9 years

Sometimes it's hard for me to admit this, but when I think of Moo's birth, I usually feel my insides tighten up.  It was hard.  It was long.  It was the most difficult thing I'd ever done, emotionally and physically.  It was not what we had planned.  Too many interventions.

But, when I think of the first time I saw her face and touched her, I feel a sigh of relief.  I have a vision of Mark handing her to me, his face stained with tears, and we were both in utter disbelief.  She was so shockingly her.  Tender and sweet and beautiful and intensely staring back at us.  I remember looking at the crisp October morning outside our hospital window, and thinking to myself, "This is a moment I will never forget.  My life has changed forever."

So tomorrow she begins the 10th year of her life (gasp!!!).  It's hard to believe.  But it's not hard to love every day of those years.  And it's not hard to envision the love that will surround her from this point on.  Happy Birthday to our dear girl.

Moo turns 9!

Even though it's not quite her birthday, we enjoyed Moo's birthday party last night.  She wanted to have a friendship/storytelling/campfire party.  A small crowd of kids came over for making friendship bracelets, cooking over the fire, telling stories, and a sleepover!  Once again, our neighbor made the most amazing cake for Moo.  It was a campfire scene with a 3D campfire on top, complete with candy rocks, pretzel logs, and candy bar logs in the fire.  She is incredible!  I slept in the tent in our back yard with the 7 who decided to stay (and consequently, it was my first night away from Bug).  It was just lovely.  Rarely do we get such warm days surrounding Moo's birthday.  It's been very warm in the day, and cool in the morning/evening.  The kids slept pretty well.  We left the rain cover off, so we could enjoy the stars.  Moo and a couple others reported seeing amazing stars in the middle of the night.  Moo counted 20 shooting stars!  Another girl said she saw at least 1000 stars!  In the morning, we filled their bellies with crepes and sausage, yogurt and fruit.  It was a wonderful way to celebrate the birth of our amazingly tender, kind, beautiful girl.

Tuesdays

Ah, the luxury of two extra hands and one more whole being of patience and energy for the needs of little ones.  These last few days have really overwhelmed me, leaving me feel like a bad, bad Mama.  Today, though. . . today was Tuesday, and that brought respite.

Out of the mouths. . .

A few things the kids have been saying that I want to remember:

G: "You can't get rid of God, because God is the air.  You can't hurt the air, even if you try.  Hiiiiiiya! (karate chopping the air).  See? It's still there, and it's not hurt!"

Bug: Looking at the back of a book, which has small icons of many other books, pointing to one, "Make it full scream!"  This is from watching videos online, and hearing the girls say, "Full screen!"

G: "Daddy, whenever you ride on an airplane, you should wear a skirt.  That way, if you fall out, you can spread out your skirt, and it will make a nice, soft landing."

Bug: In response to me bumping him with my elbow, "Mama! Your el-bone!"

G: "Whenever I get scared, the words 'what if' start bouncing around in my brain.  You know, like, 'What if the moon falls out of the sky?'"

Bug: I muted the T.V. at the hotel, and he asked me to turn the sound on.  I said I didn't want to while we were changing channels, because there were lots of inappropriate things on.  He said, "Can you turn on the appropriate?"

G: (who is home sick today) complaining of all that ails her, "an earache, a headache, a tummy ache, a sore throat, and brain bouncing."  When asked what she meant by "brain bouncing," she replied, "Well, like I can't make good decisions and stuff."

Greenfield Village

Hmmm, how to sum up a great weekend. . . The village was amazing.  The company was great.  The baby holding was a hit!

Greenfield Village was such a pleasant place, albeit tourist-y. It didn't seem obnoxiously so, somehow.  Maybe because at the same time, it felt so wholesome for the kids to be learning about the settler's time, about inventors and days before electricity.  They watched weaving and pottery and glass blowing with very focused attention.

They seemed to enjoy each other very much, too.  It is wonderful for us to spend some time with this family who has always felt close, but has spent many years far away.  All my kids loved holding one of the cutest babies in the world.  Bug requested that we please take the baby home with us.

We look forward to many more outings with these cousins!

He swims!

Over Labor Day weekend this fall, Bug decided he wanted to swim. So, he did!  He went under, moved his arms, kicked his legs, and scooted himself through the water.  He seemed to instinctually hold his breath underwater.  No learning to blow bubbles or practicing getting his face wet.  He just told me to move back and let him try it, so I did.  And he swam!

Time to ourselves

Bug and I have begun to get into our own little rhythm now that school has started.  It usually involves get home from the flurry of school drop-off to a quiet breakfast and tea.  Then, we head out with Stella for a walk (or sometimes a run).  We usually have a destination, like the woods or a park.  Once we get home from that it's time to shower and start the day.  I have to say, it's very nice to have 2 starts to the day nearly every day.  The first is usually stressful and quite a blur.  The second is usually more of a gentle beginning. I've been behind on blogging, but here are a few pictures of our morning outings.

A New Year

The beginning of a school year feels like everything starts anew more then the New Year.  Here we are again. . . here is that feeling in my chest that flutters a bit, with uncertainty and pride. . . here are my children, running into the world, away from my reach. . . here are only a few small tears, but mostly deep breaths of confidence. . . this is a place we have all been to before, and it still feels new.

Today Moo starts 3rd grade.  She has the blessing of many friends in her class from last year, as well as two friends from her toddlerhood.  G-Bear has many friends from last year, too, in addition to some friends from Moo's class last year, and one friend from church.  There are lots of new potential friends in each of their classes.  The teachers are a bit of a wild card, since we know nothing about them. . . only hearsay, which has been good.  I will spend today waiting for the clock to move faster and to see them again and hear the reports.  They will probably think of me some, but I think the day will go more quickly for them.

Fairy tale jokes

We spent some time in the car making up jokes, and here are a few worth remembering:

By Moo:
Why is Cinderella no good at soccer?
Because she can't find her coach.

By G-Bear:
Why does Cinderella have trouble walking?
Because she lost her FOOTmen.

By me:
How does Cinderella sneeze?
Glass-SHOE

My Moo:
Why does Snow White live in the forest?
Because her mother FOREST her to.

Friendly Haven

To spend time up at this place is just heavenly.  To spend that time with a pile of people you love being with is even better.  Time is a strange concept that seems to disappear in the air when we are enjoying this place.  We love it here, and we love these folks!