dear emily,
twenty years ago hans and i were anticipating the arrival of our
fourth baby. since we knew it was a girl, we were throwing
around names and fell in love with 'sunday lane', after my cousin
lane. little did we know that the lovely name would so perfectly
suit our precious daughter!
she was born with such a thick head of hair that the nurses fought
over her. school teachers, piano teachers, sunday school teachers,
and basketball coaches have been slugging it out ever since.
the angelic blue eyes, long blonde hair, and sweet nature were
always at odds with her eagerness to keep up with her two big
brothers, who were basketball fanatics.
when she was four, hans took her with him to the barbershop. the
men were so enchanted, that they interrupted their discussion about
college basketball to pat her on the head and ask if her daddy ever
took her to the games and who she wanted to win.
"well, if 'big country' can keep up his inside game and corey hit his
three's, OSU should win... but somebody needs to be able to drive the
bucket!"
yep, that's my girl!
love,
lea
"don't let anyone look down on you because you are young..."
(or blonde.) I timothy 4:12
Thursday, January 21, 2010
teaching little boys
dear emily,
i have had several moms fretting about their little boys and school.
it is really so unfair that most schools are geared toward little girls,
who delight in slipping into their seats, arranging their pencils
neatly in the tray and their books beneath.
little boys, on the other hand, view their classrooms as auschwitz
death camps, and those same desks as torture chambers. the only
redeeming grace is that the desk makes an excellent drum for the
pencil/drumstick.
mrs. hitler, unfortunately, does NOT allow any drumming,
tapping, whistling, or paper throwing. the children must walk in
straight lines, not touching their neighbors, to the exercise yard,
where no pushing, pulling, or wrestling is tolerated.
when your little one comes home, however, you can let him
run and play until his heart's content. after he has worn himself
out, spend a very short time teaching him, and a very long time
reading to him about every adventure you can find. make sure
he is snuggled in tight, as that is the only confinement he loves.
love,
lea
ps. i'm sure many boys have cried out, "save me, o God, for the
waters have come up to my neck!" psalm 69:1
i have had several moms fretting about their little boys and school.
it is really so unfair that most schools are geared toward little girls,
who delight in slipping into their seats, arranging their pencils
neatly in the tray and their books beneath.
little boys, on the other hand, view their classrooms as auschwitz
death camps, and those same desks as torture chambers. the only
redeeming grace is that the desk makes an excellent drum for the
pencil/drumstick.
mrs. hitler, unfortunately, does NOT allow any drumming,
tapping, whistling, or paper throwing. the children must walk in
straight lines, not touching their neighbors, to the exercise yard,
where no pushing, pulling, or wrestling is tolerated.
when your little one comes home, however, you can let him
run and play until his heart's content. after he has worn himself
out, spend a very short time teaching him, and a very long time
reading to him about every adventure you can find. make sure
he is snuggled in tight, as that is the only confinement he loves.
love,
lea
ps. i'm sure many boys have cried out, "save me, o God, for the
waters have come up to my neck!" psalm 69:1
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
cell phone to the rescue
dear emily,
a few months ago i sent a text to my dear friend, annie, and
her reply was, "@#XTL&!" i called her and said, "oh sorry,
i didn't know that you didn't text!"
she responded, "i'm getting a lot better!" :)
we walk and pray together about once a week, and i am
always after her to recite the copious amount of scripture
she memorizes. recently, annie mentioned that she sends a
daily scripture to her precious daughter who lives far away.
i asked her if she could send it to me, too. when she
paused a second, i wondered if she knew about the email
'Cc column', but then she smiled sweetly and said, "sure!"
imagine my surprise the next day to receive a text of
scripture that filled my screen four times! my thumbs hurt
to think about it... and when had she learned to text?
"well," she said, "r. is working so hard and might not
check her computer but she always checks her phone."
i put that in the supermom category!
love,
lea
"many women do noble things, but you surpass them all!"
proverbs 31:29
a few months ago i sent a text to my dear friend, annie, and
her reply was, "@#XTL&!" i called her and said, "oh sorry,
i didn't know that you didn't text!"
she responded, "i'm getting a lot better!" :)
we walk and pray together about once a week, and i am
always after her to recite the copious amount of scripture
she memorizes. recently, annie mentioned that she sends a
daily scripture to her precious daughter who lives far away.
i asked her if she could send it to me, too. when she
paused a second, i wondered if she knew about the email
'Cc column', but then she smiled sweetly and said, "sure!"
imagine my surprise the next day to receive a text of
scripture that filled my screen four times! my thumbs hurt
to think about it... and when had she learned to text?
