Firetrucks

I need to start with a picture of my hair after Caroline and Henry spent time "fixing it". Notice the dinosaur-like row of clips along the top? There are two pigtails as well as lots of clips. They seem to place a high value on ornamentation. They declared that I looked beautiful and should wear it like this more often. Perhaps I have been under-doing it a little?

These are a few pictures from our trip to the local fire station. We went with a group of homeschoolers from our church, a mix of ages and stages. It was a wonderful trip. The firemen were genuinely kind to our kids. They answered questions, tried on their uniforms for us and allowed our kids to climb on their trucks. More than that though, they were genuinely interested in our kids; they lifted them up and down from seats, called them by name, and were incredibly generous with their time and attention. They showed our children that the men and women who serve us really are local heroes.
A picture with ages from almost two to fifteen years!
John Mac and his friend, Leah, age 5.
John Mac and Henry show their clear delight to be up in a BIG truck!

The Mother Report

I found myself referring to the weather report as the "mother report" last night. It slipped across my lips by accident and then I realized that my mixed up phrase was spot on. If the weather is warm and sunny and my children can play outside, it is a "good mother day". If the weather is cold and dreary, it is a "bad mother day". A good mother day means that there will be less bickering, less indoor wrestling that goes wrong and more cooperative play. A bad mother day is of course the opposite. We have an almost four year old and a five year old boy in our home and they really were not built for the indoors. In studying their design closely (which I have had to do as a mother that did not have a brother to grow up with), boys seem to need to conquer worlds, move quickly and find personal challenges on a regular basis. Yes, the wooden blocks sometimes allow for a new kingdom to be created, or the small plastic army men allow for a battle to be played out, but on the whole, these things happen much more easily outside. The makers of x-box and wii are very well aware of this; they are trying to create an indoor adventure, a challenge without fresh air. I know I am prone to thinking to fondly of "life on the farm", pre-industrial revolution days. (Wendell Berry is a favorite author and I always said I would have done well if I had been born in prarie days.) But little boys really do need to repair fences, and feed animals and exhaust themselves in meaningful work. I see this every time they rig together leftover pieces of rope to create a new swing off the playset. Or last week, when I found them trying to ride the bicycles into the ditch very quickly to fall into the leaves. And every day there is a race, a challenge of speed or distance. Perhaps one day all these little adventures and challenges will allow them to be ready for something bigger and even more awe inspiring. Until then, I will keep checking my mother report, wishing for good weather and big adventures.

Dressing Up

Life is back to full speed around here, only full speed has become a bit fuller. Here is a normal morning with everyone home....just a little after breakfast. Imagine, your morning started earlier than expected for a Saturday, you barely have coffee in your system, and then everyone is busy...

Here is Henry in his Gap pirate outfit....(notice he is busy talking while I take pictures):

Hannah has a Victorian face for this one; she really did enjoy the dress up. She especially liked wearing the tap shoes around the house that you can't see....
And here is William....watching everything safely from the bouncy seat!

The boys wanted a final sword fighting picture to be captured.
If only all of this excitement meant we slept through the night every night!

Valentines and such....

Catching you up on the small details of life....

Here is a picture of Caroline and her friend feeding William. He's more fun than kittens to first grade girls (which is saying a lot!). Doesn't Caroline look older here?

This was our Valentine's Day. Caroline dressed up for school with a heart dress. A beautiful Valentine to us!
The boys were busy riding bikes that day. We purchased a new bike for Henry, so that John Mac could place training wheels on Henry's old bike and have a bike to ride as well. The warm weather was a great valentine for Mommy from God that day!

I have had some wonderful quotes from the kids recently that I needed to write down. These include everything from the mundane:

JMac: Mommy, Miss Paula's daughter drives a mini-scooper.

Me: Do you mean a mini-cooper?

JMac: Yes, a mini-scooper.

To the serious quotes:

JMac: Mommy, I want to go to heaven right now.

Me: Why do you say that John Mac?

JMac: I want to go and be with God right now.

Me: Well, that is what we should want. Mommy wants you to be with me a little bit longer though.

