It’s been so long since I’ve actually written my thoughts or recorded any recent happenings with our family, so I thought I’d take a little break from posting pictures (although some favorite shots of our ocean trip will be posted soon) and give everyone a little update. Hopefully it won’t bore you all to tears.

Antonio has his two bottom teeth! They are really cute. They came in only a few days apart from each other, and those were brutal days. I think he must be working on some more, because he’s been very needy and clingy. I’ve been wearing/holding him lots because he always wants to be up next to me (he’s sleeping on my lap right now). He’s also scooting all over the place, and quickly. I’ve been fishing lots of new foreign objects out of his mouth since he’s gained this ability to be mobile. It’s fun to see him getting around, but definitely keeps me more on my toes!

Kyrie is just having fun being a cute little 2-year-old, with tantrums in between. Her sweet moments make up for all the challenging ones. She’s talking so clearly and seeming so grown-up to me. I can’t believe how quickly she’s grown, even after every grandmother told me that they grow up way too quickly.

We’re doing fine in Spokane, enjoying the company of family and friends. Lately I’ve been feeling a bit out of place, anxious to have a home of our own again. I guess I feel homesick, but I’m not sure what home I’m missing. It’s not Monroe (though I do miss Hollie and the Amos kids terribly), and it’s not the house we packed up and left in May — it’s a home we’ve never lived in yet, but I want to find out what it is, where it is, and start making memories of our family in it. I’m really appreciative of the hospitality of family members, but there is only so much hospitality we can expect a family to extend, even if they are our loving relatives. I hate feeling like I’m imposing. I want to take a turn to open up my doors to my family and friends, cook them a meal, and serve them. When I think of what I’d like most about living in Spokane, it’s having the opportunity to have people over. We’re somewhat homeless here, and that makes me feel we have nothing to offer others, but that they’re always only giving to us. I want to change that. I want to be able to give to them. Okay, I should stop before this turns into a book. Suffice it to say, I will be thankful when this season of our life is over and we get settled again. I love being spontaneous to a degree, but I think Kyrie and Antonio suffer a bit from it.

Dinner is about to be served, so that about wraps it up for us.

The recent GAFCON statement has my head twirling a bit.

I am not sure what this will mean for Anglicanism, but I am a bit concerned. I share some of the concerns that Archishop Williams and Bishop Wright, as well as others, have voiced (see some responses to GAFCON here).

Anglicanism has always had great diversity, and while I agree that communion needs to be broken with classic liberals, I worry that this is not just Anglican-style schism. One of the most beautiful things about Anglicanism is that it is quite diverse. Now I realize there are limits to this diversity, but I wonder where the limits will be drawn. I don’t want Anglicanism to become another evangelical denomination. Evangelicalism is just one strain of Anglicanism, and while in many ways, I am in that strain, I find much of benefit in the Anglo-Catholic and latitudinarian strains.

I often find myself agreeing more with Jim Wallis than with Os Guinness. Will that mean that I will be labeled as a liberal within the new regime because I am more liberal in the areas of economics, the environment, and politics? I find myself agreeing more with the sacramentality of Schmemann, Waterland, and even Pusey than with Stott. Will I be labeled as a Catholic? (Catholics seem to be tolerated, and if you’re in San Joaquin, slightly lauded, but how long will that last?)

My reading of the Scriptures often has me agreeing more with liberals than with evangelicals when it comes to the way of Jesus. How much latitude will there be to follow the Scriptures wherever they go–even when that leads away from evangelicalism?

I am finding it increasingly more difficult for my faith to have a home.

Here’s my regular contribution to the ol’ blog. A healthy dose of cuteness, in photos.

Here’s Antonio sleeping in a rather cute position.

And here he is, simply looking cute in the Moby.

Here’s Kyrie walking through the woods in north Idaho.

She looks cute and small standing on a big stump.

After the hike, we went to the lake where the kids had a great time wading and/or swimming.

Kyrie and David tried to keep their clothes dry as they walked into the water.

Eventually I remembered that I had packed a swimsuit for Kyrie.

Antonio and Grandpa hung out together for a while.

This morning, as we were snuggling in bed, I smiled at Kyrie.

She said to me, “Mommy, you have bunny teeth.”

Kyrie: “Mama, where’s my other yellow sock?”
Me: “I don’t know, sweetie.”
Kyrie: “Maybe it’s in heaven?”

We can all agree on that. (Click below for pictures — there are a lot, so I decided to make a cut.)

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Most of my friends are Ron Paul fans, and I have to admit I find the guy fascinating. I watched his fundraising drive last year closely, and I have somewhat followed his campaign. I’ve known about him since college through my friend Nathan and through Scary Gary’s work in his campaign. I think he might be just what this country needs–a start at a big change. That said, I think I want that more for shock value. I like a lot of what he says, but I also find much with which to disagree.

Let’s just say I’ve been rethinking economics over the past five years (incidentally, about the time I joined the blue party). Rachel and I were discussing Ron Paul this evening, which led into a conversation on socialism vs. capitalism (along with some communism and fascism). I was mostly talking about the problems I see (biblically) with a “free market.” Lo and behold, I came home to see Doug Jones had blogged some of these things in a critique of Sowell’s economics. I haven’t had the chance to read Jones’ other critiques of Sowell, but this hits it on the head. The free market will work great in the resurrection, I’m sure, but sin will always mess it up here.

For me, one of the biggest problems I have with the libertarian way of thinking is its focus is on me. My rights. We have certain rights, and the government is taking them away. Okay, sure. I understand the sentiment. The recent bans on spanking and homeschooling in California drive me up the wall. As the Five Man Electrical band sang, “Hey! what gives you the right!” But, I question if the “American Dream” is a really a “right” we should have. Don’t get me wrong. I strongly desire those things: the perfect car, home, and job, but do I really have an “inalienable right” to pursue wealth at that level?

As I said to Rachel, the platform of the Republicans is “You can be rich!” I really like this idea. The problem is that the way to get there will often trample the poor.

The Democrats say to the poor, “You don’t have to be poor!” So who does their plan screw over?–well, the rich, and…me…and a lot of you. People that aren’t poor–we say we are, and we all have our financial problems, but we aren’t homeless, and in America, you always have the ability to pull yourself out of poverty. This isn’t Bangkok or Bogota.

I don’t want democratic style socialism. My middle class living might go down to lower middle class. That would be annoying. I would feel even more poor (such a relative term).

But is it such a bad thing to sacrifice my potential wealth for the sake of the poor? If Jones’ is right in his exposition of James, and I think he is,* that’s exactly what we’re called to do.

* I know, I too am shocked I’m finding so much common ground with Doug Jones lately.

The day you all thought would never come has finally arrived.

I thought this was a funny statement from the Washington State Convention:

“Early speakers made numerous references to President Reagan and God, but none to President Bush, whose low approval ratings could be a drag on the GOP ticket in November.”