Bergen Hawkeye
Anyone can slay a dragon . . . but try waking up every morning and loving the world all over again. That's what it takes to be a real hero.
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Now What?
So, if love is a verb, how do you wrap that and stick it in your stocking? As the majority of our children are just beginning to enter the age of desiring to give Christmas gifts as well as get, we have been presented with a new dilemma. Last year we took all of the younger set to the infamous Dollar Tree and let each one pick out gifts for their siblings. It was fun. The kids loved picking out toys that each one would enjoy. But we ended up with 16 toys that were probably broken and disposed of before the new year, if not that very Christmas afternoon.…
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Forgotten
I watched a couple of old videos I found on our computer recently. In one of them, Bergen was talking and he was stuttering. Badly. “Do you remember Bergen stuttering a lot?” I asked my husband. Kevin looked surprised at my memory loss and as we talked I suddenly remembered more clearly. Yes, Bergen did have a serious stuttering problem when he was smaller. As in, relatives could not understand what he was saying. We often struggled to understand what he was saying. We tried to encourage him to slow down in his speech, to breathe before speaking, to pause and gather his thoughts. And then I remembered how I…
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okay
I was nursing Wilder. Bergen was hovering around. So far, perfectly normal. “Man,” Bergen says, “I sure wish I could try some of that milk.” You already did, son. You already did.
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Close Enough
Last week we visited our new favorite field trip place again – Pisgah National Forest and the Pisgah Wildlife Center. The kids attended a class about opossums. Apparently, Bergen was paying attention. Today I asked him to return some math toys to their proper basket. After he had completed his chore, he said, “Okay Mom – I have returned them to their native habitat.”
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Afternoon
This past weekend Riley volunteered to help at a local Farm Day with her classmates. The farm was beautiful. The barns and the mountain views made me miss sweet Virginia. The smell of the hay barn even made me miss the dairy farm on which I grew up. London, Mosely and Bergen passed around bunnies that were so cute I almost wanted one. Almost. Because I had bunnies when I was a kid. My little brother and I had matching white fluffy ones. Trapper and Whatever-Douglas-Named-His. My cousin Mark jumped into their pen once when he was visiting. He landed on Trapper, my bunny. Hard. It died. Since the bunnies…
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Calls It Like He Sees It
Bergen likes to call things by the names he thinks are best, even if they are not correct. These delicious little peanut butter kiss cookies? Needle Tips.
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Bergen Hawkeye – The Interview
The following is an interview with a little boy. A little boy who lives life so wide open and so exuberantly. A little boy missing two front teeth from two separate traumatic events. A boy with a scar on his right cheek from running into Jane’s truck. And another scar on his chest from a nail on a dock last summer. A little boy who cries far more often from hurt feelings than from hurt limbs. My little boy. It is a rare and exclusive peek into the mind that is Hawkeye. (Rare in that he does not frequently stand still long enough to answer a series of questions. Exclusive…
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This Circus
Tell me the truth, am I the only one who feels like life with small children is more often a circus than anything else? Do these things happen only at our house? At your house do reusable silicone muffin wrappers fall out of your washing machine when you open the door? Do you walk into the kitchen to discover your toddler surrounded by piles of cornmeal, of which she is shoving into her mouth? And when you ask her what she is eating does she reply, “powder”? Do children sing Michael Jackson’s “Will You Be There?” with your husband while dancing around the kitchen using antique wooden rolling pins as…
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Do Not Conform
Wilder doesn’t really utilize his closet space right now. So I do. In it I store all sorts of non-Wilder things. A suitcase. My wedding dress. Outgrown baby clothing I am saving to give to Mandy (and Emma, if she decides to have just one more cute kid). A random can of paint. A silly amount of empty baby wipes containers – because they might just come in handy one day. And a load of items waiting to be sold at next weekend’s yard sale. (Next Saturday. Our front yard. Lots of treasures. Be there.) Apparently the smaller people living in our home recently discovered the yard sale stash. And…
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A Question
Asked in complete seriousness. “Mom, when I grow up can I be a boy singer and still be a superhero too?”
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The Right Team
Bergen is a boy who approaches life wide open. Most people only see Hawkeye revved up, nearly careening out of control at any given moment. But the boy has more depth than that. He loves his siblings. Loves them. He particularly loves his younger siblings. Adores would not be too strong of a word here. Berg offers to hold Piper’s hand when walking outside. He requests the pleasure of tucking her in for daily naps. He reads her books and plays Weebles endlessly with her. Each morning he ambles into our bedroom, thumb in mouth, searching for Otto Fox so he can get in his daily dose of cuddling.…
Keep Reading . . .
In Praise of Small Homes
friday afternoon thoughts.
farm, framily, feelings, photos
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Give Me A New Law
While helping Bergen get dressed one recent morning, I experienced a momentary lack of sanity. I asked this four year old boy, “What do you want to wear?” Well, Hawkeye wasn’t exactly sure what he wanted to wear, but he had a pretty good handle on what he did not want to wear. The conversation went almost just like this . . . “How about this shirt, son?” “Ummm, too many buttons. “ “What about this one?” “Too big.” We finally picked a shirt that was neither too big nor featuring too many buttons. On to the shorts. (I was already in this deep, I just kept right on digging…
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This Boy
This boy was shopping with his family at Hobby Lobby, searching for great Father’s Day gifts for an artistic dad. His sweet, calm, beautiful mother was patiently waiting for several pieces of art work to be framed. This little boy really needed to use the bathroom. Accompanied by his older sister, this young gentleman approached the public restroom facilities. At this particular art and hobby store, the bathroom door was located directly beside the emergency exit door. The little fellow anxiously reached for a door handle. A shockingly loud noise reverberated throughout the entire store. Apparently, this little guy had accidentally tried to open the emergency exit instead of the…
