"Thank you for being born and being among us"

"Birthdays need to be celebrated. I think it is more important to celebrate a birthday than a successful exam, a promotion, or a victory. Because to celebrate a birthday means to say to someone, 'Thank you for being you.' On a birthday, we do not say, 'Thanks for what you did, or said, or accomplished.' No, we say: 'Thank you for being born and being among us.'"

~ Henri Nouwen, Here and Now

Happy Birthday to my Sophia Marie Elise!

Delightful

That was the word we used a lot when Sophie was a baby.
She was.
Indescribably delightful.
Happy, goofy, engaging, delicate, easy to please, delighted, and delightful.

The older she's grown, her delightfulness seems only to be enhanced.  She delights everyone around her by her witty sense of humor, her great comedic timing, her mischief, her gentleness, her devotion to her big sister, her interest in others, her generosity, her thoughtful gifts of tiny scraps of paper meticulously cut with safety scissors, her dramatic story-telling, the way she invites herself into everyone's awareness with questions and stories and smiles.

Maya can't hide her grin (even though she pretends to be annoyed) when Sophie grabs her around the waist and shouts, "Yo-ah the best Sissy in the whole wide wold!!"  And when Sophie breaks down because she's hurt, or sad, or has just been corrected, or she's just too emotional and tired, she starts blubbering "Sissy!" in her pretend crying baby voice.  When Maya comes and wraps her arms around her, stroking her head, Sophie starts laughing through her tears.

Without whining (or even showing disappointment), she accepts her limitations from a lot of 'normal' treats and activities because of her peanut allergy, almost every outdoor allergy possible, and her asthma.  But she does make sure everyone knows she's allergic to peanuts.  It's just an interesting fact she carries with her, one more way to make friends.
She makes friends everywhere I take her.  Once she starts talking, the new stranger is usually startled by her voice or vocabulary or random comment and they just can't stop listening.  And within minutes, they are ready to offer her anything she might ask them for.  Maybe it's those huge eyes? Her earnest voice? Or maybe it's the absence of the letter "R" in her speech?

Either way, I've loved my world with three-year-old Sophie.  It's dwindling away...rapidly.  In a few hours, she'll be four.  But as panicky as that makes me feel,...mostly... I just feel pretty lucky to be her mom.  "Motch twenty-eight" will always be a special day.

'Four' is gonna be great.

a february flourish

Yesterday was one of those energetic, sun-filled days brimming with people and good things.  On my calendar, it didn't seem possible (to actually do all the things we were committed to), and I was a little nervous about attempting it, but somehow it worked, splendidly.

The girls woke up first (of course), playing and thumping around the house, gathering toys and setting up little "hide-outs"... until they got thirsty and hungry enough to barrel into our room asking loudly for some apple juice and 'frosting cereal' (Sophie's pretty serious about her daily frosted-mini-wheats).  We had whole-wheat apple and flax seed pancakes instead.  Saturdays deserve special breakfasts, I think.  Those extra hours (before anyone has to be dressed and prepared and somewhere-other-than-home) allow for a sunny meal at the table...usually waffles, pancakes, sausage souffle, or york-shire pudding.

Maya and Sophie usually have "sleep-overs" on the weekends.  We pull out the trundle bed in Maya's room and they stay up a little later, whispering silly things in the dark.  Sometimes, Ryan and I listen for a while by the door, stiffling our laughter and trying to remember everything.  I don't remember hardly any of their silly imaginings or conversations, but I remember the feeling of that shared moment, theirs and ours.

After our slow morning at home, we volunteered at a Symphony pre-concert event.  While clowns rolled around on unicycles, making balloon animals, giant animal-costumed characters roamed around the lobby delighting (and terrorizing some) children.  Pop-corn was popping, animal tattoo hand-puppets were being applied to children's hands, and I was helping children (and adults) try violins and cellos at the "Instrument Petting Zoo."  Maya and Sophie loved the whole thing. It looked like spring outside the windows of the Frauenthal lobby.  The Muskegon 'Snowfest' made the downtown a busy place (a rarity), street volleyball and chili cook-offs and people (sans the February winter coats) and bright tents filled the streets.

