Montgomery didn't get pinched today!
Take care. Much love.
Thursday, March 17, 2011
Tuesday, March 15, 2011
Packing
Gommy has been "packing" her things for vacation
(and laying them out on her bed)...for a few days now.
(and laying them out on her bed)...for a few days now.
We're not going on vacation anytime in the near future.
She doesn't seem to believe me.
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.
Sunday, March 13, 2011
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 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!
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...
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"
More simply known as a "POP"
I like that.
Hope you do too.
;o)
Much Love. Take Care.
Saturday, March 12, 2011
A HodgePodge Kind of Day
Today was a little bit of everything...for everyone.
Maia didn't teach dance this morning, but instead got up early, ate a hearty breakfast (vegetarian...yes, she's still going strong)...
and hobbled off to take the SAT for the first time.
She and Job had spent some time working on test taking tips the night before, since he's pretty fresh from that experience, and she'd also done several rounds of practice tests with Craig throughout the week. When Craig picked her up later, she said she felt really good about the experience...so, we'll now just have to wait and see...agonizing.
Josiah went to his morning music lessons and Johngideon headed off to his awesome art class. (Look at the photos Craig took of what he did today - I'm not sure how the little man gets in and out - I'll have to ask JG for an explanation.)
I ran Gommy over to her "dancie-girl class" then hustled back to make Josiah's spring trombone recital at the Baltimore School for the Arts.
He did great, but I must admit I am usually holding my breath until he's finished, because although this child is musically gifted, he does not particularly care for the whole practice bit. So even though I'd heard him practicing for this recital lately, I wasn't sure it was enough...but it was...his sound was so smooth and mellow...just beautiful to listen to.
Both his BSA TWIGS trombone instructor, Milton Aldana, and his school band teacher, Danni Schmitt, were present, and it was great to get a shot of Josie with both of these wonderful music educators who have taught him so much.
Right after the recital, I ran back to grab Gommy from dance class, where she was in great spirits, while Craig picked up Maia from the SAT site, and then took Josie to his lacrosse practice.
I spent some relaxing time on the couch (with the sun streaming in on me through the deck doors...I absolutely love the greenhouse effect!) with Maia, watching the 25th Anniversary Concert of Les Miserables (which was wonderful). Maia is still on crutches (this is like week nine), but we think we see light at the end of the tunnel, with a new foot and ankle specialist, who has prescribed additional Calcium, Vitamin D and chamomile...and, an interesting little device we'd never heard of called a bone stimulator, which is proven to help broken bones heal up to 68 days quicker.
So Maia pleasantly pulls it out twice a day and spends the 20 minutes necessary to stimulate her bones to draw more of the necessary healing internals to her foot area to help along the bone building and mending. She has been a real trouper throughout this ordeal, and somehow manages to keep her spirits up even as her movement is so limited.
The Gommy girl finally convinced me to head outside with her, and I peaked into the guest bedroom on my way to find shoes and found Job and Johngideon engaged in a brotherly instructional chess game.
Gommy was wearing one of her delightful clothing ensembles that only real "princesses" can put together, and spent time on the swings, and practicing running up the slide (something she learned how to do very recently after much effort), and then scootering on the sidewalk.
In the brisk fresh air, I felt motivated to clean out the garden bed of the daylillies...who are beginning to make their annual appearance!
Can't wait! And, I even was motivated to clear out the petunias' strip of earth by the sidewalk. Maia came outside and encouraged Gommy to hopscotch, and insisted on joining her (on crutches!), Craig arrived home with take-out dinner and groceries, and after the boys all trouped out to help carry them in, they all returned outside to just enjoy the cool-but-pleasant-near-dusk air. Craig pulled out the leaf-blower (he calls my hand rake archaic. :-) So the boys scootered, and rode bikes, and chased each other with lacrosse sticks, while Maia watched from the porch steps and I suddenly realized that we were all home together on a Saturday evening...and it felt great!
When it got too dark to see, we all headed inside for clean-ups and "Chinese chicken" and tofu and vegetables, and watched Disney movies and sports and it was wonderful to have everyone under one roof.
