quotes

August Don’t Rush

/ amylynw / 1 Comment

Something about it being August makes me want to soak up every last ounce of summer fun. We’ve had plenty of slow-moving mornings and late night adventures.  We’ve had blueberry picking adventures and ice-cream suppers.

The other night after I finished reading the creation story to Elsie I asked her, “What did you learn today? What did God make?” After thinking a few seconds she replied heartily, “Waffles!” Then, to go on and show you what a conversation with her is like, she proceeded to say, “God made my legs!” Then, pointing to her knees she said, “There’s something in my legs.” “What?” “Stars!” I said, “No, silly. Bones!” She proceeded to go on, “I don’t like to eat bones. Bones are for dogs. I like white dogs. I don’t like big dogs. Big dogs lick me on my foots and my hand.” Then, she is reminded to look at her hands. “I need to get my nails off. Mom, can I go to Heidi’s house to get my nails off?” You see, Aunt Heidi always paints her nails. That, my friends, is just a smidgen of what a conversation with Elsie is like.

As we were driving last week Nadine very confidently said, “I have a GPS in my head and it’s telling me that it might rain today.” Elijah, just as confidently said, “That’s a thermometer.”

  

 Summer is full of hoses and swimming pools and ice-cold cokes.  It’s the sweat on your body and the drippy wet circle left under your cup after it’s been sitting on the table for one minute.  It’s the smell of tomato vines and basil leaves and the sound of children splashing.
 
 For me, this summer begins the start of running minimalist-style.  My shoe-maker styled my old sneaks the way he styled his, and it’s training me to run on my fore-foot, not my heel.  Fun!  So far my foot injury has been non-existent and I can feel other muscles that have never been used in running before, getting a good work-out.  I’m up to two miles without stopping, but haven’t reached the “I love running” stage yet.  
 Oh, August, please don’t rush past me like the rest of your summer friends have.

>The Funnies

/ amylynw / 1 Comment

>So this morning Jack was talking about a picture he saw on the computer when he was almost two… and he was wondering where Elsie was.  I told him, “She wasn’t born yet!  She wasn’t even in my tummy yet!”

He thought for a bit then said, “Oh.  But I was hatched, right?”  I laughed so hard.  “Yes, Jack.  You were hatched.”

>Girlfriends?

/ amylynw / 1 Comment

>This morning Jack says to me, “Can you take me back to Grandma Weldon’s house?  I want to see all my girlfriends!”
“Your girlfriends?” I asked.
“Yes!  The ones with the hammock.  They have blue hairs and purple hairs.  They were very beautiful.”
I laughed out loud!  A few weeks ago we were there for Heidi’s birthday and her friends were there.  I don’t recall their hair color being what he described, but they did push him in the hammock!  So cute.  However, I think 4 years old is a little too early to have girlfriends. =)

>Twenty-Four Panties in a Row

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It’s always such a wonderful feeling to wake up to the sun’s smiling face and the blue sky beckoning you into the day.  Spring has officially sprung and it’s exciting to see the bulbs that I divided last year come up in their new places, and the butterfly bushes and lavender starting to bud.  Flowers make me so happy.
I’m so glad that everything God says is true.  It really makes me trust Him more!  Yesterday when one of our kids told us that they had been lying to us about something for a couple weeks it broke our trust in them a bit.  It’s also been exciting to see that trust building back up as they’ve told the truth again!  A good reminder of how we need to be honest, even when it hurts.  The hurt of walking in the dark is worse than the pain of coming into the light.  What lightness in their step and what peace in their eyes now that their conscience is clean! 
As I type, Jack is sitting next to me at the computer desk, pen industriously in his hand, bent over his paper, concentrating on making neat, even scribbles across each line of the paper.  He is “writing a story” he says.  He is “busy, busy.”  Nadine and Elijah both are into copying books, word for word, and Jack is following suit!  I LOVE to see them writing!  Now Jack is leaning his head on his hand and drumming his fingers on the desk with his other hand.  He has really been in to writing these days.  I have a file of scrap paper, where little hands can reach in at any time they feel inspired to pen or draw something.  He also has a notebook of his own that he carries around everywhere!  It is so cute.  He has found another outlet for his warrior-like nature.  He conquers with sword AND pen!  
Also as I type, Nadine has been busy sweeping the fireplace, organizing the bookshelf, fluffing the cushions on the couch, and vacuuming the floor.  I didn’t ask her to do any of those things, but she loves to work and be busy!  Earlier this week we were at a park with a mile-long track.  Matthew was jogging with a friend.  After a while Nadine decided to jog alongside him.  I knew she was a good runner, but we’ve never ventured past our backyard to run.  Well, 11 minutes later, they came running back around and I cheered her on.  She was wearing pink crocs and a pink sundress.  Without breathing hard she said, “A mile?  I ran a mile?  I didn’t know I ran a mile!  I’m not even tired!  I think I’ll run two!”  And so she did!  Then she walked the 3rd with her cousins.  We need to get that girl some running sneakers!
The past 10 days have been spent with cousins and more cousins!  We had a great visit from Beck and Heather and Sherry too!  
Elijah has been doing REALLY well in school.  He writes neatly and thinks creatively.  His prayer tonight was very long as usual, but part of it was, “Thank you for everything that I can imagine!  Thank you for our imaginations!”  He truly has a sweet heart.  A sentence he wrote for his homework tonight said, “She is beautyfoule.”  He was so proud of the fact that he thought of getting the “Beauty and the Beast” movie case out so he could copy the word “beauty” to spell the word “beautiful”.  Then he said, “It’s talking about YOU, Mom!”  I was so touched.  He often does and says things like that. 
Elsie is a walking dresser.  In the past three weeks she has decided to potty-train herself.  So we haven’t bought anymore diapers and we HAVE gone through a lot of panties.  I pulled all of Nadine’s old ones from the attic box where they were stored and am very glad for each and every one!  On Monday when I had just hung out wash on the clothesline, Rachel pointed out that there were “24 panties in a row”.  I guess that gives you a bit of an idea! =)  Elsie also likes to change clothes even if they aren’t wet, or if they are barely wet.  During “nap time” (which she is quickly giving up, oh help) she often goes through five outfits at a time while she is supposed to be “sleeping”.  She has her favorites and since there are so many favorites, it is way more fun to wear them ALL each day!  She is a master trampoline-jumper.  She climbs up the ladder and jumps with all of her little heart.  Then she thinks she’s really tricky when she knocks the ladder down, hoping to deter anyone else from jumping WITH her… even though she is the only one who actually NEEDS the ladder to get on the trampoline.  So cute!  
Matthew & I have been running a lot, training for the 10-mile Broad Street Run in Philly in a couple of months!  It’s fun, and we’ve pulled a few friends into it, which makes it even more fun!  We are so thankful to do this together.  

