This was one of those rare weekends for us where there was nothing major in the calendar and we had no good excuse to be anywhere but home. And we all needed it. Mostly I needed it in order to get a handle on the house--- I have been feeling overwhelmed lately by projects that needed to be done that I just never seem to get to. So we made it a priority this weekend to get some things crossed off the ever growing list.
The first order of business on Saturday morning was to occupy the kids so that I could embark on Operation Reorganize the Pantry. It's a small space in the house (much smaller than I would prefer)...but goodness gracious does it ever take on a life of its own if not controlled. So, Mara worked on a pancake and some bananas in her high chair while Josh and Lauren....well, take a look for yourselves to see what they got into...
The big kids played for quite some time in the costume box, making all sorts of interesting combinations. I forget what they were being when I took this picture, but Lauren said that was the face she had to make. It was part of the costume. And who was I to argue.
And after two hours in our itty bitty pantry, here is what I can offer as my biggest accomplishment of the weekend.
We spent the rest of Saturday working on my list, putting away, cleaning up, folding and reorganizing all sorts of things, closets and drawers around the house. We packed our shoeboxes for Operation Christmas Child for Sunday morning and had a nice talk about why we do that each year. Joshua was full of questions about it, and even wrote a very sweet poem to go into his box. We did one for a boy Joshua's age, and one for a girl Lauren's age. I thought it was important for them to think about the fact that a little boy or girl just like them might only get this one present for Christmas, and they both had a lot of questions to ask about it. After all of that, we had a nice dinner, and it was good to spend some time together before Daddy had to get ready to go on his business trip. He'll be gone almost all of this week, and I can tell you, we are all already missing him. We're managing and the kids have been really good, but things surely do work smoother around our house when we're all together. So we're counting down the days until Thursday.
Sunday morning we got up and went to church. Joshua and Lauren were so excited to get their shoeboxes onto the pile with the others that had been filled. They loved being a part of the dedication ceremony for them. I'm not entirely sure if they "get it" completely, but I am noticing a little more connection with the process each year that we participate. Mara's part of the whole process was to squirm and scrooch as much as she possibly could. I ended up putting her in the nursery for the few minutes I needed to be with the big kids. For as unhappy as she was sitting in my lap in the sanctuary, you'd have thought she would have been thrilled with the opportunity to get down and play in the nursery. But upon my exit, the wailing began, only to be stopped by my reappearance 15 minutes later. And that pretty much sums up Mara lately. Sweet as can be while in my arms. A screaming banshee otherwise. It's beyond frustrating. But look at this face....
I find it hard to be mad for long.
In other Mara news, we had a few interesting developments this weekend.
A. She got her first, adorable little tooth.
B. She learned to climb up the stairs.
C. She is starting to stand independently for a few seconds. And yesterday, I watched her attempt to take one tiny baby step on her own. She immediately fell to the ground, but I saw it. It won't be long now until we are officially off to the races.
I sent the first two news items to Libby via text on Saturday when they happened. And her response cracked me up. It was:
"A. Yay! A tooth! Finally!! and B. Lord, have mercy!"
My sentinments exactly.
We are on serious countdown to Baby Hayden this week, with great anticipation. I hope this little girl knows how much she is loved. I cannot wait to be an Aunt again, and to watch Brooke become the fantastic big sister I know she will be. Our family has so much to be grateful for this year. For now, we are praying for a safe and uneventful delivery for Libby and a sweet, healthy baby girl to get to love on Wednesday.
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