Jenny
put a toy dragon into the toy microwave of their kitchen set. She
reports that microwaved dragon tastes “like chicken.”
The
girls were doing one of their favorite play-acting, of stuffing
babydolls under their shirts, and coming to be holding imaginary
pregnancy test with “LOOK MOM!! TWO LINES!!!”. Keziah said “I
HAVE FOUR LINES!! I have TWINS!!!”
(I
think the kids have absorbed what they hear in a lot “you've got
your hands full!”
As
I drifted off the sleep on the couch, I heard Keziah jubilantly
announce “My hands are full....OF BABIES!!”
I
was surprised to see Jenny and Isaiah play acting together for more
than 20 minutes. Usually there is some powerstruggle at som epoint
that ends things early. Even more surprisingly, Isaiah seemed to be
“contwolling duh stowy” (narrating the story). Jenny came up to
me, almost breathless with joy. “Mommy! Isaiah says, in this stowy,
I am his OLDER sister!!!” Then she dashed back to play, as Isaiah
continued to say what was happening. He is one smart kid.
I
had explained Mariam was named after Mary, Jesus' mother, in the way
her full name would have been pronounced back then. The next day,
when Mariam shared some of her icing with Jenny, Jenny said to be
“Mommy! Mawiam is the NICEST MAWIAM! Jesus' mother was pwetty nice
too. But other than that, Mawiam is the nicest”
Keziah
smacked Sarah. “Hey, don't hit her on the belly!”
She
defended herself, “But she's not pwegnant!”
A
not uncommon occurrence when we are out and about, is strangers
coming up to comment on my full hands. I nod agreement, and
depending on where on the spectrum between happy amusement to
stressed concern their faces show, I sometimes try to discreetly hide
my pregnant belly behind the the double stroller with 3 kids hanging
out of it and two more jumping around. At this point the kids
invariably announce, jubilantly, at the top of their lungs “AND
GUESS WHAT? MOM IS PREGUNANT!!”
At
that point people usually just laugh.
And
then I get a warm glow inside, that we are doing out part as a
travelling circus to make the world a more interesting place :)
Whenever
I was having a bad day, Jenny would come to cheer me up, with shining
eyes, “Mom, if you are having a bad day, jus' wemember YOU ARE
PREGNANT!”
In
church thanking VBS prep volunteers “...thanks to all who
sacrificed nights and weekends...” Isaiah was distraught, and said
to Josh “no, no! You do not sacrifice Knights!”
Isaiah
got obsessed by the Roman Army. I was just so relieved he was off his
“Mongol Heavy Cavalry” obsession, that I encouraged it by leaving
Roman Army themed books around the couch. He carried one very
informative but cheaply printed history book around so much that a
few pages came out from the staples, which caused great emotional
distress. When I fixed this with packing tape, he went over every bit
of the book, prying for a weakness and bringing it back as new pages
were found wanting. I think now it probably weighs twice as much as
it did when it was first printed, the added mass being half a roll of
packing tape.
So
on the last viewing of Pendragon: Sword of his Father, Isaiah
recognized Artos's father was a Roman (Briton) and rooted for the
goodguys all the way through the movie. He did not, as in former
days, root for the conquering bloodthirsty Hengest, despite his
growly voice and awesome axe.
My
heart was singing.
Many
of Isaiah's Roman Army books are illustrated with photos of
re-enactors doing Roman military formations. I didn't realize what
impression these photographs were giving him, till one night he asked
Josh, “Do the Romans use coins with George Washington's face on
them?”
“No
Isaiah, George Washington was born more than a thousand years after
the Roman empire fell”
“But
now do they use coins with George Washington's face on them?”
“The
Roman Empire fell more than a thousand years ago”
“Are
they not still falling?”
At
which point, Josh had to break the news to him that the Roman Empire,
in fact, no longer existed.
Tears
were shed. He asked Daddy if the Roman Empire would ever rise again,
with their swords and shields. Josh said it might, but if it
did, it would be different, and they would use guns.
At
this, Isaiah wept.
8/3/2018
Jenny
wanted me to tell her if Daddy's character in Knights of the Old
Republic destroys the Star Forge at the end of the game. I said I
wasn't going to tell her. She got rather upset. I tried another
tactic and said “Daddy will not like it if I tell the end, and I
promised God I'd obey Daddy, so I can't”
Jenny
sensed I was blame-shifting here, and didn't accept this excuse. “But
mom, it wiwl be like---A YEAR before I know.” she went on begging.
Then she tried a new strategy “Mom, just tell me. I promise I'll
forget RIGHT AFTER YOU TELL ME”
“Jenny,
you don't know if you'll forget it”
“I
wemember forgetting other things”
“How
do you remember if you forgot?”
This
silenced her a minute. Then she just said “I KNOW I forgot other
things”
“But
you don't know if you'll forget this thing”
“Yes
I do! I will forget! Just tell me!”
I
think I fled into the kitchen and tried to do something else at that
point.
Mariam
likes making Sarah Grace laugh. Together, they find hilarity in
things like a bowl falling off Mariam's head over and over again, or
water being splashed into Sarah's face in the bathtub (?!?). Hearing
repeated peals of their laughter mixed together is like peaking into
the joy of heaven.
Jenny
has a sort of self imposed compulsion to “do the motions” to her
VBS songs. We play the VBS cd nearly every day, and all the little
girls copy Jenny to do the motions. However, if I put the VBS CD (or
as Mariam calls it, the “BBS CD”) in when she's trying to do
something else, she will glare at me, protest “Mom!! Not yet! I
want to finish coloring!” but then will inevitably scramble over to
the living room to do the motions whilestill protesting. “You can't
put the VBS CD when I'm doing something else, then I HAVE to
do the motions”---while doing the motions.
Daddy,
myself, and even Isaiah have tried to explain to her that she doesn't
have to, that she could just
listen. But to no avail.
One
day I had to get the kids up early and out of the house early for
something, and we were running behind schedule, and Jenny was still
fast asleep in bed. Tentatively I put in the VBS CD.
I
started to make breakfast. I heard a thump, and a drunken-stumble of
the half-awake,--when I turned, there was Jenny in a daze, still with
bed-head and groggy eyes, faithfully doing the motions to the song,
with a grumpy face. At the first break between songs, she reprimanded
me for doing this to her. And continued with the motions for the next
song...
Leah came over late at night, having to do some grading till the wee hours of the morning. The girls were trying to get her to come in and tell them stories. She was working at the table, when Mariam came out weeping having hurt herself. Leah was halfway to her to comfort her, when mid-sob Mariam said “I huwt myself...Tell us Dumpling and Dumpkin”
no subtlety there :)
jenny's dream
I was asleep. I woke up. There was a fairy. It was still nighttime. She made a veil that was pink and a sparkly headbandShe made a pink dress for me. Mommy came in. and said “what is happening? Go back to bed” But I said “Mom, there's a fairy that made all these things for me, thank you fairy” and mom said “now go back to bed the fairy is gone”
Isaiah's wadded up icecream cone pieces for Mom and Dad. Saved a piece for Josh no matter what I said.
Isaiah sitting in the back of the car, burst out, “will Jesus ever come back NORMALLY?”
What do you mean Isaiah
(almost crying) “Will he always come back with a sword coming out of his mouth, his eyes like fire, and white hair?!?