Our Trombonist POP

Josiah and his trusty trombone. 

A POP (Post of Previosity) from December 2007.

The year he first learned to play.

The joy of discovery, and the hand-in-hand joy of musical camaraderie.

What a gift for all the seasons of his life.

Much Love. Take Care.

The Elders POP+

I love this photo of Job and Maia,

a POP (Post of Previosity) from April 1995,

when Job would have been about 21 months old and Maia almost 9 months.

It's one of my all-time favorites!

What I love is that it shows the natural inclinations, personalities

and sibling relationship of these two...even today.

Job tends to be focused on the activity of the moment, and the tools and items related to that activity, which for him in this picture is clearly the sippy cup, the drinking of the juice, and the wearing of the sunglasses. Maia tends to focus on the people of the activity of the moment and relating with them, and thus the items of the activity of the moment are kind of unimportant to her...she was simply wanting to "talk" to the nice mommy lady standing over her with the flashy-light-camera-thing.

Job has usually tended to exhibit a degree of reserve. Maia has usually -- well, almost always -- approached situations with a desire to dive right in. Job has tended to have his mouth closed much more often than it's open. Maia has tended to have her mouth open communicating something much more often than it's closed. Job tends to be methodical. Maia tends to be a bit freestyle.

Yet, with all of their differences, or maybe because of their differences, Job and Maia have always been very close siblings, and I think are even closer now than ever before. Perhaps they balance each other? Either way, as a mother, their special relationship has warmed my heart again and again over the years. And...the funny thing is that in recent years they seem to have started rubbing off on each other. Job is a whole lot more social these days and enjoys getting to know new people in new situations, and actively seeks out those opportunities. Maia is now contemplatively reserved in situations that warrant it, and has a greater appreciation for methods and procedures.

But I still sometimes manage to capture a few photos,

like this one from Job's graduation day,

that take me right back to April 1995...

...classic!

Much Love. Take Care.

Feet Seat POP

I love this photo of Josiah,
a POP (Post of Previosity) from mid-October 2006.

He was playing outside at our old house, still in his school uniform,

barefoot, and fresh from a round on the tire swing. 

I think it just captures his cheerful essence so well.

Much Love. Take Care.

 

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.

 

Role Reversal POP

Here's a POP (Post of Previosity) from February 1995 when Maia was about eight months old, and Job would have been around 20 months.

Our family lore is that Maia arrived on the planet talking. Another bit of lore is that Job didn't really start talking until Maia was in full swing...and then he only decided to verbalize so as to not be outdone by his baby sister!

And truly, most of the photos we have of Maia until she was about 18 months old show her with her mouth wide open...like almost every picture!
This next one is an exception. Clearly above she was doing her
highly verbal thing...and Job was listening closely
...and then he thought he'd give it a try...

Maia seems to be a bit perplexed by this role reversal!

Weren't they just adorable...they still are.

Much Love. Take Care.

POP

Thought I'd continue in the same vein as yesterday...

Easter 2007...the whole beautiful brood!

Can you tell we take it cas (that is, casual) in these parts

...quite a bit different from my coastal S.C. upbringing!

Hmmm...never noticed that leaf hanging off of Josie's head before...

...as he's the jokester in the family, that probably was not accidental  :o)

Here, let's try this one...

We were all hanging outside a bit after church, enjoying the really nice weather.

That's the cozy carriage house in the background...a nice, quaint, 2-story,

2-bedroom feature of our old home that I really miss.

While we're at it, let's call the roll of all the friends and family

who've lived there over the years:

Auntie Danise

(Job's godmother and my beautiful close friend from college)

Auntie Adriene

(Johngideon's godmother and my beautiful close friend from early adulthood)

Auntie Joanne

(Josiah's godmother...and the only real-live-actual-family auntie in the bunch

...and yes, she's the same frequently mentioned "auntie" of our blog)

Uncle Desmond

 (nobody's godfather!...just kidding Des...

...an awesome family friend from our college days)

Grandma Tee

(everyone's grandmother...Craig's mom who came to give me a hand

when I was adjusting to life with five children, just after Montgomery was born)

and

Ms. Bobbi (someone else's close family friend who came with

her vicious dog "Kujo" (not his real name but should have been) 

and her portable six-foot-high fence to keep him from killing our children

...while she went away on business trips to other cities

...needless to say, that didn't last too long...but longer than it should have!)

Craig and I used to joke that because we moved to Baltimore with no family

and knowing next to no one, we brought out "own" family village with us

through the series of carriage house residents over the years.

Maybe so, but they all enriched our lives immensely in the process

...and we like to think we've enriched theirs too!

Much Love. Take Care.

 

POP!

Easter 2007

Job and Montgomery playing on the tire swing at our old house.

Montgomery's wearing a sweet little smocked dress that Maia wore
when she was that age...I'd kept it...just in case.

When I find the photo of Maia in the dress, I'll be sure to share it.
Meanwhile, aren't Gommy's chubby little baby legs just beautiful!

So, it came to me a few days ago...just what I should call these
occasionally frequent random "blasts" from our past...that is to say,
posts of photos that are more (sometimes much more) than a year old...

How about a Post Of Previosity?
More simply known as a "POP"

I like that.

Hope you do too.

;o)

Much Love. Take Care.

  

Daily Blogging?...Solution!

Johngideon.

Disney.

2006...exactly six weeks after Montgomery was born.

I wasn't in search of a crazy experience;

we'd simply booked Disney a year in advance...

...but it only takes 9 months to cook a lil' baby!  :-)

That look on his face (complete with spit bubble)

made all the traveling-with-newborn challenges worth it.

So...what's with this photo anyway? Let's take the long road to the answer...

To provide an update on progress thus far on my 2011 daily blogging fun challenge for myself, I must share the following: I have found that I really enjoy the reflective pause of life that (attempted) daily blogging provides requires. However, I have also found that oftentimes the realities of my predictable day-to-day-mother-of-five-unpredictability do not provide the quantitative life space necessary for true qualitative reflective blogging...especially when I desire to share so much because I feel (most days) that everyday life is wonderfully interesting and varied and and somehow incomprehensibly strangely joyously beautiful.

So, what to do? 

Aha...the solution makes me smile!

I have been wishing lately that I had uncovered the joys of blogging many years ago when my oldest children were small. I wish I had kept such an unfolding record of their delightful discoverings of the world around them to enjoy with them in the years we share now and the sharing years to come. While I don't have the narrative, I do have so many beautiful photographs...of so many beautiful smiles, and frowns, and messes, and marvels, and my heart routinely floods with reminiscent joy and wonder every time I view any of them.

This is too much delight for one heart to hold alone. Journey with me, please, as I enjoy posting "blasts" a few times per week...just the odd here-and-there photographs that tell bits and pieces of our story from before...in random years...at random times. While these may indeed be blasts from our past, the word blast just doesn't quite reflect my heartjoy in the remembering...but I just can't think of the right word to use at the moment (or, for that matter, for the past two weeks of moments that this idea has been marinating). When the word unmistakably settles itself in my mind, that's what I'll call these posts of previousness. In the meantime, I hope you'll enjoy (as much as I know I shall) the frequently occasional blasts from our past that show up here....from time to time...randomly.

Much Love. Take Care.

Running

I love this older photo. I think he'd stolen Joby's hat. He didn't get too far...

...in flip-flops.   :o)

Much Love. Take Care.