Brightest Day

Millie took these pictures and posted them to her blog months ago, but I want to save a couple here, too, because they're special. After 8 weeks of not being able to worship with the local body, we sneaked in a visit with our Newman-folk. 

I almost cried when the girls jumped out of the van to tackle each other. Christian friendship is one the largest gifts of sustainment God gives.

Even Andrew couldn't contain his excitement and leapt ten feet into the air...kind of.

Man, I love this bunch.

Phone Pictures: April Walk by the Lake

This was the walk on which someone thought we were breaking the Righteous Mandates, even though this was before masking rules, and we only numbered ten (the limit), and we were all family members, and due to children on wheels, we were all spread apart, anyway.

The ranger, though skeptical, finally accepted that those nine people were all my children, though the couple who called him clearly did not trust my honesty and thought I was pulling a fast one by bringing a whole neighborhood with me on a walk.

All in all, another glorious time!   ;)

Maybe to gain respectability, I should have bundled the little girls differently.

Naw.

Phone Pictures: My Birthday Date with Lemonhead Luci

Lucinda had her usual elaborate date with John, but this year, she also requested a mini-date with me. We took it in early May, when All Things were shuttered and locked.

Thank goodness for donuts and drive-throughs and the dike.

 There she is! A little speck on the opposite hill, waving to her mama.

We love you, Sunshine Girl.

Spring Leftovers

I found this picture of me looking weathered and careworn. John took it during a day of family gaming. I'm sure he beat me. He always does.

Aidan really is a Raphael.

Sammy's (a.k.a. St. B.'s/a.k.a. Fatty's) owner stopped in for a visit in the early spring. He was huge then, and he's only grown! It was the sweetest thing to see Olivia and him immediately recognize each other. She started nipping his ears and generally acting like a scolding mama at once.

(photo by Millie)

(photo by Millie)

An overdue sleepover. I don't know why they're all inspecting the old car, but I'm sure we had a roaring good time.

Someone done chopped her hairs.

A proper picture of the cake sans photobombers.

This spring Grandpa Owen taught Aidan to drive the zero-turn mower. We're all in trouble now.

(Last) Evening / (This) Morning

No posing required.

Mopsy Update

Thanks so much to those who prayed for Mom. Her surgery went without a hitch, praise the Lord, and the surgeon successfully removed the tumor. When the pathology report comes back, she'll know whether she can get away with six weeks of chemo, or if the course of treatment will be longer and stronger, but for now, we are all grateful and relieved that her surgery went smoothly.

The afternoon of her surgery, she was out puttering around in the flower garden, so it's safe to say she's recovering well. :)

Thank you all!

Real Time

The DMV is finally open again!

And now we have-- ulp-- two teenage drivers in the family.

Surfacing

For a few weeks after my last snapshot-laden post in April, I took more snapshots.  We woke to the phenomenon of heavy snow in mid-May and wondered if spring was on hold along with everything else, until the cherry blossoms decided that enough was enough and flooded the branches with a headier white. The world is swift and bright in spring-- the sunlight unfiltered, the green enthusiastic, all things new and glowing-- but I took few pictures. Because I now have a daughter(s) who shares my camera, which involves memory card switcheroo, I lost my memory card containing those few weeks of snapshots. I treat this often dusty space as a memory cache for me and mine, and also (and mostly) I am compulsive about proceeding in order, at least in a falsely tidy blog, so I then abandoned all will to continue shotsnaps. Plus, it's spring! We're slow-stewing in vitamin D and all the outdoor chores that really-truly never end.

At best, I've taken a dozen pictures in the last month, and Millie is beginning to eye my (her?!) camera with the territorial gaze of a raptor. Two important events have brought me out of this temporary blog hibernation-- one of a sober nature and one of a super-duper nature.







First with the sober: for those who would, please pray for Mopsy. Last month, the hospital finally opened its doors a bit wider again, and she was able to have her overdue cancer scan. She has a new cancerous tumor that needs to be removed, and the surgery is this coming Tuesday the 23rd, followed by six weeks of chemo. Please pray for her peace, health, and continued joy, and please pray that the surgeon will successfully remove all the cancerous bits. Thanks to those of you who care enough about this dear, little mother to lift her up to our Father!

Secondly, I want to share an exchange I had with Cadence, but before I do so, you need to go here, scroll down, and read the comments on this old post.
I'll wait.










Still waiting.










Are you finished?






Okay.

HURRAH! After 14 months of perimenopause, with all of its attendant hot flashes, wacky mood swings, wacky body other-stuff, massive weight gain, even through the summer (What?! You think candy and doughnuts contributed to this? No chance!), I figured that God was probably easing me into older age and that babies to hold from henceforth would belong to other people. I so fully enjoyed Skylark's babyhood and early toddlerhood that this prospect, though strange and bittersweet like most transitions, was not rife with regret that I had not soaked up that last baby like I should have. And Skylark didn't mind being indulged by Last Baby Syndrome, at all! She was still sleeping beside our bed and still nursing at nearly 2 1/2 years old, a luxury afforded no other Owen baby. What a joy she is...

And what a complete delight and utter wonder it is to be growing a little one within right now. I haven't been to the doctor yet (give me a couple of months), but I think I'm about 20 weeks right now. This baby's greeting was a shining ray in the gloomy first days of March and will arrive in the dreary first days of November, so we're calling him or her Sunbeam, or Sunny.

I've just begun feeling the kicks and stirs of daily movement and often am filled with first-time wonder-- grateful and, at times, in awe at being included one more time in the Shaper's creation of new life.

So here's to double digits!

From Last Month: Real Time to Remember

Having given her the ritual Good Morning Hug, Cadence and I were cuddling on the couch when my belly rumbled loudly enough for her to notice.

She sat bolt upright, eyes big with awe: "Mama! I just heard the baby rattle!"

It has happened several times since. My empty morning belly rumbles, and she, with a pleased grin, tells me that the baby just rattled.

With all that rattling and clattering about, I wonder what she imagines the baby's living space is like.

:)

Real Time: Quarantine Version

We're watching The Princess Bride right now. We all simultaneously burst into laughter at a line that normally doesn't even make us grin.

Let's see if you can figure out what part was so funny.
Fezzik and The Man in Black are facing each other in a showdown...

 Fezzik: "Why do you wear a mask? Were you burned with acid or something like that?"

Westley: "Oh no. It’s just that they’re terribly comfortable. I think everyone will be wearing them in the future."

Voting Booth Now Open

I am this close to painting our house midnight blue. The house inspector told us 10 years ago that the board and batten needed to be sealed, so I suppose it's about time.

My children have mixed opinions. John, predictably, tells me to do what I wish. (It would take him about a year to notice the color change, anyway.)

Here's the shade.The other option preferred by a vocal child who does not like change is a transparent seal. Now cast your Very Important Vote.