My sister and I had a great conversation the other day. We have lots of great conversations but this one was especially good. I told her Mike and I had begun talking about about perhaps-maybe-possibly trying to have another baby. I’m a little nervous about the idea. What’s interesting to me is that my sister chose to have a second baby for the same reason I am hesitating: we both think about retirement. When Kari thinks about retirement she thinks about being surrounded by her children and her grandchildren and all their cousins. She blogged about her vision of retirement recently. It’s beautiful, really. I think you ought to go read it.

Kari’s vision is pretty similar to mine (especially the part about living in an RV) but to be completely honest, the first thing that comes to mind when I think about retirement is my bank balance. That sounds like a shallow perspective but it’s not because I’m greedy. It’s because I’m afraid of being broke. Not that that’s any healthier. If I were to remember who is really in charge of taking care of me I wouldn’t be so freaked out about it.

Luke 12:21-34:

21 “Yes, a person is a fool to store up earthly wealth but not have a rich relationship with God.”

22 Then, turning to his disciples, Jesus said, “That is why I tell you not to worry about everyday life—whether you have enough food to eat or enough clothes to wear. 23 For life is more than food, and your body more than clothing. 24 Look at the ravens. They don’t plant or harvest or store food in barns, for God feeds them. And you are far more valuable to him than any birds! 25 Can all your worries add a single moment to your life? 26 And if worry can’t accomplish a little thing like that, what’s the use of worrying over bigger things?

 27 “Look at the lilies and how they grow. They don’t work or make their clothing, yet Solomon in all his glory was not dressed as beautifully as they are. 28 And if God cares so wonderfully for flowers that are here today and thrown into the fire tomorrow, he will certainly care for you. Why do you have so little faith?

 29 “And don’t be concerned about what to eat and what to drink. Don’t worry about such things. 30 These things dominate the thoughts of unbelievers all over the world, but your Father already knows your needs. 31 Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and he will give you everything you need.

Why am I so worried about saving enough for retirement? What is enough? I don’t have any grand illusions about retirement (grand illusions, that reminds me of a great song). I don’t have dreams of traveling all over the world. I don’t want a huge house full of fancy stuff. I wouldn’t use most of it anyway. What I do want is to be surrounded by the people I love and that doesn’t cost much. Just the price of food, really.

Today is my 9th wedding anniversary. These last nine years of marriage have been better than I could have imagined and then some. Marriage is hard work - super hard work - but extremely rewarding. You mix the blood, sweat, and tears with a lot of laughter and love and you have a beautiful thing.

My husband is one of a kind. I am convinced he was created just for me. How lucky am I?! No one can make me laugh the way Mike can, and no one understands me the way he does. Sometimes I think he knows me better than I do. He is honest. He is loyal. He doesn’t freak out anymore when I cry. He is generous and caring. He is an extremely devoted father. Despite the number of times I’ve told him he doesn’t need to, he often asks for permission to spend one on one time with our son. He is smart. He is wise. He works hard, but he knows how to rest when it’s time to rest. He cleans the bathroom because I hate to. When I’m upset he buys me chocolate ice cream. He still thinks I’m hot stuff.

I love him for all these reasons and a million more.

Mike,
Happy Anniversary! You are still my favorite person ever. I don’t deserve you.
Love,
Mel

Luke is getting much better at taking steps. We don’t do dog tricks with him or anything but we found that he is motivated by his latest favorite toy, the red golf club.

Can you believe he’ll be a year old next month? I sure can’t. It’s been a great year.

My stepmom is currently in the hospital for emergency gallbladder surgery. I just spoke with her and she is heavily medicated, waiting for the hospital to have an opening to take her in for surgery. She has never been good with pain and I’m sure she is scared right now, so I’m just asking that you take a minute to pray for her.

I’m reading an autobiography by Joanie Yoder called “Finding The God-Dependent Life.” Joanie was my great aunt. She was a missionary in England so I didn’t see her very often, but the few times I did get the privilege to spend time with her, we had wonderful, memorable conversations. She passed away in 2004 and she is certainly missed. She was loved dearly by many, including me. The story of her life is quite amazing. She shares in her book how she struggled with extreme anxiety and agoraphobia and how she overcame it through prayer and dependence on God. In the particular section I read today she tells of how she started a Bible study for the women in her neighborhood. At the first meeting she was terrified to speak to the women, much less pray with them, but she was determined to try. She had that mustard seed of faith that God would give her the strength. She said in order to step out in faith she had to decide that she was willing to fail in her efforts for the Lord.

