But I was encouraged this weekend to know that he is recognizing some letters on his own.

He saw a “XEROX” box and said “‘X’! Two ‘X’!”

Then he gasped, pointing: ” ‘O’!”

Later he accurately identified ‘N,’ ‘S,’ ‘O,’ and ‘X.’

He’s making progress!

On Saturday morning, we looked over to see Mara making “letters” with her french toast. First, she made an “L.” Then she made an “F” and an “I.” Ate a few squares. And together we made a “A,” then an “H.” Ate a few more squares. And finally she made a “B” and then a “K.”

I’m sitting here typing, suddenly realizing that some will say, instead promoting of educational eating, we should be teaching her not to play with her food! (They have a point.) But it was still fun to see her little mind working, designing those letters with the squares she had.

Who says you can’t practice your ABCs over french toast?

Micah sits in his high chair, innocently eating his piece of toast–on a fork.

Mara: “Micah, you don’t use your fork with your toast. Your fork is for your egg.”

——–

Micah: “Hee-HONK! Hee-HONK!”

Mara: “Micah, it’s Hee-haw, not ‘Hee-Honk.’ There’s no ‘honk.’”

Nothin’ gets past big sister!

——–

Our three-year-old continues to ask deeper questions.

For instance she asked: “How do they make bacon for the stores?”

Me: “Bacon comes from a pig.”

Mara has a look that she gives me that says ‘I’m-so-confident-that’s-not-true-that-I’m-not-even-going-to-react-to-that-one.’

She gave me that look. And asked again, “No–how do they really make bacon?”

I told her it’s true. They kill the pigs and cut up the meat and take it to the store.

Still not fully convinced, she requested: “Show me a picture of the pig getting killed.”

I did. (This is the age of the internet.)

That pretty much ruined her breakfast.

While Micah got out plates, Mara carried the jars of peanut butter and jelly to the table for me. “I want peanut butter and jelly to get married, and this is their marriage-ment today!” she declared.

“Look!” Mara exclaimed, holding the jars together. “They’re kissing! ”

It is just more challenging than ever with three little ones in tow. First of all, the thrift store is not the same as the grocery store, where you know what’s on every aisle and which items your store carries. . . Not to mention, if you do happen to find something that would make a great birthday present, you have to be sure you see it before the kids do, and then somehow you have to hide it from your child for the remainder of the trip.

The thrift store is also hit and miss, so shopping there can be a complete waste of time–or like finding hidden treasure!

This morning we had to make three stops, and since everyone was all loaded up and we were passing right by the thrift store, I decided to stop.

For Carissa, I found little brown shoes with pink bows.

For Micah, several things:

• Bob the Builder snowboots (might be too big for this year, or he might get two years’ wear out of them)
• 3T navy blue patriotic t-shirt for next summer
• 24-mo. TCP red-blue striped long-sleeve polo shirt
• Stride-Rite navy blue sneakers w velcro, Size 6W

For Mara:

• Minnie Mouse rainboots (I use them in snow too, with extra socks, if we don’t find snowboots)
• 5 pairs of possibly-new 4T underwear

For her birthday:

• A princess tiara (she will LOVE this!)
• Princess Belle nightgown, possibly nice enough for dress-up!

And then a few impulse purchases:

• For Mara: “Sully” from Monsters Inc., ridiculously overpriced at 50 cents, probably came out of a Happy Meal or something, but Mara’s on a Monsters Inc. kick right now. She asked the lady if they had any “Little Boo’s.” Ha ha!
• For Micah: Legos with wheels
• For me: a little black purse with a pink “S” monogrammed

I wasn’t really sure how much everything was going to cost. Yellow stickers were 1/2 price this week. And kids’ stuff was mostly $1. So I knew it couldn’t be too much.

The grand total was $10.82! I need to go to the thrift store more often!

[Sigh.] “Yes, Mommy needs to exercise and eat better,” I confessed.

“Mayyyybe you can get one of those big round things [she meant a trampoline] like our friends have to jump on? With the bar to hold onto?” she suggested. “Maybe that would help you exercise!”

I’m sure she’s just trying to be helpful.

—————

Later that morning, she looks at me and says, “You need to be a good mom, and take us to the lake more often.”

If I were a “good mom”??

