Birdie is Three

Our Phoebe girl is three! Birdie has grown so much in the last year, in mind, body and soul.  She has become a little lady and tries very hard to keep up with big sisters. She's tried the cello, has been "doing school" and knows some ABC's (P of course), loves to do dot to dot and watercolor and can play a scale on the piano.  She still does not like to sleep and much prefers to be active until she crashes. Phoebe loves to go to the garden to pick and eat beans. She does not like "pomatoes" (tomatoes) but loves lettuce like her Papa. She is good with the chickens and loves the cats very much.  She takes her chores of feeding them very seriously.  Phoebe is a talker for sure.  And many of her phrases are ones that I want to always remember.  She likes to go see the "bibbits", to put on "sunscream", watching "passingball" (basket ball), seeing the "bampsters" (lobsters) and having a "bug bit". 

Phoebe Hope we love you so and pray that with each passing year God will bless you and keep you and make known His ways to your heart. 

Summer Days and Imaginations

If I could give a theme for our summer so far it surely must be dress up.  For my birthday a few weeks ago I was given the distinct treat of an invitation to a Shakespeare play on the deck.  Emmie and Lena put on Twelfth Night complete with a 2 year old jester, music and snacks.  There have also been many colonial re-enactments, a few ballets and some renaissance women.  Just two days ago there were astronauts going to the moon.  I hope these summer memories last forever in their little hearts.  Otherwise we've been busy in the gardens, having piano recitals and band performances, trips to Chanticleer Gardens and days in the pool.  Mama can hardly keep up, but I hope to see their days through their eyes.  

 

Afire with God

“Earth's crammed with heaven,

And every common bush afire with God,

But only he who sees takes off his shoes;

The rest sit round and pluck blackberries.” E. Browning

The June garden is afire with God and ablaze with glory. If you are tired of the fallen world, sit a while in the garden. Then you will remember that the God who created this beauty holds you in the palm of His hand too.  In this quiet place remember that Eden is not lost forever but will be one day a world made new when we see His face. Each day I water and tend these plants, marveling at the imagery a garden provides. I see my newer plants that wilt in the hot sun because of shallow roots. I wonder at their growth and bloom in season. As I learn more about medicinal herbs and plants I laugh with delight to learn that God created so much in the garden for our health and healing. And I think that we, like the Israelites, have forgotten so much. Let us see His goodness around us and delight in His gentle care for tired old souls who have wandered out of Eden, but hold tight to a promise of Redemption.  Our God sees and gives us hints of it every day, if we would only be still enough to look. 

Eight is Great!

Dearest Lena,

            You are becoming a young lady before our very eyes!  What a year of growing you have had.  This year you have become a book girl and we are often calling you to dinner from other worlds and lands.  You love Pippi Longstocking and Nancy Drew currently and really enjoy history.  You've become a violinist and joined the Playing Through History Band and continue in your piano studies.  You have a special knack for french vocabulary and Shakespeare plays! You do not like math or copywriting but you are becoming a fine artist specializing in Narnian figures and flowers at the moment. One of my favorite things you did this year was begin newspaper articles for us with Emmie. The Chucklehead Papers appear at every birthday and delight us with homemade jokes and riddles.  Perhaps your favorite place to be is swinging out back or creating concoctions in the mud kitchen.  You are contemplative, tender, poetic and yet still a firecracker. It's been a difficult year and you've wrestled with hard things and asked hard questions.  I'm so proud of you for seeking truth and beauty in all you do and I pray that you will always find your answers in Jesus.  You are so dear to us, a beloved sister to Emmie and Phoebe, a cat whisperer, chicken mama and a newly minted gardener.  We love you so.