Yesterday evening a neighbor stopped by with a baby bird wrapped in a towel. She explained that the bird had jumped out of its nest at her house, and she was afraid her dogs would just kill it, so she wondered if I’d be willing to take it and care for it. Well, thanks to our experience with Frizz last year, I felt like I knew what to do, so I took the little bird. He’s probably only about a week away from being able to be on his own, so we’ll just help him get to next week without getting eaten by a neighborhood cat or dog.
This morning Judah asked if he could name the little bird. I asked him what name he had in mind, and he said, “Jackie”. Since that’s the name of the neighbor who brought the bird over, I thought it was perfect. She’ll be thrilled, too.

Today is Luke’s 10th birthday. Unlike Isaac, Luke is very happy to accept birthday greetings. In fact, he will announce to folks with a smile that today is his birthday.
I can’t believe that Luke is 10 already. Wow. Where have the last ten years gone? Luke has the distinction of being my only baby to be born by c-section. Even though Luke is one of many, he is a special boy with a unique personality. Luke is very compassionate and gentle, and he loves to play games and interact with people. Interestingly, Luke is going through a growth spurt that is leaving everyone else in the dust. Isaac stays thin and agile, while Luke is filling out and growing taller.
Tonight I’ll make waffles for Luke’s birthday supper. He actually requested potato soup, but I don’t have the ingredients on hand. I begged off, promising to get the ingredients this weekend and make the soup he requested very soon.
Happy Birthday, Luke!

This morning when we woke up and checked on the bunny, he was not doing well at all. Yesterday he seemed fine, but today he was dying. Laura tried to see if he needed to be rehydrated, but nothing worked. So we wrapped him gently and put him in a warm place to rest.
The little guy died a while later. He was so small. I was sorry he died. I was hoping he’d live long enough for us to enjoy a little longer. But at least he died peacefully, and we had four and a half days with him.

Last Wednesday, on our way to a piano performance for the three pianists in our family, Laura spotted a nest of drowned bunnies. Six of them were definitely dead, but one seemed to have a few signs of life. I thought Laura should just put it back and let it finish dying, but Laura insisted she could not do that, since it was alive! So I dug in my pocket, found two old tissues, wrapped up the tiny bunny (probably only about 2-3 days old), and stuck him in the pocket of my hoodie. We hurried on in to the building, and I told Laura to go wash her hands before her piano event.
During the time we were there, while Laura, Luke and Amelia played their pieces for the judge, the bunny warmed up and started being a little more wiggly.  Throughout the whole time, we took turns holding our little friend, doing our best to warm him up.  I was amazed at how much better he seemed after only an hour or two.
Once we got home, I searched online for information about rehabilitating wild rabbits. Turns out, there’s almost a 100% mortality rate for rehabbing bunnies. I guess the best way to raise a baby rabbit is to be a mama rabbit. But a few folks did have some information for how to feed bunnies and what to do if we were to insist upon trying to save this bunny’s life.
I hurried to the store and purchased the necessary ingredients, mixed up some baby-bunny formula, and we started to feed the little critter with a tiny syringe leftover from some bird medication.
Amazingly, four days later, this bunny is still alive. I warn Laura every day that the bunny will probably die, so she needs to realize we’re just doing our best, and to prepare for the worst. But in spite of my dire warnings, we can’t help but think our little bunny is just about the cutest thing we’ve seen. His tiny ears, tiny paws and his tiny cottontail is simply adorable.  His eyes are starting to peek open now, so I’m guessing he’s going to be even more adorable when he can look at us.  When he does die, it will be sad indeed, but I will still be glad that we got to interact with one of God’s amazing creatures, even if just for a short time.

Today is Isaac’s 12th birthday. Hard to believe it!
But please, don’t extend any birthday greetings to the birthday boy. He really doesn’t like having nice things said to him. I don’t know why.

I told him that if someone says “Happy Birthday”, he is to smile and say thank you. But he informed me that he still doesn’t like it.
Fine. No birthday wishes.
But I am going to make a rhubarb-strawberry crisp for supper. It’s tradition for Isaac to have a rhubarb dessert for his birthday.  I think he’ll be pleased, especially if I just shove it his direction without any nice comments.
And I’ll try not to cook anything he doesn’t like today.  That list grows longer by the day.
The best part about today is that Isaac has been gone all day helping my aunt with a mulch project. What a peaceful day it has been!
Happy Birthday!

I so often yearn for a bigger house and more space. Seems like I’m always stepping on someone or bumping into someone or climbing over something.
But then there are times when our whole family is in the kitchen, or in the living room, and I realize that we could actually fit into even less space than we already have.
And then there are times when the children enjoy playing in confined spaces, and I realize that I just need to be content exactly where I am and with the space I have.
The little Lyons kiddos played happily for a long time in this cabinet. They even realized there’s room fore more than one child in the cabinet. I think I’ll tell them that this is their new bedroom.

Yesterday I posted the following on my Facebook account:
Feeling tired and nauseous. Doc confirms the flu. Egyptian flu. I’m going to be a mummy.

Yep, it’s true. The due date for the next Lyons baby is somewhere around January 1, 2010.

A few days ago the children were playing happily in the front yard, and a man walked by and noticed their industrious endeavors in hammering nails into boards. He chatted for a moment or two, and then asked, “What’s the name of your day care?” I smiled and replied, “All but one of these kids is mine. We’re not a daycare.” He stared in disbelief.
And now I can tell folks that I’ve been asked if we’re a daycare. That’s a first for me.

This is what happens when Judah gets up early and runs out of steam in the middle of the afternoon.

I guess the coffee in the cup next to him didn’t work to keep him awake.

Our local Freecycle group is quite active, and I enjoy seeing what folks are getting rid of and what folks are looking for. On Sunday I noticed an e-mail of a lady looking for some shade plants. I have collected hostas and other shade plants for years, so I have lots to divide and share. We exchanged information and arranged to meet this morning around 9 a.m.
When she got here, I gave her the bin in which I had put some hostas, lungwort, lily-of-the-valley, and sedum. She seemed so pleased! She then handed me two boxes of black-eyed-susans in exchange. Wow! I’ve never seen that many black-eyed-susans in one place! I’m eager to plant them and enjoy their flowers.
There’s something nice about plants and spring and flowers. And there’s something nice about sharing them with others, too.