A to Z

Happy Birthday to My Joseph!

Amazing. Baby loving. Compassionate. Diaper changing. Engine building. Fun. Grease wearing. Honorable. Interesting. Joking. Kissable. Loving. Mud bogging. Neighbor helping. Open. Playful. Quiet. Relaxed. Sensitive. Truck driving. Understanding. Virtuous. Wonderful. X-tra large. Youthful Spirit.  ZZZ abandoning.

I love every thing about you...from A to Z!

In The Name...

Of the Father...

And of the Son...

And of the Holy Spirit...

Noah's baptism was this morning at the end of our church service.  I don't think Joe and I could have been any prouder as we watched our first born make his outward profession of faith.  I thought I would cry, but I didn't.  As much as I don't like to see my children growing up and away from me, this is one area where I am thrilled to see growth.  What more could I ask for than for my children to be growing closer to God?

But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and for ever. Amen.       2 Peter 3:18

Baptism

As many of you already know, Noah accepted Christ as his Savior a couple of months ago. This week he decided that he was ready to be baptized. He spoke with our Pastor this past Sunday and the baptism will be performed at the end of our church service Sunday May 30th.
This is an important step for Noah and we look forward to celebrating with him as he continues his journey of Christian life. I am aware that many of you have your own church obligations on Sunday mornings, but if you do not, we would love to have you worship with us and be there to see Noah's baptism. Worship service starts at 11:00 am and usually lasts until noon. This Sunday may be a bit longer since we will be including a baptism at the end of the service.
If you have any questions or need directions, I can be reached at 909-0232. You can also visit the Rice Patch Church website.

Wordless Wednesday

Graduation Night

Noah graduated from Kindergarten last night.  He looked so cute in his cap and gown and we were all so very proud of him.  I managed to keep the tears (mostly) at bay.  Pomp and Circumstance almost did me in..but I held it together!

After graduation, the family (all 16 of us!) went out to eat at Cracker Barrel (Noah's choice).

We had good food, lots of laughs, and interesting conversations.

 This morning, we slept in until nearly 8:00! 

YAY SUMMER VACATION!!!

Wordless Wednesday

 

Slow Down

Thursday is Noah's last day of school and as much as I am longing for the care free days of summer to be here, I just want to scream for time to "SLOW DOWN!" This school year went by way to fast and I am not ready for him to graduate Kindergarten yet. My baby can not be that old already.

Where did the past six years go? It seems like only yesterday that Joe was handing me our precious baby boy.

Can it really have been that long since I saw this beautiful face for the first time?

What happened? How did I let time get away from me?

I remember leaving the hospital and thinking that the nurses were crazy. They were letting us leave and we had no idea what we were doing! I can still feel every bump from that first ride home. I was sure that Noah was going to break before we got him home.

Now we are facing Kindergarten graduation and although I am not afraid that every little bump will break him, I still think those nurses were crazy. We still don't know what we are doing. I am trying to hang on to that little baby for as long as I can while trying to prepare him for the day that I have to let him go.

Mother's Day

It would be nice to write about what a pampered, rested Mother's Day that I had. Instead my day was filled to the brim with just being a Mother. Joe had to work today, so I got to spend my Mother's Day celebrating with the precious little boys that gave me that title. There were cute moments, as they badly wanted to give me a "Happy Day", but there were also the "I can't believe that just happened" moments as well.

To start with Jonah took one look as I was getting ready for church and informed me that my skirt made me look like a Grammy. Then I taught Sunday School with Micah sitting on my lap because he wanted nothing to do with anyone else. During children's church, Jonah ran up and down the aisle playing duck, duck, goose with the pews. After church Noah asked me where children without a Mommy lived. I explained about orphanages and he said, "When I live in an orphanage I am going to make Mother's Day cards for my teachers." Not if, but when!

I look back on the day and think it was pretty good. I mean Jonah loves his Grammy and so looking like one is probably a compliment in his eyes. Sure it was hard to teach Sunday School with Micah on my lap, but what greater joy than to know that your child gets comfort from you more than anyone else. It was not my finest moment when I had to chase Jonah down in church, but at least I had the option of taking my children to church this morning. In many parts of the world, Mothers do not have that right. Hopefully Noah will never have to live in an orphanage, but I am thankful that God has given me a compassionate child that not only cares about children with no Mothers but also Mothers with no children of their own.

So yes, it would have been nice to have a "ME" day. But I think that it was even better to have a "MOM" day. The best part is that I get to have one tomorrow as well!

10 Centimeters

My brother ad his wife came for a visit a couple of weeks ago. My boys L.O.V.E. love Uncle Tj and Aunt Holly and have a major case of hero worship when it comes to Uncle Tj. Everything Uncle Tj does is cool and has to be imitated. Take for example Noah's new buzz cut...he had to look like Uncle Tj.
This really does not bother me. I am not jealous of my brother's cool factor in the least. I am glad that my kids look up to him, I just wish that they would not repeat everything he says.
This time when my brother was home, he was privileged to be at the hospital when his sister-in-law gave birth to her first child. My brother was fascinated by the "board" on the wall that showed the progression of childbirth and was amazed that a woman's body was capable of doing such things. (I happen to think that ten centimeters is not large at all...have you seen the size of what has to come out of that ten centimeter opening?)
Unfortunately Noah was paying too close attention and now thinks it is appropriate to start a conversation with "Do you know how big ten centimeters is?" Of course my Mother-in-law happened to be the first one that he tried out his new line on. He even held out his fingers just like Uncle Tj had showed him to demonstrate the actual size of ten centimeters.
Thanks Tj....I owe you one.

