Making Rivendell in the Desert: 2017

Eight weeks or so of having 5 ex-utero kids, when all the various aunts flew back to their respective homes, I was feeling especially out-manned and under-gunned that morning. Jenny wanted me to take them to Sam's club to get blueberries, and get them all icecream.

“I can't take you guys to Sam's club, because Mommy's on her own today” I said.

Jenny said (her voice deep with emotion) “God wiwl be wiv you. God wiwl be wiv you at Sam's club, God wiwl be wiv all of us”

Jenny "nursing her baby"

In the last four months since then, we've figured this out. I wear the baby and toss the other kids in the cart, willfully ignoring the warning pictograms and muttering dire warnings at any child that dares to stand up. I have discovered wearing a baby + 1 kid in the car seat + 2 kids in the cart basket +1 kid helping push the cart gets a lot of friendly comments/teasing from strangers :) I'm kind of enjoying it at this point...because you may as well :)

Keziah, 3 years later, in the monster towel the Fireman wrapped her in, after her precipitous entry into the world

Isaiah's been trying to get other people to wear his birthday present Templar helmet. Often it catches me off guard, I will be picking up toys, or trying to read a book, when suddenly the Templar helmet is being carefully lowered over my face. Today, I was trying to grab a defiant 2 yr old nudist when suddenly my head was plunged into the darkness of the Templar Helmet, as Isaiah patiently and insistently put it on me every time I got it off. I finally gave up and continued my war against public nudity as a knight.

Grandpa wearing the helmet, on Isaiah's request

Later that day, I walked into the room and found Isaiah lovingly sticking the Templar helmet onto Sarah. She was being a good sport about it too. He was trying to get her to wave a little brush as well, probably a weapon in his imagination. He kept patiently putting her little fingers on it, trying to get her to hold it.

Sarah is a good sport. This is her, seconds after she managed to get it off

I was trying to do math with the kids. First I attempted fractions with Isaiah.

“Isaiah, if I had one cookie, and both Jenny and Keziah wanted it, what should I do?”

Isaiah said, “Give it to me”

I tried division with Jenny. “If Isaiah, Jenny, Keziah, and Mariam wanted cookies, and I had 8 cookies, what should I do?”

“Give everyone one cookie. If you gave more den one cookie [perperson] dat would be dangerous. Dey could die of diabetes”

I bought a large pack of bulk pork for the time, scrutinizing price per pound in the meat aisle. Jenny, curious, asked what it was “Pork Butt” I read off the label. Jenny burst out, distressed “But mommy! Animals do not wipe demselves!”

Of family discussion lately was how you can make the rules in your own house, but can't make other people follow your rules in their own houses. Later, Jenny came up to Josh and announced

Jenny “When I gwow up, I wiww wive in an apartment with Keziah”

Keziah “No, I wiww wive wiv Mariam”

Jenny “I wiww wiv in an apartment wiv Keziah and Mariam”

But Keziah was firm, “No, I wiww wive wiv Mariam, and we wiww visit you”

Josh's commentary to me, afterwards, “Apparently, Keziah chafes under the yoke” Also, of Jenny, You can almost hear the wheels turning, [in her head] she's trying to construct her own little fiefdom.”

And then sometimes...I walk into a room and they're sitting like this. I grabbed my camera ans surreptitiously snapped a photo on zoom from the corner.

So this happened a while ago, but I had more pictures I didn't share before.

Mariam singlehandedly willed the Penguins to victory, I think by her insistence on wearing her "Pen-whins Shut" and her ecstatic joy when anyone else wore one too.

(I did a lot of freezer-paper stenciling, After cutting 4 stencils, I can now cut out a t-shirt sized penguins stencil in 20 minutes. The penguins-logo is one of my skills in life. A practical one as the Sadar household isn't going to change hockey loyalties probably for at least a hundred years, given Josh's father and his father before him have been Penguins fans, and Josh has been rooting for them since 4. Train up a child in the way he should go....)

What a great Playoffs beard you have, grandpa!

the 2nd and 4th generation of fan

Jenny said to me “Mommy, I do not want you to die before I'm grown up” I agreed heartily with that. A few minutes later, she added “If you die, ven Daddy wiwl have to stay home to take care of us, and we wiwl have no money.”

She is, ever practical.

