Beauty is in the Eye of the Questioning Observer

Emma was watching me put on my make-up before leaving for the evening.

Emma: Why are you coloring your eyebrows?
Mama: Well, because it makes them darker.
Emma: So I guess darker eyebrows are attractive?
Mama: Well, I guess some people think so.
Emma: Well, I guess you think so!

Truth is Stranger than Fiction

Yes, this really just happened in our house.  This morning, Luke was eating his oatmeal when he said, “Hey!  Look!” and pulled a baby tooth out of his mouth.  I know, you’re thinking, “What’s so strange about that?  Luke’s been loosing teeth for a while now?”  Keep reading.

He asked for a paper towel to stop the bleeding.  I brought him one.  The only problem was that he couldn’t locate the new “hole” where the bleeding needed stopping.  I looked in his mouth.  He looked in his mouth in the mirror.  There just was not a new hole anywhere.  There was a hole, to be sure, but it was from the tooth he lost previously.

Just then, Emma, who had been out of the room, came to the table and when we told her the story, she said, “Oh, we must be eating steel cut oats, then.”  When I asked her why she said that, she said, “Well, on Saturday, I found Luke’s tooth on the window sill and I gave it to Bo-Bo to look at.  But she accidentally dropped it into the bucket of steel cut oats.  She and Foofie were digging and digging in the bucket, but they couldn’t find it.”

Ah ha!  Another mystery solved.  Matt had opened the bucket of steel cut oats on Saturday and we had discovered steel cut oats all over the floor of the foyer and the library … and powdery footprints and handprints on the sofa.  But in the end, the only explanation we got was “Bo-Bo”.  We had missed the back story until today.

So, apparently, Matt scooped out steel cut oats from the five gallon bucket this morning and cooked them (along with Luke’s tooth) which wound up in Luke’s oatmeal and discovered in Luke’s mouth!  There’s one for the books!

What We Will Do for Free Food

Well, our blog has been quiet for a while, because I’ve been a bit low on energy recently … but it’s for a good cause!  We’re excitedly expecting a new addition to our family in February (or, as we say around here, “Sometime near Foofie’s birthday”)!  Nannie (my mom) has been coming over to help, which has been a great blessing and always a highlight of our week.  But today, we used our extra “man power” in a slightly different way.

Nannie and Uncle Joshua helped us to pull off a lunchtime trip to our Chester Chick-fil-A all dressed as cows so we could each get a free meal!  I think we got about $50 worth of free food, and the children had a wonderful time.  Foofie has exclaimed a number of times that, “This was my bestest day ever!!” and at least half a dozen times before and during dinner, Bo-Bo just looked up from her food and said, “Mama!  Big cow!” (the Chick-fil-A cow came over to greet and high-five us while we were waiting in line).

Sometimes a tired mama needs help with laundry or food prep.  But sometimes she needs help making memories and having fun with her “herd”!  All in all, a wonderful day.  And as soon as I post these pictures, I’m ready to crash for the evening!


(As usual click on the link to see more pics … including a couple that include Nannie!)

May Showers ...

Mama: Emma and Foofie, did you know that you will be coming with me to the shower tonight?
Emma: Yes, I know that.  You told me.
Foofie: No, I didn’t know that!  Emma, we are going to take a shower!
Mama: No, we’re not going to take a shower, we are going to go to a shower at church.
Foofie: Oh!  I’ve never had a shower at church before!
Mama: What do you think it will be like?
Foofie: I’m not thinking of anything.
Mama: Well, what do you imagine that we will do at the shower?
Foofie: Well, get in the tub and have a shower, of course!
Mama: But you know at this shower, there will be lots of other people.
Foofie: Well, of course there will!  We can’t be alone at church!

Well, as far as I can ascertain, she knows there will be food and gift opening and other people.  But apparently she still thinks there will be a bath tub and water involved, too.  I can’t quite get a picture of what she imagines this will be like, though!

Love Letters

These are just a few of the letters the kids made so that we could put together some love message for the grandmothers and great-grandmothers!  Click on any of the photos to see the rest of the letters and the notes we made for Mother’s Day.

Fruit for Mother's Day

As I’ve mentioned before, we’re not big “holiday” people.  We don’t have anything against holidays per se, we just never wind up having things together for timely and traditional celebrations within the household.  So what I got for mother’s day was fruit.  It was the best Mother’s Day gift I have ever gotten.  But it wasn’t the kind you eat.  It was the kind you get to see God producing in your children.  And I couldn’t think of a more appropriate blessing for Mother’s Day.

