Snow Fun but no pictures

I got home a bit early with the kids last night. Since it was light outside, I decided that playing in the snow was more important than getting something ready for supper.
We made snow angels, played on the swing set, cleaned the snow off the fort, tromped through the snow, and sledded down the hill... all in about 30 minutes. Ryan came home in time to take one long ride down the hill on the sled with Scott. Then we headed back to the house... Bethany running down the driveway and loving every moment of stepping in the snow and Scott getting a ride back in the sled.
We got back to the house about 30 minutes before we needed to leave for bible study. No supper, no babysitter but we had fun. Fortunately Ryan thought about supper and brought pizza home and our neighbors were willing to keep the kids (which my kids LOVE).
Nice. I love when things fall into place like that!

Praying and Eating Children

When I arrived at my parents last night to get the kids, they were all downstairs. As I made my way down there, I had the usual greeting from Scott: repeatedly screaming mommy and running towards me while Bethany simply acknowledged me. But last night the excitement was just as quickly gone and they returned to their playing.

Scott and Bethany were using their little imaginations to the full extent. They were playing house and having a blast. I was partly involved with them but mostly just chatting with my folks. They two kids were going non-stop.

At one point Bethany and Scott were talking about being married. After having watched them greet each other yesterday morning with a kiss on the lips, I wondered if they did that because that's what Ryan and I do.

I continued my conversation with my mom.

Next thing I heard was Bethany talking about having babies in her belly. Shortly after that they must have been born and she was laying them on the stairs. Scott excused himself for a potty break and when he came back she stirnly scolded him to make sure he didn't step on their babies as he came down the stairs.

I continued my conversation with my mom.

I look over and Bethany, the new mom, has a plate in her hand with ice-cubes (from the toy kitchen set) which were her babies and she was talking to Scott about eating the babies. I informed her that she can't eat her babies and Scott, the protective and apparently hungry, father stepped right in and said that this was their pretending and they could eat their babies.

"Oh dear" I thought and sorta continued my conversation with my mom while watching out for hannibals.

Next thing I know Bethany brings me a plate - hopefully not the one she ate her babies from - and a fork. I asked her to help me pray for my food... and before I could finish my sentence she was gone with my plate to the kitchen because she forgot to frost the cake. When she came back, I initiated my request again. Short and sweet, Bethany prayed "God, thank you for God. Amen" while Scott bullied through the prayer to insert his leadership and said "we are not a praying family". "Oh really?" I asked. I thought we were a praying family and thanked Bethany for her prayer. Scott continued, this is our pretend family and Bethany and I are married and we can do what we want. We are NOT a praying family. "Well then" I thought as I chuckled at their continued creativity and role playing.

Amidst the laughter mom said "well I can imagine why they're not a praying family... they eat their kids. What family that eats their kids would be a praying family?"

Point well taken mom! Oh Lord, how I love the minds of children and their creativity that You have given them. May I always encourage their creativity while also teaching them to live a life pleasing to You, to be a family rooted in prayer and NOT to eat their children! Amen.

You get what you get, not what you want!

I can't remember if I've posted about this before or not. So, here's a recent story of my son's famous line. But first a little background.



One day during Sunday School the kids were picking out their mats to sit on. Ms. Amy told the kids "You get what you get, not what you want". For the next few weeks, we heard this phrase often! Eventually I told Amy about what my son learned at Sunday School. She laughed and clarified that she said "You get what you get and you don't throw a fit". Scott was close and his new catch phrase was quite entertaining.

Fast forward to yesterday. He was sitting with mom and Ralph in the living room. They were chatting about something related to satellite or cable - something like that. Ralph commented about what he wanted and Scott turned to him and said "Papa, you get what you get, not what you want". My mom said they were laughing so hard that they didn't have the heart to tell Scott is wasn't the place to correct him!

Thank you Ms. Amy for your dedication in teaching the SS class - even if he grasps more than the lesson and then twists it a bit!

Long Few Days

It's been a long few days.

