March has a tendency to speed right along, almost as if it’s anticipating spring as much as the rest of us are. It’s been a super fun-filled month so far. Exactly three weeks until race day, the trail has seen a lot of my old sneakers. Between miles there has been much chocolate, a medieval feast with friends (we are studying that period of history together), an Ikea trip with my sister and nieces, furniture painting, cute kids, field trips and birthday celebrations with friends. There is much between the lines, many memories and blessings. Lots of words are flying about in my brain, unsettled as of yet; waiting for the unseen breeze to stop their spinning. 
But right now, today, thirty-four is shaping up to be fabulous.
surprises
What My Husband Did Behind My Back
Some days hit you like a blast of cold water being unexpectedly tossed over your head during a hot shower. Usually motherhood is a series of such moments, as startling as a scattering of sharp legos all over a bedroom floor: you know they’re there, but you can never be quite prepared for their sting. Such was Friday. Actually, ever since Tuesday my brain had been thinking it was Friday. When Friday at last arrived for real, I was ready for it to finish its comic series of events. At the time, they were not-so-funny events. 
During nap time, Betty came wandering downstairs to where I stood in the kitchen. She sidled up next to me, smoothed her hair and said with a coy look on her face, Is it perfect, mama? I looked a bit closer, thinking she had wet her hair in the bathroom. Nope. There was no hair to wet. She had given herself a generous haircut, right in front. Perfect wasn’t the first word that came to mind.
A teeny tiny part of her bangs remain after her perfect haircut.
My day just kept getting better. While making dinner, which involved mixing up a batch of pizza dough, I grabbed the garlic powder to put a shake of it into the batter. Obviously, I flipped open the wrong side of the cap, as a huge pile of garlic powder dumped like an avalanche into the wet dough. I quickly scooped out as much garlic powder as I could, muttering under my breath. The next best thing to do: double the batch and enjoy the garlic.
As the evening wore on, small things started to get to me. There was mud where I didn’t want mud. There wasn’t hair where I wanted hair. There was arguing. There were interruptions. I have a spot where I like to hide in my room. If I sink down low enough, no one knows I’m there. Friday they seemed to instinctively find me. Especially the nap-less one. I felt like the mama elephant in the book Five Minutes Peace. Eventually it became clear: There is no avoiding the masses, I thought. It’s time to jump back in the boat. So I stopped hiding and plugged on through the evening, mustering up as much strength as I could.
Despite my resolve to be happy when Matthew got home, he was met with a more wiped-out-than-usual countenance. With much grace, he just hugged me. I started going over the difficulties of my day. He took my head in his hands and said something which really caught my attention. It was as startling as a blinding light shining in my eyes: Aim, the kids have never complained to me about you. I needed to stop doing what they never do to me. After looking at Betty’s hair, he let her know it’s not okay for her to cut her own hair, then he turned to me and said simply, She’s three! Yes, indeed. This will pass. It will grow. She learned. Move on.
My emotions were stabling, but not quite steady. I had one last complaint to offer my unwavering husband. I was feeling a bit vengeful towards the bathroom scale, and did a little “Woe is me” routine. Yes, I have been exercising about twice a month. Yes, I am no longer in my twenties, so that matters now. Still, I wish that scale showed me a little slack. I was going to go to the downstairs bathroom to make sure the toilet was flushed and there was no pee all over the seat before our company arrived. Surely my day was on the upswing.
Matthew went upstairs to get cleaned up from work and I decided to check our email before checking the cleanliness status of the powder room. I was a little shocked at what I saw. Next I checked facebook, and the top news in my feed was this:
Surprise anniversary gift for my wife: registering her for the Philly love run half marathon!!! She doesn’t know yet!! Wait till she checks FB or email! Let the training begin! Giddy with excitement!
Let’s just say, I had to go into the downstairs bathroom to compose myself. I spotted a lime on the laundry room floor before walking back into the kitchen. I picked it up and thought pretty seriously about beaning Matthew with it when I saw him. I’m glad some of our company had just arrived and was standing in the kitchen with my sneaky husband, when I emerged. Otherwise, that lime would have made swift contact with his head. He grinned and rubbed the goosebumps off his arms. Risky, risky move, buster.
