Hey! You shout in your head as you read the title – and no, this isn’t a throwback post from January first. I know it isn’t the first! It isn’t even the first day or the first week or even a Sunday!
But we can restart any time. We don’t have to wait for the first day of the week, the first day of the next month, or the first day of the next year, we can restart whenever we choose.
Too many people wait until later to do things and it gets shoved to the back burner or forgotten. Not this time for me!
It isn’t a big goal. I’m wanting to type out and post at least two blogs a week. I want to be an encourager. I want to spread hope and love. This is my voice. (Cheesy, I know, but whatever)
I’ve been letting it lag a little. This was brought to my attention by two people; a friend and a daughter who are like, “I haven’t read anything from you in awhile.” Hmm… I looked and yikes, they are right.
At one point, I was posting once every three days. That’s not too bad.
That’s my goal. My restart.
What is yours? What are you putting off resetting because it just isn’t the right time? Do you want to do it? Have you prayed about it? Is it a positive change? Yes. Yes. Yes. Then don’t wait! Restart now! Make today your New Year for your New Goal and move your life forward!
On our shop day last week when we were building the bird cage stand, Lucas and Jillian discovered some big building blocks!
Lucas made some boats with tall sails.
Jillian hopped out and made more boats!
Lucas made the tiny ones sneak up on the big ones and I heard “Boom!” and “Thud!” the blocks (the bad guy pirate boats) fell to the floor! Everything is a toy. I love Lucas’ wild and crazy imagination. Everything he finds is a new something with a story. His boats had many adventures while Becky and I built… and his big sisters took pictures.
I love cultivating their imagination! He learns so much letting his stories come alive.
Enjoy the imagination of those around you. Follow along with them and see just where it will lead… you never know what kind of adventure a few beads, sticks, crayons, chalk sticks, or bits of board will take you!
As I start getting him settled (someone must have shared a red skittle with him, as the equation for crazy energy = red food dye + sugar + Lucas), Christina comes in with her new laptop. “Mom, I need help setting up.”
So this is my bed & it’s 2300:
I’m trying to sleep, need to be up
at 0545 to get Thea ready, me ready, walk dogs, and beat the bits of traffic;
0615 if I don’t care about eating breakfast or packing lunch.
I smile and remember – they won’t be little long. Soon Christina will be 16, how much longer will she even ask for my help? Lucas is 4, when will he suddenly stop coming in to snuggle? Thea is 5 months, but I can remember Christina being that little and it seems like yesterday. I take a picture as Christina gasps, “Thea! Computers are not for eating!”
Yummy! Thea tastes Christina’s brand new laptop
No, they won’t be little long. I choose to cherish every moment… even the
late night Mom’s bed gatherings.
We had a few leftover cans of cranberry sauce from around Thanksgiving. (A few? Like a dozen or so!) We don’t like to waste stuff, you know, waste not want not, and since we’d given so much away our family didn’t need any more cranberry sauce for the next year, Louis decided to be creative. (This is always the BEST when he decides to dream up something new!)
So, 1 cup soy sauce, 8 ounces of cranberry sauce, some garlic, ginger, assorted seasonings, ½ cup of pineapple juice, veggies, and some meat.
It was the best sweet and sour we’ve had! This will likely be our go to dish in a pinch. We might just finish up our overage of cranberry sauce before Thanksgiving.
Not only did our little Thea officially turn two months old on Easter, but neither Louis nor I was working, neither of us was tired, and we had the whole weekend to ourselves!
Baby Thea dressed up (minus her cute socks and shoes) in her Easter dress from Aunt Becca & sister-cousin Anastasia!
Louis and the girls dyed eggs – our brown and pink eggs made some unique color experiments and tasty “angel eggs.” (Grandma Joanne started that; she redeemed the deviled eggs so they are “angel eggs” now.)
Louis was waking me up almost every night in the week before Easter as he excitedly told me about the newest item he got for the girls’ baskets – crazy plastic grass, cool candy, a bag of change for the plastic eggs and such.
We love family time! On Easter, we got up early, went to church, and talked all about the first Easter Sunday and Jaquline decided we had to watch a Jesus story movie – “The Greatest Story Ever Told” is the go-to for us. About lunchtime, we snacked on angel eggs and fruit while Louis crafted an amazing ham – this would be early dinner.
