Bringing the Kids Along
One of my favorite images from the trip:
And what of the kids? How does that work, taking your kids along while you're birding and shooting endless photos of a single little longspur? (Here's Bill, with his tiny subject over on the right side of the picture, just to give you an idea of the scene:)
Well, it works very well, if your kids are Phoebe and Liam. They were into it. They love North Dakota, and our friends treat them kindly and make them feel a part of things. They wander in and out of the scene, fetch forgotten bits of gear from the car for us, read their books (at 7, Liam is already devouring chapter books, at least one a day), eat copious and usually verboten candy bribes, and just generally mellow out. Liam amused himself making rockpiles on a rockpile. When I came closer, I could hear him humming softly and sweetly, and I made out the tune: "What Hurts the Most" by Rascal Flatts, a song that makes him very sad, and that he won't listen to any more, but obviously still loves. As sweet a sound as any singing meadowlark.
North Dakota is a state of mind. It's immensely calming to be out on the prairie in the mellow evening sun, to breathe air fresher than any you've ever breathed, to hear the burbling of western meadowlarks and the buzzing of grasshopper and Savannah sparrows.
It worked its magic on kids, and they never fought or complained; they ate dinner with us at 10 pm when the sun finally disappeared, and went to bed at 11, and we dragged them out of bed at 6:30 AM for field trips, and they were absolutely great about it. This is the reward that was waiting when we were getting up several times each night to feed and comfort them as infants. They're full-fledged agreeable and adorable people now. Ahhhh.
Phoebe and Liam explore an old engine and caboose at a little historic rail museum.
The snowplow spoke silently of a different North Dakota--one buried under yards and yards of snow. 
That is a snowplow what am a snowplow.
And a happy man, doing what he loves most, with his family close at hand. Blessings? We're soaking in them!Labels: kids and birding, North Dakota
posted by Julie Zickefoose @ 7:40 AM
23 comments
23 Comments:
True blessings, they are, Julie. Bill, Liam, Phoebe, and you. This is what we call enriched in mind and spirit.
Thanks for the glimpse of a happy family. May these days continue for you! There was one member of the family missing, though :o)
Don't you find that children learn what they see us live? -what we spend time doing, they will find very natural.
It's the children who don't have the benefit of finding pleasure in the simplest things that will always be looking for something more.
And seeing your kids share your enjoyment of the world, is any parent's greatest happiness.
Ahhh....another testimony to attachment parenting. You have a lovely family, and I love getting to "know" them. Good work, Julie.
There is just something about sharing nature with children that is damn near mystical.
Oh Julie, soak it up (as you obviously are)! There's just nothing better than the wonder of children at those innocent ages. And look at all the photos you'll have to reminisce over someday!
P.S. I reached in my mailbox today and pulled out the latest issue of BWD. Only glimpsing the back cover I recognized it as yours thanks to your step-by-step post on how you created that painting. I'm saving your article for my bedtime reading!
Will you adopt me? :c)
I see you with your kids and I see the joy in their faces, and I know that these experiences will shape them for a lifetime. They are so lucky to have you and Bill and you are very blessed indeed to have nurtured such intentional, curious, and spirit-filled little ones.
I swear, I won't eat much.
Jayne! You are a hoot! I agree with you.
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Kids do get to be more and more fun. I loved my infants (after all, I had 4 in five years) but it has been the years since they started becoming teenagers that have been the most fun.
They read the same books I do and bring me new things to read and watch. Since we got a movie watching apparatus a year or so ago I've seen and loved all kinds of things brought home by the kids. Lily got me so totally addicted to a defunct sci-fi show that I'm still reading fan-fiction from it. Charlie and I share musical tastes, Lily loves to dance with her dad and got him to teach her friends to swing dance. Frankie and I share horsy things, and Lucy is just plain fun.
They can play bridge and cook a good dinner and they are fun to talk to while they do it.
It only gets better.
I agree with ivy! It only gets better and when God really smiles on you, you are presented with Grandkids. And if you are REALLY blessed they love to hang on the window sill and listen for the owls as they go to sleep.
And Ida is Really really blessed!
Erin
If Jayne and Mary get adopted, I want to be adopted too! I do windows!
I love this! Your comments about THIS time being the reward for the difficulty of infancy . . . that is so true. My 7.5 and nearly 9 year old are also truly joys! And, our family life is never better than when we are on a trip together -- away from the "daily grind" -- exploring new adventures.
What a gift you are giving Phoebe and Liam! To grow up with parents who are passionate about their work and who share that with their children is a rare blessing. No matter what they do later, they have seen how fulfilling it is to do what you truly love. Thanks for sharing and letting the rest of us sop up some of that wonder.
I look at these photographs and see the stories that Phoebe and Liam will someday tell their children and grandchildren. That's the greatest gift you give them with your love.
Liam and Phoebe are so sweet, sensitive and wise for their ages.
I envy them their wonderful childhood with you and BOTB as parents.
And like Jayne and Mary...I won't eat much either.
I'll even clean up after CB.
I'm *very* adaptable and adoptable.
Having met your kids and having my own I can appreciate how nice it is when everything gels.
ditto... ditto... ditto... ditto... ditto... ditto... ditto . . . .
As others have said here it only gets better! Mine are now 28 and 24 and they delight in teaching this old dog new tricks, turning me on to new literature and foreign flicks. You are in for wonderful ride with your two as they have been nurtured and allowed to grow with love and intellectual stimulation. A rare thing these days when everyone is always so busy...I especially loved the shot of Liam building his rock pile on the existing one. You are indeed steeped in blessings!
That is some snowplow.
I'm counting on your kids (along with mine) to bring great light into this world. They already do.
That's a great story about how much fun a family vacation can be. I still have great memories of trips like that Mom & Dad took us on when we were little kids.
Loved the train pictures. When the railroad used to go through our town it was always fun to see that big snowplow on the engine blasting through 15 foot drifts on the track. Summer in NoDak is beautiful and that must be why people stay there through the winter (sort of like Minnesota)
What beautiful memories you're building with the kids!
Mama Bear
Dear Julie,
You have the greatest kids. A good part of what they are is who they were born as, but an equal part is what you both have given them. I love your family photos, and your tales about them.
In that final picture, Bill looks so relaxed and happy. Wonderful post, as always.
~Kathi
I cannot WAIT to see your kids as adults. They are going to kick this world's butt.
If you adopt Delia, Jayne and Mary, I am coming along, too.
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