Articles July-August

Even with a move that took over my life the past two months, I still managed to read a lot! I don't always save what I read, but there's still plenty to peruse here.

Politics/News

MoTab on Red Square -- these are some interesting (and depressing) essays by a friend of mine about new laws in Russia prohibiting missionary work.

How the haters made Trump -- strong language warning at the beginning, but it's a really interesting article. Perhaps the most interesting part to me is

 But no matter how vigilant Nunberg was, he told me, Trump would never let him forget that he’d been the one who let the most embarrassing story about him happen. Eventually, he said, he began using those opportunities to encourage his boss to finally pull the trigger on a presidential campaign.

“That story was bad,” Trump said one day while the two met at Trump Tower.

“Yeah,” Nunberg conceded, “but think about how bad McKay is gonna look when you run.”

Trump appeared to dwell on that for a moment, and then nodded. “That’s true.”

Over 30,000 Muslims in the UK marched against ISIS -- just in case you thought they all supported the Caliphate.

Welcome To America -- This was a great video about what some people have done for refugees.

Missionaries save dozens from carbon monoxide -- I love this story, and I love that I know one of the missionaries involved!

Religion

Review of "Future Mormon" -- I picked up Adam Miller's Future Mormon in June at my parents' house, and the sections I read were really interesting. Every now and then, there was something that bothered me that I couldn't quite put my finger on, and I think this article articulates my feelings well.

We Aren't God's Only People -- I liked this blog post because it seemed to catch the essence of the 13th article of faith. I think that if we truly have the gift of the Holy Ghost, we will be able to glean truth from every source.

Reflecting on the Marks of Jesus -- lots of beautiful ideas in this.

The Nature of Wisdom -- this is a lengthy quote from a man named William Arkle. I need to go back and reread it. Incidentally, ever since I read a few articles about a year ago about Wisdom in the Old Testament, I often replace with word "Wisdom" with "feminine divine" when I read to see what other insights could come from that. (Sometimes that works better than other times.)

Daughters in Christ -- I liked a lot of Fair Mormon addresses, and this one had a really good historical overview of how the priesthood/womanhood divide came to be. I feel like these are exciting times as we learn more about the priesthood and how women are involved in it.

More Effective Apologetics -- I thought this was interesting. Maybe not quite fair to past apologetics, but good points notwithstanding.

Faith-Centered Dialectics -- I really liked the idea of seeing people, rather than just lists of attributes of people. (And actually, it's discussion of dialogue like this that helps me understand the concept of safe spaces, even though I think they can be used inappropriately.)

Marriage/Family

Conception -- I really liked this article my mom sent me. It's been interesting seeing how Kevin and I have adopted different roles. I think if I had married a musician or more absent-minded engineer, I would take on certain responsibilities in our marriage. But he's taken over a lot of those responsibilites, so I've realized that my main job is to conceive ways to make things fun and beautiful. I get to be the one to plan vacations, to make decisions about preschool, to invite people over, to look for recipes. It's not hard work, but I think we notice if it doesn't happen. This article helped me feel some stewardship over these responsibilities, so I was grateful to read it.

Making a Marriage Work with a Traveling Spouse -- I don't have a traveling spouse per se, but Kevin has traveled a lot for conferences, so I've had some experience with it, and I liked her advice. I think it would also apply for anyone with a busy spouse (man, those of you with a husband in medical school, I salute you!).

Why do we judge parents for putting kids at perceived but unreal risk? -- This is why every time I remembered, I left a suggestion in the box at the library to have a drop off drive through so I didn't have to leave the car to return books (you never know who might judge you for leaving your kids in a locked car with the windows rolled down for 90 seconds). Well, and because I didn't like having to walk to return the books.

Screen time is bad -- some kids really like screens way too much. So have them play with real legos, not minecraft or touchpads. (I actually didn't care for this article too much, but it helps me remember to be careful with screen time.)

Social

Small Talk -- ugh. Guys. This is the worst part of moving (besides the actual physical moving part and trying to find a good grocery store). People have been really friendly, but I get tired of asking them the same boring questions and giving the same boring answers. If it were up to me I'd hand them a business card with the answer to all the basic questions and then just talk about Harry Potter. But I guess it's important to go through these motions.

15 tips for making friends after a move -- This move has gone pretty well, and I think a lot of that is thanks to advice like this. I'm sure there will be times where I feel so painfully lonely I can hardly bear it, but so far it's been fine.

