ftmomma

Mama (in-law) said we'd have days like this

2010-03-10T18:46:00.001-08:00

After Ian was born, my mother-in-law, having raised two boys in the city of Columbus, wisely gave me instructions about how to get to the Children's Hospital ER calmly, and to save an extra garage token in my purse or car to make life less stressful on those inevitable trips. Apparently Matt had one year when they had to make 7 different visits.

In the past six years with our boys, I've made that trip several times now - sometimes for appointments/ scheduled procedures, twice for emergency reasons. Nothing serious has ever come of it, thank you God!

Today thankfully didn't end up with a trip to the hospital or urgent care, but the thought crossed my mind a couple of times. Usually the culprit/victim is Ian, but today it was Caleb. Early this afternoon he looked as though he hyper-extended his back falling in a play area - he was in pain for a few minutes, but then went back to playing normally. He only complained about it once since then. Then this evening he tried to ride big brother's skateboard down the driveway on his tummy, and ended up rolling over two fingers with the wheel. I'm used to the dramatic screaming over minor injuries, but I started looking closer when the scream sounded... different. There was a piece of our driveway that had punctured through the top of one of his nails and was stuck in there. Yeah - ow. I'd have probably been close to screaming myself if it had been me. The cold pack didn't calm him, bear blanket didn't calm him, a bath didn't calm him. I wrapped him up in a towel and just started rocking him, and Ian came in about then. He was such a good helper. He kissed Caleb and brought him Ibuprofen, he brought me the phone (Caleb wanted to talk to Daddy), he brought stuffed animals, he turned on quiet music, he wanted to hold Caleb while I went to get first aid stuff and applied it. Caleb was calmer then, so we decided to try to get some smiles out of him while waiting for Daddy to come home. I happened to have the camera close by:

(by the way, the chunk o' driveway eventually came out, and the finger is sore but on the mend.)

oh all right

2010-02-06T07:59:00.001-08:00

I'll just blog it. As if anyone ever sees this anymore... seeing as my blog fell asleep there for (quite) a while. But I have been sending some stories out this morning for a certain loved one who is feeling under the weather, so it's the easy transition back into keeping up with this blog - copy and paste. :-)

(Yesterday) I had a downright hilarious conversation with the boys over lunch. Ian asked me how many more days it would be until he could see the baby. I said, about 150. He looked shocked and said, "what? I thought we were going to get to see the baby and know if it was going to be a boy or girl sooner than that!" I realized he meant the ultrasound and told them that would be in about 20 days. He asked if we could make a countdown calendar for that and expressed again, as he often does, that he has a feeling he is going to get his way and get a baby sister. Then he said he wished we could just feel the baby through my belly and feel if there was a wee wee or not. I explained that even when the baby is really big inside me, that you won't be able to tell the body parts except maybe some of the big areas that have bone in them. He says, "but wee wees don't have bones in them do they? But they do have that hard stuff like sharks have in them right?" Okay, scientific question, scientific answer... "well no, not really. They do get hard sometimes but that is because of extra blood flow. They are unique that way aren't they?" "yeah. sometimes they get hard but they don't have bones. When I see skeletons I never see wee wee bones on them."

Mischevious smiles.

"That's true. Now put your pizza in your mouth."

:-)

>>>>>
Courtesy of grandma, we get a Ladybug magazine for the boys every month. They often include internet links for various stories, so yesterday with the snow burying us we got online and played around with several different things we hadn't taken the time to look at before. January's edition had a section about African drums in it.

We ended up here: http://www.ladybugmagkids.com/activities/games/play-drums
and then here:
http://www.pulsebeatmusic.com/index.html

If you go into the "media" section of that last link, you can see videos and listen to music. Well the boys and I were curled up on the couch listening, which is right in front of the sliding door and a good view of the yard. We were choosing which drum beats and tempos we thought went with the falling snow the best.

Turns out, we are at just the right combo of baby being able to hear certain things and react in utero, and the bones are hardening, so I can feel a lot more of those reactions. Baby likes the drum music!! The boys were tapping their own feet each with one hand on my tummy trying to feel what I was feeling - the littlest one tapping from the inside. So far Caleb is the only one who has actually felt some movement. Matt and Ian haven't yet had any luck.

Another baby on the way

2009-12-20T18:49:00.001-08:00

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Having fun in spite of sickness

2009-10-30T15:10:00.000-07:00

Our jack-o-lanterns:

All lit up:

While boys watch in the darkness and hear scary stories from daddy:

The following night, Iron Man made an appearance,

and Mario. The mustache lasted for about 10 milliseconds. :-)

trouble

2009-10-24T06:56:00.000-07:00

Lots of ingenuity + serious lack of judgement = trouble!

In our house on Saturday mornings we usually let our boys play together while we sleep in a bit. I am a light sleeper so I usually am aware of where they are in the house and what toys they are playing with, but I'm still dozing. We typically have no problems with this - they create crazy contraptions out of couch cushions or elaborate train tracks or sweet pictures with paper and crayon.

