Thursday, December 30, 2010

Child-like Ceativity

I was in the middle of packing the boys suitcases when I was pulled away because of a crying baby. I should have known better but I left the open suitcases on their dresser. As I was sitting in the couch comforting my littlest one I noticed something out of the corner of my eye.

What was it?

It was two piles of clothes being pushed around by two little boys and their now empty suitcases. I asked them what they were doing.

Any ideas??

They were pretending to be snowplows moving piles of snow. :)

I could have so easily been frustrated or angry(truth be told, I was a tiny bit before I found out their thinking) because it caused more work for me. But I want my boys to be creative. I don't want to stifle their imagination. I want them to be little boys. Far to often my expectations of them are unreasonable and not age-appropriate. I need to find balance in the craziness that is motherhood.

Conversations with a 2 year old

We were on way to grandma and papa yesterday for snowshoeing and dinner. Casey was meeting us there after work, so it was just me and the boys in the car.

Corbin: I want to go to the lake and see the boat
Me: Well honey, we can't today. The boat isn't in the water right now.
Corbin: Why, Mommy?
Me: Right now is winter time. In the winter we have to take the boats out of the water because the lake freezes.
Corbin: Funny, mommy. It freezes like a Popsicle! I want to eat the lake.

Friday, November 26, 2010

Oh How Time Flies

I realize that it has been quite some time since I wrote last. I'm going to start playing catch up! So many things have gone on in the last 2 months.

The biggest thing is not really a thing at all. He is our precious baby boy, Roland. I can hardly believe he is now 6 1/2 weeks old already. It has gone fast, too fast. I am absolutely head over heels, madly truly deeply in love. It doesn't get better.

A few of my favorite things:
1. New baby smell. Kind of like new car smell but oh so much better!
2. New baby stretching. You know, when you pick them up and the hold their legs up and arch their back. It doesn't last long and it is one of the things that I miss the most.
3. New baby cry. Yes, Yes, I know its weird to like their cry but it is so soft and tiny. Nothing like when your 2 year old is hollering.
4. Naptime. I am so fortunate that all of us are able to nap at the exact same time each day.
5. New baby breath. Sometime, put your face right up to a newborn that is sleeping and just feel their breath on your face. FYI, this is only recommended to babies you know, please do not attempt on strangers children, especially at the grocery store.

Ok, so that's it for today. I'm off to feed the above mentioned baby. I'll catch up on all our other happenings soon.

Wednesday, September 8, 2010

Parenting

We all go into parenting with ideas of how we will handle situations. I know that I certainly did. And I still do. Sometimes I have to change my plan or idea of how things will go. One thing is for certain, we do not tolerate disobedience in our house. Accidents and mistakes are one thing but willful disobedience is completely different. What I am finding out is that sometimes the consequence for disobedience not only affects the child but the parent or whole family as well.

Take today for example:

The plan was for the kids to go to the indoor park to play. One child decided to dump all of the toys out of the toy bin. He refused to pick them up. After timeouts and spankings, he still refused. But he wanted to go to the park still. He was told, more than once, that if he did not pick up the toys quickly that he would not be able to go. Bummer for everyone. Part of this reasoning was, 1. there wouldn't be enough time to play and 2. willful disobedience. I think this is where the hard part of parenting comes in. You know you can't give in and yet you want to because you want them to get out of the house for a while. So, the toys got taken away for the rest of the day. We'll see how that goes.......

We teach our children by rules, consistency, and follow-through. I hate when I am out and I see a child whining about something at a store and after hearing the mom say no a dozen times, she gives in just to get the child to be quiet.

Biblical philosophy: let your yes be yes and your no be no.

Kids pick up on our weaknesses, our frustration, and they use that to their advantage. As parents, it is our job to train our children in what is right, what is honorable, and what is Godly. I write this as an encouragement as much to myself as to other parents. Keep the good fight. Train your children in the way they should go. Remember that you are not the only one dealing with these issues.

