Mikey's 10! (and I can't handle it)

One decade ago today, this sweet, little baby was added to the family.

As I look at this picture, there are several things to note.
1. Mary genuinely believes that she just delivered this baby, and is now the proud, new mommy.


2. Matt is absolutely convinced that no box of legos could ever surpass this gift that had just been handed to him. (well, unless it was the entire Galactic Empire Star Wars set)


Mikey is ten years old today!  Just typing that last sentence makes me want to drop to the floor in a heap of tears and scream, "Give me my baby back!"  That went by way too fast!  These boyhood years will turn into teen years, then college years and then....(uuuut! I'm gonna do it....I'm gonna drop to the floor in a heap of tears again!)  Too much of my mothering has been spent wishing things away:


"I wish he could reach out and grab that rattle"
"I wish he could crawl."
"I wish he would walk."
"I wish he could tie his own shoes."
"I wish he could climb in the car seat and buckle himself."
"I wish he could put his snow clothes on."
"I wish he would match his clothes."
(Right now, I am wishing that I could crawl inside that black and white picture up there, and hold that baby!)








This is my "baby" now......

In a few years, I'll be wishing to play soccer with this little boy...big boy.  I refuse to wish away anything else!  I've wished for far too much already, and have gotten it.  

And besides, if you try to steal from the past, and make it today.......

                It's just weird....and not near as cute.

Tonight, we will celebrate by taking our big 10 year old to the restaurant of his choice.  "So, Mikey...What's it going to be?  Mexican?  Chinese?  Italian?  Olive Garden has the best food, ya know! And totally awesome breadsticks!" (fingers crossed.)

"Wendy's." he said matter of factly.


"Wendy's?  As in the place that sells french fries and frostys?"

"YEAH! That place is awesome! Grammy took me there once."


 So, Wendy's it is. (Thanks, Mom -Why couldn't you have taken him to Olive Garden?)



 Look what this big boy is doing now!  

Joel did have to assist with pushing the chair down on the lawnmower.  Apparently, it has a weight limit, and our soccer player has not met the "weight requirements" that alerts the lawnmower's computer brain that there is indeed a man operating it.  Because of this, the lawnmower kept shutting off.  (That's an extra large Frosty for you tonight, Mike! --make that two!)




----------------------------------------------------------------------
 Mikey Aaaaaa-dores his cousin, Josh, with a capital A!  Josh is 18 and college bound.  (ut! tissues please....tissues!)  I call Josh "Six Flags on legs" because the kids LOVE him, and he's a blast to be around!   --See what I mean?

Mikey had one request for his birthday (that he put in about mid-Julyish)  "Could Josh sleep over for my birthday?"  Knowing that this was Josh's senior year, and all the busyness he had going on with soccer games and his social life, I just answered with, "We'll see."  As Trish and I were chatting on the phone one day, I told her about my conversation with Mikey. "Oh he'd love to, Beck!  We'll make it happen."


So, this past weekend, Mikey's birthday dream came true....

Josh + a box of legos + the Wii game, "Just Dance" + 

"Jackie Chan, The Kung-Fu Master"  +  junkfood  =  

The Best Birthday this 10 year old kid could ever dream of!

Mikey,

As quickly as the sun tucks behind that mountain each night, I feel like you are turning into a young man.  I am enjoying every minute being your mom.  You brought a new love into our family the day you were born.  I will never forget Matt and Mary plowing into that hospital room, all out of breath, and out of their mind with excitement to see you! Mary "mothered," while Matt "protected" you.  It was a beautiful thing to watch! (still is) There were many times that we would stand outside your bedroom door, and listen to Matt talk to you. He would bring you toys, as you stood hanging onto your crib for dear life.  Your giggles from the swing in the corner of our little dining room would make us all stop what we were doing, and immediately run to you and try our "stand up comedy."  We just loved hearing you laugh.  The most hysterical giggles came when Matt or Mary would pop up and scare you.  

At this moment, you and Matt are building a tree fort together...memories still being made.  Although scaring you is not so funny to you any more, the never-ending bond between you and your siblings is still  there.  Now, we get to see you play the role of  "big protective brother." I love the way you care about your sisters.  I love the way you defend them.  I love the way, you took care of Annie when she fell off her bike.  I love the way you look up to your brother and daddy.  I love the sweet tenderness of your heart to give anything you have away... even if it's your last piece of candy.  I will never forget the first time you shared a verse with all of us that you read. With your bottom lip quivering, you told us that you were sorry for losing your temper that morning.  These are the moments that I have sealed forever in my heart.  I treasure them.  We are blessed to call you, "our son."  Today, I am thanking God once again for allowing us to be your parents!

