What's left of my memory

The last time I posted, I knew we were pregnant again...but now I don't remember if anyone else knew or not by then. I've thought more than once, "oh, I should post that." You know, so that someday I'll remember. But then I don't remember to post it once I sit down. And so it has gone for the last three months.

As many of these posts have been, forthcoming is a smattering of things that I remember that I don't want to forget. And I don't want to know how many I've already forgotten.

Plane tickets have been booked for the kids and I to hit the skies and head to DC to visit Carrie and Jordan for a couple of days before the crowining glory of the summer. The annual OBX trip. Nothing compares. Except maybe seeing how excited the kids are to fly to DC and eat at Georgetown Cupcakes. Samuel had a bit of concern evident in his voice this morning, though. He said over breakfast, "I hope we don't get on the wrong plane..." I assured him that I would make sure that we got on the right plane, told him about the tickets, checkpoints, etc. Anna said she didn't want to end up in Iowa. Wouldn't that be a letdown compared to DC... McKenna, the voice of reason, piped up that it would be OK if we ended up on the wrong plane, as long as that plane took us to Mexico. "I can do all the talking if we end up there since I know Spanish."

We've had a lot of conversations about Spanish lately, actually. Not in Spanish, just about it. For example, why is Spanish the language spoken in Mexic? I went into a little talk about explorers and such and McKenna sat with mouth open wide. "Wow, that must have been a LONG time ago." Yes, indeed it was, by the standard of her few years. "It must have been before 1985..." Yes, indeed it was.

We only have 5 more days of officialy schooling this year. And that's just because I'm drawing it out. Again. I think I don't like to end because that means that then we'll have a kindergartner, 1st grader, and 2nd grader. And I'm just not ready for that. It's my "Rebekah inspired mentality". I'm not ready to be a parent of K, 1, and 2 students...

Samuel learned how to ride his bike last month. One of his training wheels was broken. He asked Pops to fix it, and the end result was that he rode around the driveway with just one training wheel for a couple of minutes before having the second training wheel removed. The first time he tried with no training wheels, he was off and riding. Seriously. I was dreading teaching him to ride this summer. I've already determined that I am not cut out for teaching bike riding. (Beowulf I've got covered, at least in the elementary version. Seriously. We did that this week. Bike riding? Not so much.) I about lost my mind with each of the girls the last two summers. As it turns out, nothing to worry about there. The bigger trick will be keeping him from going at breakneck speed all summer. It's a good thing I know the way to Riley. (For McKenna, too. She's taken to teaching herself tricks on the bike. Riding side saddle across the yard, letting go with both hands... Yes, it's a good thing I know where to park at Riley.)

Anna is our baby lover. Well, she's a baby lover, but not so much ours, though I see that changing ever so slightly in the last couple of weeks. She has verbalized some anxiety about how life will change after the baby is born in September. She's worried about how we'll still have time to love her with a baby that takes up so much time. Anna is drawn to every other baby in the world. I am certain that she will fall in love with this baby the instant that she sees it, holds it, loves on it. I would love for that to happen sooner, but I think that having her see Chris and I love her continually and show added love for her new sibling will be tremendously helpful. The most involved that she's been has to think up lists of baby names. Always topping the girl list are "Hannah" and "Montana". (She's never seen or heard Hannah Montana, just picked up the name from being out and about.) We've told her that we don't really want the name Montana, and that Hannah might be a little too confusing at our house. Really. Nana. Anna. Hannah. I would never call anyone by the right name.

