More Turtle Power!

The boys got to have their friend Sam over to watch a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle movie with them today. So cute!

A Goose Egg and Turtle Power

I was at the park tonight with the two little ones waiting for Kaylor to get finished with karate and Maddie Grace took a hard fall and hit her pretty little head on some of the playground equipment! She's had a lot more falls and accidents than either of her brothers did at this age, but she's managed to keep from having a big goose egg until now. She cried really hard for about two seconds and then pulled herself together as she came face to face with a stranger (I ran inside with her to ask if I could get some ice from a nice lady). She was fine and back to playing within a few minutes. But she looks like she got into a fight with her friend Wes. :-)


Yesterday Kaylor was eating his Koala Crunch for breakfast (very similar to Cocoa Krispies) and he spilled them everywhere. He asked me to help him clean them up since he wisely knows that chocolate can kill our dog Ellie and she is always nearby hanging on every morsel to miss our lips and fall to the floor for her. As we were quickly cleaning up, Kaylor began to dramatically explain to his little brother the importance of keeping chocolate from Ellie -- "she will die!...yeah, Caden, she will perish!" I had never heard Kaylor say perish before and wondered where he'd heard it. Most people are familiar with John 3:16 - For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. That verse is the first thing that came to mind because quite honestly, how often do we here the word perish in normal conversation? Well, apparently it is normal vocabulary for none other than the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Not only are they teaching my child to fight like a ninja, they are also teaching him some good vocabulary!

Many Faces

I just have to post some of the many faces of my children!

My baby is turning 5!

This sounds so cliche, but it really does seem like just yesterday that we brought our newborn baby home from the hospital almost 5 years ago! This precious child has an extremely overactive imagination and is constantly in another world and dressing up in costumes-- a daily occurrence at our house. The day normally starts with him coming upstairs at 6:30am as one of his many characters. When he's in character mode, he calls my husband and I by our first names instead of "Mommy" and "Daddy." And we are required to call him by his character name as well. His recent fascination is Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. He makes his own costume by dressing in all green, putting on a backpack for his turtle shell, and grabbing two ninja swords. It makes for an interesting and confusing life! Here's a sweet video of his life thus far...and a poem I wrote for him several years before he was conceived.

Little Child

Will you have eyes of cornflower blue
set wide apart above a button nose,
lightly sprinkled with cinnamon-colored freckles?
Or will you have eyes of dark hershey,
almond-shaped and questioning
above a slender nose
and crescent shaped lips?
Will you enjoy running barefoot
through neighborhoods and deep dark woods,
climbing trees and catching frogs?
Will you have a love for writing words
and reading Huck Finn, Aslan and Puck?
Will your laughter roll like waves
across my soul
and your smile stretch across my life,
capturing my heart forever?
Whatever your face, whatever your name,
you already have my heart and soul
wrapped around your little finger
forever...little child.

MS

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Blast Off!

We have been studying the moon and how it reflects the sun's light. The theme is "I am the light of the world" and how we can reflect God's love to others. Today we built a rocket ship and the boys had some fun, but I think most of the project was overshadowed with selfishness and fighting over markers as they both tried to decorate the rocket ship. Pushing and shoving...harsh words, whining...plenty of opportunities to talk about how we need Jesus for every second! A seemingly fun moment can rapidly turn into a nightmare...Mommy's heart is exposed too as kids fight over markers. I want peace and quiet and my own time...I want to give up and walk away...I want someone else to step in and figure this out! What an important ministry we have as Moms! Not only to show our children their need for the gospel, but to show them our own need for change. I wish motherhood wasn't messy (not just messy faces and the clutter of toys, but the chaos that sin causes!) and I wish I could do it perfectly and had all the answers! Yet, perfection would bring a greater chance of self-reliance and an absence of my need for the grace of God. Ugh. When it's so easy to spiral into despair, I remember the "waltz"--repent, believe, fight...1, 2, 3...1, 2, 3...the dance with the Lord. This life is a constant fight against evil, isn't it? I see how it tries to work it's way into every moment of my life...but, good is bigger than evil and it will always prevail. I pray for a believing heart, repentant spirit, and the strength to not give up...whether it's when building rocket ships, wiping snotty noses, or dancing with the Lord...may we all persevere and keep up the fight!

