Make New Friends...

While sitting by the pool watching the children at play or waiting for Molly to awake from a nap in a deck chair, I have been reading devouring the latest book penned by Dr. Dobson called, Bringing Up Girls: Practical Advice and Encouragement for Those Shaping the Next Generation of Women.  

I have learned much about the female brain thus far as Dr. Dobson introduces vast amounts of research and then provides explanation of the same in an easily readable and fascinating fashion.  

I have, while looking over the top of my book, observed some of the results of the research on girls taking place before my eyes as I watch a particular little girl at play in the swimming pool.

In a chapter entitled "Why She is Who She Is" Dr. Louann Brizendine, author of The Female Brain, tells of girls' valuing of relationships saying:

If you're a girl, you've been programmed to make sure you keep social harmony.  This is a matter of life and death to the brain...From their earliest days, they [girls] live most comfortably and happily in the realm of peaceful interpersonal connections....It happened with Leila and her new friends on the playground.  Within a few minutes of meeting they were suggesting games, working together, and creating a little community.  They found a common ground that led to shared play and possible friendship."

Dr. Brizendine may well have been talking about Kate, the creator of community at our hotel complex this week.


Though under the strict supervision of her father and I, Kate has somehow managed to befriend a small army of children and parents alike.  My Man and I are frequently "stationed" at separate areas within the swimming pool/lazy river/hot tub areas of our hotel.  Kate is the one who has made this necessary as she flits and floats from pool to pool and river to river.  Maintaining her intricate network of contacts has made her travels necessary.

While in our sites, or while floating from my Man's zone to mine, Kate will stop and talk to a mom of a toddler, asking how old the child is and will often move the conversation on to the child's bathing suit or flip-flops.  I watch the mother look at Kate initially in disbelief that a child her age would speak to an adult.  Soon, however, the woman will find herself telling Kate where the child's bathing suit or flip-flops were purchased and how long ago.  Kate might add a comment or two about her own family or her own flip flops.  Soon, one of Kate's keepers will move in and release Kate's new friend from the conversation and set Kate's sights back onto the pool.  

While she's in the pool, our Social Barracuda organizes boys and girls alike into games with water guns and toys or into make believe play.  They have "activity counselors" who work at our hotel whose jobs could be in jeopardy if the management finds out that Kate will perform the same services just for the privilege letting her through the gate to meet and greet folks.


I was with Molly and Kate in one of the baby pools when a lady walked by and thanked Kate for letting her child play with some of Molly's toys and return the toys to her with a big smile.  This has happened over and over this week, most of the moms stop with a comment to me about what a nice little girl we have.  Kate will then grin at me wordlessly as if to say, "I know, I know...I shouldn't have talked to them, but really, they needed my help."


My Man was floating in the lazy river with Kate when a cry was heard.  Kate soon located the origination of the sound and scrambled to free herself from the pool float and hop out of the flowing water.  Her father asked her where she was going to which she answered, "Dad, that boy crying over there is one of my friends and I need to go help him!" It was evident that the boy's father had the matter well in hand, however, so Kate was detained.

"Well, how are YOU this morning?" I heard as I was marching my little ducks onto the pool deck a day or two ago.  I turned to see if the question was directed to me but of course, it was for Kate.  A mother of another of Kate's friends was giving our middle daugher a smiling greeting.  Kate paused to ask where her kids were and to comment on the woman's shoes.  

Later, that morning, I looked up from my pool chair to see four children on a fourth floor balcony.  The children were in various states of hanging on or creeping up the rail of the balcony.  Hotel workers and guests were yelling warnings to the kids to stay off the banister and to scoot back from the edge.  They were making everyone very nervous.  "What a crew," I thought, "where are the parents?"


Thirty minutes later, I saw one of the same little boys from the balcony leading his family onto the pool deck.  As they were passing by my chair one-by-one, I heard a familiar voice ask, "So, how old are all you guys?"  Kate had joined the line right behind the child closest to her size, with an eager welcome for the unruly gang, and was ready to give them the orientation tour!

