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| Paul the Ghost |
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| Julia the Mermaid |
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| Petra the Fairy |
Wednesday, October 31, 2012
Our Petra Grace is 3!
My little Petra is 3. She is a card.
Now there have been a number of things that she has explained that she is too little for because she is a toddler. In fact, toddlerhood was a pretty big part of her understanding of her identity. So in order to help her break into some new behaviors (like potty training and going to Sunday school), we explained that when she turned three, she stopped being a toddler and became a Big Girl.
She accepted that explanation. And, really, she doesn't toddle. Her walk and run are very well developed.
So on Sunday, she will go to Sunday school instead of the nursery.
Yesterday, she tried wearing Big Girl underwear. We were both tired of that trial by lunch time, but it was still a step in the right direction.
Yesterday we removed the booster seat from her chair at the kitchen table. Yes, she is still a little short for the table, but it was one of the Big Girl privileges that she asked about.
She also asked about going to school like Paul and Julia. Sigh. Okay, so there are some Big Girl things she is going to have to wait for, like preschool and Tae Kwon Do. Steve pointed out that our preschool would prefer she mastered her Big Girl underwear before she attends. We'll get there.
We will have her cake and presents Friday evening. She wants her cake to be decorated like a car. On Sunday she elaborated that the car should be a truck - a garbage truck.
We'll make something nice.
On her actual birthday we got to go to friends' house for trick or treat. They lent us a wagon and I pulled Petra to about 6 homes while Steve went ahead with Paul and Julia. After 6 homes, Petra was cold and I was tired, so we headed back and sat with our friends in their warm garage. They graciously bundled Petra in a blanket and gave her some hot cocoa to warm her hands. My darling little, too cute, Big Girl, who is not a toddler anymore.
Now there have been a number of things that she has explained that she is too little for because she is a toddler. In fact, toddlerhood was a pretty big part of her understanding of her identity. So in order to help her break into some new behaviors (like potty training and going to Sunday school), we explained that when she turned three, she stopped being a toddler and became a Big Girl.
She accepted that explanation. And, really, she doesn't toddle. Her walk and run are very well developed.
So on Sunday, she will go to Sunday school instead of the nursery.
Yesterday, she tried wearing Big Girl underwear. We were both tired of that trial by lunch time, but it was still a step in the right direction.
Yesterday we removed the booster seat from her chair at the kitchen table. Yes, she is still a little short for the table, but it was one of the Big Girl privileges that she asked about.
She also asked about going to school like Paul and Julia. Sigh. Okay, so there are some Big Girl things she is going to have to wait for, like preschool and Tae Kwon Do. Steve pointed out that our preschool would prefer she mastered her Big Girl underwear before she attends. We'll get there.
We will have her cake and presents Friday evening. She wants her cake to be decorated like a car. On Sunday she elaborated that the car should be a truck - a garbage truck.
We'll make something nice.
On her actual birthday we got to go to friends' house for trick or treat. They lent us a wagon and I pulled Petra to about 6 homes while Steve went ahead with Paul and Julia. After 6 homes, Petra was cold and I was tired, so we headed back and sat with our friends in their warm garage. They graciously bundled Petra in a blanket and gave her some hot cocoa to warm her hands. My darling little, too cute, Big Girl, who is not a toddler anymore.
Friday, October 26, 2012
Paul's 3rd Grade Music Concert
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| Paul getting ready for a line dance. |
Then we did a circle dance, and the music teachers recommended the younger children watch. Steve caught a few pictures of Paul and me in the circle dance.
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| Paul and Mommy trying to dos-i-do in 4 counts |
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| Paul with the "Dad, do you have to take a picture of me dancing with my mom" look on his face. |
New toy for mommy
Steve and I agreed that having a camera which wouldn't focus was not really ideal with a baby coming in a couple weeks.
So my early birthday present is a new camera. It's just a nice little point-and-shoot camera. Perfect for me (us). It does have more settings for us to explore than our old camera. Here are a few shots from us experimenting with it.
So my early birthday present is a new camera. It's just a nice little point-and-shoot camera. Perfect for me (us). It does have more settings for us to explore than our old camera. Here are a few shots from us experimenting with it.