Actually, the hardest part has been group settings of any kind. I can strike up conversation with any friendly stranger and jump into a pretty good chat, but being in a group is (and, frankly, always has been) torture. I sit there fretting while they're talking about stuff I have nothing to contribute to. Do I ask what they're talking about? Do I ask them questions about themselves? Do I just sit there? Today, the answer was follow Joseph around at the playground at his insistence. But when it comes to groups, I think there's a lot of merit to this quote from The Secret Life of Amanda K. Woods:

Groups of people are like herds of horses, or cows. They sniff the wind. They are alert for danger. They keep out strangers. They don't know why, they just do. And they all think as one. If one of them didn't, he or she would turn into a stranger....She has to pretend she has been at your school forever. She must stand around with all the girls who stand around, and listen to the conversation but not say one word. She should just look interested and friendly—that is very important—and look like she knows about everything that is going on.

She should do this for weeks. Months, maybe. Finally, one day, someone in the group will make a mistake and talk to her....Then she can answer. She should just respond to what is said. The important thing isn't what she says back. It's the way she acts. This is crucial. She shouldn't act surprised, or startled, or anything like that....After that she can say a few things....She should ask the other girls about themselves....But what she asks shouldn't be too personal....Then in about a month, she can invite the person who is the friendliest to do something with her.

I think you should talk before that, for sure! But I think the key is to be where the people are, and act like you belong there. But not be overbearing about it.

Speaking of all this,

New Research on Overcoming Loneliness -- with very few exceptions, the times I've overcome loneliness have been when I've reached out (often repeatedly) rather than been reached out. And it's worth the little bit of embarrassment.

Let Your Friends Be Friends -- This struck a chord. I've wondered if I did what I needed to to make friends like this the past few years, friends that I can still count on, and them on me. I don't know if I'll ever completely depend on friends the way I do on siblings, but I'm grateful for the glimpses I've had of what that feels like.

Other

Preston residents still like Napoleon Dynamite way too much -- I recently was talking with a guy from Scotland, and as we were running out of small talk, I asked, "Are people from Scotland so proud of Harry Potter?" I was thinking about this article when I asked that, but I decided to not bring it up.

How to Get Through Chemo -- My favorite line in this is "I may not have been stronger than my symptoms that day, but I was sillier. And that, it turns out, was enough."


Books: I have not been good about finishing books this summer. I didn't even get enough for the adult Summer Reading Program (though I amassed thousands upon thousands of points from kids' books). New Seeds of Contemplation took a lot out of me, I guess, so I really only skimmed books (even All the Light We Cannot See, which I have been planning to read for 2 years). Right now, I am finally reading All Creatures Great and Small, which my aunt gave me 6 years ago at a bridal shower. I confess I never made it past the first chapter where he helped birth a calf. But after giving birth a few times and changing lots of diapers I have a stronger stomach, and I think it's a delightful book. And very British.

Recipes:

I should be better about saving recipes, but I'm not. So here's what I can remember (just from this last week, haha).

Mel's Kitchen Cafe E-Book -- I have had so much fun looking through this! If you ever have a stick of butter lying around that needs to fill the measure of its creation, I recommend her Cheesy Garlic Drop Biscuits. Best food I've ever made (Kevin agreed).

This was pretty good pasta salad. I think I like the balsamic taste better than the red wine taste, and I switched out a few vegetables here and there and added parmesan, but it's always nice to at least have a recipe on hand. Just in case the other 3 at the potluck don't suit your fancy. (As I always say, the church is only as true as its pasta salads.)

I made my first quinoa dish tonight, and it was pretty good! I don't know why I called it jaguar meat, but Joseph tried some partially due to that name.

How to pick the best watermelon -- I don't know how much longer they will be in season, but hopefully this will help one last time!



And in closing, the Onion sums up my life perfectly. As usual.

Man Looks on Helplessly as Friend Tells Him Story He's Already Heard -- I reread books way more than I read new books. I rewatch movies way more than I watch new movies. And yet there is nothing more frustrating to me than hearing the same story twice. So I had a good laugh over this.

Our Monkey Matthew

It's been about a month since Matthew turned one, so it's definitely time to talk about him again!

We had a fun little birthday for him. He really likes cars (Hot Wheels especially), so we decided to do a car theme for his birthday. I made a very manly light red car cake for him, and Joseph and I decorated the main level with cars. For his birthday, we had a few friends over and played name that tune with cars (car sounds, at least . . . it was chaos) and then had races where people pushed Hot Wheels across the carpet with their noses.

this is the 3rd transportation cake I've made in 2 years.

