My Faith and Joy… and Boys!

My boys come to a nerf fight prepared!

The boys and Jim have been practicing the art of knot tying lately.  They’re getting really good.  Jimmy is so enthralled with the process that he couldn’t stop himself from tying his spaghetti noodles into knots!

(Don’t ask me which knot that is, they all look alike to me!)

Susie loves playing around with technology, figuring out what she can and can’t do (and then trying to teach herself so she can do it!).  I have very little tech savvy, so I’m constantly turning to Susie to help me with things.  I still haven’t figured out how to make Google Calendar work for me.  So I chuckled when I opened up my computer at night, long after the kids were all in bed, and realized she had created a reminder for me: “Dinner with Susanna, 7PM.”  Love that kid!

How many Jims does it take to fix a Rzr? ;). Apparently three, because soon after I took this picture, Pappy came over to help too!

While the quarantine has gifted (cursed?) many people with idle time, I can’t say it has for our family.  We had a lot of settling into the new house to accomplish, then moving my in-laws into their apartment with us, and of course the “distance learning” with its stresses and successes.  But in spite of the busy season, the fact that our kids are getting older and more independent has helped me be able to seize a few minutes here and there to read.  I read voraciously as a child and young adult, especially in college as an English major when I was tasked with consuming entire anthologies of literature.  But the reading dropped off precipitously once there were multiple small children to distract me.  No complaints here – kids are much more absorbing than books!  But now that even Tazie is old enough to play independently for a few minutes (and the big kids are so good about entertaining her with their games), I’ve been delighted to steal a chapter of a book here and there.

It’s fun to read books that the kids are reading, so when Susie picked up Little Women late last year, I was excited to read it alongside her – especially since I came across a copy that belonged to Jim’s grandmother, Nana, given to her in 1932.  But since Susie reads at the speed of light, and I can only manage a few pages a day, she beat me to the conclusion by about six months.  But on a recent beautiful, sunny day, I took Tazie outside and I sat in a chair determined to finish the book.  Tazie normally likes to have me watch her every move when she plays (“Look, Mom!  Look, Mom!  Look, Mom!”), but thankfully, that day she was content poking an enormous mud puddle in the yard with two sticks, and that activity got me through the last 50 pages with few interruptions.  Afterwards, she was happy (albeit filthy!), and I had reached the delightful end of that delightful story.

I would love to say the book will help me to be as eloquent as Jo, as wise as Marmee, and as content as Beth.  But I can say that after finishing the book, I hugged the kids a little more gratefully, being reminded that my God-given responsibility as a mother really is a precious gift, and the interest I take in my children’s everyday lives is a powerful shaping force.  Most importantly, the spiritual atmosphere I set greatly influences how my children interact with each other, with the world, and with the Lord.

“My child, the troubles and temptations of your life are beginning, and may be many; but you can overcome and outlive them all if you learn to feel the strength and tenderness of your Heavenly Father as you do that of your earthly one. The more you love and trust Him, the nearer you will feel to Him, and the less you will depend on human power and wisdom. His love and care never tire or change, can never be taken from you, but may become the source of lifelong peace, happiness, and strength. Believe this heartily, and go to God with all your little cares, and hopes, and sins, and sorrows, as freely and confidingly as you come to your mother.” – Mrs. March