Big Boy Birthday

In 2004 our wish was granted, our dreams came true, and our prayers were answered with the arrival of our first bouncing baby boy. I hope I never forget the unspeakable joy of cuddling and nursing that warm bundle of love in front of our wood burning stove on cold nights. We covered him with a million kisses a day, and poured every ounce of love we could into him. In the evenings when he was fussy and wouldn’t let me put him down, his Daddy would happily take on dinner duty while he reassured me that my most important job was to hold and love that baby because there would come a day when he wouldn’t want to be held anymore.

Today that bundle of joy turned 5. This was his big boy birthday with a big boy football, a big boy bicycle, and bigger clothes. Despite the celebration of the day Zac is still a curious mix of little and big boy. My greatest joy on this day was not watching his little man hands cradle the football or watching his imaginative play with his fishing adventure set, or even watching him learn how to ride a bicycle on which he has to stretch his legs to reach the peddles. No, my greatest joy was when he walked into our room this morning with the announcement that he was five today, then, without another word, he crawled into our bed, leaned over and wrapped his arms around me, put his head on my shoulder, and settled in for a good long cuddle. Happy birthday little man!

Butterfly Birthday

This morning the children and I ventured downtown for a special pink birthday balloon for Bethany. With the balloon securely fastened to her stroller via pink curly ribbon, Bethany was all smiles as we proceeded to the park. On the way, I spied a butterfly on the sidewalk. When I bent down to investigate, it climbed on my finger so that both of us could get a closer look at each other. It was a beautiful small butterfly with butter yellow wings outlined in the same pink as Bethany’s balloon and with a few tiny pink circles on the lower wings. What a treasure! The boys crowded around to inspect with the usual exuberance little boys have of all things in nature. Bethany waited patiently for me to hold the butterfly closer for her to see. As I stretched my finger towards her, the butterfly made it’s most exertive move yet. It hopped onto the pink button on Bethany’s jacket. Imagine our delight! Bethany giggled as the butterfly stretched its wings a few times, just long enough to say “Happy Birthday Bethany,” and then fluttered into the breeze. Happy first birthday baby girl. May the magic of the yellow and pink butterfly be with you always.

Sleep Baby Sleep

It’s amazing how the amount of sleep one has can dramatically affect one’s day. As a parent, we know that our sleep is often determined by our children, and the more children we have, the more interruptions we can count on. I’ve read that for babies, pediatricians consider a full night sleep to be 6 hours. Hooey!

How two people who love to sleep bred three insomniacs, I’ll never know. For the last 6 months we’ve been playing musical beds. It started with Zac sleeping in his own bed in his basement room, Nathan in the crib, and Bethany tucked in safely between Mommy and Daddy. The first move happened when Mommy said enough of baby in the bed. A month and a lot of determination later, Bethany was in her cradle most of the night…when Mommy wasn’t sitting up in a chair nursing her. Then Bethany quickly outgrew the cradle, so the second move was a two parter 1) put the toddler bed in Nathan’s room and have him nap in it instead of the crib, and 2) put a portable crib in our room for Bethany until we could move Nathan out of the crib for good. Sometimes Nathan in the toddler bed worked, and sometimes he was more interested in running around the room, which makes for long afternoons and a crabby 2 year old. Bethany was safer in the portable crib, but she was really too big for it too. Third move…toddler bed back in the basement with no toddler in it. Then last week Kristy stayed with us. Nathan decided she was his new best friend, so he wanted to sleep in his toddler bed in the basement with Zac and Auntie Kristy. It worked! He hasn’t been back to his crib since, but it has taken Daddy sleeping in the basement in the wee small hours of the morning. Finally, we moved Bethany to the crib. After some jump starting…magic happened. Last night (Wednesday night) Zac and Nathan slept all night, by themselves in their basement room, and Bethany slept ALL NIGHT in her crib. I’m not talking about the 6 hours “all night.” I’m talking 11.5 hours! The next thing Alan and I knew, it was 5:00 a.m., and nobody had stirred. I checked on sleeping beauty, but she was deeply asleep on her belly, and she had obviously rolled all over the crib. Thank you to all the angels that helped us through the night. Here is hoping for many more nights of peace.

The Cat Shepherd

”Come on Zac, we’re in a hurry.” It had been a busy morning this early August, and we still had not started on our main mission for the day. Zac and I were walking to the post office…the last errand before loading everyone in the truck to leave for the day. A couple of blocks from our house we heard the plaintive cries of a hungry kitten. It didn’t take long to find the little guy. He had parked himself at the back door of an apartment where someone obviously wasn’t prepared for a cat because they had put out graham crackers and water. We continued on our journey while I tried to think of a plan for feeding the little fellow. There was no one at the apartment when we knocked on the door, and catching the skittish kitten would be difficult. As we passed by the kitten on our way home, he followed us. Zac cheered him on for a while, then I sent him on to the house let Daddy know we were about to entertain a four-legged guest. I wasn’t sure the kitten’s little legs would carry him the two blocks to our house, but it seemed that God took care of the transportation; he followed me all the way to the back deck where Alan met us with a bowl of soft cat food. Zac was ecstatic!

