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We interrupt the regularly scheduled broadcast of coverage of the Fisher family's activities during the COVID-19 pandemic to bring you a pleasant change of topic...

I had a birthday!!!  :)

I will write in more detail about the birthday when I get to Day 21 (April 1, my actual birthday) of my quarantine journal; but for tonight, let me share some pictures of the cake...

...the cake which got made a day late...

...but who cares because for once, we're not in a hurry to go anywhere!  So if we have cake on April 2nd instead of the 1st, nobody is bothered in the least.  :)

My earliest and most unchanging favorite ice cream flavor is mint chocolate chip; and if that ice cream could be a cake, it would be this one.  :)  We call it Shank cake (the reason is told here), and it's loved by everyone in our family--unlike some of my other favorite cakes, like coconut cake or German chocolate cake.  How someone could NOT like homemade German chocolate cake is beyond my comprehension, but there are actually some people sleeping under my roof tonight who claim that it is true!!  ;-)  Goodness!  Just because it has coconut in it!  ;-)

Well, since we're all sort of stuck with each other now, I wanted to have my birthday cake this year be something that all the family would enjoy, so Thursday late afternoon, Moriah and I got to work, mixing up the batter for this bit of deliciousness.  Later that night, after Jeff and I finished our online d-time with our good friends Ben and Melanie, I whipped up the icing and assembled the cake; and when the younger kids finished watching their episode of Redwall, we all gathered in the dining room for one last part of my official birthday celebration.

When Benjamin saw the cake, he exclaimed, "IT LOOKS BEAUTIFUL!!"  :)  He's good for my ego.  :)

Moriah asked if she could put the candles in place; and because we only have one numeral 4, she had to use four individual candles for the second digit of my age.  Tobin and Shav got the honor of lighting them.

I think here, Jeff was pointing out that the wax from the red candle was dripping down onto the icing because it was taking so long for them to sing "Happy Birthday" to me.  :)

Oh well, it's not really birthday cake unless it has a little wax on the icing, right?  ;-)

Benjamin was pretty excited.

Pretty adorable, too.  ;-)

If I had a way to do so, I would share a piece of Shank cake with each of you who is reading, so imagine that you're eating a slice of cake while you read on to find out...

Eight Random Facts about Me!  :)

1. I love the sight of a house sitting catty corner on a lot.  Since 99% of houses are built squarely on their piece of land, the rare ones that sit diagonally always catch my eye--and my admiration.

2. I'm not doing any of this nowadays; but when life is normal and I am able to prepare a meal to take to someone (that has, for example, had a new baby, or is sick), I have discovered that it is certifiably impossible for me to make the meal, get out the door on time to deliver it to them, and keep a clean kitchen.  One of the last two items has to go!  It seems in such situations, I am ALWAYS in a rush, and I end up leaving the kitchen looking like a whirlwind has swept through it.  At least the people receiving the meal don't know (or care!) what the appearance of my kitchen is at that moment!  (But if I ever bring you a meal at some point in the future, you already know the secret: that when I appear at your door, my kitchen is A MESS!).  ;-)

3. During the past 12 months, I finally made peace with my nose.  ;-)  That has always been the physical feature of myself that I liked the least, but this past year as I looked at other people's noses, I realized that I would actually rather have my nose than some of theirs.  Shocking, I know.  ;-)  I do consider it a sign that I am advancing in wisdom and maturity that I have, by the grand old age of 44, reached this stage of actually being grateful for my own nose!  ;-)

4. And speaking of appearances...  It was no surprise when I started to go gray; with the genetics that I have, there was no way around it!  I remember my mother with brown hair...but that was because she had it colored...until one day she stopped doing that, and we were happy.  I loved her gray hair--still do.  Going back another generation or two, I only ever remember my grandmother and my great-grandmother having beautiful gray/white hair, although of course in their younger years, they had brown hair (I guess it was brown; I'm honestly not sure!).  So I completely expected to turn gray myself, but what I DIDN'T expect was to like it so much!  I really like my hair--and not just because of the haircut Jeff gave me recently (although I like that quite a bit, too!), but because of the color, this mixture of diminishing-brown and increasing-gray.  My one hesitation about gray hair was that I didn't want to be completely gray while I was still bearing children; but since Benjamin is four years old now, I guess I don't mind if it all goes gray at this point!  But meanwhile, I'm liking the highlights of color that my head naturally produces (and to think that some women pay a lot of money in a salon to get highlights--hahaha!!).  ;-)

