A morning with my farmer

and I had a great time at Farmer Brown Day. He was so excited about it. He was a bit confused about the details-- he thought he would get to ride a horse, he didn't. Like he would actually get on a horse. One day. He was very excited that he and his buddies W and J would all have matching hats and bandannas. Although I didn't actually ever see J wearing his. H's buddy W was unimpressed that they were not having Farmer Brown Day at a "real" farm. I really enjoyed the simplicity of the day-- tic tac toe with corn ears, a relay race with pumpkins, cookie decorating, face painting and H's favorite-- a hay ride behind a tractor. Instead of hot chocolate this year, we had Popsicles. I had a ball seeing H at school, interacting with his friends and his teachers. I love being in my kids environment. I love being with them.

H

Cans

This summer I was just feeling a longing in my heart to encourage my sweet daughter to think big and dream big and more importantly think about others. I really wanted to encourage her little class to do a project, i mean do a project that they could take ownership in. Well I mentioned it to the right person and Christy ran with it. I called the play, but she threw the pass and our team definitely scored a touchdown! A small little class project to collect cans turned into a 1st through 4th grade can drive in which they packaged the cans in bags to give away at FUMC. Monday I encouraged the first graders to be like the little boy who gave Jesus his lunch and Jesus multiplied it to feed thousands. I really wanted the kids to work for their cans and bring them in themselves, maybe do chores around the house or give out of a gift. So the kids brought in food all week and today the kids bagged the food. But first today, the kids gathered around the food and our headmaster prayed and encouraged the kids to be mindful of others in need because Jesus has given us that example. It was just a really great morning. My hope is that these kids would see how they can love God and do it. I told the Headmaster that I hope it won't be long before I hear one of mine say, "mom, I've got this great idea!" Maybe I'll get to be the cheerleader that day!

Snaggle

Ek lost tooth #2 tonight. She pulled this one out too. She was calmly watching Curious George and came over with this tiny little thing in her hand. It has been sore the last few days. She was so excited. She can't wait to show and tell it tomorrow at school. She still has yet to put the first one under her pillow because she doesn't want to loose it. The only tradition that I choose to go along with she won't let me. I told her a fairy, wink- wink, who looked a lot like her mommy, wink- wink, would fly into her room and peek under her pillow and leave a delightful surprise. She has yet to give me that glorious opportunity. I guess it lost all its charm since she knows its me. Pretty clever way of that mom years and years ago to get rid of those little teeth. I'll let her keep them in her little pink box that she so beautifully decorated. I told her that I wasn't happy at all about her growing up, but if she had to, I sure was enjoying the amazing little girl that she is. She really is wonderful. Even with one less tooth.

Trouble

We are having trouble getting H's class on their first school bus. Their first field trip was supposed to be last Friday. J was going to go and was, I think, more excited than H! I was really excited for them too, I knew they would have a great time. Then the farm postposed due to a 20% chance of rain. Ok. And rescheduled for today. I left the gym this morning to pouring rain and in continued on and off all day. We arrived to school ready and willing, rain boots, rain jackets, blue jeans, umbrellas, but were quite relieved to find it had been postponed again. H said on the way, "mommy, I don't really want to go to the farm in the rain." He was also quick to point out that the bus had yet been pulled around the K building, quite observant. So we will await patiently our perfect day at the farm.

Answers

L made me laugh today talking about how old we all are. She began by saying her baby doll was 2, she was 2, Daddy was 5, Ek was 5, and H was 3. She didn't know how old I was. She is so cute and quite the conversationalist. She also reported today her name correctly and mine, she couldn't quite remember J's. I like her and I like to hear her little thoughts.

Good report

I always enjoy getting a good report on my kids, today I got one from Ek herself. She said last night on the play ground at church, L showed her all around to everything she likes to play. My interpretation: Ek sought out her little sister from all 50 children there were to play with and choose L to spend some quality time with. Love that. Secondly she said when H got to the playground, he found them and gave them, yep his sisters, huge hugs. Love that too. I think Ek, Blake and Hunter spent a good bit of today watching out for our sweet L as well. I love that they are looking out for each other and loving each other. That's a good indication we are going in the right direction.

