Let's talk about boys and girls

It's been forever since I've posted. Oh, I spend lots of time reading everyone else's blogs and then I'm too sleepy to write anything on mine. So tonight I limited myself to reading only two other blogs.

So...since I have this time, let's talk. I thought today we'd talk about boys and girls. Two entirely, completely, totally different species. One physically active and vocally inactive, the other physically not-as-active and vocally much too active. Let's take a moment to assess which species momma prefers transporting in the family vehicle...

Yesterday momma transported several young members of the male species to a neighboring town. Each male, though he was quite alert, traveled in a mostly quiet state. Each conversing a bit, each enjoying the transport, but none infusing the vehicle's interior with excessive levels of noise. ie: momma arrives in peace.
Just hours later, however, momma transports several young members of the female species to..you guessed it...a neighboring town. Each female, obviously quite alert, traveled in a state quite unlike that of the opposite gender. Two girls both talking at the same time, each trying to speak more loudly than the other. Two girls both singing...each at the top of her lungs singing a DIFFERENT song more loudly than the other and each yelling "BE QUIET, YOU'RE NOT ALLOWED TO SING!" at the other. Both inflicting great pain on the eardrums of said momma. Both ensuring a blissful state of ceaseless noise during the entire transport. ie: momma does NOT arrive in peace.
Ahh, the norm. Yes, what would we do with out the normal everyday things that are so predictable about those we love.
I love these kiddos with all my heart.

Cherie

Tiffany McBryde, if you're reading this... POST girl...I'm checking.

Spring has Sprung

Oh, it has been so long since I've posted. We went from snow to spring. (Wasn't it just snowing like 3 weeks ago though!!)
Pappy and the Girls!

And Christian finished well in this, his last derby car race. Next year he'll be too old. He's had a great track record with either a first or second place finish every year. He took 2nd place this year.


Well we spent all day Sunday clearing out the flower beds and washing windows and getting ready for SPRING! Lo and Behold, there under all those leaves were...TULIPS!! Oh, how welcome. The boys loved these pictures of Faith, she's such a ham. She had a ball with all the long grasses we were cutting.



Then there was a job for our resident pyrotechnic. Mitchell and I argued over how short he had to cut the grasses down before he burned them. He thought he should be permitted to let them standing seven feet in the air and just torch them. Stating that he "could handle it" and I should "just stay out of it." I WON. (Cuz I'm the MOM you know). And so, he drenched the ground around them (it was already muddy wet from lots of rain) and cut them to no more than about 8 inches high. Then he told me to "Stay back." So here he is in his glory. And...
And...
And...OHHH...I wasn't going to, probably shouldn't, really shouldn't post these...BUT..Oh...should I or shouldn't I?...Wanna see them??...You know those times when you don't know what you've captured on your camera until after the fact...Oh, man, they're just too priceless not to post... Oh, here goes...

































And about this time, my lovely, organized, on-top-of-things neighbor (who surely must think I'm a few bananas short of a fruit basket anyways) walked by (love you Niki) and said, "Is this a controlled burn?"

Yes, I seem to be losing a grape here and there as time goes by.

...Maybe I'll go read up on what the Scriptures have to say about fruit.

Ok, Is it just me?

Is it just me...
Faith wrote (she writes on everything) on a snow tube the other day. I want to show you what her writing looks like....nuff said!

Winter Wonderland

Well, we certainly got our fair share of snow, and here are a few photos to prove it.


Everyone enjoyed it!






























Matthew and Christian built "recliners"!






But the highlight came after dark when Mitchell (17) announced that he was going outside to "JUMP OFF STUFF". All the boys got into the act.

I must admit I was a bit nervous when they decided the snow was deep enough to jump off the top of the swingset. It's about 10 feet. However, as a mom of boys, I know that when there is not a terrible threat of danger, it's important to let boys be daring! The only casualty was when Christian didn't jump high enough off the shed roof and ended up pinned inside the raspberry bushes and had to be rescued by Mitchell.


And this is how Mitchell landed...in a poof of snow with only his head sticking out! The boys wanted me to video them jumping off the swingset, but they were unimpressed with the results seeing as how the jump lasted about one second.

Just a few Photos

Gracie spent a long time the other night making this tray of beautiful ice cream sundaes out of playdough. I thought they looked so pretty I had to take a picture.




Another one of the most gorgeous photos of this big guy who melts my heart.







And...I guess brothers seem to be agreeing with her...

