Life Round Here

 

Might I just first add that I find it a bit comical that I have added a watermark on to my pictures today.  Truthfully I have no fear about anyone wanting to steal my pictures aside from perhaps the grandparents of these children shown below.  I saw the watermark option though and thought I would give it a whirl.  Spice things up a bit ya know?

So…I’ve missed you blogging world!  You would think with MawMaw being here that I would be sitting at Panera every day, sipping coffee and perusing the internet for hours on end.  And although I know she would let me do that, I instead find that I want to accomplish all that I can (like shower) while she’s here and I can sneak off for a few minutes.

All is well here though in the life of this fam.  Grayson had a pretty rough cough last weekend, but thankfully that has passed.  I spent one night curled up between the boy’s beds.  My body can’t handle it like it used to!  I woke up with sore everything from head to toe, but my child slept peacefully for most of the night, so suck it up Mom.

We have been having beautiful weather.  The crab apple trees in our yard (1 in the front, 1 in the back) are in full bloom.  I walk outside and probably look a tad bit ridiculous as I stand there and inhale over and over as deeply as I can.  Yum.

Chris and I are busy with projects outside. 

1. Planning our vegetable garden.  On the menu?  Cucumbers, rhubarb, onions, garlic, asparagus, sugar snap peas, peppers, watermelon, broccoli, and tomatoes. 

2. Digging up many of the perennials in this massive perennial garden in our back yard and replanting them in some other garden plots that were pretty over grown.  We then plan to turn the original perennial garden in to a play ground area for the kids.  I can’t wait for that!  Living on a corner lot is a bit scary with all the traffic that comes around the corner – so having a safe place for the kids to play will be so awesome.  We are even going to fence it in so they will be trapped safe.

3. Getting a 12x10 foot shed for our back yard which will be delivered tomorrow.  Chris is so excited about his man cave and how he is going to organize it.

The other day I visited the boys preschool. We have them enrolled for a two morning a week preschool starting in the fall.  I fell in love.  I witnessed children writing their names, cutting with scissors, sitting criss-cross applesauce on the cutest little rug – and I just grew so excited for Ethan and Grayson.  I think it’s going to be so great for them.  A few hours of the week away from home, a few hours to play with new friends, socialize, learn, explore. 

And now a few pictures of life here the past week. I still have more on my camera from the Teddy Bear Band concert we attended a few nights ago!  Turns out I had seen them perform when I was a little girl, so it was fun to take my children to the same show!  They had a blast!

More soon…promise!

 

 

 

 

 

MawMaw

Having Grandma come and stay is a pretty special thing indeed.  Every moment of the day these children need to have her whereabouts accounted for. 

When they go off to bed at night the boys look back over their shoulder a few times to cast loving glances towards her, confirming that they will indeed see her in the morning, and letting her know just how much she’s loved.

She flew in last Wednesday, and I love knowing that we have over a week and a half left with her here!  She is such a tremendous help to me!  She jumps right in and does anything she can.  She even made my porcelain kitchen sink look completely brand new again.  I came home the other day and my eyes nearly were blinded by how white my sink was.  Even upon buying this home it was never that way!  You have no idea how excited a sparkling kitchen sink makes me! (It’s the little things ).

Now if we could just convince her to move to the great north…I wonder how Pop would feel about that!

Arise

Mom, Me, Cousin Lacey, SIL Hayley, Cousin Keri, Cousin Ann, Aunt Melody

The weekend was a gift.  The perfect birthday gift.  It was so great to spend some time with these women in my family that I love!  The conversation was rich and deep – we challenged and laid our hearts open before each other.  It was good.

The speaker, Graham Cooke, did his thing.  I wasn’t disappointed from all that I had heard of him before.  He has this crazy sense of humor that, even in the midst of a tough lesson, kept me laughing through the entire sermon.  There were many, many things that he mentioned that were new revelations to me.  New ways to think of things.  New ways to approach life.  About living in the past, focusing on past regrets, living in the negative. 

I left there so encouraged and filled up.  I was just anxious to get home to my family!  So anxious in fact that I woke up Sunday morning at 5:30 and drove home to have some quiet time with Chris before the kids woke up for the day.  Ever since I have been an emotional mess. 

It just made me see things a different way.  To focus on the big picture.  I truly do believe that there is a God out there who intimately loves me.  So then when I hold my children in my lap and breathe in the smell of their skin and kiss those chubby little cheeks – I am completely undone.  I have been overwhelmed with the love I have for my children and my husband.  It’s almost like I’ve been given this new dose of the reality of how blessed I am.  It’s just good stuff.

