8am at the smith’s
amelia excitedly wondered if her outfit matched. my reply, “um, no. nice try. go change your shirt.”
wilbur was on the verge of tears because his leg was hurting. ”maybe it’s growing and stretching,” i told him. after i held him for a few minutes, it was better. hmm…
orville was still cozy in his bed.
video games
the kids ask josh, at least a million times a day, if they can play video games. he gets asked so much because they love to play, but mostly because when they ask me i say, “that’s a daddy thing to do with you.” so as soon as he walks in the door after work, usually orville, is saying, “can we play video games daddy?” and on the weekends, as soon as we are out of bed, orville is usually asking, “can we play video games daddy?”
this morning was no different. and josh said no. we had all just gotten up. we were getting breakfast started. orville needed to wait for video games. so he did. until we started eating breakfast. then he asked again after breakfast, while he was still seated at the table. josh said, “look. it’s still early. we just finished eating. we’re not playing video games now.” “when i get down?”, orville asked. “no”, josh said, “not for a long time.” orville replied, “well, you can’t leave me here forever. i can’t stay here all day because when it gets dark, i have to go to sleep.”
Filed under children, family, parenting | Comment (1)snowy saturday
today started like any other. josh being goofy. the kids being crazy.
orville went for a ride in the hamper.
shelby tried to figure out how the kids got here and when they were finally leaving.
orville gave her some love to make her feel better about the fact that the kids aren’t going anywhere.
the kids sat on the couch.
and watched josh play video games. ”pretend like your watching a cartoon,” he tells them.
we got the kids ready to play in the snow.
and amelia talked to grammy about her sleepover with them tonight.
everyone is excited and ready to go outside.
even though their snow pants are too short.
they anxiously wait for josh to shovel the stairs so they can safely make their way down.
it takes a couple minutes. the snow is really deep.
“ah, fresh snow,” i heard one of them say.
they were thrilled to play in the snow, and to mess up my pretty yard.
shelby decided she wanted in on the action.
she was excited to see amelia’s friend, our neighbor, stop by to play a little.
josh wasn’t so thrilled with all of the shoveling. when his parents came to get amelia, they also brought their snowblower.
Filed under children, family, parenting | Comment (0)throw up
all of our kids have thrown up now. amelia for the first time when she was newly 5. wilbur for the first time just last week. at mcdonald’s. yes, at mcdonald’s. and orville for the first time just last night.
it was around 10:45pm. josh and i were sitting in the living room talking about his job and various issues there. we heard orville call out, “something is wrong with my tummy.” josh went flying up the stairs to get him. well, he didn’t actually fly, but he did run very, very fast. he grabbed orville out of bed and took him into the bathroom. his shirt was covered with the stuff. the throw up that is.
i went in to check his bed. it was everywhere. josh cleaned up orville and put him in clean jammies. i stripped the bed and got everything rinsed out and into the washing machine. josh held orville on the couch for awhile. it reminded us of when the kids first came home and orville had a hard time sleeping. josh would take him to the couch and rest with him for awhile and then put him back in his bed. josh tried to talk to orville about it, but orville didn’t understand. josh said, “when you first came home, you were a little guy. well, not really little. you were like a big baby. and daddy would hold you when you couldn’t sleep.” orville said, “no, i not a big baby.”
after josh held him awhile last night, orville wanted to come to me. while i held him, i sang. before i became a mom, that was always one of my dreams, to sing to my baby. orville sang with me here and there, to twinkle twinkle little star, my God is so big, Jesus loves me, go tell it on the mountain, you are my sunshine. josh put clean bedding on orville’s bed, i put him back in it.
josh and i settled into the same places we were before orville called out to us. i was so happy we were here to help him. but i was also sad that when amelia was orville’s age, we didn’t get to help her. and then i started to question if we have handled her the right way when she’s been sick. when she was sick the first time, she was crying loudly and we kept having to tell her to quiet down so she wouldn’t wake her brothers. she had a hard time following instructions as we’d try to change her into clean clothes, clean up her bed, clean up her floor, etc. she seemed to always end up in the spot we were trying to clean. i would get mad, easily, and feel so guilty.
