things

Life is moving forward, for sure.

We've decided we like the agent we spoke with last week and will be listing our house with her. We have also seen (the outside of) a house we really like. Hopefully, we'll be able to see the inside before too long! Realistically, however, we know we cannot begin to swing two payments if we should be unable to sell this house. So, we are hoping and praying that "Priced to Sell!" is truly effective and believable. I have spent a little time each day packing up a box or two of things we don't use too regularly. I secretly am getting a little thrill out of boxing stuff away, especially if it's stuff I'm not sure I should get rid of yet! ha.

Miss C is suffering the throes of antibiotics in her tiny system. Her lower GI tract is giving her trouble throughout the day and night. Even probiotics don't seem to be helping her right now. Otherwise, she is feeling apparently better. Of course, she's now got 6 teeth, going on 8, so perhaps that is playing into the diaper effect. Poor piece of sweetness. Right before her first birthday, no less!

intensity

Life has a way of becoming increasingly intense in specific ways, and this month has proven to be such a time in our lives.

Little B has been struggling. In ways I cannot understand, cannot fathom and cannot seem to help. I will not spend my words expounding, for he is truly a wonderful little boy, but as the month has progressed, he seems to have digressed, and for this our hearts have been hurting and suffering. The majority of it has stemmed from school. Why, I am unsure, but that this is the source, we have concluded with certainty. He has a decent to good weekend, but when he comes home, his outlook is turned, and we barely make it to the next weekend. Something is drastically off and in spite of regular contact with the teachers we have been unable to pinpoint a specific cause (though we have a few theories). We only see the effect.

With much deliberation and prayer, we have decided to withdraw him from his private Christian pre-k program. This decision has brought our first moment of peace and relief all month. I may never know why, but it is a glad moment for me. I want to bring back the joy into my little one’s eyes.

Along this line, we spoke with an agent today at length about listing our house and where we would like to move. Our goal is to be moved in time for Kindergarten (there are excellent city schools where we have chosen to go). However, I am, for the first time in my life, becoming open to the idea of home-schooling—IF and ONLY IF adequate social interaction is available. For the rest of this school year, we have decided to enroll him in some type of sports lessons, probably swimming or soccer.

30

Earlier this week I crossed the bridge to the next decade of my life.
The view from here is quite the same as before and I do not feel remarkably different than I did last week, yet I sense differences in small, subtle ways compared to, say, a year or two ago.

For example:
* When did stress (mild or not so mild) begin to feel like it’s raising my blood pressure?
* What day did I suddenly look in on myself and see me the way I used to see a slightly older generation?
* In what manner did I begin to be a deeper level of honest about myself to myself? And not be afraid of it.
* How did I reach the point of lowering my expectations of others, thereby no longer having such strong disappointments?
* Where did my care of everyone remembering my birthday go? Now, it’s completely fine if the vast majority forget when it is (my family is still the exception).
* When did my mom start calling me about what medicine she should take, rather than the other way around?
* And why did my knees start aching exactly this week? I mean really—I’m sure I just strained them doing some inane thing, but I feel AGED every time I kneel down to pick up a child or tie a shoe, etc. Just rub it in, why don’tcha?


I am sure this list can go on and on, but that’s a simplified insight to my inner thinking this week.

And, in spite of cruddy days (entirely unrelated to my age or birthday), I feel content and happy inside. I am deeply blessed.

buttercup & wesley

If you have not seen The Princess Bride, you are not qualified to read any further. Go watch the movie first!


The week before Christmas I was at the pet store with my mom. She needed dog food and I took the opportunity to gaze at some birds with my children (rodents, too, but mostly birds). I had finches in high school and loved them. By far, birds are the one pet I enjoy. Dogs are too demanding, my husband and son are allergic to cats, fish are too easily ignored (our grimy tank is nearby to prove my point), etc. Birds, however, I find cheerful and beautiful. They need interaction, but don’t need to be potty-trained. They need food, water, and a clean cage, but don’t need a bath or to be kept off my bed.

My mother was watching me as I oohed and aahed over the parakeets and asked, “Do you need me to buy you a bird?” I so did not see that coming. I stuttered and stumbled and muttered about not talking me into it. She said she’d been wanting to get me something special. I hesitated and said I’d call my husband because he’d talk me out of it. Not. He thought a bird would be a good idea, in fact, get two. Uh. . .

Well, that sold me on it. My heart leapt with joy. I chose a very light blue male with a hint of yellow in his face and wings, gray on top. I chose a wide cage, picked up a few toys and other necessities like food, and was on my way. What a lovely gift. I was SO excited to go home and get him all set up. Never mind we had a family Christmas dinner that night and I was not close to ready to leave on time. I had a bird. A no-name bird, but a beautiful one none the less.

