Conversations in the Car

Hannah and I were in the carpool line waiting for Rachel and Hannah asked me which Bible story is my favorite.  I don't know if I have one favorite.  I told her that I love Abraham's story because he was willing to leave his home and follow God even though he wasn't sure what that was going to look like.  I also told her that I love the story of Noah because God asked him to do something that seemed crazy to everyone else, but he was willing to obey God.  One of my favorite New Testament stories is when men want to stone the woman they have accused of being a prostitute, but Jesus bends down and quietly, gently draws in the dirt.  We don't know what he wrote.  It could have been a list of the sins of the accusers or he could have just been doodling.  He tells the men that anyone who is without sin should cast the first stone.  One by one the men leave.  Of course, when I was telling Hannah this story I just said a woman had sinned and the men were angry.  She told me she really likes the story of King Solomon and the women who dispute over who is the mother of a baby. 

I sat there thinking how wonderful it is that she ponders the stories she has heard her entire life.  They are buried deep within her.  As she grows older, these stories will come to her time and time again and she will glean bits of wisdom, knowledge and even comfort from them. 

Rachel came to the car and the conversation turned to her day.  The traffic flow at her school is always a bit crazy as the school is just overcrowded and there is only one way out of the parking lot.  That problem is made worse by the fact there is a traffic light just beyond the school that does not have a turn lane or turn arrow.  One left hand turn backs up the traffic.  Add in the buses trying to exit the parking lot and teenage drivers and we have a recipe for crazy.  A male student walked right out in front of my car.  I had already stopped as I pay close attention to the students because I know they don't pay attention to the moving vehicles.  I sat there as he stood in the middle of the parking lot in front of my car talking to his friend who was still on the sidewalk.  I shook my head in disbelief and Rachel must have noticed.

Rachel: His girlfriend is pregnant.
Me:  Hmmm.
Rachel:  She's 16.
Me:  Hmmm.
Rachel:  She posted it on Facebook.  She is happy about it.

In my head I was trying to decide how I wanted to respond to this information.  Rachel was giving me the information in the same way she tells me about having a quiz in geometry.  It was very matter-of-fact.  It was as though it was an expected every day occurrence.  I wanted Rachel to understand what kind of change this sixteen year old girl is going to have to face.  I have no idea who the girl is or who her family is.  She may have a wonderful support system.  When I was a senior in high school another senior girl had a baby.  She came from a wealthy family and her parents decided to raise the baby as their own in order to allow the girl to follow her plan to go away to college.  Not everyone has that opportunity.  In a moment of God given wisdom akin to the wisdom of Solomon, I held my tongue.  Rachel already knows what she has been taught and we have to trust that the Lord will guide her in her decisions.

It was my turn to try to merge into the traffic already on the road and the conversation switched gears.  We picked up Aaron from school and stopped for an errand.  Rachel and Aaron ran into the store while Hannah and I waited in the car.  From the backseat out of nowhere

Hannah:  You know I don't believe in Santa Clause, right?
Me:  Who told you that?
Hannah:  No one.  I just figured it out.

She began to list her reasons for me.

Me:  What about the Easter Bunny, the Tooth Fairy and Leprechauns?
Hannah:  Don't you think if Leprechauns really existed, we would have caught one in our traps?

Who can argue with that logic?  At that point Aaron and Rachel were returning to the car, so I dropped the subject as I knew Hannah would be embarrassed discussing it in front of them.  After we were home and I had a chance to speak to Hannah in private, I told her she was right.  She was quite satisfied with herself.  As each child has found out the "truth" about Santa, the Easter Bunny and the Tooth Fairy, I have been concerned that their belief in God would also suffer so we have been purposeful in telling them that God is real.  Hannah's response to that, "Duh."

His Opinion

Aaron's school has Spirit Week this week.  Each day the kids are given a theme they can choose to incorporate in the way they dress.  One day is 60s day, so they can dress like people did in the 60s.  One day is school spirit day, so they can wear school colors.

