Updates...

Well the girls are certainly having fun together. Too much fun, really. Naps are a mere nuisance when they could be wreaking more havoc about our little home. In the bottom picture, Brianna shouts a tip to Mia about us, "Hey, with the dogs we outnumber them!" In the top picture, Mia is simply working her Brown Steel.

Tomorrow is my first day back to work. I genuinely am worried about how Elise will manage. She doesn't feel all that great physically and the "twins" are not exactly BabyWise. If anyone can do it, though, it's Elise. She's strong. She's smart. She endured Mizzou.

Being in China with Mia and staying home these past two weeks has birthed in me a deep compassion for mothers who work at home. Yesterday, for example, Elise got to go to the doctor and so I had the unique task of watching both girls - which I've done before. But this timespan involved two feedings and two naps. I've logged the timeline below:

2:00 pm - bri goes down for a nap (not without a fight)

2:10 pm - begin prepping mia's food (chicken purree, carrots, pees - all natural - then bottle)

2:30 pm - finish feeding mia

2:35 pm - put mia down for a nap

2:39 pm - bri wakes up

2:39 - 2:55 pm - daddy stalls and lets her squak so that, in part, he can finally use the restroom

2:55 - get bri up

3:15 - begin prepping bri's food (oatmeal, organic banana, and store bought pees)

3:25 - mia wakes up while feeding bri

3:25 - daddy holds bri in one lap and feeds mia in the high chair

3:40 - "play time" on the living room floor

Compassion. It means, literally, to "suffer alongside."

So, yes, I invite your prayers for Elise and, yes, I - ahem - am quite ready to return to work. But I will miss those girls and all the little things, new things that they do each and every day. I am also extremely grateful for the abundant amounts of time that I did have away. What an incredible church I get to serve in - that they, again and again, bless our need to put family first.

About Mia:

* She has more flexibility than gumby. If she doesn't end up running the free world, then it's possible that she could star in Cirque du Soleil...or become the first female blue man. I'm not sure, but either would be cool.

* Mia also has major rhythm. Her favorite is the ABC song. Whenever it kicks on, she gets this smile and starts to rock back and forth. We've also written a little song together called "Diggin' to China" which she likes to sing in my lap and do her rocking jig. Don't get me wrong, she's into it for all of 10 seconds before she's off to steal whatever toy Brianna has.

* We pray for the day that she wakes up no longer afraid that no one will come for her.

* We took a family outing to the Oak Park Mall today. Holy Cow strollerville. It was mom rollerderby out there. Very few Dads were there, though - the bums. The few I did see were toting hot pink shopping bags. It was Valentine's Day. Anyhow...I guess this is what Moms do. They go to the mall, push their kids around in an attempt to keep them quiet, and then windowshop. All the while, signs hang overhead that read, "Treat Yourself - Indulge in a little Retail Therapy." Another one says, "Have a little more 'me' time." Which are both code for, "We know you can't possibly buy anything right now. So go home and unload the kids into Dad's arms with a look that says, 'whatever happened to you today couldn't possibly be worse than what happened to me' and come back ready to buy all that you deserve!"

So it was fun - kinda like I stumbled into a whole new underground subculture. And we fit right in - except for the fact that we were the Mac Truck, 18-Wheeler version in our double-long. Mia is so far out there in the front seat that I wish we had an in-stroller innercom: "Paging Mia Deeble....Paging Mia Deeble...You're wanted at the back of the stroller..."

* I went to the dentist on Monday. It was beautiful. I now love the dentist. You arrive and they let you wait. So you get to read. Then a pleasant person calls you in and invites you to lie down in a leather chair. It even has a neckrest. There's music - bad music, albeit, but thankfully it's not the Beijing Angelic Choir. And all you have to do, for the next hour, is open your mouth. You don't even have to talk much. In fact, it's preferred that you don't. Man, it's heaven. Third tier, really.

ANNNND, to top it off, they bring you a hot wash cloth to wipe your face clean. You know, they did this on my international flights too (and, yes, i was on a coach ticket). But, I gotta tell you...a warm towel goes a long way. I think it's the airline's way of saying, "You're finally here. You've worked hard just to get in this seat. So wipe your stress away." I think we should do this at heartland. At the end of the service, we could send the ushers down the aisle with carts, metal tongs and a smile. It would be our way of saying, "We're finally done."

In any event, i think it would be nice.