Artsy Mode

Alan loves playing with the settings on the camera. I'm not sure whether he or Evelyn took the picture of Amelia (seen here with a tube of the ever-present chapstick, which Alan said should be called "crack-stick" in honor of her addiction.)

Evelyn loves putting on my glasses. She doesn't look much like me, but I see myself in her a lot. My mom used "hyperactive" and "rambunctious" frequently while I was growing up, and I give her a lot of credit for not only putting up with me, but for giving me such good training. Mom is also an encouragement to me in raising my own hyperactive, rambunctious kid, usually with the gentle reminder of how much we should be OUTSIDE.

So here's hoping for a thaw tomorrow--or maybe the ice is just an excuse. I have, at this moment, a memory of riding a small scoot-toy on the tiny, covered, back porch of that little cabin at the Ranch in the pouring rain. Must have been Mom getting her girl OUT, regardless of the weather. So...we have covered porches...I should follow my mom's great example!!

Vocabulary Lessons

This morning on the way to church Evelyn saw me eating my toasted ciabatta (from our local farmer's market) and asked for a bite of my "sandwich." Then she repeated, to herself, "Sandwich. Sandwich. Did you hear that???" She said, with a little shock, "I said 'witch!'" I chucked to myself as her little voice proceeded with vocabulary exploration in the back seat: "San---witch. San---witch. Mom, THAT is a funny word!"

Only about 45 minutes later, we were sitting together in our quiet Breaking of Bread service and she crawled into my lap. I was wearing a jean jacket, and she was leaning against those large, protruding metal buttons that jean jackets often have.

"Ow!" She said, slightly more loudly than I would have wanted. "Something is hurting me!" She turned around to look, grasped the offending button and then declared satisfactorily to all within earshot, "Oh! It's your butt, Mom. Your big butt!" I was practically choking as I leaned in to her and whispered, "ButtONS, Evelyn, they are called buttONS."

A day with Josh

It has struck me, in the nearly a year since I started blogging, that we have lots of cousins. I am blessed to have meaningful relationships with first cousins, second cousins, and cousins-however-many-times-removed, and these are people that really are a part of our lives. It is very cool.

Josh was part of history on Tuesday, when he, Aunt Joan, and Uncle Steve (his parents) spent all day in Washington D.C. at Barack Obama's inauguration. While they were unable to really see or hear anything that was telecast, they said it was incredible to be in a crush of positive, enthusiastic, unified people. I couldn't stop thinking about some of the people I know who lived in and were discriminated against in the time of "No blacks allowed" or segregated drinking fountains (makes my blood boil to think of it.) I'm sure no matter what else this presidency holds, it will be precious to them to see those little African American girls living in the White House as the First Family.

On Wednesday, Josh had about 12 hours between when his train deposited him in Baltimore and when his bus was scheduled to depart for NYC, so he spent it with us! Evelyn had a doctor's appointment (where I had to gently but firmly field questions about her "socialization" since she's not in daycare or pre-school--I wish I'd had the pluck to say I thought that playing with one's peers as a toddler is overrated, and that she would never learn from them the lessons she learns from playing with her mommy & daddy every day--kindness, compassion, patience, perseverance, gentleness, contentment, etc. Besides, she gets time w/others her age at least 4 times a week, which did satisfy the pediatrician.) But the rest of the day was deliciously cozy and slowly-paced. We watched a few episodes of "Planet Earth" that we'd borrowed from my parents (Evelyn enjoyed it, too, as you can see from the sofa picture), and I baked bread & made homemade soup for dinner.

Evelyn took a few pictures--Amelia snuggled on the sofa (feeling the effects of a bad cold, which they now BOTH have...hopefully Josh does NOT) and Josh enjoying a second bowl of soup (I love being able to count on the Bisset appetite). Later, Evelyn was putting (clean) pairs of her underwear on all her dolls (which are, of course, otherwise naked) and was suddenly inspired to put a pair on her head. She asked Josh to wear "an underwear hat," and he generously obliged. Somewhere I have a picture of me and Di and baby Alex wearing a bunch of MY (clean) underwear on OUR heads--somewhere in our 20's. I guess it's another item for Evelyn's list of "weird things I've inherited from my mom."

Thanks, Josh, for spending the day and sharing yourself. Tell Laura we missed her!

A Casey Day

Becky drove up last Saturday with Casey--it is REALLY getting to a good place with these little cousins! They play together and enjoy one another so much. We'd hoped to go to the MD Science Center or Port Discovery, but Obama was visiting Baltimore that day and the city was packed, so we headed to a local library that has a great kid annex and spent some time. Then we came home and just hung out. My favorite, of course, was reading story after story in our Farm Animals book--heaven!

Thanks, Becky, for making the drive! Evelyn asked yesterday when we were going to Casey's house, so we'll have to make a date. :)

Yes, it's still Christmas around here.