I didn't realize it was Spirit Week until Aaron mentioned it on Sunday night.  He told me he didn't have any jeans clean for Monday morning.  Of course, it was about 8:00 p.m. when he had this revelation.  I went into his room and pulled a pair of pants out of his dresser.  This particular pair is more along the lines of Dockers.  I pulled out a sweater I thought would look nice and put the outfit on his bed.  I told him I put clothes on his bed he could wear tomorrow.  He generally has absolutely no sense of what matches or even fits.  He has put on pants that were five inches too short, but insisted they fit properly because they fit his waist.  He has tried to wear a thick vertical striped shirt with plaid shorts because, "They both have blue and red."  I have tried to relax and as long as I feel his choice won't get him beat up, I let him go with what he chooses. 

After he went into his room, he came to me.

Aaron:  Mom, can I please NOT wear that sweater tomorrow?

Me: (In total shock, because I have been quite certain to this point that he would let me choose his clothes until he has a wife to do it for him) What is wrong with that sweater?

Aaron: Nothing.

Me:  Don't you like it?

Aaron:  Tomorrow is Tacky Day.  We are supposed to dress tacky.  I don't have to find something that is tacky, I just think the nice sweater would really stand out on Tacky Day.

Me:  OK.

Aaron left the room and I looked at PK and asked, "When did he get an opinion?!?!?!"  He was the kid who was going to wear whatever I wanted him to until he left our home. 

I guess having an opinion comes with the voice getting deeper and the shoes that are the same size as his dad's. 

Forensics

Rachel received first place in her category at her forensics meet last night.  When I hear the word, "Forensics"  I think about solving crimes using science.  That would mean Rachel was hanging out with a bunch of other kids solving crimes.  Sounds exciting.  However, in this case, we are talking about Speech and Debate or public speaking. 

I do not like to talk in front of a group, so I am just floored that she would even attempt to do it.  Her category is impromptu.  She is given a topic and in a few minutes has to develop an outline and deliver a speech.  Sometimes she doesn't know too much or anything about the topic so in those cases she really has to think on her feet. 

We were discussing the meet last night after she returned home and I asked her if Speech is a required course in high school.  PK said he didn't have to take Speech in high school, but it was required for graduation at my school.  I did not like it one bit.  I also had to take Speech in college.  I didn't like it anymore then. 

Rachel has never been afraid to try something new.  She tried out for district band a couple months ago.  She didn't make it, but her attitude was, "If I don't make it, it is ok.  At least I can say I tried and learned from the experience."

Parents don't attend Forensic meets.  The competitors have to go into a room alone with the judges, so it is not conducive to having spectators.  Rachel was sweet enough to send me this picture of the team who brought home first place overall.



Can You Whistle?

We had dinner at Doug and Shannon's house on Valentine's Day.  Cynthia was in town and she, Shannon and I were hanging out in the kitchen.  I have no idea how the subject came about, but it was brought to our attention that Shannon can whistle using her fingers.  Neither Cynthia or I can do that.  I can do the regular old pucker and blow whistle, but I can't do the fingers in the mouth whistle.

Shannon began to give us lessons and Cynthia and I gave our best effort to produce a sound. 





This went on for a good thirty minutes.  One of the many reasons I love spending time with Shannon and Cynthia is because we never know when one of us will fall into a fit of laughter because one of the other two said something like one of the following.

"Let me see your tongue."

"Is your tongue longer than most?" 

"Your lips aren't right."

"Maybe your fingers are too big."

"I need a spit rag."

"Don't turn your head my direction when you blow.  You spray."

"This is like giving birth.  You push and push and push, hoping for results."

Not Making That Mistake Again

Last year on Valentine's Day, Hannah jumped out of bed expecting a little celebration.  I was a slacker and she was very disappointed.  This year I made sure to put the little extra touches on the morning.

Once the kids were in bed last night, I made a cookie cake in a heart shaped pan.  I have been trying to keep overly processed foods and dyes out of our diet.  The kids beg me not to "healthify" their favorite treats.  During the Christmas season, I compromised on this by making one batch of each of their favorite holiday treats using our traditional recipes.  For Valentine's Day, I made their cookie cake with white flour and sugar.  I'm not sure if that was showing love or not.  Ha!

