Then and Now

I took a picture of Clara today and felt a moment of deja vu. Sure enough, I took a very similar picture last summer! Here they are - on the left she is 10 months and on the right she is just shy of 20 months.

I can't believe both how different she is and how the same. I knew she had grown, but seeing where the couch hit her before and where it does today was a shocker! Also, she has 100 times more hair than she did. :) Interestingly enough, though her body shape is totally different, the diaper cover is on the exact same settings - her waist and rise haven't changed much, although her inseam certainly has!

My baby girl is getting so grown up, which is both wonderful and heartbreaking.

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cheesecake with Pretzel Crust

Over here. My, oh my, this is delicious!

Our garden is coming to life!

Slowly but surely, spring is coming and our garden for the summer is beginning to take shape. This year, I am nearly tripling the size of last year's garden. It's a big project, but SO exciting! Our new bed runs the entire length of our front yard, next to the road. A somewhat unlikely spot for a garden, but it gets the most sun of anywhere and we want to put a fence there eventually, so we decided to go with a "green fence" for now.

The bed is 3' x 70' - a lot of space! We started by clearing the sod off the sunniest half, which is where our tomatoes will go. I cut the sod into strips with the shovel while Luke and Clara started pulling it up (finding lots of worms along the way!).

 

By the end of day one, we hadn't gotten very far - about 10 ft. But all the sod was cut, which was a time-consuming task.

 

Clara and I put in some more hard work on sunny days here and there and got the top half of the bed completely cleared of sod! 

It was a big job and I was ready to be done with clearing. Another 105 square feet did not sound like a good idea. I had been toying with the idea of lasagna gardening and decided to give it a shot for the second half of the bed. Since we are starting mid-spring and don't have lots of time to gather materials, our layers will not be as thick as they should be but that's okay - we'll just add more this fall! Today, Clara and I layered the bottom 24 ft. of the bed with newspaper, ashes, half-composted leaves from last fall, and a topsoil/compost mix so that we can plant right into it, hopefully tomorrow!

 

We have about 12' of grass left to cover tomorrow and then we will start planting! Peas will go in first in the lasagna half of the garden. I'll plant some tomorrow and some in a couple of weeks. I'm also planning to put lettuce and maybe some other green leafies there. Tomatoes and probably some basil will go in the top half of the bed. Our backyard garden, which doesn't get as much sun, will house lots of bush-type green beans (which flourished there last year), while the side garden will have butternut squash and cucumbers. I'm hoping to add in a few other plants as well, we'll see how the season goes! 

Also, my daffodils were so close to blooming today. I can't wait to see them tomorrow!

The Elizabeth Legacy

An online forum I am part of recently had a discussion on where our children's names come from. It reminded me of this precious letter which my grandmother sent to us almost 2 years ago, after our ultrasound confirmed Clara was a girl and we announced her name to our families. I knew the name Elizabeth had been in our family for a long time, but didn't know the specifics and it was so sweet to learn more about the Elizabeth ancestors. A few of my clarifications are in un-italicized parentheses.


April 3, 2009

Dear Erin and Luke,

I am honored and happy that my first great grandchild, a great grand-daughter, will have Elizabeth as one of her given names. Thank you for choosing that name and continuing a family tradition which dates back many, many years.

You already know much about the women in the family whose name includes Elizabeth: Erin Elizabeth Pinckney Olson (me!), Frances Elizabeth DuBose Pinckney (my mother), and Elizabeth Anne Craig DuBose (my grandmother, the writer of this letter). I wanted to share with you some personal memories and other information I have about my grandmother and baby (Clara) Elizabeth's great, great, great grandmother, Leah Elizabeth Rochester Craig.


Leah Elizabeth was born August 10, 1866, and died May 8, 1944. Her parents were Hollis D. Rochester, 1833-1899, and Esther Burns Rochester, 1844-1885. The name, Elizabeth, goes back even farther to Leah Elizabeth's grandmother, Elizabeth Boyd Whitten Rochester, 1814-1882, who married Jonathan Rochester, 1808-1870. This Elizabeth would be baby (Clara) Elizabeth's great, great, great, great, great grandmother. There are other Elizabeth ancestors who lived before 1814, so I think it is appropriate to say that this name has been on our family tree for well over 200 years.

Erin, several years ago you and your family visited Craig Hill. You will remember the house and grounds, but much has changed about the farm and surroundings since Leah Elizabeth lived there and I visited her there.