And then Job left to go celebrate a friend's birthday, and Maia lay down for a "nap" (she's still "napping" ;o) and the kiddies eventually went up to bed. And all is well. And I am grateful for the simple joys of home.
Take Care. Much Love.
Maia didn't teach dance this morning, but instead got up early, ate a hearty breakfast (vegetarian...yes, she's still going strong)...
and hobbled off to take the SAT for the first time.
She and Job had spent some time working on test taking tips the night before, since he's pretty fresh from that experience, and she'd also done several rounds of practice tests with Craig throughout the week. When Craig picked her up later, she said she felt really good about the experience...so, we'll now just have to wait and see...agonizing.
Josiah went to his morning music lessons and Johngideon headed off to his awesome art class. (Look at the photos Craig took of what he did today - I'm not sure how the little man gets in and out - I'll have to ask JG for an explanation.)
I ran Gommy over to her "dancie-girl class" then hustled back to make Josiah's spring trombone recital at the Baltimore School for the Arts.
He did great, but I must admit I am usually holding my breath until he's finished, because although this child is musically gifted, he does not particularly care for the whole practice bit. So even though I'd heard him practicing for this recital lately, I wasn't sure it was enough...but it was...his sound was so smooth and mellow...just beautiful to listen to.
Both his BSA TWIGS trombone instructor, Milton Aldana, and his school band teacher, Danni Schmitt, were present, and it was great to get a shot of Josie with both of these wonderful music educators who have taught him so much.
Right after the recital, I ran back to grab Gommy from dance class, where she was in great spirits, while Craig picked up Maia from the SAT site, and then took Josie to his lacrosse practice.
I spent some relaxing time on the couch (with the sun streaming in on me through the deck doors...I absolutely love the greenhouse effect!) with Maia, watching the 25th Anniversary Concert of Les Miserables (which was wonderful). Maia is still on crutches (this is like week nine), but we think we see light at the end of the tunnel, with a new foot and ankle specialist, who has prescribed additional Calcium, Vitamin D and chamomile...and, an interesting little device we'd never heard of called a bone stimulator, which is proven to help broken bones heal up to 68 days quicker.
So Maia pleasantly pulls it out twice a day and spends the 20 minutes necessary to stimulate her bones to draw more of the necessary healing internals to her foot area to help along the bone building and mending. She has been a real trouper throughout this ordeal, and somehow manages to keep her spirits up even as her movement is so limited.
The Gommy girl finally convinced me to head outside with her, and I peaked into the guest bedroom on my way to find shoes and found Job and Johngideon engaged in a brotherly instructional chess game.
Gommy was wearing one of her delightful clothing ensembles that only real "princesses" can put together, and spent time on the swings, and practicing running up the slide (something she learned how to do very recently after much effort), and then scootering on the sidewalk.
In the brisk fresh air, I felt motivated to clean out the garden bed of the daylillies...who are beginning to make their annual appearance!
Can't wait! And, I even was motivated to clear out the petunias' strip of earth by the sidewalk. Maia came outside and encouraged Gommy to hopscotch, and insisted on joining her (on crutches!), Craig arrived home with take-out dinner and groceries, and after the boys all trouped out to help carry them in, they all returned outside to just enjoy the cool-but-pleasant-near-dusk air. Craig pulled out the leaf-blower (he calls my hand rake archaic. :-) So the boys scootered, and rode bikes, and chased each other with lacrosse sticks, while Maia watched from the porch steps and I suddenly realized that we were all home together on a Saturday evening...and it felt great!
When it got too dark to see, we all headed inside for clean-ups and "Chinese chicken" and tofu and vegetables, and watched Disney movies and sports and it was wonderful to have everyone under one roof.
And then Job left to go celebrate a friend's birthday, and Maia lay down for a "nap" (she's still "napping" ;o) and the kiddies eventually went up to bed. And all is well. And I am grateful for the simple joys of home.
Take Care. Much Love.
Friday, March 11, 2011
His Turn!
So, it was such a nice surprise to find a big envelope in the mail Wednesday from a college he really likes...and to find out that not only did it contain a glorious acceptance letter...but also...a letter congratulating him on being selected as a recipient of their most prestigious merit scholarship!!!! Oh Joy!!
