Thursday, May 31, 2012

The Month of May: In Faces and on Facebook

It's a good thing I already had this post almost completely ready; because otherwise, there's no way I could have sat up to do this.  You see, I seem to have developed a little breast infection.  I'm sure it's not too serious and, as always, "this too shall pass," but the bone aches associated with a fever of 101.7 degrees, the horrible headache I had this afternoon, and the pain in my left breast have made this a challenging afternoon and evening for me.  I just put Moriah in bed after her last feeding, and I'm planning on hitting the sack myself, just as soon as I finish this.

Here are some of the faces I have gazed on with great love during this beautiful month of May...  :)





And here are my Facebook status updates from this month...just little snippets of life that I don't want to lose as the river of time swirls by...

May 1 - For the first time in a LONG time, I jumped on the trampoline with my boys this evening. There are advantages to not being pregnant anymore, and being able to use the trampoline is one of them. :)


May 2 - My beloved Tobin Bear was sick last night and still is this morning. He never quite managed to get his vomit in the appropriate receptacle, so I had some messes to clean up. Last night's sleep was full of interruptions, to say the least. But even in this, I will rejoice! That's what Habakkuk 3:17-18 teaches me. :)


May 3 - One of the side benefits I get from my early-morning wakings with Moriah is hearing the birds' chorus outside our windows. Since I'm not naturally a morning person (at all!), I would not normally be awake then to hear them. But as I feed her, I am blessed by hearing so many birds. Even before dawn comes, they seem to be trying to outdo each other with their trills and warbles. There is beauty in the (very) early morning hours!


May 4 - Moriah woke up this morning with a goopy eye, so I did what any concerned mom would do: I squirted her in the eye with breastmilk. Sure hope those healing powers of breastmilk kick in soon! For you other moms, have you ever used breastmilk to help your baby's eyes when they got goop in them?? :)


May 4 - During Josiah's group violin lesson this week, Megan of Tiller Strings asked the class about the dress code for Sunday's upcoming concert--specifically, what one item was not allowed. Someone in the class came up with the right answer--"no shorts"--but then David, who always loves to come along to watch his big brother's class, turned to me and whispered, "I thought it was no cigarettes!" Well, yes, I suppose that's true also. Definitely no cigarettes allowed in the concert either. ;-)

May 5 - I got to hang out a bunch with Batman and Superman today. Turns out that Batman is only four years old, and Superman is only two! It's amazing what kind of superpowers youngsters have these days. :) One power that Superman DOESN'T have is the ability to say "s" at the beginning of a word, so every time he referred to himself, it came out as "Ooperman." When I teasingly called him "Ooperman," he would say, "No! OOPERMAN!" He was trying so hard to get that "s" out, but it just wouldn't come. These boys are so adorable. :)

May 5 - Moriah learned an important lesson today: it's impossible to suck and smile at the same time. While I was nursing her, I was talking to her and grinning like a fool, just from the joy of being her mom and holding her in my arms. She was watching me with her beautiful dark eyes, and then she decided to return the smile, which warmed my heart, as you can imagine. But then she seemed to suddenly realize that she couldn't get any milk that way, so her smile disappeared and she went back to the task at hand. Sometimes, smiles just have to wait. ;-)

May 6 - The best part of this day could have been the great talk about love languages that I had with Josiah this morning, followed by a game of air hockey (he won). :) Or it could have been jumping on the trampoline with my boys in the lovely evening air. Or it could have been Jeff thanking me tonight for some insight I shared with him about his relationship with Josiah. But I think what was really the best part of this day was the Suzuki concert this afternoon: watching both Josiah and David playing in it, looking down the row as we sat in the audience and seeing my parents and Jeff's mom with us, seeing Tobin sitting on my mom's lap and peacefully falling asleep there while clutching his stuffed puppy Molly, holding Moriah who snuggled so sweetly against me and slept almost the entire concert, noticing that Shav did pretty great behavior-wise (especially considering that this was the first concert he's been to), exchanging glances with Jeff and sharing the same feelings of pride and joy as we watched our sons perform. Yes, that just might have been the very best part of the day. :)

May 7 - Exactly four weeks ago at this time, I was just getting to know my newborn daughter...still enjoying that first euphoric hour after birth...still feeling a tremendous sense of relief that she was born and that she was healthy...still marveling at the very good gift God had given us. Four weeks later, I'm still marveling. :)


May 7 - David just now, with a big, sweet smile on his face: "I can't believe I have a sister. She's really pretty, and she smells good." After a pause, "But sometimes she smells like spit-up." ;-) 'Tis true.

