Benjamin Doesn't Talk Much, But...

...he still manages to get his point across quite skillfully.

For example, if he could have spoken, he might have said to me yesterday when I walked outside without him, "How dare you go out without me!  I'm in the depths of despair because you abandoned me!  But don't mind me: I'll just stand here and cry my eyes out until you return."

Instead, he just did this:

 Well, he made his point.  ;-)


Or in the next case, he was probably thinking, "You are the most important thing in my life.  Please don't ever, ever, ever leave me.  And while you're at it, don't even take a step without me clinging to you like a koala.  I mean, I know you talk about all this work you're supposed to be doing, but really, what could be more important than spending time with me??"  

Or this one: "I will gaze at you with ardent admiration until I melt you with my beautiful blue eyes, and then you will reach down and pick me up and hold me, and I will be happy."

Really, who needs words when you can express so much through body language?  ;-)

Valentine's Day, After More than Half a Century Together

It's been a lovely Valentine's Day; but for tonight, rather than describe my own day, I want to record a little something my dad told me about how he celebrated.

In his basement, he had found a box which contained Valentine's cards that he and my mom had given to each other through the years.  As he was looking through it, he discovered one from 1986 that he really liked, so rather than going out and buying a new card for Mom, he gave the 31-year-old card to her again!  Isn't that hysterical?!?!  :)  :)  :)  I love that for so many reasons!  :)

~ my parents, leaving my house on a recent Sunday after having lunch here with us ~

Another great thing about my dad: yesterday afternoon, I was stricken with a HORRIBLE headache and realized to my dismay that I absolutely could not drive the boys to children's choir rehearsal.  I tried to think of who could take them and ended up calling several people, but nothing was working out.  My dad was not at home--he was volunteering at Gift & Thrift, like he does on a regular basis--but because of my desperation and inability to find anyone else who could help, he left Gift & Thrift, drove home, picked up my boys, and took them to choir before returning to Gift &  Thrift to finish out his shift.

One of his strengths is his willingness to make himself available and meet the needs of others, and he demonstrated that once again during my time of distress yesterday.  I was so grateful!

We Hid Our Faces and Laughed

Two days ago, Moriah drew a face on the whiteboard with a speech bubble coming out of it, then dictated to me exactly what should be written in it.  She normally writes her own captions, asking me how to spell words like "love" or "Benjamin," but in this case, there were so many words that it seemed best for me to write it.  So I did.

But all the while, I tried to hide the smile creeping onto my face.  

When the boys saw the picture she drew and the words she chose, they weren't quite successful in hiding their grins or in completely muffling their laughter.  To think that those words went with that face was just too much!!

Oh, Moriah, we sure do love you!  And we're grateful for all the laughter you've brought to our family during the past almost-five years.

Even if a little of that laughter has come at your expense!  ;-)

His Laughter Is a Gift

Even on days that are gray, rain-streaked, and cheerless, this baby boy brings so much joy into our home.  Listening to him giggle uncontrollably whenever David popped up and said "Oh my!" this evening did my heart good.

What a sweet, precious gift.

A Funny Thing Happened Last Saturday

Last Saturday, we went to one of my favorite places on earth, Riven Rock; and as a bonus, we got to go with some friends.

 The kids--13 total, I believe--had a blast playing in the river and climbing on the rocks...

 ...and the adults had a blast sitting back, relaxing, and watching them.  A win-win situation.  :)

 I didn't take many pictures, just a few quick snaps with my cell phone; but that's enough to document in blurry pixels, for example, that Shav (wearing the green shirt below) was brave enough to climb up on this tall rock he's never been on before.  :)

In the middle of the fun, exciting, hey-mom-look-at-me moments came an occurrence that cracked me up big time.  Moriah needed to go to the bathroom, so I took her to the outhouse there in the park.  That particular outhouse is never particularly pleasant, but it was particularly UNpleasant on this day, so I was hurrying Moriah along--NOT a particularly easy task, by the way, for a girl in a wet swimming suit who has to struggle to get it down and then up and put arms in the right holes and so forth.  Guys have it so much easier.  ;-)

As we were finally ready to make our hasty exit from the outhouse, Moriah was chattering away, and I was only half listening...until she remarked about the automatic flusher.

