È italiana!

This week there were a couple of fun surprises at our table.  Eliana, who is famous around here for putting all things except dinner in her mouth, tried and liked...pizza and spaghetti!

She kissed her fingers and said,"Deliziosa!" (That means delicious in Italian, she's so smart.)

These two foods proved to be a hit with Eliana, although I will say that the pizza was the more popular.  It must be the Italian blood running through her veins.  Actually, I don't think there is any Italian blood running in any of our veins, but who doesn't love Italian food?!   I'm just glad that we're making progress here.  But I wonder if this means I have to start saying things like,"Bella cucina," and "Buon appetito!"?  Arrivederci!

Pooped

I was minding my own business.  I was talking to a friend and we were watching our kids on a little playground at the YMCA while our daughters practiced soccer.  Little pieces of something green came falling down on and around us and she (my friend) said,"What's that?!"  She was sitting on a bench feeding her nephew a bottle.  I leaned over and looked at one of the things that had landed next to her and said,"It's a piece of a pear that been eaten!"  She said,"Nooo!"  I said,"Yes!" Well, I moved over a bit to avoid the falling food or nuts or whatever.  A few seconds later I thought I felt something on my head, so I reached up to brush off one of these falling pieces.  I could actually see there was a squirrel up on the branch above where my friend was sitting.  My finger felt something soft instead of a hard piece of nut.  I looked at my finger and to my horror there was indeed squirrel poop on my finger, and a little under my fingernail!  And it smelled very bad.  And it was in my hair.  And under my fingernail! I said,"This is poop!"  My friend said,"Nooo!"  I said,"Yes!  Look at it!  Smell it!"  And for anyone who doesn't like when people write/talk with exclamation points, I'm very sorry, but I really mean(t) them.  !!! Well, she helped me get it out of my hair with a wet wipe and I used quite a bit of Purell and suffered through the rest of soccer practice trying to keep my hair from blowing in my face without touching it to push it back. Probably needless to say, this incident does not increase my love for wildlife.  I can appreciate the beauty of God's creation, and admire animals from a distance...but really, must they defecate on my person?

You'll Get a Kick Out of This

The kids started their soccer season this week.  We have been anticipating soccer for a while and are excited to be back on the field.  Michaela and Christian made some great friends last year playing and usually when the kids make friends we grown-ups do too.  Reconnecting with many of the families after the summer has been wonderful, and watching the sweet happiness that Michaela and Christian feel when they are with friends brings me so much joy. Michaela's first game was today, and it was HOT, HOT, HOT!  The girls played very hard and did well, especially considering they had not had a chance to practice and were also playing with new teammates this year.  Two teams combined to make a new team, so they will have the opportunity to get to know some new girls this fall.  Our first game and practice were canceled last weekend because of the threat of Hurricane Ike.  So, they had to jump into today's game with the skills they remembered from last year and all the energy they could muster.

Christian had fun with his friend and some linking/building toy that their family had brought to the game. They had their own scenario going on, and from what I could gather it was complex and involved bad guys. We are looking forward to a great season. Look for Christian's soccer photos next week!

Take Me Out to the Ballgame...

The big kids and Mike have been going to see the Texas Rangers play this summer, and had a blast.  They loved watching the game, learning the rules and strategies, and becoming familiar with the players names, and Mike loved spending that special time sharing something with them that he had loved as a kid.  Dad always got them special treats, like ice cream and Sprite (!), and Christian usually came home with chocolate all around his mouth.   Here are some pictures from a couple of the games.

Fruit of the Spirit

In Christian's class the teacher sends home a "fruit of the Spirit" when the children demonstrate any of the fruit of the Spirit from Galatians 5:22-23.   When I picked Christian up from school today the first thing he said to me was,"I got a 'fruit of the Spirit' today and tomorrow I don't have to do any work!"  Now, I don't know if he was excited because he received the "fruit of the Spirit" or because he doesn't have to do any work at school tomorrow (which, by the way, I'm not sure he understood correctly and may be disappointed tomorrow when he does, in fact, have to do work at school...).  But it was satisfying to hear him speaking with such exuberance about getting this special reward.  He also received one on the 8th of September and I have to confess the first one came home with much less pomp.  When Mike and I took it out of his bag and looked at it we wondered if it meant he needed to work on these particular things (in the first case it was patience and self-control).  After today, it is clear that these are given at times when the "fruit" is exhibited in class.  I look forward to these character traits being developed in such a great atmosphere, where he is challenged and encouraged in a unique way this year.   And I love that Christian can see in a tangible way the result of his good choices and the work of the Holy Spirit.  I'll have to remember this for home too!