Sp. "I figured out how to spell 'twice!' T-Y-S-S!" -apr. 2
Sp: "I wanna be a gymnastics teacher when i grow up...no, i wanna teach ballet...no, i wanna be one of those people that cooks the food at McDonald's!" -apr. 5
Sp: "are we going to california on the day after two days, or on the two-th day?" -apr. 7
Sp: "one day, when we were in california, and you were getting ready for the day, and you were polishing your eyes, we were listening to this cd with you." -apr. 7
G: "I saw a polm tree at california!" -apr. 10
Sp: "It's so amazing that God put Santa Barbara so close to Oxnard! He should do that with every country." -apr. 12
G: "Mom! i found ALL of the flowers in the world!" (when we were driving past a hill with a bunch of yellow flowers on it) -apr. 12
G: "the rain was dripping down my sadness." -apr. 12
G: "I don't wanna get bloody fingers on my hands." -apr. 12
Sp: "tomorrow, the first thing i'm gonna do is something that pleases God. I'm gonna pray." -apr. 18
Sp: "Since I said that last night, i'm gonna do a serious prayer. dear God, i pray for the slubs in india, that they would have food, and clothes, and a house, and money. and thank you that we have food, and clothes, and a house, and money. and thank you for this sweet little baby. and thank you that i don't have to live all by myself. amen." -apr. 19
Sp: "We were pretending like this man-statue is our daddy!" -apr. 19
G: "last time it was raining, i fell in the waterproof." - apr. 22
G: "oh, i think i felt some sprinkles on my stickers." -apr. 22
G. making up a song in the car: "bright and shiny as the moon, go to sleep in my dreams..." -apr. 24
Silas learned to crawl on Easter! (apr. 24)
G: "Hey, Auntie Easter! i'm going really high!" (auntie Esther) -apr. 26
G: "Goodnight! see you in a half!" -apr. 28
Friday, May 6, 2011
Thursday, May 5, 2011
Reflections on a magical vacation
yes. yes. yes. i am going to detail our vacation chronologically--of course! can i ever get away from the chronological format without feeling that some meaningful detail of *the way things were* will be lost? but tonight, as i sit in this very quiet house in this very quiet. large, oceanless desert, i have--sentiments. i strangely am feeling a lot about my car. almost as if it had been a faithful dog. and i say "had been" because... it is dead. yes, that's all part of the story. you don't get to hear that til the end. so tozer (the car) is fried, sitting in some auto mechanic's shop in santa barbara, never to be seen again, and here i am. visions of the sea, lingering memories of jasmine scented days are my companions. i. miss. california. i *know* it's just a passing thing, that one generally gets a hollow feeling upon returning home from a fun sleepover or exciting travel, but... for tonight, i'm just gonna let myself feel that, be ok with missing it.
i am overwhelmed with gratitude about how the whole trip unfolded--i felt God's grace strong upon us through the whole journey--from the day that we left under cool cloud cover, to even the day the engine died and we coasted straight into a perfect, shady little parking spot! the whole trip, God provided. I felt "sent" and was soooooooo excited to participate in church on the coastlands!!! i knew right off the bat that the trip was a good idea, that it did not have to be expensive, and that it wasn't just going to be a "sitting around" vacation. it was a purposeful one, and i was happy to jump in. but when God sends you to the most beautiful place on earth, well... i guess it's ok to feel a little forlorn when the whirlwind has dropped you back in tucson.
next day--God's goodness is so overwhelming. thomas was perfectly fine on his antibiotics and is now scheduled for minor surgery to remove all traces of the cyst. even now we already have a prospective new used VAN that is available to us for free--we only need to fix it up. i had told mike and dia when we said goodbye to them on tuesday in oxnard--"i guess the car breaking down was God's way of telling us to spend the tax return money on a van!"
truly, this kind of situation is the only time we could ever take any semblance of a "vacation," so it is amazing that it was so refreshing and everything clicked. even in unimportant things: i had really been thinking about taking sparrow to disneyland, but in the end i wrote in my journal. "i have decided not to go to disneyland unless someone gives me money specifically for that." i could not justify spending the money, especially cause my children are still so young and can't go on a lot of the rides. and also because people had been helping us out during thomas' loss of work due to his illness, i could bring myself to go to disneyland and basically say--"thanks! here's how we spent your money!" so, you ask, did anyone give me money specifically for DL? no. we skipped the middle man and just got free tickets! thanks, holly tuggy! what a blast. that was the icing on the cake, and my children LOVED it, even silas.
there were a few times when thought, "yes, i'll be ready to go home. mostly when i noticed my children were getting untrained and out of control. and was i ready? ...no. i could have stayed. but here is the word that the Lord gave me this morning!
