Birthday trip to Caddo Lake

Conveniently, my birthday often happens to fall right at the beginning of Waco and Baylor's spring break.  So whatever we do for spring break doubles as birthday celebration for me.  I'd like to think this means I get an extra bit of say about our plans.  This year JB and I got to bring the kids to Caddo Lake in East Texas.  The last time we were there, we were not yet married.  I can't say I didn't know what I was getting into when I married someone who's idea of a romantic getaway is camping in a swamp!  

The point of this trip, when it comes down to it, was taking Benjamin canoeing through the swamp.  We had a few setbacks on the way including pouring rain the evening we drove out, flooding on the bayou which meant the state park wasn't renting canoes, and arriving too late and on the wrong day for any restaurants to be open for supper.  But we made the most of it all and bought Benjamin some rain boots (they light up!), rented canoes further into the swamp, and ate peanut butter and banana sandwiches for supper in our little heated cabin.    

And we got to canoe in the swamp.  Ben loved sitting in the middle, learning the rules about riding in a boat, pulling water plants from the swamp, and asking endless questions about the cypress trees and the spanish moss.  We even found a baby turtle he tried to bring back in the canoe.  We decided the turtle would be happier right there in the water.  

Without grandmommy and granddad's help, we would not have been able to do this at all of course.  They came out for the day and played with Eliza Jane while we went canoeing.  A bit of a long trip out just to babysit, but we all had a good meal together on the way home, and we hope it was worth their while.  Eliza had a great time being a "big hiker"--her face just lights up when she sees her grandparents.      

Well, I'm running on adrenaline right now waiting for a sick child to wake up again and need her mother.  Poor Eliza went down hill fast this afternoon and into the evening as she developed a considerable fever.  But I am alert and ready to go.  Some sort of extra mothering power kicks in when my children are sick, and I become hyper-responsive and attentive yet calm.  I like this response.  I know I'll be tired in a few days when it is all over, but for now, this just feels right when a child is sick.  And I have a little extra energy to write before going to bed (or not, as the case may be).  

It feels like the kids and I have been in a pretty good groove these last few weeks.  JB's knee continues to get better, but he still needs to rest more than usual and he's not ready for something like the hike the kids and I did at the wetlands last week.  Benjamin's eagerness to see the duck blinds at the wetlands  happened to coincide with my own desire to do a nature hike, so off we went. 

The  Lake Waco Wetlands are not a glamorous or spectacular display of nature but the quiet, the open, the water, the grasses, the birds...all make it a place so different from anywhere else in Waco that they feel like an escape.  Winter has a particularly barren kind of beauty out there, I have to admit, but my own appreciation of it was affirmed by the kind artist we passed on the way out who offered to show Benjamin her easel and paints.  They had a little talk about what she might paint.  

Another thing we did in earnest this week was clean.  I have just not been able to keep up with it all, but what a relief to just spend a whole morning working on the upstairs.  Benjamin knows the value of a clean room and can articulate the feeling of calm one gets being present in one.  He gets a bit frantic when his room is a mess. I know the feeling.  

As soon as the room was clean, Benjamin immediately dumped all the big blocks (above) on the floor.  At first I was annoyed. But then he started talking about his tower with a drawbridge, guarded by a cheetah and peopled with Mary, Joseph, and baby Jesus. So much more creativity, so much less complaining in a freshly cleaned room.  I think Eliza Jane was happy too.  

But then speaking of messy...these pics represent only the beginning.  It was actually an exercise for me as much as a creative outlet for the kids.  I was consciously trying to be less controlling of Benjamin while we did this.  I set everything up for success in keeping the (washable) paint contained, but knew there was only so much I could do. Benjamin is more interested in the experience and experiment of paint than the end product.  Someday we'll look back on his Jackson Pollock phase, I'm sure.  

While Ben's painting is a bit frenetic, he often surprises me with his ability to sit down to write and draw with calm and focus.  I was so proud of him this afternoon when Eliza was lying down on the couch with her fever.  I tried to explain to him why he needed to give her space and asked him what he could do to care for Liza.  He immediately got a paper and pencil and sat down to draw her a card.  He wrote, "TOO ELIZA" and then squished the word "LUV" between the other words because he thought he should have the word love on the card.  He drew a picture of Eliza Jane ("look mommy I drew her curly hair!") and the collage turtle that he draws on everything.  And it was just so perfect that I wanted to cry.  

In recovery

We are all in recovery this month.  JB's knee surgery went well last week and his recovery seems to be going as it should.  Who could be down with such fun kids around...all the time...pulling and prodding for attention...clambering up with books...  Well, we are trying not to be down.  Grandmommy's timely visit last week helped with that for sure.  

And the kids don't stop.  Below, they are re-discovering their toys after I re-organized them in the shelves.  That seems to be another thing that Christmas is all about.  

And then there was Christmas.  A wonderful one, but I would say we do need to recover somewhat from the stimulation of lights, trees, santas everywhere all the time.  Benjamin was a santa pro by the time he came to visit at school:    

This one below seems to be the only one I got of our own house at Christmas time this year.  Hm.  

For Christmas we traveled to Sulphur Springs this year.  It seems so far away now that I'll just show a few highlights.  Eliza loved chasing Hokey the cat.   

Benjamin got a train ride through a sparkly Christmas wonderland.    

We all listened to "Twas the Night Before Chrismtas" and the nativity story.  

And the kids rocked their Christmas jammies.  

