the Twins Show Themselves to Be Sinners

Shock of shocks (not really). My sweet babies show jealousy and throw temper tantrums. I can see that being a mom of twins doesn't get any easier or less complicated once they sleep through the night and feed themselves. During the hard times, of which there are plenty, it is comfort to know that God is Sovereign and will somehow bring glory to Himself through me.

Just now I heard one (I think Sadie) crying upstairs. We had put them down to sleep together for the second night in a row, and they spent some time talking to each other, and then one decided it was time to sleep but the other wanted to continue the chat. Mark checked in on them and found one crying and the other standing up smiling. Rascals. He moved Sophie, whom I believe to have been the standing, smiling rascal. We'll eventually bite the bullet and make them learn to sleep together at night, but until Mark is out of school I'm not pushing it.

I'm also not pushing Grace's potty training. She could have been potty-trained a year ago if I had persevered, but I was pregnant and tired and packing and generally distracted with details of our move, so I let it go. And then I was the new mom of twins and tired and unpacking and generally distracted with life, so I continued to let it go. Her training will also happen when Mark is out of school.

Things to Do This Summer

1. Potty train Grace
2. Make Twins Sleep in Same Bedroom
3. Finish Unpacking
4. Organize linen closet (and every other closet in the house)
5. Go mountain biking
6. Swim
7. Read
8. Learn

The boys are a little upset that their school year is not ending, but I reminded them tonight that it just began a few weeks ago. They won't have to do spelling, and I might give them a break from math, but I will continue to read to them. They will read on their own, do copywork, memorize poetry and Bible verses, and we will continue learning Spanish. I might require Mark to teach Ben piano--something other than The Entertainer. If he doesn't comply, I've threatened to teach Ben Fur Elise. Heh heh.

As for me, my schooling is just beginning in earnest. I love to read, but each successive child took more and more of my time, and I stopped reading as much (at least as much meant for adults), and my brain began to atrophy. I was teaching them, of course, but I wasn't learning anything new, and I was getting to feel stupid.

Then I began to learn about birds. Can you believe I didn't even know what a Robin looked like?! We had flocks of them in our yard this spring, and I had to search in my bird book to see what they were.

I recently bought a book called The Singing Life of Birds which is fascinating. The author has done copious amounts of research on birdsong over the last thirty-five years, and this book is a layman's look at his findings. It is not without faults, however. In one place he goes on and on and on about how a particular bird (I forget which one)uses two voice boxes to produce a rapid succession of notes and how involved this process is. Then a couple of pages away he spews forth nonsense on the evolution of birds. In another place he admits that for some it is easier to believe in Creation (although that word is not used) than to believe birds evolved from gunk to highly complex animals capable of astounding feats of song. (Ya think!)Besides this inconsistency, it is awesome. Awesome used in its correct sense here, I believe. God's design for birdsong is nothing short of awesome.

Reading books written on an adult level, thinking about new things, grappling with new ideas, in short, learning, is extremely satisfying. I really meant it when I put "Learn" on my To Do list. So what are you learning right now?