Another conversation with Anna...

Anna is dancing around the kitchen after dinner. Marc and I are looking at her adoringly.

"Anna," I say, "You take my breath away."

"Moooom, I don't know how to do that."

"No, Anna, I'm not asking you to do anything. I'm telling you that just by being you, you take my breath away."

"Mooom" (Anna's voice is raising concern now) "but I don't know how to."

"Ann, I'm just saying I think your pretty and kind and lovely and I can't believe that I get to have you in my life. And sometimes when I look at you my heart gets so full it makes me want to cry happy tears, and my breath goes like this (I make an air sucking sort of noise)."

Anna looks at me incredulous that I still don't understand. "But Mom, I told you, I don't know how to take your breath away."

It sort of felt like that scene in Bug's Life... You know the "it's a rock" scene with Little Dot.

When I grow up...

I walked into the living room this morning I found Anna studying our wedding picture.

"When I grow up, I'm going to marry Daddy."

"Really, honey." (I'm melting.)

"And I'm going to have flowers."

never say never

I've been saying for six years now "Mommy doesn't go to the emergency room." Six years. This stems fairly naturally from a fear of emergency rooms, hospitals, and nearly everything medical.

And I've never needed the services of an emergency room. I've been born, and I've given birth three times.

Well-visits cause me much stress.... so much so that until recently Marc would take the kids.

All my years of saying never came to fruition today, about an hour and a half before church. Caleb and Anna were playing, Caleb with a basket over his head. Caleb took a turn into the bathroom, but misjudged, and went down the stairs right next to the bathroom door, head first. The basket stayed on his head all the way down.

Caleb stood up screaming. I ran downstairs. Blood. Everywhere. I start screaming. Marc runs downstairs (fresh from the shower). Grabs towel. Apply pressure.

Call doctor. Go to Emergency Room for stitches. And of course since I'm married to the preacher, I'm the one going to the ER (although Marc did offer to get coverage and to take Caleb, knowing my pre-disposition.)

So, Caleb and Anna (for support) and I got into the van and took a long one mile trip to the hospital.

Everything went so well, and everyone was so proud of Caleb. He was incredibly brave and peaceful, even though he said his head hurt like crazy.

By the time we left the hospital, Caleb had six staples in the side of his head.

thepitmans.chronicles

I just posted our most recent Family Chronicles on our website. Click here to read the latest: http://www.thepitmans.com/chronicles.htm.

ooowww...

Sofia had a well-visit today. Everything went very well. After she had seen the doctor, the nurse came in, this time armed with three shots. Sofia very patiently lay down on the table and allowed the prep on her thighs.

First shot. No response from Sofia, not even a gasp. Then she made eye-contact with the nurse and said 'ooww'. Not even in a raised voice.

Second shot. A whimper.

Third shot. A howl.

Bandaids applied, Mom quick with the hug.

Sofia settles down and says "Bye-bye" to the nurse.

Closure

The kitchen has been nearly finished for nearly two months. It has taken me that long to get the photos together and up on the web. For a look at the work that I did on our kitchen this past June, follow this link. http://www.thepitmans.com/kitchen/index.htm

A recap of the kitchen history: this past winter/spring both the oven and stovetop (separate originally) began to act 'tempermental' (is only the broiler working and a burner arcing considered tempermental or broken?). So, we had some money and borrowed the rest (thank you LLBean credit card .... at least I'll get a pair of shoes out of it). Emily did the majority of the work, only using Marc when his brawn was necessary, and hiring an electrician for the electric work (thank you Jason Marks! what a great guy!). We were able to use the existing cabinets, just changing where they were in the kitchen to fit the new formation.

Some people wonder if they could ever do something. Well, remodelling the kitchen was one of those for me. Now that I know I can do it, I don't think I'll ever put myself in the way of doing it again.

Enjoy the photos.

First Day of School

Today was our first day of school. Caleb started 2nd grade and Anna started pre-school. Sofia, well, she watched, fussed, made messes, and tried to figure out how life had changed all of a sudden.

This picture is actually taken at the end of our first day, after dinner. I think their smiles pretty accurately summarize the way we all felt after day 1.

Caleb even said he enjoyed math.

New strategies this year... regular snack and play times in the midst of our work. And Caleb has a desk in his room, so he could go into his room and shut his door to do some of his work. He seemed to like all of the changes.

I feel pretty great about the whole day, too, though I am puzzling about the Sofia piece. She took two naps today rather than one, so I am hoping that she is just out of sorts in general, and that it wasn't specifically school that threw her into a loop. We shall see. But the good thing is that we all (the ones directly involved with school) are going to bed looking forward to our school-day tomorrow.

Why am I doing this?

Yesterday we began the work of painting Caleb's room. It was what we decided to do to celebrate the end of first grade (in May) and are just getting to now.

After the first coat of paint was put on the walls yesterday, I was helping Caleb sort through his 'stuff' - now piled in the hallway. (He had wisely observed that he had too much stuff - especially when it came time to put stuff away to be moved out into the hallway.)

Anna came up to me in the hallway and asked if she could help.

"Sure, Anna. How about you collect all the tinker toys and put them
in this?"
"Okay!" happy Anna who loves sorting heads off on the tinker toy hunt.
"Mommy, I'm done."
"Okay, Anna, do you want to help some more?"
"Yeah!"
"Okay, would you please go through this pile of papers, and
anything that has anything to do with legos put in this pile?"
"Sure."
Contented Anna sorts papers.
Anna looks up.
"Mommy, why am I doing this?"
"Why are you doing what?"
"Why am I helping Caleb? He is never nice to me and I am being nice to him."
"Well, Anna. That's how Jesus tells us to do it. If someone is mean, we are supposed to be nice in return."
"Mommy?"
"Yes, Anna."
"That's wrong."

Can God heal a hard drive?

So, before we went away on vacation, my computer was really blitzing out. I am pretty sure that it was a hard drive issue, as were some local computer guys that I talked to. So the tower has been sitting on the kitchen counter for two weeks, waiting to be taken to the computer doctor (after a VERY unsuccessful and unhelpful three hours with Dell on the phone).

But then I remembered that I wanted to get all my addresses and favorites from this computer, so I plugged in in today to see if it would behave long enough for me to get my information. And as I began to work, I wondered if maybe God would heal my hard-drive.

Is this a heresy? Or is it just plain pathetic?

And why is it so incredibly debilitating to my personality to be without my computer? Maybe I need to get a dog?

Will keep you posted...

Google QOTD

"Art is a collaboration between God and the artist, and the less the artist does the better."
Andre Gide

good food to chew on... in between my Lime Tostitos.