5. Speaking of getting older...  :)  In general, life is getting a whole lot easier (current pandemic notwithstanding).  Why?  Because having kids who are old enough (and mature enough) to babysit is a GAME-CHANGER!!  My vivid memories of being a mother of young children who had to take them all everywhere I went are an ever-present reminder of just how tough it is to be a mother of young children--whether you have one or two or half-a-dozen.  Now that Josiah and David are old enough to watch their younger siblings, it's A WHOLE NEW WORLD, folks.  I can go have lunch with a friend, go to a Bible study, go to Aldi for groceries, go to the dentist for a root canal, and other assorted fun(?) activities ALL BY MYSELF.  (Of course, not at the current time with our self-quarantine, but when life is normal.)  I am so grateful for my old-enough, mature-enough, competent-enough, loving-enough big kids!!  Jeff and I never want them to feel taken for granted as built-in babysitters; but at the same time, it IS a way they can help the family.  Our plan at this point to try to strike the right balance is to pay $2 an hour for babysitting of younger siblings.  If Josiah is away, for example, and David is in charge by himself, he gets $2 an hour.  If both Josiah and David are here and are involved, they each get $1 per hour.  It's not a lot of money, but it gives them some pocket change (or gas money, if you're a teen driver who is learning firsthand how quickly gas tanks get empty in cars!).  And it is a HUGE help for me.  Seriously life-changing.

6. I do not understand the allure of Disney World.  I like amusement parks as much as anyone, but Disney, with its exorbitant prices??  I just don't get it.  Besides the outrageous cost, the thought of standing in a long line for somebody dressed up like a character from a Disney movie to sign my kid's autograph book makes me break out in hives.  YOU'RE NOT REALLY CINDERELLA, YOU KNOW.  There are about a thousand other places I'd rather be.  But I know there are plenty of other wise, wonderful people who absolutely love Disney, so it must be that I'm just missing something about how great it is.  ;-)

7. When it comes to how much sleep I get, I have three voices in my head.  One tells me that I should stay up late and talk to my kids who are night owls because teens especially tend to stay awake later and be available for conversation at that point in the day (partially because earlier in the day, younger siblings are prone to interrupt or be so noisy we can't even hear ourselves think!).  Another voice says you need to go to bed early so you can wake up early to have your quiet time with God.  And the third voice incessantly reminds me that for my health--especially my brain health, because insufficient sleep can raise the risk of Alzheimer's, which is a concern anyway because of my family history--I need to make getting enough sleep a priority!  Which one do I listen to?

8. I started this list of random things with a comment about houses, so I'll circle back around and end with the same theme.  Undoubtedly, my absolute, all-time favorite feature of a house is a front porch--a nice wide one with enough room for a couple of rocking chairs, a swing hanging from the ceiling, and a stand to hold a pitcher of lemonade and a mancala board in the summertime.  Oh, and flower boxes of geraniums along the front of the porch.  :)  The ironic thing is that I have actually never lived in a house with a front porch--visited, yes; lived, no.  Ridiculous, isn't it?  ;-)  My deep abiding admiration for front porches must come entirely from my maternal grandparents' old farmhouse with a--you guessed it--wonderful wide front porch.  Some of the sweetest memories of my childhood come from that farm and that house and that porch.  My love of front porches is so strong that I honestly don't understand why builders build any houses without a front porch--haha!  But all kidding aside, it is so strong that I literally have to guard my heart against front porch envy.  In fact, every time I confess sin, front porch envy could be on the list!  I have high hopes that when I get to heaven, the home Jesus is preparing for me will have a front porch.  It would be fine if it's small (I really love the idea of tiny houses), but I sure do hope it has a front porch.  :)

And maybe a pitcher of lemonade.  :)

And maybe a Shank cake.  :)

Happy Anniversary, House!

January 13 of this year was very different from January 13 of last year.

For one thing, it snowed this year--a wonderfully beautiful snow that slowed life and kept us home for the day.  That definitely didn't happen last year!