>One-hundred Snowflakes

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Tonight Nadine and I sat in front of the fire, cutting out 100 teeny tiny snowflakes for her 100th day of school project.  It’s actually only been her 3rd day of school, but on Friday it will be 100!  That is, we’ve been homeschooling up until this past Monday.  I’ve not been feeling right about my homeschooling skills and so Matthew and I went to the local elementary school and took a tour.  It is a brand new building and we were very impressed with all of the teachers and faculty, etc.  So, we registered Nadine and Elijah and on Monday off they went!  The first day, the bus missed the memo that we were going to drive them in to school so we could meet their teachers.  Jack was the only one who cried.  The second day, the bus came and Nadine was SO excited that she tripped over herself, twisted her ankle, was crying and couldn’t move for a minute.  So, the bus waited for about 30 seconds and then off it went, as Elijah was about to race outside to tell it to wait!   We piled in the car and I drove them to school, both of them crying that they had missed the bus.  Once we got there, everything was fine, and Nadine’s ankle was fine too.  Today, the third day, we were standing outside and ready 10 minutes early, stomping our feet in the snow, feeling more than ready with the 2-hour snow delay.  It finally pulled up and there was MUCH excitement and I took some pictures of their momentous achievement.
Nadine is into big words right now.  The other day she said, “I’m so flabbergasted that flabbergasted is a word!”  So funny!
Elijah likes to always think of large, hypothetical situations.  Like, “What if the bus driver is so tired and fell asleep on his way here?”  Or, “What if on my next birthday I turned ten!”  Or many other what-if-such-and-such-happened questions.  
Jack is a constant whirlwind!  He is excited to be five and go to school, but for now he’s three, almost four!  He picks his clothes carefully; to be sure his pants have belt-loops so he can hook his carabiner to them, and his own set of keys.  He loves keys.  Having just him and Elsie at home reminds me so much of when Nadine & Elijah were that age, playing together.  
Elsie is going to be two next month.  She is strong-willed, strong-bodied, and has a strong appetite.  She loves to read books now and settles down on your lap for as long as you’ll give her!  She has favorited a pink blanket and loves to hug, hold, and have near her, soft things.  She is quite fearless when it comes to going outside without a hat, gloves or socks on a 32-degree day, just so she can quickly sneak in a slide down the sliding board.  She isn’t so fearless when it comes to an ambulance siren or other disturbing noises. 
Matthew’s work continues to be steady.  The beginning of the week is always harder since he works double-duty and the kids usually don’t see him.  Sometimes we drop by Starbucks to surprise and kiss the best barista we know!  When he is home in the morning, we are pretty sure there will be chocolate-chip pancakes for breakfast! 
I’ve been exercising with friends from church, four days a week, and a few of us have a little program we’re doing together.  It’s been a really good discipline to weigh in each week, and encourage eachother to push hard and watch what we eat.  The accountability has been the key to success.  I’m hoping to run the Broad Street Run again in May with a bunch of people! =)
 One night I crawled into bed to find a tissue on my pillow.  There was this note written on the tissue, “Dear Dad and Mom, I love you so much.  I have a vare bad cofe.  Love, Nadine” (Trans: “a very bad cough”) I love little notes on my pillow.  Sometimes I wake up to find a note on my window sill in the kitchen.  I usually don’t notice it until later in the day when I’m more wide awake…and when I need it most!  A little boost from Matthew that reminds me to keep on keeping on… even when it seems like I’ve picked up that same toy car twenty times that day, or had to wash an extra load of laundry because someone decided to make a mess of themselves, or even when the crumbs that I swept up after breakfast seemed to mutate themselves at lunch.  At the end of the day, there might not be a note on my pillow, but I know that everything done for Him will count for eternity.  
 Jack telling me something very dramatic.