Why I'm Not Blogging (Much)

When I first started blogging, I had two children.  Life was busy, but not too busy to find time to blog.

Through the years, my number of offspring tripled; and each time a new addition to the family came along, my dad would say something like, "You probably won't be able to blog as much after the baby is born."  But somehow, despite the unsteady waves that rocked my boat each time we adjusted to a new member of the family, I still found time to blog fairly regularly.

Having a baby didn't keep me from blogging.

Having a teenager might.

So far I've discovered three ways in which my teen (and his next youngest sibling, who follows closely in my firstborn's footsteps) have made it extra challenging for me to keep up with this blog.  First, they stay up late. (10:30 is official bedtime for Josiah and David. Do they ever get in bed at that time? No, never.)  Second, they want to talk. (That's a good thing. That's a very good thing. After the noise of the day subsides and they get a chance to talk without younger siblings interrupting, it is a great opportunity for us to connect.  So I'm not complaining!) And third, they use the computers. (I can't blog if I can't even get close to a keyboard!)

If my blog presence is scarce in the future, don't be surprised: it probably just means that I'm hanging out with my favorite teen and tween.  After all, it's more important to live life than to blog about it!  :)

We Gather Together

After a quick trip to Pennsylvania for Thanksgiving with my brother David and his family, I am home again but out of words and energy tonight.  I am, however, exceedingly grateful for the day of joy and laughter we were able to share with them!

Wordless Wednesday {My 6th Child to Play with These Letters}

"I Don't Usually Brag about Myself..."

...Josiah told me earlier today, "but I would really like you to take some pictures and do a post about my Yahtzee score!"  :)

 You see, this morning, he and Grandma Fisher had started the day by playing Yahtzee; and in the course of one game, Josiah got THREE Yahtzees--an unheard of event in our family.  He did well with his other rolls, too, and ended up with a grand total of...can you see it there?  (I realize the name at the top of the paper is Shav, but we reuse those score cards until they're filled up, so it really was Josiah who was playing this morning.)  :)

503!!!

Now that's a score worth bragging about!!  :)

What Benjamin Does During Concerts

On Election Night, the Shenandoah Valley Children's Choir presented an informal concert with some students from area public schools; and during the concert, my friend Amanda, whose son Dean is in the choir, was sitting a few rows behind me.  As it turns out, she seems to have been a little distracted by a certain small cutie pie during the concert because she later texted me these pictures she took during it!  :)  

I should mention that, for reasons that are probably quite obvious, we don't (yet) take Benjamin to regular concerts of the SVCC; but for this informal one, I figured it would be OK.  As it turned out, Benjamin did pretty well--he wasn't noisy and didn't cry.

But I seriously underestimated his ability to be a distraction to the people behind us!!!  ;-)

Going Away Is Sweet

We had such a great time when we went to Virginia Beach last month that we decided to go again this month, taking Grandma Fisher with us.  It's always fun to show her a new corner of the world while she's here with us, if we get the chance to slip away for a little while; and since she had never been to Virginia Beach (and since we didn't have time to take a whole lot of time off or go too far away), that destination was a good choice for this visit.  :)

Unlike our October visit, the ocean water was too cold to play in; but we found other fun things to do--soaking in the beautiful sight of the waves, watching dolphins, even some early-morning fishing (for some of our more adventurous members).  ;-)

Yes, going away is very sweet.

So is coming home.  :)  And as long as I get to be with this crew, I'm as happy as a clam to do either.  :)

Wordless Wednesday {Mighty Big Shoes Vest to Fill!}

An Unusual Trip to the Waterpark

Our schedule recently has been a little busier than I would like* (which has led me to search for the nearest cave so I can crawl into it and disappear for a while); but when we were given five free expiring-very-soon passes to our favorite waterpark, we decided that we couldn't pass that up, even if it meant cramming one more thing into our over-packed life!  

* It always is, at this point in the fall semester.  I know things will taper off relatively soon, and before long we'll be gliding into Christmas break.

As it turned out, Jeff and his mom stayed home, and Jeff took care of Benjamin, so I could be free to take the five older kids and focus on them.  We decided to take a selfie when we got there.

 I am notoriously bad at taking selfies.  I need help.  ;-)

 We had a great time!

