tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-66921012328518882492024-02-19T10:16:00.430-05:00Flower Picking<i>"She lives in a house full of flowers..."</i>Dainahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10134477521029271481noreply@blogger.comBlogger168125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6692101232851888249.post-51208950445770242932013-08-01T23:31:00.002-04:002013-08-01T23:43:13.200-04:00Preschool poetry
A few years ago, Joe and I started to think seriously about the possibility of homeschooling Marija. I wondered how it would work since I speak to her in Latvian, but the community language is English. So I looked up bilingual homeschooling and was surprised to find very little information online. (What was out there, by the way, was and still is at multilingualliving.com, a great site for Dainahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10134477521029271481noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6692101232851888249.post-83889153428038770962012-08-06T16:52:00.005-04:002012-08-06T16:52:51.999-04:00Wild craftingSketching with pen, cutting rough chunks of cardboard with scissors. Scraps piling up on the rug, around Jānītis sleeping on a blanket. Marija scribbling on the scraps, putting them in a folder, carrying them to another room... good music playing as I sing a line now and again. This chance won't last, so I am working quickly.
Done by dinnertime. :~)Dainahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10134477521029271481noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6692101232851888249.post-19825402685329598292012-07-15T14:39:00.002-04:002012-07-15T14:40:55.645-04:00A picture to rememberFrom a few days ago:
Joe is kneeling on the living room rug, showing Marija how to solve tangrams. Jānītis, a week old now, is falling asleep in my lap. Dinner is done; dishes are undone. The Innocence Mission album Joe got me for a pre-birth present is playing. "Where does the time go?" He is the man I met when we were 18 and climbing trees at night.
Marija is going out and Joe says she needs Dainahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10134477521029271481noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6692101232851888249.post-61657925441213493022012-07-01T20:48:00.000-04:002012-07-01T20:55:30.471-04:00The very last thing before I goWe are a week past our second baby's due date. I have cleaned my desk, packed my bag and told my friends I won't be coming to see them for awhile. This waiting time has been quiet -- except for the storm that sent me to Marija's cribside and down the stairs when the wind hit our house at 60 miles an hour. Things were not bad for us... we got power back within half a day and didn't have to invite Dainahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10134477521029271481noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6692101232851888249.post-62614676412338079282011-11-20T16:13:00.000-05:002011-11-20T16:13:37.570-05:00Ardievu, VecmammaMy Vecmamma died last Friday. I was by her side, singing a folk song with my sister. If we had known we would be accompanying her last breaths, maybe we would not have chosen Āvu, āvu baltas kājas. But it was a fine-enough song to sing her then, an old story of a girl dressing her feet in white and weaving herself a wreath of roses that would be taken by the wind into the sea. It is the song myDainahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10134477521029271481noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6692101232851888249.post-42513201713268550762011-04-20T23:57:00.001-04:002011-04-21T00:00:54.177-04:00Getting ready for EasterOur long winter has turned into almost-summer. Now we are opening most of our windows, keeping just a few shades drawn, and living outside as we can. Marija asks to go outside all the time and often gets upset if I tell her to stay in.But she came in to dye Easter eggs today, lured in by the other kids who came to dye with us. I enjoy teaching people how to dye the Latvian way, with onion skins, Dainahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10134477521029271481noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6692101232851888249.post-582294803730890672011-03-19T22:05:00.004-04:002011-03-19T22:16:29.866-04:00Happy St. Joe DayTo celebrate the name day and saint day of my favorite Joe, I made some naan for dinner and some honey-glazed pumpkin scones for dessert. The food took me some time, especially the naan: making dough, rolling it out, putting it in the pan, flipping it over... I am apparently no longer afraid of recipes requiring a spatula.Lately I've been more conscious of the way I can use food to show my love. Dainahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10134477521029271481noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6692101232851888249.post-86121572157112518272011-03-08T14:47:00.006-05:002011-03-08T15:00:09.336-05:00More than foodThis is just a bit of my mundane little life, but now I've become the coordinator for my moms' club event called Cooking Club. I think it should really be called Eating Club... once a month or less often, we gather at someone's house