Thursday: I didn't have much planned for today--tinkered about the house for a little bit, studied some about King Hezekiah, baked some banana bread (which sadly did NOT turn out very well--and I can't figure out what went wrong!), but then I drove over to visit Kaity for a little while this afternoon. We had a cold front come through last night, so it was rather chilly outside today, and still quite wet from all of the rain we've experienced ... so we played inside. For awhile, we played in Kaity's room--but there isn't much space in there to sit or even stand ... so I talked her into playing some games out in the main room of their house.
We played one game of "Operation" but the game was missing most of the parts so it wasn't very fun. THEN we played a game of Chutes & Ladders--the game pieces were missing, but no problem--we used some of Kaity's LOL tiny dolls as our pieces. Baby Lily played too. !!
And finally, Kaity found this version of a game I have here at the Beach House (I forget what it is called), but my game has marbles that you do NOT want to fall when removing the colored sticks. Kaity's game has monkeys with curly tails that latch on to the sticks--even as they fall--they don't always land at the bottom because they've latched on to another stick. PLUS, there is a colored dye to roll forcing you to chose whatever color stick the dye is showing. It's pretty cute, and we actually had the most fun playing this game.
I did get to say a quick "hi" to the other kids. Emma got called back to work yesterday, so she and Chris were getting ready to go to work, and I got to see Matthew briefly too ... as well as Jesse. Always thankful to see these guys and be able to enjoy them, even if it is only a quick encounter.
Wednesday: This is the fourth card I've made for Lois. I'm not crazy about how it turned out ... a little too "busy" and I should have used a larger font on the front ... sigh.
Tuesday (continued): I was trying to describe this bridge to Brendan on our drive out to Lowell. He said he was very surprised with HOW it looked--he said he didn't expect it to look like this. I told him I felt the same way the first time I saw it. It's difficult to describe the bridge except to say that it is a wooden "truss" bridge, and I think it is 650 long, spanning the Grand River in Lowell.
I think our Little Fellow was sufficiently impressed once we walked up the ramp and were on top. It's a beautiful place, even during this drab time of year.
Here are the three kiddos ... look at little Erin's face! She kills me! Aidan was exhausted by this time and very happy to sit in this deluxe stroller of theirs.
I was telling Brendan that eventually, there is going to be a stairway that you can descend to explore this island. He wanted the stairway to be finished TODAY ... but they actually haven't even started building that part yet.
Great views from a really impressive bridge ... but I get all excited about bridges and lighthouses ... and barns ... and boats!
We crossed to the other side and took a short path to the water's edge. It was actually quite muddy down there, so I didn't spend much time in it.
Brendan had his cool boots on, so he walked right down to the edge and took a look at the pretty stones and tossed a few into the river while he was at it.
We crossed back over, since there was nothing else we were "allowed" to do during quarantine ... you see, there is a nice playground and beautiful soccer fields on the other side. Hopefully, when our state "opens up" again, we can come back here and play on the playground. I didn't get the kiddos too close to it because I didn't want them to be sad and frustrated.
We walked along a pathway adjacent to the river, but it dead-ended into a ravine.
In preparation for today, I had prayed for strength and wisdom and enough energy to have a fun day with these guys. God was very gracious and gave me just enough of what I needed!
Tuesday: Much of my morning was spent in preparation for my three littles who were coming over at 11AM. I cleaned up a bunch of the toys and got out one that Aidan hasn't played with yet--mostly because it actually belongs to Kaity-Girl. When I spoke to her the other day, though, she said it would be fine if the other kiddos played with it--as long as we were careful!
I decided the coffee table would be the best place to set up the treehouse because if it was on the floor, it would get stepped on by lots of feet ...
I also got out the three horses and riders so that there would be more "people" to play in the treehouse. Aidan and Erin really loved playing with all of this stuff today.
Brendan designed his very own "train bridge" and was very proud of it too. The little steam engine is a much coveted train around here ... so I have to monitor it's sharing time.
