Tuesday, May 26, 2009

Why Am I Not Surprised?


Have you ever had those moments when you hear your words repeated back to you? I feel like I live with a bunch of tape recorders lately. Tonight Carter did something, I'm not even sure now what it was, and Evan in an exasperated tone, said, "I'm not surprised. Why am I not surprised?" I could have sworn my man was in the room, but he wasn't. Just his little tape recorder.

Tonight Carter said he had a crack in his butt and he needed to fix it. He then made power tool sounds and turned his hands. We have no idea where that came from! He did mention other parts of his body were cracked and needed fixing too, so I don't think he really knew what he said. Ben and I got a good giggle out of it, though.


Derek is getting much better at saying prayer for meals. I love hearing them put their own thoughts together of what they want to say to Jesus. They generally stick to the same things, but they occasionally throw in something new. He prayed the other night, thanked God "for the food, for Mommy and Daddy and everybody else, and thank you for the table, in Jesus' name, Amen. Praise the Lord. Hallelujah!" (He insists on saying that after every prayer.) His brothers wanted to know why he prayed for the table, and I said "well, it's ok to thank God for the table, because it would be hard to eat our food without it." Derek said, "Yes."




Here's a picture of my boys on Memorial Day. I love the flowers on the bushes behind them. We all wore Old Navy flag tees that day, and I had picked up American flags for the boys to wave at the parade. I reminisced with Evan, telling him about Memorial Days when I was a kid. We had a record (yes, a record!) of patriotic songs that we would put on the stereo, and each of us girls had a flag and we would march around the house singing the songs and waving our flags. I think my mom was determined we'd be proud Americans!

Friday, May 22, 2009

Like Mother Like Son


I had this thing when I was a kid....I could fall asleep anywhere, and my parents have the pictures to prove it. I once even fell asleep at the table with my face in my plate of spaghetti. I also used to sleep on my tummy with my knees bent and my butt up in the air.



Well, the smallest apple hasn't fallen far from the tree. Owen often falls asleep at the table. Yesterday, I thought he was awfully quiet, I turned around from my desk chair, and found my little angel had just plopped himself down on the floor and drifted off to lala land, of course, holding mommy's water bottle. (I love how he crossed his ankles!)

Later that day, I discovered why the little O-man was so tired. He came down with the dreaded stomach bug. It's awful to see your sweet baby sick, but I did enjoy some good cuddling with him...holding him and seeing his precious face against my chest, his rosie cheeks, his long eyelashes as he slumbered peacefully listening to the sound of his momma's heart. He wanted to be held all the time. Thankfully, today, he's on the mend, and much better, but he's back to not having much time for cuddling. He's got things to do, forbidden things to get into, toys to play with, and 3 big brothers to keep up with.

I discovered how much I miss those baby days, when your baby lets you hold them for hours on end. Those days are behind me now. Now, I just have to sneak a quick cuddle whenever I can, and make the most of sick days!


Monday, May 11, 2009

Goings On at Our House

Our twin boys are not really very much alike at all. But, here we have documented one way in which Carter & Derek are indeed the same...the watching tv pose. I usually stay clear of clothing with characters on it, but I broke down and bought Derek a pair of Lightning McQueen sneakers the other day at Kohls. I got them for $2, and they were originally $30. (I'm a bargain shopper!) Well, poor Carter was beside himself because there wasn't a pair in his size. (As you can see in the picture below, they are no longer the same size. Carter's taller than Derek now.) The next day at Sears, we found a pair in Carter's size for $12, but they were their other favorite character, Thomas. Carter decided that Thomas would make do, and they were so excited to put their shoes on and watch them light up as they ran around. I may have broken my own rule, but I made my boys happy, and how can you argue with that?
My Mom helped Evan make some Mother's Day gifts for me. They made me a woven placemat and 2 lanterns, all out of construction paper. Evan was so proud of himself. Though he told me on Mother's Day he was sad because he wanted to get me a necklace. What a sweet boy!

Now, this just cracks me up. I was getting ready for work the other night, and I found this sight, The boys had Papa and Nana sitting in the living room, and they each had a book. The boys were singing "I Will Make You Fishers of Men" out of their "hymnals". They were singing it with all of their little hearts. It was precious. Rescue Pack was for collecting the offering. They love to play church.
The next day Evan had his brothers out under our big tree and was playing church again and singing "Jesus Loves Me" loud enough for the neighbors to hear. I was filled with pride at the sight of my children, until it was shattered by Evan screaming. Carter had hit him in the face, and after questioning, we discovered it was because he didn't want to sing anymore. After he was disciplined, I told him he needed to go apologize to his brother. We have been working to train the boys to apologize, ask for forgiveness, and also to tell the person they offended how they will respond properly the next time. Carter apologized, and then Evan beat him to it, he said, "I forgive you. Now Carter, next time we're playing church and you don't want to sing anymore, you need to sing with us, or move along and find something else to do." Can you tell he's the oldest?

Evan and Ben tried flying a kite yesterday. Evan had a blast. Unfortunately, it did end up in a tree.



And these are some pictures of me and the 4 special blessings that make it possible for me to celebrate Mother's Day. We had a beautiful day, and I am so thankful for each of my precious boys, for the privilege of being their mommy, and for the love they have for me.
I pray God will help me to be the mom these boys need, and that I will not do anything to hinder the work of God in their lives. I will find no greater joy than to see my boys follow Christ.
I remember less than joyous Mother's Days, when I would leave church in tears.
I clung to this verse when I ached for a child to hold. It holds so much meaning for me:
Psalm 113:9 "He gives the barren woman a home, making her the joyous mother of children. Praise the Lord."







I love you, my sweet angels, 'til the day after forever!