Things I know:

1.  Spring is more beautiful if you've experienced winter.
2.  Good iced tea never needs to be sweetened.
3.  75* + blue sky + a blanket in the yard + a good book = close to heaven
4.  I have the cutest kids. I really, really, really do.
5.  I'm married to an amazing worship leader.
6.  It's never too hot for coffee.
7.  Men and women have died so that I can have what I have today, and I'm thankful.
8.  Leather flip-flops and slides should always be purchased in Spain.
9.  You're never too old to be excited for tomorrow.
10.  I've been saved from bondage to sin and death by a Savior who will return one day and share eternity with me!

::snippets::

:: We planted our vegetable garden the other evening before dinner. You know the evening that was like 95* and as humid as all get out? Yeah, that one. Perhaps doing it that day didn't demonstrate the best planning on our part-- the whole patch of soil was like sand billowing in our faces as we turned it, despite having used the sprinkler on it that morning-- but the bottom line is that now it's all in. Three years into vegetable gardening, the planting process still feels strange to me. I'm used to little perennials and watching them grow since Mom has always been an avid flower gardener, but the idea that I can put a seed in the ground and get food in a few months? Crazy cool!

:: Claire is huge. She squirms all over the place these days, has two teeth, and protests certain toys because she's bored with them. Her "milestones" aren't setting any family records, by any means, but they're still taking me by total surprise because I really and truly do feel like she was born just yesterday. Her infancy is going by even faster than any of my other children's, though I don't know how such a thing is even possible.

:: Gabriel and Bronwyn have 4 more days of official school work before we are done for the summer. We've put in more than the required 180 days, but we've [mostly] had a blast the entire time and so this mama decided we would just go above and beyond and do it all: a 34-week unit curriculum, 2 semesters worth of Friday Program, and a month-of-December study of Christmas Around the World.

:: Yesterday Daniel and I sat down with our gcals and finalized summer plans. We will be traveling quite a bit in the next few months. The extended Paladin family (I think about 45 of us!) will all be convening in Myrtle Beach in mid-June for a reunion, and this northern-most crew is totally psyched about it! In July, we'll head to Pittsburgh for Daniel's sister's wedding and, along with witnessing such a special event, get to visit with family and friends. In August, we're going to Long Island for our annual visit with my aunt and her family, which is always very relaxing and a terrific end to the summer.

:: We are replenished daily in the Lord. It doesn't matter what life brings or what the enemy throws our way, God truly does renew our strength as we wait on Him! There is a fresh excitement in both Daniel and I for the days ahead. I don't know how people "do life" without Jesus on their side, but I'm glad I don't have to "go there!" Following Him is not only an amazing adventure, but it is a joy-filled one. We are His and He is ours. Does it get any better or more awesome than that???

summer is here...

... in northern New York. We have officially ushered it in with our first 90+* day, with another expected tomorrow, followed by what looks to be an amazing week.

I think we're outgrowing our kiddie pool. What do you think?


This is the most precious baby in the world, I tell you.
She plays in the shade and smiles whenever I look her way.



Nothing says SUMMER like a cherry pie
(Can we hurry up and eat dinner already so I can get a piece of this???)

baseball

Rhythms

This has been a difficult season in many ways. Our local church is experiencing very real disappointments and hard times. God is on the throne and we shall not be moved, but our hearts ache a bit more for eternity these days.

[Edit to add: I have to clarify for those of you not nearby that these disappointments and difficulties are not of the bickering variety, thankfully. Death, sickness, hostility from the business world, etc. are the challenges we have been up against. I keep in mind how wonderful it is to be part of a church family that pulls together in these times, not apart, and this gives me great comfort and consolation.]

In it all, I find myself thankful for the natural rhythms of life. They are all the more present in my season of mothering young ones, and I am grateful.

Rhythms like::

:: mealtimes. Most of the ones under my care are incapable of tending to their own nutrition needs, and so three times a day I benefit from the simple routines of spreading peanut butter, mincing garlic, slicing apples, stirring the pot of soup, inhaling the aroma of freshly-baked bread.