Isn't it so great to watch little ones play?
Erin's expressions!
Isn't she something? Gah!
And Aidan too ... he was SO pleased to play with this set today.
Of course, Aidan didn't miss out on playing with the trains either ... but look who has landed on his precious shoulder?
"Gamma! Gamma, no no Matey!" Aidan spoke with a quiet and very controlled voice ... but he was seriously NOT liking physical contact with Matey-Bird! So I rescued my dear Aidan immediately.
Brendan made up his own game ... it was a map game that was supposed to be played all over my little house and we were supposed to collect "stamps" in our squares and circles ... but we never got to play it, and I never quite figured out the rules of the game, because there was just too much else going on. I hate to disappoint Brendan like this, but sometimes it just can't be helped.
These two ...
Everyone got a little "fussy" by about 2:30, so I put on the remainder of Frozen 2, popped some popcorn, and everyone settled down for a little while. I did the lunch dishes and did a little bit of picking up (I have a low tolerance for long-term chaos ... but I'm growing in it!). At about 3:15 or so, we piled back into the car and headed over to Lowell to walk the new pedestrian bridge.
Monday: Look who I got to see today? KT and I were supposed to play outside today in her backyard, but as I drove into their driveway the rain started falling--not hard, but enough to where outside play was definitely OUT. Sleeping beauty was NOT bothered by this fact seeing that she wasn't even awake yet ... so I gave her a little kiss on her forehead, whispered her dear name, and she opened her beautiful eyes with a big smile--just for me!
However, since I had peeked into her room and saw she was sleeping, I took advantage and tiptoed upstairs and had a small but lovely visit with Emma--I have missed her tremendously. It was wonderful to see her and talk with her for awhile today. THEN I was also fortunate enough to see Chris and Matt--a rare sighting indeed! Chris was getting ready for work (he works a 4-midnight shift) and Matt was in his room. It was very nice to see these two young men today. They looked good. Chris seems very happy to have a job, and I am glad for him too. Emma was working at the same place, but it seems they "over-hired" and now she has been told they will call her when she is needed.
When I woke Kaity up, we decided that since we couldn't play outside, we would play with her dolls. I have to tell you ... playing with dolls was something I actually HATED when I was Kaity's age. First of all, Kevin (who was exactly one year older) had cooler toys than dolls--he had cars and trucks! To this day, I would rather play with cars and trucks any day than to play with dolls. I have quite a collection of Matchbox and HotWheel cars and trucks and can't seem to resist adding to it every now and again. But dolls? I have a total of 3, perhaps 4, if you count the little one I had purchased for Emma when she was two that she decided was ugly and refused to play with.
Anyway, Kaity and I played with her THREE baby dolls: Baby Lily (her favorite), Violet, and now a new baby doll named ANGEL. I have never seen a child play with dolls like Kaity does. She has clothes, accessories, little closets, boxes that she has turned into beds, blankets that she has made from all sorts of materials, and she gets a very high degree of pleasure from dressing these babies and taking care of them. She certainly is a good mom to them. I love to see how tender she is with them. Kaity and I had a really nice hour together and I am so thankful for this time with her.
MNBS Zoom Meeting: Our small group met at 7PM to discuss the last lesson in our "Sustaining Grace" series. Leadership at Calvary has asked us to extend our meetings for another four weeks.
Since I am expecting a brand new grandchild any day now and upon its birth I will be more and more occupied with child care, I deferred the next four weeks to Margaret. We are going to view (together) a weekly 10 (approximately) minute video on what it means to be a "good neighbor", discuss the video together, and then update prayer requests. I'm looking forward to attending any of these meetings for which I am available. I love these ladies. Each of them is super special.
Monday: I mailed out this fourth card to Eleanor today.
I am really enjoying making these cards for these ladies. I hope someday to be able to meet Eleanor and Lois, and get re-acquainted with Phyllis ... hopefully after this whole COVID nightmare is over ... if it IS ever over that is. !!
