Summer

July 7, 2009

There have been two great pleasures this summer.

Outside my back door there are a few potted plants and a garden box, in which things actually grow and in which there are no weeds.  This seems like a grand enough accomplishment itself around here, but the great pleasure I take in these plants is the delicious smell of their leaves: tomato leaves next to basil.  Cilantro.  Lemon Verbena, German Chamomile, Lavender and Thyme.  All warmed by the sun, as I am when I sit on my back step.

The second great pleasure of my summer is, oddly, Oliver.  Oddly, because he is the most trying person in my life.  This is just the way it is with some children though, I think.  This morning, I woke up before he did (a work of the Lord I may have to write about later, if it continues) and was already working in the house when he came out of his room.  I held him in my lap for a bit and we spoke quietly about the morning.  Then he said, abruptly, looking around the room, “I smell tea.”

Which he did, because I had a half-warm quart of peppermint tea in the next room.  It is not the first time he has smelled something like this– it is usually when Chad or I are eating a snack after he’s gone to bed, then he calls us back for something unrelated and says suddenly– “I smell chocolate,” or “I smell crackers.”  “You eating crackers?”  This makes me wonder if he’s a super smeller– you know, like there are people who are super tasters?  Of course he smells it on our breath, and he is very attuned to the presence of food, so perhaps he is not so super, only normal.  I love him still.

There are in reality many good things God has given me this summer, perhaps too numerous to mention each, so two is a mere sampling.  There are others that might be shared in brief.

  • Letters: in my mailbox from new friends and old, and from my husband, who, for our 5th anniversary bought a journal in which he writes a letter to me nearly every morning before he leaves for work.
  • Watching things grow: my husband and marriage, my son, raspberries changing color, pawpaws on the tree, tomatoes on the vine, sunflowers in the sky, my love for God
  • Seeing my writing room take shape upstairs.  One wall is painted (the rest are waiting patiently– maybe forever), there is an comfortable futon mattress in the inviting window seat, the large table is ready for whatever “craft” Oliver feels like that day, and I’ve finally found a place in the house that gets good sirius-xm radio reception!
  • The sweet days when Oliver is accident-free.  More and more frequent.

And a couple of things I wouldn’t consider “good” but I’m sure God has a plan somewhere:

  • Poison ivy around my neck and on my wrist and arm.  I’m not wearing it like leafy jewelry– that’s just where it’s decided to settle and make me miserable.
  • Grass and weeds in the garden.  Not really a garden, actually: it’s more like– “Hey– someone planted a row of tomato plants in our yard!”  Chad mowed it yesterday.  I spent some time out there with the hoe.  Still looks terrible.  We’re almost to the give-up point, which generally comes later in the summer.

Brought to you by the Letter P

June 30, 2009

I am a forward-hater.  If you send me something because you think you’re going to get good luck, or you’re afraid Jesus will think you don’t love him if you don’t send it, I will delete that sucker faster than anything.  I’m just one of those people.

But the other day my friend sent something interesting that I had to pass on, because it involved 1)people emailing me back while 2) saying (presumably) nice things about me.  Who could resist?

All I had to do was email the person who sent it to me with one word describing them.  Then forward it and people would do the same thing.  And so forth.

So the first one I got back was “Intelligent”.

Which starts with I.

But then:
Precious
Pixie
Persevering
Poetic
Passionate

Which is kind of funny, don’t you think?  Or am I just being Persnickety?


Almost Three

June 28, 2009

Oliver will be three years old in two and a half weeks (July 15th).

I think I’ve finally decided that I’m going to keep him.  He seems to be getting a little easier to take care of, and we’re having real conversations now– many beginning with, I have a quession.” So those other mothers weren’t lying when they said it would get easier eventually, though I did have my doubts.IMG_1806

Here are some of the things Oliver does now…

He makes his own toast in the toaster oven.  Actually a lot of the time, he makes some “for everybody!” (Whether everybody wants some or not.)

He flips pancakes over in the skillet with little to no help.

He plays with tractors for a really long time by himself, making some sort of noise the entire time that I cannot duplicate.

We’re working on letters and numbers, but not with too much diligence.  I’m taking this a lot more casually than I would have guessed.

