Lent

Devin missed school on Ash Wednesday because he was sick. When I explained to him that Ash Wednesday is the beginning of Lent, he asked me if it was the time that all the candy was taken away (so clearly they have been talking about giving up things for Lent at school). I told Devin that people chose to give things up for Lent because Jesus made such a big sacrifice for us, and we all take a turn sacrificing something for him for the forty days until Easter.
Devin has decided to give up treats for Lent. In Devin's mind, treats include pretty much anything sweet except fruit. So that means no candy, no cookies, no cupcakes, no ice cream, etc... until Easter morning. I wasn't sure if he understood the impact that this would have on his world, so I asked him a couple times if this was what he really wanted to do, and he was certain. Then I reminded him (again!) that once he choose something to give up he has to follow through all the way until Easter. We compromised a bit, and decided that he would give up all treats except for birthday treats, since we have a couple birthdays to celebrate between now and Easter. As a sign of solidarity, I told Devin that I would give up treats also. Then he talked Alex into doing it too, although I know Alex does not understand at all, and expect that there will be a fall from grace on his part. =)
Devin first realized the impact of his decision when the pharmacist at Target offered him a lollipop while filling his prescription, and I reminded him that he gave up treats. The lollipop conversation was repeated at the bank yesterday and at the hair salon today. After school today Devin told me that he didn't have his snack at school because he had gummies from the estimation jar (and I heard mention of rice crispy treats from the student star of the week). I reminded him what he decided to give up for Lent, and I could tell he was starting to think that this sacrifice thing was a bum deal. I feel his pain (since my chocolate cravings are getting out of hand), but I think this will be a good learning experience for him.
What I am surprised at is how often 'treats' are offered to little kids. I never really thought about it before, but in the span of just three days, Devin was offered three lollipops from businesses, candy and a baked good at school and a cookie as part of his 'kids plate' dinner (we ate out tonight). No wonder we have a childhood obesity problem in the United States. Even parents like Andy and I who limit the fast food, deny the soda and treat dessert as an occasional thing still can't manage all the junk food available. Unbelievable!
I think it will be a long forty days for Devin, but I am sure that he can do it!!

valentine's day

I think it was my sister who asked the question, "When did Valentines day turn into Halloween?". I couldn't agree more. Last year at Valentines day I was shocked to realize that Devin was the only kid in his preschool class who handed out only paper valentines. No candy in special Valentines Day packaging, no valentines with the special cut-out to hold a lollipop, not even the candy hearts with the little sayings on them. He had Pirates of the Caribbean paper valentines, and I thought they were cool since they came with tattoos. Man, was I out of the loop.
This year, Alex's teacher asked that we all bring in non-food items for the kids to have a "goody bag" for Valentine's Day. One of the moms expressed her disappointment that he kid would miss out on all the good candy and fun associated with Valentine's Day, but I was thrilled. When we were kids, Valentine's Day had little to do with candy. My parents would give us each a small heart-shaped box of candy, but we never got candy from all our friends. The excitement was around which cool valentine your good friends selected for you. We would get the occasional candy hearts with sayings on them, but no one really ever ate them; I just read them to see if any cute boys gave me one that said "Be Mine" or "You're Cute".
However, for today's valentine exchange the kids were instructed not to put names in the 'To:' field, so that they could simply drop a valentine from each kid in each kids bag. Alex has picked specific valentines for all his buddies, but couldn't give them out that way, and Devin wound up getting two of his own valentines in his collection bag. So much for seeing if your friends picked good valentines for you, and forget about a note from a potential crush!
So when did Valentine's Day become all about the candy and not about a nice note from someone who cares about you? I'm not sure, but this is one case where I miss the way things were.

determination and a lesson learned

My brother Billy has this plaque on his wall that says, "You miss 100% of the shots you never take." I like this. It certainly reflects the competitive spirit that I think he and I share. It's simple really; if you don't try something you will never succeed at it. For as much as teachers may have said that Billy lacked focus in school, his focus and determination when it came to team sports was unyielding. I think that his successes were pretty impressive as well, both then and now.

