Celebrations

Cherry season! Ruby is a surprisingly dedicated cherry picker

One morning last week Sapphire gave me a hug and kiss and wished me a "happy Mother's Day." This seemed so sweet, I saw no need to correct her. Later that morning she said that she wanted Mother's Day to be "perfect," and going out to lunch would make it perfect. I wasn't too against this idea, so we tried to figure out if we could pull her daddy away from his weed-wacking project to go to Roburitos. This wouldn't do for Sapphire. She was sure Mother's Day (Part II) would be better if we went to the Chinese buffet.  In the end we tried it her way. I didn't mind the extra attention, though I started to see a pattern when she wished me "Happy Mother's Day" the very next morning.

The Black Jack team in a huddle.

For Father's Day we cheered their daddy on through two Ultimate Frisbee games, then we enjoyed some frozen yogurt at Sweet Frog.  This had been Pearl's plan all along.

This month has tons of celebratory importance in our house. We were able to celebrate Daniel's birthday with his parents, who also surprised the girls with an Easter egg hunt. With moving, we haven't all been in Chester County much lately to visit, but the girls thoroughly enjoyed their late Easter treats.

Finally, our little orange belt was promoted and received her first stripe this past Saturday.

We discovered a leak in the pond yesterday, and the water level has dropped a bit. The ducks don't seem to mind, but I wish they would figure out how to plug the leak. It is beyond me. 

Cherished

Last week on the anniversary of D-Day, we had a chance to chat with a veteran who was there. He is a kind neighbor in our old neighborhood, a retired policeman.  He initially said he wasn't really there because his troop transport was hit by two mines and sunk before it landed on the fateful beach. He made it out of the water eventually.

I asked a friend to repair the large mouse holes chewed in this quilt made by my great-grandmother. The crazy quilt is amazing, but very delicate.  Now that it has been repaired, we can put it to use, since that is what quilts are for.

My friend Bev did a lovely job, and my husband couldn't even find the repairs.  You can see that Capitola, the initial artist, worked on her quilt for years. She has added several 'notes' about her age as she finished this full size quilt. 

With all of our things around us in the new house, it really feels like we have been there a long time.  The frogs have been entertaining the girls. They go on frog walks around the pond to count the frogs (or, in Sapphire's case, try to catch them).  This requires a weird kicking-out-over-the-water way of walking that they tell me scares the frogs into jumping into the water. 

I finally saw a tiny frog sitting on one of our lily pads. I didn't get a picture of him, but I did catch this blooming water lily in the fish pond. 

Baptized into the Family of God

We have been looking forward to baptizing Ruby since before we brought her home.  This was one of the milestones that we could all enjoy together.  It seemed too much to throw the water at her when she first arrived, and, since her sisters had all be baptized in the summer in our historic eighteenth-century church, we wanted to continue that tradition.  We tried scheduling it for last fall, but the very day we had planned, her daddy was in the hospital learning he had an operable brain aneurism. This Sunday she finally got baptized.


We had talked about what it would be like, so she was ready for some water. I explained that it would be a sign that she was God's child, and that Mommy and Daddy were promising to teach her about God, and all this sounded fine to her.  During the baptism her daddy shared her life verse, held her, and scooped water over her head. Her Nana was able to assist, since she is an elder in our denomination, just at a different church.  Afterward Ruby had to tell me how the drops dripped down her back, but she wasn't upset at all by it. 

Later, our extended family joined us at the new house for a lunch.  Ruby knew that the cakes and food were for her party, so she was looking forward to it. We got to give tours through the house and celebrate this big event with our family. Thanks to all who could come! 

My very strong husband brought nearly the last load of random items from the old house.  I would not have imagined this was possible last summer when he was wracked with Lyme disease back pain!  Our calves and biceps must have gotten stronger during this last month of going up and down steps.  The last items seem to be the toughest, because they don't have an obvious spot. Another aspect of the transition is the fact that our home will be without internet for two or three months, depending on how speedy our provider is in connecting us. 

Here's a sight I love, and one that is perfectly timed for our library's summer reading program. 
These two have been bonding in a beautiful way over the last few weeks.