Posted by Jennifer on Feb 8, 2010 in
chronicle Every year we (I) dream of printing and mailing the Anniversary Chronicle near our actual anniversary. But more and more we default to the electronic version. I could pretend we’re going green, or that we were timing the Chronicle to coincide with all of our Baltimore friends being snowbound, but let’s face it…we’re cheap and late.
Read the Anniversary Chronicle (PDF) for the latest reflections on one of the hardest and most feminine years in our family life. Merry Christmas, Happy New Year, Happy Birthday, Dr. King, and Happy Groundhog Day.
We love you!
P.S. We love getting your Christmas letters and pictures; we read them all, and the boys pore over the pictures of other families having fun. So though we deserve to be removed from everyone’s Christmas list (having not sent a true card or Chronicle in about three years), we beg for mercy and promise to mend our ways. Just as soon as college is paid for.
Posted by Jennifer on Feb 6, 2010 in
fun What else can you do when you are snowed in?
Girl Power
Drummer Boys
Posted by Jennifer on Feb 6, 2010 in
fun 
Friday 4:20 pm
Friday 6:11 pm
Friday 9 pm
Saturday 12:10 am
Saturday 9 am
Saturday 1:45 pm after 2 hours of shoveling and 4 more hours of snowing
Posted by Jennifer on Feb 4, 2010 in
fun,
the girl February 4 is a date forever etched on our hearts. The best reason is Geneva…one year old today! She celebrated this week with the traditional ear infection all our one-year-olds seem to get, but a few doses of an antibiotic soon returned her to her cheery self.
Geneva has reached the squirmy stage, no longer content to sit docilely on a lap. Determined to join the fray, she scoots across the room on her tummy at breakneck baby speed, hands grasping at cars, Legos, army men. She imitates many sounds but, happily for us, shows little interest in walking, perhaps because everyone dear comes her way eventually.
All for One
But we can’t let this day pass without remembering the tender hand of God on our family one year ago. Those days of bedrest and fears-come-true seem another lifetime. In the ensuing year, God has been restoring us all in different ways: Geneva and I, physically; Ken, emotionally; our family, relationally. Geneva’s presence is a welcome reminder of the miracle the Lord accomplished on our behalf…not because we were deserving, but because He is gracious.
Happy Birthday, dear Geneva!
All for Me
Posted by busyboysam on Dec 19, 2009 in
fun When it snows like this, we are all the same age. This one.
My Snow
We used to have two cars. Now we have snow holders so the adults have a chance in the snowball fight.
Snow Supply and Bunker
Which takes longer, bundling up the kids, or shoveling the walk?
Only Mommy Knows
Yes, it’s still snowing. Maybe by tomorrow we will go somewhere. For now, we play, wipe, and love. Stay warm out there.
Posted by busyboysam on Nov 22, 2009 in
education Celebration comes with the end of the unit on the Middle Ages. You don’t have to be studying it at the moment to feel the relief—finally the end of a dark time.
Toast the Middle Ages
The games on the lawn.
Rivalry (sibling and otherwise)
Stand and deliver.
Presenting his favorite project
Nothing like a drama to cap off a thousand years.
Will the King defeat the dragon?
Ah the memories…
A thousand years of transition
Perhaps going un-noticed?
Now that they are distracted by the dessert, here's my chance to get that knife and fight that king myself.
Posted by Jennifer on Nov 14, 2009 in
fun,
philosophy of boys 
Fall is the perfect season for boys. First, there’s a natural cushion of leaves blanketing much of the yard, so if anyone falls off the treehouse, the chance of broken bones is slightly diminished. Or so I like to tell myself.
Second, it’s soccer season, and soccer is mostly running. Lots and lots of running, and very few injuries.
Third, the weather is still good. Not too rainy (except on soccer days), not too hot, and cold enough for a jacket (see note above about extra cushioning).
I used to love being indoors (preferably curled up with a good book), but having boys has changed all that. Clearly, boys were created to live outdoors; in fact, the outdoor life yields all sorts of benefits. For one, it means Ken and I can converse at the dinner table. On a good day the noise level at our table is, well, deafening. (Just ask the grandparents.) These are not words, mind you, they’re just…sounds. Car sounds, shooting sounds, bodily sounds. Playing outside expends some of the energy that goes into making sound.
On days they can’t go outside, the boys compensate in other ways. They kick each other during dinner. They fall off their chairs. (Actually, they do that anyway.) They spill their milk because the pent-up energy leaks out of their arms. They follow the letter of the law, not the spirit. But playing outdoors tires them out so they can’t devise ways to come really, really close to breaking the rules without actually violating them.
I once read a story about a mom locking her kids out of the house on a cold winter day. Back then, it mildly shocked me. Now I shrug, what’s the big deal? They were probably hitting each other at the dinner table…
Posted by Jennifer on Nov 7, 2009 in
fun,
recipes I don’t know what came over me. Chalk it up to dreary weather and a failed attempt to teach long division (he gets it: I don’t). And I’m trying to clean out the pantry because (a) it needs it and (b) we’re trying to be thrifty because all those nice doctors want to be paid.
So lunchtime came around and when I looked in the pantry for inspiration, I found a childhood favorite. (Cue nostalgic music.) As I opened the can of corned beef hash, I remembered warm family dinners, circles of love, happy times.
Wait—I don’t remember it smelling like this… (First pang of regret.) And didn’t I buy this at Rite-Aid (second pang) when I was pregnant and craving weird things? (Third pang.)
And then my little math student wrinkled his nose. “What’s that yucky smell? That smells stinky!” (Confirmation of first pang.)
Undaunted, I sauteed lots of garlic, added the hash and a can of tomatoes, and poured in a little patis for salty goodness. After it simmered for a few minutes, I ladled the hash over a mound of steamed rice, and placed it in front of Ken, who likes a hot lunch and will eat almost anything. He gazed at the plate in silence and then bowed his head. “Thank you, God, for this food-like substance.”
Perhaps it’s best to trek down Memory Lane on one’s own time.
Food-like substance
Tags: fun, recipes
Posted by busyboysam on Nov 1, 2009 in
fun 
Defending the Fortress
Sword Play
Little Pumpkin
Tags: Halloween