When my friend Rose said she was looking for the older quotes, but couldn't find them, I got the grand idea of posting the older quotes of the week so they can be enjoyed even after I've rotated them out.. Thanks, Rose!
April 19
"I'm sorry for biting your butt!" said Collin to his brother after being in time-out for....well, you guessed it!
April 17
Owl sees Piglet caught between the wind and the window pane. "Hmm....I see someone has pasted Piglet to my window!" (Okay, so he's not my child, but it was adorable all the same!)
April 14
Veggie Tale Bloopers:
After watching a VeggieTale video, Spencer walked around singing, "God is biggest of the boogeymen!"
Collin was watching LarryBoy proudly flying his cape with supersuction ears, saying, "I - AM - THAT - HERO!"
Shortly afterward, he stood on the chair, placed his hands on his hips in superhero fashion and shouted,
"I - AM - A FAT - HERO!"
April 13
Collin's getting out of the van, "So long, Suckers!" he calls to no one in particular. I start giggling. Collin gets very serious. "Mommy, Suckers are not funny!"
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Thursday, April 30, 2009
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
Claire and Charlie
Claire loves Charlie. Simple as that. She follows him everywhere, cups his little face in her hands, makes adoring cooing noises, and even growling I'll-rough-you-up-because-I-love-you noises. Charlie is the baby that Claire can dote on.
Saturday, April 25, 2009
Beautiful Kids
For all of you who have been waiting until I could finally get my camera back in working order:
Our little Collin Hunter
Stoic Spencer
Claire Bear
Claire Bear
Have you ever seen such a beautiful threesome? 
Collin outside growing antlers.
Collin outside growing antlers.Claire enjoying a canteloupe bowl.
Love this one of Spenc!
Finally Outside!!
We've finally been able to be outside the last few days. Being back at home means lots of space for the kids to run, and some more interesting things for me to take some snapshots of. Spring is in the air! Finally!
This whole tree is full of little buds like this, waiting to burst to life!
Think it's time to take this down?
The water is receding! This is the field behind our house.
I loved watching this bird perched on the highest branch of one of our spruces.
And angel in my yard.
And angel in my yard.
Our New House.
Well, everyone, the time has come for our family to move. Once and for all, hopefully. After living in the suburbs of the city with a big new house but very little yard, then way out in the middle of nowhere with plenty of land to roam but a smaller farmhouse house, and then in a veyr nice and new condo with smaller spaces both in and out, we were able to get a pretty good estimation of our needs. Although we were looking for Vlad to have only a 15 minute-or-less drive to work, or even a walk, we couldn't find that house within decent distance. But on Thursday afternoon I was searching MLS and came across a house north of the city. It had just been drastically price-reduced. I phoned the realtor, he set up a showing that evening (there were 6 other showings that day!) and we drove the nearly-3 hours to get there. We liked the house. It's 3-bed, 2 1/2 bath (with another roughed-in), office for Vlad, newly-built, 2200 sq ft plus unfinished basement, and a lot of the quirkly little features that I really wanted in a home, like stained glass windows, a dining room with windowed doors that can be closed off for private dining, a 3 car garage with side entrance instead of front entrance. And the best part is that it sits on 1.68 acres, with no traffic. Right now we have 2 acres, but our house is surrounded on three sides by roads or lanes (and an unleashed pitbull on the other side!) so saftey is a concern. It's in a nice rural neighborhood close to provincial parks and the big lakes, and an easy drive to amenities. It's really exactly what we wanted. There are a few things, like an unfinished bathroom in the master, a non-existent deck, a basement floor that will need fixing....but that's why we can afford to move into the neighborhood! So we're more than happy to accept the quirks and grow into the place.
The house looks like brick in the photo, but it's really siding.
So, anyone want to buy a house in Minnesota? :)
Monday, April 20, 2009
Cloister Walk #2
Picking up where we left off with excerpts from Kathleen Norris's "Cloister Walk," she's speaking about the difference between worship and knowledge, and the flow between them.
She says, "The ancient understanding of Christian worship is that, in the words of the liturgical scholar Aidan Kavanagh, it "gives rise to theological reflection, and not the other way around.'"
She also quotes a liturgical scholar, Gail Ramshaw, who says that theology is prose, but liturgy is poetry. "'If faith is about facts,' she writes, 'then we line up children and make them memorize questions and answers....But if we are dealing with poetry instead of prose...then we do not teach answers to questions. We memorize not answers but the chants of the ordinary; we explain liturgical action...we immerse people in worship so that they, too, become part of the metaphoric exchange."
