Wanna Talk?

I have been waiting for this moment for a long time. I have been day-dreaming about how it would be and when it might happen. Well, this morning, November 26th, it happened!

We have the cribs in the twins' room situated across from each other on opposite walls. It is the only way all the furniture would fit into that tiny 10 x11 room anyway. This morning as usual, I heard commotion coming from the nursery with Tessa's voice (cry) resonating the loudest - BIG SURPRISE! :) I walk in to find both babies standing up, holding onto the crib rail, looking and "talking" to each other! It was priceless! Tessa was moaning at Jacob as if to say, "Can you please get me out of here?" And sweet Jacob stood there, smiling through his pacifier at her, probably wondering when she might calm down.

When they both saw me come through the door, Tessa cried louder and Jacob smiled wider. I have very different personalities on my hands. Next time I will grab the camera and post a picture. They are so precious!

Thank You For The Ranch

It is pure joy becoming a parent. You enter a new and profound arena of life that you knew existed, but could have never understood unless this tiny child came to be yours. I also consider it pure joy knowing my savior, Jesus Christ as I venture through this earthly portion of my existence. Without his clear direction for what this life on earth is, I would be a lifeless embodiment, floating through on my way to nowhere. It is all because of Jesus, we are alive and this daily belief and living pours over into our children.

Two nights ago I prepared one of my family's favorite meals, chicken croissants. I paired them with some raw veggies and and side of Ranch dressing. As we sat down to eat,

Caleb says: "We need to pray."

Me: "Okay, would you like to pray tonight?"

Caleb: "Yes."

Caleb: "God...thank you for our food. Thank you for Jesus. Thank you that Jesus rose from the cross. Thank you for the Ranch. In Jesus' name, Amen."

Yes, the prayer is adorable (the "thank you that Jesus rose from the cross" part is my favorite), but this prayer was a maturating moment in Caleb's relationship with God. As he began his prayer, my eyes began to fill with tears. I looked up at Brian and he had tears streaming down his face, too. For the first time in his life, Caleb really spoke to God from his heart. Nothing was rehearsed, nothing was silly. It was a real, raw, straight from the heart connection with the God of the universe. Every other time Caleb has prayed at dinner it has been the "God is great, God is good" rendition that he has come to know from preschool.

I am in awe in of God. I am amazed that he reaches out and grabs the hearts of the tiniest souls and draws them to himself. I really wonder at three years old how Caleb perceives God. Does he understand that God is everywhere even though he cant see him? Does he really get that Jesus was the man in flesh that embodied God the father when he was present on earth? Does he comprehend that God loves him more than Brian and I could ever accomplish?

I do know that he has incredible faith and trust. He believes that God is real. He sees Jesus through Brian and I (though faulty) and wants to be like us so much. Thank you, God for Caleb William Peterson and his heart so full of wonder and belief...and thank you for the Ranch.

Creepin' & Crawlin'

I have waited a week to post this because I have been patiently awaiting my sweet Tessa to begin the independent milestone of crawling, but to date it has not "really" happened, so I will brag on Jacob.

The poor bugger has literally been on hands and knees since the end of September with no luck. He has gone backwards, scooted, collapsed, rocked and rolled, and he was finally victorious on Friday, November 7th - the day after Caleb's 3rd birthday. He was slow going, but was definitely in the right direction, now, just 10 or so days later he is, of course, all over the house! It is fun to watch him go. His favorite thing is to move toward a piece of furniture, hoping to pull himself up and in the last day he has been successful. Brian had to lower his crib b/c he is pulling himself up to stand. He just loves the independence - you can see it in his smile.

Now Tessa...I still am trying to figure her out. She can be the more outgoing twin, but on the flip side she can be passive and quiet. She usually lets Jacob pulls toys away from her without much of a fight. In the last week she has managed to go from an "on all fours" position to sitting up. I am so proud of her b/c that takes a lot of strength....but this is now deferring her from crawling b/c if she gets on her hands and knees, she immediately sits up on her little booty!

The exciting thing that happened last night was that she kind of crawled, but it looked like a motion that Gollum from Lord of the Rings would do. We set out Brian's keys quite a ways away from her and she motioned forward, got into a splits position (the legs in a V one) and kind of scooted herself to the keys. She made it - in a very interesting fashion, but she made it! Caleb never did get the "traditional" crawl down. He always had one knee down and one foot down - to each his or her own.

In other milestones, Caleb now spells his name if asked. C-A-L-E-B.com. It is hilarious, don't know where the .com came from, but kids are funny - they just do and say silly things. Jacob began clapping his hands over the last 4-5 days and you can tell how proud of himself he is! Tessa is now beginning to pull herself up to stand. She did it today in her crib at preschool, so tonight we will need to lower her crib more than Brian did over the weekend. She is so tiny and to see her stand and pull up is just crazy. I imagine in the next week my Angelic Angelfish will become Crawly Crabs. Oh, and Caleb just graduated to the 3 year old class, Salty Seals.

He's 3!

What a heartbreaker! My little man turned the BIG 3 yesterday. I am so proud to be his mama. Caleb has brought me so much joy, laughter, challenges, inspiration and most of all LOVE. The day Caleb came into this world was the most indescribable, incredible, exciting day of my life. I am convinced that nothing will ever compare to that experience. I have been a changed woman since my precious Caleb was born. I am in awe of his physical being, the sound of his voice, his intelligence, his playfulness and his love of experiencing something new.

It is amazing how much is learned and how much he has grown in three short years. He says and recognizes letters (not all of them yet), can count to 20 with ease, knows all of his shapes and colors, recites books, speaks very articulately, draws circles and the letter C while attempting others, dresses himself, is potty trained other than a Pull Up at night, and gives love and affection to his younger siblings. He has also memorized four different Bible verses: 2 Timothy 4:7, Genesis 1:1, Proverbs 3:5 & Isaiah 41:10. He is really becoming quite a young man.

Thanks be to God who handpicked Caleb to be my son. It has not been easy, but it has been the greatest adventure of my life. I sincerely look forward to all his years to come, seeking God's wisdom, strength and patience to show Caleb what this life is all about - Jesus!

Thanks to my good friend Carrie Fay for capturing this shot of Caleb in our kitchen just two weeks before his third birthday. In this photo I see quite a young man. I see the gentle and sweet husband of a wonderful wife. I see a dad so much like his own, who loves his kids more than life. I see a man in love with Jesus.

P.S. Update from the previous post: Battery was never recovered, but the x-ray confirmed that it is somewhere in the El Mirage sewer system.