Little beam

This weekend J and I are apart of a marriage retreat going on here in D. My Bible Study group has come together to make it happen, to be little obedient vessels and see what God can do in our marriages. Tonight we talked a lot about personality types and their encouragement was to embrace the way God has made us and learn within that to know how to relate to one another. I really love gaining insight into the people I love, so I can learn to love them more. So it was a good night. We definitely laughed a lot. The last type they talked about was the sunny happy engaging person who never meets a stranger and is the life of the party. In walks my littlest ray of sunshine dancing and shaking her little hips in her tiny little jean skirt. She was just talking to everyone and grinning with such joy that we literally were all just eating her up. L is such a joy. She really just brings so many smiles. I love how she loves those in her life and I think she just longs to be with everyone she loves. She is always asking where the other is, she asks mopsey, 'where's pops?', she asks Tara, "where's h?", she asks me every morning "Where's daddy?" She is such a little ray of sunshine.

Christmas Countdown

I feel like Christmas is quickly approaching-- mostly because the kids have been given the CD for the music of our Christmas program and it is all, I mean all, we are listening to in the car. It is suiting me fine because #1 it really is fun music, #2 they really do need to learn it, but also #3 they are learning a lot of good truth through it. Now I realize we have until Dec 6 to be listening to learn this music, so by then I may be done with these particular songs, but definitely not with the truth of them. H still seems to be a very auditory learner, so he is taking to the songs really well, so well that he is commonly singing them in a silly voice, which drives ek crazy. I do hope he continues to learn easily from listening, I think that would be a wonderful asset to him. Ek loves dancing to all the music we are hearing and every song has hand motions so hopefully she will be able to pick up on that quickly since we will miss so many practices because they interfere with Nutcracker rehearsal. And I would love to know what is going through L's mind as she listens to these songs over and over. Today they especially impressed me in one song they spell out "Come Emmanuel" and they both could without the music, by themselves. Not too sure when that will come in handy in everyday conversation but so fun to hear them learning these songs so well. It is making me ready for Christmas to come!

Beautiful afternoon

Yesterday afternoon it was way too beautiful to go inside, so we met C and kids at the park and played and played. K has a very special place in Ek's heart, Ek says that K is her first friend here. They usually play really well together and use their sweet imaginations to come up with wonderful games. When they were smaller they usually played babies, commonly baby doctors. C would usually call me to confirm what baby and accessories I was bringing to reduce drama. Yesterday I called her to say I was bringing a baby, purse, bottle and cell phone for L so she could bring the same for M! That was quite a deja vu moment. M stayed home to sleep with her Daddy, so L played baby. H and W love, I mean love to play ball together. They have quite their match in each other as well. I remember last spring they were pitching balls to each other to play baseball, they were 3! Yesterday they played soccer and football. H insisted the balls be in their picture. L was not up for having her picture made, I took it anyway.

Sweet

I had one of those spiritual coincidence moments today. I'll back up a few days to begin my story. H and L's allergies have gotten terrible over the last few days. L looks like she has never received any medicine for an allergy in her life, nor ever met a Kleenex. H's nose is pretty bad too. I am quite sad about it, especially since they get allergy medicine everyday, actually L gets 2. So I decided I had slacked off on my honey and was going to start again this morning. I gave myself a teaspoon, L a teaspoon and H a teaspoon. Quick and easy. Wrong. H protested. I won't go into details because one day I just know I'll forget those moments. But I really believed I was trying to do the right thing and its honey, I like it. H, not so much. So off to take everyone to school and I'm off to Bible study. We talked about the Israelites not entering into the Promised Land, you know the land of milk and honey. Our new study is about the 2 in 2 million that got in the Promised Land. I came home and had a little talk with H about the honey. I told him God had taught the bees how to make honey and honey helps with our allergies forever. H said he would rather have his Zyrtec. ha. But he did say he would try some honey again tomorrow. This reminds me of the importance of being in God's word. We need to know his best for us so we know his best for us. He has told us what he wants our lives to look like, how he made us, but we have to know him to know his ways. Hopefully H knows how dearly I love him and that my intentions can be trusted. Maybe he will swallow his honey tomorrow. And maybe I can continue to learn how to live in the promises of God. And one more speaking of honey, several weeks ago I called L "honey," and she siad "I not honey!" She's a hoot.