When I knew Grandma she owned a large farm called Craig Hill in the Lebanon community of Anderson County, South Carolina. I never knew her husband and my grandfather, David Jesse Miller Craig, 1855-1924. Following his death in 1924, Grandma became the highly respected matriarch of the Craig family for 20 years.

While I was not quite 12 years old when my Grandma died, I have fond memories of summertime visits with her on the farm. It was a long, hot, two-day ride from Oklahoma to South Carolina, but we went there each summer for a visit. Grandma came to Oklahoma soon after I was born, but I don't think she made other visits to see us there.

When at Grandma's house, we feasted on vegetables from her plentiful garden, hot biscuits or cornbread with freshly churned butter, fried chicken and other dishes she cooked on or in the woodstove she fired up each morning, even in the hot summertime with no air conditioning. We drank whole milk with lots of cream on top from the cows she raised and used a dipper for drinking cold water brought up in a bucket from the well in the front yard. When not preparing a meal, Grandma usually had big pots on the wood stove, filled with boiling water and the jars of vegetables she was canning.

Grandma kept food that needed to be kept cold in an ice box which held a huge block of ice. She kept potatoes, onions, and other vegetables and cured meat cool in the cellar under the house. There were no indoor bathroom facilities, but each bedroom had a beautiful porcelain pitcher and wash basin for bathing. We used the outhouse when necessary or the chamber pot at night.

It goes without saying that there were no televisions, computers, or electronic games. We created our own activities and entertainment. With my two cousins who lived on the farm and my brother, Roy, we had fun riding in the wagon on the dusty back-country roads, riding on the tractor in the fields, swimming in the pond which was also used for watering the livestock, and playing for hours in the hayloft in the barn. We set up a stand in the front yard to sell watermelons and cantaloupes grown on the farm. There were always lots of dogs and cats to play with and we were excited to gather eggs in the hen house each day.

Grandma was a very hospitable person. Her big house, with its front porch, was the gathering place for many friends and family members. I remember especially Sunday afternoons when many gathered on her front porch to visit and enjoy the lemonade or iced tea she served to everyone. She also provided a hot meal at noon each day to lots of workers on the farm who promptly came in from the fields of cotton and tobacco when they heard the big bell on the back porch.

Grandma was a pillar and faithful member of the Mt. Zion Presbyterian Church in Sandy Springs, SC. She was a charter member of Mt. Zion's first Missionary Society, organized on April 16, 1914. The Centennial Celebration for Mt. Zion (organized in 1832) was held on August 20-21, 1932. Grandma was a member of the group in charge of arrangements for this event. Her two sons who were ministers, Roy Rochester Craig (my father) and Augustus Rochester Craig (Uncle Gus), sometimes preached at Mt. Zion when they were there or held revival services during the week. My father, Roy, was a minister in Oklahoma for many years and Uncle Gus was a missionary in China. Grandma's oldest son, Marcus (Uncle Mark), was ordained and installed as an elder at Mt. Zion Church in 1920 and was the efficient Clerk of Session for 33 years. In 1982, he was honored as Elder Emeritus.

Many Craig relatives are buried in the cemetery behind Mt. Zion Church, including Grandma and my grandfather and two of their sons, Roy Craig and his wife, Lila Young Amis Craig (my parents) and Marcus Craig and his wife, Nellie Eskew Craig.

Grandma believed in the value of education. She attended Williamston Female College in Williamston, South Carolina. There are several receipts for her tuition, one of which indicates that her father paid $30.00 for her tuition for the fall session, 1882. Grandma's school papers, a few of which I have, contain her beautiful handwriting, eloquent language, and inspired thinking. In one paper titled A Good Cause makes a Stout Heart she wrote, "A man is not born with courage; for it is acquired and then it becomes a natural quality. Courage may be displayed on any occasion if attended by any danger whatever, but it requires the most dangerous and difficult actions to prove real and true courage." She continues, "A mind that is conscious of a just and good cause is not ashamed to face the whole world."


In keeping with Grandma's commitment to education, two of her sons (Roy and Gus) graduated from Davidson College in Davidson, North Carolina, and Union Theological Seminary in Richmond, Virginia. One son (mark) graduated from Clemson College with a keen interested in entomology and used his education in agriculture to successfully continue the operation of the Craig farm until his death.