Since Friday, I’ve thought a lot about difficulties and training. Running this morning in 30-degree weather would not have happened if I had not been presented with this challenge. (My husband knows me pretty well.) Plain and simple, we tend to shy away from difficulties. We want to go from point A to point C without passing through point B. This is impossible. We want to learn a piece of music without ever practicing. We want our kitchen to be spotless without lifting a finger. We want to lose weight without the sacrifice of watching our diet and putting in any effort to exercise. I so desperately want to run 13.1 miles without having to go out there every single day and run one mile or two. It just isn’t going to happen, no matter how much my desire is for it to happen that way. The richness of any accomplishment is deeply rooted in the amount of time it required to succeed.
In the same way, our Heavenly Father knows what’s best for us. He sees that finish line, so very distant from our earthly eyes. He tells us things very similar to what Matthew has been telling me: “You’re stronger than you think, Aim.” My grace is sufficient in weakness, Jesus tells us. Like any good trainer, He pushes us outside our comfort zone. That is where we see results. When you walk the same path over and over, never stretching yourself to go a bit further, you may miss the incredible view just up ahead. When we run the same mile and never push our lungs and our legs past that initial burn, we never discover we have the ability to do a bit more. Jesus totally knows how hard it is. He never once said life would be burden-free, but He invites us to lay our burdens on His capable shoulders. He never said He would only give us as much as WE think we can handle. But He said “My yoke is easy and my burden is light.” He will give you just a bit more than you think you can handle, so you’re stronger to go the next mile. It’s cold, it’s nasty sometimes, but He always sticks with us.
So I start my thirteen-mile journey… one step at a time.
Third Annual Kids’ Day
It was a beautiful sight when the kids got home from being at Grandma’s after Matthew was released from the hospital. It was impossible to fully capture the joy, hugs and squeals.
Two days later, we declared it to be our third annual kids day! This is something we started three years ago, and each August we celebrate our fabulous kids with surprises and fun! Jack and Matthew went to the store early in the morning and bought little gifts for everyone. Next, we had waffles and ice-cream for breakfast before setting off on a bowling expedition. The kids had never been bowling before. It was a nice excuse to use the bumpers for us older folks who haven’t bowled since my belly looked like a bowling ball ten years ago!
The second place we went was the dollar movie theatre, which turned out to be a great memory as well! We ended our day with a pop-in at some friends’ and then a visit at Grandma’s to see my brother and his family. Kids’ day was a success, and we are so thankful for our amazing children who bring us so much joy. They challenge and inspire us and constantly keep us seeking God.
Yesterday, Elsie was wearing ALL yellow, and Betty was wearing much pink. Elsie looked at Betty and commented: She’s so cute! She’s so pink! I’m so yellow!
When I went to pick up Jack from a friend’s house, it was just about dark as we got ready to drive away. He remembered he left his jackknife in the grass. He ran up the driveway and started to kick the ground around a large area of grass. Five seconds later, he ran back to the car, knife in hand. I looked at him in awe. This is the kid who claims he is not a good “looker” and can’t seem to find something in a well-lit room, let alone a huge lawn in the dark. I asked him how he found it so quickly. His reply? My feet know where everything is. Of course! Next time I will ask his feet to do the finding.
On our drive home we got talking about heaven. He thought for a bit and then said, When everyone on earth is in heaven, this world is going to be left in sadness. Wow.
Elsie, in mother-like fashion was trying to help out an older sibling who was having a bit of rivalry with another sibling. Her advice astounded me and reminded me that I guess they really are listening! This is what she said:
Well, maybe you should work it out. Nope, that wasn’t an option.
Well, maybe you should apologize. Not trying that either.
Well, maybe you should just walk away. Good girl!
I do love overhearing different conversations in the car between the back-seat dwellers. Jack and Elijah were discussing broken bones. He asked Elijah: Have I broken anything?