So then yesterday, the kids and I went to run a few errands before heading to the gym.  We were at Sam’s Club, and often times if the boys do a great job shopping I will give them a nickel to put in one of those donation containers where the money spins around and around before crashing in to the bottom.  They love it.  While I was checking out yesterday Grayson had his hands all over the card scanner at the store at the counter behind me.  Pushing buttons, playing with the pen… I asked him to stop and reminded him that there would be no nickel unless he would obey right away.  I paid for my purchase and turned back around to see that he was disobeying and still playing.  I finished checking out and pulled the boys aside.  I gave Ethan his nickel and then explained to Grayson why he wouldn’t be getting a nickel today.  The tears came.  I made him look in my eyes and had him explain to me what had happened that resulted in the consequence of him losing his money.  He told me exactly what had happened.  So, Ethan deposited his change, and out the door he went.  Quietly?  No.  Grayson was doing fine until he witnessed Ethan dropping his nickel in.  Then loudly Grayson made it known that he too really, really wanted a nickel.  We got to the car, I buckled them in, unloaded the cart, and talked again with Grayson.  He calmed, but at this point was not in the greatest of moods.

And then we went to the gym.  My boy was in a bad mood.  Grouchy as all get out. I was certain that as soon as we got in to the gym and he was able to go and play that he would be fine and run off.  Not so.  I try to drop him off and he is clinging to me as if there is a room full of alligators coming after him.  I mean, it was like he was suctioned to me!  He was crying so loudly.  I was getting many looks and comments from other mothers around me.  The teachers in the class were trying to distract him, but to no avail.  I tried every tactic I could think of to get his mind to focus on something else and go play.  He just kept saying that he just wanted to go home.  Adelyn and Ethan had already run off and were playing contentedly.  I just didn’t know what to do.  Out of frustration, I went and pulled Ethan and Adelyn out of their class and decided that we would just go home.  When we got in the car and were getting ready to back out Grayson begins crying again and says, “But I want to play at the gym!”  Seriously child?  And then for some emotional, crazy reason – I just started to cry.  I sat there in the parking lot and cried.  My children all sat there looking at me like, “This woman is losing it.”  I was just so frustrated.  Embarrassed. 

I texted Chris out of frustration and told him what had just happened.  I had never yet had to deal with something like that in public.  I know it happens.  I’ve seen it happen.  I just didn’t know what to do!

We got home and Grayson and I had a long talk.  A good talk. 

Then Chris called.  He told me he was on his way to grab some lunch and bring it home for the two of us and then have a talk with Grayson.  Hearing that just brought all the tears again.  What an incredible husband and father, to care enough about me and the raising of his child to take the time to do that.  I was just really touched. 

Him and Grayson had another good talk, I received a genuine apology from G, and then we moved on.

That boy can be the sweetest, most tender hearted thing.  Then on the flip side he also has a pretty stubborn streak.  He likes to try and control most every situation and is a very strong willed little boy!  I just pray for wisdom every day in dealing with him!  My wild stallion!  Yesterday afternoon he woke from nap first and helped me prepare strawberries and salad.  We had the best conversation and he seemed to really enjoy that time.  I know I did.

Today is a new day!  

A Weekend Away

In just over an hour Mom and I are scooting out of here for a girls weekend away.  We are attending this conference starting tomorrow morning.  I have heard so much about Graham Cooke, and have often dreamed about hearing him speak in person, so I am really excited to get that opportunity!  A bunch of other awesome ladies from my family are going to be joining us, so it should be a great way to celebrate my birthday on Saturday!

Grandpa is taking care of my kiddos tonight as Chris gets in late, and then tomorrow Daddy will take over the duties until my return.

My camera is coming along, so I will see if I can snap a few!

Before I go – I must just journal one quick story that occurred at dinner last night.

The kids were eating some birthday cake that Chris and my family surprised me with last weekend (as seen above.  That’s my surprised face in case you were wondering what was wrong with me.  Oh, and I am wearing my birthday crown. Handcrafted just for me!).  As they were eating it, Ethan and Grayson sang Happy Birthday to me again.  I told them that it was a pretty important day because if Mommy hadn’t been born then they wouldn’t have been born either!  Then I added, “And if Daddy hadn’t been born, then you wouldn’t have been born.”  After thinking about that for a few seconds Grayson looked at me and said, “Mommy?  How do a Mommy and a Daddy make a baby?”

