The funniest sad story ever told

So, this afternoon Jimmy and I had just settled in for a nice Sunday afternoon rest when we hear Jack calling daddy for some help. Caroline, being the need-meeter that she is, also heard this cry for help and came from her resting room to offer assistance. It was at that moment when we heard the scream. And then some crying. And then Caroline begging daddy to come quickly. Jimmy and I exchanged one of those looks that says, "What now?" and he was off (though not nearly as fast as I thought he should be going). Out of curiosity I decided to follow along and I will admit that I was not prepared for what I would find upon reaching the room that Caroline has so graciously shared with Jack for the past two years....

While he was supposed to be napping, Jack had pulled Pearl's fish bowl onto the ground. The water was splattered far and wide. We'll be finding scattered rocks for decades. But what wasn't immediately found was Pearl her(him)self. Since we really didn't know how long Pearl had been out of the water at this point, Jimmy was pretty frantic in his search to find her and get her back in some water but she was nowhere to be found. It was at that point that Jack quietly suggested that Pearl might be in his crib. Again, Jimmy and I exchange one of those looks, this time the one that says, "Oh, Booba...", he jumped to his feet, leaned over the crib and sure enough, there was Pearl, lying on her side amidst blankets and toys and a bible. Jimmy scooped her up, grabbed her bowl  and ran her to the bathroom, where he was able to get her in the water in record time. Caroline and I followed behind and the three of us sat and stared at her, prayed for her and waited for her to move. And then cheered when she began darting all around her bowl!

So with Pearl now found and alive, the rocks picked up as best as we could and the water sopped up, we turned our attention towards finding out why Jack thought it was a good idea to try and hold Pearl's bowl, which is what we had assumed he had been doing. Again, totally not prepared for his answer to Jimmy's question of, "Why was Pearl in your bed?", because when he answered, "I wanted to duggle her." I had to immediately vacate the room. My stern, serious, mommy face was nowhere to be found and I wasn't going to be very helpful at conveying the seriousness of the matter when I couldn't stop laughing at the idea of him "duggling" Pearl. Thankfully Jimmy was able to maintain his composure just long enough to get him back in bed with proper correction and admonishment. Oh, and the foresight to not leave poor Pearl alone with Jack again.

Sadly, about two hours later as we were walking out the door for evening church, Caroline came to me with tears in her eyes saying that Pearl was dead. I tried talking her down by suggesting that maybe she was just sleeping and she replied, "With her head in the rocks?" As I was tapping and knocking and swirling her around in the bowl, Caroline said through her tears that Pearl always woke up when she talked to her and, well, she definitely wasn't waking up. It was a sad night in the Kyker house as we mourned our first pet death. When she asked what we would do with Pearl we explained to her that we could either bury her or that some people flush their fish when they die. You can imagine that the idea of flushing her beloved Pearl down the toilet was quite appalling to our sweet girl.

Her biggest brother laid Pearl in her final resting place and Sam and I had the honor of choosing the next member of the family.

Welcome to the family, Ruby! (and stay away from Jack...)












Eli

It's been a while since I gave an Eli update, though I'm afraid I don't have much more to add to what I've already said about him. He's still impossibly adorable. He's still happy and content every moment of the day. He still melts the hearts of every member of the family. Ben calls him his treasure. He crawls everywhere and will disappear in a flash if you're not careful. He wakes up saying, "Mama. Mama. Mama." in the sweetest little voice. He had the audacity to pull himself up the other day in his bed. He doesn't listen when I tell him that he's too little to do such things and he needs to stop. He's still trying to convince us that he's perfect in every way.



handiwork

Caroline has always enjoyed being crafty and learning to make new things. She's been knitting on a loom for about a year now, has learned to do a bit of hand sewing and enjoys helping me with any project that I'm working on. So when  Maw Maw mentioned a simple sewing machine as a gift for her birthday I thought it was a perfect idea.

We got her all set up today and she made a fleece "quilt" for her new Christmas baby, Miriam Joy. I gave her the instructions but she did the entire project completely by herself. This machine is absolutely perfect for a young, beginning seamstress. It's very much a real machine and works well, but it's slow in speed. She was able to stay in control of her project easily by herself, which really gave her a lot of confidence.

Next on the project list is a matching blanket for herself and then some jammie pants!



Training time

There are few things Chesty loves more than getting outside and running with his people. And when that activity involves tasty treats it's even better. It's been a bit of a crazy few weeks and I will go on record as saying that puppy training is not for the faint of heart. I would never, under any circumstances, recommend taking it on when the oldest child is too young to carry a good chunk of responsibility. Travis, Sam and Caroline are doing well, but I think they are even glad that there are three of them to help spread the work out a little bit.

I am also really thankful that we had a good idea of what and how we were going to train him and that we were all ready and on the same page before he came home. The up front investment in time is pretty costly, but he's a really sweet puppy and I have very high hopes that this investment will pay off well in the end.

Chesty is already very loyal, really smart, he learns willingly and easily, loves his crate (huge!) and is starting to not eat his own poop any more. See, I told you he's a genius!









