The Mom

It's 10:00, and Carter just got out of bed and went into the bathroom. I went in to see if everything was okay, because he has been sleeping for the past 2 hours, and he just doesn't normally get out of bed. He was fine, but as I was talking to him, I caught a glimpse of myself in the mirror, and it struck me that I am the mom. It was the strangest thing. I mean, I know I'm the mom. I've been the mom for close to 8 years now, but it just struck me funny. I'm the one they call mom. I tuck them in. I scratch their backs. I make their supper. I make sure their library books get in their backpacks on the right day...I'm the mom. Wow. When did that happen? I used to be the kid.

My Sweet Boy

There's nothing quite like a sleeping child.

Oh the The Things I Can Accomplish...

...when Grandma is around. Not that keeping up with a two-year-old, two older boys, the laundry and dishes is not an accomplishment - I just have nothing to show for those things at the end of the day. While Mom was here earlier this week, I refinished this small table that I bought at a garage sale for $5 last year. Now, the big ugly water warks are gone, and it matches the set of chairs I got from my grandma.

The Thing About Spring

It is a wonderful time of year to be outside playing, but the boys come in filthy at the end of the day. I'm not going to lie. Sometimes during the summer, I tell them to go hop in the pool for a few minutes to rinse off some of the filth and avoid a shower or bath. No pool in the spring = lots of bathing time to get the dirt and sand out of the hair and fingernails. Lewis doesn't get nearly as dirty as the other two, but he's the only one whom I can still take a picture of in the tub.

Eggs: Hardboiled and Plastic

This is the first time I have ever hardboiled eggs (well the second, actually, but the first try was a week before Easter when I decided to pretend I know what I'm doing in the kitchen and make some to put on a salad). Since this is the first time I've ever hardboiled eggs, it is also the first time my kids have had the opportunity to dye them. I'm still not sure it's worth the time, effort and mess, but we did it and managed to stain the eggs without staining clothes or the countertop.

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Over 300 kids showed up to hunt plastic eggs at the Easter Eggstravaganza that our church put on. It is really a wonderful outreach event, and the gospel is clearly shared.
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Lewis wasn't sure about the egg hunt. He picked up several eggs, shook them next to his ear, and then put them back on the ground. It was very cute.

For Anyone Keeping Track...

...(which is probably no one but me.) I've surpassed the $1000 mark on ebay earnings for my Disney Dream Vacation Fund. Yippee!! It has taken me over two years to do that, so it's coming in slowly. But hey, it's free money, and it's a fun hobby.

A Conversation With Lewis

This morning when I went in Lewis' room to tell him he could get up he said, "Hey mom, where Daddy?" To which I replied, "Daddy's at work." His next comment was "Baby bye-bye." He has been saying that at least once a day since his cousin Lucas came to visit on Saturday. It's so fun to hear him speak English.

Stylin'

What can I say? High fashion runs in our family. Spiderman snowboots and a diaper are going to be all the rage among two-year-olds this year. Oh, and don't forget the Veggietales sunhat.

Babies of the Bunch

God knew I needed a friend to help keep me grounded in the midst of the insanity that sometimes becomes the norm of the existance of a mom with three sons, so he gave me Marti. We met about a month before Carter arrived on the scene and have since each had three wonderfully unique male children. These are the youngest of the bunch. Ethan and Lewis. They are our babies, yet for some reason, they keep looking more and more like little boys. (Love ya Marti!!!)

Fashion Statement

Lewis has recently taken to wearing hats and other people's shoes around the house. The other day, he found these goggles and wore them most of the morning. Very fashionable, don't you think?

A Taste of the Trail

All this cold and snow has me longing for Hawaii. Was it just over two months ago that we went on our Kalalau Hike? Seems like forever. I found this really cool website with a ton of virtual tours along the trail. If you're interested in seeing what we saw - take a peek.

http://www.aroundhawaii.com/entertainment/virtual_tour_hawaii/2008-09-kalalau-trail-virtual-tour.html

Sledding anyone?

Two days ago, Carter was outside in shorts playing soccer with his friends. This is the scene from our deck today. I had a hard time getting myself to get the boys out the door for church this morning. It's unfun enough when Corey is already at church for worship team, and I'm doing it by myself. Add April blizzard conditions on top of him being gone to church for worship team, and it's even unfunner. (hhmm, unfunner - that's a good word). Oh well. We'll probably be digging the shorts back out by the end of the week!

Prom Date?

So talking to Mara about prom got me thinking about my prom which was many moons ago. Corey and I didn't even meet until we were 21 (he would say 19, but I don't remember that one, so it doesn't count), but I think we'd have made a cute prom couple. What do you think?

A Profound Statement

Explaining things of God to children can be tricky, especially when, though you know something is true, you can't fully comprehend it yourself. One of these dilemmas is Jesus being fully God and fully man. I haven't really even tried to explain that to my kids, but one day we were all watching this DVD about animals and how God specifically designed them for their purpose. As Owen was watching he said, "Jesus is God and He's man and He's magic!" - I'll take that.