This past Monday marked the first day of Ohio Turkey Season.  My husband and I have been talking for months about if Reed would be ready to go on his first hunt this year (as an observer, of course).  Hunting has been a life-long passion of my husband's.  It has been a gift to him in many ways: providing a connection with nature and God, respect for all life and the environment, and lifelong relationships.  He is a gifted hunter who has had the opportunity to hunt across three continents.  This was a big decision for us.  We want Reed to grow up with the same ideals that my husband holds about hunting and conservation, so his first experience was very important.   

We laid out his clothes the night before.  It was a mismatched array of Gymboree clothes and actual hunting camo for Reed.  Kids' camo is crazy expensive.  I'm certainly not paying $50 for a camo outfit that he may/may not wear and will definitely grow out of in 4 months.  I got out his cute little camo hat with the orange frills on top that make him look like a dinosaur.  Jacob told me to put that back, do I want him to look like a turkey?

Um, no.  Thanks for that.  I'll be sure to sleep less than 3 hours tonight now.

The next morning, Reed was awake before 6.  He usually sleeps until about 7-7:30.  He definitely knew that he was going "out in the woods with Daddy," and he was SO excited.  He actually walked out of his room wiggling and pumping his fists with anticipation!  We dressed him up, Jacob painted his face, and they headed out. ​And just like that, I realized I didn't have a baby anymore.

In my car, on the way to work, I got a small (maybe not so small) case of the sniffles.  No one ever told me motherhood would be so bittersweet- and he's only 2!  How did this all happen so fast? Hang on, I need a tissue!

Ok, I have myself back together.  
​At work, I got a text from Jacob at 6:43 that they weren't hearing anything.  At 6:48, I received this picture:

THEY GOT A TURKEY!  Can you believe it?  Jacob said they prayed for safety and blessing before they left the car (something that Jacob has always done).  They walked in the woods and hid behind a bush, and he gave Reed a sucker.  They did a couple owl and turkey calls which Reed found entertaining, I'm sure.  Then they heard the turkeys gobbling and coming toward them.  Reed got to see the turkey and then he sat really still while Jacob took aim with his bow.  Then Jacob killed it with a clean shot.  They ended the hunt by praying again, thanking God for the bird's life and the safe hunt.  Jacob will eventually show Reed how to clean and store the turkey meat, and we will all make a turkey chili together.  Update: find recipe here!

Let me take just a moment and brag on my hubby and his ethical hunting practices.  I really appreciate how considerate Jacob is about the environment and life of the animals he hunts.  He is a fair hunter, no drives or timed feeders.  We eat everything he kills, and we are thankful for the life of the animal.  I know hunters have a bad rep sometimes, but when you do it right, it is a practice that teaches some of the most important life lessons a kid can learn.

So I sat down with Reed for a little interview.  It was actually a series of interviews (because he is two), spread out over the afternoon.

Me: Reed!  What did you do today?  Did you get a turkey?

Reed: (nonchalantly) Yeah.  And SUCKERS!

Me: And suckers?  That's great!

Reed: Yeah.

Me: Were you in the woods with Daddy?  What did you do?

Reed:  Daddy did a turkey cawwwwllll.

Me:  You saw a turkey?

Reed: No (shakes head emphatically).  Daddy did the call.

Me: Oh!  The call!  What sound does a turkey make?

Reed: GOBBLE GOBBLE!!

Me:  Wow!  That's cool.  Then what happened?

​Reed: Two turkeys.... (mutters intelligible words).... Daddy got it.... (still can't tell what he's saying, he's excited)... and the turkey was on FIRE... (what? We still don't know what he means by that.  Maybe the color?)... AND WE GOT A TURKEY!

Me:  That's is so awesome, buddy!  I'm so proud of you.

Reed:  (coolly) Yeah.

Me: Do you want to go again?

Reed:  YEAH YEAH YEAH!

So here's the big man with his first turkey!  I think it is bigger than he is!  In a turkey picture, the hunter is supposed to hold up the tail of the turkey.  He is doing his best!  Such a big boy!

It was a day for the record books!  I am so thankful for Jacob and Reed, and the little hunting relationship they started this week.  I hope it lasts a lifetime!  I guess my baby is a big boy now.  Uh oh.... here come those darn sniffles again. 

Tearfully,
Rebekah

Reed, AKA "The Little Outdoorsman",  had one word for Easter this year.  

It wasn't "egg".
It wasn't "Jesus" (even after all of our efforts).
It wasn't even "bunny".

The word.... "PAIN-O" (piano).