I remember Grandma as a quiet, gracious, industrious, rather plain-looking woman. Roy, my father (1900-1975) and the youngest of her sons, was the one whose disposition and facial features most closely mirrored his mother's. Grandma always seemed calm and at ease amidst a house full of people. She moved efficiently, but without hurrying and she spoke gently, but with authority. She seemed to live her beliefs, but not to thrust them on others. She was a kind, caring, thoughtful woman; a loving, trusting, supportive mother; an astute, knowledgeable, resourceful business woman; and a faithful, involved, committed member of Mt. Zion Presbyterian Church.

In addition to Grandma's son, Marcus, his wife, and their two children, my grandfather's old-maid sister, Kate, lived with Grandma on the farm until her death. With three generations and three women living under the same roof, Grandma was the glue that cemented harmonious family relationships. She managed a large, productive farm with many workers whose families lived in houses on the farm. Matt and Sudie, an old, frail, black couple lived a short distance from Grandma's house and we always enjoyed walking to their house for little visits with them. Grandma cared for them as family and they loved her dearly.

 Grandma maintained an active role in the life of Mt. Zion Presbyterian Church and the Lebanon community. Most of all, she raised three sons whose lives touched countless people for good in Oklahoma, China, and the Carolinas. One of her sons was my father and the person who has had the greatest influence on my life. He lived 43 years after I was born and was especially happy in September, 1975, the month and year he died, that his granddaughter had recently become a student at Davidson College. He was always so very proud of her, but didn't live to see her graduate from his alma mater or become a wife and mother of six children.

We hope that during the next few months baby (Clara) Elizabeth's growth and development will progress well and that both of you will experience the joy of her birth and your new role as parents. We're looking forward to seeing pictures of baby (Clara) Elizabeth and, hopefully, to seeing her in person as soon as possible after her birth.

I'm enclosing four pictures of Grandma and other family members. While these are very old photographs, they will give you an idea of what Leah Elizabeth looked like as an older adult and what Elizabeth Anne looked like as a small child.

Love Always,
Mamaliz

(I will attempt to scan these photographs into my computer within the next few days but am not sure how the quality will turn out, as they are very old and somewhat fuzzy already. However, I'll do my best!)

Hair

Yesterday morning Clara asked for my hairbrush, which is not unusual. When I asked if she was going to brush her hair, she said, "Brush.... LEGS!" Of course I laughed, so of course she said it again. I said, "That's a funny joke! Did you tell a funny joke?"
"Uh huh! Funny joke! Funny joke!"

For the rest of the morning she kept repeating, "Brush legs. Funny joke! Funny joke!" What a little clown!

She has also recently started very gently brushing the hair out of my eyes if I have a strand hanging down or a piece come loose from my ponytail. "Brush Mama hair, eyes." Her soft little hands are oh so gentle as she "fixes" it for me.

She hates having her own hair messed with, but the other day, out of the blue, she was playing with my ponytail and said, "You poe-eee tail!"
"Do you want a ponytail in your hair?"
"Uh HUH!"
And she actually let me put in a little ponytail with one of her rarely-used hair clips! It was oh SO adorable and made her look so much older! She did manage to keep it in for a little while, before getting too curious and pulling it out. Sadly, she hasn't wanted one since.

Maybe some day she will let me play with her hair the way she likes to play with mine. :)

Blue Milk!

Clara's favorite color is BLUE! Not that she truly knows her colors, but if you ask her what color something is, her first answer is always, "BthLOO!!" (said with a big smile!)

A couple of days ago while she was nursing after her nap, she looked up at me and said, "BthLOO moji (her current version of "milky")!"
"Blue milky??"
"BthLOO moj!" *self-satisfied chuckle and return to nursing*
"That's so silly! Are you having blue milky?"
"Uh huh!"


She was very proud of herself and because I couldn't help laughing at her she kept pausing and reiterating, "BthLOO moji!" We eventually went through green, orange and purple milky as well, which she thought was a great joke! I always wonder what she's going to come up with next...

A Sleep Talker?

A few times we have heard Clara make unusual noises in her sleep, as if she were trying to say something. A few weeks ago she actually did say something and I remember wondering if she was awake or asleep because it was quite loud and very clear, but I can't for the life of me remember what it was she said!

Last night I went to a gardening talk with a friend from church, so I was gone at bedtime. This is a true rarity in our house - I think someone other than me has put her down for the night only 4 or 5 times total! As we were lying in bed shortly after I returned home, about to fall asleep, we heard a very hi, very sweet and happy-sounding, "Hi, Mama" from Clara's room. It sounded just like when she sees me first thing in the morning and says "Hi" with a big smile.

