Cultivating Family Bonds

Last week my kids saw that they were a part of something bigger. Their identity expanded and their sense of belonging deepened. We spent eleven days visiting family and friends in California. Spending time away from home was refreshing for all of us and spending quality time with my side of the family was beautiful.

Day 1 and 2 - Our adventurous drive to Oakhurst
After making sure Jonathan had plenty of waffles, lasagna, chili and cornbread while we were gone we headed out on our adventure after David got off work at 3:00. We got to Tuscon at 4:30 but did not leave Tucson till 6:00 due to a visit to a tractor shop with the Smiths. This resulted in our not getting to Palm Springs until close to midnight. (Thankfully David drove!) While there Orion and Omega fell in love with a pedal tractor that looked similar to this:

As you can imagine, both kids wanted to ride it. They did well taking turns at first, but on Orion's second turn he had a hard time getting off. The man at the store saw this little boy's love for manly machinery and at the end of our visit gave Orion a mini excavator. (For all you non-farmers or women unfamiliar with the names of equipment, it looks like this:)

He was delighted and rewarded for regaining his composure. Omega understood and did not complain about not getting anything.

As we approached our hotel (A Holiday Inn Express which we price-lined for half the normal cost!) the streets looked extremely familiar. I realized I had scouted that territory in my colporteur days (door to door literature evangelism). That brought back fond memories and a tinge of sadness to not experience that heavenly camaraderie and sense of urgency and mission. We had a decent night's sleep and were only 6 hours from our final destination to my Mom's house in Oakhurst. That gave us plenty of wiggle room so we did some shopping for much needed tennis-shoes. We wasted a lot of time wandering through the mall. The shoe stores blasted their music so loud the kids covered their ears and the customer service was not impressive. We finally gave up and began driving. Then, lo and behold we saw some outlets with a Merrel shoe store. I ended up getting these, only in green, not yellow. By the way, the customer service was fantastic!

  
David got some too, but not the barefoot type. Right next door to the Merrel store was a Le Creuset cookware store which I drooled in. All that put us behind and so we got to my mom's house by bedtime instead of by supper time. While we were driving Omega kept saying, "I wish we were at Neena's house already." So I let her talk to Neena (my mom) on the phone and they (or should I say Omega) talked for almost 2 hours! She was a non-stop chatterbox! That was like a million dollars deposited in Omega's little love bank :)

Bedtime Traditions

I hope I never forget how adorable my kids are, especially at bedtime. Omega likes to whisper in my ear "I love you so much, as much as God does." Then she likes to give me a hug and a kiss....and then a dessert hug and a kiss. She's like an octopus who doesn't want me to leave. She'll do things or say things that are silly just to provoke me to tickle her.

Orion doesn't care for all the frills quite as much. He just wants me to fold his blanket so he can put it under his head and make sure his water is filled up and in the top left corner. Sometimes while I'm spending time with Omega he'll crawl under his crib to hide. He's seeking a reaction out of me like, "Where's Orion? Where did he go?....I can't find him!....What will we do?" Then he starts to slither out and he expects me to have a shocked expression and say something like, "Oh no! Look at that centipede under the bed! I hope he doesn't get me!" And then he might correct me and say, "No, I'm an alligator." (Or whatever animal he's into that day.) Then he'll crawl up the stool to his crib like that animal.

We've morphed our bedtime routine over the years. When they were little, I'd put them down, walk out and that was that. As they grew I started singing to them the song my Dad sang to me when I was little. Then Omega became a toddler and she convinced me to "nuggle" with her (snuggle). I couldn't resist. Then I'd sing, snuggle and rub her back. Then I'd sing, snuggle, rub her back and tickle her. Then I'd sing, snuggle, rub back, tickle, and whisper in ears. As their vocabulary increased I began asking various things like "what are you thankful for, what made you happy today or what made you sad?"  Sometimes one of their stuffed animals would ask the questions, which they thought was hilarious! Of course, the bedtime routine got way too long and I have since began to pick just one or two of the options so it doesn't get boring. Sometimes they whisper in my ear, sing to me, or even rub my back (although that's dangerous because I almost fall asleep!)


On Sabbath they look forward to sleeping in Omega's bed together. Not sure why they like it so much but it promotes sibling camaraderie.

Seriously...aren't they just the cutest things ever?!

Our new hobby - birding

One of my New Year's resolutions was to read "Mind Character and Personality" by Ellen White. The first section is about the importance of the mind. A good teacher will never be satisfied with dull thoughts, an indolent (lazy) mind, or a loose memory. One of the ways to train and discipline the mind is by study, by observation, and by reflection. One thing I admire about David is that he is very attentive. He hears and sees things that I would have never observed. And he takes the time to understand its significance. This is one reason he's a great Bible teacher. His observation skills have been honed. That is also why he is a great farmer. This year I'm endeavoring to become a better observer.

So, recently there was an event in town called "Wings Over Willcox" where they took tourists to view the migratory cranes in the area. They also had live falcons, owls, hawks and a bald eagle at the community center. We listened to a seminar about bats and at the end the speaker had a real bat that she showed us. She has had it since it was born and it's now 15 years old.

All this inspired us to buy a bird book with full color illustrations and now we are actively trying to identify the birds we see.This morning we identified our first bird. We saw a male and female house finch.

We even got David's binoculars out and looked out the sliding glass window and whispered to each other as we looked through so we wouldn't scare them away (not like they can hear us but it was good practice). I really hope to instill in my children (and myself) the habit of observing things attentively, being patient and appreciating the beauty all around.

Welcome

Hi family,

I'm really anticipating our trip to California in two days. It's been a whole year since I've seen my family. It's been even longer since we've been to Missouri to visit David's family. It makes me realize that it would be good to keep you in the loop of our lives more. I'm starting this blog for several reasons.

1) Keep family and friends updated on the kids' growth and development.
2) Motivate me to record things I want to remember in 20 years.
3) Help me slow down and enjoy these precious years. I think blogging may help me reflect more and savor each day.