Last week I was running some errands and doing some shopping, and the kids were behaving like absolute angels until we got to the bread section at Trader Joe's when all hell broke loose. Some kind of gluten demon must have been lurking among the loaves, because suddenly all three kiddos were screaming at each other at the same time. I felt the judgmental stares of other shoppers (the store was packed of course) drilling into my unfortunate back as I frantically tried to quietly quieten my offspring as calmly and quietly as possible. I noticed an older lady watching us as I threatened confiscation of all the good things in life if they didn't stop the obscene caterwauling this instant. She came up behind me, and gave me a warm hug, and her kind words cut clearly through the chaos: "Before you know it, they'll be 30. You got this!"
All my children are good singers. Lately Oliver has been making up his own songs, and he has perfect pitch. My favorite thing is when he hugs my neck and croons "I love my mommy, you're the best. You're my best friend in the whole wide world!" Lizzy's songs are usually about Jesus and rainbows.
8 year old Bella is way too bright and asks questions I have to stop and think about. The other day she was marveling at how our female bodies already hold all the eggs our future children will grow from. This morning as I was cooking breakfast before church, she comes up to me and asks earnestly "Mommy, where are the eggs in my body?" I had to stop and realize she didn't mean the type of eggs that were sizzling in the pan, and then I explained about ovaries and uteruses. She exclaimed "Gross!" and walked away. Ha ha.
The weather has been a blast from the Ice Age past lately. I took the children on a hike last week and we made it a quarter mile down the trail with the girls asking to stop and play in the (iced-over) creek and Oliver wanting, boy-like, to pee in the snow every few yards. We finally made our furthest stop at a waterfall decorated with gorgeous icicles and pinnacles of ice building and falling over each other, water frozen solid in it's frantic haste to tumble over the small cliff. Lizzy was bitterly disappointed that I hadn't had the forethought to pack swim suits, so they couldn't go swimming.
This morning at church after the service, I realized I had forgotten to return my lanyard to my classroom after teaching. I popped back in to hang it up on the hook, and noticed my classroom wasn't empty. Three teenagers were sitting at a table reading the Bible out loud to each other. In most of the churches we've attended, the teens would form unholy gangs in the back (or front) of the church avoiding worship and not at all interested in spiritual things. This little scene made my heart so happy. We have finally found a home with the International Anglican Church here in Colorado Springs!
One of my fresh starts and new leaves I'm turning is the attempt to follow through with my writing. I want to start slow with writing a blog post (no matter how short) every Sunday evening and publishing it Monday mornings. I'm stating it here and hopefully I'll show some follow through!
2024 will be the best year yet.
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