Reconnecting

What a fun weekend it's been.

C & S arrived around dinnertime on Friday night. As I walked out the front door to greet them, their little girl Julia (4) climbed over the front seat, jumped out of the car with a bouquet of flowers in hand, and shouted, "Hi!" What a welcome. I was shocked to see how big Caleb was. After hugs and handshakes, we went inside. Julia and Caleb inspected the house. Julia found all our books and immediately started pulling them off the shelves for us to read to her. (Ira Sleeps Over, George and Martha. D said she had good taste.) Caleb busied himself with a truck and some play tools.

I threw some Cokes in the freezer to chill quickly. We sat down to a rather disorganized, but pleasant, meal together (thank you, Panera & Kraft Macaroni and Cheese), put the kids to bed, and stayed up chatting til midnight. Right before we went to bed, D and I heard a muffled boom - or thud - or something. We looked around the kitchen and basement but couldn't figure out what happened, so we went to bed.

The next day we trekked over to Cosley Zoo (which S coined Snuggly Zoo - so much more appropriate than the original) a nearby petting zoo geared for kids up to six years old. Horses and llamas and giant Flemish bunnies...?

Oh my.

During our weekend, Julia convinced D to read to her, let her pet Boo & Kanga (the gerbils), and play his guitar. Together they sang Joshua, & Fruit of the Spirit. D was impressed because Julia already knew a lot of the words, although she'd only had the CD a week.

Caleb followed me around the house, laughing and trying to headbutt my knees. C said that was a sign of affection.

At naptime, D & S bonded over Atari (which means I'm off the hook for a few days), and C and I took a walk to a nearby park to talk and pray. It was an encouragement to me. Her words must have been something I needed to hear, because my pastor repeated them almost verbatim in this morning's sermon. God is good.

And of course, you readers must have figured out much more quickly than I did what the muffled boom was...

Yes, Mom. I am my father's daughter.

Weekend Plans

We have friends coming to town this weekend. C & S, whom I haven't seen in at least two years. I think the last time I saw C was in the summer of the year I began dating D. She had just found out that she was pregnant with their little boy. So we planned a visit. They're driving up from Springfield tomorrow. I'm looking forward to it. We'll go to the petting zoo on Saturday, weather permitting.

But I'm realizing my house is in no way baby proof. I'm not worried about my stuff - I'm worried about the kids, particularity baby boy. I went to the grocery store last night to try to find a lock for the cabinet under the kitchen sink (where, as a kidless household, we keep all things smelly and poisonous), and didn't find anything. I wonder if I knot a shoelace around the handles if that will suffice. I don't have those little covers for out outlets, either. That worries me.

I'm trying to stifle my perfectionist tendencies. I want the house to be sparkling clean when they walk through the door, but there's no way that's happening in the next 24 hours. Oh well.

Ramble ramble.

Neighbors

There's a little girl who lives on our street who cracks me up. She's maybe six or seven.

Almost every night around 8:00, I see her outside. She races up and down our sidewalk on a little pink scooter. Her tangled, wavy blond hair streams out behind her as she whizzes past the house. Her outfit of choice for her nightly joyride is a Disney princess nightgown (with Belle and Cinderella's faces across the front) and a pair of high heels.

At first I thought the nightgown meant that mom let her put her PJ's on and then run around outside a bit more. But when D and I saw her on Sunday, it was a hot night. She must have been sweaty, playing as hard as she was. I thought, "Wow, Mom is nice, letting her get all sweaty and then putting her to bed." But then I noticed the high heels. And I realized: This is no bedtime outfit. This is her princess outfit. Who knows what she's daydreaming about as she zips by on that scooter.

I like that kid. I remember the days when a nightgown made me a princess. Or a hoodie towel made me a superhero.

To Each His Own

David makes a CD that 30,000 churches have the potential to hear. What do I make?

A chocolate cheesecake. With homemade whipped cream and dark chocolate shavings.

I personally consider those two accomplishments to be of equal importance. I mean, come on, people. We're talking cheesecake. It was my birthday cake of choice when I was younger. And since Mom is too far away to play chef, I decided it was time to learn.

On Saturday I gathered all the ingredients, bought a double boiler, and a springform pan so I could try this. (I know you can use a metal bowl over a pot, but we don't have one.)

Sunday afternoon while David mowed the lawn, I donned my apron (thank you Rebecca and Rachel!) and spent three hours in the kitchen. One hour to prepare, one hour to bake, one hour to set, and technically, at least one hour in the fridge before serving. But I left the kitchen once this was in the fridge.

I brought half of it to work, and shared it with my friend E who was in town from Texas (Side note: Yay for visits from old friends! An evening chatting was good for my soul.) D made the "I think this is super yummy" noise when he tasted it, and asked, "Can you make this cake every week?"

Yay.

Stronger Than Superglue!

Some of you know that David's been working with Awana lately, writing and recording children's music for their various clubs and programs. Well, last week he received his first ever fan mail! Here it is:

"I'm an Awana Sparks volunteer, and just received the new CD last week. I've been jamming to it ever since! It's awesome. The kids will love it, and their parents will, too. Listening to the music has me really excited to start the new Awana year. What a fun, fun way to teach and learn Bible truths. Thank you!


Sarah, Wyoming"

Isn't it so great?? I'm inordinately proud of this email. When David finished the project, Steve (the producer, aka his guitarist, aka partner in crime) told us that Awana would make 30,000 copies of the CD. At the time I thought, "Wow. That's a big number. Maybe people will hear David's music!" It's totally different to actually receive fan mail. From WYOMING. Who lives in Wyoming?! I mean, apparently Sarah does, but who else? People in other states are hearing my husband's songs. And they like them so much, they're hunting him down on the internet to TELL HIM.

Crazy.

So. You readers of my blog, who have kids under the age of 8, or who know someone with kids under the age of 8, or who have kids who one day may turn one of those ages: Check them out. Puggles is a purple CD one. It's geared towards kids 2-3 years old. The Sparks (Sing It, Tell It, Whisper It, Yell It) cover has a kid on it, who is apparently super-psyched about her super psweet music. That one is geared towards kids about 7 years old.

Buy them. You won't regret it.

**Other fan mail (in form of posted comments) can be directed to: http://www.davidyeagerband.blogspot.com/