Let me know how you handle these hard situations. I'm always looking for new ideas.

Thursday, September 2, 2010

The End is In Sight

It feels weird to think that very soon we are going to have another little boy in our house. We are excited and overwhelmed. Although, to be perfectly honest, I'm not sure which is more exciting, having the baby or being off of bedrest.

Earlier this week I was told that I will only be receiving 2 more 17P injections. And, in 2 more weeks they will likely lift some of my restrictions!!! This is great. It will be strange to start doing things again.  I can tell that over the last 8 1/2 weeks I have become weaker. I get light-headed and dizzy when I am up and walking around, as in, going to Dr. J's office. My blood pressure it much lower than normal which makes it harder to be up.

I am feeling the need to be doing more around the house. Not because the help we have isn't amazing, they are the best. But because my little boys need me. Corbin climbs up next to me, wants me to read to him, to snuggle him, and lay with him in his bed when he is going to sleep. I want to be able to play with him and teach him things. Silas is walking much more and if he is crawling, he is super fast. He wants to be with me as well. Wants me to hold him and carry him. I want to as well. There are times where I feel like my little boy has missed out on a lot of one on one time with me.

Last night I was sitting and organizing all the things of our new little man. Getting his clothes ready and put away. Organizing his blankets and burp cloths. I am still waiting for our diapers to arrive. And have just discovered that I am going to need to buy nuks. I love the Soothie nuks that they use at the hospital. That is what the other boys use. But we seem to have misplaced all of them but 4!! This is bad news. Corbin has to have two to go to bed. One for his mouth and one in his hand. I really want to break him of this habit but not sure when the best time is to do that. With everything else that is going on, a nuk seems like the least of our problems. Fortunately, Silas doesn't use them so much for sleep. He does use them during the day because he is teething and fussy. I will say, Soothie Nuks are a life-saver in this household. But how we went from 15+ to 4 is a mystery to me. I guess I'll have to order more for the new guy.

On a huge plus, I've been able to get a few night of better sleep. I have resorted to sleeping almost completely upright due to heartburn. But unless one of my children wakes me for something, I've been get 5-6 hours of uninterrupted sleep this week!!!! I know this will be short lived, so I am enjoying it while I can. I've also been napping a lot lately thanks to other people watching the boys.

All that being said, it may only be 2 more weeks before this baby comes. Or longer. We stop the medication after next week and will be off all bedrest in 3 1/2 weeks. This time is coming to an end and bringing with it a new chapter in our lives.

Friday, August 27, 2010

A Lesson in Blessings

What do we consider a blessing?


I think that it is safe to say that we all consider blessings as something good. Do we consider it a blessing when we encounter a trial, a heartache, a consequence, or some other type of suffering? I dare say that we do not.

I am learning that blessings come in all forms, shapes and sizes. We are blessed whether we recognize it or not when we are children of Christ. All things will lead to His glory and thus, our blessing. We are able to find joy in our sorrow. We have a hope that others do not understand. We are blessed.

When my child disobeys, he suffers a consequence for his actions. It could be loss of a privilege, a time-out, or a spanking. He also can be shown grace and mercy. These are the same things that we as children of God experience on a physical and spiritual level. Do we consider the consequence a blessing? Usually no. But we should. We are being taught each moment of our lives, being brought closer to Christ, and learning the the character of God. Those are all blessings. 

When we suffer, be it through trail or heartache or illness, we seek comfort and solice. Once again, a child will seek his parents, a christian will(should) seek Christ. We are brought into the folds of our loving Lord. He will not forsake us. He will not leave us. He draws us near. We often hear the scripture quoted that He will not give us more than we can bare. I think that we need to remember that it is with Christ that we can bare all things. We can endure all things.

These are the things that I have been thinking and reflecting on recently. I could sit here and complain all day about being on bedrest. I won't. If I have, I apologize. I am learning that this time is a blessing. 

