Half-Pint House

Chi-Town, Here We Come!

The past month has been a blur. As a result, I've made plans for this trip to Chicago with M10, but haven't engaged the process very well. I made appropriate reservations and such, but haven't thought much beyond just that.

Today, I mapped out everywhere we will go and printed off directions both for walking and for public transit (thank you, Google Maps for providing the public transit directions). I'm starting to get both excited and a little freaked out. I'm not used to being the Adult-In-Charge whenever I go somewhere because I don't usually go on trips without Craig. 

This time tomorrow night we'll probably be watching some random movie on cable TV (we loves us some hotel with cable TV!). We'll be resting and relaxing and enjoying. Craig offered to let me take his laptop on the trip and I was tempted. But you know, I need the three days without it. M10 needs the three days with me without it.

We'll take lots of photos and compose lots of stories in our minds. Maybe some of them will get transferred back here on Sunday. Or maybe not. Either way, the trip will be memorable and, I hope, honoring to M10 and the girl she is and growing into.

Good-bye for now.

The Wardrobe

Something scary happened tonight. I asked the girls to go upstairs and put away all the laundry I folded today. There was a lot of it. K6 needed hangers and I had a bunch hanging in the wardrobe in our room. The wardrobe is old and is made up of three pieces stacked together. K6 didn't realize this, and when she couldn't reach the hangers, she climbed up inside the wardrobe to reach. She lost her balance and fell, holding on to the middle frame, pulling the top two parts of the wardrobe down on top of her.

I was downstairs at the time, trying to convince E5 to help pick up the living room. We heard a crash and then we heard a scream. And then we kept hearing a scream. It sounded like a scary movie scream that kept going and going and going.

I'm not one to normally overreact when my kids get hurt. I've always thought if you stay calm, it helps them stay calm, and usually it's not that big of a deal. The scream flipped a switch inside me tonight, though, and I ran up the stairs as fast as I could. Craig was already in the room and had already lifted the wardrobe off of K6.

She's fine, by the way. Perfectly fine. And the scream wasn't coming from her; it was coming from M10. M10 was in the room with her, had asked her to get the hangers, saw her climb up into the wardrobe, watched her fall, and witnessed the wardrobe coming down on top of her, powerless to do anything about it other than scream.

She was scared. She thought K6 had been seriously hurt, maybe even the unthinkable. She blamed herself because she had asked for the hangers.

Gravity sunk in when Craig informed me that E5 had been sitting directly in the path of the wardrobe only minutes before. Whereas K6 was inside it when it came down and thus didn't bear the weight of it when it fell, E5 would have been crushed had she still been where she was.

It's easy to play the "what if" game with scenarios like this. What if I had put the laundry away myself after folding it? What if M10 had retrieved her own hangers? What if K6 had stuck with folding rags instead of anything else? What if E5 had stayed in that spot?

Fact is, "what if" doesn't do anybody any good. It wasn't anyone's fault and the unthinkable didn't happen. And if it did, it still wouldn't have been anybody's fault. But it's scary to think about and sometimes the weight of it doesn't hit you for several hours.

The weight of it hit K6 right away (both literally and figuratively). After she calmed down (she wasn't screaming, but she was definitely crying), she found me and said, "I could have died tonight if the wardrobe hit me somewhere else, couldn't I have?" I stared at her for a second and then slowly began to nod. She then said, "But I didn't because God protected me and saved me, so I'm okay and don't even have a scratch or a broken bone." I stared again and again nodded.

The simplicity of that understanding was all she needed. She was fine, she wasn't really hurt, and she believed with all her heart that God saved her life tonight. She will remember this for a long time, maybe even forever.

And for me? I hope I remember it forever, too. I'm more apt to want to get rid of the wardrobe or punish myself for not being present in the room when it happened. Facts remain: it wasn't anyone's fault and the Lord did spare her life. That needs to be enough. For now. For forever.

Thanks, God, for protecting my family tonight.

Welcome To My New Digs!

We've been working this week on making the transition from WordPress to Typepad. If you are here, you found my new place (Craig's is here).

Just like with any other kind of move, there is some cleaning up to do. Okay, a lot of cleaning up to do. I'm trying to transfer links and it gets rather complicated, so bear with me until it's all worked out. Until then, if you would be so kind as to update any sidebar links and subscriber feeds, I'd be most appreciative.

Please let me know if found my new place! And welcome! Just move a few boxes out of the way and have a seat. Hopefully this is the last of our moves for quite a while.

It’s Official: Our Firstborn Has Hit Double Digits

Not sure how time passed this quickly, but it did. M9 is now M10. We're going to Chicago soon to celebrate. Happy Birthday, my sweet girl!