I wasn't sure what they were doing this morning, but I heard both of them laughing gleefully and having a great time, so I figured it was hot wheels cars on the trick tracks or something. WRONG.

Ian has figured out how to get up and get the things I put on the tip top of the bookshelf in the playroom. This is almost to the ceiling. He got down the aquadoodle sheet. It's a sheet that they can color on with water, and dries and is reusable. Pretty harmless. Except when they forego using the pens, and want to get the whole thing to turn dark blue. So they spread it out on the kitchen floor and proceed to dump "about 15 cups" of water on it. Or so I'm told. Then they run and slide through in order to spread it around.

We wised up when Caleb slipped and fell of course, bashing his forehead and proceeding to scream. It took Ian two beach towels and some parental assistance to get it all cleaned up. I asked him if at any point in the process he thought maybe what he was doing wasn't such a good idea. He said, "I didn't know water could damage the floor mommy." Well, now he knows. (Thankfully, it didn't do damage, because it was cleaned up in time)

In days to come, the boys will be staying in their beds looking at books until we are ready to go downstairs together! And, Ian gets to learn how to do the load of laundry with those beach towels in it later today.

First Day of School, New Wheels, and a Sandbox

2009-08-25T20:46:00.001-07:00

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2009-08-20T14:49:00.000-07:00

Some pics from the last day of our trip, spent at the Kentucky Horse Park...

Andalusian

Shire

Friesian

Arabian
Pony Ride

How they really felt

coerced smiles

The End

exhausto day

2009-08-19T19:17:00.000-07:00

Day 3 of our trip was probably everyone's favorite. We went canoeing on the Green River, through the national park. 7.5 miles, about 3 1/2 hours. I didn't take the camera for fear it would get wet. There was even a place to canoe into the caves a little way... we did and heard an animal in there with us... maybe a beaver? Ian was worried it was an octopus. :-) There were several times when the boys were totally silent in the canoe. We'd stop with our paddles and all just listen to the woods around us, floating along. It was so peaceful. They dangled their hands in the water and caught leaves and let damselflies land on their fingers. By the end we were all as filthy as we've ever been. Thank God for baby wipes (next best thing to a shower) because Matt wanted to go see Lincoln's birthplace.

Oh my it was cool! I doubt I can do it justice in words, but the main thing that struck me was the family Bible. It was huge - one with lots of commentary in it. It was VERY well used. The binding and the pages were all very worn. It just hit me - that was the actual Bible that Abe Lincoln's mother sat and read to him as a child. I pictured his very long fingers holding that big book. Above the display case was the quote:

“In regards to this great Book , I have but to say it is the best
gift God has given to man."

The original quote goes on to say: "All the good the Savior gave to the world was
communicated through this Book. But for it we could not know right
from wrong. All things most desirable for man's welfare, here and
hereafter, are found portrayed in it.”

Powerful stuff. I just stood there thinking about it while the boys built mini log cabins with Lincoln logs.

We walked around the grounds and Caleb decided to try pulling mommy in the wagon:

The sinking spring which the Lincoln family used as a water source:

Two exhausted kids... passed out (in the Courtyard Marriot we stayed in for $48... gotta love priceline!)

Vacation day 2

2009-08-18T11:32:00.000-07:00

The second day of our trip we took our last tour of the caves. It was the Historical Tour which begins with the beautiful natural entrance to the caves.

Right inside you find the site of a mining operation - people used to get saltpetre from the limestone and make gunpowder with it. You also find some graffiti. I took this shot of a 170 year old signature, because the guide mentioned that this person also owned another cavern, which Tom Sawyer explored. The boys are enthralled with the "Tom and Huck" stories their grandpa tells them.
It goes from huge high and open passageways all the way down to this tight squeeze:

A few times I noticed something fluttering about the cave... I decided to take a shot of the rock formations and then found right in the middle of the shot I had managed to capture the bat flying! (it's blurry but it's there) This was especially exciting for Ian "Batman" McElheny. :-)

On the way back out... everyone tired and hungry...

Out and on the way to lunch (the only bribery that worked to get them to pose like this):
The rest of the day was spent swimming and going to Dino World...

2009 Family Trip - Day 1

2009-08-17T18:31:00.000-07:00

We just returned last night from a 4 day family trip. We realized before we left that this was the first time for just the four of us. We've gone to the beach and elsewhere with one or the other set of grandparents, and done a lot of things locally as a family, but this was the first time for something like this.

It all began many months ago, when Ian came to me asking what the largest instrument in the world is. "Mommy, can we wikipedia it?" So we did, and it's a pipe organ. We learned a lot that day online and discovered that there is an underground pipe organ made with stalactites and stalagmites in the Luray Caverns in Virginia. We knew we were taking a break from a big vacation this summer due to home repairs that have had to happen (and some that still need to happen). So we were going to go see this pipe organ and make a mini-vacation out of it. Turns out it would have taken 7 hours to get there for only a 1 hour tour through the cave. So we will make that trek sometime in the future, when it is a halfway point to another destination (like the beach :-)

This time around we opted for the Mammoth Caves, because there were so many options for tours, and so many other things around that we were interested in doing. After about 5 hours on the road we were able to make it for an afternoon tour the first day. This was the "New Entrance" tour - which is a man-made entrance to the caverns, and began with a bus ride. It was a great way to introduce Ian to what his school bus will be like NEXT WEEK. (Good grief. My child is going to school next week. But I digress.)

