LEAP!

an extra day! what a boon! a free day! exclamation points abound!

it just makes me so excited. another day. a reprieve. breathing room. and right in the middle of the winter when we need it most. and it's called Leap Day. doesn't that just make you want to jump? doesn't that sound like a just about perfect day for children--a day to jump and hop and skip and leap. a day for frogs and rabbits and kangaroos.

how will you spend your day? you won't get another Leap Day for a few years, so spend extravagantly! i'd love to hear your plans. as for us...we made brownies and read a beautiful book called D is for Drinking Gourd to celebrate Black History Month. later today we might go visit the day old chicks across the St Johns Bridge at Linnton Seed and Feed. then we're headed to Phathaya Thai for dinner. then a walk back home through the park before the sun goes down.

p.s. there is a clump of daffodils that have already bloomed in the middle of our sunny garden patch. grace! i wonder who planted them. i wonder if they could have imagined just how good it is to see them.

simple joy

don't mind that this this video is turned sideways...it's the audio that you're interested in anyway. this is Mabel watching Cleo the black + white kitty play with a balloon. can you believe how happy this cat makes our girl?

16 months

16 months
Originally uploaded by one deep drawer

one Tuesday a month we go to La Leche League meetings for mamas and toddlers who still nurse. we talk about what's hard, what's not working. how we don't get a lot of sleep, how this is all going to work with the next baby. and i identify with all of those rough spots. and it is good to hear the stories and experience of mamas who have been where you are now.

but that's not the whole story.

sometimes i wish we'd talk about how nice it is to come home after a long morning on the town and snuggle this big girl in my arms and nurse her to sleep. to feel her weight in my tired arms. her fingers on my skin.

teacup prayers

when i was in Suriname i came across the work of Macrina Wiederkehr, a woman living a quiet, folksy life as a hermit. each morning as she drinks her tea, she prays for her friends scattered far and near. the steam rising from the cup carries her good thoughts. i think it's a lovely way to remember all who are dear to us. another lenten observance that can make us more ready to do what we are each called to do.

hoops

at christmas time i bought two hoops--one for Trevor (age 6) and one for Andy (age 32). i squirrelled Andy's away in the back of the closet and only remembered it today. Andy modified the hoop, so that instead of hanging over a door, it has a suction cup. the perfect game for a snowy day.