Recovering from Saturday

In chronological order, not order of significance ...

• Cooper played soccer early Saturday morning again this week. Another "loss" (this league doesn't keep score until age 8, but you can bet those players always know the score) but the boys still had fun -- especially snack time! It wasn't too cold, but the winds were starting to pick up.
• Those winds were stronger by noon, when we all went to T-ball practice. Katie and I spent most of the hour squinting to keep the blowing dirt out of our eyes while Steve and Cooper practiced with the rest of the Astros.
• The sky was an eerie brownish reddish peachy color (ah, memories of Lubbock) on our drive to and from Mesquite to visit with some rescue Scotties. We feel in love with Katie Margaret, a one-and-a-half-old Scottie with lots of energy, a love of belly rubs and chin scratches, and apparent patience with children. We're not getting our hopes up, though -- the director tells us he doubts his board will approve placement in a home with small children, despite our previous experience. (And if we are lucky enough to adopt Katie Margaret, we may have to have a nickname for her. Meg? Maggie? Two Katies might be confusing. When we adopted Mac in 1996, I was working with Mack Harrison, who I then started calling Mack the Reporter to avoid confusion.)
• Then Steve and I went to an ER so he could get checked out for the sudden droopiness and numbness on the right side of his face.
  He's developed Bell's Palsy, we learned, possibly from an upper respiratory infection (could be flu?). He's being treated for both now and is somewhat uncomfortable. (He can't chew or taste well on the right side of his mouth, can't blink his right eye, can't squint in the sunshine, etc. Actually, the right side of his face sort of resembles Dick Cheney in that his eye doesn't blink. Thankfully Steve's kept his good sense of humor!) It could last about six weeks, though in rare cases (2-3%), patients never lose the effects of Bell's Palsy.
  Extra big thanks to Layne & Liz for scooping up the kids for us and to Betty for keeping us company.

Oh, and the Wilberforce story ran, on the same page as my weekly features -- Religion A to Z and Website of the Week.

"I ready!"

The weather is finally warm enough to allow us to walk to school in the mornings again. Katie (who is 20 months old today) was eager to get out the front door this morning. When I told her it was time to go, she went to the playroom to get her little purse and plastic keys. Then she informed me, "I ready!"

Sleepover update

Text of the e-mail we received at 5:38 a.m. today, from the birthday boy's dad:

They all fell asleep around 9pm last night, a couple of them were restless and took a little longer to go to bed, but they made it... no bumps, no bruises! It's 5:30 and they are ALL up watching a video in Reilly's room asking for donuts.... I mean wide awake! We'll see you all in a little while!

Cooper reports that the party was great fun -- pizza, cupcakes, popcorn, movie, video games, playing outside.

Countdown to Florida

I just ordered one-day passes for Walt Disney World. Yay! This year we're going to Animal Kingdom for the day. Cooper was perusing the official guide (thanks, Julie!) when he stumbled upon the Epcot section and a photo of a pyramid. One of his current dreams is to visit Egypt and see the pyramids, so he was especially thrilled by a Disney pyramid (never mind that it's a Mayan pyramid). Maybe next year. Epcot, I mean. Not Egypt.

We're also looking forward to baseball, the beach, the park and lots of quality time with Matthew & Gretchen. Warmer weather will be nice, too.

The week (or so) in review

Katie's developed a toothy smile for the camera.

Cooper and Asher celebrate the end of basketball season.

Cooper and his classmates play a game during their Valentine's Day party. (He's the youngest boy but so tall!)


Cooper's class recently created self portraits. Their work is on display in a nearby hallway.

A close-up of Cooper's creation

We spent some time at the library after school on Valentine's Day. (Katie is wearing a dress that Grandma cleverly fashioned from one of her Christmas dresses.)

Cooper and his fellow Dolphins braved the wind and cold this morning for the first game of the season. He scored a goal!

Quickly ...

• I'm working on a story about the faith of William Wilberforce, the British abolitionist and subject of the upcoming movie Amazing Grace.
• It's so cold! And soccer seasons kicks off tomorrow! Cooper's first game is at 9 a.m. It's the fourth season for the Dolphins. Then he has his first T-ball practice ever at noon. (Did you know that both require cleats, but they're different kinds of cleats?)
• Katie is a full-fledged Sesame Street fan. She can name every Muppet character from the show. She can imitate Cookie Monster. She LOVES Elmo.
• Swati was in town this weekend, and I was able to spend a few hours visiting and shopping with her.
• Cooper's first sleepover is Sunday night. (No school Monday.) I'll let you know if he makes it through the night or if we get a rescue phone call sometime that evening.
• Valentine's Day was great -- I need to post photos. I'll try this weekend.

More from last week's snow

It's snowing!

For the second time in two days, it's snowing. Today's "storm" is much longer than yesterday's. Katie loves it!

Books we read before Katie's morning nap

• Elmo's Animal Adventures
• Olivia's Opposites
• Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?
• My Very First Book of Shapes
• My Very First Book of Colors
• Bear Loves Bedtime
• Bright Baby First Words
• Bright Baby Colors
• The Pigeon Loves Things That Go
• From Head to Toe
• Honey Bunny
• Big Enough for Bed

Little theologian

Cooper in his new Red Sox T-shirt. (His last name is on the back!) It was a gift from Matthew & Gretchen, who we'll see over spring break. We're all going to a Boston-Detroit spring training game! Cooper's been a huge Red Sox fan since our trip last spring.

Cooper has been interested in theology for about as long as he could talk. (Our friend Berta has called him a future preacher since he was 2.) We have all kinds of discussions, prompted by his questions and musings -- why Jesus had to die, why God loves even robbers and other bad guys, how God is like infinity, why God can't bring Emma back to life. Apparently he and his friends talk about such weighty matters at school, too.

Recently, one of his friends, "Lyle*," told Cooper that we're not God's children. Cooper has been upset about it ever since. He wants to talk about it at least once a day. I'm trying to explain that people have different beliefs about God and religion, and that's OK. You don't have to change what you believe, but you should be respectful of others' beliefs. (And I have no idea what Lyle and his family believe. He could have just been argumentative that day at the cafeteria table.)

We were having that Lyle discussion in the carpool lane this morning (it was much too cold to walk) when he asked about "Harnia." I had no idea what he was talking about. Narnia? I finally figured out that he meant Hanukkah. We had read a couple of books about the holiday in December, and his class learned about it, too. So, I reminded him about the miracle of the oil lasting eight days. And he wanted to know if we, meaning Christians, believe in that miracle, too.
It was certainly more involved than the next 90 seconds would allow, but I've been thinking about it since. I think my answer should have been that Christians don't celebrate it in the same way, but some may believe in the miracle and can certainly honor the occasion by learning more about the holiday and their fellow children of God. I'm certain the subject will come up again -- I'll at least be better prepared.

* not his real name