What a heart

I hope no one gets tired of reading 'boy stories'. If nothing else, it is a great way for the grandparents to keep up.
Today I was getting lunch ready and B was going to have some of his special chips. He drug the bar stool over to the counter and proceeded to sit down. He said "Mom, don't watch me." In return I replied, "Why not?" "Mom just don't watch me." "Are you wanting to stand on that bar stool and get your chips down?" "Yes, just don't watch me." I don't know how many times I have told him not to stand on the bar stools, just waiting for the first Emergency Room visit. I was glad to see he was thinking this through, or maybe he was just stopping to think because I was in the room. I saw a teaching moment and told him that regardless of whether I was watching or not, he needed to do the right thing. I asked him what the right thing was. He proceeded to get off of the bar stool.
One of my prayers for the kids is that they will have a heart that will seek out good. They will desire to do what is right, regardless of who, if anyone, might be watching.
Later in the day I walked up stairs and caught B hiding something in his hands. I asked him what he was hiding and he told me it was his "B" (little blanket). I proceeded to walk on by because I thought nothing of him hiding his B. Then he said "Just don't look inside my B." Of course that stopped me. After a few prompts, he told me he had some money in his B. This is a no no because he loves to play with coins and invariably leaves them laying around and J enjoys putting them in his mouth.
Again, after I walked away from this encounter I was amazed at him. He did not even know it but he 'ratted' himself out. Again, how thankful I was that even at this young age, he might not always strive to do what is right but when he does something that is questionable or wrong, he can't hide behind it for long.
If it were only that way with us and our sin nature! May my heart become more like that of a child.
The following are two video clips of the boys outside. A little random fact. Ever wonder why small kids walk/run so awkwardly? They are not born with knee caps and don't grow them until 3-5 years!

Thinking on God's goodness again

The last 6 days I have thought so often of the Chapman family and their tragedy. For those not aware, Steven Curtis Chapman is one of my favorite Christian artists. Last week their youngest adopted daughter, Maria Sue age 5, was accidently run over in their driveway by her teen-age brother. Once again, tragedy strikes and does not seem to make any sense through our eyes. However, the circumstances does not change God's goodness. I had read a quote by one of the Chapman's pastor, Mike Smith. A very profound statement - "You should hold on to what you know in the midst of a crisis, because the temptation is to hold on to what you don't know - to ask 'why did this happen?' " Below is a link to one of his newer videos entitled "Cinderella". I really like the video but what I like more is the story behind the video. (It follows the video.) Just what a wonderful reminder for anyone to look at priorities - where do your kids fall on your 'to-do' list. I know it has certainly made me look at all of their 'interruptions' differently.

I have not yet figured out how to embed the video on my blog (yes, I have read the instructions several times but just not getting it). However, you can follow this link if you are not familiar with Cinderella and hear it. The whole thing is 9 minutes. If nothing else, listen to the last 4 1/2 minutes.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MLYxtuC0oRk#

More milestones

We had a great weekend. Our cousin came up from Idaho and the boys loved hanging out with him for 2 days. It has been cool and wet the whole weekend. We actually had a small mudslide in one part of town and the river is cresting at places. The rafting companies will probably not be running rafts down the river this week unless the levels drop. So, lots of wet, wet weather but come July and August, we will be thankful for that.
J is now up on his feet, everywhere. Gone are the days of him clopping on the floor with all fours. I already miss that sound. He is navigating the spoon/fork better. He is finally starting to use some of the sign language. For some reason, he has been very slow in the communication area, other than honking and squealing. He is also blowing his nose - quite the feat. No more pinning him down with the bulb syringe. Yesterday we were fixing breakfast and J got a bowl out of the drawer, went and found the cereal and tried his best to pour a bowl but could not get the container open.
B does not know it but after our trip to Florida (and his 4th b-day) I am going to try to start him on a 'chore' schedule. Won't he think that is fun. Although he did enjoy helping me wash the floor the other night. He also enjoys loading the washer/dryer. He has even had the patience once or twice to learn to fold the clothes. We will see about that.
Have a glorious day!

Treated like a queen!

