I Shall Be Random, Vol. 10

~ 1 ~

The other day, we were at Walmart to pick up a few things; and we happened to be in a checkout line behind a gray-haired Mennonite lady.  I didn't recognize her, and we didn't have time to chat, but she spoke kindly to my boys as they started to put our items on the counter as she was finishing up her transaction.

When we got out to the parking lot and were loading ourselves into our big white van, I spotted her again.  She was perched on a bicycle, her bonnet atop her head, a backpack (loaded, I'm sure, with items she'd just bought) on her back, bags of groceries strapped onto a rack behind her seat, and other bags on a rack (or basket, I'm not sure) in the front.  I don't know how old she was, but at any rate, I hope that when I'm her age, I'm in good enough shape to pull off such a feat!  :)

~ 2 ~

Summer isn't quite here yet, but we're acting like it is.  These evenings are made for being outdoors!

~ 3 ~

There's something about walking out the door of my house and going to the garden to pick fresh food for our meals that makes me feel positively rich!  Last evening, for example, I went out to the garden to cut a head of broccoli so I could make broccoli salad for supper, and having such delicious, healthy, abundant food growing at my fingertips made me feel like I'm living in the lap of luxury!  :)

~ 4 ~

Every so often, I add something to my list of Favorites.  The most recent addition?  The movie Follow Me, Boys.

I had borrowed that from our local library recently, and a couple of nights ago when the kids and I had a bunch of peas to shell, we put in that movie and sat down to watch it while we shelled all the peas.  It was such an enjoyable evening!  The work sped by as we laughed (and I cried!) as we watched the movie together.  It's an oldie, but a goodie!  :)

~ 5 ~

Moriah has been busy recently--her latest project, a family portrait of sorts.

It started this way, with Dad being the one-armed, hairless, skinny guy on the left and me being the, well, not-so-skinny, square-faced, long-armed one on the right.  :)

Later she added three more of our family members to the board.

I could be wrong (I mean, there must be something wrong with my eyes, because surely the resemblance is clear) ;-), but I believe the figure on the left is Benjamin, the one in the middle is Shav, and the one on the right is the artist herself.

It's not the first time Moriah has drawn a picture of me, but I think it's accurate to say it's the squarest time!!  ;-)

~ 6 ~

One very sweet thing that Moriah says these days: "Where are my brudders?"  If she wakes up from a nap, for example, or if she's been off somewhere busy with something else, when she returns to me, she often wants to know where the boys are.  Sometimes she'll call, "BOYS! BOYS!"  But other times, she'll ask sweetly, "Where are my brudders?"

And I smile.  :)

~ 7 ~

File this in The Things that Make Moms Die of Laughter while Trying to Appear Normal to Their Kids!

A couple of weeks ago, the younger kids and I were all in the upstairs bathroom.  I was probably giving Benjamin a bath while they were brushing their teeth or something like that.

The door of the closet in the bathroom was open, and the contents were visible to the kids, which is not unusual because it's not as if I try to hide things there; they've all looked in that closet hundreds of times, I'm sure.  But on this particular evening, one certain box caught Tobin's attention.

"WOAH!" he exclaimed, "Where'd we get that box of HUGE band-aids?"

They were...ahem...pantiliners.  :)