I forgot

I forgot until now that the word "limpid" exists.

I am very happy that it does.

And I am equally happy that I remembered it.

There is a certain shade of purple that I think of when I think of the word "limpid" but I can't find a proper representation of it. Probably it is on the above wall though. I would just need to be closer for an appropriate inspection.

And I don't even know why I'm hitting "publish post".

kids kids kids

It seems like the overwhelming presence in my life this semester (besides school) is kids kids kids. But I love it.

Squirrelly - my official laundry assistant

Who's this new blonde cutie?

Well, I call her Fa-lola.

And she loves it.

Here we are, having a cheerio party before nap time.

And I'm out of pics now.

'Til later, then!

B

thanks to my lovely cousin...

who forwarded this amazingly ridiculous link to me, you too will get to enjoy the work of this beatboxing phenom.

phenom

i WISH i could beat box.

cute couple

enjoy this cute video of an older couple playing a duet on a piano in the mayo clinic. it will make you smile!

i'm in my geriatrics focus this semester, and i can totally picture some of my patients doing something like this!

dg pastors conference

Today be praying for the last two days of the Desiring God Conference for Pastors 2010. Many pastors from many countries are here in Minneapolis to learn how to better lead their congregations. It is amazing to think of the ripple impact of the speakers teaching -> the pastors pouring -> into the people of their congregations. Pray that God would move powerfully in this and that the pastors would be refreshed and ready to serve their people upon their return!

Over at desiringgod.org, you can see the schedule, download the talks, etc.

sparkle shimmer glow

i love the u at night.

it's quiet and soft and fluffily insulated.

lone walkers trudge through fresh glitter.

muted car wheels spin in adaptation.

faces tingle with friendly, curious flakes.

all glimmers in the falling coat of sky's greeting.

i love the u at night.

the Lord of the Rings

I got it for my 12th birthday from a girl I haven't talked to in a long, long time now. It is thick with tiny print, since all three books are squeezed into one binding. I love the font. Now it is old and worn and tattered, underlined and marked up. It is comforting, like an old friend.

It is a good bed-time unwinding book. My favorite quote of the day:

"All that is gold does not glitter;

not all those who wander are lost.

The old that is strong does not wither;

deep roots are not reached by the frost.

From the ashes a fire shall be woken;

a light from the shadows shall spring.

Renewed shall be the blade that was broken;

the crownless again shall be king."

WINNER! Check, it might be you!

I know I'm a little behind on posting the winner to my mitten giveaway, but here are the results! Thanks to a random drawing of the names submitted, the winner is....

JOANNA H!

I know you have my number, can you just text me your address and I will pop them in the mail ASAP?

Thanks to everyone for entering!

Happy Mitten-ing, Joanna!

Bethany

I'm glad

Squirrelly, who asked me to "wrap her up like a cupcake and put sprinkles on top" as soon as I came through the door today.

Jogging home from an tiring day of nannying today, the cold air slaps me awake, banishing away exhaustion. Only then is there room for gratitude to rush in during weary's absence. And I realize anew:

I'm glad for wiping drippy noses and for tickling tummies.

I'm glad for bandaid-ing owies and peeling apple slices.

I'm glad for whines of hunger and the "Oops. I colored on your arm, Befany."

I'm glad for scattering markers and unruly curls.

I'm glad for banging instruments and hiding culprits.

I'm glad for surprise giggles and new discoveries.

I'm glad for Jesus questions and adventurous spirits.

As I bid goodbye, one blurry catapult of pink-flowered pajamas comes barreling toward the door.

"BEFANY. I love you." She leaps into my crunchy, cold coat arms and bestows a ketchup kiss on my cheek.

She squiggles down and bolts back to the light of the kitchen. "I kissed her." she announces, to family's amusement.

They hide nothing, these transparent, little people.

It is refreshing.

Not to be outdone, littlest babe, who speaks seldom, whispers, "Love you, Boppie," crumbs of corn-dog spewing out her little cherub lips.

Older siblings and parents are in the room, chuckling to themselves at this sudden outpouring of affectionate energy, yet the little ones pay no mind.

Yes, for all this I am glad.

These three little girlies are dear to me.

so precious

Today I was at one of my clinical settings for this semester. It is an adult day care, for elders who aren't ready for a nursing home yet, but also can't stay by themselves all day long.

It was a blast.

We did exercises that burned my muscles more than theirs (these people are in shape!), swapped information about the bands and movie stars of their time, crowned one resident as a Snow Queen (part of their winter carnival), and made jewelry.