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| Steve took this picture of me in my "racing stripes" outfit |
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| Steve, Paul, and Julia going to Tae Kwon Do practice with their jumbo duffel bags of sparing pads |
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| Petra Grace after the big kids have driven off |
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| I used the timer on the camera to capture this extreme belly profile shot |
Monday, October 22, 2012
Nothing gold can stay
Friday morning at my house.
“Is your library book in your book bag?”
“Are you dressed?”
“No, not those pants.”
“You need tights with that outfit.”
“Okay, I’ll look for tights, you eat your breakfast.”
“Stay in your seat and eat your breakfast.”
“Will you please butter it yourself and eat?”
“Wow, what a beautiful sunrise. Yes, you may come see it.” (pause) “Now go
back and finish your breakfast.”
“Have you finished your morning checklist?”
“Do your checklist.”
“Have you done everything on your list?”
“Then WHY is your snack still on the counter?”
“No more time for breakfast.
You need to get your shoes on RIGHT NOW.”
“Your backpack is in the kitchen where you left it.”
“YOU NEED TO BE OUTSIDE WAITING FOR THE BUS RIGHT NOW!!!”
And then, step outside, and
wow.
The sun is at the perfect magical height where the beams hit
the top of the trees, but not the base.
The trees are blazing yellow, orange and gold, and the clouds behind
them are dark grey. The leaves and light
are like a strip of golden fire with dark above and dark below. It is one of my favorite things to see.
“Paul, Julia, look at the trees.”
My little schoolers are spellbound. They can’t take their eyes off it.
“I feel like I’ve seen this before.”
“Is this what it looks like when God comes?”
I stop giving orders.
I quietly step to a spot where the bus will see me, so that my little
schoolers may gaze and gape. Even as we
watch, the light seems to spread and dilute.
The bus comes and stops. My
little schoolers run on board. The bus
leaves and when I turn to see the trees, they are dim and ordinary. In such a short time the sun rose into a
cloud bank, and the golden fire was gone.
You have to look quick to see the golden light. You have to look quick to see the autumn
leaves. You have to look quick to see
the childhood. It goes away so quickly.
Friday, October 19, 2012
Farm Hand #4 - Coming Soon
As with our previous 3 children, we have great difficulty coming to a decision on a name. This poor child, coming in early November, has been mostly referred to as Quartus for several months now while we deliberate on a suitable name.
As a side note, it was commonplace in ancient Roman culture to name your child based on the order of their birth. For example, Primus is the 1st child (and a boy), Secunda is the 2nd child (and a girl), etc. Sarah and I both took Latin in high school, so this was something we both knew and joked about.
Anyway, as we've done with the last two, we've added a poll to the blog for you to vote on your favorite name for our 4th child. There is no guarantee that the top vote will be the name we use, but this might help us narrow things down a bit. Quartus will thank you one day, I'm sure.
As a side note, it was commonplace in ancient Roman culture to name your child based on the order of their birth. For example, Primus is the 1st child (and a boy), Secunda is the 2nd child (and a girl), etc. Sarah and I both took Latin in high school, so this was something we both knew and joked about.
Anyway, as we've done with the last two, we've added a poll to the blog for you to vote on your favorite name for our 4th child. There is no guarantee that the top vote will be the name we use, but this might help us narrow things down a bit. Quartus will thank you one day, I'm sure.
Great Eighth Oktobeerfest
Monday, October 15, 2012
Memorable weekend
What a weekend.
Friday morning I took Petra and a small friend to the
zoo. Both girls are still at an age
where the statues of the animals are at least as interesting as the animals themselves. Even the tiger pacing by the glass couldn’t
compete with the plastic tiger statue with whiskers that you could touch. And when given the chance to pet a real
blue-tongued skink, both girls froze and our friend answered with, “No, thank
you.” Some things are best enjoyed at a
safe distance.
Friday evening was our annual Octobeerfest. I’ll let Steve write up an overall review of
that fun event. I was just amused to see
that Steve’s coworkers won two of the four beer tasting categories. They are now trying to figure out how to
leverage their success in their business marketing. Something along the lines of, “We develop
good software and choose good beer.”
