Climbing "Mountains" and "Dragon" hunts

The snow is quickly melting outside so I had to get these promised photos up.
Before the last big melt (followed up by another big snowstorm)
I took Owen out to climb mountains and hunt dragons:
The "mountains" are really the huge (gi-normous, as Owen likes to quote from Elf)
piles of snow from the parking lot near our home.
Literally the most fun "butt slides" I've ever made.
(A "butt slide" is when you make a path without a sled
and keep going down it to make the path compact and really fast!)


This picture I took of Owen at the top and I was sitting at the bottom to show how big this pile really is...If it were daylight, you'd see the tops of trees that are nearly buried under these snow piles.

I taught Owen how to clear pine branches for good climbing and nesting inside its cover.
He loved having a place to hide from the "dragons."
I still have no idea what these are or where they came from but he warns me when he sees one coming. He says this is the look he makes when he is surprised by one...

Sometimes it got cold out there, but how could I tell him no?
We knew it was time to go in when the sky was dark...
at least in the winter we can follow that rule. :-)

Delayed Gratification?

So...I forgot my phone charger in WI.
It takes 2-3 days to get a package from one state away.
When the package finally came, there were two packs of gum, a few forgotten toys, and my charger.
Thanks, Dad and Mom!
"Thanks, Gramma & Papa Phi!"
Yes, Gabby has a new name for Grampa Phil.

So, we opened the package at dinner and Gabby emptied her pack.
You can see here.
She started to unwrap and put pieces into her mouth when I wasn't looking.
After two pieces I told her no more...

She didn't like that!

My tender, sweet, baby girl...
has become a two-year-old!
AHhhh...I was wondering when this was going to happen.
:-)

Snow to Spring...maybe?

Spring Break is upon us...and so is nicer weather!

Before the sun started to warm things up and before the snow started to melt,
Owen and I got to go on a few "dragon hunts" (that's a whole new post!!),
make forts in the snowy trees,
and then teach Gabby all about making forts in the living room...

We used all the cushions, the footrest, all the furniture and as many blankets and sheets that we could find. Even Mom fit under there with her coffee! :-)

So this was a whole 10 minutes of fun because the kids were desperate to go outside...

We tried...we really did! It ended up being really cold and the wind had blown loose snow over the driveway...when will it end???
I am not so cooped up, but having a 4 and 2 year old who need a world to explore...
I am eager for spring.

So, what happened today? :-)
A teeny tiny Melt-down ...
I am aware that March and April can still bring a blanket of snow,
but today we drew with chalk on the driveway and found some old toys that were buried in the snow last fall!

Literally buried! I remember putting them on the stairs to clean up and bring inside before the snowfall. How did they not get brought in?
These past two years, I can say that once the snow fell, earlier than anticipated,
it stayed until spring.

Please don't judge me for not putting clothes on him...
He's "thick"...he'll be alright.
:-)
At least he remembered a hat!

BEAUTY...

When you get to live in or travel to some of the most beautiful places on the planet, you often think that may be the only place beauty really is.
I never want to take for granted the blessing of living where I am or with whom I am living...around or near as well.
I drive Hwy 10 every day for less than a mile.
As I get off the highway and onto the ramp, I get to see the various stages of the seasons and daylight's savings because of where the sun rises over this hill.
Owen is so tuned in to detail that he often points out to me,
"ooh! pretty sky!"
Especially if there are lots of colors.
Yes, we still have about 18 inches or more of snow on our lawn and it is March.

Yes, today I was feeling warm because it was 36 degrees.
Yes, I tell Lori I will move to Florida if we ever sell two houses. :-)
Yes, I wish I didn't have to heat up my sheets with rice bags before I crawl into bed.
But...
I have never hated it here.
I am blessed...Yes, God is good.
If I can teach my kids one thing...God is always good.

Taking a moment to appreciate the little things that make me smile!

A few "lately" stories that I want to remember forever:

When she wakes up, the first thing she says (other than, "momma!") is, "Owie? Daddy?"
"Owie? Owie?"
(that's how she says her brother's name...
not responding to being hurt, in case you were confused)

I pick her up from daycare on Tuesday and Wednesday and she asks,
"Owie? Daddy? Home? Pizza?"
Yep, she knows what she wants.
I have come to the horrible realization that I have taken 1/2 the amount of pictures of her than were taken of Owen. I cannot believe the number of photos I have of him...

