Sweet Tea, The Pea & Me

I have been thirsty since February. For the first time in my life, I’m fasting for Lent. For whatever reason, I felt the need to give up something this year, to make a kind of sacrifice for spiritual growth. I tried to think of something that would be a sacrifice for me…caffeine? Not really a sacrifice for me personally. Chocolate? That would be tough, but I try not to keep any chocolate in the house, so it wouldn’t be a huge temptation. I decided to give up tea. I must admit that tea is my vice. The sweet elixir I look forward to each morning…usually in the form of steaming English Breakfast Tea. As I’m sipping my morning cup of tea, I’m boiling water to brew my daily pitcher of sweet tea. (I’m a Kentucky girl, what can I say?) During the day I devour glass upon glass of icy cold sweet tea. At night, I switch to Chai Tea Lattes.
I find it odd that I am literally thirsty all the time. You would think water could quench my thirst as well as tea. But even though I gulp down water, I am still aching for more to drink. I’m never completely satisfied.
A few weeks ago, the Pea was looking through her Sunday School papers…which she keeps piled on her bedside table. She found a booklet she’d constructed called Jesus Makes A Choice. The premise was Jesus’ choice to use scripture (God’s Word) to ward off temptation in the wilderness. The Pea skipped down the stairs with her book to share with me. (“Mamma, we’re gonna have a little review…” says my child theologian.) The left hand side of each page lists what Satan said to tempt Jesus, and hidden under a paper flap on the right hand side of each page is Jesus’ scriptural reply to thwart the Devil. My daughter’s timing is perfect (God’s timing?) as Lent reminds us of this 40 day time frame when Jesus was in the wilderness, fasting, and being tempted (to no avail) by Satan.
Knowing Jesus has been without food for weeks and weeks, the Devil says: “Command this stone to become a loaf of bread.” (The Pea tells me Jesus’ scriptural reply and flips up the flap to reveal that she is correct. Her eyebrows arch as if to say, “Now YOU review this so that you, too, can make good choices). Jesus answered, “It is written ‘One does not live by bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of the LORD” This is a scripture verse from the Old Testament book of Deuteronomy 8:3.
I’ve committed this verse to memory and pondered it often during the past month. Fasting from tea, my thirst has not been quenched. But I have sought to quench my spiritual thirst by exploring the Bible – the Word of God--, deeper, on a daily basis. Yesterday I came across the story of the woman at the well. Jesus asked for a drink of water from the Samaritan (Jews rarely associated with Samaritans, whom they deemed “unclean.” No doubt the woman was shocked Jesus would even speak to her, much less ask for some water.) Jesus goes on to talk about living water, He tells her, “Everyone who drinks from this (well) water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” (John 4:13-14)
I am counting the days until Easter, when I will be able to drink tea again, when I will be able to quench my thirst after the 40 day sacrifice. During this time I’ve prepared my heart for a celebration of the ultimate sacrifice: Jesus – who was within sin – executed on the cross, taking the blame for my sins, so that I might live forever with God. On Easter we celebrate His rising from the dead to be with God, his Father, in heaven.
Blessings as we dive into Holy Week.
Or as The Pea would say, “Love ya, mean it!”

