state of the mooneys

hazel
she started to read last week. she's been sounding letters for a while & just hadn't been able to marry the sounds into one word. and it clicked. d-o-t, dot. d-i-d, did. r-u-n, run. dot did run.
"i did it, mom!!" she shouts intermixed with giggles.
i told her i was proud.
"i'm proud of me too!" she says. and right there in that twin bed on a tuesday night i prayed she would always be so confident. i want all her security & steadfastness & worth to be wrapped up in Jesus.
so it's a new phase & although she has been bent to words & story & creativity for a long time, we've entered a whole new world.
i say to matt (in a way I think is sly):: "wanna let them watch a m-o-v-i-e after dinner?
hazel:: m, mmmmm. o, oooooo, v, vvveeeee...what's a mov, what about us and a mov?

she still loves gymnastics.  she still dresses herself everyday & i attempt to chronicle it here, but i forget a lot lately because leaving the phone on the counter always leads to more living. 
her creativity is usually dumbfounding to me. she is constantly re-arranging pillows, blankets, toys, to make elaborate scenes to elaborate stories. she is a detail girl. details in her stories & imagination (the lamp isn't orange, it's red and it's this tall) & details in her crafts/art & details of books we read (forget about skipping a sentence here or there to go ahead and finish up because it's bedtime, she catches it every single time) or song lyrics that i get wrong (this is often). details.


anders
he's such a lovable little wild man. lone little boy in a house of girls & the youngest, too. he just wants to knock stuff over & bang his baseball bat on the floor, run fast & kick a ball. and in all that rough & tumble is such a heart of compassion, too. if anyone is upset in any way, he's on it. he recognizes it, empathizes, wants to know what happened & how he can help.

he continues to love music. but he's not the type of guy that says "hey, i love music" he just becomes really into certain songs & really dislikes other songs. his head always bobs to the beat. he gets very proud of himself for recognizing the song playing or knowing the words to sing along. and he seems to be able to carry a tune. his current favorite is the song cousins by vampire weekend but he prefers the mumford cover. i have been know to say more than once "anders, if you do that one more time, you won't hear cousins for 2 days!)he loves songs with a banjo & he aways recognizes the banjo in new songs.
he's animated. he loves to make up words. he's telling a lot more stories these days. recounting daily events or making up his own & either way, he is so expressive. saying something like "the chair is over there" is accompanied with waving hand gestures, raised eyebrows, pauses and inflections for emphasis. so. animated.



lena
she has good days and bad days, just like all of us but usually by age 6, a child has learned coping mechanisms for some of the ups & downs of day-to-day life they experience. lena hasn't learned these yet. we're trying to teach her, slowly, & not certain the best ways. she's doing so well & she is the most amazing, sweet girl. she struggles, though, & we are constantly trying to discern what is a kid being a kid pitching a fit & what are the deeper emotional effects of neglect, so long in a sad place. both exist & are displayed but discerning isn't easy. the last year has consisted of her learning & developing at a remarkable pace. it's hard to emotionally catch up with that. for example:: in teaching communication, as she is learning to sign, if she signs for something we give it to her right away to reinforce her clear communication. well now, she knows to say things that she can't always have. she signs "up" & "walk" when I'm not done putting her shoes on & she gets mad that she can't have her way. and the first time learning you can't have your own way is so hard. and still for me, it's hard to understand when I don't get my own way.
she is going to kindergarten in the fall. we're working out all those ins & outs. lots of meetings, decisions, things to think through & ways to advocate for our wonderful daughter.
her favorite time of the week is pool physical therapy. she is a fish!

she had her first real haircut a few weeks ago. we're never quite sure if she'll love or hate new situations. she LOVED the salon. the lights, the hair dryer sounds, the water on her head, our friend Bek being so kind & gentle.

matt
he has so much to balance and does it really well.

a dad who is present and involved in all daily ins & outs of this house & simultaneously never lacking diligence in his job. he is great at what he does. he always has been, but i feel like bringing lena home has driven home so many of the convictions & passions of our hearts as well as what 99 balloons does. he is an idea guy in every area of life but at work he's creatively dreaming & coming up with ways to draw others into to story of disability. sometimes these ideas come into full fruition. have you heard of passport?  join us in praying for & advocating for children with disabilities globally.

i love doing this little update.  i'm reminded how sweet life is.  so much grace.  undeserved love and blessing.  i know it in the deepest places, but the craziness can blur it.  i always know it, but to sit and write it out, to remember... it  pulses through the veins all the more.
i signed up anders & hazel both for preschool next year at the school where hazel currently attends.
2 days a week. lena will be going to school every day. this means i'll have 8 hours a week alone in the fall. this is unimaginable right now. it also makes me feel old & strange.  i will be quite the jetsetter in the next month.  i'll take hazel with me to visit my grandfather for a few days next week. then in april, lena & i will head to a psychology appointment near washington dc. while traveling without matt is not ideal, i'll welcome a change of scenery with welcome arms and probably fly the friendly skies while listening to this...because it's just. so. good.