The symphony concert, though quite enchanting and beautiful, proved challenging for our 3 and 5 year olds.  Maya might have done okay if she could have seen better, but with her patch covering her good eye, I doubt she could see any details from our balcony seats.  Hearing the music might have also helped, but a terrible ear infection this week made her unable to hear the subtle sounds of the string section.  Eventually, the dark, and the music, the exhaustion from a busy day, and my fingers 'playing' the notes on her arm put her to sleep.  But both of them managed to sit relatively still and quiet through the first half.  We didn't attempt the second half.

After the symphony we raced to a 'Mr. Potato Head Birthday Party' for one of our favorite three-year-olds.  

By the time the house was filled with many of our closest friends, it was time to leave for church music practice and Saturday-night church.  Some kind friends volunteered to keep our kids and bring them later, so they didn't have to miss the rest of the party. Which turned out to be quite the event (including a special drive-by visit from a real fire-man with his firetruck delivering fire helmets to all the children)! 

At church, Ryan and I and our friends made music together (which is always good for my soul and mind), we played and sang to each other and to our creator... violin and 2 accoustic guitars... 

...heal my heart and make it clean

open up my eyes to the things unseen

show me how to love like You have loved me

break my heart for what breaks yours....

...

...then sings my soul, my Savior, God to Thee

How great Thou art...

After church, we ate tacos at El Burrito Loco around a wild table full of children and laughter, then headed home for a late bed-time (and for me....a late-night run and some yoga, then to bed with peach tea, new pajamas, a book light, and my Conversational French book.)

This may be the start of a flourish on the blog too....  I have lots of things to post about. Lots of things to be grateful for.  Did I tell you I'm going to Paris?  I am.  And I have lots to say about that.  Stay tuned.

Or don't.  It could be a long wait.

"Sisters..."

"...Sisters
Never were there such devoted sisters."

(Creepy make-up, I know. It was 'required' for her dance recital. She looks frighteningly like her future 16 year old self. But I love their embrace in this picture. So excited and happy.)


Right now, as I type, I'm listening up the stairs.....to Maya breathlessly singing... "two different faces, but in tight places...."

She can hardly keep her voice going for all the dancing she's doing. I hear her feet thumping around.

A minute ago, as they got their pajamas on, Maya and Sophie went back and forth (about twelve times) saying, "thirsty" (Maya) and "thuh-sty" (Sophie).

It started like this...

Sophie: (from the bathroom, probably getting a dixie cup full of water) Maya, ah you thusty?
Maya: (a bit mockingly) Thusty? Sophie, do you mean thirsty?
Sophie: Yeah, thusty. Ah you thusty, Maya?
Maya: Sophie! It's THIRSTY. Say THIRSTY.
Sophie: Thusty
Maya: Thirsty
Sophie: Thusty
Maya: THIRRRRRRR... Sophie, say Thirrrrrrrrrr
Sophie: THUUUUUUUH
Maya: THIRRRRRRR... Sophie, say Thirrrrrrrrrr
Sophie: THUUUUUUUH
Maya: (sweetly condescending) goooood, Sophie. Thirrrrrrrr...
Sophie: Thuuuuuuuuh
Maya: Thirrrrrrrrr...

...and it went on like this for quite some time. Then, the song began... "Sisters, sisters..."

I'm not making this up.

But I should go send them to bed.

I've been hunting

...for the original clothes for my American Girl "Kirsten" doll ever since I brought her out of storage for Maya and Sophie to play with. Until a few months ago, she was packed up in a clear zippered bag on a shelf in the basement, just waiting for the day my daughters were ready.

This summer, when one of Maya's generous friends decided to just GIVE her an (extra) American Girl doll...(and a Bitty Baby for Sophie, and dresses and accessories, etc.) it was time. I decided to get my Kirsten out, so that when another friend came over to play (that same day), they could play together. But my doll had no clothes. I just knew that they were packed away carefully in a shoe box...somewhere. I asked my parents to search my old closet, the garage storage, the crawl space...