I pulled out the heart shaped plates and put up some red streamer.



 

 



I bought each of the kids a special chocolate and new earbuds.  Earbuds seem to be a hot commodity in this house and can never seem to be found even though we have purchased several sets.  This time around I also purchased each of the kids a matching case for their earbuds.  Maybe that will help them keep track of them.  I have a stash of about fifty thousand Valentine's Day pencils I have picked up on clearance over the years, so I also gave each of the kids a pencil.

Hannah's favorite color is green and she loves dogs.

 



Aaron's favorite color is blue.  He is a lover of snakes, but a frog is as close as I could find.

 







Rachel's favorite color is purple, but I couldn't find a case to match.  Owls are popular these days and her friend just gave her an owl necklace.  She says she doesn't necessarily like owls, but "they are a thing."

 



Because PK leaves the house by 6:00 in the mornings, we got everyone up early so we could have a little morning celebration.  Yes, we fed our kids cookie cake for breakfast again.

These simple preparations were more than enough to make Hannah happy and to build another memory.  Well worth it for my loves.

Night Terrors

Before Hannah was a year old, she started having night terrors.  The first time it happened she had screamed and cried inconsolably for close to two hours.  I tried everything I could think to do to try to calm her.  I changed her diaper.  I changed her clothes.  I rocked her.  I offered her a bottle.  I walked with her.  I put her back in her bed and let her cry it out for a while.  I gave her her pacifier.  Nothing worked.  I finally told PK that I was going to take her to the ER because she must have an ear infection.  She didn't have a fever, but Rachel had multiple ear infections as a baby and usually did not run a fever.  By the time I had gotten dressed, the episode ended just as quickly as it had started.  She was out cold.

Her night terrors did not occur every night, but occasionally it would happen.  One time she was old enough to walk and we sat in her room.  At the time, the desk and computer were also in her room.  All she really had in there was her crib and changing table.  Our living room was always a play room.  I finally sat her on the ground and she walked over to the computer tower and smacked it.  I had to laugh.  She wasn't fully awake and had no idea what she was doing.  At least I don't think she did. 

When she was old enough, I would ask her in the morning if she remembered anything and she always gave me that , "What in the world are you talking about?" stare.  Many times she would wake up in the morning and demand to know why she was in my bed and how she got there. 

We visited friends one year who lived in a townhouse at the time, so there were three stories.  I took the screaming child to the basement level in hopes that she wouldn't wake the entire house.  My friend, Shannon, came down to check on us.  She knew there wasn't anything she could do, but offered anyway.  I dreaded staying with other people, but a hotel was worse.  Imagine what other guests thought when a child screamed bloody murder during the night.

I think the night terrors continued until Hannah was about five.  She has never been a sleep walker, thankfully, but she tosses and turns like she is in a wrestling match.  She also holds full on conversations.  Other people I have heard talk in their sleep kind of mumble or speak in partial sentences.  Not Hannah.  Her sleep talking is often fussing at Aaron which always cracks me up.  Once in a while, she still climbs into our bed.  A couple weeks ago, she was asleep between us when she sat up and said, "We have to wait for those masked men to go by."  I had to sit up to make sure she was asleep and didn't really see someone.  It was that real.  Last night she lifted her head, leaned over to mine and said, "Dad's head is a stone with glasses on it." 

When she is an adult and meets the man she is going to marry, I really, really, really want to keep her sleeping habits a secret from him until they are married.  It would be so funny to hear his shocking tales of being punched and kicked during the night by Hannah while she has full on nonsense conversations.

Do You Want to Build a Snowman?

Before the snow hit, we took the kids to see the movie Frozen.  It is about a princess who has the power to freeze things.  One of the songs is "Do You Want to Build a Snowman."  Aaron and Hannah have been walking around the house singing this all week.  It is comical since we have been snowed in. 

Today the snow has started to melt which made it easier to pack.  Aaron and Hannah went out to build their snowmen.