On the way, Caleb was all decked out watching Peter Pan while his brother tried to nap.

Mommy and Ian on the bus - proof that I was actually there -
thanks Matt for taking over the camera! :-)

Daddy and Caleb on the bus.

The boys seemed interested, but mostly just wanted to go off the trail and go exploring through the caves rather than listen to the guide going over historical facts. I think it was hard for them to grasp why that wasn't allowed! Anyway they had their mission from grandma, to figure out the difference between a stalactite and a stalagmite, and they took that seriously. Ian also asked the guide how the caves got so big.

I did get some photos, but my forte is not low light... and it is really difficult to navigate these often narrow and slick passageways underground, towing a camera (no camera bag allowed), helping a little one the whole way.

a cave cricket

Frozen Niagra

Afterward we had pizza at the hotel and pool time and bed. The boys were very restless sleepers that night - Caleb had apparently swallowed some pool water, and was crying a lot about his tummy right before bed. He never did get sick but fell out of bed in the wee hours, and bit his tongue in the process. I helped him wash out his mouth and after that we all finally got a little more sleep.

proof that my children sometimes play nice

2009-08-17T07:12:00.000-07:00

I was in no way involved with this little set up. They sweetly decided to share both coloring book and crayons, sweetly offered crayons to one another before putting them back in the box, and I even overheard the words "I love you" pass between them. No, I don't know what special set of circumstances might possibly have caused this event to occur. I did not drug them. Maybe the constellations were aligned just right. Maybe they were at the exact moment of digestion that creates calm and happiness. Maybe the rain in Spain was falling on the plain.... who knows but it was nice, and I enjoyed it.

(Okay, they really do play nicely together usually for at least some portion of each day. I am very blessed that way. This was just a crazy example of unusual kindness and cooperation between them, that lasted for an unusual length of time.)

Discussions with Boys

2009-07-22T13:29:00.000-07:00

I have had people tell me I need to write down the funny and cute things my boys say. That's one of the reasons I started this blog, but I find it difficult to even recall all the things they say once I get a chance to sit down with the computer! But I have to try today...

Discussion with Caleb (age 3):
We were reading a zoo book and I was asking him to count the animals on each page. We come to the page about lions, and instead of just answering with a number, he says "two males and three females. Two plus three is five mommy. Let's check. One, two, three, four, five for goodness sake." Then every page his final count (including the page with 37 apples) was emphasized with "for goodness sake" and a huge smile.

Discussion with Ian (age 5):
He wanted to read a book of poetry while Caleb was asleep today. (yes, he napped! yay!) We read "Kindness to Animals". He's been pretending about killing a rabbit with a slingshot the past few days, and the poem mentions not hurting the "timid hare" so I took the chance to point that out. He wanted to know why... so I patiently explain that the Bible tells us it is our job to take care of the animals. He thinks for a second and says matter-of-factly, "but we can shoot them and eat them, right?"

Big Machines

2009-07-11T19:38:00.001-07:00

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more merged than ever

2009-06-21T10:35:00.000-07:00

I am actually going to blog.

Just thought I might need to preface it so no-one goes into shock. Yesterday Matt and the boys and I attended the Miami University Alumni weekend. We both went to school there, and because we married one another we are considered a "Miami Merger" - the third in my family if I count correctly. We'd never really had an interest in alumni weekend before but this year when we got the flyer saying they were trying to break the Guinness Book of World Records for the most couples renewing their wedding vows at one time, we started thinking about it. Then we found that many of our dear friends from IVCF were going to be getting together and that cinched it.

It was a blast! Despite all of us being hot and tired we had a great time. One of my favorite moments was renewing our vows. Matt already posted about some of the hoopla that was going on, so I just wanted to fill in my perspective on that moment. The boys were happy to have a shady place to sit for a few minutes, and I don't think they really understood what was going on but thankfully sat quietly anyway. That was especially good because as many parents will understand, I don't think I'd actually looked into my husband's eyes for at least 24 hours at that point if not longer. Somehow you are packing and loading and driving and eating meals and even sleeping next to one another, but there is so much to do you don't really even get to stop and notice the person who is next to you for all of it. So the mayor who was officiating the vow renewal says to join hands, and I look into Matt's eyes, and at that point it really didn't matter to me that there were a thousand other couples around us, or kids to be responsible for. Know what I mean?

