So Much For The "Father of the Year" Award

Dad, I'm smiling because I'll remind you of this whenever I do something wrong.


Evangeline and I are on vacation together this week while Kaia has a short week due to Thanksgiving. I was looking forward to some quality father - daughter time after being gone most of last week. Little did I know that we wouldn't even make it through a full day without an injury. Evie Lu decided to take a header off her chair as I was finishing lunch preparations. I turned just in time to see my little girl dive onto the wood floor from about four feet up.

The only injury is a fat lip, but I'm definitely more indulgent of Evie's requests today. She's fine, but I may not be. Ugh. (If anyone had been around, the comedic highpoint would have been me trying to check Evangeline for a concussion. She can't really count yet and there I was asking her how many fingers I'm holding up.)

Cheering On Her Team

I think our quarterback is cute!

Even though Evie Lu doesn't get to watch much football (or any), she somehow knows that her team is among the best. Or it could be that she just likes the pink jersey. Either way she looks good.

Little Miss Helper

And I haven't broken one dish!


Evangeline now insists on trying to do everything herself before she'll let you help her. Our morning routine consists of Evie putting on her own clothes (except for socks which give her fits), making her own breakfast (a layer of Cheerios before a sprinkle of Chex with fruit and milk), and picking out her hair accessories. This can be awesome or awesomely frustrating depending on how much of a hurry you are in that day.
For the next week Evie's aunt Kaitlin takes over morning duties as I'll be on the east coast. I'll miss Evie and Kaia dearly, but I know that Kaia's got a great helper while I'm gone.

Back to work dad.

When I Paint My Masterpiece

Hey look at me, no the other me!


Several months ago a member of the church asked if she could paint a picture of Kaia and Evangeline for an art show. We were flattered and agreed. Louise is a wonderful woman in her eighties who does beautiful work.
What you see in the picture above is from the art show. The biggest surprise was Louise gave the painting to Kaia! We now proudly hang the portrait in our home.

Hark The Evie Angel Sings

So what is my motivation for this role?


There are many drawbacks to Evangeline's status as a pastor's kid. Has she had to sit through council meetings? Yep. What are the odds we decide to skip church on a Sunday morning? Slim. But there are many advantages. She has a host of church great-grandmothers who constantly check in on her, she gets to play the drums before youth band rehearsals, and she gets to see her youth director Aunt Kaitlin all the time. Evie Lu also tends to be around when cool new stuff shows up at the church. Such was the case when the Christmas Eve costumes arrived this week.

I think I shine without the costume.


Karen, our children's ministry director, asked Evie if she wanted to try on some fancy outfits and my little girl had a ball. She was a star, a cow, a camel, a donkey, Mary, a king, and lastly an angel. Evangeline was clearly the most excited about being an angel. Consider this your invitation to come out to church at 5pm Christmas Eve to see if Evie is brave enough to go up for a costume. (No matter what she'll definitely do better than I did as a kid angel, since I got kicked out of the choir for turning my halo into a mohawk.)

Oh yes, I want to be an angel!

A Sick Mom And A Fairy Princess

Dad, you brought me to a mall to trick or treat? Ridiculous!


Kaia has been the driving force behind Halloween celebrations at our house, but this year I had to take the lead. Kaia was fighting the flu and it was up to Evie and I to carve the pumpkin and head out for free candy. The pumpkin wasn't a complete disaster (although my idea of carving a bear holding a shark got vetoed by both of the women in my life), but what was really fun was trick or treating.

A Fairy Princess doesn't like to stay in the frame.


I know my daughter is only two, but I have no desire to see her dressed as a "sexy genie" or any of the other too skimpy costumes that girls have to choose from. (Every boy costume has head to toe coverage, but girls pay just as much for not even half the material. End of rant.) What Evie really wanted was a set of wings and so she was sporting the coolest pink wings we could find. We met up with Erik, Cam, and Baby Reece who dressed up as the best looking family you'll ever see. Evangeline was a hit as we walked around the mall and did fairly well for herself on the candy front. (She even shared with her sick mom.)

Yup, I'm adorable.

A Sad Day

Evangeline's teacher Mrs. Ana is leaving today to move closer to family to support her husband who is fighting cancer. Without Mrs. Ana potty training would have been a much bigger struggle and Kaia and I have received more daily updates from Mrs. Ana than from any other teacher. We will miss her.