I am so proud of him-he is starting to get breakfast for himself because I tell him he can't wake anyone up until a certain time (depending on the day). Even though most mornings he wakes up singing, I don't want to be woken up before 6 on Saturday morning! :-)

The other morning he did it all by himself and he came to show me how he had put peanut butter on his bread all by himself...good thing I was just crawling out of bed.
Another time I heard a plate drop and Owen say, "oh!"
It was a new loaf and he couldn't get the inside packaging open.
He tip-toed to my door, pushed it open, and whispered,
"uh, I need help."

Another time I woke up to Owen in the bathroom saying,
"oh, that's just great!"
I still have no idea what happened in there...

The other night I heard Roger getting frustrated with Owen.
Something about "taking a bath."
I go down the hall to find Owen giving himself a "bath" with his toothbrush.
He's getting it wet and brushing his body...
Yes, I can see why Roger was frustrated...and disgusted.
But I couldn't help laughing.
Man, the things I NEVER want to forget.

Like the time Owen was running around the house in just a neck warmer.
What a picture! (No, I didn't take that one with the camera!)
I recently was thinking about when I am going to allow Gabby to wear make-up and hoop earrings...definitely not this young! :-)For now, each morning (and sometimes at night) she asks me to do her hair: she gets her stool, sets it next to me in the bathroom, pulls out her comb and hair bands...I can never deny her that one little request
(or ANY request, for that matter...she is so precious!)

Gabby has a way of making everything fun.
One time at Applebee's she was dancing along with the music-
she won't sit in a highchair or a booster seat so she stands in the booth next to me.
The next day she decided to dance on her chair at breakfast...but there was no music.
I had to smile.
Owen walks through a room and it explodes...not literally, but he leaves a path...mess after mess after mess.
Gabby, on the other hand, straightens and picks things up.
She even lays down her diaper just so and straightens my shoes on the mat by the door.

Owen caught on to mealtime prayers quickly. To this day, Gabby has not stopped eating for ten seconds while we thanked God for the blessings of our day and for the food.
BUT...at the end of every book she says, "AMEN!"
Oh, she'll catch on...eventually...hey?
(like the leg-warmers? Gramma Mimi made those for her! I gave her the idea of how to use of the rest of some old yarn...cute, hey?)

Last week when I picked Owen up from a playdate I could tell he was so tired
(no nap and late night day before).
His friend offered him a snack,
but I said we could get something at home if Owen was still hungry

(they had just had ice cream and I didn't think fruit snacks were the best option)

We got in the car and Owen said, "I AM hungry."
"ok, honey"
He proceeded to tell me that if I did not give him something to eat, he would be very crabby.
"ok, honey"
He then told me that he was going to count to 5 and I'd better give him something.
"ok, honey"
You see, the few minutes before he falls asleep in the car, he tends to ramble, yell, complain, and whine about everything under the sun. It used to make me mad
(it still bothers me, but now I know what is happening),
Now I just wait and watch for him to fall asleep.
Yep, 5 minutes into the drive: fast asleep.
I carried him to his bed and in his sleep he proceeded to tell me,
"I want something!"

(Are you giggling MB?)
Oh, the stories are endless so I will save more for another day!

(**reminder to myself: I laughed while writing this and laughed while reading it again...)

My Husband...My Hero
This post is long overdue and is the reason I have not posted anything in over a month.
I wanted to say this all perfectly, but I know I didn't...
Here's to Roger: the man who calls me "Sweetie"
regardless of how I've treated him or how crabby I've been.

I distinctly remember when Roger and I were dating that I knew there were things about Roger I thought would change (with a bit of training, of course).


For example...he would leave the water running the whole time while shaving and then, when he was done, he would drape the washcloth over the spout...
yep, it still drives me nuts.
You'd think the training was not going so well.
and...
Just recently I realized his aversion to the using up the last of the toilet paper.

(Not to mention how difficult it seems to be to actually replace the old one with new ones...)
He says food tastes better the louder you chew.
When I asked him to teach me how to play golf, he said, "um, hit it really hard."
He loves the color blue...he wanted our first house to be blue...and every wall in it.
We even registered for blue cups for our wedding and
all of his shirts at one time had some blue in it.
I can't say all of that has changed, but...
I still find that washcloth hanging over the spout.
We are down to 3 big blue glasses and 4 small ones...the others have broken.
We have a four-year-old that eggs him on about chewing loudly.
And...in our new house, I painted our bedroom blue without any prompting from Roger.