No, Elijah said.
How do you know?
I’ve been here all your life. Enough said.
Today they were having a “gentleman tea party”, complete with lego “newspapers”. Elijah thinks the raw sugar we use is “camping sugar” and Jack commented about the whole experience: We’re like men. I LOVE that my boys think drinking tea is manly. One conversation during this gentlemanly time went like this:
Elijah: Jack, I was thinking. If the age of driving was about the age of seven, there would be a lot of dead people in the world… No offense.
Nadine was able to start horseback riding lessons again this week. There is a very real hole in her heart that gets filled when she’s around horses. She even jokes that her name is perfect: They call me neighhhhh-deen because I love horses!
Betty is a little walky-talky, except for when she’s sitting in her special little chair… which she brings everywhere. Yesterday while we were driving, she saw some geese. She matter-of-factly said, I love birds. Elsie loves birds. Mommy loves birds. When Jack got home from his friend’s house, she ran up to him, gave him a huge hug and exclaimed: I LOVE you, Jack! She knows how much I love to hear her say, Yes ma’am, so she says it a lot. It sounds a lot like, Yes, man.
Tomorrow, we officially start school. Our school room is ready to go, and teacher is a bit trembling in her gut, but excited. I’m excited to see if our new approach will work smoother than last year, and I’m pumped to share how we do things, after we have settled in a bit. Speaking of, I need to get back to planning!
Worst Date Ever: Absolved
It’s hard to believe a whole week has passed since my friend, Ruthie, left. Ruthie is my friend who, when I was roughly nine years old, used to be my enemy. Finally, our differences became something beautiful and we couldn’t live without each other. We’ve seen each other fall in love, experienced birth, death, joy and pain together. We have friend-shipped from afar, which has always felt a bit like sandpaper on my heart. So I thank God for those couple of years we had together where the only thing that separated us was a dusty African road we could walk by foot. About an hour after she, her husband, and four sweet kids drove away I realized our startling and horrifying overlook. We never took a picture together. This is a very long-standing tradition. Before digital. Before Wal-Mart one-hour-photo. This has been something we’ve done for the past twenty-three years (gulp). Giant hair bows, awful haircuts, crazy clothes, you name it. We have many photos together. But not this time. Regardless, we had a wonderful few days with their family, and nothing quite beats sharing our home and our life with people we love. It pretty much top dogs everything in life.
After they left, we went into town and the boys participated in a last-minute bike race in our neighborhood. Elijah came in 3rd place!
After the bang of fireworks that night, came the explosion of sickness to our house. It hasn’t quite left us yet, but it’s dying.
A few weeks ago Matthew and I were in great need of a date. Before we were married we were told: marriage takes work. Eleven years ago I knew it as an idea, but now I know it by experience. The night of our date we dropped the kids off at a babysitter’s, and headed out into the unknown. Little did we know… that was the problem. We’re usually pretty good about not having a plan. This particular night the hunger pangs and tiredness from a long week were starting to cloud our decision-making process. After a much-too-deliberated-upon discussion on where or what we should eat, things started going south. Details don’t matter at this point. After shooting down one of his ideas, he was in turn shot down, and we literally spent the rest of the evening not talking to each other. We drove East, hoping to find a good chicken BBQ, or maybe someone outside grilling from whom we could mooch a piece of meat. At that point, I didn’t really care. I would glare in his direction, thinking how insensitive he was being towards me, his wife. I would sniff. The tears would trickle down my cheeks. Silence. It was going down in history as the worst date of our married life. We finally ended up at a restaurant not even remotely my favorite, but I requested a salad from it anyway. We went home to eat it because I didn’t want to be seen in public wiping my snotty nose and glaring at my date. I banged around the kitchen and pulled a red plate out of the cupboard so at least I didn’t have to eat out of styrofoam. He grabbed a bag of carrot sticks from the fridge. Carrot sticks. That was about the last straw. If he sat next to me crunching those things while I indulged in a salad with pecan-crusted chicken, the tears would take their seventeenth journey down my face. Still without talking, I pulled out a second plate, split the salad between us, and we sat down to eat in silence. Fifteen minutes later it was time to pick up the kids. Of course, in the last few minutes we started to hash things out. We never did resolve whatever our problem was until the next day. Marriage takes work, they said. It also requires humility, selflessness, and making up, no matter how difficult it can be.
