Thoughts on a warm spring day

I'm not even gonna talk about how long it's been.
Long enough for my firstborn to turn 7 and my baby to turn 4.
Long enough for winter to come and go, and for spring to begin again.
It would take a lot of time to catch up.
I'm not gonna even try.

Our weather has been so warm.  The sun shines and the children play.  Their voices rise and fall, it is the music of our neighborhood.  My driveway is covered in chalk drawings.  The tree in our front yard has already leafed out, and is beginning to provide wonderful shade in the afternoon.  My tulips have bloomed and my flower beds are coming back to life.  Each time my shovel disturbed the earth yesterday afternoon, worms wiggled out.  They are HUGE this year!  I was so happy to see them.  I love worms.

My sister recently had a young friend that got married.  There has been  much excitement over the dress, and the cake, and the bridesmaids.  The talk of her marriage has caused me to think of my own, almost 10 years ago.   But as hard as I try, honestly I don't remember much from that day.  Isn't that strange?  It seems like I was walking in a dream.  And what I desperately want to tell this friend of my big sister is that the dress, the flowers, the cake...it is all very beautiful but it is not what defines a marriage.  I look at this man I married, a good and kind man.  And it is the sharing of our life, the things only we remember, the give and take of it all...that is what defines a marriage.  We have been through some fire in 10 years. We have struggled and we have cried.  We have lost and we have won.  We have laughed and laughed.  We have rejoiced and mourned.  We have walked through the shadow of death and we have witnessed the start of new life.  And the ceremony that started our journey was simply the beginning, the launching off point to what we have become together in 10 years.   I want to tell the new bride all of this, try to make her understand.  But there is no way to explain this mystery.  How you become so woven together.  How wonderful it is to know that one person on this planet truly knows you.  Knows your good parts and bad parts...and chooses everyday to love you anyway. 

A short post.

I've sort of abandoned this blog.

Not on purpose of course.

Life just gets in the way.

And that's funny,

because it's life that I like to blog about,

like to record so that I might remember.

All the little things,

and the big things,

that happen so suddenly.

And so I will start small

with grand hopes to go big.

Pictures and words to remember

my life as it was when my children were small.

Several weeks ago, on the coldest day of the year thus far, Sam and I stood out on the freezing tarmac to see this guy.

Do you see who I'm talking about?!  Behind the brown hat in the lower right corner of the picture?

Yes, we stood there for over 20 minutes in the bone-chilling cold, hand-warmers tucked into our gloves and hats pulled down tightly over our ears.

It was all an amazing dream for Sam, our little pilot, the little boy who takes toy airplanes into the bath tub and flies helicopters on our heater vents.   He has never been so still or so quiet as he was when he saw the largest aircraft he has ever seen, land on the tarmac right in front of him.  Sure he has flown on planes, and has seen planes fly over our house, but this thing!?  This beast?  Folks, it is HUGE!  Even I was left speechless!  And then....then...he got to see 5 military helicopters take off into the southern sky.  Talk about a dream!  We were so close our hats were blown off of our heads.  My little pilot, perched on my shoulders, remained quiet...still...awestruck...amazed. 

Oh and of course we got to see that guy.  But three year olds don't really understand who "that guy" is...even if they get a high-five from him.  Good thing we have a picture to show him someday when he does understand.  See?  In the picture below?  In the upper left hand corner, the little grey hood perched on my shoulders?   That's Sam...getting a presidential high-five. 

 It was a great day, cold, but great.  And, as I loaded my sweet red-cheeked baby boy into his car seat he looked at me and said "Mom, dat was cool!  Me wanna fly a big helicopter too someday!" 

Oh baby boy...I don't know if mama's heart can take that....

BoyCat

I could spend a lot of time playing catch up. But honestly, I don't really remember what happened yesterday. So I'm just gonna start with a story.  And a few pictures.

When my mom comes to visit, she brings a lot of stuff.  Not stuff like luggage and personal belongings, but stuff like clothes for my kids or old place mats I might be able to use or a sequin purse she found when she was cleaning out her closet or a book she thinks I might like.  Just. stuff.  Earl calls it "the crap your mom brings"...

Once, not too long ago, she came and brought two small stuffed cats.  One was pink, the other blue.  When you put their noses close together, through the magic of magnets, they seemed to kiss.  Very fabulous.  Grace quickly claimed them as her own.  I don't blame her.  See...here they are.  Darling, huh?