Indeed, it did sound like the sound of running water; but everyone knows there's no flush mechanism--automatic or not--in an outhouse.

What Moriah didn't realize--but I did, much to my amusement--is that the thin walls of the outhouse, although sufficient to prevent sight, did nothing to diminish hearing; and the "automatic flusher" that she heard was actually a gentleman relieving himself in the men's part of the outhouse, directly adjacent to the women's part!!!

Oh, dear me, I could barely control myself as I fought the urge to just hoot and holler about her mistaken impression of the refinements of that bathroom.  Automatic flusher indeed!!!  :)

Let Me Count the Ways, Vol. 5 {Anniversary Edition}

More than two years ago, I started a series that is very important to me; but since then, I've only added to it a handful of times.  (Volume 2...then 3...then 4...and that's all. Til now.)  :)  Our 19th anniversary, which we celebrated last month, is a fitting occasion to add to this list that is precious to me.  :)

 30. Sunday mornings are almost always a busy, rushed time for me; and I rarely never make time to sit down to eat breakfast.  But I don't do well if I don't eat something in the morning, so I usually grab a bite to eat as I'm running out the door to jump in the van.  One Sunday morning a little while back, I spotted a bag on the table--a bag that I had not put there.  Turns out that it included apple slices and some cheese, and Jeff had prepared it for me.  :) His thoughtfulness made me feel so loved!

31. Recently I was having trouble understanding the actions of one of the males in our family (and frankly, it was driving me a little bit nuts), but Jeff was able to cut to the heart of what was going on and explain to me the motivation behind those actions.  After he shared his insight with me, it all made perfect sense; and it was much easier for me to be patient and supportive with the individual involved.

32. For my birthday way back in 2008, Jeff gave me a swing, and we have gotten lots and lots of enjoyment out of it through the years.  But by the end of last summer, the canvas that stretches over the frame and holds the cushions was starting to tear--so much so that I didn't sit on it any longer for fear it would give way entirely with me on it!  ;-)  I wondered if it might be time to just get rid of the whole thing, but Jeff thought he could fix it up, so last Wednesday, he and Josiah went to Home Depot and got some boards and probably some other supplies, but don't ask me what.  :)  That afternoon, while I took the kids to Tobin's riding lesson, Jeff got to work and was able to accomplish his goal of getting rid of the old torn canvas and affixing the boards to the frame of the swing to make it usable again.  I am THRILLED; and several evenings since then, I've taken Benjamin out to that swing and have savored the security of knowing I won't end up on the ground!!  ;-)  Besides the swing project, Jeff also put up the hook for the flower pot, and he replaced a broken string for the wind chimes in Benjamin's room.  I know it's not exactly fun to do the home-improvement or fix-it projects that I ask Jeff to help me with, but oh, do I feel cherished when he loves me in this way!  :)

33. One thing you may not know about Jeff is that he's been reading the Bible--the entire Bible--every month.  He did it for the first time last December and has done it every month since then.  You can pick your jaw up off the floor now.  ;-)  I include it on this list, not because he's doing it specifically because he loves me, but because as he grows in his relationship with God, the side effect of that is growth in his relationship with me and our children and others as well.  The first key to making me feel passionately and committedly loved is passionately and committedly loving God, and Jeff is excelling in that area!

34. Another thing you probably don't know about Jeff is that he injured his right arm a while back (several months ago maybe? I'm not sure) while moving some concrete blocks under the horse trough in our pasture, and he has endured quite a bit of pain since then.  But regardless, Jeff goes to work, uses his arms--both of them--to cut hair (a one-armed barber is just about as effective as a one-armed paper hanger, I think!), uses his arms to do many other tasks around the home and in the garden, and doesn't complain.  I can tell sometimes that it's really bothering him, but he doesn't shirk his duties; instead, he continues to provide for us faithfully and uncomplainingly.

