Joys in the ordinary

** Spending 2 weekends in a row with family back home, and Clay getting to hang out with some of his old youth ministry buddies

** Getting three precious days with only one child, and shamelessly napping when the baby napped

** Being the enthusiastic recipient of a running, jumping, tackling, 6:00 am hug from Abigail on Thanksgiving morning after that three day separation

** Watching the parade with my girls and hearing their shouts as they recognized some of their favorite characters

** Watching my girls wear themselves out Thanksgiving afternoon playing outside with their cousins

** Watching Elisabeth take her first steps and cutting four teeth all in the same week
** Getting to play games three out of four nights

** Seeing the numbers on the scale still going down even after Thanksgiving weekend

** Watching my sister dedicate her children to the Lord

** Driving around an unfamiliar town in search of the elusive Pizza Hut because that’s where we wanted to eat, darn it!

** Spending the entire time at said Pizza Hut trying to keep our three little pinballs from going absolutely loopy

** Pulling into the garage at the end of my fourth 6 hour drive in ten days

** Seeing my girls’ excitement when they saw their own tree in the living room Monday morning, and hearing Abigail say, “Mommy, I’m glad we’re home.”

** Letting them hang the ornaments I saved for them, and the bottom branches still being empty because they hung the ornaments on branches that were already occupied

** Putting batteries in four years worth of Hallmark singing snowmen, and then getting to listen to all of them over and over and over and over and…

** Just enjoying the normalcy of getting back into our routine

** Feeling Catherine’s pride as she drank hot chocolate out of a big-girl cup: “Mommy, I have a big-girl cup and I still have a poppy (her word for sippy cup)!” The wonder of it all.

** Sitting with Abigail as she read her second primer all by herself, and hearing her giggle as she comprehended what she was reading

** Knowing that we have many friends and loved ones who are getting as much joy from these simple ordinary moments as we are

Four little cousins

My family, in our China clothes in honor of Savannah Rose

Here comes the bride

Abigail had the blanket wrapped around her waist tonight, pretending that it was a train and she was the bride. I asked her who she was going to marry. She said, “I don’t know which man I’ll marry. I have to find one that loves God…Look, Mom, all these men want to marry me (gesturing down the hallway), but I don’t know if they love God or not…(To the first imaginary prospective groom): “Do you love God?…Mommy, he says he really wants to marry me, but he doesn’t love God, so I’m just going to walk right past him and look for a man who does love God!”

Oh, that this selection criteria would still be number one when the time comes for her to truly find her groom.

By the way, I’m sure you’ll be pleased to know that by the end of the hallway she had indeed found a groom who loved God, and they were married right there in the living room.

It’s her story. We’re just the bit players.

My four year old loves to read.  Never mind that she can only read small words that are phonetically true; she can sit with a book for literally hours and “read” it aloud or to herself.  The majority of the time, once she’s finished reading, she will then rejoin the family but she won’t be Abigail.  Instead she’ll be the main character of the book she just put down.  Tonight, however, she took it a step farther, leading to quite the interesting dinner conversation:

Abigail:  ” ‘What are we having for supper?’ said Claire.”

Mom:  “You’re having noodles and we’re having pizza.”

Abigail:  ” ‘Yummy!  Can I have butter on my noodles?’ Claire cried.”

Mom:  “Sure.  Do you want sweet tea to drink?”

A:  “  ‘Yes,’ said Claire as she got in her seat.”

Aside:  Throughout dinner, this pattern continued.  If the rest of us were talking around her, we could hear little comments coming from her seat:  “Her sister was eating pizza, and she wanted cheese on it like her Daddy.”  “Her mommy was laughing at her little sister.”  “Catherine told her Daddy thank you for the cheese.”

A:  ” ‘Mother, can I go to the potty?’ Claire asked politely.”

M (getting in on the fun):  ” ‘Why, yes you can,’ Mother replied.”

At this, she looked up at me in surprise and said, “Oh, are you a manager of this story, too?”

After several more minutes of this, with her never missing a narration, she finally sighed and said, “Mommy and Daddy, will you please manage this story so I can quit talking so much?”

It’s her story.  We’re just the bit players.