Musings with Clark

Clark is a boy who wakes up with a smile on his face and greets me every morning between 6:30 and 7:15 with a request for cereal. The remainder of the day is filled with cutting out pieces of paper to give as gifts, playing various games in different ways than they have every been played, but what keeps everyone entertained (mostly) are the words coming out of his mouth.

The sweet: I remember Christmas morning at our house. I'm still in my pajamas a little groggy, the kids have torn through all of their presents, and things have settled. Clark and I are alone in the room, he jumps into my arms as I sit on the couch and he whispers in my ear "I just love getting new toys".

The thoughtful: On one of their many trips to the mall Andrea and Clark stopped by The Disney Store. After shopping and playing for a while Andrea thought she could really impress Clark by telling him that she used to work at The Disney Store when she was younger. He helped her finish the story by saying "and then you grew up and became a mommmy".

The practical: I was in the nursery with Lydia and I overheard this exchange between Clark and Ryleigh. Ryleigh had just stubbed her toe on a stool in their bathroom and was hopping around saying ouch, ouch. Clark advised, "Next time Ryree instead of bonking into that, just move it out of your way".

The neverending: I would call this Clark's version of the old Abbott and Costello "Who's on First" routine. The dental office where Andrea works was having a baby shower. Since it was Friday, Clark didn't have school, but Andrea thought she could take Clark and Lydia and they would be entertained in the play room at the office. Andrea had been talking about the baby shower all week, and apparently that entire time Clark had been processing what exactly was going to take place. Friday morning he began asking questions: "will all of the babies take a shower", "are we going to shower our baby", "will we all be in the shower together", on and on and on. By the end of the day he was still trying to grasp the concept, and Andrea was just worn out. Of course I havn't been much help. We've tried to compare a shower to a party or a gathering. So when I describe the kids' collection of books, I call it a book shower. They are having pizza at Clark's school today which I described as pizza shower. I have no idea where he gets it.

Anytime we go to mom and dad's church someone comes up to me and repeats something my son has said, because they heard in a Sunday school lesson. Andrea and I have joked that we need to keep a tape recorder with us so the we can remember all of the funny things he says. I've only recalled 4 in this post, but I sure he has said 4 things this week that would make you laugh about monsters, or sword fights or cars or uncle Steeb (Steve). The key I guess is that I need to listen more, because it always makes me smile.

Tuesdays with Ryleigh

Tuesdays after school Ryleigh goes to ballet practice and I pick her up on my way home from work. I usually try to time it so that I leave work and get there just in time for class to be over, but I'm not sure why. On days like this most recent Tuesday when I get there early or class runs late I get to stand in the lobbby and watch as 6 and 7 year old girls plie, saute, and releve which are French terms for running, jumping, skipping and looking cute. Of course in the ballet studio there are mirrors all around so when I arrive and Ryleigh sees me in the mirror her face lights up with a great big smile which immediately adds an extra spring to her step. I don't stop smiling from the moment I arrive until long after she gives me the sticker she just received from her teacher and we recount her day during the car ride home.

Of course I don't have to tell any readers here that she is a beautiful young girl who has a body made for ballet. She is tall and slender, and her long flowing hair is pulled up into a bun for ballet. She looks so grown up especially in these pictures from the Nutcracker. Andrea tells me that Ryleigh took great care in holding the precise pose for these pictures, but see her jump and skip during free time at the end of practice dancing seems to come naturally to her.

Silver Dollar City

The more we go to Silver Dollar City, the more I enjoy it, for a variety of reasons. Like the previous post with the cowboy riding the longhorn, everyhthing there seems to have a positive message, and often time a Biblical message. This cowboy talked about how unusual it was to saddle up a longhorn, but that is because of preconceived ideas of about what this animal can do. You work with it, train it, spend time with it, believe in it, and you never know what you can accomplish. He compared this to raising children and how we sometimes put unnecessary limits on what they can achieve. He quoted several scriptures (sadly I have forgotten them at this point), but he took what could have simply been a few roping tricks and delivered a message of encouragement and inspiration.

We also spent time watching the blacksmith slowly and patiently form an iron rod and shape it into a rose decoration. Clark and Ryleigh were by my side asking questions, and observing the care with which this man worked. Throughout the park we watched as craftsman carefully shaped whatever medium they chose from carpenters to glass blowers even the candy makers. They weren't on some assembly line cranking out as many pieces as they could, but with every swing of the hammer or pass of the saw blade they were investing a little bit of themselves into the final product.

Even driving to the park you notice something different. There is only a 2 lane road to get in and out of the park. They probably could have leveled a few more trees or blasted away some of the hills to turn more landscape into asphalt, but they chose to leave the scenery intact. Traffic moves slow because there is always a line, but you can watch the squirrels playing in the trees while you wait.

Finally, we were there for church of Christ weekend which means that some of the several of the standard musical acts throughout the park were replaced with vocal groups from churchs or Christian colleges around the region. My family really enjoys Disney World, and we were at Frontier City 2 weeks ago, but I have never heard "When We All Get to Heaven" sung at either of those places.

Don't get me wrong, we go for the funnel cakes, skillets, roller coasters (Fire in the Hole!), and log rides too, but it's great to step back in time a slower pace even if is just for a day or two.

Some more pictures:


In summary, throwed rolls, horse lady with horse who stared at Ryleigh everytime he came to a stop, precious, precious, Andrea reliving her youth, the flying sombraro, my boy and my oldest, and exhausted boy happy to be home.

Ride 'em Cowboys!

I thought my OSU loving family members would appreciate this picture - A cowboy roping and riding a longhorn. Just one of many interesting sites at Silver Dollar City a few weeks ago.

Isn't Life Grand!

It doesn't get much better than this:

Where is Ryree?

(I originally starting writing this in late July, but it was never published.) This is a big week for Ryleigh. Andrea and I agreed to let her go with Grandma Susie and GrandPaul to Pepa's house for the week without her parents. Just the idea of letting her travel with someone else makes me nervous. She left Tuesday and I was sure Wednesday we would be getting a call that she was homesick and ready to come home. I had myself prepared, and I was almost eager for her to call for me to come pick her up because she missed us so much. Well that hasn't happened at all.

In fact quite the opposite has been true. When she gets a free moment in her day, or more likely, when we call her, she is bubbling over with joy. Not even a hint of sadness or I miss you guys so much. When pressed she will say she misses all of us (except for brother Clark), then she goes on to tell of shopping, sewing, fig-preserve making, reading, relaxing, staying up past her bed time, sleeping in late, and just having a great time. Too bad. Sure we have enjoyed a little extra quiet at our house, and taking care of 2 kids is easier than 3, but we are a family of 5 and when 1 is missing things just don't feel right. Poor Clark asks everyday where Ryleigh is and when he talks to her on the phone he asks her to 'stay in yours bed tonight Ryree'.

Wednesday night Clark kept asking for Ryleigh, so we would ask: Did we leave her at the restaurant? Nooo. Did we leave her in the car? Nooo. Did we leave her at church? Nooo. She'll be home soon and everything will be back to abnormal.

America the Beautiful