It's a good thing we packed loads of snacks.  On many occasions, Kate has graced me with her presence just long enough to ask for a baggie or two or three of chips or pretzels or popcorn to share with her "gang" as Meg as been referring to Kate and her cohorts. I've been surprised about how many parents will allow their children to eat food from a complete stranger's pool bag!  Kate, not so surprised, just keeps dishing out the Doritos! 

Just this morning as Megan walked on to our family's balcony to gauge the weather conditions, Kate yelled from the next room, "Hey Meg, while you're out there, check and see if my friend's tent is set up yet.  It's a blue one that they brought from home.  They set it up down there every day!" Kate gathered this bit of info while I was setting up our beach site (the only morning we set up on the beach).  I thought I had called her away from the nice family soon enough, but I guess she got off a few questions with the time she had to work with!


One of Kate's friends just flagged me down and pointing to his head said, "Hey! She said I could use her goggles! Oh, my name is Zachary." 


Soon Zach had finished with the lime green goggles and another fellow arrived and asked Kate to borrow them.  "Sure," she said immediately, "lemme fix 'em for you so they fit you right."  To Zachary she yelled, "Hey!  You want a snack?"

I'm cultivating a secret plan to send Kate to Dr. Dobson for a week or so next summer.  I'll be very interested in seeing the research material that will surely result from that visit.

On Vacation I Promise...

Children, before we get into the van please gather round and raise your right hands.

Now, repeat after me:

I promise...
...to sleep at least a little bit in the car on the way. This shouldn't be too difficult seeing as you were all too excited to sleep last night.

...not to complain about being bored on the long care ride. Our family van has more entertainment features than the homes where Mommy and Daddy grew up.

...not to throw-up in the car. It's just not cool.

...to make use of the available facilities when they are available, not 5 minutes after they were available.

...to keep Molly supplied with pacifiers (implements of joy) while in the van AT ALL TIMES.  This is the sworn duty of the sibling in the seat nearest to Molly. Do your family proud!

...while in the car I will not invade the space of my sibling. As our travels progress and we grow a bit weary, it will be advisable to refrain from even looking in one another's direction.


...when it is Mommy's turn to drive not to pretend to be frightened. This is silly. Mommy is a good driver. You are safe.


...not to ask "are we there yet?" 462 times in the first hour of the trip. This will not cause the time to pass more quickly.  Quite the opposite!  Your pilot will do his best to keep you informed of our hourly progress.  If you need information more often, please refer to Jane (that's what we've named our GPS lady. It seemed like anyone who talked more in the car than the kids deserved a name), who will tell you the estimated time of arrival at our "DESTINATION"!  Jane always sounds so proud of us when we ARRIVE.

...not to complain about sunscreen or sunSCREAM as you  call it. Your father and I understand that it is ooey and sticky and that it takes what seems like an eternity to apply. Your father and I also know how painful a sunburn is, as much of our childhood days occurred before sunscreen was invented. You will wear the sunscreen!

...not to make any comments about how Mommy looks in her swimsuit. I am traumatized enough already.

(No picture here...you are indeed welcome! :-)

...understand that there absolutely WILL be spashing at the pool. Be forewarned, I am powerless to make Daddy stop.

...to go willingly to the beach to play in the sand with Daddy-no matter how much you'd rather be in the lazy river at the hotel. We know YOU prefer the pool. Daddy, however,  prefers the beach. He loves to catch a wave or two on the boogie board and build sandcastles with you. Enjoy it. Soon he will be to old to play this way.

...to go with the flow.

...to have a great time.

...to know how much your parents love you and cherish spending this time away with you (before you go and get all grown up and have limited space in your own family van and are unable to take us with you and your family on vacation no matter how good we promise to behave!).

Do you promise??
Alrighty then...let's go!

Has It Really Been a Year?

One year ago I began blogging at the recommendation of my sister who suggested that it would be a new and creative way to record family memories.  Now, 138 blog posts later, I am confident that this year is sufficiently recorded and oft remembered.


