Soccer

JR and Jbird made it back from South Dakota. They had an awesome time and Jbird did great. He says he did not even miss mom. Here are a few photos (by the looks of the last photo, he had a great time eating and drinking too).




B had his first soccer game Sunday. It was chaos. Don't know the exact score but we lost probably 12-2. The other boys definitely had a year of soccer under their belt. B seems to enjoy the defensive positions better. Anytime the other team got the ball, regardless of how close he was to the ball, he would turn and run to block the goal.





We are camping this weekend with some friends - getting one last trip in before the snow starts flying.

JR does not make the blog often, so figured I would post a few pictures of his recent backpacking trip with my brother.





A little excitement on the way to school today. The car in front of us hit a boy on a bicycle. The kid totally was not paying attention and made a wide right turn (despite him having a stop sign) and hit the back end of the car. It was more of a deflected hit, but he hit the ground none the less. A great lesson for B and J and the dangers of riding and not paying attention.

Another week has flown by!
On Wednesday JR and Jbird (my most commonly used nickname for J these days)left for South Dakota. JR is in a wedding and we debated on whether we would all go. We asked B what he wanted to do and he decided to stay here and not miss any school. With B in school, JB and I have had some fun and I have gotten a lot done. I painted our bedroom (hopefully the bathroom will happen tomorrow), totally organized and rearranged things a bit, had a leisurely lunch with a friend today and planned out all the meals for the rest of the month. I keep hearing how it can save money and time, so giving it a try! I cooked/cut up all the meat and it is now in the freezer.

B's first soccer game is Sunday. He is really enjoying it. All parents have to volunteer one game to be either a line/side judge or referee. I know the bare basics about soccer, so assuming it can't be too difficult or the crowd too harsh! He also has his first den meeting next week. He continues to enjoy school and much to my surprise, makes a mad dash for me at the end of the day with open arms. His teacher seems really on top of it and she is a great communicator (with parents). His teacher last year did not like having contact with parents!

Jbird is having a blast with his dad and all the one on one time. I think it has been great for both of them. He is loving all the fun foods and drinks he gets on vacation and the running around. He slept in until almost 10 am this morning. The place they are staying is in the country with combines, tractors and lots of room to explore. They should be back on Sunday or Monday.

JB has some serious teething going on. He has been a little crabby lately and I understood once I felt the back of his gums. Very swollen and a molar coming in on both sides. He is officially weaned of the bottle. He is a pretty good problem solver, especially when it comes to him figuring out how to get something he wants. I love to watch him pick up hats and put them on his head. He is starting to use his hands more (sign language) when communicating. He can say the word boo and sounded like today he attempted mama.

The boys recently discovered they could give JB rides on their bikes and JB loved it.


This past weekend we met up with a friend in Billings for the day. The boys had a great time swimming at the hotel. B conquered the water slide and I would now consider him a full-fledged swimmer, Jbird loved the hot pool and JB just loved the water. (B is pushing JB)



Here was B's first day of school, that I am finally getting around to. He did not want to smile for the camera.

Teachable moments

I realize I have not posted pictures in a while...for some reason I have not had the camera out much this month!

J's hair is getting long enough now that he has been mistaken for a girl several times this week. Today we were at Sears and J was pushing JB in the stroller. A lady looked at JB and said "is she pushing you around?" J stood there dumbfounded and give this lady the strangest look. I just had to laugh and then she realized her mistake when she saw how he was dressed. That is what I don't get. Most girls at that age are either wearing girly clothes or have something in their hair that indicates they are a girl. I guess I need to either cut his hair some or at least try daily to get the tangles out of his hair so that the curl will come back.

As soon as we walked into Sears, the boys saw all the fridge/freezers. I had no idea the entertainment that would provide. We walked around and opened up all 30 of them. We had to talk about all the drawers, shelves, etc. B would open one up and go 'how beautiful is this', 'I just can't believe these', 'amazing'. That is actually the one purchase I hope we can make with our tax refund next spring. Just seems our food gets lost in the one we have.

The other day I was preparing to put a roast in the crockpot. I was cutting off the bottom layer of fat and J asked what I was doing. I told him I was cutting the fat off the roast. He looked at me and said "Mom, you don't call meat fat and you don't call people fat."

The other night all five of us were in the car. We were heading home on a 4 lane road, going 65 (which was the speed limit), the roads were wet from an earlier rain and it was dark. I suddenly saw 2 deer in the middle of the road headed my direction. All I could do was say "Oh dear Lord, dear Lord, dear Lord" (no pun intended). They both ran in front of us and we missed hitting the second one by about 10 -12 inches. The closest call I have ever had. The entire rest of the ride home we talked about how God's hand of protection was on us and I explained that that is precisely why I pray for God's protection every day as I drive B to school. It was a great object lesson for the kids. I was glad that I was able to react with a short prayer and not other choice words. I was also impressed that after years of hearing JR say "if an animal runs out in front of you, I would rather you hit it than swerve", I stayed on course and did not swerve at all. It made me think of an Amy Grant song from years ago "Angels Watching Over Me"
......"God only knows the times my life was threatened just today.
.......A reckless car ran out of gas before it ran my way.
.......Near misses all around me, accidents unknown,
.......Though I never see with human eyes the hands that lead me home."