And before you think the above photo was some kind of weird birthday session in the yard, it was just a normal part of a normal day.  I don’t use that pot for canning (its intended purpose) so I thought it might make a good bath.  Turns out, bathing in a big pot in the yard is way better than boring old bathtub stuff.

Just a glimpse of my life with an almost three year old.

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In Charge

June 28, 2009

As keeper of husband, child, and home, I’m normally in charge around here. Will we eat supper? Are there clothes to wear? Should Oliver take a bath tonight? Can we eat out? Should we buy the red sofa and love seat? These are all pretty much in my jurisdiction. I manage the finances, the shopping, gift-giving, the naps, the sicknesses, the calendar. Chad is in charge of vision & direction, nourishing & cherishing, income, outside stuff, power-tool stuff, and helping me. (I help him by doing the aforementioned.) The lines aren’t really drawn that clearly, but those are basic areas, and I’m getting more comfortable in them after five years.

So it’s weird to be in a situation where I am not in charge and don’t know what I should be doing.

Like today. I had a manicure, pedicure, and one-hour massage, courtesy of my mother. I met new people and underwent new procedures (manicure newbie here), all in a new environment. (A local spa and salon.) Nothing was weird or scary– it was all very pleasant. But as I was sitting there, painted, separated toes dangling from the manicure chair, I felt like such a child again, having to be led around and instructed at each new step.

I always need to know what to do, where to go, how to sit. As a firstborn, I am painfully conscious of the rules, whether I am doing things the “right way”, etc. I can’t stand getting into trouble. It bothers me–a lot–when people talk to me when we’re supposed to be listening (during a sermon, a wedding, or in class). For me, being in charge is equated with following the rules, for whatever reason.

So anyway. Today I experienced some feelings of not quite being in charge. And I did okay. I tried to relax and enjoy myself (usually hard to do when one is so in charge of everything), and I talked to the girl doing my nails and tried to get to know her a little bit. I mistakenly tried to put my head in the head-holder on the massage table while I was on my back. (That is not comfortable…I was like, who is this table made for, Mr. Balloon Head?) I put my feet in the pedicure bath before I was supposed to. I didn’t realize I had to dip my hand three times into the paraffin wax, and I was nervous as all get out about it because she kept warning me that it was really hot. I was expecting boiling oil so I did it really fast and the paraffin was all uneven. I dropped my keys on the floor as I was leaving, and I asked about ten times if my nails were dry enough yet to start using my hands. Some decidedly non-in charge behavior.

So what’s the moral lesson here? Not much, except I tried something new without knowing exactly what to do and it turned out pretty well. This is a big step for me. I’m growing! Maybe God will help me grow in this area more. Nothing too crazy, I hope…


Mail Me

June 22, 2009

I think I’ve made it clear that getting mail is really on the top of the heap of Things that Make Me Happy. I’ve always wanted to post my address so everyone could send letters (and packages, and good dark chocolate), but I don’t want any of those crazy Simplicity Soup fans showing up at my house asking for my autograph or peering in my windows and pawing through my trash. So what we’ve decided to do is to share my parents’ business address. Now, the whole element of mailbox surprise will be gone– but this will make me look forward to Chad coming home from work that much more every day…to see if there are any surprise letters tucked into his messenger bag.

Direct your loves and chocolate to:

Moody’s
PO Box 205
Ladoga, IN 47954

Attn: Rachel!

PS If you see a card that you’ve sent me in the above photo, aren’t you happy I loved it so much I saved it this long? I save everything friends send, and I read over it again as time passes. Personal letters mean a lot to me. And I will write back!


Reading Aloud

June 16, 2009

I’ve read to Oliver from the very beginning.  Books have been a major component in my own life and growth, and I want to pass on a love of reading and the ability to glean information and even wisdom from the words of others.

We started with well-loved board books for Oliver: The Very Hungry Caterpillar, Goodnight Moon, The Big Red Barn, The Toolbox. We had several Sandra Boynton books, as well as a few from Dr. Seuss.

