February

Dear Mom and Dad,

And so February is gone. Its 28 days meandered, walked, ran, skated, swam and flew by...quite literally. It's quite an adjustment (still) to live in a vacation destination and February is one of those months when folks in coldbound states feel like a few days of sun and humidity might just help bolster them through until the crocus peers out from thawing soils and the creeks flow fuller with snowmelt. I can still remember vividly the feeling of a strong sun beam on the back of my arm after arriving in Hawaii from a Philadelphia January a number of years ago. I get it. Light and warmth are powerful forces. And so these forces bring wonderful friends and family to visit and bring us to a place of great gratitude for our often-outdoor life. Much of the early part of the month was spent preparing for Valentines Day and then we enjoyed some good weeks of school and some weekend guests. The girls are all doing really well. I know that's a generic description, but it's true! They're learning and playing and discussing and building and being excited and being sad and generally interacting and expressing themselves in fruitful ways. Here are some pictures to prove it!

A beautiful wetlands preserve that feeds into the Everglades. Great sunset spot!

Saw two baby alligators on this walk.

Great teachers make great students.

Big girls took part in a homeschool track meet and competed in sprints, hurdles, and long jump.

So proud.

Waterbug baby. Caroline would have played in this little fountain for hours.

We have a fascination with the potty, but no results. I guess that's some step in the right direction.

FLOAT!

We had a lovely Valentines breakfast with our dear neighbor Lisa. 

Then a Valentines park party with homemade boxes on display.

Happy Heart Day!

Michaela planned all the details of a doll tea party and invited two friends to join her and Sophie. 

She is quite the hostess.

Cousins visited from Boston and enjoyed the sea turtle marine life center.

Then did an afternoon art project together.

A fun dinner out and ice cream cones rounded out the visit. Cousin Nate was a big hit with Caroline!

Had Auntie Keri spend two nights with us and took her to the sunset spot. It was divinely lovely.

And another baby gator made an appearance. At this visit, which was three weeks later than the beginning of the month, Caroline figured out an alligator word. She talked about the "baybee ah-gah-gaygor" for much of the next few days. I love this learning to talk age!

Thank you for teaching me to love simple joys and beauties. It has paid out rich rich dividends in this season of my life and I feel it's one of the most important things to impart to my children. I love you. Happy March.

Your

G

A Few January Glimpses

"Booohtz ON"

"Wheee"

Lego Masters

Our one beach trip of the month...complete with a "button" highlight AND the adventure of watching the lifeguard scare off two 5ft nurse sharks cruising a stones throw from shore!

We said a tear-filled goodbye to Red Ruby. Our faithful faithful car who had been with us for almost a decade. We have welcomed Pearl into the family and into our hearts slowly, but surely. A white Honda Odyssey. :-)

The simple Christmas gift of bubble bath has given hours of fun to this motley crew.

XOXOXO

Gift Fulfilment

Dear Mom and Dad.

Merry Christmas. A couple glimpses of our lives each month is my gift to you this year, so let's begin. On this final day, of the first month, of this New Year...let's begin. This month has been almost the antithesis of all the cultural cheerleading we get thrown at us come each January 1st. We have not been resolute in any Resolutions. There has been no sense of extraordinary motivation to change or break new ground anywhere. This month we've just made it. The girls have been sick, on and off, much of the month and with that our semblance of schedule has been elusive. I battle between thinking of my lack of rigidity as a person being a blessing or a curse, but today my contentment with (very) simple and (very) quiet ways served my little ill brood well. We have had lovely cool nights here, in the 40s, and so hot tea has been a comfort and enjoyment in the mornings for the over 20month-old set. This morning we had pancakes and Caroline almost out-ate both Michaela and Sophie. She is really proud of her "dip-dip" into a syrup puddle with deft use of a small fork. And then we slowly got dressed and set up in the driveway to watch for the trash truck. Yes. This was the only goal of the morning. We put out our "buckicks" and drew with sidewalk chalk until the rumbling truck came down the lane. I'm not sure if the garbage collectors know us yet or not, but they seemed awfully cheered by Caroline's passionate wave and call of "ank-ooo." We also got to observe some beautiful vultures fulfilling their calling to "cleanse the breezes." And a number of osprey soaring as well. They are all "birdeeez" to the littlest observer who seems to really love them with a keen eye. I continue to be grateful for the ample VitaminD opportunities right out of our doors especially during congested days. Much love.

On Being New

I don't know what to write yet, so I'll post a title at the end of these musings. I had contemplated a compilation of observations I've been making about Florida, but the list was a little pallid. I need to give myself more time in this new state and this new state more time with me in it. And I had contemplated another journal-copy, but that seemed like cheating. And so when stuck here, so as not to strike out on posting for months on end, I will tell you (whoever you may be at this moment) about a short outing we took today that is worth remembering. Not for its sake per se, but for the thoughts I've had about it since.