We began with a celebration for Ryan's Grandparents:
- Late to their house Friday afternoon after 2 stops that took way longer than needed.
- Scott slept 12 hours that night - with a little help from our friend Ben A Dryl.
- Saturday the whole family and we had a nice meal in town.
- Got to meet Eric's special friend Amanda. We think she's special too.
- Mom called to say that they were losing my Uncle James - he had surgery on Wednesday and never breathed on his own again after that.
- Family left and we headed downstairs and snuggled on the twin air mattress for a while digesting the coming loss of my Uncle.
- Mom is leaving to CA (yes, she just returned from there) to be there for her sister.


We wake up before 6 to our son needing a potty break. He happened to burp up a little substance and told us he threw up in his mouth. I wish that was the only interruption to our morning plans.


Just after 6 I awoke again to what I thought was Scott throwing up. It wasn't. He was having a SEIZURE. Yes, another seizure. Ryan dealt with Scott while I ran up and called 911 after a little hesitation. Scott and I took our second trip to Blank's Children's Hospital via ambulance. He was fine but I was floored because he wasn't supposed to have another seizure; he's supposed to grow out of this random-no-explanation seizure. They think it was a febrile seizure even though his temp went down right away. He shows for having some kind of infection (they think strep throat) thus the seizure.

So while we were supposed to be in church with the whole family, we were in the emergency room. We left Blanks and met my parents (who are on their way to CA) at Panera Bread while we got a bite to eat. We got back to the celebration just in time for a quick shower and lunch. We got to visit with family a while more before everyone left.

We had plans of being home for the closing program for VBS. But are ways aren't always God's ways. And He ultimately has the plan in His hands. So, we're taking the advice of the doctor and are remaining here for 24 hours to make sure another doesn't occur. During this time, we're having fun hanging out with family some more.

Thank you Lord for a healthy son!

Weekend Report

I spent Friday night and Saturday morning at Beulahland Bible Camp hanging out with the Mexico City team. It was great to bond with old and new friends while we did some cultural presentations, shared what God's doing in our lives, prayed with our partners and studied God's Word. It was exciting to hear two of our team mates express a desire to be baptized. Both of them had been baptized at a young age but want to be baptized now as a public statement regarding their faith. What a cool end to our time together.

At noon Ryan, the kids, and our friend Elaine met me at the camp for a picnic and fishing. It was cold and rainy but we were prepared for lunch and Scott was determined to fish. It was a light rain so we managed that but were cold. Scott caught a big fish right away but after that Elaine was the only one who caught fish. As an international student from Malaysia, this was her first fishing experience and she loved it. I also paddled around the big pond with the kids and they loved it but my quads didn't!

Saturday night we did a quick run to Ryan's folks and grabbed some pizza in town before getting to their house. We ate our "diet" pizza [I think thin crust pizza is like being on a diet cause I love bread] had a quick tour of the remodel project, helped them move some things, showed them the waiting child list for adoption and picked a little girl that I want to get some more information about, stopped at WallyWorld on our way home and got in bed late.

Sunday was a full day at the church. I was home at 3pm and had a lazy afternoon with the family. Ryan left to work on the train that he and a few guys are building for vacation bible school, and eventually I got the wild indians in bed. [I seriously wonder how differently they would act if they didn't have sugar in their diet.] I popped two tylen0l pm's and headed to bed!

Kalahari Resort

Well, I intended to share some pictures of our time at the Kalahari Resort. Thinking my hubby loaded all of them to my ipod, I started this post. Only to find out that he loaded the first half (that I had downloaded onto his laptop) onto my ipod and the rest are still on the camera... so here's what I'll share for now:
My meal Wedneday night. We started with coconut shrimp for an appetizer. They were awesome. My meal was a stir-fry that I didn't appreciate and thanks to Fort Dodge Animal Health, I was encouraged to order something else. I then ordered the coconut shrimp dinner and it was lovely. I couldn't believe it came out looking like this:

On our way back from supper, we stopped on a little rock for a family picture. Scott was less than thrilled to be taking the picture but Ryan smiled nicely and Bethany looks all grown up.
While at the African themed resort, God kept gently reminding that I wanted to love a child in need in His Name. I couldn't believe that the entire resort was full of reminders (both fun and historical) of Africa. I wanted to take their decorations home with me.