35. Jeff was given the honor of preaching for our congregation two times in June; and during his sermon on Father's Day, he spoke highly of me which was very kind.  Words of affirmation are always appreciated by me, but public words of affirmation are a special category.  :)

36. Jeff is definitely my favorite person to spend time with, and one of the reasons is the fun we have together.  Take, for instance, something that happened last Tuesday.  Jeff and I had gone out that evening, and I had told the kids they could have ice cream for dessert.  Much later, after we were home and the kids were all in bed, I wanted to have a Klondike bar; I had gotten them at the store not too long before this day and was REALLY looking forward to eating one.  I looked in the freezer in the kitchen but couldn't find them.  I went down to the garage and looked in the upright freezer; they weren't there.  I looked in the chest freezer; no Klondike bars.  I thought, "Well, the kids must have eaten all of them!  I suppose that's OK--I mean, I DID tell them they could have ice cream.  But I sort of thought they might choose the other kinds of ice cream we have.  Oh well, this shouldn't be a big deal for me, but I AM disappointed!"  I looked in the trash cans to see if the wrappers were there which would confirm my suspicion that the kids had eaten them, but then I was puzzled because I didn't see a single wrapper in the trash!  What could have happened to those Klondike bars???  Meanwhile, Jeff was sitting in the living room doing something on the computer, and he finally piped up and asked, "What are you doing?"  I told him that I had been planning to have a Klondike bar but I couldn't find them, and then he said, "Did you look in the box of Hot Pockets?"  That man boy had hidden my Klondike bars in the Hot Pockets box, then sat back and snickered while I went all over the house looking for them!!!  Oh my, I just had to laugh and laugh, especially when I thought about how ridiculous I had been in my search for them...and all the while, Jeff knew.  :)  Through the years, Jeff has been careful about how he teases me (sometimes I'm a little too sensitive--imagine that!); but that joke he played on me cracked me up and continues to put a smile on my face every time I think of it.  :)

37. On our anniversary, I surprised Jeff by lining up a babysitter and walking into the barbershop at the end of the day and announcing that we were going out for dinner.  During that meal, we talked a lot about the future, especially in regards to our children; and when discussing our sons' future wives, Jeff said touchingly, "I wish they would marry someone like you."  Well, I am quite sure my sons' wives will surpass me in many areas, and that's a good thing!  My boys may, in fact, marry women very unlike me, and that's just fine, too.  But it sure melted my heart to hear their daddy say that.  :)

38. The pictures in this post, by the way, are from our anniversary.  The evening before, Jeff had taken all the kids except Josiah and Benjamin so that I could go to a choir meeting for Josiah; and while they were out, they dropped by the store to pick up a few special gifts for me: some gorgeous tulips, delicious coffee yogurt, cheerful balloons (some of them are visible in the fifth picture in this post, the one in which Josiah is teaching Tobin how to solve a Rubik's Cube), a whole pile of some of my favorite kinds of candy, and a new candle (that Tobin chose).  The last three pictures show the roses that Tobin picked and put in a vase for me on the morning of our anniversary; he's learning from a great example!  :)  Not only did I feel loved because Jeff gave me gifts, but more so because they were thoughtful gifts.  He knows me.  He knows that tulips are a special flower for me.  He knows that food is my sixth love language.  ;-)  He knows what kinds of candy I especially like.

I am known, and I am loved.  What a sweet, sweet feeling that is.

I Had My Portrait Made by a Famous Artist

Well...ummmm...she's not exactly famous.  

Yet.  ;-)

But she did make a portrait of me.  Never mind that it was a temporary one on the dry erase board.  :)

She included all the important details: a smile from ear to ear (errr, make that eye to eye), capable hands with LOTS of fingers, little baby Benjamin on my arm (completely accurate to put him on my left arm since that's the one I use to hold him 99% of the time), my name carefully written above me to identify who the figure in the portrait is (not that there could be any doubt because of how closely it resembles me), all done in vibrant colors.  Moriah even started to write Benjamin's name; she knew it started with "B" and then added an "O," presumably because the second letter of her own name is "O" as is the second letter of "Mom."  So Benjamin became "BO" and then she gave up.  Oh well, whatever.  Close enough.  :)

I'll tell you what's true: I would rather have my portrait drawn by my own sweet little girlie, using orange and pink markers on a whiteboard, than have it painted by the best portrait painter on finest canvas to be hung in the presidential portrait gallery.