I myself am more of an individual sports person. I have played a number of team sports and see a lot of value in them. I probably would still play volleyball if I knew of a co-ed league that needed a setter. But triathlon has become my sport, and I am starting to think about races this summer after a couple years off (pregnancy and a new baby followed by a broken leg will do that to you). I was running pretty regularly before the holidays and was pleased with my 'post broken ankle' progress. Then I spent a month being sick and going to the gym was a rare occurrence for me. But I am feeling better and actually getting back into it. Or so I thought. Today I decided to run again. I did half an hour on the bike and thought I would just hop on the treadmill for a mile. Clearly the lung capacity required when running far exceeds that of cycling, because I felt like hell. Seriously. When I got to the point where my chest just hurt and I sounded like I was going to pass out, I decided I wasn't going to make the full mile running. When I told Andy about this he was really encouraging and didn't say, "Why are you running? You're recovering from pneumonia, moron!", which I am fairly certain he was thinking. I know I pushed it. I know I need more time, but like the lesson from my brother's plaque, you don't know what you can do if you don't try.

love and trust

A week ago Devin was goofing around at the table during lunch and he flipped over his chair. Luckily he was fine, but he cracked the one of the spindles on the back of the chair. Andy and I were more concerned that he was okay, and neither of us yelled at him. We didn't need to. Devin was so devastated that he broke the chair that he cried multiple times during lunch.
Later that day I was getting ready to go out when Devin came into the bathroom and asked me if I still loved him even though he broke the chair. I was a little surprised at his question, and knew I needed to give it my full attention. I turned off my hair dryer and got down on my knees to look him in the eyes when I said, "Oh Devin, I will always love you. There is nothing that you can do that will ever make me stop loving you. Even when you make me angry I still love you."

And then I took it a step further. I thought about something that I learned in a training session about preventing child abuse; abusers will tell kids that they shouldn't tell their parents about what transpired because their parents won't love them anymore. So I told Devin that no matter what anyone said or did I would always love him. In a way I'm a little mad that this sweet moment with my little boy questioning how love works was, for me, tainted by something ugly, but I felt like I had to use this opportunity while I had his attention. Child sexual abuse is something that terrifies me. To volunteer in the Charlotte area Catholic schools or the church you need to take a training course on child sexual abuse and part of the course includes interviews with two sexual predators who talk about grooming their target victims (and the victims families) to build trust. It's horrifying. While we certainly learned some of the warning signs of abuse and some ideas about preventing it, the best defense that they articulated was communication; when a child thought something strange or inappropriate was happening and told their parents about it before it got to the point of abuse. So here I am, with my five and a half year old boy, trying to build his confidence that he can truly tell me anything.

Yesterday Devin and I were at the baptism of our friends daughter (while Andy was managing nap time for Alex and Isabel) and Devin kept wiggling and talking in church. After the hand signals failed me, I gave him my best 'You're Gonna Get It Mister' glare and motioned again for him to be quiet. When there was a break in the service Devin leaned over and whispered to me, "Mom, you'll always love me, right?" I chuckled, kissed him on the head and whispered, "Yes, Devin. I will always love you."

Alex

Alex, oh Alex. I love Alex. To be honest, I adore Alex. He has such a big, fun personality and he's hilarious. He really is. I'm probably too soft on him because I have such a sweet spot for him. Therefore, it's my own doing when he doesn't listen to me. I know this, and I am working pretty hard to change it.
Today when I picked Alex up from school (wearing his winter hat in a way that made his ears stick out), he literally jumped up and down when he saw me. Isabel was asleep in the car, and Alex climbed into his seat and pretended to sleep immediately. So he's sitting there with his eyes closed and a big smile on his face (because he thinks he's pulling one over on me) as I talked to Reid, the little boy we carpool with. Alex suddenly awoke when our conversation got interesting, after all he wanted to talk about the song that he sang in school today too! After we dropped Reid off, Alex got out of his car seat and into the booster that Reid was riding in, despite my telling him not to. I scolded him, but didn't yell because Izzy was sleeping. Sometimes scolding seems effective, and I think that he genuinely wants to be a good boy, but today he wasn't too bothered by what I was saying. We pulled into the garage and immediately Alex was out of his seat and Isabel was awake. I asked him if he woke her up (a major no-no) and he denied it. I asked if he was lying and he said he wasn't. I made him look me in the eyes and answer me. And I had no idea if he told me the truth, and no proof either way. In reality, she would have woken up shortly because the car wasn't moving, but I really wanted to know if he was being honest and I was really frustrated. Alex knew I was angry and he cried.
So we made our way into the house; Alex insisting that he didn't lie and he didn't wake Isabel, me frustrated that I didn't know if I was letting him get away with naughty behavior or not. Once inside, I was busy putting things away and Alex and Iz were playing. When I started to listen to what he was saying, I realized that he had just taken off Isabel's shoes and put them away, and he was in the process of putting her vest on the hook with his own. Not only had he put his things away like he's supposed to, but he also took care of his little sister.
And this is why I struggle with Alex. One minute he's being a little shit and I'm mad at him, the next he's being a total sweetheart and I just love to see that side of him.

