11 March 2008
Yesterday I was looking at photo’s posted at My World Tuesday. Joanna (6yrs) came in and saw a photo of Jerusalem posted at Dina‘s blog. She said, “wow that’s beautiful”. When I told her where it was she said, “That’s where God was born”. And ran off to call Benjamin (8yrs) to come and see. I mentioned this to Dina and she responded, ” Your comment today at Jerusalem Hills made me so happy, that a picture could touch the children with excitement.”
Other comments I received in response to the poem I wrote for One Single Impression: Fork in the Road. Such as Haiku Tuna’s : Enjoy your hilly motherhood, may the peaks overwhelm the valleys!. And sue’s I wonder if sometimes the narrow road gives structure and direction along with stricture. Plus the comment from Maggie who enjoyed “watching” the family enjoying the day at the beach. These comments inspired me to cautiously share publicly a glimpse into Benjamin and Joanna who have an international ‘fan club’ of people who have known them at some point in their lives.
I homeschool the children because of where we live. The enormous responsibility to both educate and care for them can at times seem overwhelming, as it has lately. But a frequent prayer of mine includes the line, “Come Holy Spirit…open my mind that I may see the hidden things of God.” And Benjamin and Joanna with their imprint of the divine as yet so undiluted provide numerous opportunities for this.
Joanna had a weepy day today, in need of lots of cuddles. It made me think that perhaps hormones are already lurking about. Hopefully it’s not malaria. So Benjamin will be the star of the show this time.
One of his quotes I wrote down today went like this, while reminiscing about the visit yesterday by a friend with a one year old. Benjamin: ” I love looking after babies. I think it’s my specialty. I think they look so, so cute.” He had been particularly attentive and gentle with the baby in question.
Benjamin battles to read though he loves being read to, his current favourite being Swiss Family Robertson. As an incentive to learning they get to cross off each day of homeschooling on a chart, and after 36 days they get a prize. Today was day 36 so there was lot’s of excitement. We have just finished reading and learning about Egypt and so they each got a book about Egypt as their prize. Joanna’s was the Egyptian Cinderella by Shirley Climo and Benjamin’s was an Usborne level 2 reader on the Egyptians.
I worried whether he would be able to read it, with bated breath suggesting he do the five finger test I learned about at the weekend from Picture Book of the Day which hosted Poetry Friday. Opening the book in the middle he made his way through the text putting up a finger for each word he couldn’t read. Only two fingers went up, he had passed the test. He looks at me and says, “I think I feel like crying tears of joy”. He couldn’t put the book down over lunch, expressing his gratitude numerous times. Before going to bed he finds the book and props it up on a shelf within arms reach saying, “Mummy you know what, I’m just going to put my new book here in case I want to read it in the night. I’m kind of in reading mode. Do you know what that means? It means I want to read a lot.” Then picking up his fluffy horse he continued, “Mummy you know what, this horse is so good, I kind of want to hug it the whole time.” And with a look of complete bliss he cuddles up with the horse cradled in his arm oblivious of the credit crunch. Joanna, in her bed next to his, lies alongside a large rag doll and Suzy bear, with hardly any room left for herself. Light’s off, I read them poems from two poetry books by the light of the bathroom. Happy, happy children.
So thanks wise commentators for making me open my eyes again and not take any of this for grantage.
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