The Magic of a Big Sister

Having big sisters is an adventure. They come up with very creative games. And they let you borrow their costumes.

Sneaky Selfies

We've reminded Sophie several times that she needs permission to take pictures with my phone, and yet we keep finding new pictures...

40

Bryan is really good at birthdays, especially my birthdays. I had originally wanted to do something big for this birthday, maybe something fun and social with other people. But global pandemic combined with social distancing makes that tricky, so I knew it would be just us for my birthday. Bryan went the extra mile to make up for it.

He stayed up until two in the morning putting up decorations, then got up with the kids in the morning so I could sleep in and shower.

He got the kids really excited for the birthday celebration, which included each big kid picking a board game and then me playing it with them.

He got me a gift that made me laugh at loud at its awesomeness.

And he made a very fancy, nearly sugar-free chocolate cake.

It was a great day. Thank you, Bryan!

Tomorrow

It's 11:01 on the night of June 26. This is my last hour being thirty-nine, my last hour before I turn forty.

It's weird.

I fully recognize that in the grand scheme of things forty is not a big number. But it feels kind of big. Several times today Sophie has commented on my impending birthday including the gem, "Tomorrow you'll be old!"

I've been reflecting about the changes that have happened during the last ten years. When I turned thirty I was expecting Phoebe, so I've had three additional children in my thirties. We went through the MBA adventure and zigzagged our way across the country as we moved and moved and moved and moved and moved and moved and moved. I made some very dear friends in the last ten years. I've read hundreds of books. I've made blankets. I've cooked more meals from scratch than I thought possible. I've gone through life-changing trials. But I've learned and grown and been refined by those trials.

When I turned thirty I wrote about my tenth and twentieth birthdays and I pondered about how I would spend my fortieth birthday. Never would I have guessed that I would turn forty in the middle of a global pandemic and a national racism awakening. Tomorrow there will be no parties or gatherings with friends. Bryan and I won't go out to dinner or a movie to celebrate. I'll sleep in and exercise and open gifts, many of which the kids covertly created and wrapped today. I'll (probably) gets texts and Facebook messages wishing me happy birthday and maybe even a call or two. I'll eat watermelon and sugar-free cake and snuggle with these six people that I love so very much.

What do the next ten years hold? The world is still upside-down, so I have no idea. I'd like us to buy a house at some point. Peter starts high school in the fall, though I don't know what that will look like. I'd like to send kids on missions and to college. I'd like to really learn to play the piano and the ukulele and the guitar. I'd like to work toward a Master's degree and maybe figure out what I want to be when I grow up. I'd like to be healthy and have energy to keep up with these kids as they grow.

It's 11:40 on the night of June 26. This is my last twenty minutes being thirty-nine, my last twenty minutes before I turn forty.

It's going to be fine.

What's Up, Doc?

Sophie asked for carrots for breakfast today. I showed her how to peel them and she took over. Three carrots later, plus one for Phoebe, and she was done. She kept saying how delicious they were. I'm pretty amused by her choice of morning meal.

Do As I'm Doing

Topher is very observant and often imitates what he sees the big kids do. He has play phone calls with them. He puts himself in timeout, including setting the timer, when he's feeling grumpy. And he adopts their vocal mannerisms like groaning in annoyance when he thinks they're misbehaving. Actually, he may have picked that one up from the grown ups.

This morning I walked into the library and saw Topher with one of our Chromebooks open in front of him. This conversation happened.

Me: Oh buddy, let's put this away. (I took the computer from him.)

Topher: (kind of sad and a little whiny) Hey! No! Watch Minecraft.

Yep, he's definitely been paying attention.

A Place for Everything

For the nearly five years I've had it, my desk has been the unofficial Place to Put Stuff That Doesn't Have a Home spot. I've gotten it nearly clean multiple times, but random items keep finding their way down to the basement and onto my desk. In February I decided I wanted a usable desk and I got busy sorting.

Then the world turned upside. Whatever free time I was using on my desk totally disappeared.

A few weeks ago I decided I needed to finish my desk. I took small chunks of time, sometimes only ten minute increments, to work on it every few days. Last night I saw how close I was to being done and I decided to push through.

Behold, a clean desk:

Those boxes are all organized with planned sewing projects, craft supplies, and birthday decorations. That makes it sound like this is someone else's desk, so I guess I've developed some surprising hobbies over the years.

As soon as I finished it my first thought was, "Now I can get my sewing machine out and get through some projects!"

Best Dad

We had a good, low-key Father's Day with no photo evidence at all. Well, that's not completely true. I had the kids fill out Father's Day questionnaires about Bryan and I did take pictures of those. I read them aloud to Bryan and he guessed who wrote each one. There was much laughter had by all.

Don't worry, I won't make you guys guess.

Sophie:

Phoebe:

Cooper:

Peter:

I didn't do one for Topher, but I probably should have, he has a lot to say these days.

We're so thankful for Bryan!

The More You Know

In case you were wondering, onesies are excellent for toy storage.

The Instigator

"She started it when she punched me back!" -Sophie, when questioned why she hit Phoebe instead of going to sleep at bedtime.