May 8 - And so it begins. Food Preservation 2012 is off to a good start with 3 pints of strawberry jam made. I would have made more, but I didn't have any more pectin. The way my boys devour strawberry jam, I know I've got to make a bunch more! :)

May 11 - Praying for my dad who is having eye surgery this morning...

May 12 - Baby spit-up on one's shirt = badge of honor. The whole world might not agree with this equation, but I'm going to go with it anyway. ;-)


May 13 - Even while I'm enjoying this Mother's Day and thanking God for the gift of five wonderful children, I'm remembering the ache in my heart during Mother's Days before I had children. The longing for a child was immense; and at that point, I didn't know if it would ever be fulfilled. My thoughts are also with some women I know that would dearly love to have a child but so far, do not. I pray for their hearts to be comforted and at peace on this day.


May 14 - A beautiful Monday morning...rain falling outside (SO good for Jeff's garden)...Grandma Fisher in the kitchen making cookies...little boy voices asking her if they can lick the spoon or have some chocolate chips or at least a bite of brown sugar...Moriah's in bed again for a morning nap...I think I'll do the same. :)


May 14 - Murphy's Law as it applies to dressing a newborn: The cuter the outfit, the quicker your baby will spit up on it. Dress your baby in an outfit you don't really like, and she'll go all day without spitting up. Dress her in something you really, really like, and she'll spit up right away, necessitating an immediate clothing change. Why does it happen this way??? ;-)


May 15 - Utterly exhausted this morning. In my weariness, I'm clinging to these precious words: “Let the beloved of the Lord rest secure in him, for he shields him all day long, and the one the Lord loves rests between his shoulders.” - Deut. 33:12


May 15 - Holding Moriah = good therapy for a tired mommy. Noticing her tiny, perfect eyelashes = even better therapy. Catching a glimpse of one of her quick, little smiles = the best therapy. This season of life is short. I want to be careful to appreciate it and enjoy it while it's here. Some days, that's easier than on other days! :)


May 15 - Today I did a little favor for Jeff (making sure some packages got to the post office), and afterwards, he did NOT say, "Thank you." He said something better: "I appreciate you." Wow! It means the same thing as "thank you," but it felt so much more thoughtful and meaningful...and it definitely caught my attention more than a simple, routine "thank you" would have done. The little things can make a big difference, can't they?


May 16 - Jeff and I and all the kids took Grandma Fisher to the airport today so she could fly back to California after spending four weeks with us. We'll all miss her, but can you guess which of us cried the most when saying goodbye?


May 17 - David just now: "I wish I could marry someone in my family because I want to marry Moriah...because she's a little girl, and I love her." :)


May 18 - One of the loveliest sounds on earth is the happy sound of children playing outdoors during warm summer (or spring or fall) evenings. When the light lingers late in the day, we linger, too. Bedtimes are pushed back and ignored, neighbors come to jump on the trampoline or ride bikes on the driveway, and as my mother and I work in the kitchen to clean up after supper, I savor the sweetness of the sounds floating through the open windows. When children's voices no longer ring outside my windows, I'll remember these days and wish I had appreciated them more. So I'm saying thank you for them now.


