Being you

I'm reading a book called "Up From the Blue" by Susan Henderson and just read a part that I had to share. Seriously, I just read this two seconds ago. I read it, re-read it, and then went to my blog to write this down. Listen to this:

"Everyone likes to tell you the ways you're wrong and ways you can improve yourself and what you should and shouldn't do. Sometimes you have to tune it out or there's nothing left of you that's right."

She's writing from the view of a 3rd grader but the truth of the statement really struck me. And I wonder if my own 3rd grade daughter feels like she can't do anything right. I know I have felt that before. I hope I can remember this and let it sink in and tell her the things I like about her. About all my kids. I know they need to be corrected and they know they need to be corrected. But they also need to know that they are loved, not for what they do right, but for their uniqueness and for being who they are.

This is why I love to read so much, for those quotes that just reach out and grab me.

Some real talent?

This boy may have some real talent on the drums! And his sister looks quite comfortable with a microphone in her hand. I love my little music-makers!

The Joys of Parenting

We have been in the middle of basketball season around here. It has been crazy busy at times but I love watching the game. I don't know all the rules - half the time I don't know why the ref blew the whistle - but I can keep track of the ball and know the basics, which is more than I can say for most sports. Plus, it's indoors - I love not dealing with weather when I'm watching sports!

Lucky for me, Brendan has loved basketball since he was little. There have been times when he loved it a little too much - he had all the players and their stats memorized and loved to tell you about them. Do I really care how how many points a certain player averaged and what team he played on before he was with his current team? No, but I tried my hardest to pretend.

This was his 6th year playing on a team and I think he has shown the most improvement this year. The refs started calling more fouls and traveling - things that previously they had let slide in an effort to keep the game moving and to let the kids work on dribbling and shooting. It just started feeling more like real basketball. The last couple of games were intense! Edge of the seat, hands in the air when the ball went in, lost track of other children, intense. So much fun to see him practice and grow as a player and watch him do something he enjoys.

I think that is one of the greatest joys and challenges of parenting. Encouraging our children to find what they love to do and what they're good at and help them practice and keep at it. Allowing them to try new things and then letting them stop if they decide they don't really like doing something. Teaching them that you don't have to be the best at something to enjoy it - but you do need to be the best you can be.

Owen has a passion for drums right now. He has watched several YouTube videos of the top drummers and really likes Neal Peart from Rush. He has asked when he can get more drums and cymbals so he can have a set like Neal's. We told him if he keeps practicing and gets better, we'll buy him more. This satisifes him for now. I secretly taped him performing for my mom. This is his version of "I Surrender All". I think he re-wrote at least half the lyrics.

Taking pictures

Does anyone else go in phases with taking pictures? I feel like I have really dropped the ball on this one. I need to challenge myself to start walking around with my camera and get some candid shots of how our days are spent. I don't want the standard birthday and holiday pictures to be the only pictures I take. I want pictures of the kids coloring together at the table or playing dress-up or laying on the couch reading or laughing together.

I was just thinking the other day how I really like this particular stage of life. I have 4 children who are more independent but not to the adolescent stage yet. We don't deal with a lot of attitude - some, but not a lot. It's going to go by so quickly. Anytime we look ahead a few years, I gasp when I realize the ages of our kids. Even in 5 years - Brendan will be 15, Tori will be 13 and Rachel and Owen will be 9. Did you hear my gasp? Did you gasp, too? I remember when 5 years didn't seem like a long time. Now I can't hardly bear to plan that far ahead.

Part of me is excited for what the future will bring. But mostly I'm very aware of how fast it is going. And I'm really not ready for that yet. So I will start taking more pictures to make these moments last a little longer.

Did you know . . .

- 4 year olds don't pick their nose anymore?
- 4 year olds take care of their dishes after they're done eating?
- 4 year olds don't "toot" at the table?
- 4 year olds can drink from a regular cup and not a sippy cup?

Rachel and Owen didn't know that either, until they turned 4!

It has been my past experience that age 4 is much better than age 3. I'm wondering now how much of that has to do with my expectations. Maybe by age 4, I just let them know that certain things won't be allowed anymore and they go along with it. At any rate, it's been fun to tell them that "we don't do that when we're 4".

Although, there have been times Rachel has sighed and said, "I don't want to be 4 anymore." Growing up isn't easy!

A squishy pillow

Last week, Owen wet through his pull-up at night. I washed his sheets and was making his bed before rest time. He came in to "help" and saw his pillow case in a heap on the floor. He poked at it and said, "What the hay? My pillow is all squishy!" It took me a minute to realize he thought his whole pillow was in that heap. He was relieved when I explained that his pillow was in the hallway (where he had taken it) and that heap of fabric was just his pillow case.

"What if he didn't?"

I was working with Tori on her Awana verses a couple weeks ago. We were trying different activities to help the verse sink in a little more. The first activity was writing the verse on a white board and then erasing one word at a time after she said the verse each time. This works great for Brendan but Tori is more visual and just seemed to focus on the words that were left and couldn't remember what had been erased.

