Of Less-Than-Perfect Perfection

Dinner was hot dogs (the cheap, $1 per package kind, not the fancy ones), microwave popcorn (because that's what she wanted and I didn't have a good reason not to) and cantaloupe (for them, I'm not much of a melon person).  The kids dipped their popcorn (but thankfully not the cantaloupe) in ketchup.  There were no placemats or a pretty centerpiece (I broke part of that last night, sadly).  The table wasn't even cleared of the day's gatherings - papers from Sunday school and the remnants of last night's gaming selections.

But we were all there.  Well, the four of us who can sit at the table, anyway.  The fifth slept peacefully in his car seat, not having been disturbed after arriving home from church this evening.  But the four oldest of us sat around the table while the kids actually ate their food without complaint (a rarity in this house, to be sure).  And as we waited for our eldest son to finish his popcorn so they could have cake, Philip whistled the chicken dance.  And there they were, three of the people I love the most in this world, clacking their beaks, flapping their wings, wiggling their tail feathers, clapping the beat and then soaring, right there in their dining room chairs.

I loved every second of it.

Seeking 1,000 Gifts:


19. Baby tears that remind me he's healthy and alive (if not happy to be awake).
20. My tears that remind me I care.
21. An inquisitive three-year-old.
22. Bubbles blown to a toddler.
23. Sleeping the day away (even in a carseat!)
24. Unintentional grins on a newborn face.

Taking Time for Play: Play-time: