Memorial Day

I hope all of you had a nice Holiday Weekend. I used to feel a little guilty for having fun on Memorial Day. After all, the holiday is about remembering those who have paid the ultimate price for our freedom. Then I heard a Mother of a Soldier in Iraq say that her son told her that he was over there fighting so that she could enjoy life. Her spin on this was, that by enjoying life and our free, relatively care-free lives (compared to those who worry about being bombed at the grocery store) we are honoring those who fought to make sure we could live this way. If there is truth in that, we really were honoring the fallen on Monday. Monday was spent catching up on things, then Monday night we enjoyed a cookout at a friend's house. We had such a nice time, with games, food, and great conversation. We truly are a blessed people.

Before I close I thought I'd share a "Silly Siah" Moment: The other day, I put the boys in the car to go to our cleaning job. When I got in, I remembered something that was in the house that I needed. I jumped out of the car to go get what I needed. As I walked behind the car, the thought crossed my mind of what would happen if the car backed over me. (those of you with vivid imaginations understand these kinds of thoughts, the rest of you think I'm sick.) Anyway, I thought about how awful it would be for the boys to be stuck in the garage not knowing what to do, if I got hurt. So when I got back in the car I started telling Josiah that if Mommy ever got hurt or seemed like she was asleep and he couldn't wake me up he should go to the phone and dial 911 and tell the people who answer that I was hurt. I thought that was enough for him to take in for one day, so I told him I would teach him our address the next day, because that would help the lady at 911. He said, "we're in the car with nothing to do, why don't we use this time to learn it?" I laughed and said, "OK!" We went over it several times then I asked him, "Now Siah if Mommy gets hurt and you ask me if you should call 911 and I say yes or if I don't answer what do you do?" He did pretty well telling me the steps he would go through. I was surprised at how much he retained so I said, "You are really smart to remember all that!" and he took his index finger and made circle motions around his temples and said, "do you know how I'm so smart?" and I said, "no, how?" and he said, "Well, I eat a lot of Smarties and they get up in my brain and make me smart!" He was serious and still is convinced that Smarties are smart-pills. I may have to use Smarties in the future for getting other parental instruction to stick. :)

Papa & Nanny - oh what fun!

Well, we made the LOOOOOONG trip to Michigan. Once we get there it is worth the effort, but oh, how we dread the drive. We went to Matt's niece, Savannah's kindergarten graduation on Thursday night.(see photo). We decided to leave after her graduation. (we figured the kiddos would sleep all the way up.) Savannah is Matt's brother Greg's daughter and she got to come with us to Michigan. Greg is in the National Guard and had duty this weekend, so we got to keep Savannah. The boys were so excited that Savannah got to go to Papa and Nanny's house with them.

We only got about 10 minutes down the road, and Micah started coughing, got choked and vomited. (very nice in a car with 5 people.) Fortunately, we were only a mile from the exit that "Issac & Becca" live on so we called to see if we could stop by and clean up. What wonderfully gracious friends to let us barge in at 11pm and bathe Micah and lend us a fresh car seat and cleaning supplies. They are dear friends, and our heroes that night.

We got to MI Friday morning and Matt and I spent the day trying to recover from an "all-nighter". (this was much easier to do in college) Saturday morning, Mom, Savannah and I went shopping. When we got home Dad and our family went kite flying. It is amazing how much fun you can have with $1 kites.

Savannah enjoyed chasing her kite's tail while Aunt Julia flew it. But nothing doing for the boys, they wanted to pilot their own crafts. It brought back so many memories. I spent many hours as a kid chasing down fallen kites. My Dad always made special tails for the kites and parachute "men" to send up the kite line. As always, Dad was faithful to create a "parachute" to send up our kite lines this time too. (it doesn't work so well with $1 kites) :)

Daddy & Siah

Too Fun!

That evening we went back to Dad and Mom's and played with Nanny in the yard and ordered pizza. For 6, 4, and 2 year olds it doesn't get any better than that. (not too bad at 34 either!)