Talk about melting my heart! It was like she was welcoming me home, happy I was back after being away for bedtime. Love that little girl with all my heart!

A Tender Heart

Sometimes Many times So often I couldn't recount all of the times if I tried, this little girl melts my heart. Today while we were playing with her blocks she looked up at me and, in a very sad little voice, said what sounded like, "Lamb crying." The look on her face was so sad and worried! She has a book about "little Lamb" and also a sheep finger puppet, but we hadn't played with either one this morning and I wasn't sure what she was talking about. I said, "Lamb is crying?"
"Uh huh."
"Is Lamb sad?"
"Uh huh."
"Does Lamb need a hug?"
"Uh HUH!"
She gave me a big cuddle and I asked, "Where is Lamb?" She went running off towards her bedroom and I waited, interested to see who or what she would bring back. She returned a few seconds later, empty-handed. We played a little longer and again she looked at me, "Lamb crying!"
"Can you go find Lamb?"
"Uh huh!"
Again she ran off and returned, a few seconds later, empty-handed. Twice more we went through this little dance and then I asked her, "Do you need help finding Lamb?"
"Uh huh."
Off she ran and I followed her into the kitchen where she stood on her tip toes, trying to open the kitchen door. I asked her, "Where are you going?" Again she said,
"Lamb crying."
Suddenly a light bulb went off in my head. "Liam? Do you mean 'Liam crying'?"
A huge smile spread across her face. "Uh huh! Liam crying!" Again she tried to open the kitchen door. "Find Liam!"
This is where my heart turned into a puddle and my eyes got misty. Liam is a little boy at our Bible study about 6 months younger than Clara. Ever since he was born, she has been fascinated by him. He has a hard time being away from his mama and will often cry in the nursery. It just melted my heart that my sweet little girl thought of Liam, thought he might be crying and wanted to do something to help him. I explained to her that we couldn't go find him today, but we would see him tomorrow and today we could pray for him, that he wouldn't be sad and wouldn't cry. She ran over, crawled into my lap, held my hands and bowed her head solemnly while we prayed for Liam and his family.

It is my constant prayer that she will stay tender-hearted to those she sees who are grieving or in need and that God would give me great wisdom as I seek to nurture her desire to care for others.

Showing Off...

I will freely admit that, like mothers everywhere, I think my child is just the best there ever is, was or will be. She is the sweetest, smartest, funniest, cutest little kid anyone could ever ask for. Yes, I realize I am biased. I try to keep my bias in mind when interacting with others. But every now and then, I give in to temptation and show off. I just think Clara is so amazing and I want the whole world to know how wonderful she is!

Case in point: two days ago, we were at the grocery store. As we were checking out, Clara was charming the bagger with her smiles, as usual. As our cashier was scanning items, Clara started naming them, "Milk. Juice. Tortilla!!! (one of her current favorites) Eggs." The cashier and bagger were impressed at how smart she was. I was thoroughly enjoying the fun Clara was having seeing and naming all these foods and I'll admit, I was also enjoying the surprise and admiration of those watching her. I pointed into our cart at a bag already filled with produce and asked, "Clara, what's that?" She turned around and, clear as could be, said, "Kale!"

General amazement ensued. The bagger called over a few other people to tell them, "This little girl knows 'kale'! My daughter is only 4 months younger and all she says is 'mama'!"

I was somewhat amazed myself. We have eaten kale before, but it's hardly a common topic of conversation. This little girl continually astonishes me with what she soaks up from the world around her. Watching a person grow is, hands down, the most incredible thing I have ever witnessed.

I am fully aware that, as penance for my niggle of pride and desire to show off, the next time I ask Clara to name something in front of people, she will stare at me with a blank face as if she's never spoken a word in her life. :)

It goes by so fast...

I can't even begin to count how many times I have heard this phrase from people. "Enjoy every minute, it goes by so fast," "They grow up so quickly."

Sometimes the cliches are true.

I want to hit "pause" a million times a day and just soak up the moment, capture the minute details of my little girl - that look she has or the glint in her eye, the way she pronounces a word, the way her hair falls across her face or her excitement when she first wakes up in the morning or from a nap. The way she says, "Hi" every morning and melts my heart, leaves me breathless and misty-eyed.

