Beginning

A month ago, we left Louisiana.  I've been a little surprised at just how much I miss it.  Like, I didn't expect to take it so personally that the grocery store here doesn't sell a single "Slap Ya Mama" product.  Where, oh where, have all the Cajuns gone?

We made such good friends there too.  Eden sometimes cries about how much she wishes she could have them all over to play.  Jude often packs a bag and tells me he's headed to Shreveport.  I just mope in silence and swear to never make another friend again as long as I live.

In truth, we're doing fine.  Ohio is beautiful and full of such nice people.  Our neighbors have welcomed us with open arms. In the evenings we head outside so the kids can ride their bikes with their friends two doors down.  It's actually shady and cool enough to do that here!  Plus, no venomous snakes. Loving the absence of snakes.

The move wasn't without a few bobbles.  We spent two weeks living on base, and then another week and half camping out in our empty house.  In spite of the fact that Susan Bell's moving service didn't come bail us out this time, our main living areas are all unpacked. One round of the flu, one round of strep, and a good case of food poisoning (thanks, Cracker Barrel!) haven't stopped us. Life here is beginning.

After all, we're together.  We have ice cream and bubbles. What more is there, really? Team Bell, doing this thing.

P.S. How about that Ohio Mama Barber strike?  It's really taking a toll! Maybe one day Jude can loose the shag...

Louisiana: (n.) a French word meaning one big flood plain

This week our area got between 15"-18" of rain.  That's a LOT of water.  At one point during the night, the thunder was so continuous that I couldn't ever gauge how far away it was by counting between strike and roll. It never got quiet enough.

Although many of our friends have been evacuated from their homes, we've been just fine. It's been sobering to see that some of the neighborhoods under water are places where we considered buying. I'm forever sold on purchasing the high ground!

Because my church calling makes it my responsibility to help coordinate our congregation's various welfare and disaster relief needs, it's been a very busy week as well. My initial glorious ideas of rainy days spent reading books in our pajamas got smothered under a giant wet blanket. I've spent a lot of time glued to my phone.  A lot of time telling my children to hush and go away. Although I really find value in serving my community, this hasn't been my gold star mother moment. These pictures are to remind me that I do fun stuff with my kids (at least some of the time).

  (Random side note, bathtub crayons are really not that easy to clean off.)

This spring, along with a hoard of weeds large enough to take over Manhattan, our lawn produced several volunteer lettuce plants. Eden came inside a few days ago to announce that she had moved the lettuce back into our garden for safety.  I thought every plant would be dead by morning.

What do I know? Every single plant is thriving!  We sowed a variety of seeds today, as well as placing some flowers to join our valiant lettuce.
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I've always and illogically been a tad superstitious about names.  Notwithstanding a long rap sheet of former students named Angel who were devils, I've somehow clung to the idea that what you name a person can become who they are.  So I guess I'm not really surprised that delightful Eden seems to be the best gardener in the family.  At any rate, I'm glad we could dig in the dirt together today. That's just good, clean family fun.

Princess

Sometimes you're Elsa.

And sometimes you're Elsa every day.  That's currently the case for Jude.

Because why not?  When you're two, the world is your oyster.

Hopefully he changes career paths soon.  I mean, we do not want an emotionally unstable human full of extremely destructive powers running Arendelle.  I feel like we've been there before, and it wasn't good.  Also, you're welcome, High School Jude. The ladies are going to LOVE this post! A princess phase may not last forever, but the internet will: life lesson.

Mr. Hunter

The year that we were married, a puppy was born. Maybe that was a nuisance, an unwelcome and unplanned expense for the people in charge.  Maybe he was from a planned litter, sold to an excited family and loved for a while, before chasing a cat too far and exciting a flurry of "Lost pet!  Please call!" signs.  Maybe he was neglected, abused, and finally abandoned. Who can say?   

We found him at the local no-kill shelter, hungry, desperate, and wary.  He was the only dog not yammering his head off. By the end of the day, we knew that he was the dog we hadn't planned on having.

The shelter called him Hunter.  Ha!  However he spent his formative months, it wasn't learning to do dog things. Barking wasn't the only skill he lacked: when we took Hunter home, he couldn't swim!  A Labrador retriever, terrified of water.  He couldn't track a tennis ball to save his life. There wasn't any hope of him fetching our pheasants (which is fine, since we don't hunt). He needed a whole lot of kibble, reassurance, and love.

His face is now flecked with the white of old age, this dog of ours.  He has been Kris's solace through the stress of two new jobs, two moves, two births, and the beginning of fatherhood.  My balm when all I wanted was a baby to love.  A nonjudgmental companion when I finally had one and embarked on day after day of figuring out how to survive children. He's Eden's co-conspirator and protector, the one who sleeps at the foot of her bed to chase away the shadows.  Jude hugs and kisses Hunter good night, like the dear old friend that he is. To think that all good dogs go to heaven is one thing; I'd be just as satisfied if this one lived forever.