I realize as I get older, that I appreciate my parent's more with each passing year. They didn't do everything perfectly. In fact, I can see many things in my own life that are the result of lack of training. However, I never doubt that they did the best they could for us. I know they have regrets, because they're not afraid to tell us what they wish they could go back and change. In the end, that's what makes me admire them so much. We all are bound to make mistakes, but my parents are big enough to not excuse their mistakes, but own them, and that makes them good parents. They haven't stopped parenting us, by their admission of mess ups, they continue to train me to not make the same mistakes and they keep me humble. I know as hard as I am trying right now to train our boys to be the best they can be, to give them the tools they will need to be prepared for whatever God has for them, I know in spite of all that, I am missing some stuff. I don't know what it is, but they will, once they are adults. I hope and pray they will know that we, like our parents, did the best we could and they will stand on our shoulders, learn from our mistakes and give their kids something even better. (I really didn't mean to get all serious, I just want to honor my folks)

Well, we're home now. It feels good to be in our own beds, back to routine. (Can you believe I ever traveled full-time?) I hear Micah waking from his nap, so I suppose I should close this post and sit him on the potty. (No accidents today....yet!) :)

The Other Side of the Fence

To quote one of my favorite songs from my favorite music artist http://www.samthedummy.com/

Oh what a wonderful day

Come on, admit it

be it sunny or gray

Don't you forget it

Every hour is super special

I, for one, am happy to be alive

Oh what a glorious day

I'm filled with wonder

At the wonderful way

That even thunder

Can remind me Who is holding

Every moment anyway

What a wonderful day!

We had such a nice day yesterday. I, like so many of you, was thinking especially of my incredible Mother. I know often she feels like she hasn't accomplished much in life, but her life is continuing to influence down through the generations. I am looking forward to celebrating Mother's Day with her next weekend. The boys are pumped about heading to Papa and Nanny's. It's been too long since we've made it up there, but alas a 7 hour trip with a 4 year old and a 2 year old is not what we do often, for obvious reasons.

Yesterday, we enjoyed a worshipful day with dear friends. Matt made muffins for breakfast (we always have muffins on Sunday mornings) , and I was presented a lovely gift that I have had on my wish list for quite some time. As always, the boys and Matt made me a very unique card. It was shaped like a pyramid and Matt said it was for their "mummy" because I was one of the "wonders of the world". Goofy, I know, but I loved it.

After church we went to our neighbor's (and dear friends, I might add) house for a picnic. The boys enjoyed a golf cart ride with the neighbor girls, who happen to be two of their favorite people.

I will spare you the details of the whole day, but we did have such a nice day. Both Matt and I were unable to be with our Mom's on this special day, we don't think there is anything sacred about the particular day however, so we plan to be with them both later this week.

I was talking with a good friend last week about "the other side of the fence" and it was another good perspective aligning conversation. It is, by human nature, a most easy thing to look at others and think, "now they have it all together" or "if only I had their life " or "boy, sure wish I could do what so-and-so gets to do". Earlier that day I had listened to a Focus on the Family broadcast on Singleness. This particular friend is single and I wanted to get her take on what I had heard. As I spoke with my friend we realized something, the old saying, "the grass seems greener on the other side of the fence" is so true. I had always thought of that saying as a one-way thing though. The people who have it good, are on the other side. While I would admit that the other side had a higher water bill and had to be mowed more often, it was still greener.

My friend and I realized that, the grass is not greener, it's different. In our flesh we tend to think that we're always missing something. Kind of like when my kiddos are each enjoying a snack, they both have a treat, but they want to taste the one the other has. Don't get me wrong, I love my life and wouldn't trade it, but there are times when my single/no kids girlfriends go shopping or out for ice cream late at night and inside I sigh and think, "boy their grass is really green." Then I hear my single friends say, "you get to go home to a house full of people", and I can almost hear them sigh and say, "boy, her grass is greener." The point is, it's not. It's just different, and on my side of the fence their are weeds, just like on your side. On the other hand, on my side of the fence there is a lot of sunshine and flowers, but I bet there is on yours too. So I think the point is, in whatsoever state we are in, in that we should be content. Contentment, now that sounds like a way to enjoy the grass we have. Elisabeth Elliot warned us to not lose the joy of today by always looking for the joy of tomorrow. So I'm going to enjoy my grass, weeds and all. I hope you do the same.

Goofy Kids

Do they really have a chance at being "normal" with their parents?