with food to eat and talk and maybe share recipes. Some bring their children, so we have playing... lessons on sharing... tense moments in which we dig dirt from theDainahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10134477521029271481noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6692101232851888249.post-60619461319374108302011-02-07T15:12:00.000-05:002011-02-07T15:12:50.825-05:00Quiet hourLately I've found life pretty lovely and a bit overwhelming. And I wonder if Marija will wake from this long nap, currently being conducted in my lap, in time for me to change her and pick up the living room before we have visitors. Meanwhile, I am typing with one hand to get ready for Latvian school, looking forward to another Sunday of teaching children who understand God in the simplest terms.Dainahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10134477521029271481noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6692101232851888249.post-64964711709127481312010-11-04T12:29:00.003-04:002010-11-04T12:32:51.865-04:00Today's grandmother letterDear Vecmamma,I hope you are doing well! Pak pak pak -- it is raining today! I can't go on a walk outside with my little girl -- we'll have to put on some music and dance around the house!I love you!Kisses,DainaWhen we were visiting yesterday, my baby tried to give my Vecmamma some kisses. She doesn't know how to make the kissing sound, but she put her face up to Vecmamma's face, mouth open -- Dainahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10134477521029271481noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6692101232851888249.post-83059292982874390452010-11-01T21:35:00.003-04:002010-11-01T21:48:55.091-04:00FirstsMy baby had a busy day.She learned to catch!She really played with sand for the first time. And she learned to use a shovel! But she is still learning that it is easier to carry sand when the shovel has its scoop up. And she got, for the first time, two timeouts in one day (in one hour, actually). What a lot of tears.Dainahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10134477521029271481noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6692101232851888249.post-74909928306022915792010-10-31T14:05:00.006-04:002010-10-31T14:12:50.622-04:00Joe's PumpkinJoe has some new carving gouges and some practice, so this year's pumpkin is a lot better than that other one. Robert Smith from The CureLights out for full effectThe way it looks when Joe accidentally jiggles the cameraNow we are hanging out in plainclothes, and soon I will put some candy and a bowl near the door. Happy autumn!Dainahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10134477521029271481noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6692101232851888249.post-81324763452001591892010-10-29T12:29:00.000-04:002010-10-29T12:30:50.764-04:00More of this same good stuff"These all died in faith, not having received the things promised, but having seen them and greeted them from afar, and having acknowledged that they were strangers and exiles on the earth. For people who speak thus make it clear that they are seeking a homeland. If they had been thinking of that land from which they had gone out, they would have had opportunity to return. But as it is, they Dainahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10134477521029271481noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6692101232851888249.post-30762280790054244642010-10-28T13:08:00.005-04:002010-10-28T13:14:43.993-04:00Full daysMy days are full lately. Some days my heart is singing at all the wonder in this house and around it. Some days I want to call Joe on the phone just to say "help!" Many days I want to sing and call "help" both, though not usually at the same time. I needed someplace to put this, so here it is: "Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus, by the Dainahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10134477521029271481noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6692101232851888249.post-57479142302723665452010-10-02T13:18:00.003-04:002010-10-02T13:21:59.921-04:00OctoberThe camera batteries were out, so I will have to remember: little blonde Marija in a yellow shirt and overalls, standing among all the orange pumpkins at the parking lot, patting her favorites with her hands. Blue skies and a happy baby...Dainahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10134477521029271481noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6692101232851888249.post-10513120519471101572010-07-12T08:50:00.006-04:002010-07-12T09:02:06.290-04:00A good weekendI had thought I might want to rent a movie this weekend, but when I really thought about it, I realized I'd rather read and go on a nice walk with Marija and Joe.So after we spent Saturday trying to fix up bikes and water heaters and the like (does anyone know why a water heater would mysteriously stop leaking?), we went to church Sunday and I read a couple articles and we ate Joe's strawberry Dainahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10134477521029271481noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6692101232851888249.post-70646911015021832952010-07-04T22:52:00.001-04:002010-07-04T22:56:09.936-04:00Happy