Reading this made me think of my own great frustration with a typical Bible study. We answer questions, trying to line up our understandings with one anothers', making sure the answers are theologically and doctrinally sound, we think, we brainstorm, we search.... and yet more often than not I come away feeling peculiarly empty and untouched. As if for all the thinking and knowledge, I've still failed to do what I've set out to do, and that is to connect and exchange with the Almighty. It occurs to me that the perfect Bible study for me would take place with all participants lying in green grass, staring up at the blue sky with birds riding the breeze. Then each person could take turns sharing a word, a verse, a thought, a prayer. We'd give plenty of time in between to let them sink in, penetrate to the core, provide answers to our souls that our minds cannot conceive.
Norris says, "Metaphor has been so degraded in our culture that it may be difficult for people to conceive of worship as 'metaphoric exchange'...How would it change our understanding of worship if, from the time they were small, children were taught to value and explore the possibilities of Keats's 'negative capability' in themselves? They might better understand faith as a process, and church tradition as not only relevant, but strikingly alive."
I love the way this woman writes!
She says, "The ancient understanding of Christian worship is that, in the words of the liturgical scholar Aidan Kavanagh, it "gives rise to theological reflection, and not the other way around.'"
She also quotes a liturgical scholar, Gail Ramshaw, who says that theology is prose, but liturgy is poetry. "'If faith is about facts,' she writes, 'then we line up children and make them memorize questions and answers....But if we are dealing with poetry instead of prose...then we do not teach answers to questions. We memorize not answers but the chants of the ordinary; we explain liturgical action...we immerse people in worship so that they, too, become part of the metaphoric exchange."
Reading this made me think of my own great frustration with a typical Bible study. We answer questions, trying to line up our understandings with one anothers', making sure the answers are theologically and doctrinally sound, we think, we brainstorm, we search.... and yet more often than not I come away feeling peculiarly empty and untouched. As if for all the thinking and knowledge, I've still failed to do what I've set out to do, and that is to connect and exchange with the Almighty. It occurs to me that the perfect Bible study for me would take place with all participants lying in green grass, staring up at the blue sky with birds riding the breeze. Then each person could take turns sharing a word, a verse, a thought, a prayer. We'd give plenty of time in between to let them sink in, penetrate to the core, provide answers to our souls that our minds cannot conceive.
Norris says, "Metaphor has been so degraded in our culture that it may be difficult for people to conceive of worship as 'metaphoric exchange'...How would it change our understanding of worship if, from the time they were small, children were taught to value and explore the possibilities of Keats's 'negative capability' in themselves? They might better understand faith as a process, and church tradition as not only relevant, but strikingly alive."
I love the way this woman writes!
Batteries Down.
My deepest and most heart-felt apologies to the hundreds of people who log onto this blog every day solely to see recent photos of the three most beautiful children in all the world. My camera's batteries died, and until Vlad returns with my battery charger tomorrow, I'll just have to dream of posting pics of Collin moving Claire, Spencer's budding new front tooth, Collin moving Claire, Claire's amazingly-still-there lip that she bit very badly today during a nasty fall, the seagulls soaring overhead, people boating to their houses because the floodwaters have turned the countryside into one huge lake, and Collin moving Claire again. Since a picture is worth a thousand words, for now, we'll all have to deal with my very wordy posts to make up for the loss.
Friday, April 17, 2009
Book Reviews - Cloister Walk #1
Okay, so I had this idea that I wanted to start doing some book reviews - mostly because the reading I'm doing puts me in a very reflective place and usually makes me take a good look at myself and my world. And I love sharing the things that get my wheels turning... So I thought I'd start with "How To Win Friends And Influence People." I've read it twice, but still feel I've barely skimmed the surface. Unfortunately, it's still tucked away somewhere in a box. And god knows where the box is! So for some of my down time this week, I pulled out a book I've been intending to read: The Cloister Walk by Kathleen Norris. She is an oblate of the Benedictine order, and has written several books describing her monastic experience. A poet at heart, she often compares poetry and writing to faith and the working out of that faith. Her writing is so meditative, poetic and profound while at the same time so powerful. It has a way of quieting the restless world both within and without.
So often I struggle with doubts about faith in general, and my faith and the christian faith as we interpret it in particular. Every once in a while I get into a place where I have to really mull over my questions and try to find some answer to the inadequacies that I find there. It most often seems to me that I'm missing the bigger picture, that there is so much about God, the spiritual world, the connection we have to each other and the supernatural, that is lost in our feeble attempts to fill in the gaps, rather than "feel" in the gaps. Although my expression of this frustration usually ends up in complaining and bemoaning without really getting to the heart of the matter, Kathleen Norris so beautifully and profoundly expressed my own musings with such hope, and a stillness that is to be envied. So this is to be part 1 of a several-part series.