Grace, Mercy and Ice Cream

You know, my husband says I'm a glutton for punishment for continuing to take 3 little ones out shopping with me. I promised the boys an ice cream treat if they behaved well in the store today while I ran in to check out some sale. We rode past Brewster's Ice Cream on the way to the store...glistening in the sunlight...such a beautiful little store (my children are well aware of their mommy's obsession and idolatry of anything cold and frozen with Reese's cup candy in it). I pointed it out to them as we passed by and told them we'd be right back as soon as we ran a quick errand and they obeyed Mommy in the store. The boys were so excited at the prospect of ice cream! Well, did the boys behave in the store? The five million dollar question. I have to say that I totally burst out in hysterical laughter when replaying the story to my husband tonight on the phone. It was totally NOT funny in the moment at the store, but it was kind of funny when I was telling someone else...later in the safety and security of my home without the eyes of sales clerks and people in line behind me watching my every move. Anyway back to the story, the 2-year old escaped from the double stroller very shortly into the shopping trip and I knew my time was gonna be short at the sales rack. Off ran the little booger with his sucker in his hand (more bribery, but alas it didn't work to keep him in the stroller)! My precious 4-year old took off running after him yelling "no, don't you do it, don't you do it! don't run away, you'll get lost forever!" I could hear the tinkling of classical music over the speakers and could see little happy-go-lucky shoppers perusing the aisles as they were shocked to dodge 2 small children nearly knocking them down. Well, off they ran laughing through the store with me maneuvering the big hoss of a stroller around merchandise and yelling behind them to "stop!". I had some stuff to exchange and why I decided to do it today with the kids is beyond me. Anyway, I finally corralled the boys for a brief instant. They promise to stay by my side at the counter while I make the exchange...and hark, the 4-year old suddenly hears the call of the wild to dash off once again throwing one of his toys up in the air as he gaily frolics down the glassware aisle. I see it coming before it happens and dash after the 2-year old, who wants to be like big brother. Before I can stop him, the 2-year old also tosses his toy into the air along the same aisle of glassware. Such a perfect throw into the stemware. Several wine glasses begin to fall and start a domino effect. I am not as quick on my feet as I used to be, so I didn't quite catch the first one that hit the floor and shattered to a million bits, but I was quick enough to stop the rest from falling. I'm not sure why no one appreciated my celebration dance for saving all those glasses. Oh well. Precious little MG sat in the stroller the entire time and ate her sucker and just watched...she is an astute observer by the way, which kind of scares me...because she SEES what her brothers are doing...hmmmmm. Well, anyway, I really made a bad decision to take these little ones into this store. So, shoot me. And I really thought the store clerk was gonna shoot me or arrest me or something. And all those people in line behind me weren't pleased either. Ugh. Come on people! Extend a little grace and mercy. Yes, I offered to pay for the broken wine glass and I made the 2-year old say he was sorry and I also made him get a broom and sweep it up all himself. Just kidding...but I did make him say he was sorry and I did offer to pay. Anyway, K was SO sad when I said there would be no ice cream. They clearly disobeyed in the store and aren't we all supposed to be good parents and set limits and have consequences? I was doing that, darn it. I was making some tough consequences...we all had to ride right back down that road right past the stinking Brewster's Ice Cream, glistening in the sunlight. I asked K if he thought he deserved an ice cream and he accurately said "no." But, I truly felt a tug at my heart and I think it was the Holy Spirit (although others would probably claim it was my own desire for ice cream!) But, I really felt the Lord reminding me of His grace and mercy. Another day and another time it would have been the right thing to do to drive past that ice cream store, but today I really felt like we all needed some grace and mercy. K knew that he didn't deserve ice cream, he knew he didn't obey. I knew I was wrong for taking them out when we should have been home playing or something. None of us deserve ice cream or anything else for that matter. And today I felt He was showing me my need for grace and my need to extend it. So, we went to Brewster's and ate us some big ol' ice cream and I told K that Mommy was extending grace and mercy--he knew he didn't deserve it, but he was sure glad to receive it. And I hope moments like that will remind him of God's grace on us daily. Sure, we need to have consequences and limits, but we also need to know the love and tender care of our Heavenly Father.