Lasso The Moon

Sometimes things die.

We don't have pets.  We love animals, but as a family we have never lived anywhere that would support the idea of a pet.  The apartment was too small.  The parsonage was too near a busy street, and the house where we now live is too temporary--to say nothing of the bobcat who lives on the property!  But even though we did not invite this living, breathing creature into our family, still she came.  We didn't notice her at first.  We thought she was just another creepy-crawly member of the country.  But then one day, there she was.  In the middle of her intricately spun, bug-catching web was Charlotte.  Also known as arigope aurantia.

We admired her day and night.  We found that we could see the magnificent web through our kitchen window.  She was a study in God's care for the least of creatures, as well as His attention to color and detail.  But she wasn't a part of the family until the day we started feeding her.  We began ending our evening walks with family grasshopper-catching races.  We squealed with delight as she wrapped her prey at lightning speeds.  We watched the movie, and prepared ourselves for the time that she would lay her eggs, and when she did, we had the bittersweet talk about what would happen next.  And then one day it did.

We found her beautiful intricate body where it had fallen under her web, and made a bed for her out of a scooby doo band-aid box.  We dug a hole and placed it inside, each of us adding a bit of dirt to her grave.  We talked about the fact that her body would turn to dirt that would soon be helping flowers grow.  We talked about the fact that her job was done.  She had left new spiders in place to catch next year's bugs.  And most especially we talked about what we loved the most about Charlotte.

Ethan liked to give her bugs to eat.

Emma liked the way the raindrops sparkled on her web after it rained.

And speaking of books...

I cannot believe I have not mentioned this book before.  It might be my all-time favorite parenting book.  This book was Montessori before Ms. Montessori was taking her first step.  I got it at a goodwill for the funny drawings, and only later discovered what a treasure it was.  I hope to go through it chapter-by-chapter, and take you along with me.

I'm currently buying every copy I see for baby gifts, and I'm thinking of selling some in my shop, since they are officially vintage.

Just stopped in to say...

Have a good weekend!

Spending our days...

Visiting family.
Exploring our new town.
Taking trips to the library.
House hunting.
Playing with friends new and old.
Making things.
Swimming.

How are you spending your days this summer?

Packing

Kids are resourceful even when all of their toys have been packed away.
 

Toilet paper boxing gloves.

Snow

Sometimes 4-yr-olds encounter disappointment.  I've been trying to help Emma deal with it by explaining that God's plans are often different than ours, but that He loves us, and His plan is perfect and what's best for our lives.

So yesterday, as we were getting in the car she noticed the fresh dusting of snow on the ground.
Emma: Mom!  It snowed again! What is God doing?!
Me:  I don't know...
Emma:  I guess he's doing my plan, now.

Emma and her cousin Camden, in town from Texas for the long weekend.  I didn't go skiing with them but Donnie said that she never got upset or angry when she couldn't ski as well as she hoped.  I'm a proud momma.

Fiesta

Here is some more of the fun from the Fiesta. 

We had felt mustaches for all the guests.  Unexpectedly, they were a bigger hit with the adults than the kids.  Note to self:  make twice as many next time.

The top Emma's wearing was my dress when I was little.  She's only allowed to wear it on special occasions.  I think this counts.

In a huge stroke of luck, we had this Guatemalan shirt that fit Ethan perfectly.  Believe it or not, it was Donnie's when he was little.  Thank goodness for sentimental relatives!

We kept everything pretty simple with an orange and green theme--Mexican soda, cupcakes, quesadillas, and of course the pinata.  Which I forgot to take a picture of before it got beat up. 

And a photo wall with some of our favorite birthday-girl memories.
  Something I didn't expect was how emotional I got the night before her birthday.  This was the first time she has been able to anticipate getting older and having a party, and it just made it so much more real.  All night I kept finding reasons to peak in on her while she was sleeping--to catch one more glimpse of my three-year-old.
Happy 4th birthday, Emma Grace!

Party One

Since Emma is now old enough to anticipate her birthday, we let her choose the theme for her party.  Here's the invitation:

She is interested in Spanish, really wanted a pinata, and loves quesadillas.  The theme was a no-brainer.  The mustache was just good fun.  Here are some of the outtake pics.

Just Popping in to say Hello

These were taken on a gorgeous fall day at our art museum.  It has incredible grounds full of luscious gardens and colorful trees.  And it's all free!  We go there pretty often.  (I've actually never been inside the museum!!)

The puppies are 'ere!

We made it to the Fall Festival at church with only thirty minutes to spare.  (oops!)  But we got there, and it was a blast.  The babies loved their costumes, even more after they had watched the actual movie at least eleven times.  (I have it memorized.)

 

The coat turned out great, but I didn't finish it.  After a couple hours of itching and sneezing from the fur, I just safety pinned the hem, and left it at that.  It does have a read lining, though.  That was a must.  Donnie has the "puppies" in a couple of burlap potato sacks.   There was no way we could get them to look scared after this.  *Mental note--Ethan hates face paint.  He had his little black nose smeared across his face within a minute and a half.*

Something came over me while wearing this costume, and I think it will lead to more villainous dress-up in the future.  Looking back, I realize that I posed for a lot of pictures that night, and I'm a little worried about where they might end up.  Oh well, I'll just channel Cruella and laugh it off.