Happy Heritage: Pork Shoulder Butt

Stuck. It didn't stop his explorations though.
Over the next couple days he got stuck again
underneath the end table's shelf, on the
shelf, and on the top of the table.

My older daughters watched me prepare a pork shoulder butt for our dinner. "That's not pork, that's a lamb leg!" No, I explained, it was pork, it just was nearly the same shape as the lamb we had eaten recently. I pointed out the label "proving" my point. "Pork Butt!!" Actually, it's from the shoulder. I don't know why it's called the butt. "Phew! Who'd ever want to eat a pig's butt??" I then explained where ham is taken from. Surprised, my daughters immediately declared their willingness to eat a pig's rear end any day, at any opportunity.
.
Maria declared that she wishes we had a summer house in Europe. Or a winter house. Or any house. So I asked where in Europe. First she chose France, then London, England. Reese's eyes lit up and she eagerly asked where the candy shops are located in Europe. "Switzerland." I told her. So that's where she wants her extra house to be located.
.
I've learned the best way to teach children how to spell: 1. Bring a toddler into the home. 2. Since the toddler will quickly learn to understand the word "candy", tell the older children that they will not be allowed a sweet treat after meals if they use said word too early. They will therefore have to spell it out, "C-A-N-D-Y" when requesting their after-dinner treat. 3. Wait up to a month (depending on the age of the toddler) for the younger child to realize that those letters mean the same things as "candy". 4. Tell children they will have to spell "D-E-S-S-E-R-T" so the toddler will not stop her meal as soon as she hears them spell out the earlier, easier word. 4. Repeat steps 3 and 4, increasing the difficult of the words spelled. Suggestions for those more challenging words: confectionery, sweet treat,
.
I was recently nominated the castle gardener. "Because queens don't weed strawberry patches and we are princesses, so..." Grade school logic: They are princesses and princesses live in castles, and the gardens of those castles are cared for by official gardeners. If I am tending the garden, then I am obviously not eligible to be their mother, the queen; I must be the gardener.
.
My slider phone spontaneously decided to stop working. I can receive calls but the keypads don't work properly so I cannot make any phone calls, read any text messages, look up any phone numbers, or shut off my morning alarm. Neither my husband nor I was surprised at my phone's death, though it was sudden. We knew it was coming. We had already decided that when it occurred, we would upgrade me to a "smart" phone, but would continue using the slider until it truly died. The biggest advantage I am hoping for from my new phone is the ability to take pictures with it. The last two years I have been at a clear disadvantage, not having my camera always handy and finding it inconvenient to physically attach the camera to a computer in order to do anything with the pictures I take. Hopefully the change will be a positive one for our family's annual photo album and for this blog, since it should be easier to take more photos and to upload them more quickly when and where I choose to.

Precarious gift of life

Psalm 139:13-18

36 weeks

As I prepare to see my baby in person for the first time, I am personally aware of four other babies who miscarried during the short time that this little one has been growing in my womb. I know of many others who have miscarried in the past, a couple whose hold on life is precarious even now, children who are alive today only by God's grace protecting them while they were in their mothers' wombs, and several women who long for the blessing of becoming mothers if only the Lord would see fit to grant their request. It is a precious gift each time a child is born, both because the child is itself a blessing from the Lord and because that birth carries so much meaning when we know so many others who did not survive this far.
.
I am a little shell-shocked that this will be our second child-blessing in less than twelve months. Sometimes the Lord's timing seems so odd to us humans. Why make a woman who desires a very good thing wait so long to see its fulfillment? Why bring another woman so many gifts so close together? Why cause a baby to be conceived to another who will only turn around and abort the child? His decision to bless the one who rejects His gift and not the one who desires it seems strange. It goes hand in hand I suppose with other questions such as why one woman finds pregnancy such a breeze while another struggles to survive each day. Sometimes the answers can be found only well after the fact. Sometimes we don't understand until the Lord reveals His plan after our own life is over.
.
I am expecting to welcome this child into my arms in just a few short hours. This is an incredible blessing and my prayers are with those women who desire a similar blessing or who are mourning the premature loss of their own infant. Life should never be taken be taken for granted. May God protect those whose lives are in danger today, old and young, and may He grant the blessing of parenthood to all those who are wishing for it.
.
Linked with Works for Me Wednesday

Happy Heritage: Nicknames

So far I've referred to my children by their respective ages. This gives perspective for all those who don't know exactly how old they are of which things they do/say are particularly amusing because of their age. But it will become confusing in the long-term as they grow up and I have to match up the date on each post with their respective birthdays in order to remember which child said what. So I'm giving them all nicknames to use here.

Maria: 6 and 3/4 years old, she's happy to tell every acquaintance and stranger that her birthday is only a month and a half away. No longer just 6 and 1/2, she's not quite content with the 3/4...because she has passed that mark and doesn't want anyone to miss even one month that she has gained toward her 7 year mark. She knows exactly how many days are left until her birthday (although her math is a little off...) In fact, she usually includes the information that "in only 7 years I'm going to be 13!!"
.
Reese: Pronounced with two long "e"s, as if it were spelled "Reesee". LOVES peanut butter and it's even better with chocolate. Although her nickname came separate, before she'd ever tried the candy Reese's Pieces (pronounced of course "Reesee's Piecees") or the cups, she's always happy to enjoy a peanut butter cup or candy pieces. Reese is 5 years old. We thought when she was born that she might be in an awkward position, the only non-firstborn of our little family. Yet somehow she gets exactly what she wants from all of us older than her, as if she were the bossy one instead of the three of us.
.
Princess: There are nearly 5 years in between Reese and Princess, so our 7 month old daughter is treated every minute as a princess by our two older daughters. She loves them in return, giving them plenty of motivation to continue the princess treatment. Not that her daddy and I miss every opportunity possible to give her that same treatment!
.
Ant: We don't know this child yet. His nickname comes from Proverbs 6:6, as a prayer that he will learn wisdom from the Lord and become himself someone that others will learn wisdom from. After we meet him in the spring and get to know him, he might earn another nickname for himself. Then again, he might simply confirm this nickname as appropriate.