Hot Tip of the Day

A turkey baster is a really good tool for cleansing dog poo out of a baby's mouth.

Eavesdropping

I was hanging out my bedroom window the other day listening in on a conversation between JT and his sisters. They didn't know I was listening and the whole thing provided me with some small level of amusement as I witnessed JT trying to make sense of these critters he calls sisters. The conversation went something like this:

Ruth, Betsy and Miriam sitting in the grass when JT comes by.

JT: Whatcha doin'?

Betsy: Making grass wreaths.

JT: What are they for?

Betsy: We're going to give them to the poor people.

JT (after a long, thoughtful pause): How many poor people do you know?

Ruth: Twelve.

Miriam: Eight.

JT: Oh. (He looked perplexed, opened his mouth to say something, then stopped and walked over to Philip who was watering his garden) Hey Philip, they're making grass wreaths for the poor people.

I didn't hear Philip's response but then I saw JT sort of shrug his shoulders and wander off in a different direction. The whole thing was particularly joyous for me to witness since JT didn't make a single derogatory comment. He was really just trying to figure it all out. Now I *know* he's making progress.

Philip's Garden

What started out as a homeschool project is turning into a what looks like a nice surplus of vegetables for our summer eating. Philip took on the management of this garden plot and has really impressed me with his diligence and passion for the project. He and the girls spent many hours digging up the plot out of a grassy spot in the yard. They turned the whole plot over no less than 4 or 5 times. Then Philip planted some seeds that a farmer friend of his passed on to him - he has watermelon at one end and pumpkins at the other. The rest we planted as seedlings - zucchini (you can see the beautiful yellow flowers), one tomato plant towering over the rest in the back left of the garden, some more watermelons of a different variety, yellow squash, green peppers and a few more I know I'm forgetting. We were limited to whatever seedlings the farm we visited had as I was only making one farm trip with 12 people so, while it would have been nice to plant some peas or beans, it just didn't happen this year. He's been out there watering daily. Miriam planted some broccoli in the front yard (so some people have flowers bordering their front walk, we have broccoli...d'you have a problem with that?!) and JM and the other girls planted sweet potatoes. I'll let you know how things grow...

Under the Big Top

I got to go to my first ever circus! Muff called Adora while Ben and I were in Kansas City and asked her to check with me about treating the whole crew to a one ring circus. Checking with me went right by Adora and she immediately assured Muff that of course we would all go! What great fun! All the cousins were there - except Maegan who was working at the Cow. We got there nice and early as we were all so excited to be there. We were first in line for the camel rides - I pulled the old, "I never got to go to Disney World so can I ride on a camel, Dad" blink the eyelashes and smile trick. I was the first one on the camel...


It was poorly attended and hot as you-know-where since it was the first show of the run and the afternoon of the first day off school. So we had front row seats and spent our time pouring water on each other to cool off. My personal favorite moment was the clown who came out in his underwear as his pants chased him...um...he chased his pants...around the ring. What a hoot! There were Chinese acrobats and a contortionist and a dog and pony show and elephants and camels and a clown and a trapeze act, fun, fun, fun!! Which reminds me, for those who don't know it Ringling Brothers Circus (which this wasn't) figures every kid should get to go to the circus at least once in their lives so they give a free ticket to every kid under a year old. Just go to their website and sign up your newborn and they'll send a ticket to you in the mail good for anytime in the life of your child and, yes, they do have a provision for adopted children too! Anywho, here's the two pics I got off my cellphone. I'm sorry I didn't have my camera but it got to pouring down rain anyway so maybe we're better off that way...
Miriam, Ruth and Addison on the camel:



J ohn Michael (second from front) and David (behind JM) on the elephant in the big ring:

Sharing

Nate's New Trick

Besides figuring out this trick, he's also gotten seven teeth, more CURLS on top and can crawl like a pro...

DOD

I've been working on getting John Michael and David to pay attention in church since they want to receive Eucharist in the worst kind of way. Every Sunday, they go up to the altar, carefully fold one hand over the other and look up at the priest expectantly. JM almost got Fr. Rob once...Anyway, today I reiterated to David the importance of saying the prayers along with the congregation and he took on the task with great attention. He managed to get through about every other word as the congregation spoke, "Lord I am not worthy to receive you but only say the word and I shall be healed." Then he turned to me triumphantly and repeated, "Mom, only the say the word - I can do that....See? WORD!"

Special Olympics!