Bonnie

I am going to s-l-o-w-l-y fill in the details of Easter week because we are having an extremely full and delightful week with Joe this week! :)

A few highlights to savor: Last night Bonnie Joy spent the night. Oh my. How to describe the delight and spontaneity of Bonnie? Let me give you slice into the evening:

We all went bowling. Everyone is in line and everyone around is gawking at us because we have 5 children 6 and younger. Abbie and Bonnie have their arms around each other and squeal every time they see someone roll the ball. Finally we get to go down to bowl. The lady next to us tells us that the children can NOT cross over a certain invisible line. The children seriously and focusedly learn the goal of getting the pins knocked down.

They had such a ball! Bonnie was so terrific to watch as her ball would roll slowly down the lane. If it missed some of the pins she would cross her adorable little arms-- and once she even layed down in the lane in utter dissapointment (not like throwing a fit, just sad that her ball didn't hit a pin). Part way through our bowling there were cheers of encouragement from everyone around us for our cute little people. The lady who had been so serious at the beginning came and told us that whatever we were doing, keep doing it, because our kids were terrific--they were. :)

We went out for frozen yogurt and some people told us they stayed to watch us instead of going home to watch TV. They said they hadn't been so entertained in a long time. Hmmmm, maybe that's why we don't watch TV. :)

Bonnie is the one who always likes to stand up, ask questions, must be holding a hand or, well, you just don't quite know where she is. Abbie followed her around saying "Aunt" and Joe would pick her up and look in her eyes and say "Little Sister" and she would eagerly want to see, do and think everything she was capable of. Bonnie is quite a delightful little person!!!

Palm Sunday

I have always loved the palm tree because it is such a perfect example of a godly man. No matter how severe a storm, how much drought, or even if it is burned, a palm tree will survive. In fierce winds, the palm tree was designed to bend with the wind, sometimes bending nearly in half, yet not snapping. In drought, the roots go so deep into the ground that the tree is able to tap into life-giving water. In fire, the outer fronds of a palm tree will burn, but it is so resilient that it is usually able to recover, even when it is charred black.

Historically we see the palm tree used to celebrate royalty. We think of Egyptians, Greeks, and Romans arrayed with big palm fronds being waved. They are regal and kingly.

When Jesus was on earth he was given a day of magnificent honor, fulfilling prophecy from hundreds of years before. On the day that we celebrate "Palm Sunday" we remember how Jesus was led into the city of Jerusalem on a young, unbroken donkey. As He rode into the city the streets were lined with people who had seen him heal their sick, defy the elements and fill their hunger. They saw One who was capable of being their conquering King.

"Hosanna, Hosanna to the Highest" The voices rang with enthusiasm and praise. These words were exactly what God had planned, in fact, if the people didn't shout them the rocks would cry out! This was a moment of honor and praise for our Lord.

Our family has a tradition of picking palm fronds the day before Palm Sunday and taking the fronds to Sunday school the next day so the children can wave them in the air and shout "Hosanna!"

I always love the honor and the delight that dances in the air as everyone celebrates the Lord. But I also always have a hesitancy in my heart as I think of how easy we give praise and excitement. How easy it is to give, yet how easy it is to curse and condemn.

I would think that there would have to be quite a lapse in time before someone could go from to praising to condemning. Unfortunately our frail humanness allows us to hail our King one week and condemn Him to death the next.

The palm tree is a beautiful example of having roots that are grounded deep in life-giving water. Jesus said, "He who drinks from me will never thirst." When storms come the palm tree has roots that are so deep that stability is there--even when it is blown nearly in half. Christians are not promised easy times--nor even good times. On the contrary we are exhorted to "Take up [our] cross and follow [Him]." What trials may be attached to that??? We are assured "In this world you will have tribulation." When fire comes to a palm tree it survives because it has water deep in its fibrous tissue.

In the midst of our trials, fires, and droughts where can we find assurance? Jesus words: "Be of good cheer, I have overcome the world."

May our intellect, emotion, and body drink deep from God's word. May God let His water quench our thirst, and may we come back again and again for more of His life-giving water so that our roots can deepen into the depths of His rich soil. May our lips be filled with praise. "Hosanna to the most High!!!"'

Preview

I have some very special stories and pictures from Easter, but I need to close down for the evening so here is a little peek:

Happenings...

Here are a few of our recent escapades...

Jonathan *finally* gets to pour the batter for the pancakes. He has been my right-hand pancake flipper for a while--at long last he gets to pour the pancakes. (I doubt we will have any of the more sedate single-round pancakes for a l.o.n.g. time--we get to have Cubbie, Mickey Mouse, and Sparky! And no pancakes ever tasted better!)



