Pippa's 5th birthday

My wilder one is 5 today! 

5 years ago we were living with friends in a city we had just moved to and one day I just sat there so sad for my little coming one, no place to put a nursing chair, no one who cares to shower her with welcome. God stopped me in my tracks by bringing to mind Mary the mother of Jesus. No room in the inn. No baby shower, no rocking chair. In fact, she was giving birth next to the animals and had to set the baby in a feed trough because there wasn't even a bed! From then on there was a joyful fierceness in my pregnancy and labor. WE would love her. WE would make room. From the moment she came out, she's been a heralder. Her voice was so strong that the nursing staff couldn't believe her scream wasn't that of a 3-month old! She is a heralder of the Kingdom. She is one who makes room. Happy birthday, you fierce one. Go big.

Pippa had her birthday at home since it was several days after she got a new baby brother. And just the day before we had driven up to DC to get a new van: one that the whole family could fit into. That morning we had a special breakfast with presents and later Miss Christine came over with a CAKE! It was so cool, and she made a special little individual cake with giant sprinkles on it for Pippa to have all to herself.

Funny things Pippa said when she was four:

Silas: “Pippa, you do NOT want to go to hell.”

Pippa: “… Is it a dangerous place?” -May 31

We were learning about jaguarundis, and they watched a little documentary. When Pippa was trying to describe it to me, she said, “we watched the one about the undie leopard!” -May 26

Me: “Don’t color on your skin.”

Pippa: “I’m just making zebra stripes!”

Me: “But that marker is toxic, and can sink into your blood stream.”

Pippa: “I need a wet wipe! SILAS! Did you know, this can get in your SKIN, and take away your BLOOD.” -May 23

Pippa: “The devil is not gonna kill me. Cause he’s in my heart.”

Me: “Who’s in your heart?”
Pippa: “God.”
Me: “Who is the devil?”
Pippa: “He’s the bad devil.”
Me: “Yeah, he’s an angel who turned bad.”
Pippa: “But sometimes tiny angels, they have wings, and they’re good angels.” -May 3

Observing how enthusiastically someone in our church reacted to a testimony, Pippa leans over and whispers to me: “She banged the table. Maybe the police would come and drive her away.” -May 1

Me: “What is candy?”
Pippa: “Candy is when your hands get sticky you have to wash them, and if you eat too much sugar you will get sick.” -April 17

For church one morning, I had dressed Silver (the 18-month-old) practically for the beach–because we are so hot without the AC these days–and then Pippa came out wearing long pants and long sleeves.

Me: “Wouldn’t you rather wear short sleeves?”

Pippa: “No.”

Me: “Well you might get hot at church.”

Pippa: “I WANNA be hot at church!” -July 17

Pippa: “Proboscis monkeys have FOUR stomachs.”

Me: “Wow! Where do they all fit?”

Pippa: “One at the bottom, …and one… at the top, …and one on the side.” -July 10

Pippa: “I want to eat ALL the cherries, so I’d be a GROWNUP!” -June 28 

Pippa: “Mama? Some animals could be extinct.”

Me: “Mhm. What does that mean?”

Pippa: ” It means they be dead. Or they are already eaten.” -July 7

Pippa: “Mama? Rhubarb is a sour leaf in the world. Cause I love it.” -June 28

Silas: “Parrots don’t live in Virginia. Or toucans. Or peacocks.” 

Pippa: “Or dingoes. No way.” -June 28

Pippa: “Mama–FEE-lions means CATS!” -June 26

Pippa (4) learned how to pronounce girl the right way! She has been saying “GORE” for girl ever since she learned how to speak! We kept teasing her, saying, “No, it’s gore!”

Pippa: “No, it’s not, it’s girl!”

Me: “Who told you? Who taught you about girls?”

Pippa, without missing a beat: “God.” -June 7

Pippa, age 4: “GUYS! Whoever cleans up this room, will get CORN, in a BOWL, in the LIVING ROOM!”

Hmmm…. tempting. -Aug. 5

Me: “Pippa, could you bring me that charger? My phone needs to be charged.”
Pippa: “But what percent is it at?”

