a hero in the making.

luke's football hero for almost all of his life has been steve largent. forget the ones who've come and gone - his highest admiration has been steadily reserved for number 80. he still wears his largent jersey for most every game, and on those home games at century link, people know him as "largent" rather than "luke."

for years my husband has petitioned to hang his largent poster in our living room and i've laughed at him and said no way in the world. i have a feeling that the poster will make its way onto our walls one day, but no way EVER in our living room. but somewhere. sorry, steve.

i've quietly watched this largent admiration and found myself admiring something right back - the fact that my husband, the great man that he is, picked someone like that to look up to. not only was largent a great player on the field, he was a man worth respecting in his daily life. luke is the biggest football fan in the world and i'm glad he chose a player like that to call his football hero. i'm glad he saw at an early age that being the fastest, strongest, most popular athlete doesn't matter as much as what spills out of your heart.

last season, we were introduced to a guy named russell wilson. i liked him immediately because, well,  he seemed like a bit of an underdog. he was short. not well known. a third round draft pick. a scrambler. and he was good. just when you thought he had no where to go, he'd make something happen. he'd sneak out of a sack, scramble down the field, throw a hail mary and connect. and off the field, he was humble and optimistic. he seemed like a good team leader. and i loved how he'd end every interview with "go hawks." i was becoming a fan. pretty quickly i learned that wilson was more than just a great talent. he was someone who wasn't afraid to tell people he loved jesus, someone who served and witnessed and wanted to make a difference.

and then something started happening. we starting winning. he got us excited and made us feel like we were winning, too.

in the meantime, i saw caleb watching this guy. closely. playing alongside with wilson as he watched him on tv. throwing the ball in the air and saying "he got it! wilson! we got this!"

so last year, as the hawks were making a play for the playoffs, i took my boy to the seahawks team shop and bought him a wilson jersey. he was ecstatic, proudly wearing his number 3 jersey and more than excited to show dad. the reaction we got; however, was a little unplanned. luke looked at me, then looked at caleb, then looked back and me again and just shook his head. apparently, we weren't supposed to buy authentic team jerseys for a three year old. apparently luke didn't even have a jersey that nice. apparently i should have waited.

but caleb was so on board the wilson train that luke couldn't help but let him keep it. i'm so glad that he did. that jersey has seen so much. almost every seahawks game for two seasons. almost every friday at school. he'd wear it every day if we'd let him. and that little 3t jersey has come to represent so much of  this irreplaceable time with my three year old boy.

caleb is certainly luke's son. a boy who loves football. and a boy who is choosing the right people to want to emulate.

and we will make sure he celebrates wilson's rare talents, but also make sure he sees how wilson points to the sky after every touchdown. how he volunteers at Children's Hospital every week with his wife. how he gives all the credit to jesus.

maybe, just one day maybe, caleb will try to convince his wife to hang his wilson poster in their living room. and i will maybe, just maybe, empathize with them both.

go hawks.

tradition.

this is one of my very favorite traditions - a night downtown during the holidays. we've had nights just the two of us, a night with a little caleb, a night with a toddler and being preggo, a night with new siblings. we almost didn't do it this year because of all of the business of life. i'm so thankful we decided to do it. these memories cannot be replaced. 

this tradition started because we wanted to fully experience the magic of christmas. but five years later, i'm am fully assured. they are my magic. always. and i am so lucky.

whidbey.

every other summer, kay and terry rent out a gorgeous house at whidbey island. we lounge, we eat, we explore, we crab, we boat, we comb the beach, we try to find the perfect shells, we try to get excited about finding the perfect shells (right maggie?), we have precious cousin time, we have precious adult time. we experience what it is to be a family. all together, bundled in one house, sharing beds and bathrooms and mealtimes and everything. sharing LIFE. the past two times i got to experience whidbey as a marvel, i was pregnant. i had the unique opportunity to peek into the future - to when our kids would get to experience this truly special time. we are here. i saw it for the first time this year. and it was beautiful. not to mention, this was my first time where i got to have wine and lime-a-ritas on the beach. this year, we had family poker and the kids camping outside in a tent and pizza at langley with the girls and sandwiches and pie at knead and feed and painting shells and luke catching a salmon and amazing dinners and hardworking crabbers and fishermen and celebrating a very special 60th b-day (complete with personalized song and hand motions by the grandkids). so many, many memories that we and our kiddos will have for all of our lives. there are few things that make my heart happier. until next time, marvels and christies. thank you.