Sunday shadows

It's breezy, and I've set up camp in the back yard with a glass of iced peach tea and the laptop. It feels good to be out here, sitting in the shade, slightly chilly from the wind, and hearing the sounds of Matt working in the yard. He's laying down more pavers for the walkway on the side. It's amazing how many pavers he has unearthed over the last few months. We've found them strewn about, inches under the soil's surface, often in very random places. Quite like an archeological dig, we find remnants of past home dwellers and their curious preference for placing cement borders in the yard. Our love and appreciation for the home and grounds we tend is growing. It's nice to have a home. Really nice.

It also feels good to do some writing. Nice to recap a long week. Long, I tell you. The sickness has been very slow to depart. Truth be told, none of us are back to our normal selves quite yet. I went to the doctor again this week only to find out my ear infection had moved into a sinus infection. Another dose of antibiotics and I'm feeling nearly tip top shape. Sickness, parenting, and general life-living don't agree well with me...at least not when occurring all at the same time.

I have had a lot of thoughts brewing in my head lately. Thoughts regarding my love for chocolate, my approaching 30th birthday, social justice, and the love of my new haircut. Yeah. So rest assured, though I lay quiet on the blog for 8 days, I haven't stopped thinking and processing. It just so happens that thinking on these topics doesn't always equate into me sitting down and working them out on the computer. Hopefully you'll see these posts soon. They are, after all, nearly half-written in my mind already.

I can't recap without sharing a little about Karis. I don't read updates on child development in books and parenting websites often enough. My practice, intentional or not, is to experience Karis' changes and growth without too much research on the subject. (Laziness, perhaps). So every so often I am blown away by the surge of new growth and changes in Karis' development.

First off there is the speech explosion. She's experimenting with sounds, words, and sentences. Two-word sentences like: Hi, Mom. Bye, Dad. Hello, shoes. And a kiss and hug for each of these things. She's outrageously affectionate...towards family, friends, complete strangers, and inanimate objects. The other day she blew a kiss to a puddle that had collected after recent rainfall. Yes, she teaches me a thing or two about love and life. I'm grateful for the lessons.

Secondly, Karis' "play" is looking a lot like Mom's "work". By that I mean, she takes her baby on walks in the stroller, sings to baby, sets the table for baby complete with plate/spoon/cup/play food, and she even gives baby a bath. She loves to help with the laundry loading and unloading and is eager to watch my activities in kitchen. I would love her the same if she was a tomboy. Turns out, she's all "girl."

I'm headed on the road tomorrow to visit my parents for a week and spend time with my soon-to-be-bride sister. I'll be taking the laptop in the hopes that I can work out some of those previously mentioned thoughts floating around in my head. Until then, I'm going to turn off the computer, drink some more tea, and enjoy the rest of the weekend.