When Joe and I got married we were given a gift certificate to Costco and we purchased a sewing machine with it. We later picked up a second machine at our neighbors garage sale. I love the lovely stitches my new machine does and the dependability of the all-metal machine from our neighbor. Well, I've been doing a lot of sewing lately and we decided to plug both machines in so I could work with Jonathan and Abigail. I began by drawing straight lines down construction paper and graduated the difficulty to curved lines that Jonathan and Abigail would sew on top of. What a great way to gain control. Here is a very careful Abbie.



Thomas likes to wake up with a book. Here is my dear husband and two sons enjoying an early morning read.


Elizabeth likes to talk on anything that has the slightest potential of being a telephone. At violin she likes to "talk" on Miss Shirley's little electronic games, or her remote. In this picture she is at our house--talking on the calculator. :)

Yuki!

Last year my mom and dad had an exchange student from Japan who was the daughter of an exchange student that they had nearly thirty years ago! We had a special year together with Yuki. Joe and I had just found out that we were expecting Elizabeth when Yuki first came and she went home on December 26...four days before Elizabeth was born! So Yuki had to come back to visit so she could meet Elizabeth (probably to see a few other family members as well ;)

Here is Yuki, Elizabeth and me. Lizzie is serenading us with the harmonica--through the corner of her mouth. :)


Everyone on the teeter-totter.


Swinging (everyone is gnawing on pineapple cores).


We all enjoy doing origami,but the directions tend to be a bit baffling to us. Yuki reads them with ease and is such a great teacher. We made jumping frogs, boats, trees...


Yuki's masterpiece! The cube used six origami papers and the holder used three! We had such a special time with Yuki and look forward to more visits in the future.

The puppies are growing!

Bonnie Joy with a puppy


Any mother of a toddler knows what this is like...


Adorable.


Thomas James


Abigail Marie

Echo's of Eden...

My cup is very full. How thankful I am for the special moments that God gives me that are pungent with eternity...

Gazing into my husband's eyes and having a great conversation.

Being amazed at Elizabeth's understanding of how things work--and nursing her! ;)
Watching Thomas tell a joke--with his big eyes sparkling.

Having Abigail slip her hand in mine, just because.

Enjoying Jonathan's animation over--everything: lego's, reading, violin, origami, games, drawing...

What a delight to journey through life with these special people!!!


(I've been working on Easter dresses. Cute. Cute. Cute!)

Reality

How thankful I am for the sharpness of reality--yummy meals and dirty dishes, parks and scraped knees, learning and struggling. Our joys are so coupled with hardship. Sometimes when I tightly grasp my reality, my spirit cringes from the sharpness. Tonight Joe and I were going to bed and I was feeling so drained and soon he was sleeping and then...Lizzie woke up. I think she has been getting tummy aches at night because she doesn't settle down unless I walk her.

I am sitting, snuggling Elizabeth, while enjoying the beauty and peacefulness of the evening. These are moments that I don't enjoy during the day. Elizabeth's features are so precious. Her gentle breathing and twinkle eyes are so enchanting. I am thankful that God has given me this time of nurturing my baby.

I went to a funeral today with all four children, by myself. They did amazingly well. I was tense the whole time because there was only one open pew that I could sit in and an old man, whom I didn't know, was sitting on the outside. He graciously let us sit next to him and I found myself trapped in a church pew. Elizabeth didn't shriek and the other children sat around me and listened very well. I ended up leaving before the reception because Thomas started crying (and crying).

Thomas gets more delightful everyday to talk with. I never know what he will say next. When I was pushing him on the swing he said "Push me high, Mommy, I want to touch the roof of the clouds." Yesterday I went to the orthodontist for a quick visit and all the children were lined up watching me in the chair. When the Dr. came in Thomas told him that he got a "Dragon for his birthday, what were the teeth clips that they put around mommy, we were going to the zoo when we were finished and why does the dentist chair move?" He is REALLY into telling jokes right now (Why did the crocodile cross the road? To eat a marshmallow!??) So, he doesn't quite understand what makes a joke funny, but we always laugh so he loves to tell them.

Abigial has been going to her speech therapy sessions. At first there was resistance (I think Grammie's puppies sounded funner than "going to class"). But now she is enjoying her teacher and is really blossoming. I have found that I like to "do" things a lot with Abigail, pick flowers, clean, cook, have tea parties. Lately she has been wanting to just chat with me, which has been so sweet. Abbie is very focused, detailed and deliberate. She is the best sister, always aware of the others and (usually!) considerate of their needs.

Jonathan often makes me dizzy with his constant activity. He is always moving something and is so interested in his own world that I struggle to bring him back into ours. He loves to explore and act. We like to go on walks and act out different stories (one of our favorite's is to go to a little bridge by our house and act out the Three Billy Goats Gruff.) If I can't find him I only need to look by the Lego's or the K'nex. God has given him amazing building skills. Everything he makes is always symmetrical and interesting.

These are special, consuming parts of my reality. I want to grasp it tightly, even when it delights--even when it hurts.