Now I knew this talk was coming one day.  I just didn’t think it was going to be when my sons were three eating and eating cake.  Thinking quickly on my feet I simply stated, “It happens when a Mommy and a Daddy give each other a special hug.”  He then looked around the table and said, “1, 2, 3.  You and Daddy have had three special hugs!” He was very satisfied with that answer and continued eating his cake.  Like Mom said, now he will probably hug someone and then claim that they’re making a baby! 

Oh vey.

Oh Happy Day

The greatest day in history

Death is beaten, You have rescued me

Sing it out! Jesus is Alive!

Oh Happy Day!   Happy Day!

You’ve washed my sin away!

Oh Happy Day!   Happy Day!

I’ll never be the same

Forever I am changed!

A Whole Heap of Random

Oh the post ideas that come through my head on any given day. I need to organize them better, or at least jot them down before it’s 9:45 at night and all that’s left of anything upstairs is this dim little flickering light bulb. Creativity and any type of organization is out the window folks.

Speaking of light bulbs…this morning at 8 we lost power. Chris was gone, I was home, kids were waking up. Breakfast wasn’t on the table yet. I ran down, thinking it may be just our home and flipped the main breaker off and attempted to turn it back on. It wouldn’t budge back in to the on position. My neighbor called. We were in the same boat. She called back about an hour later to report that her electricity was now back on. Not ours.

I called the electric company to confirm that it was just my home left powerless. They double checked, and yup, I had messed something up good.

I realized (after putting the kids shoes on and ushering them to the garage), that duh the garage door wouldn’t open. I wasn’t about to break something else and start pulling on cords and lifting up the door, so we retreated. The kids cried. I lost it. I mean, embarrassingly had a full out temper tantrum. Not to mention the entire time there was this LOUD chirping coming from upstairs. I, for the life of me, could not determine where it was coming from. I was sure it had to be one of the 4,563 fire alarms we have up there, so there I was, up on this bench, ear pressed to every one of them trying to distinguish the source.

“Dennis”, the electrician showed up very shortly after I called (my hero), and went to check it out. He came up a bit later holding a large black box and told me that he thought my breaker was shot. He was going to run to the shop and hopefully find one there. He was gone over an hour. We stayed outside the entire time because that chirping was driving me insane.

He came back with a new breaker. The kids and I trailed him inside to start making some lunch. The boys were cheering his name, “Yeah! He’s going to fix it!” “Yeah, the dentist is here!” (Ethan was convinced that his name was not Dennis, but instead Dentist and he was going to be working on our electricity and our teeth.)

As I was smearing some jelly on some bread, since everything else in my overprivileged life required a microwave or oven, the lights came back on. What a glorious moment. It’s like the clouds roll back and the angels start singing. Life can resume. I can open the fridge without fear of my milk spoiling. I can look at the ten clocks in my kitchen on various appliances and instantly know what time it is. It’s the little things.

But still, the chirping continued. Dennis the dentist left, and after throwing placing some food down in front of my children, I bounded up the steps to take care of the pest once and for all. So here I resumed my post, ear against every device attached to the walls. Pulling out batteries, unplugging wires, determined to put a stop to the chirp. There was a knock on the door.

I ran down and saw my neighbors standing on my porch. They just wanted to be sure that our power was restored and that I didn’t need anything. I smiled and said, “We have power!” They were glad to hear it and began to walk away. I reached for them both and told them that they must help me stop the madness! Brian went upstairs, and within seconds, I’m not kidding you – seconds says to me, “It’s your carbon monoxide detector.” He pulls it out, unplugs the battery, and viola, the beeping stops.

I love having neighbors like that who take care of us and are so willing to jump in and help us out! Even if it’s just unplugging a beeping detector!

After the entire ordeal was over, and my kids were in their beds during naps. I seriously had to laugh (and feel a bit guilty) about how much it affected me to lose power for three hours in my home. I was ashamed really. My attitude was rotten. I was sulking and stomping around like a spoiled child because my day couldn’t go as I had planned it. Our plans had to change. I had to improvise our meals.

It was no where close to a story of survival. Inconvenience at most.

At lunch that day I had to apologize to my children for my outburst earlier that morning. I asked their forgiveness. I hate when you realize after the fact that you had a teachable moment in your hands and failed to use it. I preach so often about patience, about not making the little things a bit deal, and yet I did exactly that.

Okay – I had no intention at all about writing an entire blog post about our lost power this morning. But there you have it!