Some Chicken Pecking

Things have been slow here.
My 2 oldest kids have a yucky bad cough.
We even got x-rays for Gill to see if it was Pneumonia.
It's not.  (thank you, Jesus!)

We wear pj's.

Eat oranges.

Walk around with bed head.

Read a book or two - (this one is beautiful)

Take baths.

Play on an indoor "slide"

And I hold a baby.  

And type chicken peck style with my left hand.

Oh, and we watch a lot of movies.  

(Really.  A lot.)

We are trying to power through the last few things for our adoption home study.

The paper work stuff is tough for one like me.  

My filing system is "throw it in a box."

Marriage certificate?  Um.  I used to have one somewhere...

Speaking of paperwork, I am dreading taxes.  

Recall my filing system.  

This becomes a head ache at this time of year.

Speaking of paper, did you get this Anthropologie catalog?

Gillian saw the cover & said to me,

"Look how musty her house is!  I can't even imagine!"

She also likes to exclaim, "I can't even beblieve it!" So cute.

Speaking of not believing it, 

 I can't believe it how long my bangs are.

I was going to get them trimmed right before the baby was born.

She was born a bit early, so the last minute things such as that didn't get done.

My bangs feel like needles poking into my eyeballs.

So, I wear them back in a kiddie barrette.  Cool.

Someday I'll make it to the salon.

Speaking of someday, I'd love to know how to dance someday.

Someday, I want to learn ballroom dancing with my husband.

Guess how lucky we are...

We seem to have a neighborhood dance class that has recently started up.

There is a group of high school kids who have been learning partner dances,

every Friday night, out on the sidewalk, across from our house.

So, I plan to get a babysitter next Friday night & join in.

Scott is unsure about the plan.

Speaking of unsure, I am unsure of where Gillian learned this,

but when she & I were walking under a maple tree the other day,

she picked up a few of those prickly seed pods (like this)

& told me, "Wow!  These could actually kill someone."

Really.  In contrast, she told me today that

 "Decorator crabs cannot hurt you.  They are harmless"

Apparently she learned that one at the aquarium touch pools.

Speaking of being out & about with my daughter, I got to take Moira out today.

We got treats at Starbucks.  She said scone for the first time, 

when deciding which treat she would get.

She looked like such a big girl marching beside me, 

munching on her petite vanilla scone.

That girl is nearly 2.

Speaking of birthdays, I will post some pictures of Peyton's birthday.  

I am way behind on that one...

k is for koala + Australia preschool study

k is for koala













Our book list for this study -

Can you Cuddle like a Koala?
Cute, cute, cute toddler book.
I love the illustrations.  
It is really a bedtime book,  not really a "koala" story.


Look What Came From Australia
I like this book.  
It is very informative, but the blurbs about each thing is fairly short.
It makes for a fairly easy read for the short attention spans of preschoolers.
It had made the kids want to go to Australia!

The Life Cycle of a Koala
This is very educational - a bit above preschool, though.




The weather was lovely this morning.

We went for a walk, looking for eucalyptus leaves.  (Koala food)
We have a lot of eucalyptus trees in the area.
We may take another hunt soon, to look for a different type.

We listened to this man play his Didgeridoo.

We learned The Kookaburra Song - Kookaburra sits on an old Gum tree...
And we listened to the Kookaburra Laugh.

The Amazing Lyre Bird - They are from Australia.  And really - they are amazing.
Watch the video & see for yourself.  God created some crazy creatures.

We had Australian Meat Pies for dinner last night.  Pretty good.

A little on the bland side.  But, that probably makes them more authentic?
We had mashed potatoes & peas, too.
Scott said when he was in Australia, the only veggies they ate were mashed.

Here's a letter "K" tracing sheet for your kiddos.

I was gonna make cardboard boomerangs with the kids.  Haven't done it yet...

Gorgeous ABC books

 The library had some
fabulous ABC books
on display this week.




Ida Pearle
A Child's Play
an alphabet of play

Mary Azarian
A Farmer's Alphabet

Every page of each book is gorgeous!

Art Appreciation

When I was a kid, I always hated tomatoes.
Texture.  Flavor.  Gross.

One day, when I was a teen, I was reading in a food magazine about tomatoes.

I read that for most people it is an acquired taste.

A tomato is something that can grow on you, like coffee or wine.

I decided then that I would try to learn the love of tomatoes.

For my first lesson, I went down to the farmer's market & bought a tomato.

I sliced it up, salted & peppered it.

I think I had this friend with me for encouragement.  She had good taste in food.

I ate it.

And, I loved it.

Lesson learned.

I still love them.

 Really, there were a lot of other things I disliked as a kid.

I was proud to have very specific tastes.
Like, somehow it made me really special to hate so many things.
I only thought dark brown hair was attractive (some self love there?).
I only liked a few flowers.  The rest were kind of "ugly".

And then, I guess I started to grow up a little bit.
Really?  A lily is ugly?

Maybe it was my (sinful) pride,
declaring a good portion of God's creation as not good enough for me.
It would glorify God to appreciate His handy work,
and it would bring me more enjoyment, too.

You know what?
Once I started looking to see what was beautiful,
instead of what was faulty, it wasn't that hard to appreciate more things.
I love seeing so much beauty.
It is everywhere.
There is nothing wrong with acquiring a taste for something (or someone).
Sometimes we just have to let go of our pride.