Because this portrait, this grinning face, this gift all declare in unmistakable tones, "I LOVE YOU, MOM!!"  I'll take that any day.  :)

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?  ;-)

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?  ;-)

How Old My Kids Think I Am

I'm pretty sure if you asked either Josiah or David how old I am, they could give you the correct answer.  But the other day during lunch, one of the boys asked Moriah how old I am, and her answer was quick and confident.  "Two hundred," she said.  :)

Of course, you wouldn't necessarily expect a three-year-old to remember her mother's age, right?  But what about a six-year-old?  Would you think that he would be capable of saying, in all seriousness, what Shav asked me tonight: "Mom, when you were a little girl, was there electricity?"  :)

The family laughed when he said it, but then Tobin spoke up indignantly on my behalf.  "There was CARS, dude!" he said to correct his little brother.  Never mind the incorrect grammar, at least he had my birth placed in the correct century.  :)

I can't blame them too much, however, because I well remember one of my favorite teachers during elementary school.  Whenever we would ask her how old she was, she would laughingly say something like, "Oh, a hundred and three."  Well, I knew good and well she was teasing; but I wouldn't have been surprised if she had been close to that, as old as she seemed to my young mind.  Now that I stop and figure out how old she really was back then, I realize that she was probably right around my current age--if not a little younger.  And yet she seemed so ancient!

Just like I must seem to my kids.  :)

Wordless Wednesday {She Wanted to Hide from Me}

:)

The Homeschool Convention Is SO Exciting! ;-)

I mean, LOOK at these two!

 Are they on the edge of their seat, or what?

Totally enthralled, I tell you!!!  ;-)

* In all seriousness, the convention we attended this past weekend was indeed wonderful; and just like every year, we left with sweet family memories having been made and an inspiration tank having been amply replenished for this homeschooling mom.  :)

The Oldest Draft on My Blog {Tiny Talk Tuesday}

There's something that bothers me about my blog.

Oh, it's not something that would bother anyone else; as a matter of fact, no one else would even know about it.  But I do, and it's this.

There are 67 unfinished blog posts in my Drafts folder.

Some are barely begun--just a snippet of an idea I once had about a post I'd like to write.  A few are mostly written, but need to be revised and finished before posting them.  And at least one is completely done, but I decided not to post it (but couldn't bring myself to delete it either!).  But all of them bug me as they lounge around in their unfinished state.

Besides those 67, there are numerous other posts that I want to write and sincerely intend to someday write; but that day hasn't come for them.  I'd estimate that I could easily find 100 topics or events to write about; and based on that, you can see why, when I was in a bookstore recently and saw a special journal-type book that included a writing prompt for each day, I had to laugh.

If there's anything I don't need, it's writing prompts!  :)

Tonight I wanted to do a blog post, but could not be enticed to leave the computer in the warm living room to go downstairs to the computer (which has my photos) in the cold library, so I decided to look in my Drafts folder and see what the oldest post in it was...and, if possible, finish that post, regardless of the fact that I wouldn't be able to add photos.  I'm not making any promises that I'll continue this trend and work my Drafts folder significantly down to a much lower number, but maybe I'll rest easier if there are only 66 unfinished posts, rather than 67?  ;-)

At any rate, what I discovered was that my oldest draft was a collection of things my children had said--things that had put a smile on my face, things I wanted to remember.  Sadly, it's been so long that I can't remember the context of each quote I had jotted down; but quite a few of them were so memorable that I at least have some idea of what was going on when the comment was made.

I used to write this type of thing down in my posts in a category called Tiny Talk Tuesday.  In my old blog, they can be found here; and in this blog, I discovered as I searched the archives that there were two such posts: here and here.

Well, now there is one more.  :)

Here then are some funny things that my kids said.  Never mind that they might have been uttered five or six years ago!  ;-)

********

David, perhaps four or five years old, happened to be wearing a tie one day when the subject came up of him going over to visit our Old Order Mennonite neighbors.  His response?  "I'm sure I can't wear a tie over there.  They'll think I'm the President!"  Although I'm *pretty* sure they wouldn't have mistaken him for the president, it was considerate nevertheless of him to want to avoid any unnecessary confusion.  ;-)

********

Several times through the years we've lived here in Virginia, we have been privileged to take a short family getaway to Massanutten Resort, usually in the off-season, staying in a condo there (made affordable by the generosity of a friend) and enjoying a day at the indoor waterpark, one of my family's all-time favorite places.

