Mothers and Daughters

I had all these profound thoughts the other day about having a daughter and then I never got a chance to blog that day. So let's see if I can remember some of what was going through my head at the time..................

Sofi made the salad for dinner all by herself so I could bathe Judah. (Okay, she got a little help from Daddy, but mostly by herself) It got me thinking about daughters and mothers. She was so eager to help, so good-natured about it--and so competent! At only five (almost) she's quite capable of providing real help to me. And not just physical labor, she's such a great companion, too. We laugh and joke, have serious conversations about life and tell stories to each other every day. I'm thinking ahead to the friends I have that are expecting daughters in the near future(Laura) or have recently given birth (Susi, Kendra) and I'm so excited for them! What a joy it is to have a daughter :) Now, I'm the last person to confer sainthood upon either of my children--I live with them and they both definitely have sin natures. And I'll be the first to admit a need for regular adult conversation and interaction. But Sofi has a quality about her that is truly precious to me. It reminds me a little of Jeremiah (very endearing), but is also just "Sofi". She is sweet, funny, curious, smart and she has this capable nature. If I take the time to teach her, she can do just about anything. Even if it's not perfect, she'll give it a good try. Reminds me of a speaker on education we heard recently who says this about children; "If they don't know, they'll have a go". There's something important there that is missing in your average adult. That eagerness and excitement at each opportunity to experience something---anything! I want to be so careful not to crush that eagerness in her. It's hard some days to match it with an eagerness and openness on my own part. Busyness takes the fun out of the chores for both of us. Busyness on my part quickly leads to bad attitudes on hers and crossness in me. But if I take the time to smile and laugh, tickle a little, tell a story, PLAY, then the day goes so smoothly. Lord, why is it so hard sometimes? It's not about what I do, accomplish, it's about who I am-- in Christ, modeling Him to my children. Remind me every day that it's the process, not the product that matters; that the only justification for my existence today need be that today I was a mother.

Now, I'm new to the whole "son" thing, so give me a year or two and I'll have more to say on that subject.

Well, it's been HOT here lately. Alternating between temps in the upper 90's and severe thunderstorms. Last night we even lost power for about two hours. Not fun. Especially at the end of that particular day. Some evil fairy exchanged my easy-going, even-tempered, wonderful-sleeper son for a changeling child with an endurance for sleepLESSness that far outpaces my own. I don't do very well when my children don't sleep. The more cranky and bad-tempered they get, the more cross and stressed out I get. Poor Sofi and Jeremiah had to put up with both of us. And to top it off, we were supposed to go out with friends for dinner. Since power was out all over downtown, and Judah had still not succumbed to sleep by 6:00 in the evening, we had them over to our house for takeout. Turns out the Lord orchestrated the whole thing, I'm sure. Had a great relaxing time (yes, he did finally pass out from exhaustion) getting to know one of Jeremiah's fellow teachers and his brand-new wife. So today the naps are going a bit better--although right now he's in his bed talking to himself and refusing to sleep again. At least we managed one solid two hour nap this morning. That is a definite improvement over yesterday. And he was happy enough to get a good 3- month photo shoot in! Enjoy!

Cuteness

Interesting experience of the day: explaining the Old Testament rules for the Sabbath to a five-year-old.

"The Pharisees were mad at Jesus because he wasn't obeying their rules about not doing anything on the Sabbath. You weren't supposed to work or play or even walk very far. Just sit and read the Bible all day." (yeah, Dad, I know, less than accurate, but it gets the point across)

"All day?!! But then they would be exhausted from not getting any naps!"

LOL

Okay, I'm seriously betting Susi a dollar that Judah crawls before Violet. You guys are my witnesses... Take me on, Sue? I'll try to get some vid of our "tummy times" so you can all appreciate the amazing strength of my little he-man! In the meantime here are some pics from this week. Enjoy!



Getting the grabbing thing down pat...



Ooo, tastes so gooooood!



My little princess :)



"Now, just let me 'splain somethin' to you...."

Laughing a lot these days...

Judah is laughing now! Cute as can be. So, question.... is the first laugh really the best? Zeke Trainum and I disagree. He says each laugh is just as precious as the first, but I say the first stands above the rest--which are equal. Thought, anyone?

Sofi is making us laugh :) Her newest adventures in language are to describe things as "bizarre" and to complain that she has "a serious headache". We are getting really excited about school starting up soon. I've been exploring plans for our first year of semi-formal home-school. Sofi spent the past year learning some of the basics of phonics and has made us very proud (as well as provide more opportunity for laughter--albeit, behind her back) by really taking off in the writing department. She loves to bring me "lists" of things she's written. Here's an example:

CROCUDILE
ALGATR
APL
COSTRE

That last one made the list after we discussed the breaking of all but one of my coasters on the living room coffee table. The lists always seem to contain totally random and seemingly unrelated items, but then, who can fathom the mind of a child. Here are some more fun examples of the mind of a child:








Here are some links that I found in my home-school research and thought some of you might be interested in. Some free curriculum downloads and other miscellaneous stuff.

www.tanglewoodeducation.com
www.starfall.com
http://www.artrenewal.org/asp/database/contents.asp

And last, but not least, here's a link to a vid of Judah talking and bouncing around in his johnny jumper:

Why I dislike computers and other news...

Okay, so I actually did post earlier this week, but the stupid computer froze up and died. Stupid computer :(

It's been REALLY hot. Over 90 degrees every day. Most days over a hundred. So we've been hanging out at the pool a lot. Sofi is now swimming under water and Judah is learning to float. Pics as soon as I remember to pack the camera in the pool bag and then remember to to take pics and then get around to posting them.

We've also been spending some time under the sprinkler while watering the grass. Here's Sofi and her friend Josh keeping cool:

Here's a humorous, pictorial example of being a "surrendered wife" to a Computer Whiz..... Not to hold myself up as a shining example, just wanted to share a moment with you :) In order to fully appreciate the significance of the situation, you have to realize that there are four computers in my living room atm. Three useless PCs and a laptop. I could complain and moan (which I certainly have done in the past), but this time God gave me grace to find a compromise ;)


Oh look! Another useless PC!!


Oh look! A handy little table! Wonder where that came from....



(thanks to Susi for the help with the photos...)