I remember moments…like the first time I wrapped my palm around their heads, the curve and dimples in their tiny bums, the swell of their bellies, the shape of their toes and pads of their feet, the first time they made their voices known, the first time our eyes met, and I cry each time I think of this one - but I remember Jeff’s face, full of tears, at each of our babies’ births - pure, unadulterated tears of absolute joy, pride, and awe.

When this post about Meredith began forming in my mind…one of the first things I wondered was what day of the week she was born. Thanks to the endless stream of useless trivia, a.k.a. the internet, it took me about 30 seconds to discover Meredith was born on a Tuesday.

While this is seemingly insignificant to you, it makes me smile from ear to ear. Meredith’s name was sealed in our minds MONTHS before she was born. Jeff chose Meredith and I chose Grace - she is our Meredith Grace.

Born on a Tuesday.

What makes me smile is how the name “just so happens” to fit the poem, Monday’s Child. Do you remember it?

Monday’s child is fair of face,
Tuesday’s child is full of grace,
Wednesday’s child is full of woe,
Thursday’s child has far to go,
Friday’s child is loving and giving,
Saturday’s child works hard for a living,
But the child who is born on the Sabbath Day
Is bonny and blithe and good and gay.

You may call it chance, but I call it evidence of God’s sovereignty.

Tuesday’s child is full of grace, indeed.

Meredith is my middle child.

Born 3 1/2 years after Emelie and 2 years before Kenny, she is firmly set right in the middle of her siblings.

When she was born, my mother (Izzy) and I called her “pretty in pink”; Meredith’s skin WAS a soft shade of pink - and pink, beyond a shadow of a doubt, became Meredith’s signature color. Not “girly” with lace and ruffles, she embraces all things feminine and glitzy…the girl loves “bling” - and if you can blend PINK and BLING together? She’s sold!

Of my three babies, Meredith was all mine. And when I say she was “all mine” I mean she would have no other - not Jeff, not grandparents, not close friends…she wanted me and me alone. It was both exhausting and exhilarating to be so wanted and needed by this little Goldilocks.

Reserved in her first five years, her first grade year marked a change - she quite literally stepped out from behind the shadow of my legs and displayed a whole new side to her person; outgoing, personable, expressive, and secure.

We have since decided Meredith has two personalities - and not in a Cybil kind of way, but in an “I’m a complex, beautiful, daughter of the King!” kind of way. She is quick to embrace new people and opportunities, but is easily embarrassed or hurt and retreats quickly to her room to gather her strength to face the world again. And while the retreat is loud and rather “in your face” at times, the return is swift and forgiving; she holds no grudges.

I’ve learned to embrace both sides to her rich character knowing full well my parents managed the same extremes in my nature growing up.

One thing I adore about Meredith is her ability to let go of inhibitions and explore new experiences. This girl likes to move her body and dive head first into life.

From taking on the surf, to dance (oh how she has always loved to dance), and a bit of everything else tossed in between.

Every adventure is worth the “taking” and she rushes in, giddy with anticipation.

Then there is a very tender side to Meredith - an incredible blessing for her future husband, children, and extended family. Meredith has a maternal instinct a mile wide. While other little girls her age were begging for lipstick and cell phones at Christmas, she wanted a baby doll.

Yes, you read right - a baby doll.

Because she was cloth diapered and she saw her brother raised up in cloth diapers, she wanted a full set of cloth diapers, cloth baby wipes, and a child-size Moby Wrap.

She cares after Isabella - carrying her with her, taking her on strolls, changing her diaper, and appointing Angel (her American Girl) as babysitter when she will be away. I am convinced each of my children have a path to walk - born for a purpose…I imagine one of Meredith’s is to marry and raise children with that powerful mothering instinct already so firmly in place.

Rest assured, I can wait for that day - there are many more memories to be made in the meantime - and besides, I find great joy watching her practice.

As an only child I have no idea what it is like to be the middle child - to have an older sibling that gets to do things “first” and a younger brother who will always be the “baby”. I imagine it might feel a bit like being lost in a crowd; I hope she doesn’t feel lost.

Meredith is the perfect union of her other two siblings; she balances them perfectly in her own unique way; she is my blue-eyed, blonde-hair babe.

She is my Meredith.

But I think I know.

I’m overwhelmed. I’ve been gone a year - took that much needed hiatus to get my personal life all sorted out - and now it is hard to jump back in. So much has happened! So much needs to be said. Other things don’t need to be said, but they still linger in my consciousness, pushing their way to the surface even as I write.

So I’m making a list of the things I want to say - things I want to talk about. Later I’ll come back and link from this list and for those that are so crazy as to read back into my archives, this will be a sort of reference into the dregs of my mind.