AWANA has started up again and B and J are both in it. I am helping out with the under 3 crowd (watching the other leaders' kids so they can teach mine). The group B is in has a workbook that comes with a CD. The CD is basically the audio version of the book but with sound effects, etc. Today we were listening to the story of Eli and Samuel. At the very end of the story it talks about how Eli was a godly man but God punished him and his family. B's ears perked up and he asked why God punished Eli. We went back and listened to the story again. Eli was very godly but he had 2 very wicked sons. Eli knew his sons were doing wrong and Eli never did anything to try to correct/stop them. Seizing the moment, I explained to B that that is why we discipline him. God has made us the parents and it is our job to train him up and teach him to do what is right and honors God. He seemed to really hang on to my words, now I just need to remember to go back to that story from time to time to remind him of why we do what we do as parents. I love the teachable moments that God gives me and how applicable the two this week were.

Fluffy has hopped out of the coup. Numerous times she would get out and would eventually come back. JR would find the hole and fix it, only for her to find another one. The other day I looked out the window and saw some neighbors congregating out front. Between them they had a fish net, broom and small kennel. I knew what was going on. Sure enough, they had found Fluffy, soon to be cat food. We brought Fluffy in, only to have her leave again. The next day saw her across the street. JR tried to get her but she took off. He decided so be it.

Misc

The garage sale this past weekend went well. Between our family and the other family we made just under $500. I put a lot of time in to it this past week so our stuff was very organized. We even got comments from shoppers about how nice it was to look because everything was so organized. When we boxed stuff up, we only had about 6 medium size boxes!

My brother comes in for a long weekend this weekend. Him and JR are taking off to the backcountry for a couple of nights. Hope they don't get any snow - we have had some cool evenings.

Fluffy (bunny) has figured out how to escape from the back yard. All 4 times though she has come back. JR keeps fixing the holes but somehow she finds other ones.

Tomorrow my oldest niece gains her wings. She gets dropped off at Western Michigan. Hats off to my sister and brother-in-law for raising an incredible daughter. She will do well.

Several weeks ago I discovered some frugal living blogs. I have been reading up on couponing and how to really make it work - getting grocery bills down to $40-50 a week! I don't know that I will ever be that proficient, but today I went and bought 3 boxes of name brand cereal, 6 bottles (64oz) of Apple Juice, 4 boxes of granola bars and 2 Del-Monte ready to make fruit smoothies for only $7. I was quite excited, now I just need to work on stockpiling the coupons. Our local paper very seldom has coupons so I am having to be very creative about how to find them.

JB has perfected his high pitch squeal. He is so proud of himself! He continues to climb on anything he can find. J is down to about 2 potty accidents a week and most nights he is staying dry. Soccer starts tomorrow for B.

School

School started today. The playground was chaos as all the kids were seeing friends they had not seen over the summer. There are two buildings with B's school and he has moved across the street so he can now play on the big playground. Most of their equipment is the old stuff...the big metal slides with very low sides that I watched kids zoom off of. I know J will be excited to try that one out. His teach seems really nice. She sent a letter to the house, one for parents and one for B a few days before school started - a very nice gesture. When we went to Back to School night he only had 3 kids from his Kindergarten class in his current class, so lots of friends he will get to know. I was excited to see the girl he sat next to was from AWANA! JR was asking B how it went today and the conversation came up about cute girls (a little early for me). JR asked if the girls were as cute as mom (ie me) and B said "no, way cuter! Slam, I was expecting the no one is as cute as mom, but I guess we are not there yet. We got a good laugh out of that.
The school has a really nice front lawn, so about 30 minutes before the bell rang, the other two boys and I went to the school, sat in the grass under a huge shade tree. JB crawled all over the place (I am sure he would have been in a tree if he could have been) and J ran around like a mad man. I think that will become the norm for us...gotta enjoy the weather while we can! It will change all too quickly.
Been busy with garage sale stuff. My friend and I have managed to fill 10 6 foot tables and that does not include some of the big items that will go outside. I can honestly say that there is not much more I can take out of my house that is not used on somewhat of a regular basis. Between the two of us, I don't think we have a lot of junk either....good quality stuff. Ready for Sat at 1 to be here, though so I can quit thinking about it and get on with other things!
Next week some of the extra curricular activities start, so looking forward to AWANA, Cub Scout meetings and possibly soccer. J will do AWANA this year and I am going to help out with the infants/toddlers (just watching the younger kids of the leaders - to my knowledge does not require any lesson plans, etc so that will be nice not to have any outside preparation.
Fluffy is still doing good (the rabbit). He (she -who knows) absolutely mowed down the lettuce. I can understand why people don't like them. Nothing but bare stalks. We toss carrots out every day. She is getting more use to us and does not run as quickly, although he does not come right up to us yet. I am told that she will live in the backyard during the winter too. I am told they live outside in the wild, so why not in our backyard. Will be interesting to see how that goes. Guess we should dig a hole somewhere???