josh reminded me that we can’t change any of that. we did the best we could. we are doing the best we can. because we missed out on amelia’s early years, we can do better now. he told me he makes it a point every night when he tucks her in to tell her how much he loves her, how special she is, and how proud he is of her.
and i struggle, almost daily, wondering if we are doing things right. do i hug them enough? do i kiss them enough? do i smile at them enough? do i talk to them enough? do i engage them enough? am i teaching them the right things? do i point them to God enough? do i let them watch too much TV? do i read to them enough? the list can, and sometimes does, go on and on.
here is the word the Lord sent me this morning in my devotional:
“for I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future.” jeremiah 29:11
Filed under children, family, Jesus, music, parenting | Comments (2)“do you ever feel like you’re not doing enough for your children? the recording in your head begins playing, “you’re a bad mother.” i hear that same recording. sometimes it plays nonstop. i worry that i am not providing my children with the opportunities that will bring success. what if they don’t make the middle school soccer team because i didn’t sign them up for summer soccer camp? what if they miss out on academic scholarships because i didn’t spend enough time reading with them when they were little? what if? what if? what if? you know, God doesn’t want us dwelling in the land of “what if?”. He wants us to trust Him with our children. He wants us to quit “what-if-ing!” God has a plan for their lives-better than you could ever imagine. so, relax. you’re not a bad mother because you missed soccer camp sign-ups. if you’ve given your children to God, you’ve given them the best chance to succeed that you could ever give them!”
“Lord, i give my children to You. thank You, God, for Your plans. Amen.”
it’s been a pretty good day
amelia got a much needed haircut.
wilbur showed us that his priorities are out of whack.
we did a much needed run to sam’s club. can you ever really go there enough? we had outback takeout for dinner. can you ever really do that enough? and now, i am folding laundry.
listening to sara groves via the apple tv. i don’t think i can explain how awesome my husband is for putting all of her music on there.
my husband is patching the wall in the bathroom where he and my father-in-law added an extra switch for our newly installed exhaust fan.
and the kids are playing food and dogs in their rooms.
it’s almost snack time. then bed time. then free time for me!
Filed under children, family, marriage, music, parenting | Comments (2)happy new year
2009. wow! my kids came home in 2006. i can’t believe it will be three years in just a few months. this year has flown by. here’s how we ended 2008.
the thursday before Christmas was french tea day for wilbur’s pre-k class. the kids spent a few weeks learning how to count in french, say the days of the week, colors, and various Christmas related words. they also learned a few new Christmas songs.
grammy and i had the privilege of attending the tea. wilbur did great! sang along, talked along(when they recited their words), built a great eiffel tower out of cookies with grammy, was excited that santa came. that is until it got closer to his turn to sit on santa’s lap. i don’t know why he cried.
a few weeks ago, when we saw santa at the bowling alley, wilbur wasn’t scared at all. this day was a different story though. oh the poor little guy. so many tears. a quivering lip. i joined him on his visit. i re-asked the questions santa asked him so that good old santa would get an answer. after santa was gone, wilbur was back to normal, even posing with his gift in front of the eiffel tower background they had.
after the tea we picked up orville from his 3′s class. he told us he saw santa. and he didn’t cry.
wilbur loves to wear button down shirts. he affectionately calls them ‘man shirts’. because they make him look like a man of course. he was very excited when josh drew a picture of him in one of his ‘man shirts’.
amelia, who i might start calling little mommy, very much enjoyed getting to hold the newest baby in our circle of family and friends, pamela joy. it took a few tries to get her in amelia’s arms just right. and a pillow to prop her up. but we did it.
we finally decorated our Christmas tree. it was up for at least two weeks and only had 3 or 4 decorations. poor thing.
after decorating, we had our very dear friends, the blitzer’s, over for dinner. scott and alyssa are so good with the kids and the kids just adore them.
they brought the kids a present too. i love how excited amelia is in this picture. thanks for the game guys!
amelia got her glasses. here she is in her first official glasses picture.
first picture in her glasses with her brothers.
first ride in the van with glasses.
first time watching TV with glasses.
she’s just so adorable!