In Which The Bug And The Pea Wallow In The Mud

The Bug and the Pea are wallowing in the mud. Literally. Granddad built a lovely garden down the left side of our backyard. The raised garden is rectangular in shape, about 20 feet long, two feet wide, one foot deep. Stones border the edges and a rich mixture of top soil, mulch and fertilizer fill the garden beyond capacity. We have yet to plant vegetables for the season. Thus, when warm weather surprised us this week, the not-yet-planted garden became quite the playground.
In all fairness, they did begin with the right equipment. Shovels, rakes, gardening gloves. The Bug and the Pea donned snow boots (hand-me-downs with the price tags still intact) in hopes of keeping their worn, torn $10 Wal-Mart sneakers “clean.” But after a bit of burrowing, the gardening gloves came off. The shovels were traded for dirty-fingernailed-digging hands. And the fun really began.
The front of the garden borders a fence gate, and beyond the gate is the water spigot. The Bug and the Pea decided the dirt wasn’t quite moist enough and remedied the situation promptly by filling various plastic containers (procured from my kitchen cabinets…) with water from the spigot. As if 40 square feet of unadulterated mud was not enough, the Bug began digging a new hole beside the gate. A kind of holding tank, as it were, for the storage of mud-pies.
And, of course, what is fun for two little ones is even more fun with six. Enter children from the neighborhood. Quite a collection of mud-balls (picture meatballs, but inedible) has accumulated in the burgeoning ditch beside the fence gate.
But, you ask, hasn’t it been raining in Kentucky? Not a problem. This is where the ever trusty umbrella comes in handy. The children are masters at creating an umbrella shelter, practically cancelling the need to come indoors during a light shower.
We are beginning the season where a trail of mud will continually adorn my floor. I keep a broom, my Swiffer, the vacuum cleaner handy. And of course I stock up on laundry detergent and stain removers. In our home, the sign of a great day: needing to hose the kiddos off before they come inside, to be promptly washed in the tub…sometimes twice.
Speaking of which, it’s time to fill the bath…almost bedtime for two delightfully giggly mud wallowers…

Pirate Pea And The Sword-Fight-Balloon-Tennis-Match

Today, the Bug tromped off to school, however, the Pea has been quarantined for 24 hours due to Strep Throat. I must selfishly admit it was nice to have some quiet play time with my littlest one. Even as I type, my elbow is resting on the quilt also known as the roof of her Fort. The quilt is strung out between the arm rest of the couch, the computer desk chair (which the Pea managed to move while I wasn’t looking) the piano bench, and a tall basket. Blankets cover the floor beneath the quilt, along with juice boxes. She made a bit of a window where I was allowed to deliver several requisite items…a sliced kiwi, a baby doll, some handwritten “mail” (I was instructed to roll the letter up like a Bible Scroll).
We brought down baby dolls and played house, although that didn’t last long…”Mom, you don’t play dolls as good as Sissy. I guess I’m just used to her voice telling the dolls what to do next…”
We played some board games and I may have kind of sort of let her win one time I could have won. After cleaning up the games, I loaded some clothes in the wash. When I returned to the living room, Pirate Pea awaited me.
In the few moments I was busy, she had trotted upstairs and donned a pirate vest, black leggings, black bandana, pirate hat. On her shoulder perched a stuffed parrot and she was carrying the inflatable Pirates of the Caribbean Sword (of Happy Meals past…) Her other hand held a single yellow balloon… origin unknown. Pirate Pea convinced me the ship on which we were sailing was an educational vessel. One which taught exclusively: Tennis. (OK) She immediately challenged me to a game of Pirate-Sword Fight-Balloon-Tennis in which we bat the balloon back and forth with our inflatable swords. The multi-colored parrot sat where the “net” would be….if we had a tennis net… and acted as a tiny referee. Call me crazy, but it was actually quite fun. As the Pea tends to do, she changed the rules as we went along to suit her, “If the balloon touches the wall, you lose a point! If the balloon touches the ground, you lose a point! I know I hit the balloon toward the couch, but I don’t lose a point for that!”
All was well until our trusty yellow balloon popped. I went up to the attic in hopes of retrieving another balloon. I searched our gift wrapping supplies (and decided our attic really needs to be straightened up) to no avail. Not to be thwarted, when Daddy arrived home, I popped over to the grocery for a bag of balloons.
Pirate Pea was much relieved to see the bag of one hundred assorted balloons. Mommy was not so relieved to participate in the inflating of one hundred said assorted balloons. Nevertheless, it was a delightful day – as far as quarantined days can be – and I see much Pirate-Sword-Fight-Balloon-Tennis in our immediate future.

