Goodnight room!

A favorite book, by Margaret Wise Brown

Modified for Lorraine and Aggie

In the pretty pink room

there was a canopy

And a green balloon

And a sculpture of--

An angel sitting on the moon

and a blanket with bears, and two little chairs

and a pile of hair pretties, many buddies, and kitties

and some dinosaur toys, left by the boys

and a box of craft stuff, with stickers and fluff

and a comb and a brush and sister saying "shush"

and a mom in the hallway who was whispering, "hush"

Goodnight room

goodnight moon

goodnight angel sitting on the moon

goodnight light and the green balloon

goodnight bears goodnight chairs

goodnight pretties, goodnight kitties

goodnight toys, goodnight boys

goodnight craft stuff, and goodnight fluff

goodnight comb and goodnight brush

goodnight nobody goodnight mush

and goodnight to the queen mommy whispering "hush"

goodnight stars, goodnight air

goodnight noises everywhere.

our favorite dads

They pick on the girls and play catch with the boys

They wrestle and tickle and add to the noise

Making moms sigh and plead, “tone it down just a tad,”

This is a song for our favorite dads!

 He plays the guitar at the fire and sings

Of young love and dragons and fun-loving things

Cute songs of “too much” that make my mom mad

Oh how we love our Nana Bump Dad!

 He helps them walk planks; pushes children on swings

He builds coops; tree houses; and can fix anything

He throws balls and plays with the dog when he’s sad

Oh how we love our Larry Bump Dad!

See where Marcus gets that trouble-making grin?
Mommy would never put a two year old up THERE!

He works as his little boys watch with wide eyes

He gives whisker burns,  and super-fast scooter rides

He laughs watching kids learn that whiskey tastes bad

Oh how we love our daddy-dad-dad!

In the dark nights, when the storms bring

Cause for feeling sad

I simply remember my favorite dads

and then I don’t feel so bad!

Peter puppy

Peter's new nickname:

Peter Puppy

He slobbers, he licks.

He leaves puddles on the carpet.

He chews on people and things.

 Peter puppy sniffed a stack of stinky slippers

A stack of stinky slippers Peter Puppy sniffed

 If Peter puppy sniffed a stack of stinky slippers,

Where’s the stack of stinky slippers Peter puppy sniffed?

C'mon now, say it quickly with me...

Peter puppy sniffed a stack of stinky slippers

A stack of stinky slippers Peter Puppy sniffed!

If Peter puppy sniffed a stack of stinky slippers,

Where’s the stack of stinky slippers Peter puppy sniffed?

favorite things

(I needed to write one for Aggie that wasn't so "sad!" So I took off the Dr. Seuss had and am trying on the Maria dress!)

Hot summer day, Aggie sliding and slipping

She sprays me with water till my hair is dripping

Wrapped up in towels we sing on the swing

These are a few of my favorite things

Rain dancing, laughing, and chicken-butt calling

Home after long trips with big hugs and falling

Bright paintings of rainbows and butterfly wings

These are few of my favorite things

When the boys fight, when the bee stings

When I’m feeling sad

I simply remember my favorite things

And then I don’t feel so bad!

A sandwich with Aggie on top of her brothers

Laughing I watch as she’s stealing  Bump’s covers

She runs home from school, new pictures she brings,

These are a few of my favorite things

Wrestling in dresses, my wild princess

Craft-making chaos, her room all a mess,

Loud music playing, she cleans and she sings

These are a few of my favorite things

In the dark nights, when the storm brings

Cause for feeling sad

Simply remember our favorite things

And then you won’t feel so bad!

wild hair- another favorite :)

Evening glory

"Mommy, the sky! Hurry, come look!

Can we sit here and read some of our chapter book?"

Sky pink and pretty, full of evening bird song

Lorraine grabs my hand and she pulls me along

We sit on the swing with our slippers and story

Surrounded by God's art, His day-ending glory

We read and we dream of what-if and maybe

I enjoy the beauty of my growing first baby

The hands that once held my finger, her bottle

Now able to help me, cook dinner and coddle

The baby, sweet Petie, her drooly cute brother

He rides on her hip, and she learns to mother

What plans does God have for you, my beautiful girl?

What heartaches and joys will you face in this world?

I sigh, but I smile, knowing God will be faithful

When life brings the rain, when people are hateful

Lorraine will be cared-for as she goes here and there

Because God is her Father, and He hears my prayer

We swing and we watch the dim of sun's rays

and we savor the gift of these little-girl days.