As I was reading that chapter in her life I immediately thought of my Financial Peace class at church. Leading this class has been a total expansion of my comfort zone, but there is one area I still really hold back in. At the end of each night I sense a nudging from the Holy Spirit that I need to pray with my small group, and at the end of each night I ignore that nudging because I’m afraid. I am deciding today to take my Aunt Joanie’s attitude with me to class tomorrow. I need to be willing to sound like a complete and utter bumbling idiot in an effort to pray with my group, because that’s where I know God is trying to lead me. Group prayer has always been a challenge for me but I must not let fear keep me from it anymore.

My amazing sister with her new son Aydan and our mom:

I love the look on my niece Charly’s face…
  

Luke and his cousin Charly just hanging out:
 

It was a whopping 50 degrees last Thursday so the Richmonds went for a walk around the neighborhood!
 

Luke is getting to be a pro at standing. “Look, Mom! No hands!”
 

He clearly loves the camera…
 

And he clearly loves blackberries and mangoes…

Yes, my favorite pair of black dressy pants, my only pair of black dressy pants, have reached the end of their useful life. The zipper will not stay up, and I spend all day reaching down to check where it’s at. It’s quite inconvenient when I’m around other people. It’s hard to discreetly reach down and zip up your pants. They are bound to look at you and chuckle because of course they think you just came from the bathroom and forgot that last step (Actually, the last step is washing your hands. Can’t forget cleanliness.).

Oh, speaking of cleanliness in the bathroom. Mike and I were chatting awhile back, as we do on occasion, and he had the brilliant idea that they should make baby wet wipes, but for adults, and you could flush them. I informed him that they already do, and they are available to the public for a small fee. A few days ago he came out of the bathroom and said this to me:

Remember when we talked about how it would be cool if they made flushable wet wipes? Well I noticed the package of wipes on the back of the toilet…

The package of wipes he was referring to reads “Just wipe clean and flush!” However, it also reads (in large print so it shall not be missed) ”Toilet Cleaning Wipes.” That, unfortunately, was the part he did not read. OUCH.

Allow me to introduce you to my nephew, Aydan:

Isn’t he sweet?

My sister, Kari, had a beautiful baby boy yesterday! Ayden is just a tiny thing, 6 lb. 15 oz. He was born at 4:23 pm on February 26. I was really hoping he would hold out for a couple more days until my birthday but oh well :) 

I haven’t had the privilege to meet my new nephew yet but I can tell from the pictures he is definitely a Selleck! Go check it out! http://kariunrath.blogspot.com.

Congratulations, Kari and Mark!

Luke is having a blast walking with his dump truck:

He’s still learning to balance. We’ve lost count of how many times he’s bonked his head on the hardwood floors. He’s a tough guy, doesn’t usually cry too much.

Luke has been growing up so fast. He’s eating more and more foods, and a lot of times he just eats what we are eating, which is great. He learned to wave bye-bye a few weeks ago. Of course he won’t do it on command, so we can’t get a video of it. Trust me, it’s cute.

He still has no teeth, even though I swear he’s been teething for the last five months. He’s had the stuffy nose, the drooling, the crying at night (somewhat), but still no teeth. Not even swollen gums. We’re pretty sure he’ll be walking before he cuts his first tooth.

He is still the laid back baby he’s always been, and he smiles and laughs constantly. Believe me, we are enjoying every second of it and taking none of it for granted!

My mom called me last night to talk about a website she’s working on for Mike and we talked about her coming to visit on Saturday (she’s coming to help me recover from getting my wisdom teeth pulled.). We talked small talk for a minute and then the following exchange took place:

Mom: I saw that Mike logged in and made some changes, so I’m working on… blah, blah… website…. blah, blah… wordpress… blah, blah…  (I was listening, I’m just not well versed in techie talk so I can’t remember enough to quote it.) 

Me: Okay, well I’m looking forward to seeing you on Saturday. What should we do? Watch a movie or something?

Mom: Long pause… Yeah, I wouldn’t worry about it. Just tell Mike I’m working on it and I’ll call him later.

Me: Mom? Are you watching tv?

Mom: Uhh… yeah…

Me: Okay, well I’ll let you go then.

Mom: Okay…

Apparently American Idol had just started. I do believe my mother shares my addiction to television