Still Missing This Boy

Only 2 more days until his return!!  :)

Can You Guess the Theme...

...of the Vacation Bible School the boys participated in yesterday?

 It was strange: I sent some American boys; but by evening, they had turned into Egyptians!  And not the friendly, hospitable Egyptians Jeff and I met when we visited Cairo a dozen years ago.  These Egyptians near my house yesterday were the stern, harsh taskmasters of Moses' day - yikes!

 Except sometimes, it's hard to stay stern when your mom is smiling at you; and the persona of these tough guys began to slip.  Aha, I guess they are my sons after all!  :)

In other news, Jeff stayed home from our church service this morning to take care of Moriah who is sick with a fever and harsh, barking cough.  Because I needed to play the piano during the service, I passed the nursing duties to Jeff who very willingly assumed her care.  This is what I found when I walked in the door after the service.

I'd say he did a pretty good job.  ;-)

Missing This Boy

Since my firstborn flew the nest earlier this week, I've been doing pretty good at holding myself together.  I have enjoyed following Josiah's schedule throughout each day and have been reminded often of what an incredible opportunity this is for him.  I'm so grateful he could go!  Additionally, I've been helped by the communication we've been able to have with him; a phone call goes a long way, as does texting, in helping hearts feel connected.  Besides all that, several of the choir moms on the trip have been taking pictures and posting them to Facebook; and I have been loving that!!  :)  So I've been doing fine - really!  :)

But last evening, the whole family was sitting in the living room together: Jeff and David on one couch, Tobin and Shav wrestling like lion cubs on the other one, Moriah in my lap in the rocking chair.  Outside the rain was falling, and my thoughts flew to Josiah.  It was so peaceful and cozy being all together, but a hole remained.  A Josiah-sized hole.

Later on, after I gave Moriah a bath, I was combing her damp, sweet-smelling, squeaky-clean hair (a task I never grow weary of); and she informed me that we should go pick up "Ty-ah" right then.  Ah, if only it were that easy.  :)

I guess I'm not the only one who's missing him!

Only 5 more days until his return!  :)

But really, I'm so happy for him with all the opportunities he's having.  :)

The One I Love

With a title like that, you'd expect this to be a blog post about Jeff, right?  Well...  ;-)

OF COURSE, he's the one I love; but I'm not talking about humans right now.  No, I am turning my attention to the four-footed creatures who are part of our family.  

You see, we have two dogs.  One of them I LOVE, and one of them I...tolerate.  I'll give you three guesses about which is which.  ;-)

Ding, ding, ding!  You guessed that I love Jed, didn't you?  Whaddya know, you're right!

And hey, would you look at that?  That other guy I love happened to make into this picture, too!  ;-)

She's Known Me Since 1993...

...and she still likes me enough to come spend an evening with my family when her family goes on vacation.  Amazing!

But that's Lisa: A-M-A-Z-I-N-G.  :)

She and I met when we were freshmen in college, living in the same dorm; but it wasn't until the last two years of college when we were two of the five women living together that we got to know each other really well.  And believe me, when five women live together in a small college apartment, you do get to know each other REALLY WELL.  :)

The five of us still love to get together, although the distances between our dwelling places make it a rare event when we get to pull that off; but I'm grateful that for several years, Lisa and her family have vacationed in my area and have been willing to give up an evening of their vacation to get together with us.  In previous years, we've had them out to our house for dinner; but this year, I asked Lisa if they would like to go to Riven Rock to let the kids play in the water and have a picnic supper together.  After all, if we love it so much (AND WE DO), maybe Lisa's kids would, too?  :)

Lisa and Andrew agreed to my plan, and tonight was our night to do this...provided the weather cooperated...which it didn't *exactly*...but a few raindrops never hurt a bunch of creek-splashing kids, right?  ;-)  When the raindrops intensified, we decided it would be a good time to eat our supper in the shelter; and by the time we were done, so was the shower.  Back to the creek the kids went for Round Two.  :)

My picture-taking was minimal this evening, since I was enjoying so much the chance to just BE with Lisa; but here are a few photos I managed to take.  Lisa is the one on the left.  A special joy tonight was meeting Andrew's sister Anna (in the back of the photo).