Seeds

Yesterday my adorable ballerina skipped to the car with her sweet black leotard, pink tights and neat bun still intact, her hot pink Crocs over her little ballet slippers, and her hand tightly grasped. I didn't question it until we stopped off to get J a quick request at the store on the way home. She then let go of her little treasure-- about 10 Sunflower seeds. I said, "oh sweetie, you can eat those when we get back." her reply was so cute and I loved it, "No mommy, I want to plant them, I want some Sunflowers." Love that she was thinking so ambitious. I would love some tall sunflowers sprouting up in our yard. I told her we would have to get different ones to plant that those were cooked to eat. She was a tad disappointed but continued on. I need to help that girl plant some flowers.

Cozy H

H has been a bit of an alarm clock lately. Every morning, he is coming to get in bed with us around 5:30 or 6. He does go back to sleep and can even sleep through alarm clocks and our getting up. I guess he just gets ready for company and literally runs to our room. Last week one day I accidently reset my clock when I was setting my alarm and was puzzled as to why it was 7:30 and H wasn't with us, turns out it was 5:30 and he was on his way. That was a big clue that something was wrong with my clock! He is a cozy boy!

Friday treat

Friday I took the kids to get ice cream after school. They had gotten amazing report cards and H was even behaving wonderfully at school, not to mention the potty progress of my smallest, so that was enough to say, let's go! H knew what kind he wanted-- Sponge Bob which is yellow cake flavored ice cream with bits of sponge cake mixed in, on a sugar cone. Ek wanted to try something new, she tried Rainbow sherbet and had it on a cake cone. I was trying to help L decide, I showed her birthday cake with all of its beautiful sprinkles and strawberry, she has been on a pink kick since she learned that pink is pink. Her reply, "No mommy, I was spiderman." That's right. L remembered last time we were there, she had Superman ice cream, vanilla ice cream colored red, yellow and blue. And she wanted it on a cake cone. Now those are 3 children that know what they want. They all ate their ice cream with tiny sample spoons, L got a big nervous mid- way that she didn't get enough and begged for more. I fluffed it up a bit and showed her how to eat her cone. She ate every bit. H also ate every bite. Ek ate every bite of ice cream and threw away the cone. It was delightful. They are delightful. Yesterday we drove by the ice cream shop and H wanted it again, for lunch. He is a hoot. And this morning he wanted candy corns (or horns as he sometimes calls them) for breakfast. He gets it so honest and I'm so glad I've got a few more years before he is on his own.

Puppy Love

This morning, L was quite distraught to see that puppy was dirty. Same dirty he had been last night when they went to sleep, but she thought he needed a bath, ASAP. So H decided to throw his in as well. I can't help to think of the Calvin & Hobbs comic strip when Hobbs would have to take baths, he was very upset over his bath in the washer. The kids quickly pulled stools over to watch the puppies go up and down in the water, they were totally impressed. I had to drag them away to load them for school.

Before lunch there was a happy reunion between kids and puppies. H thought his was so clean he could easily be mistaken for replacement puppy!-- now that is clean, but not quite as fluffy, H added. I still think it is quite humorous that all 3 of mine sleep with a puppy and all call them 'puppy.' The others have been dropped for now, Teddy and Tigey have joined the crowd at the end of the bed while Duck and Lamby are one the floor between wall and crib. How thankful I am for their puppies who comfort them to sleep. And how I love the unity of all having a beloved 'puppy.'

Ek's puppy did not have a bath today, but here she is yesterday with her while avoiding breakfast and getting ready for school. This is why I love having a couch in my kitchen.

Swinging

Well our fall break is over, back to school in the morning. It was bitter-sweet that Ek was sick. It kept us home, helped potty train L, and gave us a lot of time together. I love having them home. And I am very grateful for their school, I think it is doing great things in their lives. And I am very thankful that they enjoy one another and enjoy playing together. Yesterday, I ran inside from the backyard where the kids were playing in their PJs and Crocs, to fold a quick load of laundry. I looked out my laundry window to see this...

... group swinging. And loving it. I did take this through the window as I saw it, I didn't know how long they would keep going!

Hot seat

Tonight I had dinner set at our usual places at the counter. The kids along the long side, J on my stool at the end, me standing up (we need one more short stool). The kids sat until J arrived from washing his hands, they all- within one minute- moved to the end to sit by Daddy. I miss him too during the day!

