Two Little Indians

When I saw this picture of Jacky wearing a feather, I thought of that Yankee Doodle Dandy song of old, "... stuck a feather in his cap and called it macaroni!" Yes, our young guinea pig is wearing a real feather, donated by our parakeet Sonny. Hannah assures me she did not pluck it from Sonny's tail feathers, but rather snatched it from the bottom of his cage. Evidently Sonny eyeballed her the whole time, though! ha!

In addition to playing dress up as Native American Indians, I caught Jacky and Hannah playing checkers together a few days ago. Alas, Jacky, who nudged the checkers with his nose with competitive flair, did not win the tournament. He conceded the game quite readily after being given a treat of Timothy hay.

All for now,
Tricia

Ways that Hannah builds up her mother's self-esteem

Snippets of conversation recently heard around the Williams' household:

Hannah, while running her hands through my hair while we cuddle on the floor together, said, "Ahh, my poor little mommy is getting white hair!"

Later, while lovingly stroking my cheek, she added, "Mommy, did you know you have a little mustache? Just like Ricky did on I Love Lucy--but Lucy didn't like it!"

Later that same evening, Hannah covered her nose with her hands, and make honking sounds. "Mommy, I'm being you!"
"How so?" I asked, not particularly looking forward to her answer.
"I'm making the noise you make when you blow your noise--it's the same noise an elephant makes! Isn't that neat? You could talk to elephants!"

Yes, isn't that neat... So special. So... elephant-y! That's me. A white-haired elephant sporting a mustache that calls my friends frequently.

I love being a mother! H-O-N-K!

Hannah's dream

"And afterward, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your old men will dream dreams, your young men will see visions.
Joel 2:27-29

The three of us went to see my mom and dad on Saturday (Sabbath). Hannah casually mentioned a dream she'd had recently: she dreamed that she was on her way to heaven, on a road. She said that Jesus told her to keep her eyes on Him, that that was the only way she'd reach heaven. She said other people were on the road with her, too, but they kept looking away from Jesus. When they did, they fell off the road. "I kept my eyeballs on him," Hannah told us in her Texan drawl. "Even after I reached heaven's gate, I kept looking at Him!"

Seventh-day Adventist Christian author, Ellen White, had a similar dream. To my knowledge, Hannah has never heard of that lady's dream. I thought Hannah's dream was very special. We have talks about God all the time. I never try to make Hannah believe there are "pat" answers for everything, and that we sometimes don't understand how God works.

I know that for most people, at some point, inevitably, God "disappoints" us. Or rather, His answers do. We don't like to hear what He has to say, sometimes. Because, like any good parent, He has to tell us "no," or "wait."

And bad things happen--boy, do they happen! I don't want Hannah to think that just because bad things happen to good people, that it means He's letting her down. The Bible is full of bad things happening to His people. But I believe in "His ways are higher than our ways, His thoughts than our thoughts." I may not always like it, but I believe. And I want her to believe--and someday go to heaven. Isn't that what it's all about?

All for now,
Tricia

Texas winter fun

Build-a-bear New Year's

Hannah enjoyed her trip to Build-a-Bear around New Year's. We had a great time together; we ate out at a Mexican restaurant, as a family. We had a blast. Annnnnd, since we were near the mall, I asked Hannah if she'd like to visit the store. And what a surprise--she said yes! ha! And thus, Sparkle the Snow Leopard was born.

Texas in wintertime

Happy New Year!

Snow + pretty flowers = A PRETTY CONTRAST IN NATURE