During one of those mini-vacations, we decided not to take dry clothes to change into after our time at the waterpark, since we were staying nearby and could very quickly get back to the condo to change where it was more private and convenient.  David was wearing his wet swimsuit and was wrapped in a towel, sort of stumbling along as we left the waterpark, still entranced by the sights and sounds around him, oblivious to our decision to wait for the condo to get into dry clothes...that is, until we walked out the door, and the cold air hit his legs.  "WHERE'S MY PANTS??" he exclaimed; and I'm not sure who laughed more: Jeff and I or the other waterpark guests who were standing right outside the entrance and who were amused by this little boy who had suddenly realized, to his great shock, that he was missing pants!  :)

********

Also during that getaway, we ate out as a family at a delicious restaurant not far from the resort, the kind of place where you inevitably get messy as you pig out on BBQ ribs with all the yummy side dishes.  As we got close to the end of our meal, I was doing my motherly duty of getting baby wipes out of the diaper bag and passing them out to whoever needed them--and also assisting, of course, in the scrubbing of smeared faces and sticky hands.  When I got ready to pass a wipe to David, he indicated that he didn't need one.  "I keep a wipe in my mouth!" he chirped; and to prove his point, he opened his mouth and began to use his tongue to clean up his hands and as much of his face as he could reach.  Imagine that: those built-in wipes sure are a handy invention!  ;-)

********

At some point, we must have had Mozilla Firefox on our computer as a web browser (I don't know enough about computers to even know if I said that right).  One of the boys--I seem to think it was Josiah--used to call it Mozzarella Firefox.  :)

********

David, professing his great love for his youngest brother who might have been a year at the time, give or take a year ;-), once said this:  "Shav, I still love you, even though sometimes you're a little stinky and you don't want anybody to get too close to you."  Is this what the Bible means when it talks about speaking the truth in love?  ;-)

********

This is a more serious one that I jotted down and wish I would remember more of the context because I always treasure the conversations we have about heaven, but sadly the details are lost in the sands of time.  Apparently we were talking about drowning in a river, and one of the boys said, "Maybe heaven would pull us out!"  And I thought, "Well, yes. That's exactly what would happen if we drowned in a river."

********

Another one without context, although I did record the speaker.  Tobin asked, "Who stole my river?"  Seems to me that's a pretty tough thing to steal, but sure, son, I'll help you look around here and see if we can figure out who the culprit is.  :)

And another time someone said, "There's something in my nose.  I think it's a chicken!"  :)

Maybe someday when the boys read this post, their memories will be jogged and they will be able to remind me what was going on when these comments were made.  :)

********

I had written down this phrase--"Maybe this milk feel me better."--and I'm pretty sure it was Tobin who used to mix up his words and say it that way.

********

David was talking with me about some plastic figurines we have from the Narnia series, and he said, "I haven't played with these in a LONG time!  I didn't want you to get rid of them, so I played with them."  He knows me well.  Unused items around here sometimes tend to disappear.  ;-)

********

And speaking of disappearing, this post in my Drafts folder is soon to be gone,  Pushing the "publish" button means I get to knock down that absurdly high number by one.

That's almost as much fun as throwing away unplayed-with toys!!  ;-)

February Funk

If I were asked to choose my favorite month of the year, I would find that a nearly impossible task.  There are so many wonderful ones from which to choose!

Selecting my least-favorite month, on the other hand, would be quite simple:

February.

Except for the brief splash of excitement caused by Valentine's Day, there's just not much about February that compels me to truly delight in it, if I'm being honest; and this particular February has felt a little extra challenging for me.  I'm not sure if it's the added fatigue that being pregnant brings to my body, or the mild but recurrent nausea I often feel at night, or the discouragement that has been dogging my steps from the ever-increasing list of unfinished projects, or whether it's just February itself; but for whatever reason, I have been in somewhat of a funk recently.  My normal second wind that hits me at night after all the children are in bed has been MIA the past few weeks; and most evenings, I don't feel inspired to do much of anything after goodnights have been said...and even if I do briefly feel a surge of inspiration, my exhaustion usually deflates the inspiration pretty quickly.