How do I know?

January 13, 2018, was the day we moved into this house!  And although I LOVE snow and never seem to get enough of it, I am so very thankful we didn't have to deal with that while we moved!

 Although parts of that oh-so-exciting moving day are simply a blur in my mind, other aspects of it are crystal clear; and it's been a pleasure to spend some time during the past few days remembering what was happening in our family one year ago.  It's also been fun to jot down 13 (because we moved on the 13th) things that I am especially grateful for about this house.

The whole process of finding this place and deciding that this was the one was interesting--especially because that's not something that was ever part of my growing-up years.  During the last few months of 2017, Jeff and I looked online at many, many houses--and even drove by and/or visited other ones--but from the time we walked in the door of this one, I knew it was the one I wanted.

 Here, in no particular order, are some of the reasons I was drawn to it...and also some reasons I didn't realize last January 13 but have discovered during the past 12 months of living here!  :)

1. I was immediately drawn to the details in the entryway, living room, and dining room. The crown molding was stunning and really set this house apart from others.  This is just a glimpse of the beauty I desired as soon as I set foot inside.

2. The kitchen is attractive with its dark cabinets and counter tops; I was really drawn to that.  Plus, in comparison to the kitchen of our former house, it's very manageable in size.  Now on the one hand, that could be seen as a drawback, and there are certainly times I miss the immense size of the kitchen I used to have!  :)  But it was a challenge to keep up with all that room and all those cupboards; in fact, every year, I would tell myself that SURELY this would be the year that I would be able to thoroughly clean and organize EVERY SINGLE CUPBOARD...and every year, I fell short of attaining that goal of completion.  By contrast, I am able to keep up better (not perfectly!) with our current kitchen; and when a friend was over last evening and was looking in my kitchen cupboards for something, she commented on how organized everything was...and my heart beamed.  :)

3. The downstairs family room is lovely and large...and filled (still!) with too much of our junk. :( That room was enticing to us, especially as we thought about the groups we like to have over; but we haven't been able to even come close to using it to its full potential because of my inability--so far--to carve out enough time to adequately devote to the task of getting rid of stuff.  Maybe by the end of this year...  ;-)  Regardless, I'm very grateful to have this room!

4. There are beautiful built-in bookshelves in the family room--15 of them.  I'm a huge fan of built-in bookshelves.  :)

5. The house is bright and sunny; and as this year has gone by, I have noticed, at the different seasons and different times of day, precisely where the light is shining in--and where one would have to lie, if one were a cat, to take a snooze in it!  :)  On a sunny day, the main rooms are bathed in light, and it is splendid.

6. The fenced-in backyard was a significant draw, to be sure.  Having a preschooler means that physical boundaries are still a very good thing for our family.  :)

7. It's not on a busy street!  This is one of those attributes that I didn't fully appreciate at the time (although I was aware of it).  I cannot count how many times, during the past year, I have been grateful that we ended up on a little side street where we don't have to deal with much traffic.

8. There are foxes in the neighborhood!  This is a big plus (and a total surprise, since we didn't have any idea, before we moved in, that there were foxes around)!!  :)  Even though we lived in the country before, we RARELY saw foxes (maybe once or twice in my life previously?).  We saw plenty of other wildlife, but not foxes.  Here, I don't think I've seen a single rabbit, skunk, raccoon, opossum, or snake (glory hallelujah about the lack of snakes!).  But we have plenty of squirrels, we have birds, and--delightfully--we have foxes!  It is always a treat to catch sight of one (it doesn't happen very often), and I am fascinated by them.  I wouldn't be so fascinated by them if we were trying to have chickens in our backyard.  ;-)  But since we don't have anything they could hurt, it's just fun to see them.

9. Living here has opened the door for us to meet some really wonderful people: notably, our always-kind and helpful landlord Tuan; Fred & his wife Lynne & their dog Trouble; a couple from Bolivia, Jose & Hilde; our next-door neighbor Sandie; and Carolyn, a woman in her 90s who lives very independently and is amazing.  I'm sure that in years to come, we will remember these friendly souls, and smile when we do.