I received breakfast in bed again this morning! JR was off today and B talked him in to fixing a hot breakfast for me. This time around J actually woke up in time to join us in bed for breakfast. He thought it was pretty cool to sit on the bed with lots of bowls of food to choose from. He actually got the fork to his mouth for his first bite of food using utensils! I was commenting that we are going to need to find a bigger tv tray! B even had really dirty hands and although I encouraged him to use a napkin, in my next breath I told him I did not mind if the sheets got dirty and stained. We were working on making memories and in my book, that far surpasses clean, nice looking sheets!
All I hear around town is that it is Memorial Day weekend and no one is surprised of the cool, wet weather. Puts a real damper on camping!
We have a guy next week that is going to be staying with us for an undetermined amount of time. A co-worker of JRs needs a place to land for a bit until he can get settled on his own. So, he is only anticipating on 2-3 nights but there is a part of me that hopes it will be a little longer so the boys will have one more adult around to climb on, chase, tackle, kick the soccer ball, run trucks down the hallway, dig in the sandbox, etc. With the anticipation of his arrival, I have been cleaning and organizing like mad. Which reminds me of a website I thought I would tell you all called freecycle.org. They are in quite a few cities across the nation. We are a group of people that try to keep things out of the landfills. Everything that is posted on the website (you sign up for your local area) is free. The first one to respond that they want an item, gets it. I have seen things like gaming systems for kids, entertainment centers, lots of clothes, etc. You can also posted "In search of" ads. I have not been quick enough yet to pick up anything other than the classic red tricycle for J. It sure is fun though to see what others have and how you can meet some of those needs.
I am on a roll so back to more organizing...just wanted to say have a blessed Memorial Day weekend. We have no specific plans yet!

Cows and books

It has been fun to watch the boys as they observe the cows behind our house. (We back up to a large empty field - that will someday be developed - but every spring the cows come graze for a couple of weeks.) J likes to stand up in his crib and watch all the activity outside and B loves to sit on the bed and moo at the cows. Interesting how often the cows 'moo back'.

JR is busy studying. He is almost half way through his electrical apprenticeship. The book he is currently on normally takes people 6 months to get through but he has finished it in about 4 months. He wanted to give one last push now so he could take it a little easier this summer. Anyway, he has submitted all of his chapter tests and is hoping to take the book test Monday, June 2nd. He has 600 questions he is studying with the hopes that 60 of them will make up the test. Sure will be nice for him to get this behind him and for him to be 'in between' books while on our trip to Florida.

Here are two random videos I took of J walking! (For some reason when I preview them in the blog I can't get them to play...hopefully you can have better luck with it)

My Precious B

We have had a good weekend. The kind of weather that reminds you why you endure the long winters here. Beautiful, in the 70s, slight breeze!

I have another B story. The kid just amazes me.

Friday morning he woke up before I did. I was having a hard time getting out of bed so as I rolled back over I thought "B will go downstairs and play". At some point I heard "Oh no, my juice spilled. Oh no, my juice really spilled". At this point I am laying in bed trying my hardest not to come flying out of the bed upset with him because he tried to pour himself a glass of Orange Juice. As I finally sit up in bed, I see B walking through the door carrying a TV tray with 2 bowls of cereal and 2 glasses of juice. He was bringing mom breakfast in bed, all by himself. He so blessed my heart. He told me about the juice spilling as he carried (all 3 years of him) the tray up the flight of stairs. I headed down to the kitchen to get him so more juice and expected to see a mess. Quite the contrary, he had poured the juice and put it away. He had put the cereal away after pouring it. He had totally cleaned up after himself. I might just get spoiled.

Friday at the park and Sunday after church he picked flowers for me. He was so proud as he handed me the two bouquets of Dandelions. Again, seeing life through the eyes of a child. They are not weeds, but pretty yellow flowers for mom. Needless to say I have gently encouraged Dad to keep it up because his boys are watching him!

J is getting better and better on his feet. How fun it will be to go to the park when he can actually get up and chase us around!

A First!!

B and I took our first bike ride together. In the past he has either ridden in the tandom trailer while I biked or I walked while he biked. But he is getting better with his training wheels so now we can ride together! Unfortunately the last time they rode in the trailer, Dad rode beside us and made the boys laugh by weaving all over the road. Guess who kept trying to mimic his dad's antics!

It was a beautiful day here and we should hit mid 70s this weekend! The boys and dad might even pitch a tent in the backyard this weekend for a warm up to the camping season that is fast approaching.

We ended up in the backyard. J discovered the waterhose and had a great time getting all wet. Then he proceeded to climb in to the sandbox. Needless to say, all the clothes and diaper full of sand quickly came off of him.

The following is a short clip of the two of them horsing around and being silly. We are planning on getting lots of sun while in Miami and I am very curious as to see what color J's hair will turn.