I'm just so tired, and then I start to think that maybe it's more than being tired.  Maybe I'm just lazy.  Maybe at heart, I'm really a bear that would like to crawl into a cave and hibernate until spring comes to warm the air and awake some strength within me!  ;-)  

It wouldn't be so bad if snow covered the ground outside; at least then, there would be beauty to uplift my soul.  But we've had barely any snow, and the landscape outside is at its ugliest of the whole year.  (That may change later today, however, since the forecast is actually calling for an accumulation of snow; some of us hope we get all they're calling for--and more!)  ;-)

As always, I have piles of ideas about the blog posts I want to write; but more often than not, my mental energy is so far gone by the end of the day that I don't even manage to squeak out anything on the blog.  Additionally, the hard drive that holds my photos is in our library--the coldest, least-appealing room of our house right now--so when faced with the choice to stay in the warm living room and read a book on the couch by the woodstove or go downstairs to exert my brain while freezing my fingers, the choice becomes clear. Obviously flopping down on the couch with a book and reading a few pages before falling asleep in the delicious warmth has been my preferred option most evenings of late!  ;-)

Well, enough explanation--and more than enough complaining!  Despite my less-than-sparkling mood at times, I am still overwhelmingly blessed in so many, many ways; and even when my soul is weary, my heart is filled with gratitude!

This past week, we had a day that could not possibly have been any more gray and brown and plain and dismal outside.  From the sky to the ground, everything was bleak--and not the kind of gray that precedes the excitement of a snowstorm!  Just the kind of bleak that makes February feel twice as long as it really is.

On this particular day, however, God gave me a sweet gift.  He gave me laughter.  :)

We had finished up the schoolwork that we were able to get done that morning; and before we had our lunch, the kids decided to have some "horse" races.  I'm not sure who started it, and I'm not even sure why it tickled my funny bone so much, but I found it hilarious.  It was just the medicine I needed on such a gray day.  :)

Oh, those boys!  And that girl!  They demonstrate the truth of Proverbs 17:22--surely, "a merry heart doeth good like a medicine!"  :)

Well, now that I've confessed the funk I've been in, maybe I'll be able to step out of it more easily!  I sure hope so, because there are some really important (to me) blog posts that I'm eager to get posted.  Let's see...there's Valentine's Day I want to write about...and my big Canada post I need to finish...and a long-overdue pregnancy update...and so much more.

Always, there is so much more.

Just another evidence of how full and rich and blessed my life is.

Even in February.  ;-)

The Entertainment of the Evening

For Christmas, we gave Tobin and Shav each a remote-controlled car; and yesterday, David suddenly decided that he needed to have one, too--so they could have races, of course.  :)  It worked out that we could go by the store late this afternoon on our way to rehearsal for the Junior Strings ensemble that Josiah and David are in, and David could buy himself a car.  He had plenty of money saved up and was excited to spend some of it in that way, which was a good choice, I thought.

This evening, after supper, the boys did indeed have some races, made especially hilarious by the fact that David's car can be controlled, not only by his own controller, but also by Shav's--and vice versa, of course.  That caused some interesting predicaments in the races, for sure!  :)

A little while later, David came up with another way to be entertaining, using his new car.  He somehow got Moriah to pretend that it was a dog; and then when she would come to pet it, he would make it move, and she would shriek and run up the steps.  Before long, Shav and then Tobin joined in, unable to resist the attraction of their little sister's laughter.  Who could?  :)

In the summer, our entertainment in the evenings is simple: go outside.  But in the winter, it can be a little more challenging to find appropriate ways to channel the energy and exuberance of the children, especially when it's been below freezing all day and they haven't spent much time at all outdoors.

For this one winter evening, at least, David's creativity with his new car and his willingness to play with his adoring younger siblings made for a very pleasant, albeit noisy, evening indeed.  :)

Notes from the New Year

New Year's Eve was different for us than it ever had been before: Jeff wasn't here.