"well," she said, "r. is working so hard and might not
check her computer but she always checks her phone."
i put that in the supermom category!
love,
lea
"many women do noble things, but you surpass them all!"
proverbs 31:29
endearing cell phones
dear emily,
it worries me to imagine who my children love best in the world.
i suspect it might be their cell phones. not sure whether they
think of them in masculine or feminine terms, but am certain
they consider them in terms of endearment.
they fuss at me for not keeping mine with me at all times and
scold me for calling it a car-phone. does that hurt its feelings?
i hope not, because mine has been in the car for eight straight
days.
when i reclaim it, there will probably be an emphatic message
asking, "mom! why don't you ever...?" i immediately delete
those.
occasionally, one of my darlings will start a conversation
like this, " hey mom, how is your cell phone?"
is that a trick question?
it is tempting to respond, "oh, it's ok, but a little under the
weather."
if i really want to frustrate them, i might say, "great! but it
keeps making this annoying ringing noise."
hans just told me that if i don't turn it off while we are
flying, it will keep searching all day.
for what?????
love,
lea
"call to Me, and I will answer you and tell you great and
mysterious things." jeremiah 33:3
it worries me to imagine who my children love best in the world.
i suspect it might be their cell phones. not sure whether they
think of them in masculine or feminine terms, but am certain
they consider them in terms of endearment.
they fuss at me for not keeping mine with me at all times and
scold me for calling it a car-phone. does that hurt its feelings?
i hope not, because mine has been in the car for eight straight
days.
when i reclaim it, there will probably be an emphatic message
asking, "mom! why don't you ever...?" i immediately delete
those.
occasionally, one of my darlings will start a conversation
like this, " hey mom, how is your cell phone?"
is that a trick question?
it is tempting to respond, "oh, it's ok, but a little under the
weather."
if i really want to frustrate them, i might say, "great! but it
keeps making this annoying ringing noise."
hans just told me that if i don't turn it off while we are
flying, it will keep searching all day.
for what?????
love,
lea
"call to Me, and I will answer you and tell you great and
mysterious things." jeremiah 33:3
Sunday, January 17, 2010
fun adventures
dear emily,
every morning when max awoke, the first thing he would
say was, "what fun stuff are we going to do today?"
how adorable is that? just like his daddy!
it broke my heart to have to respond, "phonics."
it took him forever to learn the alphabet. what did silly
letters have to do with running and jumping, playing in
the mud, or climbing trees? we learned letters on the
trampoline, in the play house, on our bikes.
we finger painted letters, glued letters and shook sparkles
on them, i had planes write them on the sky...
one day, in desperation, i said, "if you will just say the
alphabet one time, i will take you to mcdonald's!" he
promptly sang the entire song.
by the time we got to the multiplication tables, i was using
disneyland.
he recently sent me paschale's treatise on "why God?" i
was never so proud to see letters put to such good use!
love,
lea
psalm 40 "i waited patiently for the Lord...and He heard
my cry."
every morning when max awoke, the first thing he would
say was, "what fun stuff are we going to do today?"
how adorable is that? just like his daddy!
it broke my heart to have to respond, "phonics."
it took him forever to learn the alphabet. what did silly
letters have to do with running and jumping, playing in
the mud, or climbing trees? we learned letters on the
trampoline, in the play house, on our bikes.
we finger painted letters, glued letters and shook sparkles
on them, i had planes write them on the sky...
one day, in desperation, i said, "if you will just say the
alphabet one time, i will take you to mcdonald's!" he
promptly sang the entire song.
by the time we got to the multiplication tables, i was using
disneyland.
he recently sent me paschale's treatise on "why God?" i
was never so proud to see letters put to such good use!
love,
lea
psalm 40 "i waited patiently for the Lord...and He heard
my cry."
