David Is Kind

It wasn't as if David woke up on Tuesday a week ago filled to the tips of his toes with anticipation of making a snowman.

But someone else did.  :)

Before Moriah had gone to bed last Monday night, the snow had started, and it was gonna be a big one.  I had assured her that, if we got a measurable snowfall like the forecast was calling for and if it was the right kind of snow and could pack, she could make a snowman...and she was delighted.

Tuesday dawned; and, although we didn't get as much snow as we were hoping for, there was enough snow for a snowman--and it was the right kind.  The only problem was, I couldn't get out there and help her build it until the afternoon when Benjamin would be napping.  But who wants to wait that long to build a snowman?  :)

David to the rescue!  When I asked him (Tobin and Shav were already off at the neighbors' house, trying out their sledding hill) if he would be willing to help Moriah with her snowman, he readily agreed, so after Moriah blew some bubbles to see if they would freeze (they didn't...the temperature was actually above freezing at this point)...

...and after David...

...and Josiah shoveled off the sidewalks at Grandpa's house and ours...

...David and Moriah got to work.

Peeking out the window at them warmed my heart each time as I watched their snowman grow.

Snowgirl, I guess, since she turned out to be a Lucy.  :)

Shav wandered over at one point and ended up in a picture...

...but it was definitely David and Moriah's project.

Lucy melted a few days later when our spring-like temperatures returned...

...but I melted before that.  As soon as I saw Moriah's joy...

...as she went up to and embraced her snowgirl, I was a puddle on the floor.

Even when David rolled away, Moriah stayed faithfully with Lucy...

...and enjoyed her companionship.  Dreams--the snowman-building kind, at least--do come true.  :)

And this one came true because of David and his kindness.  He could have said, "Aw, Mom, do I have to help her build a snowman?"  But because of his kind nature, he set aside his own plans and desires to bring joy--and such joy it was!--to his little sister's heart.

********

I can't remember if it was that night or the next, but one of those evenings found me reaaaallllllllyyyyyyy dragging, and I ended up having a Collapse Night.  I didn't even make it up the steps to tuck the kids in bed, but instead dispensed hugs and kisses from my horizontal position on the couch by the woodstove before they trudged up the steps without me.  I was probably asleep before they even reached the top of the stairs.

Some hours later, I awoke and discovered that the living room was in a very different condition than it had been when my eyes had slammed shut.

And then I discovered this note on the coffee table.

Ah, sweet, beloved David!  His kindness and thoughtfulness moved my heart and encouraged my soul.

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Fridays are David's normal day to go to the barbershop to sweep up hair for the barbers and do other little odd jobs around the shop, but last Friday was the day I was hosting a gathering for a friend from Israel and his friends from here in Virginia.  I gave David the option of either going to the barbershop or staying at home to be part of the get-together (and meet a real live person from David's birth country!).  ;-)  David went back and forth about what to do, not wanting to disappoint the people at the shop who count on him to come every Friday but also wanting to be part of the fellowship here at home.  After much deliberation, he decided to stay at home; and only then did I feel free to let him know how glad I was of his decision (I had really wanted it to be his decision) because I sure could use his help!!  ;-)  People were coming over in the afternoon when Benjamin would be napping, so it wouldn't be hard to fill the hostess role then; but the morning, when I needed to prepare, would be a different story.  "Could you please play with Benjamin so I can work?" I asked David.

He assured me that he would be glad to do just that, and he did, too--for several hours--giving me time to make the preparations that I wanted to do and leaving me relaxed and ready by early afternoon.  I could hear Benjamin's laugh ring out periodically as he played with David, and I knew David's kindness was bringing great joy to his littlest brother, as it also was to me.

********

David is such a people person, loving deeply and wholeheartedly.

And David is...well...David is kind!!

Be kind to one another...

Ephesians 4:32

Apparently I'm Not Very Good at Saying Hello Either!

It's been 11 days since I posted this and mournfully said goodbye to half my family to take the other half to a speech and debate tournament in North Carolina.  11 days.  I wasn't gone nearly that whole time, but somehow didn't find the time--or mental energy, maybe?--to reconnect on the blog until now.  It would appear that sometimes, in this virtual world, "hello" is as difficult for me as "goodbye."  ;-)

In real life, the older three boys and I were happily driving north at exactly this time one week ago.  We joyfully reunited with the family here, then dove straight into a busy week.  Highlights included the last week for this school year of Shav's Explorers II class with the SVCC (actually, his last Explorers class ever, since in the fall, we expect he will have moved up to Prep Choir...if he gets in, that is)  ;-)...our biggest snowfall of the winter, right at the tail end of it, which brought much excitement to the household...David's normal gymnastics class...Josiah's normal biology class, for which he needed to do quite a bit of studying this week, since he has missed some weeks for tournaments and needed to make up the work...a gathering of friends, old and new, here in our home in honor of a friend from Israel, Mordechai...a talent show with our homeschool group in which Josiah did one of his interpretative speeches and he and the rest of the kids did a Rubik's cube demonstration...and a Sunday morning service in which Jeff preached and I, along with Josiah and David, led the music.  That, along with the normal work of keeping a household going, seems like plenty to fill up a week, right?  ;-)

Oh, but there was something else.  Jeff and I, along with our watchful chaperone Benjamin, got to sneak away for a wonderful date last evening to a neat, new-to-us Japanese restaurant...

