Give and Receive Love

Greetings friends and family,

I'm sitting at my desk at work eating lunch.  This is the only time I have to blog and I'm even having to sacrifice time in the gym because I have so much to blog about.  My usual late night routine and blogging  was allocated for the past week and will be until after Sunday.  Kendra and I are speaking at our church on Sunday.  We've both taught and spoke at various small venues, but this will be the opportunity of a lifetime (so far).  Our senior pastor will be out of town and he's turning over then entire service to us.  This is incredibly humbling, to say the least.  We're using every spare minute to develop the content, practice, and prepare.  I'm excited about it and can't wait to share our story and teaching to others who desperately need it.

Last weekend was my birthday.  I didn't want a party or any big fanfare because I don't look forward to birthdays anymore.  That switch from excitement to disdain occurred somewhere around 30 and I've been wanting to avoid birthdays ever since.  None the less, Easton and Layla think everyone should have fabulous parties and celebrations.  What I really wanted was to ride my mountain bike and be away from my little three mile radius of church, home, work.  I joined a few friends at the McDowell mountain trails and followed it up with a burrito lunch.  Taking a Saturday morning away was a great treat.  As much as I love Kendra and the twins, I need some guy time too.

For my birthday I requested an impromptu photo shoot.  This is the way I want to commemorate my day.  Just being together for dinner and cake time is enough for me.  

I also talked them into making a LOVE sign.  L is for Layla, E is for Easton.  It fits well...

Kendra made a home-made chocolate cake with the right amount of frosting.  She loaded it up with candles and the twins joined her in the birthday song.  The three of us blew out the candles together and chowed down.

One of the new standard operating procedures we implemented at the Webb house is the bedtime routine.  They are starting to read well, but i put the pictures there just to give them a little help.  They pointed out that books should be between pink juice (mouth wash) and bed.  I'll need to work on version 2.0 this week and resubmit to the committee for approval before hanging it on the fridge again.  From 7-8 PM every night of every week of every month this is what I (we) do.  OK, maybe once per week I'm gone to some other engagement, but the probability is very high this is what I'm doing from 7-8.

The Chariot CX2 is gone!  The unit with all accessories retails for $1,550.  I know... that's insane.  We paid $600 on Craigslist five years ago when it was new in the box.  Some guy had twins and then learned he had cancer and couldn't physically get out for exercise any longer.  Sad situation, but we were happy to get such a great deal.  We just sold it for...  drumroll...  $600.  That's right!  we used this for free for five years.  Can't as for a better buying and selling process than that.  So long, Chariot.

Why did we sell it?  Well, the twins are old enough to ride by themselves and I continue to hold tightly to the idea that we shouldn't do anything for the twins that they can do themselves.  We took the longest ride yet by riding to In-N-Out burger.  When I baited them with a chocolate shake and hamburger for dinner they suddenly found plenty of energy to ride all the way there.

Layla fell as she was trying to cross one of the streets and the cars attempting to turn in the lane were kind and patient as she picked herself up and rode across the street.  I was freaked out because I told her to go back and wait on the cars to pass because she fell within 2 feet of coming into the street.  Instead of listening she got back on her bike and peddled across where Easton and I were.  Lesson learned for both of us.  They go first, then I go behind them.  duh...  and Layla knows not to waste time by waving to the line of cars waiting on her to cross.  She thought it was like a parade.  Oh, Princess Layla...

Jacob came by on Sunday to hang out.  He had the bright idea to throw the ball on the roof and wait for it to roll back down.  The twins found this repetitive task to be extremely fun.  45 minutes worth to be exact.

He's a retired police officer who carries cuffs around.  This is as close as I ever want Easton or Layla to get to hand cuffs ever again.  They thought it was fun, but didn't understand the point of them because their hands are small enough to slip right out.

I alternate taking one of the twins to the mailbox each day alone.  Layla wanted to ride our bikes together yesterday.  That was a welcomed change because I'm used to carrying them piggy-back style normally.  I found a dandelion on the way back and Layla was more than happy to make a wish and blow the fluffy bits away.

There is another unwritten rule I have around our house for adults.  You must accept all gifts from Easton and Layla.  period.  Kid's are giving by nature.  They might say "mine" a thousand times when they are two-years-old, but by this age they should be learning to share and, most importantly, learning to give.  At their age they have nothing to really give me.  I am the bread-winner of the family.  I bought everything they have. There is literally not a single thing they can give me that I don't already own.  BUT, when they do give me something it is still an expression of love that I enjoy.

Layla gave me a rock from our yard.

Yes, i know it's just a rock.  However, it is special to her because it is sparkly, which means it's special to me because she was willing to give it to me.  I make a big deal of every gift no matter how big or small because I want to encourage giving as much as possible during these early days.

See you soon!