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We were so excited when my sister Tiffani decided to forgo the excitement of a Washington D.C. 4th of July and instead spend the holiday with us. We crashed a party in Winston-Salem hosted by a couple of friends there. They did a great job putting everything together and we had a fun time mingling with friends, eating potluck, playing with kids, and watching fireworks (though Tiff probably missed the lack of single young men in the crowd). We had a great time hanging out with Tiff for the rest of the weekend. Thanks Tiff for the visit!

Chris and I do not profess to be NASCAR fans. There is nothing wrong with NASCAR or any other racing sport, it just isn’t our cup of tea. However, when you live in Charlotte, home of the Lowes Motor Speedway, it is kind of hard to ignore the racing culture that prevails here. In the spirit of getting to know our neighborhood, we took the boys to an exhibition race at the speedway. Both boys are crazy about cars and we thought they would have a good time. I have never been to a race track before and I’ll have to admit that it was impressive. Chris rode in one of the cars once as part of an orientation exercise when he started his MBA and he said the speed was exhilarating. Riding at 180 mph, riding someone’s bumper, and never using a brake makes your heart race. The boys loved the cars but the noise proved to be too much for Davin. We opted for an early exit and opted for ice cream at Chick-fil-a instead (another Southern classic). We headed back to the track to watch fireworks. It was ...

Rowan took his first baby steps into the world of sound this week. On Wednesday, we met with his audiologist to receive the exterior device for his cochlear implant. Although he had the interior device surgically implanted over a month ago, Rowan hasn’t been “hearing” yet because he needed the exterior device to make everything work. We are so excited for this process to start. It doesn’t happen all at once; we will have weekly appointments for the next six weeks and at each session he will get “turned up” a little more. His initial experience went better than expected. We weren’t sure how he would respond and there are always “what ifs” looming in the back of your mind, but Rowan responded beautifully. He wasn’t alarmed by the new stimuli but he was definitely aware of something new. It was a moment for excitement and even a few tears (I was doing pretty well until one of the audiologists started crying and then there was no stopping me!). The whole process is astounding; it is really...

Signs that summer is here (or nearly so): two boys eating strawberry ice cream cones in a Radio Flyer red wagon.

Chris was called away for yet another business trip (there are still more to come) and my sister Amy came to entertain us while he was gone, as task that she accomplished admirably. We had a great time playing with Aunt Amy; we went for walks, explored Charlotte, played in the park, and had some lovely “sister” moments. Thank you, Amy, for the wonderful visit!

The past few months have been a little long. Since the end of April, Chris has traveled off and on for nearly five weeks and he has one or two more trips to make. I was worried about how the boys would handle such a long separation but so far they have done pretty well. Though Davin has sad moments, wondering why Daddy has to go away and thinking he is never coming back (six weeks is practically an eternity for a little boy’s brain), he has done well in his new role as “man of the house.” Sometimes I take for granted his sweet personality, but I am so grateful for Davin’s thoughtful ways (at least thoughtful for a four year old).

Last Sunday marked a moment of transition: Rowan attended nursery. For our friends not of our faith, nursery is a church class for children ages 18 months to 3 years. It is the first class away from parents and it can be a moment of some trepidation as to how the child will respond to the new environment. With Rowan’s recent surgery and consistent moments of separation anxiety, I was unsure as to how he would respond to two hours away from mom and dad and had strategized multiple ways to handle the situation. However, I felt prompted to keep it simple and easy: take him to nursery, gauge his response, and leave as soon as possible. After our experience with Davin, Rowan surprised us. The kids were playing with play dough at the table and Rowan was so excited to join them. He soon forgot that Chris and I were in the room, so we decided to take our leave, half expecting to hear him wail but no cry came. Two hours later, we picked him up happy and exhausted. I’m trying not to let Rowan’s ...