"Sleep with me for three minutes". He holds up five fingers.
"Jackson, that's five minutes."
"No, just three." Five chubby fingers wiggle in front of my face. When I climb in next to him he quickly entwines his arms around my arms like the vines of a cucumber plant. Quietly he whispers into the crook of my elbow... "Tell me about Jesus."
Because of a wonderful friend, Tehya has had the opportunity of spending time with these amazing animals. In her own words... "It makes my heart happy".
Jackson walked into the room. He has been dressing himself for about 6 months now, and I'm curious every day to see how he will present himself to the world. So here he stands before me in a blue shirt and khaki shorts, looking very handsome.
"Jack, you look handsome in your clothes." His reply was a bit strange... "I do have underwear," he insists. What a weird way to respond to a compliment. I was looking for something along the lines of "thank you", or "you look beautiful too, Mom."
Lets try that again. "Jack, you look handsome today." Again he states "I do have underwear, Mom." Intrigued, I push on. "Jack, let me see your underwear."
Giggles sneak from his lips.
..."Jack, show me what underwear you are wearing."
I should know when to just let things go. Another giggle erupts from his mouth as he turns his back to me. Down come the pants. Two white buns. And no underwear in sight.
Sunday, August 16, 2009
This is Manassas...
(Anitra, thanks for taking the pictures of Savannah and me!)
Did you know you can still find civil war bullets in the earth here? You aren't allowed to bring a metal detector anywhere near the battle feild. A certain person I know told me that he has found a few while fishing in the rivers around Manassas. While we are here, the boys keep their eyes peeled for treasures. I explain to them as best I can that if they find anything, the right thing to do would be to give it to the museum. I am not sure they agree with me. They continue to dig in the dirt, fingers searching for treasure.
One day I will come back in the early morning hours to take pictures. Some mornings the clouds sit so low to the earth that they wrap around the trees. And then the sun rises red. It's beautiful here.
My sweet baby has a new trick! She has learned that she can reach anything in the house with the push of a stool. I watch her, but she doesn't know it. With a lot of effort, she pushes the stool to the counter, freezer, table, pantry....and I jump out at the last second to bring her safely to the floor. She sees me coming though and grabs all the frozen peas, glass cups, tortilla chips, plates....as fast as she can.
I can't believe it has been a month since my last post. That's horrible! I can't really say I have been up to much, just trying to figure out how to remain happy and positive while Chad has been traveling so much. One night a few weeks ago while crying to Chad on the phone, he gave me some great advice...to stick to a written schedule with the kids. His advice was to pray about it, write it down and then do it. I think he must have been inspired. We have been sticking to a schedule since then and it has made a world of a difference. The house stays clean, the kids are busy, and they are much happier. For some reason if it is written down, they won't argue with it. Now, those of you who know me, you know how unorganized I am and how I like to "fly by the seat of my pants". But not anymore. (Well, I would still like to). I really can tell I benefit too from having a set schedule. Anyway, that is what I have been up to the past month...concentrating on my kids and my home. We were lucky to be able to take a break from everything and run off to Ocean City last week. It is about 3 hours from here, and it was WONDERFUL! I can't wait to go back. We also had some old friends stay in our house while we were gone. I wish we could have hung out with them more, but it was pretty awesome that it worked out and they could use our house for their vacation. They'll just have to come back. Here are a few pictures and highlights from our trip...
I learned that the best way to watch 4 kids at the beach is to bury them. I would dig holes, lure them into the trap, and then bury them up to their thighs. They couldn't get out for at least 20 minutes!!
Savannah loved to pick up jelly fish! She would grab one and then run away, and I would watch the poor thing jiggle down each side of her hand until it looked like it would divide in two. They weren't dangerous by the way. I asked the lifeguard. They were just clear slimy things that Savannah would squeal over and poke!
Food was way too expensive!
Jacob is a social being. He made many friends, and even had a couple of teenagers finding treasures with him in the sand. I really had to keep a close eye on him...between people to meet and birds to chase, he was everywhere!
Jack loved the waves. He reminded me of a human piece of sea glass. His favorite thing was to sit on the shore and let the waves tumble him according to their will.
Tehya was busy collecting sea shells and describing all the amazing things she is going to make with them.
We all had a wonderful time, and it was especially nice to spend time with Chad. Things are still busy with work, but I am glad we got a little "breather" in there.
Oh and thanks Mom for the list of "fun things to do at the beach". If you want to read the story, go here... It's really cute.
We did everything on the list, except for the sand crabs. I couldn't find any, well that's not true... I couldn't find any live ones.
We headed out Saturday night looking for a good location. This old house was just sitting there, all alone and abandoned. It was a beautiful site, just off the road on the way to Manassas. While shooting farther down on the property, we were startled to hear people talking. I looked up the hill to see a car filled with men parked next to our car. An uneasy feeling swept through my body. We decided it was time to find a new location. As we walked toward the car, they drove off. So we stayed. We just made sure we stayed on the road where there would be other people. As the sun set, the fire flies came out. It was so magical. It fills my heart to be able to go out and take pictures with my friends. Thanks Chira for being our model.
I had the opportunity to go with some friends to shoot some pictures in this little town about 30 minutes from where I live. I drove through it a few weeks ago and have been dying to go back. There is still much more exploring to do.
Thanks Amy for organizing this! I had so much fun taking pictures, and I am officially in love with this little town, "Bluemont". Also, Rebekah, thanks for modeling for us...you are so beautiful!
He picked the wrong window to perch on. It was about midnight when I spotted him, green and black, suctioned to our sliding door. The rain must have brought him. I caught him...I grabbed his slimy little body and put it in a container with some water and rocks. For the next hour I debated letting him go. As I peered into the container, I whispered a little "sorry". Then I went to bed.
So far today, Shawn the frog has been on quite the adventure. I made the rule "frogs stay outside", but Shaun keeps managing to find his way indoors. At 6:00 am, he ate breakfast with us, observing from the leg of a dining chair. 6:30, his first trip to the bathroom inside a little boys pocket. 6:45, a swiming excersion inside an old pickle jar. 7:00, lost behind the TV. Our day has continued like this...inside and out, lost and found. At about 8:00, Jacob let him go. They stared at eachother, one boy inside, one slimy frog outside. Stared for about 10 minutes until suddenly Shaun jumped back inside onto Jacobs happy little arm. Upstairs he ran to explain that Shaun chose to stay. One time Jacob believed he was sneaking Shaun inside safely in his pocket, when I spotted him clinging tightly to Jacobs back. It's 9:30 now and I don't know what to do.
So now here I sit. Frog croaking in the background. Jacob teaching him his ABC's. Outside the window I watch a mommy robin sit on her nest full of plump blue eggs. Across the lawn, a bunny munches on our weeds. And inside, a frog hops around.
I heard Jacob's version of the story while he talked to my mom on the phone:
My Frog, by Jacob Green
We found a frog. I took it inside, and outside, and inside, and outside. Then I hid it in my house. Then I let it go. Bye!
Update: Shaun the frog is safe and sound outside, hiding somewhere. Jacob asks..."do you think he is missing me horribly?"
I think this is one of my favorites. I wonder if you need to obtain permission before taking random people's photographs...but by the time you ask, the moment is gone. I just couldn't resist.
