The roolz uv pla tyma...By Faith

I'm not exactly sure what she was getting at, but I thought how she spelled "allowed" was absolutely adorable so I had to share it!

Chick magnet

Ian has been AJ's little shadow lately & is sad when he doesn't stay to play with him rather than the kids around here his age.  This morning Ian followed AJ upstairs while he got ready for school & was all smiles when they came downstairs.

Ian:  Mommy!  AJ gave me some of his smelly spray!
          AJ is smiling.
Mommy:  He did?!  Let me smell! 
           I smell his extended arm with turned up wrist.
          Mmmm!  That smells really good!  Mommy's gonna have to chase away the chicks today!
Ian:  Yeah, they peck at my arms when I get the eggs.
        Mommy and AJ smile puzzlingly at Ian like we know what he's talking about.  Then it hits me...
Mommy (looking at AJ):  Ohhhh!  He means chickens!
        Mommy & AJ get a good laugh at Ian's innocent cuteness.
Mommy:  Ian, we were talking about girls, not chickens.
Ian:  Oh...I like chickens...

I'm really glad that the 3 year old doesn't understand the concept of attracting the opposite sex yet.

Winter hath arrived!

We had an actual, official blizzard of the season.  It starting snowing on Saturday and continued well into Sunday.  The wind blew strongly then making blizzard conditions and then to top it all off, the temperature dropped to single digits on Monday.  With the wind chill factor there were moments it felt like -25 degrees.  The kids were giddy with the sticky snow, building forts and snowmen and sledding until they were numb. 

 

Here's Jason spending his Snow Day off from school and Ian enjoying his extra time with Daddy.  (Unfortunately I missed the photo op that had Ian "snowblowing".  If you can imagine it, he was walking in that space in front of Jason between the handlebars. 

 

I, for one, was enjoying my excuse to be inside to take care of the baby.  Unfortunately that doesn't get me out of any extra housework that occurs when you have 6 people out in the snow bringing in wet apparel, not to mention the extra cups of hot chocolate.  I am proud to say, though, that I made some homemade chicken noodle soup (from freshly made stock) and some muffins made from scratch to help warm up their bodies.  My house might have been a mess, but we enjoyed the extra day together playing games, eating and just plain vegging out.

 

Game on!

Here's an example of Jason getting in some quality Daddy time, while feeding the desire to coach not only sports, but Christian attitudes while being athletes.  (And let's not forget the fact that AJ's grade needed a coach.)  Enter Coach Deacon Mr. Myhre.  I personally think he can't pass up the opportunity to do "the coach stance".  In his defense, it does look good on him & he's a great coach.

 





 

Here's the team of 4th graders.  Look!  They're all sitting nicely, watching the game... 

and patiently awaiting their next game. 

 (Maybe it's also because they are pooped out from playing 2 games in a row.)

AJ was enjoying this break.  He was pretty sore & tired the rest of the day.

He had a great time & played well scoring 14 points in his first game &

making great plays offensively & defensively.  He's got his Daddy's natural talent.

 



These moments never get old...

 

 

Chalk it up

We've had a few "chalk it up to lessons learned" moments lately.  For instance, my judgement call on traveling up to Fargo to go to my cousins wedding by myself with all of the kids.  Let's just say that the cross of that trip got to be so heavy that my back muscles literally freaked out on me and I have been spending much of my time icing and heating them.  I thought it would be "nice" for my family (aunts & uncles we don't see often) to get to see the kids, but we were too overwhelmed by it all that we just jumped from one thing to the next & didn't really get a chance to visit much with anyone.  Thank goodness for my sister-in-laws & brothers, for they all helped me to soothe the savage beast in them all & distract them for moments to allow me to catch my breath and attempt to grab a hold of my sanity for a brief moment.  Let's just say that I won't be doing that again anytime soon!

The next lesson...
Be careful what you wish (or pray) for!  My hope this Advent was to occupy more of our time with activities that involved less TV time.  Well, we are about a week into the season & today the 3 year old decided to use the TV as a backstop for his pitching arm.  He claims it was a golf ball, but I have yet to find it.  Either way, there is now a large, dust collecting object on our TV stand that no longer functions to its capabilities as such.  So now than rather have a choice whether or not to watch the one TV in our house, the option is off the table.  I might add that this was the "new" flatscreen TV that we inherited from my dad when he passed away.  Maybe we shouldn't have given our old ones away...

We are fortunate that we still have computers that work & could probably function as a tube in desperate situations, but maybe this is a way that we can help our reliability on these "time zappers" for the time being.  I have found this evening to be a way to catch up on the numerous things that have lagged in attention...this blog being one.  Thanks for sticking with me as the gap between posts frequently looms!

Happy birthday, Noah!

A year ago we were blessed with, (as many refer to as when they encounter him), our "pretty" baby.  It's not often that boys are referred to as pretty, but he gets that comment often.  He is certainly a beautiful little soul and his delivery speaks to who he still is today.  He's not in a hurry for anything and is pretty laid back when it comes to pretty much anything.  I still recall eagerly awaiting labor to begin with him, and once it started, continually wondering when he was going to arrive.  He certainly took his time & seemed to almost crawl back up to the top of my uterus as if he wanted to stay in his warm & cozy place.  The Lord was definitely teaching me patience and trust during that time!

He is now mastering walking around, a milestone that I have to admit I have not completely encouraged.  One reason is for the simple fact that walking equals falling, and when you have a head larger in proportion to the rest of your body, you tend to fall on it.  The other reason being that it means that he's growing up and baby is now a toddler, something that gets harder to let go of with each child...especially when you think it may be your last one.  So for now, I relish in the cuddle times, rejoice in the accomplishments, remember the precious memories and thank God for all of the blessings (and challenges) that come with them all and that I get to be a part of it.