Maybe I should have told my kids I was taking this picture, so they could have looked at me and smiled.  Ya think?  ;-)

 As always, the big draw was the creek.  Simple, beautiful nature at its finest.  :)

 I couldn't get a clear picture of these two girls no matter how hard I tried, because they stayed IN MOTION.  Anna (yes, Andrew has a sister named Anna, and a daughter named Anna, which doesn't seem at all strange to me because I'm in the same situation with my Davids!) and Moriah are both three, but Anna is older than Moriah and was quite fearless in how she approached that big, slippery rock in the cold, cold water!  :)

 Towards the end of our time there, the girls jumped off the rock into the water over and over and over again.  :)

Before we said goodbye, I really should have thought to get a picture of Lisa and I together!  But even without a physical photo, I will keep the memory in my heart of a special evening in a special place with a very special friend!!  :)

Wordless Wednesday {One Quick Snap Before He Left for New Orleans}

The {LEGO} Battle Is Real

When this army...

 ...and this general...

 ...go up against this commander...

 ...and his forces...

 ...it's anybody's guess...

 ...as to who will win.

 But one thing is certain...

 ...I wouldn't want to have to fight...

...either of them.  

;-)

A Mighty Big Snip of the Apron Strings {Josiah Goes to NOLA}

In a little more than 31 hours, I will hug and kiss my firstborn and send him off on a grand adventure: a tour with his wonderful choir to the wilds of New Orleans for a children's choir festival.

Although I am CERTAIN he will have a wonderful time, I admit that, a few times in the past week, as the reality of this trip has drawn near, I've thought to myself, "This is the stupidest thing I've ever done.  WHY did I ever think this was a good idea??"  ;-)  Which is probably exactly what my parents thought when I was 18 years old and they sent me off--alone--to travel to Israel to meet up with my study group from my college (I had stayed behind in the U.S. to be in the wedding of a dear friend and missed the first couple days of the tour).  On second thought, maybe Josiah going to New Orleans with his choir isn't too bad after all!!  ;-)  But oh, how I will miss that boy!!!

However...taking myself firmly in hand...I'm not going to think about that right now.  Instead, I'm going to remember how beautifully the choir performed last night in their pre-tour concert to raise funds for earthquake relief in Nepal.  And not only did they sound beautiful--they looked it, too.  Especially a certain son of mine whose face I drank in thirstily.  I have to soak in the sight of him while I can, you know!  ;-)

As they rehearsed before the concert, I took a few moments to walk around and snap a few photos.  I just wish I could go to New Orleans and snap a few (hundred) photos there!  :)

What My Kids Say about Their Dad

"Blessed indeed is the man who hears many gentle voices call him father!" 

~ Lydia M. Child ~

Does it still count if the voices aren't always...well...precisely gentle??  ;-)

On this Father's Day, one thing is for certain: my kids are BLESSED INDEED to have the daddy that God gave them...and along with that, I am BLESSED INDEED to share the delights and hardships of parenting with this man.

I asked my kids a day or two ago to tell me some things about their dad: what he's good at, what they appreciate about him, etc.  With very little involvement from me, this is what they came up with.

~ I like to play chess with him.

~ I like giving Dad love letters.

~ I like giving Dad hugs and kisses.

~ He likes to go grocery shopping.

~ I like wrestling with him.

~ I like him tickling me.

~ I like him hugging me and kissing me.

~ I like to help him in the garden.

~ I like playing chess with him and watching him play chess.

~ I like cutting his hair.

~ I like getting a haircut from Dad.

~ I like learning new languages with him.

~ I'm grateful that he works in the garden.

~ I'm grateful that he provides for us.

~ I'm grateful that he took us to the homeschool convention.

~ I'm grateful that he helped me with my horse house when I couldn't find a long nail and then when I couldn't hammer it in.

~ I like how Dad likes animals.

~ I like to hear him preach.

~ I'm grateful that he makes good taquitos and tacos and tostadas.

~ I'm grateful that he takes us on great vacations.

~ I'm grateful that he sometimes cooks bacon for us on Sunday mornings.

~ Dad is good at preaching.

~ Dad is good at making special memories for our family.

~ Dad is good at cutting hair.

~ Dad is good at gardening.

~ Dad is good at hammering.

~ Dad is good at making us laugh.

~ Dad is good at police work.

~ Dad is good at eating spicy stuff.

~ I'm glad that Dad makes salsa so he and I can eat it all up.

~ I like that Dad takes us out for breakfast.

And my personal favorite...  :)

~ I like that Dad married Mom!  :)

If I had to narrow down to a Top Five my personal list of Jeff's characteristics I'm especially grateful for, I'd have to say...