:: naptime and bedtime. These can be fudged a bit, but not too much or else we have unnecessary drama on our hands. I get to return home at the end of a morning or evening out, tuck small bodies into bed, pray with them that they would have "no scary dreams or scary thoughts, that no bugs would get on them or in their rooms" and that they would learn to love Jesus with all their hearts, minds, and souls-- and I find rest in this rhythm.

:: baseball practices and games. There are few things as therapeutic as sitting on a bleacher in the sun, listening to the crack of a bat connecting with a baseball, and seeing the gleam of victory in seven-year-old son's eyes as he rounds home plate. (Please don't hate, all you non-baseball fans. You just don't understand.)

:: gardening. The other day, Daniel had a very difficult morning. He returned home and while young ones slept and others watched a movie quietly, we worked together to transplant, weed, edge, and mulch. You won't find any gardening gloves around here; we're the kind that likes getting some dirt under our nails. It's calming, I tell you.

:: homeschooling. It doesn't matter how sad I might feel as I wake in the morning-- my thoughts much occupied with the tragedies of life-- my children need to be taught. It's good for me to take the next step, to explain a new math concept, to surround myself with little bodies and read aloud to eager minds, to correct penmanship, to laugh with my son over a failed science experiment (I never have been very good at those!), to open and close the books each day.

:: worshiping with my church family each Sunday. We declare to Him, to one another, to any and all who might hear that we trust Him, that we honor Him, that we recognize His rule and reign, that we love Him. "Our God is greater, our God is stronger; God, You are higher than any other." It is good to come to the house of the Lord.

Understanding my children

The community group for young moms that I'm part of has morphed somewhat into a sort of book club throughout the past several months. I love it. I've never been part of a book club of any sort, but I love to read. And I love reading even more when it involves discussing what's being/been read with others!

We started off with reading The Power of Motherhood by Nancy Campbell. All I can say for now is: wow, what a great book. It is packed with Scripture and studies that could last years! I highly recommend it to any mom.

Now we're working through Understanding Your Child's Temperament by Beverly LaHaye. Just nine chapters in, I frequently find myself chuckling over how well bits of it describe my own children.

[Disclaimer: While I enjoy and appreciate studying temperaments, this book and study is not for the purpose of pigeon-holing my children, but so that I can better understand how to communicate with, be gracious towards, and encourage them. It's important to remember that the author of this book is in no way trying to force our children into certain boxes, but rather tries to open up parents' eyes to the reality that we shouldn't try to parent each of our children in the exact same way, because no two of them are the exact same people.]

Within the brief descriptions of the various temperaments have been snippets that are so on target for my children, I just had to copy them and save them for myself to look back at in later years.

About the Melancholy-Choleric (aka Gabriel, in our house), and ways to help him grow:

• The MelChlor boy or girl is like clay in the potter's hands. The parents can mold him into a positive and capable person or accentuate his negative feelings until his above-average potential is neutralized. God has endowed him with a brilliant mind and the ability to be a deep and creative thinker.
• His sensitive, artistic nature is often affected by his attitude toward others or what he thinks their attitude toward him might be. It is easy for him to have his feelings hurt and to feel inferior, believing that others do not like him... He criticizes himself, but does not like criticism from other people... He is overly conscientious; everything has to be nearly perfect.
• The thing to watch for is that they do not confine themselves to repeatedly do only the familiar and refuse to venture into other areas and to learn new things.
• Fortunate is the [melancholic] who has parents who will teach him how to have joy and thankfulness instead of gloom, a wholesome and positive attitude instead of a negative attitude, and a spirit of praise instead of self-pity.

About the Sanguine-Phlegmatic (aka Bronwyn, in our house), and ways to help her grow:

• The most enjoyable children to raise can be the SanPhlegs when they aren't permitted to indulge their weaknesses. They are lovable, affectionate, happy little busybodies that rarely cause trouble.
• [The sanguine] seems to be eager to please... They fully intend to be obedient and to please, but they get swept away with curiosity or a change of environment.
• He needs to be loved and accepted by others, particularly his family. When his parents are quarrelsome and unhappy, then he reflects that spirit by becoming sullen and withdrawn. All sanguines need to be loved, and when they do not find love at home they may look outside the family for this need to be filled. They have a need for instant gratification and have very little self-control.

