Bethany

We had Bethany's middle name narrowed down to Hope or Joy. Her daddy filled out the birth certificate, and what I thought was still up for discussion was apparently not - so Bethany Joy joined our family. Boy, was he right! Bethany has been such a joy, filling our hearts with overflowing love.

Bethany has a soft spirit that makes her an ideal older sister. She loves to play with all her younger siblings, and works hard to include her family in any special treats she earns. Her generous nature includes even her most prized possessions, and hardest earned dollar. I am forever amazed at how quickly she gives of herself so others can feel special. She needs to be with people, and would willingly sleep with her sister or brother every single night. She needs lots of hugs, and cuddles with her daddy each evening to get her fill before going off to bed.

Bethany and I love to shop together! She works hard on chores, and when we go out she always brings her purse to make sure she doesn't miss out on a deal. We enjoy thinking of the little things that might make others in our house smile, and I know we share the joy of buying for others more than for ourselves. I am thrilled that God blessed me with such a tender-hearted daughter. I have great confidence that God plans great things for this little lady.

Hannah

Hannah is an amazing girl! I literally could not run my house without her. People will sometimes offer to take my older girls to "get them out of my hair" and "help me out". Trust me, taking Hannah isn't necessarily a great help!

Hannah has always been blessed with a thorough and responsible personality. Ever since she was little I could trust her to obey, follow directions, and make wise decisions for her age. For example, at three I could ask her to go get my brush, and if she couldn't find my brush she would bring a suitable replacement, such as a comb, rather than simply come back with nothing. Any mission I send her on is usually met with diligence, and she is not afraid to get in and work. When there are chores to be done Hannah will roll up her sleeves and tackle them head on. Best to get them done and over, than let them hang over your head. She will initiate service, and cares for me by cleaning without being asked!

My first born is very independent, and needs moments of solitary time in order to keep sane. As an avid reader she can easily engross herself in a good book and not come up for hours. She has been known to finish a chapter book in a single afternoon. Right now she is enjoying Judy Blume's Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing. Another of her books which defies understanding is the Body Atlas book, which is written for a 50 year old college educated doctor. She was the one to inform us of what exactly her great-grandmother's pancreatic cancer was doing after she heard the diagnosis and researched it in her book.

I love her dearly. We can sit next to one another for hours reading our own books and enjoying our parallel company. I like the way she problem solves, and tries to find logical answers to her questions before she simply asks. I think she is going to grow into a very intelligent, and self-confident young woman. I am excited to see what God has in store for my Hannah Olive. 

Moses's Basket

Mama, I know why they call it "Moses's basket."

Why, Caleb?

Because that is the basket that they made for Moses so he could go in the water.

The very one.

Eggs

Mary has taken to getting into the refrigerator against our express wishes. Apparently we are not being express enough.

We used to have eggs. They looked like this:

Now they look like this:

We are hoping that the swollen hands and face from the topical exposure of one of her worst allergens will help to express our wishes more clearly.

I personally don't hold out much hope.

Right or Requirement

There seems to be a misunderstanding in our culture between the definition of a "right" and a "requirement". I find, especially in my particular profession, that the misunderstanding goes quite deep. Merriam Websters defines the two with the following:

right: An abstract idea of that which is due to a person or governmental body by law or tradition or nature

require(ment): Consider obligatory; request and expect; make someone do something.

In other words, one gives you freedom while the other takes it away. In case you aren't following my train of thought so far, the two words mean very different things, and are not interchangeable.

Now, what does this have to do with me, my profession, and our culture at large? I am so glad you asked! I believe there are a great many people under the faulty assumption that the right of a woman to earn a college degree, procure gainful employment, and stand on equal footing as men in the professional and academic world is also a requirement for that same woman to obtain all of the above in order to be a contributing member of society, and ultimately personally fulfilled. It is a subtle transition between right to requirement, but it is there nonetheless. And ironically the more determined players in this game tend to be the women themselves! Because the fight for professional and academic equality took such an emotional cost in the women fighting on the battlefront many of my gender think the only way to honor their work is for all women to participate in the corporate or collegiate dream. I must have a higher degree because it is available to me. I must pursue financial independence because the law says employers are not allowed to discriminate against gender. And if I don't see the value in these pursuits I am ignorant, wasting my life, keeping our society in the "dark ages", in short single-handedly undoing the work which took so long to establish.

