Mud Pies and Virginia Summer

I was born and raised in this part of Virginia where we're raising our family.  At the closest hospital to our house, brought home to our family's apartment just a mile from where we live now.  And if you talk to me about it, you will learn that I am quite the Virginia enthusiast.  It's kind of a great state: there are beaches, farms, mountains, rivers.  The seasons are distinct and showy.  Things are always changing, ushering in a new feel to the air, or new colors to the trees.  The clothing we wear changes drastically from month to month, as do our activities and the ways we interact with the outdoors.

And let me tell you that in all my years here in this state, I have never known a summer quite like this one!  Mild, cool, breezy?  I am tickled, as these days remind me of our summers in Boston (whose summers are stunning).  Our windows are open, we often find ourselves wearing a sweater.  It has been pretty great, and we have been living out of doors whenever possible.  It has been a flurry of energy and activity, and I have found myself taking cues from my wise eldest (who lives up to the meaning of her name, wisdom), who sometimes asks if we can spend the afternoon at home.  And we do, and take a deep breath and remember that the coming seasons hold for us more of this rest, the still time indoors to create and take in a different kind of beauty.

Clara and Dorothy are crawling.  Dorothy crawls hand over hand, quickly and assertively.  She loves it when I vacuum (still! The babies adored this as newborns!) and follows the vacuum around.  My little housekeeping companion.  Clara is crawling, too, but slowly, deliberately.  There she is crawling to my camera from her blanket in the grass.  At our six month appointment I informed the doctor that the babies were crawling.  She wasn't too impressed, until I sat Dorothy down on the exam table.  At which point she swiveled into a leaning sitting position, then swiveled again into a crawling position and proceeded to crawl (almost) off the table.  "You will never see a six month old do this again," the doctor, stunned, informed the resident.  So there you have it, our incredible crawling twinsies.

The kids have been making mud pies (I have learned to always trust Ginny's book suggestions!  They are the best) and setting teatimes for dolls, stuffed animals, brothers and fathers alike. I received a serious reprimand for discarding some chalk tea, which was left out in the kitchen.  Seriously, sometimes mothers just do not know what's most important!  

And the girls have been preparing for this coming year, during which they will be going to school.  We have been praying and worrying (me) and trying to figure out the best path for our family this coming year, and in the end our discernment was clear and easy: I'm excited to share more with you about it in the coming weeks.

(Oh, and will you look at the babies with their cousin Grace!  We call her the "big triplet," and I can already see how these three will be thick as thieves over the years).