Ways we have been blessed:
1. Our child is growing well and healthy and is still in-utero
2. Our boys have been very well cared for
3. Extraordinary amounts of time with family
4. Meals from family and friends
5. Prayers for our family
6. More quiet time with God

I am not saying that this time has been easy. It has been difficult and trying and full of stress. But I am starting to see the blessings in the situation. And I pray that I continue to each day.


Thursday, August 19, 2010

Silas FIRST birthday

If you know me, you know I love birthday parties. I usually throw one for Casey, which he hates. But now that we have kids, I can go hog-wild!

Two days before Silas birthday I was in the hospital. I was given a 40% chance of delivering the baby within 2 weeks. There was a mix of emotions. The greatest at the moment seemed like sadness. I felt like this was going to cheat Silas out of his moment. His first birthday. His golden birthday. I sat in the hospital and cried selfish tears for my baby boy who was no longer a little baby. I wanted to make his birthday special. I didn't want to be in the hospital. I know, he wouldn't have remembered anyway but I would have and as a mom, its very hard. You want to enjoy and celebrate all of their moments in life. The doctor decided that I could go home for the night but needed to come back the next day. We were going to start steroid shots to help the baby's development in case he was born premature.

We were able to go ahead with Silas party!!!

BALLOONS




PRESENTS




WHAT IS GOING ON???




AND CAKE!!!




ALL FOR ME




I'M GOING TO EAT IT ALL, REALLY




SEE?!?!




ALL CLEAN




TIME TO PLAY IN THE GRASS


A birthday never to forget

Wednesday, August 18, 2010

Is it really time??

I can't believe that my little boy, my very first born child is already 2. It seems like yesterday that we brought him home from the hospital and took this picture of him......




Time has flown by and he is now not so little. I am realizing that every day. He is learning in leaps and bounds. He keeps us on our toes. He is a climber and is very adventurous. Has very little fear and an insatiable love for life. I think he not only looks like his dad but acts very much like him too.

We have been very blessed that he is a good, no, make that great sleeper. He has been from birth. He was consistently sleeping 8+ hours at night by 4 weeks and has always been a great napper too. Until the last few weeks, he never tried to get out of his crib!! But then it started. It was a constant battle to get him to stay in bed. Once he was asleep, he was good to go but getting there became a challenge.        

He recently spent the weekend with my parents. They took him "camping" for the day and he spent the night at their house. The second day during nap time, my mom was not home to put him down. The men had to figure it out. Anyway, he ended up sleeping in a regular bed! And he stayed there for his 3 hour nap with out getting out or falling out!!

So, it seemed apparent that it was time for the "big boy bed". He was asking for it and seemed ready.




He was so proud of his new bed........






He showed up how he was going to sleep like a big boy...........







And this is how he really slept..........






I love that he is hugging his pillow. Sleeping boys are the most beautiful sight in the world to a mommy!

Tuesday, August 17, 2010

My Wonderful Husband

I started to write this a few weeks ago, before bed rest. I thought I should continue and post it. I absolutely love my husband.

I am so thankful for my husband. He is a wonderful man and a great father!

A few weeks ago I was feeling burnt out, overwhelmed, and exhausted. Honestly, not a lot of that has changed. However, my husband graciously offered to take the boys up to his parents for the weekend. How sweet. Although I would have loved for him to stay home with the boys and let me go somewhere fun but that is not an option for many reasons. Mainly the situation with the new baby(modified bed rest) but financially as well. Either way, I was thrilled about the idea of having time to myself.

A few weeks have gone by since Casey took the boys out of town. A few days after they got back I ended up on FULL bed rest. I had been thinking that modified bed rest was hard but it is nothing compared to full bed rest. And lets be honest, as a mom you think, "Hmm, bed rest doesn't sound so bad. You are able to lay down and get some much needed sleep and other people will take care of everything for you." It is not at all what it seems.  You are stuck either on the couch or in bed. You have to ask somebody to help with everything, including getting a drink of water. You are no longer able to hold your children. You start to feel like an outsider in your own home.

