Memorial Day Trip

I've noticed that the number of comments that Benjamin gets on a daily basis on his curly/wavy hair has grown in direct proportion to the number of weeks we let it grow.  And as it grows, I get less likely to cut it.  His curls are just so pretty.                                                                                         Coloring has been a delightful recent development. He will sit in his little chair and try out each color and talk to himself while he draws.  Since this picture was taken (above), we have cut a wide swath of thick brown paper from a roll we found in the garage and covered this little table with it. The paper curls around the edges just right so we don't have to tape it.  Tried the tape, but B delights in ripping it off.  We also bought washable crayons : )                       I think JB likes coloring on the brown paper as much as Benjamin, and together they can sit at the little table for 20 minutes at a time.  JB produces delicate renderings of things Benjamin likes or places we've been, and B shows his appreciation by scribbling over them.  It is a beautiful thing to watch.                                                              Drawing is not always a quiet activity, however.  Benjamin has also invented extreme drawing: Draw!  Draw! Draw! He yells as he gets up from his chair and scribbles like a madman.

We are a week back from a fun visit to family in East Texas.  Paella-fest 2012 was decadent and delicious as usual, but the highlights for B were visiting this train (below) down the street from his grandparents house and visiting his great-grandmother, Midge. (And camping in a thunderstorm, but I'm getting ahead of myself... )  

Benjamin was really quite taken with his great-grandmother on this visit and was able to say her name and give her hugs and kisses.  I'm so thankful he has been able to get to know her and hear some of her stories ("Did you know I was the first woman in Texas to get a permanent?").  Midge prayed over Benjamin before we left and sent him with her blessing.  I am thankful for her blessing and I look forward to telling Benjamin about it when he is older.  

  

If they are not saying "Choo-Choo" then I don't know what.

Uncle Jeff and JB walking the tracks and getting B's feet
mightily dirty

JB and I were really looking forward to taking Benjamin camping while we were in East Texas.  We found a great spot right on the edge of Cooper lake with a beautiful view.  The rest of the family joined us for supper and left us for the night just as a bright red sun lowered over the horizon.  

Everything went beautifully until about 1am.  I was unable to sleep, so I lay there watching the sky as lightening appeared on the far side of the lake.  In my sleepless stupor, it seemed so far away that I lay there admiring how beautiful it looked for maybe half an hour until I heard a loud rustling in the brush outside the tent.  This was enough to awaken JB and just as we were figuring it must be a wild boar, as heavy as it sounded, the wind whipped in off the lake at what must have been 50 miles an hour.  

We made a quick decision to leave, so I nestled Benjamin in my arms, and as soon as we all got out of the tent it started to blow away. Benjamin in one arm, I pulled the tent out of the brush with the other and let the tent wrap around a tree.  JB insisted we get to the car, so I ran with B 1000 ft. to the car while JB grabbed what belongings he could.   As JB was leaving with an armload of gear and winds getting stronger, he heard that same heavy rustling in the bushes and made a dash for the car.  We left the tent under our heavy camping bin and went back for it the next day.  

We were only 30 minutes from JB's parents house, and it didn't start raining until we got back.  Looking back, it doesn't seem so dramatic, but standing there at the edge of the lake with Benjamin quiet and barely awake in my arms as the wind nearly knocked me over, I felt pretty vulnerable.   We thank God for our safety.  

Uncle Richard and B set up the ill-fated tent