Riley's Twin

I finally got a picture of Riley and Asher Huffman together...these two have looked like brothers since they were born about 10 days apart:














I don't think J and I have any resemblance to Mark and Leah, making it even more odd that our boys would look so much alike. They sure look cute together don't they?

Shelby

eating out

Ever since Riley became the newest member of our family we've pretty much just hauled him along with us everywhere we go. This includes eating out with friends which is something we particularly enjoy on Sundays after church. Riley has always been amazingly good in these situations, a joy to have along actually.

Now that he's getting older and more...active...we're starting to feel some of the stress in social situations that we haven't really had to deal with in the past. Riley wants to play, and it's hard to play in his physical way when he's stuck in a highchair. He's a high-energy boy who thinks that throwing things on the floor is fun (silverware, napkins, utensils, menus etc.) and he also thinks it's fun to see Mama and Daddy pick them up.

We know we can't expect him to sit quietly for an hour while we stuff face. But if we give him something to play with it just ends up on the floor. Unfortunately our 15 month old cannot understand that this is our ONLY time to eat out each week and that his parents need to have some adult conversation too.

We went out with some friends after church today and Shelby was up no less than 10 times for Riley-reasons. One of our friends, a teacher, said that although Riley usually got an "A" for behavior from her, today he got a "B" with all his goofing off.














Yes, he's cute, but don't be deceived... he's a piece of work, he is. And yes, he is 100% BOY!

We love our active boy!


Jonathan

a perfect day of outdoor fun

We New Englanders have had the wettest summer in decades, which has dampened our ability to enjoy the customary dry trails for mountain biking and running. This past week however, things began to change and we took full advantage of it today. It was clear and sunny, with a light breeze with temps up into the 80's.

To start things off, J left early in the morning to get in a long, technical bike ride at Harold Parker State Forest. After Riley had breakfast, I put him in the jog stroller and did the 3.5 mile loop around Lake Q..

Next, we headed off to Zac Zivan's first birthday party which was at a park with playground equipment and a large "sprinkler" that the kids enjoyed. Riley wasn't too keen on the large drops of water coming down on him, but he loved the large button that had to be pushed to keep the water spraying.

Riley and the birthday boy:









He much prefers to go up the slide:









The cool sprinkler:


















Pushing the button to start the sprinkler:









My brave boy retrieved the ball as he was pummeled by water drops:


















Riley leaving and Zac following:









We had decided to bring our bikes so we could ride the 11-mile Minuteman Bikeway since we would be on that side of town. We started off in Somerville and ended up riding 26 miles during the next two hours. We weren't planning on making a workout of it, but once we got going, it's just habit for us to ride hard. It just doesn't seem right not to breathe heavy and have a burn in yer legs...

Riley got his only daytime sleep on the way over -- 30-minute naplet. He was pretty mellow when we started out:









After two hours, he was still pretty mellow (note the one arm hanging out of his harness!)









When we finished, we enjoyed two of our favorite things in Davis Square -- burritos from Ana's and Vietnamese Coffee from Diesel Cafe. Having Riley around changed the experience in one major way -- instead of hanging out in front of JP Licks, we spent our time at the playground. I don't think I ever noticed that playground until today.









Riley enjoyed watching the boys play basketball and being able try out a new swing, tho' he started zoning from being in dire need of sleep:









I think we squeezed all the fun out of today...time for a good night's sleep.

Shelby

kefir

We've introduced Riley to Kefir ("KEY-Fur"), which he has been drinking instead of whole milk. It's a cultured milk drink that is similar to yogurt. I call it "milk with a kick". It's full of friendly bacteria and yeasts that is easy to digest. The flavored versions are more sour than the yogurt he drinks, so I mix it with some rice milk.

Most of the Kefir out there is a low-fat variety, but I found a whole-milk version at Whole Foods (there goes my weekly Starbucks drink!). When I was there yesterday to stock up on the Kefir, I saw these Kefir Smoothies and decided to try them out.














The packaging is cute -- they call them "ProBugs" and on the back it says this:

Ever heard of Peter ProBug? He's a good bacteria bug and his idea of fun is hanging out in your belly. What does he do down there? Well, since there's no TV, he watches for any bad bugs . When he sees them, he asks them to leave (using his "inside voice") so they can't bug you anymore. And your belly stays clean and healthy. Cool, huh?

