Sometimes life happens in nice, neat blog-post packages. It’s easy to have something to write about or have a topic around which to theme a post. Then there are other times. Times when life just happens. Times I’d like to remember, but times that are harder to record since they are the stuff everyday life is made of. In looking at my pictures from August (so far), I have little bits of life to share.
»Recently, the Camry’s driver-side window had gotten stuck in the down position. Stephen managed to force it closed but had to order a replacement part for the inside of the door. Out of necessity, Stephen has become a sort of amateur mechanic. It’s impressive the repairs he’s been able to accomplish himself! I took Silas outside to play for a bit while Stephen fixed the Toyota and I watered our plants. You can see that we do have a patch of grass, and one wispy tree. (That’s the neighbor’s house in the background.)Here’s a look at the front of our home. Unfortunately, as soon as Silas crawled off the blanket, he was bitten by an army of mad fire ants. Poor Baby! When I tried to brush them off him, they began biting me. Ouch!

»Now I am officially certified to have a son named Silas Clark since I’ve recently finished reading Silas Marner and tasted a Clark bar for the first time. (It’s basically a Butterfinger.)

»Stephen and I had a very happy anniversary date thanks to our friend Becky who graciously spent her evening playing with Silas. Stephen took me to Pappadeaux’s a restaurant well-known for their fresh seafood. Our meal began with an alligator appetizer. Yes, you read that right–alligator! Of course with all that yummy batter, it tasted like chicken, but with a hint of “wild” to it. After gumbo, lobster, and filet mignon for dinner, we ended our date with carrot cake cheesecake. I’d never heard of such a thing before, but it was a hit!

»Last Saturday some Indiana friends were in town and met us for dinner at Garcia’s. During dinner Jamie had the unique privilege of giving Silas his first lemon slice. Silas looked worried, gave a delayed shudder, and then promptly decided he liked lemon and wanted more.»I’m constantly amazed at how far Baby can reach and how tall he can be when he’s grabbing at something. The other day he figured out how to play the piano on his own. He’s now starting to stand without holding onto anything, but only for a few seconds at a time. He now crawls on all fours (usually one knee, one foot and both hands). We’ve discovered that the little punkin’ belly boy LOVES cheese (yet again, taking after his father). The first time he tried it, he immediately began stuffing more cheese in his mouth than he could hold. Once we rescued the cheese cubes left on his tray, we realized he had cheese held tightly in both fists.

»Our piano is tuned! We had a missionary speak at church last Sunday, and he is also a piano tuner. He graciously spent hours and hours on two different days working on our piano. It took two tunings and a lot of adjustments to get the piano where it should be.»Friday night we attended a Diamondbacks game with a group from church. It was the second baseball game I’d ever been to. Silas was sporting his D-backs gear.»One of Bitty Boy’s new favorite toys is an orange baseball bat. Since the bat is so rounded, it looks like Silas is carrying around a caveman’s club ready to beat someone over the head!

So there you have it–little bits of life.