Green Toes

First of all, sorry to show off my beautiful feet, but I have to show what Caroline's been up to.

She's obsessed with markers, these days, that sweet Caroline. Today when I came home, there was a quick "Hi Daddy" then an assertive clamp around by ankles with "Don't move!" as she whipped out her green marker and decorated my toes.

I've gotten the special Caroline spa treatment for the last three days, and so have Hannah and Eliza. Ian won't stand for it...

May every day be so sweet, and may I have the Grace to enjoy each one!

A Special Night

Tonight was a landmark night, one that I remember clearly having with my father when I was seven. Tonight I gave Ian his very own Bible. He was very happy about it and immediately dove in, declaring "Dad, I'm going to read the entire book of Genesis by the end of September!" He promptly snuggled into his bean bag chair and started reading, with periodic quizzes about what chapter I thought he was on already. Inevitably, he was farther ahead than I thought. I left him reading chapter 10 about the tower of Babel.

First, though, was the question that I knew had to be coming at some point, but I was so completely not expecting it tonight.

Ian - "Dad, what's 'sexual relations?'"

Me - "Uh, where did you read it?"

Ian - "Cain had sexual relations with his wife." (Gen 4:17) "

Me - "Well there's more to come on this later, but for now let's just say that's how a husband and wife relate to each other, like hugging and kissing, and eventually it's how they have a baby together."

Long pregnant pause...

Me - "Does that make sense to you?"

Ian - "What?"

Me - "What I just explained."

Ian - "Oh. Yeah, that's fine."

No big deal. That was that. Nothing to be scared of...

Anyway, I've just gone to check in on him and tell him to turn out the lights and go to sleep. He's read through chapter 12, and wants to try to finish Genesis tonight (50 chapters in all, folks). How can I forbid that? May he continue to have this enthusiasm all of his days!

Real Men teach their daughters plumbing repair skills!

One of the nicest Daddy Magic moments is working on a fix-it project with a little helper. After a very fun father-daughter date to Lowe's today to pick up a new faucet to replace our drippy one in the bathroom, I got involved in something else, I forget what, and returned to the bathroom to find Eliza already unpacking the supplies and ready for action. It's Daddy Magic that turns a little princess:

Into a Jr. Plumber. This is what my dad would call "some serious Q-time."

It's Tae Kwon Do Time!

We've been waiting for a long time, and it's finally here: Olympic Tae Kwon Do is available online. Last fall, we started Ian in classes at a local Tae Kwon Do school. The structure, the challenge, the exercise, and the character training have all bee very good for him. Check him out at his first belt test.  His instructor, Cathy Chapaty, has a special place in her heart for attention challenged kids and has taken a special interest in Ian. I had never seen Ian so proud as he was after that first test. Even the video rocks: catch the wink!

Most recently there was the orange belt test. He broke his board on the first try after overcoming some major heebie-jeebies.

I have tried to encourage him as much as possible in this pursuit, since it has been so good for him. In fact, his instructor offered to give me and another dad private lessons in exchange for substitute teaching in the fall semester. To me, this was a no-brainer. I've always had a repressed desire to learn a martial art, and rather than just live it vicariously through my son, I can jump in and join him in it.

Last Monday was my first class, and I'm sore from the workout, but excited about the new connection that I'm building with my son. Our hope is that this will be another consistent and positive way to have fun and grow together.

Intro to Daddy Magic

Welcome to Daddy Magic! I've realized that I have things to blog about that don't quite fit into the feel of Chubby GrumGrum, so I started a new blog to share experiences, advice, etc. about the adventures of fatherhood to three wonderful, smart, spirited children. Many times I've excused myself from writing because my topic didn't fit. No More!

I'll start with a little window into evening times, because I've realized a little window has opened, and I don't know how long the opening will last. In the last few months I've been struggling to keep things positive with my oldest, so I've been searching for opportunities to make deposits and spend one-on-one time with him. Although I don't remember the details, there was some crisis that we had that made me sort of desperate to make a change, so I decided to start reading a chapter of the Bible with him at night. Surprise of all surprises, he really took to it, and we have read 14 chapters so far from the Gospel of Mark. We take turns reading short sections out loud to each other. At the end, if there is an opportunity, I may open a short discussion with him, but I really try hard not to push this because I know it could be a turn off. Although we haven't read together ever night, I've never yet had any resistance to Bible reading together. I'll treasure and take advantage of the opportunity as long as I can.

Then if there's time, we've also been reading from The Lantern Bearers, by Rosemary Sutcliff. It's a historical fiction set in the years immediately following the Roman withdrawal from Britain. Aquila, the protagonist, starts the story as an officer in one of the Roman auxilliary legions, but he deserts and chooses to stay behind when the Romans depart. The story unfolds as he becomes wrapped up in the struggle between the largely Christian Britons who remain and the Saxon newcomers, including the complex dynamics between Vortigern and Hengest. Once again, I'm enjoying Sutcliff's rich historical background and colorful, quiet descriptions of people and landscapes.