—1—
Take a picture of my flowers, Mama!
Isabella picked me a beautiful bouquet of goldenrod and asters and demanded that I take her picture. One of the many pictures I took floored me. In it she looks almost exactly like a photo I’d seen of Dom as a child. I don’t often see him so clearly in our children, though other people say they do. Funny how a camera can help capture something as fleeting as an expression and make those resemblances clearer. I often do see expressions pass across their faces that make me think of other family members; but the moments are so brief.
The spitting image of her father.
—2—
Sophie: “What’s that, mommy?”
“It’s a cassette tape.”
“What’s it for?”
“It plays music.”
“Can you open it?”
“It is open.”
“Oh.”
Dom found some old cassettes of mine while cleaning out the office closet to make way for new storage shelves. He brought them to me, saying, “Do we even have a way to play these?”
“Actually, yes, we do.”
Sad that I can’t quite bring myself to part with them.
—3—
I said I was thirsty. Bella offered me her milk. I said thanks but I wanted water. So she went and found my empty glass and filled it for me!
She got me two pieces of ice too!
And then a few minutes later she decided to top it off since she and Sophie had been sipping it too. They love “cold ice water”. And on her way back she dropped it on the dining room floor and the glass shattered. She was devastated and cried, poor… thing.
And then while I was mopping up the spill and picking up the shards, she said, “After you finish cleaning up the glass, I can get you another cup of water, mama.”
—4—
Bella: “I keep getting the wrong word in my mouth.”
I know how she feels.
—5—
Ben with his blankie. He was so tired he just nodded off in my lap during lunch.
Recently Sophie hurt herself and was crying. Ben picked up her blankie and took it to her. So sweet to see already he has this compassion and awareness of his sisters.
Later that same evening Ben and Sophie were both crying—it had been a hard day—Bella went and found their blankies and gave them each the comfort they wanted. While I was holding Ben and wishing I could do something, anything to ease the bump on the head he’d just inflicted on himself. While I know that he finds his blankie comforting, somehow I never think of it in the moment. Thank God for Bella. Now I know where Ben gets it. Just following in his sister’s shoes.
—6—
Today at the playground Bella held her arm around Sophie while Sophie climbed. She would not let Sophie climb that ladder unless she was right there beside her with her arm out to keep her from falling. It wasn’t really necessary. Sophie was climbing just fine. But oh my heart melted. Sweet, sweet sister love.
—7—
A few more favorite photos from recent weeks.
Have a great weekend.
And don’t forget to head over to Conversion Diary, where our sweet hostess Jen is serving up more quick takes.
Praying, Melanie.