genetics

Genetic composition is a funny thing. Isabel looks just like Andy. Everyone who sees her says so, and it's true. She has his coloring without a doubt, and she already has more hair than him (hehe) but the clincher is her huge chocolate brown eyes. She is absolutely Andy's baby girl. Some people ask me if it bothers me that she doesn't resemble me, but I think she's beautiful and would change nothing about her. Well, maybe not nothing. We went for her nine month checkup this week and despite all the good news about our healthy little one, we are headed to the Ear/Nose/Throat specialist on Monday to talk about getting ear tubes for Iz. It's not a huge surprise, since Devin and I have both been through it and because she has had a bunch of ear infections, but I'm a little disappointed. My beautiful baby appears to be a genetic replica of her father. And what is my genetic contribution to this little one? The bum ears. The eustachian tubes that don't drain properly to be exact. I like to think that I have a couple characteristics that would be a real benefit to my children. Andy says he hopes they get my natural athletic ability (he's jealous that I throw a tighter spiral than him), and Devin has my coloring, which I love (side note: combine that with huge eyes like his father and he's one lucky little boy). Alex is always singing, and I like to think that I have an positive contribution there also. But Isabel, well so far she has my ears.
Let's just hope she gets my ankles too.

Happy New Year!!

The funny thing about the holiday season is that no matter how fun and enjoyable it is, it's also such a time suck. Seriously. Buy presents, wrap presents, take pictures for Christmas cards, order, assemble and send Christmas cards, put up a tree; decorations; nativity scene; outside lights, hang stockings, read Christmas stories. Then add the social things, like class parties, making treats for class parties and spending time with friends and family. It's a lot. There are so many good and fun things that go into the holidays (and it truly is my favorite time of the year), but it's a lot. No wonder I haven't written in my blog since mid-November!!

This year we decided to drive to Chicago for Christmas (or rather the airlines decided when they raised airfare and started charging for every checked bag. Can you imagine how many checked bags and car seats a family of five with three small kids has?). Santa came the day before we made the trip, which was really fun. Devin was so excited that he was up at 3:10am looking down the stairs for presents under the tree. We held the boys off until about 6:30am and then the crazy shredding of wrapping paper began. They were done by the time Isabel awoke, and she had more fun trying to eat the bows than paying any attention to the presents. We spent most of the day in our jammies playing with the kids toys before we started loading up the car for our big trip. Over the mountains and through the fields (roughly 820 miles) to Grandmother's house we go.
So we loaded up a bunch of clothes, presents, books and countless snacks and left our 65 degree home at 7:30am. An hour and a half into our trip Devin vomited in his seat. I think it's safe to say that he gets car sick. Despite our auspicious beginning (and a big laugh about seven hours into the trip when Devin casually mentioned that his seat was stinky) we made it to my parent's house in just under fourteen hours (with a negative 70 degree temperature change). We were prepared to spend the night in a motel somewhere along the way, but the boys were motivated to get to Grandma and Grandpa's house and Isabel was a dream traveller as long as she had the company of a parent in the back seat.
We had a wonderful time in Chicago. We spent almost all of our time with one family or another, and really enjoyed our visit. There were they typical scheduling issues that cropped up (and the not-so-typical plumbing issue at my parents house), and unfortunately 3/5 of the Blake family got sick, but overall it was a good visit. Devin cried profusely when we had to leave his cousins, and it served as a good reminder why we visit. Yes, it's a long drive. Yes, we often get sick while there. Yes, there are tight quarters when you add five additional people to any household. But it is also among our favorite things to do, and something that our kids always look forward to - spending time with our families.
After a week and a half, we made it back to our house at 10:30pm on New Years Eve after another 13.5 hours in the car (this time without vomit). We tucked the kids into bed, unpacked the car and collapsed on the couch in time to ring in the New Year. I think we were both asleep within an hour of the beginning of 2009, but we have all year to celebrate. In some ways I am sad that the holidays are over, but I think we are all glad to be getting back to normal. Tomorrow all the Blake boys will be off to school and work, and Isabel and I will be running errands and getting the house back in shape (hopefully). Not particularly exciting, but sometimes the normal routine is a good thing.