Fast forward to yesterday. Matthew had some work in Long Beach Island, NJ. His family was able to watch the kids so I could tag along with him. We enjoyed an amazing day together. I read my book while he worked, then after he finished his job he took me on a little surprise excursion. We went jet-skiing! I have since learned that a Jet Ski is actually made by Kawasaki and a Waverunner is made by Yamaha. I can’t quite remember which watercraft we actually used, but I think it was a jet ski. As we took off, I left my fear on the dock, embraced my twenty-year-old self, and held onto Matthew’s waist tightly. When we switched positions so I could drive, I revved that thing full throttle. I screamed and laughed and tossed all my worries into the swirling wake behind us as salt water sprayed my face and the wind whipped my hair into a million tangles. It was the most fun I’ve had in a long time!
Keeping our marriage fresh takes work, they said. Sometimes the work is hard. Sometimes it just takes a little creativity or letting go of fear. Don’t get tired of doing what’s right, the Bible says. I think this can apply to our marriage. The next right thing may be saying you’re sorry. It may just mean going out for coffee together. Or it might mean finding the best chicken BBQ in your county. Whatever it is, don’t give up.
Accidental Gardener
Mommy keeps getting up, Mommy never sits do-own, Elsie is singing in her little sing-song voice, as I make pancakes, flip pancakes, and feed ravenous children. Feels true most days. That girl is pretty perceptive. She is also reading whole books. She is what I call an accidental learner. Didn’t really try to teach her, but somehow it happened. All of a sudden she went from cat and dot, to Funny funny Jane went down with her yellow boat… or something like that.
I’m what I like to call an accidental gardener. I tend to toss seeds in the ground, convince myself I’ll remember what I planted, and promptly forget. I also re-potted some zucchini… or yellow squash… not sure which. Guess we’ll find out in a couple of months! Into the ground they went. The tee-pee village is planted with beans, or peas, or something that climbs! I just forget which is where. I think I’ve mentioned before that I like surprises!
Some surprises I don’t like in particular are those of the check-engine-light variety. This week we’ve been stuck at home while the van was in the shop. Then we were given the word we really expected to receive years ago: Your van is not worth fixing. It just might crumble if they fix the list of things that need attention. It wasn’t really a surprise, I guess. It’s like thinking spring will never come, just because it feels like winter will never end. Yet spring surprises us every year. So even though it felt like our van would never die, its retirement was guaranteed. Sixteen years old, almost 240,000 miles… it’s seen the birth of three kids and experienced the growth of five… traveled cross-country, up north, south, and west many times, and in general gets good use. We couldn’t be more thankful. We shopped for it when we lived in Honduras, and prayed for no one to buy it when we found it online. Awesome story of how God provided it. He obviously had it marked out specially for us. And He can do that again.
After writing all of the above, life happened! Not wanting to be known as the mommy who never sits down, today I sat down. Not mindlessly, and not to give in to the melancholy that was swiftly setting in from anxious thoughts rising to the forefront of my mind. I sat in the sunshine, red mug in hand, Bible open. 
Yes, I had a chattering shadow, but I’m learning how “quiet time” in my heart doesn’t necessarily mean it’s quiet all around me. My eyes fell to the page, heart aching to be filled. Hungry, like it’s been awhile since a good meal. Colossians 3:15 filled me up: Let the peace of God rule in your hearts…and be thankful. A two-fold, sturdy step for my anxious heart to take hold. First, I had to ask myself: What else is ruling? Myself? Worry? Anger? Usually what’s in charge is the first thing that is evident to those around you and to yourself. I knew peace was not ruling. It felt a little bit more like uncertainty and a swiftly beating heart was ruling, every time I looked out the window at our sad, sad van. Saying He will provide, to others, is much easier than telling it to myself.