10. During the past 365 days, we have made incredible memories.  Life has been rich and full, and we have added abundantly to the treasure bank of our family times.  This house has sheltered us, it has seen wonderful celebrations, it has heard some noisy voices ;-).  We have played games in it, homeschooled in it, gathered around the dinner table with many friends.  Moving in last year gave us a blank slate in a house that was full of promise.  Looking back shows me how much joy--and some sorrow, too--has been written on that slate.

11. This house has stretched me and helped to shape my character--hopefully in a God-ward direction!  :)  There have been a few frustrations that have cropped up (most notably, some plumbing issues), and I have been given the opportunity to deal with that in a manner that is characterized by patience and good humor, rather than anger and complaining.  Sometimes I have succeeded.  ;-)

12. This year here has given me additional encouragement to pursue simplicity and minimalism--two areas that I love, but too often, fall short in.  As a matter of fact, if you looked around my house, you might think that I've never even heard of minimalism, much less read books and blogs about it and pursued it!  ;-)  Oh, I still have so far to go.  But the fact that eight people get to share 2,500 square feet, and each of the bedrooms houses two people, means that we can't let our accumulation of stuff get too crazy.  I am not as far along in the process of letting go of STUFF as I had hoped to be (and that fact helps to increase my humility--another way this house shapes my character!), but I am inspired to make hopefully bigger strides in that department during the coming year.

13. One of the very special things that this house has done for me is redefine HOME.  This topic is so important that it probably deserves its own essay, but suffice it to say that the process of selling our former house (my childhood home) and moving here uprooted all my preconceived notions about what home was and challenged my at-times overly-sentimental nature.  Early on, I would find myself often thinking as I returned to this house, especially when I had gone somewhere by myself and my family members were waiting at home, "Wow, it is so strange to think that this place is now our HOME.  Of all the places we could have landed, this is the one.  There's nothing too unique about this house...except the fact that my family is there, and our possessions are inside, and we chose this space, and now these walls bind us together.  This is home--not because it's the place my parents brought me to when I was born, the place I lived in so many years, but because this is the place we have chosen.  Wherever Jeff is, wherever our children are, that is home.  We CHOOSE to make it thus."

As night fell on January 13 of last year, I stayed up late and tried to absorb what had just happened.  I got the dining room in perfect order (a relatively easy task) and found satisfaction in making one room of the house look good.  It was a fulfilling feeling.

Tonight I've stayed up late, peeking out every so often at the gorgeous snow covering the ground, and remembering what life was like a year ago.

How immensely grateful I am for our first year in this home!  What anticipation I carry within me as we begin the second!

Year Two, here we come!!

"My Dear Mother's Face"

In the process of emptying not only my own house because of our move to northern Virginia, but also my parents' house because of my dad's move into a retirement community, we have found quite a few treasures, to say the least!  :)  The most precious to me by far are the paper treasures: old family pictures, letters, journals, etc.  I simply cannot bear to throw them out without taking the time to look through them and capture them in some way for this electronic age!  What that really means is that both my dad and I have, in our new homes, some storage boxes completely stuffed with pictures and papers, awaiting the time "when life settles down" and I have time to deal with them.  :)  

In the latest load I brought back with me to our new house were two photo albums that contain images that are, to me, priceless--like this photo of my mother, sitting in her parents' kitchen, probably in the 1970s.  I love her dear face.  And that reminds me of a poem I read in a little book my parents had on their shelves, written by a local man that is, I suspect, either somehow related to my family or else known by my family for years and years.

My Dear Mother's Face

~ John Michael Roller ~

While looking upon the pictures of life

When the day was past with its toil and strife,

I sought for a scene in memory's hall

The most beautiful there that I could recall.

I viewed with awe a mountain scene;

Another of ocean with sunset sheen;

But of all that hung in the gallery's space,

The fairest indeed was my dear mother's face.

The time I remember as yesterday

When we stood on the porch near the close of the day,

The evening glow where the vines interlace

Revealed the lines in her lovely face.

She spoke of those in her life who were dear,

In tones which always would cast out fear;

Through all life's burdens she was able to bear,

In all our sorrows she was ready to share.

And then came the news to a distant state

That I hasten home, lest I be too late

To see upon earth that familiar face

Which helped me to God and saving grace.

Her body now lies on a nearby slope;

Her spirit within gives courage and hope;

Neither time nor change will ever efface

The memory I hold of my dear mother's face.

