fun

My Five

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Elsie loves to sing.  I love it when the other kids notice things about their siblings.  Today Nadine said to me, “You’re right, mom!  Elsie does like to sing!”  Apparently she sings every night in bed after I go downstairs.  Her current favorite is, “Zaccheus was a wee little man…” Except that she calls him “Ikea-us”.  He used to be just “Ikea”, but that changed to “Ikea-us”.  It’s too funny.

She also loves to sing, “A joyful heart is good medicine”… and she is truly good medicine.  She is swiftly changing from a toddler to a big girl who loves to help me clean, change diapers, and cut onions.  She still doesn’t like to go upstairs by herself, but she sure likes to roll up her pant legs by herself.  She would prefer that I get her a drink of water, but when it comes to washing her hands, I take a step back.  She is morphing into a beautiful butterfly and she loves her pretty wings.  I treasure the moments when she’s still tucked in the cocoon of baby girl; when she barely folds onto my lap and we snuggle close.  Her hair is almost never done, mostly because there is some sort of thing in my brain that doesn’t think that way.  When I do dial in to the fact that it’s time to do something with her little mop she prances in front of the “mee-ya-your” to admire her “hair cut”.  Sometimes she even has “two haircuts” or pony-tails.

We have funny little dialogues like this one:  As I was looking at some zucchini and wondering what to do with it for supper, Elijah said, “It’s a pickle!”  Elsie then said, “No, it’s an olive!”  I chuckled with, “Actually, it’s a zucchini!”  Of course, since it was funny at the time, it remained funny for the rest of the day and at supper Elijah declared that he didn’t like pickles.  Sorry, mister!

Betty seems to know that she is going to be a big one-year-old soon, and is doing all sorts of big girl things.  She loves to pull herself up on everything and grin, proudly showing off  her three teeth.  The second her diaper comes off, she crawls as fast as she can go.  She loves to play with Elsie.  They cook together with the play dishes and have a grand old time in the kitchen.  In my kitchen, she loves to bang pots with wooden spoons.  She also brushes her hair whenever she is holding a brush… just when do they figure these things out??

Jack learned how to read the book called, “Mat” this week.  It was such a huge accomplishment for him.  He looked like he won a thousand dollars when he got through it the first time.  His desire to read is the strongest it’s ever been, and that encourages me so much.  Most of the day is spent dueling bad guys and balancing mid-air between two chairs, but the moments he takes his time in his books, are fruitful moments.  He challenges me so deeply, but he also tugs my heart so strongly.  His bed is the one cozy spot in our house that gets sunshine, so I sometimes hide on his top bunk with a book when I need a few minutes alone.  It remains my best-kept secret.

Nadine was recently given an early Christmas present of a bunny.  She tends to it very carefully and thoughtfully.  She is reading in bed every night, which is new for us.  It’s exciting that she is starting to love to read.  At a recent church function, she surprised us all by grabbing the mic and singing “Silent Night” solo and a capella!  She does a very good job babysitting Betty while I make dinner, or if I need to do something.  Whenever we get to hang out by ourselves, I will take a good look at her and feel like this little baby girl I used to know took flight, and a beautiful young lady is standing in her place.

Elijah is also reading up a storm.  He would rather be on the computer, but we’re pretty strict with the time spent in front of screens, and encouraging time spent in front of pages!  He is diligent when he sets his mind to it, and I love how his eyes light up whenever he learns something.  He has a way of standing very close to me, multiple times a day, and clearing his throat and snapping his fingers right before he wants to ask me something that he’s pretty sure I’ll say no to anyway.  His persistence is astounding.  He is thrilled when he gets a chance to listen to the ipod, and he dances like no one’s business.  Sometimes he’ll send me questions inside a paper airplane.  He gets so tickled whenever Betty does something cute, and I’m constantly reminded of his babyhood when I see her grin.