And… Egg hunt. The girls learned that Spring Egg Hunts were a result of people letting their hens and ducks out to range in the spring grass and then having to find their eggs for food – young children were tasked for this job and finding the eggs meant the end of winter harshness and the beginning of spring’s bounty.
But for us, Easter Egg Hunt means “see who can hide it best” (for the hiders, adults and teens) and “see who can find the hardest eggs” (for the younger ones). Kimberly decided she is still a youngling for Easter and joined the hunt as a hunter!
Becky took some pictures.
Christina’s hardest eggs were teal, Becky’s were green, and I hid the hard-boiled ones. Mine I wanted found quickly, so most were just rolled in the patches of clover so their stickers showed.
Down to four remaining eggs… One Teal, one Green, and two Boiled! Mom ended up winning with the “hardest” egg being inches from the walkway in plain sight!
Becky made up some adorable pictures with the baskets. Check this link to see her Guinea Pigs in the Easter Basket pictures!
Behind the Picture: Thea and the Apple – Becky and her photography & funny snippets.
February 25, 2019
Behind the Picture! Thea and the Apple
Becky likes photography.
Becky has an interesting sense of humor. When she takes pictures on the play phone and sends it to me, I get this: (Thea is about an hour old)
Kimberly and Christina changed Thea, bundled her up, and as Kimberly is bringing her to me, I hear a singing voice: “We’re taking the baby to Isengard!” (I have no clue how I have the honor of being “Isengard,” but this was the look I got: )
In the first picture, Becky was trying to get good pictures of newborn Thea. Becky was making faces to get her attention, Lucas ran up with an apple in hand to “help,” and Becky ended up with a picture that had just the “wrong” angle – but it made a funny meme picture.
The girls are totally enjoying having a new baby sister – and Lucas loves being her “protector.” He told Louis he was “protecting Baby Thea from dog kisses, bad dinosaurs, and big sisters when they don’t listen.” (The last was likely because Jillian kept touching Thea’s head when we said not to touch her soft spot.)
I’m so blessed by their joy and love towards their new sister! Christina, who was worried about being “too much older” than the baby, can’t get enough time holding her! I am twelve years and eleven months older than my baby sister (she was also my parents’ seventh) – so I told Christina and Becky they both were older “big sisters” than I was. (15 yrs 4 mos & 13 yrs 4 mos, respectively) At this, Becky sends me a “wow” emoji though we are sitting at the same table! (She was supposed to be using the phone as a calculator.)
A birth story of our little angel (and a slideshow of proud siblings & family!)
February 22, 2019
The Story of Baby Thea
If you’ve been following my blog, you know I was growing my seventh little angel.
Today, I get to write the story of her arrival!
On February 19th, a beautiful Tuesday morning, my day started normally. During my 32 minute drive to work, the Baby started thinking there was not enough room and my body did the stretching contractions (Braxton-Hicks) that is very normal for me in the last month or two before birth. I didn’t think much of it, really. After my boss left for appointments, one of my office companions, Lily, a beautiful brown and white pittie belonging to my boss, started laying at my feet and wouldn’t let me go anywhere without her! This was a bit of a warning to me because Sheba (my Aussie mix) always does this to me when I’m in active labor. I left at one (normal time) to get to Christina and then my midwife appointment.
Christina had been babysitting, finished some errands at the college so she would be ready for the summer semester, caught the bus to 207 (the road I take into town), and was waiting for me. Along the way, my midwife texted to reschedule the appointment to Thursday and I laughed during my voice-text because I was very tired and that worked great for me. I added, “or when Baby is ready,” as a joke because my babies have all come on or after the due date. Everyone had been rooting for a February birth since the official “due date” was February 24th, and except for Lucas, my wee ones were between 9 and 13 days “overdue” so I usually ignored the due date and just gave a general month (in this case, I’d been saying March).
I got Christina, teased her about driving (she’s recently received her learner’s permit), and we headed home. Sheba was acting odd, I was starving; Louis had made lasagna Monday so I ate a huge plate and took a short nap.