Peace and happiness to all in the new year.

perfect day

Sometimes we have these amazing picture perfect days that remind us why we have made the choices that we have made. One of these days was on Tuesday when we took a family trip to the zoo. Andy had the day off of work and the boys were off from school, so we made a day of it. We drove the hour+ to the zoo in Columbia while Isabel napped in the car and the boys watched a movie. The day was beautiful; sunny and fall-like (or football game weather, as I like to call it) and everyone in the family was excited. The boys were obsessed with doing it all. We saw the trainers feeding the sea lions, we watched the lion cubs playing, we fed the giraffes , we saw penguins and more cool birds than I could ever name. Other than a minor scuffle over the map (which was quickly alleviated by obtaining a second map), the boys were well behaved. Isabel was absolutely content to be pushed around in the stroller and watch her brothers run around.
My friends in different situations sometimes comment that they can't imagine having three little kids, but this what we wanted. I often miss our friends and family in the North, but I absolutely love the weather here. Andy sometimes wonders if he should have pursued something more entrepreneurial than banking, but his job has afforded us a lifestyle that we love.
Devin's favorite part of the day was seeing the elephants, Alex's was the tigers, and I am pretty confident that Andy's was seeing the penguins. My favorite part was spending the beautiful day outside with my family. I can't imagine anything better.

big girl!

It's official. Isabel is a big girl. Well, let me clarify... she is still a baby but she has made huge strides this week. First of all, she can officially feed herself. Granted, at least half of what we put on her tray lands on the floor, but the other half goes in her mouth, and that makes her a very happy little girl. Second, she is mobile. She can get anywhere she wants to go within about a six foot radius, although how she gets there resembles more of an inchworm than a proper crawl. Third, she can push herself up to a seated position. It's pretty wild to walk into her room to get her out of the crib and see her sitting there looking for you. I think we will need to lower the crib mattress again.
But here is the biggest news - Izzy finally cut a tooth! It's not visible yet, but I felt it today. She seems to be in a fair amount of pain, so I hope she'll get a bunch of teeth now and just get through it all at once. My baby is getting big!

laundry boy

I have a cold. It knocked me down hard on Sunday and I am still losing the fight. So taking care of two little ones (Dev is at school) seems like a daunting task today. However Alex has been wonderful. In fact, Alex decided that he was running low on underwear (he has three pairs), so he proceeded to empty all the hampers for me. That means that Alex threw all the clothes out of the hampers (in his room, Devin's room and my room) onto the stairs and played in them until he eventually got them all down to the first floor. Then he loaded the clothes onto his blanket and dragged them into the laundry room for me. I love that he took this chore on all by himself, and figured out a way to get it done. Now if I could only teach him how to work the washer...

I ran!

I know it's not really that monumental to most people, since men and women have been running since the dawn of time and all... but I ran yesterday for the first time since July 5th when I broke my ankle during a run.
My physical therapy folks advised that I should start slow by alternating walking and jogging on the treadmill and eventually build up to the three or so miles I was running before the break (then I can go back to running outside, which is the ultimate goal). So I ran a quarter mile or more at a time, and made it almost a mile and a half before Isabel decided she was done in child watch. The best part is that I had NO PAIN afterward. I was good about icing my ankle that afternoon, but I didn't even need to take motrin or anything! Yippieeeee!
I am so excited.

i love face book

OK, I have a new addiction. It's Face Book, or FB for those in the know. I was hesitant to join at first, because between my email, texting and blogging, I just felt like I didn't need another method to contact people (and another place where I could fall behind on messages...). But it is just the easiest way to connect with friends. Not only have I reconnected with many many people from my past, but I also find it easier to stay close to the people that I miss. I think the coolest example is this: Annie (in MA) posted something vague about "John's surprise" and it sparked a lot of curiosity. When she finally posted what the surprise was, Joanne (in Vegas) commented on it, as did Andy (in my home...) and other friends. Normally I would have missed out on what Joanne had to say, and trust me that is something you don't want to miss! So in a way FB gives people in disparate places a method to easily communicate. You can write a proper message to someone, or just dash off a quick note. You can easily comment on what other people post, be it a picture, a comment, a status update. Also, uploading pictures to FB is a breeze. It's incredibly fast. Don't get me wrong, I can post pictures here, but it takes a while. I have far more pictures posted there (tempted yet?).
Plus, I am one of those people who likes to play mindless games on the laptop when I am relaxing in front of the TV. FB has provided a whole new category of games for me to attempt.

