Strawberry Fields Forever

Thought I'd post a few more strawberry photos from our outing with our friend Jeanne on Thursday. Virginia Beach is an interesting mix of rural and convenience...the strawberry fields are minutes away from nice neighborhoods with all the shopping and restaurants you could want. We came home with 8 pounds--most of them got used in a strawberry bbq sauce for pulled pork. I wasn't sure about that but the recipe looked interesting and it WAS tasty! Soon it will be time for blueberries...

Getting Excited - Cullen's List

And now, five things that Cullen is very excited about these days.

1) Strawberries. Cullen's always been a big fan of them, but the ones that are grown right here in Virginia Beach are the best! (Dad is pretty excited, too. Ditto Smarty.)




2) The great outdoors. It's great fun to walk on grass and dirt, not only hardwood and carpet! There is so much new to experience!


3) Getting bigger and faster. Soon he'll be outrunning mom and dad. Soon he'll be stronger than them, too - he has big plans for when that day comes!


4) Learning to swim. Cullen has had swim lessons for the past couple months, and he loves it! Okay, the truth is he usually isn't so thrilled. But we know he'll be glad when he jump off the diving board, go spearfishing, etc.

5) Bearing the ring. If you've read (or seen) Lord of the Rings, you know that ring bearing is an honor only entrusted to little people. Since Kelly hasn't seen Cullen in a while, she thinks he's still small and harmless and hobbit-like. He's getting ready for the big day on June 14, when he gets to be part of the big shindig, with Madison at his side!

Stay tuned - next time it's Daddy's list.

Cullen's Mom

Cullen is blessed with a wonderful and devoted mom.

She always has Cullen's best interests at heart--meaning exceedingly close to her heart at all times.

She looks out for him--meaning she looks into the future and thinks about what he needs now to make sure his tomorrow is a happy one.

She is also (as our favorite preacher says) "Yoda smart"--meaning she has a lot of wisdom. He is already benefiting from this wisdom, though he may not realize it--as I understand it, though, kids begin appreciating their parents more and more each year, right?

I should note that she is much better looking.


Cullen is also blessed with a mom who is devoted to his dad. I'm so thankful for that.

Happy Mother's Day, Cheryl! You're the best mom a little boy could ask for, and the best a grown man could ask for too!

Spring Visit

Just some family photos of Cullen from my parent's visit last week, and visiting my grandparents. Check out how red my hair looks!!! No color!

Big Day Theory

Yesterday Cullen experienced a new place he enjoyed very much, which was a mini version of the Botanical Gardens...basically, a local nursery. Not a nursery with babies (he's been to those before) but a nursery with pots, plants, and flowers.

For the men who are reading this, don't worry--he didn't care about the flowers that much, what he enjoyed was hiking in the mud. At least, that's my summary. He was really having a great time between the mud, rocks, ramps, and stone pathways. It made me wish we were hiking Taum Sauk or simply Cowles Mountain (hmm, maybe even better).

Certainly Cullen's had bigger days. It was just a local nursery, and otherwise he was in normal routine mode. But I was thinking this morning that at his young age every day should be a big day for Cullen. Every day should hold some new experience for him, something new to learn.

As we get older, it's a little harder to have big days. We've seen it all. I think that's a huge reason that kids are so incredibly fun, we get to have big days through them. But I don't think that has to be the extent of bigness.

I hope that every day for me (and for you) will be a big day. If each day we are seeing something new in Christ, in His word--that's big. At this point in my life, I'm learning new things every day--and the list is still very, very long of what's left to learn. This in spite of plenty of college, seminary, and ministry experiences. We can be discouraged by our continual need to grow in Christ (instead of arriving at the end point)--or excited at the prospects.

That's my Big Day Theory. Now, some pictures...

* * *

These are pictures with Cullen's good friend, Balloon. He met Balloon weeks ago at a party. Balloon is getting older and slower, he doesn't fly so high anymore. But Cullen still loves him.




BONUS: In the mood to laugh? Here's one of the funniest things I've read lately: the lol theory.