The Daily Life of Sweetpea[s]

I would like to introduce Lila Kate to you all. She was born Friday to my very good friend Lori.
She weighed a whopping 5 lbs 14 ozs!

Today my 5-yr old, Sam asked Lori's 5 yr-old, Isaac, "Is your baby sweet, Isaac?"

Isaac replies, "Well, actually my Dad said they checked her sugars in the hospital and they were good, so I guess she is sweet!"

When I have the kids lined up waiting in the hallway, we play "Quiet and Still." This keeps them from disturbing kids in the classrooms nearby. Lately, there's been this "strike a pose" trend in the game. They stand frozen like this for, I don't know, 20 seconds?

They are deadly serious about their poses, and were unaware I was taking a picture....

So in chapel everyday, there's this time where the children can raise their hands and announce their "news." Typical announcement are "I lost a tooth" or "We're going on a field trip" or "Our team won our soccer game." Yesterday, one small boy raised his hand and was called on by our director.

--"Yes, E? What do you have to share?"

--"There's such thing as a liger."

--"A what?"

--"A liger. There's really such a thing."

--"A what? What did he say?" This went on for awhile.

This is the same child who last year kept raising his hand and telling the school there was an "intruder cat" in his family's yard. Emily and I looked forward to hearing the latest on the "intruder cat" each day.

First Grade. Jungle animals. To be cut out and glued into their jungle landscapes.

Take note of yet another unintentional liger.

Stephen and I spent Easter this year with one of the families at L'abri and it was a gorgeous day, so I took a photo of the house. This is where Sweetpea and M. will be staying. =)

Six weeks till we go to L'abri and get to see Wedding Girl. Talk about a great trip!

So, I know most of you aren't as fascinated by children's artwork as I am, but this leopard/cheetah creature is one of the coolest animal images made by a small child I've ever seen.

I'm thinking you don't want to mess with him.

Tonight at twilight I walked out onto the porch of Noah's Ark, our house on a hill, for a few outdoor evening moments. I stood on the porch looking out at the grey-purple clouds set against a dark grey-blue sky. Our pink streetlight shone dimly and crickets chirped as the breeze lifted the hair on my forehead. Movement on the sidewalk caught my eye. I leaned over the railing and could just make out two toads, sitting squatty about a foot apart on the concrete. I am very fond of toads. So I gingerly tiptoed down the porch stairs and sat cross-legged behind them on the sidewalk. All three of us sat in silence, facing the street down below, listening to the crickets and feeling the breeze, basking in the pink of the streetlight.

We went camping in beautiful Yosemite with another family this past weeekend. Here is a picture of my guys. The trip included all the usual camping stuff: hiking, climbing, bouldering, vomiting, diarrhea, constipation(different child), finding porn in our cabin, chasing a large raccoon away from the cabin where my sleeping children lay, child continually peeing in pants, roasting marshmallows, etc. It was great!

On the continuing horrific genocide in Darfur....http://www.worldmag.com/articles/10479



Go to this site to send a postcard to President Bush.



Thanks to Denny Burk for the heads up.

Okay, I keep waiting to see if Wedding Girl's going to mention it, but I guess she's too modest. Since she won't toot her husband's horn, I'm going to do it....

WG's husband, Stephen, has won the Glen Murcutt Scholarship for architecture. This is really big news! Here's how it works: only ONE student is selected from EACH of the top architecture schools, and Stephen was the ONE student chosen from MIT!!! This means he'll spend time in Australia this summer studying with really important architects. Here's the link: http://www.ozetecture.org/oze_index.htm

All I can say is, Wedding Girl better be taking some darn good pics of the land down under this summer, and they better be posted on this blog..... ;)

I'm a proud aunt today. This is Maya (2.5 yrs) and Nora (1 day old). My sister-in-law was on bed rest on and off during the pregnancy and is very happy for it to be over. I can't believe this long baby was in her tummy!!

He is Risen!

Today, Jesus hangs dying on a cross.

Today, he willingly accepts the judgement for sins He didn't commit.

Today, Mary weeps for her son.

Today, the veil in the temple tears from top to bottom.

Today, the justice of God is satisfied.

This is Sam and Ethan today at the Chinese Consulate in San Francisco. We were there to get our last documents authenticated for our adoption. They were fairly convinced we had gone to the actual China. ; )

I went to see Patty Griffin play in Maine on Wednesday night and it was a fabulous concert!! She's going to be in Fort Worth at the Forth Worth Arts Festival on the 22nd if anyone's interested. She's even better live than she is on her albums...very rare these days.