~ his provision for us (he's so responsible and hard-working and has always supported my desire to be a stay-at-home mom),

~ his protection of us,

~ the grace he continually extends to me in my short-comings,

~ the partnership we have in parenting and every other area (I value his input and advice SO MUCH),

~ his love for and loyalty to God that extends to his relationship with me and our children.

Of course, my list could go on and on, too, especially because each new year gives me new insights into who Jeff is...and I find more and more reasons to love, respect, and appreciate him.

Happy Father's Day, Jeff, from your biggest fans in the world!  We are BLESSED INDEED to have you!!!  :)

12 Tender Storybooks for Father's Day

Sometimes it seems like, when it comes to celebrating their role in the family, dads get the short end of the stick.  After all, when May rolls around, we celebrate mothers on Mother's Day with flowers and beautiful cards with lovely words and maybe some candy and certainly dinner out so mothers don't have to cook (or do dishes, which is, in my opinion, the even better part about eating out!).  :)  But when the next month comes, bringing Father's Day with it, do we celebrate with as much enthusiasm?

I'm not suggesting that in the next two days, we buy out the florists' shops so each dad we know can have a gorgeous bouquet of flowers on his special day; somehow, I don't think that's the ticket to making him feel especially loved.  ;-)  But I do think it's worth taking a moment to consider how we can show an enormous amount of respect and gratitude to the special dads in our lives.  Since I have a dad who is loving and caring and has always been very involved in my life, Father's Day has always been a joyous occasion; and because my own children happen to have an incredible dad, too, I am doubly blessed and doubly eager to bring honor, especially to these two special men!  :)

A couple of weeks ago, I read a blog post about books for Father's Day; and that inspired me to do a little digging of my own to uncover some wonderful storybooks that show how special fathers are.  So far, I've come up with a list of a dozen that I recommend; but let me say this: they are not specifically Father's Day books.  Rather, they are simply books that show dads being dads--both humans and in the animal kingdom--going about the business of faithfully providing for their families and lovingly caring for their children without making a big deal about it.  About each of these books I could say that it is simple and sweet.  I happen to like that in a storybook.  :)

Without further ado, here are 12 tender storybooks to enjoy on Father's Day--or anytime you want to remember the great blessing of daddies who love with their whole hearts!  :)

1. The Fathers Are Coming Home - by Margaret Wise Brown, illustrated by Stephen Savage

 2. I Love My Daddy Because... - by Laurel Porter-Gaylord, illustrated by Ashley Wolff

 3. The Apple Pie that Papa Baked - by Lauren Thompson, illustrated by Jonathan Bean

 4. Ten, Nine, Eight - by Molly Bang

 5. Night Driving - by John Coy, illustrated by Peter McCarty

 6. Mister Seahorse - by Eric Carle (who else could come up with such vivid illustrations?)  :)

 7. Tell Me One Thing, Dad - by Tom Pow, illustrated by Ian Andrew

 8. We're Going on a Bear Hunt - by Michael Rosen, illustrated by Helen Oxenbury

 9. Owl Moon - by Jane Yolen, illustrated by John Schoenherr

 10. Ox-Cart Man - by Donald Hall, illustrated by Barbara Cooney

 11. Interrupting Chicken - by David Ezra Stein

 12. The Emperor's Egg - by Martin Jenkins, illustrated by Jane Chapman

Bonus:  I didn't include the next two in the official list because the male in the story is never identified as the dad (that didn't stop me from assuming he is, however!), but they're definitely worth mentioning--and what's more, reading!
Guess How Much I Love You - by Sam McBratney, illustrated by Anita Jeram
and
Can't You Sleep, Little Bear? - by Martin Waddell, illustrated by Barbara Firth

Another bonus:  I didn't gear this list towards books for older children, but I can't help mentioning a few of my favorites in that category, too.  Whether silly or serious, each of the dads in the following books has character traits that are admirable and worthy of imitation!
The McBroom stories - by Sid Fleischman
and
The Little House in the Big Woods series - by Laura Ingalls Wilder
and
Little Britches - by Ralph Moody (I've also enjoyed others in this series, but--spoiler alert!--because the father dies at the end of the first book, I'm only including the first one in this list.)

This isn't an exhaustive list, by any stretch of the imagination; but as we approach Father's Day 2015, these books are some that stand out to me.  Maybe by next year, I'll have more ideas to add to the list.  But why wait for 2016?

Good daddies are worth celebrating every single day of the year!  :)

Wordless Wednesday {David & Josiah Learn to Weed Eat}