These children are amazing gifts.  I’m constantly figuring them out and discovering more about them.  One thing that is consistently true for each one, though, is how much they love to spend time with me.  Today it meant setting up the play kitchen in Betty’s room so Elsie & Betty could pretend together, and I had a few plastic sandwiches to eat.  It also meant cleaning the boys’ room with Jack and guiding him through the process.  He loved it.  It means listening to them read, or actually looking at what they drew.  It means sneaking up to their bed at night before they’re asleep and telling them they can go to the store with you all by themselves… in their PJ’s.

This mommy thing drains me to my very core, while filling me up to the brim.  My energy might be gone at the end of each day, but my heart is full.

Giving Strays a Purpose

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Last year I saw this idea on a friend’s wall and tucked it away for twelve months.  I even had a special basket where I collected those stray socks all year long.  Now a basket of stray socks has become a unique advent calendar for our family!  In each sock I have put special surprises for the kids.  The rules are: whatever is in each sock must be shared.  If there is complaining, I get the surprise.  Simple!  Today Jack got to go first, and the surprise was a little paper Christmas tree.  That’s right!  Today we’re going to get our tree!  Stay tuned to see what is inside each sock this month!

Right now we’re going to get on our Christmas groove and find a tree!  I have an uncanny ability to pick much too large of trees, so this year I’ve been instructed to please be mindful of the height.  I’m stoked!

Thirty Thankfuls

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The last month has been full of fun memories and thankfulness.  Thanksgiving day morning began a new (hopefully) tradition for our family.  We went over to the local highschool track near the Weldon’s house and ran a 5K.  Our own free turkey trot.  It was even complete with Indians and a turkey (i.e. Nadine).

Things I am thankful for:
1. Healthy bodies and the ability to run 3 miles with my kids and family
2. My amazing husband, who pushes me to get over just how I’m feeling and inspires me to do what’s hard, real, and lasting!
3. Monkey Bread

4. Enough mashed potatoes to go around for 29 people… twice… with leftovers.
5. Cousins who make the world brighter, happier, and more fun!
6. My own, personal barista, whom I love not only for his good looks, but also his finesse in coffee-beverage-making-skills.

7. My sisters, because my world would be all grey without them!
8. The laughter that comes at funky hours of the night when parents should be storing up energy for the following day, but instead decide to make memories together.

9. Boys who are warriors at heart.  I would feel safe in any dark alley with these guys.  (Notice the turkey bone weapon)

10. Gorgeous weather to take family photos!

11. Five healthy children with such distinctly different personalities that there are never boring moments throughout each day.

11. Imaginations of boys with sticks in tall grass.

12. Creative photo ideas!

13. Betty with her 3 teeth that make me grin and want to kiss her a million times!

14. Clothes to wear.
15. Family times.
16. Nadine Ruth, my tall girl who wears my shoes and loves life.
17. Elijah Watt, who figures out how to fix stuff for me, and asks me questions through writing notes to me.

18. Heather who lives so close now, and is a constant source of encouragement and inspiration to me as a wife, mom, and homemaker.
19. Sherry, who doesn’t live that close, but doesn’t let distance get in the way of staying close in heart.  She too is a huge fountain of inspiration and encouragement to me.

20. Re-enactments of battles long ago.

21. I will mention cousins again, because they are so special to us!

22. Elsie Rose, who smiles and sings and laughs so much each day, the world is truly a happier place because of her.
23. The way she sings, “Who broke the ark?  No one, no one!  Who broke the ark?  Brudder, no one!”  Instead of, “Who built the ark?  Noah, Noah.  Who built the ark?  Brother Noah!”

24. Betty Ann, who sits in leaves and still smiles.  She loves life.  She loves food.  She loves to be loved, and it’s such a privilege to love her.

25.  The way cousins interact with eachother, no matter the age.

26. Food to eat.
27. Jack Taylor, and his strength, twinkly eyes, and desire to conquer.  He’s tough, but his heart so wants to do what’s right.

28. My husband.
29. Our home and every inch in it, because we use every inch!
30. Above ALL of these things, I am thankful for eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.  I am thankful for His written word, the Bible, and that it is becoming more alive to me as I grow older.  Thank you, Lord, for this month, and for every day and hour we are given to live for you here.

