A Beautiful Sight

When you've been without electrical power for nearly 72 hours, the electric company's truck in your alley is a beautiful sight indeed!

After a two-day Hurricane Irene delay, our city schools finally will open tomorrow for this school year. The kids are not particularly excited and have really enjoyed the unexpected extra days of summer vacation...swimming, teepee-building, hide-and-seeking, Monopoly-ing, Bey-Blading, water-hosing, scootering, playgrounding, Manga-reading, scavenger-hunting, and the list goes on...its amazing how creative kids (and their parents) can be when their electronic world comes to a screeching halt. As inconvenient as the ill-effects of Irene have been, they have also served to shine a light on our often too-plug-dependent-Westernized-world way of life. All in all, I realize I am grateful for the pause.

We live in a very neighborly community by any standards, but the past few days have brought about even greater degrees of neighborliness, as we have conversed at length with neighbors we usually only greet briefly, frequented local public places chatting while charging our phones, and wandered our nearby blocks to gape in unified amazement at the huge 100-year-old trees that were ripped up by the roots and crashed to the ground -- outrageously blocking streets and sidewalks but not even grazing houses. We are blessed, no?

The enhanced neighborliness was especially visible in the many orange utility cord lines extended across several streets as neighbors with electricity intact on one side of the street reached out to extend (literally) electrical service to those (like our family) on the other sides of streets whose electrical lines were down. Thanks to a wonderful neighbor on the other side of our block, we even managed to get in a little Disney Channel Mulan movie-watching for Montgomery and a friend today (not to mention salvaged refrigeration!).

So, what are my final reflections tonight? Hmmm...

Many things, indeed, but especially gratitude for human kindness, increased appreciation for our western world modern conveniences like electricity and the appliances it powers, and, mostly, thankfulness for a loving God who knows when we need a pause to better remember the simple joys of living in community...and who makes sure we get it.

Feeling blessed and grateful tonight.

Much Love. Take Care.

A Little Light Humor

I tried (and thought I might have accomplished) posting this late last night via text message from my cell phone. Guess it didn't work out (gotta figure out why), so here I go now, a day late and an electricity supply short, gratefully juiced up on public library wi-fi  ;-) ................

What in the world are these?

And these...

...and these...

They are small children in a house without electricity (still!) playing with glowsticks...just before their mother sends them off to bed.

Our electricity is still out...and the word on the street is to plan for 72 hours. City schools have even been closed for tomorrow because so many people are without electricity due to Hurricane Irene. The kids are happy, but it seems a bit strange to have the first day of a new school year postponed. We'll just have to wait and see what tomorrow holds.

In the meantime...

...it's nice to have angels in golden halos in the house tonight.  ;-)

Take Care. Much Love.

Hurricane

Our power just went out, thanks to lady Irene. Rats...I think.

Quiet, calm, dark...peaceful. Just the sounds of the wind and the rain.

Hmmm...grateful.

Thank you Father for your peace.

Prayers for safety for those on the east coast. Trusting a faithful, omnipotent, omniscient, omnipresent, loving, kind parent, we sleep in peace.

"Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord..." Psalm 33:12a

Take care. Much Love.


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Ballerina Princess Corner

Every ballerina princess needs a little corner to hang her tutus and toppings.

This is Gommy's.

It always makes me smile.

Much Love. Take Care.

 

Important Ability? Hmmm....

Heard recently from the lips of Johngideon:

"I know how to spell ALL the bad words!"

Dubious talent, no doubt, but better appreciated in context...(I think?)

Grandma Tee was visiting from New York for a few days, and Johngideon was sweet enough to keep me company while we ran an early morning errand with her. She and I were having a conversation in the front seat, when I heard Johngideon pipe up indignantly from the back, "I am not!"

Surprised by his outburst, Grandma Tee and I exchanged befuddled glances and I asked, "am not what, Johngideon?"

"What you said," he responded, "the 'B' word!"

Well, you know what "B" word immediately jumped to our minds, and not being a curser, I racked my brain to see what word I'd used in our front-seat conversation that could have sounded like the "B" word. At a loss, I asked Johngideon what the "B" word was.

"You know," he said, spelling with great emphasis, "B-A-S-T-A..."  Ohhhh, I thought, that "B" word. But knowing that's a word I never use, I looked at Grandma Tee in puzzlement. She reminded me that we had used the word "pastor" in our conversation, and I realized Johngideon thought we'd said his "the 'B' word."

Amused, I explained the misunderstanding to him, but thanked him for choosing to spell the "B" word rather than say it. Delighted by my compliment, he proudly declared these infamous words...

"I know how to spell ALL the bad words."

That really brought a smile to my face. Parentally appropriate? To tell you the truth, I'm still not quite sure.    :o)

Take Care. Much Love.

 

  

August Swimming...Lessons?

The kids and I headed to the pool again this morning, for Montgomery and Johngideon's swimming lessons. It was nice that everyone "wanted" to go...or at least they did by the time they got there.  ;o)  While Montgomery had her lesson, Maia continued with her water exercises, and the boys threw each other around in the shallow end, or rather the youngers attacked Job and he delightedly threw them around. I got to sit and chat with a friend I'd been trying to connect with for a couple of weeks, but we'd been delayed by things like life and the stuff of schedules.

After Gommy's lesson was over, it was Johngideon's turn. I think because it's August, a good number of families are on vacation, so Johngideon's lessons this week have so far worked out to be private affairs. Which would be a delight for a family of seven, such as ours, on a reasonable budget, such as ours, to have paid for group lessons yet wound up with private ones, except that Johngideon decided today (as he'd done Friday) that it was too chilly for swimming lessons, so spent quite a lot of time on the side of the pool, huddled into himself, while his two -- yes, I did say TWO -- instructors stood over him trying to cajole him back into the pool. (Needless to say, his mother was not amused.)