I’ve started buying used books for Oliver at Half Price Books as I find them, as well as borrowing from the library (now that I can trust he won’t rip the pages out or chew them up).  I keep a shopping list with me of recommended books, and I can quickly scan the shelves for our favorite authors.  Here are some of the things I look for:

  • Well-developed characters
  • Appropriately challenging vocabulary
  • Beautiful and engaging illustrations by true artists
  • Beautifully told stories, vividly written
  • Just for fun books should still be well written and illustrated
  • Simple non-fiction about real people, plants, animals, machines, etc.
  • Characters who model or develop the traits we are striving to instill in Oliver (obedience, kindness, selflessness, diligence, simplicity of heart, etc.)
  • Stories that inspire noble thoughts, deeds, and reverence for God and his creation
  • Books that promote intergenerational relationships
  • Books about life cycles and changing seasons
  • Books that revisit old stories, myths, and legends
  • Books that promote a sense of place
  • Books that promote growth in understanding of the world; in imagination; as a scholar; as a child of God, vs. Books that do not challenge Oliver’s mind.
  • No Licensed Characters or books that promote brand loyalty or create a “need” for a toy, movie, clothing, etc.  Let characters from books be characters from books. (I break this one by owning a Winnie the Pooh DVD and letting O watch Curious George from the library sometimes.)
  • One good book is worth far more than any number of cheap books with pointless generic stories and illustrations.  Quality over quantity.

Not all of the books we read are 100% representations of this list.  These are just considerations and preferences.

I love reading to Oliver.  LOVE love love it. I treat it like a paid job, like a performance for a live audience (because it is), and I go all out.  I shout, I cry, I whisper, I make up voices and dialects and accents (who cares if they’re terrible?), I enunciate as much as possible to make the words as clear as possible.

Sometimes I read books that are above his comprehension level as a whole, but I know he grasps certain parts of the story, and he gets used to listening and imagining.  We read Bambi over the winter– an adapted, illustrated version.  We read one page each night.  The beautiful illustrations kept his attention, and we explained what had happened in simpler terms after reading each page.

While we read, he often asks questions or makes observations that seem irrelevant to the story line, but I realized that the whole thing is the story to him– not just the plot.  What the characters are wearing or what the animals look like or what they’re doing is just as important as what they’re saying and where this thing is going to end up.

I’ve read a few books that have been helpful for me in choosing books to read aloud.  Of course there’s The Read-Aloud Handbook, by Jim Trelease.  Also The Well-Trained Mind, by Jessie Wise & Susan Wise Bauer, and A Charlotte Mason Companion, by Karen Andreola were of great help.

In no particular order, here are some that we own and both enjoy– (*Rachel’s Favorites)

Story Books
The Little Red Caboose, Marian Potter; Ill by Tibor Gergely
Animalia, Graeme Base
When the Moon is Full, Penny Pollock; Ill Mary Azarian
*Joseph Had A Little Overcoat, Simms Taback
Hedgie’s Surprise, Jan Brett
Trouble With Trolls, Jan Brett
Until The Cows Come Home, Patricia Mills
*Noah’s Ark, Jan Brett
Click, Clack, Moo Cows That Type, Doreen Cronin; Ill Betsy Lewin
The Golden Egg Book, Margaret Wise Brown; Ill Leonard Weisgard
*A Farmer’s Alphabet, Mary Azarian
Llama Llama Mad at Mama, Anna Dewdney
Felix Salten’s Bambi, Adapted by Janet Schulman; Ill by Steve Johnson & Lou Fancher
*Through Grandpa’s Eyes, Patricia MacLachlan; Ill Deborah Kogan Ray
*Amy’s Goose, Efner Tudor Holmes; Ill Tasha Tudor
*Over In the Meadow, Ezra Jack Keats
*Have You Seen My Duckling?, Nancy Tafuri
*The Quilt Story, Tony Johnston & Tomie dePaola
The Hat, Jan Brett
To Market, To Market, Anne Miranda; Ill Janet Stevens
Jack’s Garden, Henry Cole
*In the Night Kitchen, Maurice Sendak
*The Little House, Virginia Lee Burton
The Lonely Doll, Dare Wright
Whistle For Willie, Ezra Jack Keats
The Snowy Day, Ezra Jack Keats
Richard Scarry’s Best Story Book Ever