It was good to get away for a few days. An early morning coupled with no nap and a little boy who wouldn't poop made for a difficult day. But we did enjoy time with Ryan at lunch, a short visit to the waterpark, and eventually nap time. Thursday went much better when they slept in and we went to the waterpark first thing. I won't admit that my soon pooped (just a little) in his swim trunks at the waterpark some time before we got to the toilet. What fun to clean up! I will tell you that my son who is not adventurous (doesn't like the slide, doesn't ride a bike) loved the big waterslides where he had to ride a boat! What fun. Maybe more of those pictures in the coming days.

just one more something grandma

Last night we stopped at Ryan's parents. The time went to quick. But as we finally started to leave, Scott hollered out the window "Grandma, I just want to tell you one more something". That in itself was cute. But he followed that by telling his Grandma that "Jesus died on the cross for our sins". I about melted. I have not been pounding this into my child's head but he has learned it and is TELLing others. Love it!

Cute but Defiant

Last night was night #4 that Bethany slept in her big girl bed which is in Scott's room. It wasn't near as dramatic as a few other nights. At 10pm when I went in to check on them, the room was quiet but Scott wasn't in bed. I found him a few feet away wide awake and snuggled up to his sleeping sister. He was so excited to be sleeping with her. I acknowledged him and walked out. Those two! I appreciate that they love each other and hope it continues moreso than the fighting. This morning when I left at 5:45am, Scott was in his own bed. Who knows if he slept with Bethany all night or if he just snuggled her for a few minutes.

Scott's Poop Drama

Well, how much do I share here. I have two kids that both have issues going #2. Scott from very early on has required help via laxatives. Yes, we've talked to the doctors, we're giving him adequate liquids, etc. Now that he's a big boy, he purposefully holds it in. Why would you do such a thing? He does. Eventually he's gets constipated and we are forced to put him back on laxatives and mineral oil. He continues to hold it. At some point he can't hold it anymore (this time 3-4 days later) and it becomes a mess. My poor mom! For several days straight, he pooped in his undies numerous times. Mom ran out of clothes and put him in a swimmie pull up from last year. It didn't fit. She didn't have a choice. Finally on the 3rd day (which happened to be a Cubbies night which means I had something to bribe/threatened him with), he got it under control and only pooped in the toilet. It stinks, quite literally, for everyone involved.

I don't know what to do with this child and his problem. I understand from Ryan's mom that its a genetic problem. I have told Scott that only big boys get to go to school. We'll see how he does come fall. As it was last night, he thought he was going to school today because he'd pooped on the big boy potty.

This is when I'm thankful that Bethany is still in diapers. You remove stench, wipe her down, and put on a fresh diaper. She's thrilled with that process... maybe a little too much!

For 3 Days!

I have a lot to post about but here's one cute story:

Last night was a rough night for dealing with Scott. He did not want to obey and we were frustrated. It was time for bed and when I went in to tuck him in, I snuggled up next to him for a few minutes of down time when he didn't have to share me with anyone else. I asked about his day and he told me of a few cartoons he watched and that he played outside with his daddy. Scott then proceeded to tell me the Easter story. It was amazing to hear from a 3 year old's little mind. He started by asking me what something was only I couldn't follow what he was asking about. With a little more information, I realized he was asking about the cross. He told me that Jesus was dead for 3 days! He told me that they killed Jesus because they thought He was bad, but He wasn't bad. That he died on a cross with nails in His hands and feet. That He died for my sins. That there were 3 crosses. He asked me why the other guys had to die too. He told me that "that" girl came and the stone was rolled away. That He was alive and the angels came.