Let the peace of God rule. Allow it, invite it to permeate every inch of my heart. Spread it around like flower seeds and watch it grow. It will produce more peace every time.
Be thankful. Oy, that’s a hard one, when all I want to do is complain, compare, and covet. It’s non-negotiable, though. As any grammar freak knows, this is not a question, nor a statement, nor an exclamation, but a command. With all commands, we can choose to obey or not. The consequences of not obeying result in all the things we fight against: complaining, comparing, and coveting. Thankfulness brings Christ right into focus, fading out what doesn’t matter.
So, as we step into the unknown, I am reminded: my God is the God-Who-Provides. He is never accidental in what He does.
Hidden Treasure
Spring always surprises me, and I love to be surprised. As I cleaned out the garden beds yesterday, I saw this gorgeous crocus. I acted as if someone had jumped out at me from behind a tree and I hollered out loud. I knew they were out there somewhere, but when I spotted it, it still surprised me. I love to be surprised. Have I said that before?
It reminds me of one of my favorite Bible stories. Joseph’s story is chock full of surprises. The part of the story I’m thinking about came to mind because I read it this morning. Joseph’s brothers had left Egypt and their brother Simeon behind, to bring grain back to their families who were close to starving. When they stopped for the night to feed their donkeys, they found their money in the mouth of the opened sack. It says they trembled. This was not a good deal, this was more of a nightmare. Their lives were at the mercy of the harsh-speaking ruler, who was actually their brother! The story gets better. When they have to return to buy more grain, they take double what they owe, in addition to their youngest brother, Benjamin. Joseph intimidated them so badly and squeaked out every drop of family information he could get so he could see his little brother again. What must those ten brothers have been thinking as they took the long trek back to Egypt? What must Simeon have been thinking as he sat in jail for weeks on end, pondering his past crime of selling Joseph to a bunch of slave traders?
When they arrive at last and present themselves before Joseph, he throws a feast for them. Confused, they tell the man in charge of Joseph’s house about the money mix-up. This is my favorite part: Don’t be afraid. Your God and the God of your father has given you treasure in your sacks. A shock indeed. Not only were they off free and clear, the Egyptian handed glory over where glory was due: God Himself!
The brothers weren’t even close to being done being surprised. At the meal, Joseph had them sit in birth order. Benjamin was given five times as much as anyone else.
Then, when it was time to leave, Joseph ordered his steward to put an enormous amount of food in their sacks, plus their money. Again. He also told him to put his special silver cup into Benjamin’s sack. This led to a planned-out donkey chase as Joseph ordered his steward to catch his brothers and find his silver cup. Of course, it was found in Benjamin’s sack. Of course he was the one and only son they had promised their father would come home without a scratch. So, they loaded up their donkeys and all headed back to face the wrath of the strange emotional ruler who was generous yet harsh.
Then, the biggest surprise of all. Joseph orders every person out of his presence except his brothers and drops a bomb shell on them. Weeping, he tells them he is Joseph, their brother. The Bible says they were speechless and terrified. Can you imagine?
I’ve never been surprised quite like that. But so often we are surprised when God blesses us. He is often looked at as the One who takes away, and we forget all He gives. Sometimes we think of Him as harsh, when He is really just testing us to know what is in our hearts. We all have treasures in our sacks. Our musty, dirty messed up lives are brimming with what we need to live. In addition to that, there is treasure. Every day there is treasure. Not of the money kind, but of the eternal kind.
We must be open in order to receive. We must be empty in order to be filled. He has given us treasure in our sacks.
