I Shall Be Random, Vol. 6

~ 1 ~

This morning, my alarm clock was Shav.  He had crawled into bed beside me and was whisper-yelling (you're familiar with that kind of voice?) as loudly as he could into my ear, "MOM!"  When I groggily opened one eye and peered over the top of the covers at him, he beamed and held up his hand two or so inches from my face in the sign for "I love you."  I think I mumbled something in response, but I'm not quite sure.  Apparently I fell back asleep almost immediately, because the next thing I knew, he was saying cheerily, "You haven't had enough Shavi kisses yet today!" and was kissing my nose. What a way to wake up.  :)

~ 2 ~

Speaking of waking up...  Since Moriah still has two naps each day (morning nap starting around 10:15 and afternoon nap starting around 3:15), she happens to be awake during the early part of the afternoon, right when my afternoon sleepies are hitting me.  I've learned a new trick to deal with this predicament.  I sit on the floor in the living room, set a basket of toys or books beside me, then let Moriah play there while I lean my head back against the couch and fall asleep (and usually, one of the boys is having quiet time there in the living room, too, like Tobin was today).  Sure, it's not the most comfortable thing in the world to fall asleep sitting up, but some days that tiny power nap is what gets me through.

That's what happened today...until I was awakened from my sleep by something hitting my head.  I forced my eyes to open and discovered that Moriah had gotten a football (nerf, fortunately) from the toy basket and had thrown it at my head.  Oh, good grief.  Believe it or not, I was so tired that I fell back to sleep...until I felt another thud against my skull.  She'd thrown the football at me again.

At that point, I realized the wisest thing to do would be to get up on my feet and not let myself fall asleep again!

~3~

Sunday afternoon, David had climbed up on the low bookshelf by the window to give Heather more food and water when he suddenly shouted, "THERE'S AN EGG!"  A pause, and then, "THERE'S ANOTHER EGG!"

"No way," I thought, "it must just be poop."

It wasn't poop.

It was an egg.

Two of them.

I didn't know a lovebird without a mate would suddenly start producing eggs.  I guess there are a lot of things I don't know.

(Like what do we do now? Heather is very protective of her eggs, and I wouldn't want to be sticking my hand in her cage right now.  If we just leave the eggs in the cage for a while, will they start to stink?  If we take them out, will she lay more?  It's a really good thing Jeff Old MacDonald takes care of all those bird-related things, because I don't have a clue!)  ;-)

~ 4 ~

I started wrapping Christmas gifts today.  I am DETERMINED to not wait until the last minute to wrap them.

~ 5 ~

Shav sang a little song this morning.

Who was the wise guy who decided that a lullaby about falling out of a tree would be relaxing anyway??  ;-)

~ 6 ~

Moriah doesn't really talk. (She SERIOUSLY needs to take lessons from this sweet little girl who is younger than Moriah and is practically reading the dictionary already.)  ;-)  But Moriah made a few animal sounds recently that encouraged me that someday, she too will join the hosts of people upon this earth who use their mouths for talking.

With words.

Real words.

That actually mean something.

Someday.

Anyway, when I handed her a little stuffed lion while I was changing her diaper recently, I said, "Rarrr!" and she whispered back to me her version of "rarrr."  Another time I gave her a cow toy and said, "Mooo," and I think she said something that sounded a little like "mooo."  At least it had the "m" sound in it.

I consider that to be great progress in the area of language acquisition!  ;-)

~ 7 ~

Every year when fall rolls around and it's time to officially start school again, we find ourselves dragging our feet a little--being excited about devoting more time to "book larnin'", but being reluctant to spend many hours indoors, just when the skies are clear and the air is pleasant and the sunshine is calling.  In times like that, I don't hesitate too long before releasing the boys to run wild and free.  I think to myself, "When winter comes, THAT'S when we'll do most of our school work."

And so it is.  On days like today when a cold rain is falling all day and we don't even venture out of doors except to feed the animals, there's nothing better than to hang out in the living room, appreciating the warmth of the woodstove, and learning together.  Today the boys colored lots of pictures, and I read aloud (among other things) lots of pages about Abraham Lincoln--more even than the curriculum guide called for.

It was a perfect day for homeschooling.  :)

~ 8 ~

Before we eat supper together as a family, Jeff reads a short section from the Bible; and the book he's been reading from recently is Ezekiel.  Nearly every time he reads, my first reaction is, "WOAH.  That's intense."

Let's face it, Ezekiel is quite an intense book.  For example, the words of God in chapter 9...

"Then the Lord called to the man clothed in linen who had the writing kit at his side and said to him, 'Go throughout the city of Jerusalem and put a mark on the foreheads of those who grieve and lament over all the detestable things that are done in it.' As I listened, he said to the others, 'Follow him through the city and kill, without showing pity or compassion. Slaughter the old men, the young men and women, the mothers and children, but do not touch anyone who has the mark'."

This leaped out at me because often I feel like I'm one of them: "those who grieve and lament over all the detestable things that are done in it."  But I wonder if grieving and lamenting is enough, and I tell myself that it's not, and I remember Lot, and I feel so small as I stand against the big, big evil and pain of the world.

But the Lord says, "Do not touch anyone who has the mark."

Ezekiel gives me hope.

~ 9 ~

The song that best describes the cry of my heart these days?  This one.  I heard it for the first time recently, and now I can't get it out of my head.  I need to feel my need of God so much more than I do!

Previous "I Shall Be Random" posts:  1...2...3...4...5.