Simple Truth

 

More deaths than that of flesh
Exist to rend a heart in two.

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The last two months have been most like the December and January after my father's sudden death, a time of grief that finds its echo in those who grieve the same. This time, too, has loss that reaches beyond the present and is marked by clear recognition of a future bereft.
The similarities surprise me.

In the midst of this stirs something Other, a new, little life who deserves far more attention than what I've given him or her so far. My Heart and I were happily astonished on St. Patrick's Day by a green shoot of life curling sunward. For this new baby, we have only joy and gratefulness and celebration.

PitterPat-- a quiet sign of God's grace in hard places.  

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Snapshots for shotsnaps? 
Sure thing.

Here are the five lonely photos rattling around on my camera.

The Old Parker Place

 ...or, A Post A Day Keeps the Blues Away?!

I had to take pictures of my brother Andy's house just now. It was strange and bittersweet walking through the whole thing for the first time in eleven years. My mind was overwhelmed with memory while my mouth chattered inanely. I don't even know what I talked about. 

So, in this short-lived attempt to turn my blog into an Instagram account, I offer pictures from today-- Ransom watching hummingbirds out the window with me while most of the house was still asleep, along with an incongruous addition of some gorgeous touches in a house you'll never see.

Just Because I Can

 
We had a full and busy weekend with lots of good people in the house (including those crazy boys who drive 10 hours to see our beautiful daughters). I, of course, did not unpack my new camera even once while everyone was here. 

That's the way it goes.

I do, however, have the first fruits of the shiny thing. I took a couple of pictures from the couch as soon as  I lifted it out of the box, a few more the day that company was due to arrive, and then a few more today after everyone left.

All of which means, in case you hadn't noticed, that this is practically a REAL-TIME post!

The day that company was due to arrive, this was the scene in the living room.  Akkk!

But, still, this book has captivated me since childhood, and I'm pretty pleased to have an Andrew Henry in the making, even if it entails spilled salt all over the living room rug.  (In case any of this looks familiar, yes, Zeke has watched a couple of these videos.)

Today, after everyone left, we had a gaming party with John dominating most of them. (Millie was actually not at all grumpy here. The camera lies!)

Off in the corner, Ransom read an exhausted Nixie to sleep.

Piper Joy Turned Fifteen!

 

...in spite of the day disintegrating into a hot mess shortly after this birthday breakfast. 

Poor Pippi. This year her June 1st birthday was sandwiched in between two sets of weekend company, fell 3 days after Aidan's birthday on a day that was packed to the gills with extra garden and household tasks, all while the 3 older girls were gone at work.

I managed (barely) to get her birthday supper on the table by 7 o'clock, and that only because she, Luci, and birthday guests helped finish it up.

She's a sweetheart, though, and was such a good sport about it all. To offset my guilt, she and Luci at least got to enjoy a 2-hour birthday walk and adventure in the woods while I did dishes and worked on supper, but her cake-- that fancy birthday cake she requested?  Weeeeeell, we can't have everything we want all of the time.

The cake was the worst cake, bar none, I've ever made in my life. The taste wasn't bad, but the frosting kept clogging the tubes, so I couldn't even give it the simple decoration she requested, and then halfway through serving it, it plopped over on the table, too weary to make the pretense of being a proper birthday cake for more than a few minutes.

I plan to make her a second birthday cake in a couple of weeks when life slows down, to honor this cheerful, competent, talented, love-bug girl who deserves a Fancy Cake of her own.

We love you, Pip, even though this cake doesn't show much love!

(And this is the last of the pre-Abigail-Has-a-Working-Camera-Again snapshots! From here on out, it's Fancy Camera Land.)

May

 

I can hardly believe it, but for the first time in recent memory, my blog is nearly up to date. I guess having a broken camera comes in handy when one has a blog backlog, because the longer I went without a camera of my own, the less inclined I was to go through the bother of borrowing someone else's to take pictures. So here's May-- a few handfuls of snapshots I can easily post before my day begins in earnest.

Andy and Wendy and all the Johnsons left for Alaska, and this short visit was tinged for the first time with the knowledge that they will not be moving back, though the opposite has been our expectation for the last decade. Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but hope denied is harder yet. Maybe someday I will learn this lesson gracefully. 

Color rioted everywhere in May, lilac lingered long, and the air hung heavy with sweetness. Spring is a strange time to be sad, but everything grows, anyway, quietly speaking the truth that new life always comes.

Waving Goodbye to Papa Every Morning

 

 

Aidan is Nine!

 

Our Little Fire full of fire added another candle this year!

We had weekend company again (I don't know what it is with boys wanting to travel hundreds of miles to visit our daughters for a few days), but we were still able to celebrate him properly on the day itself, and by "properly," I mean with sausage, hard-boiled eggs, waffles, berry sauce, whipped cream, syrup, cinnamon sugar, and NERDS for breakfast. (Akk. He couldn't finish it because he felt sick. At least he's smart enough not to plow through, anyway.)

We had meatball subs and roasted brussels sprouts for supper (His request! Can you believe it?!), followed by ice cream sundaes sans bananas (also his request, which is definitely believable).

A brief interlude of Tadhg instead of the birthday boy, because he was so adorable. We bought Cherry Sprite for the first time, and Tadhg was very excited to try it. One sip in, and he had declared it the yummiest soda he'd ever had in his whole life.  Go Red 40!

I usually have the birthday child make their sundae and then plop candles in it, and then the ice cream melts while we sing. This time, I realized I could just put the candles inside the ice cream cartons, and that's the way we're doing it from here on out.

Oh, Aidan. Nothing beats a birthday boy full of delight on his big day.

We love you bunches, little stinker. I'm so glad you're ours!