Special Twenty-One

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Yesterday was the 21st, which means “date day” in our house!

It was Elsie’s turn to go out with me.  I was so excited to take her to the bookstore, drink hot chocolate, and do puzzles.


The first thing she told me when we got out of the car was, “This is a beautiful date!”  Her chatter didn’t really stop from there on out, unless her mouth was full of hot chocolate.  “Look at that big boy!  He’s eating a cookie!”  “Look at that big man, he has cake!”  We stuck to our hot chocolate and coffee.


Her favorite thing were the train tracks.  She probably was thrilled to have each and every train to herself.  We had fun pretending to get lost in the tunnels and run out of gas… or whatever trains use to fuel themselves.


This girl has an uncanny ability towards puzzles.  She has done and re-done her two puzzles countless times now.  We found this block puzzle that was pretty fun.  Not as fun as “regular” puzzles, though!  After reading a few books it was back to the train set!

I loved our date.  It touched a part of our hearts that doesn’t always get touched when there are four other kids, messes that need cleaned up, and the daily grind getting in the way.  Elsie is really funny.  I’m learning this more and more.  She loves it when she says something that makes me chuckle… which is often.  She loves to help.  She loves pink.  She loves to wear as many different patterns at once that is humanly possible.  I am so thankful to have had some special time together.  It was a beautiful date!

The Three-Minute Tour

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It took me a year to walk to this place.  That is, it has taken me a year to actually do it.  It really only takes about three minutes to get there.  So, today, for the third time in one week, we headed over to the baseball field that is on the next block.  This time we pulled the wagon.  Yes, it is as dirty as it looks.  The girls obviously didn’t mind!  Betty was chomping at the bit with her two little teeth.


After discovering this place which has fences to scale and a big field in which to run, the kids beg every day to go to “the park”.  About one minute after we got there, Jack discovered his hidden (or not so hidden) Ninja self.  After all, it is what he wants to be when he grows up.


Not to be outdone by her big brother, Elsie scaled right up the fence.  She was so proud of herself when she succeeded in going up AND down without any help.
 Here is another face of accomplishment.  Jack hopped on Elijah’s big bike and took off with a grin.  He zoomed around the field like he’s been riding big bikes his whole life, promptly pushed it up to the top of the highest hill he could find and raced down without a flinch.


Then he discovered that riding with one hand is pretty cool too.


I think I see his manhood seeping out of this picture.  He so proudly showed me the hair on his legs the other day, and thought they looked like a man’s.  He’s still a little boy, though.  I don’t know too many men who would walk around with used bubble wands attached to their belt-loops like it’s the coolest thing in the world.


Elsie is a little runner.  She runs back and forth tirelessly, with just her shadow to spur her on towards faster speeds. 
That and her fancy shoes:


Then there’s my not-so-little girl who is wearing my shoes now and borrows my jacket because the ones from last year go up a few inches from her wrist.  


Elijah and Nadine love to play kickball, soccer, or whatever they think of at the moment.


Elsie is so close to mastering the two-wheeler.  She had me in fits of laughter with all her giggling and accidental slamming on of her brakes.  It is a really good workout to push a three-year old on a teeny bike that requires a constant squat while running.

Then there’s this little munchkin who just goes with the flow.  If the flow happens to hit the decrepit swings for a few minutes, then she’s all smiles.  She doesn’t care how nasty the chains look, or even if they hold her up.  She is consumed with smiles and the new feeling of her tummy tickling inside her as the air whooshes by her face like a big breath.  
 
Every single day the kids remind me to make time for fun.  Hold all calls until the book is finished.  Turn up the music and dance.  They don’t care if they have matching shoes, matching clothes, or a beat-up soccer ball.  They do care about feeling loved.  They want us to notice how cool they are with their imaginations.  Like when playgrounds become castles and bubble wands become keys.  They want us to see them in action, laugh at their silliness, and cheer their accomplishments.  So leave the clothes pile stacked high and grab the dirty wagon.  Don’t wait a day, a month, a year… remember, it might only take three minutes to get there.