If I weren't focusing on kids and pictures I'd also need to mention Richard's delicious duck dinner, the Christmas pudding, Jeff's Christmas eve recital, the music Jeff, JB, and Sarah prepared for the midnight vigil at the Episcopal Church, Hank and Richard falling ill on Christmas day, Christmas dinner in Dallas with all of the cousins, and our last minute (and blessed) decision to head home on Christmas night rather than staying in Dallas another day.  But as it is...

One of my fondest memories from Christmas morning is Eliza's response to the stuffed koala.  Her surprise, wonder, and trepidation were the same reactions she has had with real animals.  I think to her that koala was just as real as it could be.  She recovered enough to invite koala to tea:  

The kids are both enjoying their new riding toys.  In the last few weeks Benjamin has learned a LOT about riding a pedal bike (with training wheels).  It has been amazing to see his strength and coordination blossom as he learns  to pedal and steer and brake.  

And this girl is going to be asking for a real horse just as soon as she can put the words together.  

He loves his new red bike, but still wants to learn to balance on his balance bike.  Here he is adjusting the seat on his own bike.  Because--as we celebrate and sigh over--he continues to grow.  

Fall into Christmas

I like this family photo from a wedding we attended before Thanksgiving.  At least one of us is smiling.  

The bradford pear out front has shed its colorful leaves.  

From a spontaneous hike along white rock creek some time
before Thanksgiving.  

The Christmas Place, as Benjamin calls it.  The weekend after Thanksgiving
in Sulphur springs.  This place has some magic for us.  Here's Mary Lucy giving
out the popcorn--a moment recalled frequently throughout the year.  

Santa on the other hand does not have much magic yet.
The candy canes make it worth it for the Ben.  

B loves the playground with Uncle Richard.  

And this is the strange spectacle that is
Christmas in Waco.  "Waco Wonderland" with
some sort of plastic ice skating, a mini fair, santa.  

I think those are reindeer hats.  I think I was giving a final exam
at this time and JB took them out. 

Add caption

Ben's happy place is up in a tree 

Eliza is never far behind.  

Brazos didn't think Eliza really needed to help with her bath.  

All dressed up and walking with her daddy.  

The wedding reception was inside but E wanted to
run in the rain.  

As soon as everyone is sitting down together Eliza Jane always reminds us to pray at the table.  

And a Happy Thanksgiving from our merry gathering to yours.   

We are still recovering from a big birthday weekend for four-year-old Benjamin Henry.  Grandmommy and Granddad and both of his Smith uncles were there the whole weekend to celebrate and we had a friend and family birthday party on Saturday afternoon.  We've had similar backyard birthday parties for Ben the last three years now, and a few people mentioned how fun it was to observe how the kids play differently together in the same environment as they get older.  They play together now and run off by themselves rather than staying close to mom or dad.  Benjamin didn't need instructions this year about blowing out candles or singing happy birthday, and the four-year-olds lined up for cake all by themselves.  

They even sat down at the table together and worked on an art project for at least 15 minutes together. 

One thing that hasn't changed, though, is the way this kid eats a cupcake.  Wow.  What a mess.  

JB had been thinking of camping with B in the backyard for his birthday too, but it ended up being rainy and cold.  Too cold for a little boy, but perfect sleeping weather for a granddad with a cot.  Ben sure was charmed to have a cot to play with on the back porch.  

After the birthday weekend, we had a rather low-key Tuesday birthday.  I don't teach on Tuesdays, so we spent the day just doing things that Ben likes to do.  We had blueberry pancakes and then went to the park to swing and climb trees.  We had macaroni and cheese for lunch and then took a trip to the zoo after nap/rest time.  We picked up fried chicken for dinner and steamed some broccoli (the broccoli his actual request when asked what he wanted for birthday dinner) and then he got to hang out with his favorite babysitter while mommy and daddy went to a Patty Griffin concert right here in little ole Waco : )  It was a good day for all of us!  

I've really enjoyed getting to know Benjamin this year as he's started to take on more and more of his own personality and form the parts of him that will always be Benjamin.  JB and I both noticed on separate trips to the zoo in the last year that Benjamin reads a map very well.  We never explained the map to him, but he just looks at the pictures of the animals and can tell you how to get from, say, the gibbons to the playground.  I attribute this at least in part, for better or for worse, to fairly regular viewing of Dora the Explorer.  But he also just loves to figure things out.  Puzzles, games, and mazes have become some of his favorite things to do.  Much of his conversation consists of announcements about things that he has figured out about the world (whether taught or intuited).  

He's also a boy who loves his own company, hanging out in trees and looking at and talking to books that he can't actually read.  I forgot until this weekend when we had visitors that it might seem strange to find a little boy sitting in his hiding spot with a thesaurus open on his lap, yelling, "Mommy, I can't find G!"  

Well, I had written a bit about this girl too last night, but it seems to have disappeared, so I'll keep it short and sweet.  We had a little dedication liturgy for Eliza Jane at Hope Fellowship on Sunday on top of all the birthday celebrating.  What a joy to formally dedicate our 16 month old to God's care and the care of our family and church community.  

At this age she wasn't going to stay in my arms for long so she ran around on the little stage, but I decided it was a good way for us all to see in action the spirit of confidence, eagerness, and awareness she has been given.  I remember her being very happy during this whole thing, but it seems almost every single picture our friend took ended up with a pouty face!  

Even pouty during daddy's song for her--his setting of Psalm 139.  

How fitting that she is happy sitting next to granddad.