Please tell me you’re not interested in the dregs of my mind.

OMSH’s Official Blog List

• Jeff. In a few days it will be our 15th anniversary - and mark 18 years together. I’ve learned so much from him. I am flesh of his flesh and bone of his bone and there is none closer. He has a surprise for me - is taking me away for nearly a week. I don’t know where we are going - I’ll blog about it when I find out. I’m taking my camera. I’m taking my heart. I’m taking other things I won’t mention here *smerk*. I pray for a long life with him - a life of celebration, of heart, of facing our giants, of overcoming our weaknesses, of growing together, of watching our children move into the teen years - and then, adulthood. I can hardly say enough about him - and you’ll hear about him as my heart pours forth in future blogs.
• Home and Parents. I want to share about our new home. We moved! We are just doors down from my parents and though some would rather poke their eyes out with a fork than to live close to their parents, I feel completely opposite. My parents are my friends. I adore them, I trust them, I lean on them, I listen to them. I’m living a dream. It is a blessing that my husband feels the same way I do. The home suits us perfectly - exceeds our needs on every level, but the best part is being close to Dad and Mom.
• The kids. They are changing fast - it is hard to keep up. Emelie is blogging for crying out loud! Meredith is discovering who she is and all the growing pains subscribed to that adventure. Kenny is knee deep in Legos and being 7. We talk and laugh and cry and LIVE together. They fill my life with LIFE - they are an adventure. They are mine and Jeff’s greatest blessing beyond each other.
• Bruno. I need to blog about Bruno. I need to tell you about how his health declined…how he was never truly healthy, but very dearly loved. I need to share about the circumstances leading up to his passing. I need to share my heart about a dog who hardly had a chance, and yet we tried anyway…because we loved him.
• Max & Lily. I want to tell y’all all about Max & Lily. How they have been a healing balm on our hearts. How crazy I am for both of them. That it seems silly, but I can’t imagine not having them now that we do…that I don’t mind their 6:00 am wake-up calls, the grooming, the training, the “everything” they entail; not even standing outside in the cold so they can take care of their elimination needs. They are, in a word, as close to perfect as I could imagine.
• Work. I want to share how this past year I was finally able to find balance with my work and my life. I want to share what I’ve learned. I want to thank my clients for an incredible year - a year I won’t quickly forget for how it re-shaped the way I work and the approach I take to work. I want to share how real a blessing it is to work with people who care about what they are doing and trust me to help them visually represent themselves online.
• There’s more…I want to learn to knit. I’m pondering less structure in homeschooling as I watch my children find their own structure and way. I’m eager to begin painting in our home. I’m being introduced to new genre’s of music through my 13 year old. I’m looking forward to the new season of LOST. I’m still working on weight loss and succeeding! I’m merging my old database so soon my archives will hold posts from years back. I’m…I’m…I’m trying to get it all out - feel an urgency to write it all down, to record.

Join me for 2010.
I’m so glad to be back with you.

Then along came a 13 year old with a hankering for videos.
Videos on YouTube.
Videos on her camera.
Videos on her new iPod Nano…
Videos.

A bit of research taught her that her Momma has all the video-editing software she needed.
And she could become a user on said computer.
And the rest is history.

I can’t help but think I might have been an influence in her desire to blog, but the good Lord knows where she gathered an interest to be in video. I have absolutely no desire to vlog or be vlogged…ever - and now, I might not have much of a choice.

Here’s to hoping her “mind’s eye” is blind to me.

And no, I didn’t design her blog - that would be a freebie WP theme. She isn’t quite sure what her “bend” is and so, I suggested perhaps it would be wise for her to get a “feel” for where she’s headed before I spend several hours designing, and my programmers spend several hours coding, multiple mockups and/or WordPress themes only to toss them in a manner of months.

I’m all about sacrifice as you can tell.

That said, you have to admit the winter necessitates more sedentary activity anyway! Right?! So if you’re looking for me…cast your eyes to the living room - I’m the one in front of the fire, draped with a blanket, drinking coffee. There are many things I find more intriguing than freezing in a deer stand in the early morning, or chasing my husband around a lake in the summer with a fishing pole, or two, or three.

That said, there are also few things I find anywhere near as intriguing or attractive than my love - the man who loves to hunt, fish, and “be” outside. I love when Jeff comes in from hunting or fishing - he smells…like a man. Not that I want to deeply inhale the smell of gutted fish or deer, but just knowing that if we needed it? - he could feed us…there is something inherently appealing about that.

