Well, as expected, time with Grandma went fast. And time hasn't slowed down, because I'm pretty sure she left a week ago and I have still not caught up to blog! It's always nice having an extra pair of hands to empty the dishwasher, make a sandwich, change a diaper, help dry off the freshly bathed, fold laundry, take a walk with, run out the door w/o having to find a babysitter for rescue calls, etc....
Here are the events of the past couple weeks--
Highlights: Two day respite retreat was WONDERFUL. Quiet, calm, free, humorous, relaxing, fulfilling, productive and worth every penny.
Grandma taught Eden how to sew straight stitch embroidery and she has since completed her name on a cloth. Or, nearly.
Low lights: Elia has a double ear and upper respiratory infection and sleeping at night has been a challenge.
An unexpected death in our congregation of an elderly and beautiful woman brought much sadness to this house last week. She was somebody who always hugged me and loved our children unconditionally. She only wished Lars would let her hold him, but he never would. Elia regularly crawled up on her lap during service and then she'd sit there and just hold her, apologizing later that she couldn't stand up to sing the next hymn. We went for car rides in the country that she loved, she cooked hot dogs for our kids and 3 course meals for us. She taught me a lot about being a wife and mother. I thought she had so much more to teach. I know I had so much more to learn. The day before she died, we sat alone together in her living room, and she was still beautiful to me. She asked me to sing at her funeral, and I couldn't answer. But it was an honor to do so. She often said she loved to hear me sing, and I loved knowing she was right there listening. I guess with the 318 people at her funeral, I wasn't the only life that she'd touched.
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In other news, Lars will be done with school this Friday and Eden the next. Which means summer vacation begins in the house very soon. No more 7:30 bed time, but oh, how I do like my quiet evenings after that.
Eden has grown so much in Kindergarten and is proving to be a little Mommy to the younger two. She is quite a peacemaker, yet enjoys throwing in a taunt or two when she sees fit. Yesterday, she locked Lars in the bathroom and took to her bedroom for the afternoon...
Lars has done so well in Head Start and is so aware of what he needs, he just does it. His tantrums have diminished to almost nil and short lived when they do happen. He'll start to yell about something and then tell me he needs to go sit quietly in the dark for a few minutes before he can finish his sentence. Works for me! He assures me he's going to use the toilet when summer break comes, but was quick to correct me that summer technically doesn't begin until the end of June....
Elia is a pistol. A riot, but a handful none-the-less. She has learned how to climb over the chain link fence, so locking the gates is quite pointless. She helps herself to whatever she would like with the help of stacking stools on chairs, or enlisting Lars to do her dirty work. She can undo childproof containers of every shape and size and can effectively stay up past her bed time every single night with a few blinks of her eye lashes....
Allen "The Rev" is two weeks away from his first race as a super stock race car driver at Hi Way 92 Raceway Park. Since the sale of his Bumblebee last fall and the winter purchase of an old rusted out stock car, he has been pounding panels, painting, decaling, installing a modified motor, and has become the Vice President of the Platte Valley Motor Sports Club, as well as this year's Track Chaplain and class representative for the Limited Late Model class. He's in for a fun and busy summer. He has a few dedicated friends who have helped him get off the ground these past few months and we are all looking forward to the race season beginning.
I'm just going with the flow. And that's just fine with me.
Tomorrow, I'm one year older, and that's Ok too.
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