Wednesday, July 8, 2009

loveliest of treats




















This week it's been a blessing to watch Bethany and Olivia enjoy being sisters. They've gone off to swim and sports camp at the clubhouse each morning. They've had fun wearing matching clothes and crazy socks and sharing snack bags. There has been more savoring than shrieking, myself included.


Yesterday I was in that anxious, should be packing but not sure where to start stupor that could only be lifted by doing something life-changing like getting going to get my hair colored. Fortunately I had plenty of cooperative white hairs. When I returned the kids had a variety of responses. Mary said I looked like the nice lady in The Mummy. Ben told me I looked like Auntie Annie. Bethany told me I looked a little bit like a Vulcan. Caitlin said I looked "lute-a-ful."
Here's where I will mention who makes it possible for me to sneak out in the middle of the afternoon. Yes, that is cheating. I took this picture of Xiao Chen to show my mom how nice this shirt looks on her. Mom gave it to me, but it was too small. Xiao Chen wears it frequently. I tried to take a picture of Lao Tien, Xiao Chen's mother-in-law, but Lao Tien was too shy to look at the camera. They are wonderful ladies. I am grateful for their help. They are a part of our family now.


















Yesterday they brought us some ribs and chicken wings because we are going away for a while. The boys and I started up the barbecue around 5:30. They love building the tee pee with logs and newspaper and hunting for twigs and dry leaves in the yard. We had some difficulty because it had been a little rainy earlier, but Ben said it was fun to keep trying. We had the fire going by the time Rob came home. Ben was quite proud.
Sam made some French Quarter Beignets that Emeril would have been proud to serve. The boys also finished up a movie called Little Red Riding Boy this week. Sam has been experimenting with slow motion editing, so of course he had to hunt down the Chariots of Fire theme song. We've got it on our ipod now. The kids like to put it on while we're cleaning up after dinner. We all pretend we are cleaning in slow motion. It's nicer than when we are all yelling at each other to hurry.
Rob came home with a second package from Grandma. This one was for the boys. We had one waiting for the girls.
"It's all clothing," is a phrase that makes boys go back to what they were doing and girls go shrieking around with excitement. I was outside with Grant at the park when Bethany ran out with great enthusiasm. "I saw the loveliest dress inside."
Beth March wouldn't have said it any sweeter. The girls came outside for a fashion show.
This morning after breakfast, Sam and the boys couldn't wait another minute to watch Jason and the Argonauts. Sam, who knows much more about movie history than most of us, was excited to see the special effects that were 'really something else' in the early 60's.
More stupor for me today. Thankfully I have a eight kids that need haircuts. William's hair has a few months to grow.

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