one sunday, my children went to church. dear daughter, who i don't think was ever quite-but still very- as literal as dear son, has been many times and for her it is a very social game. although, for the rest of the day, she will talk about what she what she learned and thumbs through my old, monogrammed scriptures. on these days i realize that her level of maturity is a ways beyond her younger brother. dear son is extremely innocent, intensely curious, soaks up information like a sponge and (just for the record) is still madly in love with his mama. while prepping him for church, i was explaining that even though he will go with, and see, almost all his friends while there, it isn't playgroup with best dress attire. church, instead, should be a calm and quiet time, where people go to listen, learn and get closer to God. "is that north of here?", he asks. this is when i realized that sending him just a few blocks north with friends would be bittersweet. he learned a lot that day. that god isn't bad, everyone has a book of marmen, the people in sacrament didn't glare at him once and why i didn't have a cross that he could wear to church. "sister's wearing jewelry!" it reminded me of watching out of the mouth of babes in my high school seminary class, where you hear from the young children how they think and interpret what they are learning. and at a time where i am realizing that this innocence can't and won't last forever, these babes give me just the right dose of needed medicine.

winter returns

thatta girl

a valentine letter came home from school this last week to my E. it read:

dear E (for the record, he didn't even spell her name right),

hello i love you and you love me do you want to kiss

initially, she was too embarrassed to show me and hid it in her bedroom. when she finally did, we talked about the letter, the boy and what she should do in response. her option was better than mine, which may or may not have involved and encouraged violence. she took the high road-i like you as a friend, but i don't kiss any boys other than my dad and brother.

that is a verbal contract she signed into just by saying the words, hope it holds up in the future.

happy weekend!

that groundhog wasn't kidding when he predicted an early spring. mid-february in our neck of the woods doesn't usually come with clear, blue skies and mid-fifty degree temperatures. long bike rides, golf balls driving into the field below and laughs in the yard with friends are usually reserved for late march. but we'll take it, because we know it won't last. i spent the beautiful weekend sweating for a variety of reasons.

first: my bible bump. otherwise known as a ganglion cyst. this beauty spontaneously appeared on my wrist one morning shortly after christmas. although not overly painful, more a nails-on-chalkboard type of reaction when touched, it was UGLY!!! i'd been given advice to bite it (what?!?), smash it with a bible (the old-school method) and just leave it be (uh...no). saturday morning i took the more humane approach and had it popped by a pro following a painful, burning steroid shot.

second: my children got all fancied up and went to church...without me. our move to our new home was done largley in part to get into a better neighborhood with great families. we did well. our children have lots of great friends with space to run and very dear neighbors who seems to like us unconditionally. i can't exactly describe how i was feeling when they headed out the door, but it was a mixture of nervousness and excitement, topped with a little bit of guilt. the two hour bike ride ripp and i went on helped alleviate most of it and replaced it with hunger instead. e has been quite a bit with my grandmother, but for the pill it was a first. he has had me laughing since sunday with his literal take on everything and what he learned while there. that is for another post. finally: e put me on the spot as we were getting her ready for church and with the don't-be-vague-i-know-you-are-not-telling-me-something look on her face she asked how babies really get into their mom's bellies. apparently the surface answers she has been getting are no longer enough. i looked at her innocent, sweet, honest face and swallowed the lump in my throat. as i was explaining that it takes a mom and a dad who are really in love and ready to have a baby, she chimed in with "and lots and lots of kissing?" that is when i told her that there is a really long conversation that we should have and that i think she is getting close to the age where she can handle it. me however, that is a different story. can't we just get back to belly looking ganglion cysts and the way they are formed and removed?

starting sometime in first grade, all through second, and the first 100 days of third, my e didn't miss a full day of school. and the half days that she missed were strictly for fun. that run came to an end today, when a fever plaqued her with shivers and sweats in the wee hours of the morning. her timing could have been better. with her dad half way through an eight day trip, her brother home the last three days with similar symptoms and a puppy who has reminded me how selfish i am with my time...i feel i am reaching the end of my rapidly fraying rope.

thank goodness we got all the birthday celebrating out of the way. yesterday, my e turned 9.

with sickness looming, things stayed pretty mellow. the real chaos was last friday when we really celebrated.

15 girls, 10 games, 1 party sub, 1 icecream cake, 1 random demonstation by her father of getting a 'whoopin' when he was little, lots of 'bumps on her head', a pile of thoughtful gifts from her friends and one very heart felt thank you hug at bedtime...we woefully welcomed a higher number and the countdown to double digits.

thank goodness for good friends.

her adorable gaggle and mine, who once again was there for quality control. thank-you

happy birthday e!!!