birthday party

So today was Kyrie's birthday party!! We had a great time out back - most of the kids were around 3 years old so they were happy splashing in the kiddie pool and playing on the play/swing set. (our friends the Wises' were sick so they were unable to come down - we missed them!) We had invited the play group kids but we ended up having a smaller group - which actually wasn't that small. It was a perfect amount. We had Jess and Todd and their four kids and Natalie and her two boys and our three. I had a bit of a freak out session (but not a total melt down!) before the party - trying to remind myself that things don't need to be perfect - b/c it is my friends who are coming over with their kids -- I don't need to impress them. Maybe next year I can remain stress free before the party. But I have my dear husband who helped with everything, did yard work and transformed our back yard into a lovely playland. Jess and Natalie put food out and stuffed the candy bags for the kids. Kyrie loved her cake - in fact didn't want to leave it in the house. She would have been happy just staring at it and putting a finger in occasionally to taste it. Instead of Olivia the Pig she wanted a chocolate horse. So that is what it was. I got some good video of her party. It was hot and humid but the day started out nice and breezy. Everyone went home happy and candied-up! We are going on the Thompson's boat this afternoon, after naptime! Its a full day here in Newport.

A few lessons learned:
1. don't pick the theme until last minute. (b/c your child will change her mind - and remember that you should not get upset b/c its her birthday!)
2. what is the simplest way to do something - ie. don't think you are going to be doing a craft with the kids or for the kids b/c when one has three little ones under 4 years - this will NEVER happen! and the kids are happy just playing anyway.
3. relax and enjoy. no one likes to be around an uptight mom/hostess.
4. pray pray pray. and then again pray.
5. look for candy that is on sale rather then buying the bulk stuff. i will be taking some candy back to BJ's b/c i found really cheap candy at the grocery store for as little as .62 cents!
6. give others grace, it will be given out to you! the ballooon lady didn't have my order at all when i showed up to pick up the balloons but i was cool and she gave me a free "expensive" balloon. nice. thank you Jesus.
7. no one, i repeat, no one has it ALL together and if they act like they do or say they do - they are LYING!!

i am too hot to sleep

its so steamy in our house right now i am finding it hard to get into bed. its nice and cool outside but you know how the heat of the day gets trapped in the house. poor ransom has a cough and cold and woke up hot and bothered. so i spent over an hour trying everything to get him comfortable and back in bed. i even dipped his curious fingers in my ice water and dribbled the cold water on his head, arms and legs to cool him off. i remember doing that has a kid in pasadena. or sometimes mama would get me a cold cloth and i would put that on my face.

ok now i feel sick from the heat. tomorrow i will drink more water.

night night.

laid back

this weekend we were in boston to visit the boston cambridge vineyard (for the second week in a row!) we stayed at the constitution inn (a navy lodge) and then spent sat and sunday with our dear friends the wises. they live in this wonderful corner of cambridge with a trader joes and a whole foods literally down the block from them!! can this be!!:) we enjoyed watching our kids playing, running around, pretending, laughing and generally keeping eachother busy while we drank two buck chuck and ate yummy caprese salad and trader's pizzas. i was telling graham that i love being around them b/c they are so laid back. its good to let the kids run around and not feel like you have to follow them with a dust pan and broom all day. so this morning (although i did the minimal pick up ie. like cleaning the counter off before the honeyed rice krispies solidify for all time!) i am letting things go (as much as i can stand it) and pursuing gardening and art projects with them. this is a bit hard for me to as i am rather ocd about the house being in a somewhat state of order. (its all in my head though b/c my house really isn't that clean!!!)

and as my friend amy reminded me this morning "cleaning up after preschoolers during the day is like shoveling snow while it is still snowing". clearly i need to keep this in mind.

note to self: start day off with jesus first and above quote secondly!! oh and have coffee too.

preschool

i am going to be homeschooling kyrie this year and i just found a really neat curriculum through a friend. its called sonlight curriculum. its got structure but flexibility and i think that its really doable for me. kyrie is going to have such a terrific year. we are going to make school really special and exciting for her. there are also so many wonderful activities to incorporate into school. like going to the zoo, petting farms, gardening, the beach, walking, etc. we'll definately have to make sure that she and rhys get to have play dates with friends. i want to put them in swimming lessons and kyrie in soccer this fall as well. we'll see if all of this gets accomplished. its a good challenge for me as i begin to mother my three little ones. i am going to do a little more research among my friends who are homeschooling veterans but this program looks so great!!! and it comes with high regards from my mothers' helpers!!

