conversations with elijah

(after nap)
"elijah, mommy loooooves you!"
"...oh, reaaaallly?"

(at bedtime)
"oh! looky stars mommy! up in sky... like BIRDS!"

(faking hurt)
"oh, owie owieneedbandaid?"

(touching my belly)
"open up get simon out?"

(tracing my face with his finger)
"you're like toby square!"

(always when passing the field of hay and tractors)
"Jesus on the cross took our sins away..."

(reciting alphabet)
a b Jesus e f g
h i j k lmno c
u r x d u b
trouble-you x
y
and c...

7 years of wedded bliss...

15 years of knowing
5 years of bebes
4 addresses...

a glimpse of where and how we live now...
5 minute drives to the beach
25 cent Thomas the Train rides
...(okay it's a converted tractor but the impact is the same)
the moon in our bedroom window as bright as a beacon
...(shining right on sleeping elijah, us joking he's a werewolf)
the stars as vivid as a constellation map
fields of sunflowers and hay
baby turtles
a cloud watching hill in our yard
bluegills, perch, rock bass
seashell collections
a 150-year-old church

so much to capture...
one evening we went to the beach on a whim after church
it had thundered all morning, but for some reason the sun came out
we walked on the soggy shoreline
the water was amazingly calm and warm
and i FORGOT the camera! so i burned images into my mind...
luci and i found huge shells everywhere
how could that be on a lake and not an ocean?
the shallow water currents formed channels into the sand
minnows were getting trapped in those pools
also a slender peninsula of sand rose out of the water
and extended for about 12 feet from the shore
and when luci stepped onto it
she appeared to be walking on water
golden sunlight hitting her back
lij kept pointing at his sandy feet
"dirty!"
yet he chased the stork-like birds wandering around
"let's follow the chick tracks!" luci exclaimed
..."mommy, your footprints are sooo big!"

testing

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