Twin Memories

Although the boys and I still find ourselves hanging out now and then in the middle of the night it is no longer a regular occurrence…and certainly no longer common for me to be holding both of them on my lap in the wee hours. Both boys currently have some illness they are fighting and it has been waking them in the night. I just went into the room because Logan was crying…he crawled onto my lap and before he stopped crying, Owen started and also crawled onto my lap. They still fit!...and I noticed they were soothed almost immediately once they were both on my lap, unlike the few previous nights when I was trying to calm them independent of one another. A beautiful twin sibling moment. I found myself treasuring the time I was able to hold them realizing these moments are becoming fewer and fewer. Soon, I glanced at the clock and realized I should really get back to packing. Here’s where the real “memory” came in…I realized I was stuck with two sleeping children on my lap…what to do??? 
Just another note on twins/babies. Jacob performed a funeral on Saturday. The man who died and his twin brother were born 59 years ago in Savoonga. His eulogy stated that they were born premature and placed in loaf pans surrounded by feathers and kept warm near the fire. Their father kept them alive by massaging their tiny bodies for 3 days! I just thought that was a pretty amazing story to share.

Making Sense

Logan and Owen have entered the “Why?” stage and really want to figure everything out. I love this inquisitive time of life and make it my own little personal challenge to see how many “why’s” I can answer before I get stumped! I’ve also noticed that the boys are beginning to come up with their own reasons for why things are the way they are…some answers are pretty good…others are just quite hilarious.

A few nights ago, the boys were sorting through Jacob’s “shell collection”. Jacob came across a larger shell and he was trying to get them to hear the ocean. Logan said he could hear it, so Owen tried. He couldn’t hear it, so finally he said, “Maybe it’s out of batteries.”

This morning, Logan urgently called me into the room to tell me, “MAMA…MAMA…these socks are getting smaller and smaller!” Nope…I’m thinking your feet are getting bigger and bigger! :)

Laughter

I think most who read this blog have already heard that we are transitioning out of Savoonga on February 22nd and moving to Bickleton, WA where Jacob will be pastor of the church there. While it will be hard to leave Savoonga, we feel good about the decision and are excited to settle into life in Bickleton. So now I am realizing that we have just over 2 weeks to get a lot done! Things are going pretty well, but I realize now and then that I’m a bit on the stressed/irritable side…but how can I remain that way long, really, with my two comedic children!:) Today was one of those days that was really busy, but it seemed like at every tense moment, one of the boys would say or do something to make me laugh and keep things in perspective. This evening, I was bathing Owen when he said something amusing once again. I said, “I should have named you, `one who makes me laugh’!” As I was pondering what the Yupik name would be that held such meaning, Owen got a big smile on his face and I smiled in return, just in time for him to scoop up an entire cupful of water and throw it in my face! He laughed hysterically and said, “Me make you laugh!” I was in such incredible shock and so mixed as to respond with great anger or laughter. My life was put into perspective again by the sheer joy of my 3-year old and knowing it probably wasn’t the smartest thing to do (from a discipline standpoint) I exploded with laughter. (We had a little chat about how, while I was truly laughing then, I would not find it funny to have a repeat dousing tomorrow night!) I thank God for children to help me remember what’s really worth fretting about in life...and to keep me humble!