Musicians

Ever since he was a little guy we we have said that Travis had a natural ear for music. Though I am not particularly musical and he most definitely did not get it from his daddy, he's always been able to hear notes very clearly and frequently helps Jimmy get back on track when he wanders from the tune during our family time singing. : )
This past summer he decided to teach himself to play the tin whistle. He spent some time watching YouTube lessons, listening to a lot of music from the Lord of the Rings soundtrack and printing off sheet music for the tin whistle for various songs and hymns. I'll admit, we assumed it might be a short lived fascination, but it's turned into a real talent! While he has a notebook full of music that he likes to play from, he usually just picks out a song and plays around with it until he figures it out. He's also getting pretty good at determining which songs will sound good on this particular instrument. He's even managed to get to the point where his practice sessions are enjoyable to listen to, which is saying a lot for this quiet-loving mom!

Lessons began tonight for the next two. Caroline's whistle contains some mysterious... debris... (you probably don't want to know), so we promised to upgrade their whistles in a little while if we see that they're giving it a good try.

At any rate, it was pretty sweet to peek in and listen to their lesson. There may or may not have been a bit of a tantrum at one point from one of the students over allowing the big brother a position of authority, but I think the threat of being expelled from the class might have helped smooth things over a bit.




Wheels up!

Jack kicked off the new year by trying his hand at the scooter bike for the first time! I can't say that he loved it, but he did love wearing the helmet so it's a start. Here's to the start of many more bike rides in his future...



humble

As is my new custom, a new year brings with it a new focus on one area or another. Previous years have found be needing to be reminded to "Be" what I am constantly trying to teach my children to be (kind, patient, considerate...etc), and learning to "enJoy" the messy, chaotic moments that make up the days of our life. It's not a resolution, necessarily, but rather more of a concentrated effort to recognize the times when I'm reverting to my normal ways and a gentle and consistent reminder to make a wiser choice. So where would I place this gentle and consistent reminder so that it would get the maximum number of views throughout the day? By the kitchen sink, of course! Every time I stand at the sink or walk through the kitchen I read this word and am reminded.

Back in November I began to consider what my word would be for 2012. Since I choose a word that will help me to focus on a character flaw that I see in myself you can imagine that it was hard to narrow it down! : ) But it was as I was reading through One Thousand Gifts (for the second time!) that I found my word.

"Is it only when our lives are emptied that we are surprised by how truly full our lives were? Instead of filling with expectations, the joy-filled expect nothing and are filled. This breath! This oak tree! This daisy! This work! This sky! These people! This place! This day! Surprise! 
C.S. Lewis said he was "surprised by joy." Perhaps there is no way to discover joy but as surprise?
The way the small live. Every day. Yes, the small even have biblical nomenclature. Doesn't God call them humble? The humble live surprised. The humble live by joy...
"God blesses those who are humble, for they will inherit the whole earth" (Matthew 5:5). The humble are the laid-low and bowed ones, the surprised ones with hands open to receive whatever He gives...

...What humbles like an extravagant gift? And in that place of humble thanks, God exalts and gives more gifts and more of Himself... and greater gifts of grace and even more of Himself."

Humble. 

A wise friend once defined that word by saying that being humble did not mean thinking less of yourself, but thinking of yourself less. 

Humble. 

Instead of tightly holding on with clenched fists to whatever it is that I believe will bring me joy (a full night of sleep. kids who don't fight. relationships that aren't hard. people who wipe their own bottoms. guaranteed "done" time at 8pm. a clean home. a maid.), I can think of myself less. I can remember that I am here only to love and I can let go of the extra weight of responsibility that I proudly attempt to carry on my own shoulders. I can humbly choose to help the toddler who has had yet another potty accident when I'd rather be reading our school book. I can play a game when I'd rather be getting laundry done. I can soothe a little soul when I'd rather be blogging. I can feed a hungry baby when I'd rather be sleeping. I can open my hands and accept the good gifts that he gives, whether they appear to be "good" or not. 

Humble.

This one might take quite a bit longer than a year...

"My heart is not proud, Lord, my eyes are not lifted too high. I do not concern myself with great matters or things too wonderful for me. But I have calmed and quieted myself. I am like a weaned child with its mother; I am content."   Psalm 131:1,2


365/365... enJoy

Today was a great way to end 2011. We had a very typical morning where we fed people, dressed people, cleaned up a bunch of messes, played outside and worked in the garage. We watched Kentucky beat Louiville, took naps (some of us) and went for a hike at Table Rock. Most of us even remembered to wear shoes (and those of us who didn't had to wear his big sister's shoes stuffed with socks in the toes and answer to the name "Benzo the clown" for the afternoon). Upon returning home we had an un-fancy dinner and went to bed early for the first time in what felt like months. It was just what we needed.

While I still have a long way to go, this "enJoy" project has done many wonderful things for me this year. For starters, it's opened my eyes to the hundreds of tiny moments that make up the story of our lives and made them special enough to document. It's forced me to stop in the middle of the chaos and notice the joy that is there if I'll see it. It has helped me to find grace in moments where it surely would have gone unnoticed before. And while it's been a full year of trying to notice and capture those moments, I feel like I'm only just beginning to really see them and be grateful for them. While this particular project has come to an end, I hope this year has been just the beginning of a habit of joyful gratitude that I can continue to develop over the rest of my life.

I'm so thankful for this year with my sweet family and all of the wonderful friends and family we've had the honor of sharing life with. 2011 hasn't been without its trials and struggles, but we're ending it loving Jesus and loving each other a little bit more than we did when it started and that makes it awesome.

Happy New Year joy....


(I couldn't be too annoyed with Ben for forgetting his shoes because I forgot my camera, which has become as essential as my shoes over this past year! yay for terrible quality cell phone pictures...)