One week until school

Summer is quickly winding down. We found out today that B's teacher will be Ms. Miller. Don't know much about her personally but hear she is pretty good. We have back to school night on Monday so B is excited to see who is in his class.
Fluffy, the bunny, is still around. She or he, who knows, has the run of the yard. She does have a cage but she has found her own little hiding spots under some trees. We really have a great spot out in the backyard that is mostly dirt and lots of small trees/bushes. She has come in a couple of times but I have yet to handle her. B is allergic to a lot of fur (horses, cat, deer, elk, antelope or any other animal that has been in our garage) but the one time he held Fluffy it did not seem to be a problem. Not sure what the plan is when winter arrives. Assuming she will have to come inside. She loves getting all the lettuce she wants. In our small garden. Seems we are not big lettuce eaters. It is nice to have lettuce for tacos or hamburgers but we are not eating a lot of salads. The boys love going out and picking it and pulling up onions. We will definately do more onions, hopefully a larger variety next summer. I hope to get a better game plan next summer and get started earlier. Seems we let the cilantro grow too long so will try again with a fall 'crop' in our pots.
One night recently I was trying to put lotion on J after his shower. He was not too keen on the idea (he gets bad eczema with his food allergies) so I told him I would give him a massage. He loved it and B got in on the action. Now, it seems to be the perfect way to get them all settled in their beds, to rub them down with lotion as they are going to sleep. They have even enjoyed giving me massages, they especially love massaging my feet. Why didn't I think of that when I was pregnant with JB.
Have a boy scout hike this Saturday. Actually it is more of a walk with a bar-b-que afterwards but will be fun.
Not much else going on other than gearing up for my first garage sale ever. Having it at a friends house. She has a double garage and we should be able to do all the setting up next week with the garage sale the 28th. Curious to see how we do. I have always thought it was a lot of work for not very much money, but I guess anything is better than nothing!

Our new pet

Well, JR came home with a 'surprise' for the boys today. In the house he walked carrying a box with holes in it. He was told at work to trap this animal and kill it. He was able to trap it but obviously not kill it. So, we have a new pet, for now. Will be interesting to see how long we can keep him in our yard before he finds a way out.

Finally getting around to posting some pictures from JB's first birthday. Just had the two neighbor boys over for cupcakes. JB really enjoyed them.

Here is a picture that B took of us. He really enjoys taking pictures and seems to have a knack/interest in photography.

On JB's birthday, he performed his greatest stunt yet. He climbed up on top of the stove. Thankfully it was not on! If you look at the picture in the previous post of him on the white step-stool, he has figured out how he can stand on the top of the leg of the step-stool. I decided that I was going to take pictures of everything he climbed on in one day...did not get very far, with the camera that is but managed to snap another one.

Yesterday we were playing at some friends house. As we were getting ready to leave, I called up to the boys to start cleaning up. I heard a few words and then B said "come on let's clean up, I want to obey my mom!" I was so surprised. I have really been trying to work on not parenting from fear. I don't want the boys to do things because they fear the consequences but because it is what is right. A lot easier said than done.
Yesterday we went to the library and checked out a lot of books. B was looking at his monster truck book. He then exclaimed, "oh wow, this wreck would cause cancer". To which J asked to see and then B said "it is not an appropriate picture for a 3 year old"!
One last photo....

Happy First Birthday JB

Look who is forward facing now......

You love being able to see where we are going instead of where we have been, seeing me in the rearview mirror and being able to sit side by side with your brothers.

Can't believe it has already been 365 days. Happy birthday JB.

You are quite the little climber. I know you are my third, but boy you sure scare me with your determination to get to higher places. When anyone is standing on something, you throw quite the ruckus until you can get right up beside them, be it the couch, step stool, bean bag, chair, etc.


You have not yet said your first word, but I am not concerned, knowing you can't get a word in edgewise. You enjoy laying in your bed and babbling. I like sneaking in there in the mornings and just watching you as you stretch and wake up. You eventually see much, greet me with a huge smile and stand up.

You like to throw your food on the floor, we are working on that.

On command, when I say "what is in your mouth", you spit whatever out!
You like your dog Douglas and it brings comfort when the tears fall.

Just yesterday at Wal-mart you were sitting nicely in the cart, until it was time to check out. You were chewing on one of our purchases. Knowing you had one in each hand, I gave one of them to the lady to scan. You did not like that at all, you immediately threw the other one you were holding onto the floor. I gave it back to you (to see what you would do) and you threw it again. You made it very clear that you were not happy! Then when I told you no again, you got even madder because I would not give it back to you. We left the store as others turned to watch us walk out.

When you are really tired, I will pick you up and you will lay your head on my shoulder.

You enjoy giving high fives and if we lean in to you, you will head butt us.

You have the wet slobbery kiss down pat.

You love to play with your brothers in the shower. I still can't figure out how you escaped from the tub one time....had to have been a head dive over the side.

I love you little guy and are so thankful that God gave you to us to round out our 3 sons. You have already enriched our lives so much more...can't wait to see what the next 365 days hold.

Filling our summer days...

I was recently telling a friend of mine about a family member that lost a job. I had made the comment that they did nothing wrong to lose their job. B overheard me and started inquiring as to what I meant. I explained that they worked for a man that sold real estate and reminded him about our conversations about the economy and how it was bad and it meant people were not spending money. Therefore, the real estate guy could not sell any houses or buildings because no one had any money. So, he was not able to pay his employee and had to let them go. So, the person that lost their job, it was not their fault, they did not do anything wrong. B did not even wait a split second and he said "Oh, so it was the government's fault?" Stopped us in our tracks.

Several weeks ago I stopped by Michaels and Target and found all kinds of projects for the boys that cost very little. Wooden train cars that had to be glued together and then painted. Wooden automobiles that you punch out and then piece together. All kinds of educational and historical workbooks and flashcards. (Figured it would not hurt me to learn about landmarks, presidents and states too.) Super hero coloring and activity books. New markers, crayons and pencils, not to mention some special markers designed for windows and mirrors. The boys have loved it and well worth every penny I spent. B especially will sit for long periods and just color. He really enjoys the nights that the other 2 fall asleep on time and he can sit in bed with JR and draw.