I Heart Fall

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I wish I could peel back the roof and turn my walls into glass on certain days like today. The sky is stunning again and the leaves are in a crescendo of colors, almost ready to max out to their peak performance. What is it about this weather that makes me want to bake cinnamon rolls and apple crisp and wear orange and brown? I didn’t have this growing up as a little kid. When I was an older kid, fall pretty much just meant I had to rake leaves until my hands were blistered. Now that I have my own kids, fall isn’t that bad. I still prefer to sweat while sitting down and don flip flops my entire existence, but I’m embracing fall more and more. It’s something special that God made for me and I’m looking at it that way.

We’ve been visiting the farm each week, and it’s so fun to plop Betty down in front of the baby bunnies and see her smile at them. We got to introduce Daddy to the farm last week.

 

Yesterday the baby donkey took quite the shine to her and kept walking back to the fence and putting her nose right next to Betty. It was darling.

 


What wasn’t so darling was when we got home from the farm an hour later. Elijah went to the bathroom downstairs then bellowed, “MOM! There’s a flood!” Floods are never good. There was certainly no rainbow with this one. Some little person had decided to plug the drain in the sink while washing their hands… and left the water running. Elijah and I had a pile of dirty towels and we mopped up the flood and squeezed the water right into the washing machine. Never a dull moment!


A heart-shaped butternut squash .  I heart fall!

We also baked bread last week for a school project. We were learning about Jesus being the Bread of Life, and also the scientific properties of yeast, and so we made bread! It was a lot of fun and tasted great! What helped me deal with the mess was knowing the day before that I would be baking bread with the kids. I mentally prepared for flour all over the kitchen. You know what? It all cleaned up just fine. The kids made a memory. They learned a skill. It was worth the mess.


Since Betty was born, I’ve been on the look out for a rad highchair. Something vintage and cleanable and with a shiny tray that makes a fabulous noise when little hands bang on it. Well, this weekend I found it. It was a sweet $12 deal. She loves it and bends her head way over to look at her reflection in the metal tray. Pancakes even taste that much better in it.

For some reason, ever since we went away for the wedding weekend, I just haven’t gotten my act together in the laundry department. Something happened. I’ve been washing clothes, but they don’t really get through the entire cycle of wash/dry/put away. Everyone’s drawers are empty. Today I am determined to remedy that. I will not sleep until everyone’s clothing is PUT AWAY. I have four perfect little helpers for that. Since school is finished, I think we’ll walk to the baseball field for a catch before Betty’s nap. Then it will be time to fold and conquer!

School Days

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A few weekends ago the kids and I went to the 300 year anniversary of a church in Valley Forge where they had all sorts of “back then” events.  They were a part of a “real” muster in the Continental Army!

   
These are their “scary” faces!

    There was free pumpkin spice icecream from the Franklin Fountain in Philadelphia… absolutely delicious!  Then we “met” David Jones, who was the pastor of the church at the time of the American Revolution.  He was one of the first chaplains in Washington’s army and helped in gathering supplies for the Valley Forge encampment.  Pretty cool!

Last, but not least, there was a real sword fight!  I love spending fun with my kids like this!

Five in a Row

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There has been the sound of dice rolling the past couple days.  Yesterday I played Yahtzee with Nadine & Elijah for almost two hours!  The sky was brilliant, the breeze was so relaxing, and we wiled away the hours in comfy chairs on the front porch.  I definitely don’t do this often enough.

 I got to thinking about my life and how it’s a little bit like Yahtzee.  Let me introduce you to my players.

We have the littlest girl, who is working on being 1, but is thankfully still only 8 months old.  She is such a cute little squeeze.  She smiles at every. single. person.  I love that she sees past every prejudice we ourselves create  towards people.  She doesn’t see the clothes, scars, dirt, or other things that so often make us look the other way in pride.  Her eyes find their eyes and she gives the most undiluted smile.  This week she has mastered signing: “More please,”

and “all done!”