He feels so blessed and favored by God. We do too! What's really beautiful about this first response is that we've been promising Job for years, as he's taken the most challenging academic program his school offers, and as he's made sacrifices to stay near the very top of his class, that all of his hard work would pay off in the long run. We've encouraged him along the way that he would have his choice of college or university when the time came. Now he's beginning to see the fruits of all that labor..and it's very sweet indeed!
Congratulations Job!
Take Care. Much Love.
Thursday, March 10, 2011
Ahh, the Gommy you thought you knew...and a sprinkling of Job!
This was originally part of my Lenten post, but upon reflection, I thought I'd like to separate the two.
I went on a field trip today...well I guess now that would be yesterday ;o)...with Montgomery. It was my kind of field trip. No sloshing through muddy fields in too brisk cold for up-close looks at odiforous (my word) not-so-clean farm animals, while holding hands with and/or running after several pre-schoolers who are not my own...can you tell I've been on one-too-many farm field trips in my past 17.5 years of parenting! (Now that I've said all of that, I'm almost too ashamed to post my wonderful photos from the Gommy girl's fall pumpkin farm field trip...almost...the pictures are just too cute and begging to be shared, so I'm sure they'll find their way onto the blog sometime.)
Back to today (well, yesterday), this was a calm, pleasant less-than-two-hour junket to nearby Goucher College to sit in a comfortable temperature-controlled, spacious auditorium to see a cute four-person musical of "Harry the Dirty Dog." It was interesting, lively-enough to keep the pre-Kindergarteners engaged, and short enough to not require any mental preparation on my part prior to attending. ;-) We boarded the big yellow school bus (always a big highlight for the Gommy Girl!)...
...rode the ten minutes or so to Goucher, got off right in front of the auditorium doors, filed inside to our reserved row of seats, watched the starting-right-on-time show with interested delight...
...waited comfortably in our seats when the show was over until our bus pulled right back up at the door, filed back onto the bus, and arrived back at the school. True, the bus noise level was intense, but only for the ten-minute drive time. Yes indeed, my kind of field trip.
The only surprise wrench in this otherwise pleasant outing was that Montgomery was not feeling particularly like cooperating after the show was over. She was in one of her highly-challenging obstinate moods, doing things like sitting on the backs of the seats in front of us (invoking Mommy heart-failure), attempting to wander the aisle and flat-out..and I mean bold-faced... refusing to come back my way (invoking Mommy ominous eye-twitching...and not-so-pleasant whispered potential consequences)...thus the photos you see of her (the girl who lives for the flash of a camera) refusing to look my way for a picture...
They had the best time chatting in great detail about their favorite episodes of The Bubble Guppies...
...and laughing at all the wonderful silly things 4-year-old girlfriends laugh about...
So sweet and endearing...until I realized Isabella herself was also in an obstinate mood and refusing to follow basic safety instructions like "sit down while the bus is moving" and "stop playing in the hair of the child in front of you"...to the point that I actually whipped out my cell phone to call her mother (whom I personally know doesn't play that) and let them have a little chat. Fortunately, something distracted her attention and we didn't actually have to get to that point, but I found it rather amusing how very similar she and Gommy are in temperament! My sweet little stubborn Montgomery will practically "run the car into the ditch" rather than follow someone else's "driving instructions." She will see the catastrophe coming and choose -- and I do mean make an actual choice (you can see the moment in her eyes) -- to meet it head-on rather than acknowledge her error. And I saw that tenacity (albeit sorely misguided, yes) in her little buddy Isabella today...for the first time. Interesting...and yes, this dual-combination does make for a highly volatile, yet passionately fierce little friendship. But I really don't think either one of them would have it any other way.
My personal belief is that all of that raw personality and temperament material is deposited there, by God, for very specific purpose. Our job (challenging...yes!!) as parents, is not to change it or break it, but rather to help our little people hone and mold and prune and learn to use all that great "stuff" productively and passionately, but responsibly and measuredly. It's all in there for a reason...we've gotta help them figure out why...and what to do with it all. I believe it'll completely be worth the journey...but it sure does put miles and miles of wear on our "cars" in the meantime! ;-)
Later that evening at home, to Craig's question of "How was your field trip today, Gommy?" Montgomery apparently experienced some thoughtful moments of reflective remorse and asked me, "Mommy, would you take my picture now?"
