another dawn, another destiny

So, this week has been a week of learning for our family.

To start with our newest member: This week, Evelyn learned to go to sleep on her own. (I.e., her cruel parents sleep trained her this week). While this was a painful process for a couple of days (probably worse for her mother than for her), she has now learned to go to sleep without being walked to sleep, which is a good thing for her. And an even better thing for her grandmother, who has a couple of cracked and broken ribs and who would undoubtedly be physically unable to walk her to sleep once I resume teaching this coming week. (This was the major motivation behind the sleep training).

Andrew has learned that Jesus wants him for a sunbeam. In other words, Andrew has graduated from nursery (at church) to Primary. I'm not sure that he is quite ready for Primary (he's the youngest member of the new sunbeam class)--but I'm even less sure that Primary is ready for him, although by all accounts he did okay today. And, as you can see from this shot below, he was rather proud of his new crown (it reads "I am a child of God").


(Here is Andrew, with his Christmas menagerie. I have to say I'm pretty pleased with the purchase, because it's kept Andrew occupied for at least a little while every day this week, which is a major accomplishment).

I learned (again) that sleep training can be a necessary evil. I also learned that just because something is on sale for a great price does not mean that I need it. This, after having bought several pairs of new shoes for Andrew at Dillards, that were 50% off the clearance price--so I got a pair of Merrills for $15 (instead of 45), only to discover that the size 10 shoes wouldn't actually fit on Andrew's feet. (I should say, I already knew this--about sales, anyway--but sometimes sale madness is infecting. Needless to say, I took the shoes back).

Dan says that he learned that you should not try to convince a mother to relinquish her baby clothes. He was bemoaning our "junk" (really, it's not a problem of too much stuff as much as not quite enough space) and asking me what we could get rid of. Well, most of our boxes are either books (which of course are sacrosanct) or baby items. So Dan asked if we could get rid of the baby clothes. I guess I might have overreacted a little--but I don't think he'll make the same mistake again. (It's not that I'm sentimentally attached--well, maybe just a little--as much as the practical side of me figures that it's likely we'll have at least one more, so there's no point in getting rid of those clothes . . . at least, not yet. But Dan should take heart in the fact that he may someday see the last of these clothes).

And finally, grandpa even learned something about anatomy this week. He was teasing Andrew, offering to eat different body parts (toes, ears, etc.), but Andrew had a convincing defense of why he needed each body part. Here is what we learned from Andrew. Toes are for walking (I think I told him that). Chins are for holding in your teeth. Ears are for hearing. And cheeks--in case you didn't know--keep your ears up.

Happy New Year, everyone!