We went out this morning and dug up rocks that were in the dirt. JB was the dirtiest for a while and then I engaged the boys in a 'who can get the other dirtiest' game. The boys loved throwing their rocks in an irrigation canal. JB though wanted to crawl in - no fear.


Spent some time yesterday at the splash park. Have not been there too often because it is all concrete and with JB not walking, just difficult. I decided to let him crawl in it with jeans and socks to protect his legs and feet. He had a ball.
He also enjoyed crawling in the tunnel at the park.

Then we came home and had homemade jello popsicles.


The common theme around our house continues to be forgiveness. The boys are learning what it means to ask for forgiveness, not only from the offended individual, but from God and to seek forgiveness. We recently talked about being a blessing and the boys decided they wanted to be a blessing to our neighbors by rolling all of the trash cans along the street (put out for garbage collection) up to the houses. Maybe I can incorporate being a blessing everyday and see what things we can come up with.

J is doing great with the potty training. Maybe one accident every couple of days. We are going tomorrow to buy him some pull-ups. I told him that once he is good at going in the potty that I would get him some pull-ups for night time. He has already decided that he will pick out Toy Story ones.

Just hanging out

Been staying close to home. Had two sets of friends (Pahals and Pankratz') last week that were in town and hooked up with them at different parks. Fun to see how the kids have grown and to watch everyone play together. This past weekend our missionary friend Naomi, from Zimbabwe, stayed here and spoke at our church.

B attended VBS last week and enjoyed it. This past weekend he went to a shooting sport activity through the Cub Scouts. Him and JR took the BB gun to a local shooting range where B got instruction on the parts of the gun, safety things, shooting tips, etc. He was quite excited to bring home his target for me to see.
School starts in 3 1/2 weeks. Should find out this week who his teacher will be.

I have been struggling with some inner ear issues that are causing dizziness. I think it has to do with some fluid in the ear but also what are known at crystal rocks in your ear. They seem to have come loose or displaced. My friend Naomi, who is a nurse and dad is a chiropractor, was around last night when it got really bad. It dropped me to my knees. Fortunately her dad was able to walk us through an exercise that helps to reset the rocks. So far so good.
This weekend is JB's first birthday. Hard to believe!
Here are a few pictures from a recent 'hunting' expedition JR took J and B on. Not to worry, it is a BB gun and safety is always first!

Another big week

JB is finally pushing his 'walker' and getting up on his feet. He is too unsteady to walk all by himself but sure is proud of himself and his progress.
J has only had a few accidents this week in the potty training department. We are down to about 8 diapers and I have told him I am not buying anymore unless they are just for nighttime. He has also said goodbye to training wheels. He can't go more than 20 or 30 feet before getting distracted and crashing, but he is doing awesome.
Yesterday we attended our first Cub Scout event. Family campout. Unfortunately JR had to work most of the night so he was around just a few hours Saturday afternoon. A whole new group of people that I do not know, along with traditions that I will learn over time. We watched the flag ceremony where the colors are presented. The boys made rope (very interesting), chalk and rockets that they shot up to 30 feet in the air. All the food was provided and it was a tight run ship.
They had a flag retirement ceremony (I did not know they existed and certainly did not know they cut up the flag and burned it). All the scouts headed down to the river for the ceremony. The younger two and I got down there towards the tail end. When we walked up, I saw the scout master talking to B. I wondered what was up but figured he had done something wrong. Then we watched all the scouts put a part of the flag in the fire. B then walked over to me crying. He was very upset that the flag was being burned! The scout master was trying to tell him that it was okay, but to no avail. Then we had a campfire and the boys played with their ropes and ran around until dark. We all slept really well. The boys and I had a great time and my cub scout (tiger cub) looked great in his uniform. He insisted on the salute and would not smile!

Sayings

Just some of the things that have come out of the mouths of my babes lately that bring a smile to my face.
There are many nicknames I have had over the years...Red, North, Scooter, Carrot top and Mory but none as dear as Aunt Shoo (other than Mom of course). I just had to smile recently when we were in Ohio. B heard Aunt Shoo a lot from his cousins. One day B walked up to me, gave me a big hug and said "Mom, do you care if I call you Aunt Shoo?"

We have started working more diligently (again) on potty training J. He was putting on a pair of 'training pants' that does not have the front hole for boys for some reason. He said "Mom, why don't these underwear have a hole in them?" I told him that I did not know and he responded "maybe God should make my underwear".

These are just a few of the things that have been coming out of my mouth lately...
Why are you putting peanut butter on your brother?
Please don't use your real tools to work on the tv.
Did you just wipe your nose on the back of my shorts?
I don't care what kind of animal you eat like, just eat with manners.
You don't hit someone with a hammer, ever.
Please don't put your boogers there.
Why are you cutting your hair?

Believe it or not, I have spoken these words to both of my boys, not just little J.

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.