back online, kyrie's 4th birthday

So I am back online finally. We have a new computer. I will not allow myself to cry over all the pictures (I am not even going to think about it!) that were lost from our computer meltdown. I have most of them on snapfish.com and that is all there is to be said.

today is kyrie's 4th birthday!! she got a new dress from the magees and a set of dishes and utensils with the disney princesses. very exciting. we have art supplies for her and a preschool book. i want to try and find a little mermaid doll for her too but of course my trip to BJ's did not proove fruitful (should have bought it last week!) the dean boys from around the corner came over with a ballerina barbie and an outfit for her. you should have seen kyrie's face. darling. truly she is a girl of girls. i loved barbie when i was little too and i can't

the Magee girls (Anna and Rachel), who have been my mother's helpers for 2 weeks, and I took all three kids to the carousel at first beach! we were a bit spoiled b/c at jack's birthday we were given unlimited rides for 2 hours, so i was under the impression that for 50 cents we could do the same. surprise - its now $1/ride!:) so we rode twice and then were able to get the girls off and into the car with relatively little protest. well actually i told them that we could go to newport creamery for aweful, awefuls.

i havn't mentioned the new behavior that 4 year old girls exhibit so i will do that in later posts. let's just say we are challenged. dear lord grant me grace and patience...more later:)

jesse

today at the ymca i was lifting weights. i looked up and there was a high school kid who reminded me so much of my brother jesse. it was so hard to see him. he had a runner's body and a determined look on his face. i miss my brother so much. i miss all the things about him. i miss his presence. i miss his jokes and commentary. i miss his sensitivity and his choice of words. i miss his exuberance for life and people. i miss his love for his family and our children. i miss eating with him and cooking for him. i miss his homemade cookies. i miss watching movies with him and laughing about things with him. i miss his affection. i miss his presence with my parents.

i was remembering when i found out that he only had 3 weeks to live. i came and sat down on the couch with him and i just said i don't want you to die. what am i going to do if you die? i could see that he wanted to make it better for me. but i knew... i knew that he wanted to be with jesus. i knew that he was looking for the end to his suffering and a beginning of the Greater Story. so what am i doing now, that my dear sweet baby brother has gone on to be with Jesus? i miss him. sometimes i don't cry for weeks. other times everything reminds me of him. i weep for my dear parents and my two other brothers. i weep for all the "could haves" like him graduating from my alma mater VES. (that was 2 weeks ago that he would have been graduating). i weep b/c ransom (who looks like jesse) will never know him (until he reaches heaven). i weep b/c my brother dwight lost his best friend.

remember esther - a blink of an eye...

Summer Time

its been such a nice few weeks here in southern new england. aquidneck island is gorgeous. i will be posting some pictures from around town and our home to showcase the flora which abounds. spring and summer are looking so short and i still remember and can feel the chill of the dark, damp, frigid winter. but i am trying to just take in each day. we don't always have hot days. right now its foggy and a bit damp. but i like hearing the fog horns, which warn sailors. i love hearing the church bells of st. john the evangelist over on the Point. i love knowing that we are so close to the sea. newport truly is a wonderful place to live.

my folks came up last weekend and my mom and i went to chaves' nursery. they treated us to a bunch of herbs and flowers for our container garden. so the other day i did a bunch of weeding (which i am still sore from!) and planted the tomatos and the pumpkins. i also planted all the flowers and herbs in pots. my neighbhor annie sent over too pots she had beautifully filled. those are sitting on our front porch. i plan on doing more weeding and more planting soon, maybe when we have a little extra money. i truly love being outside and making progress in my garden. i know i need to get some of poet lucy shaw's work b/c she has written on gardening and knowing God and the relationship between the Creator and his creation.

we have several birthday parties coming up this weekend - one is even at the easton's beach carousel. the kids and i are really enjoying the friendships we are making through our mom's club play group. the lord is so good to provide for us. we went to roger william's zoo this past thursday with several moms. it was so so much fun. but i do miss the san diego zoo. i could take a vacation in the zoo. i also miss balboa park fountain and the prado.

i want to go to the beach soon but we'll have to wait for some warmer weather. i am also excited about berry picking and more newport cultural activities. the tall ships are coming soon!!!