They did not have many females, and I was being picky on the colors. So, I waited. The following week, the shipment of parakeets did not come in as they’d promised, and I began calling around to see who had a deep blue female. In the meantime, we were discussing names. Little B offered his suggestions on a regular basis: “How about ‘Birdy’?” Well, thanks for the idea, but I’ll be making the final choice! He’s so cute.

My mind was uselessly coming up with limited famous couples. Really limited. Pathetic. I intended to blog for ideas, even, but never found the chance! My husband finally recommended “Buttercup and Wesley”. I loved it. But, I’d need a yellow female rather than the deep blue I’d wanted for contrast. And the search began again.

This past Saturday my mom called to say she’d found a solid yellow female parakeet at a store near her home. When we put her into the cage, the two birds connected like long time lovers. It was so sweet. They were preening one another, kissing, chatting and snuggling up immediately. It was sweet to watch!

And so, I have pets. They are MY pets, so I know I will do the caring for them. I won’t be annoyed when someone else doesn’t do it. My son and daughter each “share” one with me (per Little B, but this might be a nice pet-intro for the kids . . . sharing mom’s pet).

Buttercup, as I’ve mentioned is all yellow, gentle and sweet. Wesley is subdued in color, happier, and has facial markings that resemble a bit of a mustache. It cracks me up. They are so suited for their names.

Oh yes. This weekend, they will be getting married! Little B said he wants to officiate, and we’ve “practiced” a few times what he’ll say. This event needs guests (my parents) and will be video-worthy is all I can say. He even drew pictures of the birds for programs (good ones at that!). They definitely bring a bit of cheer with them.

booger soup

My son hates pasta. Except for “Chinese Noodles” (read: lo mien). The other day, he was sitting on the couch and randomly picked his nose (for the record, he is not a regular booger-boy, just occasional). I can usually convince him to wait for a tissue, but we do see the little-boy protein finger at work sometimes, and he ate it before I could convince him a tissue would be better. Ugh. I was mildly irritated and began telling him that if he could eat boogers, he could eat pasta. Oh no, he does NOT like pasta, no way was that going to fly—he was very serious and began to look glum over my announcement. So, I pulled him onto my lap and began asking about the taste of boogers:
Me: “Are they salty?”
Him: “No.”
Me: “What do they taste like?”
Him: “Boogers.” (Duh, what was I thinking??)
We were all cracking up, to say the least.

Yesterday evening, I found some alphabet pasta in my pantry. Little B is learning to read, so he found this interesting. He decided, quite on his own, that he wanted to try them—in soup. So, my chicken dinner immediately turned into chicken soup. As I walked away, I looked back and laughingly said, “They’re about the size of boogers, huh?” Now, to a four year old booger-eater, that is really, really funny. And he promptly decided we would be eating Booger Soup for dinner. He actually had a second helping of it!

So, if you’re invited to dinner and Booger Soup is on the menu, don’t fret too much. It should be quite chicken-y and full of corn, peas, and alphabet boogers.

new year's musings

This year ahead feels a bit like a large, unopened package. I cannot guess what it holds, and shaking it tells me nothing. The only smell is that of something new. What I want for the New Year is to dig deeper in my relationship with Jesus, to allow Him to woo me and win me in personal and lasting ways. I want to love Him more than I do. I want to meditate on His word and be still, knowing He is God.

Our holidays were eventful at times and unendingly busy. I have no idea how we arrived at the New Year in one piece, but here we are. In the next few days, I will try to blog and summarize what has been going on at the very least, thus re-entering blog-land.

Our peace to move is still present, but we agreed recently to let the house we were going to build go. That particular peace dissipated slowly as the builder continued to play games and mess with prices (the final tag was painful—funny how they’re having trouble selling those homes now. . .). We will move, be it this year or next, but the details are still unfolding. There are things we want to get a better handle on first, anyway, so we will bide our time quietly. In the meantime, we are trying to remain open to God’s speaking.

In honor of my thirtieth birthday (next week, not this), I am working on a list of things about myself to post. Odd, I can think of things to add when I’m busy during the day, but if I find time to sit down and type, I cannot recall what those things were. My original, self-imposed deadline for that list was today. Ahem. Not very successful, obviously. I wonder if my husband would have insights about me?

And, before I forget—Miss C got her two front teeth for Christmas (one came a few days early, the other a few days late, but at least they finally came!).

For each of you, my blog-friends, may this coming year bring you joy untold.