But the most amazing story I heard all day, and boy did I hear story after story, was one of a dear, 75 year-old lady who's been in South St. Paul her entire life. Wrinkled and grey, rimless glasses sliding down her nose, grandma sweater and therapeutic shoes, she was the picture of fading humanity, yet a spark still burned bright inside. She was talking about her husband, who passed away years ago. From the way she talked about him, I'd never have known they'd spent a day apart.

"How did you meet?" I asked.

Her clouding eyes wrinkled in delight and she leaned in closer, for added emphasis.

"Well, we got married when I was 18."

"That's nice! How long did you know him before?"

"Well, he gave me a diamond when I was in the eighth grade."

"IN THE EIGHTH GRADE?"

"Yep. It was a nice diamond. I wore it all four years of high school, graduated in May and got married right after that."

"How old was he?"

"Nine years older. So he was 22 when he gave it to me."

"Nine years older? Wow. Wow."

She beamed proudly, interpreting my awe as admiration. And yeah, nine years is a long time, but who am I to judge? I could tell by the way her face lit up every time she mentioned him that he was her love.

She leaned in for her second secret of the day:

"He was the only guy I ever went with."

"Really?"

"Yep. Only one."

After this, she didn't need any more inquiries, she leaned back in her chair and her words floated away to a time full of fondness, to memories.

"We had seven kids together, you know. He was my best friend. We were married for forty-four years and four months. If he hadn't passed away, we'd be on year fifty-six!"

She still marks their anniversary in her mind.

And bears his love in her heart.

I want to be counting months after forty-four years.

Thank you for your story, dear one.

oh creevey, you are steady

this new semester's going full force.

yet creevey is staying right where she always has.

all cute and cuddly on my bed.

and creevey isn't her real name.

but i like to call her by it.

and she doesn't mind.

my littlest baby is growing up

summer 2009

today when i dropped him off at his basketball practice, i spoke the same words i have through all the years of dropping him off at practices.

"bye, have a good practice, play safe, be a good boy, i love you, do you know those people going in? you do? okay, good. either mom or i will pick you up when it's over. i'll watch you til you get into the doors."

and usually he says, "okay. bye."

but tonight, tonight was different.

he paused for a moment. "bep. it's okay. you don't have to watch me walk in. i'm old now. it's not like i NEEDA be SEEN."

and as he lumbered in, swaying under the weight of the team ball bag, bigger than he was, i watched him closer than ever.

because my littlest baby brother is growing up.

and i can't stop it.

haiti.

donate.

all-knowing...maybe? i think not.

today with the twinnies, we accomplished much.

i got my exercise in. basically because they launched themselves at my legs and would NOT get off my feet. so i just walked around with them like that. til they wrinkled up their little noses and peered up at me, stating, "we are smelling your knees" and i was just a little more than slightly too much weirded out by that. so they got off.

then they learned all about the properties of magnetism, thanks to a multicolored, magnetic marble. in fact, much of our time involved them running helter-skelter through the house, touching it to any shiny object they saw, since they knew that metal is typically shiny.

"girls, what won't stick to your magnet?" i quizzed them.

"plastic! wood! glass!" they were getting it!

"how do you know ALL about magic marbles, befany?"

"remember girls? it's not called magic. it's close though. MAGNET."

"yeah but how do you know ALL about them?"

"i had to learn about them once."

"befany. do you know EVERYTHING about EVERYTHING?"

"no. i don't."

they were shocked.

due to my lack of knowledge, my young padawans were bound to encounter confusion at some point. calamity struck. a shiny object (shiny was their primary was of distinguishing wood/plastic/glass from metal) did not hold up their marble by magnetic force.

"FAKE METAL!" they shrieked. they were EXTREMELY disgusted with it.

but that is not even the real story.

i was heading upstairs to get their littlest sister up from nap.

"i'm gonna go get squealer, stay right here, i'll be right back!"

squirrelly piped up. "befany, be sure to wake her up nice and gentle, or else she will be VERY mad. you needa be really nice to her. like read her books, or something. you don't want her to be GRUMPY."

"how do you know what i need to do, squirrelly?"

"cuz i know EVERYTHING about females."

oh really? i thought you were only four.

oh, you are?

well. you are extremely advanced for your age.

good for you, squirrelly.

good.

for.

you.

give-away revival

a montana bear in the wintery mountains (actually from summer 2009)

I kinda forgot about this give-away for the mittens I made.

So I'm extending the deadline to leaving a comment before January 26.

Basically, at 11:59 pm on January 25, you could leave a comment, and you would be entered in the mitten give-away.

You can use the above link to click back to the original post where the directions for commenting are.

Have fun!

Bethany