Gifts for My Newest Nephew

I love living in the South, but I sure miss my family back in the Midwest, especially when new babies arrive! Fortunately, I got to greet my brand new little nephew Deacon Liam over Christmas. He sure was a sweetie, and I think he still his, although he probably needs some Aunt Joyce kisses to keep him in line.

This was my welcome gift to him:


And a follow-up gift in the mail, because things got too crazy around Christmas to finish it then:

Earned but not deserved

I did something yesterday I never in my life thought I could/would do. (And I've given birth to two beautiful babies--with Pitocin, without pain meds.) Yes, I, Joyce herself, ran a 5K! The Y held a race at Atmore's annual spring festival, Mayfest. Since this is Atmore we're talking about, the participants were few, so I ended up with a bronze medal in my category. A little embarrassing. Oh well. My pal Lisa, an accomplished runner herself, ran with me the whole race--what an encouragement! My time was 32:29, not great, not awful. I was running to prove to myself that I could do it, and also to stick it to those awful PE memories of running around the block (1.1 mile) in junior high and high school. I had been practicing--I don't think I can say "training" and keep a straight face--for many weeks in advance, working gradually up to 3 miles. I had one really great run of 4 miles, my personal longest run ever. I groaned most mornings when I had to roll out of bed and hit the lane, but it seems to me that whenever I introduce discipline into one spot of my life, it benefits more than one area. Obviously, I'm seeing physical benefits. I'm rather enjoying losing the baby pounds. I'm also experiencing some spiritual benefits--"He must increase and I must decrease." Ha ha, how's that for misinterpretation of Scripture? And in the whole process, I discovered that I kind of enjoy running. Now THAT is amazing.

Except for the mosquitoes, spring has been fabulous. Those buzzards come out at dusk, out of nowhere. As you can see, they attack Owen's baby-sweet skin. And for the record, Helen is the ONLY girl allowed in Owen's backseat.














Ava was here again last week. We had a girl party on the back porch and painted toenails. Helen shortly thereafter discovered her feet, and has been grabbing at them ever since. There's a physical therapy hint for you!



















I also was privileged to keep my two nephews on Thursday (or was that Friday?) morning! Owen and Blake are two months apart, and Helen and Brian are 3 months apart. (If you think that's funny, there's another cousin that was born the day after Owen. Family get togethers ain't what they used to be.) Here the big boys are playing with Jason's old cars. That handy-dandy chute comes out of Owen's appliance box house. (Fun with Cardboard Boxes, volume IX)














Brian was so excited to have his Aunt Joyce all to himself for a few minutes. What a heart throb!