Now, let me tell you the not-so-great parts.

~ For the first time in my life, I saw a deer being hit by a car.  It wasn't us that hit it; but as we drove up the road into Massanutten, a deer jumped out into the road in front of us.  I had enough time to slow down, but it jumped into the other lane and was hit by an oncoming medium-sized blue car who didn't seem to slow down at all.  I suppose it happened so fast that the driver maybe didn't even see it until impact.  The deer bounced off the car and went flying head over heels through the air, and we didn't see what happened to it after that, but when we were leaving four and a half hours later, there was no sign of it along the road.  Not all of the kids saw what had happened, but the one who saw it the best happened to be Tobin, who has the softest heart toward animals.  :(  He got a little tearful, and so did I--I'm not one to let others cry alone when they're in my presence!  ;-)  I guess it was sort of silly, because we're country folk, after all.  We eat venison.  We understand how hunting actually benefits the herd.  It's not uncommon for us to see dead deer along the road, and I've never shed a tear for that.  But this time was different, and it did make me sad.  (I want to add, however, that I'm very glad that the driver of the blue car seemed to be just fine, because I know sometimes crashes with deer can cause injury or loss of life to humans, and OF COURSE human life is more important.)

~ It was surprisingly crowded in the waterpark--certainly not the most crowded we've ever seen it, but more than we expected.  Partially because of that, it took us a little bit (some of us, longer than others!) to "hit our stride" and sort of figure out where we were going and what we were doing and who was going to stick together and so forth.  There was some lingering stress on some of us (OK, I'll admit that it was the older ones of the group!) that took a little while to shed.  Once it was gone, we had a lot more fun.  :)

~ At one point, I had Shav and Moriah in the warm pool, while the oldest three boys were off together; and Shav wanted to practice floating so I was holding him up as he floated on his back.  Another boy, maybe around Shav's age, came into the warm pool, saw Shav floating, and exclaimed, "How is he doing that?  He's a witch!  HE'S A WITCH!"  My first response was most definitely NOT one of kindness towards the boy, but I calmed myself and tried to speak in an even tone as I said, "Anyone can learn to float."  Eventually the boy went away, and after that Shav stood up and asked, "What was he saying?"  I sort of brushed off his question, and he hasn't brought it up since.  My consolation is that, with his ears under water, Shav couldn't hear the unkind words the other boy was saying.  My mama-bear instinct to respond forcefully made me grateful--again--that my children aren't in schools where they have to deal with bullies.  Add that to my list of reasons I'm glad we homeschool!  :)

~ I was SO COLD all evening long.  I know that it's completely natural to feel a little chilly after coming out of the warm pool and noticing the contrast with the air (that is heated to something like 84 degrees), but I felt unnaturally cool and uncomfortable.  I could hardly wait to towel off and change into dry clothes, then get in the van and crank up the heat.  It wasn't until later that I realized my discomfort was likely coming from a bout with mastitis (later that night, when I was nursing Benjamin, I sat in my rocking chair, and my teeth chattered and chattered and chattered the whole time I was holding him...I COULD NOT make them stop).

Well, other than those four things, everything was wonderful!  :)

~ Josiah did a great job looking out for Shav (they often rode a raft together).

~ David and Tobin hung out together a lot (and the four boys were all together a lot, too).

~ After initially being a little timid to go down the frog slide and wanting me to stand at the bottom to catch her, Moriah got used to it, and then went down the slide over and over and over again.  She was so lively and animated and was just having a blast.  I loved seeing her joy!

~ All six of us went around the lazy river quite a few times together, and that was great fun.  Without even knowing she was doing it, Moriah did almost a perfect imitation of Shav's sit-in-the-raft-and-put-his-head-down-trustingly routine that was so meaningful to me as I prepared for Moriah's birth (written about here).  And then, after she got used to it, she had a ball holding her breath as we went through the tunnel...which then became a cave...which then housed a bear that we had to escape from...and then the bear was David, and he would growl at us...and it was all very playful and joyful.