Eight years ago (plus about a month) we stood in Kumler chapel on campus and exchanged vows the first time. Matt told some of our friends yesterday evening, he cried during that ceremony, but I cried during this one. Somehow saying the "in good times and bad" meant a lot more having actually lived it. I mean, we haven't had too many bad times, but I can look in Matt's eyes and relive so many moments - these are the same eyes that have truly seen me at my worst, and at my best as a wife and as a mother, and this man is totally committed to me and our family. He shows it in big and small ways every day, and I love and appreciate that about him. We were lamenting before we left for home late last night, how long the drive is from Oxford to Columbus and how tired we were. Both boys went to sleep right away, and we finally got a chance to talk about everything. That ride home went so quickly and was so enjoyable! I love that I have a communicative man. I truly enjoy our conversations. I am blessed to be married to my best friend.

I think that alumni weekend may become more of a tradition for us!

Happy Father's Day Matthew - I love you!

Daddy Pics

2009-06-11T21:23:00.001-07:00

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honesty

2009-05-06T19:42:00.001-07:00

I am praying these days for God to help me with my mouth. What I want is for gentle, but consistent, correction of my children. What I dish out, seems lately to be consistently less than gentle. These boys of mine can be so wonderful, and yet so maddening! They are normal kids, testing the limits and trying to gain independence, as they are meant to do. I have learned that I vent my frustration verbally, and it is not pretty. It is often the worst part of my feelings that comes out of my mouth - and the worst part of my feelings usually are not long-lived... so my words aren't even a good representation of my true feelings. I want to get better control of this so that my children will know my true feelings towards them. I do not want them to remember childhood as a time when mom was always exasperated with them. I do not want them to ever think that I value peace and quiet more than I value them. Some days I get it right and it feels so good to know that I have been gracious and demonstrated a little understanding towards my kids, even in moments of correction, and brought peace to my home. Other days I know that my kids needed correction but I delivered it in such a harsh way that it created more problems than it solved. I have been working on these issues for a long time and have gone through seasons of real improvement, but I feel like I've gone backward a little in this area lately and want to turn that tide. My heart's desire is to be a mom who guards her boys' hearts through love and understanding and truth-giving and fun. I also want to raise boys who understand how to be respectful of others and who know limits and can submit themselves to authority. I see in these two boys the sweetest little hearts. They can be rotten at times, no doubt (just like their mother) but the potential is there for extremely compassionate, thinking, loving people. I don't want to squash it! I never want to break their trust or damage our relationship with harshness. I already know that I cannot do this on my own. I have failed too many times for me to even think it is possible apart from God's strength. I desperately need His grace to be patient in moments that test my patience, to be gentle in moments when it is my tendency to lash out. And the worst part is it may feel good in/for the moment to say what is on my mind but it ends up just creating more stress and guilt! Using my mouth for my own stress relief is not what it was made for! God gave me words to build others up and encourage them, not for selfish gain.

Just being honest.

general musings

2009-04-23T18:24:00.000-07:00

Tonight I am fighting the typical monthly migraine and mulling over various things.

Such as, it is interesting how in some things others' opinions affect me so little, and in others, small comments can throw me for such a loop.

And various C.S. Lewis ideas and quotes

And what purpose God has for my eldest son's fiercely independent nature

And why vanilla ice cream with peanuts and chocolate is so darn good

And how it is that I was so very blessed to have a husband who is so good to me - returns the last minute library items and comes home with just the right ice cream for me - smears Vaseline on my boys' cracked hands - scrubs out their disgusting crocs - makes bathtime fun for kids when I am exhausted and have no fun left in me - forever lets me warm my frozen toes on him without complaint

you know, just stuff.

clingy at 3 1/2

2009-04-17T19:56:00.000-07:00

For some reason, Caleb has been suddenly struggling with separation anxiety. What??!! I don't remember him ever crying about being dropped off at church or preschool in his life. Suddenly both those things are issues, as well as me going out in the evening and leaving him with daddy, and even grandpa was given a hard time a couple of weeks ago! We even had a crying episode over me being in the basement doing laundry. What in the world? I'm not sure where this is coming from.

Although I haven't yet found myself annoyed about it. Mostly it is just sweet that he wants me! I don't want him to be sad though, so in that way I look forward to it getting better. As far as he knows I don't think it's cute. :-) I'm sure he picks up on more than I realize, but he's been told that he needs to be a big boy and not give people (teachers, daddy, etc.) a hard time. But I sure am taking the opportunity to give him some extra hugs and kisses. I just adore those chubby little arms around my neck.

I have found that it helps if Ian drops Caleb off in his preschool classroom rather than me. I give Little C hugs in the hallway and then they wrap their arms around each other and go on in to the room. Ian stays for a minute, gives hugs and kisses too, and then goes across the hall to his class. So sweet!

good day

2009-03-30T11:53:00.000-07:00

Well, today is Monday. Nuff said.