Norris speaks of a moment in her life when she was in fourth grade and her math teacher was rather harshly trying to get a point across, and told her that 2 plus 2 is always 4. Norris suddenly had an epiphany, an insight into the nature of numbers, that told her that two and two were not ALWAYS four. And she quickly replied "That can't be!" Of course, she was ridiculed in her classroom. But she was right: As she says, "In Boolean algebra, two plus two can be zero, in base three, two plus two is eleven. I had stumbled onto set theory, a truth about numbers that I had no language for." She goes on later to say, "I began to despise mathematics when I sensed that I was getting only part of the story, a dull, literal-minded version of what in fact was a great mystery, and I wonder if children don't begin to reject both poetry and religion for similar reasons, because the way both are taught takes the life out of them. If we teach children to reject their epiphanies, then it's no wonder that we end up with so many adults who are mathematically, poetically, and theologically, illiterate." She shares a story about when she went to teach poetry to a fourth-grade classroom. After speaking about metaphors, giving the children some silly examples, and then reading them some deeply metaphorical poems, she told them it was their turn to try. "The teacher warned me, 'This isn't a subject they've studied,' but I replied, 'They'll know how to do it, they just don't know the word for it yet.'"
Isn't faith, and experience of the divine, the same way?
So often I struggle with doubts about faith in general, and my faith and the christian faith as we interpret it in particular. Every once in a while I get into a place where I have to really mull over my questions and try to find some answer to the inadequacies that I find there. It most often seems to me that I'm missing the bigger picture, that there is so much about God, the spiritual world, the connection we have to each other and the supernatural, that is lost in our feeble attempts to fill in the gaps, rather than "feel" in the gaps. Although my expression of this frustration usually ends up in complaining and bemoaning without really getting to the heart of the matter, Kathleen Norris so beautifully and profoundly expressed my own musings with such hope, and a stillness that is to be envied. So this is to be part 1 of a several-part series.
Norris speaks of a moment in her life when she was in fourth grade and her math teacher was rather harshly trying to get a point across, and told her that 2 plus 2 is always 4. Norris suddenly had an epiphany, an insight into the nature of numbers, that told her that two and two were not ALWAYS four. And she quickly replied "That can't be!" Of course, she was ridiculed in her classroom. But she was right: As she says, "In Boolean algebra, two plus two can be zero, in base three, two plus two is eleven. I had stumbled onto set theory, a truth about numbers that I had no language for." She goes on later to say, "I began to despise mathematics when I sensed that I was getting only part of the story, a dull, literal-minded version of what in fact was a great mystery, and I wonder if children don't begin to reject both poetry and religion for similar reasons, because the way both are taught takes the life out of them. If we teach children to reject their epiphanies, then it's no wonder that we end up with so many adults who are mathematically, poetically, and theologically, illiterate." She shares a story about when she went to teach poetry to a fourth-grade classroom. After speaking about metaphors, giving the children some silly examples, and then reading them some deeply metaphorical poems, she told them it was their turn to try. "The teacher warned me, 'This isn't a subject they've studied,' but I replied, 'They'll know how to do it, they just don't know the word for it yet.'"
Isn't faith, and experience of the divine, the same way?
My favorite things.
It's usually when my boys are in the middle of a day-long squabble marathon that I realize I've been forgetting an important part of a balanced breakfast. No, not dinosaur vitamins. I read somewhere that getting angry or frustrated with someone is basically a result of not being able to zoom out of the tunnel vision of the moment at hand to see the bigger picture. So I try to feed my kids the bigger picture at breakfast time in the form of a game. "Tell your brother something you really like about him," I say, and then I start with an example of my own. It's taken a while, but they're getting the hang of it. This week, instead of saying, "I like [my brother's] dinosaurs," we were actually able to move on to something about the other person. "I like it when Spencer is silly, and when he tickles me," and "I like it when Claire giggles and gives me hugs," and "I like it when me and Collin twist around together on the trapeze and we laugh so hard!"
I love this game! It's so good to hear what my kids actually like about each other, rather than hearing tattling and yelling.... And they seem to get a kick out of it too - especially the one that's being complimented at the moment.
So I thought I'd carry this game over to the blog and post some of my own favorite things about my kids.
First, we'll start with Claire.
I love the way Claire swings her left arm hard and high whenever she's walking anywhere, like she has to work up her whole body's momentum through that one arm.
I love her big hearty laugh that comes from her belly and sounds like it belongs to someone so much bigger than that little button!
I love the way she catches any opportunity to twirl in circles, her eyes and her smile getting bigger and bigger with excitement as she twirls, like she's on a rollercoaster, until she finally plops down into a little pile on the floor.
Next, Collin:
I love the way Collin makes up songs for almost any occasion, and lets his last note slide off into oblivion like he's a rock star.
I love the way he likes to dote on his little sister. "But Baby Claire WANTS it!" is his most common phrase when he's trying to meet her every whim, even when Mommy has already said, "No."
I love his dry humor and the way he can keep a straight face when he's doing something completely ornery. Like walking up to me yesterday in his dad's humongous shoes and saying, "Um, Mommy? Are these too big for me?" with the smile only in his eyes until I busted up laughing!
