Osmosis

I love how God always provides what we need, and so often, what we think we need. This last week was full of pleas from my eldest. He LOVES science, and he is constantly asking me if we can do experiments. Well, my genius expired after mixing baking soda with vinegar, so I've been fumbling about trying to find other things to do with him. After all, you can only take so much, "I want to see ANOTHER chemical reaction!" before you just give in. 

I was feeling particularly desperate a few days back, when by God's providence, I stumbled upon a gift. It was a gift from my dear, sweet friend Sandy Hardy. Ironically, it's something she sent almost two years ago in a box of blessings, and I'd set it aside for a future date when the kids were old enough. There on my bookshelf was a book of 13 science experiments to do with kids! Elijah was SO excited, especially when I read him the sweet inscription inside. He wanted to Call Sandy immediately. 

It got me thinking- God often provides for our needs, even before we realize it. 2 Peter 1:3 says, "seeing that His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence."

He has ALREADY granted to us EVERYTHING we need for life and godliness... through CHRIST. What a gift! He even throws in little things like science experiment books, and friends who think of things you might need before you do!

Here are the boys learning about osmosis....

Pulse

This morning I walked the brisk three miles from the health clinic in La Orotava to my house in Santa Ursula. As I walked, I was overwhelmed with the simple sounds of early morning life. The sweet melody of the caged song birds perched on balconies. The soft and barely audible howl of a Husky lamenting the lack of frost and snow. The TAKK…TAAk…TTak…tak…of a workman’s hammer bouncing off the canyon walls. The whir of a blade coming from behind the sausage factory’s wall. The THROOOOM of the city bus as it zoomed a few inches from my shoulder, whipping my hair violently across my face. The baying of hungry goats rummaging along the mountainside. The steady hum cars shuttling tired workers to their daily grind.  The strange absence of sound from the ocean that is ever present and never heard. All of this swirling together to form the steady pulse of life—life sustained by the heart of God.  

18 Months Of Bonks

My dear, sweet, surprise baby is 18 months old! It's hard to fathom that I cried the day I learned I was pregnant, as this little man has brought so much joy into our lives. It's amazing to see how unique each of my children are, and yet how they each just "belong" so well in our family. Lucas is the glue amongst the kids. He's an equal-opportunity lover. He has endeared himself to each sibling so much that they all bend over backwards for him. He's a hugger. He gives great, big squeezy hugs when you ask for them (and even when you don't), and he even exhales an emphatic, "Huuu Waah" as he squeezes. Lucas is also our most adventurous. He climbs on top of chest freezers, over the tops of sofas, up and down the slide, and he walks (not scoots) down our horribly hard tile stairs. He has gotten SO many bonks in his short life :-(  We are tempted to buy him a helmet to protect his head from his many hard knocks. Here's a glimpse of what his face currently looks like. You can't even see the bumps in his hairline from falling off couches!

 Lucas is our linguist. Someone recently told me that a child begins to speak words after they've heard a certain number of thousands (millions?) of words. Well, I think being in a home with 5 other chatter boxes has given little Lu a jump start. I sat down at dinner and started writing a list of the things he says. These aren't things he just repeats, these are his words that he uses in context:

hold it, want it, get it, get down, up, come on, vamos, aguita, some, food, book, lap, doggies, pizza, pick up, eat, more, please, gracias, give back, thank you, don't touch, obey, see it, agua, water, milk, leche, juice, jugo, juice box, yogurt, cereal, stinky, fuera, damela (give it to me), mio (mine), I do, no throw, no scream, no-no-no, boca, no hace, toma (take it), chupa (binky), chocolate, luna, nose, how are you, good, name Lucas Daniel Thiry, apple, chips, cheese, hungry (which sounds like hungaly), hola adios, suave (gentle), there ya go, animal, buckle, shoes on, lego, cookie, chocala (give me five), daddy, Julie, Elijah, Levi, Eliana, Natalie, Oscar, Dafne, Jasmin, Sophia, Rodrigo (Rigo), careful, splash, peek-a-boo, cucu, ei-ei-ooooo...  

We are so thankful that God has given us this little man, and we're excited to see what his future holds.