Henry: (with no concern for the imminent loss of his brother) Mommy, God would let you talk to him though. I mean, you could send him notes. Like when you pray, you could tell God to say hi to John Mac for you.

Me: That is true Henry. Thank you for that idea.

And another serious one:

JMac: Mommy, I have seen God.

Me: Really; what was that like John Mac?

JMac: It was very bright. I had to squint my eyes. (He gestures out the window).

Me: Do you mean the sun, John Mac?

JMac: Yes, I've seen God's Son. It is hard to look at.

William is here as well. Just sleeping and eating lots. Growing is such work!

Who Is This?

Ok, I don't yet really have brain space or time to blog much, but I had to put in these pictures of Caroline from a bowling party this past weekend. Who is this beautiful girl and how did she get so big? Recently I have been so struck by how articulate and kind and taller she is getting! As she is quickly growing out of pants, she is also quickly learning how to skillfully distract her almost two year old sister when she is fussy and she is making earrings and jewelry to give away when she has time alone. The other day I saw someone in the hall out of the corner of my eye and thought a stranger was in our home...only to realize it's my growing up girl. It is such a joy and privilege to see God growing beauty in her inside and out.

Phases...

Life is always changing. The moon, the seasons, the daily journey of the sun...we have so many practical reminders that life down here is never static, always in motion. So why do we so often feel "stuck" and certain that things will never change? I am nine months pregnant. I even have a c-section scheduled for this week. I still feel deep in my bones like I will be this large and slow forever. I can't seem to grasp the change that is coming. I hit this same inability to believe in change with our young kids at times. I am certain when they hit a bad sleep pattern, bad period of behavior that we will be stuck in it forever. It is part of what makes that phase so overwhelming honestly. But then, a few weeks later, I look back and realize: we are sleeping through the night, he did remember to say yes mam, she is being more patient with her brother....Life is always changing and me with it. Some of the changes you see coming, some surprise you, but atleast for me it is not in my nature to constantly expect them and look forward to them. And yet, God promises to use "all things for good" ....all changes are in His caring hands. We are praying our whole family can not only simply adjust to changes in life but enjoy them this week!

Nesting

is a real thing....I am a good sleeper and I rarely have trouble falling asleep or quickly going back to sleep at night. Residency trained me well and I consider sleep a precious gift; one that I am quick to embrace. Last week, though, when our five year old woke us up at 2:30am...I was wide awake. I spent an hour lying there and thinking of things I needed to do: how the flower pots needed new pansies, how there are several Christmas gifts that I actually wanted to make, how I did throw away my nursing bras after Hannah and I really would need to buy new ones....Finally at 3:30 am I got up to write all these things down. Pages, I wrote. Finally at 4:30, I crawled back into bed with the peace of a very long list. Nesting is a real thing.

Yesterday, I was working earnestly on my list. I sat down at the computer to complete the "order baby luggage tags" part of my list. I looked at several sites, spent atleast 15 minutes, trying to find the best price with my slow midday internet connection. Finally I found what I needed. I quickly went to order the tags and as I clicked on it they requested I enter a first and last name. Here's the problem...we don't have a name yet. Took me twenty minutes of earnest list energy to engage my brain and remember I don't have a baby name yet. Nesting is a real thing...

A few days ago I took all four children to the Virginia Living Museum 45 minutes away for part of our school day. My husband desperately tried to talk me out of it. It was on my list though, to take the kids to the museum before the baby came. Despite the fact walking is terribly uncomfortable and I am as wide as I am tall, I took all four children through the museum for the morning. Nesting is a real thing...

I have sewn new curtains. I have made pillows. The closet chaos that has been tolerated for quite some time has been attacked with great gusto in the past week or two. Recently an inspector came to inspect our "slowly in process" deck work and I ended up telling him about how I thought it was wrong for the government to have building codes that private homeowners were required to uphold. If we want to do it the wrong way, it's our own foolish decision. I'm not sure he knew how to respond. Do not mess with a third trimester pregnant woman. Nesting is a real thing....