"...having confessed that they were strangers and exiles on the earth. for those who say such things make it clear that they are seeking a country of their own. and indeed if they had been thinking of that country from which they went out, they would have had opportunity to return. but as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. therefore, God is not ashamed to be called their God; for He has prepared a city for them." Heb. 11:13b-14
AMEN! I AM A STRANGER AND AN EXILE ON THE EARTH!
i am overwhelmed with gratitude about how the whole trip unfolded--i felt God's grace strong upon us through the whole journey--from the day that we left under cool cloud cover, to even the day the engine died and we coasted straight into a perfect, shady little parking spot! the whole trip, God provided. I felt "sent" and was soooooooo excited to participate in church on the coastlands!!! i knew right off the bat that the trip was a good idea, that it did not have to be expensive, and that it wasn't just going to be a "sitting around" vacation. it was a purposeful one, and i was happy to jump in. but when God sends you to the most beautiful place on earth, well... i guess it's ok to feel a little forlorn when the whirlwind has dropped you back in tucson.
next day--God's goodness is so overwhelming. thomas was perfectly fine on his antibiotics and is now scheduled for minor surgery to remove all traces of the cyst. even now we already have a prospective new used VAN that is available to us for free--we only need to fix it up. i had told mike and dia when we said goodbye to them on tuesday in oxnard--"i guess the car breaking down was God's way of telling us to spend the tax return money on a van!"
truly, this kind of situation is the only time we could ever take any semblance of a "vacation," so it is amazing that it was so refreshing and everything clicked. even in unimportant things: i had really been thinking about taking sparrow to disneyland, but in the end i wrote in my journal. "i have decided not to go to disneyland unless someone gives me money specifically for that." i could not justify spending the money, especially cause my children are still so young and can't go on a lot of the rides. and also because people had been helping us out during thomas' loss of work due to his illness, i could bring myself to go to disneyland and basically say--"thanks! here's how we spent your money!" so, you ask, did anyone give me money specifically for DL? no. we skipped the middle man and just got free tickets! thanks, holly tuggy! what a blast. that was the icing on the cake, and my children LOVED it, even silas.
there were a few times when thought, "yes, i'll be ready to go home. mostly when i noticed my children were getting untrained and out of control. and was i ready? ...no. i could have stayed. but here is the word that the Lord gave me this morning!
"...having confessed that they were strangers and exiles on the earth. for those who say such things make it clear that they are seeking a country of their own. and indeed if they had been thinking of that country from which they went out, they would have had opportunity to return. but as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. therefore, God is not ashamed to be called their God; for He has prepared a city for them." Heb. 11:13b-14
AMEN! I AM A STRANGER AND AN EXILE ON THE EARTH!
Thursday, March 31, 2011
February/March Speak
FIND US ON TWITTER! i created a whole account dedicated to my children's musings. so fun! it's under twitter.com/chattyolives.
S: "the other town was starving, but we're even starvier." -feb. 1st
G (singing): "black sheep, black sheep, have you any wool, yessir, yessir, three bags full. one for the miss, had a great kiss..." -feb. 8
G: "Posterman" (postman!) -feb.8
G (praying): "thank you for mommy, and Jesus of the Lord, and baby, and basket and flower and hippopotamus and leaf and skirt. amen. and for mommy and daddy. amen." -feb. 8
G: "when jacob was running away from esau, daddy went to the office to read the Bible." -feb. 13
S: "it would be sad, if somebody would trade husbands with you, and then somebody would think that thomas was a not-obeying-God man." -feb. 16 (where do they get this stuff?)
G & S (singing): "I've got the love of Jesus in my mouth!" feb. 16
G: "i need to wipe my hand fart." (trying to say "hand first.")
S: "she said 'hand-fart!' can i have a hand fart?" -feb. 16
S: "mom, remember when you used to say, 'he who does not work has to eat gravel.'?" -feb. 19 (i never said that! i said, 'he who does not work does not eat!')