Yesterday however was a very good day. Matt taught a great lesson for our class at church. I was sleep deprived and I was still really into it. We are going through the book of Acts, but this lesson focused on a very short story in it, at the beginning of chapter 5, about Ananias and Sapphira. Basically a couple attempts together to deceive God. It is one of those short stories that has a lot in it to think about. We talked about what things we as couples can do to encourage each other or bring one another down. Whether there are any areas in our lives where we are in agreement with each other but not in agreement with God. (For example, television shows we enjoy together but that do not honor God, or times when we join together in negativity and allow that sort of atmosphere to fester in our homes) Many people shared honestly about things they struggle with. I felt that at the end of the lesson we'd all been given a lot to think about, and that we'd all been encouraged to invest something in our marriages this week.

After church I was finally able to get some much needed sleep - thank God for the really good earplugs! When I woke about 4 hours later it was to a sweet note from my hubby, a clean house, a clean desk, happy boys... wonderful! I got up and we made a family dinner - flat iron steak with a seriously divine red wine sauce, mashed potatos, asparagus with lemon pepper and olive oil, and strawberry ice cream with chocolate chips for dessert. YUM.

Matt got the boys cleaned up and then fixed my dryer while I finished putting two soft snuggly guys to bed.

Today I am just trying to focus on the sunshine and all the good things from yesterday...

Amazed

2009-03-17T17:49:00.000-07:00

I am amazed at the questions a five year old can come up with... I mean... this is just the partial list from today:

What will happen when all the people in the world die?

Why did God create all the things in the world?

How do moms and dads fix it so they don't have babies?

(I sense an impending discussion of how babies are made in the first place...)
(And why oh why, isn't it ever when Daddy is home that these whoppers are dealt out???)

Pictures from Beth

2009-03-15T20:38:00.001-07:00

22 pictures
View Album at Shutterfly

Birthday Poem

2009-03-01T06:10:00.001-08:00

This was written for me and my sister (whose birthday is a week earlier than mine) by my 10 year old cousin, Veronica. I just love her!

        Today today,today is your birthday
       with ice cream and cake that has to be baked,
       Today is your birthday a good birthday.
       Blow out your candles I got you sandals,
       Today is your birthday an exciting birthday.
       Open your gifts I will give you a lift (to the top of your presents),
       Today is your birthday a great birthday.
       Say good-bye to the guests and take time to catch your breath,
       Today is your birthday a happy birthday.

Dedicated to my mind and my family.:-)  :-)

mommy moment

2009-02-18T11:50:00.000-08:00

It seems that my boys are going to do some things according to their own developmental stages, and some things they will just learn together. Caleb has been of course present for much of Ian's attempts to read books on his own. He watches as Ian sounds things out and puts it together into words. This has been a much slower process than I ever expected with Ian - just because he's been so into books and so verbal from a very young age. I thought he would be reading on his own by now. But I've mentioned before how much he is in a hurry for life... and he is in a hurry for the story to progress too when reading. Sounding things out takes too long, and he gets impatient to find out what will happen in the story. But, it's been coming along lately and he's been doing more and more on his own. Caleb walked into preschool this morning and started sounding out the words written on the classroom doors: "Bear" "Fish". He just came up to me with a board game and asked me to help him read the words on the box. I did no different than I do for Ian - pointed to the letters and let him sound them out on his own. My three year old just figured out the words "spider man memory game" on his own.

Now I feel a little self conscious sometimes when I point out my own kids' accomplishments... I wonder if it seems boastful. But you know what, I have decided that whatever it makes me look like to others, I am proud of my kids! I am thankful for them! I am thankful for the blessing that they are healthy and bright! Today I am excited to discover that Caleb is starting to read. Hey if I am going to stay at home and mother these boys full time, for goodness sake I am going to take the joys when they come and focus on it when I get to be a part of special moments - right now my little guy has bright eyes and a big smile - he feels good about himself being able to do something he's seen big brother do. Yay!

Milestone

2009-02-16T09:35:00.000-08:00

Here he is... our first toothless moment. Swallowed with a bite of apple. Oops! He is as happy about it as he looks. :-)

A Samuel Update

2009-02-16T06:56:00.000-08:00

I just sent the following out to some at our church. I haven't seen any other online updates for a while so I thought I'd post.

Hello all - I spoke with Leyla yesterday and wanted to share an update - the doctors are preparing them that Samuel will be coming home in the next 2-3 weeks! They are evaluating him in 2 weeks to determine if he will come home with a g-tube or not. They would like to see him be more consistent on his feeds. They are saying that he will likely be on the oxygen at home for several months yet. Leyla is trying to wean off some of the pumping so Samuel will take bottle feedings from the nursing staff. Crystal is doing much better since seeing the latest pictures of Samuel - check out Greg's blog if you didn't see those yet. What a smile!
So continue to pray for Samuel's progress. Every time Leyla is there Samuel's stats improve. His breathing slows, he relaxes, he feeds better. He is ready to be home with mama, dada, and those loving big sisters!
Thanks all,
Beth

Finished!

2009-02-12T13:01:00.000-08:00

I am just so glad this is done... allow me to give you the tour... (because even if you might stop by at some point, I'm pretty sure it will never be THIS clean again)

almost done...