Many mornings I arrive in the kitchen to find my oldest two hunkered over the computer screen reading and remembering some of their adventures or some of their parent's missteps.  
An entire new vocabulary has been introduced into our "family-speak" regarding The Wright Place blog.  Often, when I think I've secretly snapped a picture of a child doing something odd or remarkable, one of the kids can be heard announcing, "Consider yourself blogged," or "YOU have just been blogged."  


There have been moments when I couldn't get to the computer fast enough to record a memory.  Conversely, there have been days when I was unable to find a single thing to record.  My "picture folder" on the computer still bulges with un-blogged pictures and ideas that have never quite made it to the surface of my mother-logged brain.  Yet, that first evening one year ago, when I sat at the computer to "blog" the words just appeared on the page.  These words...

In a family of six, bedtime is either pure calm or complete chaos. Molly is 9 months old today. Kate is a bouncing four years. Meg is nine, a new nine, toes on the edge of all that makes one a young lady. Cole, ever the old soul is ten. I'm not certain how it is that we've been parents for a decade, but it seems that we have. 

I sat in Molly's nursery tonight at bedtime and watched what looked much like ants in an anthill as the "big kids" scurried to and fro while Darrin attempted to put them into bed. It seemed that each time he put one into bed another would "pop up" and appear out into the hallway and then disappear into another room only to be shooed back to their own room eventually. I watched all of this from the rocking chair holding a freshly awakened Molly who was wise enough not to miss this show.

Finally, everyone was kissed, tucked in and prayed with and Darrin and I walked gently down the stairs fully expecting to be followed by at least an ant or two.

A quick year seems to have passed from late that May to late this May.  Much is the same, the ants will, from time to time, still follow us down the stairs after having been tucked in and Molly still enjoys a bit of rocking before bed every now and then, but not nearly often enough.  Meg, now a new ten, is more confident in what makes one a young lady.  Cole, still an old soul in many ways, is showing some signs of the teen-who-is-to-come.  Kate is a sassy five-year-old and is this year, just as she was last year, looking forward to another (to use her own words,) "FLIP-FLOP summer!"


All of us would like to say a GREAT BIG THANK YOU to all who read of our adventures.  We cherish the comments you post, the kind words you share with us in person, and the knowledge that there are people "out there" who are, in a manner, journeying with us.  We appreciate the time you spend reading about this crazy family of six and are often amazed that you keep clicking in our direction.  So, thanks.  Thanks and onward into Year #2!

Books to Go

A few weeks ago, my Man took me with him as he attended the Basics Conference near Cleveland, Ohio.  I had been looking forward to this trip for some months and thought that the date would never arrive.  
As our time to travel together crept up on us, I began ordering books from the library and picking up a book or two here and there so that I would be ready to nestle down under the covers of a quiet hotel bed full of fluffy hotel pillows and READ!
Our hotel room was perfect, bright and inviting. Here's a tour...

 I had plenty of reading material to keep me entertained while my Man was at the conference...

Looks like a huge selection for just a few days away, however, one never knows in what kind of reading "mood" she will find herself!


Our hotel was a few short miles from a large bookstore, so after dropping my Man at his conference the first day, I followed the GPS to Borders Books.  I bought a book that was recently recommended to me and read little else.  Pictures at an Exhibition by Sara Houghteling is a novel about the search for art stolen by the Nazis at the end of the Second World War.  It was a so-so read, but one that once started I felt compelled to finish.

I also added many new titles to my stack while traveling.  I found these at a used bookstore:

The Book Thief

Little Bee

Mollie Peer

Away: A Novel

I found more than a few treasures at the bookstore in the church where the Basics Conference took place:

Family Worship (Family Guidance series) by Joel Beeke
God's Alphabet for Life: Devotions for Young Children also by Joel Beeke

Good Manners for Today's Kids by Emilie Barnes

and two from my favorite "series"...the Journibles. Journibles are much like the blank journals you find all over the place, blank inside with lined pages.  These journals however, have a different purpose.  The series is called The 17:18 Series, named for Deuteronomy 17:18 in which Moses gives instructions to the future kings of Israel.  