S: "i wanna write a story about a girl named... party heart." -feb. 19
G: "i was crying, and i was making the noisest." -feb. 24
G: "i don't want to pee on your hair, pecause...i don't want to." -feb. 27 (when i leaned over her while she was going, she could feel my hair on her back and was getting concerned.)
(me joking around with S): "someday i'm gonna be ooolllld and decrepit, and you're gonna have to take care of me!"
S: "...and then you're gonna die when you're for--...six--...one-ninety-hundred!"
me: "ha! thank you for not saying forty!" -march 8
(going to a big resale at church)
G: "we're going to the sale-boat!" -march 11
(i put sunscreen on G)
G: "i got my sunflower screen." -march 11
G: "i wanna go to da coffee shopping." -all the time!
G (quoting her "jesus storybook Bible" CD): "never stopping, never getting up (giving up!), unbreaking, always and for... love." -march 12
S: "how will his crackers get soft?"
me: "because things get softer by the licking them."
S: "can daddy's drum get softer by me licking it?" -march 13
S: "so each of the things have two roles. beans are more cheap but i don't like them the most. and avocados are not as cheap, but i like them more." -march 13
S: "Daddy's gonna be stoked that me and G got spoiled. he's gonna be SO stoked!" -march 16
G: "Jesus was fighting about God, and then Jericho was sleeping in the manger." -march 16
G--current sayings
"hoosannna"
"it's almost valentime!"
(when she is "reading" the Bible): "and the Lord told moses, 'send your best soldier to fight me'..."
G: "bye, mama! i hafta go rescue. i'm going to go rescue myself." -march 24
S: "we can plant a BUNCH of flowers in our little garden, and then we can pick some! we can pick some for our friends, and we can pick some for the slums in india." -march 21
S: "i'm gonna [retend to give you a present, and it's ginna be an empty box, and when you open it you will say, 'nothing's in here!' and i'm gonna say, 'it's a box of relief and a box of faith." (so needed that at that moment!) -march 21
S: "I got out of her belly! I cut a hole into her belly! cause i got a knife and a machete and some scissors and a fork." (what? you lost me at the fork!) -march 27
S: "mommy, i'm so excited to be a grown-up."
me: "oh yeah? what's gonna be your favorite thing about being a grown-up, do you think?"
S: "um...i think my favorite thing is going to be...i get to make dinner, and take care of children."
me: "you're going to be such a good mommy."
S: "...and i don't even care what my hair is gonna look like! ...or what my children's hair is gonna look like!" (that's a big deal for her--haha!) -march 31
G: "i was born in your belly."
S: "yeah. i was born in your belly, and G was born in my belly." -march 31
S: "the other town was starving, but we're even starvier." -feb. 1st
G (singing): "black sheep, black sheep, have you any wool, yessir, yessir, three bags full. one for the miss, had a great kiss..." -feb. 8
G: "Posterman" (postman!) -feb.8
G (praying): "thank you for mommy, and Jesus of the Lord, and baby, and basket and flower and hippopotamus and leaf and skirt. amen. and for mommy and daddy. amen." -feb. 8
G: "when jacob was running away from esau, daddy went to the office to read the Bible." -feb. 13
S: "it would be sad, if somebody would trade husbands with you, and then somebody would think that thomas was a not-obeying-God man." -feb. 16 (where do they get this stuff?)
G & S (singing): "I've got the love of Jesus in my mouth!" feb. 16
G: "i need to wipe my hand fart." (trying to say "hand first.")
S: "she said 'hand-fart!' can i have a hand fart?" -feb. 16
S: "mom, remember when you used to say, 'he who does not work has to eat gravel.'?" -feb. 19 (i never said that! i said, 'he who does not work does not eat!')
S: "i wanna write a story about a girl named... party heart." -feb. 19
G: "i was crying, and i was making the noisest." -feb. 24
G: "i don't want to pee on your hair, pecause...i don't want to." -feb. 27 (when i leaned over her while she was going, she could feel my hair on her back and was getting concerned.)
(me joking around with S): "someday i'm gonna be ooolllld and decrepit, and you're gonna have to take care of me!"
S: "...and then you're gonna die when you're for--...six--...one-ninety-hundred!"
me: "ha! thank you for not saying forty!" -march 8
(going to a big resale at church)
G: "we're going to the sale-boat!" -march 11
(i put sunscreen on G)
G: "i got my sunflower screen." -march 11
G: "i wanna go to da coffee shopping." -all the time!