I look forward to watching you grow up...but please! don't do it so quickly! You've already learned to  crawl, walk, talk, get in and out of the car, as well as put your snowsuit on...You can even mow the lawn!  The next 10 years, you will be driving, getting a job, staying up late talking to daddy about life, going to college and perhaps finding the girl of your dreams?  The only thing that I wish for   pray for, is that you will grow up loving God with all your heart, soul and mind.

Words could never express how much we all love you!   You are the joy and laughter of our family! 

Happy Birthday, precious boy!

We love you!

An Advertisement for Homeschooling

Homeschooling is well on it's way. 


Annie is in first grade now.  She is pondering the deep questions of life. 

 For instance, the other night, she approached me with:
"Mom, where does poop come fwum?"  I looked at my husband who was grinning from ear to ear.  He couldn't wait to hear how I was going to explain this one. 


"Well, Annie...ummm, that's a great question... basically, it's leftover food that your body doesn't need."

"Why?"


"Because your body doesn't use everything you put into it."


 "Why does it stink?"


"Probably because it's been through your digestive system."


"Oh."


"Any other questions?"


"Yeah. Where does tinkle come fwum?"




(Does anyone have a book of gross topics that I could borrow?)


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


I was thrilled to find this big bulletin board in the clearance section at Michaels.  I grabbed it,and brought it home.  I asked my honey to paint the border black so it wouldn't look so "bulletin-boardish" -Is that an adjective?  It is today.


TA-DA!

It's a great spot to showcase good grades, as well as post daily schedules, jobs, music information, verses and reading charts.

And speaking of reading....I was alarmed the other day when Annie frantically called me from the other room. 

"Mom!!  There's a bad 'pictchor' in my reading book!"  


"Oh no, honey.  What do you mean?  I don't think there are any bad pictures in your reading book."

 -The look on her face would cause any Army sergeant to shake in  his boots-

"It's a 'VER-WEEEE' bad 'pictchor'!!"  (emphasis on the "WEEEEE" as you read that)

"Do I have to read this?" 


"Yes."


"Mommeeeeeee."



"Let me see it." 

 I'll be honest.  I giggled like a 4th grader.  I don't know what's more comical:

1. The fact that he's trying to dry off with a hand towel

Or


2.  That he's wearing blush 

 By the way, I did make her read the book.  -Enough of this sheltering business! 


 ----------------------------------------------------------------------

When Rocky first came to live with us, he had a hard time accepting the fact that the kids were not always available to play with him the second he wanted.  

Homeschooling has brought a little order to Rocky's life.  He now waits patiently for Matt to finish his work.

And when Matt is done, Rocky goes with him.

Matt and Mary had a rather interesting experiment during their English class.  The lesson was on "How to Write a Good Paragraph."  A good paragraph needs to have a great topic sentence and concluding sentence.  Some people tend to squeeze way too much information in between those two sentences.

Let's use an oreo cookie to help explain this a little further:

This is a perfectly balanced treat. It has a great chocolaty "topic" sentence, a lovely middle and an equally as great "concluding" bottom.


Could there ever be too much filling in the middle? 

Let's find out.....

a 30 stuffed oreo!

 The answer is yes, you can have too much in the middle. 



In conclusion:  I once heard that emotion and weird humor help people retain what they learn. You can ask Matt when he's 47 if he remembers this little experiment, because that's about how long it will take for his bellyache to subside.

Cucumbers...oh the cucumbers!

We planted a garden for the first time this summer.  We weren't sure how the garden would do with our soil.  Joel's grandfather rents his land to farmers. Grandpa pretty much has the best soil on the face of the planet.  So, Joel hauled some of that beautiful, mineral rich filth over here, and threw it down.  Mikey was there to help.







Because we're newbie farmers, we opted to plant less, and just see what we get.  

Our soil did not fail us!!! The tomatoes did great - as well as the the green and red peppers.  And then, there were the cucumbers....oh the cucumbers!!!!!





The cucumbers did well....

VERY WELL......

 CRAZY WELL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Like, "I never want to see another cucumber as long as I live" well.

I've made pickles...lots and lots of pickles. I've put cucumbers in smoothies, soups, lasagna and sandwiches. I've put cucumbers on my puffy eyes, legs, arms and rear. -I mean, I don't know.....why not, right? 


I've tried just about every salad on the internet that has the word "cucumber" in it.  No one is allowed in this house, unless they walk out with a cucumber...make that 5 cucumbers! As a joke for Dad's birthday, I had each one of the kids take a cucumber and decorate it.  Then, they delivered his basket of bountiful blessings. 


I once loved cucumbers.  And now quite honestly, I never want to see another one again.  



Don't let that tear fool you.  They're evil!
  

