Measuring Tape Fishing

Our measuring tape is broken; the locking mechanism no longer works. Which makes it a toy for the boys.

Isaac will hold the bulk of it, give the very end of the tape to Jeremiah, then walk to the other side of the room. As he "reels in" his fish, Jeremiah slowly walks over to Isaac with a huge grin on his face. After Isaac "catches" his fish, Jeremiah laughs like crazy. And then they start again.

Popsicles

Isaac and Jeremiah had a lot of Popsicles while I was in Oregon. Tonight I bought some popsicle molds to make our own. Healthier. Cheaper. Yummier...I hope.

Jeremiah takes us by the hand to the refrigerator, pulls on the fridge door, points up to the freezer, and either signs /more/ or says "pop, pop." And then he gets super excited about his popsicle when we give it to him.

He's so cute and determined we simply cannot resist. Hence the popsicle molds.

Mother's Day

Danielle and I went to California for Mother's Day. We went to the nursing home that my great Grandma Erickson is staying at, along with my parents, Alecia, Rob and Julie, DeeDee, David, one of David's friends who took pictures of us, and my Grandma.

It was fun for me to have Danielle meet her great-great Grandmother.

DeeDee gave great Grandma a couple presents. Silly straws and yo-yos. When Grandma saw the yo-yos, she said, "I don't want a yo-yo!"

My great Grandma is very wise. She told us that "all babies are cute, but when they grow up, they either get pretty or ugly."

And then Julie and I went to meet Lydia (my grandma's roommate) so Lydia could meet Danielle. Something special happens when really old people (she just turned 103, I think I'm justified in calling her old) meet babies. Danielle tried to eat her great-great Grandma's hand, but that's not what I meant. I meant something along the lines of the elderly and the newly born being so close to heaven. It's unique.

It's a little fun being a mother on Mother's Day. But I think I still like being the daughter. Maybe it's just that I have such a great mom. I think I'll be a wonderful mother if I can be more like her.

XKCD: my favorite web comic

Pedicures

Mom and I went to get pedicures today. Danielle watched. She did--she watched the blue water spinning around with bubbles. And she liked it.

Mom had me choose between two different colors for her toes. I picked the salmon-y one. And I convinced her to get flowers painted on them with jewels. SHe was laughing and laughing that Dad think she was silly or something...I don't remember exactly why she was laughing...something about being almost 50 and having flowers painted on her toes...

I have flowers on my toes, too.

Letting the Bird Out

So, I was sitting on the couch with Danielle when I heard the fridge open. We have a refrigerator lock, so it could only mean one thing: Isaac was involved.

Although Isaac has a pretty steady hand when it comes to pouring his own drinks, I try to restrain the child from adventure as best I can. After a moment of deliberation, I rushed to the scene of the crime.

The refrigerator door was open. Naturally I shut it.

Isaac and Jeremiah were at the table, looking entirely innocent. Not willing to be deceived, I examined the situation more closely, only to find...

An egg in Isaac's hand.

"Isaac! What are you doing with the egg?!" I exclaimed.

He so coyly replied, "Mom, I have to let the bird out. I let the bird out!"

Doing my best not to laugh, I tried to explain that the birds only come out when the mommy birds sit on eggs in a nest. Birds never come out of eggs that are in the fridge. I don't think I got through, though.

Eragon

I read Eragon yesterday.

Okay, so I started it yesterday afternoon and I finished it this morning. I did sleep, but only for about 6 hours (not my fault, purely circumstantial, I only stayed up to wake John up so he could grade his exams by early this morning because he had fallen asleep...). I read the last 75 pages or so this morning.

In the beginning of the book, the boy Eragon, angry about his life, converses with his dragon Saphira, "What is the worth of anything we do?" And she replies, "The worth is in the act. Your worth halts when you surrender the will to change and experience life. But options are before you; choose one and dedicate yourself to it. The deeds will give you new hope and purpose."

Even though life is transient, ever changing, hard at times and near impossible at others, the worth of what we do, who we are, is "in the act." When we choose to act out our lives instead of having our life decided for us by seemingly unseen forces, when we truly live and are dedicated to the responsibilities we have undertaken, it is then that we have true hope and purpose in our lives. And until we can truly live for ourselves, with that resolution, we can't truly live at all, but are in a state of ungrowth, like summer vacation when everything we've learned in the school year threatens to fade away into nothingness. It is when we choose to act on our environment that we can grow, that we can change the course of lives--both our individual lives and of the lives touching ours or brushing past.

"The worth is in the act."