IndependenceAfter a visit to see my parents and Vecmamma and Selin, Joe and I drove back down to see the fireworks in Waldorf. We got there early, so we parked in the perfect spot, on the side of the road between two scenic little lakes. Joe stayed in the car with the sleeping baby while I walked to see the ducks. Later we sat in the grass and read about how to build your own log cabin on the cheap. The Dainahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10134477521029271481noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6692101232851888249.post-39192844171124435352010-07-03T16:49:00.000-04:002010-07-03T16:51:26.361-04:00So cool but so ew ew ewI was pretty excited when I found out the caterpillars returned to our dill plants this year, but even those cool striped creatures pale in comparison with this three-inch-long garden discovery:I haven't seen anything like it, but I guessed it was one of the tomato hornworm caterpillars I've heard about, since it was on the tomatoes, it's a caterpillar, and it has a little horn. I checked into itDainahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10134477521029271481noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6692101232851888249.post-56664489657249871462010-06-23T21:19:00.003-04:002010-06-23T21:25:43.865-04:00Babies and flower wreathsHappy Jāņi!We are not jumping over any bonfires this year, nor eating Jāņi cheese, nor even singing līgo songs with Marija -- she fell asleep on time for once! (Maybe I will sing once she's in bed.) Did you know it is difficult to get a baby to wear a flower wreath and sit still for a photo?Dainahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10134477521029271481noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6692101232851888249.post-70888175654234315332010-04-18T11:07:00.002-04:002010-04-18T11:09:36.016-04:00SharingHere is an interesting article on crack babies -- who are growing up now. I have thought a lot about what makes a child who he is... and I guess there are no real answers except "a lot of things."Dainahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10134477521029271481noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6692101232851888249.post-89664134859626980172010-04-14T21:21:00.003-04:002010-04-14T21:33:25.953-04:00BlessingsMarija and I were back at the Lutheran church again tonight, where we are becoming regulars on Wednesdays. But the pastor was a different one this time, an older one with a longer beard. He came up to meet me before church and suggested I bring Marija up for a children's blessing during Communion, and I said I would, and when it was time he called everyone up to pray and invited us again Dainahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10134477521029271481noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6692101232851888249.post-2056445044541651382010-04-02T09:27:00.003-04:002010-04-14T21:19:57.304-04:00This roadIt's Good Friday today, so mothers' group won't be meeting in the basement of the Catholic church, where a handful of mothers and their older children usually pray the Rosary as I meditate quietly and the young ones play. Last week, though, a mother had printed booklets with the Stations of the Cross and led everyone in meditations on Christ's journey to Cavalry. We weren't sure we would get Dainahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10134477521029271481noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6692101232851888249.post-85827070709611867492010-03-10T22:05:00.003-05:002010-03-10T22:09:35.246-05:00SeparationJoe took Marija for an hour tonight while I went to Communion service at the Lutheran church in town. He thought it might be good for us to practice being apart. We figured it would be harder on me than on her.But I came home and he said she had missed me. It was about bedtime, and she couldn't get to sleep. There were spurts of crying, he said, though he had managed to calm her somewhat with herDainahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10134477521029271481noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6692101232851888249.post-13151366722405041192010-03-01T09:24:00.002-05:002010-04-14T21:20:54.653-04:00Little flowersGood things are growing here -- in me, though not of my making. Each season puts things in a better order. Little flowers can bloom here.I don't have easy words to share it, but that might be okay...Dainahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10134477521029271481noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6692101232851888249.post-5183119217260497522010-02-27T22:21:00.000-05:002010-02-27T22:22:03.994-05:00TGIFWhen I arrived at my parent's house with the baby yesterday afternoon, I was greeted by a smiling dad who said he was just getting ready for TGIF. Soon, the coffee table was draped in a white table cloth, set with wine glasses stuffed with pretty napkins.I've never been home for a TGIF before, a tradition that started sometime after I got married. My dad, now retired, spends part of the week Dainahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10134477521029271481noreply@blogger.com0