~ photo by Robin Skievaski Photography ~ 

In the Fall, We Change

It's early in the morning on the first day of a brand new year--the perfect time to write about the changes that are happening in my family.

Months ago, when I mentioned to my next-door neighbor that the winds of change were blowing, she immediately--and probably completely unconsciously--looked down at my front to see if a baby bump was visible there.  Maybe that was your first thought, too.  ;-)  But no, that's not the change that is in the wind this time.  ;-)

Twelve years ago, in the fall of 2005, we arrived in Virginia, freshly returned from spending several years in Israel.  It was a beautiful September day when we got here; and, probably because we had spent the previous eight years in climates without four distinct seasons, I had a heightened appreciation for fall and all the beautiful transformations that happen here in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia during that time.

But leaves aren't the only thing that change in the fall.

For quite some time, Jeff and I had felt a stirring in our souls, a hunger and thirst for something more, a desire to live more radically than the comfortable existence we had settled into.  We LOVED that comfortable existence, make no mistake about it!  But there was a whisper in the wind of something more, and that voice grew stronger as the summer of 2017 went by and autumn approached.

The voice summoned us with an ancient call: "Come, follow me, and I will make you fishers of men."  (Matthew 4:19)

Many of you know that Jeff and I had, earlier in life, served in the full-time ministry, both in the US and internationally.  When we moved back to my home place in 2005, it wasn't necessarily with the intention to stay here forever!  We wanted to remain open to God's guidance as to our future plans; but as time went on and our roots in this soil grew deeper, the chances of us again serving God in that way seemed to grow dim.

Our wonderful fourth son reminds us of an important spiritual principle.  You see, Shav's name comes from a Hebrew word that means "return, restore," and that's exactly what we needed to do: to shav to our first love!  :)  And in early September, we did just that--reconnecting with a congregation in Washington DC that felt very much like home to us, a place of sacrificial love and incredible zeal to reach out to others, to LIVE the teachings of Jesus, not just talk about them.  Being around the brothers and sisters there reminded us of how much we had changed in the preceding dozen years.  It was time to return.

We thought and prayed and pondered and sought advice and talked with each other and poured our hearts out to God and waited for His response.  And when Jeff gave me the YES that I was hoping to hear, my heart rejoiced with exceeding joy!  But early on, I became aware of the enormity of the decision we had just made; and as I carried jars of homemade grape juice down to our cellar late one night in early September, I paused there and bowed my head.  "God, if You can help me dig up the roots I've put down in this place, I will follow You anywhere," I prayed.  "I will go anywhere, do anything, and give up everything for You.  But You're going to have to help me, because these roots go down so far, I'm not sure I can ever get them up by myself!"

And that, dear friends and readers, is what we've been doing this past fall: digging up roots and preparing to soar again.

We knew immediately that our desire for deeper involvement with the DC church meant that being there for a two-hour slot on Sundays just wasn't going to cut it, so we sought a buyer for our home, Jeff looked for new employment in the DC area, and we prepared to move (not an easy feat for a family of eight!).

God gave us a buyer for our home (our next-door neighbors, which is amazingly ideal for so many reasons), God gave Jeff a new job right outside DC (in an upscale barber shop near the Pentagon), and God is helping us move.

We haven't quite gotten that last part finished yet.  ;-)

But we're making significant progress--not the least of which was meeting with the realtor and the homeowners yesterday, on the last day of the old year, to finish the paperwork and get the keys to our new home!!

Oh, we're not buying--simply renting--trying to get and stay as mobile as we can, so that if and when God calls us to go here or there or yonder, we'll be ready. We don't know if and when that invitation will come; but for now, we're tremendously excited about this first step in our new journey!

Being in the northern Virginia area means we'll be close enough to the Harrisonburg area to make regular visits here; and with the friends and family we have in this area, we will always have a strong attachment here.  The kids will still participate in the Shenandoah Valley Children's Choir, Jeff will still work one day a week at his barbershop here, we will visit my parents every week, and we'll likely do quite a bit of our food shopping here and take advantage of the lower prices away from the metropolitan area!  ;-)  But the rest of the time, we'll be in and around DC, being used--we pray--to effectively advance the kingdom of God!

