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Showing posts from February, 2009
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I took this photo at Sleeping Giant State Park in January '06. Winter speaks to the surfeited heart, weary of heat and weeds and leaves, longing to breathe cold, bracing air, explore the hillsides swept and bare; to revel each bush, each tree stripped to stark simplicity; original etchings everywhere- and You, who etched them, with me there. -Ruth Bell Graham
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P is for Painting , too. Dwayne's painting Norah's room, which used to be the guest room, pink. She's supervising.
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P is for Palm Tree This is the view looking up at a palm in front of Dwayne's mom and dad's house.
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Disclaimer: This is as raunchy as I'll ever get on this blog. I apologize in advance if anyone's delicate sensibilities are offended by this post. But, I think this story, even though it represents one of the most embarrassing situations I've ever found myself in, is just too funny not to share. I was reading another mom's blog and found this video . It reminded me of something that happened when I was teaching school before I had Norah. Let me set the scene for you. The setting, I think, is what makes this whole thing so funny. I was a 3rd and 4th grade teacher. I taught at a small, fundamental Christian school for parents who wanted their children to be educated in a private institution where they'd be somewhat... sheltered. My classroom was actually a large modular building that was placed on a more remote piece of the property to handle overflow. On three sides, our metal building was surrounded by woods, and while the students and I heard nuts dropping
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O is for Orange Buds We visited Dwayne's parents at their home in Florida not too long ago. This is a photo of the buds on the orange tree in their backyard.
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My future's so bright I gotta wear shades. -Timbuk3
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It's crunch time. Avril is due to arrive this day next month, so we're getting the nursery ready for her. Dwayne taught Norah how to use a screw driver while he was putting the crib back together.
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The doctor measured my stomach then tore the strip and gave it to Norah with an assignment: "Go home and see what baby doll or stuffed animal you can find that is the same length as your sister." So, after many unsuccessful tries on frogs and bears and puppy dogs, Norah found Avril at the bottom of her toy box.
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N is for Norah I couldn't pick just one, so I made a short slide show of some of my favorite old photos for this post.
25 Things About Me I did this on Facebook first, but I thought I'd also use it as a post on my blog. If you like the idea and do it on your blog, too, please comment on the bottom of this post, so I can read your list. 1. In the summer after sixth grade, I locked myself in my brother's room, sat on the floor in front of the only book shelf in our house and I taught myself to read with books my older sister had collected for school: Wuthering Heights, Alas Babylon, etc. We also had this old, incomplete set of children's encyclopedia. (Before that, I couldn't read words I wasn't already familiar with. I was taught to read by sight and was never taught any phonics besides the initial sounds letters make.) 2. I have always dreamed of being a writer. I always thought “If I can write a book, I can do anything.” I guess I still feel that way. 3. I'd rather write than speak, email than make a phone call, etc. 4. I used to smile constantly. I don't smile as
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Let them keep a calendar. This picture was taken on the first of this month, when Norah's calendar was still blank, before she'd labeled any of her activities with symbols or crossed off any days with the red marker she's designated for that purpose. I purchased this in January because I was sick and tired of answering Norah's whinny questions of "How many days till we go to swim lessons?" or "What day is it?" or "What day do we go to church?" This way, Norah would have to go find out for herself. And, it's working really well. If she ever goes to her calendar, but still has trouble with "What does T-u-e-s. stand for?!" that is where I chime in with an explanation. She loves keeping her own calendar. It makes her feel empowered, I guess. She started drawing X's at the end each day, right before bed, but now she is writing letters instead. The letters will, eventually, spell her name. "N for Monday, O for Tuesd
We finished reading The Little House in the Big Woods out loud, so now we've started reading the next book in the series, Farmer Boy . In one chapter, the main character, Almanzo, is sitting around with his family eating corn popped over the fire. He says to himself: "You can fill a glass to the brim with milk, and fill another glass of the same size brim full of popcorn, and then you can put all the popcorn kernel by kernel into the milk and the milk will not run over. You cannot do this with bread. Popcorn and milk are the only two things that will go into the same place." We were intrigued by Almanzo's claim, so Norah and I tried it.
