I’m so thankful for great teachers – who not only introduce my children to words, sounds, letters, books, numbers, and skills, but who also watch out for potential allergies and follow up with emails later that evening to check on my little loves.
I’m grateful to call most of these teachers not just colleagues, but friends. And I’m so grateful that sometimes, when you have a good book and talkative parents, this is what happens in the hallway after school.
I remember waking up at one point in the night and putting the kids into their own beds, while Garth and I decided to sleep in the living room considering we didn’t have power and it’s almost always colder upstairs.
“What time is it?” I asked groggily, surprised by how dark the house is without the ambient glow of digital displays. I figured we’d been sleeping for hours.
“11,” he replied flatly, exuding the same sense of disbelief I felt.
We peeked out the windows and added another layer of blankets. At some point in the night, the kids must have come back out because I found one tangled between my arms when I woke this morning!
Since we’d forgotten to pick up the other van from church, it was going to be a family affair to head into school bright (well, not so much) and early.
En route, I called Consumers and learned that restoration would likely be Thursday night at 11pm. Of course. What’s more, Seneca was running a fever and ended up staying home with me. We dropped off the boys and headed back to snuggle more. Double layers of clothes, under blankets – it was grand. We played a few games, drew pictures and rested. Before we knew it – we heard the rumble of the furnace, and slowly everything came back on.
The TV came right back on to a different basketball game, but Seneca thought it was the same one we were watching when the power went out. She was so excited, she recorded this to send to Daddy.
I made coffee and lunch, before putting her down for what would be a six-hour nap!! I guess she really did need the time to rest, recover, and restore her own energy back to healthy levels!
Last night, the kids were enjoying a leisurely dinner long after G and I were done and feeling ready to crash for the night. I wrote out the 5 jobs they needed to accomplish (choose clothes, go potty, brush teeth, pack lunch, put on PJs) and let them know that we would be on the couch ready for books when they were finished.
On one hand, I felt a little bad because they were left to their own devices. On the other hand, I think it was really good for them. It was early enough that we could let them dawdle and take their time, and our only reminder was, “Are you done with all the jobs on the list?” Plus, Garth and I got to snuggle and I even dozed off for a bit while he played on his iPad.
The next morning, I found these adorable notes! The English teacher in me, is pleased as punch that Calder is picking up the genre of the lunch note (date in upper corner, name, note signed XOXO!). It makes it worth printing, cutting, and writing little notes in their lunchbox TOTALLY worthwhile! I also LOVE that he opted for the word “grand” which is totally like him!
Seneca’s note was COMPLETELY done on her own as well! I will say it was the source of a bit of morning drama as Calder was displeased with the numbers along the top, which she tried to scribble out, which them caused frustration because it was “scribbly” – but all those complaints aside, I love that they are discovering words and language and expression.
I might seem that this is plenty of gratitude for one day, and yet for me it’s just the beginning. Today, I was able to travel with five fabulous ladies to spend the day at IKEA, where the laughter was as plentiful as the deals on a few great finds including a few Christmas gifts! To top it off, we returned just in time to collect kids from school. Upon arriving home, they persuaded me to retrieve their snowgear from the attic and they spent the better part of an hour playing the “snow” that had fallen in the backyard!
While they played, I worked to surprise Garth with homemade lasagna now that I have the correct version of the recipe he has come to know and love! The timing was impeccable (which is unusual for me!). We were ready to eat, just as Garth arrived home from his first middle school basketball game. It was a delicious end to a fabulous day!
Having resurrected this here blog over our holiday break, I began looking back through some draft posts that never quite made it through to publication. I found this one, written in February of 2009 and I thought it was just begging to be published. Ironically, one of the milestones I mention, is about to happen in the fall!
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Despite the waning frequency with which I’m sharing the ups and downs around our household, things really are happening! I can scarcely believe that it’s already been an entire six months since my precious girl arrived! All too often I focus on the stress, the crammed schedule, the piles of work (house and school) that remain untouched.
But today – when I heard her waking earlier than usual, my arms ached to hold her. Sitting there, in the dark of the morning, I smiled thinking back on the excitement that the day had arrived when my water broke – also before dawn.
Holding my sweet, sweet angel and feeling her contentment was an blessed way to begin my day. I pray for the clarity to see these moments more often, and to cherish them, for if this half-year has passed so quickly, I can only imagine how soon it will seem that she’s starting school and then requesting the keys.
There’s something about a Saturday with no commitments that makes me smile. A little grocery shopping, a few crafty projects, staying snug in jammies until whenever we feel like actually getting dressed – it’s absolute perfection.
While I had hoped for a little more leisure to get it started, someone else (a certain little lady) informed me she was ready for breakfast at 6:15!! I suppose that’s technically sleeping in for me, so I can’t complain. As we headed downstairs, I smiled in the dark at the feel of her hand squeezing mine tightly. About half-way down, she said, “OK, Mom, so we’ve got lots of work to do today.” Of course, she’s right and we did get lots of little crafty stuff done.
After finishing little pesky sewing projects – nothing fancy, we’re talking AWANA patches and rough-looking tooth fairy pillows – we started a little Valentine’s Day project, ate lunch and then headed out for a hike because it was nearly 60 degrees yesterday! In January. In Michigan.
Before we left, Sis ran and scribbled a bunch of circles onto a couple papers. She was intent on bringing them with us. When we arrived at the trail, she broke them out because they were our maps – of course!
We started strong – running, excited and ready for adventure. About .5 miles into the 2.5 mile course, we stopped for a quick photo op of the the kiddos and Dad! (Look closely and you’ll see her map peeking out from behind buddy!).
We saw all sorts of cool rocks, tracks, and just had a great time being outside and together. There was very little complaining about the walk, but G and I had to manufacture a few races here and there in order to keep the pace moving along. When we neared the end, the map came out again and I told Sis just how proud I was of her for thinking of that and bringing it along. She responded with our quote of the day –
And since I rarely stop to actually get IN a picture, I decided that today was as good a time as any to actually be on the other side of the camera phone. As much as the unseasonable warmth was enjoyable yesterday, I’m also love the big fat flakes I see falling just beyond my picture window as I type.
Cornwell Crew 