Black and White Ballerina

I have absolutely no idea what makes a good black and white photo.  None at all.  But I decided to practice today (in addition to trying to figure out how to take decently exposed indoor photos with only the windows for light).  I've got a long way to go.  But Eden loves to twirl, so both of us had fun.

One day (at the coincidence of time and money), I want to take a few classes.  For now, practice and internet tutorials will have to suffice. Eden would also like to take a ballet class someday.  For now, a ballet inspired dress from Nona and some silly twirling will do.  Life is grand!

Note to Self: Your Kids are Cute

Yesterday, whilst I rested on the couch for a moment after having cleaned two bathrooms and put away multiple loads of laundry, my adorable boy flooded his bathroom by plugging the sink and turning the faucet on full.  He didn't even have the grace to look sorry.  

I didn't kill him because: prison.  

And also because he's cute.  Why is it that cute gets me every time?  I need to train myself to look past it.  To see the damage, not the darling.  Perhaps by my granny days I'll get there.  Parenthood is conditioning me against cute, if anything ever could.  

A Year of Books

I think it's been that long since my last book post, but fear not: I've been reading!  Here are some of the books that I read in 2015.

Elantris, by Brandon Sanderson
This one is fantasy, which is not my normal love, but I did appreciate that it isn't a forever long series, or even a trilogy.  Just a book.  Kris loved it. It's loosely about political and theological unrest and people trying to survive in a city of the damned.

Still Alice, by Lisa Genova
This was an interesting read, and (typical) better than the movie.  I did end up feeling like too many of the characters and plot developments only existed to showcase the various impacts of Alzheimer's, but I guess that was kind of the point.

The Seven Principles for Making Marriage Work, by John Gottman
My book club read this and I now think that it should be required reading for everyone before getting married, while married, and before divorcing.  In fact, it's just plain good advice for relating with other people.  Also, pat on the back of my husband, being married is awesome!

Einstein's Cosmos, by Michio Kaku
More than a biography of Einstein, this is a biography of how his ideas developed.  Very interesting. Very beyond my pea brain.  Good thing it quotes a few different scientists as saying that no one really understands relativity :)

An Unnecessary Woman, by Rabih Alameddine
This is pretty dark, with a deliberately unlikable protagonist...and yet it's an interesting read. The novel follows the life of a woman in Lebanon who makes a life on her own, immersed in translating translations of books.

The Empathy Exams, by Leslie Jamison
This collection of essays revolves around the idea of empathy and how it works or doesn't or should in various areas of life.  My favorite essay in the collection is about a super quirky and ridiculously hard ultra-marathon.  I did sometimes get pretty annoyed by the author's attempts to relate her own privileged pain to some pretty serious tragedies in the "real world." In fact, I didn't like that she never moved beyond empathy as a function of pain.  But all in all, the essays made me think about empathy, Jamison has some gorgeous writing, and the book was definitely worth a read.

Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain, by Betty Edwards
I'm still not finished with this one, because it's a drawing textbook.  It's been really fun to do some of the exercises though.  Edward's philosophy is that anyone can learn to draw reasonably well with a little instruction and some practice.  Jury is still out on me :)

The Crucible of Doubt, by Terryl Givens and Fiona Givens
This is an LDS work that deals with the role of doubt in the journey of any person of faith, including how doubt helps us develop spiritually.  This is a scholarly book, dealing heavily in theological theory and complete with boatloads of references.  I really enjoyed it.

Love, Dishonor, Marry, Die, Cherish, Perish, by David Rakoff
This is a novel written in rhymed verse, from multiple character perspectives.  I really enjoyed the creativity of its construction. In total, it takes a rather dim view of love, but is somehow still fairly light and airy.  I thought it was interesting how each person's section seemed to focus more on other people.  There's a point being made there.

A Thousand Splendid Suns, by Khaled Hosseini
I'm late to the party, but this is a great book on several different levels. It's entertaining.  It's a super interesting portrait of modern era Iran.  It has appealing characters.  Very sad.  Very worth it.

The Age of Innocence, by Edith Wharton
This gilded age tale of high society New York and thwarted passions is surprisingly good. I mean it did win the Pulitzer Prize and all, but I still didn't expect to enjoy it as much as I did.  If you're out for a classic, you might consider picking this one up.

I've read several other books this year, but these are the titles most worth mentioning.  So I'm a nerd, but I LOVE reading.  Good fer yer brain :)