Radiator Springs and lots of different automobiles

He mostly liked the frosting

Here are some fun facts about our boy:

-He is a monkey! He finally figured out how to climb up the stairs while Kevin was in Spain, and ever since he's been drawn to them like a magnet to a fridge. Up and down and up and down. Any stairs will do. We definitely have had to be more careful about where we leave the step stool.

-He is so friendly! Here is how church often goes: wrestle, wrestle, wrestle, chase him down a few times, listen to some fussing, hand him to some random stranger, and then he sits calmly for the rest of the meeting. I have lost track of how many times he's fussed because he's wanted someone else to hold him. It has actually been super helpful for us as we've tried to make friends here in Connecticut.

-He is a speedy crawler! Once he's free of our grip, he shoots off like a pistol. Sometimes he has this really funny plodding crawl where he very deliberately raises his hands up high as he moves.

of course, the best way to crawl is with a superhero cape on one's head

-He could walk if he wanted to. Three weeks ago, we got him to walk back and forth to us for a few steps, but he lost interest, especially with the move. I see how quickly he scoots along the couch and think about how fast he already crawls and I have to remind myself I don't necessarily want him walking just yet. UPDATE: he's walking now. a few steps at a time, at least.

-He is pretty little! Just like Joseph. In fact, it caused a bit of a problem at the doctor's office when it looked like he hadn't gained any height since his last appointment. I've been pretty skeptical about height measurements ever since Joseph was 19 inches at birth and 20.5 inches 2 days later, so I wasn't too worried. Especially because it was a different nurse who came in and measured him (a lot more accurately than the nurse at most of the appointments). (Same with his head. I even went home and rechecked and I really really think she measured wrong. If his clothes don't fit over his head then that means he's grown, right?) But the doctor was worried, and she was worried about Joseph's heart murmur that got resolved a year ago, and they tried over and over to draw Matthew's blood for hematocrit whatnot and it never worked (even though I had just given him water and nursed him, and they complained he wasn't hydrated), and so on. On the way out of the parking lot, I told Joseph, "Well, that was zero fun, huh." He agreed, since he had gotten 3 shots, and he likes the word "zero."

He didn't even bleed enough to get a bandage! It was the worst.

For comparison, here is Joseph at the same age. The matching outfit was a coincidence!

-He is a ham! He knows what will make us laugh and definitely does it over and over. And even if it doesn't make us laugh, if it makes him laugh that's good enough. One of our favorites is his sniffy face.

He knows where hair things go!

someday I'll have a girl.

If it makes us laugh, he'll keep doing it!

-He has so many words! It is so so so hard to record them, but at last count he had at least a dozen. Mama, daddy, baby, peekaboo, "thereheis," uh oh, hooray, thank you, whoa, whee, water, apple, and his three favorite: NO, BAAAAAALLLL and CAAAAAAHHHH (car). "No" is his power word, and he uses it whenever he has strong feelings of any kind.

"Ball" is used for anything spherical, including some light bulbs, and also for things that can be thrown, like blocks. It is the first thing he notices about any room.

a wall of balls at Villano park. What could be better?

"Car" refers to both the large and small varieties. He also has some word which sounds like "flag" or "flower" to describe anything with a design (we think).

It's always tricky to get him to say words on command, but last night and this morning I got a few. Actually, as I was watching the movies this evening before uploading them, he was so cute about repeating the words a lot better than movie version of himself.

(I made those videos last night when he wouldn't sleep, but he was more cooperative this morning. sort of, at least.)

-Matthew loves container play! Things go in boxes and out of boxes, on shelves and off shelves. And to his brother's dismay, anything he doesn't want anymore goes in a different car seat. Once he gets in a groove he can stay occupied for several minutes at a time! This is how this video happened. (I really didn't intend for it to be 4 minutes, but I just was riveted so I never stopped.)

container play. container container play, to be specific.

This is sort of container play. I mean, there's a hole there.

-He likes to mimic us! He likes to make whatever sounds we're making and often just babbles along. He also really likes "Popcorn Popping" and "Eensy Weensy Spider" in addition to the classic "If you're happy and you know it."

