It really has been raining almost every day since the flood and every time I chance to drive by the river I’m appalled by how high it is. Enough with the rain! Although my worry about the river has caused me to forget, sort of, about the leaves not changing into glory. Most them are just falling off in a soggy mass. Its just too warm and too wet.
FEMA checks have started to arrive and people are getting work done or moving into new places. One of the families sheltering at church will be able to move into a real place this weekend. Its been a month! Can you imagine living in a fellowship hall for a month? And they’re all so nice and unintrusive and friendly. Given my overall complaining level when tiny things don’t go as planned, I so doubt I would be as gracious and happy looking as our shelterees.
Marigold’s screaming, shouting and grunting is getting really old. She finally learned to say ‘please’ this weekend, sort of. It’s more like ‘sssss’ and she will say ‘yes ma’am’ which is more like ‘yeah maaa’. And she says ‘Daddy’ no problem. Oh, and ‘NO’, of course. But that’s it. Shouldn’t she have like fifty words by now? She’ll be two in a month.
On nights when Matt is late at church we all get in my bed and watch Mr. Bean. Besides it just being really funny, its so interesting in terms of moral formation (a la Catechesis of the Good Shepherd). He’s such a bad bad man, so selfish, so inconsiderate, so spiteful. My real enjoyment is watching the children watch with horror at each new sickening act of destruction (the library episode comes to mind in particular). Can cluelessness be a sin?
Elphine cried out when we turned it on last week, “Not the Christmas episode! I’ll get nightmares!”
“Nightmares? Why on earth?”
“He just gives her a picture and a nail, instead of a ring! Its so horrible!!!” she screamed.
To which I replied, “Heh heh heh.”
So I cook actual breakfast every morning now. Eggs and toast, pancakes, french toast, oatmeal, cream of wheat, muffins. Its crazy. And then the children read quietly until school starts. After cleaning it all up and doing their chores. And then we memorize Bible verses and stuff. And then do like an hour and a half of math. I blame it entirely on God. There’s no way, if I was really handling everything, that our days would look like this. I’d still be in bed at ten. They’d be smeared in paste and rooting for food in the back yard and hitting each other.
I have family coming to visit next week. SO Excited. SO much to do to get the house ship shape. We’re going to get to meet a new new baby. Training will start today: DON’T SIT ON THE BABY!! MARIGOLD. STOP STOP STOP. DON’T PICK UP THE BABY MARIGOLD!!! STOP!!!!! If you have a minute, pray the new lovely baby survives our homicidal maniac toddler.
Elphine is finally growing into her adult front teeth. I must say I’m relieved. I’m constantly startled by how big her teeth are compared to her face. Alouicious is on his way to enormous teeth. Every day I see them growing and his face appearing to get smaller. So weird, the way God has organized the whole teeth thing–all the pain, from infancy to death. For those of you who don’t believe in the Fall, try to explain that one to me.
Have a Great Weekend! Go check out Jen!
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