Finally Spencer:
I love the way Spencer is with Claire, watching out for her, holding her, cuddling with her, adoring her babyishness. His softest side comes out with his sister.
I love his love for life, and his intensity....how he pushes the max for every experience.
I love the way he is always thinking of something that's not immediately evident. His gears are turning 90 miles-a-minute. Like the other day, walking out of hte grocery store, he suddenly turned to me and said, "Mom, God can do his own thing!" with just a hint of jealousy.
My kiddos are awesome! :)
I love this game! It's so good to hear what my kids actually like about each other, rather than hearing tattling and yelling.... And they seem to get a kick out of it too - especially the one that's being complimented at the moment.
So I thought I'd carry this game over to the blog and post some of my own favorite things about my kids.
First, we'll start with Claire.
I love the way Claire swings her left arm hard and high whenever she's walking anywhere, like she has to work up her whole body's momentum through that one arm.
I love her big hearty laugh that comes from her belly and sounds like it belongs to someone so much bigger than that little button!
I love the way she catches any opportunity to twirl in circles, her eyes and her smile getting bigger and bigger with excitement as she twirls, like she's on a rollercoaster, until she finally plops down into a little pile on the floor.
Next, Collin:
I love the way Collin makes up songs for almost any occasion, and lets his last note slide off into oblivion like he's a rock star.
I love the way he likes to dote on his little sister. "But Baby Claire WANTS it!" is his most common phrase when he's trying to meet her every whim, even when Mommy has already said, "No."
I love his dry humor and the way he can keep a straight face when he's doing something completely ornery. Like walking up to me yesterday in his dad's humongous shoes and saying, "Um, Mommy? Are these too big for me?" with the smile only in his eyes until I busted up laughing!
Finally Spencer:
I love the way Spencer is with Claire, watching out for her, holding her, cuddling with her, adoring her babyishness. His softest side comes out with his sister.
I love his love for life, and his intensity....how he pushes the max for every experience.
I love the way he is always thinking of something that's not immediately evident. His gears are turning 90 miles-a-minute. Like the other day, walking out of hte grocery store, he suddenly turned to me and said, "Mom, God can do his own thing!" with just a hint of jealousy.
My kiddos are awesome! :)
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
Flood 2009
Here is a pic of our town surrounded by river water. The larger town in the forefront is on the ND side, about 1/2 mile from our house. The smaller cluster just a little behind that is our own town, on the MN side. The river runs between them, but you can barely tell that from the pic! Looks like the river has grown to be several miles wide! The dikes are holding, though, so there is no flooding in the towns themselves.
Have to admit, I'm really glad we're staying in the city at this point!
Monday, April 13, 2009
Still in water
Yesterday at the breakfast table Vlad asked the boys, "Do you know what Easter is all about?"
Spencer proudly replied, "Yes! Candy!" Oh, boy. Before I could whip out my 800-page volume of the history of the Christian religion and make it required morning reading, Vlad decided to educate the boys himself.
"It's the day Jesus rose from the dead." They looked at him blankly, a little confused. He continued, "Yeah, he was dead and they put him in a grave and then he came back to life." "What's a grave?" Spencer asked.
"It's where they put people after they die," I said, "and the amazing thing is that Jesus came back to life after he was already dead!" I was wondering if I could make this miracle more understandable to their young minds by telling them it was almost the same as if the steak in the freezer came to life in the form of a cow in the middle of our kitchen.....when Collin piped up with, "Like the Lion?" Brilliant! I'd forgotten that we'd watched Narnia earlier in the week. Steak analogy flew out the window! "Exactly!" I said, "That Lion was just like Jesus - the way the white witch killed him and then suddenly he was alive again! That's what happened to Jesus!"
"Oh!" I braced myself for a moment, running through child-friendly explanations for the questions that were sure to come. After all, it's not an easy thing to grasp, and for many not an easy thing to believe. Sometimes I don't have answers for my own doubts surrounding faith, so what could I say to my childrens' doubts?
But the questions didn't come. They just took the story in all it's wonder, wide-eyed and accepting of yet another aspect of this miraculous world they live in.
Then Vlad brought up the Easter story and began reading. The boys lost interest, and by the end, we were the only two at the table. As he read, one particular part of the story caught my attention. It was the part after Jesus had resurrected and was appearing to his disciples. Thomas wouldn't believe he was alive until he'd touched Jesus' wounds. Jesus said to him, "You believe because you've seen. Blessed are the they who do not see, and still believe." It's usually interpreted as a commentary on the virtues of blind faith, likened to children easily believing in whatever is presented to them as truth. But this time it struck me as a very general statement about a concept that we heavily rely on.
