ouweeeee!

Last week, Kayla had her first major injury. Poor thing tripped and cut her foot open on who-knows-what on our kitchen floor. So much for going to the grocery store, we ended up spending the whole afternoon lounging in bed, squealing dramatically..."ouweeee!!!!! ouweeeee!!!!"

"ouweee....look at my foot mama!"



"It hurts!!!!"



"I can't go on...."



"...(oh, look, a hanger)..."



"No really...I can't go on."



"No pictures, please...just leave me here to my misery"

***********

Our little drama queen. *sigh* too bad. We really needed those groceries, too. Luckily, we were able to scrape by with what was left in the cupboard that night for dinner. Mmmm-mmm good, bagels and tofu.



Pssst. For those of you who are dialing us now demanding we take Kayla to the ER for a tetanus shot, here's a shot of the foot on day two. See? Amazing what a little soap and water can do.

24 hours later and Kayla is back to her old self. Look out, grocery store! Tonight, we feast!

"pak" in the day: part 2!

Today Sam and I celebrate our fourth year of marriage. As we look back, we decided to do a special Pak in the Day of our wedding ceremony in Hawaii. For those of you who missed it, didn't know us then, or even if you were there with us, please enjoy!



Pastor Lief did our ceremony twice, in Seattle the first time, and for our one year anniversary here, in Hawaii, for round two.



That piggy back beach shot was actually quite exhausting to stage, but the end result looks romantic and spontaneous, don't you think?



My brother KJ was diagnosed with Autism at the age of 2. It was great to see him overcome one of his bigger fears of large crowds to be able to take part in our ceremony.



Not sure how the photographers made us all look so glamorous that day, but this is definitely how I will always remember it.



This beach was across from my family's house in Hawaii, where we had the wedding. They sold it later that summer; the wedding was the last time I was there.




We know, we know its hard to imagine there was life before Kayla (especially from the looks of this blog!) but believe us, there was! And what a wonderful life it was (and still very much is!) Here's to the start, in part, of it all...

1up

What's got Kayla so mad?



Maybe this has something to do with it...

prosperity gospel: "a bunch of crap called gospel"

We recently had the privilege of Pastor John Piper speak at our church for a conference presented by The Resurgence, a theology ministry started by Mars Hill Church. and it simply blew us away. I was amazed by his preaching and passion for the Gospel in the bits and pieces of his sessions I could catch while running around working the conference. Recently during a discussion about the Sufficiency of God, this sermon was mentioned. In the words of a fellow blogger... Prepare to take some strong medicine. Pastor Piper pulls no punches.

Romans 5:2-5 Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. More than that, we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.

new year, new school

There is nothing more terrifying for a first time mom than being at a preschool PTA meeting for one-year-olds, listening to your parent coordinator tell you about how to pick a preschool for your child. Because yes, Kayla goes to preschool and yes at 18 months she's already behind, and yes,the placements for next September are procured at the end of March.



So anyway, there I was, wondering to myself since when gumming on plastic food and throwing sand came to be considered school. Bewildered as those around me debated the various factors to weigh when scouting out preschools: classroom layout, curriculum options, teaching philosophy. It was beyond me what curriculum options or teaching philosophies there might be for someone who thought my toothbrush was a baby doll.



For those of you not privileged enough to be in on this nightmare, let me enlighten you on a process they call "registration". First you research preschools in your area. Then you pick three or four you really like. Then you schedule a classroom tour with the parent coordinator to see if their classroom would be a good fit for your child. Then you fill out applications for all preschools you wish to apply for, and get offered a spot based on the random lottery number assigned to you by the preschool association. Once offered a spot, you must turn in a deposit within one week of the offer, or they will give your spot to the next child on the list.



Now those who know me know that I disdain all forms of alpha-stay-at-home-mom agendas and simultaneously am obsessed with redeeming all forms of alpha-stay-at-home-mom agendas. It goes without saying that I immediately went home that night, researched, visited, and applied to four different placements and ensured Kayla's spot in of course, my top pick. Naturally.



