Surprise!

I'm just seeing what it feels like to do another post! Quite good, actually. My time is short because Fiona has just begun CRAWLING (not technically, it's a toe-only action, but it still propels her forward). So, now everyone in the family is on the go, and it's keeping me on my toes.

Our countdown to California Christmas chain is getting shorter and shorter. Elliott is aching with anticipation of seeing her cousins, aunties and grandparents. It hurts me a little bit to see how excited she is. She misses them so much.

I told her the true story of Christmas today, in a rare, leisurely moment that required no rush, no hurry, just lingering in the language that I heard so many times throughout my childhood...for unto us is born this day...this shall be a sign unto you...suddenly, the great heavenly host appeared...and Mary pondered all these things in her heart. I found myself with a lump in my throat as I allowed her questions to guide the telling. Jesus, come to earth as God. Not into a house, but into a cavernous, drafty, damp place. To be born like Fiona was born. No blankets, no cradle. Just some hay. They had to walk to Bethlehem (Beflaham). I was watching it all sink in, as she acquainted herself with Jesus, come into the world , not as a king but as the least of these. The last shall be first. I am always trying to explain this to Elliott as she insists on being the "winner" and the "leader" every time we walk up or down the stairs (and invariably bursting into tears when she is not). I saw in the Christmas story a beautiful example of Jesus living it right from his birth.

It was a moment that is now part of Elliott's history. She knows now how Jesus came, what it was like. Having already been at a birth enriched her understanding of the Christmas story, I believe. When we finished, she wanted to start all over again, so we did. And I hope we'll do it again. The story has power to it; in recounting the familiar phrases, I found that they held meaning anew for me.

Well, I just looked up to see Fiona playing with scissors. They're Elliott's child-scissors, but I still don't think this kind of thing is going to win me any parenting awards. Time to go.

May the dawning of the advent season bring meaning to the mundane in all of our lives.

I'm back, sort of

I haven't done well keeping this up. Obviously.  As I was explaining to a dear friend today at coffee, I have some hang-ups that circumvent my blogging success.  a.) I am overly concerned with how well written I am, even in such a casual setting, and my current place in life affords me little time to reflect and write, much less edit and b.) I do not want to blog about uberdomestic life, menial complaints about naptimes missed, dishes waiting, discipline challenges. Which is what is most likely to happen.  I guess I want my life to add up to more than that. And then, as I think about it, I know that it does add up to more, and yet those things are probably enough. They denote a life devoted to the creation of 2 wonderful human beings, who will eventually hold their own in a world that needs their help. Elliott is already learning to reduce (much more important than it's sister R, recycle, who gets so much more attention). She's aware to not let the water run while she brushes. She's asking the big questions about God and Jesus. She is starting to show compassion to her sister and friends. She's on her way to awareness.

There's so much in our lives right now that keeps me busy and distracted. I don't want to lose touch with the precious friends I have sprinkled across the country, so I now vow (brown cow) to keep up this blog, to not be concerned with how well spoken I sound--for if I can't ramble on to you, then to whom? I will try to keep this up as a snapshot of what's going on here.

As I steal this moment, Seth is upstairs bathing the girls, and then it's bedtime. Elliott goes right to sleep almost anytime we put her to bed. Fiona is more of an enigma. She loves to nap, still hammering out 3 good ones a day, but bedtime is not really anything she's interested in. She likes to stay up until the grownups give up the day. She's my evening partner, which means I don't get those quiet moments of reflection at the day's end. She also wakes up as soon as I get out of bed in the morning, which obviously implies I don't get them in the morning, either. But I love that little bundle more than anything!!! She's just delicious, all smiles and drool and chortles.

Elliott is ever the entertainer, learning her letters, making Fiona laugh, obeying most readily for extrinsic rewards much of the time, but we're getting there. She's creative, expressive and sensitive, and I'm just trying to hone her, instill in her a desire to do right.

There's more to say, but already last night is gone, and a new day has begun. I am a person who likes to sit down and stay seated until the task at hand is complete, and my current state of being doesn't afford me that luxury. So, I learn anew to roll with the punches.

More to come--thoughts on school for Elliott, an eminent trip home to Northern California, Fiona's first Christmas, the wonder of sharing daily life with another family here in Nashville (very unamerican, but a lot of fun), and always, pictures to post. Soon!