G (quoting her "jesus storybook Bible" CD): "never stopping, never getting up (giving up!), unbreaking, always and for... love." -march 12
S: "how will his crackers get soft?"
me: "because things get softer by the licking them."
S: "can daddy's drum get softer by me licking it?" -march 13
S: "so each of the things have two roles. beans are more cheap but i don't like them the most. and avocados are not as cheap, but i like them more." -march 13
S: "Daddy's gonna be stoked that me and G got spoiled. he's gonna be SO stoked!" -march 16
G: "Jesus was fighting about God, and then Jericho was sleeping in the manger." -march 16
G--current sayings
"hoosannna"
"it's almost valentime!"
(when she is "reading" the Bible): "and the Lord told moses, 'send your best soldier to fight me'..."
G: "bye, mama! i hafta go rescue. i'm going to go rescue myself." -march 24
S: "we can plant a BUNCH of flowers in our little garden, and then we can pick some! we can pick some for our friends, and we can pick some for the slums in india." -march 21
S: "i'm gonna [retend to give you a present, and it's ginna be an empty box, and when you open it you will say, 'nothing's in here!' and i'm gonna say, 'it's a box of relief and a box of faith." (so needed that at that moment!) -march 21
S: "I got out of her belly! I cut a hole into her belly! cause i got a knife and a machete and some scissors and a fork." (what? you lost me at the fork!) -march 27
S: "mommy, i'm so excited to be a grown-up."
me: "oh yeah? what's gonna be your favorite thing about being a grown-up, do you think?"
S: "um...i think my favorite thing is going to be...i get to make dinner, and take care of children."
me: "you're going to be such a good mommy."
S: "...and i don't even care what my hair is gonna look like! ...or what my children's hair is gonna look like!" (that's a big deal for her--haha!) -march 31
G: "i was born in your belly."
S: "yeah. i was born in your belly, and G was born in my belly." -march 31
Monday, March 7, 2011
why i love missionaries
since coming back to AZ to live among wycliffe Bible translators, I have been reminded of just how much I love missionaries. love. they really have a culture of their own, out here, and i'll wager than any missionary has a bit of that same flair marking his/ her life.what is it? it's basically a deep-seated knowledge about the things that matter. the most. a despising of pretenses. all mingled with a great frugality. we don't mind being a little ghetto. ghetto can be a big money saver. and why spend a lot of money just to make your curtains match your carpet and your dishes match...each other, when there are people in the world whose life consists of adobe huts with dirt floors and holey tin roofs--and who are none the sadder for it?
One of my fist big "culture shock" moments--culture shock of stepping out of the missionary culture and into normal american society, that is--came within my first couple of months at Colorado Christian University. My dad had given me a car to drive around when I needed to in high school, and he let me take it to college! Now this thing was manufactured when i was about 4 years old, and had not seen cushy days lately. when we had left it with renters during my 1st year of high school, it somehow got an enormous dent in the side, which of course we had never spent the money to fix--that would be a waste, when the car still ran fine! the thing was pretty hearty and drove well, but was hard to shift, hard to steer, was covered in bumper stickers, had problems with the window, and was just well-used. I remember talking to a few friends on this particular day, when I mentioned one of the problems with my car and said, "I need to get a new car." One of my friends, without missing a beat, said, "you need to get a car." ouch! i couldn't figure out why this comment surprised me so much, but now I know. Americans like Nice Stuff. Missionaries like Stuff That Works. I was thankful I had a vehicle at all, and didn't see why she had to be a snob about it! So here is my tribute--why I love missionaries:
-if you try to brew them a second cup of tea and they notice you've thrown the 1st tea bag in the trash, they come over and pick it out to use again! (ok, some might not, but this has happened in my kitchen.)
-they nonchalantly feed their one-yr-old a piece of cookie that has fallen to the ground--yes, even in front of other people
-they nonchalantly feed their one-yr-old a piece of cookie off someone else's plate after it's been abandoned
-they love hand-me-downs and think of receiving them as practical instead of embarrassing
-they don't have to have their toenails painted all the time
-once you've known them, you always feel like you still know them, no matter how long you've been away
-they are completely comfortable talking to strangers.
