The Streetpoet

“We Live a Time“

We live a time secure;

beloved and loving, sure

it cannot last for long, then

the good-byes come

again – again

like a small death,

the closing of a door.

One learns to live with pain.

One looks ahead, not back

never back, only before.

And joy will come again

warm and secure,

if only for the now, laughing,

we endure.”

~Ruth Bell Graham

http://www.billygraham.org/RBG_TimeToAdore.asp

My dearest friends Katy and Sarah both moved out of state this summer.

They were among my first friends out here in California where I have made a life with my Peter. I was in Katy’s wedding, Sarah drove up to spend the evening with me at least once a week for two years, and they were both at my Ian’s birth. They will have part of my heart for the rest of my life, no matter how much or little we keep in touch.

I thank the Lord for the time he gave us together and pray He will allow us to hold each other close many more times in this life!

It’s not in the hundreds, but it’s warm enough to swim!

After school work was done and lunch was cleaned up the boys dashed outside into the hottest part of the day and contrived to have a blast until naptime sliding, splashing, spraying each other and surviving.

This is the slide from an old playset that is no more.

Seth ended up with quite an array of bruises from this experiment…he kept slamming into the wall of the pool so I put swim trunks on him and it slowed down his speed. (The slide is too heavy for me to make it stay at the end of the pool.)

Jerome would send down a toy and slide right after it. He figured out how to put the hose on jet and make it go really fast!

And as they dried off in the sun, wrapped in their towels they ate frozen bananas and blueberries and asked what more could they do before naptime…..

they are both sound asleep. 🙂

Yesterday on our way to the park Seth wanted to take a ball with him, so I explained that since we were going to be walking on the street he had to be responsible with it and hold it with two hands. Jerome said “Seth, I’ll tell you what ‘responsible’ means!” Seth said “What?”. And Jerome continued, “Responsible means to keep it!”.

After being dropped in the street once, shared with strangers, and being sat on, the ball did make it home with us.

I’ve finally brought myself to say it…Jerome’s in kindergarten. We started doing preschool stuff in the summertime and now that the school year has started we’re doing school daily. I’m so hesitant to even say we’re “doing school” because it feels so normal and haphazard at the same time. I’m putting him through some workbooks that we’ve bought and some that have been given to us, we’re doing some learning games and reading lots of books, flashcards and crafts…and he loves it! This I have always considered the biggest step in my parenting career, starting school. But now I am learning that my friend was right when she told me “Homeschooling is a lifestyle.”. To find a lesson in everything, to teach him how to find the answers and how to learn, to understand that all knowledge comes from above…this is homeschooling.

Here is Jerome showing me Brazil after reading an adventure.

Seth loves tea parties! Well, both of my big boys enjoy tea parties. Sometimes I give them real tea and enjoy it with them! But when he doesn’t have any tea, like this morning, it’s only a pretend tea party.

Seth said to me as he was washing dishes and I was cutting up salad for dinner…. “Mommy, I have bug ouches, bug biteses. Will you please forgive me?” 🙂

Ian has started laughing out load when we tickle him! Of course, he’s just starting to get ticklish!

What a joy to be blessed with boys!

After a whole year…almost to the day…we get to do another photo session with Laura and Daniel and Sienna!

Last year Laura was almost due and we decided to do a pregnancy shoot and dinner one Saturday. By the next Saturday Sienna was already born! (No, it was not my cooking.)

Laura had been wanting a baby for years. Daniel let her have cats.

They make awesome parents, and they should be, because God gave them a very precocious little girl who keeps them on their toes!

Here are our precious friends and their little one.

Happy fifth anniversary you guys!

Thanks for the wonderful evening, dear friends. Let’s not let a whole year go by again!

(Especially not if you bring another one of your amazing chocolate silk pies! 😉 )

Love you!