Ben had to work late tonight, and by the time he arrived, we were finishing up a late supper.

(If he looks red in this picture, it's because he is. He was working up on a roof today in the heat. By the way, I must say, I'm awfully thankful for such a hard workin' man!)

Owen couldn't keep his hands off Ben...he was so happy to see him.

(I have that same problem...though the kids usually get to him first.)

Owen kept leaning over Ben, laying his hand on his arm, anything to be as close to Daddy as possible.

Then, he reached out his little hand and grabbed Ben's face, turning it to him for a kiss.

Life doesn't get much sweeter than this!

Trying to Reason with a 2 Year OId

Carter came running out to me last night, oh so upset. "Mommy, my crayon's not working!", wanting me to fix it. I looked down and in his hand I saw the problem....it was a white crayon. Try to explain to a frustrated 2 year old, that white crayons don't show up on white paper....you might as well be talking to yourself. :-)

Morning Sweetness

I love the sweet spirit of children....

First thing Evan said to me this morning was, "Mommy, I'm so glad I have you." (heartbreaker!) At breakfast he said, "Mommy, thank you for putting food on the table."

These moments make all the hard work and challenges of motherhood absolutely worthwhile! (Also, made me think, how sweet is my spirit in the morning?...)

And I love the way my children need me...

Derek has started coming to me and holding onto my leg and saying,

"Mommy, I need you!" or "Mommy, I want you!"

All he wants is for me to pick him up and hold him.

Their needs really are pretty simple...love and attention.

And, I must say, when he tells me he wants me...it fills my heart!

...and it reminds me to take a break from my busy-ness and just soak in the moment with them.

I wish there was more time and more of me to go around.

But, I'll try to make the most of what I have.

And I'm going to enjoy these days when they want me!

(They don't have to outgrow that, do they?)

Funny Boys

Kids really do say the funniest things....

Tonight I needed to go pick up a prescription for myself. Carter had been sad earlier when Derek got to go to the auto parts store with Daddy to pick up new brakes and roters. So, I told him it was his turn; he could have a trip to town with just mommy. They need that sometimes. So, we walk into the drugstore, and as we're headed toward the pharmacy, we passed a display of make-up. Carter stopped, and said nice and loud, "ohhhh, this will make you perrrrrrrfect!" Without missing a beat he asked, "Which one we gonna get?" I chuckled as I explained that we weren't buying any make-up for mommy tonight.....too bad, I'll have to wait to be perrrrrrrrrfect.

The other day we were headed to town, just me and the boys, and Carter decided to imitate Papa. Papa has a phrase he says whenever he sees the boys, and they know it well. Once they found out that we were going to visit Papa and Nana for Easter, they've been talking about what Papa will say to them when he sees them. All the way to town, this is what I hear....
"Hey, there's preacher boy!" Carter would say it in his best imitation of Papa's voice, and they would all break out laughing at the top of their lungs, Owen included. He'd say it again, and again the laughing. This went on for about 15 minutes. Evan broke in at one point and did the impression. Funny thing is, they sounded just like Papa! Again at the supper table tonight, as we were talking about going to Papa's, the impressions started again. They had Ben and I laughing, too. Apparently, we are all easily amused.

The boys decided that tonight they wanted to switch things up and they wanted to tuck mommy into bed. So, 3 little boys grabbed my hands, led me upstairs and tucked me into bed. I was serenaded with a couple rounds of "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star" and Derek sang his favorite, "Jesus Loves Me." Evan then decided that I couldn't possibly go to sleep without a bedtime story. He proceeded to tell me the story of Evan the Bunny....

(You see, he always makes us tell him stories about animals named Evan)

It went something like this......
Evan Bunny lived with his mommy bunny and daddy bunny and brother bunnies in a nice home. They had nice neighbors. They woke up in the morning and said hi to their neighbors and then went on a walk as a family. Then they went back to their home, but a mean wolf was waiting for them. The wolf didn't like bunnies. He took the bunny family and put them in jail. The bunny family's neighbors knew that they were in jail. So they came and got the bunny family out of jail. The End.

At least it had a happy ending!

It's been a long time since I'd had a bedtime story told to me.....more years than I want to admit. I had to document this one!

Then the best part of being tucked in....I got 4 sweet kisses! I had to sneak down stairs after Daddy put them to bed, so they wouldn't know I didn't stay tucked in....

