"Actually..."

Joe and I are just beside ourselves with the funny instances each day when Ashley uses the word, "actually." It seems that she thinks she scores 20 extra credit points each time she properly uses the word.

So, it may be lunch time and she will begin by telling me she wants a sandwich with jelly on it, and then she will say, "actually mommy, I want peanut butter AND jelly on it." Or it may be us asking if she needs to go the bathroom. At first she says, "no" followed, by, "actually, I DO need to go."

She is also into making plans these days. She comes up with a plan and then asks, "does that sound like a good plan Mommy?" It is pretty entertaining, but I can see how careful we need to be so that she remembers her role, which is not to make the decisions of the mommy or daddy.

Jacob continues to be our mighty mountain climber. His current thrill is to climb whatever obstacle possible. Be it a piece of furniture (chair, picnic table, etc) or a deck or a person or whatever. He is pretty coordinated, but I fear how many times he is going to bonk his head in the mean time. Good think God makes these models tough!

Tonight his (and consequently my) joy was to put a cup on his hand in the bathtub and shake it at me. He thought this was the funniest thing ever. He would just laugh at me and then try to splash me in the water. I can see how God will use him to make me smile through the tough moments in the days, weeks, months and years ahead. Lord, thank you for our little Mr. Personality.