Jenny always likes figuring things out

She told me, "I em glad You mawwied Daddy."
I am too, Jenny <3

I'm always highlighting the visiting relatives, so I thought I ought to put up a few pictures of the relatives who currently reside in AZ.

Hearing about Phoenix's amazing summers, Aunt Leah moved to the valley of the sun in time for the uniquely characteristic weather. She is now being rewarded with the fall. The kids love flipping through my picture album, extorting childhood memories from Leah's precise memory. They now know more about my childhood than I do, and correct me when I get the details wrong. Mariam will plead for "Doh-wies 'bout when you wuh uh gil"

Aunt Cathy and Josh in deep political discussion.

I hope all my kids get beautiful Sadar eyebrows...

With Grandma

A friend at church gave us flowers, and this is the girls idea of posing with flowers. Mariam could not contain her excitement.

The little girls were in the room playing dolls. I realized I had left the sleeping baby on the bed. I ran in, to find this.

Mariam, I think, determined Sarah Grace needed a baby doll.

Keziah continues to fight entropy, restoring order to the galaxy.

At least there weren't stuck in a row on the toilet seat this time.

Sarah continues to win hearts and minds with her sweet and stubborn ways.

Jenny, in a prototype of a photoshoot for our space western animated show.

I read this book "These are the Generations" written by some people that have escaped, and have been thinking of/praying for my ancestral home of North Korea a lot lately. (my clonesums up my feelings)

Jenny, I think overhearing some of my conversations, announced, with shining eyes. “Mom, I have an idea. I wiww go to Souf Korea and dig a tunnel, and let all the goodguys escape. And when all the goodguys escaped, I wiww put the dirt back in.”

I was psychoanalyzing my wardrobe choices wondering if I should stick with a more feminine classy look, or go for a more rugged look that makes me feel kind of strong, but then, was that foolish of me? I was rambling all this to Josh while he was at his computer. When I finally finished, I asked if he had any opinion on the matter, and he said “sorry, I'm locked in combat on the Deathstar”.

Mariam was standing on her bed at bedtime, holding a doll. Josh reminded her to lie down. “But I nursing duh baby” she said.

“You can nurse while lying down” he pointed out.

“I burping duh baby” she said.

turning two, with her penguins themed table

While it was just family at Mariam's party, a Pteradactyl also made an appearance.

I was feeling down worrying about something after dinner, I was sitting at the table, so I put my head down, resting my forehead on the edge of the table as I prayed. All of a sudden, thrust into my view (of looking into my lap) was Mariam's jubilant face saying triumphantly “I found you!!!” she had climbed under the table, and surprised cute-attacked me. I think I will call it “Ambushed by Hope”

She added more thoughtfully “Mom, why you sad?”

When she laughs, its impossible to be sad. Mariam Hope is so much joy and personality packaged into a gangly golden-headed toddler.

If I accidentally call another kid “my pumpkin,” Mariam appears out of the floorboards. “No, I your punk'n angel”

The kids love skyping their aunt Sarah, and showing her their newest toys & art projects.

Jenny (like her mother) voiced a desire to look like "Pwincess Kate." Since the Duchess of Cambridge seems to wear a lot of classy dresses and pillbox hats, here is our attempt.

Isaiah gets along really well with the baby. Perhaps it is her tolerance of Templar Helmets, or her easy going nature and her laughing over his antics. Or perhaps it is is his gentleness for babies. Anyways, they are becoming good friends.

Sarah is such a little sweetheart.

Jenny and I can ram heads a lot. But she did make me this card one evening, and interpreted it for me. "It says SORRY FOR DOING BAD FINGS. Dat's what duh F is for"

SRREF=Sorry for doing bad Fings

A few nights ago, I was singing 'Jesus loves me' at night “We are weak, but He is strong”, Jenny interrupted me. “We are not aww weak. It means compared to God we are weak” then she added, just so we knew which side of the line she fell on, “I am not weak, I am stwong.” But conceded, for right theology's sake “But compared to God I am weak”

This picture says a lot about Jenny and Isaiah's relationship

Daddy is good at multitasking

Mariam is very free with confessions, referring to herself in the third person.

“Who spilled water all over the floor?”

“Mawiam” she announces cheerfully.

“Who got into the graham crackers?”

“Mawiam!”

“Who drew marker all over the mirror?”