Often times in church during the song service I will hold one of the boys on my lap and sing in his ear. On each verse I will sing a different part(BTW, I never try bass), when I switch to a new part I will tell him what part I will be singing, i.e. "now I'm going to sing the alto part on this verse". I hope by doing this, their ears will become used to listening for parts. I do the same thing with instruments as we listen to music. I will say, " do you hear that beautiful french horn?" or "wow, listen to that cello!" Anyway, the other day it all came back to haunt me. We were driving down the road listening to Brooklyn Tab and I hear Micah from the back seat, "Mommy now I'm gonna sing alto!" Josiah replies, "And I'm gonna sing wead, I wike to sing wead cause wead is the woud part, if you sing wead that means you sing woud." I tried my best to explain that Lead is not just singing loud, it just seems loud to them because it is the melody of the song. They just looked at me as if to say, "yeah, OK, anyway as we were saying". Then Josiah says, "let's switch, now you sing Wead Micah and I'll sing Alto, come on Mommy sing!" So I sang. (before you get impressed, they are not actually singing parts, unless they are following me singing a part.)

Yesterday we started officially potty training Micah. Ahh the joy. We took his bear and put underwear on it, then we showed the bear how to go potty and keep his pants clean and dry, then bear got a treat. Bear learns so quickly. Then we put Bob the Builder underwear on Micah and said, "Now Micah you don't want to get Bob wet, keep Bob clean and dry. Then we set the timer and did the stay off the carpet thing and go potty every time the timer goes off. He didn't do too badly, only 2 accidents, one was right after we had taken him potty though. While Matt and I were still eating lunch, we noticed that Micah was dancing around in a circle and then falling down, he really seemed to be enjoying himself. He did this 3 times before we figured out he had wet himself and the floor, and was having a great time slipping and sliding in it. Needless to say, Bob got wet and Micah got a bath. Anyway, as you can tell, the apple does not fall far from the tree. Below are some pictures of our goofy guys.

Yum chocolate ice cream!

I am told that this tree stump is the Titanic, and Josiah and Micah are trying to survive the sinking of it

.A little trick photography with Daddy and Siah. For just the price of a cup of coffee a day, you could help feed this child.

Never Alone

I feel as if last week were a blur. Monday was recital, Tuesday Micah had a check up, Wednesday Matt had another Toxo check up, Thursday my weekly cleaning job, Friday another weekly cleaning job, but Saturday was a special day. Saturday morning, Becca hosted a Mother/Daughter Tea at her home. For those of you who know Becca, you'll know it was very creatively done. She had a coffee theme, complete with special mochas, lattes, and carmel machiattos(sp?). Not to mention the great food and inspiring devotional. Matt needed to go into work Saturday morning to help get some chairs built, he could take Siah, but the Micahnator would be a bit much. So I sneaked Micah into a girls-only event. I'm pretty sure we tricked everyone with his disguise. (see photo)

Saturday afternoon was a special time celebrating with girlfriends. Here is a little background. Around here when any of the ladies from our church turns 40 or 50 we do it up big! The last lady was kidnapped by blowdryer-point from work and thrown into the back of a waiting van. We whisked her off to the city for a weekend of shopping and fun. This year two ladies(see photo) are turning 40 and they have received ransom type notes warning them that 4 - "D" things are coming their way. The first "D" was Drama and we all went to see "Lost in Yonkers" at a local college that has a theatre series. Saturday was the second "D" and it was Dirt Cheap Night. We had a progressive snack at three different homes, then we went back to the first house for chocolate fondue and a foot-spa party. We had such a nice time. By the end of the day, I was zonked, but oh what fun. What a blessing to have friends. I wish all of you had been here with us to enjoy it.

On a more serious note, I thought I'd share an experience I had a few weeks ago. I hope it encourages you, as I am sure I am not the only one who faces days of uncertainty. Not long ago I was feeling pretty insecure. I had a few days when I wondered if I was worthy enough to be the wife of such an incredible man. Days when I wondered if it was selfish of me to have had children. What made me think I could possibly mold two souls into the image of Christ? It's easy to have babies and feel all those warm fuzzies, but the reality is, as wonderful as children are, they are responsibility. One day we will stand before God and give an account for how we have or have not trained them. I know in the end the choice is theirs, but how I train them will greatly influence the direction in life they will choose. Their view of God will be influenced by the justice, love, kindness, and consistency they see in me. Just when I had about over-thought myself into despair, my precious logical husband talked some sense into me and also said, "tomorrow I want you to listen to uplifting music all day, music that will focus your mind on Christ." Well, I obeyed and I'm so glad I did. I took my CD player with us to "our" cleaning job and I popped in a CD I hadn't listened to in quite sometime. One of the first songs that came on brought me to tears and helped me come back to an eternal perspective. I thought I would share those lyrics with you. I hope this song encourages you like it did me.