Julia and I missed the first hour of the party because she
had her test for yellow belt. I was so
pleased to get to see her performance. She
came riding into the party on a wave of glory, because when she broke her
board, it snapped into three pieces. She
announced to one of grandpa’s friends that he had better keep his distance,
because she was dangerous.
I didn’t see much of Paul Friday night. He spent the whole evening racing around in
the dark with some friends, and didn’t come in for bed until nearly ten, when
he could barely hold his head up.
On Saturday morning Steve, Paul, and Julia went to a
ceremony to receive their yellow belts.
Saturday afternoon, Paul went to a sleepover with one of his
buddies. It was Paul’s first sleepover
ever. I asked the father later how much
sleep the boys got, and the answer was around 6 hours. Not enough!
And then on further questioning Paul, we’ve concluded that he slept less
than the others. He did have a ton of
fun. Anyway, Sunday afternoon Paul fell
asleep on top of Steve and we spent most of the hour between 4 and 5 o’clock
trying to wake him back up. Ice cubes
anyone?
Also on Saturday afternoon, I took Julia to the local fire
department for an open house. She got to see a demonstration with The Jaws
of Life and try on a real fireman’s suit.
Heavy. She practiced using her
hands to find her way through and obstacle course with a darkened mask over her
eyes, and we both went into the back of an ambulance.
We collapsed Sunday afternoon. It was good to rest and put our feet up. Sunday evening Steve went online with the
kids to let them shop with the money we gave them as a prize for earning their
yellow belts. Paul picked some legos,
and Julia some Barbies.
We also let Petra look online to try to figure out what she
might like for birthday presents.
“Would you like puzzles?”
“Yeah!”
“Would you like crafts?”
“Yeah!”
She was agreeable to everything we mentioned. There was really only one item that she
volunteered that she would like without us prompting her.
“Daddy, I want an i-Pad.”
After we finished laughing, Steve answered, “Me too,
honey. Me too.”
Tuesday, October 09, 2012
Why we might be getting a new couch soon
This is going to be one of those blogs in which the blogger (me) shares too many gross details about stupid stuff. Feel free to skip it. :-)
Last night Maggie barfed on our couch.
I was in the bathroom, helping Julia finish up her bath. I had let Petra join us, partly in hopes that observing her big sister would help her learn some self-cleaning skills. Suddenly, I heard Paul at the door. "Daddy told me to come tell you Maggie threw up."
And?
Oh, yeah, that's right. Steve's tolerance for dealing with certain categories of really stinky messes is lower than mine. If I'm in the house, then poopee, vomit, and chicken guts belong to me. This is one of the reasons why we don't own a house cat.
I took Petra out of the bathroom so that my little water lover would not drench herself. Steve had started collecting towels and upholstery detergent. He reported, "She threw up on the couch. She hit it right between the cushions. It's worse than normal. It smells like she must have spent too much time in the garden near the turkeys."
Charming.
Steve had taken the cushions off the couch. I went to the living room, opened a window, discovered squish that she hit the carpet a little bit too, and went to get a dustpan, which is my preferred "big chunk" removal tool. I came back to find Petra bouncing on one of the couch cushions.
Well, it was right there on the floor like a big inviting trampoline.
"No, no, no, no! Aaahhhh!" By some miracle, Petra had picked the one couch cushion that didn't have brown slime on it for bouncing. Petra protested and then giggled as I picked her up and tossed her back into the bathroom with her sister. Soaking wet clothing is a lesser evil than, well, you know. My instructions to Julia: "Don't let Petra get into the dog vomit."
Steve brought me a dozen small towels and cleaning rags, took the covers off of the couch cushions, then went to change clothes. The kids stayed out of the way. Somewhere in the midst of the cleaning effort friends telephoned us. "Hi, Sarah, how are you doing?"
"Funny you should ask..."
We threw the couch cushion covers into the washing machine. They were already deteriorating, and I don't know that they will survive the washing. We may be getting a new couch out of all this.
Maggie was not nearly repentant enough for the trouble she caused. Can you teach a dog to at least try to look embarrassed and sorry?
Last night Maggie barfed on our couch.
I was in the bathroom, helping Julia finish up her bath. I had let Petra join us, partly in hopes that observing her big sister would help her learn some self-cleaning skills. Suddenly, I heard Paul at the door. "Daddy told me to come tell you Maggie threw up."