We talked for a few minutes about the story. About why Jesus died for our sins. About the terminology that he knew but didn't understand (crucified, nails, sacrifice). And as I lay there next to my only son, I was so incredibly thankful. I'm thankful that I took the time with Scott even though I was frustrated with him. I'm thankful that he seemed to maybe understand the events in the story. I'm thankful for his Cubbies leaders that take their time to teach my child that story. I'm thankful that Scott wants to read that story in the bible, a must-do for tonight. But mostly, I'm thankful that Jesus did die on the cross for my sins. Today friends is the day that we, as Christians, remember that Jesus carried the cross and died for you and me.

The mind of a 3 year old

A few days ago Scott saw a picture similar to this on my mom's computer screen. He of course was quite curious about my massive belly and began to ask questions about it. Mom informed him that the picture was taken when I was pregnant with him, that he was in my belly. Scott pondered this information and followed with another question:

Grammy, how did I get in there? Did she eat me?

I love the simplicity of his ever growing little mind. He continued to ask my mom if he'd go back in my belly, if I'd eat him again even though mom told him that I didn't eat him. That night as mom shared the story with me, his little mind was thinking through it all over again. I couldn't help but tell him I was hungry and proceed by chasing him around as I made chewing noises. He giggled and ran and giggled some more. Oh how I love my son!

Communion Sunday

The first Sunday of the month, our church partakes in communion together. The Lord's Supper from 1 Corinthians chapter 11 of the bible:

23For I received from the Lord what I also passed on to you: The Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, took bread, 24and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, "This is my body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of me." 25In the same way, after supper he took the cup, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me." 26For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes.

Here we sit with Scott who is seemingly distracted when the bread signifying God's broken body is passed. He doesn't notice and there's no issue. Then comes the grape juice signifying Jesus' shed blood and Scott immediately begins to cry. This is to be expected of him. By time communion comes he has sat through Sunday School and then most of the church service and he's hungry. Why does everyone else get to eat and drink? It breaks his heart which also breaks mine. I'm not mistreating my son but he feels left out. Chapter 11 continues...

27Therefore, whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of sinning against the body and blood of the Lord. 28A man ought to examine himself before he eats of the bread and drinks of the cup. 29For anyone who eats and drinks without recognizing the body of the Lord eats and drinks judgment on himself.

Considering the seriousness of this subject, I have an inward battle. One friend suggested that I bring Scott some snack and a drink for him to have during this time. And that works great for a distraction for his little mind. But the battle is that I want Scott to understand the importance of taking communion as a believer, not as a hungry child.

This past Sunday I didn't not bring him a snack on purpose, it never even crossed my mind. As Scott began to cry, I tried to explain to him simply that it was for big people, not little ones. But that isn't exactly true, and he continued to prod me about the juice. I further explained that it was for people who have asked Jesus into my heart. At this point Scott said the words that I would so love to hear: "Mommy, I want Jesus in my heart." I so wish that his little mind understood and that it was the desire of his heart but I'm a smart mommy and know my son. I looked at him and said "Scott, mommy thinks that you just want juice." And with an innocent little grin on his face, he said "yes mommy, I just want juice".

Oh how I long for the day that he wants Jesus in his heart regardless of the juice!

Broccoli

Last night during supper (which I almost had on the table when Ryan got home) Scott didn't want to eat his roasted broccoli. He kept telling us that he didn't like it, that it was yucky, that he would eat the stems but not the top. We were pretty firm with him that he would be eating all two of the small florets that were on his plate. He was also determined. At one point, he wrapped his napkin around his broccoli and promptly sat it on the table. Eagle-eye Dad saw what was happening and removed the broccoli, put it back on Scott's plate and took the napkin away. Bethany on the other hand was begging for more broccoli (a word she says pretty clearly at 19 months of age) and would take more bites of the rest of her meal in order to get another bite of broccoli!

Scott eventually choked down the broccoli.

After I promised that he wouldn't have ice-cream if he didn't eat it.

