A Day for the Record Books

I’m listening to the sound of a chainsaw outside our windows. The snarl of the saw began just about the time I put the baby down–a perfect addition to a wild morning. It’s a long story, but I’ll shorten it up.
Emmy is going through one of those phases where a bottle, a burp and a [...]

Read Full Post »

A Child By Any Other Name…

Snickerdoodle – A snickerdoodle is a type of sugar cookie made with cream of tartar and rolled in cinnamon sugar. It is characterized by a cracked surface and can be crisp or soft depending on preference. In modern recipes, the leavening agent is usually baking powder. Some people mistakenly refer to snickerdoodles as “sugar cookies”. [...]

Read Full Post »

Sleeping Beauty

I thought of this old song by Stephen Foster when I saw this photo of Emily.

Read Full Post »

Baby Laughs, Etc.

Babies all have their own little personalities and habits. Emily’s new thing is to scoot to the bottom of her bassinet and prop her legs up at the end. I’ve never seen a newborn do this. She has always been a very active baby, even in the womb, and the doctor commented on how strong [...]

Read Full Post »

Keeping on the Sunny Side of Life

I am pretty much alone in this household in my appreciation for southern gospel music. I inherited this affection from my mother who grew up in the Missouri Ozarks. This music always reminds me of my Grandma and things down South when I was a child. Maybe it was a fateful trip to Branson, Missouri [...]

Read Full Post »

Babies Don’t Keep

Mother, O Mother, come shake out your cloth,
Empty the dustpan, poison the moth,
Hang out the washing, make up the bed,
Sew on a button and butter the bread.
Where is the mother whose house is so shocking?
She’s up in the nursery, blissfully rocking.
Oh, I’ve grown as shiftless as Little Boy Blue, Lullaby, rockabye, lullaby loo.
Dishes are waiting [...]

Read Full Post »

Emmy Notes

Emily is three-weeks-old tomorrow. Time flies. Before long, I’ll be saying three months. I’m trying to savor each moment with her because only moms with older kids realize just how fast the days go. I must admit I am adjusting physically and mentally to having a newborn again. It’s been so long since I’ve known [...]

Read Full Post »

Two Prayers

The beauty of written prayers is their thoroughness. So often in prayer our minds wander and we are distracted. These two Orthodox prayers are beautiful expressions of the heart to the Lord at both ends of the day.
Prayer at Daybreak
Eternal King without beginning, You who are before all worlds, my Maker, Who have summoned all [...]

Read Full Post »

A Trumpeter’s Lullabye

Tom has finally hooked up his new CD playing alarm clock I bought a year ago last Christmas for him. (See Cause for Alarm) So in this house of a newborn, guess which number he chose to use for his morning alarm? Great Gate of Kiev from Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition–a piece where brass [...]

Read Full Post »

Home Sweet Home

Leaving the hospital.

Finally home after we figured out the car seat. It was a comedic moment as Tom, Sam, Jon and William all battled to figure out the intricacies of the new car seat system and how to get the straps tight enough without strangling the child, and then how to fit the base of [...]

Read Full Post »