2009-02-10T17:43:00.001-08:00

This morning we went to preschool, and came back to major progress on the project. We won't be able to use the shower still for another day, but I will be so relieved to have it done!!! Thanks to Brad and Jayme for the use of your shower today.

I have to say - it is so refreshing to find someone who takes pride in their own work - in doing the best they can do. We've had quite a few folks come in who just wanted to get their job done as quick as possible and get out. That has not been the case with this project.

Half Way:

Almost done...

mid-way

2009-02-09T19:01:00.000-08:00

It is hard to take pictures in this bathroom! It's a long narrow room. The tub is gone... yay! The insulation behind it was sopping wet, and full of mold and (eeeew) bugs. I am still cringing and grossing out over that one. Thankfully I didn't have to deal with them myself, I just got to hear about it later. The floor underneath was very wet, but thankfully still solid. It's being left open for now to dry out. Bleach will be sprayed, and then the rebuild begins tomorrow.

And, just because I had the camera out... a certain cutie pie was hamming it up.

bathroom repairs

2009-02-09T12:01:00.000-08:00

Our tub/ shower has to be replaced due to leaking... thought I'd document with some before/ during/ after shots. This has been a long time coming - we've been through some different repairmen and tried more temporary fixes in the past several months... We are really hoping that this does the trick!

Our major clues we had a problem were the wall next to the shower and the light fixture in the hallway below. It became a more urgent problem when the water started dripping out around the light fixture onto the first floor hallway floor every time the shower was used.... fun times. Some press n seal and duct tape held us over until now with that particular problem.

Pretty, isn't it? Ugh.

And while we're at it... Caleb for some reason CANNOT work this faucet, which has become a problem as he is finally now not using pull ups overnight, and usually is up before 6 to go. Which means I have to be up to help him wash his hands. Have I mentioned I am NOT a morning person?

Here's the whole thing... rather messy, but it's our only full bath and well, these are the before pictures. They aren't supposed to be pretty.

While I'm at it, I might as well show you what the room looked like when we first moved in. These are my parents helping Ian have a bath when he was about 9 months old. Unfortunately you can't see the nasty black plastic base"boards" and the old vinyl flooring which was shrinking away from the wall revealing the sub flooring.

The moral of this story: the McElheny family will NEVER again be purchasing a "fixer-upper" home if we ever move!

Disaster Averted

2009-01-29T13:23:00.000-08:00

Main Disaster Averted Today: Clorox toilet wand came off the end of the stick, floated up inside the P trap rather than up in the main bowl. Shocked that this was even possible. Now deathly afraid of using these lovely little things ever again... Brainstormed about possible retrieval methods. Finally resigned myself to the worst: Own hand gloved, bread bagged, and duct taped, fished up in there to get it - couldn't even touch it... consulted the father figure, tested whether or not water could get through by pouring some in the bowl, determined it could move, and flushed. It went through!!!! Thank God!

Hopefully my next post will be about something less disgusting. :-)

Asparagus

2009-01-21T05:25:00.001-08:00

I have two wonderful little sous chefs in my house. The other night they helped me prepare pork chops, noodles, and asparagus. Ian prepared the noodles almost totally on his own. All I did was choose the pot, turn on the burner, and show him which line his measurements were at.

Caleb had fun snapping the ends off the asparagus and turning the pepper grinder.

In hindsight, I'm a little amazed, that a three and five year old would help fix, and both EAT, asparagus.

Especially since when I was that age, I used to go out in my parents' garden and kick the asparagus down because I couldn't stand it. Yeah. I didn't let confess that one until adulthood...

I know, I don't blog for long stretches, and then I post about asparagus. :-)

a reflection on motherhood

2009-01-10T21:31:00.000-08:00

I think that hospitals should stop giving new moms those little black diaper bags. A more practical gift would be a hazmat suit, nose plugs, and a power-washer.

Christmas Cheer

2008-12-24T09:11:00.000-08:00

I've been meaning to post a couple of things, which I will now roll into one. Just before Thanksgiving the boys and I went to a discount grocery store, then on to Krogers to get the remaining items we needed. Ian was asking me some questions about why we went to the two stores - about money - who has it, who has to shop at discount stores, trying to categorize our family somehow. I asked him if he had ever gone hungry - no of course not. I explained that there are some families out there that don't have nearly as much as we do. Some go hungry, don't have a safe or warm place to live, aren't healthy, etc. I said we need to be thankful for what we have.

A few minutes of silence from the back seat (thinking) and then he says, "Mommy, sometimes I feel like the special-est boy in the world."

A short week or two later, we were back at the store again and we passed by the Salvation Army bell-ringer on our way out. I gave the boys some change to put in the bucket, they got a sucker, and we went on our way. Ian wanted to know more about what that red bucket was for, so I explained.

Remember the lemonade stand he did last summer, during Caleb's potty party?

Well sometime mid-December he pulled out the tray table again, and made this sign:

He taped on his Polar Express bell, got an empty ice tea mix container from me and asked for a hole in the lid.

