June 14

Exactly 18 years ago tonight, Adam and I got home from dinner at Stacy's Cafe downtown. I told the baby-sitter who'd spent the evening with Abby and Logan that I didn't think we'd be at church the next morning because I was in labor.

I laid on the couch as the contractions came and went and increased in intensity. Adam turned on one of the "Rocky" movies because he was amused by the thought of me laboring as Sylvester Stallone ran up the front steps of the Philadelphia Museum of Art. His parents made the fastest drive on record from Lafayette to Pleasanton, and then off to the hospital we went to meet our third surprise baby.

Isaac arrived about an hour and 45 minutes after the clock struck midnight so today is really just his birthday eve, but the memories have always been so clear in my mind that I figured I might as well rehash them once again.

Today was, I think, a good birthday eve for our latest almost-adult. We went to church in the morning, and he played video games with Brady and a round of a computer game with Adam this afternoon. And then this evening, we all played cards after dinner and then gathered around the TV to watch the latest Pixar film, "Hoppers." And right now, I can hear him upstairs talking and laughing with Brady. It's a good sound. A content sound that instills a sense of wellness in my soul.

So on this birthday eve of my sweet Isaac, I'm just grateful: grateful for the road we've traveled together thus far --including the potholes, because character and faith are built amid struggles-- and grateful for the remarkable young man he is. And grateful that God gifted Adam and me with the privilege of shepherding him along his way.

June 13

Isaac was working at the Dairy this evening, so Adam, Brady, and I drove over for some ice cream after dinner.

I'd been looking forward to trying the limited cinnamon roll flavor ever since Isaac mentioned it last night, and was disappointed when the gal that took our order said they'd just run out. But she quickly followed that up by saying they had Oreo, so I settled for that instead. I had spotted Isaac holding a tablet taking walk-up orders so I didn't even request that he bring out our cones, so the whole outing felt like something of a downer. 

But I was pleasantly surprised when, a few minutes later, Isaac emerged from the building holding our order. It turns out that he switched roles as we were coming through and just happened to fill our order without knowing it was us.

It was an unexpected blessing to see his face up close in that moment. 

And knowing that he made that cone made it taste even better, even if it wasn't cinnamon roll ice cream.

June 12

I went to Costco with Abby and Isaac this morning.

I think I mentioned it previously, but Abby decided to get herself a membership a few weeks ago, and when she did, she added Isaac as a user. So I went went to the warehouse with them and watched as they went to the counter and they activated his membership.

It's surreal given that I can so clearly remember them as babies and toddlers who were completely reliant on us for everything they needed, but it's a blessing to see them adulting together now. And I am grateful that God is continuing to shape them into confident, competent young people. 

June 11

The pitching target that I ordered for Brady arrived this afternoon. 

Even though it was over 100 degrees today, he put it together and took it outside, and set it up inside the big blue net the boys have had for a number of years now. Although his shoulder was a bit sore from throwing 70 pitches during yesterday's game, he made a few practice throws and proclaimed that he thought it would work out just fine.

It's a gift to me to be able to see his solid work ethic in action. I don't know where the baseball journey will take him in the long run, but I appreciate his dedication to it in the right-now.

June 10

I had such a nice evening with my Isaac.

We started off by taking Brady up to his game in San Ramon. While we waited for said-game to begin, we did the kids' story walk around the (blessedly mostly shady) park. One of us read each of the panels aloud as we learned how the main character learned to better take care of himself and his fellow eggs. Totally a kids' story, of course, but fun nonetheless (particularly since it was 95 degrees out and blazing hot in the sun).

Then we sat down to watch the first three innings of Brady's game, which was a good one for his team. For his part, Brady pitched four innings and allowed two runs, and Isaac thought he looked really good. (As did I.) He also saw a whopping six pitches total across four at-bats, which yielded two hits. (A simpler way of saying that would be "he was 2 for 4 at the plate.") 

We had to leave early because I'd scheduled some Graduation/18th birthday (a little late for the former, a little early for the latter) photos at the Alviso Adobe Park on the other side of town with the amazing Racelle Campanelli. So we headed back to Pleasanton, had the shoot, and then he said he wanted Jack in the Box chicken strips for dinner, so we swung by the drive-thru on the way home after. 

Isaac is a truly special person, and I'm conscious that his phase as a full-time resident of our home is almost over. So I'm grateful to God for the extra time I got to have with him today, just soaking in all of his Isaacy-goodness.

June 9

I think I've probably mentioned it before but we're playing car roulette this summer. Since Abby's future car is on order and won't arrive for (at least) a few more weeks, we have four drivers and three cars to meet our transportation needs: Adam and Isaac both need to get to their respective work places, Abby needs to get to school, and I need to run errands and ferry Brady wherever he needs to go. 

Today Isaac had Adam's car, so I picked said-husband up from the train station this evening. And then we hop-skip-jumped downtown for dinner at Strizzi's.

I could immediately tell when he got in the car that he was mentally chewing on something, so I asked him about it during our meal and had the opportunity to serve as a sounding board. (I was right, for the record. I guess almost 24 years of marriage will do that!) 

We are called by God to be partners with our spouses, so I'm grateful for the opportunity to be a help to mine this evening. (And the salad was pretty good, too!)

June 8

It's a bit of a rarity to have all 15 members of a summer baseball team show up for a single game. Or at least that's been our experience.

So when --during my pre-game stroll around the park-- I noticed that all 15 boys were actually present this evening, I asked Coach Chris if I could take a picture. So here they are! Brady is the third boy from the left in the back row.

As I routinely note, it feels like time is flying by at warp speed, so I am grateful for opportunities that allow me to create tangible memories that I --and we-- can look back on.