Overheard on the way to the library...

From the back seat

Lili: Oh, I really hope I can find a book on Athena...I love Athena...Ok Audrey I'm going to be Athena...you can be Aphrodite.

Audrey: Who's Aphrodite?

Lili: You'll like her Audrey, she's the really beautiful one.

Audrey: Oooooooh. (contemplates this in silence for a while) Is she rich?




Another gem from Audrey, as she was looking at her own 20 week ultrasound photo in her baby book: "Mom, I was really cute when I was still in your tummy...even if I was all grey and black."

I had to google a real picture of a 20 week baby in utero to show her that they are actually pink and solid...not grey and black little profiles.

Grandma Precious and Great-Grandpa

Every winter, Great Grandpa and Grandma Precious come to stay with Nona for awhile. They get to soak up the sun, and we get to soak up a little of the warmth and wisdom of this amazing couple.

As you can see from the photos, the girls adore their great-grandparents, and Luke and I always look forward to the great conversations, and great advice.

There is so much to admire about these two; from surviving Omaha Beach to raising eight children to staying madly in love for sixty years and counting.

We're so blessed to be able to share this time with them...

I knew Audrey was feeling better

when we found that someone had snagged our old camera and taken a series of incriminating photos... There is only one person in the family with eyes that shade of blue...

Yep, it's Audrey.

(I like this somber self-portrait with her beloved Jesus statue.)

And this series in Kateri's Little Tikes Car is just astounding in its emotional depth and range...

Sneaking up and documenting Luke's conference call...maybe it's a little corporate espionage for a rival pharmaceutical company? I wouldn't put it past her.

This one might be my favorite, because while it looks like a terrible photo of her little sister, it actually does an excellent job of epitomizing how we all felt at the tail end of a week spent cooped up with the flu: grumpy, demoralized and disheveled.

I know all kids love to take pictures on grown-up's cameras, but Audrey seems to really really love it. Last year Nanny got her her very own disposable underwater camera. It was a big hit. 85% of the photos were close-ups of "beautiful" rocks at the beach surrounded by the silhouette of the shadow Audrey cast as she bent over them. I'll have to post some.

In the wake of this most recent discovery, I'm struggling to find the right course of action as a parent. Should I punish her for using a camera without permission, proving to myself to be strict and responsible? Or should I sign her up for photography lessons, proving to myself I am a perceptive and nurturing parent who recognizes my child's affinity for this art form and responds by nurturing her burgeoning talent?

Maybe both?

On the Sun not working

We are so spoiled in the winter here in Phoenix. The kids are battling a virus this week, so Kateri has taken to napping in her beloved baby swing that she is quickly outgrowing. Yesterday I gave her a big push and then went inside to tend to one of the other kids. I heard her calling me in a frustrated voice and when I went outside and asked her what was wrong she struggled to articulate the problem.

"It not working..." she complained.
"What's not working?" I was confused.
"The wind...the sun...it not working..."
I realized that a small and fluffy cloud had obscured the sun, robbing my spoiled little Phoenician of the warm sunlight for a minute or two. Just then, the cloud passed, the sun came out again, and as Kateri looked down at the shadows that sprang out in sharp contrast on the bright grass she sighed in relief and said,
"Oh...it working now, " before leaning her head back and closing her eyes.

Oh, to be two again, and wholeheartedly believe that you are the center of the universe, and that there is no problem that can't be solved by calling for your mom... There will be no napping in the yard today, however. Kateri will have to learn (along with the huge part of the country that is currently snowbound) that you can't control the weather. This is what our swing set looked like after our sprinklers went on. It could be worse...

...our backyard could look like Nanny and Papa's. Brrrrrr.

Secret Handshake

The girls made up this "secret Speier girls handshake." It seems more like bedtime cheerleading to me, but whatever. I honestly don't know what goes on in their little minds.

Lili

Lili recently got her own library card. Oh joy! We have been going to the library every weekend, just the two of us. Audrey is always welcome to come, but she prefers to give us a wish list and "stay with Daddy." Kateri is NOT welcome to come, because she prefers playing with the germy toys in the children's section to actually browsing for books. I put a moratorium on checking out American Girl books, and Lili once again proved that she is her godfather's goddaughter with her selections...

I love these little weekend trips...thank you, Lord, for giving me my little bookworm Lili and proving that some tiny fraction of Bird family genetic material has actually been passed on...

Our New Year's Adventure

Our family was in the midst of enjoying our low-key, relaxing Christmas break when we heard that a large storm was dumping snow an hour north of us, conveniently where Nona's cabin is located. Our kids had been staring jealously at the pictures of happy little cousins with snowmen for the past week, so we decided to drive up and give them a taste of when real winter is like. Real winter is beautiful, thrilling, exciting...

...and kind of a pain in the neck. Nona's cabin is on a lovely steep plot of land that affords gorgeous views of the surrounding mountains, but turns out to be a little tricky to get to in the snow. Highway patrol wouldn't even let us continue on the 15 miles to Pine from Payson without putting on our snow chains. Even with the snow chains, as we tried to make it up to Nona's street we felt the horrifying sensation of our car sliding downhill as Luke tried to accelerate forward. So we parked in the semi-plowed driveway of a conveniently vacant cabin, and hiked up the rest of the way. That in itself was an adventure; the snow plows had had the same problem as we did trying to get up to Nona's street, and the snow was up to Kateri's chest, so I had to carry her most of the way, while Luke was burdened with our provisions, and Lili and Audrey were on their own. Kateri had snow pants, but the rest of us were in jeans, so when we finally reached the cabin, I had the girls strip off their snow-caked clothes and huddle under a quilt together on a couch while Luke started the fire to start warming up the cabin. I think Lili's confidence in her parents' prudence was a little shaken at this point...as I kept hearing a little voice from the depths of the quilt asking "Are we going to be okay?"

After a little lunch, a little warm-up and another hike down to the car for Luke, we were ready to enjoy the snow.

The girls were so excited...

There were a lot of firsts for them... was their first real time playing in snow,

...first time making a snow angel....first time experiencing the horrid discomfort of having freezing snow wedged in between their clothing and skin...

And also their first time sledding. The powdery snow was too dry for a snowman, but it turned Nona's unplowed street into the perfect sledding hill...

It was definitely a New Year's to remember. We spent a cozy night at the cabin (the girls and I were awestruck by the gorgeous view of the stars from Nona's porch at night) before heading back home the next afternoon. We were so blessed to have such a great little adventure, and so blessed to get home safe and sound. Thanks for sharing your cabin with us, Nona!