on the iPod: Ordinary Miracle, Sarah McLachlan

Love this song.
First heard it at a wedding when we were in the midst of adjusting to different expectations and waiting for test results (not my favorite thing to do!).
Somehow, found room to breathe a bit when I listened to these words.
Thought I'd share it :).


Wrote these words when Sweet K was only wee little... thought I'd share them too!


Child development is a per.snick.ity issue. Nothing like the words "normal" or "delayed" or "slow" or "future unknown" to get this mother hen's feathers (completely, utterly, fantastically!) ruffled.

HOWEVER. I am learning learning learning about the beauty of this journey. Things with Sweet K are moving along quite well, actually, and maybe that makes this so much easier (it does). Yet I have the opportunity to see the miraculous unfolding of learning that most of us take for granted because a) it comes more naturally, b) it comes quicker and c) we're never taught to SEE those incremental - yet just as incredible - building blocks of wonder.

When Sweet K was about 3 months old, I heard Sarah McLachlan's Ordinary Miracle for the first time. It struck such a chord in me. The first time I'd smiled, or hoped, or laughed in months.

In church we will be celebrating Child Dedication (May 24), and I contemplate why I want to participate in this occasion. It is my view that children are a precious gift from God, shared with us for a variety of reasons. And it is my desire to nurture and delight and love and learn alongside, and hold that gift with open hands before the One who created her.

Hug-A-Munk!

This past winter we were able to spend some time in Florida.
While we were gone, I created a private blog to share some of our experiences with family and friends. This is a post that I wrote about one of our adventures....

---

Last Saturday, we were able to visit Epcot Centre.
It was our longest day yet. And the longest day we'll have.
Though it was long, the weather was nice and we had fun.

The biggest blessing, though, came through Sweet K and her sudden desire to hug a chipmunk!!

As I've mentioned, Sweet K just IS NOT into rides right now.
And she also is afraid of anything in a costume.
Pretty much sums up the "disney" experience :).

Anyway, Jon took Little M to some attractions while I went to go fetch my (forgotten) glasses from the van. I had the babies with me. When I got to the front gate, I realized that Jon still had my ticket, which meant walking ALLLLL the way across the park to fetch it before I could head out to the parking lot. We found Jon & Little M standing in line to say "hi" to Chip & Dale, those little disney chipmunks. Little M said "cheese," Jon took a picture, and voila. We were on our way.

Suddenly, I hear Sweet K talking.

Hug Munks. Peeease. Hug munk. Me. Hug Munk. HUUUUUGSS.

All this while she's squeezing her arms around herself as tight as possible.

She wanted to hug the chipmunks too!!

This was notable for a few reasons.

While her one-word vocabulary has been exploding since summer, we are waiting for her to start stringing two- and three-word combinations together (the next developmental step, typically seen around 18-24 months).

Here she was....

using her WORDS...

using them in PUBLIC....

using them in two and three word combos...

AND showing interest in doing something she DID NOT want to do before this.

My heart was full :).

To make a long story short, she repeated this over and over all the way to the van and back. When we returned to this spot, a staff person let us know that while C&D were still standing there, the line-up was closed. We could come back again tomorrow. Sweet K was disappointed and I was tempted to mow that lady over with my double stroller!! Don't mess with a Mama Bear!!

Well, this is as close as she got to hugging a "munk" that day. Thanks to Grandma & Grandpa, who were also moved by this story and in the park with us that day, Little M & Sweet K each got a little chipmunk to squeeze :).

A few days later we were able to visit Animal Kingdom.
Little M brought her travel journal and was able to collect a few autographs.

Sweet K wanted to hug Tigger.
But suddenly she wasn't sure it was such a good idea!



Sweet K was okay with Eeyore...



... as long as he didn't get too close!

By the time we found Winnie the Pooh, Sweet K was pretty much finished with
getting close to characters.
Enough was enough for one day.

Jon passed her to me here at the last minute.
You have no idea how NOT IMPRESSED she was that Goofy came
to stand beside her.
She was done. So was I.
No more costume characters for Sweet K that day!!

She is such a good sport about these things though.
When she's had enough, she'll say DONE DONE DONE DONE.
Okey dokey Sweet K.

 Any time Sweet K moves into a new developmental phase, I get so excited! It's quite the journey with her, though I know it could be far more challenging. We are grateful things are going so well. However, it makes these moments even sweeter.

Way to Hug-A-Munk, Sweet K!!

A Particular Kind Of Joy

I have to admit - when we wrestled with the decision of whether or not to go on and have a third baby, there was one aspect I didn't really worry fret obsess think about too much -- that stage when the younger would surpass the older in terms of developmental milestones. We knew it would happen, we accepted it from a distance, and left it at that.

I just didn't think we've enter into that stage so soon.

It is a particular kind of joy, watching our youngest daughter, now 15 months, starting to explode in her learning. Her words are accumulating on a weekly basis. Her fine motor skills are already so refined and graceful. She is in constant motion, a force to be reckoned with. It takes some getting used too!!! It is beautiful, and we celebrate each and every thing she does.

And yet, there is a tug on the heart strings. 

I recall, vividly, trying to coax these same milestones along with Sweet K. Playing with the developmental toys (there are some toys, that, if I ever see them again, it'll be too soon!!!). Repeating repeating repeating repeating.  Hand-over-hand learning, guiding her body until what came so naturally to myself, to others, came naturally to her too. Some days were ... are ... hard.

In all honesty, I wouldn't change the journey. We are head-over-heels in love with each of our three daughters as they are. However, that doesn't change the fact that sometimes there is still an ache that runs deep when I observe how the natural process of learning is effortless for some, laborious for others. 

I have often thought of learning like filling a cup with water --- 

For some, it is like turning on a tap, almost instantaneous. 

For others, it is like drawing water from a well, and it can take a lot of effort before that sweet reward is enjoyed. 

Both, however, are miracles unfolding, to be savored and enjoyed.

It still surprises me that we are beginning to wrestle through this stage already, and yet it also just seems normal for us, and adds to our sense of family adventure! But, admittedly, it is a particular kind of joy that I grapple with from time to time.