You Will Never Walk Alone

by: Lowell Alexander

Verse 1: Along life's road

There will be sunshine and rain

Roses and Thorns, laughter and pain

And 'cross the miles

You will face mountains so steep

Deserts so long and valleys so deep

Sometimes the journey's gentle

Sometimes the cold winds blow

But I want you to remember

I want you to know

Chorus: You will never walk alone

As long as you have faith

Jesus will be right beside you all the way

You may feel you're far from home

But home is where He is

And He'll be there down every road

You will never walk alone.

Verse 2: The path will wind

And you will find wonders and fears

Labors of love and a few falling tears

Across the years

There will be some twists and turns

Mistakes to make and lessons to learn

Sometimes the journey's gentle

Sometimes the cold winds blow

But I want you to remember

Wherever you may go

Chorus

Bridge: Jesus knows your joy, Jesus knows your need

He will go the distance with you faithfully

Chorus

I pushed the repeat button and listened to this song over and over for about 2 hours. I cried out to God to forgive me for forgetting that the job is not mine alone. I don't believe God reaches down and takes tough jobs away from us, I think as a loving Father He makes us do some work too, so that we might grow and become more like Him. However, I do need Him desperately in able to do the job that sets before me. I was right in thinking the job of being wife, and especially Mother, is way too big for me...alone, but I am not alone. Yes, I am responsible, yes I must do my best to learn to be the greatest Mommy possible for their soul's sake. But I do not have to go it alone. As long as I trust Him, He is with me every step of the way, giving me wisdom as I ask for it and strength as I need it. What a precious Companion.

I'm so lost

OK, I was shamed by a dear friend for not posting pictures of Josiah's Recital. The problem was I couldn't find my camera before we had to leave, so it was go with a camera and be late or go without a camera and be on time. I chose the latter, especially since I knew there would be 3 good friends there taking photos and I thought I might be able to beg a few off of them. Anyway, all that to say that I decided to at least post a photo of Siah and Violin to make up for the lack of recital photos. Obviously it worked, but it is huge. I can't figure out how to add photos to a posting or how to make them a reasonable size. So forgive the Godzilla sized photo of Josiah, and try to enjoy it, in spite of how overwhelming it may be.

Rainy Days

Today is a gray rainy day. That's not always a bad thing. Josiah reminded me today that, "the rain is a good thing, it helps the plants grow." Boy that's a mouth full both in reality and metaphorically. I remember as a young person thinking The Apostle Paul had some real issues when he was always being so thankful and cheery about his trials. I think as an adult I can now see his point. Now before you put me in the category of Saints, let me say I don't ask for any trials and neither do I blame God for the ones I have, but I do recognize the potential for growth that each trial offers.

With so many blessings in my life, I feel a bit silly speaking of trials. I've not come close to experiencing some of the hardships Paul faced or even that some of you face daily. But I trust that it is in the everyday grind of life that I develop my perspective and grow in my knowledge of Jesus. Then when the devastating winds begin to blow in on my life, I will have a foundation firmly planted in my Heavenly Father.

Speaking of blessings, we are thankful for one small blessing. Matt did not have to serve on Jury yesterday and was able to attend Josiah's recital. The Jury-Chick did promise sternly that he would have to serve another month and would most certainly have to come in more than once. But we will take that as it comes. Having Daddy at the Recital was worth it. If you have never been to a Suzuki String Recital, you really are missing something. We even attended some before Josiah started lessons. It's so fun to hear children ranging form age 3 - 18 playing beautiful music. With the Suzuki Method all the children play the same songs as they progress. So the older students have already played and perfected the songs the younger children are just learning. So it is fun to hear all of kids play Twinkle together. As the music gets more difficult the younger students step out and by the end of the concert you get to enjoy an orchestra of young people playing gorgeous music. It sure was encouraging for me. After months of hearing the cat screaming sounds of a beginning Violinist, it's nice to see that in just a few years all those scratchings will actually make some pretty awesome music.

Well, we have church tonight and we like to hit the library before church so I will close for now. Thanks for being one of the many blessings in my life.