4th of July

We had a busy week with B going to the Peacemaker Club this past week. He enjoyed it and accrued points throughout the week for memorizing verses and inviting friends. At the end of the week he was in first place!! He was quite surprised but a lesson in persevering. He went by himself the first day and then on Tues, Wed and Thurs, he invited a different friend. By the end of the week it was fun to drive around and pick up all the kids. I have enjoyed all the stages of my boys so far. I am entering one with B that I am really really enjoying. That is his friends being old enough to pick them up and go places. I love listening to them talk and laugh and cut up in the backseat.
This past week we also attended the first Cub Scout meeting. B got his uniform and everyone was divided up into dens. He has 5 other boys in his den and he knows all of them from school. During the meeting one of the Scout Masters was engaging the kids in some trivia. With the upcoming July 4th holiday close, he asked if anyone knew whose birthday we would soon be celebrating. Then he proceeded to ask if anyone knew if our country had a king. There were no answers and then he asked who ruled our country. B spoke up and said God. It got a chuckle from everyone but sure did bring a smile to my face.
We have had a lazy day. I watched Wimbledon this morning, went to church, had lunch and then most of us took naps. Went out to shoot off a few fireworks. One of the boys have been having problems disobeying and being disrespectful, so he has to stay inside all evening and not go outside to shoot off the rest of the fireworks. We cooked turkey dogs and marshmallows on the fire pit. JB loved his first taste of a marshmallow. The boys are showering and then most of us will head outside soon for all the fireworks put on by our neighbors.
Tomorrow we are heading to a nearby town to spend the afternoon with some friends. I hope later in the week to take them camping. JR is out in the backcountry and seems to be hopping every day or two to a different locale.

Happy 6th Birthday Buddy!

Happy 6th Birthday B!

What a joy you are....the endless conversations we have had, the many times you have kept me on my toes with your quick thinking and negotiating ways, listening to your sweet voice as you tell JB "good morning", your laughter as you and J play, your relentless picking of your scabs so that they take weeks to heal, the way you will hide your toys under your blankets after I put you to bed, the ease with which you make friends at the park, your phrases that you say that remind me of my words, your totally random questions like "how is your tongue connected to your mouth" as we stood in line to get ice cream and all bystanders' eyes fell to me with smiles as they awaited my answer, your sly little grin when you are trying to get your way, your amazing memory for details and scripture, watching you dance recently in the aisle at church as they played your favorite VBS song, watching you still (every once in a while) wear your shorts and shirts backwards, hearing you whine and your absolutely illogical thoughts when you are tired, your willingness to try 'no thank you' bites, your nurturing ways with younger kids and your insatiable desire to work on your hand/eye coordination through video/computer games. I am looking forward to seeing you learn to read, ride a two wheeled bike, perfect the 'pumping' while on the swing, running and playing with JB as he gets 'his legs', growing bigger and stronger and coming that much closer to outrunning me and hiding more of God's word in your heart the next 365 days.
We celebrated B's birthday on Saturday. 5 friends were invited to the park where they played, we made mini marshmallow guns out of PVC pipe, took swings at the homemade pinata (4 layers was not as strong as I thought it was, although it held up through most of the kids), threw waterballoons, opened gifts and had homemade ice cream sandwiches. (These were really good and did not require any plates, spoons, etc). I love celebrating birthdays but honestly the one thing I do not like is the presents. I always struggle when my boys have birthdays because I don't want more stuff, but I know kids like getting things. This year however, was different. Every gift received was just perfect and has not become more 'stuff'. He received a headlamp that had a cute little lego guy on it (very practical and all his for when we go camping), a nice super soaker that happens to be one that is also perfect for J's little hands to pump and shoot it, a slip and slide (ours was worn out last summer), an army tank, that although it has 27 pieces, has gotten much playtime already and some money for a Wii game. So begins hopefully many lessons on saving money for things he really wants. I think the Wii might finally be the one thing right now to learn more responsibility - hopefully.
The boys enjoyed VBS this past week. Several mornings J woke up not wanting to go, but of course quickly changed his mind when we got there. Every year the host church brings in a group from Alabama to help with the week. J connected with a guy named Josh and according to Josh, he will be back next year so will be fun to have that connection.
This week B will attend a Peacemaker club. It is a biblically based 'curriculum' on conflict resolution. It will be 2 hours each morning. Today we will drop him off and then afterward, go to pizza with one of his friends (to celebrate his actual birth day) then off to Game Stop to see if we can find a reasonably priced Wii game.
We have had amazing weather the last 2 weeks or so. Today, however, we are suppose to finally hit 90! (We had a lazy weekend but wanting to get back out this week with the kids and get some bike rides or walks in.)

Busy week

The older two have been at Vacation Bible School during the mornings this week.
JB is still working on his pulling up and stair climbing.
JR is plugging away at work, getting ready for a week off where he will go immerse himself in the backcountry, somewhere - location yet to be determined. He still has a week to figure it all out.
Me, I have been buying and cutting PVC pipe, paper-maiche-ing and filling water balloons for the big event this weekend!!!!

We are Home!

We safely arrived home on Wednesday, after a 14 hour day in the car. We did have to stop for about an hour due to a wicked looking storm. The wind was so strong, many cars were exiting the freeway.
4800 miles, 26 days, 11 states(North Dakota, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Indiana, Ohio, Illinois, Missouri, Nebraska, Iowa, South Dakota and Wyoming), 6 different beds, lots of sun and the only car problem we had was a dead battery. Fortunately it happened at my sisters, so it did not leave us stranded. Bought a new battery and had no more problems. We all stayed healthy and not a one of us ended up with a sunburn. (The cheapest gas I found was 2.39 in Chillicothe, Missouri!)
In North Dakota, which seemed like a long time ago, stayed with an good friend. Here is a picture of B just after he rolled down a grassy hill. I love this photo cause it is his nature grin, not the cheesy posed kind he loves to use.

In Wisconsin stayed with some friends who have 2 boys that are close in age to B and J. They use to go to church with us...here is a photo at the playground.