The Hard Knock Life...or Goodbye Broadway

I'm almost finished with first grade. Warm weather's on the way, but it's not the blistering heat of Kentucky summer yet. The window is open -- well, both windows-- the one that overlooks the neighbor's carport and the one that opens out to the back yard. The breeze is flowing and I can smell flowers from next door..from that huge tree that hangs over the fence.
My little blue record player spins a well-worn ANNIE album. I can hear the needle as it scratches the grooves and I lift it up to place it on the right groove for "It's A Hard Knock Life." Hairbrush in hand, I am a DIVA. I am Annie -- not really Annie -- but a Broadway star portraying the spunky, red-headed orphan.
I was just relaying this memory to the Bug and the Pea. On warm afternoons such as today, it's easy to shoo them outside. Chalk drawings designated roads, stop signs, streets...and the girls were driving (biking) around their little town. The Bug tells me some local actors came to school presenting the musical, "ANNIE." The Pea tries to remember some songs, "Mommy they sing about getting kicked and there's a guy named Rooster!"
I burst out into song,"Maybe far away...or maybe real nearby..." Blank stares.
I continue, "Lucky me, Lucky me, look at what I'm drippin' with...liiiiiiittttle girls." Blank stares.
Perhaps this one? "You're never fully dressed without a smile!" I feel compelled to dance around the driveway, but I refrain myself.
"You're poor as a mouse, I'm richer than Midas!" Nothing.
Come on girls, I say, don't you recognize the Annie songs?
To which they reply, "Sure Mom. We were just waiting for you to stop singing so we could get back to our playing..."
And with that, all Tony award aspirations vanished into thin...chalk dust filled...air...

Quilting Bee...I Mean Bug & Pea

Through conversations with my grandfather (Dad’s Dad), I learned that my great grandmother was quite a gifted seamstress. Apparently the wealthier ladies in the eastern part of Kentucky (during the 1800’s) would hire her to create dresses. These ladies would describe the type of dress they desired, and my Mamaw would design the dress and sew the fabric to fit perfectly. She never needed a pattern.
My grandmother (Mom’s Mom), Nanny, creates the loveliest quilts you’ve ever seen. She learned from her mother, who was a quilter. Sometimes Nanny pieces together scraps of material to make crazy quilts, or a log cabin pattern, or wedding ring pattern. Sometimes she takes a single cream colored fabric and quilts designs with thousands upon thousands of stitches. I have always been in awe of her gift.
About 10 years ago, Nanny taught me how to make a quilt. How to sew fabric pieces together into squares, how to assemble the squares, how to weave the tiny needle in a rocking stitch. I must admit, I was an amazing disappointment. Several moves, and several children later…I’ve begun several quilts, but have yet to finish one. Sewing is apparently NOT my gig.
My Mom could tell you that. She’s a wonderful seamstress who made clothes for me and my brother when we were younger. Mom made a valiant effort to teach me how to sew by hand, and on a sewing machine. I can kind of sew on a button, but that, unfortunately, is the extent of my practical and artistic ability.
I’m watching my daughters and wondering if this great gift has skipped a generation. I have my back propped against the wall as I type. The girls are each on a corner of The Bug’s bed. Scrap material is spread out between them. (From my former…non-successful quilting days…) They each have a needle and some thread and are working on doll clothes. A snip here and a snip there and a stitch to sew the fabric together into a contemporary dress for Barbie. The Bug is weaving in some beads and a pipecleaner trim on the clothing.
The kids are learning about the Appalachian Mountains in school…preparation for Appalachian Night next month. The Pea is telling me about instruments used in the mountains, spoons and washboards. She stitches some more on her project. I’m wondering if this is what winter evenings were like for my family in the mountains…in the 1800’s, 1900’s, now? Stitching and chatting after supper.
I realize I’m being a technological hypocrite as I type on my wireless laptop…but I love that the television is off. I love listening only to little ones discussing the day as they create clothes for their dolls. Maybe someday Nanny will teach them how to quilt, and they’ll create art of their own. I love that, in a few minutes, as we tuck the kiddos into bed, they’ll be snuggling up under the quilts passed down generations.