The Enchanted Woods

Two days ago, Grampy took the little ones for a walk. They returned, wide-eyed and out of breath, as they burst through the door. "MOM! We found a waterfall!!" They told everyone around the dinner table about their "secret hideout." I guess that negates the "secret" part.


 The following day, they begged me to take them to their "not so secret any more" hideout. I looked around the room at the piles of laundry begging to be folded, the dishes pleading to be washed, the paper work waiting to be filed, the furniture choking on dust and my stinky armpits screaming for a shower.  I had much to do. I told them to wait.   The sun was moving across the sky, reminding me that there were only a few short hours left of daylight. I sighed in exhaustion.  I will always have "so much to do," but my children need to know that they are at the top of that list! I dropped the laundry in the hallway, told the dishes and paper work to wait and slathered on extra deodorant. I called the little girls (sidenote: they informed Joel and I that they do not like being called "little girls" any more.) 


 So, I called the "old ladies" and asked them to take me to their secret hide away. They were more than willing! On the way down the driveway, we grabbed a friend who knew the way.... :) 

We walked for about 5 minutes, and suddenly we were there!  I was shocked that I drove past this little area every day and never noticed it. This was no secret hideout. It was an enchanted forest! 

A place where little girls could dream and pretend to be whatever they wanted. 

The excitement was spilling from their eyes, ears and mouth. They couldn't wait to walk in the water!

As the girls took off hand in hand, I sat in awe of our Creator. I tried to take it all in. I want to remember this moment. I want the images burned in my mind. I try to engage all of my senses. The sun was streaming in between massive trees, creating pockets of happiness along the water. The girls were wading around the water holding hands. Shades of green and brown were encircling me.  I listened to the beauty of the birds singing mixed with mini water falls and giggles.  When I'm 80, I hope I'll remember this day.


Ann Voskamp writes about the danger of being rushed in her book, "One Thousand Gifts." It really opened my eyes to how I was living.  We live in a fast-paced world, demanded by clocks and to do lists.  We are in a constant hurry to get to the next thing.  Sadly, in our hurrying, we miss beautiful things. 

In hurrying, we don't stop and take time to smile at faces around us because we're too busy grumbling about how long a line is or why a car is going so slow in front of us. In hurrying, we fail to say "thank you" to our great God.

Look around you. What do you see? Laundry? Messes? To do lists? Mud all over your daughter's jean shorts?


 Look harder.  





"Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good; For His lovingkindness is everlasting." -Psalm 118:29

I guess I created a little extra laundry for myself that day.....but you know what?

There will always be "to do lists." There won't always be little ones begging to take you to their "secret" fort.

Rain, rain, go away

I love summer! I love all the outdoor activities we can do in the sun. I love the warmth. I love the sun's rays streaming through the trees. When I was a little girl, every picture that I drew of our house had a great, big smiling sun above it. The sun just plain 'ole makes me happy.




So, when it rains, I'm bummed, and when it rains ALLLLLLLL day long, I'm reeeeeeeeeally bummed. And, if it rains for several days, forget about it....I turn into Eeyore.





Oh I know the grass, flowers and trees need the rain to grow...blah, blah, blah..... but I don't like rain. I don't like the sound of rain. I don't like the muddy puddles, and I really DON'T LIKE the "kooked-up" feeling of not being able to go outside. As I stood looking out my bedroom window at the gray fog, and depressing droplets, wishing I could be outside, a knock came at my door,

"Mom, can we put our bathing suits on, and go run in the rain?"




Interesting how they always end up teaching me....




We need rain. Rain promotes growth. There are rainy days in life, and there is nothing you can do about that...Rain comes. Sometimes it downright pours, and the thunder and lighting crashes all around you. There's nothing you can do to stop it. But you can do something about the way you react to it. -You can become Eeyore, and cry, "Woe is me. Poor me. Why does this always happen to me?" or you can say, "I need rainy days to grow." The wonderful news is that you are never alone..."For He hath said, I will never ever leave you or forsake you." -Hebrews 13:5


I read this in a book called, "One Thousand Gifts" by Ann Voskamp. (thank you Shanda! I love this book!)

"Above the clouds, there is always light."






Go run in the rain. (just make sure it's not lightning out, please.)



Listen to the words of this song
It gave me a new outlook on rain.

Mary is in LOVE!

Mary is absolutely IN LOVE with horses. She even asked me when she could "muck out a horse stall." -now that's love! (or maybe a little psychotic) I mean good grief! I love my babies, but not once did I ever look into that sweet, little, round baby face and say, "Sweetie, when are you going to do a big 'dookie' so I can change you?"


When she first started talking about horses, I thought it was just a phase that would go away.



A wise, seasoned mother told me. "Girls go through these stages. First, they love horses, and then....it will be boys."




We immediately signed her up for lessons. She'll be riding until she's 50.