Yesterday evening, the children were sitting together on the sofa after dinner.
Luke: Hey, Foofie, come here and look at this book with me.  I will show you some amazing things that animals do!
Mama: (wanting to probe his thinking) Luke, before you do that, let me ask you a question.  Why do you think that looking at amazing animals is an appropriate thing to do on the Lord’s Day?  I mean, aren’t we supposed to be worshiping the Lord, not animals?
Luke: Well, Mama, let me ask you a question.  What made these animals so amazing?
Mama: (with surprised laughter) Why, the Lord, of course!
Luke: Well, then …

Later, Matt prayed at the close of family worship.  Then Luke asked if he could pray, too.  He did.  Usually, Luke’s prayers are limited to “Thank you for this food.  Please help it to nourish our bodies.” Or “Dear God, please help so-and-so to get better.”  But last night, he prayed from his heart for a whole litany of things I had no idea were on his mind.  He prayed about the message of yesterday morning’s sermon, he thanked God for Pastor Griffith (our former minister of 23 years who was visiting and preaching yesterday morning) and for Pastor Bullock (our current minister) and for his continued ministry, he thanked God for his godly Daddy and prayed for God to give Daddy more strength and wisdom, he prayed for some elderly members of our congregation, thanked God for their long life and thanked God for the church in its ministry to these ladies.  By the time the prayer was over, I was in tears.  It was an excellent Mother’s Day!

But that wasn’t all.  As I put the kids to bed, I looked around their room and, in my prepare-yourselves-to-work-cheerfully-because-I-don’t-want-to-deal-with-fussing voice, I pointed out that their room was quite messy and that we would need to tackle that problem first thing this morning.  This morning, we heard thumps and bumps upstairs (Matt and I have “coffee time” in the library in the mornings) and Matt went up to check.  He came back down and said that a surprise was taking place.  A few minutes later, all four kids walked in the room two abreast and said (more or less in unison), “Oh my most gracious mother and oh the delight of my eyes, Happy Mothers Day!  We cleaned up our room!” (followed by Bo-Bo echoing, “Kee Up Moom!”).  Amazing.

My kids are not perfect.  And there are plenty of days that do not look rosy and sweet like this.  (And there are plenty more days where my kids are nice and helpful and I just don’t notice or am not thankful for it).  But on this day, the Lord not only provided evidence of the fruit he is working in them, but he opened my eyes to see it.  Thank you, Lord.  And thank you, Lovey and kids.  I am living my dream life (when I take the time to realize it)!

(Oh, and by the way, lest you think any the worse of my husband, my “official” Mother’s Day gift is coming in a couple of weeks.  At my request, we are spending Memorial Day in our pajamas, playing board games and cooking together and accomplishing absolutely no projects what so ever!  Yea!!)

Change?

Yesterday our next-door-neighbors had a yard sale.  Luke picked out a few items and was able to calculate that he would owe $2.50 total.  When I handed him three dollar bills with which to pay, I realized that he didn’t have any concept of getting change back (in a world where most of our purchases are done with plastic).  Our neighbor was very kind in talking him through how much he owed, how much he was paying and how much he should get in change.  When we got home, I was attempting to explain the concept of change and why it is that you might over-pay for an item.

Mama: Well, sometimes if you don’t have the exact amount you owe, you have to pay more than you owe.  If you pay less than what you owe, you won’t have paid enough.  So you pay too much, and then they give you back the amount that was extra.

Daddy: Except when you buy Apple products.  Then you pay too much but they don’t give you back anything.

(Luke, with a puzzled expression on his face, looks back and forth between Mama and Daddy while they laugh.)

Recent funnies ...

Luke: (discussing the plot of Journey to the Center of the Earth) Then, Axel fell and hit his head and lost his conscience.

Foofie: (getting ready for afternoon rest time) Oh!  I have to go and ask Lukey if I can borrow his head-bones so I can listen to this CD!

Chunky Love

Here’s our version of a blogroll …













Now, don’t you feel slim and trim? J

Our Cousin David

On Tuesday evening, Ryan and Donna had an appointment with (at) the Birth Center where they hope to deliver Ellie (um, YEA!!!) and so David got to come and hang out with us for a while.  He is the sweetest and cutest little boy.  His Uncle Matt says that he has very handsome eyes.  His Auntie Lynna says that he is a smart little man.  And his cousins just love to be with him!  Here are some pics from his visit.


Here are David and Robyn putting silverware into the dishwasher.


He’s wearing a very manly apron (from Home Depot) which originally belonged to Cousin Gregory (Risavi).  If I had thought about it, I would have given him the one that said “David” on it!  (Which Emma was wearing.)


And, speaking of, here she is spreading hummus on bread for dinner. (Luke is in the background reading “Luke’s Loose Tooth” to Foofie.)


Bo-bo insisted on sitting by David for dinner.


And later when Henry began to escape. Emma found a good way to contain him … literally!

All in all, it was a warm, cheerful time – a kitchen full of people I love working, eating and playing together.  Oh, the joy of little people … times six!  (No, this is not a hint or an announcement … but the kids have started praying again!)