I've told lots of people that I don't believe in the idea of falling in love, and I gag when Brad Womack says it over and over again on the Bachelor (yes, Roger keeps up on the spoilers so he knows the ending...which is different than we thought one week ago!).

I think the only way to love is to grow in love.
If you think you fell in love,
you were probably so delirious from the fall that you weren't really seeing straight.

Growing and changing because of conflict is not always pleasant and can be horribly painful,
but if you don't know pain, how can you know what healing is? or forgiveness?
That's love.

To say we've healed is quite a feeling.
We work together. We share. We understand.
We step aside and step in for one another.
I can't say we have the perfect relationship, and I can't say we never squabble.
(I'll try not to make things appear better than they are...
I can't stand it when things appear better than they are...like in movies when the music is playing during a monologue by the love-struck man...blah, blah, blah...hurl--
or, anything you find in a Nicholas Sparks book/movie...yikes!)

What I mean is, Roger has always had work ethic and has never been lazy, but it took me long time to appreciate his ability to relax. I am thankful: I now know the feeling.
He has taught me how to appreciate mindless TV shows like 90210, Bachelor, and Glee. We also have to stay up on American Idol...we don't need those shows to have each other and to relax together, but it sure makes it fun! :-)
Yes,
He works hard...

(Wait, is that a Jonas Brothers T-shirt?!)(yep...thanks, Lori...)

Back to my point:
Roger works hard. For the first time in our lives together, I know what Roger's goals are.
He pours himself into his business and has set his sights on where he wants it to be.
And, he wants to make me happy.
Another thing I remember distinctly was that I doubted Roger could do many things. I've learned that my doubts limited him so much. I thought I could do everything. I didn't want to need him. I didn't ask him to do anything because I didn't think he could do it as well as me...
I was wrong.

I have (wrongfully) joked that Roger's two tools are batteries and light bulbs. You see, I learned how to use tools and I like to use tools. I remember thinking as a teenager that I should learn to use tools because I may marry a man that doesn't. So...
Now we have a system: Roger buys the materials and does the heavy lifting;
I put it together.
Can't that be the way it's supposed to be?
It took me a few years, but I started asking Roger for help. I put my resentment aside (resentment that I created) and allowed him to help me. I think he had been waiting for years for this to happen (perhaps unknowingly). The day he said his goal in life was to make my life as stress-free as possible was when I realized that he was so willing.
...how can he possibly do that????

Well...
It's as simple as Roger waking up with the kids in the morning when I just...can't; it's Roger getting the kids dressed while I get myself ready in the morning; Roger always does the driving (even in a blizzard, driving a mere 30 mph, taking us 8.5 hours instead of 5 hours to get to my parents' house and I fall asleep); it's when he gets the snack ready and vacuums when we have small group at our house;

he plays with the kids;
he pays the bills; he mows the lawn (yes, while blasting his ipod and so then I will have to deal with a hard-of-hearing husband by the time he's 35, but I don't have to mow!); Roger gets us everywhere either on time or early (how? to get 4 miles down the road, we start heading toward the door a half hour before we have to be to church-no kidding!); I may prepare the menu and cook ahead of time...but Roger heats it up, sets the table, and gets dinner on the table when I get home from teaching...so all I have to do is help with the "presentation" and sit down with my wine;
and...
we've figured out what I need and what he needs:
I get to stay at home in the evenings and weekends (unless I make plans)
and he gets to run errands, go to the store to pick up bananas
(to get out of the house to be around people because that is how he is energized),
and make plans with his "boys" to watch a pay-per-view UFC match.

There was a time in our marriage that I told Roger I knew God put us together for some reason, but I didn't know what that reason was.
I think God's just a genius.

(that makes me giggle because Roger is trying to convince Owen that his daddy's a genius)

We work.
God knew we would.
And when I'm not feelin' so much love...I pray.
God gives me more than I thought possible and fills me where I lack.
I don't think it's right to say I need Roger...
but I sure don't want to live without him!
I love him more than I did on our wedding day because...
Not only do I love who Roger is, but I love who he is growing to be!

