Does It Get Much Better Than This?

I don't think so. ;)

Bliggity-Blog

:noticing God's glory: in a chubby baby.

:listening to: Audio Sancto sermons. An old familiar sound. Much-needed spiritual inspiration tonight.

:clothing myself in: warm clothes! It suddenly got really cold here! New bright green fleece jacket - my fleece from last winter is a little stretched out in the belly. ;)

:thinking: about being a blogger (not necessarily HERE, as this little spot has been sorely neglected lately!). Reaching people through writing. Getting over writer's block. Choosing a topic I'm passionate about, getting my point across to move someone's soul. That awkward moment when someone says "Hey I read your article!" Will I ever get over that twinge of embarrassment and wondering quickly if I said anything that could possibly be construed as offensive or misguided, while smiling and nodding and feeling a little like a fool? Oh, how fun it is to be a melancholic. ;) Losing a bit of my anonymity, which is something I have valued. Yes, in my writing I express the "real me" and sometimes even baring my soul, but that makes me vulnerable. Darn human respect! 

:pondering prayerfully: "We would be well on the way to perfection if we could weed out one vice from ourselves each year." ~ Thomas a Kempis. Thinking about this one a lot today.

:cultivating rhythm: um... I am in desperate need of working on this one. Feeling a bit overwhelmed in that area lately. That perfectionist thing?

:creating by hand: THIS I have been doing. I crocheted a baby blanket for a friend and am working on another, and will need a third when I am done here. So first friend's baby is now a month old and second friend's is nearly two weeks, but that's okay, right? :) Someday I will take pictures. And maybe even mail them. 

:learning lessons in: humility. today. At least, receiving the lesson, hopefully I am learning from it.
Also, I need to keep an account of the lovely happenings around here, for my own sake.

:encouraging learning: Gathering materials for a Jesse tree. I have one old enough to actually understand this year, and another one close behind!

:keeping house: see cultivating rhythm, above. I did run the dishwasher today (and empty it)... tomorrow will be a new day.

:in the kitchen: chicken pot pie for dinner. Nate said, "I don't like chicken pot pie!" Oh, but Scout does. Scout does because Nathan does, or, did, back in the day. They got a kick out of Scout talking about CPP. Still picked at it...

:loving the moments: Parlor Entertainment on Sunday. Nate & Ben performed the first stanza of "The Cow" by Robert Louis Stevenson. Nate was the farmer and Ben was the friendly cow. Oh. my. So delightful. Uncle Pat dressed up like George F. Handel (complete with the wig) and played a minuet. Adorable!

:planning for the week ahead: plan for Thanksgiving (8 DAYS away!?) fall clean. look ahead towards Advent.

:funny things: Ben requested "Cap in the Hat" before bed tonight.

Nate: The 10 Commandments song in the car - watching him sing in the rearview mirror. "The 9th Commandment of God: Thou shall not covet thy neighbor's wipe!" LOVE. Those wipes are pretty tempting, though, especially when your neighbor has some and you have run out.

Andrew: everything he does is funny. and he knows it! He made friends with every single elderly person in the waiting room at the doctor's office today (and there were a lot of them, we waited a long time!) 9 months, 24.6 pounds and counting. 5 teeth. I love him.

Birthday Season

We've had 2 birthdays in the last week and are preparing diligently for a big birthday bash on Sunday.

Our party theme is Thomas the Tank Engine meets raccoons. That's what they picked! Nate chose Thomas, of course.

Raccoon decorations made from paper hanging lanterns. In the process of making five more!

I like to make a big deal of birthdays, especially since we will do the boys' party together for the foreseeable future. We have a little celebration at home on their actual birthday, but for their real party with grandparents and aunts and uncles, it's just too hard for people to come to parties two weekends in a row (right around Memorial Day weekend and lots of graduation parties, no less). So for now, we pick a theme and do some fun decorations, a pinata, things like that. No pony rides or anything super spendy. ;) Is it for me as much as them? Maybe, a little bit. But I love it. I enjoy making cakes and decorations. It's my thing. :)

and the fire department came...

I took Nate to an eye appointment this morning, and dear sister Meagan graciously offered to keep the younger boys so I could take him alone. She planned to run into the grocery store with the boys to grab something for our mom, and then take it over to her and stay and play for a while, so I left the carseats.

After the appointment, my mom called me. The conversation started with: "Don't worry, everything is fine now, but there was a little bit of an accident..." Meagan had gone out to put Ben's carseat in her car, and he locked her out of the house. Key-less. and phone-less. Andrew was nestled safely in his carseat inside, asleep, and Ben was peering out the window grinning (oblivious to what he had actually done - he knew he had disobeyed by locking the door but he doesn't understand that locking a door means you can't get back through it).

She knocked on some doors but the neighbors weren't home, and by that point, the neighborhood mowers who happened to be around noticed something was wrong. One of them let her borrow their phone, and she called my mom (apparently the message went something like: "This is Meagan. Someone NEEDS to pick up the phone right now. This is serious. Pick up the phone!"), who told her she needed to call 911 because "you can't leave that baby in the house alone!" So, 4 firefighters came to unlock the door (must have been a slow day at the station).

Ben & Aunt Meagan riding in a fire truck last fall. there has to be some connection here...

Yesterday we were at Granny & Grandpa's (my parents) and I was teaching piano lessons. My dad walked into the kitchen to find Ben with a cup pressed up against the water dispenser on the fridge, with water just pouring on out... all over the floor. He smiled and said, "I getting a dink, Grandpa!" Everyone else does it! Can't argue too much with that.

                           

Tonight, Nate was climbing on the bean bag chair in their room and fell against the window and hit his head pretty hard (I think that poor boy just needs a helmet). Brian was comforting him and his sympathy and attention were duly noted by Ben, who proceeded to walk over to the window, bang his head against it, and fake cry.

wearing a coonskin cap while eating Rice Krispies with his hands; that's how we do it!

oh, dear Ben. I love you. you are such an imp.

Little Sister

My cute sister blogged about my little wooden people! Months ago. I didn't even know she had a blog. How embarrassing.

{is my title misleading? the boys are not getting a little sister yet.} ;)