About the Phlegmatic-Choleric (aka Jackson, in our house), and ways to help him grow:

• The phlegmatic child will be the easiest of the temperaments to take into a restaurant for a meal... The same is true when taking him into a church service.... He is naturally quiet, easygoing, and calm.
• Because [the phlegmatic] is an introvert, his weaknesses may not show too readily, particularly when he is young. Since his greatest problem is a lack of motivation, he can skirt around this during his younger years.
• Most often he will back away from a situation to protect his own hide. If he gets into a fight with [another child], it is usually when the Choleric influence in him is activated to protect his toys from being used by others. He tends to preserve them carefully.
• As this temperament becomes a teenager, he may want to draw away from his church peer group and activities that would benefit him socially and spiritually. He needs to be encouraged to be a participant and not just a spectator... He will have much to offer society but will probably need a gentle push from time to time to get involved and stay involved.

About the Choleric-Sanguine (aka Aubrey, in our house), and ways to help her grow:

• By two years of age [the choleric] will have developed an independent spirit and will attempt to do things for himself that other children would not try until much later... ChlorSans are good talkers, and early in life they will argue with their parents. In fact, they can't resist the temptation to get in the last word, and this will often be the cause for many of their punishments.
• The young choleric, like the mature one, will be an active person and a strong leader... The choleric child needs to have definite areas of responsibility and leadership. It is very necessary to develop this natural-born characteristic under the watchful eye and loving direction of his parents.

Claire is still our easygoing, content baby. Her infancy mimics Bronwyn's most closely, and so I imagine that she won't have the Choleric tendencies that the other three all share a bit of (in varying degrees). Time will tell, of course, and I am excited to watch her unique self unfold before our eyes.

Precious in His sight

Gabriel, when you came home, there was a sober look in your eyes. Daddy had brought you with him when he went to visit a dear lady in the hospital, a woman you don't know well but whose face you recognized. You talked about how she tried to look at you, about singing songs with Daddy and for her.

You were also quiet.

But I could tell it wasn't an absent quiet. No, it was a focused quiet. I could see in your eyes how your mind tried to wrap itself around tragedy befalling a woman before old age has even had a chance to set in.

I could see in your eyes that you wanted to do something for her.

You sat down at the table. You wrote and drew and double-checked spelling with me. For hours and hours, you worked tirelessly. I asked you if you needed to take a break and you reassured me that time was of the essence, that you could rest when it was done.

I love all your artistic expression, Gabriel: drumming, coloring, cutting and pasting, imagining. But this... this amazed me. You spent your entire day on this mission, never once complaining or paying less attention to detail. The colors, the story, and the characters spilled out of you: Love on a page.

When Daddy and I told you how wonderful the story was and how much it would bless Linda when Daddy would bring it to her the next night, you insisted that you be the one to bring it, that you be the one to read it to her.

And so you did.

Daddy told me how you stood on the chair by her bed so you would be tall enough for her to see your face. She looked at you as you read the first few pages, and then she closed her eyes. Her strength is being drained from her, her body is failing.

I don't know how much of the story Linda understands as it's read to her throughout the days, or if she even remembers who you are, but it isn't the mind that speaks compassion anyway-- it's the heart. Your heart has touched her heart. I am sure of this.

We haven't told you all the details of Linda's tragedy. My heart has been too broken to know how to share such sadness with you.

But I thank you, my tender and precious boy, for bringing a glimmer of Light into these dark days. I see in you the purest kindness, the sort that only comes from Jesus.

You showed Love to the least of them, Gabriel; and you showed Love to Him.

6 months

The calendar doesn't lie.

(Oh, but I wish it did.)

It tells me that 6 months ago, Claire Evangeline took her first breath.

Our gorgeous, go-with-the-flow, peaches-n-cream baby.

Claire is 16lbs, 11oz now, which is just a bit shy of doubling her birth weight. At 26-1/2" long, she's grown a little over an inch each month (on average). Her 17" head circumference brings her to a perfectly-proportioned 65% in every area on the growth percentile chart.

(I know you don't care about that stuff, but this journal is for me and her, too, you know.)

I know that the next 6 months with Claire are going to be just as wonderful as the past 6.

I just hope they go by a little slower.