When I got to gym with Becky (her class is on Tuesday, the others are all Wednesday), the contractions were still there, but, like I said, that is normal for me. It had been happening off and on already for about a week and a half, so I just went about work because they were easy to ignore. Some friends and I chatted about babies as I was leaving, and someone said, “you know about your body by now, right?” I laughed, “each is different, but I’m still thinking March.”
Wow, was I wrong.
As Becky texted Christina and Louis to tell them we were off & headed to pick up Christina at CAP, Becky said, “Mom, I can’t drive us home, but if the baby keeps contracting like that, maybe Christina can.”
We laughed. Part of the driving restrictions on a learner’s permit forbid night driving for the first few months; but we always teased Christina that she’d have to drive home in the dark if I was in labor.
Home, I was starved, but my belly felt full after four strawberries. I took a shower and crashed. I kept waking up every couple hours, but I’m a light sleeper so that’s also normal. Each time, though, I noticed contractions. I’d check my phone just to see what time it was. Midnight. 1:40. 2:30. 3:50. At almost 4, I realized I was sweating and I decided to wait for fifteen minutes (so the water softener cycle was finished) and take a shower. The next glance at my watch showed 4:19. I took a shower and the first contraction after the water hit was very strong. I felt movement inside me. “Wow, you sure you’re ready?” I asked. I was sure that was just a fluke and usually the warm water calms contractions down. When the next two made my legs feel like jelly, I got out of the shower and crawled back into bed. The phone said 4:35. I wasn’t about to wake anyone or call Misti for three oddly strong contractions.
I tried to sleep. I had about two hours before I had to get ready for work.
At somewhere before 6am, I tried getting ready for work. I had to stop and breathe through contractions that were easy to time and I felt the baby moving slowly down inside of me. I was about to wake Louis but ended up stretching through a contraction. We have a mind link, I think. Louis woke up as I was stretching. He goes into mega cleaning and question mode. This is his serious mode. He has been through it enough to know we were going to have a baby this morning – or at least today. He told me to call Misti, he woke the kids up to help clean (normally, we clean before bed, but they had been in a non-cleaning mood the previous night), and directed the house with efficiency. I was restless, so kept walking around in between. Christina and Becky didn’t want to get out of bed. I went into the barracks to find out why not.
“Mom! You can’t have the baby in here!” Christina shrieked, covering her head.
“So, get up please and help Daddy with cleaning. Y’all should have done that last night. Once you finish, you can go back to bed, but he’s really stressing about the house and people coming so please help.”
No answer. I could feel another contraction creeping up. “Okay, you have about 20 seconds before I get another contraction and…”
Christina bolted, “MOM! I’m up! I’ll help Dad! GET CONTRACTIONS OUT OF MY ROOM!”
Becky was up too. Kimberly was definitely awake. Mission accomplished. I went back to the kitchen table. My “leave” alarm reminded me to text or call my boss. 6am though, I figured I should just text – plus I didn’t want to talk to anyone at the moment.
Misti showed up (can’t remember if the house was clean, but based on the voices and giggling and a movie being on, I’d guess it was straightened). Mom was on the way, she told us she had to be at one of my brother’s promotions at 8am. The girls had turned on “The Two Towers” and as Louis walked by during the Uruk-hai production scene and he ordered, “Turn that off, you can see a real birth soon enough.” I can’t remember if the result was “Wild Kratts” or “Dumbo” but there was something far less messy on the tv a minute later. (I did hear one of the teenagers or preteens quip, “Mom will sound like an orc.” Louis and I laughed. We’re nerds.)
By 8:30, I was immune to the world. I heard Misti’s voice, smelled Louis (I was leaning on him), and faintly heard background voices. I was focused on this job.
8:42am and our little one came into the world, veiled. Misti took the bag off and the Baby screamed to test the limit of her lungs! (We didn’t know Baby was a “she” just yet!) Baby opened her eyes fully and stared up at me. Then she screamed to rattle the roof again. The dogs were barking. We discovered our Baby was Thea!
Welcome to our crazy world, Theadora Taliesyn Tart. You are loved and cherished!
