Monday, April 25, 2011

Monday Thoughts and Blessings

Monday Thoughts and Gratitude:

- He is risen!  Hallelujah!

- Size 7 toddler feet to kiss.  Miss Beth will be tall, like my Peter.  Her feet are nearly as big as her sister's--who has twenty-four months on her.

- Easter chocolate crosses on sale for half off today.

- The rain continues.  Finally, some news source mentioned that Ohio is getting record rain. Yes, indeed.  I'm glad we have legitimate reason for our rainy-day blues around here--we've all succumbed.  The blessing is that more green pops up in the landscape every day!

- I decided that holidays shouldn't be all work for the parents (Mom specifically), and all play for the kiddos. I put mine to work for the first hour after church, while I cooked.  They cleaned the playroom, made their beds, folded their pajamas (no, not well, but who cares?), and their socks/underwear, and swept the floor--all for free because it was Resurrection Sunday.  Busy kids behave!

- We kept Curious George Goes Green for three weeks.  I renewed it twice, successfully, and returned it on time!  No library fees.  Yeah!  That cute little George though, whom I adore, convinced my children that we have to make some compost in our backyard.  They tell me we mustn't put meat or dairy in the compost, because George did that and it makes your compost stinky.  Wish me luck on this compost thing.  We haven't had cable for about seventeen months and I don't even know if Curious George is still on. George used to entice my boys into crazy schemes, like making a miniature golf course in the playroom, utilizing all sorts of stuff from our closets, which ultimately, I had to put away.  But I still love that little monkey!

-  Today Mary picked out a Dora video called World Adventure.  I folded laundry while she watched it and I noticed right away that, lo and behold, Dora got a new outfit!  Whose idea was it to put that child in a two-sizes- too-small, pink and orange ensemble?  Mary commented gleefully, when the next episode came on: "Dora is wearing very pretty things now!"  I know it's easier to make cartoons when the characters wear only one outfit (less drawing and frame switching involved).  But, I'm sure I'm not the only mom in America who wished a new outfit for Caillou's mother.  I loved that show, even though the patience displayed by the mother and father went beyond saint-like.  Every child watching probably wished their own parents could be like Caillou's.

- Easter day was a blessed day!  Having the bunny, chocolate, and egg thing the weekend before worked like a charm.  It was all a distant memory by Easter, and my children behaved well, focusing on the blessing of Resurrection Sunday.  We enjoyed a nice church service at 9:00 AM, then prepared and enjoyed a nice dinner at 2:00 PM.  Daddy went to work from 4:00 PM to 9:30 PM, which wasn't too bad.  I read the entire Easter story from the Bible with the boys later, starting from Palm Sunday and going through to the appearances after Jesus' resurrection.  They were blessed by hearing it all again in one sitting.  Paul munched his popcorn the whole time, while Peter interrupted a gazillion times with unnecessary questions.  Sometimes I wish that boy loved popcorn as much as his brother (smile).

- My children and I are enthralled with this eagle's nest (use a full screen once you click on the video).  Watching the mother and father attend to the three babies is fascinating.  Their love and devotion and patience is amazing!  I see God in the whole thing!

- We found a feeder the squirrels can't invade!  (The score now is squirrels = 3, humans = 1)  An hour after we put it up and filled it, we saw a squirrel feeding on the ground underneath it.  He got up on his hind legs and stood tall, checking out the feeder.  I half expected him to jump onto it right then and there.  I could have sworn I heard him say, "Hee, Hee.  The humans put up another feeder!  Yippee!"  He then proceeded to scurry up the tree and make his way out onto the branch, only to find the feeder had a small dome top--way too small to accommodate a squirrel's body (it's a tube feeder).  He settled for hanging by his hind feet and eating from a peanut-butter pinecone instead.  I foresee him hanging by his hind feet on the branch next to the one the new feeder is on, then swinging himself back and forth to get at the seed.  We shall see.  The rest of the family think we've won.

However, the goldfinch don't seem to like the tube feeder as well as the plexiglass, so have we really won?  Daddy thinks if we somehow fasten a liter soda bottle over the top of the plexiglass feeder, the squirrels won't be able to get on. We saw this contraption in this neighbourhood somewhere, wondering what it was at the time.

I think we need Curious George's help over here!

Love to you, friends!

3 comments:

TerraD said...

Curious George is still on tv. Good luck with the squirrel!

Christine said...

Thank you, Terri! Hope you had a happy Easter there!

Christine said...

I meant Terra, not Terri. Sorry.