Catching Frogs

My boys are all boy. They tend to catch all things slimy, scaly, furry, and wiggly. I usually tolerate it very well (except for chickens and snakes) and allow them to experiment to their heart's delight. My only rule is that they do not kill anything that can not harm them. My boys know that while we may play with all types of creatures and may accidentally love some of them to death, we never purposely harm an animal just for the sake of harming.
Today was my work outside the home day and when I got to the sitter's house to pick up the boys, Noah was upset. I could tell he was trying not to cry but he did not want to talk about what was wrong. It took a while before he finally opened up to me.

Me: Noah, can you tell me what is wrong?
Noah: (Sniff) Well, I was trying to catch a frog.
Me: (Thinking that maybe babysitter Aunt Dea is not as tolerant of creepy crawlies as I am.) Did Aunt Dea tell you that you had to stop?
Noah: No 'Mam.
Me: Then what happened? Could you not catch him?
Noah: (Sniff Sniff) No 'Mam, he wasn't fast enough.
Me: (very confused now) What? Don't you mean that you were not fast enough?
Noah: (crying now) No Momma! He was not fast enough!
Me: Noah, I am trying to understand. Tell me again what happened.
Noah: Well, I was trying to catch a frog and he was not fast enough....and he did not move out of the way when I was chasing him, and my big foot squashed his guts out!
Me: HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!
Noah: (thoroughly insulted) MOMMA!!!

Yes I am that mother that laughs at her child's distress. It was so far from what I was thinking that I could not help but to laugh. After a while Noah thought that it was pretty funny too and we both got a good laugh. Admit it...you laughed too.

Comfort

I don't feel good. My tummy hurts. Daddy fussed at me. I'm cold. My brothers are being mean to me. My toy broke. I feel like I am going to throw up. My skin itches. I'm sad. I'm sleepy. My head hurts. My throat is scratchy. I wanted to play with it. I don't want to go to bed. I miss you. I got a boo-boo.

The three word fix to all of these ailments?

Mommy, hold me!

Laughter

My kids make me laugh. Some of the things they come up with are just too funny. For example:

Jonah's reaction to trying asparagus at the dinner table last night..."I just can't like it!"

Noah asking me when we could roast mushrooms over the fire again. (Instead of marshmallows)

I love being a mother. It certainly adds a lot of laughter to an otherwise rather dull life.

Snakes

This is not what I wanted to see on my back steps this morning. I guess the snake season has officially begun.
Anna had been sitting on six eggs for a couple of weeks and this week something ate all six of them. Hopefully this was the culprit and we are not still looking for another snake! I guess I will have to wait and see if any more eggs disappear.

Embarrassment

I have been embarrassed many times in my life...mostly from my own doing. It had gotten to the point that I was so used to embarrassing things happening to me that I really didn't even get embarrassed anymore.

Then I had children.

To start off with, I worked this morning while Joe stayed home with the boys. Joe did not know how to wash the cloth diapers (isn't that convenient) so when I got home from work, I had to put them in paper diapers while we went to Wal-Mart. The kids are used to cloth now and do not wear paper except for emergencies. I say all of this because the only way I can explain what transpired today was that Jonah was wearing a different diaper and did not like the way it felt.

We were waiting in line to check out in (a very crowded) Wal-Mart with Jonah and Micah sitting in the cart when Jonah very loudly proclaimed..."I JUST PEEED!"

Me: Shhhhh! I will change you as soon as we get back to the car.
Jonah: MOMMA, I JUST PEEED!
Me: Shhhh!
Jonah: I SAID THAT I JUST PEEED!
Me: I know Jonah, lets try to be quiet and I will go change you.
Jonah: CHANGE ME NOW. I JUST PEEED!
Me: I can't change you now, we are in the middle of the check out line.
Jonah: CHANGE ME NOOOOWWWWW!!!!
Me: I can't.
Jonah: IT IS TOO TIGHT! I JUST PEED! CHANGE ME NOW!
(He now has his shorts down and is pulling at his diaper)
Me: Jonah sit down, your diaper is not too tight.
Jonah: MY PEE PEE IS GROWIN AND IT IS TOOOOO TIGHT!

Where did that come from? I was tempted to crawl under the candy rack. I can't begin to tell you the looks that I was getting. Of course as soon as I got him away from the crowds he forgot all about his diaper and was content to just sit in the cart with Micah.

It has been a LONG time since I have been that embarrassed. My dad says that a parent's goal should be to live long enough to embarrass their kids as much as their kids embarrass them. I think I am going to have to live a very long time to embarrass Jonah as much as he embarrassed me today. Then again, letting his first girlfriend (when the time comes) read this post just may do the trick.