(If you've not been introduced to Patty Griffin I highly recommend the album: A Kiss in Time.)

Hubby and I are working thru some thoughts about our views of marriage. Kinda crazy around Easter-time....More to come...

So, this blog has not traditionally been too "heavy." I'm a pretty intense person, but I intentionally created this blog to be mostly about "lighter" topics, like teaching children, funny stories, stuff I like, etc. With the addition of WG and Lizard, the pleasure's been increased as we're all posting our thoughts and staying in touch thru the blog. Please see my husband's blog for more intense topics. ;)

But I feel fired up right now. So forgive me if I change the blog's tone too drastically--but sometimes you need to shout stuff out. I've been confronted lately with personal statements, blog entries, books, stuff in the media, etc. about the institution of marriage--what it is, what it's for.

So, soon I'll be writing about my marriage, and about my beliefs about marriage in general....probably in a few installations, so as not to be too overwhelming. I don't intend my upcoming posts to be dogmatic or argumentive, simply statements of belief. And I'm not expecting or needing approval. I just need to say it.

Sometimes you need to state what you believe. You know, like on NPR: "This I believe." :)

I took this picture before the artwork was totally finished....We've been studying Franz Marc's colorful animals in my after-school art class. I LOOOOOVe this meerkat by one of my second graders. It makes me smile everytime I look at it....

I shot a beautiful Indian wedding this weekend. The florist arranged the flower petals down the isle and it was absolutely gorgeous. In order to keep it completely untouched until the bride entered, the center isle was roped off and guests were seated from the side isles. The rope was removed right before the bridesmaids were about to enter, but 2 guests snuck in at the last minute.....and didn't happen to notice the petals arranged down the center isle...they made it almost half-way down the isle (walking on top of the petals) before the wedding coordinator came running and screaming after them, "Stop! Stop!" They were more than a little embarrassed, but the damage wasn't as bad as it could've been. I'm just glad I took this photo before the guests entered...

....and she took my 52Things challenge. (I listed her as least likely to respond.) Check her blog to learn about both--her first birth as a CNM, and her 52......


I'm so proud of her.

Well today we have signed up for private Mandarin lessons! A woman has offered to tutor us for the price of one, because she so supports what we are doing!! Amazing, huh? So, maybe my next entry will be in Mandarin. Ok-probably not. ; )


I want one of these!!!

Check out my husband's blog for an enlightening link on the genocide in Darfur.

Today is DAY 47 of Operation Healthy Me.

It's truly amazing how much better I'm feeling. I won't go into all the fabulous details here, but just know, integrative MD's are onto something. I can testify.

And I haven't had any sugar--except accidentally a few times....("Wow! This jello is SO GOOD!")

I'm not sure if you can tell from the photo, but it's currently snowing big chunky flakes in Boston. I just took this pic from the top floor of my building. (That's the Boston skyline in the cloudy haze.)