How funny it was last week at Hamiltopia when I said that our Christmas decorations, including the tree, were still up and teenaged Liv looked at me and said with as much tenderness as she could muster, "That's kind of depressing." We've held onto trees and decorations a long time in previous years, but maybe it's because we haven't even had a tree since 2004 that I've lingered so long over this one. I recall my dad telling me, growing up, that life would seem to go by even more quickly as I got older, and that has definitely been true. And it DOES seem like I just put that tree up, even though it was a good six (or seven?) weeks ago. I'm thinking of hanging on until next week when it's our turn to host the weekly Hamiltopia meal. Or maybe--with thoughts of not wanting Liv to feel depressed when she comes--it will inspire me to take everything down. Sigh. For now, I'll just soak them up for at least a few more days.

Saying Farewell

I love that our girls have so many people in their lives who live all over the world. (I love that for myself, too!) These are pictures from the goodbye gathering for Jen, who headed back to New Zealand at the beginning of the month. A few folks gathered at John & Peg's house--uh, that would be Santa and Peg's house--to just hang out.

Laura and Jen are on the sofa showing everyone the cool camera features on "Skype"--you can get a similar effect using a tri-fold bathroom mirror, but without the psychodelic colors.

So I just looked around my house and got that nasty, almost-ovewhelmed feeling. It is GROSS around here. The dining room table contains: a stack of dirty dishes, an open bag of powdered sugar (had French toast for dinner), 2 wet dishcloths (spill at dinner), and a pile of homemade cards that can't be sent because I can't find my address book. The kitchen is pathetic, with hardly a spot on the counter on which to set anything and shoes and socks all over the floor (this well describes most of the floors in our house.) The laundry room floor is covered with the wet clothes in which we all played in the snow, and every other surface is covered with clothes that are in desperate need of folding, not to mention all the weird odds and ends that land on top of the dryer back there.

I actually feel somehow empowered just by describing that. Now I will put myself to work, then read books to the girls before bed. Maybe I'll even fit in a little yoga (thanks to my mom, who gave me a DVD for Christmas) before taping "24" so Alan and I can watch it when he gets home from work.

Until then, I'll clean up while thinking of all my dear friends all over the world, all of whom have made a difference in my life, and can keep me focusing more on the things eternal than the things temporal.

"...set your mind on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things." (Col. 3:1-2)

Coming Attractions and New Additions

Exciting news came over the holidays! Cousin David and Darcy shared that they were going to keep the youngest generation of Deep Creekers growing--they are expecting a little one in July, & I'm glad they kept it to a three year stretch between babies. David is Cousin Kate's brother. Let's see, if David is actually my SECOND cousin, then their baby will be my second cousin once removed, and will be third cousin to my girls. Yikes. I'm just so glad we're all close enough to call ourselves plain old "cousins!" We're going to have our work cut out for us coming up with a creative enough baby shower for Darcy, given her history of creative, kid-themed parties!

And my childhood friend, LuraLynn, added Gabriel Thomas James to her family. He was born on December 29th and she was able to bring him home on January 2nd. LuraLynn's story is best read in her own words--she decided in the middle of December to adopt a sibling for her 6 year old Jacob, and 2 weeks later had a baby in her home. (I loved when Jacob said that the baby was better than his Nintendo DS. That'll be good for David to hear! :)

LuraLynn and I have known each other for almost 35 years. It sometimes amazes me that we could grow up so differently (in a Baltimore row house w/one brother; on a ND farm w/4 siblings and half her extended family on an Arikara Nation Indian Reservation) and could still both major in music education loving classical music. Now we both have two kids. :)

Congratulations to all!

"...we will tell the next generation the praiseworthy deeds of the Lord, His power and the wonders He has done....so the next generation would know them, even the children yet to be born, and they in turn would tell their children. Then they would put their trust in God and would not forget His deeds but would keep HIs commands." (Psalm 78:4,6,7)

Happy New Year!!

New Year's Eve was low-key but VERY enjoyable, and was made so by a few beloved people who were ready and willing to switch gears.

You see, our hope had been to drive from our VA Beach visit w/the Blackmans to NC to visit Aunt Betty and Uncle Steve--who are very special to me & with whom quality time is just too scarce. (Betty & Steve are parents of Cousin Patrick, whose wife, Alyson, writes the House of Kee blog, FYI.) We also hoped to get a glimpse of cousin Ryan, since it's not often he's on this side of the Atlantic, with his life in Europe with Youth With A Mission. (We'd seen him over the summer, too, which was a real treat, but to see him TWICE in ONE year--wow.) As we drove from VA Beach, we were on the phone with Aunt Betty, who said she wasn't feeling well. By the time we arrived, she was in full-blown stomach flu mode (I'm not sure "full blown" is a good term to precede the words "stomach flu," but it's kind of morbidly funny, so I'll leave it), and Alan and I checked into the local hotel where we'd planned to spend that first night anyway. (With shaking heads we recall our ND visit when WE were plagued with the stomach flu!)

We found the local Burlington City Park, which was great fun for girls who'd been cooped up in the car for three and a half hours, ordered Chinese for dinner, and put together a little "get well" baggie for the sick couple (Uncle Steve wasn't feeling so great, either, although that may be typical of people living in close quarters with someone who's "full blown.") I also had the great pleasure of delivering their get-well package and decided to carol at their door--all by myself. Just goes to show what a total dork I really am, for I enjoyed every phrase of it, and it was nice to see them briefly after all the anticipation.

