The Making of a Vegetarian

Howie is undergoing a major paradigm shift in his diet. He's starting to refuse to eat meat, with only a few exceptions. This is like a tyrannosaurus rex swearing off being a carnivore. In the past we could always count on Howie to devour a chicken leg, a hamburger, a chunk of pot roast, etc. He was eating barbequed ribs before he turned 2. The whole rack. He was constantly on the Atkins diet. He would have made a wonderful hunter-caveman. It was a herculean task to get him to eat any fruit, and any vegetable other than broccoli. But the tide is turning... usually now if I give him a ham or turkey sandwich he'll just eat the bread. For lunch he just ate a salad and some pear slices. And almonds for a snack. I kind of don't recognize him anymore.

An Ode to a New York Bagel

Oh New York bagel, how I love you. Chewy and soft on the inside, slightly crusty on the outside, you are a gastronomic delight of epic proportions. Slathered in butter and jam, you are a celestial food belonging to another sphere. You make Panera bagels hang their heads in shame as they realize how poorly they imitate you. Oh that I could eat you moment by moment and not get fat!! You fill our mouths with gladness and our stomachs with fullness. May we always live within walking distance of a hot bagel store.

O Christmas Tree, O Christmas Tree

We got our tree last weekend and it's HUGE!! This is a tree for the ages! The house smells wonderful!

Right by the tree is the perfect place to play Legos

This little galpal loves the sparkling lights and ornaments.

Josh had many Legos as a kid and he brought his whole collection home from his parents' house when we were there over Thanksgiving, much to Howie's delight. They've been having a blast building together!

The Many Faces of Wren

For Your Viewing Pleasure

This guy can't get enough of his sister. As you know squeezing and excessive hugging are Howie's love language, and seeing as he's enamored with Wren, she's getting a double dose!! He's a wonderful big brother!

A common sight in our house these days- Lego men. I've already stepped on several. Ouch.

As mentioned above, this is a very common sight... Wren being watched over by one of her big brothers

We traveled to Peachtree City to see Josh's family for Thanksgiving, and of course we had to go to the park right by Nana and BB's for some tennis.

Howie next to Little Red, the preferred mode of transportation in Peachtree City. Howie's already convinced that he can drive a golf cart.

Wren enjoyed the outing by looking at the back of her eyelids. How she chooses to spend a lot of her time.

What a winning smile!! This guy loved the golf cart too!!

Nothing quite like a trip to Nana and BB's... the boys had a wonderful time!

We were so privileged to have Aunt Emily, Uncle Rob, John, and Violet come stay with us for Josh's ordination! This was the first time Wren got to meet her cousins. It was a hit! How bout Violet??? Too cute for words!!!

Justice is currently obsessed with the book The Three Little Rigs, instead of the three little pigs... it's actually really funny. Anyway he roped Grandma into reading it... I was grateful for the reprieve because Josh and I have read that book to him so many times over the last weeks that he can recite most of it. Find a new book!!!

How we pass many hours... trains, trains, trains.

Justice is still as crazy as ever. He loves to crack himself up. Recent example: we were on the way to have dinner with some friends from church. Justice burped as he was getting out of the car and said "Bless me." Then laughed maniacally. Hilarious.

One morning the boys raided Wren's baby toy stash and covered her with them. Thanks, guys.

And Now... Introducing Reverend Joshua W Desch

I am so proud and grateful to say that Josh was ordained as a pastor this past Sunday! It was such a joy to watch as the service unfolded and we could see the culmination of years of service and study. Although this is only the beginning of ministry, it's such an important milestone marking God's faithfulness to our family throughout this journey, and it was truly a joyous event. While we wished we could have celebrated with all our family and friends, we were so blessed to be joined by my mom, Grandma Fisher, Aunt Martha, Em, Rob, and of course precious John and Violet. I am so proud of this man. He is a wonderful husband and father who gives of himself tirelessly to serve me, and I have watched over the past several years as he has humbly dedicated himself to study and preparation for ministry. God has truly blessed us over and over again, and I was keenly aware of that as I wiped tears from my eyes while Josh was ordained. Thank you, Lord! We give You praise and glory! You are a mighty God!

Here are some snapshots of the ordination service...

Wren and I stand proudly with the new reverend

Howie dressed to the nines for the service... we wanted to get a family pic but Justice was already in bed for his nap! Sundays are tough for the kiddos!!

Now for you who are really wanting the whole experience, I'm going to post the video that was made of the service... it's in 2 parts. Figuring out how to post these actually made me feel like a computer programmer. (That's pretty sad... it really wasn't that hard.)

2011-11-20 Josh Desch Ordination and Installation 1 of 2 from GRC-Teaneck on Vimeo.

2011-11-20 Josh Desch Ordination and Installation 2 of 2 from GRC-Teaneck on Vimeo.

Our Comedian

Howie cracks us up. All the time. He's been in rare form the last few nights at dinner. Here are the highlights.

We gave him some green beans to eat, and to no one's surprise, both of our boys are resistant to eating fruits and veggies, with few exceptions. Howie is also very particular about everything in his life down to the condition of his food.

Me: Howie, eat your green beans.

Howie: I can't eat these. They're missing their bodies.

When put like that I could see that some of them were somewhat squashed and malformed... wouldn't be a deterrent to most, but to Howie, the shape and appearance of your food matters, not just the flavor. Earlier that day he refused to eat some pineapple chunks because they "had holes in them."

Tonight I made pasta with bolognese sauce- this was my first attempt back in the saddle for cooking dinner, and I'd say it went fairly well. Josh and I have reflected on my complete lack of thoughtful cooking and food planning since April, when we started packing up our apartment in St Louis in preparation of moving. Our church has been so gracious to bring us many meals since we moved and Wren was born, but that's all done with now. Over these past months the kids have gotten far too comfortable with pizza, chicken strips, Cinnamon Toast Crunch, etc... it was time to bring that to a screeching halt and try to preserve their teeth and arteries in their tender age. Anyway I actually minced garlic today and did something more than popping a frozen pizza in the oven, and it felt good. Howie commented on how much he liked his dinner but then decided that he wanted to sit in Josh's lap and eat the spaghetti on his plate.

Josh: Howie, why don't you want to eat your spaghetti?

Howie: I just like yours. It listens to me.

Never knew that you need your food to turn a listening ear to you. And what exactly he was saying to it I don't know. But he makes us laugh a lot.