When I was little, I knew that ownership of such a doll was no small thing. In fact, no one gave her to me. I'm pretty sure I knew better than to even ask. I carefully studied (or memorized) the catalog as I saved my money...for...years. When I finally had the $90, I ordered her.

Just the doll. Not the extra accessories...

Not any of the other outfits or books or furniture either. I made those. I sewed a detailed quilt by hand, my dad built a poster bed, and I made pillows, a sham, a fitted sheet & top sheet, I made her an apron, my mother sewed her an extra dress. I loved this doll. And I loved the historic time she represented and all the ways she excited my imagination.

I do have issues with the whole game that the "American Girl" company runs. While there are a few great ideals wrapped up in the "American Girl" package, it mostly seems to be a slick and brilliant business, marketing endless products and accessories, all exhorbitantly priced, offering branding and identity shaping, early materialism building.... The whole machine makes me a bit cynical.

But I'm obviously still (a little?) guiltily hooked. I try to be a skeptic, but deep down, it's really hopeless for me.

After that day that I pulled my Kirsten out of storage, I did a little internet searching on her. She's 'retired' now, and sells for over $300 new. Not that I'd ever try to sell her (she's not in good enough shape if I did)...I was however a bit more desperate to find those original clothes. I called my parents again. I went there and dug through my old closet myself. No luck.

Tonight, as Ryan pulled down the Christmas boxes from the garage attic, he found a box, a huge forgotten plastic tub. He thought it might hold some of my childhood things. He was right. It was filled with baby blankets and six labeled shoe boxes, each a treasure chest for a sentimental mother of two little daughters. Inside the tub, I found my old Madame Alexander baby doll from my Aunt Connie, my only "Barbie" (not a real worldly Barbie, of course. Mine was actually a Biblical "Esther" doll purchased at the local Christian book store), my Hatian doll (brought back by missionaries), a white and pink quilt from my bed, a few of my prettiest baby clothes, several doll dresses, and my beloved "Sarah" cabbage patch doll.

I had a handsewn "cabbage patch-wanna-be doll" for a long time (that someone made lovingly for me, I'm sure), but it just was never the same to me. I always wanted a real one, like all my friends had. When I was seriously ill in the hospital as a five-year-old, my next-door neighbors bought one for me. I still remember opening the box in my hospital bed. She had long brown hair and brown eyes like mine. She wore authentic cabbage patch accessories, white & pink pin-stripe jeans, white tennis shoes with pink stripes, a pink rain jacket (all found preserved in this magical bin). Owning her then made me feel SO rich.

And in the box on the bottom, Kirsten's things. The pillow I made for her bed with a ruffled edge and heart hand stiched in the center, a red flannel nightgown (which will be perfect for our Corbin family Christmas red-flannel pajamas tradition) and Kirsten's original dress and apron.

I'm full of once forgotten memories now, and...pretty excited to reveal my treasures in the morning to my two sleeping girls.

Our Little House

When Laura left home to take her first teaching assignment, she stayed with the Brewster family in a town 12 miles away. Every night of her stay was miserable, awkward, cold, and sometimes frightening. The Brewster family was very unhappy, their child neglected, their home a mess, and their words were always bitter and angry. Sometimes there was cold silence for evenings on end, broken only by loud arguments and hateful words screamed all night long.
Although Laura never told anyone about her miserable lodgings, Almanzo came to the little school every Friday to bring Laura home for the weekend. She realized, as she left one world and entered another, that her home was warm and safe because of the love and kindness that her family had for one another. There were no angry words, no selfish complaints, no sharp arguments. Everyone did a great deal of work to provide for one another. The chores were hard and never ending, but everyone helped each other willingly with love and gratitude.


I wonder how much, if any, of this story is fiction. It doesn't really matter. I still love the contrasting pictures of family life.

