Anna Margaret

My heart has been heavy. A little girl that we have been praying for, almost daily for the past year, died of cancer this weekend. (Quite suddenly, without warning.) Her name was Anna Margaret Dahl. She was 3 years old, had a contagious smile, and a beautiful heart for God. We never even met her--simply received a request to pray from my friend Heather over a year ago. From there we began to receive Anna Meg's daily Caring Bridge updates. Never have I been so compelled to continue interceding for someone I've never met before.

Abby and Emily would ask often how Anna Margaret was doing, and Emily was faithful to lead us in prayer over Anna almost every night. The Dahl family and their story really gripped our hearts. It was Anna's dad, Nate, who would write the updates. Such a gift to articulate both the anguish that a parent feels as they wonder if their child will survive, and a magnificent hope in a God that is sovereign and good in all He does. This little girl and her family inspired many to a greater trust in God, and a bigger determination to honor Him in all we do, despite great suffering we may have to endure.

Zach, Lisa, Nate, and Anna Dahl



Last night Abby really poured out her heart to God, asking Him for "no more death, please, for a while, ...first it was Great Grandma Sallie in December, then Kala (my parents' gentle black lab dog) a few weeks ago, and now Anna Margaret." My heart feels the same, Abby. (And I would add to that list, sweet Sheri's dad.) As one of our pastors put it recently, (I'm paraphrasing) "Death is not a natural part of life. There is nothing natural about it. We weren't created for death; we were created for life." But we won't experience the fulfillment and restoration of that until heaven. Come, Lord Jesus.

Why?

This morning after Emily got dressed (to go on a field trip with the homeschool co-op) and put her jeans on, I noticed that she forgot one thing.

Me: "Emily, do you wanna zip up your zipper there, sweetie?"
Emily: "Oh, no thank you, I don't care."
Me: "Um, no, you need to zip up your zipper, honey."
Emily: "Why?"

I guess some things aren't obvious when you're 5. :)

Spring Break

We had such a great Spring Break! I just loved having Abby off of school for the week. Emily and I took the week off from homeschooling as well. We did something fun almost every day. Thought I'd record some of it, so as the kids look back on this, they'd remember that one doesn't necessarily need to go to Disney or the tropics to have a great vacation.

Monday: Saw Horton Hears a Who at my favorite theater--River Falls, where the whole family can get admission, a large popcorn, and each their own pop and candy for around $20 bucks total!

Tuesday: Wade took the day off. I had "help" grocery shopping, and we played Uno and Old Maid together in the evening.

Wednesday: A trip to the Children's Museum. Wade and Nathan's first time ever. Then Wade surprised us and took us to the new Cici's Pizza buffet restaurant in Edina. This was one of the girls' favorites when we lived in Indiana. We were all thrilled at the news that Minnesota now has one. AND later, Jen and I got to go meet baby Shirley Desvousges!!! What a great day!


Thursday: A playdate with some friends. Abby doesn't get those too often now that she's in school, so this was a special treat. Later Abby got to go to a birthday party and see Horton Hears a Who again with classmates. She felt like the luckiest duck in the world.

Friday: The kids and I spent most of the morning making a homemade carrot cake for my dad's 61st birthday. That's his favorite. Now, I am not a baker. And I was reminded again as to why I hold that stance. The last time I really baked anything was for Dad's birthday last year--a carrot cake then, too. After an hour of carrot shredding I vowed I'd use jarred baby food next time. This year I bought a food processor. Went to use it--didn't work. At all. Tried a blender. Blenders don't blend carrots apparently. So the girls spent 45 minutes shredding baby carrots and avoiding shredding their knuckles. Abby asked if this is what they did in old fashioned times. Next year I'm forking out the money for already shredded carrots. At least everyone liked the cake!

Next the girls wanted to help me by cleaning the bathrooms. I gave them refresher instructions and mostly non-toxic cleaners and set them to work. I came up to check on things after a bit only to find: the mirror cleaned only as high as they could reach (cute), half the paper towel roll gone with used ones heaping over the garbage can, blue toilet bowl cleaner staining the white grout as it was spilled all over the floor and left there, a bleach spot on the otherwise spotless bathmat, and the toilet brush strewn on the floor in another room. (I'm guessing that was Nathan's contribution.)


Saturday: My parents and sister Bria came for the crazy fun Easter egg hunt in town, and then we celebrated Dad's birthday. The cake was enjoyed by all.