Tell those rich in this world’s wealth to quit being so full of themselves and so obsessed with money, which is here today and gone tomorrow. Tell them to go after God, who piles on all the riches we could ever manage—to do good, to be rich in helping others, to be extravagantly generous. If they do that, they’ll build a treasury that will last, gaining life that is truly life. And oh… guard the treasure you were given! Guard it with your life. Avoid the talk-show religion and the practiced confusion of the so-called experts. People caught up in a lot of talk can miss the whole point of faith. Overwhelming grace keep you! – 1 Timothy 6:18-20
This priceless treasure we hold, so to speak, in a common earthenware jar—to show that the splendid power of it belongs to God and not to us. We are handicapped on all sides, but we are never frustrated; we are puzzled, but never in despair. We are persecuted, but we never have to stand it alone: we may be knocked down but we are never knocked out! Every day we experience something of the death of the Lord Jesus, so that we may also know the power of the life of Jesus in these bodies of ours. Yes, we who are living are always being exposed to death for Jesus’ sake, so that the life of Jesus may be plainly seen in our mortal lives. We are always facing death, but this means that you know more and more of life. – 2 Corinthians 4:7-12
Where Is The Happy?
Yesterday, as we celebrated Elsie’s 5th birthday, it marked the end of my birthday week. I actually thought her birthday was today. As she went to bed on Sunday night she told me in her sweet little voice, I’m not going to be grumpy anymore! When I asked why, she told me, Because the day after tomorrow is my birthday! I was pretty tired and took her word for it. Not until I woke up yesterday and saw some special birthday emails for her, did I realize that yes, indeed, it was her birthday. Please tell me something like that has happened to another mom out there. So, I scrounged in my secret trunk trying to find and hang up the Happy Birthday banner I made for such occasions. All I came up with was BIRTHDAY. Where is the HAPPY?! I kept asking myself. Before I go into more of her surprise (for me) birthday, let me back up a week and divulge all the fun that was had the past week.
It all started on my birthday, when the three older kids came with Matthew & I on a road trip to NJ. We drove 3 hours there and 3 hours back, with about 45 mins in NJ total. It was work-related, so nothing too exciting. The highlight was hitting the beach for fifteen minutes.
I had some wonderful friends over that night for tea and snacks and a whole lot of fun. The next day I was served breakfast in bed by my oldest. She loves to do this. The rest of the week was full of dentist appointments, Betty learning to put the car windows down with her bare little toes streeetching across her carseat, sweet sleeping children, lincoln log creations, school, tea, and much more.
Then came Friday. After dropping off the kids, Matthew and I spent the weekend away. What a wonderful time. Becoming disconnected happens so quickly! As it should be, we have both changed and grown, and sometimes we miss that happening and we look at the other as if they are a stranger we should know, but don’t. It was a treat and a blessing to have this time.
From the beautiful inns where we stayed, to the memories made, it was a weekend to remember!
The week was completed with an impromptu meeting with dear, old friends.
There’s the Happy.
The Snow Angels Declare
All week I’ve been watching my little geranium about to bloom on the kitchen window sill. This morning it was fully open. It’s simply breathtaking to see a burst of living color in the dead of winter. My eyes look at it, feeling starved. I can’t stop drinking in its color and life!
Now the snow is falling. Of course the boys went right outside to play in it. I happened to look out of the laundry room window to see them smiling at a pair of snow angels they just made. I gave them a thumbs up and they grinned even bigger. A few minutes later I heard their voices at the front door asking me to come and see something. My first thought was, No thank you, I’d rather not risk being bitten by the snow. However, an excitement in their voices drew me past even my annoyance of the cold.
Mom! We made snow angels down the WHOLE sidewalk! Sure enough, they did.
When I turned to come back inside, Elijah said, Now everyone can see how great the glory of God is!
I am speechless. What a way to look at everything we do. All for the glory of God, so everyone can see how great and awesome He is!