Right or Requirement? If what those men and women fought for in providing the means of literacy and financial gain to women was about requirement then I am indeed in the wrong. But I don't believe that was the point. I believe the point was to give women the choice to pursue their God-given talents without the hindrance of culturally defined stereotypes. The problem now is that much of our society has swung to the opposite end of the extreme we fought against years ago. Ask the average American woman whether she feels like she can be a contributing member of society staying at home and tending to her family's needs, and I bet you will get some version of the following answer:

I think that it is great if a woman wants to stay home while her children are young.

Hmm, so the first assumption is that a woman can only stay home if she has children, and the second is that those children must be small to boot. But a family is more than small children. A family can be older parents in need of care, a self-employed husband in need of bookkeeping, teenagers requiring gentle guidance through the last phase of adolescents - in short, it can be as diverse as the educational and financial choices now available to those same women. But I don't think it is often seen as a choice that stands on equal footing with the others.

I stand in opposition to this way of thinking. I don't see that a college degree necessarily guarantees any future success in life, and it certainly is no guarantor of happiness. I don't believe that my daughters must pursue financial independence in order to play an important role in their marriages. I don't believe that any woman should feel the pressure to leave their home and families in order to satisfactorily contribute to society, or fulfill their own personal sense of accomplishment. The only thing I recognize as a requirement for success in any pursuit a woman endeavors to achieve is an acknowledgement of Christ as Lord in her life.

"So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God." 1 Corinthians 10:31

Obsessive Possessive

Nana coined a new term tonight, "Obsessive Possessive". This is a cross between obsessive compulsive and just plain possessive. Christopher has latched onto it, and promised full notation (perhaps royalties) for every mention in print. It is particularly descriptive of Caleb and his use of toys.

Anecdotes from Odd

We had a great resource of help from our church when Josiah was born. From prayer to meals, we felt so cared for, and loved. One of the best acts of service was from a couple willing to watch our older children so Christopher could be completely focused on me, and the new baby during my labor and delivery. Mr. and Mrs. M are grandparents themselves, but live too far away from their little ones to make regular visits feasible. As a result, my children have been adopted! While Mr. and Mrs. M were here Mrs. M wrote down the funny things my children said to share with me later. I couldn't resist sharing them with you as well!

When Mr. and Mrs. M arrived at our house a Barney DVD was playing. Mrs. M expressed her delight by saying, "I haven't seen Barney in ages!"

Bethany replied, "Well, of course not! You're so old!"

"Now we're not poor with boys!" Hannah announced after Daddy called to tell the kids about Josiah.

The older girls needed a puppy for their game of make-believe and everyone decided Caleb would fit the bill. Hannah explained to Mrs. M, with Bethany agreeing, " Caleb is much better when he's an animal than when he's a boy."

Hannah was pretending to be Maria, the servant for Mrs. M and Bethany. But she almost got into a fistfight with Bethany because Bethany didn't want her to bring her a treat.

No one ever said Caleb was a pacifist. He ate his pizza into the shape of a gun, and proceeded to shoot everyone at the dinner table.

I wrote two thank-you notes, just in case the damage from the shooting was irreversible. 

Perspective

I received this for Josiah's birth. I think it sums things up beautifully.

A Mom's Version of First Corinthians 13

If I live in a house of spotless beauty with everything in its place, but have not love, I am a housekeeper - not a homemaker.

If I have time for waxing, polishing, and decorative achievements, but have not love, my children learn of cleanliness - not godliness.

Love leaves the dust in search of a child's laugh.

Love smiles at the tiny fingerprints on a newly cleaned window.

Love wipes away the tears before it wipes up the spilled milk.

Love picks up the child before it picks up the toys.

Love is present through the trials.

Love reprimands, reproves, and is responsive.

Love crawls with the baby, walks with the toddler, runs with the child, then stands aside to let the youth walk into adulthood.

Love is the key that opens salvation's message to a child's heart.

Before I became a mother I took glory in my house of perfection.

Now I glory in God's perfection of my child.

As a mother there is much I must teach my child, but the greatest of all is love.

The Great Toy Switch of 2007

Christmas 2007

One of the blessings of a large family are special days, like Christmas. We had a fantastic time watching little ones open presents, listen to Daddy read the Christmas story from the Bible, and spend time with extended family. We celebrate Christmas in a two-day staged affair. Because we go to our aunt's house for a large family gathering on Christmas evening we have moved the present opening to Christmas Eve. This gives us a full day to take our time opening and playing with presents, and still get to Christmas Eve candlelight service. Then Christmas morning we have a hot breakfast, read the Christmas story, play with all our new toys, and finally have dinner with grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins. We have lots of sweet memories, but I think one of the best is the "Great Toy Switch of 2007". 