 

twas a night without Aggie

'Twas a night without Aggie,

and all through the yard
The frogs and the flowers

were crying, and hard

That sweet dancing girl,

the flowers were missing
The frogs, without Aggie,

had noone for kissing 

The dog lay down, quiet. 
The swing, it stood still
The watering can empty
No Aggie to fill

Lorraine in her room
All alone, with no sister
She knew if it thundered
She really would miss her

In their beds causing trouble
Were three little boys
Talking of Aggie
And making some noise

And Petie, sweet Petie
In a puddle of drool
Wondered why Aggie 

was still off at school

Working hard in the kitchen
On floors that were muddy
Was mommy, thinking of
Her sweet kitchen buddy

Mom looked out the window
And whispered a prayer

That God would keep Aggie
Warm and safe in His care

That Jesus would help her
In appointments and tests,
To think of His love,
In His hand she rests

Mom knew God was with her,
Was holding her tight,
Even in Cleveland
In the dark of the night

When will Aggie come back?
Asked her sister and brothers,
Buddies on her bed,

And even her mother

We wait for the moment

Aggie bursts through the door
With pictures and kisses

and hugs galore

Waiting to see her

and hug her to pieces

Saying "Aggie’s come back!

Hallelujah! Thanks Jesus!"

Peace like a baby

The nappers were napping, or quiet if not

Dinner was simmering in the crock-pot

Big sisters in school, big brothers in bed

Small baby upon me, warm, happy, and fed

His breaths whispered softly, my shoulder was sodden,

But my lists and my worries were quickly forgotten.

I sat there with Peter, we sat there we two,

and I said, "How I love having nothing to do!"

See the plants- how they wither!  The  laundry- how smelly!

The puddles of milk and the splatters of jelly!

On the couches, the blobs and the boogers were showing

But the baby upon me, how fast was he growing!

Ignoring demands of the clutter and mess,

I stroked his soft head, and in quiet, was blessed,

to be warmed by new life, as with the sun's ray,
to simply be mommy for one moment today.

Go Tigers!

easy love

Snuggly soft skin, breathing you in
Siblings think all you do is sleep;
They hurry the days of walking and playing
I admire your tiny hand, sleepily resting on my arm
and wish the clock's hands were as calm as yours

The time will come for crawling and walking and wrestling
for temper tantrums and standing in the corner
for reading books and picking battles
for teaching, protecting, and letting go.
It will come, is coming quickly

For this moment, your favorite place in the world is in my arms,

next to my skin
There is no conflict between us, no hard lessons to learn
You need only know the most basic thing: that you are loved
And for now, loves comes from me easily, naturally, effortlessly
You receive it and return it in your simple ways
with each coo and smile,
small contented sigh,
wrapped softly in blankets and arms

I hold you close, while I can
Savoring these dwindling rocking-chair days.


Self- soothing can wait.

We soothe each other.

The night before childbirth...

'Twas the night before childbirth, and all through the mother
Flew punches and kicks from the new baby brother.
The maternity pillow took up half the bed;
Her husband hardly had room for his head.
Sleep would not come, so she got up and wandered;
Creation and life and potatoes she pondered.
She caressed her belly, she sighed, and she smiled;
She felt a contraction, but just one, and mild.
Her belly was bursting, her hips had grown wide;
Her shoes by her husband now had to be tied.

The onesies were clean and snug in their drawers;
She was finished with all of her motherly chores.
She was no good at waiting, that much could be seen
So she paced around, looking for something to clean.
Restless and awkward, swollen and sore,
She tried to recall why she's said, "What's one more?"
Her ribs felt a jab from baby's sharp limb;
Through worries and memories her mind did now swim.
Contractions, deep pot holes, a much too long car ride,
Blood-spurting cords, bruised husband by her side,
Back labor, huge needles, the hospital bed,
She thought how "Is this much pain normal?" she'd said.
Though over the years she'd thanked God she's a girl,
She whined now, and prayed for a good epidural.

As she prayed she remembered the blessed relief:
The old-man like stranger with wrinkles, no teeth
Warm, soft, pink skin, and sweet baby smell,
Strong healthy lungs and the very first yell,
Calm sleepy sighs, quiet breathing in sync,
The best-tasting orange juice ever to drink,
The look of proud daddy gently receiving
God's newest blessing, and once more believing
That He who creates and provides and sustains,
His gifts far outweigh the fear and the pains.

Eyes dancing, grinning, skin jumpy and prickly,
she whispered once more, "Come baby, come quickly!"