Christmas eve was different for us this year. busy, but fun. we had dinner at my sister’s, then went to church, then had our families here for dessert. my mother-in-law is hoping this is a new tradition. she even bought me a beautiful platter, creamer, and sugar set to help. we’ll see what happens.
my nephew william. he just had to sit in amelia’s booster. wilbur’s was available but just not good enough.
uncle nate playing wheelbarrow with wilbur and orville.
little mommy watching over 4 month old cousin winston. and taking his picture.
wilbur and grammy discussing the possible arrival of santa overnight.
the tree before santa came.
the tree after santa came. wilbur was the first one downstairs and was quick to start checking out who the packages were for.
wilbur showing amelia the gifts.
josh and the kids reading the Christmas story.
stocking time.
present time.
amelia’s favorite gift-her leapster.
josh got a new coffee maker. he was very excited. and very surprised.
josh and our gift from amelia.
orville and i, with his gift to us.
i made the story of how our family came together into a book. i got a copy for each of the kids. i was excited to give them to them. they were excited to receive them.
after our family time at home, we headed to grammy and gramps’ house. we spent most of the day there, joining them for lunch and dinner.
grammy and amelia reading together.
me trying to relax.
but not having very much luck.
stocking time at grammy’s!
the day after Christmas, we stayed home all day. i stayed in jammies all day. and my sister and her boys came over. i snapped this shot of winston right before he sneezed. i love it!
saturday, some of my extended family came over for dessert and some playtime with the kids. some of them hadn’t met the kids yet. it was really nice to have everyone here. hope we can do it again!
my cousin rick and orville.
my cousin megan and her son kyle.
my cousin erin’s boyfriend jake and our dog shelby.
my cousin megan’s husband larry, wilbur, and larry boy. wilbur and orville were really hoping that larry would be larry boy from veggitales. sadly, he’s not a cucumber. but he did say the kids could call him larry boy.
cousin rick and all three kids.
Sunday was our Christmas celebration with my side of the family. here are all the grandkids, minus winston, with my brother ryan and his girlfriend heather.
little mommy and cousin winston.
wilbur and winston.
orville and winston.
grandma ahern, my mom’s mom. she’s 91 now. this was her first time meeting the kids. she recently moved back from california.
wilbur and a wrapping paper hat that josh had been wearing. in this picture he’s grumpy. not sure why, but he wasn’t in the best mood.
in this picture he’s a little happier. i told him he had to be. we were celebrating Christmas and had no room for bad moods.
possibly my favorite gift-a starbucks cup ornament from my mom. it makes me happy.
uncle peter liked his new shirt from us.
a rare shot of william with josh. will is generally scared of his uncle because josh is really goofy.
amelia and nana reading.
amelia spending time with her leapster.
the kids showing off one of our gifts from nana and papa. they donated a sheep, in our name, to an impoverished family.
last night, new years eve, we stayed in. had chinese take out for dinner. and weren’t impressed with the new years eve TV shows. tonight, to celebrate the first day of the new year, we had dinner out with my sister and her family.
my sister.
william.
peter and winston.
josh.
wilbur and amelia.
orville.
and because i missed saying it on Christmas, Merry Christmas, from our family.
so it’s been a long time…
we were all sick. i kept you up on that pretty well for awhile. but then i got sick. strep. it wiped me out for a few days. i wanted to write, but just couldn’t. i didn’t feel well. i couldn’t justify the time because i needed to catch up with laundry. or dishes. or something. i am better now. and so are the kids. let me catch you up to date.
when i was sick, my wonderful MIL brought over some soup and apple crisp to help me feel better. and to help my family eat since i couldn’t cook. wilbur doesn’t like “mushy apples”. this means he won’t eat homemade applesauce, apple pie, apple crisp, baked apples, etc. sometimes we make him try some. you never know. maybe sometime he’ll start to like “mushy apples”. here’s his serving.
