Last week we learned that Corey's mom has breast cancer. I have decided that cancer is one of my least favorite words in the English language. It's often when you hear something yucky like this that you stop to think about how much a person means to you. So, I am devoting this blog post to all the things I love about my mother-in-law, Vickie. (I'm not doing this to get brownie points. I already know I'm the favorite daughter-in law. Did I mention Corey is the only son? :) )
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So here's a list of things that make my mother-in-law awesome, in no particular order.
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1. She makes the best fudge.
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2. She loves Jesus.
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3. She puts up with a house FULL of energy-filled grandsons (and one granddaughter) multiple times per year.
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4. She cans tomatoes with us (actually she does pretty much all the work, and we get to enjoy the result.)
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5. She loves her grandkids.
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6. She always puts the needs of others above her own needs.
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7. She has a great laugh.
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8. Cooking for a crowd is not her favorite thing, but she always feeds us well when we visit.
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9. She buys Frappuccino for us. :)
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10. She prays for us.
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11. She is incredible about loving us, but not meddling. Every time I hear a story about meddling or overbearing in-laws, I thank God for mine. Corey's parents are really the best in-laws I could imagine.
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12. She tells me fun stories about Corey flying from the furniture in underwear and a cape.
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13. She and Steve fill up a great big pool in their backyard just for the grandkids to use the few days that we are all together in Fremont in the summer.
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14. She likes to play games. Nerts at the Harms' house can be insane.
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15. She likes to do things. She helped me stain a LLLOTTTT of woodwork before we moved into this house, she helped me clean soot out of my old house when Corey moved the chimney during a remodeling project and soot got into the vent system, and she spent a day helping me dejunk our basement storage room...and the list could go on.
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That's a start. If she were your mother-in-law, you would love her too. Please pray for her as she is getting ready to begin treatment.
He won't sleep with any p.j.s on, but he does get himself completely covered. This has become the common way I find Lewis when I check on him before I go to bed. He sings himself to sleep every night, and somehow ends up covered head to toe in his sheet with his comforter kicked down to the end of his bed. He is my crazy little guy, and sometimes I wish he would stay little forever.
This is what happens when your living room doubles as a basketball court. I was thinking I needed to redo my mantel decor anyway.
This paper is a snapshot of the current obsession at our house. Carter had to write the names of 10 famous people for something they did at school. You can see he had a one-track mind.
At the beginning of this year, Owen was really struggling with reading. He was well below where the "average" second-grader was supposed to be. So we decided a little motivation in the way of silly bands might help our reluctant reader. (See my previous post about sillybands and reading here - http://threeharmsboys.blogspot.com/2010/10/catalyst.html ) Those silly bands worked wonders for a while, but then we moved on to Bakugon, and most recently football cards. Each boy gets a football card for every 10 minutes they read. And they have been reading like gangbusters! Oh my goodness. Both boys read for three hours yesterday!
Arggh! We've got pirates among us.
Lewis and Dustin playing a little air hockey. When Lewis opened his gift from Dustin and Erica, he said, "This is just what I have wanted my whole life!"
Band Hero. I have to say, I think it's more entertaining to watch than to play. There is nothing quite like listening to Corey sing Mr. Roboto.