Today (well, yesterday, technically) was Good Friday. After work I was laying on Nana and Pops' bed with McKenna and Samuel. We had just turned off their new favorite show (Jake and the Neverland Pirates) when I asked them if they knew what day it was. McKenna knew it was Friday and Samuel's eyes lit up and he squeaked, "It's GOOD Friday!" They were able to tell me what the significance of Good Friday is. They knew that it was the day that Christ was crucified. They knew that He didn't stay dead. They knew that we celebrate Easter because He rose again, fulfilling the promises of Scripture. He is our Saviour. He is the only means of forgiveness of sins. My heart was glad. I don't want it to be a trite story to them. It's not. It's truth. It's so so much more than a story. I want them to know the story, but also for it to take root in theirl lives. To change them. To transform them. I was taking all this in, praying silently for their futures. Samuel interrupted my thoughts and said, "Mama, I want Jesus to be MY Saviour. I want him to forgive MY sins and live in MY heart." Oh, sweet boy... And so, with his sister looking on, Samuel prayed to ask these things of HIS Saviour. To lead him in such a prayer, to see his heart is one of the greatest priviliges I have ever known. (To have done so with each of our children leaves me speechless.) I will continue to pray for each of them. For Anna, for McKenna, for Samuel, for the baby that is to come. That they will not be childhood decisions that are made for any reason other than pure desire for communion with the God of the Universe. The God that made them. Who loves them. Who sacrified His Son to do for them what they would never be able to do for themselves. What a wonderful Good Friday. And Sunday's coming. I can't wait! (It was so fun to see Sam run to Nana this afternoon and say, "I asked for forgivness! I asked Jesus in my heart!" He jumped up to her just the way a grandson could only do with someone who shares his enthusiasm and shares in this eternal joy.)

linguistics

"Sam, your enthusiasm is wonderful. I love it!"

"I'm not enthusiasticity..."

The Funnies

My kids love to read the comics in the Sunday paper, in any other paper they find, and in comic books from the library. Even without reading them, they would produce plenty of their own funnies. I present to you three of my favorites from the last month.

Dad was working at a job site doing something with a nail gun or a drill. (These are perhaps interchangeable since a similar story--on his part--occurred with each.) He inadvertently screwed his finger to a cabinet door. He doctored himself up, not needing the assistance of a medical professional. He relayed this story to us over dinner and then said that it had happened a few days earlier. In commenting that it had healed well and didn't hurt very much he said, "The next day I even had to look at my fingers to see which one it happened to." From across the table, Anna stared in wonder. Finally she said, "Did you pray? Was it a miracle?"

McKenna is troubled. She said in a panic the other day, "My hair is turning yellow!" (gasp!) When we asked what color it used to be..."blonde." She was serious.

Samuel... Drat. I can't remember. Although today in the OSU vs. Illinois game he said that he was going to cheer for Ohio. But, "Don't tell Daddy. He won't be very happy with me because he doesn't like Ohio."

'tis the season

On Wednesday night coming home from church Anna asked me what day it was. (Wednesday, December 1st, of course.) Nope. Correct answer was, "The first day of Honda". I assumed that she meant Hanukkah, so I asked what she knew about it. "Well, they had oil and burned lights for a lot of days." Who did? "The Judases."

Historical clarification is in order.

Introductions

Disco Clarks, meet Kung Fu Clarks:

Thankful for forgetfulness

One good one for each kiddo...

Anna: Driving home from Ft. Wayne this morning, Anna noticed a flea market. Inquiring minds want to know, "Mom, do they sell midgets at the flea market?" It was nothing short of a miracle that my first response was to clarify if she meant "gadgets". She did. Max Anders would be proud of my translation skills.

McKenna: I took the kids this afternoon down to Riley for the family tours of the new Simon Family Tower. It is nothing short of amazing. It will take some getting used to, though, because it is SO different than our current set up. Anyway...we were riding down from the 9th floor to the main level and had a long walk through the corridors to get back to the coat rack (and more importantly, to the kids, the snacks). The elevator's occupants were: myself, Anna, McKenna, Samuel, and the CEO of Riley. I knew who he was and am hopeful that he does not know who I am. I am thankful that I forgot my clarian ID. McKenna pipes up (in random McKenna fashion) to Mr. CEO, "Guess what I had for lunch?" I know what she had for lunch so I know this is going nowhere good. He plays along. "What did you have for lunch?" McKenna is frank. "My mom gave me one slice of an apple." Seriously? I work on the unit with kids who have feeing issues. I am supposed to know something about nutrition and what kids ought to eat. He looked at me quizzically. All I could do was truthfully admit that she did in fact have a very large breakfast. I stopped there. I figured the more I talked the worse it would get. But it was a very long walk back to the snacks. Which Mr. CEO watched my children devour. Great.