I want to write down each new word, each new sentence, each new discovery she makes and how it feels to watch her grow and learn and be fascinated by the world around her. I have not done a very good job of this and I often feel guilty when I hear other moms talk about the journals they keep for each of their children. I want everything written down. I want her to know some day how much I loved being her mother, how she is an absolute miracle to me, how her sunshine can brighten even the darkest of my days.

I feel like I will never be able to tell her these things enough. I will not remember every detail. I will forget how much she weighed at each doctor's visit. I will not have a journal filled with each tiny milestone.

But I have spent these moments with her. And some of them I will never forget. Each day is filled with a thousand and one gifts, more precious moments than I can ever count, more joy and laughter and living than I really ever imagined. Maybe that is why it goes by so fast - because it is so full.

It is full with moments like my big girl leaning over and snuggling a friend's six-month-old so tenderly and sweetly, then giggling while imitating the baby's happy kicking.

Reading books together - sometimes her on my lap, sometimes sitting in her own small rocker and wanting me to sit in the big rocker next to her. The ways she notices each detail, finds the tiny mouse on each page, whispers "hush" in all the right places.

The look of shock, pride and excitement on her face when she discovered how to turn the faucet on in the kitchen sink. Her fascination at feeling the difference between very cold water and warmer water (and watching the shivers and gasping as she repeatedly stuck her hand and arm into the icy stream).

Her love for her monkey pajamas, the way we both know the bedtime routine and find comfort and fun in following the same patterns throughout our day.

The way she cuddles in to my arms with her blankie and peacefully nurses - sometimes, all the way to dreamland. Then, her heavy, limp body in my arms, I could sit and listen to her breathe with her head on my shoulder forever, feeling her wispy hair against my cheek and the absolute peacefulness of her repose. Peaceful moments are more rare these days and all the more precious. I do my best to slow down, live each second, treasure them up in my heart.

Snowy Day Fun

Today apparently was the day for our weekly snowstorm. So, for the second time in three weeks, Bible study was canceled and we have been homebound. But, we have had lots of fun so far! We started out the day with some serious college prep reading by the woodstove. ;-) (This is, "The Integration of Psychology and Christianity")

Then we moved on to the even more serious work of motherhood: taking your babies for a walk.

One baby...

Two babies...

Switch places!

After that, it was time for some work in the kitchen. I've been wanting to make play dough for Clara for awhile, and decided to day was the perfect day. My little chef wanna-be loved it! She did try sneaking a couple of bites at first, but was soon convinced that it was, indeed, yucky as Mama had warned her. (No worries though, it was just flour, water, cream of tarter, lots of salt and a little oil and food coloring. Love homemade since I know exactly what's in it!)

  

Next, some personal grooming. Although in reality Clara hates having her nails clipped, pretending to clip them herself is tons of fun! She did this for 15-20 minutes, saying "clip, clip" the whole time!

Trimming those toenails...

Already multitasking ;)

Then it was time for a yummy lunch of peanut butter balls, carrot-raisin-flax muffin and more grapes than I can imagine fitting in her stomach! Now she's down for a nap and I am folding laundry and working on an apple pie. Mmm...

What are your favorite snowy (or otherwise inclement weather) day activities?

My little scientist...

... found a little stink bug crawling in the kitchen this afternoon, and was fascinated!

Look Mama!

 

Had to get closer...

... moving on to push ups? Not quite sure. :)

She watched it for a bit, then tried to "sweep" it away with her hand. When it flipped over and started crawling again she touched it and looked at me. I told her she could pick it up and so she did, and was fascinated when it started crawling on her hand!

I figure it's never to early to start science class, huh?! It's so fun watching Clara's curiosity and fascination with the world around her grow as she notices things in more and more detail.

For Anna...

... here's the video of Clara playing hide and seek with her Daddy (with an extra one as well!). :)

What Mama has been up to...

A few things I've been up to since we've been home:

Making Clara some new fleece pants (notice the swirly bum!)...

and a diaper cover for the summer (yep, I'm a little obsessed with the swirl - I tell you, in person it's WAY too cute!):

 Adding a ziploc bag holder (to reuse bags from leftovers, Luke's lunches, etc) and a curtain to cover my ugly spice rack to the kitchen counter (the fabric is from Cameroon and matches the trim on my kitchen curtains):

And doing my best to keep up with this little one (who tries to grab the camera at ever opportunity)!

What we have been up to lately...