They loved all staying in one room, playing in the backyard and park and eating rootbeer floats.
We also had a short dinner stop with some other friends who we have almost known since moving to MT. They also have two small boys. We ate burgers and hotdogs and then headed to another park. Here are the two youngest
.
A night on the road in Indiana and finally arriving in Ohio. We saw my oldest niece graduate from high school, another niece run in two track meets, a third niece play soccer and my fourth niece play softball (they are a very active, busy family). We spent lots of days at the pool and I got out several times by myself to go shopping. We hit the beach (Lake Erie), ate lots of ice cream and just hung out. The day before we left, I took my four nieces and the three boys to the beach for donuts. It was a lot of fun. The weather was perfect, just about had the beach to ourselves, we all ran around and took some goofy pictures....




After we left Ohio (my camera never made it out of the car again), we headed to Illinois and stayed 2 days with a family I use to nanny for in North Dakota. The boys had a ball playing with the legos and the barbies/Ken dolls and their big convertible cars. (We have no GI Joes, barbies/Ken so it is interesting to see how much J enjoys playing with these when he can). They had a pool and a huge yard for the boys to run around. Was fun catching up with them and seeing how the 4 girls have grown. The oldest was 6 when I lived with them and the youngest was 18 months. Now they are a junior in college and 15 (the middle twin girls were not home that weekend).
We had a short breakfast stop with a cousin in Springfield before making the long haul to our next stop in South Dakota. Saw some friends that hopefully we will make it back to their wedding in September. Nate has the coolest yard, where the fence line was 2 rows of pine trees. The boys loved playing hide and go seek and running wild. I had hoped to stop at Mt Rushmore when we left but all the boys were sleeping and I had forgotten that it is not right on the highway. So, hopefully we can plan that stop in when we go back for the wedding.
All in all a great trip. The boys did really well, they loved seeing all the family and friends. They have made some friends back in Ohio so will have boys to play with on subsequent trips out there. Lots of sun. All three of the boys did really well in the different pools. B actually went down the long twisty slide several times and loved it. He did jump off the diving board at our friends in Illinois, so his comfort level in the water is much improved. We arrived back home to weather in the 50s, which was a nice change to all the humidity we had in Ohio.
JR sure was glad to have us back, chaos and all.

The last couple of days have been nice. Not much has been on the calendar. Hanging at the pool, kids playing games and outside. Today I took B and J to an Amish community (JB stayed at my sisters). We saw all kinds of buggies on the road and had fun talking with the boys about the amish and the life they live. B thought for sure that he could not live without electricity. Stopped at a good ol general store that had all the flavored sodas in bottles. My boys that it was cool how you had to pop the top off. Picked up several kinds of cheese. Several of our stops coincided with some tour buses. I have found that the older generation either ignores us, strikes up friendly conversation or gives us the "been there done that don't annoy me" look. We came back to the house, had dinner and my sister and I went for a bike ride. Then we took all the boys and one niece to the pool from 7-9. JB had a blast. One part of the pool goes from zero depth to 3 feet. I sat JB down on the edge and he instantly crawled until his chin was touching the water. We repeated this many times. He loved it.
Tomorrow and Friday should be beautiful so we are hoping to hit the beach in the morning and the pool all afternoon.
We will be leaving Ohio on Sunday. We hope to spend Sunday and Monday in Illinois (will be seeing the family I use to nanny for), Tuesday and maybe Wed in South Dakota, hit Mt. Rushmore and be back home next week.

Ohio

We obviously made it here safely. The boys did great. The only issue we had was I left a suitcase at our stop in Wisconsin. With the exception of Chicago, the driving was great. It was bumper to bumper through Chicago at 9pm at night. The only cool thing was as I saw the skyline just off to the left, there was a huge full moon.
It has been busy with graduation festivities, family, swimming and trying to keep B from playing the Wii all day. That kid is relentless. I will tell him no and often times I get the 'mom, just listen. would you prefer if I play in 10 minutes or 30 minutes.' To top it all off, my family decided to surprise B (more so a surprise for me) with a Wii for his birthday. So, I am already trying to figure out the best way to monitor this when we get home.
Tomorrow we head to Columbus to watch one of my nieces run in the state track meet. She is a freshman so will be neat to see how she grows in her abilities on the track throughout her high school career. My oldest niece Kelsey is now officially a high school grad and getting ready to head off to Western Michigan.
JB now has 5 teeth and has figured out how to climb up one step. He is pulling up more and walking along the furniture. B has been loving the pool, throwing and diving for objects. J alternates between playing in the water and wanting all the snacks in the pool bag.
A few pictures of our trip thus far......