Nana worked hard to find something special for each child. She took my advice in what the little girls would like, and purchased an incredibly realistic shopping cart for Leah. It has all the look and feel of the ones Mama uses at the grocery store, complete with baby holder in the front. For Mary she bought a Little People airplane that plays music, comes with three new figurines, and has a handle so she can carry it around with her.

Both girls were napping when we set out the shopping cart, along with a ride-on scooter for Mary and a few more presents, including the airplane, that were still wrapped. We assumed the girls would get up from their nap and Mary would get her ride-on, while Leah got the shopping cart. Mary woke up first, and came down to finish her present extravaganza. We had the camera rolling to see her reaction when she saw her ride-on, but she made a beeline for Leah's grocery cart. The test drive turned into an obsession with placing everything into the cart and walking to the kitchen and back, kitchen and back, kitchen and back. We laughed about how we were going to get Mary to give up the cart when Leah came down. The longer Leah slept, the more Mary pushed that shopping cart, the more apparent it became that Leah was not getting it back! What were we going to do? The shopping cart was supposed to be Leah's "big" present from her Nana. There was only one solution.

When Leah came downstairs from her nap we presented her with the present from Nana. You can imagine her surprise when she unwrapped a new Little People airplane! She never even gave more than a passing glance to the shopping cart. Later in the evening Nana asked Leah if she liked her new airplane (she was spinning around in circles while pretending to fly the plane), or if she liked the grocery cart better. Leah didn't even stop spinning in order to answer that she much preferred the airplane.

There hasn't been even a hint of jealousy between the girls and "their" presents.

Jesus Rode A Donkey

Leah performed in our church's Christmas musical this past weekend. One of the songs she sang was about Mary riding a donkey into Bethelehem just before birthing Baby Jesus. In typical Leah fashion she transposed the characters in the song, and she now sings - constantly - about Jesus riding a donkey into Bethelehem. We have tried to explain that it is Mary who rode the donkey, but she is not interested in change. Caleb, especially, finds Leah's song tedious. And I must admit that after hearing it some 500 times in less than 10 minutes it can grate on you. Try it for yourself. Watch the following video, and then replay it continuously for the entire day!

Homeschool Giggles

This quick video, made by a large homeschooling family about homeschooling is HILARIOUS. I only wish we could provide you with a video of Odd, but this comes pretty close!

A Homeschooling Family

The Christmas Tree

My mom and I are very different in our tastes. She is eclectic psychedelic 60's, I am tailored Pottery Barn. We have always been opposite in many respects. For instance, growing up she saw nothing wrong with a fake tree, which is heretical to me. She also likes multi-colored lights... and bulbs. To top it off she puts on the odd, and unmatched "special" ornaments that, in my humble opinion, ruin the entire feng shui of a tree. At least we didn't do the blinking light thing (very often). So when I "grew up and got mt own house" you better believe I did it MY WAY. Fresh tree, white lights, gold and burgundy bulbs, ribbon, and nothing to shock the delicate balance of harmony. I loved it. And so began my Christmas tree tradition.

It grew as our family grew. I do accept tasteful Hallmark ornaments, and we involve the kids with choosing and cutting down our own tree. But the lights are my deal (it takes a Jedi to know exactly how to string lights on a tree - I learned it from my mom - whose method was good, it was just the color I abhorred). I also do the bulbs, and well, everything else about decorating the tree. People ask me about letting my kids help, and I inform them that we do so many things in our home which involve the kids I do not feel guilty in the least that I get the Christmas Tree. I have given up the walls in my home, which are now oddly covered in artwork taped wherever the whim carried the artist. I have given up my vehicle, which now houses noisy toys playing badly tuned electronic versions of classical masterpieces. I gave up my privacy, body, sanity, in essence my being in order to serve the little people in my care. I AM NOT GIVING UP THE CHRISTMAS TREE.

A few years ago the older girls started asking when they could help decorate the tree. I told them that this was Mama's special thing, and they may never get to do it. When they grew up and had their own homes....

Last year I finally gave in and allowed them to help with the bulbs, and even an occasional Hallmark ornament. Of course I supervised everything, and admittedly went back after they had gone to bed in order to rearrange some of their finer choices in composition. It about killed me.

