First Stripe

This weekend Pearl finally received her first stripe. This little white belt has been looking forward to the recognition of her Tang Soo Do training for a while. Her diary entry (which I am always permitted to read) described the scene and proudly recorded that all four of her grandparents were able to come celebrate her accomplishment.


Here is the big moment when her daddy wound the tape around her belt to make the stripe. She tells me it was her favorite part of the event, but she doesn't want to share the special encouraging words he murmured.

The stripe! We are so fortunate to have such wonderful families involved in Jasper's karate school.  They are excited about the ministry and make for great role models for little marital artists.

In her enthusiasm, Sapphire could not simply stick to throwing little punches and a kick in the back row ("ssss ssss hut," she always says while she does it). She had to run up front alongside her sister during the big moment. I think she was expecting a piece of tape too, or maybe just some applause. 

Here is our little domestic angel ladling off the cream from our raw milk, lovingly provided by Spot (the cow's real name) and her family.  Sometimes Pearl shakes the cream into butter, which she guards for her own muffins.

I remember watching my grandma manage milk in a jar like this one back when she carried milk out of her milk house each day.

They can be pretty loving in spurts! Sapphire certainly likes the idea of being a big sister. I should celebrate that I am able to sit on our loveseat and read to all three girls at once cuddled around me, a scene I always hoped would pan out when we were in the paperwork phase. Ruby's defense of her lap territory meant we didn't find our reading peace for some time after we got back from China. but we are there.  Of course sometimes a little girl gets kicked off the island because poking a sister is more fun than listening to the story. 

Ruby calls her Waa-wawa, and those of you who know Sapphire's real name can maybe figure that out.  We are very entertained by Ruby's developing language skills. At the table she can hold entire conversations in pantomime of absolute gravity. Food is a serious subject. Then she'll surprise us with whole sentences mashed together, such as Iwantmine (over and over), Iwantabite, and Idon'tknow. 

And, because I can't resist recording Sapphire's 'smiling' face, here it is again.