Being a Mother
I think about how I want my kids to stay close by me, but my own mother raised me and my sisters to have wings and she let us fly. Perhaps she did that because she was married at 19 and wanted us to have all the experiences in life that she doesn't think she ever got.Maybe that's why she put me in pants like these!

Or perhaps she didn't do either of those deliberately. :-)

Maybe it was just that her strength was so embedded in our hearts and minds that we chose to fly and we knew the world was for our taking.

Or perhaps she was placing faith in God and where he would take us.

Trusting God with our children can be a turning point in how we raise our children: God's in control-not me. I can teach my children God's word, right from wrong, good vs. evil, how to behave, and how to respond to love, hate, and all that's in between, but they will grow up and make many choices along the path of life. Not all those choices will be the best choices or will be the choices I would have them make. But am I able to let go of them so that God can really work in their lives and put them in the position that He has already created for them?

I read about Jochebed, the mother of Moses. She was told her son was to be thrown into the river, so she hid him to protect him. When he got too big to hide, she made a basket for him and technically did as she was told: she put him in the river. She gave him up. She let go of him. Imagine if she'd never given him up? God had a purpose. When the princess found the baby, she paid Jochebed to nurse him. After he was weaned, Jochebed had to let go of him...again...to be raised by the Pharaoh's daughter. To think of giving a child up...twice...

Love...faith...

CONVERSATION WITH A FOUR-YEAR OLD:
I stopped to get a coffee for myself one Friday...or Monday, I forget.
"Mom, what did you get?" says he.

"A type of coffee called a latte. Milk and coffee. Nothing like a good cup of coffee. Are you going to drink coffee someday. I'd rather you drink coffee than drink pop. Your daddy drinks too much pop." says me.

"Daddy drinks too much beer."

(mind you, his daddy does not drink more than a beer here and there...not too much)
"No, daddy doesn't drink too much beer...We're going to see Grampa this weekend and he makes his own beer. Maybe he will let you try a sip." I thought about that and added, "No, actually he'll probably say 'no' because you need to be 21 to drink beer."

"not 21! That's just a kid!"

I laughed. "So how old do you have to be to be an adult?"
He scrunched up his face, smiled, and said, "100!"
I laughed again, "so your momma is not an adult yet?"

"no!"

I smile...My purpose is not something I am working towards...
I am fulfilling it everyday through love and grace...forgive me if I have not done that...

A man can no more take in a supply of grace for the future than he
can eat enough for the next six months, or take sufficient air into his
lungs at one time to sustain life for a week. We must draw upon
God’s boundless store of grace from day to day, as we need it.
—D.L. Moody

CONVERSATION WITH A TWO-YEAR OLD:

"hi!" her
"hi!" me

"hi!"
"hi!"

"hello!" her
"hello!" me

"hello!"
"how are you?"

"NO!"
"What's up?" me

"NO!"
"hi?" me
"hi!"
My little princess...a girl who always knows what she wants!
nothing but smiles...

A conversation with my 4-year old...
"I get to lead the way!"
We were playing on the snow piles by our house.

"Is that Daddy's car? It's not momma's because her car is red."
"What do you want to drive when you get big?"
"I don't know"

"Owen, how old do you have to be to drive a car?"
"Twenty-nine!"
"oh really? what will you be doing when you're 29? Still living at home? I hope not. I hope you will live on your own before you are 29. Just don't move too far. I want you to stay close to me."
"I'm going to live in Florida!"
"Then Daddy and I will move to Florida too!"
"Then I'm going to move to California!"
"Then we will follow you there too!"
"If you come there, I will move to Colorado!"
Then we will find you in Colorado as well!"
"Then I'm going to move FAR AWAY!"
"No matter where you go, I will find you."
"Let's go home...I get to lead the way!"

CHRISTMAS CELEBRATION #4
Where: nanny and poppa steve's house
Who: nanny's side of the family
When: Christmas day afternoon...into the evening...
What: eating, drinking, singing, sledding...
Gabby had so much fun, she even napped!

The "kid's room" was a hit with the boys!
Yes, Spiderman Jammies...

These will be the Kindergarten Boys next Fall! :-)
I love that Owen has SOOOOOOO much fun with them!

Sorry...this video came from my camera. There is no sound...just sing "Jingle Bells" as loud as you can in your 5-year-old voice...and you can imagine what it was like...