simple moments

there have been several distinct moments of waiting in these past days. some bringing in the soul deep relief of good news, some bringing nothing but more waiting, one bringing soul deep grief.

yet we’ve lived life. children keep things going. we had an extended family gathering in a town smaller than ours..a parade full of tractors and candy.  seriously, this was the parade:

i don’t remember it being so simple.

we went to the county demolition derby.  jerry knew this well from his childhood.  i remember my folks taking our family to it when we moved here…kind of a “cultural immersion” experience.

it had been years.  i remembered the noise.  i remembered the heat.  naomi was totally preoccupied with keeping cool (temperature and style).  we brought spray bottles along that came in very handy.

i did not remember the mud.

definitely a highlight.  we were covered.  the people around us caught on to the mud balls the kids were making and shared.

then the sun set and the moon rose and we finished out the evening in cooler relief.

it’s good to remember happiness.

done

remember harry

remember harry and hold his family close…i only know them through stories and the branches of a family tree…uncle gareth is my dad’s brother.

the mystery of god has seldom been wider.

i love my nan…and my cousins…

my cousin karly posted this about my nan…

i love it.

but no, she didn’t get the pin here…i think my mom might have sent it?

flipped

on the same day we made chalk, i made a mold for eliza’s hand.  kind of a trial run for preschool…pressing the child’s hand in playdoh, carving the name (or letter in our case) then pouring in the plaster of paris.

i learned that i need to press the hand a little deeper in…especially where the fingers meet the palm…otherwise you might end up with this:

when i first took it out of the playdoh mold, it didn’t even have a crack.  and after the persistent parenting i gave eliza, maybe i deserved it.  but by today, there is a crack that gives me hope eliza may not flip me off much longer.

i want to perfect this art.  what a treasure to see the nooks and crannies, creases and crevices of a little hand.

homemade chalk

after a few meetings regarding preschool, i am very aware of my ability to make messes with kids.

even at home.

on my best days, i know that this is rooted in a firm commitment to exploration, creativity, curiosity, enthusiasm, hope for beauty.  i also know it is usually more energizing to make messes than to clean them up.

we made a mess making homemade chalk.  plaster of paris, food coloring and water.  i don’t know amounts…we just mixed until it looked right.  adding food coloring was impressive!

and as is familiar to me, naomi extended the activity…adding glitter, hiding little toys in the middle, pushing in letter stamps.

successful.

and i cleaned up the mess within a few hours.  though i went on a walk that night speckled in plaster of paris. during our walk i posed the wondering to jerry why i would go on a family walk looking like i did. eliza interrupted and says, “this is NOT a family walk.  we don’t have ollie or lucy or the gerbils or the snake along.”

her instinct of family seems wider than mine.

mountain bound

loaded up we traveled west with books, clipboards and gadgets.

mountain memories

my dear mother-in-law hoped that this trip would bring us together.

how can it not have? though it was intense and a lot of work and rocky at times…experiencing life together can only bring us together.

thank you for the gift of this trip.

we laughed, we were safe (despite accidental hydrogen peroxide drinking and dog-peanut butter eating).

and really, being together for our 13th anniversary, with feet in the snow was a gift.

mountain colors

traveling with rainbows…some of you will enjoy knowing that it is jerry under the rainbow umbrella.

micah agonized over what to spend his $7 on.  four of it was spent on this piece of plastic that ended up being a wonderful night light.

naomi made bouquets out of wildflowers…such amazing arrangements.

we had a great time mini-golfing.  well, great when eliza wasn’t flailing her club around.  great when micah wasn’t taking 20 hap-hazard swings at one hole.  great when naomi wasn’t freaking out because she couldn’t get the ball in within her 5 strokes.  mostly, though, it was great.

and oh, you beautiful mountains.

mountain eating

with a gorgeous kitchen, we took turns cooking the evening meal.

we hoped our evening meal could have been offered after a hard day’s fishing.

not a fish was caught.  we watched people on either side of us reel them in.  we sent the kids over to find out what kind of bait they were using.  we ran over to their fishing spots when they left.  not a fish.  jerry looked like he might cry.

just like home there was the work of snacks…i did wonder, though…are alpha bits really “new” or was this simply the reality of the lonely corner grocery store?  hmmmmmmm.  then the excitement of finding our granola bar packages expanded.  it doesn’t take much.

and then, with all the food cooked, all the money well spent eating out, we went thrifty and heated up pasta in the hotel room…nothing like eating luke warm leftovers by the glow of a flourescent bulb with warm bleach-scented washcloth nearby.

mountain water

our beautiful cabin house was on the colorado river which is often raging.  this week it was meandering…the kids and the dogs had a great time playing among the rocks.

we had a pontoon boat for 3 hours on grand lake…enough time to settle in, get restless, then settle in again and wonder where the time went.

on a drive over trail ridge road, we came upon “lake irene.”  in the rain, jerry got out to hike down and take photos.  so this is for you, oma and eliza.