here’s him crying about his serving.
here he is taking a bite of his serving. oh, so painful. give me a break!
here’s amelia during the same meal.
and orville.
here’s amelia and orville playing Wii while wilbur finishes his “mushy apples”.
wilbur after the “mushy apples” are all in his tummy. he’s just fine.
snack for that night. lemonade licorice, pieces of a kit kat. prepared by josh.
the boys like to play in amelia’s room. the play kitchen is in there. and all the play food. i don’t usually allow them in there unless she’s home. and they ask her. and she gives them permission. this day, i let them. while she was at school. they practiced being dads. too cute.
we had a wonderful thanksgiving. hope you did too.
here’s gramps basting the turkey.
the bird in all its glory.
wilbur at his seat, waiting for the meal to begin. and, eyeing his candy choo choo train that grammy placed at his seat for him.
we took some family pictures. this is our “sad face” shot.
orville is working on some bigger kid things. like putting his coat on by himself. he’s not quite there yet.
the boys and i went bowling. santa was there. we didn’t get many shots with him. orville was terrified. the bowling was a blast though.
we had taco night. josh couldn’t resist playing with his food. he usually can’t.
josh and i were parent helpers at orville’s school last week.
josh helped the kids build a castle.
wilbur was taking a trip to mcdonald’s in the school’s camper.
josh coloring with some of the girls in orville’s class.
amelia had her 1st grade Christmas concert at school on wednesday. here she is before we left.
here she is performing. she’s third from the right, in the front row.
we found out amelia was having a hard time seeing some things at school. ”words on the chalkboard are a little blurry,” she said. so we took a trip to the eye doctor thursday morning.
and we got a prescription for glasses. that night she and i took a trip to the “glasses store”.
i tried some on too. so thankful i don’t need them!
and friday night, josh and i got to take a trip to PA for the love came down tour.
here is the stage.
leeland-singing sound of melodies.
sara groves and half of jars of clay-singing o come let us adore Him.
leigh nash-from sixpence none the richer-and i.
sara groves and i.
jars, and the drummer from leeland, did an amazing job on little drummer boy. jars is known for that song in some circles. they went over the top with the drumming this night. it was amazing. they were so into it. and you could tell they were doing it for the glory of the Lord. and it was almost overwhelming. the little drummer boy had nothing to offer. no gifts for the King. but he had his drum. and he played it. and he played his best. and i thought, “i have nothing to offer. nothing worthy of my King. i am a wife and a mother. i need to do that my best. for Him.” here are the lyrics to little drummer boy. i took out all the pa rum pum pum pums.
come they told me
a new born King to see
our finest gifts we bring
to lay before the King
so to honor Him
when we come
Little Baby
i am a poor boy too
i have no gift to bring
that’s fit to give the King
shall i play for You
on my drum?
mary nodded
the ox and lamb kept time
i played my drum for Him
i played my best for Him
then He smiled at me
me and my drum
we are busy getting ready for Christmas. we keep having conversations with the kids about what Christmas is really all about. and i keep reminding myself. sara groves new Christmas CD has been very helpful with this.
it came upon a midnight clear
it came upon the midnight clear,
that glorious song of old,
from angels bending near the earth,
to touch their harps of gold:
“peace on the earth, goodwill to men
from heavens all gracious King!”
the world in solemn stillness lay
to hear the angels, to hear them sing
o ye beneath life’s crushing load,
whose forms are bending low,
who toil along the climbing way
with painful steps so slow;
look now, for glad and golden hours
come swiftly on the wing;
oh rest beside the weary road
and hear the angels, and hear them sing
still through broken skies they come,
with peaceful wings unfurled;
and still their heavenly music floats
o’er all the weary world:
above its sad and lowly plains
they bend on hovering wing,
and ever o’er Babel sounds
the blessed angels, the blessed angels sing
peace, peace
and in your dark street shines
an Everlasting Light
and all your hopes and fears
are met in Him tonight
i hope your heart is preparing for His arrival too.
hopefully none of us get sick so i can keep up with the blogging.