Heat Rises

Right now we I should be rushing around in a mad panic packing the car with snow gear in time to beat the traffic. Reality tells me otherwise. Tomorrow was going to be Carter's first attempt at snow skiing. Today we're stuck at home with fevers.

Sickness by far has been the most frustrating thing about parenting. It comes as a thief, robbing many opportunities for family memories, fresh air, and precious time.
However.
Moments like these, where the sun comes through the window and covers your ill child like a blanket, you learn to appreciate every moment.
So far, we have read about 40 books, watched about 3 videos on Excavators, Monster Trucks, and Bulldozers (I highly recommend the library for these informative videos--no cartoons, no attitudes, no songs, strictly "documentary"-style information that is bearable for both child and parent on days like these), and have snuck outside for fresh air and some compost maintenance.

Babe and Big Brother are both down with some sort of cold/flu virus and Mommy is doing her best to make everyone cozy and get the extra cuddles and love they need right now.

Hence the pj's on at 2:35pm.
Hence the plethora of drinks/ Tylenol/ orange peels on the counters.
Hence the Vicks Vapo-Steam dancing through the halls, congregating as one giant cloud of menthol above our book pile.
Hence me on the computer typing away as some form of therapy, a moment away from it all.

But, it happens.

Rather than being bitter (which I tend to do on days like these), I am doing my best to make good of the unforeseen happenings. It could be worse, most definitely. Now, I'm off to snuggle against the needy, hot and red cheeks of my firstborn.

Expressions of a Tree

I 've been having fun watching Carter learn about God and his creation. He is really interested in the Bible and our Father, it just confirms that we were made with the knowledge of a Creator and with the inherent conscience of right and wrong (which is very apparent in the testiness of a two-year-old!). On our jogs, nature walks and other outdoor adventures, I am sure to point out to Carter what God has created as well as encourage any questions or conversations resulting. It makes me so happy to hear, "Oh, Mommy, God created this flower!"
I am blessed to live in an older part of Morgan Hill, a little bit separated from the track homes and with enough space to breathe without viewing stucco in each direction. We have a giant 100+ year old redwood in our back yard. It's gorgeous, it reminds me of home.
If interested, there's an especially beautiful piece on trees in Whitman's journal entries here.
A few homes down on our right as well as a few homes behind us is an old, historic walnut orchard. I've been able to witness each season passing as we walk to and from the park. I'm enamored over it's perfectly-spaced-apart trunks and the gnarled branches of the trees. Right now, the branches stand stripped from the winter, baring their nakedness. Yet in a scene so cold and raw, below lives bright yellow wildflowers reaching for the sun's touch. It's beautiful. It's breathtaking, and Carter, baby and I have all been caught dancing, racing, and chasing in their glory.
And then a car speeds by reminding us that we do, in fact, live in a neighborhood, and this is not, in fact, our orchard.