Day of growing up

Today Everett lost his first tooth. It took about a month from the first wiggle to a hole. I can not stand to loose teeth (to many oral surgeries as a kid) so Everett thoroughly enjoyed watching me squirm everyday. He was a little shocked when it actually came out. I however did all the screaming and cringing. I kept waiting for him to have an issue with it (he does not like to see his own blood), but he did great and wanted to see the lack of it in the mirror.



Then came the afternoon. We had to stand our parental ground. Well I actually sat it in the alley as I watched our kids ride bikes in the ally while Ian BBQ'd dinner (BTW, who had the easier job?). Seems simple right. Now add in other unsupervised, boundary lacking, non helmet wearing while bike riding neighborhood kids who invite our son on a ride around the block . . . again. UGH!!! It was tough to see Ev upset by our (repeated) decision, but no was the right decision. As I sat there, watching them all play inevitably with in E's boundaries, I remembered that we are to be in the world not of it. Our parenting style is obviously way different than those around us. And that's ok. It reminded me of all the times I thought I knew what I wanted but God said no. Or how much He really would like to give me everything, but not everything is good for me.

Before the end of dinner, Everett and Isobel were able to see some of the dangers we were trying to protect them from (one girl crashed on her bike w/o a helmet and a car had to stop since the other children rode out into the street).

For Papa

who needed some pictures.

Besides what fun is a blog without pictures :)

Carolynn is Coming Home

Carolynn is packing and hopes to be discharged by 1pm. Her mom will be driving her home. She will be working with a pediatrician here at Madrona. As long as Liberty is maintaining her wait there will be no NG Tube. She will have her mother-in-law there to stay and help her.

Whoo Hooo!

How you can help Carolynn and the family

A tearful and tired Carolynn has asked for you help:

1. Please check their blog only for updates. With the stress at home and hospital, they need less phone calls.

2. Pray for peace at home and hospital.

3. I offer to coordinate meals. Let me know if you want to provide one (simply.made@hotmail.com). If someone is already doing this please leave a post and let us know how to contact you.

Simple

We needed to make a ladder for our chickens. Evie eagerly spaced the rungs. As I readied the nail gun (I love my man's shop!), our kids proceeded to yell "fire in the whole!". Way to funny.We have been trying to use every inch of scraps including the ladder. The kids got excited and carried me away with them: The teeter-todder they fashioned using one of daddy's waiting tree pieces. They even designed handles.

Naturally, Everett kept going . . . . We now had a very large balance to play with.
This? This is a hole waiting for a hammock post. Why not fill it up with water from the rain buckets with once again a recycled item? As a parental note this is awesome! A water hose tends to get out of control, and someone has to wind it up. Buckets have let me say "yes" to water play more often.

More on this later but this is our new homestead accessory. A year ago one of his parents said no. Boy was Evie excited to get it going.

Not our usual day

We started our day as usual (school and morning work). Next we were off to the dentist. It's not far. The kids rode their bikes and I got in a swift walk. It is bike month (at least in Bellingham). We are trying to bike, walk, and bus as much as possible.

Anyway, back at the dentist, Evie did great. Isobel . . . next time. Everett has 2 loose teeth!!! Gross! I can not handle loose teeth. I had way to many oral surgeries to find the joy in this part of coming of age. Despite that, Evie is way excited! To him this means he is getting older and bigger.On our bike ride home we came across a dead snake. "Moma, can we take it home PLEEEEEASE." You are gonna think I've lost it, but I said OK. What could it hurt? Why not? Maybe we could use it for school or something.

I had a back appointment and some errands to do, then it was time to get dinner ready. You know, an hour or so before you actually want to eat it. So just how do you make left overs appealing? Everett and I created a menu:set the table fancy, and told daddy that his "reservations" were ready.

How proud does that adorable waiter look. Thank you Daddy and Isobel for being great sports.

Oh, we even had a sign for the bathroom . . . like a another real restaurant.

We started our day by finishing up our chicken coop. Here is daddy's little helper . . . holding her beloved chicken Ruby. We cleaned up in time to get to Everett's baseball game. This kid takes sports seriously. Everett was his usually self: hard hitter, quick thrower, and team player. Way to go Evie! Thanks papa, grandma, Andy, Rhylee and Heather for coming. Evie was so excited to know people were coming to see him play.

After the game there was a kayak demo at the other side of the park. I have ALWAYS wanted to try this. For $5 I was able enjoy a kayak on a beautiful day. Everett was able to come with me. You can see who go to do the actual kayaking. On this Mother's Day weekend . . . I sat across from him watching him enjoy and discover this new sport, as I sat waiting for my turn.
It ended all to soon for Evie and I. We could have been there all day. While were there however, we learned of Bellingham Bay Community Boating Center. Through them we would have access to kayaks and supplies, for hours, days or season long. Oh we can"t wait!!

Next it was off to church. Whew! What a day. Loved every minute of it too!!!

Words or Actions

My husband likes initiative: "He has full confidence in her and lacks nothing of value" (Proverbs 31:11). He has said before, he likes to know that I can handle things if ever he was not here. I personally avoid thinking of such a case. I hope this helps however:

We were building the chicken coop together. The kids held in for a while, but then the rain persisted and they retreated to the indoors. I stuck around. Literally in the mud. I wrestled wire, managed tools, and tried to plan a step or two ahead. I even sacrificed my kitchen floor. I had just cleaned it yesterday! Oh well. I am sure my actions speak louder than words in my thanks for his skill and support in building the coop, my willingness to get filthy for a purpose, and that I really can be capable of rising to the occasions.

Chicken school. It's been easy to do school lately. The kids and I are thoroughly enjoying our subject. Learning through real life and Montessori style teaching really appeal to me and the kids. The chickens have provided us with many lessons. Cutting grass small enough for chickens . . . our lawn mower is broken so I suggested they continue with this exercise.

Here are two early birds on a scavenger hunt for bugs. Some nice pincher grasps going on.

I love the jammies with boots. This girl has no problem getting dirty and touching slimys.

Here we are gently getting eggs clean. The princes and handsome man had great team work during this. And not even one broken egg! These are from our friends chickens, our girls are not old enough yet.

Only with very clean hands and for the sake of learning this is how we scrambled our breakfast. They actually liked it. This chicken thing as been fun for us all.