All that complaining aside, I am more than grateful for the help that I have gotten. We have had family and friends helping out. But more importantly and impressive to me, is that my husband has taken over so much of what goes on. He takes care of me. He makes sure that I am getting enough rest and that my stress level stays low. He loves our boys and makes sure all of their needs are met. He gives them baths (both at the same time!),  although he ends up being as wet as they are by the time it is done. He feeds them nutritious meals, without my lead. He read and plays and wrestles. It is so fun to watch.

I love him. I am learning a lot about him right now. I am thankful that God is giving me a fresh perspective on the man I call my husband.

Faces That I LOVE



I LOVE THIS MAN!









This boy makes my day. I love his thoughtful and curious nature.







He makes my heart melt.





Sunday, July 25, 2010

Prayer for the week, Prayer for our lifetime

Today was a great day. We sang this song at church this morning. I love it. I want it to be my prayer for the week. But what I really want is for it to be come the prayer for our lifetime, especially my boys. I want them to love the cross of Christ. To follow Him, to desire Him and to live wholly for Him! That is our goal as parents. I want for us to be examples of that for them. Here's the song.

Lead me to the cross

Savior I come
Quiet my soul remember
Redemptions hill
Where Your blood was spilled
For my ransom
Everything I once held dear
I count it all as lost

Lead me to the cross
Where Your love poured out
Bring me to my knees
Lord I lay me down
Rid me of myself
I belong to You
Lead me, lead me to the cross

You were as I
Tempted and trialed
You are
The word became flesh
Bore my sin and death
Now you're risen

To your heart
To your heart
Lead me to your heart
Lead me to your heart

Thursday, July 22, 2010

A Lesson in Pride

I had never considered myself a proud person. Maybe that's pride in itself.

I have a very hard time asking for help. I am a wife, a mother, a homemaker, and I would like to be a Proverbs 31 woman. I should be able to do it all myself. My children don't watch tv or movies(until this week), they eat nutritious meals, they obey(sometimes), they are kind to eachother and others. Sounds like I've got it together!

This pregnancy has changed a lot of things. I can no longer do the things I used to do. I am no longer able to do our shopping, no more meal making(although I still do lunch, the kids have to eat), my temper is much shorter. I spend much of my time watching my boys play and reading books to them. Corbin has interest in watching tv! I don't really like this but at the same time I do. It gives me a little break, granted his shows are only 10 minutes long, but it's a little break nonetheless.

I have started to ask for help. We set up a care calendar so people can see our needs and sign up where they feel they are able. While this is a big step for me, it still isn't good enough. I still have pride that I can do things on my own. I have sweet friends who have offered to clean around my house and yet, my answer is no thanks. Why? PRIDE! I don't want people to think I am helpless. I don't want people to see that things aren't as neat as I would like. It's all pride. I do need the help. I am so learning to let it all go. Let God use others to bless me. I know that I am blessed. I feel it eveyday.

Please pray for me as I learn to give my pride to Christ. To humbly seek and accept help. To not come to expect others do to things for me, remaining grateful.

For those of you that have already been helping or have signed up to help, thank you. I am truly appreciative. You have been a great gift to our family.

Sunday, July 18, 2010

Hallelujah!

