Family snippets // Thursday linkage

Once, when Ellie was still tiny and her personality unknown, I worried that I wouldn't find her interesting. Would she have a sense of humor? Would she be creative? Would I like having her around?

Not to fear. This child is so many things but dull is certainly not one of them. Her way of living is whole-hearted, over-the-top, and frequently hilarious, whether jumping ("like frog! ribbit, ribbit, ribbit!" through the flower garden) or singing ("doo da doo! bacon and cheese! I really LOUD!" in the middle of the grocery store) or coloring ("uh oh, purple marker on arm, I wash it off!" as she runs to get a kitchen towel). She greets everyone she sees with a bellow of "Hi! How doin'?" and then proceeds to tell them her name, how old she is (if she can remember), and all about her mommy and daddy and baby Zoe and how we're going to the pool tomorrow and she saw a trash truck this morning and the sky is blue and can I touch your dog?

So it figures that her current favorite word is very. The first thing I hear in the morning is "Hi Mommy! I very awake! Mommy very awake too?" And thus it continues throughout the day. "I very need a drink! I very go outside! I very eating tuna!"

Meanwhile my peaceful Zoe-bug has learned how to roll over and scoot backwards on her belly, takes regular morning and afternoon naps, likes to lick celery sticks, drinks milk from a bottle if I go out in the evening, and can sit up mostly without falling on her head. She will be six months old on Tuesday, which is unbelievable, but I guess I have to believe it. She weighs almost 18 pounds and still has the appetite of Almanzo Wilder.

Hmm, bacon-wrapped cinnamon apples seem like a good idea.

I would wear this necklace. (I couldn't spring for the "birthstone of each child" idea yet, though, because we are not done adding kids to the collection.)

This post on Apartment Therapy made me smile; I love how the author describes getting married and merging your home cultures, learning from your spouse as you observe how he goes about his everyday routine. I have certainly adopted some of Jared's habits in the past five years. (Setting a separate bowl for salad, drinking coffee instead of tea in the morning, using dishcloths instead of sponges . . .)

Speaking of home, I KNOW some of you will love this: How To Get the Jane-Austen Inspired Room of Your Dreams.

This is truly one of those "oh duh, why didn't I think of that?" kitchen tips.

This week's excellent Instagram account: Desiree De Leon, making clever drawings out of tiny objects.

according to knowledge

Likewise, husbands, live with your wives in an understanding way, showing honor to the woman as the weaker vessel, since they are heirs with you of the grace of life, so that your prayers may not be hindered.
-1 Peter 3:7

Obviously there's a lot to say about that. But this post isn't about husbands or wives or vessels of any kind. It's about that idea of living in an understanding way. We had a good sermon on this passage a while back, and our pastor observed that in some translations, that phrase is rendered "according to knowledge." The "understanding" that Peter has in mind is not a generic niceness: it's specific. It demands personal knowledge. It demands that you know the other person's background, beliefs, weaknesses and strengths. To overcome ignorance, to get out of our selfish surface-level acquaintance, we need to invest a lot of time, listen patiently, and remember what we have heard.
 

I think that this is quite applicable to parenting. We all like quick fixes: "If Child does X, Parent does or says Y, and all shall be well." However, people don't often operate well on quick fixes. If your child does X on a particular day because of a particular reason, you might want to do Y. But maybe not. Think about it first. Try to understand what is really going on. Don't act like a visitor with your own children. You aren't! You are their mom or dad. You have eyes to observe them, ears to hear them, a mind to process who they are and to inquire of God for wisdom. Don't parent them according to lifeless, inflexible rules; live with them, and parent them according to knowledge.

Weekend linkage

"Beauty and Darkness."

Dostoyevsky famously wrote that “Beauty will save the world,” and I desperately want to believe him, because it is a deeply nice thing to believe. But it didn’t. It won’t. Standing atop the misty mountains in Berchtesgaden, I was reminded of that. Truth will, Christ will, and sometimes it seems far from beautiful in the moment. But truth always leads to something far more beautiful than anything we could imagine.

"I Made the Pea Guacamole."

First, I made a much smaller batch, because I don't believe in wasting avocados on an abomination. Second, I didn't have time to roast my jalapeno, though I doubt that would have improved things. Finally, I did not sprinkle any sunflower seeds over the top; I don't have those on hand because I'm not some kind of socialist. 

"We Have Reached Peak Problematic."

Because academic progressivism is intellectually exhausted and out of ideas, it had to invest in a kind of catch-all word that would serve as a useful vilification device. “Problematic” was that word. Now, instead of thinking about and discussing mildly complex issues, you can just call things “problematic” and act as if you’ve said something intelligent.

"Stop Trying to Convince Me I'm Beautiful." (EXCEPT IF YOU'RE MY HUSBAND IN WHICH CASE NEVER STOP.)

I don’t have low self esteem, or harbour a pocket of self loathing. I love myself, my life, my body, and my face—but I’m not a beauty. I’m a really nice, smart, kind woman who has a lot of great qualities that I’m recognised for everyday. Because of all those things I’m also unbelievably lucky. But again, I’m not a delicate willow, an amazon, a starlet, or anything in between. I’m not bad looking, but that’s about as far as I’d go. I’m a happy average.

"What I Wish I'd Known" before having kids. This is part III of the series, and my favorite installment, but you really ought to read them all.

People always ask how I do it all with three kids and I always say it's because I have three kids. I am more driven, more productive, more organized and happier as a mom of three kids than I would be if it were just me. I can't imagine having all of my time to myself- I would waste so much!

A super interesting podcast, which both appeals to my Hillsdaler's love of core curriculum and raises the hackles of my homeschooled lone ranger sensibilities: "What Every American Needs to Know" with Milt Rosenberg and E.D. Hirsch. Milt Rosenberg is adorable btw and I want to adopt him as my granddaddy.

This week's delighful Instagram account: Benjamin Hole, a farmer on the Isle of Purbeck. SHEEP.