So, yesterday Mitchell was sitting at the counter doing math and Grace and Faith were both hanging over his books talking a mile a minute and he looked at me with a big grin on his face and said, "Seriously, why do you have to have so many kids." and then he laughed. And it was a nice moment, because even though the girls were annoying him, he saw the cuteness in it and it was kind of a thankful moment.

Watch the Pro at Work

I can't believe this is true, but until yesterday, we never gave Faith chopsticks to use!! Why? Why did we never give her chopsticks? Sheer stupidity I guess! We discovered this yesterday when we finally thought to give her some and then we all scrambled for video cameras and cameras and had a ball watching the pro!!!

With Grateful Hearts

I have put off writing this post for a number of days because I simply have not been able to conjure up enough brain power to put this all in writing...

The other day, Mitchell and I took Faith to the local Chinese Restaurant. It was a most fascinating visit. She was greatly disturbed when the owner and his wife spoke to her in Mandarin. She was disturbed by even the sight of them and when they spoke to her in Mandarin, she would furrow her brow deeply and turn away. So, we ordered her something to eat and thought maybe if we sat there for a while she would become more comfortable and begin to answer them. We were wondering if she would say anything (even a word or two) to them in Chinese. (I must add here that if you remember, she was a regular chatterbox in China. She spoke to all our waiters and store clerks and such and entertained them greatly and we couldn't understand a word she said. She spoke extremely well for her age. Even the doctor in China told our guide to tell us that she had an amazing amount of language for her age.) Anyways, we wanted to see if, after 4 months, she would still say anything in Chinese when spoken to.

It was amazing. (When I tell this story, I am not exaggerating or saying that I'm glad for her reactions. I am just telling the story.) We know that she actually processed the difference between the languages, people, and time in her young life. She, very much by choice, refused to say anything in Chinese. He would ask her a question like, "Is your rice good?" and she would, like I said, furrow her brow and turn away. I said, "Answer him, honey." And she would always say, "No, I have to chew." He said something and she quickly looked up and looked right at him, and he said, "She know just what I say!" And I had no doubt, by her reaction, that she did indeed know. (I'm so sorry that I don't remember what it was, he did tell me.) I asked the owner how to say "eat your rice" and he showed me. I then said it to her in mandarin...she looked at me and very seriously said, "No, mommy, stop it!"

The owner's two little boys came walking into the restaurant after school and I said to Faith, "Tell them Ni Hao." She said, "No, mommy, I like a Hi" We were floored by the thought process in this. She understood both, very blatantly chose the English word, and communicated that to me in no uncertain terms.

During the visit, he wrote Xiu ru (Faith's Chinese name) in Chinese characters for us. Once when her back was turned to him, he called out her Chinese name and she turned around quickly and looked at him.

We had some very interesting conversation with him. He said he and his wife have been here a few years and they rarely see any other Chinese people. (We live in a rural community) I could tell they loved seeing her. He said, "One other Chinese family. They come in. We sit and talk. We very happy." It took me a while to explain how we got her because he did not know what the word orphanage meant. I told him, "No mother, No father, big building for all the children." "Oh.." then he knew.
He talked about children and language because, of course, his little boys speak both languages. He said, "She here a little while and she will not remember. Little child get a new brain very fast."

I told him that I think it is sad that she is losing/will lose her Chinese, and he said, "You let her be American girl now...China, forget about it. She a very lucky girl. You know she a lucky girl? Thank you. Thank you for bringing her here. She not have a chance in China."

When we were leaving, he said good-bye to her in Chinese and she turned around and said, "Bye" in English. She understood it...and she translated it.

It was a fascinating visit. On the drive home, Mitchell said, "Boy, that was interesting wasn't it?" Later that day, I went down to the family room and told Mitchell, "Thanks for going with me, that was fascinating." He said, "I was just gonna come and tell you the same thing."

One tiny visit, one big picture. We saw two people...from one culture. One mid-life and one just a babe. We saw the babe process two languages and understand that one meant her old life and one meant her new...and more importantly, we saw her choose her new life over her old. We caught a glimpse of the gratefulness felt by a middle-aged man who, from what we learned in China, probably waited at least fifteen years for a visa to come here. We saw him process two lifestyles, one his old and one his new...and more notablty, we saw him express gratitude for the new.

So..I've been thinking...
Are we grateful? Are we a grateful people? Are we grateful enough??


And our birthday of the month. Matthew turns 14! Here's his Polamalu cake, thanks to his cousin Jennie. To be followed by the Polamalu jersey. We love you Ma!!