There is so much more I could say about all of this, but for now, it is a beginning--the first part, here on the year's first day, of the story of this next chapter of our lives.  More than anything, we desire for God to be the author of all that is coming!  He writes the BEST adventures, after all!!  :)

Red Dress Sunday: A Christmas Tradition

Every December, on one of the Sundays close to Christmas, Moriah wears a red dress, I wear my red boiled wool jacket and a black skirt or pants, and we commemorate the occasion with some photos.  It's become such a strong tradition that I really feel like breaking out in song with Tevye as he sings, "Tradition, tradition, tradition!"    :) 

To see our version of this Christmas tradition through the years, here are the links from 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, and 2016.  And now, it's 2017's turn.  :)

I'm so very grateful for another year of joy with my precious daughter!

Benjamin Reads Thomas

Benjamin's favorite books these days are a set of three Thomas the Tank Engine board books that we've had since Josiah was our little guy toddling around!  Their edges might be a little worn, but they're still as good as ever; and the delight they bring to our youngest son--as they have done to his older siblings through the years--is certainly difficult to measure because it's such a large quantity! And speaking of large quantities, I wonder how many times I've read these books during the past 15 years.  If I had a dollar for every time...  :)

Benjamin's latest fun is "reading" the books himself.  It's funny: every single page sounds exactly alike when he reads it!!  ;-)

 We adore this little guy!!

The Way They Play

For the past few days, I've noticed, more than I usually do, how my children play.

I'm not exactly sure why this stood out to me now--maybe because, when I walked into the living room and saw this...

...I happened to think that it's a little unusual for Tobin to be involved with setting up an imaginary world like this.  Oh, he certainly does his fair share of LEGO-building, but what he really loves to do is be outside, so to take the time to set up train tracks, pirate characters, animals, construction paper, and so forth is not the way I normally see him play.

Maybe Shav did all the work, and Tobin just jumped in and joined him.  ;-)

They seemed to be having a blast playing and creating together, and it made me more conscious of how my children play--because a year or two or three or ten from now, they won't be sitting here playing with this stuff!

I have long thought that one of the advantages of having a large family is that the older siblings get a chance to play with "little kid toys" at more than one stage of life.  Every time we have a new baby, the cycle of toys starts over again, and the infant toys are brought out, followed by the toddler toys, and so forth...and wonderfully, all the kids get to play with whichever ones catch their eye, without someone accusing them of being immature.  Take this train set, for example: most (perhaps all?) of those pieces came from Jeff's mom who gave them to us when Josiah was just a little tyke, and all of the children have played with them as they've come along in the family.  While it's true that Josiah and David don't normally sit down and get out the Thomas the Tank Engine stuff, they sometimes end up getting it out and building a track for their littlest brother to enjoy.  And don't tell me they're not enjoying it in the process.  ;-)  That's the way it goes for all the toys around here!

And so, when I saw Shav and Tobin with all the various toys they pulled together into their world, it put a smile on my face.  I love that they're growing in maturity and responsibility and all that good stuff, but I also love that they enjoy getting down on the floor and creating something like this (and having time to do so, but that's a whole other topic! can I just say thank God for homeschooling and the flexible schedule it provides!).  :)

With these thoughts in mind, I kept my eyes open the past couple of days to observe how my children play, what brings them joy, how they choose to spend their free time.  Here are a few glimpses of what I saw...

"Where's Benjamin?" is a thought that goes through my head multiple times a day; and this morning when I asked that, here was the answer. 

Benjamin was having a great time standing on the stool and playing in the water.

It reminded me SO MUCH of Shav doing that when he was about 26 months old, Benjamin's current age.  :) 

Later on, Shav and Tobin came to me and asked if they could sail their boats in the bathtub. 

In the past week or so, they had, completely on their own, made these boats, using a saw to cut the wood, creating a mast, figuring out how to affix it, even adding sails. 

They want to go sail them on the neighbors' pond, but haven't had a chance to do that yet.