“MAWIAM!”

Only there seems to be a little too much pride in it, as if she is signing her name to her work.

Mariam is devoted mommy to her dolls. She keeps adopting pillows and corn bags and transforming them into her "babies"

As a fresh-faced parent, I critiqued my beloved Donut man's “O B E Y, Obey your mom and dad!” as a little too heavy on the [brainwashing/obedience] elements. Now, as 4 kids happily bunjee jump off the couch, my attitude is completely changed to enthusiastic approval of that wonderful song. Which is great, because Mariam, who loves loves all things Donut man, and has latched with particular enthusiasm onto that song. She gets all the words perfectly, as she belts out “O! B! E! Y! Odey yo' mom an' dad!” punctuating each syllable with a jubliant jump on the couch or bed. I think she's being secretly ironic.

Here they are in a wagon pulled by their ponies.

Keziah loves ordering their vast tribe of ponies in all their "beds." She has been expanding the family wither her little eagle eyes in thrift stores, and is my own little pony radar, sighting them hidden under lots of other things at Goodwill.

Keziah also has a more militant side, and frequently tries to look like Sabine Wren from Rebels Season One (haven't seen the other seasons yet), with her fearsome double blasters.

She is very pleased with herself, and how terrifying she looks.

There's been a desire to be more Korean lately. Jenny has been voicing her desire to become a Korean when she grows up, and we have been going to Korean class together.

Kuzzles came up to me and showed me the cover of “Love you forever” (quite a blood-freezing portrayal of plausible toddler badness).

“Dis is wike somefing Mawiam would do” she said, loftily.

After a quick glance to ascertain Mariam wasn't in the room, I agreed, “Yes,” feeling guilty that I was ritually denouncing the newly-minted two-year-old in an effort to convince Keziah that such badness was 'so last year,' and completely beneath her cool three-year-old self.

She skipped off into the next room (where Mariam was), book still in hand. Then I overheard Keziah's gleeful voice emanating from the room,

“Mawiam, do you want to do vis?"

Me: “OK, there's iced tea on the floor, someone was trying to get some out of the fridge...”
Isaiah piped up “A boy accidentally spilled some” (as the only possessor of a Y chromosome in the house during work-hours, this was a sufficient confession)

Isaiah has been enjoying his lego time and (on wednesdays and saturdays) his LORD OF DUH RINGS COMPUTER GAME time with Daddy. When we were engaged I tried to convince Josh to toss the LOTR-inspired game as I found computer games inherently...unpoetic? But on this side of Wings of Liberty I guess Josh won that debate.

Anyways, he's only playing Battle for Middle Earth II, so its not giving away any of the plot of the book, beyond who the goodguys and the badguys are. I never thought my kid's first ideas of Middle Earth would be from a computer game. But at least it is while sitting in Daddy's lap. And now he thinks Glorfindel is really cool :)

This is what happens late at night with a camera and a baby.

Jenny and Keziah watching RWBY's red trailer, in which a girl defeats a horde of wolves. I could watch it 100 times, it feels like all that is good vs the darkness. I noticed when Keziah's a little scared, Jenny will put her arm around her.

“When I gwow up, if I don't get mawwied, you can sleep wiv me”

“Mommy will still need to sleep with Daddy”

“It's going to be a bunkbed.....its going to be a triplet bed. There wiwl be me, and two old people. Because you wiwl be old when I gwow up.” ~ Jenny

Jenny walked in, just somehow nailing the 20s look---shapeless dropped waist dress, long necklece, headband, even the pose....I have no idea how, as I don't have anything remotely 20s in the book/movie/clothes department

Puzz being a fairy.

Me showing off my Winter Soldier make-up job (a.k.a. what happens if you put on mascara and get in a waterfight), while Keziah drinks some contraband soda in the background.

Jenny climbed up the wall after watching America Ninja Warrior. It ate Kuzzles up that she couldn't do it, but I explained once she gains a couple inches she can too. She is so excited when Jenny does it, dancing about in admiration.

I also found Isaiah being his own commentator, as he repeatedly fell off the rail of the bed saying “I couldn't hold on to the sammander! [sic Salmon Ladder] I fell into the water!”

Lately, we've had a new photographer in the house. I am a little less protective of my pocket camera, now that I have the DSLR, thus enabling this budding artist.

A sampling of her work