He also wants to do whatever we're doing, which made it hard to wash dishes and complete transactions at stores.

good luck reading the card numbers

-He loves tunnels! One time in deacons' quorum, one of the boys was teaching a lesson, and Matthew noticed there was a slight gap between his feet. So he crawled over and kept bonking his head on the boy's legs until Kevin finally said, "You're just going to have to let him through." So he opened his legs up, and Matthew went through the tunnel. When our house was a mess of boxes, it was like tunnel heaven (and container play heaven, which was a bit of a problem sometimes). Another bit of heaven came at the Boston Children's museum (more on that later).

-He loves cups and water bottles! Any time he sees a cup, he wants a sip. If there are multiple cups at the table, then he needs multiple sips. And if there's a lid that belongs on a water bottle, then that lid better go back on. And off. And on again.

pyrex works too

-He's not sure how he feels about water. Sometimes he likes pools, sometimes not. Usually lakes. Occasionally baths. He keeps us guessing!

-He is just so fun! He keeps us busy and he keeps us happy! We are so grateful he's in our family!

Spotlight on Joseph

I realized that I haven't done a blog post dedicated just to Joseph for a little while, so here's the scoop about one awesome kid.

If there's one word that could sum up the past several months, it's SUPERHEROES! It's funny, actually, because he doesn't even watch anything about superheroes. (Not even SuperWhy! We have a lot of Mr. Rogers, Daniel Tiger, Veggie Tales, and lots and lots of Kung Fu Panda, but no Superman. Always eating carrots, of course.) But everything he wears has some connection to superheroes. He rotates through his Superman shirt, Ironman shirt, Captain America shirt, Paw Patrol shirt, and adventure shoes. Only the Superman shirt actually looks like the superhero it's named for. He has planned that his 5th birthday will be a Batman birthday and his 6th will be "The Flash." (about which we know nothing.) When he plays with Legos, he usually builds police stations and homes for his super car (a dark green car that really has nothing super about it).

And where would superheroes be without bad guys to fight? He's a little less fixated on bad guys now than he used to be, and I think we've talked enough about repentance to allow for bad guys to sometimes repent. Although, they sometimes switch back and forth depending which part of the box they are on.

We've used superheroes and super powers in a lot of ways, such as:

• We talked a lot before we moved about how to make friends with kids. I was really happy when he said one day, "I will make new friends in Connecticut. I'll ask a kid what their name is, and ask if they like superheroes, and then they'll be my friend!" He's also said that he won't make any friends til he's 5 and he talks about the friends he's left behind, but I think we'll be okay! He's made a few superhero connections here and there which have probably helped him talk to other kids.
• On our drive out, we went to the Philadelphia Temple open house. He was not excited at all about it, and so I told him a bit about the temple. And maybe I used the word "superpowers." Superpowers to withstand evil and become more like Jesus, who is the greatest hero of all. It's tricky talking about things like that reverently when a kid is used to powers being about punching and flying, but it was a good discussion, and he enjoyed the temple better.

  

  
  

• Even though we didn't order Kid's Meals at Arby's the night we stopped there for dinner, the cashier gave us the headband prizes, and they were so helpful in the car. Joseph spent the rest of the drive asking, "What do I look like?" with the headband on various places on his forehead, and the answer was usually related to superheroes.
  

  

  The bear also wore those sunglasses a lot.

  
  He also had some straws to play with which he would bend and fold into "superhero shooters" (not things that would shoot at superheroes, things that would shoot superheroes into the sky). They did a good job entertaining him and Matthew for the first day or so before we unpacked the toys. You always wonder why you own any toys when they play so well with junk.
• Especially because . . . sharing is so hard! Everything Joseph plays with, Matthew wants to wreck! He's become very protective of his buildings, especially the ones that fall down easily. It's been tricky figuring out common sense rules that are fair to Joseph but also reasonable with a cute speedy crawling demolition machine. Going back to the superhero theme, we've talked about building character muscles, and how not whining when you're frustrated or angry helps makes those muscles stronger. We'll see how those muscles develop.
• Even though Joseph said the other night, "I like Matthew best when he's sleeping," they are pretty cute together. Joseph likes to translate what Matthew says, and they can keep each other giggling. I don't know the ratio of squabbling to playing well, but it is very very sweet when they do get along.

