Puppets!

 

One of the most significant points of the week: Wesley won the conference naming game for the second time in the history of our game. Granted, he only beat me by one point—which may or may not be fairly earned—but we’re all proud of him.

The boys and I got the flu shot in the last couple of weeks; so we carry around a mild flu and left church after sacrament meeting today. Bummer, but coughs, runny noses, and other joys are just not things to share with others. The goal this week is to get everyone well rested and better. Let’s not go into labor with all of us sick!

(Here’s the paragraph you skip if you’re uncomfortable knowing all the cool stuff about my body…) Aside from coughing and stuff, my body is mostly gearing up for this little guy to join us. Wes thinks that if I wasn’t induced I’d just be in labor until December—I’m inclined to agree. Contractions are totally awesome; I’m amazed at what our bodies can do. I’m amazed we can make bodies for other people! My doctor can’t believe we haven’t greeted him yet. I’m at a 2, 80% effaced, and his head is so low she had to shift him to find that much out! I’m scheduled for an induction on October 24 (happy birthday Royal!) at 5 a.m. if he doesn’t arrive before then. My mom flies in on the 20^th. I’m really hoping he’ll join us on the 21^st or 22^nd. We’ll see.

Levi just put his tie on, closed the glass door to the sunroom, and we all witnessed the baptism of Peter today. He raised his arm, immersed his dog, and practiced all that he’s seen John the Baptist do on the Bible videos. He tells us Peter enjoyed it so much, he might be baptized again next week. Lincoln watched with rapture chanting, “Baptize! Baptize!” Lincoln then told us he was wet, took the kitchen hand towel down and dried off his body.

We live in a magical world of pretending. Lincoln pretended to snore so we’d wake him up. One day I walked into their room and they “SNAP!”ped me because they were crocodiles (Lincoln’s idea, actually), and they’ve been loving the new castle guys from Grandma Cole. I can’t even begin the varied stories. Both of them become increasingly verbal: Lincoln has been saying things like “Read this book. PLEEEEAASE!” and Levi wakes up talking, goes to sleep talking, and even yells out with more language. We had a few friends over; I love listening to little boy jabber, even when I don’t understand it. One day Levi knocked his bowl off the table and it shattered, then Lincoln threw his plastic spoon and it broke, then I slipped with a light bulb and it crashed all over—they both had big stories for Dad when he came home. Wes taught them to say, “I love you!” I don’t think they fully have the concept, yet it’s a darling exercise. They also saw their first puppet show at the library. They danced to the background music, giggled at the audience, and delighted in the whole experience. They wanted pictures with the puppets even though it made them nervous. We’ve reheard (and seen) the gist of the puppet show since then. So fun. In addition, they’re such darling helpers. They rolled out gingerbread men joyfully with me for book group—and enjoyed tasting the caramel sauce.

Some of our friends welcomed a little girl with trisomy 13 and related heart defects last weekend. She died early Monday morning. When we found out, the boys and I prayed for them. All week I heard from the boys, “Their baby died!” After a few hours, Levi asked if Joule would die too. He’s been pretty concerned. We prepared them for the graveside service yesterday, coached them on reverence and not singing the ABCs, etc. They both listened amazingly well. I was glad that most people couldn’t understand Lincoln’s little voice, though, saying, “Baby die! Baby die!” I’m sick for the family (this was their first full term pregnancy), yet inspired by their faith.

Last night we invited people from Wesley’s group to join us in our traditional October celebration to carve pumpkins, eat homemade doughnuts, etc. One guy and his family are from Taiwan. They’d never done anything like jack-o-lanterns before. We pulled out children’s books for pictures and shared fun company and goofy kids. Lincoln loved teasing them with sideways glances and silly faces. Although not many people came, most of the doughnuts are gone. Call that a success.

I can’t fully express how blessed we are and the responsibility we feel to live worthy of such a life and heritage. Thank you for making it possible. We love you.

Cole 4 ¾