During the holidays we had a lot of fun traveling to see family and generally staying very busy. My perfectionist tendencies have kept me from blogging because I want to go back, catch up, write about everything and do it right. But I know that if I wait for that to happen I'll never write again. So here I go, jumping in where we are. It seems that Clara woke up on January 3rd and decided she was a toddler! Here's a bit of what we've been up to since we returned home from our holiday trip on Jan. 2nd:

Unpacking from our trip

Trying Mama's boots on for size

 

Discovering the joys of toilet paper

Can you find the baby?

Here she is, a ghost!

She loves the new pants Mama made her

Stealing Mama's camera and taking pictures is always fun...

Wearing clothes is overrated, but aprons are the best!

We've had tea parties every day since we've been back

Already multi-tasking: helping Mama fold diapers while watching cars and drinking tea!

Lots and lots of baking. She always wants to help!

Some fun in the snow...

And from today, wearing Mama's sweatshirt...

...and Daddy's hat!

She's a busy little girl and keeps us on our toes!

Words!

I have been bad at keeping lists of Clara's words as they have appeared, but sat down today and wrote down all the words I could think of. I feel like there may be a couple missing here or there, but Luke went over the list too and this is a pretty good picture of what she's saying these days. I was shocked to discover that she has 100 words! (Exactly! But 111 if you also count signs and animal noises.) Here they are (for the sake of clarity I have listed the actual word, not her pronunciation. On some words she's very close, on others not so much. But anyone who's around her for a day or so can understand her - she's a very good and persistent communicator!):

Names:
Mama
Daddy
Baby
Sadie Mae (sound like, "Seee Meeeee!")
Abby
Lauren
Karoline
Beka
Annabelle
Papa
Gramma
Andrew
Matthew
Joel
Moose
Pony
(these last two refer to a specific moose and a specific pony, though she does use pony in general as well)

Food words:
Eat
Food
Snack
Chair
All done
Water
Juice
Tea
Applesauce
Blueberry
Bread
Banana
Cereal
Cheerio
Cheese
Spoon
Fork
Apron
Stir (always comes in a double, "stir stir!")

Body and clothing words:
Hair
Eyes
Ear
Nose
Mouth
Teeth
Tongue
Chin
Elbow
Belly
Back
Knee
Toes
Socks
Shoe
Pants
Shirt
Jacket
Hat

Activity and action words:
Ride (for piggyback ride or riding her rocking horse, etc)
Bath
Shower
Sit
Lie down
Rock (asking to be rocked or rocking her baby doll)
Out
Off
On
Outside
Inside
Up
Down
Open
Close

Other words:
Phone
Hot
Fire
Okay
More
Lap (when she wants to get up in your lap)
Other side (when nursing, or simply to ask to nurse)
Moon (Goodnight Moon, though she knows what the moon is too)
Jesus (particularly in relation to her "Jesus Loves Me" book she receive for Christmas)
Book
Paci
Blankie
Jammies
Kitty
Brush
Two
Three
Snow
Beep
Help
Hello
Hi
Bye Bye
Love you (Hoo Hee)
Uh oh
Oh boy
Oh no

and of course the current favorites...
No
Nope
No ma'am

Animal noises:
Moo
Bak Bak (chicken)
Meow
Honk
Woof Woof
Hop hop (bunny)
Neigh (but with an "Mmmm" sound)

Signs she still uses:
Please
Thank you
Drink
Eat
All done
Sleepy
Help

The past two weeks her two-word phrases have really exploded as well. Early favorites were "Sit, Abby!" (Abby is our friends' dog), "No, Sadie!" and "Rock Baby." Lately though she has been mixing and matching words much more frequently. The big one today was, "No, NO SOCKS!" (so she didn't have any socks on until naptime, when I finally insisted). A few days ago we saw a mom with infant twins in the grocery store and for a couple days afterward I heard a lot about "two babies!" "More" and "no" are good candidates for coupling with other words - "more blueberry" or "more applesauce" are common breakfast requests, "more kitty" was frequent at my parents' house. The speed and dexterity with which she is mastering language never cease to amaze me. Now that I have a base list, I am hoping to do a better job of keeping up with new words and phrases, though she is not an easy one to keep up with!

Christmas Trees of Glory

I don't have many words to say about this, because others have put words to my thoughts more eloquently than I ever could. I will say that the "stuff" of Christmas has seemed much less important and less appealing to us this year. Read Ann over at Holy Experience for more.