Theadora (after her great-grandfather Melvin Theodore Pearson) means “gifted by God” and Taliesyn (feminine form of your grandfather’s favorite character from a Celtic legend) means, “one with the shining brow, one who sings wisdom.” And Daddy chose the nickname “Thea” because he likes it. (Your uncle texted that he’d call you “3T” – yes, Daddy searched for two “T” names we both liked!) I kept both names the same length, since that’s what we’ve done – all of the children’s names have the same number of letters in the first name and middle name. Theadora 8 letters, Taliesyn 8 letters – told you we are nerds.
Mom (Grandma Joanne in the pictures) came back with a shower of baby girl goodies! (And, yes, this is why she’s in such cute clothes once we managed to get them on her!)
Theadora, I pray you always feel the love of your family as you wiggle your way up to adulthood. I pray you feel the warmth and see the light of God’s love reflected in the faces of your sisters and brother, mother and father, aunts and uncles, grandparents and cousins. We have accepted the honor of being your guides to lead you to Jesus, to raise you in love, and to give you room to find, develop, and follow the passion of life God has rooted within you. You are a daughter of God, a precious gift to us, and chosen to bring light through your smile.
Becky said I can’t post a baby story without her pictures! So here is a little slideshow:
Lucas kept trying to “pet” and “kiss” Baby Thea
Christina & Thea (oldest & youngest)
Lucas said “you are my love, Baby Thea!”
Grandma Joanne & Thea
Christina and Becky are already vying for who gets the baby
Here are Becky and Christina’s newest triplets – Swan, Tiger, and Grizzly! Cuddly balls of fur and cuteness!
January 24, 2019
Meet Swan, Tiger, and Grizzly!
Becky and Christina’s guinea pigs had three little piglets! (Taylor, mom, is Christina’s whom we adopted, and Becky’s TobyMac was purchased with the store employee promising he was really a she… read here for that story!)
So about every six months or so, our little piggies pop out a couple of new piglets. First was our Sweet Potato, who went to a lovely home near ours. The last was another trio. The girls take finding a home for their sweet babies a big responsibility!
Becky finds a “theme” for their names. The first one was vegetable, the second one was desserts, and this one is animals.
This is Swan.
Tiger (so named for the white stripe)
And Grizzly (coloring played a role in this one’s name)
We don’t know the sex of these little piglets just yet because Becky thinks they are “too comfy” snuggling with Mommy and Daddy to “invade” and examine them. Toby is such a devoted Daddy to the piglets. He will even make a growling fussy noise if one of the girls opens the nursery roof when he’s bringing grass up to Taylor while she’s nursing the piglets. (They like fresh Spanish Needles better than even Timothy Hay!)
But when the adults come down to take a baby break, the girls get to peek at the babies! When it is cool, as it has been lately, we don’t take them out of their protection until they are better able to regulate their body temperature. Baby Guinea Pigs are born fully furry, eyes open, scampering about, and almost independent. (They will nurse from mom for 3 to 6 weeks, but start eating fresh grass brought up by Daddy almost immediately!)
In the cycle of our little farm the younglings get to see birth, life, and death as it plays out in seasons on a smaller scale than in our own lives. We are honored to see births and become responsible for the small life gifted to us (yes, even the frog egg cluster they saved from the drying pool and hatched them to “save them” from drying up). We will keep one or two of these little angels as they become permanent members of our little tribe. I love how tenderly the girls take care of their animal responsibilities – Lucas calls them “my animal friends.”
Teenager now has a learner’s permit… Mom is going nuts!
January 8, 2019
Newly Licensed
I’m a bit freaked out.
(Okay, I’m frantic!)
My oldest child is now legally allowed to drive my car…
(AHHHHHHHH!)
Seriously, I’m sure she’s watched my driving enough to know how to be safe (um… she’s also watched Louis… I’m FREAKING OUT again!)
At one point yesterday at the DMV, I had to sign an electronic document that read something like “you are assuming responsibility for everything this minor does in a motor vehicle.” I laughed because it reminded me of the pages I signed for her Camp Blanding encampment that read something like, “your minor child is at risk of major bodily damage including death and you verify that you understand this and promise not to sue us.”
At the end of this ordeal (I just signed some documents, presented my address and identity as her so-called legal guardian), I walked out with a fifteen year old girl next to me who now has a tiny plastic card that allows her to sit next to me in a 2-ton vehicle and maneuver it down roadways filled with crazy drivers.
My teenager has a learner’s permit.