And?
Oh, yeah, that's right. Steve's tolerance for dealing with certain categories of really stinky messes is lower than mine. If I'm in the house, then poopee, vomit, and chicken guts belong to me. This is one of the reasons why we don't own a house cat.
I took Petra out of the bathroom so that my little water lover would not drench herself. Steve had started collecting towels and upholstery detergent. He reported, "She threw up on the couch. She hit it right between the cushions. It's worse than normal. It smells like she must have spent too much time in the garden near the turkeys."
Charming.
Steve had taken the cushions off the couch. I went to the living room, opened a window, discovered squish that she hit the carpet a little bit too, and went to get a dustpan, which is my preferred "big chunk" removal tool. I came back to find Petra bouncing on one of the couch cushions.
Well, it was right there on the floor like a big inviting trampoline.
"No, no, no, no! Aaahhhh!" By some miracle, Petra had picked the one couch cushion that didn't have brown slime on it for bouncing. Petra protested and then giggled as I picked her up and tossed her back into the bathroom with her sister. Soaking wet clothing is a lesser evil than, well, you know. My instructions to Julia: "Don't let Petra get into the dog vomit."
Steve brought me a dozen small towels and cleaning rags, took the covers off of the couch cushions, then went to change clothes. The kids stayed out of the way. Somewhere in the midst of the cleaning effort friends telephoned us. "Hi, Sarah, how are you doing?"
"Funny you should ask..."
We threw the couch cushion covers into the washing machine. They were already deteriorating, and I don't know that they will survive the washing. We may be getting a new couch out of all this.
Maggie was not nearly repentant enough for the trouble she caused. Can you teach a dog to at least try to look embarrassed and sorry?
Monday, October 08, 2012
Meditation on Redemption
I’ve been thinking a lot about the word redemption lately. We use it in Christian circles.
It is an easy word to mentally gloss over without considering what a sparkling, breathtaking thing it is.
At a basic level, we use redemption to mean something has been paid. “I redeemed these coupons for free diced tomatoes.” It also means ransomed back from captivity, repaired and restored.
This fills my heart with wonder: redemption is a name for what happens when the logic and experience both say that the story ends badly here and now, and then it doesn’t. It is a word for things turning out better than we have any right to expect. It is not just being restored to what we were, but restored to what we were meant to be.
I’ve also found pictures of redemption in some surprising places.
I see redemption in the lives of adopted children. If you look at the statistics of what becomes of orphans at home and abroad, their futures were bleak. But now they have a story that is full of wonder and hope.
I see redemption at a stone tomb when it looked like the story had ended, and ended badly. The beautiful one was murdered. There was no earthly reason to expect anything more. Three days later not only was the sad end to the story undone, but all the sad endings to all the stories of God’s children were given a glorious epilogue that turned out to be a bigger, brighter story than all that came before.
a : to buy back : repurchase
b : to get or win back
2
: to free from what distresses or harms: as
a : to free from captivity by payment of ransom
b : to extricate from or help to overcome something detrimental
c : to release from blame or debt : clear
d : to free from the consequences of sin
3
: to change for the better : reform
4
: repair, restore
5
a : to free from a lien by payment of an amount secured thereby
b (1) : to remove the obligation of by paymentredeems savings bonds on demand> (2) : to exchange for something of value <redeem trading stamps>
c : to make good : fulfill
6
a : to atone for : expiate <redeem an error>
b (1) : to offset the bad effect of (2) : to make worthwhile : retrieve
: the act, process, or an instance of redeeming
It is an easy word to mentally gloss over without considering what a sparkling, breathtaking thing it is.
- Redemption is like when your friend takes the wilted, brown houseplant that you have all but killed and returns it to you six months later, lush and alive.
- Redemption is like making a 56 yard field goal attempt. With a side wind.
- Redemption is like picking up your car after a routine servicing and finding your wedding and engagement ring in the change bin after they had been missing for 6 months. (Me, 2005)
- Redemption is like coasting down an off ramp and finding an autoparts store with an alternator for your little Japanese car in Georgia south of Macon on the Sunday after Thanksgiving (Steve, circa 1994).