May 19 - God promises that His mercies are new every morning. One of His mercies to me already this morning was four boys who happily and quietly entertained themselves with books from our recent trip to the library while I napped on the couch this morning. I feel a whole lot better after my second wake-up than I did after my first! :)


May 22 - Tobin, just now, to me: "I more like girl babies. And when YOU were a baby, I loved you VERY much!" I'm not exactly sure how that's possible, but I'll just be grateful for his sweet expression of love. ;-)


May 23 - The most exciting accomplishment of the day: David learned to ride a bike without training wheels!!! :) Our neighbors brought over a bike that was a better size for him than the one we had, and David hopped on it and persisted in trying to ride until he got the hang of it. At first, he could only go a very short distance; but before long, he was riding like a pro. I'm so happy for him!!


May 23 - It only took me until 11:17 PM, but I finally finished all the supper dishes. I'm celebrating the little things, folks. ;-)

May 25 - Had a fun little photo shoot with my boys yesterday. Their reward for good cooperation? A Hershey Kiss. My reward? A picture of all five of my children, to be used for next month's blog header. I feel continually blessed to be the mother of these five!


May 26 - ‎1:17 AM - I'm up with Moriah, enjoying a peaceful night feeding. All is quiet here in our corner of the world, until the silence is broken by...can you guess? The unmistakable sound of a horse clip-clopping down the road pulling a buggy. These Old Order Mennonites sure have a wild side. ;-)

May 26 - It's a great day to hang laundry out on the line! Well, other than the fact that I sweat about a gallon each time I hang out a load. But at least it won't take the clothes too long to dry in this heat! :)


May 26 - I'm looking forward to heaven for many reasons. At the top of my list tonight is this: no allergies in heaven!!! :)


May 27 - My current favorite mispronunciations, all courtesy of Tobin: "regible" (with a hard "g" sound) for "regular," "motorped" for "moped," and "sprinkable" for "sprinkler." Just now, he came into the house from the garden where he and Jeff headed as soon as we got home from a church service. Tobin called out, "Shav, do you want to get wet in the sprinkable?" I'll be a little sad when he figures out how to say all of these words the correct way, and I no longer hear his unique variations. ;-)


May 28 - Shav's favorite letter seems to be "b." In fact, he loves it so much that he puts it into as many words as possible! Consequently, "Tobin" becomes "Bobin," "tummy" becomes "bummy," "cup" becomes "bup," etc. Sometimes when Shav asks me to get a cup for him, I'll hand it to him and say, "Here's your bup!" :) "No," he'll insist and concentrate intently, "Bup!" He hears the difference, but can't produce the correct sound. If I tease him a little too much about it, he'll say, "Bop!" which, of course, means "stop." ;-)


May 30 - Today was a day of firsts: the first time Shav really kissed us (previously, he would come to us, press his head against us, and RECEIVE hugs and kisses...but he never gave a real kiss...this morning, I said, "Shav, can you give a real kiss like this?"...and of course, he could...the little stinker's been holding out on us!), the first time Jeff changed Moriah's diaper ("Was it poopy?" I asked. "Yep," he said, "A squirt of mustard," which made me laugh because that's exactly what her poop looks like.), my first time grocery shopping with Moriah (she did great when I was holding her, but did not like riding around in her car seat...my arm got very tired!...I should have taken the Snugli and carried her in that), Moriah's first visit to Riven Rock (one of my favorite places around here), and the first time I saw a lightning bug this year. Tonight I'm grateful for firsts...and for lasts...and for all the in-betweens. :)


May 30 - This evening Josiah was referring to the Trixie Belden series of books, and we were talking about how they're really old books. "Like from the 90's?" he asked. "The 90's??? The 90's are NOT old!!" so says his mother who was born in the veritable ancient times of the 70's. When I protested against his categorization of the 90's as old, he said calmly, "Well, it was before I was born." True, that. But it still doesn't make the 90's old!!! :)


And now, one more thing before I call it a night:  I get to change my blog header and layout.  Yippee!  That's always a fun job.  :)

Wednesday, May 30, 2012

If I Didn't Have to Sleep Tonight...

...I would stay up and do a full post about our evening out at Riven Rock Park.  But since I am a mere mortal and I do still require sleep, one picture will have to do.  