Just as we were settling in to the idea of having a new member of the family, someone else heard the kitten. A couple of yards north of us, there was a team of people preparing to paint a house. One of the ladies walked over and asked if the kitten was a stray. As soon as we confirmed, she was on her cell phone calling her brother to tell him his kitten had been found. Apparently 2 days earlier the kitten had hitched a ride from the farm into town unbeknownst to its owner. Zac was devastated!

While Alan and I were calming our grieving son, I realized that we had just been used by God. As frustrated as I was about our schedule that morning, He made sure we were late enough in our morning rush that all the people necessary were in place to shepherd this kitten home. Zac had just experienced being a servant of God. I reminded Zac that God had a plan for a new kitten for our family but it wasn’t the one we had just found. Zac cried that he didn’t like God’s plan! I gently reminded him that when Mommy and Daddy wanted to have a baby, it took us 4 years before we had one. We didn’t like God’s plan for our family during that 4 years, but if we hadn’t followed His plan, we wouldn’t have Zac, and now Nathan and Bethany. Daddy and I told him that somewhere there is a perfect kitten for our family, but in God’s timing.

Weeks later a friend told me of a family who lives down the street from us whose cat had a litter on the 4th of July. On 18 August the entire family traveled down the street to pick out two kittens. Molly (calico tabby) and her brother Slade (white and gray) have been a great delight for everyone. They love to play with the boys and they run to Mommy and Daddy for attention, snuggling, and protection when they get spooked. Bethany giggles with delight every time she sees them, and she has even learned to say “kittay.” God’s plan is good!

Free-Wheeling

Today, on a whim and a prayer, I took the training wheels off of Zac’s bicycle. With a deep breath and Mommy whispering “You can do it,” Zac strapped on his helmet, mounted the bicycle that I was steadying, and started peddling with all the determination his preschool legs could muster. Holding the back of the seat, I ran behind him for about six steps until he was pulling away from me. Reluctantly I let go and watched as my little boy took off like a rocket, peddling for all he was worth, and laughing so hard he veered off the sidewalk into the neighbor’s grass for a safe landing. The next thing I knew, he was running into my arms screaming “I did it!” Just to make sure this wasn’t a fluke, I set him up for another go, and go he did; even farther this time. Unbelievable! Just as we were setting up for a third pass, Daddy drove up. Boy was he surprised to see his oldest son racing down the sidewalk on only two wheels. After many hugs and lots of celebration, Dad joined us and coached Zac on his stopping technique. Then Zac was off again, riding the sidewalk of Main Street into downtown and all the way to Daddy’s office building. As I was watching my little boy ride away, I had goose bumps. With one great big turn of the wheel, I had just witnessed my son pass from babyhood into boyhood.

Fish Out of Water

Zac and Nathan took swimming lessons this summer. Nathan was in the pollywog class followed by Zac in the guppy group. This was Zac’s second year and Nathan’s first. In preparation for some reluctance on Nathan’s part, Daddy donned his swim suit and jumped in with him. What a hit! Nathan surprised us by listening to the instructor, and then quietly practicing what she showed the group until it was his turn to demonstrate what he could do. By the end of the fourth and final lesson, he was pretty comfortable in the water, and he and Daddy had had fun together. He was as proud of himself as we were of him. I’ve always thought with his blonde hair and blue eyes he looks a little like a California surfer boy. Suddenly my baby boy doesn’t look like such a baby anymore.


Zac towered over the other students in his class. This year he was not as shy in the water as last year. He jumped right in, touching the bottom of the shallow end while most of the rest of the class had to stand on the raised platform. He intently followed the instructions of the teacher, and eagerly participated with the group games where as last year he was a little intimidated. What a difference a year makes in maturity and comfort level. Next year he’ll probably be swimming like a pro.

Produce

The main thing people do in small town South Dakota in the summer is grow fruit trees and vegetable gardens. We don’t have the time or space set aside for a garden, but we do have one mature apple tree and another growing up, as well as two baby cherry trees. Yes these actually produce edible fruit. The mature apple tree produces big yellow apples that are great for applesauce and other mushed-apple recipes. Last year we made apple butter. This year it was 16 pints of apple sauce. That ought to keep the babies supplied with their favorite snack for a while.

About a month ago Zac came home from a play date with a shoebox full of cherries and the promise that if we wanted more, all we had to do was pick them ourselves. About a week later, during a breezy, clear-sky afternoon, Zac, Bethany and I did just that. While the birds were eating the cherries in the top of the tree and we were picking from the bottom, Zac was fretting about how many they would eat. I took a golden opportunity to explain to him how God provides for all his creatures and makes plenty for everyone to share. That “plenty for everyone to share” has come true. The gardens are overflowing this year, and we have had people bring green onions, chives, cucumbers, potatoes, baby green beans, corn, and zucchini. Soon the tomatoes will be ready, and who knows what else will appear at our back door. It’s a wonderful place to live where friends and neighbors share their bounty with each other, and the children know that produce really doesn’t come from the store.