Dear Jesus.....Amen, and Chocolate

Owen is our quiet one in the bunch. (By quiet I don't mean he doesn't make noise!) Though he can say some words, he generally chooses to communicate by pointing and grunting, and sometimes squealing. He is what you would call a man of few words. I often wonder if this is due to the fact that with his brothers, he has neither need nor space to talk. The other day he saw me pull some chocolate pudding out of the pantry to give to his brother. His face lit up, and he said, "Chocolate". Owen has a real sweet tooth (because he is a really sweet boy), and nothing makes his face light up with smiles like chocolate does. We think he is a "choc"aholic.

This weekend we noticed that he was trying to pray along with his brothers at the table. He started with his precious pronunciation of "Dear Jesus", followed by some mumblings. This morning, he did the same, and he finished off his brother's prayer with a sweet "Amen".

There's nothing sweeter than the sound of your child's voice...nothing more precious than hearing your child talk to Jesus....and few things more pride enducing than chocolate being one of your child's first words. It is a 3 syllable word after all!

Interview with the Kids

Interview with the kids

I saw this on Facebook and thought it was really cute. I did it with the boys, and got a good chuckle. I thought I'd post it on my blog for those family members and friends that aren't on Facebook.

Evan - 5
Carter - 2 1/2 (lost interest after the 14th question)
(Derek wasn't interested in the interrogation)

1. What is something mom always says to you?
E - You're a little peanut.
C- I love you.

2. What makes mom happy?
E - getting flowers from me and the kids (love how he exempted himself from the kids)
C - obey

3. What makes mom sad?
E - when no one hugs her
C - that I don't get to wear glasses (think he's confused about the question...he's sad he doesn't get to wear glasses)

4. How does your mom make you laugh?
E - tickling
C- because you tickle me

5. What was your mom like as a child?
E - a girl
C - umm a boy

6. How old is your mom?
E - well, I don't know....hmm...maybe 100!
C - huh...4?

7. How tall is your mom?
E - 22 feet
C - big

8. What is her favorite thing to do?
E - help all of her kids
C- work (boy is he wrong on that one!)

9. What does your mom do when you're not around?
E - take care of my brothers
C - don't pick up (really?)

10.If your mom becomes famous, what will it be for?
E - taking care of us
C - be handsome

11. What is your mom really good at?
E - doing the computer and driving (I always wondered what my talents were, now I know I don't have any!)
C- chasing me

12. What is your mom not good at?
E - baseball
C - I not know

13.what does your mom do for a job?
E - plant vegetables and work at Old Navy (we planted vegetables once, and I work a few evenings at ON....wonder what he thinks I do the rest of the time?)
C - play

14.What is your mom's favorite food?
E - maybe chicken?
C - supper

15.What makes you proud of your mom?
E - when she does stuff for me and when she makes supper

16. If your mom were a cartoon character, who would she be?
E - Lightning McQueen, because I like Lightning McQueen

17. What do you and your mom do together?
E - work as a team with planting vegetables

18. How are you and your mom the same?
E - we get hands the same (we both get really dry cracking skin on our hands in the winter)

19. How are you and your mom different?
E - we have different color eyes

20. How do you know your mom loves you?
E - because she's the best mommy ever and because she helps me get toys off of the shelf

21. What does your mom like most about your dad?
E - his beautiful brown eyes

22. Where is your mom's favorite place to go?
E - is it....Target?

Recipe for Chocolate Covered Strawberry Cheesecake Trifle

Okay, well, I've had a few requests for this recipe after I shared the photos of it the other day. So here it is, and enjoy!

Warning: This is not fat free, calorie free, or guilt free. But it sure is good!

2 16oz. containers of fresh strawberries

3 T. sugar

2 8oz. pkg. cream cheese, softened

1 1/2 c. cold milk

1 pkg. vanilla instant pudding

1 8oz. container whipped topping

1 frozen pound cake, cut into 1 in cubes

1 container of Bakers melting chocolate for dipping

Slice up enough strawberries to measure 3 cups. Set remaining berries aside. Combine sliced berries and sugar. Refrigerate until ready to use. Beat the cream cheese with mixer until creamy. Gradually beat in milk.

Add pudding mix; mix well.

Blend in 1 1/2 c whipped topping. Spoon half into trifle bowl.

Top with 2 c. of cake cubes, the sliced berries, and the remaining cream cheese mixture. Refrigerate.

Melt chocolate according to instructions on container; drizzle some over dessert. Top with remaining whipped topping.

Dip remaining whole strawberries in chocolate, place on wax paper and refrigerate. Cover top of trifle with chocolate covered strawberries.

Enjoy!