-they find it more interesting to sit and talk than to watch TV or movies--and they invent all kinds of creative games like "throw the steak knife on the lawn and see if it sticks"
-if the only available pair of flip flops is 3 sizes too big, they'll take them anyway and just cut off the heels
Writing this blog reminded me of this awesome list some MK's put together awhile back: "You Know You're an MK When..." Check it out! Especially numbers 1, 3, 4, 9, 13, 31, 35, 37, 40, 45, 66, 72, 74, 80, 88, 90, 95, 101, 104, 111, 112, 117, 121, 123, 125, 135, 137, 138, 140, and 141. (ok, that's like all of them! LOL!)
One of my fist big "culture shock" moments--culture shock of stepping out of the missionary culture and into normal american society, that is--came within my first couple of months at Colorado Christian University. My dad had given me a car to drive around when I needed to in high school, and he let me take it to college! Now this thing was manufactured when i was about 4 years old, and had not seen cushy days lately. when we had left it with renters during my 1st year of high school, it somehow got an enormous dent in the side, which of course we had never spent the money to fix--that would be a waste, when the car still ran fine! the thing was pretty hearty and drove well, but was hard to shift, hard to steer, was covered in bumper stickers, had problems with the window, and was just well-used. I remember talking to a few friends on this particular day, when I mentioned one of the problems with my car and said, "I need to get a new car." One of my friends, without missing a beat, said, "you need to get a car." ouch! i couldn't figure out why this comment surprised me so much, but now I know. Americans like Nice Stuff. Missionaries like Stuff That Works. I was thankful I had a vehicle at all, and didn't see why she had to be a snob about it! So here is my tribute--why I love missionaries:
-if you try to brew them a second cup of tea and they notice you've thrown the 1st tea bag in the trash, they come over and pick it out to use again! (ok, some might not, but this has happened in my kitchen.)
-they nonchalantly feed their one-yr-old a piece of cookie that has fallen to the ground--yes, even in front of other people
-they nonchalantly feed their one-yr-old a piece of cookie off someone else's plate after it's been abandoned
-they love hand-me-downs and think of receiving them as practical instead of embarrassing
-they don't have to have their toenails painted all the time
-once you've known them, you always feel like you still know them, no matter how long you've been away
-they are completely comfortable talking to strangers.
-they find it more interesting to sit and talk than to watch TV or movies--and they invent all kinds of creative games like "throw the steak knife on the lawn and see if it sticks"
-if the only available pair of flip flops is 3 sizes too big, they'll take them anyway and just cut off the heels
Writing this blog reminded me of this awesome list some MK's put together awhile back: "You Know You're an MK When..." Check it out! Especially numbers 1, 3, 4, 9, 13, 31, 35, 37, 40, 45, 66, 72, 74, 80, 88, 90, 95, 101, 104, 111, 112, 117, 121, 123, 125, 135, 137, 138, 140, and 141. (ok, that's like all of them! LOL!)
Wednesday, February 16, 2011
Opa and Oma
It is a blessed house indeed that has three generations under one roof! After several days' delay due to snow storms in New York, my dad and his wife Charlotte arrived at our home about a week and a half ago. What fun! It is such a wonderful thing that the children are making connections with an older generation, that they are learning more about their roots, and of course, that they have their very own grandpa and grandma to play with! i could not have asked for a better stepmother. God truly brought her to my dad in an amazing way as he was retiring to Germany from a lifetime in the mission field. She is also a former missionary from Peru, and spunky, and warm, and practical and lovely... and loves coffee, so of course we can connect!
I have been so spoiled to have someone always available these last few days to hold Silas while I make dinner, and the children are simply radiant about their Oma and Opa. (Though Golden does often get confused about which to call what! We hear frequent prayers of thanks for "Opa Lotti" and "Oma Wolfram," for example.) They are just such a wonderful presence, I wish we could keep them. My dad goes to Mexico for five days tomorrow to take part in the New Testament Presentation celebration: the people of our village, Santo Domingo, will at last have a complete New Testament available in their own language! This was my dad's life work, and I am so proud of him. Then we will get him back for another almost-three weeks and we will drink up every moment! In the meantime, Charlotte will teach me the recorder and reading music. Can you believe they went downtown today to buy Sparrow (they call her "Bella," her middle name) a birthday present of a real three-piece recorder?! Her first official instrument, and she can begin learning it as soon as she receives it, it is a perfect first instrument; simple and beautiful. and so German!
