Love never fails. If only we would repeat that to ourselves and trust those words... I agree with you. People will freak out. And things will change. Actually, I think things are already changing....

I have heard that Baby Wise is definitely a good buy. We are wishing we had it right about now. Oh well. Potty training was not too bad with our daughter, fortunately. It didn't happen in one day like the gurus said it could happen, but it went by in a breeze with very few accidents. Who knows with our son, though, when he gets there?! Every kid is different. I wish you well with the potty training challenge. I love to hear that you and your husband have gotten closer and fallen in love in new ways because of these challenges. That is what marriage is all about, right? If it was peachy, I don't think it would give us the same chances to grow, mature, work together, or enjoy each other in new ways. Thanks for your words and taking the time to share you thoughts and experiences, Julie.

I love when his dad says, "He is my hero". You can tell that he means it. I know I was encouraged and challenged to skip the excuses and, like they said, see the possibilities.

Thanks for sharing, Kevin. Jenn and I were just sharing last night, that we feel like after we came back from the mission field, we have gotten into this lazy, comfortable mood and have almost forgotten that there are people in need of love and service with cool stories to tell about themselves and their lives, that are great to listen to. I need to get off the couch too. Simple as that.

Good to see you on here, Kim. Yeah, I did tease him about it back then. For all its worth, in my mind I remember thinking, "wow, thats rough", though I have only recently discovered how rough. I'll be more sympathetic in a couple of months, though I may still give my brother some grief just for kicks....

I think at some point we'll let him "cry it out". In the meantime, we try to discern between the way he is crying. Sometimes we let him cry for a while and then he falls asleep. Teething doesn't help, so other times we just love on him and hold him for a while. Still figuring out what works...

Thanks for your thoughts, Lori. I understand what you mean by "tired and cranky." We have made a pact to give each other mercy and grace on anything we say during the night when we're suddenly woken from a deep sleep.

I loved it! I agree with all you said, especially the panquecas (there is a little portuguese for you), and the thoughts about community. Thanks for being my cycling buddy!

Ephesians 4.15 indeed, Stu. Thank you for sharing that.

Sounds like a great book. I have been thinking lately that I have been so busy with goals, things, dreams, work, tasks, that I forget what truly fulfills me - helping those in need in the name of Jesus. It sounds crazy, and may or may not be the "wise thing to do" due to me having a family with two young kids, but sometime I just want to get up and go, give these kids the education of a lifetime by living a life of service to others. Plenty of places out there where "poverty" looks a whole lot different than what we're used to here at home.

I love it! Jenn and I actually looked for it the other day so we could get a few laughs. Gets us every time. Thanks for posting.