Trust me, child, if there were a lake nearby that we could go to more often, we’d be there!

(And for those who might be concerned, yes, we’re having conversations about how to speak respectfully to your parents! Those just make for boring blog entries.)

—————

Mara has learned her ABCs and the corresponding sounds, so she is now learning blends. We sound out the letters. Then make a word and use it in a sentence.

Mara had “m-i” so she said, “M-I. Miss. I miss my Daddy because he had to get up early this morning and go to work.”

So when I put my son to bed, I left his t-shirt on (he only wore it a couple hours at the end of the day), and slipped some green GAP pajama shorts over his diaper.

This morning, when I walked into my son’s room, I noticed his green PJ shorts were no longer on.

I thought maybe he got too hot in the night or something, so I asked, “Why did you take off your shorts?”

“Green [didn't] work,” he said, adamantly shaking his head ‘no.’

Then he pointed at his shirt, which was red with a blue design. “Blue work!” he nodded. “Red work! Green [didn't] work.”

Note to self: My two-year-old son wants his PJs to match.

. . . all the fussiness from a baby who’s never fussy. . .

. . . the way she’s been gnawing on her fingers–my fingers!–her burp cloth, her toys. . .

. . . and “comfort” feeding. . .

It should have been obvious what was coming!

On Monday, Carissa’s first tooth came in, just a few days before she turned five months old.

She’s working on another one. (Today was an especially fussy day.)

I wish I had a picture of the tooth. . . but for now, this will have to do:

For More Wordless Wednesday, hop over to 5 Minutes for Mom.

Immediately after typing those words, I opened my e-mail to read these words from Kandice’s mom today: “Heaven is rejoicing, but we are missing her.  We will write more later but for now, be encouraged that she is dancing with her Savior and worshipping Him face to face. ”

I was completely unprepared for this news. Kandice was the same age as my “little” brother Jon. Growing up, they were in the same homeschool group, and she and my brother performed lead roles together in plays Kandice’s mom directed.

She was a beautiful 28-year-old girl, both inside and out. She was preparing to give her life in God’s service by going to Central Asia as a missionary, until April 2009, when she was diagnosed with an aggressive form of breast cancer. In her CaringBridge blog, called “My Detour,” she expressed an amazing love for God and an unusual faith-filled confidence in His promises.

“Keep in touch as we see God’s plan in this unfold,” she wrote in her background story. “His plans and ways and thoughts are so much higher than ours. This may be a shock to us, but my God knows exactly where this detour is headed.”

It’s hard to comprehend that right now she is worshipping our Lord face to face. That was His plan in all this.

Her faith is now sight! What a blessed reality! No pain. No suffering or sorrow. No sin. Only unspeakable joy in the light of the glory of our great God.

I went about my day, caring for three small children, grocery shopping, cooking dinner, and finally getting a haircut.

Kandice passed into the presence of our glorious Lord, set free from the pain of cancer, and spent her day singing praise around His throne!

I grieve for her dear family and friends, but I rejoice with Kandice.

Here is an excerpt from her last blog post, Wednesday, July 21, 2010. . .

“‘Do you not know?  Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the end of the earth.  He will not grow tired and weary, and his understanding no one can fathom.He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength.  They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, the will walk and not be faint.’ [quoting Isaiah]

“Last week I had strength enough to do what was truly important.  I did not grow weary like I should have, I did not stumble, but everyday my energy was new with the sunrise and I walked upright through it all.

“Thanks for your prayers…there is power in the faith of a mustard seed.  The love of God continues to surprise me…I pray that it surprises you in your life too this week.”

Or working on Capitol Hill.

Or playing a violin.

Or flying a plane. . .

But my hair is 10 inches shorter today, after growing it out for about 18 months! I’m donating my hair for wigs for cancer patients, something I’ve wanted to do as long as I can remember. (If you’re interested in donating, click here. This website lists links to several websites of organizations that handle hair donation for wigs.)

And I was amazed that after cutting off ten inches of hair (yes, it really was ten inches) . . .

There was still plenty of hair left in back for a cut that I was very pleased with!

I love getting a drastic haircut now and then! And short hair is great for the summer. Thanks, Becky! (Salon Becky–not to be confused with Me Becky.)

I am donating my hair in honor of two very special cancer survivors: Kandice Robinson and Kristi English.