What's up

I know living where we do that we should not be surprised with the weather, but we will have 1 or 2 really nice days and then 2-3 cool days. Sure makes putting the winter clothes away really hard. B did get in an afternoon playdate, while mom played cards! He is at that age where he needs about 2 or 3 naps a week and when he plays hard, it sure makes for a long day. He is just tuckered out. J is up on his feet now just about as much as he is crawling. I keep trying to catch it on video, but whenever he sees the camera, he gets excited and drops to all four and hurries my way.
Yesterday JR and I celebrated 7 years. Hard to believe. On one hand it feels like yesterday and there are other times it feels much longer! We had a good day though. Nothing exciting. Dad and B make a flower run while I waitied in the car. They were trying to be very secretive carrying the flowers back out to the car. B had me close my eyes (something he really likes these days). I opened my eyes and thanked him. I asked him what they were for and he looked at dad and said "I forgot the word...." So precious.
Well, looks like we are headed to Florida. JR had mentioned taking the boys to Florida for a week to see his parents who will be visiting from Honduras. So, I checked online, really thinking that maybe I could have a week to myself (oh, what would I do?!?!?!). I found such an incredible deal that JR said he wanted me to come. So, we are going down there June 5-12. The boys will be old enough to enjoy the beach this trip - yeah!!
Lately, I have been thinking over a lot of different circumstances in my life and the life of others and have come back to the same conclusion...my circumstances does not change God's goodness. I have heard it said many ways but it always comes down to the same thing, God is good. Regardless. So, enjoy God's goodness today, whatever the circumstances.

Mother's Day!

Despite the chill in the wind and the occasional rain, we had a good day! B was up before 7 and came in to our room and laid on the floor beside Dad's side of the bed. JR asked what he was doing and he replied "Dad, we forgot to fix mom's breakfast in bed!". About 10 minutes later I was treated to cereal and juice in bed (I had told Dad nothing fancy, just go simple). B loved sitting in bed next to me as we both ate our cereal.
I have gotten a new seat for the bike (I don't know why bikes are sold with hard, uncomfortable seats). But now I am ready to start working toward my 9 mile route to visit a neighborhood with lots of church friends.
I have a prayer request. Last weekend one of my niece's friends (who is 7) became sick last Sunday. This past Thursday she died. She had a very, very rare blood platelet disease. The visitation is tomorrow (12th) and the funeral on Tuesday. The whole community is very shocked and really having a hard time with Stephie's death. Please pray for them the next couple of days, as they will be very difficult. I don't know anything about the family or their faith.

Is it this easy??

This is pretty cool!
What better way to communicate what is going on than this?
J has started stringing 4-5 steps together and is so proud of himself. J has a much more daring side to him than B ever had. I have walked in to the bathroom twice now and found J on the step-stool, with the drawer pulled out. However, the step stool somehow managed to slide out from under his feet and there he is, hanging on for dear life to the drawer (chin just above it) and his feet are dangling in the air. If I was not concerned for his safety, I would grab the camera. I have learned to come running when I hear his grunting. J has also figured out how to come down the stairs backwards. He loves to play chase, all you gotta do is say "I'm gonna get you..". He takes off crawling and laughing the whole way. B loves to crawl up behind him and tackle him - sending both of them into hysterical laughter.
B is continuing to amaze us with his coordination, memory and language skills. He has learned, not sure from whom (!), how to string negotiations together. Almost to the point of becoming a problem! He will not take no for an answer until he has exhausted all possibilities. I can't wait to see what line of work he will end up in. The little things that excite him makes me smile. He is on a restrictive diet because of some allergies and he gets so happy when I buy him any special foods. Today it was corn tortillas. Oh to always see life through the eyes of a child! Have a great weekend!!!

B and J

As I write this, I can't tell if it is snowing or hailing outside. Winter just won't seem to loosen its grip this spring. We are sure ready for some warmer weather. So we can hit the sandbox and eat popsicles! I am trying to take as many pictures of J's curls as I can, cause the day is coming when I will have to cut his hair.

Today B and his daddy suprised me with a new bike! A Mother's Day and anniversary gift. The boys love riding in our 'cart' that goes behind the bike. B is getting good enough on his bike though that it won't be long before he can ride beside me.

Can I do this?

I have a couple of blogs that I check out regularly so thought it would be fun to see if I can do this. There is always so much happening on this end, that it should not be too hard to find something to write about. Maybe it will be more of having the time to write something! Let's see how it goes!!!