Shameless WFMW

Howdy folks,

Our twins amaze me every day with new tricks and skills. Tonight we were in the living room and Kendra told Layla to go get a diaper from their bedroom. I thought she was just kidding, but a few seconds later Layla came back with a diaper! While Easton was getting changed, Layla went back into the bedroom and brought out a diaper for everyone in the room including Great Aunt Mary, Kendra, and I. That was a pretty cool new trick and I am blown away at the thought of our 16 month old hearing a command, understanding it, and then doing it. I may never have to get off the couch to get the remote control again! Then to top it off, Kendra told her to take the spare diapers back to the bedroom and put them away. She did it... Heck, I don’t even follow directions that well.


Unfortunately, my camera ran out of space when I attempted to catch video of her following instructions so well, but you get the idea.

For their next trick I'll teach them the second bo staff form in Kenpo.


Just kidding... That bo staff is WAY to long for her to complete the form. However, it is just the right length to tag Easton in the shin as she was swung it around. Oops! guess we'll have to wait a few years before giving them any weapons. Although Easton uses his teeth as a weapon pretty well. Not much we can do to take that away from him and since our methods of deterring him from biting aren't working... Soap is next and we're serious about using it now!

Here are a couple of pictures where the twins have post-it notes stuck to their forehead.


I'm not certain what is so funny about having a post-it note stuck to your forehead, but they sure had a good time laughing about it.


WFMW (Works For Me Wednesday) - This edition of WFMW is rated PG-13 so cover your kid's ears or skip ahead if you read aloud. You'll either think I'm a caring husband or a complete wacko. However, this IS a blog about real life so bear with me if you dare as I go out on a limb here.

The story starts with me sitting at my desk this morning. I perused the daily news detailing the economic destruction of our country, then I leaned back in my chair, closed my eyes and this quote from who-knows-where hit me:

Everyone thinks of changing the world, but no one thinks of changing himself.

I started thinking about Kendra and our marriage and the Weekend to Remember conference from a few weeks ago. My mind wondered onto the question, "how can I change and do something for Kendra to make her feel special?" I formulated my plan and this is what happened tonight:

After the twins were asleep I sweated my way through the extraordinary Plyometrics P90X workout. Kendra was reading in the bedroom and as I went to get into our tiny, square shower I invited Kendra to join me (Yes, we shower together as often as I can convince her to do so). Anyway, she said yes and we both stepped into the steaming, warm water. I said, "I'm going to wash you in the way you normally would. Just tell me what to do and I'll do it". She looked at me as if I lost my mind. I told her, "if Jesus can wash the stinky feet of his disciples in an act of servitude, then I should be able to wash my wife and get the same point across, right?

She hesitantly smiled, but agreed to go along with me. She told me how much of the frilly, smelly soap to use and then began to describe how to wash her face. As I gently caressed her cheeks, nose, and chin we both fell into the exact moment I envisioned earlier this morning at my desk. We looked into each other's eyes and she heard what I was trying to say even though I didn't speak a single word. What I said (without speaking) was this: You are more important than me or my ego and I will do my best to love you the way you need to be loved regardless of how I "feel" or think or want.

In order for me to love her through HER love language she has to TELL me what it is. Sorry, I'm a blockhead caveman who doesn't do well with hints or subtleties. Next (this is the part where I failed in the past), I have to listen, and then act on what I discover about her. Washing her in the shower was a simple step towards the goal of knowing her more intimately. I felt the smoothness of her neck, the curve of her back, and the length of her hair. Those sensory memories are smashed in the front of my brain like a bug on a windshield and now I know more about her than I did this morning when we woke up. Mission accomplished.

and that's what Worked For Me on Wednesday.

I'm just a lowly engineer so luckily guys like me have Garth Brooks and his song, "Shameless" to express how I feel in ways I can't come up with on my own:

I'm shameless when it comes to loving you
I'd do anything you want me to
I'd do anything at all
And I'm standing here for all the world to see

If you read this far into the post, then please add a comment to let me know if I'm on the right track or if I should stick with blogging about diapers and post-it notes. :)

Au revoir