I took several pictures but this one made me laugh because L and Ek are making the same silly frowny face, by accident I'm sure.

Puzzling

I saw another difference today that I would say is a boy-girl difference in my children. We have been all about puzzles the last 24 hours. Have I mentioned we have been home a lot the last 5 days? When Ek finishes one, she likes to savor it, admire it, and enjoy it for a while. I remember one time mom and dad were here and she made a whole puzzle museum that she wanted to keep for a long time. H puts together a puzzle so he get to tear it apart. He barely sees the full picture before he is ready to see it back to pieces. They keep me on my toes. or tired. depending on the day.

Sunday update

Ek still is not feeling well. Her fever contiues up and down. I'll be headed to fill her antibiotic today. She rested a good bit yesterday, watched High School Muscial 1 & 2. Yes, I just admitted that. And I'll admit this too, it is entertaining. Last night she wanted Chicken & Stars for dinner and fell asleep before I could feed it to her (about 10 minutes). I took her to bed and am so hopeful she is a bit perkier today.

I talked with H again over the whole book shelf thing. I asked him how he was planning to get down, he thought he would climb down like he climbed up. He did say though that he knew he could break his head. He had a look in his eyes that was either wonder or fear, I'm hoping for the later.

I had a paradoxical day. I bought knitting needles and a self teaching book and printed out a training schedule for an Olympic distance triathlon. Those don't seem to go together, but they do in my life. Work hard, rest. I miss sewing. I have not sewn in months. sigh. So here is my attempt to do something creative. I also really want to learn so I can teach Ek. She seems quite excited about that possibility. I aim for my first project to me a scarf for my mom. She loves a scarf.

L kept her big girl panties dry all day yesterday!!! Wow. Amazing. So proud of her.

J is good. So nice to have him around this weekend. We laugh a lot. He was so disappointed in out Dawgs, but it's just a game.

Unsupervised H

It has been a while since I have told a tale of my H while unsupervised. Today during the GA game, H and Ek were playing so quietly in the playroom. I went to the kitchen to fix J some lunch, he went to check on the kids. And this is what he saw, brace yourself...

That's my boy! What can I say, really? He loves to climb and has no fear. Oh! but I did say, "H get down from there and do not ever do that again!" Big thanks to Grady for securing the shelves to the wall years ago. He knew what he was talking about. I wonder if J was ever caught doing such a thing. hmmmm. Thankfully there were no injuries, not even a bump.

I just had to add dear Kim's comment to this post, it is a wonderful reminder to love my kids the way they were made and encourage their, shall I say, unique attributes: 'Okay. We've got the pole cut down to his size. You just need to put out a mattress or something. We'll see how soon we can get it to you. Wayne's excited about his attitude. It's everything we look for in a vaulter!! Remember, Cassie started on top of the refrigerator at 2. Way to go, Henry!!

(And stop causing your mama's heart to stop until we get you on a mat!) '

Pleasant Ek

I must say that Ek is about the most pleasant sick person I have ever been around. This girl is not only pleasant but I must say- tough. I do not do fevers like her. I lie in bed with my covers pulled to my chin and begging no one to enter the room. Ek, not so much. We have painted, put together puzzles, played hide and seek inside and out, played paper-rock-scissors, colored and colored, read books, wrote an adorable letter to her bf ("Dear C, thank you for praying for me. You are my best friend, love, Ek"), and ate a fair share of chicken noodle soup. Today I had to all but beg her to lay down a minute and watch some TV. We have really had a pleasant few days. I have laughed and smiled and just been so thankful for these little people who I get to share life with.

Here are a few pictures of our yesterday painting time when she proclaimed the following... "Mommy, isn't this the best day? I am so glad I got to stay home today. I am so glad I am not that sick! Isn't this just fun!" What a treat she is. She decided right away that when she was home from school that we should paint pictures of J and H. She told me I could do J because he was my husband and she would do H because he was her brother. love it. And please do not laugh at my painting, it was her idea, not mine. By the way, L only missed the potty once today, and that is amazing.