And I use the images of the two women, Mrs. Brewster and Ma Ingalls to remind myself of the kind of mother I want my girls to remember. The kind of home I want to build. The sort of memories I want my daughters to have of how they felt...when they were home.

I have to admit, I also use the story to teach my girls about the effects of their words too. When I hear them yelling, arguing, whining, I sometimes ask "What kind of words do we want to fill our home with?"

I'm just waiting for the day when they turn around and ask me that same question.

Ingredients: 1 lb large shrimp, peeled and deveined 1 tbsp olive oil 3 cloves garlic, chopped 1/4 cup white wine 14 oz can diced tomatoes, drained 1/2 cup half and half oregano salt and fresh pepper 1 tsp lemon juice 1/4 cup chopped parsley (I added fresh basil and oregano too) 8 oz angel hair pasta (whole wheat, low carb or high fiber) Directions: Boil water for pasta. Cook according to package instructions.Meanwhile, season shrimp with salt and oregano. Cook shrimp and garlic in olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat for about 2 minutes. Add tomatoes, wine, salt and pepper and cook an additional minute. Add half and half and cook 1 more minute.Add lemon juice and parsley and serve over pasta. Divide equally in 4 plates. Now that we are back into the familiar groove of school, I'm still feeling grateful and happy to be a teacher. I love summer, but I think I'd feel lucky in my job even without those three months off every year! Today was just one of those great days. I felt prepared for the day, more organized (than last year), confident in my role, and surrounded by lovable students excited to make music. Maya is loving Kindergarten. She seems to come home every day either exhausted, or incredibly (obnoxiously) hyper....and full of stories. Some stories come out immediately in the car, others just pop up over dinner, or bedtime...or days later. And some of her stories are just for me, conspiratorially whispered into my ear when Ryan is across the room. She finished her last vowel today in class. And with her mixture of Ryan's meticulous perfectionism...and my...distracted, free-spirited...creativity?....it's a challenge sometimes to get all her schoolwork done in timely manner. But, every paper she does finish looks...impeccable. So our new motto is "Do your best, but GET IT DONE!" Sometimes I have to repeat that motto again and again...for me. Just to stay on task. Between the laundry and ironing, the house-cleaning, the dinners and the dishes, the online coursework and reading and communication, the lesson planning, and school paperwork, the Kindergarten papers, and the places to be, the doctors appointments, and the pretend play, the puzzles, and the storybook reading, and the important conversations and times with friends....I get a little...off task at times, running frantically between jobs, never finishing any. And sometimes, I just end up on the couch, bewildered at where to start. Then there's always facebook! :) But this week, the crazy chaos is manageable. And quite fun. I love my new schedule. I miss the faces and the familiar routines, the musical fun, the shared history that my old teaching role provided for so many years. I will cherish my memories, and 'my kids' there forever. But I'm feeling much more settled, more rooted this year, both as a Mother and as a Strings Teacher. I love my days with just Sophie and our Tuesdays with just me and both girls. We go to ballet and gymnastics, and we play together and read and talk all day. I'm pretty lucky. And next weekend, my Love is taking me away for my belated birthday celebration. Two days and one night in Chicago alone. Just the anticipation is a perfectly delightful gift.

"Shrimp cooked with tomatoes, a touch of cream, white wine and a hint of lemon. This pasta dish is so simple to make and is ready in about 15 minutes, perfect for a weeknight meal."


That's what "Gina" said about the Angel Hair with Shrimp and Tomato Sauce, and I need as many perfect weeknight meals as I can get.

Ingredients:

• 1 lb large shrimp, peeled and deveined
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 3 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1/4 cup white wine
• 14 oz can diced tomatoes, drained
• 1/2 cup half and half
• oregano
• salt and fresh pepper
• 1 tsp lemon juice
• 1/4 cup chopped parsley (I added fresh basil and oregano too)
• 8 oz angel hair pasta (whole wheat, low carb or high fiber)

Directions:

Boil water for pasta. Cook according to package instructions.Meanwhile, season shrimp with salt and oregano. Cook shrimp and garlic in olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat for about 2 minutes. Add tomatoes, wine, salt and pepper and cook an additional minute. Add half and half and cook 1 more minute.Add lemon juice and parsley and serve over pasta. Divide equally in 4 plates.