​In the weeks before Easter, Reed began asking for a piano.  We bought him a ukulele a few months ago, and it is his favorite toy.  It is the first thing he grabs in the morning and we have to pry it from his little fingers every night.  Anytime a song comes on the radio, a movie or show includes music, or somebody is singing, he exclaims, "OH! OH! Gin-tayr!" and frantically runs to grab it before it is too late. 

It's a pretty versatile instrument.  Sometimes, depending on the occasion, it becomes a biolin (violin).  Sheesh, two-year-olds are fun!

So, of course we were going to get him a piano.  Because of the minimizing we have been doing around the house, we have some space for a keyboard.  Now we just had to ride it out until Easter.  It wasn't hard to make Reed wait, but Jacob and I were counting down the days!  Whenever Reed would ask about the piano, we would tell him the Easter Bunny was bringing it for Easter.

Oops.
(You'll see why in a minute.)

As Easter rolled around, I started teaching the Easter story in every way I could find.  For some reason, we had trouble getting the Easter story to "click".  We didn't have this problem at Christmas, even with Santa in the mix.  I feel like the Christmas story is so much more accessible for toddlers.  I've tried a resurrection garden, reading a few different books about the Easter story, a Christian Seder, stations of the cross, even a resurrection-themed egg hunt.  Hours of time!  Nothing.  I think its just a little too deep and frankly, violent, to present authentically in a way that a toddler can truly comprehend.  The one thing he would always get right was "God loves Reed SO MUCH!"  For me, that's enough.

We threw in the towel on teaching the Easter story (for this year, anyway) after the resurrection egg hunt.  The conversation went like this:

Me: "Reed, who died on the cross for you?"
TLO: "Cha-Cha."
Me: "Cha-Cha?!  No, Jesus!"
TLO: "Jesus."
Me: "Reed, who rose from the grave?"
TLO: (Long pause, looks at me like I'm driving him crazy asking the same question over and over) "God?"
Me: "Um... ok." 

(Cha-Cha enters conversation)
Cha-Cha: "Come on, Reed, we are going down to the river to have a Jesus Easter Egg hunt!"
TLO: "Is HE down there?"

Sigh.

So if you have any suggestions for teaching the Easter story to a toddler, I'd love to hear them in the comments.  Because we had absolutely no success this year.

Overall, our Easter weekend was lovely.  There were a few snafus (you can read about those here), but it was certainly a special weekend I will always treasure. I was able to spend a lot of time with Jacob and Reed, my parents, and Jacob's parents.  My family had a yard sale and an egg hunt on Good Friday, and Matt and Reed got to hunt Easter eggs together for the first time!  It was the first hunt of the weekend, and it was so neat to see how each boy reacted to the eggs.

Our church egg hunt was on the Saturday before Easter.  We met up with our sweet friends Tyler and Hannah and their children, Hunter and Hayley.  We have been friends with Tyler and Hannah for years, and it is always so fun when we get together.  Hunter and Reed are very close in age and love being together.  They kept putting eggs in each other's baskets.  Later, they entertained the entire church with their dance moves!

The Easter Bunny was puzzled.  Sorry for the little stalker, bunny.  He wants you to bring him a pain-o and he's trying to work his magic.  Poor bunny.  I eventually peeled TLO away.

Sunday was a beautiful, sunny day.  After Easter service, we had Easter dinner at my mother-in-laws.  Then Poppy hid Reed's piano in the yard so he could stumble upon it in his final egg hunt.  His reaction was priceless.  He said, "Oh!  Oh!  A PAIN-O!!!  Um, oh, um... I-I-I, I need a STOOL!"

So we set him up with a stool and he entertained us all afternoon.  We flew kites, snacked around, did the resurrection egg hunt, and really just relaxed.  It was lovely.

I hope you had a memorable Easter weekend as well.  Maybe next year Reed will understand the true Easter story a little more.  I'll spend some time this year reflecting and researching, figuring out what I need to add (or maybe take away? Sorry, bunny?) next year.  If anything, though, he learned that he is loved; and if that's not the Easter story, I don't know what is.

We've never dyed Easter eggs with The Little Outdoorsman.  Last year he was just too little.  But one thing is for certain- he loves eggs!  Boy eats an egg for breakfast almost every day.  So when I told him we were going to "dye eggs", he probably thought I was going to make green eggs and ham again, like I did after reading Dr. Seuss one inspired morning.

Cha-Cha and Poppy (Reed's grandparents on Jacob's side) put everything together for the big occasion.  But first, Cha-Cha insisted that Reed receive sustenance in the form of an ice cream sandwich.  Obviously.