...while Moriah watched a movie and the older boys finally got the chance to play a full, five-hour game of Monopoly, which Shav won, accumulating a huge fluffy pile of money along the way.

So there you go--an extended explanation of my most recent absence, which is really just my way of saying...

HELLO, BLOG!  :)

I'm Not Good at Saying Goodbye

Seems like it wasn't very long ago that I was just returning from a trip to North Carolina for a speech and debate tournament for Josiah; and here we are again, ready to head out for another one.  Like before, Jeff will keep the home fires burning and spend extra time with the younger three while the older three and I head out to North Carolina.  Different town this time though.  ;-)

During the course of my years as a wife and mother, I haven't had to spend too much time away from my family; and I am ever so glad about that.  It is not easy for me to leave Shav and Moriah...

...and Benjamin...

...and Jeff, my groom of almost 20 years.

It's not easy for me to miss all the everyday moments that happen in my family.

As much as I relish the chance to go off and have these adventures and make special memories with Josiah, David, and Tobin, I already long for the reunion to come when we are all together again.

I'm just not very good at saying goodbye...

So That's How They Do It! {A Trip to the DNR}

It's not as if we go on that many field trips (I love field trips and wish we could do more, but it's not uncommon for me to still feel like I'm just keeping my head above water in this role of homeschooling mother of six, so the extra work of a field trip doesn't happen as often as I would like!).  But, as Facebook reminded me this morning, on March 7, three years ago, we went on a field trip.  And here we were again today, going on a field trip on March 7.  :)

This time, we got to visit the headquarters for our local newspaper, a building I have often driven past but never really explored.  Oh, I might have walked into the front lobby once upon a time to put an announcement of my engagement or wedding in the paper...I don't remember.  But I certainly had never gotten the full tour like we did today.  :)

 One of the other moms in the homeschool group we're a part of had set up the tour, so it was extra fun to get to do this with friends.  :)

 At the beginning of the tour, they showed us an OLD movie of how the newspaper was made back in the 1950s or 60s.  Fascinating--not only the process of making the paper, but also the way people dressed and interacted in those days!

And then we got to go around to different parts of the building and see what goes into making a newspaper.

At this point, Benjamin was getting noisy--happy noise, but noise nonetheless--so I took him out of the room and rejoined the group when they finished in the quiet area.

And then, it was on to the noisy area, which suits Benjamin better!  ;-)

 The lady who helped with the tour has worked for the newspaper since 1979 and, needless to say, really knew her stuff!

 The highlight of the tour was probably the actual process of seeing the press run.  Or maybe it was learning that, when the old press was no longer used, rather than go to all the trouble of removing it from the lower level of this building, they simply buried it and poured a concrete floor on top!  Some of the kids were quite fascinated by the thought!

 The speed of the machines was impressive, as well as how all the parts--not just of this press, but the whole organization--work together to put out a newspaper in such a short amount of time.

The next time I sit down to read The Shenandoah Journal, I'll have a much higher appreciation for all that went into making it!   :)

There Used to Be Two Red Sweaters

Once upon a time, we had two little red sweaters.  The first pair of boys to wear them was Josiah and David, followed a few years later by Tobin and Shav.  You can see more about that here.  :)

But now, there is only one little boy in my household to wear a red sweater...

...which actually happens to be totally convenient because I can only find one of those red sweaters!

I'm not sure what happened to the other one; but somewhere along the way, our sweater count went from two to one...

...which matches our baby boy count.  :)

I realized recently that I hadn't yet taken pictures of Benjamin in this sweater; and with spring approaching, my window of opportunity was sliding shut.

Fortunately, today was a cold day--perfect for my picture-taking plan...

...because it would be some sort of a tragedy (extremely minor, I know!) if I didn't document photographically the last chapter of this special little red sweater!

Who knew, when the sweaters were new, that five dear little Fisher boys would get to wear them?!  :)

What Good Is a Brother?

Well, for starters, a brother can give you a haircut when you need one!  ;-)

And a dad can oversee the process!  :)