Good Samaritan

He said,
     "My name is Carl, and I'll take you anywhere you want to go."  


***
I turn and see her--
hands bare from forward propelling chair on wheels, she
uses her one good leg to spin around and heave backwards through the crowd,
low voice calling out to passerby's--
                    "Watch out!  Comin' Through!"


Dark skin stark against hard life,
wearing white, stained tee.
And I see her wince under the weight of Market Street:
the sound of cable cars and tourists,
as she narrowly misses the 49ers paraphernalia taking up
valuable sidewalk space.


And the crowd did all but part ways for her.
                    So still the struggle.


The hurried tourists skirt around her like they did the overturned 
     garbage can up the street.  
Some rush back to work after a quick lunch, 
     preoccupied with living.  
Others don't see--
     so much destitution becomes normal.


Still, a few just don't care.  Her business isn't their business.
Isn't my business.  
Pang in the heart.


***


Then he says it again:
                     "I'll take you anywhere you want to go." 


And the way he says it--it's like....like he means it.
I stare and see then that he does mean it.
And he hasn't asked it as a question.


They shuffle a bit with his load.  
He asks if she minds holding his beer. 
She holds his Italian leather briefcase and 
his open bottle of anchor steam 
against her stained pants, 
and bandage-wrapped leg; 
                    smiles grateful at the man who offers such mercy.


And his young voice calls out to her above the noise of 4th Street. 
She is being asked her name.
She is being asked about her day. 
Shiny patent shoes scrape against 80-grit and 
sounds like the melody of mercy and 
 she talks
                     --on and on and on.


I can still hear her voice as they sail around the corner.


***


He: young, able, income-savvy.
She: old, unable, destitute.
Both: despite race, income, age, or even the proposed daily agenda--
                    joined for a moment; exchanging names.


 And for just a time, her hardship is gone and she feels like a person worth getting to know better. 
A Good Samaritan. For another, life laid down.


Carl walked a mile.
A mile which wasn't his.
And he made it his business.


Will 
I 
make 
it 
mine?











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Snow Day 2012

It's a snow day here...finally...and it just reaffirmed some strong truths in our family:  

one certain person  in our family thinks everything was put on this earth for us to eat.  

Yes, Reesie.  I'm talkin' to you.

See?  

And Liv is forever our snow girl.  She was squealing and somersaulting and squealing and hopping and squealing and acting all sorts of crazy.  It was very difficult to get her to eat her breakfast.  Did I mention the squealing?

Holland has never loved the snow, or being cold.  But this year, there was not one sad face and that, my friends, is how we measure success in our family:

And Wieber girls are always interested and moving towards results.  Let's see how they did:

Here we have fancy, boa-wearin' Snow Lady:

Miss Snow Bunny: 

And I do believe Reesie has found a new friend.  

Eskimo kisses even! 

Now we are inside, 

finishing up with schoolwork and a cup of hot cocoa, 

and enjoying the quiet that blankets the earth after a snow fall.  

Happy day to you!  

Sushi for Kids

Last night, Brian and I celebrated.  Well, the whole night was cause for celebration, actually, because it was our monthly "Family Camp-out Night" in which every single stitch of anything resembling a blanket is dragged downstairs and layered to make a most fluffy type of sleeping arrangement.

We watch movies and eat junk food and tell the girls that they really must sleep and laugh at Brian because he is being strangled by one certain girl who likes to sleep with her arm in a choke hold.

Our family campouts are exactly like real campouts....we sleep underneath the tall ceiling, gazing up at our ceiling fan..listening to the rush of water flowing into the fishtank, and to the [rancid] wild breathing of our sweet terrier, Chester beside us....yes, exactly like camping...except without the bugs, cold nights, scary outhouses, or that one rock that wasn't quite swept aside before the tent was placed on top of it.

But that wasn't the only cause for celebration.

You see, we were celebrating because every. single. member. of. The. Wieber. Family. now loves sushi.  Oh, to think of the family dinners in our future!!!