I have been so spoiled to have someone always available these last few days to hold Silas while I make dinner, and the children are simply radiant about their Oma and Opa. (Though Golden does often get confused about which to call what! We hear frequent prayers of thanks for "Opa Lotti" and "Oma Wolfram," for example.) They are just such a wonderful presence, I wish we could keep them. My dad goes to Mexico for five days tomorrow to take part in the New Testament Presentation celebration: the people of our village, Santo Domingo, will at last have a complete New Testament available in their own language! This was my dad's life work, and I am so proud of him. Then we will get him back for another almost-three weeks and we will drink up every moment! In the meantime, Charlotte will teach me the recorder and reading music. Can you believe they went downtown today to buy Sparrow (they call her "Bella," her middle name) a birthday present of a real three-piece recorder?! Her first official instrument, and she can begin learning it as soon as she receives it, it is a perfect first instrument; simple and beautiful. and so German!
Monday, February 7, 2011
Jovial January
Sp: "Mama, your teeth are so white. They are white like a bride dress." - Jan. 2
(In the Trader Joe's bathroom)
G: "Does it smell like poopie, Mama?"
me: "Yes."
G: "Does it smell like boy poopie, Mama?"
(I was hoping not, since the boy bathroom was the one we were about to enter!)
-Jan. 2
Sp: "She says 'cup-a-TAI.'" (referring to 'My Fair Lady.') -Jan. 2nd
Sparrow after coming home from a procedure at the dentist, with a shy look on her:
"I shink I heard the doctor shay that I was sh'posed to have shome ice cream." -Jan. 4
G: "When you were little, you got da TV stuck in the water sprout." -Jan. 4
G: "I'll read da Bible. 'Once in a time, there was God.'" -Jan. 4
Sparrow and Golden playing Jacob's wives:
Sp: "I'll be the one who people think she's ugly." -Jan. 5th
Deep thoughts by Golden:
G: "Mom?"
me: "Yes?"
G: "Why don't da tree fall over me?"
me: "Because God gave trees roots that go deep into the ground and make the tree stand straight and strong."
(pause)
G: "Mom?"
me: "Yes?"
G: "Why don't David break in pieces over me?"
me: "Because God gave David bones in his body that hold him all together so he doesn't break in pieces."
(pause)
G: "Mom?"
me: "Yes?"
G: "I'm hungry."
-Jan. 8
me: "Don't hang on the stroller, Sparrow."
Sp: "Why?"
me: "Because I can't push it with Golden in it and you hanging on it and hold the baby. That's why God gave you your own two legs."
Sp: "...I think I need a third."
-Jan. 8
Sparrow's dreams:
"My dream was: First we went to Phoenix with Holly Tuggy and there were a bunch of ducks quacking around, and one of them was really excited to look at something and then it just died. And then we met an old man and he thought something was funny in his garage, and he thought it was rreeeeeeeaaaaaalllly funny, and then there were a bunch of fish in the toilet, and they were white fish, and when you flushed it, they still came back up. And there were a lot of moths in the hallway and they looked like they were made of play-doh. And Julia was there. And then we went back home and there was a butterfly in the water spout, and it flew away, and then I caught it and put it in the water spout again, and it came back out, so I caught it and put it in the water spout again, and it came back out, and then I caught it again and put it in the water spout again." -Jan. 9th
"In my dream last night we went to that place where Uncle went, and when we were there we were playing in the snow and eating pictures of Golden." -Jan. 10th
Golden, seeing me get out the Bible, says suddenly, "Whoa, Jesus!" -Jan. 10th
Sp: "Whoa, Guggies, you absolutely fell over, Guggies!" (playing with Silas) -Jan. 10th
G: "We went to walk! And rice for dinner and I drank wine, and... more wine, and... Look at that Christmas tree!" (telling Daddy about her day over the phone.) -Jan. 15
I made cinnamon rolls. Golden said to me, sincerely,
"Thank you, bringing frosting food." -Jan. 16
G: "I wanna sleep in your bed pecause I wanna sleep in your bed." -Jan. 16
G: "I was playing with my sand castle pecause I was playing with my shovel, and then I was afraid of the piggies." (javelinas) -Jan. 17
G: "Do gorillas eat people at dance class?" -Jan. 20
G: "Can David live at dance class?" -Jan. 20
G: "I just bumped the floor pecause pecause I bumped my bottom pecause I grabbed Uncle's picture pecause I fell down right there." -Jan. 21
G: "Here's your coffee, Sparrow. It has caffeine and sugar and xylitol and milk." -Jan. 21
G: "Thank you for bringing new books for Christmas." (We had gotten some new ones at the library that day.) -Jan. 22
G: "Look at dat! Issa flower-washin-ma-hand!" -Jan. 22
Golden is saying the most wonderful words of her own imaginings these days, to include such lovely hybrids as:
-water sprout
-bumpely
-jumpoline
-xylitone
S: (concerned) "That carrot went right into my bone, instead of to the curly whirly thing under my tummy."