  

Her other favorite thing to do with her hands is flap them as fast as she can.  Especially to make the cheerios bounce off her tray!  She’s our little one.

  

Next we sometimes roll a three.  This little munchkin has a ton of spunk and ever-growing independence.  She considers a purple striped shirt to match just perfectly with pink striped pants.  Shoes are measured by speed.  They are either fast, or they’re not.  For some reason she has been into wetting her pants every day.  When I talked to her about it, the reasoning seems to be that if she wets her pants, she will get to change outfits.  I gave her permission to change outfits, but NOT to wet her pants.  Then I caught her singing, in her sweet Elsie way, “I will obey Mommy and I will obey Mommy, and I won’t wet my pants!”

Lately when we roll a five, it is very exciting!  Jack is into small glass jars in which he collects rocks, bugs, water, or anything else that catches his eye.  Yesterday he figured out that if he stirred water with a marker, the water would turn color, so we had many colored jars lined up on the front porch.  He has also been very sweet with extra hugs and more tenderness than I’ve ever seen before in my little whirlwind of boy.  The other day when Matthew and I were kissing in the dining room he walked past and said, “I KNEW that they got married!”  Then today he asked me to please tie his rollerblades. “Mom, if you tie my rollerblades then I’ll give you a kiss!”  That was a good trade, and off he went with no shirt, orange shorts, his rollerblades, eyepatch, and gun holster around his waist.  When  Elsie saw him she said, “Jack, you’re bigger!”  He replied, “Nah, God’s bigger, Elsie.”  I love five!

In Yahtzee you have the chance to roll a large straight.  Five in a row.  Well, the second born in my large straight is Elijah.  He is starting to love to read.  I love watching him read to Jack.  He is so good at remembering things.  He also really prays for people.

Two boys and three girls equals: full house!  My big girl who ironically I have always called my baby girl, is practically as tall as I am.  She is stretching me to new heights as she grows up even more.  Four more years until she is a teenager, and yet we can certainly categorize her as “pre-teen”.  She’s a beauty!   She also loves school and friends.  She is my ever-ready runner when I need an egg or a cup of milk or a tablespoon of vinegar from a neighbor!  I remember oh so clearly being her age, and running up the hill at Nyankunde to borrow a roll of TP or a can of Blue Band.  (If you’re unsure of Blue Band, let’s just say it was a wanna-be margarine that if you got a lucky can, wasn’t a neon green color!)  Oh baby girl, how did you grow up so fast?

I certainly have a full house with all these beautiful children blessing each nook and cranny with their treasures, noises, and messes.  They are so unique, each one.  Yet they are all equally loved, equally precious, equally amazing.  I just scored YAHTZEE!

Do It Now

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Often my ideas are huge and unattainable. Like, I want to paint beautiful mosaics on Betty’s bedroom wall, even though I own no artistic ability to do so. Or, I want to create the perfect backyard getaway, when in reality the constant flow of dirt and water equals mud, and the small stones that used to all be contained in one small two-foot square, are now covering practically every square inch of the backyard. I see myself moving entire gargantuan pieces of furniture upstairs alone, or maybe strapping a couch that I find along the side of the road to the roof of our van, but I know it’s not possible. I envision a lot. Then I often get frustrated at myself for not doing whatever is needed to make that vision become reality. So, I’ve been implementing two new techniques. The first one is to not get bogged down with what I can’t do when all around me are a hundred and three things I can do. The second one is actually not that new. I’m sure it’s as old as Eve. It’s called the “do it now” method. Here’s the gist: I walk past a pair of grimy socks on the living room floor. I either walk past them another ten times, or Do It Now and pick them up on my way to the laundry room. Here’s another example. I wake up and leave my bed crumpled all day, or I take thirty-eight seconds and smooth the duvet and fluff my pillows. I know this is complicated, so here’s one more go at it: I can either think of a really cool idea to do with my kids, or I can by gum do it!

Last Friday I decided to by gum do it.