And not to brag (but, well, most certainly to brag because this is my spot to do so if I wish), but Brian makes the best sushi in the whole entire universe.  He has ruined every sushi restaurant for me, in fact, because it is very difficult to drop hard-earned (thanks, babe) dough on sushi that your husband truly could make better. And really, I'm not just being a flattering wife here.  I really mean it.  His sushi is seriously the best I've ever had.

So now, instead of making separate dinners for the girls on sushi nights, we will all eat together!  In the past, I have baked salmon or done something simple for the girls.  And then Brian always offers them a bite.  The girls have gone nuts over the smoked salmon, and Liv absolutely DEVOURS the nori (which to me tastes like crinkled fish skin....gross!), and they all have taken a liking to plain sushi rice.  But last night, the girls ate sushi the way grown-ups eat sushi!  See?

By the way, the chopsticks Holland is using have been WONDERFUL!

If you look closely at the above picture, you will see swollen eyes, and the unmistakable blush of a sweet girl who has gotten frustrated with her lack of chopstick skills.  She decided that an 8-year-old is too old for chopstick aids, and so tried to eat sushi the adult way.  She likes to catch on to new things rather quickly.

But I concur.  It is hard to eat sushi with chopsticks.

Right, Reesie?

Here she gives up and just shoves it into her mouth. (Her chopstick is more like a stick with an appetizer fork on the end....I have no recollection of where we got it, but it's been great for the kids!)

So today, we celebrated their newfound love for sushi (all night long, the girls were saying, "Thanks, dad, for the sushi!  And even our toddler was walking around saying, Thanks, Dad, Shushi!).

Yes, today we celebrated by eating PBJ sushi.  (Why, yes, that is a peach in place of the soy sauce and wasabi!)

This is a very simple, kid-friendly faux-sushi for the girls to enjoy.  I first smashed a piece of soft, whole wheat bread to make a very smooth "wrapper".  Then I put a thick line of chunky peanut butter (or what about nutella, or cashew, or almond butter?) and jam down the middle.  Then, I rolled up and laid the seam down touching the plate.  Then, cut into pieces.

This was another opportunity to practice chopsticks, and to have fun!

Liv is grinning here because she is using her adult chopsticks much better today.  She can pick up a new hobby in such little time.  Boy, I wish I were like that!

If my mom were the one making this sushi for the kid-me, she would have made marshmallow creme/peanut butter faux sushi because,

"Yes, she was THAT fun."

Now, my mind is swirling of the different combos I'll be making my kids in the near future....

cream cheese and cucumber

goat cheese, spinach, and ham

marshmallow and peanut butter ;o)

any other ideas??

Merry Christmas 2011

Merry Christmas From The Wieber Family Year 2011 in Quotes

Reesie turned 2 this year…

“Gnk gnk!” (ice cream)

       -Reese and her enduring word for ice-cream

“It's cold, hot-dip.”

-Reese holding the Tabasco that she just pulled out from out of the fridge

“Tee too (thank you), Jesus, for haircuts, hats, and hot balloons”

-Reese, during prayer time at night. 

***

Holland turned 6 this year…

“Here's one ride I'm tall enough to go on.”

-Holland, assessing the height requirements while on daddy’s shoulders after spending the morning too short to ride on many of the attractions at Knott’s Berry Farm. 

“C’mon pretty boy”.

-Holland to dad while helping him shovel dirt into the garden bed.

 “Does this McDonalds have eye balls, feathers, and fingers in their chicken?”

-Holland, after watching one too many documentaries about fast food restaurants. 

“But mom! I'm showing then some MMA!” 

-Holland, after being told to quit wrestling with her friends.

“Dad, it doesn't look good on you, but it looks good on him.”

Holland, referring to a pink shirt and white pants outfit for a ken doll

“We were dancing a little jig then it got craaaazy!”

-Holland, explaining what happened to Brian after he had to confiscate the girls’ swords during a duel with their Jack Sparrow swords at Disneyland.

***

Liv turned 8 this year…

If people see our car, they’re going to think we are bad drivers! 