- Jan. 23
Golden, singing a little song to herself:
"Up to California, up to California!" -Jan. 23
(Concerned about getting older)
Sp: "But I don't wanna leave Golden behind!" -Jan. 24
me: "When you're five, you can sit in back without a booster."
Sp: "OK, but can I sit in the front when i'm 38?" -Jan. 24
G: "Iss time for wake-upping!" -Jan. 26
Sp: "you go to sleep, baby. I'll stay up all night and watch out for robins." (robbers!) -Jan. 26
G: "Das a merdmaid!"
turns Starbucks cup all the way around, and says, amazed:
"Das another merdmaid!" -Jan. 26
G: "Iss like a plie, pecause its bottom is so big, like a fish." (and for some reason she was talking about the moon!) -Jan. 27
Sp: "I asked her to look at my stick, and she just looked at it really fast and didn't even say anything to my stick!" (disappointed that some person we met along our walk would not even address her precious walking stick...) -Jan. 27
(Eating English muffins:)
Sp: "Mine is an Irish muffin and yours is a Chinese muffin." -Jan. 27
(Playing pretend food)
Sp: "Mine is lollipop-chocolate-cookie-sugar-blueberry-watermelon-strawberry kind." -Jan. 28
Golden's comments on "Maisy's Big Book of Words"
(In the Trader Joe's bathroom)
G: "Does it smell like poopie, Mama?"
me: "Yes."
G: "Does it smell like boy poopie, Mama?"
(I was hoping not, since the boy bathroom was the one we were about to enter!)
-Jan. 2
Sp: "She says 'cup-a-TAI.'" (referring to 'My Fair Lady.') -Jan. 2nd
Sparrow after coming home from a procedure at the dentist, with a shy look on her:
"I shink I heard the doctor shay that I was sh'posed to have shome ice cream." -Jan. 4
G: "When you were little, you got da TV stuck in the water sprout." -Jan. 4
G: "I'll read da Bible. 'Once in a time, there was God.'" -Jan. 4
Sparrow and Golden playing Jacob's wives:
Sp: "I'll be the one who people think she's ugly." -Jan. 5th
Deep thoughts by Golden:
G: "Mom?"
me: "Yes?"
G: "Why don't da tree fall over me?"
me: "Because God gave trees roots that go deep into the ground and make the tree stand straight and strong."
(pause)
G: "Mom?"
me: "Yes?"
G: "Why don't David break in pieces over me?"
me: "Because God gave David bones in his body that hold him all together so he doesn't break in pieces."
(pause)
G: "Mom?"
me: "Yes?"
G: "I'm hungry."
-Jan. 8
me: "Don't hang on the stroller, Sparrow."
Sp: "Why?"
me: "Because I can't push it with Golden in it and you hanging on it and hold the baby. That's why God gave you your own two legs."
Sp: "...I think I need a third."