Think of all the things were are required to believe and to act on without having seen the evidence ourselves! The newsman tells us the river is rising and we need to protect ourselves. If we said, "It still looks low to us!" and did nothing, it would be too high before we had time to act. We have to take it on faith that high water is coming. NASA tells us they've observed the most fantastic things in outer space. Other planets, stars, moons, systems at distances far beyond the grasp of our finite minds. To ignore it would be completely foolish, and to deny the existence and miraculous complexity and beauty of the universe we're privileged to be a part of, and to hold back the scientific progress of current and future generations. The doctor tells you your cholesterol is high. To do nothing would be negligent, and taking your life in your own hands. So we act because we've heard from someone who knows, who has seen the evidence. How ridiculous would it be to require our very own eyes to see the evidence before we ever took any action? Our very survival as individuals and as a species depend on this concept "Blessed are they who do not see, and still believe!" It struck me that every person in the world is full of faith, and lives it every single day.
Faith isn't fancy or folly - it's fundamental.
Spencer proudly replied, "Yes! Candy!" Oh, boy. Before I could whip out my 800-page volume of the history of the Christian religion and make it required morning reading, Vlad decided to educate the boys himself.
"It's the day Jesus rose from the dead." They looked at him blankly, a little confused. He continued, "Yeah, he was dead and they put him in a grave and then he came back to life." "What's a grave?" Spencer asked.
"It's where they put people after they die," I said, "and the amazing thing is that Jesus came back to life after he was already dead!" I was wondering if I could make this miracle more understandable to their young minds by telling them it was almost the same as if the steak in the freezer came to life in the form of a cow in the middle of our kitchen.....when Collin piped up with, "Like the Lion?" Brilliant! I'd forgotten that we'd watched Narnia earlier in the week. Steak analogy flew out the window! "Exactly!" I said, "That Lion was just like Jesus - the way the white witch killed him and then suddenly he was alive again! That's what happened to Jesus!"
"Oh!" I braced myself for a moment, running through child-friendly explanations for the questions that were sure to come. After all, it's not an easy thing to grasp, and for many not an easy thing to believe. Sometimes I don't have answers for my own doubts surrounding faith, so what could I say to my childrens' doubts?
But the questions didn't come. They just took the story in all it's wonder, wide-eyed and accepting of yet another aspect of this miraculous world they live in.
Then Vlad brought up the Easter story and began reading. The boys lost interest, and by the end, we were the only two at the table. As he read, one particular part of the story caught my attention. It was the part after Jesus had resurrected and was appearing to his disciples. Thomas wouldn't believe he was alive until he'd touched Jesus' wounds. Jesus said to him, "You believe because you've seen. Blessed are the they who do not see, and still believe." It's usually interpreted as a commentary on the virtues of blind faith, likened to children easily believing in whatever is presented to them as truth. But this time it struck me as a very general statement about a concept that we heavily rely on.
Think of all the things were are required to believe and to act on without having seen the evidence ourselves! The newsman tells us the river is rising and we need to protect ourselves. If we said, "It still looks low to us!" and did nothing, it would be too high before we had time to act. We have to take it on faith that high water is coming. NASA tells us they've observed the most fantastic things in outer space. Other planets, stars, moons, systems at distances far beyond the grasp of our finite minds. To ignore it would be completely foolish, and to deny the existence and miraculous complexity and beauty of the universe we're privileged to be a part of, and to hold back the scientific progress of current and future generations. The doctor tells you your cholesterol is high. To do nothing would be negligent, and taking your life in your own hands. So we act because we've heard from someone who knows, who has seen the evidence. How ridiculous would it be to require our very own eyes to see the evidence before we ever took any action? Our very survival as individuals and as a species depend on this concept "Blessed are they who do not see, and still believe!" It struck me that every person in the world is full of faith, and lives it every single day.
Faith isn't fancy or folly - it's fundamental.
Sunday, April 12, 2009
Easter Day 2009
The kids together for a quick cuddle on Easter morning.
Collin and Claire searching for Easter eggs.
Claire stuffing her mouth full of jelly beans.
It doesn't get more precious than this!
Except maybe this............I bet it tasted like grape!
Saturday, April 11, 2009
Happy Easter, Everyone!
Yet another interesting morning in our household....
Our boys donned these "hats" and went up to Vlad and said, "Bonjour!"
Our boys donned these "hats" and went up to Vlad and said, "Bonjour!"
Evidently living in a French-speaking area of the city is getting through to them already! :)
Claire on a shopping spree. At least she's consistent -
She chose this same doll for her birthday in Nov! It's still her favorite. She can hardly pull herself away from it, or the whole doll section in general - a concept I still fail to understand.
As soon as she had doll in hand, she made a beeline for the door. She just wanted to get home! :)
Too bad we weren't actually there to get her a toy!
A view of the ice-covered river from our condo porch. You can see it's pretty high, even in the city!
The same river, one hour south, has made our little town into a dirt-protected fortress. This was taken when the water was still pretty low. Evidently it rose about three more feet after this.
Our friend Mike is suddenly a private island owner!
