Twins: Music history

Jesse: Well, did you know my guitar teacher told me today that Johnny Cash was really in prison? And then he wrote that song about the prison blues.

[pause]

Sara: Well of course he was in prison - he stole that car!

(Reference: "One Piece at a Time", Johnny Cash)

Right in the middle

The end-of-the-school-year special one-on-one restaurant dates kicked off tonight: Jesse took me and chose The Olive Garden (recently opened in Richmond). He was the best dinner date. It kind of dawned on him about 20 minutes into our time together that he really did have my full attention and no one to interrupt him, and he grabbed hold of the conversation and ran with it. I asked him a few questions when we got there about his favorite part of the year so far, and what he was looking forward to this summer. When there was a lull when we were starting to eat, he got this totally serious look on his face and said, "So, mom, what would you say is the best year of your life?"

Love that boy.

Just a very small sampling of the topics we touched on: Italy, salad dressing varieties, Eric and my life before kids, grapes and wine making, cousin Evan the-absolute-cutest-smartest-1-year-old-in-the-world-today, Christianity, siblings and their quirks, that fettuccine does not necessarily mean alfredo, the proper relationship of the napkin to the meal....and on and on.

He kills me.

He's right in the middle of the pack - a position which has taught him patience, perspective, and more patience.

He's right in the middle of boyhood - halfway between new baby and that age they call "adult". He promised tonight that he'll always be my boy.

Best line: The waitress asked if we were ready to order and he so politely explained exactly what he wanted to her, so politely answered her questions, and so politely asked if the salad had tomatoes and if she could please leave them off.

Me (when she left): You did such a nice job ordering and speaking clearly and kindly to the waitress, Jess. Good job!

Jesse: I know. The whole time in my head I was like "Wow, I really sound like an adult right now."

A Birthday Ritual

No, not the pick-your-menu thing! Although we still certainly do that. We like to spend some time sharing with the birthday person (or persons, in this case) what we enjoy about them...what we're thankful for in regards to them. Thought I would share some of the comments:

About Jesse:

"I love being his twin"

"He's nice"

"He puts others before himself"

"He taught me a lesson...I was being mean to him and he was nice right back at me"

"He's very brave"

About Sara:

"I'm glad she was there with me when I was born"

"She's my best sister and I love her"

"She gets us going in the morning and has a lot of 'pow!' energy"

"She's a very hard worker in her school work and house work"

"She's loving and really cares about other people"

"I love to play with her"

Happy 7th Birthday twins!!

Some Holiday Fun 2009

And now they're six...

We love our twins!

Times Two

When you have twins, life slows down considerably. We went from two children to four children and my patience for the everyday details of life got quite the workout. I distinctly remember thinking that first winter, I can't imagine them being older, like, five.

And today, by the grace of God, here we are. Time has actually sped up now, and we even find ourselves trying to slow them down, holding them a little longer. Five children between ages 3 and 8 is a very sweet spot, and I'm trying to sear it into my ever-addling brain. As Sara said today, "I'm going to miss you, four."

Happy 5th birthday, twin-o's!




P.S. For those who are interested, the twin's chosen birthday day menu:
Breakfast: Blueberry muffins, bacon, donuts, orange juice
Lunch: chicken nuggets, french fries, cut-up apples, water
Supper: crock-pot pizza, cauliflower salad, garlic bread, Darn Good Chocolate Cake (white version) with strawberry (Sara) and chocolate (Jesse) ice cream