Samuel: OK, he gets 2. He's a funny kid. First, he announced recently that he wants to move to Canada. Why, you may ask? Well, because "I like the sound of the common loon and I think they have more common loons in Canada than Indiana." Our study of birds is paying off more than I thought. Second, we've been going back and forth between underwear and pull ups at night for him. The other morning he headed to the bathroom, unzipped his jammies and exclaimed, "I forgot I was wearing underwear!" Even knowing the context it was a very funny thing to hear. Alright, he gets 3. But they're all short. Samuel has taken to calling the Simon Family Tower something different. He calls it "The Tower of Doom". Perhaps that's a name that shouldn't stick. Not so good for a children's hospital!

Getting back on the wagon

Well. I'm still here. Likely the only one, but that's OK.

How do I recap the past 9 weeks? With great gaps, I'm sure.

The highlights include...

We started in with the Iron Sharpening Iron homeschool co-op. Love. It. Sam and McKenna are doing the traditional style preschool and kindergarten classes. Anna is taking PE (she says, play and exercise) and ballet.

The girls ran in the elementary cross country race sponsored by Noblesville's cross country team. It was good fun for everyone, including McKenna. I know that actions speak louder than words and pictures are worth 1,000 words, but I promise, she did have fun. They each ran a half mile and did very well for their kindergarten and first grade divisions. McKenna came in at 4:07 and Anna ran 3:35.

We spent a rainy fall day at a local elk farm. Seeing elk. Feeding deer. Spending time.

We made a long overdue trip to Alabama. While we were there Chris and I decided it was time to celebrate our 10th wedding anniversary. We did so in some fine NCAA football style and watched Alabama roll over Florida. It was when they were still ranked first and looked every bit as good as their ranking. It was an absolutely perfect day and night. Now I can be a real fan since I've been to a home game!

On the way home we spent a day in Nashville. I always love driving through, so it was fun to stop. We continued the kids' history lessons at the replica of the Parthenon. We had been reading about ancient civilizations and our timing could not have been more perfect. Have I mentioned that I love homeschooling. We are definitely a work in progress, but I love the opportunities it has already afforded our family.

We've played in the leaves. Lots of leaves. Lots of leafy clothes through the wash... (I cannot figure out how not to have this underlined. The button is missing...)

Anna turned 7 last month. That's hard to get my mind around. She is such a sweet girl. I love that she still likes to hold my hand when we walk though the store. She's a snuggler. Loves to snuggle on the couch and doesn't leave Chris' lap when he's home. She regularly finds her mistakes in her schoolwork before being corrected. She loves to learn. Asks fabulous questions. Loves babies. And the show Animal Cops. She's turned her daddy's world upside down and declared herself an Auburn fan. She's definitely sporting the missing teeth look very well. This year she wanted a donut cake. Thanks to Dunkin Donuts, she got one. And we have listened to nothing but TobyMac since 10/22.

Another field trip was to a local farm and pumpkin patch with the co-op. The kids had a great time and after working all night before hand, I can proudly say that I stayed awake the whole time! (I guess adjusting to the whole night shift thing can be another milestone in the last couple months.)

A friend and I took our kids and a friend to the Indianapolis Symphony for the first time as well. It was pure joy for me to watch my girls as their faces lit up at the start of the first piece. They were loving it. We also took the kids to the top of the Soldiers and Sailors Monument downtown. All 8 of us squeezed into the itsy bitsy elevator for the rides up and down.

To celebrate the girls' birthdays this fall we invited a couple of their friends to go ice skating with us. They all did remarkably well. McKenna ended up with a massive bruise on her elbow and upper arm, but we avoided the ER. Success!

Samuel continues to delight me with his take on life. He tends to use the largest word in his vocabulary to describe mundane things. He came outside today to ask me to help him snap his pants after his latest trip to the bathroom. I encouraged him to do it himself. He fiddled with the snap, looked up at me and said with pure desperation, "I just don't fink I'll ever get the hang of dis..."

McKenna. So sweet. I found her sitting on the steps tonight well after her appointed bed time. She wanted me to snuggle with her a while to help her fall asleep. I climbed up onto her top bunk and asked her why she couldn't sleep. She didn't know. I asked, "Did you have your eyes closed?" "No, not exactly," she replied. "Were you trying to read in the dark again?" (prolonged pause) "Rats. You got me." It might have been the pile of a dozen books that gave it away...