Board Books
Harry the Dirty Dog, Gene Zion
Good Night, Gorilla, Peggy Rathmann
*The Toolbox, Anne & Harlow Rockwell
*The Big Red Barn, Margaret Wise Brown
*Goodnight Moon, Margaret Wise Brown
*Oliver Finds His Way, Phillis Root; Ill Christopher Denise
*The Very Hungry Caterpillar, Eric Carle

Poetry
A Child’s Garden of Verses, Robert Louis Stevenson
*Where the Sidewalk Ends, Shel Silverstein

Non-Fiction
DK Eyewitness Books: Reptiles
DK Eyewitness Books: Farm
Snowflake Bentley, Jacqueline Briggs Martin; Ill Mary Azarian
Paint All Kinds of Pictures, Arnold Spilka

We love Ezra Jack Keats, Mary Azarian, Maurice Sendak, Tomie dePaola, Jan Brett, and the DK Eyewitness Books.

What are your must-have children’s books?


Bag of Tricks

June 16, 2009

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Staying at home with one child means I’m his playmate most of the time.  Oliver has learned to play contentedly by himself while I work around the house, but he does want me to play with him quite often, and rightly so.  I have already played enough tractors for my lifetime, thank you, so we’ve had to come up with other things to do…

Here’s a peek into my bag of tricks:

Drawing Time
We have a drawing room upstairs, which means there’s a table, some markers and crafty stuff, scissors, and lots of paper already out and waiting.  We cut, we color, we do some more cutting (very into cutting right now).  And then we recycle it when there’s nothing left to do with the little cut up pieces of paper.

Painting
We have three Stockmar watercolors and one nice paintbrush that we take turns using. (The other person has to use the cheap, crummy paintbrush.)  I bought some heavy watercolor paper and we cut each large piece in half and use both sides b/c that stuff is expensive.  We do the wet-on-wet technique, which means you wet the paper first– either by soaking or with a sponge.  It makes painting at this stage a little more about experiencing the colors and blending instead of “painting a picture.”

Stories
This is the newest addition to my bag of tricks.  Sometimes I tell stories from my childhood (with some interestingness added), and sometimes I make up stories about Oliver at different ages (like 6! or grownup), or about people we know.  I tell stories about Lewis, his perfect made-up friend.  There are Old Timothy stories, about a man who lives in the woods and loves God and cares for everything God brings in his path, and a frequent request lately is a Pops story.  (I always give forewarning if I’m going to tell a story that will make me cry.)  Now, these aren’t stories that anybody else is going to want to hear…but Oliver loves them.  I think a second about how a story will begin and just go for it.  I encourage you to try this, even if you think you’re really uncreative.  PS Candles in a darkened bedroom make story time way better.

Play-Dough
Recipe here. This goes only on the kitchen table, and O likes to play with his trains or Duplo or tractors in it.  Or sometimes we make food and dishes out of it and pretend to eat it.  Or sometimes Oliver really eats it and then we put it away.

Blowing Bubbles
Outside activity.  It’s more about popping the bubbles than blowing them at this point.

Read Aloud
Once a day, I try to spend some time reading aloud when we’re not trying to keep to the bed/nap schedule.  We can pick the longest books, ask all the questions, and linger at the illustrations.  More on reading aloud to come.

Playing Music
We also have a music room upstairs, which means there’s an organ (thanks Pops!) a keyboard, two guitars, a violin, and various percussion instruments.  Today I went through Chad’s hymnal and tried to pick out the songs I knew on the keyboard, and Oliver wandered around picking up different things and making a lot of noise.  We both enjoyed ourselves.

Looking at Photographs
Either on the computer or in real life.  Since my real photographs are a disorganized mess at this point, we just watch slideshows on the computer.  Oliver likes to see how much he’s grown, and he also likes to see the pictures of “Daddy getting married.”

Fixing Stuff
Oliver has a Melissa & Doug toolbox and walks around the house fixing things I tell him are broken (like, the bed, for instance).

Hide & Seek
Sometimes you have to be willing to play a game in a whole new way.  Oliver Hide & Seek Rules include telling where you are hiding, switching from the hider to the seeker mid-turn, and only counting to 2.

