October 30, 2009
It's Been a Long Time
It's been over two years since my last post. And what an eventful two years it has been! I feel the need to catch up here. God has been humbling me lately, something He never seems to tire of doing (thankfully). I go through these spells where I seem to be on top of most things, or at least I can fool myself that I am. Then come those times where I feel like though I might be very busy and overwhelmed, I'm not doing anything well at all.
Well, I am busy, that's certain. We have another child--sweet baby Wesley. If you've met him, you know what I'm talking about. If you haven't, I'm sorry for your loss. He's always grinning at whatever antics his brothers and sister are up to. He's never met someone he didn't like, and although he hides his face like he's shy, it's so easy for anyone to make him giggle. He is a real treasure, and he makes me want to have a dozen more. That is before I take into account that he cannot crawl, walk, or even talk (or scream no, never!!). Hopefully God will hear my plea to hold any more blessings until we get a little more space...and a nanny...and a housekeeper.
Logan is a brain. He just walks around noticing all kinds of inconvenient things and trying to discuss them at inconvenient times. He's a great big brother, even though it totally cramps his style. He's crazy about technology, and all he can talk about sometimes is, "someday when I get an iPod, or Nintendo DS, or whatever". Logan is a ten year old trapped in a six year old's body, or so he thinks. He is the quirkiest, sweetest, funniest, most creative kid I know. The boy has never met a stranger, and if he starts talking to you, you need to either make yourself comfortable or make yourself invisible because he won't be stopping for a breath anytime soon. I love this amazing kid!
Malachi is all heart. He has a strong sense of justice and fairness (even if it's a little biased for his side). He has more energy than you can shake a stick at, and I think he might be part monkey. (not an endorsement of evolution) I always feel like there is a lot about him that I don't know. He doesn't always talk about what he's feeling or thinking (not that he could get a word in edgewise with Logan around). Chi is a little mysterious to me, but I know he has a huge heart, and God's going to do amazing things through this little fireball.
Bella is without question a precious little...stinkerpot. She has had Matt and I wrapped around her little finger since she was born. I should have known what she would be like as a two year old from our first night together. She fussed and cried all night where all of our other babies slept peacefully. She will stop at nothing to get what she wants, which was kind of cute at first, but now requires lots of discipline both for her and her parents. She definitely knows that cuteness is her greatest asset. One thing I love about Bella is her ability to find and collect unusual things. Pretty rocks, dead mice, crawdads (or as she calls them "ugly bugs"), sweetgum tree fruit ('pikey balls), flowers, and colorful leaves. She's an adventurer and we're going to have lots of fun together.
Well, that's all I have energy for tonight. I caught up on the fun stuff. I'm thinking my next post will be about the humbling I mentioned at the beginning.
Posted by tessa at 04:08 | Comments (0)
April 06, 2006
Are We Having Fun Yet?
Well, I haven't been sick since my last post, so things are going much better, thank you. I still feel yucky when I get hungry, but I'm thinking that will get better too. I'm wearing my "I'm slightly pregnant" overalls as often as I can get them washed because they don't put any pressure on my tummy. I forgot how wierd it feels to have a foreign body in your abdomen. Some women like it; me, not so much.
We took a road trip to Hot Springs. After weeks of relative inactivity, driving and walking for hours was not what I consider fun. The gardens we visited were beautiful, but I think I should have given myself some more time...four days would have been nice.
My Momma Cat and kittens are doing great. The kittens are very playful even though they can hardly stand. They lay on their backs a lot and wave their teeny tiny paws in the air. That Momma Kitty is fierce when it comes to protecting those kittens. She's beat up every other animal we own because they got too close. And they all lost...badly.
Logan has gone from telling us, "NO!" to telling us "I can't". And sometimes, "Absolutely not!" Oh well, at least he's really cute. Malachi (also really cute) is talking in short phrases. He can say, I want more, Look at the ___, It's a ____, and lots of words that only Matt and I can make out. I guess my favorite thing that he says is, "Hey Momma". He says it as clear as a bell, and always with a smile on his face.
