Ian's Day

Ian turned 8 on February 5th. It doesn't seem like such a big jump from 7, so I'm okay with it (yes, I'm deluding myself into thinking that I have a modicum of control in these matters). He chose to go to Golden Corral for his birthday lunch (which happened on Saturday, due to church) and he was most enthused about the chocolate fountain and cotton candy. I was most enthused that we got out of there without any broken dishes or spilled cups (okay, that makes it sound like our kids are the terrors you hear about running through restaurants, screaming, and throwing food - that is not at all the case, but we did have a broken plate once and spilled cups do seem to happen with too much frequency). On Sunday, lots of church folks wished him Happy Birthday, and then he got to spend the entire afternoon (while his parents cleaned, his sisters skated, and his little siblings napped) playing Wii. This might sound like no big deal, but he's been on Wii quarantine for less-than-stellar chore performance for the last two weeks and the entire month of February and was given a special maternal dispensation to play on his birthday. After being in Super Mario Bros heaven, we went over to Nana and Papa's house for birthday festivities. He choose a Star Wars theme and, get this, all he requested for his birthday supper was Ham and Cheese Salad (pasta shells with chopped up Colby cheese, ham, and mixed with mayonnaise and miracle whip, with a dash of celery salt). I kept prompting him to think of something else, but that's all he wanted. So, we had a dinner of Ham and Cheese Salad, followed by -his choice- a funfetti cake with funfetti frosting and cookies and cream ice cream. He was so excited about his Darth Vader alarm clock/radio, Uglydoll, DS and Wii games, Mario chess set, and gift cards. He's his father's child, in that respect - easy to please on his birthday. Not like me at all, right James? ;-P

Must See TV

A true must-see movie (and goodness knows, we are not movie watchers) for any family, and especially parents - Courageous. I've heard nothing but good things (well, with the exception of a secular review that didn't feel that the acting was up to snuff - but really, that's not the point) from people, so James and I rented the DVD this weekend. We had to wait til Sunday night, post-Ian's birthday activities to watch it, but it was worth staying up late for (we even let Hero stay up to watch it). It was a powerful, powerful movie and, as it speaks very strongly to Christian fathers and their duties, James especially was impacted by it and thanked God at our Bible study time this morning for bringing it into our lives. So I wanted to pass it on to others, as the good women who recommended it to me did.

SOS - Luminosity

Faith is a bit like romantic love. Some days, especially in the very beginning, but even after a long while of being together (if you are blessed with a fine marriage), faith feels like early love. It's all-consuming and exciting. You feel positively lit from within - like a radiant joy inside you that is there for all to see because you couldn't possibly hide it even if you wanted to it. I love that state of luminosity - don't you? I pray often to God to allow me to experience that more frequently. But I wonder if the meat and bones of faith is in the more quotidian days; like the days in your marriage where your love is more an act of conscious will and service than an inspired, exciting wash of emotion. The first blush of love is easy. There's very few people who haven't experienced it, and many people have experienced it multiple times. But carrying on when that feeling is at an ebb is something that a significant number of people have never learned - both in marriage and in faith. It's hard to learn how to do that in marriage, but, for me personally, even harder to be strong in my spiritual walk when I'm feeling anything BUT lit-from-within. As I'm trying to come to terms with a week that started off in luminosity but fizzled into uninspired parenting, housekeeping, and just plain "being", it brings me comfort to think that those types of days are tests that forge my faith and draw me closer to God.

Elder Care

It's not either of our parents yet either. They are getting up there in age, but I wouldn't classify them as elderly yet (although 50 IS pretty old, Mom ;-P). I'm talking about our cats. Our five cats are most definitely elderly. Tabatha predates even our marriage. We adopted her on a visit to Idaho back in January 1998 and flew her all the way back to Wisconsin with us. She was 6 months old then, which means she was born in summer of 1997, making her 14 years old now! It's pretty darn rare for a cat that was an indoor/outdoor cat to live that long. She's a strange cat, to be sure, but man, do I love that animal. Our "younger" four are between the ages of 12 and 13. I can't imagine what the odds are to have five indoor/outdoor cats (although, for the last several years, they are almost exclusively indoor cats - they don't venture much beyond the end of the driveway anymore) living into their teen years. Anyhow, in the break between Christmas and New Years, Bart, one of our orange cats, suffered a stroke. We prepared for having to put him to sleep, as he could barely get around and was extremely disoriented. The vet wanted to try a steroid shot and a 24 hour waiting period, just in case it wasn't a stroke, but head trauma from a fall or something, so we brought him back home and babied him (he's always been a rather anti-social cat, so this was a very strange turn of events). Well, the steroid didn't fix anything, but the 24 hour waiting period made it crystal clear that Bart was not ready to give up on life. He has adjusted to his new disability and can get around (he walks with his head dipped and tilted to one side, and can be kind of unsteady), has a hearty appetite, purrs when you pet him, and still seems to enjoy a decent quality of life. I don't know how many cats adapt to an altered, post-stroke life, but we are now the caretakers of one. I'm glad we have some more time with him.

Hint Hint

The question of the day is "Does my husband read this blog?" Here's to hoping, because I really, really want this for an anniversary present. I've seen it done a few times for children/birthstones, and I've always admired them, but I'd look like either a bag lady or a poker fanatic with six of those around my neck. I happened upon this one today and thought it was absolutely perfect. You've got until May, James - see, I'm a good wife.

My Flowers

To be sure, I have to credit an online acquaintance for sharing this Mother Teresa sentiment (it's not a direct quote, but a paraphrase), but as soon as I heard it I KNEW I wanted to share it here.

How can there be too many children? That is like saying there are too many flowers!

Anti-child sentiment seems to be running pretty high these days. I think it's mostly a product of our society. Our cultural catchphrase could be "Convenience is King". It seems that nearly everything is being remade to fit more streamlined, efficient models. I could be totally behind that, if the purpose was to get the busywork of our days out of the way and focus on the important things - family togetherness, fostering a sense of community spirit, service, and meditation. But this is convenience for convenience's sake - to make space in our lives for more technology and consumption. But I digress. Children are the ultimate inconveniences, are they not? They take our thoughts and time away from work and entertainment. They have little respect for our schedules, indelicate habits at the most inopportune times (why does there always seem to be a covert poopy diaper operation just as you're trying to head out the door?), are terribly demanding and covetous of our me-time (that phrase drives me absolutely mad, by the way, but that's another blog post) and require a monstrous investment with, at times, questionable returns. It's no wonder, I suppose, that there are a lot of people out there that certainly love their children, but view them more as part of a natural life progression/stage that is to be endured bravely, enjoyed on occasion, and then checked off in life's little checklist - right between "get married" and "professional success!". I want to reject this modern mindset. I want my children to be the flowers in the garden of my life.

New Month, Old News

I'm still playing catch-up, but at least I've moved on from Christmas. I know, I know, it's already February. This year was a low-key birthday for Allegra. We went to the restaurant of her choice mid-week for lunch (Chinese Buffet), and then on New Year's Eve we had a party with balloons, a random assortment of requested food (pizza, cheese fries, macaroni and cheese - do you notice a theme of tan-colored food?), party games, presents, and an angel food cake with strawberries and whipped cream. James had to work that night, so the first half of the evening was spent with Nana and Papa and Aunt Jennifer and Oriana. Allegra was very patient, since she had to wait until 10:30, when James finally got off, to open her presents. She was so excited about turning 10 - the double digits are apparently a big thing. She started off her birthday in full-on Allegra mode, wanting to do a "photo shoot" in a new outfit. She's such a ham!