(*Giant gasp, frantic breaths, mentally remembering where I put my inhaler*)
Okay, maybe you can drive to Publix… but she’s disappeared because she doesn’t want to make the left turn from Publix back onto Wildwood just yet.
Nothing has changed. (YIPPEE)
It’s just one small step toward independence for Christina, one giant leap in freaking out for Mom.
This story of Minuit, the Dwarf Holland Lop bunny who became Kimberly’s best gift ever, and how Kimberly fell in love with her “snuggle bunny” gifted by her big sisters!
January 2, 2019
Minuit’s Story
There was a girl, Kimberly, who fell in love in 2013 when she was 6 and a black and white “retired stud rabbit” she called “Mister Walter Rabbit” was left on her family’s back porch.
Mom found out Mr. Walter Rabbit was over 12! (Rabbits average 10 years.) That didn’t matter to Kimberly. She slid down the kiddie slide with him, she put him on his blanket in the baby buggy and dragged it around like a rickshaw, she slept with him, she loved him more than any animal ever before, and with a little help from her oldest sister, took care of him “all by myself!”
Kimberly and Mr. Walter Rabbit were inseparable for over two years!
Fast forward to 2018 and Kimberly helped build a Guinea Pig cage for the big girls’ three new “girl Guinea Pigs” – but Becky’s angel was actually TobyMac (read more here). Kimberly’s little Avery love was far older than the lady let us know, and Kimberly only was able to love on Avery for almost a year.
Kimberly’s loss of her “baby” Guinea Pig came only two days after her Grandfather passed away. Kimberly cried that this would be her saddest Christmas ever.
It wasn’t a great financial year for her parents, so they were very busy with trying to pick up odd jobs and stay working so they could pay bills on time. Kimberly’s mom listened and tried to console her, but she knew Kimberly would have to heal herself because words don’t fill wounded hearts. Kimberly’s mom’s Daddy was Kimberly’s Grandfather.
Kimberly’s mom had only been home for a couple hours after a temp job that morning when Becky and Christina, Kimberly’s two older sisters who had been working babysitting and odd jobs too, came excitedly up to Mom. The younglings were asleep (except the baby brother), and Becky gave Mom $50 and said, “we found this bunny for Kimberly and it’s just perfect and the lady just texted us… they are back from candlelight service and we need you to drive over and pick it up with us.”
Mom was flabbergasted. The teenagers had researched, found a local bunny breeder with the specific kind of bunnies Kimberly had wanted (Dwarf Holland Lops) and she was holding a black female (the EXACT color and sex Kimberly said she was going to buy “once I save enough”) for them.
IT WAS CHRISTMAS EVE!
Christina babysat, Becky kept Mom awake, baby brother fell asleep in the van, and Mom taxied the proud big sister out to pick up “the perfect gift” and ferry it home.
The big sisters had planned ahead with feed, a very nice cage (a pair of Guinea Pigs came in it, but it was not used now as they had the big run), the bedding, and even a waterer and feeder. They prepped the bunny cage, set it under the Christmas tree (it was nearly 11pm now!), and tossed a thin sheet over it. Both were so giddy they could barely sleep! Because of her black fur, black eyes, and sweetness, this perfect bunny was called “Minuit,” which is French for “Midnight.”
On Christmas morning, the kids gathered around to open presents and the suspense was just too much for Dad, because Kimberly hadn’t even seemed to notice the animal cage covered in sheet! Dad said, “Kimberly, that sheet is in the way, please fold it up.”
Kimberly grabbed the sheet and almost screamed! (Poor Minuit!) Kimberly was so happy she was in tears! As Christina and Becky reassured her the 9 week old bunny was hers, she scooped her out of the cage and snuggled her on the couch. Nothing else mattered at that moment. Kimberly cried and after everyone had finished adoring the new bunny, she gasped, “Mom, I thought this would be the saddest Christmas, but this is my best Christmas gift ever!”
Leave it to amazing, thoughtful, caring big sisters to research something you really desire, manage a way to get it for you, and give you the best Christmas surprise you’ve ever had!
I hope you enjoyed this story of Minuit, the Dwarf Holland Lop bunny who became Kimberly’s best gift ever, and how Kimberly fell in love with her “snuggle bunny!”