- Redemption is like having a discipline battle royale with one of you children, and the experience ends (eventually) with them laying their head on your shoulder, knowing that they are loved.
- It is like the mended favorite teddy bear, the rescued pet, the restored friendship, and the reconciled family member.
At a basic level, we use redemption to mean something has been paid. “I redeemed these coupons for free diced tomatoes.” It also means ransomed back from captivity, repaired and restored.
This fills my heart with wonder: redemption is a name for what happens when the logic and experience both say that the story ends badly here and now, and then it doesn’t. It is a word for things turning out better than we have any right to expect. It is not just being restored to what we were, but restored to what we were meant to be.
- I’ve gotten glimpses of redemption in C.S. Lewis’ The Last Battle when it seemed like everything lovely in the world was lost, which was the first necessary step to discovering a better world. The things that made the first world lovely, were purified, distilled and perceived more clearly in the second.
- Also in Lewis’ “The Great Divorce” I saw redemption when a lost soul was saved from a demon of lust. The demon was destroyed and transformed so that, instead of riding on the ghost’s back as a burden, it became the servant to the redeemed man.
- I saw redemption in the movie “End of the Spear.” A murderer's heart was broken, and over time he stood in as a grandfather to the family of the man he murdered. It required a level of forgiveness that is hard to comprehend. It was an ending that logic said should never happen. It was by the grace of God. It was redemption.
I’ve also found pictures of redemption in some surprising places.
- I saw redemption in Disney’s movie, “Lilo and Stitch.” An alien criminal had been mistakenly left at a dog pound. A little girl bought him. Under the influence of the girl’s love, the alien was transformed from an instrument of destruction to a part of the family. At the climax, the little girl’s receipt of purchase from the pound gave her the right to hold the alien pet back from those who had come to take it away for imprisonment. What a picture of Christ’s purchase of us for children!
- I also saw redemption throughout the vignettes of that utterly profane movie, “Pulp Fiction.” Gangsters and drug addicts had their lives and freedom preserved by unlikely twists of fate. I don’t think it is an accident that you already know which gangster will die when you later see him reject a chance at living the redemption offered.
I see redemption in the lives of adopted children. If you look at the statistics of what becomes of orphans at home and abroad, their futures were bleak. But now they have a story that is full of wonder and hope.
I see redemption at a stone tomb when it looked like the story had ended, and ended badly. The beautiful one was murdered. There was no earthly reason to expect anything more. Three days later not only was the sad end to the story undone, but all the sad endings to all the stories of God’s children were given a glorious epilogue that turned out to be a bigger, brighter story than all that came before.
Definition of REDEEM from Merriam-Webster online
1a : to buy back : repurchase
b : to get or win back
2
: to free from what distresses or harms: as
a : to free from captivity by payment of ransom
b : to extricate from or help to overcome something detrimental
c : to release from blame or debt : clear
d : to free from the consequences of sin
3
: to change for the better : reform
4
: repair, restore
5
a : to free from a lien by payment of an amount secured thereby
b (1) : to remove the obligation of by payment
c : to make good : fulfill
6
a : to atone for : expiate <redeem an error>
b (1) : to offset the bad effect of (2) : to make worthwhile : retrieve
re·demp·tion
noun \ri-ˈdem(p)-shən\: the act, process, or an instance of redeeming
Friday, October 05, 2012
Blessings in the realm of time
I saw a rainbow yesterday. It was bright enough that I could point it out to Petra and she saw it too.
Rainbows are special because they don't last for long. You have to look when they are ready or else you lose them. We had 15 or maybe 20 minutes to see and enjoy this rainbow before a gentle misting rain passed over us and the rainbow faded. It wasn't ours to keep.
I tried to take a picture, but my camera is on the fritz.
The rainbow isn't mine to keep. Nor can I claim to keep the trees or barn. They are older than me. With any luck they will outlast me. I just get to take care of them and enjoy them for a season.
Even the little imp in the foreground isn't mine to keep. She was given to me by God. I must answer to Him for her care and raising, and then I must render her back to Him.
Every day I am holding these things with open hands. They are mine to enjoy and love for a season - rainbow, farm and precious girl. They are not mine to keep.
