ROTFL

Zane cracks us up. He's like a grown man inside a little body without the words to express his big thoughts. We laugh at and with him daily. Last night, however, I have to believe was one of his funniest moments to date . . .

We've been eating dinner at the kitchen island for a while now -- the few steps to set up and clean up are quite appealing. But as kids destroy stools and we have to stow away stools to keep a little one from cabinets and shelves, it makes good sense to walk a few extra feet to the dining room to eat.

Last night my hoodie was hanging on the back of Zane's dining room chair. As he ate bits of hot dog dipped in ketchup and various things dipped in sour cream, he casually took the side of the hoodie with his right hand and wiped his mouth, as if it were a large napkin hanging there just for that. He did it once and we tried to conceal our giggles while explaining he should use his paper napkin. Moments later, of course, he did it again. When we exclaimed "Zane!", he responded with his sly and shifty grin while casually giving a thumbs up and a couple of winks of his eyes.

Our laughter was uncontrollable. (And yes, we moved the hoodie. Again, thank God for Oxyclean. :)

Holton Ingathering 2012

Vanessa and Zane, central to your understanding of you is the construction of a substantial collection of memories. In your family book, the Holton chapter is pretty magnificent.

Vanessa is very much into her family tree and has been for a while. She analyzes each section piece by piece, and, because she is so literal,  uses "proper" titles, sometimes innocently correcting others. The Holton chapter helps us to better understand that fruitfulness doesn't only come from an extension or position on the family tree -- but fruitfulness can come from the relationships and connections we keep.

Here is a small glimpse of the fruit harvested this last weekend when many of the Holton clan were able to gather. Several couldn't join us this time, but we look forward to next time!

As the bigger kids were able to play in the ravine, younger ones like cousins Jack, William and Tollie played in dreamland. (See them in bottom picture. I didn't do a very good job with sharing the camera! ;-)

 

Below is Grandma Jan with her sisters Susan and Julia and brother Tom.

Take note that Daddy and his brother Andy and cousins Jason and Christopher, along with spouses, are shown next. An enjoyable gathering indeed!

KERPOW!

I can feel the love.

Take Two

So you might guess that yesterday's first-day post was scheduled. As you can tell from this post, Vanessa changed her mind about her first-day outfit.

A new school year often gets parents thinking about the things their children need, right?! Vanessa didn't really need any clothes for school, but recently, while shopping, there was a part of me that figured it might be fun to tell her to pick out any shirt she would like to wear on her first day. She chose a pretty, sparkly shirt. I looked at the price tag and thought of many reasons the shirt was not practical. But I had to remind myself that I chose to go this route.  We talked about the pros and cons. The cons outweighed the pros. But there was no convincing Vanessa the shirt wasn't the best choice for being comfortable at school. After talking about it for several minutes, I discovered the shirt was 55% off. I then decided the sale price justified a lesson for Vanessa.

As soon as we got it home, she tore off the tags and put it on. After a short bit, Vanessa started to complain that the shirt was itchy. She realized she shouldn't complain to Mommy, so she mumbled her complaints here and there. Pretty quickly, though, Vanessa began to solve the problem. She discovered that putting on an undershirt made it more comfortable to wear. But then she had a new problem -- the extra layer made it too hot in a school with no air conditioning. Vanessa allowed Mommy to clean the sparkly, itchy shirt for her first day. But guess what?! It didn't matter! The problem worked itself out.  She received a special surprise shortly before school started. (Just how did the gift giver know?!) She insisted she must wear the surprise.


Just like with her outfit, the day worked out perfectly too. She took special calls before beginning her new adventure. Our walk to school was great for her release of extra energy and thoughts and for satisfying any random curiosity. After entering the school, she went to the office to give a backpack with supplies for a child in need. She then jumped right in line for entering her classroom, turning around waving and blowing me kisses. When I returned to pick her up, she asked me: "Is that it?! There's no more school for today?"

She went on to describe her day with the green smiley face she earned. She explained that there were a couple of boys who went home with yellow and one boy was even moved to a bench, away from others. She announced proudly that she was incredibly fast to get in line when Mrs. Stolly blew the whistle on the playground. And she asked to collect all of her green smiley faces for the year. As one might guess, she jabbered nonstop all the way home . . .