All I Have Is Christ

By Jordan Kauflin



I once was lost in darkest night
Yet thought I knew the way
The sin that promised joy and life
Had led me to the grave
I had no hope that You would own
A rebel to Your will
And if You had not loved me first
I would refuse You still

But as I ran my hell-bound race
Indifferent to the cost
You looked upon my helpless state
And led me to the cross
And I beheld God’s love displayed
You suffered in my place
You bore the wrath reserved for me
Now all I know is grace

Hallelujah! All I have is Christ
Hallelujah! Jesus is my life

Now, Lord, I would be Yours alone
And live so all might see
The strength to follow Your commands
Could never come from me
Oh Father, use my ransomed life
In any way You choose
And let my song forever be
My only boast is You

© 2008 Sovereign Grace Praise (BMI)

Friday, July 16, 2010

A long past due update

I can hardly believe I have been so neglectful of the blog. June wasn't to eventful for us. We found out that we are having another boy!! Oh my word, our house is going to be crazy! We celebrated out 5th anniversary. It was so nice to be able to go out to dinner with out screaming children.

We spent almost a week up with Caseys family for the 4th of July. We had so much fun playing at the lake and fishing. Corbin and Silas are water babies. I think I would stay in the water all day if I let them. Corbin and Casey went fishing, I'll post pictures of all the fish Corbin caught. Ofcourse he practices catch and release, much to the chagrin of great-grandpa.

Now we are back at home. Trying very hard to get life in order and undercontrol. At 26 weeks pregnant I have been having too many contractions. I have been put on modified bedrest. No lifting, errand running, cooking. Ofcourse this is easy with a 2 year old and an almost 1 year old. I had to go into the dr the other day because my contractions were 3-5 minutes apart. Fortunately my tests came back negative, which means there is only a small chanc of delivery in the next two weeks. Yea! I am thrilled that I am still only on modified bedrest and not in the hospital. I am praying that this little guy can stay in long enough and I don't end up in the hospital on bedrest.

I am so thankful for friends who have offered to help with meals and watching the boys. It is a true blessing and I am overwhelmed by their generosity and love for us! Here is the link if you want to sign up to help too:

To access Lacey Johnson's personal CareCalendar site,
visit http://www.carecalendar.org/logon/45162 and enter the following
information in the appropriate spaces:

    CALENDAR ID      :   45162
    SECURITY CODE :   6126

We will be needing help for the next few months. Also, Casey will be out of town for the second week of august.

So, that's our update for now. I'm hoping to have a little more time to blog and post pictures next weekend. Please continue to pray for our baby and pray that people will continue to be able to help.

Sunday, May 30, 2010

a quick update

Life has been a bit crazy. When is it not when you have kids?? There are so many things that I need to write about, and I will as soon as I have time. I'll give a short little update now and more post when I get a chance.

1. The baby is growing great! That is one of the reasons I haven't been posting. I've been so sick. Finding out soon the gender of our little peanut.

2. Corbin turned 2!!!

3. Silas is now almost 10 months old and is finally on the growth charts. Yea!

4. Silas was dedicated at church.

5. We've been spending lots of time with grandparents and cousins. So fun.

6. The boys have enjoyed a number of trips to the childrens museum with good friends lately. I will be posting pictures soon. So many to go through but they are great.

7. A lovely weekend with friends up north this weekend.

8. And a new van! I know, I know, I'm surprised by own excitement on this.  Its amazing and a huge blessing!

Tuesday, March 9, 2010

A Lesson in True Faith

This week has been hard. Harder than I think I ever imagined. It was a true test of my trust in God's complete sovereignty. Do I trust that He is fully in control? Do trust that His plan is for my best? How will I deal with the possible heartache? Will I choose to glorify Christ or not?

You probably all are wanting a little background on why all of this was going through my head and through my heart.  Last week I went to the doctor for my early pregnancy ultrasound. Because Corbin was a little early and Silas was a premie, the doctors want to be very sure of my due date. The plan was to have multiple ultrasounds throughout the earlier parts of my pregnancy. Really, who's going to complain about that? I love seeing my sweet children before they are born, to see God's handiwork in action.

