Big, round eyes. Long, delicate fingers. Almost bald, in Dunphey-baby terms.
Quick to smile the biggest of smiles. Quick to coo and babble in every adorable way.
Not perfectly easy, and certainly not hard: she cries when her world’s not right and quiets when you snuggle her close and pat her back.
Did I mention quick to smile? Those big blue eyes are always looking for someone’s smile.
So pretty. So sweet. And so big, so fast.
Yesterday morning, around 3:30am, this sweet girl marked seven weeks with us.
She loves nothing more than smiling and cooing. She is simply a doll. Our sweet Fiona-girl, as William always refers to her.
Late evening chats are her favorite. Maybe mine, too.
So true. And some hours, the needing is extra-strong.
There have been a few of those the last few days. Thursday evening, as I was putting dinner on the table, I realized that a part of me was still just waiting to get the day started. I had been “catching up” on the stuff of life all day, just waiting to get things caught up enough to begin our day’s routine. And it never happened.
Huh.
Good thing we get to try again every 24 hours!
But the really, really good thing?
That those days that never get “started” because they’re so “interrupted” — those days can still count. Interruptions and unexpected happenings are only interrupting and unexpected to us. God knows our days. Our times are in His hands. And His beautiful, good, profound work in our hearts and in the lives we touch — that doesn’t get interrupted by any curve balls life throws our way.
And when our cranky response to those curve balls does threaten to stall His work? We don’t have to wait 24 hours to try again. Repentance, grace, and help are always right there. Wide open. Just waiting.
*****
Some goodness:
Stop. Are you kidding? Those perfect fingers, plump cheeks, sweet lips? Beautiful.
Jameson left our second freezer wide open, and I discovered it 24 hours later. Yup, that was my Thursday. London broil for dinner, chicken baked and stashed in the freezer for another day, roasted turkey and lamb for the work crew down the road at my Mom’s. And interruption that worked out to be a blessing.
Me, feeling badly about not getting the school books out while cleaning the mess of a thawing freezer and cooking meat like a madwoman — look over and realize Jameson has created a football field from paper, duplos, and Lego men, and he and William played all day. That was way more creative than any lesson plan I had.
Two handsome boys. Two. Ready for the first day of Friday School. So big.
And so cute.
Beautiful CSA bounty. It feels like the best gift, every single week.
Cooking. I like to be in my kitchen.
And this? No matter how busy the day, no matter how little I get to just sit with my baby, I know that this will eventually happen. I love my Fiona-girl.
Her aunties love her, too. Her sweet face popped up in my feed last night. I said to myself, Yes. Yes, she is beautiful.
This morning, she woke up and celebrated her 6th week with us. It’s raining and cold and very October-ish. So she wears the sweater knit just for Dunphey #4 by my friend, Carol. It’s just the thing for a sweet babe.
And while Daddy and Jameson showered and dressed and headed off to church, the rest of us got wool socks and sweatshirts to layer on our pj’s. Vitamin C, chicken broth, afghans, and rest.
Rest.
Even on the busy days. The interrupted days. The I-can’t-quite-catch-up-days. There is an invitation to just rest.
I love Upstate New York. (And by Upstate, I mean upstate. Westchester County doesn’t count.) I love living in the wide space of the St. Lawrence valley, I love the rhythms of farm life all around me, I love the seasons and colors and variety of the year, and I love the blue haze of mountains in the distance.
This weekend, we got to celebrate autumn a bit.
First, apples. The first Cortland of the season, just picked that day, with locally made fresh cheese curd. Enjoyed at a picnic table with these favorites:
And apple cider donuts, still crispy from the hot oil bath from whence they came.
Second, mountains. Yesterday, we packed up our four kids, our friends packed up their four kids, and together, we shocked the world with our small-human population! With lunches packed, we journeyed a short distance into the Adirondacks and enjoyed trails just perfect for young explorers and strollers alike. We passed lean-tos and bridges that brought back fond memories from my childhood days, and watching my kids enjoy the world in the same way was just too fun. The sky was blue, the temps warm (thus the white undershirt gang!), and the trees at their peak of color. Three hours later, we parents were warm and tired — and the boys were ready for Round Two.
Yesterday, Fiona celebrated one month of life with us.