Until Simon (our old border collie dog) chewed the nose off the pink bear.  "Pick your toys up or the dog is gonna chew them up!!!!"  And so the pink bear was discarded and the blue bear was tucked away, all alone, in a toy bin.  Until Sam found him.  "GanTone bring this a-me!!" he exclaimed.  And quickly fell in love with, and named the lone cat.  So began Sam's undying love and devotion for "BoyCat"

Now I've never had a child attatch to an object.  Sure Grace had her chou-chou (our family name for a pacifier) but this "BoyCat" is different.  BoyCat has a personality.  He has likes and dislikes (he does not like green vegetables, but loves anything sweet).  He gets scared (he is especially terrified of alligators in his room after the lights go out).

BoyCat needs a bath at least once a week because he really loves to play outside and he gets quite dirty.  And he always, always, snuggles in bed each night with Sam for a song and a story.  

Have you ever read the story of The Velveteen Rabbit?  The tale of a stuffed rabbit, who after much love and devotion, one day comes to life?  Becomes a real rabbit?  I know it's just a story, but sometimes I look at my blond headed little boy and his stuffed friend, and I wonder...hmmmm...what if?  

And so, it is for this reason when we took our annual family photographs this year, I asked our photographer to capture a few of Sam and his beloved BoyCat.  These are two of my very favorite pictures ever taken.  Oh they just melt my heart. 

You can almost see a twinkle in BoyCat's eye.  He has a very important job to do...watching over this sweet boychild of mine.

Back burner blogging

Blogging has taken a back burner in my life.
Itsa shame, really.  I like to write.  As I sit here listening to my family make pancakes in the kitchen (mama doesn't make pancakes...mama drinks coffee while the pancakes are being made), it feels nice to sit and put my thoughts into words.  I should really do this more often...
So very quickly...here are some things that are sitting on  the FRONT burners of my life.
--Both kids are playing soccer. There is a very LARGE difference between a U8  (Grace) game and a U4 (Sam) game.  Imagine trying to herd drunk cats...this is very similar to watching 8 three and four year olds chase a soccer ball around a field. 
--Both kids are in school.
--We renovated our kitchen.  Pictures to come...maybe.  I'm not making any promises, said the girl who hasn't blogged in 2 months.
--The weather has been gorgeous.  We spend most of our "at home" time outside.  Lots of outside time = very sleepy children.  Love this.
--I made the kids Halloween costumes this year.  Pictures to come...well...maybe...see above statement re. pictures.
--Earl has been traveling. 
Honestly though...as I sit here, I can't think of much more.  I know there's more, perhaps I need another cup of coffee.  Maybe I'm just rusty on this whole blogging business.  How about some pictures...when in doubt, post pictures.

Sam...helping Earl pack. 

 Earl, demoing the kitchen...isn't he darling?! 

And Grace.  Crazy, silly, bouncing Grace.

Alright...there is coffee to be consumed and soccer shin guards to be put on.

I'm out.

