...When You're Outside the Wardrobe

I was the naysayer.  "Fine.  Try it if you want.  But they're too young.  It won't work."

Ever since Miriam was born, Nick has been dreaming of the day he could read the kids their first chapter book.  And ever since Miriam was born, that book had been determined: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe.  Now that Miriam was four, Noah three, and Gus one, Nick felt certain it was time.  So, after we got the kids tucked into their beds, Nick pulled out his read-aloud gear: pillows, headlight, and the book.  With one final goodnight blessing, I closed the door.  From the other room, night after night after night, I listened to murmurs coming from the bedroom.


Miriam and Noah started school!
(And I'm blessed to be teaching again.)

Each morning on the drive to school, the kids would excitedly tell me what had happened inside the wardrobe the night before.  "Peter got a sword!  And it wasn't a toy.  It was REAL!"  Noah could barely contain himself one morning. 

"We met the beavers!  They were good guys.  They made them lunch."  Miriam would then always tell me the title of the upcoming chapter. 

"Aslan knew deeper magic -- magic that the White Witch didn't even know."  They impressed me with their comprehension, and I found their literary excitement so endearing.

Then, often once a day, Gus's normal tornado of activity would dissipate.  We would go from room to room looking for him, calling him.  We found him time and again sprawled out on the bedroom floor.  Pillows underneath, headlight around his neck, and The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe in hand.  He'd be babbling, excitedly "reading" the book to his imaginary audience.  He, too, had been overcome by the magic of the wardrobe.



Family Beach Day, 9/2015

They just finished the book last night. And the whole time, I was standing outside the wardrobe.  I didn't experience the magic with them.  Though it was wonderful bonding time between Nick and the kids, I missed out on something pretty special.

It's been a while since I've blogged, because a little baby has turned my stomach life upside down the past twenty weeks.  The kids, however, have found great pleasure in my illness.  One morning, Miri and Noah were laughing so hard as I was throwing up in the bathroom.  "Bowser is coming!  Run, Mario!"  Apparently, I sound like King Koopa when I throw up.  Gus would run to the bathroom every chance he could: for him, it was a free piggy-back ride, where Mommy was too preoccupied to shrug him off. 

Newest Baby Hnatiuk, ETA March 2015

We're all excited to meet this new baby!  Miriam, of course, hopes it will be a sister, but quickly clarifies, "But I'll still love you if you're a boy," as she hugs my belly. 

Noah is mostly concerned with mind-boggling concepts like, "Baby, I hope you're having fun in Mommy's belly even if you don't have any toys in there." Then, "Mommy, will the baby be born with clothes on?"

Guess what's on the agenda for tomorrow?  Nick and the kids will be watching The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe.  Animated or live action?  Big decision!

Halloween 2015

One more of my little monster!
After Gus got his first piece of candy during trick-or-treating,
he stared in awe for about 60 seconds.  Then dropped his bucket
and took off with his piece of candy.