Then Josiah was born, and now everything is ruined. In the first place we had to go to Kris Kringle "Lot o' Trees" to buy our tree because there was no way we were making it as a family into the Santa Cruz mountains with Mama lugging Josiah. We all agreed it was a doable solution that will instantaneously be thrown down next year when we go back to our favorite spot and cut our own tree. We picked our tree out on Monday, and by Friday it still had not a lick of anything remotely decorative upon it. The week was admittedly crazy, but the kids were becoming anxious. The natives were restless. Christopher and I finally promised them we would decorate the tree on Saturday. And then disaster struck, and I have lost my tree forever.

Josiah disagreed with some chocolate I ate (I know), and was very gassy and fussy starting at 4am Saturday morning. He also decided to throw a little growth spurt in there, and by Saturday afternoon I thought I was going to lose my mind. Between trying to burp him and feed him I barely had time to pee, let alone appreciate decorating a Christmas tree. But a promise to an 8, 6 and 4 year old is a matter of life and death. I managed to get the lights up, with the newly acquired assistance of Hannah, but when the actual decorating was about to begin, complete with "help" from Hannah, Bethany and Caleb, I had to sit and nurse for the millionth time. I suddenly could not manage bulb placement, let alone bulb selection. I could only coach from the side lines. By the end of the night I was hearing things like:

Why don't we use more colored bulbs?
I like the lights when they blink.
How come we can't put tinsel on the tree?

When you grow up and have your own home...

Confessions of an Ogre

You might imagine that Odd, like other lands, has its monsters. We do. But instead of the Ogre from fairytales Odd has something called a Mother.

The older girls learned about Santa Lucia in Sunday School yesterday and were struck by the beautiful service the tradition of Santa Lucia describes. The story goes that Lucy was a young girl in Rome during the Christian persecution of the early church after Christ's crucifixion. She brought food to the Christians hiding in the catacombs. On December 13, the longest night of the year, she was carrying so much food that she had nowhere to hold her candle, so she placed in a wreath which she wore on her head. To this day a very popular tradition in much of Scandinavia is for a young girl of the house to dress in a white gown with a red sash around her waist and a wreath of candles on her head and go throughout the house in the early morning serving baked goods to each member of the family.

So Hannah and Bethany thought they would surprise our family by performing this tradition in our home. They asked the ugly Mother if they could be allowed to wake early the following morning to perform their surprise. Mother agreed, and all thought the day would be fine. But everyone should know that a Mother is never to be trusted!

The girls were intending on waking at 7:30am to get about their "plan" but alas they did not rise until nearly 8:15. This threw a wrench in the timing of their production, but as still relatively young children their concept of improvising was limited and they just plugged right along oblivious to any conflicts their lateness might cause. Mother was taking a much needed nap after Josiah's early morning feed, and the rest of the children were sleeping. Bethany was fixing everyone's cereal bowl complete with their own personal pitcher of milk for pouring, and arranging them on a pancake griddle (using it as a platter for carrying), while Hannah was making a crown for Bethany to wear. The girls had even picked out their clothes the night before - Bethany wore her white flower girl dress from her Aunnie C's wedding with a red long-sleeved shirt tied around her waist for a sash. All was going well, until...

At 8:30 Mary decided to start seriously squawking. We installed the tent on her crib last night and she was not pleased that she no longer had unrestricted access out of her bed. Simultaneous to that Josiah decided to start crying after a measly hour+ nap, and Mother's anticipated rest was going down the drain. Josiah quieted with a pacifier, but the girls were nowhere to be found to take the other children down for breakfast. Mother went looking for them. When she arrived downstairs Bethany was heartbroken that her surprise was ruined. Hannah was trying to finish the crown, and the only thing Mother could think of was how tired she was, and how much she wanted Mary to stop squawking. Mother ordered one of the girls to go up and tell the other children that it was time to get up and eat breakfast (they had instructed their younger siblings to stay in bed for a surprise, and miraculously they obeyed). Hannah did so, but in the meantime Mary got her hackles up and needed to be disciplined by the now thoroughly agitated Mother. Finally all the children (save Josiah who was finally sleeping again) were downstairs but Mary was still in a funk. Mother had to come down to discipline her again, and noticed that Hannah was more concerned about the surprise than the very real hunger of her siblings. This is where the volatile nature of Mothers comes into play, and why they are the equivalent of the Ogre.

Mother exclaimed that she was sorry their surprise was ruined but since they got up later than intended they were going to need to deal with the reality of serving breakfast without all the details. Bethany even poured Mother cereal but all Mother wanted to do was go back upstairs and take a NAP! Mother snapped at Hannah who was trying to help, snapped at Mary who was not trying to help, and snapped at Bethany who was simply hurt.