"The king is commanded to not simply acquire a copy of the law from the 'scroll publishing house,' but to hand-write his own copy of the law....Thirty-four hundred years later, educators are 'discovering' that students that physically write out their notes by hand have a much greater retention rate than simply hearing or visually reading the information.  Apparently, God knew this to be true of the kings of Israel also.  From such understanding came the conception of this series of books."

~Rob Wynalda, Journible Designer

My Man gave me my first Journible for Christmas, the book of John, and I've been enjoying a much richer time with the Word ever since.  It was with great delight that I rounded the corner at Books on the Park to find an entire shelf-full of these wonderful study tools.  I can now claim three.  John, Romans, and Galatians~2 Thessalonians.  After a few weeks of copying Romans, I have gained, among other things, a new appreciation for the beauty of the language used in that ancient book.  To find out more about Journibles, click on the word Journible or on the link: www.heritagebooks.org  to view everything that this excellent publisher has to offer.

I shall forever refer to this little getaway as "My Book Retreat."  My time away to experience some rest and relaxation turned in to an experience of reading, relaxing and reloading (my bookshelf, that is).

Good friends, good books and a sleepy conscience:  this is the ideal life. 

 ~Mark Twain

Mamma's Strawberry Shortcake

Last week my Man and I took a short trip for a pastor's conference.  We "farmed-out" the kids to both sets of our parents.  When we met Pappa and Mamma to pick up Cole after our trip, Pappa gave us the most beautiful strawberries that he'd picked.  They were big and sweet and...

 ...juicy!

This single act of sharing set into motion strawberry cravings of large proportions which sent us off to the store for more strawberries.  The berries at the store were also big and sweet and juicy.

We decided that there was nothing left to do but make one of Mamma's simple and delicious shortcakes. 

Unfortunately, as I gathered the ingredients, I discovered that I was out of baking powder. Then I did what every modern housewife does when in a pickle, I stepped to the computer and Googled the possible substitutions for baking powder.  

A simple substitution was possible from what I had in stock, so onward we charged.  The recipe is simple, straightforward, and can be made without a mixer.  

(Without an electric mixer anyway. The mixer used for this recipe is none other than Strawberry Short-Kate!)

The recipe is also included at the bottom of this post.

First the flour...

Then the clever baking powder substitute which is for one teaspoon of baking powder, substitute 1/2 teaspoon cream of tarter and 1/4 teaspoon baking soda. 

 (Doubled in this recipe that calls for 2 teaspoons of baking powder.)

Add sugar and salt, and stir with fork or whisk until well combined.

Next come the wet ingredients:  milk, very soft butter, and an egg.

Stir together until very stiff batter/dough is formed.

Place in a greased 8 or 9 inch round pan and bake for about 20 minutes at 400 degrees.

Meanwhile on the other side of the kitchen...

Strawberry Girl is capping strawberries with a spoon.

A spoon and some "Hello Blue" fingernails!

Once capped, the berries are sliced with my Pampered Chef egg slicer.  

Don't ya love a good multi-tasker?

...and bright blue nails?

Sliced and ready to go, sugar (about 1/2 to 3/4 cup) is added to "bring on the juice"!

If you can stand to let them sit for a minute or ten, the strawberries will reward you with some wonderful red juice. 

All the better to pour over the warm shortcake that has just finished baking...

We like to cut ours into wedges and then cut each wedge in half like a sandwich before loading it down with the strawberries.

Looks like perfection?  Almost...

It can't be totally complete without a scoop or two of ice cream and maybe some milk or some whipped cream to finish it off.

Strawberry Girl likes hers with the works!

Strawberry Short-Kate wants little more than the berries themselves.  But she DOES want her very own bowl.

So does her Daddy.

We made two shortcakes and enjoyed one of them with strawberries and milk the next morning too!  Here's the recipe:

2 cups flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

6 Tablespoons sugar

3/4 cup milk

3 Tablespoons very soft butter

1 egg

(My Mother-in-law says to dot the top of the shortcake with butter before you bake it for a golden crust.)

Bake for 20 minutes at 400 degrees. Enjoy!!