With that in mind, you can understand why it brings me great joy to watch my husband teach my son the proper use and respect of a handgun. Now, I realize some of you are saying, “How old is Kenny?” because you may think it inappropriate to put a weapon into the hands of a seven year old. We disagree. We think it is wise to teach gun safety to a seven year old; so he both knows and understands that guns are weapons, not toys, and he can request to go out shooting with his Daddy when he wants to…as opposed to trying to sneak a look at an “off limits” gun and badly injuring or killing himself or another.

That’s how we roll. You may do it differently - that’s why we all have our own kids to raise.

With every able bodied person to the side and slightly behind them, Jeff works with Kenny on how to set up his shot. Kenny is already familiar with BB guns, but has a proper respect for his daddy’s firearms, which he recognizes are a totally different category altogether.

Earplugs in, paper plate targets at the ready, Jeff pulls back just enough to let Kenny pop off the shot.

I love that he’s not afraid; that he doesn’t close his eyes - that he follows through.

Uncle Lorne walks to check the shot with Kenny; looks like he hit the tree, but not the plate.

A bit more instruction from Jeff and Kenny is ready to go again…

Jeff leaves Kenny to walk out and check the shot - sure enough… Kenny hit the plate on the second shot. Which, I’d like to point out was much better than me! Let’s just say if I aim for your head, I’ll shoot you straight through the chest. I’ve got to work a bit on my vertical, eh?

I found it amusing that Jeff couldn’t stop giggling over Kenny’s shot; let’s just say DADDY WAS PROUD. Wanting to see the shot for himself, Kenny runs up to check the shot.

And then, in typical male form…he starts talking smack.

“I knew I could hit that plate. I mean seriously…its a plate - how hard is THAT? When I was a little kid…” (and that’s when I hoot and holler…I can never hold back the laughter when my seven year old begins any sentence with, “When I was a little kid…”)

And he doesn’t stop there, “I think I’m ready to start shootin’ squirrels or deer OR SOMETHING!”

Uh huh…of course you are son…right after you get to skin a few with Daddy and pack the meat for the freezer. When you’re ready to do THAT, then - and only then, are you ready to hunt.

He might be a sharp shooter, but I get a feelin’ he’ll stick with BBs a while longer.

After all the Christmas gifts were unwrapped in our home, we went down the street to my parent’s home for a hearty family breakfast of eggs, biscuits and bacon, and then, it was time to unwrap even more gifts - this time from my parents.

It was a lovely, lazy, Christmas morning with family.

After unwrapping gifts we sat around a bit, visiting and drinking coffee - watching the kids tinker with their new gifts. An hour or so later, we parted ways to clean-up and head to my Mother’s parents’ home for one more Christmas celebration with our extended family.

There are so many family traditions that surface around Christmas and the New Year, but one of my favorites is listening to the Christmas Story through the mouth of a child.

Through the years, my Momma Milly has kept a tradition of having the youngest “capable of reading” grandchild (or great-grandchild, as the case may be), read the story of the birth of Christ from this book, The First Noel, to the rest of the family. And when the “rest of the family” gathers it is quite significant as my mother comes from a family of 7 siblings - a few with their own grandchildren.

The reference in this book is from the Gospel according to Luke.

This year Kenny was the designated reader; he got to bring the book home for a week before Christmas to practice - the language and vocabulary always a bit of a challenge for an early reader.

It is a good discipline - and because it is recognized as an honor, there wasn’t much squabbling over the “practice” time.

This book is very old and beginning to give way at the binding, the illustrations are rich and beautiful, and the language is that of scripture. I enjoyed explaining to Kenny the meaning of the words he read. For instance, “…Mary his espoused wife, being great with child.”

We agreed that no one speaks like that anymore, which is unfortunate, because it sure is a beautiful way to say she was pregnant, don’t you think?

Kenny thought this amusing, “…and they were sore afraid.”

“That’s pretty afraid if it made them sore!”
Riiiiiight!

I always get tingly over this part, “And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host, praising God, and saying, GLORY TO GOD IN THE HIGHEST, and ON EARTH PEACE, GOOD WILL TOWARD MEN.”

“And it came to pass, as the ANGELS were gone away from them into HEAVEN,”…the shepherds got their “jam-on” in the fields with their hands held high!

Oh wait, that’s not what it says.
But seriously? I think they just might have had a little swing in their hips and some charismatic hands-held-high moves going on following the Angels’ visit, don’t you think?

OH YEAH!
OH YEAH!
THE LORD IS COME!
OH YEAH!
OH YEAH!

No disrespect, of course.

So, when the time came, Kenny quietly read the story for me, Jeff, his sisters, grandparents, great-grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins.

A multitude.

