my kingdom for a horse

this is isaac's new laughing face. eyes clenched, teeth bared, cheeks round.

here it is again. ryder is listening to learn.

ryder loves the sling. he gets to be held all the time, and looks dang cute in the process.

these are his new leg warmers. annie thinks they are "super cute". i think he looks like he is about to bust out on the cast of fame.

an action shot during time at the park.

the dinosaurs roam at quail botanical gardens

ryder is still pretty excited, but isaac is a little bored.

our friend jenny and her daughter cora (along with husband tim and son nate) came to camp at the beach this week and we got to visit on monday.

although i used to think it was a good idea, we will not be going camping as a family any time soon. isaac loves eating dirt and trying to touch the campfire.

i once read somewhere that your kids will be your greatest teachers. like it or not, i am afraid that is true. isaac continues to make me his padawan learner like yoda to luke. the most recent lesson: getting your own way.

like most people, isaac likes it when the world conforms to his preferences. give him what he wants, and nobody will get hurt. on the other hand, stand in his way, and he will make you pay.

we are not talking about violent coups or anything like that, but much more subtle battles that happen on a daily basis. like the campfire thing, or any other situation for that matter. i have to walk half step behind him most of the time, gaurding but not violating his space. the instant i reach my hand in to correct him, it gets swatted away like shaq in the key.

when you think about it, we all have this insatiable lust for control, this craving to be king of our own kingdom. it is a marketer's dream come true , because you deserve to have it your way. our world is overrun with little heirs and heiresses, all vying for their share of the estate.

today is a day not only to celebrate jesus' entrance into jerusalem, but also to remember that the messiah she got was much different than the one she was hoping for: the one who would come and kick the holy crap out of the romans, establish israel as a blessing, not unto all nations as she was originally designed, but wholly unto herself, unto her own kingdom. instead we look forward to good friday, a day marking victory, not through politics or power, but through suffering unto the point of death. a day of reconciliation, and invitation to submit our own kingdoms to the new creation, to bend the knee to a good king, to subject ourselves once again.