The M&M Story

A year ago we were hopeful that God would answer our prayers exactly the way we wanted. Or should I say, I was hopeful He would do what I say. How humbling to be reminded who is God! So it got rough, and Brian didn't get better. And now I must go through my first autumn without him. Eight years ago, Brian and I began dating in September, fell in love in October, and made plans for our future together in November. And last year I held his hand as he sat in a hospital bed in September, pushed his wheelchair and drove him to chemo in October, and said good-bye as he went to glory in November. Please pray for me this season. And encourage me and remember me as I trudge through a time that will bring inexplicable sorrow. Pray for Brian's family--his parents, his brothers--as they continue in their journey of grief. Pray for my children, as they continue to accept and make sense of their reality. Max tells me daily that he misses his Daddy. And sometimes he's mad and sometimes he

Baby "ththth" Originally uploaded by Maynor . Last summer, after much discussion and deliberation with Brian, we finally figured out that B had a special name for his pigs--"Ththth." Well, this summer, after I returned from California in June, I was surprised to hear that "ththth" had become "Gee." Now, you need to know that we are super original in our family when it comes to naming our special stuffed animals. When M was little and had attached himself to his tiger, Brian immediately named the little ball of material, Tiger. And when B attached himself to his little pig, it was obvious the little tyke was to be named Piggy. Now M called Tiger "Dido" for quite awhile until one day he became Tiger. Oh, what a sad day that was! It looks as though I must grieve again.

Yesterday M started swim lessons. He is not particularly fond of getting his head or face wet, but he did a super job practicing his kicks and walking along the wall. Later in the afternoon, we met Nana, Aunt Mimi, and the cousins at the pool and played for over an hour, jumping into the water and running through the sprinklers. Last night it was quiet in my house by 7:30 p.m. This morning nobody stirred until about 7:45 a.m. I heard B calling, "Mommy! Mommy!" I rolled out of bed to get him before he woke up M, and then proceeded to feed him breakfast, play with him, and drink a whole cup of coffee before I went in to see if M was still breathing. At 8:30, I tiptoed in, noticed his eyes were opened, but saw him slam them shut and pretend to be asleep (a first of many, I'm sure.) I let him "sleep" a few more minutes, and then went in again only to be greeted with the same scenerio. I asked if he wanted to get up and have breakfast for which he replied, "No,

Originally uploaded by Maynor . We just got back from an amazing trip to Colorado. It's such a serious blessing to be with family friends. Check out Max's pose.

Oh, what a week we've had. Today, after six days of no power on Crockett Drive, we finally moved back into our house. It seems as though we have the distinct privilege of trials in this life. I have directed countless shows in my lifetime, but never have I not been able to pull off a final performance. Until now. The Lord had other plans, and the big storm that knocked out over 125,000 last Friday included Westminster Christian Academy. And with that went the final performance scheduled for that night. We were scheduled to leave the next morning for Wheaton, and that we did. What a great blessing it was to see old friends and to see such great improvements to a fine institution. I walked through the new Beamer Center, admired the new Stupe, the stunning CPO and the snazzy Student Activities office. I also had a moment of grief, realizing the old MSC would never hear the voices of young adults discovering themselves. Well, maybe it was more like I wouldn't get to revis

Yesterday afternoon, we had the grand task of cleaning the house. Well, it was more like move-all-the-stuff-into-one-room-so-it-looks-neat cleaning. I asked Max and Briggs to go downstairs and pick up their toys because we had friends coming over later, and the basement was littered with train tracks, costumes, and blocks. I got them started and then headed upstairs to move all the laundry baskets into one room. A few minutes later, Briggs came upstairs, starving. When Briggs is hungry, it is best to feed him. I assumed the basement was still in need of cleaning, but I thought a quick snack would give him energy and then I would head down and help them. It really was quite messy. So I got Briggs situated with a snack, but as I stood in the kitchen, I heard interesting noises coming from the basement. It was either more toys being thrown about, or Max was really, truly picking up all the toys. I waited. The sound continued. A couple minutes later, Max came upstairs holding two objects.

Brian was asked to speak at Westminster's graduation. Here's the hard copy: I’d like to thank you, graduates, Mr. Marsh, for the honor of standing here this evening. It means a lot to me to be able to stand here, and as I reflect back on my six years here at Westminster—the same number of years as most of you—I see a history of love and respect and joy and graciousness that only comes from God. And I thank you for being his liaisons to me and to Susan…and to baby Max. I played junior high basketball in a very small school in a very small town in Alabama—We were the Warrior Academy Braves, and we ….stunk.---now this was a team where our best defensive move was making armpit noises during fast breaks to try to distract the opposing team…We wore the jerseys left over from the Varsity –they were so baggy on us that when you subbed in you and to pull your shirt up out of your shorts so that the officials could read the number. And yet we had this kid Pete, who was just astounding