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I've been meaning to post about life and I've been meaning to send everyone Valentines and I've done neither so I thought I might combine the two. Yesterday Jason's current school was closed because over ten percent of the student body was out sick. They closed so they could disinfect classrooms and give everyone a chance to get all the way better. Hooray! We went out with our children to an inexpensive Mexican place with a cheery ethnic flare and then back at home, popped the children in the bath and got them ready for bed before our friend and neighbor, Joyce Johnson came over to put them to bed (and then wash my dirty dishes) before taking a nap on our sofa while Jason and I went out to the Cheesecake Factory and got the least coffee tasting coffees they had. We had a lovely time talking about our future (which is rather a mystery to us!) and trying to make decisions about where and what sort of jobs for which to apply. Jason is in the middle of Student Teaching at his second of three schools right now. At both schools so far he's been placed with bright, eccentric teachers who love to choose their favorite literature and write their own curriculum for their students. Jason would love that too, were he choosing his own favorites and if he had a bit of prep time to come up with what he wanted them to learn... but it's been a very hard go for him being given literature with which he's not very familiar and having maybe a weekend to come up with a Unit to begin to teach to several classes at a time! He's gotten ridiculously little sleep the past month and a half or so. But he's really enjoying teaching over all and has learned a LOT from the two excellent teachers. I have been adjusting to having Jason gone all day every day and then studying with the door closed whenever he's at home. That's why yesterday was so exciting! But it's been good - after trying so purposefully to become less independent and self-reliant the last five years I am now, hopefully for a limited time, stepping back into making decisions and choices for myself and the kids on my own and without waiting to do so as a team with Jason. I'm also babysitting a quite a bit for a couple of friends and taking more of the paper route. In fact, as I showered the other day I did some quick counting on my fingers and came to the realization that I'd been working almost 20 hours a week! That was very encouraging to realize since sometimes I feel so frustrated with how little I seem to get done. The kids and I have been enjoying getting outside a lot more now that the weather is a bit milder again. I really enjoy being a wife (to Jason anyway) and a mom (to Kilty, Riley and Jack anyway)! I catch myself starting to wonder occasionally if we'll have a baby on the way again sometime soon and despite the fact that I really don't like much about being pregnant, I do hope we will. Kilty is four and a half and she is mostly sweet and helpful (c: She and Riley empty the dishwasher for me and though they put up a fuss about it when I ask them, they always feel proud of their accomplishment when they're done. She rides her bike (w/training wheels too, Arun!) well and the other day was fast enough that I got to RUN to keep up with her as I pushed Riley and Jack in the stroller behind her. A few days ago I heard "Handel's Messiah" coming from the CD player in their room and assumed that it would quickly be replaced by something more "kid friendly" because this particular recording is very stilted and involves an over abundance of sopranos in rigid style. A few minutes later Kilty came running into the kitchen yelling "Mama, come quick! You need to hear something!" I came running and she led me to the CD player where she cued the song she had chosen and I heard the soprano forcing out "...and the angel said unto them, 'fear not, for behold I bring you good tidings of great joy which shall be for all people...'" and Kilty and Riley were both listening with rapt attention saying occasionally "Mama, this is the angel talking to the shepherds! Mama, we KNOW this story!! And they were caught up in the glory of the moment when the whole choir joined in with the "multitude of the heavenly host, praising God and saying, 'Glory to God, glory to God, glory to God in the highest.'" I loved it. I alway hear that in my head when I read it, but I didn't imagine that they would be able to appreciate it at this point. What a pleasure to have my girls introducing the treasure they had found to ME! Kilty is putting her hope in God and truly desires to evidence the fruit of His Spirit in her life.  
Riley just turned three and as Jason and I often comment to each other, she is a piece of work! She has a sense of humor beyond her vocabulary (not that her vocabulary is all that limited but more that she shocks us all the time with how funny she is and we realize that she was probably this funny all along but we just get a better window into her humor as her capacity for communication increases. Speaking of communication, it's been fascinating to me to notice how differently Kilty and Riley interact with language. Kilty seems to hear and speak sounds. Riley seems to hear and speak words. Kilty has always had an amazing memory, but it's a memory of syllables and inflections. Riley remembers and enjoys specific words and their associations. Riley is a clothes horse. She loves to change her clothes and to accessorize with jewelry, scarves and purses and then to strut around the house. My goodness, where did she get that?? She's pretty good at it too. Soon I'll be asking her for advice on what to wear (c: Kilty would rather wear her "seven shirt" (football jersey from Jason's alma mater that Grandma and Grandpa got her in CO) and jeans. Actually, they both like to wear dresses and skirts, but Riley is usually the instigator. Two days ago Riley came into the kitchen and said "Mama, may I change my pants?" I asked her why she wanted to change them. "Because when I walk my bottom wiggles." was her reply. I asked her how changing her pants would help and she said, "because my flower pants are bigger and I need bigger pants so that my bottom won't wiggle when I walk." I asked her why she thought her bottom wiggled and she said, "because I can see it wiggling. Watch!" And she turned and walked vigorously across the kitchen looking back over her shoulder at me with a serious look on her face as she proved her point. I asked her if someone told her that her bottom wiggled and she said that she had seen it in my mirror. She's also the one who asks random people if they have babies in their tummies and what their cleavage is. Riley has a very different relationship with God. She tends to avoid asking Him (or anyone else) for help but loves Jesus and is exuberantly glad that He is alive again, and eager to be with him as soon as God allows her to die!  
Jack is almost 14 months old and has been walking and running for months now. He loves all terrain challenges outside (has no inhibitions about puddles, mud and snow). He is a crazy little man and I'm always peeling him off tables and counters and picking him up off the floor from big spills. He was really tiny for a long time (when he started walking at ten and a half months he was still in 3-6 month clothes!) but now he is catching up and the word that comes to mind when someone - including me or Jason - picks him up is SOLID. He still loves to snuggle and he laughs out loud without a hint of snobbiness at our silly jokes. I have a couple of video clips of his adventures with a slide that I plan to upload tonight when I'm done with this everlasting post, so look for those tomorrow or the next day (c: 
We love you! We are thankful that you are more than any old Valentine to us! Jessica, Jason, Kilty, Riley and Jack |