Again, take when the water was low as I headed up to the city.
The same river, one hour south, has made our little town into a dirt-protected fortress. This was taken when the water was still pretty low. Evidently it rose about three more feet after this.
Our friend Mike is suddenly a private island owner!Again, take when the water was low as I headed up to the city.
Wednesday, April 8, 2009
The crest is upon us!
Winnipeg has opened the floodway! Hooray! The river, which we can see from our condo, is getting pretty high, so it was a welcome relief to know that they've opened the floodway a few days before the river's crest is to reach the city. As for our house, the crest is arriving today or tomorrow. A friend wrote and said the water is at 52-53 feet, which is about 3-4 feet (maybe more) below our dike level, so we're happy to hear that. The main highway out of Winnipeg was closed yesterday because of high water and the need to dike the road to protect the town. The detours are time-consuming, and the roads not exactly safe with all the surrounding water. I'm too nervous about the drive to want to go back right now. So our family is snug as a bug in a rug in Winnipeg. We may try travelling back home this weekend so Spencer doesn't miss more school.
The kids have done remarkably well for moving into a smaller space and being uprooted so suddenly. Aside from being half-deaf for most of the week due to ear infections, along with having a sore throat and a 2009 sinus flood of my own, it's gone fairly smoothly overall.
I had an interesting experience with Claire the other night. Because of the move, the newness of the place, along with getting over a sickness and her own ear infections, she started waking up nearly every hour at night. I switched from giving her milk to giving her water, but was surprised to find that she actually LIKES getting bottles of water, and would wake up demanding them by pointing to the sink and handing me her bottle.....so that didn't work out so well. I was exhausted and getting nauseated from lack of sleep. It finally reached the point one night at about 2:30am I decided that although sound carries in our condo like we're living on a houseboat, I needed to take her downstairs and put her in the playpen in the family room and sleep nearby on the loveseat so I could actually let her cry it out and we could get back to the business at hand: sleeping.
Claire didn't like my idea. First she gave me her bottle and pointed to the faucet. I told her no, laid her down, and went back to the loveseat. To put it nicely, she blew her top. She was screaming, crying, throwing both her bottle and her own body around inside the playpen. When that didn't work, she threw the bottle across the room. Good arm, that little girl! Oh, she was mad! I sighed and would have rolled my eyes, if they'd been open. For 30 minutes I laid there and tried to ignore the tempest beside me. Thankfully, my years of training in sleep deprivation kicked in and I actually rested while she raged. Then, it finally dawned on her that there was no point and she gave up and fell asleep and slept until morning. So did I. Three and a half blessed hours of sleep all at one time! Thankfully her tirade didn't awaken anyone else. Vlad hadn't even realized I'd left during the night! I don't know how it was possible they didn't hear her! So in the morning, bright and early, Collin came down and Claire woke up. For a brief moment looking at her sleepy face as Collin pulled her over the side of the playpen I wondered if she was going to be upset with me and pick up where she'd left off the night before. Were we still going to be at war? Then she turned and beamed the most irresistible smile at me, toddled over, and held out her chubby little arms to be picked up. My heart melted and as I cuddled that precious little marshmallow and savored the moment without a trace of frustration in my heart over the night's events, it occurred to me that such is the forgiveness of the Almighty. No matter how trying we've been, how much we've trespassed on those good graces, all it takes is one little step back toward the arms of love, the smallest move toward reconiciliation, and all barriers fall down. In that moment with Claire, I experienced and understood that steadfast and self-sacrificing love, the whole-hearted desire for relationship, that flows from parent to child. And I thought it's no wonder God is called "Father."
The kids have done remarkably well for moving into a smaller space and being uprooted so suddenly. Aside from being half-deaf for most of the week due to ear infections, along with having a sore throat and a 2009 sinus flood of my own, it's gone fairly smoothly overall.
I had an interesting experience with Claire the other night. Because of the move, the newness of the place, along with getting over a sickness and her own ear infections, she started waking up nearly every hour at night. I switched from giving her milk to giving her water, but was surprised to find that she actually LIKES getting bottles of water, and would wake up demanding them by pointing to the sink and handing me her bottle.....so that didn't work out so well. I was exhausted and getting nauseated from lack of sleep. It finally reached the point one night at about 2:30am I decided that although sound carries in our condo like we're living on a houseboat, I needed to take her downstairs and put her in the playpen in the family room and sleep nearby on the loveseat so I could actually let her cry it out and we could get back to the business at hand: sleeping.