I watched his legs swing back and forth - dispelling his nerves and setting his pace, softly voicing the truth that has been handed-down generation after generation, nestled in his daddy’s lap should he need prompting. My heart melting, my eyes filling with tears, the Holy Spirit resonated within my very being in response to the Truth spoken from the mouth of a child…

my child
HIS child.

Praise the Lord.
I hope your Christmas was just as abundant!

I ran inside to borrow my 13 year old’s tripod (because I don’t have one - but by the grace of my father, she does) and by the time I was back outside, camera hooked in, the shot was gone. I waited for about 20 minutes for the cloud cover to let up, but it never did.

THAT is why I don’t photograph scenery.
Setting up a camera for a shot?
Frustrating.

Then I turned around and smiled.
The door of our house was opened wide and warmth filled me head to toe.
Kenny rested on the couch, feeling good for the first time in 2 days; I gave thanks for his health.
The Christmas tree sparkled in the foyer with gifts tucked under it; I gave thanks for the blessing of being able to gift my children and family.
The puppies’ pen made me smile - we are enjoying Max and Lily beyond what we could imagine; I gave thanks for God’s creatures that nurture our hearts in unexplainable ways.
The house spilled forth all the joy I’ve come to know and love as family and home; I gave thanks for the precious abundance of it.

This is my life - this is the “stuff” of photos.
I turned the tripod around and clicked.
Contentment.
Abundance.
Peace.

So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.
Luke 2:4-7

Tomorrow is Christmas. While not the actual birthday of Christ, the celebration is no less precious; no less meaningful for those who embrace the Lord Jesus as Savior.

I wish you a very Merry Christmas of joy, peace, contentment, and most of all, love.

For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
Isaiah 9:6

And wow…that didn’t quite sound right.
Moving on.

Today’s theme was silver.
Easy enough, right?
I’ve got silver sweeping from my head in uncompromising Farrah Fawcett-like wings. Is it just me or do you think “nose job” when you view Farrah’s photo? Okay good…I’m not as crazy as I thought.

This 7 Days Project has been much more difficult than I expected. For one, being IN FRONT OF the camera sort of bites; I rather prefer my BEHIND THE CAMERA spot much better. Also? Thinking through my daily contribution means conjuring up a bit more creativity than my typical “check out my kids as they go about their day trying to avoid me” shots.

So I rose to the challenge for an Alternate Day 5 Silver Interpretation.

I think this one beats all.

For our family get together Kenny opted to eat at a local Chinese restaurant, followed by a trip to Izzy and Poppa Ken’s house to open presents and eat cake and ice cream. His great-grandparents, Momma Milly and Poppa Buddie dropped in too - 4 generations around a table talking and laughing together; what a blessing.

Not wanting to leave, we lingered until around 10:45 - one advantage to living 8 doors down from my parents. :) Once everyone settled into bed Jeff and I discussed Kenny’s complaint about a sour stomach, thinking it probably was the result of too much food…hoping he’d sleep it off.

An hour later Kenny woke, vomited everywhere in his bed, and from what we can make out from the trail, slid off his bed, pulled on his pajama bottoms and headed for the restroom. I heard him when he threw up and was wrestling with my own pjs and waking Jeff up to get to his room.

Jeff corralled Kenny to the toilet and I stood in the doorway to his room wondering why and how I was going to clean it all up. In raising these three kids we’ve had some hairy messes, but never - not once - have I seen this much vomit.

It was EVERYWHERE.

I won’t go into too much detail about the clean-up, except to say I was SLIDING on it (this might help you understand why I wrestled with my own gastric juices a bit). I continued to clean while Jeff helped Kenny shower and calmed him as he continued to throw up.

Once Kenny settled a bit, Jeff helped me clean too - we cleaned until 1:00 am - every time we turned around we had missed a spot.

Here is where I thank the good Lord there is NO CARPET in the house.

With Kenny snuggled in bed next to me I could feel each relentless wave as his body cramped up over and over into the early morning hours.

The last time I glanced at the clock it was 4:45 am; and finally, we were both "out". He’s doing better this morning, but sore. Jeff stayed home to help me with Kenny so I could get some work done and we will probably both sack out in a nap at some point.

Quick set of the timer and today’s 7 Days photo was behind us (up top).

No rest for the weary yet, but below is a compilation of some of last night’s iPhone snapshots.

Now for that nap…

One of my first gifts to Jeff when we were dating was a framed copy of Marcel Duchamp’s "Nude Descending a Staircase". It rests against our bathroom window and made for a post-shower backdrop for today’s 7 Days assignment.

Today is my baby’s birthday; he’s 7. My Dad mentioned something about that making me old, but since “his” baby is 37 I think he might want to rethink that statement (heh heh).

Hope to have a more upbeat, less under-the-weather contribution tomorrow.