The Beginning of a Great Movie...

...that will never be finished.

Josiah and David decided they wanted to try their hands at stop motion movie-making, so they pulled out the LEGO box and got busy making backgrounds and props and so forth.  Even Tobin and Shav got involved in the project, digging through the pieces to find the right ones that would be useful.  They were having so much fun, and all was going splendidly.  After they did quite a bit of prep work, they borrowed my camera and started shooting.  This was one of their first shots, and I love the dramatic feel that the intense light gives it.

But then...

After laboriously moving the pieces bit by bit and taking MANY more pictures, they realized how incredibly time-consuming a project like this is. It's mind-boggling really.

And so the project was abandoned, the movie in their head left unmade.

I'm sure it would have been a great one, but I don't blame them a bit for quitting!  :)

Wordless Wednesday {Dark Chocolate & Raisins? This Must Be Health Food!}

:)

Christmas in January

As families grow up, they tend to increase in number and spread out geographically; and such has been the case with my family.  This makes it a little challenging to all get together for holidays and other special occasions, but we do the best we can--and miss those who aren't with us when we gather!

This year, because of various schedules, it worked best for my extended family to meet up for our family Christmas on January 2.  Who says Christmas only belongs in December anyway?  :)

My brother and his family coming from Pennsylvania had told me that they were aiming to arrive around noon.  That morning, I looked in the living room and saw this.

Shav was decked out in a Star Wars cloak, his light saber by his side, watching for their arrival.  It was 10:30.  :)

When I told him that he had at least an hour and a half to wait until they got here, he eventually wandered off and found something else to do.  But long before our favorite Pennsylvanians pulled in our driveway, he and Tobin and David were all on high alert, ready to run to the car and give our guests a warm welcome.  :)

This year, the stars of the show were the littlest folks to come.  My niece Sheena had given birth to twin girls two days after Thanksgiving, and this was the first time she had brought them to our house.  Of course, there were lots of arms that were willing and eager to hold those sweet girls!  :)

My sister Donna with her granddaughters (and yes, I know my sister doesn't look old enough to be a grandma)...  :)

I held Aaliyah and marveled at how tiny and light she was.  Benjamin isn't that big, but he sure feels different in my arms than she did!

Tammy kept Benjamin company.

Donna with Aaliyah...

Moriah adores her uncle David and barely left his side all day.

We opted out of the traditional Christmas meal and had a Mexican feast instead...

...and I was grateful that Jeff made time in his schedule (it was a work day for him) to come home to fry the tortillas for the taco shells and then eat with us before returning to the barber shop to finish his day there.

Sheena with one of her girls...  :)

We had given our kids the game Blink for Christmas, and they taught Elizabeth and Isaac how to play.  It's a GREAT game because it's simple to learn, very quick to play, and doesn't require reading so even the very young can play, too.

My mother was here with us, and it was especially meaningful to all of us to see her with Amya in her arms.

We all wanted a picture of that.  :)

And then Aaliyah was placed in her arms, too...

...and though she won't remember it, the rest of us will cherish the memory of the time she got to hold her beautiful great-granddaughters.  She was so happy.  :)

Our David has a special connection with his Uncle David, of course...

...and I was reminded of that, not just when I saw the two Davids together, but also when Moriah wanted Uncle David to read a book to her.  She chose one of her current favorites, No, David, by David Shannon; and as my brother David opened it, I glanced over and saw the notes he and his wife had written inside the front cover when they gave it to my son David when he was just a few months old.  :)

The proud parents with their twins...

When we visited Sheena in December, Moriah had gotten to hold Aaliyah; and at this belated Christmas celebration, she got to hold Amya.

It was like holding a real live baby doll.  :)

Of course I had to take some pictures of the three babies together.  Benjamin's two-month advantage was obvious because next to his tiny, delicate little cousins, he looked HUGE.

I mean, just look at the size of his head compared with theirs!  ;-)

He did a pretty good job of letting them lean on him.  :)

See what I mean about Moriah and Uncle David?

Stuck like glue.  :)

Besides Blink, the boys also taught Elizabeth to play I Doubt It, a card game in which lying is rewarded and the most deceitful person has the best chance of winning.  What kind of morals are we teaching our children anyway??  ;-)

And then it was time to disperse, each little family going off in a different direction, not knowing exactly when we would see each other again.  But what remained in my heart was a fountain of gratitude that on this day, in this space, we had been together.