Here are my two favorite women...   :)

Wordless Wednesday {David under a Maple}



Tuesday, May 29, 2012

What's Going On

Things are a little busy around here these days.  Besides the normal feeling of life being full almost to overflowing because it hasn't even been two months since we added a baby to the family, I've also been tackling a huge annual project.  But here.  I'll let my Facebook status that I posted a little bit ago speak for itself...  ;-)


A little homeschool planning is a dangerous thing. I've been trying to finish the project of cleaning out our homeschool closet, reminding myself of what materials we have and what we need, and wrapping up preliminary plans for the coming school year...all before we go to the homeschool convention that's coming up soon. But tonight, after consultation with the principal of our school (uh, that would be Jeff) ;-), I decided to basically ditch all the plans I had made for this coming year and TOTALLY change direction. And you know what? I'm THRILLED. Before this, I was basically trying in vain to drum up enthusiasm for the coming year. And now? I'm so, so, SO excited! I can hardly wait to start! :)


So there you have it.  That's what has kept me from the computer today, that's what's been on my mind, that's why my blog posts have been short, and that's what is putting a smile on my face tonight.  


Thinking about this boy...


...and his brothers and all the fun we're going to have and memories we're going to make this coming year is also a good reason to smile.


I'm grinning like a fool.  ;-)

Monday, May 28, 2012

Lean on Me

Shav fell asleep yesterday afternoon while the boys were watching a movie.
 Good thing he had Tobin to lean on.  ;-)
We all need to lean on someone sometimes.  :)

Sunday, May 27, 2012

He's No Shakespeare...

...but my paternal grandparents loved his poetry; and I currently have a volume of his work on the little table by the chair where I nurse Moriah in the night.  During those times of sleepiness, I can't seem to wake up enough to read anything too heavy, but his writings are just right for such times.

I'm talking about the poetry of Edgar Guest, a poet with whose work I was not well acquainted at all.  But a week or two ago, as my hand was moving along the bookshelf, searching for the next book to read during night nursings, I chose to pull an old volume off the shelf; and when I opened it, I saw the inscription "The J.S. Huffmans" written in my grandmother's handwriting.  The book is copyright 1919, and the poems are sweet and sentimental.  Many of them extol the value of home and family and faithful, simple living; but this one just made me laugh, especially because my granddad was an old country doctor, and I can easily envision him doing a trick like this Dr. Johnson did.  ;-)


Dr. Johnson's Picture Cow

Got a sliver in my hand
An' it hurt t' beat the band,
An' got white around it, too;
Then the first thing that I knew
It was all swelled up, an' Pa
Said: "There's no use fussin', Ma,
Jes' put on his coat an' hat;
Doctor Johnson must see that."


I was scared an' yelled, because
One time when the doctor was 
At our house he made me smell
Something funny, an' I fell
Fast asleep, an' when I woke
Seemed like I was goin' t' choke;
An' the folks who stood about
Said I'd had my tonsils out.


An' my throat felt awful sore
An' I couldn't eat no more,
An' it hurt me when I'd talk,
An' they wouldn't let me walk.
So when Pa said I must go
To the doctor's, I said: "No,
I don't want to go to-night,
'Cause my hand will be all right."


Pa said: "Take him, Ma," an' so
I jes' knew I had t' go.
An' the doctor looked an' said:
"It is very sore an' red--
Much too sore to touch at all.
See that picture on the wall,
That one over yonder, Bud,
With the old cow in the mud?


"Once I owned a cow like that,
Jes' as brown an' big an' fat,
An' one day I pulled her tail
An' she kicked an' knocked the pail
Full o' milk clean over me."
Then I looked up there t' see
His old cow above the couch,
An' right then I hollered, 'ouch.'


"Bud," says he, "what's wrong with you;
Did the old cow kick you, too?"
An' he laughed, an' Ma said: "Son,
Never mind, now, it's all done."
Pretty soon we came away
An' my hand's all well to-day.
But that's first time that I knew
Picture cows could kick at you.