The Chaos Experiment is Fully Under Way

Meet Ricky, one of three pets of the feline persuasion to join in on our chaos experiment known as the Dunham family. The other two are Lucy and Ethel. We have yet to meet Lucy because she’s been hiding in the basement ever since she arrived. Ethel is a bit on the cold side (as in she’s been rather mean), but we hope that will change as we win her over with our charming, gentle, cat-loving ways.

The girls are pretty excited, at least about Ricky. They are rather scared of Ethel because she growls (and I mean growls as in like a dog or bear growls) whenever one of us walks by her. Craig is in the basement right this second with a flashlight trying to find Lucy. I’m hoping that’s all he finds because you know how we have a propensity for being surprised by cats and all.

Now then, the obvious question here is why? Our pet excuse for so long was that the girls were too young. After that we rented for three years, which became our excuse. Now the girls are older, we own a house again (as trying as that has been), and they’ve been begging for a pet since July. Thus, we gave in.

We tend to think of ourselves more as dog people, but not the kind of dogs that make better footballs than pets. Big dogs. Unfortunately, we don’t have a fence, so we can’t exactly get a big dog right now.

However, a teacher at Craig’s school is moving to Colorado soon and can’t take her furry friends with her, so she gave them to us under the condition they stay together. So there you have it: the story of how the Dunham family grew by three in one short day.

Here’s hoping none of them find our tents.

All I Want for Christmas is...

This poor gal has had the misfortune to have lost a total of three teeth in the last month. If you'll recall, this hasn't been one of the easiest months of the Dunham household, so the tooth fairy, shall we say, has been a bit on the MIA side of things.

The only saving grace we have here is that, like Santa, our kids are in on the whole "tooth fairy" thing and play along, knowing full well that it's us. The bad side of that, though, is that when the tooth fairy forgets, well, everyone knows whose fault it is: mine.

K6 has been wiggling this last front tooth for the past two weeks. It finally came out today. She glanced in my direction and I solemnly swore I would not forget this time. Tooth Fairy Mama's honor.

I just went up and slid the expected dollar under the pillow with a note. Tomorrow she shall not be disappointed.

One out of three isn't so bad, right?

December 25

Remembering today. Really trying to. Merry Christmas.

December 24

Meet Dasher and Dancer, root deer at the ready. Comet and Cupid are on the other side. They will soon be placed in four specific stockings. I saw this on someone's blog earlier in the week and for the life of me can't remember who or where. I thought it was pretty cute, though, so had to replicate it.

Merry Christmas, Everyone.

2008 Booklist

Another year, another list. It's always nice to have a couple I started last year to give me a jump-start on this year!

January
Light from Heaven (The Mitford Years, Book 9) by Jan Karon - Officially the last book of the Mitford series, though not the last of the Father Tim stories (I'm told). I began the series when I was pregnant with M9 and they have been enjoyable books over the past nine years. Karon is a good writer and the Christian story comes out naturally through Father Tim. It isn't forced or uncomfortable. I like these.
Feminine Appeal by Carolyn Mahaney - This was very good, and I'm thinking about re-reading it with a friend here in town. I'm also thinking about posting thoughts from it, by chapter, on my blog. If anyone would be interested in reading it with me, let me know. Maybe we can get the author to come over and give some additional input, who knows?
Cutting Your Family's Hair by Gloria Handel and Mickey Baskett - I know. You don't really read this book, but I've had it for a while and actually used it last night to give the girls haircuts. I've cut their hair before, but I've never really liked what I've done. I was pleased with how their cuts turned out last night, though, and I attribute the simple changes I made to the book, which paid for itself last night (four kids' cuts locally would cost $32 at a cheap place). A good investment.
A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle - It's hard to beat Madeleine L'Engle. Truthfully, I liked Meet the Austins better, but I don't know. I don't really know much about L'Engle's worldview. I presume she was writing from a Christian one, as there is much biblical truth within the text, but there were some troubling allusions to universalism within the text as well. Still a good story, and good writing. The girls clapped at the end (which didn't help the going-to-bed part). We'll read more.
Moon by Night (Austin Family) by Madeleine L'Engle - Ummm, can anyone say "teenage romance?" I had no idea! I didn't exactly finish it (I was reading it to my girls and didn't think it was quite appropriate at their ages). Maybe I should go back and finish it completely, but it's steered me away from L'Engle for quite a while. So much for the Austins. Disappointed.
Playing For Pizza: A Novel by John Grisham - I've always been a Grisham junkie. Loved all his lawyer stuff. Really liked Skipping Christmas. This one, though? Yawn.
Katharina Von Bora: A Reformation Life by Rudolf K. Markwald - Biography of the wife of Martin Luther. I'd not known too much about the wife of the reformer. From page 89:

"Considering Luther and Kate's strong personalities and the challenges of serving an unending line of uprooted people with limited resources, the Luthers at times had strong disagreements. On occasion, Luther was uneasy with Kate's authority in the household...At one particular lowpoint in their finances, Martin had to turn down a friend who wanted to hold a wedding reception at Lutherhaus. Luther exclaimed, 'If I were to court a girl again, I would chisel myself an obedient wife from a rock.'"