Ogre.

Mother realized that she was ruining this precious moment her children had tried to orchestrate for her. And she apologized for hurting their feelings. Of course she still only wanted to go upstairs and sleep for a hundred years, but that is another fairytale creature not a Mother. Her children forgave her, but Mother is afraid she has ruined their hearts forever, and they will never initiate this kind of surprise again.

To any other Mother out there that lives like an Ogre sometimes...

2 Corinthians 12:9
But he [the Lord] said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me.

We are not superhuman in Odd. We are very ordinary, with very ordinary ups and downs. If there is anything unique about us, let it be our very extraordinary God.

Instructions For Use

Please read the following instructions tag attached to my Boppy brand nursing pillow.

Okay, so let's walk this through...

1 - Read before each use. Um, right. First of all the tag is attached to the pillow which is housed in a Boppy designed cover. So to even GET to the tag you would need to remove the cover every single time. It doesn't take a genius to realize the absurdity of going through the process of reading the tag when your newborn is screaming for food. What do they think we will do? "Wait a minute Jr. Mama knows you are hungry, but I haven't read the tag in the last 3 hours so I don't remember what I am not supposed to do."

2 - Do not allow baby to lie face down or fall asleep on this or any other pillow. This seems fairly self-explanatory except that one of the larger advertised uses for the pillow is giving your infant safe support for "tummy time." Yea. That's where your child lies face down across the pillow to help build trunk and neck muscles. So how exactly does one accomplish that dichotomy? And falling asleep with the pillow is another good piece of advice. I should put baby to sleep in his cradle. Of course I am not allowed to ever leave baby unattended in his cradle, but that is another tag.

3 - Do not use in bed or crib. Now here I think they may actually have a valid point. Large pillows, stuffed animals, fluffy comforters can create suffocation risks. I assume they mean the child's bed. They certainly mean the child's crib since, last time I read the tag, my bed is not a crib. But then the last line causes me to reevaluate even this piece of noble advice.

4 - Only use on floor. Okay, after all the above ridiculousness you mean to tell me that I have to sit on my FLOOR every time I want to nurse my baby? Yep, that's what it means. If you look at their website all the mamas pictured are sitting, cross-legged, on the ground. Hmmmm, sounds comfy don't it? Just think, you had a baby last week, your bottom is a little tender... or better yet you had a cesarean and can't even lower yourself into a sitting-on-the-floor position without the aid of a crane and narcotics, yet here this charming little tag (which you must read before every use) sufficiently removes any ounce of comfort you may experience from the use of the product by its own instructions.

It would be great if the child himself came with such detailed instructions for use!

Number 100

Congratulations, you are reading our 100th post on Letters From Odd! I thought I would take a second to scroll back through our archives and give you a few of my favorite moments in Odd. Do you have a favorite memory from this not-so-fairy-tale-land? We would love to hear about it!

Tomato May 26, 2006

Wisdom From Experience June 1, 2006

Imelda Marcos Eat Your Heart Out June 16, 2006

Treatski Kapoopski July 25, 2006

Nope, let me change that - Digger Man August 31, 2006

It's Coffee September 10, 2006

Breakfast Theater December 13, 2006

Phonics, Or The Study Of How I Learned To Mispronounce Words January 22, 2007

Blah Blah Blah January 26, 2007

Entrepreneurial Skilz February 23, 2007

Hole In Your Head June 14, 2007

Dagarate July 18, 2007

Operatic Knuckles August 10, 2007

The Hulk October 11, 2007

The Ride Home October 23, 2007

Josiah Edward November 26, 2007

We look forward to the next 100 posts!

It's Just Spicy

Spicy.

Not a word I would normally use to refer to the taste of toothpaste. But, that's the word Leah uses to describe the taste of toothpaste.

Every night.

Leah is pretty committed to routine. If anything out-of-the-ordinary happens in her routine, she protests, sometimes rather vocally. She likes things to happen in regular patterns. One really funny example of this is her insistence on making sure the floor in her room is meticulously clean before she'll get into her bed for her daily nap. If anything (and I mean ANYTHING) is on the floor (that can be seen with the naked eye), she'll protest about it. The feathers from the feather boa in the dress-up box sometimes end up on the floor. It is a great crime for her to go to bed with even ONE of these feathers on the floor!

And so goes our evening bedtime routine.

Just about every night Leah takes a bath with Mary. I proceed to get Mary and Caleb "gooped" with petroleum jelly after bath time. Ah, the blessings to skin allergies! Fortunately, Leah does not have the same allergies, and needs only to dry herself off and get her pajamas on.