We are in North Dakota. Fairly good trip. The boys are already exhausted and bedtime is a chore! We are at a friends in Fargo. Today we walked over this bridge that spanned the interstate (the boys have always wanted to go over things like that). They loved it and it was a good workout. Went to a few parks, some of which were packed with kids on end of year field trips. We wound up at a skate park. The boys got out their scooters and loved it. There was a kid there that was almost 4 and was really good on his board. Plus, he rode his bike (without training wheels) up and over the 'ramps'. He was so impressive, I asked his mom his name. I am convinced that I will see Moses at some point on You tube or in competitions on tv when he is older. Moses' mom commented about how natural J appeared. Maybe a sport I should expose him to more often.
JB has finally figured out the depth perception thing, I think. He will now crawl over to the side of the bed and just look down, watching. He still has not attempted to crawl up the steps, so don't have to worry about those just yet (atleast from the bottom). He loves to stand up in his crib and reach through the railing to see what he can touch/grab. Sometimes it is several Kleenex, sometimes he turns the radio down, sometimes he likes to drop his dog over the side, all the while just laughing.
Entered a whole new realm last Thursday with B. We went to an informational meeting for Cub Scouts...something I know nothing about. Seems that when kids are in first or second grade (they were doing early recruitment) that parents need to attend everything with them. Sounded a little overwhelming but we will give it a shot. I think he most enjoyed the cookies! I know that was his favorite part of t-ball. Getting the juice boxes and treats after the games. Last night was his last game (since we won't be here next week). The kids were all over the place. One inning the coaches pulled two kids and had them sit in the dugout. I thought it was cute when after the game the coach told the kids "I want you all to be checking your mailboxes this weekend because I will be sending you all an invitation to come back to earth before our next game".
J hopped on his bike after the game and rode the whole way home again!
Last Friday, since it was B's last day of Kindergarten, we went up to the school to have lunch with him. He gets to invite one friend to sit with us. Today it was Kynzi. She is such a cutie. We were talking today and she told me she knows a little boy who acts like a girl sometimes. I told her that was okay and that there are little girls that act like little boys. Her eyes got big and she looked right at me and said "I know, you are looking at one.". After lunch we went to the playground for their recess. There were about 15 kids that took turns pushing JB around in the stroller. J had a ball running around trying to keep up with everyone.
From there we went to the pharmacy to pick up some medicine for JB (eye infection and on the way to an ear infection). While we waited in line, J sat down on the floor and before I knew it, he had fallen asleep leaning against the wall. I had to wake him up and he promptly fell back asleep. Poor guy is just exhausted!
Off to Wausau Wisconsin tomorrow, Janesville, Wisconsin on Thursday and Cleveland, Ohio on Friday!
Hope to post some pictures this weekend.

My little catcher....


He loved playing catcher so much he begged the coach to let him play it the next game (no can do...everyone gets to play every position). He had a lot of fun running to the front of the plate and standing there tagging everyone, even without the ball. He has been so worn out lately, waking up before 6, that he told the coach at the last game that he did not want to play he just wanted to go to bed. I wish it were that easy to get him to sleep once we get home though.

J went to the dentist the other day. He said the tooth looks pretty good and that only time will tell if it starts to color. The dentist office has huge windows so they have all the kids put on glasses so the lights inside and out won't hurt their eyes and 'stuff' won't get on them when their teeth are cleaned. The dental hygenist did a remarkable job explaining all the tools. J never even flinched through it all and the best part, the Sponge Bob toothpaste he got when he was done. Here is a picture of him relaxing in the chair...

J has turned into quite the bicyclist. Twice this past week we have ventured out with the bike trailer and one bike, with the intent of B and J swapping out (riding and biking) when they were tired. J has twice rode about a mile both times. He just chats away and slowly but surely pedals his way down the street.
B is fascinated with Avatar. He has not seen the movie (and won't at this point) but loves looking at the movie or posters of it when we are out. He asked me the other day if he could watch it and I told him I thought it would be too scary right now. I picked up the movie and tried to explain to him the PG-13 rating. I think he finally understood because later he told JR that he would have to go rent Avatar because he was older than 13 and could watch it. (I found it interesting reading the PG-13 rating that they listed smoking....)
Today we were at Wal-mart. They are totally revamping the store. Tripling the electronics section, redoing the whole pharmacy, taking out part of the fabric section, etc. I was so turned around, everything had been moved all over the store. We saw 3 guys come running around the corner, one carrying a stick and the other carrying a trash can. They did not have the traditional Wal-mart garb on, so wondered what was up. They looked like they were having a lot of fun, whatever they were up to. A little later we saw the same three guys again. One of them said, "Oh I found him, over here." It was a mouse that they had been chasing around the store. I guess in their moving stuff around they had most of the aisles/displays elevated and maybe in got in or escaped from his 'home'. I turned to the boys and said "hey, let's watch this, this should be good". They three guys got a kick out of the audience. They successfully put the trashcan over the mouse and then got it scooped into the trashbag. Once they caught it, I thought they would have been a little quicker getting it out of the store, but they proudly paraded around with the see through trash bag.
Today we also went to the chiropractor. His daughter, who is right around 3 had a lizard. She took the lizard out and was just standing there holding it. It was probably 9 inches long and really cool markings but still a lizard. I guess J did not realize it was alive and he reached out to pet its belly and when it moved his eyes got huge and he jumped back. She just stood there squeezing that thing. I told her, where her dad could hear, that if she somehow let that thing go and it ran towards me I would scream. Thankfully none of the boys have taken much to reptiles or bugs. I have tried to never freak out around them though when the boys were around, as to not influence/scare them.
The cows are back in the field behind our house. They show up every spring for several weeks/months. They boys enjoy watching the calves and occasionally they will come up to our fence and we get close enough to touch them.
Finalizing the plans for Monday's departure.