  

  
  

• Joseph has lots of questions! He says so himself. "I want to know about lots of things, so I have to ask a lot of questions," he said one time. We have to account for most of our actions and decisions to him, and we've had to explain clouds, cars, video streaming, states, silent 'e's, gravity, and all sorts of things to him. Unless we're trying to have a conversation of our own, we usually don't mind.
• In addition to a lot of questions, he has a lot of imagination! He says so himself: "I like to use my imagination." Anything can become part of a superhero story, but things can also transform into airplanes, garbage trucks, temples, and many other fun things! One of my favorites was when he turned a suitcase into a drive through window. His stories are pretty cute, too.
• He is very conscientious, and along with that comes a desire to do things right the very first time. This makes drawing, building, reading, and laundry difficult sometimes. What finally helped with laundry was the idea of a "bad job" and "medium job" for various items. Once the pressure was off to not have clothes laid perfectly flat and folded right down the middle, he started to enjoy it again. If he wants to do a bad job for all of his clothes, I don't really mind. He giggles more that way, too, which is always a bonus.
• He loves rocks and sticks! It is pretty rare to go out with him and not come back without at least one of each. And since we left most of his rock collection behind in Michigan, I guess he has to replenish it! 
• One of the best parts about superhero Joseph is the songs he sings. Almost every day I think I hear him sing, "Superhero, superhero, yeah, yeah, yeah, superhero!!!!" while playing. We also get songs like this:

and

Overall, Joseph is a really good helper and a really great kid. We've experienced our share of roller coaster emotions from him the last little while with our move, but for the most part he has been a rock star with all of the changes in his life.

Or, more accurately, a superhero!

this, by the way, is his Iron Man shirt.

Napping Bear Sandbox, Part 2

As we continued our Napping Bear Sandbox staycation, we were happy that the replacements we found for Sleeping Bear Dunes activities were places we already loved, with a few new ones thrown in.

• Hike through the forests at Sleeping Bear Dunes

We already had a beautiful forest right in the middle of the city -- the arboretum! My friend Michelle helped me cross this one off the list, and then a few days later Kevin helped me cross off another section of the arboretum.

It is amazing how much easier it is for a little boy to walk when there is a friend to walk with. We had to resort to some "red light green light" and hopping and other races, but they did such a great job motivating each other!

Joseph's fishing rod. One of many sticks and rocks that must be gathered when one is on a walk.

taking turns doing cute smiles, part 1

taking turns doing cute smiles, part 2

a moose! (or something like unto it. I forget. actually probably a buck.)

• Visit the Maritime Museum. Visit the Cherry Republic in Traverse City

One mild Saturday, we planned to go for a bike ride. But the reason it was mild was because within a few minutes it was cold and rainy, so we scrapped those plans and decided to only get a little wet by walking from the parking structure to the Hands-On Museum.

As usual, it was great! And it was even better than usual because Kevin was there! (I've decided this summer that "fun" things such as museums and swimming pools are only fun if Kevin is there too, otherwise they're just mostly work. First world problems, I know.) Matthew mostly wanted to crawl on the stairs, but that meant we discovered areas of the museum we never had before! All this time we could have been enjoying the optics and sound rooms best of all.

We love the water and balls!

Since we were already downtown, and since the rain had stopped at least once or twice, we braved our way over to the Cherry Republic to pretend we were at the cherry festival in Traverse City. Or something. It was quite the downpour, so we were happy to go inside to try the samples and buy a few treats. On our way back, the rain stopped for good, so all the people who were going the opposite direction as us to watch the soccer game of Madrid vs. Chelsea (NOT Chelsea Michigan, it turns out) stayed dry. And eventually our shoes all dried.

• Float the Platte River

I had always wanted to kayak down the Huron River, so when my friend offered to watch my kids (and was okay with me not spending the time to pack), Kevin and I went on a little date down to Gallup Park.

As it turns out . . . after the first few minutes, it didn't go so great. It was about 90 degrees, sunny, and plenty muggy. Even on the water! It wasn't too hard to maneuver the kayak, but it still took more strength and endurance than I had on that hot of a day. And to top it all off, I got motion sickness. We had been going less than 40 minutes when I finally said we needed to turn around. Kevin wondered why I would be seasick on such a calm river, and I wondered too. I had done plenty of canoeing and white water rafting without this being a problem. I felt almost as lame as the time when Kevin and I had just barely started dating and two bouts of the Samurai at Lagoon knocked me out for the next long while and I just knew all his friends wanted him to break up with someone so wimpy. Except at least this time Kevin couldn't break up with me.

So we headed home and recuperated and then I picked up the boys, grateful for the fun parts and the quiet time alone with Kevin. And grateful that pain is temporary but the story lasts forever! And at least we did it!