In Which The Bug & The Pea Design A Dream Home...

The Bug has an assignment. She is to design, to scale, her very own Dream Home. She has been talking about this project all week. She and The Pea have brought extra chairs into the bedroom, they are brainstorming furiously. The Pea is jotting down on a dry erase board her ideas, The Bug is sketching on various sheets of typing paper. Calculating footage, perimeters, sketching furniture, windows, doors. Here are some of the ideas incorporated into the Dream Home:
1. Candy Hallway (with jars of all types of candy lining the walls on ledges)
2. Relaxing Hallway (me: How do you relax in a hallway? the Bug: you sit in one of those way-back chairs and get massages)
3. Indoor Pool and Spa (nice)
4. Art Studio with lots of windows
5. Science Laboratory (OK)
6. Barbie Room (the Bug: it doesn't have to be all Barbies it can be boy action figures too)
7. Garden Room (maybe on the roof with solar panels?)
8. Classroom (for playing 'school')
9. Stuffed Animals Room
10. Kids Only Fun Room
11. Holiday Room
12. Mad Libs Room (what?)
13. Pet Room
14. Ice Cream Room
15. Old Fashioned Game Room (you know Mom, like board games and stuff)
16. and my most favorite was suggested by The Pea: The Peace Room! (You know Mom, like where you can go read your Bible and be happy!)

Yippee-Ty-Yiii-Oh-My-Stars!

Ever since the commercial aired, the Bug and the Pea have been itching to see the Rodeo. So, for a Valentines Day treat (albeit non-traditional), we 'bit the bullet' and purchased 4 tickets.
The husband took the kiddos last year, so they knew what to expect. This was, quite literally, my "first time at the rodeo." I must say I had a blast. My dearest friend, LTP, had hoped to join us, but wasn't able as her sheep were lambing. (Although, as she will tell you, I adore all cows... my most favorite cow is the Holstein. No Holsteins at the rodeo, but it was still quite lovely).
The events were spectacular! Folks of all ages were roping steer, lassos were thrown over the necks of the animals, and their feet were tied. (The Pea worried that the cows were in pain. However, her fears were allayed as she watched the cows kick off the ropes, bounce right up and trot off toward the gates.)Some of these fellows would ride in on a horse, slide off the horse onto a cow, grab it by the horns and wrestle it to the ground. Which, in itself was a feat...and yet the events were timed! All of this took place in a matter of seconds.
The kids liked watching the ladies lasso the cows. Some of the women were the size of my girls. It was wild to watch as these teeny-tiny ladies in pink cowboy hats trotted off on these giant horses and threw ropes around the necks of steer.
Intermission was certainly fascinating. The radio station called several couples from the audience to the participate in the: "Save a Horse, Ride a Cowboy" contest. WOW.
The most stunning part of the rodeo was the bull riding. I found myself involuntarily screaming "OH MY!" as the men were hurled off the backs of these bucking bulls. (I bet the teenagers in front of me were texting each other, that clearly it was my first time at the rodeo!)
As we walked through the squelchy mud toward the car, we passed the section of the exhibition lot where the trailers were parked. The horses from the rodeo were tied to the trailers to keep them safe from the passing cars. The horses munched on straw and their owners congregated around, trying to stay warm in the 30 degree weather. The Bug complimented everyone she passed who looked to be a part of the event. "You did such a nice job today!" "I loved your horse." (The Pea was riding piggy-back on Daddy all the while announcing LOUDLY what she saw, "Look it's a white horse! Look it's a brown horse! Look it's a muddy puddle!")
As we loaded up the car, the Pea affirmed in her best 'I told you so' voice: "See, Mamma, we knew you'd have fun at the rodeo!"
And I must admit, she was right...