And yet I can't help wondering where exactly in this picture the education is taking place. I am having a hard time reconciling Kayla's premature preschool adventures with the heart transformation and nurturing of the mind I really desire for her.

Deuteronomy 11:18 Fix these words of mine in your hearts and minds; tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads.19 Teach them to your children, talking about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.



Unfortunately, training a child in the way they should go is a lot harder and more complex than picking the right preschool. As a parent, it is much easier to focus on the agendas and to-do lists. What is really difficult is the daily, hourly, moment-by-moment instruction that we are truly called to. I am constantly asking myself, am I truly equipped to shepherd a living being, an eternal soul?

Maybe I should just not take myself too seriously.

partay!

Ecclesiastes 2:24

A man can do nothing better than to eat and drink and find satisfaction in his work. This too, I see, is from the hand of God

No, thats not the "Drunk of the Week" from the latest Stranger. That's just Kayla at her friend Jalen's 1st birthday party this past weekend. And that queasy look isn't from one too many shots. Its from an overload of cheesy jalepenos and chicken nuggets. Now we don't usually let Kayla K.O. on fried bits of cholesterol, but it was a special occasion and we decided to bestow a little grace on our bundle of love. Needless to say, she took full advantage.



It's been a relatively calm last few weeks here at the Pak house. Sam's been working a regular schedule, Kayla's been sleeping like a champ at night, and the laundry is miraculously getting done. I always get to feeling a little guilty when life feels too good, and things are going so well. But like it says in Ecclesiastes, there truly is a time for everything, and if God was giving us a season of rest, then rest we would do. And no better way to recharge your batteries than to party it up Issaquah style with a little cake, a little baby, and a little XBOX 360.



Kayla couldn't have agreed more. Always the social butterfly, she spent most of the evening charming her fellow partygoers with her "everything I do you love, right?" antics. As for Sam and Liz, this became the perfect opportunity to indulge in a rarely performed act of eating-a-real-meal-with-two-hands while-sitting-down. That's all thanks to our friend Wing, who patiently stacked dominoes for her to knock over for a good half an hour. (thanks, Wing)



There were quite a few toddler toys around, much more awesome than the one's Kayla has at home. Alas, all our one and a half going on 21 year old wanted to play was "Rock Band" on XBOX 360 with her Dad and his friends. You gotta hand it to her, though, that girl's got EXCELLENT form! (note the chicken nugget in one hand...)



Who knew rest and relaxation could be so exhausting? Once again, this is not a drunken party scene, just Kayla and the guest of honor, both up a little past their bedtimes and just too pooped out to party any more. Happy birthday, Jalen, and thank you to the Wu's for throwing yet another fabulous party. Truly, no one does it better. Three cheers for first birthdays, for working hard and playing hard, and for living life to the glory of God.

fanfestful outing

Habakkuk 3:18-19- yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will be joyful in God my Savior. The Sovereign LORD is my strength;

I bet you didn't even know the Mariner's still had fans! Well, apparently they do and apparently, they're us! And not rain nor sleet nor snow nor blistering cold could keep us away from taking part in the annual Mariner's Fanfest at Safeco Field.



Kayla mostly entertained herself by people watching and fixating on her new mittens, but it was much too cold and crowded to do much running around. Sam was having fun, too, but he hid it well.



We tried our hand briefly at "playing catch" with Kayla out in right field. Not sure if she got that it was all a game or if she was just insulted that we were throwing things at her. At any rate, we decided it might be a bit early to be getting Kayla her own glove. I guess we'll just work on switch hitting this year.



After that fantastic display of eye-hand coordination , we decided to let Kayla sit out on the pitching portion of the day. Sam, on the other hand, well, not to be a boastful wife, but you can see who the true sportsman of the family is.



One of the highlights of being a parent is seeing your kid light up with joy when you take them some place "really fun", or the anticipation you feel when you know they're about to experience something "really awesome". Kayla, as you know, is quite the bubble burster on that particular aspect of parenthood, but we don't mind. After all, it keeps us humble and reminds us where our real joy is supposed to be anyway.