I was very excited to get a poem yesterday from a friend of mine, who wrote about her boys in the same style as these simple verses I’ve been doing. It’s a nice way to get a snapshot in time! Try it!

You get out of bed in the morning with great purpose,
close the bedroom door […]

I’m back from my little trip to see the Tiny Church family in the hospital in Midwestern City. It was a hard visit, but I’m glad I went. Also, it snowed. On October 10.
I had written a note to the kids on the big whiteboard in the kitchen, and wrote down the days so […]

In reverse chronological order:
R is a guitar hero! I’d take pictures but the kids have decided to attend this birthday party while naked.
been reading a few sermons for a friend, who’d asked for feedback. Makes me think I should do the same. Volunteers? A swap?
alas, the cute guy in the coffee shop has left and […]

A few photos (most posted on FB) and random things I don’t want to lose:

little she-who-is
Photo: C will help R in the kitchen sometimes, but this is the first time she actually chopped!
C hasn’t found any four-leaf clovers recently, but she continues to be delighted by the little things she finds with her sharp eyes. […]

Still here.
We’re getting ready to leave on Saturday for State with Rocky Coast. We haven’t been there since the divine miss M was a five-month-old teething maniac. Who insisted on getting up for the day at 4:45 a.m. In a cottage in which there was someone sleeping in every available room. Good times, that you […]

Happy Rainy Monday!
I also want you to notice our grass, which looks the best it will look all year.
Saturday was gorgeous. Went to Trader Joe’s in the morning, a store at which I can drop $60 without breaking a sweat. Picked up some smoked salmon which we had for lunch outside on the deck. That […]

Burt’s Bees Coconut Foot Creme. It’s been a long dry winter for the old dogs.
Wii Fit. How adorable is the design of the hula hoop game? How motivating are the Miis cheering me on as I do step aerobics? How cheesy are the personal trainers, who gesture earnestly even when saying “Let’s get started”? […]

Tonight, reading The Snowy Day:
Me: Then he went into his warm house. He told his mother all about his adventures while she took off his wet socks. [next page] And he thought and thought and thought about them.
C: He’s thinking about his wet socks.
M: No, C! He’s thinking about his ‘ventures!

Image: from the lovely book […]

In a little while I’ll be heading to the local library for a day of “think time” on a variety of church matters. I scheduled this before the Festival of Illness ‘09, so it seems like a frivolous thing given that I have not been at the church regularly for a while. The tyranny of […]

Both M and J are asleep and C is not home from school yet. Time for some quick notes.
I have been reading through my blog sequentially over the last few weeks. Wow! There’s a lot that I had already forgotten, so I’m glad I have this practice. But there are also lots of holes. I […]

R read my description of Christmas and said, “It all sounds so idyllic.”
That’s not my intention. I write down what I remember… or is it that I write down what I want to remember? And what is the difference?
I know what he means though. There’s a lot of little irritations and inconveniences in the […]

A Fairly Unadorned Chronology of Events for the Sake of Family History
The night before Christmas Eve we did a little cooking prep. R chopped potatoes for soup, while I mixed dry ingredients and chopped pecans for the traditional Christmas Eve morning spicy buttermilk coffee cake.
Christmas Eve morning we stayed in our pajamas for much of […]

(Actually tried to post this yesterday. We recently made some behind-the-scenes administrative changes, which are causing some problems. We are ironing it out… thanks for your patience.)
Sometime I’ll blog about the lovely events of Christmas, but in the meantime…
Smiles from Mason Neck State Park.

Anyone who thinks kids space out in front of the TV like couch potatoes never watched the divine miss M watching Sesame Street. She spends the middle portion of the show wandering around the basement, sitting on an old office chair and spinning it around. I got off the treadmill and moved it so the […]

Thing the First: Your eight-month-old sitting on the living room floor, munching away on… something.
Thing the Second: Your five-year-old holding a wad of your two-year-old’s hair.
Thing the Second necessitated a trip to the hair salon to do something about this:

I’d say they did a nice job.

Though, the divine miss M seems to be pooh-poohing the […]

Special guest blogger: the divine miss m
Today Mommy and I made brownies. After Mommy put them in the oven it was time to put baby J down for a nap. So she gave me a spoon to lick and told me to put it in the sink when I was done, then go upstairs to […]

“Portrait of My Brother”
little she-who-is
marker on white board, 2008
———–
I’m in a writing workshop this week at Downtown Cathedral. There are three workshop leaders—I am in BBT’s group. (Those who care already know; those who don’t know, don’t care.)
We have each morning free to write, then there are afternoon group sessions, individual conferences with our […]

We got a new vacuum cleaner.