Saturday, May 26, 2012

Hands-On Love

I used to wonder how children in a large family ever got enough time and attention and TLC and love.
 As my own family grows, I'm learning that I needn't have worried about that.
 In fact, I had things a little backwards.
 Children in a large family have even more people to love and adore them, to give them all the time and attention and cuddles and hands-on love that they need.
Maybe it's children in small families that we should worry about!  ;-)  
(Lest anyone be offended, please rest assured that I'm only teasing.  I fully believe that children can thrive in small families and in large; families are not a one-size-fits-all kind of thing.  God constructs so many different shapes and sizes and varieties of families!)

David is such a hands-on kind of boy that it's no wonder that he's the one to most often ask to hold Moriah...and that he's the one who comes over to her multiple times a day and gives her kisses (always seven kisses, because that's how old he is)...and that he's the one to make up a funny little act with her.
It started when he saw her one day in the guitar-playing position that she automatically winds up in sometimes - her left arm outstretched and her right arm bent as if to strum the strings.  He started making her arm move in a guitar-playing motion, and then he added the "I'm a rock star, and I love God" words, and it grew from there. 

In case you can't understand the lyrics of David's song, here they are.  ;-)
I'm a rock star, and I love God,
And I think it's time to praise God.
Yeah!  Yeah!
Now it's time to pray.
I thank You, God, for this day.
Thank You, God!  Thank You, God!
I thank You, God, for this day.

Sweet boy.  

Sweet girl.

Such sweetness is honey to my soul.  :)

Friday, May 25, 2012

The Birthday "Boy" {and an Afternoon I Don't Want to Forget}

My dad last night, getting ready to blow out the candles on his coconut cake.  
Jeff teased that if we had literally put 72 candles on the cake, I wouldn't have even needed to bake it; the heat from all those candles would have done the job.  ;-)  So we settled for a 7 (used quite recently for David's birthday) and a 2 (used last July for Shav's birthday, when he, like his grandpa, had a coconut cake); and not surprisingly, Dad had no trouble blowing them both out.  I wonder what he wished for.  ;-)


As I've gotten older and as Dad has gotten older, I have often thought that he looks very young for his age.  I still think so.  That man in the picture?  72?  It's really hard to believe.  I think he could pass for at least 15 years younger than he is.  ;-)


********


Wednesday morning was one of those good, full, but-I-know-I'm-going-to-be-exhausted-later kinds of mornings.  First thing on the agenda was my six-week follow-up appointment with Barbara, the midwife who delivered Moriah; and it was a very pleasant appointment.  Barbara is so friendly that any appointment with her feels more like a visit with a friend than anything else!  Then Jeff and I ran a few errands before heading home; when we got here, I fed Moriah, and then headed out--this time with all the kids by myself--to go to a park where some other homeschool families were gathering.  It was a beautiful day, and I loved watching my boys have fun on the kids' castle at that park.  Shav, in particular, impressed me with how fearless he was; he climbed up and down and all around and acted just like a big boy.  The only thing he did not want to go on was any kind of swinging bridge or platform that moved or anything like that.  He balked just like a stubborn mule any time I tried to get him to go on one--even if I was holding his hand or supporting him in some way.  So I simply let him navigate his way around the play structure in a path that avoided all of those moving surfaces.  Problem solved.  :)


That afternoon, after we returned home and had eaten lunch, I finally got everyone settled down for naps/quiet time; and since I was so tired, I decided to lay down on the couch for some rest, too.  Moriah was sleeping peacefully in the swing, and I was so looking forward to getting some shut-eye.  I laid down, and...you can probably guess what happened...almost immediately, Moriah began to fuss.  "You have got to be kidding me!" I thought. "How is it that babies have this sensor that detects when their parents are desperate for sleep and are wishing with all their might that their offspring will sleep, too?  And then when the parents are at that point, the babies suddenly wake up and cry as if to say, 'Oh, no, you don't.  Don't even think about going to sleep when we're around'!"  ;-)  I can type a happy face there now; but believe me, that afternoon, I wasn't feeling so cheerful about the situation!


