Miscellany

Brenna called me into her room with, "Mama, I need to tell you something."

I sat on her bed and asked, "yes, Brenna?"

"ummmm...." Guess she forgot what it was.

"Do you need to tell me something?"

"ummmm...." Come on, come up with something!

"What do you need to tell me, Brenna?"

"ummmm.... I don't want monsters to get in my bed."

Well, she got me there. I definitely wasn't expecting that! But she said it with a totally straight face, so I reassured her, "Brenna, no monsters are going to get in your bed."

"Okay!" Glad we got that cleared up.

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Isaac is fascinated by his hands lately. He just watches his fingers move with the most rapt expression. It's really neat to watch.

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For my birthday, I really wanted to try a restaurant that doesn't serve American food. We are totally stuck in a rut! So we walked downtown and turned in circles for a good 20 minutes looking at all the options. I was determined not to go to one of our standby's, but we were ridiculously nervous about trying something new! Well, Brian has had Thai food at work and thought it was pretty good, so we opted for the Thai place. It was AWESOME!

We had a crushed pineapple dish that was served in half a pineapple and a basil chicken dish, then deep fried bananas and ice cream for dessert. We will definitely be going back, but feel pretty silly for being so scared. However, the kids were pretty unimpressed with the lack of crayons and colorful menus with pictures of their choices (we like the klassy places). I had to remind Nathan that we were here FOR MY BIRTHDAY. I GET TO PICK ON MY BIRTHDAY. But he enjoyed the food, so I think going back will be a cinch.

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Nathan tells a joke:

"Knock, knock!"

"Who's there?"

"Nathan!"

"Nathan who?"

"Stewart!"

A comedian he's not.

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So I've been thinking about our homeschooling schedule in the fall, and I've decided to make a time for board games or puzzles. Besides the one-on-one time for Nathan, I think there are a lot of great things to be learned from games, i.e. following rules, taking turns, counting, focusing, etc.

What are some good games for little kids? (we have candyland, memory and chutes and ladders)

Big Mouth!

Brian took the kids shopping for my birthday present yesterday. He walked in the door with warnings about it being A SURPRISE and DON'T TELL! Both kids came to me to tell me they had a surprise for my birthday and they CAN'T TELL ME WHAT IT IS!

It frustrates Brian to no end that he can never keep a secret from me. I almost always know what he gets me because I'm psychic (he thinks). Mostly I can just read my husband like a book, so if I ask a question the answer is obvious.

So the kids were great. They didn't tell even though they're excited.

Last night as I was cooking dinner, Brenna wandered in to check out what I was doing, beg for food, and inspect the kitchen magnets.

As she's studying our refrigerator, she just asks what's on her mind: "Mama, what's a m-p-tee payerd?"

I was still giggling when Brian walked in the door a few minutes later. Foiled AGAIN!

Now I Don't Have a Lid For My Casserole Dish.

We have mice! So far the only things they've eaten are the tops of a tupperware container and my casserole dish. Can you even replace those? This is SO Brian's job to deal with. I'm sure it's in the husband contract.

Have you had to deal with mice? What worked best?

How Do You Solve a Problem Like Nathan?

A couple days ago I was trying to teach Nathan and Brenna the Do-Re-Mi song from The Sound of Music. They loved it and kept asking me to sing it over and over, so yesterday I decided to check the movie out from the library (alas, my copy is on VHS). We spent yesterday afternoon and this morning watching it, and they LOVED it! Woohoo! Maybe I am related to those two monkeys!

While I was cleaning up in the kitchen I heard Nathan walking around singing How Do You Solve a Problem Like Maria? That made me laugh because when we watched it, I was totally changing it to his name in my head!

Watching it required a few explanations, like why some women want to marry God and thus can't marry men, and a very simplified (obviously) explanation of Nazis. So now I am prepared to be absolutely mortified when he calls someone a Nazi during play. Please, please, please, God, don't let it be with the children of my close friend from Germany! Because then, I will just have to die. Right there.

So musicals are a success! I think maybe the next couple movies I buy will be Mary Poppins and another old musical where no one gets called an idiot or some other name I don't want him to learn. Much better to stick with Nazis.

True Love Died

We took Communion at church today. I remember as a kid thinking that I wished the ceremony meant something to me. I sort of understood it, always took part in it, but it didn't resonate with me. Like, I totally get that Jesus died for me. That sucks. Moving on.

Sometime in the last few years, though, I GOT IT. God watched his son die. For ME. Jesus went through THAT. For ME. He was betrayed and abandoned by the people on earth he loved most. He experienced separation, sin. For ME.

Oh.

I don't deserve it. I wouldn't choose for him to do that. I would never ask that of anyone, much less of the creator of the universe. As the depth of his pain and my unworthiness became clear, it broke my heart.

I fought it. I completely, utterly disagree with the choice God made. I am not worth THAT. He shouldn't have done it. I wouldn't do it, never, ever. And yet, he chose to. It was his choice to die. Really, he didn't have to, he could have let us all go. But he chose to die.

So now, during commuinion, I find myself trying to rest in being loved. He gave me a gift I don't understand, don't deserve. I am so grateful.

Six Months Old

Crazy

Sorry I haven't blogged in a while. I feel like a lot has been added to my plate in the last few weeks, and I'm trying to figure out how it's all going to fit. I'll be back soon, though!