What Matthew Made for Me Today

The Wonderful Wizard of Oz at Adventure Theatre

The day after our impromptu visit to Mt. Vernon, we had a trip scheduled to Glen Echo Adventure Theatre. The show? The Wonderful Wizard of Oz--not to be confused with The Wizard of Oz, the musical. Adventure Theatre does a great job with kids' shows. They do creative things with their small space, and part of the fun of going there is watching them transform it from scene to scene. Also their small casts do a lot of doubling. You never know when an actor you've just seen as one character will pop up as another character... and sometimes another and another!

Just a few shots to share--first, kids awaiting the curtain!

And afterward--Esme and Matthew with Dorothy and Toto!

And Meg and Esme with Glinda, the Good Witch of the South.

Mt. Vernon, Part 2

After our tour of the mansion, we took in some of the sights of the outbuildings, like this Washington carriage replica:

And the stables:

Then we stopped to take in the sight all the staff had been directing us to, the sheep pen, where there were something like 40 new lambs. Here's one mama with her young 'un:

And here's another.

Next we wandered down to see the gravesite, then the Pioneer Farm, the riverside, and finally, the museum. At the museum they have a "Hands on History" room for kids, where we stopped in just before we had to leave.

I wish we'd had more time there; they were amply staffed, very kind, and had some cool stuff the kids would have loved to explore more.

Aaaaand, my favorite picture of the day goes last.

Did I say one picture? Make it two:

What a great day of fun and exploring with some of our favorite people!

Mt. Vernon, Part 1

Last week my sister Jacque and her family came up for a brief, last-minute visit while on their spring break. They proposed a trip to Mt. Vernon, as both of our families have been studying the colonial period and the American Revolution. I had been planning to take the kids this summer, but going sooner and with cousins was MUCH more attractive, so off we went!

We started by greeting George, Martha, and some of their grandchildren and exploring the welcome center...

A startlingly lifelike model of Washington as a young man:


Next we proceeded to the greenhouse and gardens, where spring was definitely beginning to flaunt her charms.

At that point, we met up with Jacque's family for our tour of the mansion. Unfortunately, no pictures are allowed inside the house, and I didn't think to take any of the building itself. But here is the view of the Potomac from the front verandah.

Not bad if, you know... you're into sweeping river vistas and all that.

And speaking of views, this was mine as we waited to see the parlors... not too shabby either.

To be continued...

The Monthly Costco Run

Esme's Club: The Plan

Esme has this recurring idea about a neighborhood club. She's done some intermittent planning, but this week she actually put something on paper. Here it is, hanging on our front door like Luther's 95 Theses. (Since Thursday morning. As of this post, it's still there, for the enjoyment of all passersby.)

Sounds like a pretty fun club, right? Ahh, it's so cute it tickles me every time I read it. She did it all by herself, with no help that I know of. A few specific things I love:

• how she follows the Wilcox school week, Tuesday through Saturday
• the lapse into Gollumese: "On Wednesday we sing songs and we dances."
• how she covered her bases with the male sex. Just to preempt all possible masculine inquiries.

Spider[underwear]Man

Easter Afternoon

We spent Easter afternoon and evening at my Mom and Dad's home, and it was lovely, so relaxed. My sister Lena was there, and my cousin Elijah, and our friends Tom and Katherine with their darling little people.

Food prep:

Tom masters the pineapple.

Meg is crazy about babies... reminds me of me!

My beautiful sissy!

Elijah is quite the character and so much fun.

Dave and Peter playing:

"Take a picture of the horsey, Mommy!"

I felt compelled to take a picture of my mother's Oriental rug. Isn't it gorgeous?

Meanwhile, out of doors...

And back inside...

Sitting down to eat:

The whole time was a balm to my heart!

Easter Morning

And when before the throne

I stand in Him complete

Jesus died my soul to save

My lips shall still repeat

This verse hangs like a banner over my Easter 2015 memories because it is the distilled essence of my Easter 2015 memories. The night before, I stayed up late getting ready--preparing the craft for the kids' church, ironing clothes and readying food for my family. The day dawned early, and Dave was out the door before 6:00. The children and I were supposed to leave at 7:15. Short on sleep and short on time, I nonetheless wanted everything to be perfect on this Easter morning. Our outfits, our breakfast, our attitudes would all be perfection! Surely not too lofty a goal for the pinnacle day of Christian joy and celebration, right?

Right?

It was probably about 7:05 when my cotton candy airship began its nosedive. I gathered my kids and tried to lead them in one brief moment of resurrection rejoicing. One of the kids responded poorly, and I throttled down hard, turning on my child to remonstrate bitterly, grossly overstating my case. Then someone had the nerve to complain about a certain item of clothing, and I all but ejected from the cockpit. If you had a transcript of my heart for the next two minutes, it would read something like this: "IT WAS SUPPOSED TO BE PERFECT! THIS IS NOT PERFECT! THIS IS IMPERFECT AND HARD AND WE'RE GOING TO BE LATE AND IT'S EASTER, FOR PETE'S SAKE, SO WHY ARE YOU NOT PERFECT? AND WHY AM I RESPONDING SO IMPERFECTLY TO YOUR IMPERFECTION??"

Later in the car, when I had reconciled with my children, I was still wrestling with guilt and confusion. Why did I freak out so bad? On Easter, which I love so much? That's when my idol tipped his cap. I've been worshiping my ideal of the perfect Easter morning, I realized. But the only perfect thing about Easter, just like every other day, is the person and work of Jesus. 

The rest of my Easter morning continued perfectly imperfect. But there was some measure of peace in my heart, especially as I remembered: He is the only perfection. Through all of history, it's never been about people worshiping or celebrating Him perfectly--to the contrary. That's why we needed Him. That's why He came. That's why He died. And He is risen.

I only have one picture from the morning, and it's a goofy one.

This is Esme and Graham at church near the Discovery Land supply closet, where I spend a small percentage of my work hours. In this closet lives a striped bag containing one of Graham's great joys: a knight costume, complete with sword and shield. Every time we go to the closet, Graham immediately pulls out this costume and plays Mike the Knight. If Esme is nearby, so much the better, 'cuz she can be Evie, Mike's sister.

So even my one picture is sweetly imperfect: minus two kids, and with one of the remaining two mostly obscured by plastic armor. But what does that matter?

Christ is risen.

A Moment with Daddy

David continues to work some crazy hours in the lead-up to Easter weekend. But yesterday he came home mid-afternoon for our homeschool review, and afterward he was able to spend just a few minutes with Graham before returning to church.

Graham needed help finishing his present for Daddy, which was a picture of Spider Man. (Mommy colored most of it, but then Graham realized that the eyes also needed to be colored red. Red--not black, not white--definitely red.)

It was just a brief moment, but it tasted sweet to this husband-starved Mama.