I dragged myself up off the couch, stopped the swing, picked up Moriah, and sat back down on the couch with her to nurse her.  "Maybe," I thought, "I'll be able to finish feeding her and then she'll go back to sleep and then I'll still be able to get some rest before quiet time is over for the boys."  But here's what happened...


She ate and then fell asleep, and I--my heart having changed by that point--continued to hold her.  I scooted down on the couch into a reclining position and she snuggled on my chest like a little koala and we had a wonderful nap together.  We hadn't gotten to do that for a while, and already I feel like she's growing up so fast and I miss that sleepy newborn stage when babies are so content to nap on their parents' chests.  To be able to do that with her again was a treasure, and I--knowing well that it might be the last time (but then again, it might not)--savored it deeply.  It was a very sweet time of bonding, and I would have missed it entirely if I had had my way when this whole episode began and I was practically begging her to go back to sleep in the swing.


As I contemplated how I almost missed such a special time with my girl, I thought of two things:  the old song "Unanswered Prayers" by Garth Brooks ;-) and Romans 8:28 which reminds us that "in all things God works for the good..."


In ALL things.  Even in our babies' fussy times.


I'm so glad my original plan for the afternoon didn't work out.  Plan B was much, much better.  How grateful I am that I didn't miss that opportunity to cuddle with my baby girl and take that nap...


...together.

In Case They Ever Find Themselves in Narnia...

 ...it would be good if they knew how to defend themselves.
Sword-fighting skills would certainly come in handy...
...so my boys practice a lot.
Just in case they ever walk through a wardrobe...
...or find another door that opens into the land of Aslan.
 After all, one never knows when He'll call.  ;-)
Meanwhile, Queen Susan (or is she Lucy?) watches it all.  Does she long to meet the great lion, too?  :)

Thursday, May 24, 2012

As My Dad Turns 72...

...it seems like a good time to take a stroll down Memory Lane.  I can do this with these old pictures, thanks to my dad who painstakingly spent hours this past winter scanning old slides and photographs into the computer to distribute them to my siblings and I.  That was a project I had wanted to do ever since we moved back from Israel.  Lo and behold, I never got around to it.  Thankfully, my dad did.  :)

Here is a look at this incredible man through the years - the man I'm so grateful to have as my father.

He and I when I was a newborn...

The family - Nov. 28, 1976 - I was almost 8 months old

The family - about 1979

The family - about 1980 

The family at my grandparents' house in Dayton - June 14, 1980

The family inside my grandparents' house - probably 1980

The family - December 1980

With extended family on my dad's side - in the Dayton Church of the Brethren

Eating a meal in the Bopp's beach house in Buxton, NC - our FAVORITE vacation spot, by far

Dad praying for me at my baptism - 1983

The family on my birthday - April 1, 1984


The family - November 21, 1984 - notice my drastically shorter hair?  somewhere between April 1 and November 21, my sister Donna decided that I should have short hair; so one day while my parents were gone, she cut off my braids - at the time, I didn't think much of it; but now as a mother, I CANNOT IMAGINE how my parents must have felt!!!  :)

With extended family on my mom's side - at my grandparents' farm in Pennsylvania - 1986

With my grandparents - 1986

With my Grandma Huffman at my Granddad's retirement reception (he was a well-loved, old-fashioned country doctor...hmmmm, reminds me of someone else I know!) ;-)  - January 11, 1987

A small group Bible study my parents were part of - summer 1988 - Dad is the tall one in the middle of the back row

My high school graduation - June 1993

Visiting friends in Florida - August 1993

With those Florida friends - August 1993

As I look back through these pictures and journey in memories through the years, I'm reminded of what a good life my dad has helped to provide for me.  And I'm grateful - so very grateful.

Happy birthday, Dad!  72 looks good on you!!!  :)

Wednesday, May 23, 2012

(Almost) Wordless Wednesday {Cute Little Monkey}


Her serious look...