-Liv, after a car crash in which we totaled our car.

"How come they X-ray shoes? There’s nothing in there but stink.....and shoelaces" 

Liv, age 7, in line at the airport security check-point. 

“I feel like holding a scorpion.”

-Liv, age 7.

“I want a cobra.”

-Liv, age 7, and a glutton for punishment. 

“I thought you were the boss around here.”

-Liv, after Brian said, “Check with mom about that.”

“I’m glad that I'm not satan”.

-Liv, with a big sigh of relief. (We are glad, too, sweetie!)

“Dad, can I hug you from behind?”

“Liv, sweetie, that’s called choking.”

“I know, Dad.”

***

Doesn’t getting older mean that one gets wiser, as well?   Hmmm…we thought so, too…

“I couldn’t handle being in a real horror movie.” 

-Jen, always bringing enlightenment and wisdom to any conversation. 

“You girls want to see something funny about this blanket? I can make this blanket scream and say, ‘No, no no!’”

-Brian, right before he began tickling Jen while hiding under a blanket during a family ‘bout of Hide-n-Seek.

“You can't tap out to tickling,”

-Brian, reviewing Wrestlemania House rules. 

“A new helmet would be cheaper than an MRI.”

-Jen, the voice of reason. 

“Stop boxing with your forks!  That's called stabbing.”  

-Brian, taking time during dinner to educate the girls on proper table manners. 

You know you it’s been too long since you’ve cleaned your car when you find a bees nest inside.

–Brian, during a restoring session with his Ford Bronco.

Some of my best friends have punched me in the face and choked me unconscious.  

-Brian, trying to convince Holland that the fact that Liv crossed the imaginary line between their beds wasn't a particularly bad grievance.  

In the bleak midwinter a stable place sufficed the Lord God Almighty, Jesus Christ. Angels and archangels may have gathered there, cherubim and seraphim thronged the air; but his mother only, in her maiden bliss, worshiped the beloved with a kiss. What can I give him, poor as I am? If I were a shepherd, I would bring a lamb; if I were a Wise Man, I would do my part; yet what I can I give him: give my heart. --Christina G. Rosetti.

Merry Christmas to you all!!!  We love you!  

Alternative Christmas Tree

We've been wanting to do one for awhile.  Actually, Brian is the one who has had this tree on his mind...it's been cooking in his brain for the last few years now.   And it's just like my hubby to wait for a really full year to go ahead and bring this tree to fruition.  So what if our car just got totaled and our other vehicle: our very cool, very needy '76 Bronco is in pieces in the garage...the only way for my sweet husband to get to work without having to drag his butt and bicycle out in 30 degree December frigidness?  I like it that he always has time for creativity, even when knee deep in the To-Do's of life.

His idea was to make a tree out of scraps in the garage (he is a major recycler!) and make a super fun, awesome, totally modern tree for our Christmas this year, and those to come.  And since he's using scraps, He figured the money that we would have used to purchase a tree, should be donated to The Water Project.  They use the money to help fund wells for communities and schools in Africa who are in dire need of clean water to drink.  It's amazing really: you donate the amount you are able and they send you a link where you can follow and watch the progress being made!  They even give you GPS coordinates, so we will be able to involve our children in watching the well be built, pray for the people using the well...and we can map it on our map and learn more about Africa in the process.  The well is implemented by Living Water International, which "exists to demonstrate the love of God by helping communities acquire desperately needed clean water."

The site gives you a choice of where you want the money to go, and the girls were adamant about Uganda.  Not only do we know of and have been praying (please pray with us!!!) for a sweet family living in Uganda RIGHT NOW who is trying to finalize her adoption to a little girl (and who has adopted a little boy from Uganda as well!), but they have also watched the videos of Katie Davis, the young girl who went to Uganda to serve the people there, and has stayed to live and has now become the adoptive mom of 13 girls! Right after we finished sending in our donation, we were sent a link and learned that we helped fund a well for a school in Uganda.  The girls were so thrilled and excited.

More about the tree...I call it our "tinker toy tree".