~ I appreciated the thoughtfulness of one of the lifeguards who, seeing Moriah sitting on a plastic grate that was sort of behind me as I sat in the warm pool, told us she wasn't allowed to sit there...but instead of simply giving that correction, went on to explain why.  "It could break, and she could fall in," he said.  Of course I was making sure that she got down right away and was obeying his instructions--I would have done that without any additional explanation from him!  But it was kind of him to explain the reason behind the (mild) rebuke.

~ After we had been there a while, the crowd dwindled so much that the boys didn't have to wait at all for the big slides.  They could race back up the steps and be ready to slide again in no time.  (I should mention that earlier, the big inner tube slides had been closed for a little while because someone had gotten injured on one of them, and the lifeguards had put the person on a water stretcher.  I didn't see it, but the boys told me about it.)  There was plenty of time for the kids to do everything they wanted to do; and as we departed, we didn't feel like we had missed out on any fun.

I'm very grateful that, even when I thought a Saturday evening at home sounded mighty nice, God provided those free passes for us and nudged me to go out and have a memory-making time with my children.  True, some of the memories from this particular trip aren't the most pleasant (I'm sure we'll be talking about that deer the next time we drive up that road); but what will linger the most, I think, is the pleasure of being together--of laughter and child-like joy, of silliness and excitement.  I'm so thankful for these things!

One More Step away from Babyhood

When Benjamin was born, he had hair.  Oh, not a full head of hair like his big brother Tobin did (who got his first haircut when he was only 18 days old), but a respectable amount.  :)  Somewhere along the line though, Benjamin's newborn hair fell out and--maybe because of all the skin trouble he had, or maybe just because--he ended up being pretty much bald for quite a long time--longer than any of our other kids.

But, as is customary, hair grew--so much so that, by the time Benjamin was 13 and a half months old, he looked like this.

A little shaggy.  :)

Every so often, Jeff would bring up Benjamin's need for a haircut; but Saturday evening, November 5, was when that turned from conversation to action. 

A few last pictures of Benjamin's long hair...

...and then Jeff got out his clippers (the noise of which immediately intrigued Benjamin)...

...and got to work.

Jeff had a larger audience than he normally does for his haircuts.  ;-)

Benjamin did really well...

...occasionally trying to figure out...

...what was going on up there...

...but not crying about it.  :)

Of course, it helped that his beloved daddy was the one doing the job!  :)

David must be related to me, because he immediately got out his phone (*no phone service on it, by the way, but useful for other things*) and started taking pictures of the momentous occasion.  :)

Unlike when Tobin got the haircut that really cut off his long locks, I wasn't particularly emotional and didn't even shed a single tear about this milestone for Benjamin.  Maybe Jeff purposefully waited until I was ready for this?

I'll admit, however, that I do sorta miss his long hair.  ;-)  Oh, I think he looks handsome with a neat, short cut, that's for sure; but I kinda liked his fuzzball look.  ;-)  Benjamin misses it, too, since it is no longer long enough for him to grab hold off and pull.  He is a HUGE fan of pulling hair, as anyone with long(ish) hair who comes near enough to his grasping hands can attest to.

But little by little, he's growing up and leaving babyhood behind.  It is the way things go, after all, whether or not a mother is quite ready for it!

Wordless Wednesday {Even an Informal SVCC Concert Is Something Wonderful}

Small Town Life {Veterans Day Parade}

It's not our town's biggest parade.  No, that distinction belongs to the Christmas parade, or perhaps to the Independence Day one.

But every November, the Veterans Day parade is held, and I think, again, to myself, "I'm so glad for our small town.  I'm so grateful for our country.  I'm so thankful for those who served in the armed forces and made so many sacrifices for our freedom!"

It is a pleasure to see them ride by, to look in their faces and try to imagine what life was like for them as soldiers, to watch their faces light up during this event that is devoted to them.  It is a joy to honor them!

The weather was gorgeous--couldn't have been prettier this afternoon.

 While we waited, Benjamin and I practiced our selfie skills.  He tries to push the button, and I try to hold the phone far enough away from him that he can't reach it.  ;-)

 Here it comes!

 If Benjamin could talk, he would probably tell you that, hands down, the absolute best part of the parade was the lollipop that a friendly police officer kindly gave him--the first lollipop Benjamin has ever had!  :)

Despite all the current uncertainties, I am certainly glad to live here in this time and place.  A parade like we saw today reminds me what a blessing that is!