A smile beginning...  :)

(Thanks, Aunt Helen, for the cute outfit!!!)  :)

Tuesday, May 22, 2012

Anything But Ordinary

Six weeks and a day after Moriah's birth, we're starting to find our normal.  Today was that kind of day: plain ol' regular.  I didn't go anywhere, our dear friend Kathryn came this afternoon to play with the boys as is our Tuesday afternoon routine, I accomplished a little laundry today, we had spaghetti for supper, the boys played outside a lot, I watched the horse in our pasture and admired her shiny coat and her amazing lawn-mowing abilities, Josiah and David picked potato bugs off our potato plants and earned a penny for each one they killed, I held and nursed and snuggled Moriah who was blessedly much more calm this evening than last, my mom and I did the supper dishes, Jeff did a little garden work, etc.  :)  Nice and normal.

Other parts of our day...

* I spent some time working in my bedroom which has been an unequivocal disaster area since Moriah's birth.  Maternity clothes that need packed away, non-maternity clothes that need organized in the closet and dresser, papers from the hospital, baby gifts that I need to find a spot for, and all kinds of other stuff have been littering our room and, frankly, driving me nuts.  It was reassuring today to make progress in that room, and I have hope that it will someday (soon?) be once again a peaceful place!  :)  While putting away some gift bags, I especially admired this one that our kind neighbor Barbara brought over a few days ago with a gift for Moriah inside.  Someday I'll take a picture of Moriah wearing the gift, but meanwhile I had to take a picture of the gift bag, because it was just so cute!
 I often use the expression "cute as a button," even though I don't understand how that expression started.  Are buttons really cute?  Well, on this gift bag they are.  ;-)

* I read a few chapters from By the Shores of Silver Lake to the boys this morning.  And I cried.  Why?  Because Grace was lost.  And no one could find her.  And Pa said terribly, "The Big Slough."  And Pa and Ma ran there to look because they were afraid she had drowned.  And I thought about what if Moriah...  And I just had to cry.  A little.  :)

* We did a simple science experiment, mostly for the benefit of Tobin and Shav, about wheels and what shapes roll the best.  (Can wheels be made out of triangles or squares?  No!  Why not?)  :)

* I sat on the front porch steps with Tobin this morning and cut his fingernails and mine, letting the nails fall to the ground--the advantage of cutting fingernails outdoors!  Then we watched in amazement as an ant--a teeny, tiny one--came along and picked up a huge fingernail and carried it across a horizontal surface, then down a vertical(!) surface, and then into a crack in the concrete.  Ants are amazing.  They have an awesome Creator.  "What would the ant do with the fingernail?" we wondered.  David's guess: the ant would use it to build his house.  :)

* The most exciting, noteworthy event of the day happened this evening.  David learned how to ride a bike without training wheels!!!  I'm not sure why we didn't work on this skill last summer; but as the weather warmed this year, I knew without a doubt that this would be the year that David would shed the training wheels.  A few days ago, I worked with him briefly, holding the bike to steady him as he slowly rode along.  But today, our neighbors came over to play, and they brought with them a bike that was a better size for David than the one we had.  He hopped on it, managed to ride a very short distance at first, but kept with it and increased his distance each time.  It wasn't long at all until he was able to ride up and down our driveway from our garage to our basketball goal, gaining confidence and speed and agility.  As with Josiah two years ago, David was ready; and once he got the right bike under him, he taught himself as easy as pie.  I'm so proud of him!!

There's a peace and joy that settles on the soul at the end of such a day.  As the children sleep contentedly in their beds and the cool night air drifts in the open windows, it's enjoyable to think back over the moments that made up this day in our simple country life.  At the end of my reflections, I conclude that, on the one hand, today was ordinary.

On the other hand, it was anything but!  

Monday, May 21, 2012

This Girl...

...had a rough evening.  Yesterday, she did, too.  It sure makes a mom feel helpless when nothing she does - even a trip to the open-24-hours-a-day Milk Bar ;-) - soothes her child.  This too shall pass.

Soon, I hope.  ;-)