What's a mother to do? Well, I suppose we must take our cue from God...sometimes we spend a lot of life-time refusing to look His way, but when we come to ourselves, thankfully He lovingly says...
"Sure, baby, I'd love to."
Switching gears a bit...Job got some really exciting news today...he's all smiles...(hmmm...just what does that letter say?)...
...more on that tomorrow...gotta grab a wink...or two!
Take Care. Much Love.
Wednesday, March 9, 2011
Looking Forward to Lent...and Loving More.
I started a Lenten Daniel Fast...with Craig. I'm looking forward to drawing closer to God (always the best place to be). I'm in the early midst of a shifting spiritual season. For those of you who know what I mean...please pray for me. For those of you who don't...I'm praying for you. :o) ...(really, I am)...
Let me know if you'd like to learn more about Lent and/or the Daniel Fast. If you're lurking (and want to keep it that way :o) check out the resource and link below for some good information from a trustworthy source:
"LENT: Join the Lenten Journey. Listen to and Read daily messages on this site. Increase your prayer time with the help of http://www.vashtimckenzie.blogspot.com/; ...Information about the Daniel Fast is in the Read archive. Invite others to join you!"
The great thing about being aware of the Lenten season is that there is no risk and just nothing to lose...only so much to gain. It's not about what you give up or take on, but rather about simply moving closer in relationship with God (wherever you are on your journey with Him). No guilt, no must-tos or have-tos, no pomp and circumstance, no feelings of failure...simply listening...and learning...and choosing to unfold your heart...to Him...because He loves you...simply...deeply...beautifully. He is always glad to see your face and hear your voice...like a friend...but just so much more...who holds your heart so carefully and joyfully in every season of your life, and is always genuinely delighted to hear from you...and doesn't run in the opposite direction from your big uglies. You can trust God to truly love you. You...(yes, you)...are so very precious to Him. I hope you choose to let Him love you.
I know that I can not live (really...I can not) without Him.
Much Love. Take Care.
Let me know if you'd like to learn more about Lent and/or the Daniel Fast. If you're lurking (and want to keep it that way :o) check out the resource and link below for some good information from a trustworthy source:
"LENT: Join the Lenten Journey. Listen to and Read daily messages on this site. Increase your prayer time with the help of http://www.vashtimckenzie.blogspot.com/; ...Information about the Daniel Fast is in the Read archive. Invite others to join you!"
The great thing about being aware of the Lenten season is that there is no risk and just nothing to lose...only so much to gain. It's not about what you give up or take on, but rather about simply moving closer in relationship with God (wherever you are on your journey with Him). No guilt, no must-tos or have-tos, no pomp and circumstance, no feelings of failure...simply listening...and learning...and choosing to unfold your heart...to Him...because He loves you...simply...deeply...beautifully. He is always glad to see your face and hear your voice...like a friend...but just so much more...who holds your heart so carefully and joyfully in every season of your life, and is always genuinely delighted to hear from you...and doesn't run in the opposite direction from your big uglies. You can trust God to truly love you. You...(yes, you)...are so very precious to Him. I hope you choose to let Him love you.
I know that I can not live (really...I can not) without Him.
Much Love. Take Care.
Tuesday, March 8, 2011
My Love
Much Love. Take Care.
Monday, March 7, 2011
Spring is Springing!
Just look what was waiting to surprise and delight me around a bend in the road today! Such a sweet cheery purpley fresh gift from God!
These brave early flowers must mean spring is not far behind.
Come, Spring, come!
We wait to welcome you with arms flung wide in gleeful anticipation!
And...as if that was not enough unexpected delight...I found my lost camera today...after weeks of wondering where it had gotten to. It was simply hibernating under my car seat...but emerged just in time to celebrate the springly joy of these flower pioneers. Welcome back old friend...I've missed you.
Much love. Take care.
...just one more...
[contented sigh].......................[contented sigh again]
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