seven quick takes before holy week

one

I don't desire to be awake yet. Marigold only sleeps through the night maybe three times a week now, and naps maybe four days out of seven. She spent from one to five am dancing around our heads, breathing heavily, playing with my hair, taking dust covers off books, singing quietly to herself, going into the garage to rummage in the cupboard, coming back with a pair of Matt's shoes on, and just generally living the good life. Matt finally gave up at 3:30 and got up for the day, even though he intended to sleep till five. And here I am, thinking I would try to sleep now that she's finally crashed, but awake never the less. Why doesn't she need to sleep? Could she be hyper thyroid? I've heard about those people. They think the rest of us are lazy for occasionally sitting down to read or sleeping for a whole 7 hours a night.

two

Its been almost a whole month since we trotted off to Plano to learn all about church planting and I never managed to regroup and say anything about how all the kids did, even though, I'm pretty sure, that was the most interesting part of the whole adventure. Short version? They did fine. Perfect even. And, because everyone is better than me, when I got back I discovered Three Whole Blog Posts about the Boys, and was given a beautiful little photo album of the little girls with more pictures of them than have been taken probably in a whole year. So so lovely. I'm still plotting my thank you presents.

three

So Holy Week is down our throats.  In preparation both Matt and I have already adopted the wild eyed insane cry 'But its Holy Week' which is wailed whenever the phone rings, when the doorbell rings, when my phone pops that there's an email or text, when Elphine twirls in to ask if she can learn to cook today (and by cook, she means a full culinary expression of all time and in all places). You know how when you pick up the phone to call someone and it seems like all the children in the neighborhood are miraculously assembled around you shouting for popsicles and lemonade? It kind of feels like that, except that I'm pretty sure its just a feeling and that not all the work in the universe has assembled on the pinhead of this week.

four

In the process of working so hard, I discovered this blog post which I thought might be helpful to you. Here's something to lure you to the whole post where you can see the pictures.

 Have you ever had unpublishable thoughts about your rector? Admit it, you have (and then talked behind his/her back at coffee hour). Sometimes there’s nothing like a good old-fashioned passive aggressive gift. I suggest delivering this slab of granite directly to the rector’s office (on the rector’s day off).

five

And then there's this brilliantly instructive post on eating with children, which, if you're friends with me on facebook, you will see is so so timely. Last night at Shepherd's Bowl, all the children but Gladys settled happily in front of trays full of nice food. She, instead, stood like a stormy little cloud as I pulled out the chair and invited her to sit down and feast.
 "I don't want to sit next to him," she announced loudly, directing her insolent gaze to the very nice young man next to whom she was going to sit.
I squatted next to her and hissed, "Oh yes you are, and you had better not ever say anything like that again because its very unkind and you will hurt his feelings very much." She gazed stonily back at me and stuck her fat lips out as far as she could.
"You may sit there," I said, "or go home right now and eat your dinner by yourself with your dad and miss Bible Class." Whereupon she lifted up her voice and wept so loudly the whole room turned to inquire if she was hurt. I smiled back at the room and then marched her back home where she spent the evening eating bread and apple butter because she wasn't allowed to watch anything or play anything nice.

six

Alouicious goes to Men's Bible Study now on Friday mornings with Matt. He wakes up early and drinks sugary coffee and reads the chapter they'll be discussing and then digs money out of his wallet so he can buy soda. I've been letting them all buy one soda (it hurts me to call it that, it should be called pop but I've lived in the wretched Northeast for too long) on Sunday out of the machine at church and he's taken upon himself to have a second one, I guess. Besides the soda, the main thing, of course, is the food. Matt says he eats a massive plate of food and then he comes back here to me and gets in a second breakfast. But he also seems to track well with the study and has even asked a question on occasion. I suppose it will only be a week or two before he's taller than me and telling me how to live my life.

seven

So, I should really stop doing this and go work on a sermon and toast bread for breakfast. It appears that Marigold is up from her nap and so is everyone else. Blast it all.

Have a great weekend and go check out Jen!