monkey see, monkey do

One of the most disturbing things that can happen when one spends much time with young children is that you start to hear yourself...

Today I was in the kitchen and asked Priya who was in the living room to do something. Sam, who was sitting in his high chair at the table, stood up and said, "Now! Dhya (his rendition of Priya) Now!

That's just one instance...

This is Rosie. If I had anything close to a knack at keeping the house tidy from three childrens' messes, I might consider her as an inside pet. The reality is: she will have to learn to be happy in the shed, fraternizing through her cage with Max, the mini-lop and Ruby, the New Zealand and Arnie, the rooster.

winter

Like I've said before, when a blizzard hits the east or west coast, pictures of balled up traffic make national news. When three blizzards in a matter of a week bring 6 feet of snow to Minnesota, Iowa or South Dakota, it's business as usual with a little extra snow removal.

Those of us who live around these parts realize that hibernating like bears for the winter would take a serious cut out of a year of life. So we must carry on. But I kind of hope that by June, the temperatures will stay in the 30s and 40s and not keep dipping into the sub-zero territory.

Although it appears we are living in a refugee camp somewhere, we were warm, clothed and well-fed when we took this picture. In that context, living in a refugee camp is nearly unimaginable to me. In reading John Weaver's Inside Afghanistan, he talks about all the thousands of people - familes - who flee with nothing but the clothes on their bodies - from the Taliban even prior to 9-11. It's almost like God prepared this American exactly for what the Afghani people would need in someone who could help them with all they needed to survive the heat and cold while they were on the run. How thankful I am for a warm house and a furnace, not just a tent and a fire, even when the wind blows outside and the draft seeps in.

baking

Making cookies with children really requires the arms of an octopus and the patience of Job. I have neither.

"No you can't sample the eggs, butter and sugar and you can't lick off the spatula yet either. We just started making the cookies."

"Wait, don't stick your hands in the mixer. If you do, you won't have any hands."

"Two kids can't both stand on the same stool in front of the mixing bowl."

Sometimes a few eggs are the casualty. Usually lots of flour or oatmeal is littering the floor. Everytime the dough has to be sampled. But cooking is a good skill and everyone, in my opinion should know how to make cookies at the very least.

By the time the cookies are done (sometimes the job isn't finished), Anneka is no longer content where she is and the sticky, crusty dishes are piled up, the counters are smeared and slopped. Give me two days or so and I'll get the mess cleaned up.

prayer

Just a random thought:
How often do we pray that things will go well and stay comfortable and easy?

"Keep so-and-so safe."
"Help such-and-such to go well."
What do we mean by that?

If perseverance and testing produce character that God is bringing about in our lives, maybe we're not on the same page as God is. How would our prayers differ from believers in Indonesia or India or China? Do they pray that their house church will not be found by the authorities or do they pray God will help them to be brave and bold?

spicy pickle

This afternoon I told Priya that Mark and I were going to go someplace special for supper tonight.
"Where are you going to go", she asked.
"I don't know."
"Well I know someplace special you could go. It's called the "Spicy Pickle".

We ate there once when we were shopping in Sioux Falls this summer and apparently it made an impression on her. Maybe it's just the catchy name.

Mark warned me that for some reason Sioux Falls restaurants, even though there seems to be more restaurants than anything else in the town, are always full on Saturday nights. I wasn't ready to make that call until...

After six people cut in front of me in the line to the counter, the chick at the Texas Roadhouse told me there'd be a 100 - 110 minutes wait. That was just before 6 p.m.

Across town at Minerva's, we pushed our way to the counter through the masses. It would be an hour and a half before we could get a seat there, but we could certainly make reservations for 7:45. That was at 6:30 p.m.

Back across town again at Chili's, the nice kid at the counter told me we'd have to wait 50 minutes to find a seat. That was at 7 p.m.

We crossed the street, walked in to The Spicy Pickle and were just about to order our pizzirini's or whatever they're called when the pleasant lady behind the cash register asked if we had questions and that they were out of dough for those little pizza things. No wait in line. The maximum capapcity clearly stated 70 on the wall by the drink cooler. But beside us there were only 8 other people there. We ate our panini sandwiches in quiet and moved on to the next things on our agenda.

Well at least we didn't have to eat at McDonald's...