Wednesday, October 03, 2012
Be careful, my love
About 6 weeks before Julia was due to be born, Steve was doing some light construction work and accidentally put his hand through a pane of glass. It became a pain of glass. He partially tore a ligament in his hand and required surgery about a week and a half before Julia's delivery. The situation had me praying that the baby NOT come early. Do you know how wrong that is?
Steve's hand fully recovered, but he thought it was funny that he had a medical reason not to change diapers for a while.
It is now about 6 weeks before baby Quartus is due to be born. Tonight Steve is going to our friends' house to help rip out their bathroom. He was asked to bring a sledge hammer so they could break down the cast iron tub.
This is going to end well, right?
Steve's hand fully recovered, but he thought it was funny that he had a medical reason not to change diapers for a while.
It is now about 6 weeks before baby Quartus is due to be born. Tonight Steve is going to our friends' house to help rip out their bathroom. He was asked to bring a sledge hammer so they could break down the cast iron tub.
This is going to end well, right?
Tallying the score
I'm often surprised by what works well and what doesn't on any given day. Last night was notable.
Things that didn't go well:
I nearly hit another car on my way to picking up the kids from Tae Kwon Do practice. I was coming up to an intersection with a 2-way stop sign. A pick-up turned in front of me. The driver must have been thinking it was a 4-way stop. Fortunately the breaks worked well and I dodged the pick-up and the street signs. And my adrenaline levels eventually came back down to normal without me having a massive emotional breakdown.
I nearly lost Petra in the parking lot. I helped her out of the car and then bent in to get my purse. When I looked back, she was gone. I started jogging back and forth along the cars calling her. Fortunately the dad of another Tae Kwon Do student was sitting in his car and was able to point me in the right direction. Petra had followed the sidewalk around the corner of the shopping plaza. While I carried her inside, I told her that she needed to stay close in parking lots and shout "Here I am" if she hears me calling her.
Things that went very well:
Julia brought home, "A Bad Case of Stripes" from school to read. Paul was interested in hearing and reading the story too, so I set him up to supervise Julia's reading of it. He helped when she came to a word she didn't know. They seemed to both really like that arrangement and it didn't break out in bickering. It freed me up to make supper.
On the way home from Tae Kwon Do practice, I handed Julia's spelling list to Paul. They both very gamely practiced orally spelling the words. They don't always get along well enough for that to work out.
Steve had to be way for tuck-in time last night and I was running a little late getting everybody in bed. I still needed to say prayers with the girls and Paul had some homework to finish up. I told him to go downstairs and start working on his math while I finished tucking in the girls. When I went to check on him later, he was doing what I asked. Good job, Paul.
Things that didn't go well:
I nearly hit another car on my way to picking up the kids from Tae Kwon Do practice. I was coming up to an intersection with a 2-way stop sign. A pick-up turned in front of me. The driver must have been thinking it was a 4-way stop. Fortunately the breaks worked well and I dodged the pick-up and the street signs. And my adrenaline levels eventually came back down to normal without me having a massive emotional breakdown.
I nearly lost Petra in the parking lot. I helped her out of the car and then bent in to get my purse. When I looked back, she was gone. I started jogging back and forth along the cars calling her. Fortunately the dad of another Tae Kwon Do student was sitting in his car and was able to point me in the right direction. Petra had followed the sidewalk around the corner of the shopping plaza. While I carried her inside, I told her that she needed to stay close in parking lots and shout "Here I am" if she hears me calling her.
Things that went very well:
Julia brought home, "A Bad Case of Stripes" from school to read. Paul was interested in hearing and reading the story too, so I set him up to supervise Julia's reading of it. He helped when she came to a word she didn't know. They seemed to both really like that arrangement and it didn't break out in bickering. It freed me up to make supper.
On the way home from Tae Kwon Do practice, I handed Julia's spelling list to Paul. They both very gamely practiced orally spelling the words. They don't always get along well enough for that to work out.
Steve had to be way for tuck-in time last night and I was running a little late getting everybody in bed. I still needed to say prayers with the girls and Paul had some homework to finish up. I told him to go downstairs and start working on his math while I finished tucking in the girls. When I went to check on him later, he was doing what I asked. Good job, Paul.
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