Ethan and I stayed home from church on Sunday since we were both on the rebound of recent illnesses. It was a sunny morning and not too cold. Ethan is passionate about going outside so the two of us took a leisurely walk down our dirt road.
Without Naomi and Josiah there, it was so quiet. We could hear the birds speaking with various songs. We heard the wind blowing gently in the trees. And we approached 10 or so cows without frightening them. I sat down on the grass with Ethan by my side and made some mooing sounds (more like "mmmm"). Ethan loves cows so I was hoping they wouldn't run away from us.
On the contrary, quite a crowd developed around us (though separated from us by a fence). There were a number of calves and two mama cows that stared and stared at us. I think they were perhaps more intrigued by their view of us than we were of them! Every time I made a cow sound, they pricked their ears and a calf would take a step closer.
For at least 10 minutes, I felt like I was a "cow-whisperer." I had no idea what I was saying to them, but it must not have been offensive. It was a delightfully peaceful, quiet time of mutual gazing and admiring. We watched one calf nurse and I laughed to myself as another calf tried to poke his head through the fence to get closer to us. If I'd stood up to pet him, I'm sure he would have run away.
Monday, March 3, 2008
Sunday, March 2, 2008
I’m Thankful For…
A wonderful unexpected 6 extra days with my parents before they returned to
A pastor in our church who is giving Steve and me marriage counseling. He is wise, understanding, and our meetings have been helpful.
Two girlfriends who have each recently invited me to “girl” things (for the 1st time in 2 yrs)
Steve’s Arabic professor giving him extra tutoring on the side.
Eclipse Memories
On February 20, there was a full lunar eclipse, and thankfully my brother called me to let me know! I would have missed it otherwise. It was a fairly clear night, cold but bearable. Naomi was awake in bed so I asked if she wanted to watch the moon with me. We put coats and hats on, made hot chocolate, and wrapped up in a blanket on our porch. I found our binoculars, too, so we could get a closer view of the moon’s surface.
Naomi was tickled to be up late with me and she called it “girl-time” since Steve and Josiah didn’t want to watch with us (at least, not for more than a couple minutes – it was cold and Josiah had been fast asleep in bed). I not only enjoyed the beauty of the night sky and the eclipse, but relished the special role of being Mom. I loved having time with my little girl, when we could cozy up together and share a memorable event. I loved showing her something new and explaining the science of it to her.
We watched until the eclipse was full and then came inside to check on it again from our couch. I suggested we take a nap and then look at it later to see how it had changed. I can’t remember the last time I had lain down with my daughter snuggled on my chest. She started laughing and told me that it was funny to have her head move up and down with each of my breaths. We got the giggles for a few minutes and then settled down and actually both fell asleep.
We never did see more of the eclipse. Steve put her to bed an hour later, at which point I also crawled into my own bed, tired but happy from a special sky-gazing night.
Monday, February 4, 2008
Eating Struggles
I had always sworn that I would not raise picky eaters. I grew up eating a large variety of food, I still enjoy diverse tastes, and find whiny eaters incredibly frustrating. I thought that I could determine this characteristic in my children by making both usual and unusual foods, and not giving in to their limited whims. Ha. Goes to show what you think you know ahead of time about parenting!
Naomi started out a great eater. When she was one, she ate anything put in front of her.
Not so anymore. Now it seems we battle over at least half of our meals. Do you know how tiring that is? Today she decided to just hide during our dinner so that we wouldn’t make her eat. I actually enjoyed the first few quiet minutes of our meal, minus her whining and arguing. Unfortunately, I concluded that I really should make her take a few bites before rejecting the entire meal, and thus ensued yet another noisy struggle.
It would even be preferable if she would just say “no” and then sit there refusing to eat. But instead she goes on and on, either asking us questions (Does this fish have blood in it? Does it have its eyeballs in it? What’s that black thing?) or giving us reasons why she can’t eat something. Today her brother jokingly said there were bugs in her oatmeal, and wouldn’t you know it, she refused to eat the rest of her bowl. Unbelievable.
Five years into parenting, I’m becoming a little more relaxed about my responsibility for my kids’ eating habits, but also a bit more determined to not give up yet! I allow that people will have all kinds of preferences and dislikes for various tastes, but I insist that dishes be tried before opinions are formed. It sure would be easier to not care and just give her chicken nuggets for every meal.
Zookeeper Josiah
My 4 year old son wants to be a zookeeper when he grows up. He’s been saying this for a couple months now. His favorite activity is taking all his stuffed and plastic animals, sorting them, and giving them all places to “live” in his own homemade “zoo.” The lions might be under a chair, the water animals behind a box. He’s very particular about his arrangements. And if someone else (like Ethan or Naomi) tries to take an animal away to play with it, Josiah gets upset, saying that his animals are REAL.
Josiah looked like he had a mustache tonight, after drinking a mug of cocoa. I commented on it and said that one day he’ll have real hair on his face and need to shave like Daddy. He didn’t reply at all to the issue of hair, but said adamantly that when he was older, he was going to be a zookeeper. I said, “Okay, you can be a zookeeper who shaves!” He answered by saying that he was going to scoop up poop when he was a zookeeper. The kid thinks of stuff like that and still wants the job. Wow!!! He must really like animals.
I’m Thankful For…
My patient husband, who has put up with my clutter for 8 years!
The way light changes color at sunrise and sunset
Jesus’ love and compassion for the unlovable – the demon-possessed man, the “sinner” who poured perfume on his feet, the woman who had bled for 12 years
Mom’s recipes which are yummy and remind me of her
New friends,
My friend Kit’s successful knee-replacement operation (in
Public libraries – I wish I could get locked in by accident some weekend!
Books on tape, especially good mysteries
Laughter
God’s stunning creation, and video footage to help me see it
Fragrant smells
My daughter’s pictures drawn for me
Mentors and good friends who encourage me and model holy living
A quiet neighborhood
My cheap piano and the lovely sheet music Mom Gertz gave me
Josiah’s enthusiasm for my cooking
Ethan’s easy and beautiful laugh. I love one-year-olds!!!!
2/3/08 Restful Weekend
As much as I love being with people and having company over to our house, I’ve really enjoyed the relaxation and solitude of this weekend without guests or plans. Spending Friday night and Saturday at Gertzes’ house was very restful. I wasn’t faced with my own never-ending chores, but could enjoy their treadmill, Jacuzzi bathtub and deck with a
Even today, which for most people involved SuperBowl plans, was peaceful. We took the kids to a favorite playground after church, which they loved. We took naps. We taught the kids an “adult” game called
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