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Try scribble art. I had a lot of fun making scribble art with Norah and she's been doing this on her own since I showed her how. You take blank piece of copy paper and a black marker, start drawing loops and don't pick up the marker till you cover the page with designs. Then, you fill in the spaces with color. This is very easy for youngsters and I bet older kids could make these look really cool.
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My two favorite people. I think it harder, Lord, to cast the cares of those I love on You, than to cast mine. We, growing older, learn at last that You are merciful and kind. Not one time have you failed me, Lord- why fear that you'll fail mine? -Ruth Bell Graham
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M is for Memories I've been going through our old photos. It must be a pregnancy thing. I found some pictures of Norah and Dwayne in his Coleman chair from our annual camping trips over the years. Dwayne pokes fun of me for holding so fast to our family traditions, like this annual camping trip. But, I am a firm believer that repetition builds memories and doing some of the same things as a family is one way to be deliberate about building Norah's perception of her past. For example, I know she won't really care what our kitchen looked like, but she will remember whether or not her mom faithfully used that outdated space to serve dinner every night, etc. I love going camping, sleeping in the night air, seeing the stars, sitting around the camp fire, living right out in the open, exploring nature. And, I don't think I'm the only one! Two out of three of Norah's drawings right now show us in a tent. Below are two of the pictures she's drawn in the just t
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Happy Valentine's Day, Daddy. Norah and I got our Valentine's Day cards from Dwayne this morning. Dwayne always gets me two cards: one sweet, one sexy. I guess it is his way of covering his bases. If I'm not in the mood for one, I am bound to like the other. But, the cashiers at Hallmark must think he's buying cards for his wife and his mistress. Norah's busy making her dad a card while he naps. I snapped a picture in the middle of her efforts. The design escaped me for a while, but I noticed her card (on the left) is a version of the one he gave her (on the right). She is phonetically spelling all the words herself. "Luv U, DaD-E. Frm NorAh."
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Happy Valentine's Day, Dwayne. You are the man I prayed for long ago. Dear God, I prayed, all unafraid (as we're inclined to do), I do not need a handsome man but let him be like You; I do not need one big and strong nor yet so very tall, nor need he be some genius, or wealthy, Lord, at all; but let his head be high, dear God, and let his eye be clear, his shoulder's straight, whate'er his state, whate'er his earthly sphere; and let his face have character, a ruggedness of soul, and let his whole life show, dear God, a singleness of goal; then when he comes (as he will come) with quiet eyes aglow, I'll understand that he's the man I prayed for long ago. -Ruth Bell Graham wrote this poem in college not long before she met her husband Billy Graham. Billy ended up being all Ruth asked for and more, as Dwayne is for me.
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Dinner, the last three nights in a row. No kidding. Dwayne picks it up for me on his way home. Last night, when he said he ordered "Extra Vegetables," the man smiled and said, "I know. I remember yesterday." The steamed vegetables, rice, chicken are all just secondary, really. It's the hot sauce I crave.