Now sufficiently fortified, we faced the task ahead.  First, we laid out a plastic tablecloth.  This proved to be the most insightful thing we did all night.  Reed is now in the "I'll do everything by myself" phase, so that was a good call.  The voice of experience!  Then we assembled the usual materials: hard boiled eggs, cups, dye, water, vinegar, egg dippers, and a few plastic spoons. 

This little pack had some fun extra stuff, too.

We set TLO up with all of the cups organized in front of him.  Please observe the green ring pop.  Note to self: do not give toddlers ring pops during exciting activities.  I'll explain why in a moment.

Cha-Cha and Poppy explained the process.  I love this picture!  As you can see, Reed takes his egg-dying responsibilities very seriously (just like his Poppy).

Then they helped him add the dye to the cups.  After this, Reed insisted on doing everything all by himself.

Oh, look!  Dye dyes!  Starting to make sense...

Stirring in some glitter.  Who knew kids used glitter now?  

Or "magic crayons"?  Sheesh...

Ready to begin!  After Cha-Cha and Poppy showed him a couple eggs, he completely took over the process!  I was so impressed.  He used the egg dipper to place the eggs in the dye...

Checked them with a spoon...

And then put them in the tray when they were finished.  The back of the Easter Egg Dye pack actually turns into a little drying rack for the eggs.  What we have here, people, is an Easter Egg Expert.  He is a master at his craft.

Reed snacked on (another) sucker as the eggs dried.  We managed to get through the whole process nearly unscathed.  I say "nearly" because:
1.  He didn't spill any dye outside of the table.
​2.  The aforementioned ring pop only ended up in my hair once. Ick!
2.  The eggs looked fantastic!
3.  ​He only ate two of the eggs-- but no shells!  Bonus!

Lately I've been trying to implement lazy, Sabbath-rest Sundays into our weekly schedule.  Being a working momma is no joke!  We used to be super busy on Sundays, like barely-have-time-to-stop-at-home busy.  Not any more.  We still do some volunteer work at church, but we have found a balance that works well for our family. I spend a little extra time cleaning up and preparing on Saturday nights, but once Sunday arrives, my rule is I only do what cannot wait for Monday.  At first it was really hard for me to do nothing on Sundays, but now I really look forward to it.  After church we spend the day together with no plans.  There are exceptions, of course, like Easter Sunday coming up or the occasional family dinner, but for the most part we guard our Sundays like Oliver guards a new bone.

This past Sunday was beautiful.  We enjoyed most of the time outside and The Little Outdoorsman was in his prime.  He is totally into bark and moss and "climbing" trees and stuff.  I often find his pockets stuffed with nuts (after I've washed them, of course).  Reed loved an afternoon of exploring the yard at his own pace. 

Jacob poked around the driveway and Oliver dug "holes".  He is famous in our neighborhood for his digging skills.  The neighbors laugh and comment  with a smile on our bumpy yard.  He doesn't really dig holes, he just tears up the grass and leaves unsightly pock-marks all over our lawn.  I just don't have the heart to tell him to stop.  He just looks so happy when he digs, and his nose gets all dirty and cute.

He was rolling, too.  Doxie owners know what this means.  Somebody's getting a bath tonight!  So gross...

While I was trying to get Ollie to stop rolling, Reed picked some flowers!  He loves dandelions.  I remember he loved them last year, too.  My heart just swells up whenever he gives me a flower.  A smushed up dandelion beats a bouquet of roses (almost) any day- just being honest.

Inevitably, he found the mud puddles.  We have an unusual amount of mud puddles in our yard due to Mr. Oliver and his aforementioned digging obsession.  And, to my credit, I didn't blink an eye (on the outside anyway).  I did have to gently remind myself that it was lazy Sunday and it was a day to have fun.  So go ahead, baby, get muddy!  TLO was so excited.  He really thought he was getting away with something here.  Oh, the evil desires of a two-year-old.

You know, I've never stopped to look at how beautiful the muddy shoes of a child can be.  There's so much to be found in a picture of some muddy sneakers.  Fun, love, adventure, visions of dirty laundry...

Everybody says these twos are supposed to be terrible.  We are nearly half-way in and I keep waiting for the terrible to show up.  We have our crazy moments, for sure, but lately I find myself wishing I could stop the clock.

I think I have something in my eye...

Sniffle.  Lazy Sundays and muddy shoes made my weekend extra special.  Maybe this is what Jesus meant when he said the Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath.  These relaxing Sundays certainly fill me back up for the week.  

​Well, I'd stay and chat some more, but I have to go wash muddy socks.  Back to work!  Have a great week!