He put a flashlight up to himself and sat in the window, ringing his bell. I had to explain that people weren't going to come up to the door in the ice and snow the same way they came over when he was at the end of the driveway with his lemonade stand. But, his daddy and I put some coins in there, and left it at that.

Well the next week at preschool one of his teachers, Miss Julie, did a lesson on the Roman census. She gave each child a coin and had them come down the hallway to her, to "Bethlehem", to pay their "tax" and be counted in the census. Because of the coins, the story came up about Ian's salvation army bucket. Miss Julie was impressed with him, and started telling the other teachers about what he was doing. She asked him to bring his bucket in. So, the next time we went he made an announcement to all the teachers at the morning meeting (this was a sacrifice for him - sometimes he acts like he wants to be the center of attention, but that was more than he had bargained for!) and put his bucket in the lunch area.

For a couple of weeks he was telling everyone he visited with about his "salvation army" that he had set up.

The other day he decided that the bucket was getting pretty heavy, and that it was time to take it in. He wanted to put every coin and dollar in individually -

$31.99 of coins and dollars later - he shook Sandra's hand and rang the big bell himself, and we came home.Regardless of whether he started out his project with a full understanding of what it meant (I doubt it) it was heart-warming for us to watch him, with help*, stumble onto the secret of "giving is more fun than receiving". We hope that he will always remember the way he felt when he made his donation, and that he'll come to understand even more as he grows. I just wanted to share this story to hopefully warm some other hearts as well. I hope that you all are able to rest and enjoy the true meaning of Christmas this season!

*Thank you Julie, Sandra, Grandma Nancy, and everyone else who contributed!

Surgery Successful!

2008-12-23T15:28:00.000-08:00

I am shouting from the proverbial online rooftop here... Samuel came through his surgery great! Leyla said she was so excited she could dance... that this marks the beginning of her boy's recovery! She is focusing on the word "recovery" and is looking forward to a good night's sleep after this exhausting day.

I'll leave the medical details to Greg's blog but couldn't help posting good news and answered prayer.

surgery

2008-12-22T11:09:00.000-08:00

UPDATE - correction - the surgery will be sometime after 7 tonight. Samuel is stable - the doctors have just decided that he is ready for the surgery! So - things are not as dire as we thought - but prayer is still needed. The surgery is expected to take 2 hours or more, so it will be a long night.

One very positive thing: Greg was able to hold Samuel today!

As a mom who has had to hand her child over for surgery for something very minor in the past, I can only imagine that feeling 100 times stronger in this situation. I am praying for peace that passes understanding - peace that replaces fear in Greg and Leyla's hearts.

I'm sure Greg's blog will have an update later on.

update and reminiscing

2008-12-14T20:30:00.000-08:00

Samuel is doing a little better today praise God! You can read more specifics on his Daddy's blog. We were able to go and visit him today. Leyla and Greg needed to rest and recuperate at home and have some family time, so we went to be with Samuel and to pray over him just for a short time. I have heard him called many things in the past few days - gorgeous, an angel, a fighter, a warrior... all true. He really is sweet. Soft, precious, lots of thick dark hair. We felt the peace of God there in the room with him. Just after we prayed a chest x-ray was taken, and the thought occurred to us - it will be interesting to see the results of that just after prayer - ours and everyone else's. In any case we are hopeful for him that he will continue to show signs of improvement as he has been doing.

This situation has got me thinking. I was remembering this morning about sitting at the dinner table in Greg and Leyla's house, almost 6 years ago. Greg and Jen and I had just finished helping to put up a border in the new nursery, since Leyla's ankle was severely sprained. None of us yet had children - Leyla was growing round with Crystal inside. It was all new to all of us, and exciting, and Leyla was describing some of the physical sensations she'd experienced before taking her pregnancy test. I remember taking a bite of pizza and listening to her words and realizing, hmmmm... everything she's saying is how I feel right now.... and sure enough we soon found out that Ian was on the way. I remember how excited she and Greg were for Matt and I when they found out, and how Leyla would take my hand as she got even closer to her due date and let me feel Crystal's movements, both of us sharing the excitement of anticipating our firstborn babies.

I remember sitting on the edge of the hot tub late at night at a church women's retreat a couple years later, Leyla by my side telling me that she was expecting Jasmine. Then one Sunday morning when she and Jen, with very round tummies, were going from class to class giving some kind of announcement, and Matt timed his news that we were expecting again just perfectly so they could be there to hear it. I remember how they both ran/waddled over to me with excitement and hugs.

I remember a shopping expedition with Leyla a while back, when she shared with me that she and Greg were hoping for #3... and many many months later a phone call to tell me that finally the test was positive! I remember being at the beach some weeks later and Matt checking his e-mail and calling to me from out on the deck, "guess who is going to have a boy!!!" and I knew that Greg and Leyla's prayers were answered.

I have always felt warmth and welcome in Leyla's presence. She carries with her a joy and a hearty laugh, a fantastic accent (Puerto Rican) and plenty of spunk. She was one of the first women at the church to welcome me and make me feel a part of things. I hurt for her now that she is hurting so much. I long for her to be able to hold her long-awaited son, to rock and sing to him. But at the same time I feel that we've shared together in miracles past, and that it is an honor to be included in her life now and in what God is doing through and for Samuel. We don't yet know the outcome, but I do know He is working.