See, there he is above, the small bundle of red miserableness at the far end of the pool, between the two -- yes, I did say TWO -- instructors standing on either side, promising him all manner of things if he'll just get back in the water. (Meanwhile Maia is peacefully and thankfully obliviously swimming her laps.)

And again, hunkered down into a small ball this time (to the left of the lifeguard this time...who is watching this scene in amused disbelief), having brought one of his instructors to her knees (I think the poor girl just gave up!) (oh, for a better zoom camera to capture the expressions on their faces!)...

True, there was a bit of a wind today, but it hadn't seemed to bother him too much thirty minutes earlier when he was joyfully and shriekedly being thrown all over the water WWF-SmackDown-style by his big brothers. Hmmmm.....

While Johngideon was causing his instructors to think it would probably be easier to have a class full of twelve kids instead, Montgomery was snuggling under a big towel on a lounger by her other brothers, enjoying a little sun-warming time while they tossed a wet towel at each other.

When Johngideon finally had endured the full-length of the excruciating 30-minute(!) (really?!) lesson, he dragged himself (shivering violently for effect) back to a lounger and "thawed out" in the sun...which was exactly what his older brothers were up to by now. Isn't it funny how the boys' feet hang through the threads on the loungers...

Job was actually just trying to stay on the thing, I think, because he seems to have grown longer than it! Montgomery, meanwhile, had headed off to the kiddie pool to play with some new friends.

Speaking of Montgomery, Craig has been teaching her to swim all summer long, and wow, has she learned! She went from a kid just walking around in the shallow end, to a bonefide deep water dogpaddler! Last week in South Carolina, she was sliding down the slide all by herself and "swimming" to the ladder. And late last week at swim class (her first professionally taught lessons in months), she jumped off the diving board for the first time in her life!...

and "swam" to the side...in 11-feet-deep water!!...
(Maia was a super-smiling big sister watching from the water, you know, just in case.  :o)

and then Gommy lined up (chilly but proud) to do it all over again, and again, and again, and again...

(even though she was completely submerged with each jump)

until after the lesson ended...and again...and again...until we had to practically force her from the deep end!

I love it!

Take Care. Much Love.

 

Sunday Evening Snacks

Early morning service at 8:00 a.m.

Hours of "Risk", the board game Josiah fell in love with this past school year during Games Club :~)

Great long-overdue catch-up conversation with Auntie Joanne...
and lots of oogling her new car.

Three hours of SAT Prep Class for Maia.

Lots of hours of college shopping for Job with Craig.

A little reading of The Paper Bag Princess,
a neat zany girl-power book, with Montgomery

..

A couple of joyful kid-soaked, mosquito-laden, sword-fighting, scooter-riding 

hours of fun outside with seven little neighborhood friends...

one dressed like a ballerina-princess, another like a cat.   :o)

A couple more hours of such inside, but with only four friends this time...

and a baby brother and a mom.

One extended over-tired Gommy meltdown.

A little bit of the (non-animated) 101 Dalmations movie.

And finally,

 a big tray of slightly unorthodox Sunday evening snacks

for an impromptu showing of Hoodwinked Too! with favorite next-door buddies.

Thanking God for a full, rich, blessed Sunday.

Much Love. Take Care.

 

 

Beautiful Charleston Waterfront

We spent a few days visiting family in Charleston, SC, my hometown, and did a few touristy things we don't normally do...like three (yes that's 3!) trips to the waterfront park. Truly one of Charleston's greatest assets (in my opinion, at least), the relatively new waterfront park is a peaceful oasis of water, sky, sun (or moon) on the peninsula's edge, where you can swing on family-sized porch swings, enjoy the cool river breeze, fish from the pier, splash excitedly in the wading "fountain" (not at all what you are envisioning in your mind, but more on that --with photos-- tomorrow), and even see Fort Sumter, the birthplace of the Civil War, in the distance.

We enjoyed all of the above...three times.   :-)

Much Love. Take Care.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Hanging Out POP

Here's a POP (Post of Previosity) from Thanksgiving weekend 2009.

Our family tries to take an annual Thanksgiving photo and has totally given up on any kind of dresswear. We try to all wear the same color tops at least, to give the appearance of some kind of photo session foresight, but it's truly all about the casual with us. It was a liberating moment for me when I figured out some years ago that photos are about the people, not the attire...from then on I much better enjoyed taking family photos, rather than dreading the process (and pomp) of them.

The photo above shows our hometeam pride...Baltimore Ravens BABY (Craig is a self-described "Ravenoid"...his personal term for a rabid Ravens fan!). The kids were clowning around in my parents' backyard and their grandfather captured this fun shot of them. We used it on our emailed invitation for a 2010 New Years Day gathering, inviting folks to "Come on over and hang out with us!"

That was fun.

Much Love. Take Care.

 

Early Morning Collaboration

I awoke to a beautiful sight early one morning last week. The boys were all up and already outside, working on the treehouse together.

Job had a work-related activity to attend that evening and wasn't going to be able to work on the project after he got home from his camp counsellors job, so they had gotten up early, like 6:00 a.m.(!!) to try and finish the look-out platform's base.

It warmed my heart to see them cooperating and valuing each other's input...and even hearing the youngers so cheerfully following Job's instructions. Everyone had a job to do and was eager to do it. Brotherly love abounded.

In the lulls where there was nothing readily available for an 8-yr-old to do, Johngideon would take a swing break.

Then he'd be right back in business when there was a job for him.

Just awesome.

Take Care. Much Love.