Lining Up at the Center

I took the kiddos on a field trip to the center of the state. And in that place, there were a lot of lovely lines.

The Sound of the Trees by Robert Frost

I WONDER about the trees.
Why do we wish to bear
Forever the noise of these
More than another noise
So close to our dwelling place?	5
We suffer them by the day
Till we lose all measure of pace,
And fixity in our joys,
And acquire a listening air.
They are that that talks of going	10
But never gets away;
And that talks no less for knowing,
As it grows wiser and older,
That now it means to stay.
My feet tug at the floor	15
And my head sways to my shoulder
Sometimes when I watch trees sway,
From the window or the door.
I shall set forth for somewhere,
I shall make the reckless choice	20
Some day when they are in voice
And tossing so as to scare
The white clouds over them on.
I shall have less to say,
But I shall be gone.	25

R's Turn

R spent this evening reflecting on his life with the car.  It drove him to his first full-time job and brought him to graduate school. It was the car he used to bring me his book of poems on our first date.  A year later, it was the car that drove us away from our wedding reception to our first night together at the former Ritz Carlton in San Marino. It was the car that nearly received the birth of our 2nd born as we rushed to the hospital.  It also drove him 160 miles each Sunday in his final year of seminary.  Recently, it brought him to central and southern parts of our state to meet with sister churches in his efforts to fund raise for the Spanish ministry.  At every important milestone in his life, this car was there to accompany him.   This photo-shoot was our last evening together with it. 

Good-night and good-bye, beloved Corolla.

An Oldie but Goodie

     We are about to sell my hubbie's first car. The children's carseats can barely fit in the car. With each of the little ones getting larger and longer, we are finding that the car can no longer contain our family of 5. We've had it for the entire duration of our marriage. That car took us on dates, sped us onto our honeymoon, and delivered our newborns home. It took us to work and church and vacations. And this past week, I spent enough hours driving it to make sure it would never forget me and my family. At a pit stop, I decided to take some shots of the children in the car. Of course it is not human and I should guard against over-sentimentalizing it. But I am human and will miss it and give thanks to God for it.

  

Sunset

Oh sunset... what could give such a sweet ending to the day but the slow and gradual descent of the sun in the sky.  Such moments calm so many of my crowded and hurried thoughts after a day of teaching, feeding, and cleaning up after the children, of dealing with the regular hardships of living in a fallen world, of struggling with my shortcomings and those of others.  Hardships come and go but the sun continues its ascent and descent, unchanged and unchallenged by the troubles of this world.  It serves as a reminder to the permanency of God, who remains the same, yesterday, today and tomorrow. 

Wild Things

Every single child of mine has bitten me. The latest one was by little D last night. And despite the layer of pants between my skin and his teeth, he managed to break off flakes of skin. Children can be so wild sometimes. But you'd never know it from these pictures.

Kenna: Fauna and Flora

    Like the outdoors which she loves, Kenna is a flower growing in the garden.  

She has the sweetness of a golden retriever and the noble length of a whippet. 

Above all, she is a girl blossoming into a lovely young lady.  May she continue to follow her dreams and convictions.