After she gets out of the bath, Leah gets herself dressed for bed while I am gooping Mary and Caleb. When I'm done, Mary goes to bed, Caleb goes downstairs to brush his teeth, and Leah gets her teeth brushed by Daddy.

Usually Leah takes her toothbrush and toothpaste out of the drawer in the bathroom while I'm still working on my goop job, so they're ready for me when we go into the bathroom together. I sit down on the toilet, put the toothpaste on the toothbrush, moisten the toothbrush with water, and go to start brushing Leah's teeth.

And every night she says the same thing just as I'm about to put the brush in her mouth.

"It's just spicy."

Every night.

You would think she would realize that she's communicated this fact to me by now, many months after I started brushing her teeth every night before bed.

But, alas, this new revelation is necessary every night.

She has her routine, and it involves reminding Daddy that the toothpaste is "just spicy." No complaints, no problems, just a simple statement of fact.

"Yes, Leah, I know the toothpaste is spicy."

Baby

For those of you familiar with Mary's lack of enthusiasm for the spoken word, you will find it especially noteworthy that since Josiah's entrance into our home the following has become her mantra:

Baby BABY baby Baby BABY baby Baby BABY baby Baby BABY baby Baby BABY baby Baby BABY baby Baby BABY baby Baby BABY baby Baby BABY baby Baby BABY baby Baby BABY baby Baby BABY baby Baby BABY baby Baby BABY baby Baby BABY baby Baby BABY baby

Potentially

Christopher came upstairs to help me get ready for church yesterday, and told the kids that they needed to stay downstairs. After only a few short moments Leah was heard sniffling her way into our bedroom.

What's the matter Leah? You are supposed to be downstairs.

I have a boo-boo that hurts on my finger.

Oh, okay. Let me kiss it. There, now you need to go back downstairs.

She obeyed, and trotted off. In the meantime Caleb recognized that she was getting to come upstairs, and was soon coming up himself. He passed Leah during her descent. When Caleb came into our bedroom only seconds later he triumphantly announced that he was there to help!

Can I help, Daddy?

Son, I told you what to do to help. I told you to stay downstairs until Mama and I came to get you. That's what would help.

But Leah said I could come upstairs.

Leah told you that you could come upstairs?

Yep.

Leah said, Daddy said you could come upstairs?

Well, she potentially said that.

Josiah Edward

We have joyful news to share with you! Our son, Josiah Edward, came into the world at 2:06pm on November 18th, 2007. He weighed 8lbs, 13oz and was 21½ inches long. He has been nothing but a joy.

Thank you for your prayers and support throughout my pregnancy. God heard each of you, and I am recovering well from the delivery. As I gather strength I will share more about Josiah's birth, and the Lord's provision in the midst of it. He is mighty in his gifts!

All I Want For Christmas Is...

We have entered a VERY good stage in life. Several of our children are finally old enough to actually communicate (effectively) what their desires are for Christmas presents! However, there appears to be some fine-tuning needed in the concept of REALITY. I asked the girls to make a Christmas wish-list for me a few weeks ago. They limited themselves to five things each (wow - you mean I am actually succeeding in teaching my children the value of a few appreciated presents rather than the glut of junk commercialism sells you?) but the five things they did choose... you can read it for yourself. I then added even more hilarity to my day when I asked Caleb and Leah what they wanted for Christmas...

BETHANY

1 - A Puppy (a dachshund to be exact)

2 - My Own Room (um, sure - right after we sell your brother and sisters)

3- A Horse (see above requirements)

4 - Jesse Apparel (this is actually quite sweet - it means she wants cowgirl clothes to match her cowgirl doll)

5- A Jewelry Box (this was what I had imagined)

HANNAH

1 - A Marble Run Set (okay, this seems more like it)

2 - Lincoln Logs (yep, obviously older and recognizing how to make the most of the wish-list)

3 - A Horse (maybe not quite old enough)

4 - A Dolphin (read it again. Yes, that is what she asked for. We will not only be selling all her siblings, but will be making arrangements for future children as well)

5- A Pool (presumably to keep the large aquatic mammal comfy?)

CALEB

1 - An Ice Cutter (this is to cut all the ice that piles up in our backyard. When we explained that it rarely can I stress that enough? snows here he replied, "But I want to have it so when it does I can cut the ice." Yep.)

LEAH

1- "Popcorn for breakfast at Auntie's when I put the star up in the beautiful tree that is so high." (no explanation needed)