JB went for his 9 month check up and is doing great. Found an upper tooth (one of the incisors) that had come in with 3 other teeth just days away! No wonder he has been a little grumpy and chewing on his hand. He loves to clap his hands and throw them up for the touchdown sign. Whenever he is eating, he loves to flail his arms and always seems to hit the spoon and make a big mess.
I have really started working with the older two about self control and not arguing, talking back or continuing to question me when an answer is given. For three days now we have had a reward system in place that rewards them at the end of the day. So far it is working pretty well. There were probably 5 times today when B asked me something and I said no. In which he said okay. Silence for about 5 seconds and then he would say "hey mom, I did not argue with you...I just said okay". Like the lightbulb is going on that he does not have to rebuttal everything I say.
We have had several discussions about our small backyard and today we were driving around. B commented about a certain house and I told him that would be a great house. To which he replied, "forget the house, I want the yard".
He recently overheard a conversation I had with a friend about how their church baptizes people. (Our church does not have a baptistry, so we baptize once a year in a nearby pond). As we passed our friends' church, B asked me if they did baptisms. When I said yes he replied "how can they, they don't have a pond".
Starting to collect all our items for our roadtrip. Most of the clothes are packed! We leave next Monday, May 24th. B will miss the last 4 days of kindergarten but I figured he won't be able to miss school for too much longer.

Mothers Day weekend

Yesterday we decided to drive a few hours away for an overnight. Nothing specific to do, except for a change of pace. We stayed at a hotel with a fun water playland. The kids enjoyed swimming. It was the first time for JB in the water and he loved it. He would have sat all day in his little float kicking and bouncing. He enjoyed taking in all the sights and sounds of the other kids. J liked hanging out in the hot tub more than the pool (I was happy to oblige). At one point he was running, yes, how many times have we told him not too, and sure enough, he fell. He was wearing his goggles and got a nice little cut on the corner of his eye. It swelled up a bit and had a little bruise. B was practicing swimming. He did great when he was focused on the task at hand. However, when he was playing on the play structures and fell into the water, he would freak out. He would just flap his arms and do the bob thing. One time I was watching him from across the room and realized that I did not think he could get to safety and the kids around him were clueless. I ran across the pull and grabbed him. I guess it is going to take being exposed to many different situations and just becoming comfortable without an adult right next to him. He can do it. When I remind him to put the top of his forehead in the water, that always gets him horizontal in the water.
Two weeks before we head out on our (the boys and I) road trip. Still not sure about specifics but know generalities. Our current route has us traveling about 83 hours on the road in 21 days and covering 10 states. We will definitely hit Niagra Falls and toying with a different route on the way back and hitting Mount Rushmore.
Attended my first Zumba class last week. I really liked it but there is only 1 class offered a week. At least the weather should be nice this week and hoping to go on some long bike rides with the boys.
T-ball is coming along. B is really enjoying it and I am enjoying getting to meet some different moms and kids.
Some friends let B borrow some beginning reader books for the summer and I am amazed at how many times he initiates wanting to read. I am afraid though that he is memorizing the words and keeps 'rereading' them and not really working on reading. Will need to try to find him some good online worksheets for the car. I am sure if I put them in a really cool superhero notebook, that would be all it would take.
Wanted to send out a great big Happy Mother's Day to my mom....thanks for all the countless hours you sacrificed for me. I am getting it, I really am.

After reading over my previous post it sounds like I think J's screaming is cute. Quite the contrary. He is in a phase of getting really angry and yelling, as I send him to his room, about how ug-a-ly I am being to him. We talk about how it is okay to be angry and express it but yelling is not appropriate. He always goes to his room, settles down and then comes downstairs to rejoin the activities. (I still love how he says ug-a-ly though).
I was playing with him today and noticed that is looks like his front tooth has a very slight grey tint to it. (He knocked his tooth several weeks ago). I sure hope the tooth is not dying. What do they do with a baby tooth like that? He does have an appt next week with the dentist so will see what he says or some possible options. J has also had a hard time this past week going to sleep. Even without a nap (which he is phasing out of) most nights he is not asleep until after 9pm. Have started giving him some sleepytime juice (chamomille tea in a sippy cup) which seems to be helping somewhat. I think he has a very small window of being ready to sleep and then getting overtired and not being able to wind down. T-ball twice a week until 7:30 does not help. (Something to look forward too...if B continues with baseball and J takes it up, in 2 years we will be at the ball fields 4 nights a week. Thank goodness the season is only about 5 weeks.
I have continued to sort through things at the house. I have pulled over 45 articles of clothing from my closet...mostly stuff that has be picked up over the years or at second hand stores. I remember one piece of clothing I bought in 1993 and think I have only worn it once in the last 10 years. Now all of my clothes, summer and winter, hang on one rod about 4 feet long, sweaters, sweats and jeans on 2 shelves and then my t-shirts and shorts on 1 shelf. My goal the rest of the week is to tackle atleast 3 more rooms. Our bedroom and front entryway have stayed clean now for several days. Yeah. The book I picked up, for $5 at Family Christian bookstore, is "The House That Cleans Itself". Nothing earth shattering in it but some simple things I had never really considered. Her premise is make your house fit your behavior versus trying to get your behavior to fit your house. One point she makes about decluttering is that everything costs you time. Time to clean it, maintain it, put it away, move it to get what you want, etc. That will come in very handy when I get to the kitchen and purge. Tired of having things around just for the boys to pull out and me to pick up.
JR enjoyed camping this past weekend. I have been winter camping once and can say, I prefer a nice warm bed...but kudos to him for doing it. He loved it. If you can't quite fathom what it is like, check out the photos.


B had another t-ball game last night. Did fairly well despite 40 mile per hour winds. The previous game we played in sleet, although it lasted only a few minutes. The coaches are still having problems with some of the kids and listening. There seems to be fine line between them having fun but also trying to focus enough. He does have a very young team, but my hat off to the coaches...the exude patience.
Here is a few of JB that I love. The one of the two of us a friend from church took it that does photography as a hobby.