Because that is exactly what it looks like.  The middle is made from PVC pipe, covered with very lavish, expensive, authentic gold duct tape.  The middle pieces (where the dowels rest) are recycled pieces from a beautiful oak bed my husband had made us our first year of marriage,

the dowels are from the crib Brian made Liv right before she was born

(These parts were further recycled when Liv built a real live scooter that really truly worked for her grateful little sister who didn't have a scooter at that time...and then went on to win first place at the fair in the category of:  Recycled projects.....notice a likeness between Liv and Brian?  :o)  The base is from the girls' bassinet that Brian built for them.  Yes, it is a very special tree for many different reasons.

God can provide for these people. It's not us...nor our measley donation, but how wonderful it is to do something practical for someone, especially at Christmas.  That elderly neighbor who lives next door, the family down the street who is struggling, the person you don't know who is in pain....there are opportunities all around us to share God's love.  So grateful for my sweet husband and his beautiful woodworking skills!

Liv Turns 8!

In October, our Livvy Lou celebrated her 8th birthday!  She is a dream...brimming with ideas and always tinkering and never short on love for her sisters, oh and my helper around the house.  She is amazing and I am so blessed to have her as a daughter!

For her birthday, she wanted to invite the whole world to go to Powell's candy store with her.  I had to decline, bringing up her college fund and her parent's retirement and asked if she wanted to eat dinner this week and all that.  In the end, I did tell her that she could, in lieu of a big birthday party, invite 2 friends to go to Powell's with her.  That is what she chose (and then proceeded to wrangle a slumber party out of the deal ;o).  Boy was it a fun day!

It started with our traditional family crepe birthday breakfast. (The above picture shows Liv trying to give Holland a thank-you hug with syrup-y hands :o). I was able to make a poster for her at Brian's place of work, commemorating the entire year.  Little gifts and balloons surrounded her seat, and a stack of delicious crepes proudly displayed the 8-year-old candle.  8 years ago, we became parents for the first time!  Felt overwhelming parental love for the first time.  And it brings a little of that to the surface, when we celebrate her life.

We then cleaned up and headed out for a Nature Walk (yes, homeschoolers are fierce...trudging on through birthdays! :o) with our Nature class (ie Mary and Chelsea) and explored the Fall-ness of Boise.  We then ran home, had lunch, and then we took off to go to Powell's.

Powell's is a sweet, nostalgic, and surreal experience where every candy under the sun can be found.  I'm pretty sure they sell packaged happiness, too.  It's an amazing little shop.  I made some origami rings made from $5 bills for the girls to use for their purchases.

Then the choosing and hemming and hahing and big eyes and filling of baskets began.  Then, those who were more decisive, sat with their bags of candies in front of the screen showing of Charlie and The Chocolate Factory. (Notice it's the adults and the teenager having trouble deciding? :o)

Afterwards, we went home to play and rest up for the birthday dinner and slumber party.

Liv's dream dinner consisted of Mizithra Pasta, Caesar salad (ok, so that was her mom's dream, not hers), and french bread.  And what 8-year-old girls wouldn't choose Tiramisu for her birthday cake?  :o)

I saw this awesome project on the Family Fun website.  You save large tin cans (such as those that house V-8 or Apple Juice) and open it using a safety can-opener. Then peel the paper off to reveal the perfect robot body.  Glue strong magnets to the back of the huge pile of doodads...light switches, wires, hooks, screws, etc.-- your husband has in the garage (and being the inventor he is, has stored these doodads for years for that light-bulb project he has up his sleeve) and allow the kids to make robots, by placing the magnet doodads on the robot body.  It's a wonderful party project!  Imagine....an hour of play switching out robot parts--no glue--no scissors--no mess--but an instant and complete art form to take home!  Oh, and have I mentioned that Liv has always wanted to make robots?  Isn't she awesome?

After Robots, came opening presents,

And then saying goodnight,

and waking up to choose your own mini cereal with your sweet friends.

Liv loved her birthday!  She is such a wonderful daughter to me!!!