Simply Delightful

Last Christmas we received a wonderful gift in the mail, a keyboard and a guitar. My brother was helping finalize a family estate and came across these treasures he thought we might like to have. What a gift! I was excited and super thankful. (Thanks again, Jay!) Piano lessons had crossed my mind before but as with anything practice is required. No instrument, no practice.

So when these treasures arrived last Christmas I talked to the older two kids about lessons and both were excited. Fast forward to the summer, which is when I finally got around to calling about lessons. :) Well, recitals were just taking place and lessons wouldn't begin again until the Fall. We scheduled lessons with a lovely Sister who teaches both piano and guitar and does lessons back-to-back for the kids. Fall arrives and Kiersten is still excited but Isaiah has changed his mind. I have to say I told him he was going to take lessons anyhow and we'd just see how the year played out.

If I could convey in words what a gem Sister A is I would. She is a perfect fit and blessing for our family. After the first lesson BOTH kids came out smiling and happy. Nothing has changed in the weeks that have followed. I have had no complaints or whining when asking them to practice. The experience as a whole has been wonderful.

Recently there  was a mid-year Christmas recital. Isaiah didn't play in it but Kiersten did. Sister knew she could accompany her and fill-in the song whereas for Isaiah she couldn't really do that. (All was well because he wouldn't have wanted to participate anyhow!)

  

Christmas piano from Jess on Vimeo.

The evening was simply delightful, a true joy. (We'll not discuss the behavior of the other kids...it'll ruin the moment.) There were performers of all ages and abilities. Each performed a Christmas tune and as it happened they all played on the piano. I thoroughly enjoyed myself and the only thing that would have made it better was if the husband and I had made it a date! :)

A Walk in the Woods

Every now and again the urge to get outside hits me. I love to walk but not so much around the neighborhood. If I am going to take a walk I prefer an unpaved trail to a cemented sidewalk. It really isn't the type of path that is important but rather the scenery through which the path passes that I am most interested in. I am thankful that we live not far at all from some really wonderful trails. The kids don't let me go for as long as I would like, but when you are a Mom you take what you can get. True?

This was a lovely Fall day and the weather was glorious. I love seeing my four littles ahead of me. I also love the glorious colors that the Lord puts on display during this time of year. I simply cannot get enough of it.

We know someone who is fully color blind- he only sees shades of white, black and grey. I never felt so keenly the blessing of seeing the beauty of color as I did this year reflecting on that fact that not everyone gets to see what I see.

Back to the woods. 

Another thing I enjoy about walking on a trail is that the kids run ahead of me looking for different treasures. On this particular path a ways in there start to appear white, wooden owls on the trees. It becomes a fun game of who can spot the next owl around the bend. On this particular trip Isaiah spotted this gem.

 

He has a good eye, that one. And in a valiant effort I tried to get a decent picture of all four of the kids together. Here is a sample of that attempt. :) Enjoy & Blessings.

 

 

Looks Can be Deceiving

He is a handsome little devil, I know. I am rather smitten with this little guy. {I get such a kick out of the way my boys’ cross their feet and their legs!} He is mostly a dear sweet boy…except for when meal time rolls around. If we hadn’t gone through this same song and dance routine 3 times already I might take things personally. He’ll eat everything he can- so long as it is a ‘snack’. You put food on a plate and set Littlest Man up to the table and suddenly the food becomes undesirable. How he thrives we’ll never know.

That is why I was a bit baffled to know he put his little hand up into my dish of raw, thawing chicken legs and then proceeded to lick it. Who knows what he thought was in the dish. Knowing he did this is seriously disgusting and a little disturbing. I am guessing it was the hope of what might have been in there that lured him.

The ironic part? He wouldn’t touch the chicken once it was cooked and put on his plate for dinner. : ) Go figure.

{Beloved was the one who caught Little Man in the act. He squawked at Zeke and then brought him quickly up to the sink where he cleaned his hands and tried to wipe out his mouth. I am happy and super thankful to report Zeke suffered no ill effects from his curiosity.}