Riley enjoyed the Orange Creamy Crawler flavor today:




























I love my healthy-eating boy!

Shelby

a visit from tammy

My old friend Tammy was here on business this week and she stopped by for a visit yesterday. Tammy & I go back to my post-college, pre-Nashville days when I was living in Alaska. We both ended up in Nashville, and then she moved to Texas and we reconnected every few years. Now that we're on Facebook, I expect we'll be keeping better tabs on each other.

Here's a shot from Oct '92 when Tammy and I joined our friend Kelly for a girl's getaway weekend in Gakona, Ak where we froze our keisters off in Kelly's dad's cabin.














And yesterday...














Riley loves the ladies...yes, he does:














We're so glad you stopped by Tammy... next time you can stay at Hotel Berg and go kayaking with us!

Shelby

minado

Y'all know we love sushi. When it comes to sushi, nothing beats all-you-can-eat sushi at Minado with our sushi lovin' friends, the Zivans:

The beginnings of a big mess:














Stuffing a tamago (egg) in his mouth:














Zac Zivan gnawing on some chicken with his dad's first round in the foreground:














Zippy shaking Riley's hand...just before she planted a kiss on him:
















This is something that we do after church with Jon and Oil on a regular basis. It's my hope that our kids will grow up remembering how we all stuffed ourselves silly on sushi over the years. Good times with friends... life is good.

Shelby

a visit from tom and leah

Those of you readers who attended our wedding probably remember my friends Tom and Leah Cornwell who provided some of the music prior to the ceremony. Tom is a professional musician and Leah lent her beautiful voice to make our big day special. Their youngest son Eli was just a baby and quite a hit with folks there.

















I met the Cornwells serendipitously while reading at a park in Portland, ME back in 2000. I was sitting in a shelter at a picnic table and they were out for a picnic looking for a place to get out of the rain that had just started. As we shared the table and got to talking, we discovered that we were Christians, musicians and fans of the late Rich Mullin's music.

Tom and Leah helped me with my move to Boston in Jan '02 and it was Leah who was instrumental in convincing me to sign up for eharmony in Jan, 04. She brought a perspective to me that I hadn't considered and I knew it was God sent. So J and I are grateful to Leah for her friendship to me and how God has blessed us both through her.

They now live in Colorado and Tom has a career writing and performing children's music. Because he worked in the extermination business, he wrote a bunch of songs about bugs and now he brings his music to libraries, schools and other venues around the country. Check out www.bugsongs.com to learn more.

Tom was on a two-week library tour up in Maine with Leah and their sons (Judah - 10, Micah - 6, and Eli - 3) and they stopped in last night for a quick visit on their way back home. It was great to see them all again after 2 years and Riley enjoyed having so many playmates in the house.

Being entertained by Micah:














Getting blueberries from Judah:














With Leah:














We love and miss this dear family:














Shelby

another dream come true

Our car has a new accessory...














After our conversation last week while kayaking at Sebago Lake, we decided to bite the bullet and add the one "toy" that we were missing from our collection. It's no secret that we've longed for a kayak for years. J dreamed of family mountain biking and I dreamed of family kayaking. Now we're outfitted for both. We bought a Necky Manitou II tandem kayak that has a jump seat in the middle for a child. It should be sufficient until Riley is 9 or 10 and wants a child-sized kayak of his own.

We took our kayak out for its maiden voyage out at Plum Island this afternoon. Riley's "Gramma Betsea" has a kayak and she joined us. The weather was gorgeous and temps were perfect.

Riley loves being in the kayak:














He helped Daddy paddle for a little bit:














Betsy and Jessie in their kayak:














Riley enjoyed guiding us as well:














Heading out to the Merrimack River:














The whole gang:














Enjoying the warm water:














A happy family enjoying a great day in the water:














Two sports down...two to go (snowshoeing & XC skiing) and we'll be a year-round sporting family!

