Picking Pumpkins

I will never tire of the German farmers' honor system when selecting your kurbis off their trailers. Here we are. Look at that glowing chicken amongst the orange gourds!

Cousin Shannon to our Aid

First hour in Deutschland

My nineteen-year-old cousin Shannon has come to live with us for several months. She will share a bedroom with Clarkie, take some trips around Europe and help me around the apartment in the day. Great news!

37 Years Old Today

Vivian and Ethan celebrated their tandem fest day today. The birthday GIRL's cake request was for cheesecake - half cherry topped and half chocolate chip topped. Her loving father stood by quietly while I prepared this cake and then ate only the smallest piece. Turns out he doesn't really dig cheesecake. He and Viv have agreed to request pumpkin pie next year.



Cake-flavor aside, we now have a six-year-old in our midst. Grown-out bangs, a penchant for patent leather shoes, fluid reading and a love for her younger brothers like you could never imagine. To have had an eldest daughter before the melee of the boyz (yes, she did folks) hit our family was a blesssing whose worth I couldn't possibly have understood at the time, but for which I am now thankful daily. Viv is my Saturday morning farmers' market buddy, my kitchen dance party protegé and my eager learner. Her questions are already beginning to stump me and we have only ventured into 1st grade homeschool. Girl, I can only imagine what the future holds for you. We love you.

Even home-schoolers make cupcakes

 I never thought I would have to do the make-a-ton-of-kiddie-cupcakes-and-transfer-somewhere deal because of homeschooling. But tomorrow our brand new six-year-old wanted to take eyeball cupcakes to her CCD (Catholic Sunday School) class, so here they are. Unreal. A mother will do anything, I am such a sucker. Just glad I don't have to suck on one of these bad boys.

Tasting the fruits of our farmers' market trip

hmmm...

Poor guy. There were yummy pears and apples and carrots further down in the basket, but he had to go for the leeks! Probably won't make that mistake again.

just lookin' Mom

the taste test

Socialization

To all you skeptics out there, those of you who fear that I am denying my children the opportunity to be well-adjusted kids, I offer this photographic retort:




Clearly, our homeschooled kids are turning out perfectly normally.

For Posterity

Undoubtedly, one's reasons for blogging are cloudy and ambiguous. Do we put ourselves out there for sympathy or approval or comparison? Is it out of loneliness or a hope for a sense of connection? Do we blog for our distant family or for our innermost self?

I don't try to know the universal answers to these questions. Personally, however, I  know that I have enjoyed looking back at my 2.5 years of memories, pictures and notes here. It is good for granting me a sense of progress. It reminds me that no, my older son was no better of a sleeper than our current infant, etc. I would like to believe that I have kept this blog alive as our only sort of family album or journal. From Arizona to Alabama to San Diego to Germany, other books have ended up in the basement, in closets, who knows where, but dear Blogger is always here for reference.

With all this in mind, I would like to write myself a note today, at 1700 Germany time:
Dear Self, Today there was fushcia Martha Stewart glitter sprinkled all over the empty breakfast dishes while you were brushing your teeth. Then there were 750 square toothpicks spilled on the kitchen floor as we tried to leave the house for "Mommy time" of weekly Bible Study. I feel frustrated that no one can tie their own shoes or gauge how much clothing is required for the bitter cold outside. I am flabergasted that it takes no less than 45 minutes just to get out the door with my three kids. I want someone else to be strong enough to unscrew juice cup lids so that I don't have to do the assembly-line myself before I can take my kids to Church childcare. My 1500 survival coffee was forearm-swept off the kitchen counter down inbetween the stove and its adjacent cabinet. I had to stop all routine dish-doing and pull out the oven. There was mopping and wet-wiping and all while the offender complained that he could not get to "his shield" in the pot lid cupboard. It all seems pretty unreal. I feel like I have the wrong temperament and struggle to remind myself how blessed we are to have the resources to buy frivolous things like glitter and multiple pots. It really is true. I am blessed with a burning faith that never leaves me or causes me to doubt that every tough moment with these young children is part of God's plan, but man, I could use a few more kids who could do stuff.

Oktoberfest 6-year-old

Ladies and Gentlemen, feast your eyes on the latest creation of the world's most talented Oma! Viv's special order, made-from scratch "German dress" arrived from Grandma tonight. Totally unreal. Thanks, Mom!

Oktoberfest 6-year-old

Soooo Big

Squeaking it in there before his eleventh month....

Purple und Purple

Viv and I buy our family's produce at the weekly farmers' market downtown. This morning was our morning, and it was pouring rain. Totally beautiful. Only the die-hards were out and it felt good to be amongst them, even if the Germans do continue to be hyper-critical of my German language attempts. Viv always gets freebies, and today she got the world's tiniest purple Bell Pepper. It matches her favorite fancy dress just perfectly.