If you are also looking for a different way to give this season, you might consider one of these projects or ministries:

Christmas Trees of Glory - helping protect the land that is supporting 84 needy orphans in Ethiopia (and they'll send you gift cards to give to others in lieu of gifts if you so choose!)

Amazima Ministries - sponsoring children in Uganda so that they can go to school, have nutritious food to eat and basic medical care. Amazima also works with their families, educating parents and helping them to find employment when possible. Started by a 21-year old girl whose heart was broken for God on a 10-month trip to Uganda and she now lives there full time with her 14 adopted daughters! Read more at Katie's blog, here.

Serving His Children - also in Uganda, SHC has a feeding program, a malnutrition rehab center, a medical program, and reaches out in many ways to the hurting community around them. Also started by a young woman who felt God's tug on her heart - read more at Renee's blog, here.

There are many other worthy organizations and projects out there, but these are a few that may not have crossed your radar. What will you give to Jesus this Christmas for His birthday?

Priceless

Insomnia + a daughter who has decided to start waking up at night again = exhaustion migraines for Mama

A facial anatomy lesson (eyes! nose! teeth!) from said daughter at 6am = blurry eyes and yawning during church

A commitment to flexibility = not worrying too much about any of this

Two hours of extra rest with a sleeping girl snuggled under my chin and watching her wake up and smile at me = PRICELESS!

Who wouldn't want to wake up with this cutie in their bed?! :)

 

Incredible Hulk Super Soup!

Over at Good Food.

In the Hand of the Lord

 

The king’s heart is a stream of water in the hand of the LORD; he turns it wherever he will. ~Proverbs 21:1

Today I had to report for jury duty. I was not happy about this. Until today, I had never left Clara home with a babysitter. We had left her with one or another of our parents a couple of times during visits. She had hung out at our friends the Niles' house while we went trail-riding. But we had never left her home with a "sitter." No one but me had put her down for a nap. You may think this is good or bad, sweet or strange, an example of dedication or codependency. Regardless of what you think, it has worked for us and we have all been happy.

 

The heart of man plans his way, but the LORD establishes his steps. ~Proverbs 16:9

I was first called for jury duty in March. I postponed it as long as I could, but this time I finally had to serve. I was on telephone standby and so yesterday evening I called to learn my fate. As you can imagine, I was not happy when I learned I had to report to the courthouse in Troy by 9 am this morning. I knew Clara would be fine, I knew everything would somehow work out, but I still had knots in my stomach all night dreading leaving my baby girl, not knowing how long I would be gone.

Many are the plans in the mind of a man, but  it is the purpose of the LORD that will stand. ~Proverbs 19:21

I left at 7:45 this morning, leaving Clara in the very capable hands of our friend Lauren, one of Clara's favorite people. After navigating Troy traffic and confusing one-way streets and parking restrictions, I made it to the courthouse about 8:40, got through security and sat down to start waiting. A little after 9 we started the sign-in process. Over an hour later we had all been signed in for quite some time and were still waiting for the judge. At 10:20 the Commissioner of Jurors called his office and found out he was still in conference with the attorneys for the case that was to be tried today. She gave us a 15 minute break, during which I texted Lauren to let her know we were still waiting and see how things were going. She wrote back that all was going well and said, "Praying that the judge will show up soon and send you home!"

The plans of the heart belong to man, but the answer of the tongue is from the LORD. ~Proverbs 16:1

Fifteen minutes later, the judge entered the room and said, "I have some good news. Fifteen minutes ago the defendant in this case finally agreed to a plea bargain. You are all done and are free to go home." He went on to explain that this defendant has been particularly tough to work with, determined to "do his own thing." They have been negotiating with him for almost a year. He is a cocaine dealer who has been in and out of jail several times. I don't know what the "plans of his heart" were, but as close as I can figure, about the time my friend Lauren started praying, the Lord put a different answer on his tongue than the one that has been there for the past year. Truly,

The [cocaine dealer]’s heart is a stream of water in the hand of the LORD; he turns it wherever he will. ~Proverbs 21:1

 

I came home rejoicing because I serve a good, good God who saw fit to reach down and pour a little extra grace into my life this morning. I expected Clara and Lauren to have a wonderful time together, and they did. But I never expected to receive a little love letter from my Father God at jury duty. I'm not sure why I was so surprised. Jesus told us to expect this very thing!

If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him! ~Matthew 7:11