deskeletanize a cow in 8 minutes. I learned this over Thanksgiving vacation with the Fankhausers (this is pre-divinity post, I know). We really had a great time them though there's some question as to the TRUE story behind the Arkansas Hacksaw Massacre. The only fact is this: Matt had the hacksaw in his hand when Joel's thumb started bleeding profusely during the initial stages of cutting off the bottom of the Christmas tree.

Master of Divinity

I finished 45 out of 60 hours towards my master of arts in cross-cultural ministries before I became a mom. But it took only one painstaking hour to make divinity. It's light and delicious, almost like a home made marshmellow. If you hurry over, you can have a piece before it's all gone.

If you've been waiting on the edge of your seat...

to know what happened with Sprint, the wait is over! Sprint will credit our account for the correct amount of the alleged rebate. Sprint remains on our list of folks we like to do business with, but we reccomend being the first person in the LIttle Rock store when it opens at 9am. I guess most people are their most fresh first thing in the morning.

In the sad news, poor Silas is ill. First he got an ear infection. Then he had digestive problems. Now we add to that Croup. All you naturalists would be appalled at the number of prescription meds he's taking. All you medical enthusiasts who care about geeky stuff like that, email me and I'll tell you the list.

Oh, let's end on a happy note. Mom, Dad and I worked at Nana's long and hard (well, they worked long and hard, I was just there, mostly. You know- for morale. Nothing like a sick baby to boost morale.) and the house is nearly empty. Goodwill got 3 huge loads of stuff and Arkansas Hospice will be getting some nice furniture soon.

But the lucky winner of the most stuff is the City of Little Rock Solid Waste Division. Stay tuned for a summary of the trash and treasures.

Walking, Sprint, and Marathons

Silas has thankfully decided that walking is more efficient than crawling. I'm so happy to have a son who values efficiency as much as I do. Now we can quickly have toys, laundry, pens and papers spread about the room. You don't hear me complaining, though. Since this new development, several major joint and muscle pains that I thought were just pregnancy related have nearly disappeared! I don't think it has anything to do with the toys and such. I think it's because I'm not carrying him. But I'm not the doctor in this family, so I can't say for sure.

Sprint has another customer service challenge before them if they want to keep us happy. As you probably know, we make an effort to point out business that meet or surpass our expectations. We also want to inform friends and family when a business falls short of their contract. Sprint may be riding the fence. They claim we are not eligible for a mail-in rebate... this is not the time to inform us we will not receive refunds we were promised.

I should also take the time to remind everyone that Mega-life Student Insurance, Entergy Arkansas, and TXU Energy should be avoided, if possible. Compass Bank is a great bank that everyone should use if they live in a city with a Compass Bank.

Finally, my sister says she's going to run a marathon early this spring. She's posed the question: is running a marathon more difficult than childbirth? I think that it probably is. But a better question is this: is childbirth more difficult if you gain an extra 10 lbs over the holidays?

Silas' Bad Day

And it's only 9:15am. Poor Silas.

He spit up milk on my robe.
I wouldn't let him play with my cell phone charger OR the laptop.
He fell down 2 stairs and bumped his head.
I didn't feed him his oatmeal fast enough.
To make up for it, I let him feed himself the last half of his applesauce, but he's green at using a spoon so he quickly swept the little bowl off the tray and onto the floor splattering blueberry applesauce for 4 feet of floor and up 2 feet of wall space.
Last but not least, I wouldn't let him go back to bed with his face, hands, arms and shirt covered in snot and breakfast.
Add to all that the discomfort of 3 new teeth coming in.

Yes, Silas is having a bad a day. And it's only 9:15am.

Home

I'm writing this post for me. There. You've been warned.

I lost a dear, dear friend this week. Since I moved to Little Rock, she called me a minimum of 3 times a week. At first I found this a little annoying, espcially since she never started out a conversation with, "Hi, Alice." or "Hey! It's me." or anything remotely related to what I would call a greeting. The first thing I would hear when I picked up the phone after I said hello would go something like this, "I need to know what day Andrea's coming," or "Alice, where did you get the receipe for that soup? I couldn't taste any chicken!" Or, sometimes it was simply, "Is Silas sleeping?" After a while, I quit thinking about it and I was able to tell her things I thought she would find interesting. I now treasure these phone calls as someone just wanting to know and caring about the details of my life. Few people can genuinely do that and I've found there's nothing our hearts long for more.

We ate dinner together one last time Saturday night. I never would have believed then that in 48 hours she should be gone. We had a great time. We talked about the Razorbacks playing, how she'd stayed up to watch the end of the World Series for the first time in years, how she was concerned about my social life, and how once at the same restaurant she ordered a pork chop that "was no more tender than the leather on my shoe". We left around 6 so she could get home for the Hogs. We hugged good-bye and exchanged I-love-you's. The Hogs won that night so I'm pretty sure she died happy.

I'm so happy that for her, death was not final. It's a matter of time before I can see her again. Until then, Nana, I sure do miss you.

Priscilla Alden Poteet
April 24, 1921-October 30, 2006

Oh, would that I could post pictures

You could see my ultimate creation: Joel as Honest Abe Lincoln for Halloween. We went to a Family Fall Festival with our friends, the Lumpkins and Joel won second place in the costume contest. We really had a great time with Silas "playing games" and winning us candy as well as hanging out with the Skywalkers and baby Yoda. The only bad part: someone called me and Silas nurses when we were clearly doctors.

In other news, today is Joel's day off and we have NO plans. Sorry. I guess that wasn't really news.

the bad news is...

Since we've replaced our hard drive, I have been unable to upload any pictures from our computer. I'll have to consult my blogger experts on how to upload photos from the internet and then you can see how we've all changed since late September.

Out with the Old

Our computer has been risen from the grave. We have a new, clean hard drive not clogged up with all those pesky iTunes songs we bought or pictures from this summer. Sad, yes. But we are grateful to have the miracle of the internet again.

Along with saying goodbye to the songs, we are also saying goodbye to the food network and ESPN. What will replace it? Reading books, playing games, enjoying the great outdoors and each other, when Joel's schedule allows.

We've also bid farewell to infant formula and welcomed the price of whole milk to nourish our TODDLER. That's right, no more crawling around here! Well, that's an exageration. For 5 whole steps last night, there was no crawling. We're hoping for more walking today but no rush.

Finally, I am no longer in my mid-twenties. No worries though, the "late twenties" were ushered in with a bang. Five out of 9 Poteets (6 if you include me) were in LR to celebrate. I got a fantastic coffee maker that looks like the head of the alien from that historical sci-fi thriller "Alien," starring Sigourney Weaver and of course, the alien.