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Our daughter has never been to Disney World. I hadn't thought about this much until I was almost assaulted by a flight attendant who found out we didn't take her to the parks on our recent visit to Florida. It all played out like a scene in a bad comedy. The stewardess kept hitting my arm saying things like "Bad girl!" and "Shame on you!" I thought she was kidding, at first, but after the tenth smack, when I wanted to rub my arm because of the throbbing pain, I realized she was trying to communicate something deeper... disappointment. I think she felt that it was very important for a little girl like ours to meet Mickey Mouse and neglectful, even abusive, that we wouldn't have taken her. To make the scene all the more comedic, while this exchange was going on, at least ten children, some even younger than Norah, escorted by their travel weary parents, squeezed past us in the isle of the plane. Every single one of them was wearing Mickey Mouse ears and
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Dwayne was watching an episode of 24 on Netflixs the other night. It's an entertaining show, if you can get past the unrealistic plot. How is it that one man is always in the right place at the right time to save the world again and again and again? I wasn't all that interested in watching, so I was blogging instead. But, I looked up from my laptop when I heard Dwayne start ranting. “Women! We're at work! Jack may be saving the world... I design boilers. But, we're at work!” He was talking to the TV, so I looked in that direction. The screen was flashing back and forth between Audrey in the office and Jack in his truck. (The two have had an on going romance during the last few seasons.) In this particular scene, Jack was waiting to meet with the President's Chief of Staff about something. I'm guessing it was important, had less to do with a round of golf and more to do with saving millions from the threat of terrorists armed with nerve gas. But, Audrey had
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The Grown-Up's Guide to Visiting New York City with Kids "If we had millions, we'd use it to travel the world, educating our kids as we actually experience the places we are talking about..." Do you and your husband daydream like this, too? Well, realistically, I doubt we will never have our millions, but we do live here in Connecticut, close enough to travel (somewhat inexpensively) to a place where the whole world comes together, a place where modern society and history mix by the second: New York City. Though life in NYC is usually unapologetic for it's fast pace and varied flavors, if you look closer, you can see that so much of what is going on there is linked to the past. Each neighborhood has a story and character that was shaped by events that we will cover in our studies. Harlem, for example, was brought to life with African American's from the south who were seeking a place to enjoy freedom. Chinese immigrants filled what is now called Chinatown aft
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Creativity = Messes. I've often read about the importance of buying Norah toys that will promote her creativity: play dough, crayons, construction paper, building blocks. But, letting her use these things unfettered is a challenge for me sometimes. It's hard for me to see past the messes she makes: the Lego she will miss while cleaning-up that I will, no doubt, step on later, the globs of glue stick that dry to the top of the dinner table, the play dough that falls on the kitchen floor then gets stuck to the bottom of my sock. But, when I let her play freely, let her make those busy messes, she has much more fun and always creates unique things we're both proud of.
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L is for Levi Our old puppy Levi. The last pet we will ever "try." We just aren't pet people. Look at that face, if that puppy won't make you a pet person, nothing will. No, seriously. We were having a very hard time training him, he was cooped up way too much while we were out, so we offered him to Grandma Karen when she came to visit in August, knowing he'd be well cared for at her house. She loves dogs like they are people and Levi took to her, following her everywhere she went for the length of her stay here. We talked Dad into letting him go home with them and even though he talks tough, we all know he loves Levi, too. I took this picture on our recent trip to their house in Florida.
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Norah and her friend Providence from church. "Apart from academic concerns, many parents ask, 'What about my child's social development? Doesn't he need peers?' Children need friends. Children do not need to be surrounded by large groups of peers who inevitably follow the strongest personality in the crowd. The question for any parent is: Do I want my child to be like his peers? Or do I want my child to rise above them?" -Jessie and Susan Wise Bauer, The Well-Trained Mind
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The beach we visited near Grandma's house in Florida. God's gracious gifts of sun and sea, of gentle weather, within reach of each whether poor or rich. Yet at times I wonder- which is which? -Ruth Bell Graham
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Norah borrowing Grandma's visor at Brevard Zoo . K is for Kids Parents of young children should realize that few people, and maybe no one, will find their children as enchanting as they do. -Barbara Walters When I read this quote and then saw who said it, my first thought was "Old Hag." But, then I realized ol' Barbara is probably right. I joke about it, but I think God gives parents "a special dispensation of grace" for their own children. How else could we help our potty trainers wipe their bottoms and then go right on with cooking dinner... after washing our hands, of course? I've changed other kids' diapers in the church nursery and they always smell so terrible . No really. If another kid behaved as Norah does, I'd most likely want to string them up. But, to me, nearly everything she does is charming. Sometimes I even have to turn my head to hide my laughter when she is bad, particularly when she is being brilliant in her mischief. I