He was on duty as a police officer downtown, making sure that the celebration there stayed safe for everyone; and we were at home, missing him.  But even though we wished he could have been here, we still had fun.  :)

Sweet Moriah got tucked into bed at the usual time, but the boys all got to stay up until midnight.  They all made it but one.  Shav fell asleep as we watched The Secret Garden (I watched with one eye and worked on that looooong blog post with my other eye - ha!); and shortly before midnight, I tried to wake him up so he could go outside with his brothers and bang pots and pans and shout "Happy new year!"  But he was so completely out-of-it--and grumpy as a bear wakened early from hibernation--that he couldn't manage to rouse himself and participate.  That was a bummer.

However, this morning when Shav was expressing his dismay to Jeff that he missed that opportunity, Jeff came up with the terrific idea for Shav to get a pan and a lid and go upstairs with Jeff to the boys' rooms so they could be an alarm clock for David and Tobin who were still sleeping.  I thought it was hysterical.  :)  I love Jeff for the way his mind works differently than mine and the creative solutions he finds to parenting dilemmas.  I would have talked with Shav about how I understood his disappointment at not being awake at midnight and how, yes, it was sad that he didn't get to bang pots and pans and that maybe tonight he could go outside and do it, a day late.  I would have hugged Shav and maybe rocked with him and tried to ease his pain.  But Jeff?  His plan was way different from mine.  Taking revenge (harmless, of course!) on your brothers is a pretty fun way to start the new year, and it certainly made a new memory for us!  I can easily imagine my boys sitting around when they're in their 40s, saying, "Do you remember that year when Dad told Shav to come into our rooms early on New Year's Day and bang a pot to wake us up because he didn't get to do it the night before?"  :)

**********

New Year's Day was the same as it's been before: I went to a Harmonia Sacra singing in the evening.  :)

It's a tradition that I love--and appreciate Jeff for letting me continue it!  After all, he's the one who stays at home, takes care of the younger children, and usually does some work to help clean up in the kitchen.  It's a true gift he gives me to have that time away!

This year, Josiah and David went along, and my parents did, too.  It was a delight to walk in and see some friends that we hadn't seen for quite a long time since they are now living in Puerto Rico.  It was also fun to see some other choristers from the Shenandoah Valley Children's Choir there.  :)

Unlike the past six years, I wasn't called on to lead a song; but towards the end, an invitation was given for anyone who wanted to lead to come forward and do so.  David, who was sitting right beside me and who very helpfully found the right page in the songbook each time a new song was announced, nudged me hard and made sure I knew that he thought I'd better get up there!  So I did.  :)

Sometimes at those singings, I wish I could just freeze time.  I wish I could record the music and let it continue to wash over me, in all its power and intensity, long after the evening was over.  I wish I could picture the faces of the singers, so diverse in their backgrounds and worship practices, long after they had all departed.

Sometimes I think that it would be glorious if the angels could be singing Dedication Anthem (AKA 606, or 118, or The Mennonite National Anthem) when I enter the gates of heaven.

Sometimes I feel like I can't even stay on the ground any longer, and I'll have to float away, carried aloft by the majesty of the music.

Yes, tonight was one of those nights.  :)

After it was over, we stayed to chat with some people, including the row of black-coated men behind us.  To be honest, I wondered what they thought of me, a woman, leading a song, since in their church services, they only use male songleaders; but they were very kind and complimentary and told me they appreciated my leading and they could tell that I really enjoyed singing and they thought Josiah and David did so well, etc.  As they pieced together who I am based on who my dad is and where I live and who my next-door neighbors are, one of them said, "Was your husband the one who helped Doug...?" and his voice trailed off.  I knew what he was talking about.  The robbery.  Yes, Jeff was the one who rescued our neighbor from a bad, dangerous situation.  In the tight-knit Mennonite community here in our county, that kind of action will win a man fans for life; and it was obvious the men sitting in the pew behind me tonight were big Jeff Fisher fans.  :)

As we were walking out of the church building, there were two horse-and-buggies leaving from the parking lot; and one of them had bells on the harness of the horse--gorgeous sleigh bells that rang out beautifully through the crisp night air.  For a moment, I thought I was back with Almanzo and Laura in De Smet, South Dakota!  ;-)  I was glad to get into my minivan and turn on the heat, but I also wistfully thought that those in a buggy with bells had a better ride home than I did tonight!  :)

It was the perfect way to spend the first evening of 2015.  :)

She's Our First Child to...

