Soundbites

• after a hug "I still have more hugs."
• singing with guitar "Bagel, bagel, bagel!"(Bea's first original song)
  
• 8pm, just before bedtime "Jammie said I should go to her house tonight."
• While slapping her chest "Too! Bea too!" (aka 'Me too')
• While following mama around "Mama, ah-doing? Ah-doing?" (aka what are you doing?)
• "Ballgame. Ballgame." Repeated until the song 'Take me out to the Ballgame' is played.
• "Do it. Do it. Bea do it. Sef. Sef." (aka- Bea will do it by herself)
• After trying a bite of too-hot oatmeal "We needed someone to tell us what weather our oatmeal was."
• While letting her toy puppy peek into the potty Bea said "Oh!"
• "I'm going to get all the warm stuff off you so I can put it on my bed."
  

Can God teach me to roller skate?

During bedtime prayers with Nathan tonight I was thanking God for his Spirit that guides us and teaches us when Nathan interrupted me:

"God teaches us?"
"Yes, his Spirit is with us and can teach us."
"What does He teach us?"
"How to love, how to be a good friend--"
"How to roller skate?!"
"Ummm, maybe..."

I know Nathan was probably just wondering who would teach him to roller skate since his mom hasn't gotten around to getting him those skates that he's been asking about... but his comment got me thinking. So often adults compartmentalize and categorize which parts of life are spiritual, which parts are business matters, which parts are personal tasks... and maybe we could learn something from the open and expectant attitude of children. I tend to expect God to be involved in the big decisions and tough moral questions of life, but... when I think about it, I also believe God is present and active in the daily work and play of our lives. He probably will be with Nathan as he learns to roller skate, celebrating with him as he enjoys the coordinated body God gave him and comforting him when he flies down a hill too fast or scraps his knees. And who knows... maybe if Nathan listens with his heart, he'll hear the Spirit teaching him how to move forward on those wobbly, rolly wheels!

Chapstick

Beatrice loves chapstick. I remember in my life before children that chapstick tubes lasted a really long time and I even wondered occasionally, "Will I ever finish this?" and I often felt really satisfied if I actually used it all up before I lost it. Nowdays, they go rather quickly. First of all, they get lost more frequently because both children love to play the game of unpacking bags and purses and sometimes repacking them but often flinging the contents around the room. But secondly, Bea actually uses all the chapstick up. She starts by putting it on her lips. Then I calmly smile and say, "Good job! Now can you put the top on?" "No," she replies with a determined stare. "Can you keep it in your pocket until you need it again?" I say as if I expect her to be excited about this option. "No." Then if I get distracted or choose not to intervene, Bea goes through the rest of her chapstick routine. She moisturizes her cheeks, puts some on Mama (and Nathan if he'll let her), she conditions her hair and then tastes a tiny bit in her mouth. If there is still some left over, she digs her finger into the tube and looks for a nice surface to paint.

Friends!

Nathan and Bea have become really good friends with our next door neighbors. After a long cold winter of peeking at each other through windows and rushing into warm homes, we are now all relaxing outside a bit and we've been able to get to know each other. We have all really enjoyed their company. Bea wakes up most mornings saying "Mone, Mone!" and Nathan has to be reminded that 7:00am is a little early to knock on their door. They squeal when they see their car is in the driveway or their front door is open. Last week Kathryn and Simone had dinner at our house twice, and Nathan lost his voice from cheering and squealing the whole time. They called it an "eat-over" and want to do another one soon.

Make-Do Composter

When I started my vegetable garden this spring, I moved my compost heap surrounded by chicken wire to make room for more veggies... but there wasn't a great place to relocate my compost heap. The other spaces in my backyard are the grassy play area and a cement bike riding area. The best composter for these spaces is probably one of the more contained and covered options such as the big barrel that uses the sun's heat to help decomposition and a crank handle to keep air circulating. I didn't have one handy, but I did find some black plastic pots that plants had come in... and discovered a "Make-Do Composter." One pot is slightly bigger than the other so they fit together pretty nicely. See picture below. So far, it has worked great. It gets warm in the sun and I flip it once in a while to keep the air circulating. They have some holes on the bottom so rain water doesn't collect and animals haven't been interested in it yet. We mostly deal with squirrels, who get plenty of interesting finds out of our trash cans, so I can imagine a more determined or desperate animal might get into this Make-Do Composter. I was prepared to try duct tape if my squirrels got interested. Recently, I upgraded to 2 giant pots that some big shrubs came in. Now I have plenty of space for my kitchen scraps and the compost is starting to look pretty good!

Puddle Hoppin'

Nothing like a good puddle for Beatrice these days. Most mornings, when she hears that we are getting ready to go out she yells, "boot, boot!" Then she gets her yellow boots on by herself whether she is in a dress and heading to church or getting ready to visit the farm (picture above).

Rockin at the Farm

Nathan and his friends, Colton and Eli are enjoying the rocking chairs at Wagner Farm. What a fun way to start our summer of outings with friends. It is fun to watch all their personalities learn how to have fun together. Right now they are working on figuring out what makes a joke funny. At lunch we spent most the time squealing phrases that had "nobody" or "anybody" or "everybody" in it. Their comedy careers are off to a good start!