-Jan. 8
Sparrow's dreams:
"My dream was: First we went to Phoenix with Holly Tuggy and there were a bunch of ducks quacking around, and one of them was really excited to look at something and then it just died. And then we met an old man and he thought something was funny in his garage, and he thought it was rreeeeeeeaaaaaalllly funny, and then there were a bunch of fish in the toilet, and they were white fish, and when you flushed it, they still came back up. And there were a lot of moths in the hallway and they looked like they were made of play-doh. And Julia was there. And then we went back home and there was a butterfly in the water spout, and it flew away, and then I caught it and put it in the water spout again, and it came back out, so I caught it and put it in the water spout again, and it came back out, and then I caught it again and put it in the water spout again." -Jan. 9th
"In my dream last night we went to that place where Uncle went, and when we were there we were playing in the snow and eating pictures of Golden." -Jan. 10th
Golden, seeing me get out the Bible, says suddenly, "Whoa, Jesus!" -Jan. 10th
Sp: "Whoa, Guggies, you absolutely fell over, Guggies!" (playing with Silas) -Jan. 10th
G: "We went to walk! And rice for dinner and I drank wine, and... more wine, and... Look at that Christmas tree!" (telling Daddy about her day over the phone.) -Jan. 15
I made cinnamon rolls. Golden said to me, sincerely,
"Thank you, bringing frosting food." -Jan. 16
G: "I wanna sleep in your bed pecause I wanna sleep in your bed." -Jan. 16
G: "I was playing with my sand castle pecause I was playing with my shovel, and then I was afraid of the piggies." (javelinas) -Jan. 17
G: "Do gorillas eat people at dance class?" -Jan. 20
G: "Can David live at dance class?" -Jan. 20
G: "I just bumped the floor pecause pecause I bumped my bottom pecause I grabbed Uncle's picture pecause I fell down right there." -Jan. 21
G: "Here's your coffee, Sparrow. It has caffeine and sugar and xylitol and milk." -Jan. 21
G: "Thank you for bringing new books for Christmas." (We had gotten some new ones at the library that day.) -Jan. 22
G: "Look at dat! Issa flower-washin-ma-hand!" -Jan. 22
Golden is saying the most wonderful words of her own imaginings these days, to include such lovely hybrids as:
-water sprout
-bumpely
-jumpoline
-xylitone
S: (concerned) "That carrot went right into my bone, instead of to the curly whirly thing under my tummy."
- Jan. 23
Golden, singing a little song to herself:
"Up to California, up to California!" -Jan. 23
(Concerned about getting older)
Sp: "But I don't wanna leave Golden behind!" -Jan. 24
me: "When you're five, you can sit in back without a booster."
Sp: "OK, but can I sit in the front when i'm 38?" -Jan. 24
G: "Iss time for wake-upping!" -Jan. 26
Sp: "you go to sleep, baby. I'll stay up all night and watch out for robins." (robbers!) -Jan. 26
G: "Das a merdmaid!"
turns Starbucks cup all the way around, and says, amazed:
"Das another merdmaid!" -Jan. 26
G: "Iss like a plie, pecause its bottom is so big, like a fish." (and for some reason she was talking about the moon!) -Jan. 27
Sp: "I asked her to look at my stick, and she just looked at it really fast and didn't even say anything to my stick!" (disappointed that some person we met along our walk would not even address her precious walking stick...) -Jan. 27
(Eating English muffins:)
Sp: "Mine is an Irish muffin and yours is a Chinese muffin." -Jan. 27
(Playing pretend food)
Sp: "Mine is lollipop-chocolate-cookie-sugar-blueberry-watermelon-strawberry kind." -Jan. 28
Golden's comments on "Maisy's Big Book of Words"
Friday, February 4, 2011
a joy they will know
Today marked 14 years since my mother's arrival in heaven. Now here they are, her treasures, her CROWN, her little wriggly, laugh-outloud, full-of-questions, bursting-with-energy grandchildren: how will they know her? They cannot know the warmth of her smile, the sound of her singing, the accent she would use to encourage them, the feel of her sun-kissed arms. But they will know her. Her legacy. Her story. Her words. We will talk about her. We will look forward to seeing her someday. We will remember how much of her is in me, in them. We will keep her close.
I chose to celebrate her life by simply being joyful today. As she was! Ready to smile, filled with the joy of the Lord. We lit a candle in her memory at every meal, and at dinner time we sang. Songs she loved, and with her German accent!
All too often I default to being on edge, irritated. Today, remembering the fragility of life and the importance of a mother's impact, it was a little easier to stop and think--wait, why am i NOT smiling? is there any reason not to smile? So I smiled in her honor all the day. My children seemed more sweet to me, my patience stretched further, and I put on my garments of praise. To do what God has commanded, I honor my mother. By being the best mother I can be, being sanctified daily by Him, our mutual Father, the Father she loved.
I chose to celebrate her life by simply being joyful today. As she was! Ready to smile, filled with the joy of the Lord. We lit a candle in her memory at every meal, and at dinner time we sang. Songs she loved, and with her German accent!
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