When people think of Moriah, the most obvious characteristic that makes her unique is, of course, the fact that she's our only daughter and has four big brothers.  But being a girl isn't the only thing that she's been the first of our children to do!

She was also the first to walk at the stunningly early age of 14 months!  ;-)  All the rest walked at 18 months or later.

She was also the first to try to climb out of her crib.  The boys never tried that particular stunt, but she did--once.  She fell, but wasn't seriously hurt.  Apparently it was enough, however, to teach her not to try that again!  ;-)

I'm sure there are a number of other things I could include in this list of "Moriah was the first to...", but tonight I'll only mention one more.  She was the first of our children to get out the baby powder and make a mess with it!

This was the scene I found when I walked into her room earlier today...

It's not that bad, I know.  Compared with pictures I've seen from other parents whose offspring have held unsupervised play sessions with a bottle of baby powder, I got off easy.  But even still, I couldn't help but think, "The boys never did this!!"  ;-)

Here's the thing though: Moriah was actually trying to help when this little incident happened.  She is SO quick to imitate and SO eager to take the initiative in finding ways to be helpful.  For example, a night or two ago, as I was getting supper ready, she went to the cupboard, got out a plastic cup for each of her brothers, then carried them one by one to the bathroom sink where she climbed up on the stool and filled them with water before carrying them to the table to place one at each brother's spot.  I didn't tell her to do that, and I didn't show her how to do it.  As a matter of fact, I get water from the kitchen sink where we have a water purifier (although there's really nothing too bad about the water from the bathroom sink), so it's not like Moriah has watched me do what she did.  But she recognized a need ("hey, supper is almost here, and the boys don't have drinks at their places yet!") and figured out a way to meet it.

She does stuff like that A LOT.  I'm always sort of in awe when I watch her do such things.  I feel like there is so much that I never consciously teach her, and yet she sees us, and copies us, and pretty soon she surpasses us!  ;-)

So, back to the baby powder.

As it turned out, Moriah had a dirty diaper, so she got the stool from the upstairs bathroom, carried it into her room, stood on it, pulled open the drawer, got out a clean diaper, also got the baby powder, laid the diaper down and opened it, then sprinkled some baby powder on it.

And also on the changing table and the stool and the floor.  ;-)

I only use baby powder occasionally when I change her diaper, but for whatever reason, Moriah felt like that should be part of that particular diaper change.  And so it was, the powder she had already poured into the new diaper being plenty to fill the need!  ;-)

As I cleaned up the mess Moriah had made, I felt thankful that she hadn't spilled even more baby powder; but I also thought, "Oh, little girl, you keep me on my toes!  In what other areas will you be the first of our children to pull off another stunt?"  :)

Because He Asked Me To...

...I took a picture of Shav's old toothbrushes before throwing them away.

It was really important to him. + I love my son. = I now have a picture of old toothbrushes on my blog.

I just KNOW in 20 or 30 years, Shav is going to LOVE this post!!!  :)

(At least he'll always know how much I love him.)  ;-)

Your Photo Shoot Might Be Over If...

...your little sister barges in...

 ...and starts...

 ...pushing you around!

It also might be over if your photographer thinks it would be funny to put a fireman's hat on the family dog and take a picture of that!

Jed wasn't nearly as amused as the photographer!  ;-)

Smile Break!

I'm going to take a break tonight from posting about the choir tour, mostly so that I can go to bed earlier than I have been.  :)  But also because I want to remember one evening recently, when David got home from Vacation Bible School and told me his stomach was hurting.  After going through my routine line of questioning--"are you hungry? do you need to go to the bathroom? would you like to lie down on the couch?"--I told him that he could eat some of the grape pie that was left from supper.

A while later, I found this note...

I laughed and laughed when I read it.  :)  (And then I resolved to focus more on spelling and punctuation with David!  But of course, he was just jotting a note and wasn't trying to be proper.)  ;-)

Oh, that David!  He is a ball of sunshine in our family.  :)