Monday, January 11, 2010
thief in the night
dear emily,
like most children, ours would tumble out of their beds
as the sun arose. if ever they slept in, i had a pretty good
suspicion about the cause. one morning after an unusually
long quiet time, i looked around for an urchin. not finding
any, i then sauntered back to my bathroom.
hans was sleepily shaving....hmm
"honey, do you think it's a little strange that every single
child in this house is still asleep at 7:15?"
he opened his eyes a little wider, pretending shock.
"is there anything you would like to tell me?"
eyes looking furtively left to right, head shaking
innocently, "no..."
"you know that when your little conspirators wake up,
all sweet and vulnerable, they will give you up in a
heartbeat. you might as well confess now. it will go
much easier for you that way."
he was beginning to break into a sweat. i had him right
where i wanted him.
"what do you think the neighbors are saying about you
sneaking out of the house in the middle of the night? how
do you think that makes me look?"
"ok, ok, i confess! the kids and i made a midnight donut
run!"
"did you bring me any of those cinnamon ones?"
oh yeah,
lea
ps. "they feast on the abundance of your house." psalm 36:8
like most children, ours would tumble out of their beds
as the sun arose. if ever they slept in, i had a pretty good
suspicion about the cause. one morning after an unusually
long quiet time, i looked around for an urchin. not finding
any, i then sauntered back to my bathroom.
hans was sleepily shaving....hmm
"honey, do you think it's a little strange that every single
child in this house is still asleep at 7:15?"
he opened his eyes a little wider, pretending shock.
"is there anything you would like to tell me?"
eyes looking furtively left to right, head shaking
innocently, "no..."
"you know that when your little conspirators wake up,
all sweet and vulnerable, they will give you up in a
heartbeat. you might as well confess now. it will go
much easier for you that way."
he was beginning to break into a sweat. i had him right
where i wanted him.
"what do you think the neighbors are saying about you
sneaking out of the house in the middle of the night? how
do you think that makes me look?"
"ok, ok, i confess! the kids and i made a midnight donut
run!"
"did you bring me any of those cinnamon ones?"
oh yeah,
lea
ps. "they feast on the abundance of your house." psalm 36:8
route of delights
dear emily,
hans has an amazing gift to squeeze the enjoyment out of life.
if i have the record for giving the fastest baby bath or changing
the quickest diaper, then he has the personal best of making
those events the most fun.
when taking the children to school, i had a precise route that
took exactly twelve minutes. each child had his coat, books,
and lunch and were always five or ten minutes early for class.
we would frequently recite bible verses on the way. sounds
super fun, huh?
it never worked out that way if hans took them. i would
receive calls from school that sunday forgot her math
assignment, hailey needed me to bring her lunch, or that
the kids had been tardy, again.
so, after a little investigating i discovered that hans had a
special route, too, that wound throughout the neighborhood,
stopping for a donut or checking on the bus stop kids. he
and his accomplices would shout out the windows, "hey
jimmy, have fun at school!" and little jimmy would shout
back, "hey mr. h!"
donuts? "well, the kids didn't really like the whole grain
muffins.", hans mumbled.
jimmy? "just this friend we made one day.", his conspirators
murmured.
it was way more fun if they thought they were in trouble.
love,
lea
ps. "...You give them drink from rivers of delights." psalm 36: 8
hans has an amazing gift to squeeze the enjoyment out of life.
if i have the record for giving the fastest baby bath or changing
the quickest diaper, then he has the personal best of making
those events the most fun.
when taking the children to school, i had a precise route that
took exactly twelve minutes. each child had his coat, books,
and lunch and were always five or ten minutes early for class.
we would frequently recite bible verses on the way. sounds
super fun, huh?
it never worked out that way if hans took them. i would
receive calls from school that sunday forgot her math
assignment, hailey needed me to bring her lunch, or that
the kids had been tardy, again.
so, after a little investigating i discovered that hans had a
special route, too, that wound throughout the neighborhood,
stopping for a donut or checking on the bus stop kids. he
and his accomplices would shout out the windows, "hey
jimmy, have fun at school!" and little jimmy would shout
back, "hey mr. h!"
donuts? "well, the kids didn't really like the whole grain
muffins.", hans mumbled.
jimmy? "just this friend we made one day.", his conspirators
murmured.
it was way more fun if they thought they were in trouble.
love,
lea
ps. "...You give them drink from rivers of delights." psalm 36: 8
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