It took some planning, but not tons of time. The hardest part was sneaking stuff out to the car without spilling the beans that I was up to something. It began when I gathered the kids together and gave them a clue: “In the front seat of something blue, within an envelope lies a clue!”

The kids raced to the car and found an envelope with another clue, which then led them on a series of clues until they found themselves in the van, on their way to Grandma’s house for lunch! After lunch, we got back in the van and headed to their other Grandma’s house. No one was home, but another clue awaited them, and they trekked over to their favorite local jaunt/nature preserve to look for more clues and to find both Grandma and Jacob who were missing! We had a blast at Briar Bush, and made our way back to the house, where a treasure map led the way to the “treasure”, which was a box full of odds and ends that tickled their individual fancies.  It was a lot of fun!

We were able to squeeze it all in before the abundant amounts of rain began to fall over the weekend. That night Matt, Jacob, and Granddaddy took the kids running in the rain. Our kids’ love tanks are filled to the brim when anything that involves out of the ordinary, coupled with getting wet and muddy on purpose, is on the agenda.

The next day we enjoyed visiting with our cousins. The rain was falling in sheets again around suppertime, so the men grilled with umbrellas and raincoats!

I think she’s beautiful even when her tears match the rain.

We celebrated Abby’s 5th birthday with love, a wild game of sardines, and chocolate cupcakes that made even the heaviest rain-cloud-shod day seem like a day of perpetual sunshine.  Wow.  Those things were amazing.

When we left the cousins’ house Irene had decided to come in earnest and I had a small melt-down driving home. I don’t do well driving in strong rain/wind/snow. Once my windshield wipers have to be on that third little notch, I become unglued. Anyway, thankfully we made it home safely. Then began a long night for me where I got up often, breathed prayers over my kids, glared at the tree that kept brushing the side of the house, prayed some more, and saw two circuit boxes blow outside my window in a spray of electric fireworks. It was pretty wild. The whole craziness of the night compounded itself when somehow 3 out of 5 kids landed in our not-built-for-five double bed. I ended up on Jack’s top bunk and finally willed myself to sleep around 4:30am. I was pretty bleary-eyed the next morning. Thankfully our electricity was only off for about an hour during the night, so we were able to enjoy hot beverages and crepes while the wind blew crazy tunes and the rain filled our little fish pond.

While most of the area had to cancel their first day of school, we were hitting the books on Monday morning. This is our first year of homeschooling without the aid of cyber-school. We have two 3rd graders, one in Kindergarten, one in pre-school, and one in la-la land during it all. As Nadine would say, “It’s been SUCH a blast, and even though we’ve only done two days of school, I just LOVE it.” Me too, sweet girl!

So, we started with a hurricane, and are settling into a routine that is new for us. I’m excited to see how everything smooths out, and when we are into our rhythm I’ll be so glad to share our school day with you!  I’ll also be sharing some more of those Do It Now success stories as I experiment with this extraordinary technique that makes piles of junk diminish, dishes get clean, and some not-so-ordinary things happen!

First Annual Kids’ Day

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Last weekend we had a blast, celebrating our kids!
 

Kid’s Day Began with made-from-scratch monkey bread.  Then, after a morning nap it was off to Hibernia Park for a picnic lunch!

There was much creek-walking and rock-throwing.

 

There was pudding and jello-eating without spoons (that’s more fun, right?)  No matter that I forgot them.

  

Then I was determined to get a family picture.  We haven’t had one since the day after Betty was born!

Getting ourselves together, balancing the camera on a rock, then running back to everyone without falling in the water… is a bit tricky.

It was worth it, though!  Not bad, considering we’re all smiling at a rock.


Then we were off to the sprinkler park with pizza.  I’m not sure what’s more hot, the man or the pizza!  Definitely the man.

 

I have learned that Betty loves swings.

I  

Then our last hurrah of the day: Going to the theatre to watch Cars 2.  The kids screamed with excitement!

The day was a success.  I’m excited to do it again next year!  Thanks to my friend Ruthie, whose family started this tradition and gave us such a fabulous idea!