The next morning, Aunt Betty felt well enough (and was nice enough!) to put together a little picnic of coffee and Christmas cookies, and she, Uncle Steve, and Ryan all met us at the Burlington City Park to visit for a couple of hours. It was windy but not bitter, and the coffee warmed us as we fellowshipped. It was our hope to avoid being full blown ourselves (especially with a six hour drive home ahead of us), so the miniature visit (I think Aunt Barbara called it a "trip-ette") challenged all of us to be thankful for what we had (and didn't have) and to revel in one another's company--a rare treat for all of us. It was really great of them, so soon after being under the weather, to go OUT in the weather to share some time with us, and we felt honored and blessed. I regret that we didn't take pictures, but again, I was doing Amy's thing--LIVING life instead of photographing it.

We waved goodbye and headed home, where, at the last minute, Kate and Jay were available to come over, play games, eat Christmas leftovers, and toast each other as we watched the ball drop on Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve. It really was a HAPPY new year, thanks to all our family who were willing to roll with the full blown punches.

Mistaken Identity

The containers are exactly the same size and color, and for the second time ever, I accidentally put Paprika in the oatmeal this morning instead of Cinnamon. Fortunately, I realized it before I mixed it in, and was able to simply remove the top layer of oatmeal from the bowl. My spices and herbs are even alphabetized, but I guess I need to put my glasses on BEFORE making the morning's pot of porridge.

Laughing Out Loud

Art Linkletter knew he'd hit a hilarious nerve when he decided to interview children and record their answers. They DO say the darndest things.

Yesterday during our Breaking of Bread service, Evelyn was in all her glory sitting next to Aunt Jenny, stroking her affectionately on the arm in between the activities in her busy-bag. Towards the end of the meeting, she had a pad and pen in hand, and I whispered to her to draw a picture of Aunt Jenny since she'd be going back to New Zealand soon. She screwed up her little face, shrugged, and whispered back, "But...I don't know how to draw a nose." Jen & I convulsed for the next several minutes--and of course, things are ALWAYS funnier when they happen in really QUIET, PUBLIC places.

Evelyn helps us search the couch cushions for the "commote re-troll," and as far as Amelia is concerned, a chapstick will ALWAYS "help feel you better." Personally, I LOL when I think of my friend, Cindy's 2 year old neice, whose favorite cereal is "Pooploops."

Sometimes the things they say include the world of children's literature, like today when Evelyn told the man at the counter at Ritz Photos that she would put him in a "hot, steaming kettle of Beezlenut Stew." (Horton Hears a Who) I give him credit. He immediately shared that he had two cats, named Wednesday and Ruby (which I thought was very toddler-like of him), and when a nice lady came in and sat at the picture-computer next to us, Amelia looked at her and said, "The cat's name RUBY."

Tonight I was working in my attic office when Evelyn came up with a bag of marshmallows. When I asked her if Daddy had seen her take those, she grinned and replied, "Well, I just snuck up here like a little prairie chicken." (A Little Prairie House)

Making Memories with the Blackmans

On the 28th, we headed to the Blackman family reunion in Richmond, which gathered family from the east (Mom & Dad Blackman:VA Beach), west (Brian, Cinnamon, England & Rumour: Western VA), north (us), and south (Adam & Erica Blackman: GA.) We met at Uncle Bobby & Aunt Sharon's for feasting and fellowshipping--how nice to be together after several years!

Then to VA Beach to spend time w/Grandma & Grandpa Blackman, who gave gifts and quality time. Mom Blackman and I were also a stellar team in a game of Spades! Brian, Cinnamon, England, and Rumour were staying at a hotel on the beach, and we fed the seagulls from their balcony (Alan caught Amelia w/her eyes squeezed shut just after the gull had plucked the slice of apple from her fingers.) We HAD to do our traditional running on the beach (we usually have the beach to ourselves at Christmas when it's in the 50's in VA Beach!) I only wish we had taken more pictures of everyone, but I guess that means we were doing what Amy says, "I don't take pictures of life. I live it."

More Christmas Pics

The other day in the car, Evelyn said, "Mom, is Christmas over?" After explaining that we celebrate Jesus' birth but He can ALWAYS be in our hearts (never too young for doctrine), I said that yes, Christmas was over as a holiday. Then I told her we could look forward to Valentine's Day, a day when we tell people how much we love them. She immediately responded, "I LO-O-O-O-O-VE Anna!" And Amelia followed up right away with, "And I LOVE Aidan!"

Here are a few memories from Christmas--check out the Bisset cousins in their matching pajamas--Courtney did a great job shopping for these at end-of-year sales LAST year, and all of them fit perfectly!

Amelia in the woods on our Christmas Day hike, and trying on Cousin Lindsy's gift of gorgeous, hand-me-down baubles ("baubles" is a vocabulary choice used in honor of Courtney.)

"'...whoever drinks of the water I will give him shall never thirst...the water that I will give him will become in him a well of water springing up to eternal life.'" (John 4:14)