An update on Baby Dove

Baby Dove flew the nest yesterday.  She was the first one to attempt flight, and flew straight into my neighbor's garage.  Welcome to the world little birdie.  Stop flying into garages. 
The neighborhood kids were outside running crazy playing tag under the tree where the dove have made their home.  The kids were L.O.U.D.  Loud like only 15 kids can be that have been cooped up in a classroom all day.  And I wonder if Baby Dove didn't just get so fed up with the racket, she decided that flying the nest was her only option.  I was sitting in another driveway and just happened to look over and witness this crazy first flight...I couldn't believe my eyes.  I looked at the other ladies sitting around me...they were all still chatting.  They hadn't seen Baby Dove's perilous first flight, and I honestly think if they had seen it, they wouldn't have done what I did next.  I said "I think that Baby Dove just flew into that garage" and got up...I walked into the garage and began to search for Baby Dove.  A gray bird blends in well with a gray concrete garage floor.  I'm just sayin'.  After a bit of searching, the neighbor came out. Don't worry, I didn't alarm him...we drift in and out of each other's houses all the time.  He was not shocked to see me in his garage.  He was shocked to hear that Baby Dove had chosen his garage as the destination for her first flight.  And as soon as he closed the door, Baby Dove fah-lipped out.  I tried to scoop her up...but she was fast!  And I only ended up "herding" her into the tall Pampas grass outside.  The children swarmed me.  This was great!...exciting!...they were all talking at once "can I touch it?" "what happened?" "Are you gonna keep it?"....  Baby Dove was terrified.  This was the most action she had seen in her short little life.  I was able to scoop her up and attempt to return her to the nest.  But that startled her brother--still safely in the nest--and he flew off.  He flew into a tree.  Like a normal bird.  And Baby Dove, startled by her brother, flew into the street.  Great.  I herded her under a car, told the children to leave her alone, and went back to chatting with the neighbor ladies, who all looked at me like I had 6 heads and  probably a fresh case of lice compliments of Baby Dove, but said nothing.  I'm a stranger in this world.  Weird.  Unusual. Abby-normal. I try to be normal.  I really do.  I only end up seeming more weird.  Ahem...moving on.  After 20 minutes or so I looked up from my attempt at making "normal" conversation, to see the three girls of the neighborhood gang (my girl included), all walking behind Baby Dove, who had found her way back into the middle of the street.  *Sigh*  They all wanted to touch her.  Pick her up.  Put her in a Princess lunchbox.  I suggested we try once more to put her back into the nest.  They agreed that this was a better idea than the lunchbox and lugged over a chair for me to stand on.  And this time, Baby Dove stayed in the nest.  I think she had learned her lesson.
We checked on her on our way to take Grace to school this morning.  She was still there.  I wondered for a minute if something was wrong with her.  If maybe she had been injured in her shenanigans from the day before.  But as I stood looking up at her, my children gathered around me, curious, wondering...she stood up and flew away.  Into a tree.  Praise be to God.
“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes?  Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?"  Matthew 6:25-27

For my momma...

A nest?...A covey?....I dunno...whatever...a family of dove, has made a nest in the tree across the street.  Our neighbor discovered it and showed my children one unseasonably cool Sunday afternoon while they were playing outside.  My children showed it to me.

Very fantastic.

The nest is only about 8 feet up in the tree and when I stand on a small chair, my face is level with the birds.  There are two babies.  A week ago they fit nicely in their new home, snug under Mama Dove.  Now?  Well now they are spilling out of the nest...

See... 

 Geez!  And I have the gall to complain about my house being too cramped!

 The babies are rather darling.  And unlike other baby birds I have had the privilege to meet, rather quiet...I haven't heard a peep out of them! 

My have they grown quickly!  I'm guessing they will attempt their first flight sometime very soon. 

Do you know that dove mate for life?  That they are monogamous?  Well...they are.  And they are quite a team. I've been checking on this nest for almost 2 weeks now and it has never been left unattended.

We had a terribly powerful storms roll through a couple of nights last week. I woke up, WIDE awake...I listened to the thunder roll, heard the wind beat the side of the house, and I began to pray for Mama Dove.  I was so worried that I would find her nest on the ground the next morning, tossed to the ground, the babies spilled out.  So the next morning, before I had my first cup of coffee, I raced outside in my pajamas, stood on the chair and saw--much to my relief--Mama Dove and both of her babies.  Carefully nestled in the branches of a Bradford Pear, safe from the storm.  God is good...even to a family of dove.  

This post is for my momma.  The woman that taught me, and continues to teach me, that we are all connected.  Each and every one of us.  She taught me to marvel at the mystery of nature and taught me to respect the wild things.  xoxo--Kate

Today

Today my daughter started 1st grade.

 How quickly these 6 1/2 years have gone.

 I walked her to the doors of the school and into her classroom.  She told me she didn't need me to walk with her this year.  That she knew the way.  What she doesn't know is that I needed her to walk with me.  One is never prepared for these moments in motherhood.

 She wears a size 2 tennis shoe.  When did her feet get so big?

She rolled her eyes when leaned down to kiss her goodbye.  Where did she learn that?

 She assured me that "yes Mom I can open my fruit cup at lunchtime...all. by. myself."

 She is my challenge.  My exuberant one.  Full of fire and life and passion.

 Earl and I have learned to mostly just watch.  She has so much to teach us.  She makes us laugh and cry and scream and wonder "Are we raising her right?"....Whatever "right" is...

 Today my daughter started 1st grade. 

Simply unbelievable.