Wisdom Beyond His Years

That child shows much more wisdom than you'd think a 3 year old would have. Two funny moments from this morning:

1. This morning Scott made some sort of mention that he wanted his daddy to either take him to my mom's this morning or for his daddy to buckle him in. I can't remember now exactly what it was but it was something that was clearly a result of last night's incident.

And the second item I just shared with Scott's Cubbies teacher but it was cute enough that I thought I share here too

2. Scott woke up on his own this morning and was in a good mood (we usually wake him and he's grumpy). He came right down stairs where I was showering and within a minute rattled off his bible memory verse to me. I praised him for it and he explained why he knew his verse already: so he could get a "lovey" [one of the characters in his Cubbies program] sticker. I know he's only 3 but I want him to learn to make it a heart thing, not just a memorization so he can get a sticker like pavlov's dogs. So I kindly reminded him of another verse he's learned: "God's Word have I hidden in my heart that I might not sin against you." He smiled and replied "yeah that too" and went on his merry way.

Poor Kids

Okay, I'm not feeling super free to give details in fear that it might be held against me at some point but I'll share a little about my scare from last night so that you can remember to buckle your kids in:
Half way down the driveway last night, I made a sudden stop to let Scott get out of his carseat and help me drive. The sudden stop on the hill and Scott fell out of his carseat. I was really confused at how he got his belt off so quickly before I realized that I'd not buckled him in. I was both extremely thankful that nothing happened as I imagined the many things that could have happened and heart broken to realize that I didn't do everything in my power to keep my child safe. I was distraught. Scott had no clue. I apologized profusely and explained to him that any time mommy forgets to put on his seatbelt that I need him to remind me that he needs buckled in. Scott helped me finish our trek down the driveway and we made it into the house where a whole new drama unfolded.

Bethany had been abnormally whiny at my moms and I figured she was hungry. She ate some crackers and seemed fine. We got in the van to go home and she whined some more and said her tummy hurt. Not sure if she was just crazy since she had cotton pants on (vs. the regular jeans) or if the tights under neath were comfortable or if in fact, her tummy hurt. At home, she continued her whiny state and I knew that she needed to get to bed since the night before was a late and crazy night at the superbowl party. But she seemed more than tired so I started paying closer attention. She seemed to not want to sit in her hi-chair and didn't want to finish her meal. The little girl on the go seemed to want to be held. She crawled up next to me at the corner buffet thing and stood next to me eating my food and I continued to watch her. I noticed that she wasn't moving her left arm so I decided to move it for her. She reacted with a whiny cry and her arm was stiff and she said "no touch, mommy" and pulled away. I checked it again and sure enough she was holding it close and not wanting any movement from it. Ryan and I continued our observance while we ate and finally called the emergency room. I just knew that we were about to have another late night, this time in the emergency room. The doctor was sure that her elbow was out of place. He explained to me how to get it back in place, how she would react, and that 20-30 minutes later she would begin to use it again. He told me that if I couldn't or didn't want to do it, I could bring her in and he'd be the bad guy. We hung up the phone and I grabbed Bethany and held her and loved her (already remorseful of the pain I was about to inflict). I did just at the doctor explained and while I held her elbow in one hand, I felt/heard it pop back into place. It was such a yucky feeling. I think it almost made Bethany gag as she made a few gagging type of noises. But she immediately reached both arms up and grabbed me around the neck. Halelujah, she was using her arm. We watched the kids play for a while before going to bed and she favored her arm but used it, especially when I treated her with a chocolate chip cookie for being such a big girl.

And that's not the end of my drama...

As we put the kids to bed, I did the normal bed time routine which includes praying with Scott. I try to enjoy the time rather than rush through it but sometimes get frustrated when I expect my son to say what he's thankful for and he starts asking God when he gets to play the Wii next or when he gets to go to California next. I do have to remember that he's only 3. So we finished our prayer and then I started adding to his list of thankful things, like he's thankful that his daddy loves him and puts him to bed every night, and he's thankful that his house is warm, etc. When I said that he was "thankful cause he has the best mom in the world", he looked right at me and said "but mommy, you didn't buckle me in tonight!" Yes, back to reality... I guess I wasn't the best mom in the world last night. Sorry son.