Let the "race" begin!

In job and personal interviews over the years, I've described myself as part optimist and part realist. I do struggle with the competition in the world, finding it unnecessary and just an obstacle to people getting along and finding true joy. The realist in me recognizes the next stage of life as a rat race but the optimist in me tells me that with God she will do just fine with it all and she will develop a genuine understanding of how to make it in the world.

Said best by Lily Tomlin: “The problem with a rat race is that even if you win, you are still a rat.”

I never want Vanessa to feel she is competing. I never want her to feel she needs to live according to the expectations of others. I want her to be driven by her sweet, sincere and caring heart and to live according to what God would have her to do. I remind her that as long as she tries her hardest, does her best and pursues the things she loves, life will be good. I'm sure we will do things less conventionally more than a few times. I'm sure people will try to hold us back or cause us to question the directions we take, but thankfully we rest in the Lord and we can let Him carry the load of the race, instead of doing it all by ourselves.

Vanessa, in her own way, will learn about the depths of relationships, good and bad. She will determine how to play the game. She will be challenged to listen to her inner voice. She will create boundaries. She will develop an understanding to trust Him. She will share time, kindness and care.

I came across a prayer referenced by many and I find that it says it all for us today.

“Loving God, thank you for the gift of vacation we have all enjoyed, especially (Daddy, Mommy, Vanessa and Zane). We ask Your guidance as we begin a new school year as a family. Help us to listen to each other, be patient when others are stressed, be helpful when others are struggling, and be kind when others are frustrated. Guide us all to be better students in Your word and ways, O God, and help us to listen to ourselves, each other, and You.” 

Happy Birthday, Rachel!

Summer Concluded

Are climbing the walls and cabinets a sign of anything? Perhaps. Maybe our summer freedom is technically over but through a lot of playdates and parties, we realize it was full of fun and topped off with many memories. Some times were planned and other times were impulsive. We did as we pleased. What else could we ask for?!

Not all friends are pictured here but they're loved just the same.

Best camper ever!

 (Yes, Vanessa has developed the special talent her daddy holds as well: crossing one eye for pictures. I just hope she doesn't develop the same desire to take her driver's license picture that way.)

 Vanessa camped out for her first time the other night. She was wonderful and excited. Daddy set up the tent for us and shared his sleeping bag and trusty headlamp to Vanessa. We had glow wands and bug spray. We played games and told stories. We ate s'mores and cashews and slept soundly till about 4AM when Mommy woke Vanessa to move inside -- Mommy had to potty and was annoyed by a small dog barking a couple of houses away.

Vanessa: "It was the best campout ever!"

Whoa!

At the county fair this year, Zane rode a pony for his first time. He was excited but got scared as his pony wanted to squat to scratch her back on the bar. The up and down movement and jolting made him want to get off, but he stuck it out.

  

Vanessa went down her first fun slide in a burlap sack. She was really high and went really fast. 

Post-Sliding Comment: "I might need to wait till I'm a little bigger before I do that again."

And Vanessa has wanted to do the bungee harness jumping since seeing one in Clearwater, FL. This was a smaller version. She had to get on the scale to be sure she weighed enough -- she's hovered around the same weight for the last two years. She met the minimum requirement. It was a little scary and very hard. She jumped with all of her might to keep going, no matter the difficulty and how tired she became. It was hard to find a groove but she found hers.

Post-Jumping Comment: "I might also need to wait till I'm a little bigger and stronger to do that one again. Let's go find the caterpillar ride that goes around and around."

godly light

 

Isaiah 60:19

". . .  for the Lord will be your everlasting light, . . ."

And one for good measure:

 

While Vanessa enjoyed another round of VBS with her sweet friends Noah and Julia, Mommy and Zane explored Alum Creek State Park and the Hoover Dam (Ohio of course.) 

Occurred

Now that Vanessa is 5, she has decided she is capable of so much more. She was a "star patient" when getting shots. She was proud to tell her nurses that she takes showers because she is 5. She is keeping her room picked up and says she doesn't need a light on when she sleeps. She likes taking care of her little brother and insists he can take a shower too, as long as she is there to help.

What has washed over her?! Is it really just about turning 5?

Check out some fun pictures from her birthday celebration!