Shelby

sebago lake

This weekend we took a trip up to Sebago Lake in Maine. It was a "50th Birthday Year" celebration for us Springfield College grads. The lake is beautiful and to give you an idea here's the view through the front window of the cottage:














We got to the cottage, unloaded our stuff and then headed across the street to our friend Suzie's dad's house (Suzie had the place next door to us.) It had been a sunny day to that point, but as soon as we stepped out the door it started to rain. Fortunately Suzie's family had hosted a big, week long get together and they had a canopy. So we got to hang outside and play a bit. Riley enjoyed the slide and showed us his aptitude for basketball, helped by Suzie's son Curtis:
















It wasn't long before the weather cleared up again and we were able to have some outdoor fun. Suzie's family has had this house on the lake for a long time, so they've accumulated a whole lot of fun lake toys. The first we got to sample was her dad's powerboat. Riley was hit and miss with the boat. Sometimes he liked it, sometimes he didn't. Here's a shot of one of his better moments:














Saturday night we were able to hang out with my friends Michael and Cheryl as well as Suzie. They're always some of my most favorite people to spend time with and this was no exception.

Sunday morning Shelby and I got a chance to do something we have always loved...we went kayaking. The lake was calm and there was little wind or boat traffic to stir up the water. It was beautiful. Here are a couple of pictures:




























We were out for an hour or so and during that time were talking about how much we love kayaking and how we'd love to get Riley into it too. We decided then and there to look at kayaks on the way home. We actually would have bought a tandem at the Kittery Trading Post if they weren't closing ten minutes after we decided on what we wanted. That sets up a trip for next Saturday... Riley was really cute when we were looking at the kayak. They have a little "jump seat" for a kid in the rear of the kayak right in front of the back seat. We sat him on that and he seemed right at home. He was even more at home when he sat down in the front seat. He looked like a guy who wanted to spend a lot more time there. I wish we had the camera with us.

It was time for more water sports after lunch. Suzie's dad also had a jetski. Neither Shelby or I had been on one before and I had always wanted to give one a try. It was a ton of fun. It's amazing how fast 30 mph can feel... Here we are just before we took off:
















The only reason we could just take off on these little adventures is because we had a very willing babysitter. Suzie absolutely loves Riley and was looking forward to the chance to have him around for a little while:














Thanks Suzie, we all had fun!


Jonathan

clapping boy

I was a little worried that at 14 months, my son still didn't clap, a skill I've seen kids perform who are half his age. Well, with the introduction of his first puzzle, he now cheers whenever the puzzle piece is put in correctly:

Whew...

Shelby

climbing boy

I was informed by Jen this afternoon that Riley made his first successful attempts at scaling "Mt. Whitechair":














This is his new favorite toy... twice he's already come close to falling on his head. Thank God he has a good chiropractor to put his neck back in alignment afterwards.

Shelby

a "yes" answer

We're happy to report that it appears that the billing problem we wrote about recently (July 3rd & July 18) has been resolved. Medicare began paying out about 2 weeks ago. J got the first notice today that Blue Cross has accepted his claims and will start paying out next week. The payment times vary on the type of plan and other factors so it may be the end of the month before we see all the past two months worth of claims paid.

Obviously, this is a tremendous relief to us to have this problem behind us. We've been able to put alternate financing in place during the past couple of months, but it couldn't go on indefinitely without some long-term consequences. We thank the Lord for not letting this drag out any longer.

We're not totally in the clear as business has slowed down with the economy and therefore J may be taking yet another pay cut to keep his one variable expense in line with revenues. As we deal with that possibility, I think the ways in which the Lord worked on me these past two months will help me to accept whatever comes from His sovereign hand. I hate debt and always will. I'll try to avoid taking on any more than absolutely necessary. But if its necessary, I'll learn to trust God with our family's future. I was able to do that off and on during these past couple of months, so I'm getting some practice at least.

Thanks to all who prayed for us and expressed concern and encouragement. Thanks most of all to our gracious God who doesn't treat us as our sins deserve. He is good...all the time.

Shelby

indoor fun

Since I can't play with Riley in the living room/playroom every minute that we're home, I've created a couple of play area in the dining room/office/kitchen so that he can play while I compute, cook and clean. Since the beginning of the following video is dark, I'll show you a photo of him playing with the box that the alphabet mat came in.
















He really enjoys the pool turned ball pit.










































So now he has more fun things he can do during the daily thunderstorms we've been having for what seems like the past month.

Shelby