Sunday: He is Risen! I missed celebrating with my Grandma Sallie, who passed away in December. But we really enjoyed being at the farm with Wade's side of the family--11 grandchildren age 9 and under. Grandma P. did an "easter egg hunt" outside by hiding sand buckets filled with candy in the snow.



I was sad to kiss Abby goodbye for school Monday morning. Love havin' my kiddos around!
Thanks, Lord, for a special week together. Good memories. :)

Spring Fever and Rocks For Sale

After a seemingly never ending winter, we had our first glimpse of warm weather today. Emily decided a swimsuit would be fitting for the occasion. The weather man predicted a high of 50 degrees. Don't know if it reached that, but for Emily a swimsuit and some snow boots were enough to bask in the glory.

Later when Abby came home from school the girls decided to set up a lemonade stand...only with rocks. They made the rounds and informed the neighbors of the great sale they were having. Their sign said "Grown ups $1, Babies 5 cents." You'd think this meant adults would be charged a buck and kids a nickel, respectively. Nope. Grown up ROCKS cost $1 and the little pebbles were a nickel. With supper time approaching, though, they slashed their prices after a while and put everything on clearance. They made some good cash, too.

Oh so glad for a glimpse of spring! What did you do to take in the warmth today?

For the King

Emily wanted to play royalty this morning. She was the Princess. I was the Queen. Meanwhile Nathan pooped and needed to be changed. I got busy with other things and I guess I didn't get around to it quick enough because before I knew it, I was being handed a tray laden with a diaper, wipes, and some butt cream.

"Here ya go, Queen. This is for the King," Emily informed me.
"Deez are MINE's!" The King replied.

Guess we know who's King around here.

Wait...Timeout

Nathan came running up to tattle on Abby.
Nathan: "Mommmm--Abby sssthep on me!"
Abby soon followed behind.
Abby: "Mom, I stepped on Nathan."
Me: "On purpose?!"
Abby: "Mmm-hmm. May I have a timeout, please?"

Timer set for 7 minutes.

Emily comes up.
Emily: "Can I have a timeout, too?"
Me: (What?! These aren't a reward, people)..."Uh...OK...you'll have to do yours upstairs, though."
Emily: "OK!"

Next, what ensued over the next 3 minutes was Nathan fighting to get in the bathroom with Abby, me pulling him out, Emily then scared to go upstairs by herself, then Emily glad to have Nathan accompany her upstairs to her timeout, then Emily mad that Nathan wanted to join her in the bathroom, then Abby's timer dinging, and Emily hollering to have hers set for her alloted 5 minutes.

OK, I repeat, when did timeouts start being fun? Do they have candy and a DVD player stashed behind the toilet paper in there or what?

Pick A Color, Any Color

Having just gone through the paint dilemma myself, I have great empathy for my friend Nicole who is now facing the same challenge. She's ready to tackle her white bedroom, and an entryway which boasts some beautiful woodwork and a door with stained glass. She's posted some pictures on her blog and is looking for suggestions. So all you decorating buffs, you're invited to take a look and offer your opinion. Let's give her some great ideas to choose from!

Clarification

Overheard Abby playing again. Glanced over to see her with her hands on her hips, reprimanding her Rainbow Brite doll with a very patient and kind "I'm sorry. I'm not trying to boss you around. I'm just trying to tell you what to do." I'll have to remember to try that when she's a teenager and see how it goes over then.

Lil' Mamas

Yesterday the girls played so well together. They were in one of their labor and delivery kicks. (Aw, girls after their Mama's own heart.) They came to show me Emily at 9 months pregnant, about to give birth. Baby doll up the shirt, with its bottom up--all set to "head out." A few minutes later, after a speedy, silent, and immaculate delivery, Abby acted as Em's postpartum doula. She helped Emily swaddle baby Sarah, (all of Em's babies are named Sarah) and helped Em change into a snuggly postpartum nightgown. And when it was time to pick up before bed, Abby was adamant that Emily not lift anything as she had just given birth. Very wise and thoughtful. Then they lugged a dolly pack-n-play up to Em's top bunk so baby could sleep next to her during the night. And perhaps the sweetest thing...Wade got home late and went to kiss all the kids goodnight long after they were asleep, and he found Emily with her newborn snuggled in next to her, and her nightshirt pulled up as she had been "nursing" her baby and fell asleep.

These are the kind of things that make me love having little girls!