Father's Day

It was a gray and rainy morning in Duluth.  Eli didn't make it home before we left for church (because he's been working overnights), so we left him a bagel and cream cheese treat to come home to, then spent the wet and soggy morning at church.  It didn't look like the sun would ever come out, but by mid-afternoon it was suddenly a glorious day!  What a pleasant Father's Day surprise :)

Eli opened some presents and cards and we enjoyed hanging out.  It's been awhile since we've spent time together (because overnight shifts are brutal) so we felt blessed to have a few hours on Father's Day to get caught up.

Eli got a book from each of the boys.  The book from Caleb is called My Dad is a Superhero by Ruby Brown, and I think we read it approximately 38 times yesterday alone.  Caleb loves it!  He loves superheroes in general, and he thinks the Dad in the book is Superman.  Just for the record, I'm perfectly okay with our son making a connection between his Daddy and Superman :)

Because it was so nice outside, we decided to grill burgers and eat dinner on the deck.  It's always a lot of work to do dinner on the deck - keeping a toddler away from the grill and its mesmerizing flames, keeping a toddler from throwing footballs at the grill, keeping a toddler from stepping on a baby whose lying on a blanket in the middle of everything, keeping a toddler from slamming his fingers in the door as he goes in and out repeatedly bringing every single ball in the house outside...  - but it's usually worth it.

A highlight of our dinner on the deck was the prayer over our meal.  Let me first explain that, randomly throughout the day, Caleb will often list all the animals at the zoo.  "Lion!  Tiger!  Colobus monkeys!  Lemurs!  Wolf!"  (And yes, he does know the difference between colobus monkeys and lemurs and gibbons and langurs and spider monkeys and...he's basically a monkey genius.)  He shouts the names of the animals, and he's started the habit of doing this whenever we say it's time to pray.  So we've started the habit of thanking God for all the animals at the zoo whenever we pray.  Last night at dinner was no exception.  I said, "Okay, Caleb, let's pray."  He instantly started the list: "Colobus monkeys in trees!  Lemurs!  Mosquitoes!  Turtles!  Concubines in trees!"

Yes, you read that right.  He said it clear as day.  Eli and I both turned and stared.  "What?" I asked Caleb, who was continuing his list.  Eli wasted no time in asking me, "What kind of zoo are you taking them to???"

After thinking for a moment, I determined that he meant porcupines.  There are two kinds at our zoo, the North American porcupine and the Mexican porcupine, the latter of which actually spends considerable time in the trees in their exhibit.  That must be what he meant.  At least, that's what we're telling ourselves :)

So the dreary day turned into a sunny evening and we celebrated Daddy Horn with books and burgers and porcupines in trees!

Happy Father's Day, Beloved.  We love you with a fierce love.