Breakdown

I'm not sure who was having the mental breakdown this morning: the children or the parents.

Two whiny/crying kids + two rushed parents = chaos real quick

The chaos slowed while we drove to mom's and then picked back up to full speed when we arrived. Neither child could be pacified. Neither child would obey. Crying insued. I stayed at mom's long enough to get each child calmed down. And in the end, I gave in and let them have the cheerios.

How Old is He?

Last night when Scott got home from Awana Cubbies, he ran to the door with his picture in hand to show me. It was precious. We played a few minutes before it was time to head up stairs to bed. As we stood at the bottom of the stairs, I explained to him that I had a horrible head ache and his daddy would be putting him to bed. He peered up at me with a sly look on his face and said:

"mommy, it's YOUR responsibility!"

He's 3 [and a half] friends. Where does he come up with these big words? This morning on the way to his Grammy's he pulled out more funny comments. When I chose to go down the highway rather than the gravel, he was quite dissapointed and told me:

"mommy, go down the gravel please. If you go down the black road, I'm going to be grumpy!"

When asked where he learned that, it was from a cartoon on TV. Ah, the things they pick up on!

Playing with Gifts

Scott loves to help in the kitchen so I thought a little apron would be a perfect gift. He was less than thrilled when he opened it but as soon as it was time to serve dessert, he grabbed his apron and was the cutest little server. He left it on for hours and loved it.

Bethany got a little kitchen set that she just loves. Here she's feeding her Grandpa with a spoon. She has played non-stop with that thing, even when it was dark in the living room and the rest of us were in the kitchen. She is ADORABLE!

Uncle Eric is so great with the kids. Both Scott and Bethany love getting attention from him. Here Bethany and her Unky Eric are playing in a box and using it as a drum. This child is easily entertained if you refer to something as a drum. She loves music and noise in general!

Gift Opening

I make an honest effort for my kids to know and understand that we're celebrating Christmas as a holy type of day... the celebration of the birth of Jesus, the son of God who came to sacrifice. With that said, I like the idea of gifts because the kings brought gifts to baby Jesus. I love to buy gifts and spoil my children but we make a point not to do that. This year was difficult as I was out shopping numerous times and found some really good deals. I went just a tad over budget but we didn't do anything extreme for our kids. No BIG and spendy gifts, not loads and loads of things to unwrap. A little bit of effort can teach young kids a lot. Unfortunately, I'm not sure they learned what its all about this year. Scott was totally selfish and wanted to open another gift and didn't appreciate it when he unwrapped "just another box". Bethany was so tired she didn't care much. If it was a gift in a bag, she'd throw a fit. In her little mind, all she knew was that she wanted to tear paper off a box. Though we did the advent calendar, the advent wreath and other things to help influence their little minds, we have lots of work to do. I wanted to make a birthday cake for Jesus with the kids to try to help them understand the purpose of all this celebration but in the craziness of all the activity, we didn't get it done.

Here are a few pictures of the kiddos opening gifts (they managed to help everyone who had a gift to open):

Ryan said he's eager for the day when he gets to open his own gifts again. Since I don't like an audience when I open gifts, I enjoy the kids' help so they take the focus.

Bethany and Scott opened their stockings Christmas morning before we headed to Ryan's grandparents. You would have thought that Bethany was a poor child who'd never had a toy or a gift before. She grabbed up as much as she could in her arms and was not going to let go!

Nothing beats a crying kid when you're trying to take a cute picture. Little Miss Attitude was ticked that we wanted her to sit down in front of the Christmas tree. Apparently there was something else she wanted to be doing!

Snow people

What kid doesn't want to make a snow man on his front porch. We had 9 inches of fluffy snow during the night which is not the right kind of snow for packing a snow man creation. But for some reason, the snow on the South porch was wet enough to shape up. Of course, we also had to make one for Bethany too!