This has been said about 800 times in the last ten minutes as I have tried to clean out my e-mail, respond quickly and get on my blog. The only post today will be to say there is no post.

We have company. Our best friends are here for a week. Over the weekend Paul heads to Venezuela and then on Monday our friend, Matt heads back East to work on their house for a week. This means my friend Margaret and I will be here holding down the fort with 6 kids. That was an innocuous enough sentence, if you don’t really know me and especially if you don’t know Margaret. Basically, it will be like having two Lucies (as in, “I love…) with no Ethel to say, “Now Lucy…”, while Ricky and Fred are in other time zones. And one of is from Jersey.

Anyhoo my posting will probably be compromised by several wacky schemes.

I will try to report back from time to time.

Beanie brought a video camera to me. I panicked and then noticed it was our old one that doesn’t work. I pretended to tape her.

“Sank you Jesus!” she shouted.

I handed it to Birdie who quickly handed it to C. Riley, “You camera me and I will be famous!”

He was on board immediately, “We’ll ask people to buy our pictures and we will be famous!”

“OK, I’m going to change and then you can camera me.”

Beanie got ahold of the camera again and was pointing it at me – backwards.

“Say Sank you Jesus” was the command.

“Say Sank you Jesus” was repeated.

“Say SANK YOU JESUS!” I finally heard.

“OH, thank you Jesus.”

Camera me? I think I need to reasess my child’s intelligence.

Coming in from my walk this morning Beanie ran across the room to be picked up for a hug.

“Did you walk in the light of God, Mama?”

“Yes I did.”

“Good, I walked in the light of God too.”

This is a song we sing in our childrens’ ministry and she loves it. It is just the line, “We are walking in the light of God” repeated 4 times then we sing in the light of God, dance in the light of God and then walk again.

At home Paul and I add various lyrics, “We are lounging on the floor in the light of God”, “We are drinking coffee…” You get the picture.

As Paul left for work I said, “Beanie, show Daddy how you walk in the light of God.”

At church we walk in place, some quite vigorously. Looking in you might think it was a giant aerobics class – with a live band.

This morning when I put Beanie down to show Paul, she casually walked across the room and then looked back over her shoulder. For her, walking in the light of God isn’t a motion; it’s moving forward.

Remind me of that.

While reading my post “Instan”, my husband said he loves how our son takes correction of his speech: readily, without a fight, without feeling, rather matter-of-factly.

Yesterday I asked him if he still wants to be a scientist.

“Yes, I want to be a Ki-miss”

“I’m sorry, what?”

“A Ki-miss”

“What do they do?”

“It is a scientist who works with kimicals”

“A chemist.”

“Oh yes. Chemist.”

I don’t always take correction with an “Oh yes.”

Fortunately, my son and daughters, my husband, my siblings and certainly God are willing to let me know when I mispronounce things.

“Mom, You are scaring me.”

“Oh yes. Patience.”

“Babe, that hurt.”

“Oh yes. Respect.”

“Ali, I think you are giving up.”

“Oh yes. Perseverance.”

“Alison, you are withholding.”

“Oh yes. Forgiveness.”

That is the way I want to be, the way I choose to be, the way I will be.

And one day someone, perhaps you, will say, “You know, Alison really shifts quickly; I love that about her.”

We have a bunch of caped crusaders running around the house. C. Riley started it out appearing suddenly in his Batman costume. Hello Batboy. Before you could say, “Pow!” Birdie had run off and changed into a kimona. Beanie who was shrieking “I wanna costoom!” was put in a lavendar dress and had her pulled her hair back with a floral barrette. Asia Girl and Flower Girl were born.

“I not Flower Guh. I Costoom Guh!” The latter corrected.

They all ran upstairs and fought some enemies before setting up in the dining room a Batmobile (3 chairs, a piano bench, a stack of books, a microscope, an easel and a phone) that could change into plane. Handy.

On the phone with a friend, he enquired about Asia Girl’s super powers.

“Well, I’ve got a map that shows all the bad guys, and a gun that freezes people and a mirror that shines into people’s eyes…”

“Does she shoot chopsticks out her nose?” My friend asked. I did not dignify this with a response.

Asia Girl though tough on crime is a bit of a pacifist, “I would never kill because that would be violent.”

Later when they were about to blast off Bat Boy bailed wanting to get on the computer.

“Fine!” Asia Girl fumed. “I’ll just blast off without you?”

“Are you going to blast off without me?” Bat Boy, like his alter ego, C. Riley H. has the tiresome habit of repeating questions verbatim. This is forgiven, since he is hearing impaired and all.

“Yes.” Asia Girl was firm.

“OK. Let’s go.”

Flower/Costoom Girl had abandoned ship and was eating apples quietly at the counter.

Getting onboard Bat Boy punched the easel which infuriated Asia Girl.

“Oh I am sorry. I have fists of steel.”

Countdown ensued.

The flight, narrated by Bat Boy lasted about 10 seconds.

“…and we’re back!” he finished.

“You just did that to get on the computer.”

“You are not getting on the computer.” I said.

He reluctantly got back on board and they began the countdown again. As I walked away, Asia Girl called after me, “Do you want to be Wonder Woman, Mama?”

“I already am.”