I went to my appointment, boys in tow. Well planned out, right??? They took a very long time. Kept checking and rechecking everything. Called in additional doctors to look at the ultrasound. They asked me to wait to speak with a doctor after they had time to review the reports and look over everything. There was no other information given to me at the time. The boys and I were ushered into another room and waited. And we waited some more. It seemed like an eternity, reality was more like 40 minutes, but still a very long with with two little boys. I was then told they needed to get a better look and wanted to do another ultrasound right then. So back we went. And then we were once again ushered back to the other room to wait for the doctor. Still no idea of what was going on. Finally, the doctor came in.

"We cant verify the heartbeat". "We aren't too concerned." "We'd like to re-check in a week."

I think I was in a slight state of shock. I was asked if I had any questions, I just shook my head. I didn't know what to say or feel at that very moment. I had been in that very room once before, with a friend( I won't mention her name) when she was told that her baby was no longer living. My heart broke for her, but I had no thoughts when I was possibly going through a very similar situation. I gathered the boys and left. Talked to Casey in the car, told him what was going on but that I didn't really want to talk about it right then. The boys and I were about to meet my parents for lunch. I really didn't want to show up in tears. I had texted them while I was waiting, they knew what was going on and we're praying.

This is where the hard part comes, waiting........

I had to wait for a week before they would re-check to see if the baby was alive, if there was a heartbeat.  This week has been a constant test in if I really trust Christ in everything. I know that I can. I felt a great amount of peace. Surprisingly. What ever the outcome, I was going to fall at the feet of Christ.

The answer to my week of waiting.... the baby has a strong solid heartbeat. They think that my "dates" were off. I know that I kept track but I'll let them think that. We will continue on our plan of multiple ultrasounds. Casey and I were blessed to see our sweet baby this morning. Casey thinks he looks like a cashew. No, we don't know if it is a boy but Casey thinks it will be.

I am praising God and yet very overwhelmed that what the future holds. But this I know, God is faithful.

Monday, March 1, 2010

Pictures from the new camera


one cool boy holding his glasses



Valentines Day pt. 2


Ok, so I promised I'd share my other Valentines present in another post. Can you guess by the picture what it is?? Ok, so most of you already know.

We are having another baby!! 

You might be one of the many who have thought, or even asked these questions: Are you crazy? quite possibly, Do you know how baby's are made? Umm, yep, pretty sure I do (that's my g rated answer for that question), Are you overwhelmed? ofcourse.  I will be the first to say that this little blueberry (since that's about the current size) was a shock, not part of our plans. But that is ok with us. We trust that Christ has our lives planned out. This baby was part of God's plan before time began, we just didn't know it and we are thrilled none-the-less.

Any guesses on whether it will be a boy or a girl this time???

I honestly have no clue yet. I am not as sick, yet, as I was with both of the boys. Hopefully that will continue to be the case. I am exhausted. Casey has been for from work for awhile, while while hard has been a huge blessing when I can't keep my eyes open at 9 am. What will I do when he goes back to work?!?!?!

So, that's our big Valentine's Day surprise!

Monday, February 15, 2010

Valentines Day

I'll be honest and say that I don't usually make a big deal out of Valentines day. Its really not that big of a deal to me. And it most certainly its not a big deal to Casey.  As long as my birthday, which is a week before, doesn't get overlooked, I don't really care so much. I had no expectations this year. Really!! I know, I know, its not like me. All I really wanted was to spend time with my boys and maybe get a nap in. Yea!! I got both. I was also very pleasantly surprised by my husband with a new camera. It was a combination gift. I think perhaps I made him feel a little guilty about not getting me a present on my birthday and this was his way of making up for it. I am thrilled!!

Soon you will all be blessed with the fruits of this lovely gift. Although I am still trying to figure out how to use all of the functions. I am already so happy with the quality of pictures it takes.

We also got one more out of this world gift, but that will be blogged about another day :)

Monday, February 8, 2010

A Lesson in Expectations

I will be the first to admit that I am often guilty of having unreasonable expectations. I expect behavior from my children that I do not get. I expect things out of my husband that are not fulfilled. I easily get depressed by being disappointed that things don't go my way.