The One that Didn't Make the Cut

I realized this morning that, four days into the new year, it might be a good idea to come up with a new header for my blog. When I asked my kids if they would be in a picture for me, they readily agreed--they're my kids, after all, and are so used to being photographed they don't bat an eyelash when I pull out the camera--so I told them all how to arrange themselves on the floor, and I carefully laid Benjamin in his spot in the circle, and I climbed up on a high chair to take the picture, and I started snapping photos, and then I got this...

Although I didn't choose to use this one for this month's header (imagine that!), I decided to include it here as a reminder that some moments of the day, this is my reality.

Ain't it grand?  ;-)

Tenderness

A few evenings ago, I laid Benjamin on the floor of the bathroom to await his turn in the tub; and, knowing he was safe, I went downstairs to get something.  When I glanced back up the steps, this scene grabbed me.

Shav was keeping his little brother company and was so gently talking to him and rubbing his head and watching over him; and I realized, "Tenderness is precious."

It really, really is.

Why Do They Say That to Me?

I know this will surprise you; but people often tell me, "Wow, you sure have your hands full!"

 Now why in the world would they say something like that?

I can't figure it out.  Can you?  ;-)

The First Time I Wrote 2016

My most cherished New Year tradition is participating in the Harmonia Sacra singing held at a nearby church building--an event that has been going on for 114 years or so.  Believe it or not, I haven't been at all of them (although Moriah might tell you that I'm older than 114).  ;-)  But since we've moved back here to the Valley, attending that singing has become, for me, a very special part of welcoming the new year.

And so it was this year.

It's hard for me to capture in words the significance of this event.  I could tell you that I took Josiah, David, Tobin, and my dad along with me; and my heart swelled as I watched Tobin behave so well despite the length of the singing and his unfamiliarity with the songs.  I could tell you that I rejoiced when we began to sing "Hosanna," and David leaned over and whispered excitedly that this was the song he had been hoping we would sing.  I could tell you that Josiah sat beside his grandpa and sang bass on some of the songs, his changed voice coming in handy when hitting the low notes.  I could tell you that my mother wasn't with us (it's late enough in the evening that it makes it pretty challenging to have her come to it), and I remembered the years that she was there, and I missed her.  I could tell you that Jeff kept Shav, Moriah, and Benjamin at home; and I was so grateful for the gift of time that he gave me--that he gives me every year for this singing.  I could tell you that the bonnet-wearing Mennonite lady behind me said, "I'm your neighbor Wilma's cousin," and we chatted about Aunt Martha's back trouble.  I could tell you that further down that row sat another Mennonite lady who said, "Davene, I babysat you when you were little," and when she asked me if I was going to lead a song this year and I told her I didn't know, she said, "Oh, I hope you do!" even though in their church, a woman would never lead a hymn.  I could tell you that the feeling of community was strong in that place--not just among those who gathered on this first day of the year to sing, but also with those faithful ones who once sat in those pews and sang those songs but who have now gone on ahead.  I could tell you that once again, I was struck by how many of the old, old hymns in that songbook deal with the theme of dying--and how I thought that, if a person meditated on those songs, it would help a person achieve the goal of Jesus in Hebrews 2:14-15, "...to free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death."  If you pondered those words and made them part of you, you couldn't--you just couldn't!--be afraid of death.  I could tell you that I thought that an ideal way to die would be to attend the New Years singing in, say, 2077, and then come home and lie down to sleep, those melodies still ringing in the ears and the words still soaring in the heart, only to slip off to glory and awaken on the other side.  What a way to walk through the doorway called Death.

The song I chose to lead tonight was inspired by one of the books I read in 2015, Vera's Journey.  I still want to write more about that book someday; but for tonight, I'll only say that Vera mentions this song--this hymn of victory over death, this longing for heaven, this fulfillment of Hebrews 2.  And because of her, I was inspired to lead it--and hopefully to live it--here on this first day of a new year.

 I came home tonight and, as is my custom, jotted down in my songbook that I led this piece.

And that was the first time I wrote 2016.

What a meaningful way to begin.