Now that we are back into the familiar groove of school, I'm still feeling grateful and happy to be a teacher. I love summer, but I think I'd feel lucky in my job even without those three months off every year!

Today was just one of those great days. I felt prepared for the day, more organized (than last year), confident in my role, and surrounded by lovable students excited to make music.

Maya is loving Kindergarten. She seems to come home every day either exhausted, or incredibly (obnoxiously) hyper....and full of stories. Some stories come out immediately in the car, others just pop up over dinner, or bedtime...or days later. And some of her stories are just for me, conspiratorially whispered into my ear when Ryan is across the room. She finished her last vowel today in class. And with her mixture of Ryan's meticulous perfectionism...and my...distracted, free-spirited...creativity?....it's a challenge sometimes to get all her schoolwork done in timely manner. But, every paper she does finish looks...impeccable. So our new motto is "Do your best, but GET IT DONE!"


Sometimes I have to repeat that motto again and again...for me. Just to stay on task. Between the laundry and ironing, the house-cleaning, the dinners and the dishes, the online coursework and reading and communication, the lesson planning, and school paperwork, the Kindergarten papers, and the places to be, the doctors appointments, and the pretend play, the puzzles, and the storybook reading, and the important conversations and times with friends....I get a little...off task at times, running frantically between jobs, never finishing any. And sometimes, I just end up on the couch, bewildered at where to start. Then there's always facebook! :)

But this week, the crazy chaos is manageable. And quite fun. I love my new schedule. I miss the faces and the familiar routines, the musical fun, the shared history that my old teaching role provided for so many years. I will cherish my memories, and 'my kids' there forever. But I'm feeling much more settled, more rooted this year, both as a Mother and as a Strings Teacher. I love my days with just Sophie and our Tuesdays with just me and both girls. We go to ballet and gymnastics, and we play together and read and talk all day. I'm pretty lucky.

And next weekend, my Love is taking me away for my belated birthday celebration. Two days and one night in Chicago alone. Just the anticipation is a perfectly delightful gift.

Ginger Root

We found it at the Farmer's Market last week. I described to the girls what I thought ginger root might look like and told them to hunt for it as we passed each booth. We found our cucumbers, tomatoes corn, peaches, Boston Bibb lettuce, zucchini and squash... but no ginger root. Finally, after circling the entire market, we found it, right next to the booth where we started. Maya spotted it again today in the grocery store, and I was a little proud.

I was surprised by the almost citrus-y aroma of the cut ginger. It has quite a strong flavor in the dish, especially when you bite into a whole piece of it. The root that we bought cost less than a dollar and I only used about an eighth of it tonight. I think we'll have to look for some more recipes with fresh ginger.

Chicken with Ginger

Ingredients

• 1 three-inch piece fresh ginger, peeled and cut into 1/8-inch-thick matchsticks (1/2 cup)
• 2 tablespoons canola oil
• 1 1/2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1 1/2-inch chunks
• 1 large onion, thinly sliced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/4 cup soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons white vinegar
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1/2 cup sliced scallions

Directions

1. Soak ginger in cold water 10 minutes; drain.

2. Heat oil in a skillet over high heat; brown chicken in two batches, 6 to 8 minutes. Set aside.

3. In same skillet over medium heat, cook ginger, onion, and garlic, stirring until browned, 8 to 10 minutes. Add soy sauce, vinegar, and sugar; cook over high heat until thick, 3 to 4 minutes. Add chicken; stir to warm. Remove from heat; stir in scallions.

4. Serve over rice noodles, or chinese noodles, or rice.

Thank you, Martha Stewart for a lovely dinner.