So, where does the problem lay?? Is it in the other people not living up to my expectations? Is it in having the expectations in the first place? Or is it because I'm not allowing God to fully captivate my heart?

In my own selfishness I want to blame others for my disappointment. Why can't they just do what I want? Why do I have to tell them exactly what to do?  Don't they already know what I expect?

Once I get past this, I am more willing to lay the blame on myself. I know that if I expect something I need to express it. I shouldn't expect my husband to do the laundry if I haven't asked him to. I should expect him to know the boys routine and how I do things during the day if I don't tell him what we do. It truly is not his fault, it is my own.

The last one is a bit harder. I think it hits closer to home than I would like to admit. If God is not fully captivating my heart than the way I react is going to be sinful. I am a sinful person and my reactions to circumstances is often sinful. I have worked hard to change myself, unsuccessfully. What a blessing it is to know that I don't have to be the one to change myself. Don't misunderstand, change needs to happen and that change needs to happen in me. God is the only one that can make a lasting heart change in my life. It is very true that whatever is in your heart comes out of your mouth. You cannot hide your true heart. When the heat is applied, do you respond with a heart filled with the cross?

Yesterday was my 27th birthday. Casey and I were out for dinner and he asked my what my goals were for this next year of my life. Easy, so I thought, I know what my goals are. I want to get in shape, be more patient with my children and treasure Christ more. OK, so its easy to know what you want to do, following through is the hard part.  I think that if I make my last goal my first priority, then the others will fall in place. I expect to struggle with all three along the way. I am praying for God to guide me this year, to live fully for him. I hope that you join me on my journey this year. Walking and praying along side of me.

Friday, February 5, 2010

What a week

Let me start by saying, I love going to my in laws and am so thankful for them. What I don't like, is getting back into our routine at home.  I am finding that because the boys are still so little, they pick up new habits very quickly. Such as, sleeping in our bed, different bed/nap times, food choices. After a few days home we are getting back to normal. Its hard to break the habits and make new ones. We will get there......eventually.

Monday, February 1, 2010

Adventures of a short vacation pt.3


Amazing, everyone slept well.  I was even blessed to sleep in as Casey took care of Monkey for me. We had the most amazing carmel rolls that my lovely mother in law made. So yummy.

Monkey was very excited to be up and playing with his great friend Blake. They chased each other and the dogs all around the house. They played with cars and trucks, ate "loops"(fruitloops), and generally had a great time.


All four boys took naps at the same time!! The men went snowmobiling and the girls played cards.



Now I will let you enjoy our ride home as much as we did.

As we pulled out of the driveway



Five minutes later

Sunday, January 31, 2010

Adventures of a short vacation pt.2

The first night was rough, it usually is. It took both boys much longer to go to sleep than normal. Monkey usually goes to sleep instantly, no problems, no whining. He cried for an hour. Such a sad sad boy. Jellybean wasn't too bad. Unfortunately, half way through the night, Monkey woke up. His sweet father thought it would be the best idea to bring him into bed with us. I guess the journey upstairs was long enough to really wake him up. For two hours he climbed around our bed, not sleeping.

The boys have been joined by some great friends, Blake and Parker. They all played so well. I even have pictures to prove it :). I'll post them when I get a chance to put them on the computer.

It was a fairly uneventful day. Lots of playing and eating and sleeping. After dinner, all of the kids when down remarkably well, leaving us parents time to play Wii and watch A Night at the Museum 2.

Sleep to come.....

Friday, January 29, 2010

Adventures of a short vacation pt. 1

We started off this morning with the best of intentions.  Wanting to leave by 9. As most of you with kids know, especially those with nursing babies, you are rarely fully in-charge of your own schedule. We left the house about 45 minutes later than we intended.  I would complain but this is actually because Jellybean decided to sleep later than his normal 7 am.  I won't complain about getting extra sleep. Not now, not ever. Especially since everyone in our house has been sick (i.e. me and the boys) and there has been little sleep the last few weeks.