It was in the 70s last week...*sigh*

1. FIRST NAME? Um, Sweetpea.
2. WERE YOU NAMED AFTER ANYONE? Nope, just names my parents liked.
3. WHEN DID YOU LAST CRY? Gosh, I can't remember. But I get that choked up, stinging tears thing almost everyday--OH, how I love being hormonally imbalanced.
4. DO YOU LIKE YOUR HANDWRITING? I like it, but I don't love it. It's very much like my husband's, strangely enough. His family can't tell the difference!
5. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE LUNCHMEAT? Ick.
6. KIDS? Two chihuahua children.
7. IF YOU WERE ANOTHER PERSON WOULD YOU BE FRIENDS WITH YOU? I hope so; otherwise I would hurt my feelings.
8. DO YOU HAVE A JOURNAL? Well, I guess so!
9. DO YOU USE SARCASM A LOT? A little, to make conversation spicy. A lot of sarcasm drives me nuts.
10. DO YOU STILL HAVE YOUR TONSILS? Yes.
11. WOULD YOU BUNGEE JUMP? No way.
12. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE CEREAL? Steel cut oatmeal, 'cause it makes my bloodsugar happy. Sugary cereals make me want to throw up.
13. DO YOU UNTIE YOUR SHOES WHEN YOU TAKE THEM OFF? No.
14. DO YOU THINK YOU ARE STRONG? Sometimes I'm surprised at my strength, other times I'm surprised at my vulnerability. Physically I'm a wimp.
15. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE ICE CREAM? Vanilla Blue Bell.
16. SHOE SIZE? 8 1/2.
17. RED OR PINK? Definitely red.
18. WHAT IS THE LEAST FAVORITE THING ABOUT YOURSELF? My tendency to focus on the ways I haven't measured up. And my extremely long toes.
19. WHO DO YOU MISS THE MOST? Wedding Girl and Lizard, of course.
20. DO YOU WANT EVERYONE TO SEND THIS BACK TO YOU? Don't understand the question.
21. WHAT COLOR PANTS AND SHOES YOU ARE WEARING? Brown cotton slacks with stripes, Clark's Wallabee's, no socks.
22. LAST THING YOU ATE? Sushi from Whole Foods.
23. WHAT ARE YOU LISTENING TO RIGHT NOW? The air conditioner unit outside--the windows are open since it's freezing us all.
24. IF YOU WERE A CRAYON, WHAT COLOR WOULD YOU BE? Crimson.
25. FAVORITE SMELL? Lavender? I have a poor sense of smell.
26. WHO WAS THE LAST PERSON YOU TALKED TO ON THE PHONE? My mom, last night.
27. FIRST THING YOU NOTICE ABOUT PEOPLE? Eyes.
28. DO YOU LIKE THE PERSON WHO SENT THIS TO YOU? I stole it off Tulip Girl's Blog.
29. FAVORITE DRINK? Dr. Pepper, but I never drink it.
30. FAVORITE SPORT? Basketball.
31. HAIR COLOR? Dark Brown.
32. EYE COLOR? Same.
33. DO YOU WEAR CONTACTS? Yes--blind as a bat.
34. FAVORITE FOOD? Italian, 'cept I don't eat pasta anymore. *sigh*
35. SCARY MOVIES OR HAPPY ENDING? Both.
36. LAST MOVIE YOU WATCHED? Failure to Launch. What in the WORLD?
37. WHAT COLOR SHIRT ARE YOU WEARING? Turquoise.
38. SUMMER OR WINTER? summer!!
39. HUGS OR KISSES? Hugs.
40. FAVORITE DESSERT? Creme Brulee.
41. WHO IS MOST LIKELY TO RESPOND? L. and WG.
42. LEAST LIKELY TO RESPOND? Mimi. :)
43. WHAT BOOKS ARE YOU READING? Check the sidebar.
44. WHAT'S ON YOUR MOUSE PAD? Dell Logo.
45. WHAT DID YOU WATCH LAST NIGHT ON TV? Nothing.
46. FAVORITE SOUNDS? Hmmmm. My husband's clear baritone. Birds singing in the sun.
47. ROLLING STONE OR BEATLES? Beatles I love. The Stones I hate.
48. THE FURTHEST YOU BEEN FROM HOME? Literally--Germany. Culturally, Haiti.
49. DO YOU HAVE A SPECIAL TALENT? Speaking in my pooter voice. If you haven't already heard it, don't ask. I'm thirty!
50. WHEN AND WHERE WERE YOU BORN? 1976, Dallas.
51. WHAT CONDITION ARE YOUR HANDS AND FEET IN? Feet: not bad. Hands: A little dry from all the clay I've been messing with.
52. WHO IS YOUR FAVOURITE AUTHOR? I can't name just one!

Links to other 52 things lists: Tulip Girl.

What are your 52 answers????????

Gracen is home with her extremely happy parents, Leah and Jason!

I just finished knitting this shawl for my mother-in-law yesterday. Her birthday is on Easter this year, so I'll be shipping it off soon. If anyone's interested I can post the pattern. Some of the stitches are a little tricky, but with practice they're not hard to learn.

When we first moved into our house the backyard was just dry, parched earth with nails and various rusty items sticking out of it. Thankfully our landlords put grass in and the yard began to be regularly watered. Then plants we hadn't planted began to grow. We had huge lily plants sprouting out of our new grass!

This plant has squeezed itself between our veggie garden my husband built and the fence. As far as we can tell there were probably plants this big running down the entire length of this fence. The flowers are beautiful. They look like frosting that has been squeezed out of a decorators tip!

Ironically its the plants I have nothing to do with that grow the best. You can tell which plants I have 'interferred' with!