Well, it's time for bedtime stories, and then a nice warm bath for me. *sigh*
Posted by tessa at 20:25 | Comments (5)
March 22, 2006
Smile
Thanks for the recent comments despite the lack of recent posts. I am feeling good today, but the days before that, I'm still not ready to talk about. It's so wacky what makes me sick and what doesn't. For instance, the bread isle at Wal-Mart makes me sick, but the smell of the dogfood (dry Science Diet anyway) is strangely comforting. I cannot ride or even drive very far because of my motion sickness. I've never had that when I was pregnant. But really on the sickness scale this beats the heck out of being pregnant with Logan. Instead of sleeping on the bathroom floor, I can sleep on the front porch. The fresh air makes me feel better, and this baby gives more advanced warning of an impending purge.
I got a cat today. She has five kittens. They are all really precious. This momma cat is so nice, even Matt likes her. Logan was really excited to hold the baby kitties. Malachi still is completely clueless, which is probably for the best because he's still a little rough with them.
I got to visit with my father-in-law and my brother and sister-in-law. Having visitors really helps me feel better. Boosts those nice, friendly, loving hormones or something. Deana's going to pop that little baby out any day. That kid is really high! He's hangin' on until the last minute, that's for sure. I told Danny I want Becky to come and make some chicken and dumplings for the kids and Matt to eat while I'm unable to perform regular kitchen duties.
Posted by tessa at 18:16 | Comments (2)
January 30, 2006
A Feel Good Day
Today was as perfect as I can expect any day to be. The boys let me catch a 10 minute nap while they watched Dora. I wouldn't have made it to lunch without it. When I woke up I felt capable, which means I felt great!!
We went to the clinic first to pick up the stray beagle that was dropped off at the clinic. When I say dropped off, I mean somebody lobbed him over the fence into our backyard. I wanted to bring him home so that he could get nice and fat before I found him a new home.
Then we went to the park for some outdoor fun. We were there for a few minutes when a man and his son came to play also. The little boy spoke mostly Spanish peppered with Enlish words like "okay" and "doggie" and "hey!". It didn't make much difference to him or Logan that they didn't speak the same language. They had a great time, such a good time that the dad and I had to team up to coral them.
He and I got to talking, English of course. He told me about his wife who refuses to learn English, his three giant dogs that have no manners whatever, and a little bit about the people he works with. He said he works with a lot of other Hispanics who do not speak English. He said it's not that they can't or don't understand it, they just don't want to sound dumb in front of English speaking Americans. He said they don't like their accents, and that they think we will make fun of them.
This troubles me. These people, whether they are citizens or not should feel at home here. I became aware that my perception of Hispanic people is slightly off. Forgive me, but I didn't realize how articulate, intelligent, and (hello) valid they are as residents of our neighborhoods, cities, and country. I mostly think of them as laborers because that is usually the job that they can readily perform upon their arrival in the U.S. But don't you think that they want more for themselves? I guess I hadn't thought about it until today.
I imagine that the most many of these people hope for is that their children will have good education, nice homes, good food, the American dream. I would like to do something to help these people. I have no idea what yet, but I have made some resolutions today. (1)I will not hesitate to speak English to a Hispanic person because odds are, they will at least be able to understand me, even if they can't speak English back to me. (2)I will no longer look at a Hispanic as someone that I can't understand on a personal level because now I know that they are much like me, at least enough that we can agree on the big ideas of life.
After the park, we jetted by Wendy's and got the chicken nugget meal.. The lady at the window was so pleasant, and she noticed the boys in the backseat. She went on and on about how cute they were. She stepped away from the window for a sec (to get our food I assumed), but she came back with some toys for the boys. She gave me a knowing look and a wink, and I just gave her a big smile and a quiet "thank you so much". I wish all fast food employees were this pleasant to do business with. There's another lady at the Sonic on fourth street that I like very much. She always calls me sweety and smiles really big, like she knows me. But she does that with everybody. It just makes my day....
Posted by tessa at 15:31 | Comments (5)