I had a pre-arranged phone chat with an old friend as we drove 22 minutes from our temporary condominium (I never ever thought my address would be a condo...but it's only for a few months and it's been good to us) to our new University. Andrew was going to be out late inspiring young minds to not electro-cute themselves on their film sets...a.k.a. lighting equipment workshop...so I figured the girls should see him at least for a few minutes today and I've been wanting to meet some of his students and colleagues. ANYWAY, my phone call. I hadn't talked to this friend since I answered her call back in mid-April and she listened through my weeping about being over-due with Caroline. And so she loved me today again through questions. How was the move? How's the new job? How's schooling? How's Caroline? How are you amidst the fact-answers? It was an incredible gift to be heard. It was also surprisingly lovely to recount the last few months. There are many days of my life which I need not ever recount. Days of sorrow. Days of mediocrity. Days of illness. Days of impatience. Days that have slipped by that I can't remember one specific instance from. But sharing out loud the narrative of our recent transition was cathartic today...and I'm an "introvert"! Coloring outside of our individual lines is good at times, isn't it?

Coming off a phone call feeling known and walking onto a campus of most-things-new felt a bit paradoxical, intimidating, even. We've been on campus a number of times, but it's been evenings and weekends, so we haven't experienced the bustle and energy of young students and we sure stood out in the crowd. I found myself again grateful for my daughters to talk to and interact with. They bolster me without ever knowing it often. This time it was that new-ness again. It is quite a hurdle to run into (not over) again and again just now. In my overly-sensitized state I was overly touched by a very simple interaction. We were wandering through the breezeway past Andrew's office building waiting, fairly aimlessly, for the right time to meet up with daddy when an older gentleman walked by and asked if I needed help finding someone. I explained our situation as we continued slowly walking to nowhere, really, and when he heard that we were new it felt like he changed his entire posture to the moment. He stopped and just talked to us. He asked the girls their names very specifically and when he couldn't hear Sophie's response he bent down right close to her as she repeated herself. He told me a bit about himself (a professor here for over a decade) and then made sure he had our names correct, welcomed us again and walked away. It was no more than 5 minutes. The girls went on talking to the darting lizards in the greenery and I smiled at Caroline. We still didn't quite know what to do or where to go, but I felt welcomed and it was significant and I will strive to emulate Professor Copan, in that small regard, whenever it is possible with me.

That's it for now.

So Big

From 10 minutes of writing-August 22nd.

Dear Caroline. Soon you will be four months old. And that seems so very old! It is a wonder how fast you have grown and changed. You are easily delighted and amused by your sisters these days and have begun to make all kinds of new noises, including a very clear giggle. Two evenings ago, while you were in your bouncy seat, Michaela was entertaining you with your "worm"-as we call it- it's really a caterpillar and very colorful and you love to gnaw on it's face (among other things). Michaela was gently throwing it to you and every time it landed you had a three second delay of response and then a huge smile and laugh. It made us all laugh too and we stood around in the kitchen captivated by your joy. You found your hands just about a month ago, amidst the final week of our move, and it brought enough entertainment to stretch your contented moments even a little longer! When you realized your chubby fingers could grab onto each other, you sat for extended periods experimenting with the movement and awareness of clasping your hands together and so you looked very prim and proper. Last night, however, while I had you splayed out in the nude after your bath and after our final nursing, you lifted your hips and rocked you plump little legs up and almost over your face. Then you reached out and touched your feet! We'll see how this progresses, but I remember Sophie loving to grab and hold onto and even chew on her feet. You have such an obvious enjoyment of discovery and I wish you could tell me about the process of it. Your thoughts on sensation and response and being comforted and entertained. You continue to be extraordinary in your expressiveness with your whole being and when you get excited you take it very seriously. A focused face and alternating arms and legs kicking and punching the air with such glee. You wear me out too, dear one, but in those moments I'm recently finding it easier, somehow, to actively think about you and your little person and how much you've given to us in these long short 4 months. I very much love you.

The Sunshine State

On the first of August we landed on new soil. The sky is big here.

 The birds are big here, well, these sandhill cranes are. The ibis are smaller.

 The storms are big here.

The plants are big here.

But we are our same little selves.

I think often about how the pace of living with children grounds me. There is so much life. in. the. moment. There is so much work. in. the. moment. There are minute to minute changes and adjustments made all the time in immediate response to needs or tears or hunger or joy. As an adult you can look at a day, at it's beginning, and potentially plan each hour and, if you keep yourself from any human interaction, that plan really might often transpire without much alteration. Sometimes I envy a life that would be more predictable, but not often. Especially in a new place, I've cherished the reality of my own specific "hand to my plow." The newness of everything quickly tempts me to be overwhelmed, but then the faces of my children and husband haven't changed. My people are the same people they were in Virginia. I have this history with them that is very comforting as I meet new people who don't know me from Adam (or Eve). And so I have too found divine comfort in the mystery that is Truth. God is the same yesterday, today, and forever.