So I tried the picture route. We took each part of the verse and drew out a picture of what it was saying. This seemed to be much more helpful, along with repeating the verse several times.

The verse was 1 Peter 2:24, "He himself bore our sins in his body on the cross, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed." I drew Jesus on the cross and then had many arrows with the word "sin" pointing to his body.

I know Tori has heard this many times. It's not new information. But this time it seemed to really sink in.

I know the feeling.

This time, she looked at the very poorly drawn picture and said, "He took all our sins." And I said, "Yes, he did." And she responded with, "But mom, what if he didn't?" And I was struck speechless. I just looked at her and honestly said, "I don't know." And we both just looked and pondered that for a minute. And then agreed that we were so thankful he did.

I love seeing things through the eyes of my children.

Starting 2011 with a bang - almost too literally

I have started this post so many times. There is just a lot to write about! I was trying to figure out a way to put it all together in a cohesive way but that just wasn't happening. So this will be more of hodge-podge post.

It's a new year and I'm feeling good! I started some changes last December and decided that one of my resolutions this year would be to continue those. In November I started running again. I've been running on and off for a couple years but haven't felt committed. I often used any excuse to not run. For some reason, this time something clicked with me. I felt the need to prove something to myself. I ran a couple times with some friends who were a lot faster than me. I thought about telling them that I just couldn't keep up with them but they were very encouraging and said that if I kept at it, I'd be running at their pace. I'm almost there! Before, the most I would do on the treadmill was 3 miles. This time, I've gone 6! I'm improving my speed and am making time to run 3 times a week and actually enjoy it. I'm really excited to run some races this summer and see what I can do.

Another goal for this year is to read the Bible. Our church is doing this together but I decided to be a little different. I didn't want to buy a new Bible with the reading plan so I looked on-line and saw a chronological plan and decided to go that route. It's been good to get in the habit of reading it every day, even if it's occasionally very late at night. For some reason, I'm more apt to fall asleep when I try to read it in the afternoon but reading it at 11:30 pm is never a problem.

I've also been watching what I eat and trying to limit certain foods. I think I'm making better choices. I joined the SparkPeople website and have been tracking what I eat and trying to stay within the recommended amounts for me. It has definitely made a difference. It seems to be a change that I can continue. I wanted to lose some weight but it wasn't just about the numbers on the scale. It was how clothes were starting to fit (or not fit, really) and I knew that my current eating habits were not helping things. I kept saying "moderation in all things" but I wasn't really moderate. And again, I wanted to stick with something and prove that I could do it.

That seems to be a theme for this year - stick to it. I should probably pick up that guitar and add that to my list of goals. I seem to be more focused and goal-oriented than I have been in the past.

Last Saturday, I heated up some water in the microwave to make tea. When I walked back through the living room, it smelled strongly of bacon. We had had bacon for supper so I didn't think too much of it. On Sunday, Josh heated some water in the microwave to make hot chocolate for the kids after they had played outside. This time it smelled like fish. We could not figure out what was going on. Monday morning, I was heating some oatmeal in the microwave and Tori happened to be sitting in the living room. She hollered out, "Mom, this is bad, it's going to be a fire!" I walked in and she pointed to an outlet that had sparks coming out. I quickly turned off the microwave and unplugged it for good measure. I called Josh and he called an electrician, after cautioning me to not use the microwave again. No worries there.

The electrician came on Tuesday morning and showed me our old outlet, with some melted wire around it, and said we were very close to a house fire. I asked if that would have caused a fish-like odor and he said that would have been the wire burning. He even had me smell the outlet and the odor was still there. He put in a new outlet, one that is now grounded. So thankful for a daughter who was done eating and who happened to be sitting in the right spot at the right time to alert me to the danger. I don't really like to think about what might have happened.

Now, to keep up with these goals past January. :)

Merry Christmas!

Doesn't Brownie look like she's in the holiday spirit?

Tori has been an animal lover her entire life. She has big plans when she moves out. She wants to own a poodle, golden retriever, chihuahua, and dachsund. And a horse. And maybe a rabbit. And a couple cats. The poor thing has to settle for one chocolate lab right now. If we could, I'd have a couple goats. And maybe another dog - but not one of those silly little dogs. I'd get a newfoundland. We're a bit different, my daughter and I.

This year, top on her Christmas list, is a chihuahua complete with clothes. We watched a little video clip about them by a vet and he said you have to be very careful where you walk because they get underfoot very easily and also like to hide under recliners. Josh made an innocent comment about most likely crushing a little dog like that because of not watching where he was going. Tori now will tell people that she "wants a chihuahua but my dad said he'd crush it." A bit out of context.

Needless to say, she's not getting her wish this year. But hey, a chocolate lab can be dressed up, right? I have never seen a more pleading look in this dog's eyes. She looks so humiliated. But Tori was in heaven. So Brownie gets the Santa hat put on every day. At least the white beard that came with it was too small so she doesn't have to suffer through that disgrace.

Are you sure they're only cousins?

There have been times that I've seen a picture of my nephew, Barrett, and thought he looked like Brendan did when he was younger. But I never realized how similar they looked until I saw this picture!