73. Big Sister

Today is my big sister's birthday. Sure, the grown-up way to say that would be "my older sister" but that's not how we roll. She's my big sis. The one who looked out for me even when I was a pest. The 17-year-old that 13-year-old-me wanted to become. The sister who tried to set me straight when I was a self-centered butthead. The big sis who became my best friend. She's the person I shared Europe with (including all the clothes we took there). We captured Canawkwards together and posed at palaces together. We crossed a superscaryhigh bridge together to get to Cinderella's castle. We held a baby tiger together. We stayed up late and woke up early playing games together on Christmas Eve (so many times!!!). We prepared a fabulous Harry Potter Feast together. We braved Walmart on a Christmas Eve Saturday together. We played balloon volleyball and fruit basket tip over together. We throwed rolls together. We read Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows out loud all night long together. We sobbed while watching Independence Day together (we were sick; give us a break). 

She's my big sister and always will be. So here's to her birthday and many more to come!

72. Potty Training

Thomas is potty training. Right now he is taking a nap. He has no diaper on. I am equal parts frustrated, tired, and terrified of what I will find when naptime is over. I have prepared by using my nap time freedom to sort the dirty laundry. If I find this method has been unsuccessful, I will (hopefully) quickly be able to erase the evidence and start afresh. If his bed somehow manages to come out of this poop-free I will be one step closer to having clean laundry! It's a win-win, right? 

Mostly I'm terrified.

71. Lazarus

Mary, Martha, Lazarus

Lived a life not hazardous,

But Laz got sick and died one day.

The girls were sad he'd gone away.

Jesus came. They wept, "too late.

He's passed on through the pearly gate."

"Martha, Mary, cry no more,"

Jesus called Laz to the door.

Out he came all wrapped in white;

Must have been an awesome sight.

You must have faith just as he said

When Jesus raised Laz from the dead.

70. Jessa and the Beanstalk (4)

Four days of clear skies had me anxious and miserable. I yearned to know if cloudy skies would herald the return of my wonderland. But finally on the fifth day the clouds began to gather once again. As I worked my mother's fields I kept my eyes toward the great boulder that marked my freedom. Would my ladder rise? Or was my adventure ended long before I was ready? In agony I waited, watching the sky darken slowly. Oh, so slowly. 

But then, I saw it. Above the tops of the corn rows, my green escape rose. It crept higher and higher and higher until it disappeared among the clouds. My mother beside me took no notice of it, as if it wasn't even there. It was my beanstalk. Only mine.

I tiptoed away from my mother, backing as quietly as I could into the yellow fields. When I was certain she could no longer see me, I ran. 

I flew through the close fields, tearing leaves and stalks as I ran, but I didn't care. I didn't care if I was scratched or bruised or torn. I didn't care if I looked wild. My kingdom was calling.

69. Hobby Lobby

Hobby Lobby, you're the one,
You make craft time lots of fun,
Hobby Lobby, I'm awfully fond of you;
(woh woh, bee doh!)
Hobby Lobby, joy of joys,
When I search you, I find toys!
Hobby Lobby, you're my very best friend, it's true!
(doo doo doo doooo, doo doo)
Every day when I
Make my way to the Lobby
I find a little project that's
Cute or maybe a cubby
(rub-a-dub-a-dubby!)
Hobby Lobby, you're so fine
And I'm lucky that you're mine
Hobby Lobby, I'm awfully fond of you.

Hobby Lobby, you're so fine
And I'm lucky that you're mine
Hobby Lobby, I'm awfully fond of -
Hobby Lobby, I'd like a whole mall of -
Hobby Lobby I'm awfully fond of you!
(doo doo, be doo.)

68.Jessa and the Beanstalk (3)

I woke in the morning excited to revisit my shining haven, but my window showed only blue skies. There was not a cloud in sight.

And there was no beanstalk. 

"Had it all been a dream?" I wondered as I raced through the fields to the boulder that marked my ladder's root.  There, tucked neatly in the shadows of the stone, a tiny tendril, barely longer than my thumb, rose from the dirt. It was innocent, unassuming. But it was mine. 

67. Jessa and the Beanstalk (2)

All around me, white clouds floated, gathered, swirled, formed. I reached my hand out cautiously and found the clouds moved at the touch of my hand. Where I pushed the cloud, it moved. Where I released my hand, the cloud stayed. I reached a foot out and stepped lightly. The cloud gathered beneath my bare foot as if it were solid ground. Tentatively I released my hold on the beanstalk. Held up only by the streaming clouds around me, I left the safety of my stalk and began to explore. There was no end to my shining wonderland. I was alone. No voice, no bird, no insect penetrated the silence. Here, I was queen. 

As I walked among my fluffy domain, forms unfolded beneath my palms. I created hills and valleys, fields of open air. I delved into the thickest clouds to form caves of shimmering opacity. This world was mine and I molded it to reflect my dreams. 

In time. The light began to dwindle. I realized I had spent all day creating my cloudy kingdom. Mother would be worried if I did not return for supper, so I rushed for my earthly tether and scurried down its shaft. As I passed through the floor of my kingdom, color exploded around me, the Hurd more vivid to my eyes than I had ever noticed before. In my kingdom, all flowed white. Below, the variant vibrancy overwhelmed my vision. I forced my eyes shut and let my fingers and toes guide me back to the ground.