I read this prayer on a friend's blog this morning. She is one of those ever earnest, completely genuine, beautiful people. A mother who loves her children fiercely. And a follower of Jesus that really means what she says.
She posted this prayer from a book. Though I haven't read the book or anything by the author, I was so drawn to these words. It is a prayer for her children. And I think, it is a prayer I will pray for my daughters, and for me, and for my husband, and for my family, and for my friends. The words are some of the most beautiful and wise truths from Scripture. Some of the great reminders of what is true and right and worthy and real.
My own prayers (which are simply too infrequent) are often so inarticulate, so full of my own desires and selfish wishes...these words guide me more closely, I think, to the kind of prayer that Jesus taught us to pray.
I changed the words "they" and "them" and replaced them with "her"...because I think I want to pray these things for each of my daughters.
(You can read the original prayer on her blog with the Scripture references and book title.)

Lord, You alone change hearts of stone, to hearts of flesh.

Place Your Spirit within …. (Maya, or Sophie, or...)

and cause her to walk in Your statutes

and to be careful to obey Your rules.

For You know the plans You have for her;

plans to prosper her and not to harm her,

to give her a future and a hope.

Let her fear You, Lord,

and thus have a foundation

for wisdom and a heart for instruction.

Let her receive wisdom

and incline her heart to understanding.

Help her not to lean on her own, limited understanding,

but in all her ways to acknowledge You

so that her path will be straight.

Protect her from walking in the counsel of the wicked

and standing in the way of sinners,

but lead her to delight in the law of the Lord

and meditate on it day and night.

May she walk by the Spirit

and not gratify the desires of the flesh.

Instead, may she be filled with

love, joy, peace, patience,

kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.

May her minds and thoughts be fixed on

whatever is true, honorable, just, pure,

lovely, commendable,

anything worthy of praise.

May she not be conformed to this world,

but be transformed by the renewal of her mind.

May she discern the good,

acceptable and perfect will of God.

May her love be genuine.

May she abhor what is evil;

and hold fast to what is good.

May we love one another with brotherly affection,

outdoing one another in honor.

May she do nothing from rivalry or conceit,

but in humility count others more significant than herself.

May she lie down and sleep in peace;

for You alone, O Lord, make her to dwell in safety.

Bless her Lord, and keep her,

and make Your face shine upon her,

and be gracious to her.

"Joy is the infallible sign of the presence of God."

~Madeleine L'Engle

spring break (in pictures)

I know...it's not over yet. There's still a weekend left and I'm not going to mourn the end of the break until it's really over. But here are a few....(okay, actually an abundance of)... pictures celebrating our break so far...

Home from pre-school....starting spring break, and feeling pretty free.

PUZZLES!!

New swimsuits for our Spring Break "trip"

The birthday adventure begins...

Frederick Meijer gardens with some beautiful princesses (and the rest of their families).

Braving the slush and rain and snow to see the outdoor attractions.

Freezing out in the log cabin.

Time for lunch, cupcakes, and presents!

Pretty tired. We thought a nap might be in order,
so we headed to our hotel....

We were all pretty excited about (and impressed with) the hotel. Sophie keeps asking (daily) when we will go back to the hotel with the pool.

Satisfied.

Some REALLY delicious peas.

Guitar shopping. (Ryan finally got the Taylor.)

Downtown GR for a day. Lunch and...

The Children's Museum. (crazy, crowded chaos, and overwhelmingly endless and creative fun.)

Pruebelos for lunch...
and a blue sucker from the bank
(she opened her first bank account to "save money for college")

Her first trim. *sniff*

Pancakes, omelettes, toast, eggs, and bacon at The Cherokee. mmm.

Avocado.

sweet sick girl.

Making a project (a special birthday gift from Jaely)

Almost finished (you should see the big 'googly eyes' on the finished product).

Tomorrow may just be a sick day. I'm almost planning on waking with the awful (virus??) that Maya has. Or maybe we'll all be spared.

Either way, we've had more than our share of fun and laughter, and we are well rested and grateful. Breaks are good.