Unmmm… Since when do 4-year- olds deal in percents?!?? -Aug. 6

Pippa: “Mom, GUESS how long the flood was in Noah’s Ark?”

Me: “How long?”

Pippa: “Fortylong DAYS.”  -Aug. 21

Pippa, on the first morning in late summer that it was actually cool outside: “Hey! Now we have an air conditioner! ~ Outside!” ~Aug. 27

Me: “You have to talk to him nicely.”
Pippa: “I don’t know about that.” (LOL. She meant “I don’t know anything about that.” Which may or may not be true.) -Aug. 30

Pippa, age 4: “Mom, when I get big, I’ll be a grown-up and you’ll be a grown-up, and then we’ll have two moms.” -Sept. 15

Pippa: “Why do they put the seeds in the bell peppers in Trader Joes?” -Sept. 16

Pippa, 4: “I know why it’s illegal to drink in the car, mom. Cause when you drink, it really makes you go pee in the car, and that’s why it’s illegal.” -Dec. 17

Pippa licked all the frosting off all the cake today, painted her own nails, and scattered Candyland all over the floor. All before 8:30 AM. I love that child fiercely. – Dec. 21

Pippa: “When is the world gonna end?”
Me: “Nobody knows but God.”
Silas, age 6: “I know. When the WAR ends. You know which war? The war of history, World War Two, and the Civil War.” ~December 2016 

On the way over, Pippa explained to me why it was so cold today. “It’s cause all the DIRTY wind is coming from here, and the CLEAN wind is pushing it back.” -Dec. 15

Pippa, to Silver, “Stop it, you’re NERVOUSING me!!!”  -Nov. 22

“Do you know what twice means? Two times. Do you know what thrice means? Super fast.” -Pippa Nov. 23

Pippa praying for the food: “I pray this food would make us big and strong, and that volcanoes wouldn’t explode or that the devil wouldn’t be bad, Amen.” -Nov. 14

Pippa: “Sparrow! Someone tooted!”

Sparrow: “Oh. Is that so. How do you know?”

Pippa: Because I smelled tootish stuff. And stinky stuff.” ~Nov. 1

Silas: “I can’t wait for Halloween AND Christmas!”
Pippa: “Yeah, AND the dentist!!!” -Oct. 25

Pippa: “Mom? I had my alone time on the trash can today.” 

Me: “Oh yeah? What were you doing on the trash can?”

Pippa: “Trying to kill my pumpkin.”  ~Oct. 21

Pippa, 4, talking at 100 miles an hour, “I PUT stuff under my pillow, and then when I wake up, every time, and check, it keeps DISSING appear!” -Oct. 16

Golden (age 8), breaking into tears because she accidentally let our as yet un-spayed cat outside after dark.
Pippa, saltily, “Hope she hasn’t gone out MATING!”
Indeed, child. Indeed. ~Oct. 16

Pippa, age 4: “The light is so pretty right now, it looks like God.” -Oct. 12

Silver's days

Fall 2017

Silver has been trained to hold hands in a parking lot. She is so good about it now, that she will stop still in the median or at the sidewalk and start shrieking and/ or crying, "I need someone to hold my hand!" The other week we were at Assateague Island and we stopped at a nearly deserted parking lot to see the beauty of the marshlands before dark. There was no movement in the parking lot at all. Silver, concerned, said, "I need someone to hold my hand! I don't wanna get DIED in the road!"

Last week she also called herself a baby "ginoceros." (rhymes with rhinoceros, soft g at the beginning.) Haha! That child!

11/26 we went to a Christmas tree lighting event and Silver went to sit on Santa's lap. I didn't even get to see her! I was in another line with someone else an asked Sparrow to take her down to see Santa, since it was one of the only other booths set up at the time, and hey--she might like it. None of my other kids ever wanted to sit on Santa's lap, but perhaps she was not yet corrupted by their cynicism. Sure enough, Sparrow went through the line with her and they went through all the way before I was done waiting in my line! All I got of the event later was a few pictures taken by Sparrow and Silver's comments about it. "I sat on Santa's lap. And he was a nice Santa. But on the TV there is a mad santa." Oh, but this one is nice? "Yah. He told me about the caterpillar mouse." You told him you wanted a caterpillar mouse for Christmas? "Yah."