Photo of Rain Beerhorst by Pearl Beerhorst

Last night I watched the end of the movie Ice Age with Rain and Grace snuggled into the old goose down couch (rescued from the curb two years ago). After the movie and brushing teeth they got into their bunk bed up in the attic. I read one more chapter of Little House on the Prairie. It was the chapter when two Indian men come to the house when Pa is away hunting and Ma has to fix them cornbread. The dog Jack wants to attack them but he's chained up. Laura and Mary are terrified. The "wild men" smell bad because they are wearing fresh skunk skins to cover their private areas (which is all they are wearing). Eventually they leave and Pa comes home.

Having a bunch of children around all the time has shaped Brenda and my life into something very unusual and beautiful. It is often hard and rarely convenient but it is truly fetching. It is wonderful because the children lead us into the unpractical over and over again. They call us into the woods, cartoons and crayons and it is in these places where no money is made and the career does not go forward that God surprises us with a place for our hearts to become new again.