Claire didn't like my idea. First she gave me her bottle and pointed to the faucet. I told her no, laid her down, and went back to the loveseat. To put it nicely, she blew her top. She was screaming, crying, throwing both her bottle and her own body around inside the playpen. When that didn't work, she threw the bottle across the room. Good arm, that little girl! Oh, she was mad! I sighed and would have rolled my eyes, if they'd been open. For 30 minutes I laid there and tried to ignore the tempest beside me. Thankfully, my years of training in sleep deprivation kicked in and I actually rested while she raged. Then, it finally dawned on her that there was no point and she gave up and fell asleep and slept until morning. So did I. Three and a half blessed hours of sleep all at one time! Thankfully her tirade didn't awaken anyone else. Vlad hadn't even realized I'd left during the night! I don't know how it was possible they didn't hear her! So in the morning, bright and early, Collin came down and Claire woke up. For a brief moment looking at her sleepy face as Collin pulled her over the side of the playpen I wondered if she was going to be upset with me and pick up where she'd left off the night before. Were we still going to be at war? Then she turned and beamed the most irresistible smile at me, toddled over, and held out her chubby little arms to be picked up. My heart melted and as I cuddled that precious little marshmallow and savored the moment without a trace of frustration in my heart over the night's events, it occurred to me that such is the forgiveness of the Almighty. No matter how trying we've been, how much we've trespassed on those good graces, all it takes is one little step back toward the arms of love, the smallest move toward reconiciliation, and all barriers fall down. In that moment with Claire, I experienced and understood that steadfast and self-sacrificing love, the whole-hearted desire for relationship, that flows from parent to child. And I thought it's no wonder God is called "Father."
Friday, April 3, 2009
Flood 2009 Update
Several people have mentioned that they wanted an update about our flooding situation. So here is the short version:
We've moved a lot of stuff to the condo in the city, and although the water is rising it looks like it would take an act of God to spill it over the dikes that have been constructed around our little town. We're concerned and watchful, but not panicking. And we're enjoying our time in the condo and in the city. The river crest should come within another 4 days or so, and then it will be a matter of history..... and cleanup. :)
Here's the long version:
With the floodwaters well on their way to rising, our family sprung into action last week and moved most of the contents out of the bottom story of our house and into the condo we own in the city one hour north. My dad even came up and helped us move some of the bigger stuff, adn gave us much more peace of mind. The river crest was originally predicted to happen April 4th. Now they're saying next Wednesday. We were told the forecast for the river crest was 52-56 feet, and the dike was good to 56 feet. So we figured that wasn't enough margin for error, and we packed up. We were going to move into the condo in the end of May anyway, so we figured now was as good a time as then, and maybe better. The effect is that the condo is quickly becoming cozy, and the house is a little stark. But it's still homey, and if I look on the bright side, it's cleaned out enough now to finish some of that renovating that I've been procrastinating on.
After we had most of our stuff moved out, sandtrucks and backhoes rolled into town and started building up the dike about 2 feet all around the town. We didn't expect that, but were glad to see it. It's hard to imagine that the extra 2 feet will be necessary, but it feels really good to know that we'll be protected if it does get as high as the predictions were saying. I think we're now protected to 58 feet. And who knows, really, how high it will go if all this recent snow melts with warmer temperatures and creates overland flooding that coincides with the river crest...? That could really be a sight to behold!
Right now the water has reached the bottom of the dike at the river side of town, and is about 1/3 of the way across the field behind our house. It's safe to say that without the dike our town would already be experiencing enough flooding to evacuate, and within two or three days' time it would reach the main floors of people's houses. But as it is, the river would have to raise another 6-8 vertical feet to spill over the dike. Some of the fields are covered with water, but so far it doesn't look like country houses around here are in immediate danger. No boats needed yet. Give it another couple of days, and I'd expect that to change. Some of the dikes around people's country homesteads only reach to 52 or 54 feet, which means friends and family will be helping with sandbagging, and there will be plenty of evacuees.
Our biggest concern is if/when the roads close because of water coverage. Vlad has to be in the city by then so he can continue to go to work, and I don't want to be in a flooded area all by myself with the three kids, so we'll all be staying in the condo until the water recedes and makes driving back and forth possible once again. The crazy thing about the roads and the winter that won't seem to go away is the snowing, melting, and freezing cycles that make the roads slippery. Some of the ditches are filled with water sometimes 3-5 feet deep, and rivers and ponds are swollen with floodwaters. That combined with slippery roads that have no guardrails make for terrifying driving conditions. Sometimes driving roads like that I'm nearly paralyzed with fear. It's the stuff of my worst nightmares. I've even had the boys unbuckle themselves a few times, and rolled down a window while I drove on a slippery patch of road next to water that could easily submerge our car. It's just so scary.......
Yes, I'm paranoid, true. But I'd rather be paranoid than unprepared.
The ice jams are creating a problem. South of us there is/was an ice jam that backed up the river to make it 7 miles wide in places! Since we've had a particularly cold winter, the ice is thicker than usual and is breaking up and leaving later than usual. There is such a problem with late ice in the city that they actually can't operate the floodway, and the first force of the floodwater is going to flow through the city before the ice leaves and they can start to divert some of it around the city. That means at least 200 residences in the city are sandbagging - just around the riverbend from our condo. There is an urgent need for volunteers. As for us, we are watching the river closely, both in the country and the city. In the city, the river is literally across the street from our condo. The riverbank seems high enough, though, that there hasn't yet been mention of flooding danger to the condo or our neighborhood.....but then, stranger things have happened. I don't expect it, though.
