Probably Not What C.S. Lewis Had in Mind

This summer we read the first four Narnia books. It has been fun to hear the kids knocking on the backs of entertainment centers and talking to each other like the kings and queens of old. However, the other day Meg took it to a whole new level when arming for a battle scene. (Somebody buy this girl an archery set!)

Beautiful Kids

Speaking of Being Sequestered...

Sometimes on Sunday afternoon when the rowdiness of the big kids is drowning out the hushed tones of the PGA commentators, we banish them to the basement. There are lots of fun toys down there, but they spend most of their time trying to get back upstairs. Last week they did get a little sympathy from someone.

Breakfast Elves

The other day Meg and Nate sequestered me in the family room while they crashed and banged around in the kitchen. When they finally let me in, they were delighted to present a full breakfast ready on the table. They are quite a little pair.

Flowers

I rarely do flowers these days. Actually, it has become easier than I thought to turn down opportunities. It's sooo labor intensive to buy, arrange, and deliver with the crew in tow and there are so many other things to do with that time. Sometimes I do them and the result is satisfying. But finished products aside, look at the raw material! Look at the colors and textures and shapes. And these are just eight or nine little kinds. There are hundreds and thousands more flowers even more fantastic than these...not to mention trees, bugs, birds, fish, animals...not to mention mountains and clouds and galaxies...not to mention songs and paintings and cathedrals, equations and antibiotics...not to mention people. And we're only seeing fallen things: "groaning" "subject to frustration" and "in bondage to decay." The kids and I talked a little this week about why God made so much variety in His world. It gives just the tiniest glimpse of His own beauty, wisdom, and infiniteness. I hope they will maintain a sense of delight and exhilaration in God's world and learn to worship not the creation, but the Creator who is forever praised.

Going Places

...or at least one step closer to going places. Thankfully, both the door and the gate drag; he's not strong enough to open them. But doesn't he look pleased with himself?!

Bedtime Story

Enjoying a new book-on-CD

Pool at last!

The kids have been itching to swim all summer, but with no neighborhood pool (and no more grandparents living in Florida) we are just now getting around to it at the end of the summer. We found a great pool/mini water park at a county aquatic center near by. I have a feeling we'll be heading there a lot next year.

Eager faces, finally on their way to a pool.

You can see the water play area right behind the kids and in the background on the right are two big water slides which Meg and Nate loved! Kate didn't meet the height requirement, and pouted quite a bit. We pointed out that there was a fun green slide in the little kids area that she could go on again, but she said, "I don't like that one it has water in it" !!

Four Oaks Park

Meg's latest project is to create a park in our backyard. She has spent hours dreaming about it (mostly when she was supposed to be going to sleep at night.) She has also spent hours (along with her trusty assistant, Nate) working to make her vision a reality. So far they have dug the kid pool (about 2 feet in diameter and 2 inches deep), raked up a whole lawn trash bag full of leaves, spread numerous mower-bags of grass clippings over bare patches around the park (only slightly discouraged to learn the clippings were not seed and would turn brown and wash away with the rain), and begun to dig the big pool (dimensions yet to be determined). Future plans include paths ("I might have to rip up some grass, but it's alright. We'll line the path with stones so it will look nice."), flowers, a fountain, and signage directing patrons to the pools, etc. She also designed an invitation and was making photocopies ("How many houses are in our neighborhood?") when Erik intervened and redirected her efforts, suggesting she invite family members and a few special friends. Meg is so creative and is willing to invest a lot of effort to bring her projects to life. She is very frustrated by naysayers (that would be me), but is surprisingly flexible when she discovers on her own that an idea doesn't work. These are some really good qualities that I hope the Lord will continue to develop and refine as she gets older. Meanwhile, if you're in the Atlanta area, come by and enjoy the northeastern subarbs' newest park.

ground breaking on the kid pool