The Fanning Four

 “I wanted a perfect ending. Now I've learned, the hard way, that some poems don't rhyme, and some stories don't have a clear beginning, middle, and end. Life is about not knowing, having to change, taking the moment and making the best of it, without knowing what's going to happen next. Delicious Ambiguity.”- Gilda Radner Tom and I like to dream about packing up and moving to St. John, USVI. We'd open a snorkeling business. We'd snorkel every day. They need missionaries there, right?!?! Snorkeling missionaries perhaps? Sometimes, when I have a hard day, I google the price of St. John homes. Yeah, in my dreams right? Recently, Tom and I made the decision that I will continue to be a stay at home Mom. The kids will be in school full time in the fall so it is technically possible for me to work part time. But I couldn't shake this verse I had heard years ago. Listen to Andy Stanley intro the verse:  I feel like God has called me to stay at h...

Me, My mother-in-law Jean, my Grandma Aileen, and my Mom Joan with the kiddos I'm thankful that I have a great Mom. She's my biggest cheerleader in life and is unwavering in her love and care for me and my family. There's no one like her.  I'm thankful that I grew up with two wonderful Grandmothers. Alice was spunky and funny and somehow had enough love and energy to go around for her 6 kids and bajillion grandkids. She left this earth almost six years ago- I saw her last on Mother's Day in 2007. Still miss her! My Grandma Aileen is still a huge part of my life. Wise and thoughtful and so proud of her family, she has a heart of gold. We love her! I hit the jackpot when I married Tom and got Jean as a mother-in-law. Kind and giving and a great cook too. She's always there for us and you couldn't dream of a better mother in law. Bethany is the little princess that ushered me into the world of motherhood and into a new type of love I hadn't ...

Update from the last post: Caleb went back to sleeping through the night after we told him to fix it himself and had him practice. Simple! Thanks for your help!! We've been saying for a few weeks that for whatever reason we think we are understanding better and better what Caleb is saying. He is definitely speaking to us as if there is a brain connection between what he wants to say and what is coming out of his mouth. He often gets the vowels close and the right number of syllables. So, within context, you can often figure out what he means. His teacher even mentioned this change. His speech therapist has also been encouraged. The progress seems small sometimes but it really is big and deserves celebration.  He's using his Ipad communication device more and more and he signs also. He's becoming quite the speller and he will often spell things out on the Ipad- mostly people's names at this point. He uses his ipad to answer questions in circle time at school, to as...