Note the very important lion sticker on his head. A prized possession for many hours.

 Sunday afternoon. The party animals and me, the wide load, for the sisters.

Wesley dashed off in his metaphorical professional marathon-sprint with full force this week. Along with the normal school stuff like meetings, TAing/grading, working with other students and professors, he also prepared a presentation for this Friday. He was geared up and ready to go when word of the UT bomb threat and subsequent evacuation of 70,000 people happened. Who knows when the presentation will happen? We’re just glad that people are safe. What a miracle! At 9:30 they received texts and e-mails to evacuate immediately (into pouring rain). People obeyed, confused. We’re grateful for his protection, even if the threat was a hoax. We’re grateful for safety. Wesley zipped home on a bus and worked to the delight of the boys. Lincoln would peek into the office occasionally just to say, “Daddy! Work! Shut door shut door…” until finally he ran right up to Wesley’s lap. It’s hard to shut the door on Daddy.  Wesley leaves for Wisconsin for another conference and presentation tomorrow morning. He’ll do great. In the midst of this, he felt inspired to finish a paper to submit to next year’s ACC conference. The paper is due Monday. So, we prayed a lot and he worked a lot gathering results, etc., writing the paper, and finally finished it off last night around eleven. He’ll probably do another round of revisions tomorrow while travelling before submitting it. Part of this depends on his professor’s response to the paper and where he thinks it should go. Regardless—there’s a drafted paper touching on his summer work! Go Wes!

I hosted the first book group at our new home on Tuesday. The boys and I tried to invite our neighbors on Monday—but mostly we saw a lot of rustling blinds. One neighbor did come and had a great time. She’s a hoot—plus she taught English and social studies to junior high and high schoolers for about 20 years—such interesting thoughts as a result. We met a few other neighbors during the week; they love the boys, of course. Hopefully they’ll decide we can be friends. Book group turned out small, but cozy fun with cinnamon rolls (which were really for Wesley). Next month will be even better.

Book group preparation made story time even better. One story focused on rockin’ school shoes; Lincoln danced the whole way through the book. They love the libraries. We’ve been reading through the Caldecott medal books. This week they love Arthur Yorink’s book, Hey, Al—which is an interesting choice.

Another exciting event: our landlords replaced the dishwasher. The boys watched with wonder. Ah, tools.

Levi announced, much to my surprise, that “I like Mom’s kisses again. But, I don’t want them right now.” After months and months of pushing me away and trying to keep distance, I’m invited back! Hurrah! On Friday, he rode his “school bus” around the house. While riding, he met three friends! All of them had matching red backpacks and “blueshortsblueshirts.” All of them were named Levi! Shocking! The three friends have played, quietly, with us since then. They eat dinner, they pile up and down the stairs, they wait for Levi in different rooms. They all play basketball and have received multiple stickers for their “wins.” Hilarious.

Lincoln has been fighting some sort of sickness since we arrived in Texas. Poor runny nosed boy who never slows down. He even cut his naps in half! Today we tried to keep him awake in the car until we got home. Levi started singing, “POP! POP! POP!” and making weird mouth sounds. “I help keep Lincoln awake!” Oh the blissful noise that we usually curb. Lincoln just looked at him and grinned a tired, closed mouth grin. When I picked Lincoln up from the younger nursery, he went straight to Levi and held his hand, “Vi!” he sighed. Life is better with brothers. There are benefits to runny noses, I’ve discovered. Lincoln the Tease now loves shoving stuff up his nose—from paper to biscuits. He shoved a honey nut Cheerio up so far I couldn’t even see it, let alone tweeze it out. We prayed. He clutched his little hands in front of him and leaned on me. I love being a mom. After we said “Amen” he showed me his nose then blew really hard without prompting. Out the nasty grain dribbled. Another miracle.

We’ve been practicing on the potty more because Lincoln loves it. He just wants to sit there and sit there. Stand up and return. Wesley compares him to a dog who can mark territory on demand (or at least try really hard to). Good grief. We just need to convince him to stop peeing in his diaper because he’s happy to do it all on the potty. Training requires consistency though, and Joule’s around the corner, so we’ll probably stick to practicing for a while. Plus, Lincoln is not even 20 months yet!

We went to the temple yesterday. At this point, I shouldn’t be surprised at how well the boys travel, but I’m still just baffled that they can do a two or three hour stretch like we’re simply going to the store. (In fact, now that we live close to things, Levi has commented, “That was a short, short drive!”) I love the temple. I love feeling and pondering what home is. I love the bustling peace there—especially when new temple workers are being trained. I want to hug them. My parents went to the Brigham City temple open house this week, so I’ve been thinking about how different and beautiful each temple is. Each temple has that recognizable joy; that is probably what actually makes the temple and our lives truly lovely: they reflect God’s love. Part of this week’s goal is to calm down and slow down my response. I tend to react rather than think. To move/run into walls/holler rather than gently and thoughtfully proceed. As I’ve reflected on this, I’ve thought about how Heavenly Father knows how to best parent us. Sometimes, even when we want (or think we need) an answer right now He knows how much better it is for us, and how much more we learn, when He calmly slows down His response. I’m still pondering on this.

I started the week full of ambition, then slowly realized how tired and abundant I am. Losing motivation and ability to do as much as I feel should be done drives me crazy. Levi and Lincoln know the signs, “Mom being a monster!” and they peal into laughter. Joule is 100% active. Most of my energy seems to go to him! The contractions intensify. Nothing consistent or abnormal. Wesley placed his hand casually on my belly tightening into a rock, then said, “WHOA! This is normal?” Carry on, carry on, carry on! (Or maybe I should just go straight into, “Press FORWARD JOULE!”).