Tent Building
Get out the chairs, the card table, and all those afghans you received for your wedding.  Once the tent is built, you must have snacks inside or it is no fun at all.

Store
We get out the play food and set up a store on the steps.  He has a little shopping basket and some old coupons for money.  He brings his selections to the computer and I check him out and put everything in a shopping bag.  Then we do it again.

Board Games
Games you think your child is too young for probably hold the most allure.  Oliver loves Monopoly and Risk.  We roll dice, we say numbers, we count pieces, we trade pieces, we move stuff around on the board, we count money.  That’s the game. The only rule is that we pick it up when we’re finished.  He also likes Chinese Checkers.  We just move pieces around.

I’d recommend the book The Creative Family, by Amanda Blake Soule, for ideas about incorporating creativity into your everyday life.  I also enjoyed Heaven On Earth, by Sharifa Oppenheimer, for great information on living & playing with young children and helping them develop.  (Heaven on Earth did have some content that I wouldn’t readily endorse, but there was a lot in there that I learned from.)

What’s in your bag of tricks?


Book Corner: Freedom of Simplicity

June 16, 2009

Have I mentioned this book by Richard Foster?  He wrote the Celebration of Discipline, which I own and recommend, and this book looks more deeply into the practice of Simplicity– both inward and outward. I just picked it up again after reading in April of last year.  I feel like I need help refocusing, reprioritizing right now.

Chapter Titles are as follows:

  1. The Complexity of Simplicity
  2. The Biblical Roots: The Old Covenant
  3. The Biblical Roots: The New Covenant
  4. Simplicity Among the Saints
  5. Inward Simplicity: The Divine Center
  6. Inward Simplicity: Holy Obedience
  7. Outward Simplicity: Beginning Steps
  8. Outward Simplicity: Longer Strides
  9. Corporate Simplicity: The Church
  10. Corporate Simplicity: The World

Look for this book if you’re: seeking an undivided heart and a lifestyle that is congruous with our call to love.

You can get a used copy on Amazon for $4.00.


I Forget

June 15, 2009

I forget that there are mothers whose children will never walk.

I forget that there are mothers whose husbands are not tender and patient.

I forget that there are mothers whose hands are not strong enough to hold their children, whose arms cannot hold them close.

I forget that there are mothers who have no one to surround and support and love them.

I forget that there are mothers who cannot feed and clothe their family.

I forget that there are mothers who cannot let their children play outside without worry.

I am breathing grace like air, and I don’t even notice.

Bits of Grace this day:

1.  Our first story hour with Oliver at the small library nearby.  He sat there, stiff as a board while they sang “Oliver’s here today– Oliver’s here today– stand up and turn around; Oliver’s here today!”  Nothing. Very subdued in public situations.   Oh- help him not be like his mother please!

2.  A good nap.  For both of us.

3.  His little lip smacking noise while he ate peas from the vine in our yard.  We stood there and ate peas for ten minutes.

4. I am able to come to my mom’s and use her internet while Oliver plays on the patio and mom watches him outside.

5. And tonight it is I who will read him a book, tell him a story, light the candle and sing a song and say a prayer with him.  I get to hold him “just one minute” while he falls asleep. 

God meets our ends in a way that lets me stay home with Oliver all day.  Chad comes home every night to be with us.  And on and on…there are so many things to be grateful for.  And when I am grateful, it changes everything.


Too Much

June 14, 2009

Sometimes I wonder, do I say too much here?  Is it too much honesty?  Aren’t we all supposed to pretend like things are nicey-nice and fine, and eventually they will be?

Or maybe, if I really loved God, I wouldn’t be so down all the time, and so into myself.  Well, I don’t want to be down all the time or into myself.  These are things I pray about.  He’s still working in my heart.

I think if I got out of my head a little more, and was exposed to things like this more often, the perspective on my own life would change.   I need to start with small things though, like changing Oliver’s wet sheets at 2:30am with a servant’s heart instead of a huffy attitude.  If I can’t bend my will to his in these matters, why would I expect him to call me to something larger?

He’s awake from his nap. Too early.  Time for more will bending.