9 Months Old

Today is Adeline’s nine month birthday!  She is doing all sorts of things these days.  She cruises around holding on to things, stands without assistance (sometimes), feeds herself with her hands, pets the puppy, fake coughs, etc.

Those little nubby teeth are now pearly white and so strong.  Yes, I have been bitten – those suckers are sharp!  Those little teeth and this monumental birthday made me think of this poem I read while I was in high school. 

 

A Little Tooth

By Thomas Lux

 

Your baby grows a tooth, then two,

and four, and five, then she wants some meat

directly from the bone.  It’s all

 

over.  She’ll learn some words, she’ll fall

in love with cretins, dolts, a sweet

talker on his way to jail.  And you,

 

your wife, get old, flyblown, and rue

nothing.  You did, you loved, your feet

are sore.  It’s dusk.  Your daughter’s tall. 

See how fast the little girl grew in the poem?  That’s how I’m feeling on this nine month mark.  Already Adeline is beginning to reach the things she wants, decides what she wants to do, and is far too busy to nurse well – give her some big girl food!

Just the other day Matthew said, “I’m not ready for her to have teeth!”  Matthew, in that simple phrase, expressed the entire meaning of this poem.  Perhaps it is not the teeth Matthew is unsure of, but all that follows.

Teeth, my friends, I am ready for…those cretins, however, are another story.

Ain’t too proud to beg…

for your prayers.

While I really don’t want to get into it too much, our family must make some hard decisions in the near future.  I ask that you please pray for wisdom and discernment while we seek the Lord’s will for our family.

Thank you for your love and prayers!

Day book entry…

I wandered upon The Simple Woman’s Daybook and thought I would give it a go today:

For Today…

Outside my window… Rain. Cold, beautiful rain.

I am thinking… that I should be bringing my sewing machine upstairs or doing the dishes or laundry or, or, or…

I am thankful for…my loving, hardworking, passionate, thoughtful, intelligent (and one million other good qualities) husband

From the kitchen… homemade baby food, a peanut butter and jelly and some baked lays.
I am wearing…  a long sleeved, comfy t-shirt, baby-blue sweats, and bare feet

I am reading…  Puddn’head Wilson and Those Extraordinary Twins by Samuel Longhorn Clemens (Mark Twain)…though grudgingly.  I just can’t get into it.

I am hoping… that the end of the semester isn’t too hard on Matthew
I am creating… a hectic week for myself by just vegging this evening.

I am praying… in thanksgiving for all I’ve been given, for wisdom in which path my family is to take, for the healing of an acquaintance.

Around the house… there are toys, dog hair, and lots of books.
One of my favorite things… is the photo in our bedroom of Adeline and Matthew on the day of her baptism.

A few plans for the rest of the week…library, grocery shopping, appointment in Waukesha, appointment with Bishop Salmon, keeping Margaret for a few hours, hopefully the YMCA, and work.

Here is a picture thought I am sharing with you…

Toys, books, and dog hair.

An Un-orthodox Regina Caeli

On Fridays Adeline and I spend our morning together and then in the afternoon I go to work and Matthew keeps her.  Because Matthew was the bell ringer this week, I thought the baby and I would get video of him ringing Michael, the bell, for you all to see.

Well, you see, it is Nashotah House tradition to prank the bell every so often.  Matthew is a master bell pranker!  That title, though, is a blessing and a curse.  It made him a target today.  So, instead of hearing Michael rung the way he is meant to be, please enjoy this video.

(It should be noted that this is supposed to be heard all over campus.  Today? Not so much!)

What a good sport he is!

One of those days….

This morning I forgot the diaper bag.

I have a hole in my sock.

Work was…weird and less than enjoyable.

Lunch gave me a belly ache.

Dinner wasn’t filling.

Matthew was barely home to eat and dash off to the library.  Darned end of the semester.

But…

Having a day like today makes me extra grateful for

Baby sneezes

Nights on the couch

Late night snacks

Calls just to check-in

Lots of books to choose from

The sound of Adeline’s steady, sleeping breaths in the monitor

The promise of a cookout

Assurances of a job well done

And most importantly

New videos

A few new videos for your viewing pleasure.

