A lot going on

Last week was a great week. Nothing particular and nothing on the calendar! I just hung at home with the boys - enjoying them and doing just what needed to be done to keep up the house. One day we baked cookies and then decorated them later in the week.

The boys did lots of coloring, playing with the plethora of toys and being outside.
Here is a picture of them with JR. I had bought some water bombs and they loved throwing them. They discovered big boxes are great shields.

One of the biggest things of the week is that B's training wheels came off! He loves riding his bike. He wanted to learn on his old bike so we lowered the seat way down so he could comfortably reach the ground with his feet. He has been outside on the bike everyday since. He does not yet want to try getting on his big bike. He looks so cute on that short little bike. We have slowly raised the seat up and have told him that when he complains of his knees hurting, that is why. He needs to be on the bigger bike. He is also gaining more independence. When I am outside with him I let him cross the street by himself on his bike. One of my biggest fears is the kids not being street smart and turning out in front of a car. He likes to let J know that he is a big kid now and is earning more privileges.
I have also seen some changes in him in regards to God working on his heart and attitude when he is ugly or rude to someone. On more than one occasion I have gotten on to him for something he said or did. A short while later he has come back on his own and apologized and asked for forgiveness (without my prompting). I have also heard him tell J several times that J has hurt his feelings. Building on what he learned at the Peacemakers Club a few weeks ago has been fun. Many occasions have arisen where we have talked about his attitude or what he did (ie name calling) and then talked about why it was bad and if it was on the continuum of escaping or fighting or working it out. Yesterday I was even on the phone with a friend and was being pretty direct with her and saying "no, you are not going to do that...there is no reason for that...". After I hung up he very loving came up and say "Boy mom, that sure was an argumentative tone of voice you were using..." Just a reminder of the things they take in and the many teachable lessons throughout the day.
J has had some success in potty training. Since we have been home a lot, he has been wearing a lot of underwear. On those days that I set my timer for 30 minutes and remind him to go, he stays dry. He is getting there!
JB now has 8 teeth and loves playing peek a boo. He is such a climber. Fun to watch him get up and over some of the stuff we pile up on the floor.
We decided this past weekend to paint the boys room. I just don't like white walls and amazing what paint can do, for a nominal cost. We picked out two paint colors to match a sports border I had picked up a few years ago. The painting went pretty well. I tried a new technique for getting a clean, crisp line where two colors meet and it worked perfectly. After we painted the two colors (one a light brown and one a darker blue) to match the sports border, I began looking at the sports border. It was self-paste but seems the glue was old and did not work well. Bought some wallpaper paste and the border went up without a hitch. I put the border up by myself, which is not recommended. Next time I will make sure there is another adult at least 5 feet tall nearby to help. It looks really good though (pictures did not do it justice). I am ready to paint our room and the bathrooms!
One really awesome thing with me the last 10 days or so is I feel like I have finally broken through a spiritual plateau/valley. For so long I have struggled getting up early in the morning or finding another quiet time during the day to read my bible, etc. Through a book I was reading about intimacy with God, it really encouraged me to just do it. I finally got out of bed recently and had an awesome morning. I ended up camping out on a verse in 1 Peter chapter 5. A very familiar one to me.... "Be self controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith.." I had always known about the be alert part, but not the self-controlled part. It struck a cord. I struggle with self-control and discipline in so many areas. However, after spending some time on that verse, the struggles are not what they were. I also started thinking about lions and their hunting habits. They are not real fast endurance runners so they can't win a long chase. They need to get close to their prey and they do it by blending in with their surroundings. Then when the prey is least suspecting, the lion goes in for the kill. Since scripture refers to the devil prowling around like a lion, I started looking at my life. With today's society it is very easy for the devil to blend in. Where is the tall grass in my life and where is he waiting to pounce? When I monitor those areas and keep them in check/cut the tall grass, I find I already put the devil at a disadvantage. He is then on the defense. I need to be alert and self-controlled! There have been numerous other things that I feel like God has shown/revealed to me but still trying to work through some of them. Just good to be at a place where I feel like I am moving forward in my relationship with Christ versus just sitting stagnant in the middle of a lake with no wind in my sails.
One last picture I recently took of my camo boys.