Tonight I decide to sit and just watch Penelope. She’s digging through her Color Wonder tub mumbling, “Ellow…” and I decide instead of cooking or organizing or cleaning, I would just watch her. After all, she won’t be 21 months and 27 days ever again. She starts to dump the entire tub over, but I become aware enough to screech a sound that brings her to a halt. We make eye contact. She continues digging for a marker until she eventually just dumps everything out. This time I’m not quick Read More
Fluorescent Urine
I'm curling my hair upstairs, getting ready to meet our new Ethiopian church planters when I hear a scream--two screams, actually--so convincing that I'm sure someone's life is about to end. I sprint downstairs, banging into the wall on my way down, only to find a stark-naked Gracie standing in a puddle of bright yellow urine. "I couldn't hode it ANY LONGERW...and the toilet was bwo-ken!" I sigh and walk over to the toilet which is dismantled, but in the 3.47 seconds that I'm away, Penelope Read More
“My Dream Came True…”
This winter Haley and Darcy were severely disappointed with the lack of snow in Northern Virginia. Especially Darcy. Week after week they would ask me, "Is THIS winter?!" and I would have to remind them that yes, in fact, this warm season was all the winter they would be getting. One morning Darcy shared with me that she had wished for pink snow the previous night and had a dream it came true. I laughed and told her that the only time she would ever see PINK SNOW was in her dreams. This Read More
Earthquakes and House-Fires and Bees….Oh MY!
It all started when I read my six year old's writing assignment for Thanksgiving: Tell me something that you're thankful for: A-Z. Most kids would happily write of apples, balloons, cats, and ducks. Not my Haley Jane. Listen to letter A: I am thankful that Aligatrs are not in are howse. Letter B: I am thankful that nuthing Bit me. Fast forward to Letter X: I am thankful I nevr so a fox. Haley is acutely aware of all the traumatic things that could possibly occur in this world, and this Read More
Green Grass
On Tuesday, I was having a funk day. It was probably just fatigue after a jam-packed weekend, but nonetheless, every little chore felt monumental. I was sitting in a exhausted stupor after lunch watching the kids nag each other, depressed that all my training and hard work with them had been in vain. This came after a discouraging day homeschooling as Haley's backwards 5s and Zs almost sent me to the psychiatric ward. So there I was, sitting and thinking about how I needed find a better job Read More
Real live baby doll
I came downstairs to the playroom the other day to find Gracie like this on the floor. Her sisters must have had a fun time playing dress up with her; Gracie just kicks and coos and loves all the attention. Read More
On Freud and Fingers
If you go through all of our pictures, you will notice a pattern: In MOST of them, Darcy has her hands in her mouth and is biting her fingers. I'm not sure why this has developed, but I guess she's never broken out of what Freud called the "oral stage." I have recently tried different techniques to help her fingers (which are now raw and red) to heal. However, with Darcy, you never know what's going to work. (One time in an effort to administer some creative correction, I put pepper on her Read More
A Celebration of Haley Jane
To celebrate the life God has given to Haley Jane, I made a slideshow that documents the last six years. Read More
Pros and Cons of Still Looking Pregnant After You’ve Delivered
CONS 1. It is depressing. 2. Your 4 year old still kisses your stomach and tells the baby hello. 3. Your 5 year old (who is only slightly more logical) asks when the NEXT baby is coming out. 4. You have to avoid eye contact with people in elevators when you see them look down at your belly and then up at you in an attempt to bypass the awkward question, "So...when is your baby due?" PROS 1. People still are kind and patient with you in public because they think you're expecting. 2. In Read More
Dinner with Deb
Since we moved to Iceland, we have tried to invite people over every week to share a meal and get to know eachother. This spring, with going to school every day, getting pregnant, and experimenting with different ways to meet people, we have really been strained. Solution: Our friend Deb is in school learning to be a master chef. She doesn't have a kitchen in her tiny apartment and really loves to experiment with food and cook for friends and family. One day she came over to make lasagna and Read More