Adeline’s first time on a swing:

 

Adeline’s first time in the grass (this one isn’t quite as happy):

And how Adeline “drinks” out of her cup:

And the post that will make you all think I’m crazy…

If you’ll remember, Adeline and I went to the library a couple of weeks ago.  The first book I chose and read was At Home in Mitford by Jan Karon.  It’s the first book of her Mitford series featuring the life and town of Father Tim, an Episcopal priest.  It was a quick and wonderful read.  It’s not a book that will ever become a classic or a must-read, but it is a beautiful story and I’m looking forward to reading the rest of the series.  I’ve promised myself that I have to read one of my own books before I will allow myself to choose any more library books.  We have literally hundreds of our own but when I get around the shelves full of books at the library, I go a little crazy!

 

The second book I chose on the crazy spree was Made from Scratch: Discovering the Pleasures of a Handmade Lifeby Jenna Woginrich.  Our little library has endcaps with all the newly purchased books.  I saw the cover, thought it must have something to do with saving money (something that is constantly on my mind), and immediately picked it up and checked out.

This truly isn’t the book I thought it would be.  I thought it would be about making your own laundry soap, sewing your own clothes, etc.  Well, this book is slightly more intense than that.  Made from Scratch is a book about homesteading.  Homesteading is trying to live a sustainable and self-sufficient lifestyle.  The chapters in her book are about raising chickens, growing your own vegetable garden, beekeeping, the country kitchen, antiques, sewing your own wardrobe, mushing, raising angora rabbits, and mountain music!

Now, if you know me at all, you know that I don’t buy into global warming (excuse me, “global climate change” is the term of the moment, is it not?).  I do believe that God has entrusted us with His creation and that we must do what we can to keep it healty and beautiful.  I’m no hippy or country girl.  I was raised in the city without even a flower garden.  Had I known what this book was about, I would never have picked it up.

But I did, and as such, I read it.  By the end of the first chapter…I admit it…I wanted chickens!  Just enough to keep our home filled with all the eggs we could want.  Do you know that baby chicks cost only $2.75-ish each?  Think of the invenstment of a few laying hens, a pen, a coop, and feeding them with scraps.  Those babies would pay for themselves in fresh eggs in no time.  Alas, Matthew says no chickens.  Though I have talked to a few other women here at Nashotah House and I’m not the only one longing for livestock!

Gardening? Absolutely, I would love to.  There is a wonderful little vegetable  garden here on campus that I will hopefully be able to take slight advantage of.  Like I said, I’ve never even planted a seedling, but I would love to raise our own veggies.

Now, the best of me cannot imagine beekeeping, teaching Reagan to Mush (yeah, right!), shearing angora rabbits, or learning the mountain dulcimer.  I’ve not become an extremeist by any means. I admit that I threw (and often do) a tin can away while making our eggplant parmesan for dinner tonight (canned marinara sauce is probably a no-no in Woginrich’s world).  But I’d like to do what I can do to save my family money (as we must do as a seminary family). Not to mention that chickens sure look awfully interesting.

If you’re interested, visit Woginrich’s blog. She’s a year older than I am and owns, sheep, dogs, chickens, a vegetable garden, and plays the mountain dulcimer and fiddle.  Amazing to me!  Though, I think I’ll just stick with my chickens…or the idea of them.

Happy Birthday, Uncle Ed!

Dear Uncle Ed,

Grandma Deb and Grandpa Tom told me that today is your birthday!  I don’t really know what having a birthday feels like, yet, but I hear it is a big deal! I heard you’ve had LOTS of birthdays but I hope this is the best one yet!  I pray that you have a blessed year.  This branch of the Moore tree loves and misses you and Aunt Vicki!  Happy Birthday!

Love,

Adeline (and Mama and Papa, too)

Teeth!

Adeline has officially cut two teeth! Her right bottom-front cut some time ago and is coming up fast. The one right next to it just cut last night. Here’s the best picture I could get of the little (sharp) nubbies! It’s a good thing she loves to brush her gums/teeth! Pretty soon it will be time to get her into the dentist for her first check-up. Time flies!

Adeline Eating Her Cereal Puffs