WayfaringStrangers

A sunrise last week. I've seen many sunrises lately, due to one certain early bird who is 4 years old and thinks it a good idea to be up at 6..or 5...or 4:30...But each new day is grace. Last week, Patrick graduated to a toddler bed. I'd been looking at thrift stores for a while, but hadn't found one. Then I spotted a friend selling one on good ol' Facebook and jumped on it. I saw the ad at 4:30 in the afternoon, picked it up at 6:00, and by 7:30, my baby was a-sleeping on it. He loves it and transitioned perfectly. It was a little bittersweet, the taking the down the crib. But I must admit, I feel a bit giddy about it. The last few years of babies and now toddlers and preschoolers- they've been hard. Way hard. They've stretched me and grown me and aged me. I love having little ones, and yet I'm so thrilled about new autonomy, like Preschool and toddler beds and wiping their own bottoms (well, Graham at least). That's not to say I'll nev...

It's not a big deal, really. I mean, it is to me, and to Behn, and to Graham, of course, but not really a big deal to anyone else. After a really, really hard fall with a lot of behavioral challenges and pure boredom at home, we decided to put Graham in PreK-3 a few afternoons a week at the beginning of the month. He loves it. (I love it, too). To the average family, this is normal. No big deal. Most people choose to have their kids in preschoool. These days, most people start their kids in PreK-3, or even PreK-2. I was pretty firmly in the "but not us" camp. Funny how one makes plans. Funny how one has ideas about the way it's going to be. It's a little church preschool about 15 minutes away. The class is small and mostly boys. It's only 3 short afternoons a week, but he's in a structured environment and learning things like waiting his turn. They sing songs and work on a few sight words and have circle time and run around outside. My boy craves...

I was inspired by this post from The Elliott Homestead to write out my garden goals. After all, what else is there to do in January? Last year I had to start from scratch. The "garden" was just a spot of crab grass in our hilly yard. Behn and I dug it up, added some compost, garden soil, and eventually, a fence around the garden area. I planted a simple and small garden of squash, tomatoes, a few herbs, cucumbers, peppers, and some perennial flowers. It went pretty well. There were beetles. And weeds. And the soil is still quite poor, but stuff did grow and I enjoyed my project. The garden area is plotted out much better this year, and I plan on tripling the vegetable garden. I learned a lot last year; when to plant, where to plant, how to treat the plants. I hope to add some nice stepping stones and some pretty touches, and on planning my plot out more carefully. I hope to add many potted herbs in little spots around the property. I have mentally plotted where I'd ...

It's been a long week, but I think an overall pretty good one. Here's some of what's going on: Graham is funny- if you tell  him to draw (or do anything, for that matter), he doesn't want to and it turns into a battle. But then I find him quietly doodling. He told me this was Daddy- beard and all! It's January! Behn and I are continuing our annual tradition of watching Lord of the Rings  and we let Graham watch the opening scenes in Hobbiton. He loved it, but then clonked out. Rare to have him fall asleep on me. The boys seem to be in a new phase where they interact more. Sometimes this is nice and they sit together... ...but usually it just means more wrestling. Over New Years weekend, Behn painted Graham's room blue! It really  needed it. I got him some sports-themed bedding to go with the new look. Patrick is growing up so much. He loves his collection of trash trucks and spends a lot of time 'playing garbage.' This ki...

A new year, a cold winter's day. I scramble for quiet, and have a long list of to-do's. I love the beginning of the year, with fresh optimism and possibility. I started writing a new year's resolution post, but it was so boring I deleted it. The only read resolution I have this year, really, is to try raising chickens. Maybe in the spring. And now before us the cold and dark of winter. The long days with stir-crazy kids and trying to think up something to do, and all the while just feeling sleepy. But it will be ok. There's chili in the crock pot and clean laundry to fold. I am blessed in the monotony and my cup is full. (Literally. Cup is full of coffee. I'm going to go drink it now.)

Whew. End of December. Behn and I were talking on Christmas Day, on our drive home from my parents. "It doesn't feel like Christmas," he said. "It doesn't feel bad; it was a really nice day. But it doesn't feel like Christmas." I had to agree. To tired parents, it doesn't "feel" like Christmas, perhaps. Just like when parents are tired and worn thin, we don't always "feel" like this parenting gig is much fun. Just today, my sisters-in-law and I were talking about expectations. Years ago, I expected   Christmas to mean beautiful devotionals, savoring every Christmas hymn, and worshiping with my whole heart in the Lessons and Carols and Christmas Eve Service. I expected to anticipate glitter and gifts, and maybe a flutter of romance and possibility. I expected  good meals and sleeping in and lounging around with family.  Christmas looks so different now. Not worse, just different. Traditions are wonderful and important,...

Last night we turned on some footage of the first hours and weeks of Graham's life. He was tiny. He was adored. We held him in awe. We grinned over every coo. He was, is, precious to us. Behn looked 10 years younger. I truly had a 'glow.' I looked impossibly young, almost like a teenager (I was almost 27). I think we were both just a lot less tired. I can nearly cry thinking of the simplicity of those sweet days, all cozied up in our little home in the most beautiful place in the world. Fast forward 4 years. Graham is so big- tall and healthy and athletic. He's funny and smart. He runs and jumps all day, knows the 7 continents, the planets, can draw shapes and doodles maps, and pretends to throw bombs at pirates. He's still obsessed with balls. He builds marble runs with his engineer's mind. He has a dimple on his right cheek when he grins. But. But these have been the hardest months of my life. People say 2 is bad, 3 is worse. Not to be negative, but 3 w...