It appears some marriage issues do not change with even 500 years between them. I may very well be the Katharina Von Bora to Craig's Martin Luther. God help us.
From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler by E. L. Konigsburg - Another bedtime read-aloud. I'm not sure how I ended up with a copy of this, but I'm glad I did. This 1967 Newberry award winner about two siblings who run away from home and spend a week in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York was a cute read and the writing was great. There were plenty of things to discuss with the girls from the book (namely, please don't ever run away from home!), but also Michaelangelo, art museums in general, and the value of the dollar and how it has changed in 40+ years. Fun story.

March
A Pagan's Nightmare: A Novel by Ray Blackston - A fast read that fulfilled my desire for the easy and mindless. I've read Blackston's other books which are in the same genre: Christian Chick Lit for Everyone. His first book was his best, the other two in that triliogy were so-so and this one was, well, it was what I expected, so I shouldn't be disappointed. It pokes fun at the Christiany sub-culture and poses the idea of what if the world were made up of only cheesy Christians with just a few non-Christians left? It would be their worst nightmare. Really? It would also be mine. The writing is funny, and the idea was intriguing enough to keep me reading, but it never really went anywhere. Keep trying, Ray.
Peter and the Starcatchers by Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson - A prequel of sorts to the classic story of Peter Pan. For some reason I didn't realize this before beginning it - had simply fixated on "Dave Barry" and "Children's Book" and popped it into my paperbackswap queue. It was an enjoyable read and we'll probably tackle the second book sometime, but we're taking a break from it because it was quite long.

Yep. Not a lot of reading going on for me these days. I blame it on all the sewing. But now that I've slowed down on the sewing I've got to find something else to blame it on. The laundry, maybe?

April
Breathing Lessons: A Novel by Anne Tyler - Anne writes an amazing story. They are so sad but so good. She makes you believe the people she's writing about could very well be some neighbors down your street. This one was no different - heartbreaking, but true-to-life, good storytelling.
The Enchanted Castle (Puffin Classics) by E. Nesbitt - Sort of a "Five Children and It" with different children and different magical consequences. Still, good story and the girls enjoyed it.

May
Peace Like a River by Leif Enger - I read this several years ago, but think this needs to go on my rotating list of rereads. Enger's wordcrafting is untouchable and his storytelling brings tears. Beautiful, heartbreaking, powerful. One of my favorite books.
The Penderwicks on Gardam Street by Jeannie Birdsall - Jeannie does it again. She has quickly moved into a top position for the Dunham Family's favorite children's authors ever. We're all impatient that we have to wait for her to write her next one. Snap to it, please!
Coraline by Neil Gaiman - An interesting story, well-written, well-told. It had a Tim Burtonish feel to it and was a bit on the creepy side, but not so much that the girls couldn't sleep afterwards. I heard there's a movie being made, so that will be fun to see after reading this.

Wow, I really stopped reading this year. For shame! I'm trying to remember what I did actually read from June-December and I'm having a hard time figuring it out. I'll try to remember what they were right now:

June-December:
Some Sonlight books here:
The Witch of Blackbird Pond by Elisabeth George Speare
Johnny Tremain by Esther Forbes
Walk the World's Rim by Betty Baker
This Heavy Silence by Nicole Mazzarella - I was predictably skeptical of this work of "Christian" fiction, but it was very different from what most would consider to be "Christian" fiction and therefore I liked it. That sounds sad, but the stereotype exists for a reason, you know what I'm saying? I should have written this mini-review right away for I can't remember specifics here. I do remember thinking some of the story was forced, a bit of it was less than believable, but overall, it was well done and I'll read more by her in the future.
So Brave, Young and Handsome: A Novel by Leif Enger - This was certainly no Peace Like a River, but it was still very good writing. It took me forever to finish this book which is more of a commentary on how goofy our summer was and less about the captivating quality of the book. Enger is a rare breed. I look forward to reading more.
Grace-Based Parenting by Tim Kimmel - Excellent book. I've had it on the shelf for four years now and needed the incentive of the class to read it, but I'm so glad I did. Great book, well-written, worth your time.
Instructing a Child's Heart by Ted and Margy Tripp - More of the same. Don't anybody shoot me here, but I remember really liking Shepherding a Child's Heart when I read it many years ago. I thought I'd like this one too, but reading it immediatly after reading Kimmel's book was tough. And the writing just wasn't that great.

There you have it. A very dismal 22 books this year. Maybe 2009 will be better for reading?

December 23

A present for the girls, to be presented alongside their new Singer sewing machine on Christmas morning. Now then, to clear space for them to set it up in the basement.