Enough of my singing the praises. If you don't have a FB account, get one. And send me a "friend" request. You won't regret it.

Isabel update

Now Isabel has a full blown cold in addition to everything else. You know how it is, snot running down her face, nose completely congested so she has to breathe through her mouth. That poses a real issue when she tries to do things like nurse or drink a bottle or suck on a binki.

So Isabel is totally snotty, has ear infections, hives, diarrhea and a bonus of diaper rash. Should be a fun weekend. Poor baby!

best laid plans

It's pretty amazing how quickly things can change. I woke to rain this morning and quickly decided that Isabel and I would have a mellow day at home while the boys were at school. I figured that we'd get lots of play time and I could knock a few thing off my ever-growing "to do" list while Izzy napped. But then I noticed the nasty bumpy rash on Izzy's tummy and legs...
She has been on amoxicillin for her ears since the 9th, but I thought any reaction to the antibiotics would have surfaced within days. Plus she had been on amoxicillin for her previous ear infection without any issues. So I thought it might be chicken pox (side note: Devin contracted chicken pox when he was two despite being vaccinated a year before. I completely mistook the spots for mosquito bites, since he only had about ten of them. Then I felt like a complete moron when I brought him to the doctor thinking he had a flu when he clearly had chicken pox).
But Isabel is indeed allergic to penicillin (amoxicillin being a form of penicillin) and the hives were our proof. She's on benadryl for the itchy hives (it will take a few days for the amoxicillin to get out of her system) and will start a new type of antibiotic tomorrow because her ears haven't cleared yet. In fact, the doc suggested that we keep her pumped full of motrin and tylenol for her ear pain and recommended probiotics for the accompanying loose bowels that the variety of antibiotics will bring. So Isabel has ear infections, hives and diarrhea with a bonus of diaper rash. We are pumping this little one full of so many meds it's crazy. Poor little baby!
I am hopeful that I can tackle a couple things on my list this weekend. We will see...

Isabel's wave

I came down from upstairs and Isabel was playing on the floor with Andy. When she saw me her face just absolutely lit up and she started waving to me! First it was a full arm wave and then she alternated that with a simple hand wave (think squishing fingers through playdough) . This continued for a couple minutes. Can my little princess be communicating already?

I did it!

I managed to pull off an Andy Blake quality meal for Andy's birthday. I made a yummy salad of greens with strawberries, slivered almonds and gorgonzola, marinated filet mignon (Andy grilled it for me) with horseradish sauce and cheesy jalapeno grits. We finished it off with a Triple Chocolate Cheesecake that was soooo rich! All of the recipes were provided by Andy (courtesy of Bobby Flay and Cooking Light), so I knew he's like them... but more importantly I executed. It wasn't easy though. Andy makes it look easy, but it's really not. At least it's not easy for me.
Happy Birthday Sweetheart!!

wonderful weekend

We had the best weekend. Bill and Belinda came to town for Isabel's baptism (they are her godparents) and it was really great. We all enjoyed their company; whether Bill and Andy were drinking beers and talking politics (and not agreeing, of course) or Alex was dancing with Aunt Belinda, or Devin was reading to Aunt Belinda, or both boys were 'sumo-wrestling' Uncle Billy... it was great. I wished their kids could have joined us, but I think it was wonderful to have them to ourselves too. It really gave my boys and Isabel time to get to know them better (since when the cousins are around the aunts and uncles don't stand a chance!) and it gave us some time to talk and catch up once my little ones were in bed. I miss having them around.
Isabel's baptism was great. She was really good in church and look adorable, of course (pictures to follow!). Afterward we had a really nice party with our friends, and I was so glad that our so many people were willing and able to join us. When the boys were baptized in Massachusetts, we always had our "chosen family" of friends (whom we have known for a long time) around us. Given that we have not been here all that long, I was glad that we had good friends to celebrate with us.
Devin started school today at St. Matthews. He was excited about going, but tired from the busy weekend. I really hope that everything goes well!