I've taken a few pics. The time to take some really great pics would be next Tue/Wed. But then, I might not be here. I'd love to post them, but my camera chords are in a box somewhere in the condo garage. When I dig them out, I'll put some pics up.
Thanks for all the prayers and well-wishes!!
We've moved a lot of stuff to the condo in the city, and although the water is rising it looks like it would take an act of God to spill it over the dikes that have been constructed around our little town. We're concerned and watchful, but not panicking. And we're enjoying our time in the condo and in the city. The river crest should come within another 4 days or so, and then it will be a matter of history..... and cleanup. :)
Here's the long version:
With the floodwaters well on their way to rising, our family sprung into action last week and moved most of the contents out of the bottom story of our house and into the condo we own in the city one hour north. My dad even came up and helped us move some of the bigger stuff, adn gave us much more peace of mind. The river crest was originally predicted to happen April 4th. Now they're saying next Wednesday. We were told the forecast for the river crest was 52-56 feet, and the dike was good to 56 feet. So we figured that wasn't enough margin for error, and we packed up. We were going to move into the condo in the end of May anyway, so we figured now was as good a time as then, and maybe better. The effect is that the condo is quickly becoming cozy, and the house is a little stark. But it's still homey, and if I look on the bright side, it's cleaned out enough now to finish some of that renovating that I've been procrastinating on.
After we had most of our stuff moved out, sandtrucks and backhoes rolled into town and started building up the dike about 2 feet all around the town. We didn't expect that, but were glad to see it. It's hard to imagine that the extra 2 feet will be necessary, but it feels really good to know that we'll be protected if it does get as high as the predictions were saying. I think we're now protected to 58 feet. And who knows, really, how high it will go if all this recent snow melts with warmer temperatures and creates overland flooding that coincides with the river crest...? That could really be a sight to behold!
Right now the water has reached the bottom of the dike at the river side of town, and is about 1/3 of the way across the field behind our house. It's safe to say that without the dike our town would already be experiencing enough flooding to evacuate, and within two or three days' time it would reach the main floors of people's houses. But as it is, the river would have to raise another 6-8 vertical feet to spill over the dike. Some of the fields are covered with water, but so far it doesn't look like country houses around here are in immediate danger. No boats needed yet. Give it another couple of days, and I'd expect that to change. Some of the dikes around people's country homesteads only reach to 52 or 54 feet, which means friends and family will be helping with sandbagging, and there will be plenty of evacuees.
Our biggest concern is if/when the roads close because of water coverage. Vlad has to be in the city by then so he can continue to go to work, and I don't want to be in a flooded area all by myself with the three kids, so we'll all be staying in the condo until the water recedes and makes driving back and forth possible once again. The crazy thing about the roads and the winter that won't seem to go away is the snowing, melting, and freezing cycles that make the roads slippery. Some of the ditches are filled with water sometimes 3-5 feet deep, and rivers and ponds are swollen with floodwaters. That combined with slippery roads that have no guardrails make for terrifying driving conditions. Sometimes driving roads like that I'm nearly paralyzed with fear. It's the stuff of my worst nightmares. I've even had the boys unbuckle themselves a few times, and rolled down a window while I drove on a slippery patch of road next to water that could easily submerge our car. It's just so scary.......
Yes, I'm paranoid, true. But I'd rather be paranoid than unprepared.
The ice jams are creating a problem. South of us there is/was an ice jam that backed up the river to make it 7 miles wide in places! Since we've had a particularly cold winter, the ice is thicker than usual and is breaking up and leaving later than usual. There is such a problem with late ice in the city that they actually can't operate the floodway, and the first force of the floodwater is going to flow through the city before the ice leaves and they can start to divert some of it around the city. That means at least 200 residences in the city are sandbagging - just around the riverbend from our condo. There is an urgent need for volunteers. As for us, we are watching the river closely, both in the country and the city. In the city, the river is literally across the street from our condo. The riverbank seems high enough, though, that there hasn't yet been mention of flooding danger to the condo or our neighborhood.....but then, stranger things have happened. I don't expect it, though.
I've taken a few pics. The time to take some really great pics would be next Tue/Wed. But then, I might not be here. I'd love to post them, but my camera chords are in a box somewhere in the condo garage. When I dig them out, I'll put some pics up.
Thanks for all the prayers and well-wishes!!
Wednesday, April 1, 2009
Contact Me
To e-mail Carmen directly, write to: jugglingveggies (at) gmail (dot) com
Looking forward to hearing from you!
Looking forward to hearing from you!
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