The bathtub was a decent alternative--not quite the high adventure of sailing on a pond, but with the added tumult of washcloths occasionally being dropped on the boats, it was dramatic enough.  :)

I couldn't help but think of one of my favorite books from early childhood, Scuffy the Tugboat (anyone familiar with it?), as I watched my sons sailing their boats in the tub.  :)

I didn't take any pictures of this, but after I had put Benjamin in bed for his nap today, the other five kids played a more energetic game: Active Shooter, which is their version of the age-old good guy v. bad guy battle that all kids seem to play at some point or another!  They also played a version of Capture the Flag--well, it was Capture the Purple Hippo, to be exact--and nerf bullets were flying.  I always enjoy seeing all of my kids (all except the youngest, in this case) participating in a game together; truly, having the time and opportunity for things like this is one of the significant reasons we homeschool.

After supper, I caught David playing the piano.  Out of all the kids, he's definitely the one most likely to sit down and play; and on some days, he spends quite a bit of time tickling the ivories.

Maybe Benjamin will take after him.  :)

Even later, after Benjamin and Moriah were in bed, the four older boys played a couple of games together, the first being some kind of roll-the-dice-and-exchange-money game (fortunately, pennies were the currency being used this evening, so nobody went broke) ;-) and the second being Dutch Blitz.  I was in other parts of the house doing various tasks, but I could hear their laughter ringing out.  Now that's a sound that does a mother's heart good!

From this post, it might seem like all we do around here is play.  ;-)  My kids will assure you that's not the case!  :)  But between all the moments of doing math lessons and putting away their clean laundry and loading and unloading the dishwasher and reading science books and taking down recycling and getting the mail and emptying the trash and doing economics homework and so forth, there are many moments of play.  And tonight, I wanted to capture for the future what that play looks like for my children here in the present. 

These moments--of train tracks on the floor and boats in the bathtub and nerf bullets getting lost under couches and behind bookshelves and LEGO pieces, always LEGO pieces everywhere--may be messy.  But they are sweet and precious and irreplaceable, and my eyes have been opened afresh to the wonder of it all.

You CAN Teach an Old Dog New Tricks

...or at least, change its bedroom furniture around.  ;-)

For almost all of the 45 years since my parents had this house built, a bed has stood at a certain spot in the master bedroom (visible, for example, in the third picture in this post).  I can't remember my parents' bed ever being in a different place (although I do remember several different beds they had through the years, my favorite being a waterbed that I thought was the Height of Luxury when I was a child); and when Jeff and I moved here 12 years ago, we may have had a brief stint of placing our bed diagonally in a corner (it's been too long ago for me to remember if we actually did leave the bed like that for a while, or if we quickly realized how much wasted space there was in that position and decided to move it back to a more traditional location).  But other than that, there's always been a bed in the spot between the two windows in the long wall.  Where else should a bed go in that room?! 

In the late spring of this year, I was itching for a change; so one day while Jeff was gone, I moved around the furniture to try having the bed in a diagonal position again.  Wouldn't you know, I again realized I didn't like it--and what's more, in the process I pulled something in my back and paid for it for a number of weeks after that!

But that didn't stop me. 

Jeff and I decided to move the furniture around yet again--including having the bed on the short wall instead of the long--and this is what we came up with.

We have loved it.  :)

From the hallway looking in...

 The baby corner, with maternity photos, baby name meaning signs, etc.--it's the place I nursed and rocked my babies.

The nursery opens right off ours--a very neat feature my parents included when they designed this house.

 There, where that dresser is, is the spot where the bed always stood!  But no more...

 Now it's on the short wall...

 ...under the gorgeous painting Jeff's dad did, and the two Jerusalem mirrors that came back with us when we returned from Israel in 2005.

 It gives the room a little different feel...

 ...but we've enjoyed it.

 Continuing around the room...

 Jeff gave me this figurine many years ago when we lived in Tel Aviv.  Somehow it's survived all these years!  That might be due to my strict "no fighting in my bedroom! this is a peace zone!" guideline I repeat to my children when they start wrestling or fighting with light sabers or playing Active Shooter v. Police with their nerf guns!  ;-)

 At the homeschool convention last year, one of the speakers gave out this paper with a crucial reminder that I've needed over and over since then as I have felt that I am NOT ENOUGH...but GOD IS.

 Sometimes in life, it's nice to shake things up a little bit. 

It's also nice to have a soft place to land--even if the location has changed.  :)