An Expression of Light
My favorite thing about Christmas decorations are lights. I could exist the entire month of December with just little white lights to shine each night. Today the first surprise in our stocking revealed that we were getting a Christmas tree today! We have traipsed many a farm, and though that may be in our future again, we tend to stick to Produce Junction, where the trees are inexpensive and hardly ever drop their needles. Our top farm-traipsing trip had to be in California when we chopped down, and very carefully drove home, a 17-ft Christmas tree. The second best year was when I went with a friend and our (then) four kids and we were chosen to get a free tree. I picked out as big a tree as we could manage, and basked in the fact that it was a gift. I love big trees, and maybe one year we’ll have another huge tree with a thousand lights, but this year I really like the one we have. Before we could decorate it, we pulled out all our strings of lights. Dead. Or half-dead, which is as good as dead. So, off Elsie and I traipsed (see, we got our traipsing in after all!) to get some more lights.
The first thing we do is string the lights. At the beginning God expressed himself. That personal expression, that word, was with God, and was God, and he existed with God from the beginning… In him appeared life and this life was the light of mankind.
Of course when it came time to hang up my banister lights, the same thing happened. Half-lit strands. I finagled big time, and made it work without traipsing this time. The light still shines in the darkness and the darkness has never put it out.
Then amid all this joy, a despondency overwhelmed my spirit. I think it was the end of a long, draining week, finally catching up to me. I think it was the sight of my woolly husband, so kindly offering to make me oven-fried chicken because that is what I was craving. (No, I’m not pregnant). I think it was the beauty of so many white lights. I know it was the realization that no matter how I feel, Emmanuel, God with us, was there. Sadness at my human-ness and short-comings, blended together with the awe and joy of God with us, then mingled with my salty tears. So the word of God became a human being and lived among us. We saw his splendour (the splendour as of a father’s only son), full of grace and truth.
The Delivery
Yesterday I had some unexpected splashes of color painted into my day. Highlights of joy that I didn’t know I needed, but as usual, my Heavenly Father knew I needed them. After a bit of a rough start with school, things smoothed out. Shortly after, I got a text from a friend saying she prayed for me this morning over her cup of hot tea. I know it’s because of her prayers. Then after a couple of hours of school, sprinkled with lots of loud exclamations from Betty (who loves highlighters and scissors and glue… oh my!) there was a flower-delivery man at my front door! Tucked into a fall pumpkin were yellows and oranges and reds and a sweet note from a friend. I needed that so badly! The thoughtfulness that went into those flowers touched me so much! I love surprises, and that fit the bill completely! I love color & beauty, and both were hand delivered to my doorstep. Thank you, friend, for refreshing this mama’s heart! I’m so excited that I get to look at my flowers with a cozy sweater on (because the temperature smells of fall, even if the calendar doesn’t.)
After school we had to form a search party for our dear bunny. Toby is half-tame and half-wild and we let him roam our basement and sometimes he goes outside. Usually he stays in our yard. Sometimes he doesn’t. We eventually found him under a huge pine tree in our neighbor’s yard. Afterwards, I was able to spend the entire afternoon with just Nadine. We went to the library, got ice-cream, then went thrift-store shopping. For the price of one pair of sunglasses we bought books, a few outfits, two pairs of sunglasses, a few pairs of boots, and six pairs of earrings! It was a lot of fun. I learned that she doesn’t like to be surprised as much as she likes to be “in the know”. She is changing into someone who wants to know ahead of time where we’re going so she can plan and think about what outfit to wear! She’s not like her little sisters who don’t care whether they’re wearing pajamas or not before running out the door. She relished the time shopping. This has never happened before. I almost feel like I felt the first week she was at home. Unsure of how to care for this little person. In awe that this life has been entrusted to our hands. Now, almost ten years later, I’m feeling very much like we’re in an entire new phase of life. Not only that, but the other four will just as quickly be changing and phasing out of their childhood. I pray to be steadied. The other day as she was helping me clean up the kitchen, she had just finished shaking out the tablecloth outside and was putting it back on the table. She said, “What do you really not like about tablecloths? They’re pretty, they’re useful… I wonder who invented them?” Her thoughts are many and varied!
So far everyone is still very eager beaver about school, and it’s almost time to start.
I’m thankful that I have five beautiful faces and some lovely flowers to look at all morning!
Grow Old With Me 