Movin' Right Along

Are you singing like the Muppets now? Didn't they sing that? I really feel like I've used that same title for a previous post, but given how much moving again feels like déjà vu, repetition feels pretty appropriate.

Apologies for these photos as it is nearly impossible to get good shots w/o actual lights in the house yet.

House is coming along swimmingly. I purchased milk today that shares an expiration date with our move. So I suppose it is coming up. eeeegads. Feels a bit like a baby's due date!

It is hard to believe that in just a matter of days we'll be in our new house. That what still looks like a construction zone will soon be our home.

It is all good news and very exciting. Even if I'm not quite sure how it will all transpire, it sure feels like a "jv" move given that we'll just be down the street from our current place, we don't have to get on an airplane, no one is leaving friends or school behind, etc., etc.

But it still feels strange, this in between time.

I am in denial about the work that awaits us. Maybe because we feel so fortunate to have discovered this treasure and have the chance to make it our own. And because the Mister and I are not so secretly in love with the settling in process.

We love the color the girls chose for their bedroom so much that we're putting it on the front door. Great minds think alike. I'm still trying to noodle thru how to fit two people in that room. So far Murphy beds suspended from the ceiling seem to be the best option. ha!

And every time I walk through this room, I imagine a Christmas tree and our stockings. 

But with all the hoopla over the inside, I think this might be the very best part of our new home. If it is this enchanting on a rainy day in January, I cannot wait to see it the rest of the year.

Home sweet almost new home.

Still Dreaming

"Then the Good Samaritan came by and said, 'If I do not stop to help this man, 

what will happen to him?'"

Biggest Brother's kindergarten teacher (Miss Meise, circa 2007) can take credit for having him make a beautiful construction paper portrait of MLK. That treasure hangs near my desk with similar paper versions of George Washington and Abraham Lincoln.

Inspired by strong images and words, we spent Monday thinking and talking about Dr King's dreams. We listened to "the Promised Land" speech and made an MLK Jr art gallery.

Our afternoon's work was made even more poignant because we visited the National Civil Rights Museum in Memphis over fall break. We walked all through and around the Lorraine Motel learning, experiencing, remembering and reflecting.

We read Martin's Big Words and thought about what dreams have been realized and which ones still need our work and prayers. We are so fortunate to move to places that have played amazing roles in the world's history. 

Before I moved to Nashville, I didn't know the legacy of local college students training to endure injustice at lunch counters. I should have, but didn't. Now I drive down the streets where they practiced sitting in and think of them. I wonder what my future college students will do in the name of justice. I hope they remember our little kitchen table lessons and do their part. And then some.

The kids are also blessed to know Coach Derrick's grandchildren. All of these seeds being planted will flourish. I'm sure of it.

There is so much that I love about the Promised Land/Mountaintop speech. Among my favorite lines are: "Now I'm just happy that God has allowed me to live in this period to see what is unfolding. And I am happy that he's allowed me to be in Memphis." 

I Think I Mentioned That

Baby Sister is such a peach. She has kept us in stitches lately. We know the wackiness of having really little people around our house is fleeting (The other ones are wacky in their own right, tho -- one of them recently asked the Mister if he needed a wig for upcoming jury duty service! hahahaha. Bless them, having seen ye ole timey wigged barristers in their former city.)

But seriously, Baby Sister takes the cake for the things she says and does. Maybe we notice it more because we know how precious this time is. I feel sure there will come a time when no one wears a cat tail (clipped to the back of her coat) and ears out to dinner. And that's a bit sad.

She gets going with ideas bubbling straight from her head and shares her rapid-fire thoughts without taking much oxygen in. (Where DOES she get that? Must be the Mister's side.)

Here are a few of her latest and greatest from the way back seat:

"Momma. Sometimes when you say something is going to be a little bit spicy, it turns out a LOT spicy. I think I mentioned that. And I know what 'mentioned' means. It means said." [This in response to my saying we'd only be at the gym for "a little bit."]

"I don't remember when Heidi and I became best friends. We just were. One time, when I accidentally kicked her (!) I felt so sad. Like I could cry. So I did." [Who else is thinking she cried because she might have really meant to kick her girlfriend and then felt terribly guilty about it? But I'm not judging. Just driving. And jotting down notes at stoplights.]

And on a religious front,

"Can God see us?"

"How can God be in everyone's heart?"

"Does EVERYONE have opinions?" [Typically. Mine are right, tho. haha. Kidding]. She also asked the same thing about feelings. I was not this philosophical as a five year old. I was just happy if I scored the prize in the Cap'N Crunch box.

I am equally inspired, awestruck and tickled by her musings. She's a sweet, funny, bright and thoughtful little girl. Maybe one day she'll even learn to tie her own shoes. (Not likely soon. That is an area where we get really lazy with the kids. I have never successfully taught an offspring of mine to tie their shoes. Somehow they just do. Eventually. Big Sister just learned to tie hers a few weeks ago. Apologies to every one of my kids' teachers. We all know our strengths and weaknesses.) But Baby Sister's smart enough to have found a good way around that. Lately, mornings can find her snuggled up against Biggest Brother as he pulls an assist on tiny laces on absurdly small saddle oxfords.

We'll all gladly give her a hand with whatever she needs if she promises to keep these good observations coming. That little muffin makes the world a brighter place. I'll leave you with this snap of her dressed as Saint Katherine Drexel for a school report!  Love it. Love her.  xo