triumph of Achilles

My ankle was feeling really good. I had started back with yoga and was planning to start easing my way into running (first run/walk on the treadmill and build up slowly). I was still doing PT every day, but only going in once per week. In fact, I was feeling so good that I decided to wear heels to church last week (I have been wearing gym shoes or flip flops since I got the boot off). Clearly I wasn't ready, and the next day my Achilles started hurting. Not a constant pain, but a fierce twinge that would nearly make me stumble. This was new; my Achilles had been fine throughout the whole break, the boot and the PT.
I gave it a week of continued PT and some exercise, and nothing seemed to help. Ugh!! So I called my therapist and he suggested that I ease up on the ankle. Stretch, ice and rest. I am so frustrated! It has been almost three months since I broke the ankle and I am so ready to get back to a normal workout routine. I truly believe that I am a kinder person and a more patient mom (and genuinely more pleasant) when I work out regularly.

I know I need to give it time, but my patience is wearing thin. =(

the answer?

I think it's almost a little spooky. Understand, I had thought countless times about writing a post about how comfortable I felt in the Catholic church again, and how that feeling surprised me. I'm not sure what compelled me to finally write the post, maybe the homily on Sunday about gratitude? or maybe I just finally had the time to put those thoughts into words. Regardless... we got a call today letting us know that they have a kindergarten spot for Devin at St. Matthews. Was that some sort of godly response to my post? Did I pass some kind of test of devotion? Or is it just some unexplainable coincidence?

Whatever is it, we are thrilled!

finding my religion

A couple months after we moved to Charlotte we joined the Catholic church. In New England we were members of the Congregational Church, which is Christian but much more liberal than the Catholic church (female pastors, married pastors, accepting of homosexuals, etc). This was a good fit for our family, and we were genuinely happy there. When we came to Charlotte, we realized that there are far fewer Congregationalist parishes here, and we found many more fundamentalist groups. Since I grew up Catholic, joining St. Matt's is not a great leap for me. However, Andy was raised Eastern Orthodox and his exposure to Catholicism came in grammar school when he attended Immaculate Heart of Mary and was forced to sit in the very last pew during school masses because he was a heathen (although I don't think they ever actually called him that). I would be lying (and good Catholics don't lie) if I didn't mention that initially we joined the church because St. Matt's has a great school and we were skeptical about the quality of the public education offered.
Given his experience, Andy was understandably dubious about joining the church, but agreed to do so because he values his children's education. And then the rules began... in order to protect against people doing exactly what we were (joining the church for the school) you had to be parishioners in good standing for three months to get priority acceptance to St. Matthews. In order to prove that you were active parishioners you had to go to church every week. It makes sense for the church to do that; I understand it. Now we were committed. I started going to church weekly with one or both of the boys, and even Andy joined us sometimes. I sang the familiar songs and listened to the familiar readings and responded all the times I was supposed to respond, and something interesting happened. I really liked it. I felt like I was where I was supposed to be. Now I understand that twelve years of Catholic schooling (and countless Sunday masses from the time I was a baby) can certainly contribute to the comfort I felt, but I felt it. I felt it more than I ever did at the other churches we attended.
But we did not get Devin into St. Matthew's for kindergarten; he is on the wait list. Things did not go according to our plan, and we are frustrated about that. It is especially frustrating for Andy who still does not feel accepted into the church and sometimes doesn't see an upside to our joining. But I do. This morning at church the boys brought to the altar the pennies (and quarters and dimes and nickels) that they have been saving over the last three months for "kids who don't have a house". Devin sang "Alleluia" and Alex made the sign of the cross (backwards, and with his left hand). They were quiet and respectful during mass and I was able to listen to the homily about being thankful for what you have regardless of what others may have. That seems to be a theme in my life lately - being thankful. I do not take for granted the wonderful man I married or the three beautiful kids that we have together. I am so grateful for our lifestyle; the fact that I can stay home to care for our kids, that we have a beautiful home and enough of what we need to be comfortable.
Today at church Alex thanked God that my leg was getting better and Devin thanked God for green trees. And then I thanked God for them.