"The Greatest Show" that makes up my days

I guess with 3 children in the house I'm going to have a lot of happy and sad days in the same day. Today was one: L did amazing using the potty today, I am so proud of that little girl with her tiny little fanny! that is enough on that topic for the night... Ek came home from school hardly able to hold her eyes open. Bless her heart, she was so tired! She laid down to watch a cartoon and woke up with a fever. sigh. I'm hoping it was a one afternoon thing, we will soon find out. She perked up very quickly after some Tylenol and chicken noodle soup and went to bed looking forward to her day home with me tomorrow. H was so excited and has re-capped all afternoon Smokey the Bear's visit to his school. He retold the Smokey story and his attire all day. So glad he had such a great day at school. So there you have it, one with a huge growing up day, one with a sick day and one with an exciting day. I started singing the circus music this evening at one point, I felt like a ring leader!

The challenge of others' lives

L is thinking about potty training. She knows how but we are still in the early stages. I think back to how different Ek was at this time, and there is one huge difference-- she didn't have anybody who was giving her anyone to imitate. She didn't have any role models. And she didn't want to at all. She was even a bit scared of the whole process, even the adorable Gymboree panties I bought her. L, on the other hand, is so anxious to wear panties. She wants to so bad, even if she doesn't know what to do when she has them on. It really is a hoot to see the differences. As a friend in TX said to me a long time ago, every child is born into a different family, so true, so true.

This has me thinking about our daily walk with God as well. It is so important that we are with people who are walking out their faith. It is so helpful to see others doing what we long to do, the things we were made to do, the things we are called to do, the life we are called to grow up into. I don't know if this example would ever make it into a sermon (lol) but it is a great reminder to me, to keep around and look for those in my life who challenge me to greater things.

Sorry, L, for the picture, I couldn't resist. Ek said, "L, do you want me to get you some toys to play with or books to read?" and then turned to me and said "Mommy, I saw on Noggin they said to do that so the children could go potty while they play." What a mommy she will be.

Sleepy H

H thinks he doesn't need a nap anymore, I tend to disagree and I have a picture to prove it...

he feel asleep on the way home from taking Ek to dance, mid- chip I might add (see his right hand).

I try to tell H he needs a nap. I usually lay down with him until he does. He mostly does not want to, but he needs it. Oh that we would listen to God and trust his ways for rest. He tells us to come to him for our rest. He has even given us His Spirit to be with us to help to understand his rest. Oh help us God to come for rest before we fall out.

Encouraging aspirations

H still says he wants to be a dentist. Ek is a bit more undecided. She did say last week that she decided she did not was to be a police officer anymore, thank goodness. Even today she said she just wasn't quite sure what she wanted to be. She says it though with this giggle and glimmer in her eyes that she sees great things in her future, I sure do. I saw this play-doh dental set today and thought it might keep them occupied during the football game. So far, it has, but we are only in the first quarter. And I think it will be a great way for H to work on his fine motor stills.

.

A week of easy mornings

This week was Homecoming week at TCS. Monday was college day, Ek wore her cheerleading outfit and H wore his jersey. Tuesday was Decade Day, Ek wore this 50s outfit and H wore a tie-die t-shirt. Wednesday was accessory day, the hat was only a part of Ek's outfit but the totality of H's accessories. Thursday was Holiday Day, Ek went Valentines while H went St. Pats. Friday was Blue and White Day with the highlight being the Pep rally. Getting dressed was the easiest part of the morning! I love when the extras at school keep them energized.

Thursday afternoon

One day Ek will tell this story. Because I will remind her of it. But not today.

Praying H

H is a creature of habit. Most this age are. I rephrase-- all of us are. I remember when he first started praying out loud with real words, for the longest time his prayer was: quietly bowing head, closing eyes, closing hands, then quickly, 'thank you for the food amen.' and his little head would pop up so fast. If you were not prepared, you would miss it. Oh and did I mention this was his bedtime prayer as well. We didn't correct or add to it for the longest time, we just let him pray his own little prayer. Well now we are in another habit that I have no idea how long we have been in. Now when he prays, the consumption is thanking God for people in his life. If he prays at home, it is usually us and the extended family, if we are out with friends he prays for all at the table. I love most of all how he says, "Dear God, thank you for Daddy and for mommy, thank you for Ek, for L and for me." I say with all sincerity that I am so thankful that H thanks God for himself, I know I thank God for him.