Ok, we were off. Jellybean fell asleep instantly, YEA!! Monkey decided to talk to us for a while, pointing out every car, truck and train that we passed. I do mean every single one! He also was pretending to hide by covering his eyes.  This is a recently new game for him. He is amazing at it, he will cover his eyes for the longest time.  We have actually run out of things to say waiting for him to "appear".  Eventually he fell asleep too. Blessed quiet. Which preludes to my falling asleep too. Thankfully I was not the driver.

Both boys woke up just as we arrived at our home away from home, aka grandma and grandpa's house. We were instantly welcomed by the sweet* barks of little dogs. Once inside we are enveloped into the warm embrace of love and all things good.  We love being here.

Monkey helped grandma make cookies. All went well, with a slight exception of an egg incident, but we won't mention that. Jellybean sat on the floor, played, spit-up, cried, and played some more before it was nap time for him.

After much playing it was dinner time. Monkey has proven to be a little bit difficult at mealtimes lately. I guess that should be expected when you've been letting him eat anything he wants while he is sick just to get him to eat. After he finished, we let him sit with us at the table and eat one of the aforementioned cookies. Yum! He decided to "put it to bed" (tucking under into the place mat) and then wake it up. This was very funny when I was able to sneak it out from under the place mat without his noticing and he couldn't find it when he went to look for it.  He looked all around under the place mat and at each of us asking "where'd it go?" in his sweet little voice. It was the greatest puzzlement to him. I was laughing so hard I had tears running down my face.  I think he was even more surprised when it "re-appeared" out of nowhere.

Off to bed. The first night always takes the longest.  Can't wait to see what adventures await tomorrow.


*The sweetness wears off after a little while, especially when its nap time.
Sick little Monkey watching his Choo-Choo's

Jellybean full of smiles

We're off to a rough start

Ok, so my goal was to write often. It hasn't happened. In fact I haven't written at all. I think that sometimes I think I am more on top of things than I really am. I decided to give myself a break and start fresh at the beginning of 2010. Well, its now the end of January but atleast I'm trying.

Both boys have started off the new year rather sick. Monkey has never been sick before, so this was drastically different from our normal. He went from being happy, healthy and independent to being whining, crying and clingy. I will say, as much as I disliked the whining and crying, I loved his desire to be held and snuggle. We are happy to report that after 2 weeks he is back to his old self. Funny to say, "old self" when you are dealing with a 19 month old!

Jellybean is a different story all together. He started off on the wrong foot. Being a preemie brings its own sets of challenges. I feel like we are finally starting to get everything figured out and then he throws us a curve ball. He unfortunately caught Monkey's cold. Being as little as he is, 13 pounds at 6 months, this was much harder on him. After a few days with a fever, cough and little sleep, we brought him to Children's hospital ER, per his doctors orders. We discovered that he had rsv and an ear infection. Praise the Lord he didn't end up with pneumonia and didn't need to be hospitalized. What a blessing it is to have him home with us, even when we are up in the middle of the night. He is on the mend. No more rsv!!! He still has his ear infection but he has started to sleep a bit better at night, only waking once.

I am continually amazed with how Monkey learns new things everyday. New words are forever coming out of his sweet little mouth. A good reminder to watch what is being said around him as he now copies what we say, not that we really say anything horrible.

We are working on the concept of apologizing and asking for forgiveness. Teaching your child to not only say that they are sorry to the person they offend but also to Christ for the sin is seemingly not heard of in our culture but is utterly important. I am overwhelmed as a parent in the responsibility to teach my children what it means to love Christ and to serve Him daily. I am not perfect at it and won't be until the day I die and am made perfect by Christ. It is a work in progress, thankfully, the state I am in now is not the finished project.

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