Maybe that means learning to get along with someone
who really grates on you
(& it seems so hard to see the good).
Maybe it means learning to be attracted to someone who looks different.
(That could include adopting a child who looks different
than you may have imagined your child would look.)
Or it may mean just embracing where God has you right now with contentment,
while you learn to see the beauty in it.

Have you ever seen attraction grow?
What have learned to see beauty in?

The Basics of Sex

This is not a body science lesson.
Let's get to the heart of the issue instead.
I think the basics are things like -
love, honesty, vulnerability, trust, commitment, selflessness.
These are the basic tools you need to take with you to bed.
(But actually, you should try to keep them with you at all times.)

As I said the other day, my friend Linda has been blogging about sex.
I have been impressed by it.
She & I have conversed about it.
We've talked about problems & pain that many deal with in their marriages.
We've prayed about it.
We've read books about it.
I have wanted to be able to write about the subject.
But, it is scary.
Sex is powerful & it affects us SO deeply, either negatively or positively.
It is a delicate matter.  I might say something wrong.  I might hurt someone.
I don't want to.

I think that is the similar issue many couples face.
They don't know how to talk about it.
It is a delicate issue.
They don't want to hurt the other one.
They don't want to be hurt.
How do you even approach the subject?
It is scary.

But, the marriage bed should be a place of safety.
It should be a place where we can show love.
The kind of love that can cast out those fears.

Don't you think the scariest part is the uncovering of your heart?
Open, laid bare, naked.
What if you look foolish?  Needy?  Broken?
What will the other person think?

Can I tell you something?
My husband & I had a great honeymoon.
It was a great beginning for our oneness.
There was uncertainty.  There was learning.
There was pain.  There was patience.

We went to Ireland.  We got married on a Saturday.  We flew out on Monday.
We got off the plane in Dublin & went to the train station.
We barely made it onto the train in time, to head west to Galway.
On that train ride, my body gave us a little wedding present.
My period!

me in Ireland

This gift which was initially unwelcome.
But, it helped to teach us something.
We were learning to talk about hard things.
Things like sex & emotions,
male & female & being different from each other,
needs & understanding each other & the like.

the husband there, too

And it is a conversation we are committed to continuing in together.

We try to speak in love, with honesty.

The more vulnerable & selfless we are, 

the more trust there can be.

(The next good gift we got on our honeymoon
was when I lost my toiletries case on the bus.
Make-up free, hairy legs, smelly armpits,
This is who I am, baby!)

Show the Love

Love month is almost over.
(Don't worry.  I'm just calling it that.  I know we are called to love all the time.)

Here's a few things before February is over -

  *You've heard of the 5 Love Languages, right?  I have.
But, I'm too lazy to read the book.  Scott & I took the quiz, though.
Try it.  It's pretty neat.  Ask your spouse to take it.
See what you learn about yourself & each other.
We happened to both get the same top two.  I guess we're "lucky".
I think I like to show love & receive love in all 5 ways.
(I'm greedy like that.  I want it all!)
But, some definitely affect me on a much deeper level.
The point, of course, is to be sensitive to those you love
& show them love the way they understand it & need it.

  *I downloaded a marriage evaluation from this blog -
Passionate Homemaking.  See it under point 4 on this post.
The document is called The State of our Union.
Check is out.  It is much more involved than the little quiz above.
I've only read it over.  We've haven't worked on it yet.

  *Go over to my friend Linda's blog.
Take her little quiz on the top on the left sidebar.
She has written a number of good pieces on the topic of sexuality.
Check them out.  She has a lot of wisdom.   And she writes thoughtfully.

*Danielle at Take Heart has been posting
Love Stories for the whole month of February.
I think that is so precious.
(Really.  I really do.)
I haven't managed to read all of them yet.
But, I am inspired to write our love story out.
I don't know if I'll manage to get it written down before the end of this month.
Especially since I would like it to be a he said, she said story.
I don't know if my husband will get a chance to write his part that fast.
But, writing my desires (for the story to be written by both of us)
on my blog, instead of talking to him in person,
seems like a good way to pressure him.
I mean, wait...  maybe manipulation isn't the right way.
I may have just blown my chances.

*If you don't already do, I encourage to try to Embrace the Camera.  

What is that, you ask?

It is getting on the other side of the camera.  

You know all the photos you take of your loved ones?  

Get into the picture with them.

They all want to remember that you were there, too.

Join the link up at Emily's

Today Moira & I are snuggling in bed & she is giggling about kisses.  

Son of Mine

Peyton Michael, 3 years old.

This boy is way too cute for me.  

I could not pick only a few pictures for this post.

Our boy - sweet, sensitive & snuggly.

You are the first one to wake up every morning.

You climb in our bed for a morning snuggle.

All day long you say to us, in your cute, deep voice, "Um...  I love you."

look at that face!!

You are a good brother to your sisters.

You love to serve them & help them out.

And you love to tease them & "push their buttons". 

(Like any good brother, right?)

Your wish list includes a tractor, a motorcycle, a boat & "diver man" gear.

As of now, you want to be a Raspberry breeder when you grow up.

Just like your Daddy.

Our plan has been for you to give up your bottle at age 3.

Last night, you were suddenly rather hesitant to become a three year old.

It's hard to grow up.  

(But it might be harder on Mommy to watch.  

I love seeing you with your morning bottle...)

  

3 Weeks Ago

We got to meet this sweet little girl.

Today she & I spent some time with the self shoot timer button on my camera.

I love how Peyton got in on this one.  Cutie face!

Mommy loves you, Kendall.