A Child's Perspective

The first few pictures are a glimpse of my floor this morning. It truly is a treat to listen to them breathing as they fall asleep and awaken. In fact, they are all laying still again in my bedroom. It definitely makes it not so lonely on my end and I am sure with the temperature in the negatives (WHAT?!) the room is a whole lot warmer with 5 bodies than three separate rooms for 5 people. Plus these are fun memories that will disappear someday. Someday, David will be too old or the girls won't want to sleep near their brother, but until that day I will have a party in my bedroom.

The girls put on their "dancing outfits" and danced around the room. These moments are so precious as Mary arranges them each day. I love them. I wrote more about today's moment here, but I wanted to share more pictures. I took some beautiful ones with my Canon camera, but I am not going to upload them tonight.

David worked on his Star Wars Mad Libs today. It is encouraging watching him get excited about English words. He also took a Math test today and did amazingly. I am encouraged by his change in attitude as well as his retention after taking a long break. Thank you Lord.

We also are choosing to follow Five in a Row curriculum and what I mean by that is we are reading a book five days in a row and I am making up my own activities for them. This week we are reading Katy and the Big Snow by Virginia Lee Burton. So our cars had to drive through the big snow in the city of Geoppolis. Always fun when shaving cream is involved (or overwhelming depending on how excited my tactile girl becomes). :)

The two pictures depicting my wooden pull horse created an interesting perspective today.  This morning Rachel comes down upset that the pull horses's string has knots in it. I take a look at it and apologize because well undoing tight knots is not a skill I have acquired. But her grandfather looks at it and says Rachel I can fix this, but you have to promise me you won't put any more knots in it. She says ok and dances off. Later, her grandpa takes the knots out and leaves the horse on the table so the string can work out its kinks. Then Rachel comes bounding down the stairs and sees the horse. She is about to grab it and Grandpa says aren't you going to say anything Rachel expecting a thank you of course. And Rachel just looks at him dumbfounded. She sees absolutely NOTHING wrong with the horse. It is perfect as it was originally. And it hits me, children see things as they are-not as they were.  What a lesson for us all. If we would not dwell on the past, but look at the present as a present (gift). God even speaks to us about faith like a child in His Word.
2 Jesus called a little child over to him. He had the child stand among them. 3 Jesus said, “What I’m about to tell you is true. You need to change and become like little children. If you don’t, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. 4 Anyone who becomes as free of pride as this child is the most important in the kingdom of heaven. Matthew 18:2-4 NIRV
God want us to have child like faith, because instead of remembering the knots and the wrongs with the world children look at things the way they are now and that string was perfect and that is all Rachel saw. We must remember that we are perfect because God wipes us clean. I pray that I would look at my children and life around me through child like eyes where I see the perfection and beauty in them, not the dirt and grime that was there. Thank you Lord for the gift to have a revelation such as that one. It is a treasure in my crown.

P.S. Rachel is in her swimsuit that matches Bitty Baby everyday. In fact, her straps are crisscrossed and Bitty Baby's are straight and today she brought me scissors so I would cut hers to match Bitty Baby's. Oh my.  She even wants to go swimming (but Rachel it is WAY TOO COLD!) Love the thoughts of a 3 year old (and determination).

Miss You

Life isn't always easy. Sometimes well it is just plain difficult. And sometimes we think to ourselves, why are we sitting here alone. Fortunately, I am not the one sitting here thinking that, but I know that my better half is and that saddens me. I have the easy job of being home with four lively, active, and fun loving kids around me. I have the job of training them, raising them, and loving them. I have the joy of brushing their hair, holding their hand, listening to them breathe at night as they are all piled in their sleeping bags sleeping on my floor (well except for Sarah of course). But my husband does not. He is off in DC, sleeping on a houseboat, all alone, and in the cold and crazy winds.

I grew up where my dad followed the job and my mom, four siblings and I stayed at home...holding down the fort we used to say. I grew up hurt, angry, frustrated, and alone. And when Andrew and I were dating, engaged, and married we swore we would never chose life like that. And yet, here we are and now I know. Yes, it was hard on my mom (I still don't know how she did it all those years) and yes it was hard on me as a child, but it was harder on my Dad. He didn't get to see us grow up. He missed those special moments that we don't schedule into our lives, they just appear. He missed life. And Andrew is missing life. He is missing his baby girl change. He is missing the maturing of his son into a young man. He is missing a warm bed on a -2 degree night. He is wondering why. So Andrew, I love you. I miss you. And I know we have decided that this is short lived, but I have a new appreciation for life now because of you.

We started school back today after a long vacation. We spent December packing and preparing to move and then we decided to only send Andrew back to DC. So, we had a 2 hour delay along with the public school kids and it was perfect. It was a wonderful way to ease back into things. Then this afternoon, we sorted and organized our remaining school things so we can prepare for the week ahead. Then they watched a movie in celebration of Mary using the bathroom in the middle of the night. We are going through a stage where we aren't sure whether the bed will be wet or dry. Praise the Lord for a dry bed this morning! So a celebration was in order complete with ants on a log! :)

Thanks Mom for beautiful dresses for my girls who love to wear them all day everyday. I am so very thankful for my sweet Sarah bear who sleeps next to me every night. And right now my floor is full of matching sleeping bags (Christmas gifts) and precious blessings inside of them. The kids and I made our first batch of Elderberry Syrup yesterday using Rosemary Gladstar's Herbal Recipes book.  I am thankful for a husband who is willing to experiment in the kitchen by making tortillas from scratch. I captured that moment last week because I knew it was something I dearly treasure and it would be missing for a time.  I am proud of my kids for washing and drying dishes tonight. It is a good reminder that they are able to help around the house more and that I don't need to do it all. I am thankful for an opportunity to record these precious moments for my best friend.