(And actually it wasn't motion sickness. It was a mild stomach bug that circulated through all of us the next week and a half and took turns wiping us out. Which is super fun when you need to pack a lot. But we lived. And I felt less wimpy, especially once Kevin caught it too.)

• Bike the Heritage Trail

After a few failed attempts, we finally decided we just needed to go for it, so we headed back down to Gallup Park one morning to bike along the Huron River. The trail we were hoping for was under construction, but we headed through Furstenberg Park, enjoying the wooden pathways, windy trails, and dense woods. (We didn't see the sign that said no bikes until it was too late.) Matthew was . . . sometimes okay with wearing a helmet and being in the bike trailer. Other times he protested a lot.

• Go camping

We seriously considered pitching a tent somewhere and sleeping in someone's backyard, but it never materialized. So we improvised. The last two nights in our apartment, we slept on an air mattress, and the first night it was too inflated so it felt like sleeping on a wobbly rock. And I woke up a little damp because I slept on wet hair. And I woke up way earlier than I wanted. So that was basically camping. All that was missing was mosquito bites and the smell of smoke. I still think it counts.

Overall, we probably had more fun doing all the activities close to home and spread out over two and a half weeks. Perhaps sometime we will do a full-fledged camping in a national park experience, but for now we can find pretty good replacements.

Ode to the Ugly Flower Couch

It was love at first sight.

Or close enough, at least. After perusing a few thrift stores in Ann Arbor soon after we moved here, we both really liked this couch. It was in pretty good condition, and it was really comfortable. And, despite its title of "the Ugly Flower Couch," it wasn't the worst flower couch out there.

We soon discovered its many positive attributes. It wasn't tilted at all, which meant that we felt okay setting baby Joseph as pictured above, at least until he started moving more. It was long enough for both Kevin and me to nap on, and the cushions were pretty comfortable.

The company was not quite as comfortable.

Despite having our nicer couch that we brought with us, we found ourselves drawn to this couch because it was just a little bit shorter and thus a little bit more accessible.

So much good parenting right here.

That first winter, we primarily took the cushions off when we needed to look for something we had lost, such as cell phones, but I also occasionally used them to make forts or obstacle courses for Joseph.

Over the spring and summer, the couch stayed in pretty good condition. As fall approached and it became cold outside, we started to use the cushions more to provide indoor fun.

He is totally having fun here. I promise.

And of course, even when the cushions weren't used for playing, the couch was still a natural place for Joseph to play.

And then the coldest winter since before sliced bread began with fervor, and we found more and more uses for the ugly flower couch.

This is still probably my favorite video ever.

so much good parenting here, too

When the snow finally melted, the couch was a little bit more worn out, . Although the couch was used more for conversations like the one below and less for forts, we had entered the path of no return. The couch was now a fun couch, and the cushions were no longer safe.

a yucky cake

By the end of the summer, the ribbing on the cushions was starting to become detached. I stitched and stitched until I finally realized it wasn't worth it anymore. It had turned into a junky couch.

Which made for great fun of course. Kids of all ages jumped on it. When it got its first big hole, I gasped . . . and then shrugged. We got through an even colder winter than the coldest winter before sliced bread, and the couch endured even more abuse as a car track, fort, and trampoline.

This was when Kevin was in Montreal.

He had the facts of life figured out at two and a half. Amazing.

This stayed up for way longer than it should have.

Noah

Another spring,

I like the streamer Joseph put up.

another summer,

Paging Star Command

and then there was Matthew!

He made the ugly flower couch look good.

Another fall, another winter, and the couch got tear after tear after tear. Joseph and his friends liked to hang their toys in the holes in the couch, and I just shook my head and laughed.

even in pictures not about the couch, the cushions were in use.

This is pretty typical

Matthew's got the beat

it is a great couch for napping.

Ready for the concert

Yesterday, I took my final picture of the ugly flower couch.

if you think the middle cushion looks bad, you should see the other side.

It was time for us to give it away. After so much time invested in stitching it and patching it, it was still as junky as ever, and we had no real reason to take it with us. So we loaded the ugly flower couch onto an ugly truck bed for a new family to take (and probably put a couch cover on).

It's been one of the best inanimate parts of living in Ann Arbor, and we're grateful for all the pictures and awesome videos that have come out of it. It's hard to see it go.

But I have a feeling it won't be too hard to find a junky flower couch anywhere we live.