My prayer tonight is for strength. Strength for little Samuel, strength for Leyla both physically and emotionally, and strength for Greg as he tries to meet the needs of his family and keep going himself as well.

update - Baby Samuel

2008-12-12T09:59:00.000-08:00

I just spoke with Samuel's Daddy. Right now he is still at Children's in critical condition. He is on the "severe side" of this condition, but there are some pluses. He is 7 pounds 11 oz, and his heart is healthy. The diaphragmatic hernia is on the right side of his chest and his liver is moved up through to the lung's position. He is on a ventilator right now - was switched to an oscillator ventilator overnight and was responding better to that this a.m. The doctors are cautiously optimistic at this point, saying it may take days or weeks to wean him off his ventilator and then they will perform surgery to correct the defect. He is not out of the woods yet though. His two big sisters have not been able to visit him because visitation is currently limited to parents and grandparents. Greg said that things were very rough last night - that he was blue on the table after delivery and it took a full minute to get him breathing at all. He said that he looks like an angel from the outside you wouldn't be able to tell that anything is wrong.
Specific prayer requests are that Samuel has enough lung tissue to survive, and that he will continue to respond well to his ventilator and be able to come off it to have the surgery.

I am off to visit with Leyla now.
Thanks and keep the prayers coming!

Baby Samuel

2008-12-12T08:16:00.000-08:00

Hi - if you are reading this and are a person who prays - please pray for my friend Leyla, her family and especially her baby Samuel. I just received this message:

Samuel was born last night @ 7 PM. He has a diaphragmatic hernia in where there's an abnormal opening in his diaphragm that is causing little or no air flow to the lungs. He is at Children's Hospital in critical condition. Apparently, the doctors are preparing the family that he may not survive. This is a very rare condition that occurs once in 250,000 births. Please pray for wisdom and guidance for the doctors as they treat baby Samuel. Pray for the Finzer family as they seek to find God's strength and peace through all of this.

New Pictures

2008-11-14T13:56:00.000-08:00

If you'd like to see my father-in-law's shots of Ian and Caleb's birthday party you can view them here.

The other little cutie you see is my munchie nephew Zane. I love him. I mean, how could you not?
Thanks Dad Mc!

Happy Birthday Ian

2008-11-02T17:55:00.000-08:00

I can't hardly believe it. My Ian Michael is five years old tomorrow. I have been a mom for five years. It's been quite the rollercoaster and adventure. Five years ago at this time Matt and I were practicing some coping mechanisms for the labor - which wasn't expected for another three weeks. In the middle of our practice session came the first "real" contraction. I told Matt that I would try to go to sleep, but if I couldn't, I'd wake him up in a little while. Needless to say, I did not ever get to sleep that night. I was not very uncomfortable for several hours - more excited and disbelieving than anything. Once I started really experiencing pain I went to wake Matt up. We got to the hospital at 4:15 and Ian was born at 6:15. He has been just as eager to delve into life ever since. I mean, this kid eats with one leg sticking out sideways from his chair, ready to jump up and blast off at 90 miles an hour again.

Matt and I were just discussing yesterday what a difficult baby Ian was for us. He'd cry for at least an hour predictably every night for the first couple of months. He did not sleep for more than three hours at a time for many many months. But we didn't know any comparison - it was our first experience at parenting. Little did we know that it really can be much easier! I think I had some postpartum depression as well. Every night it would get dark earlier and earlier and I would know that the rest of the world was getting cozy and going to sleep and that I would be up with this screaming baby getting no sleep. With no end in sight. I was totally in love with my fuzzy headed little screamer, and feeling like I was finally doing what I'd always been meant to do, but I also felt like I was never going to sleep again. It was a strange and overwhelming mix of emotions.

If only I could have peeked into the future five years. If I could have seen this little man who helps me cook and do laundry. Who frequently requests a comb so he can brush my hair at night. This boy who will listen for as long as I can read to my beloved "Little House on the Prairie" books and then race off to imagine himself driving horses to plow a field. This one who who plots and plans for weeks about what he's going to do at grandma and grandpa's house on his next visit. He surprises me all the time with what he's got on his mind, what he can do, the very big boy he is becoming. I love to talk with him and just hang out together. And I love that he sleeps all night now. :-) We both need it with his boundless energy during the day!

Happy Fifth Birthday Ian!

"... since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you and asking God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all spiritual wisdom and understanding. And we pray this in order that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and may please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, and joyfully giving thanks to the Father..."
Colossians 1:9-12

a quote from Mr. Caleb

2008-10-20T20:48:00.000-07:00

"Mommy, you're so pretty I just can't stop looking at you" - he says with a big grin while sitting next to me eating dinner. I am in Such Big Trouble. Mr. three-years-old has been behaving like a three year old. (Go figure.) And then he says these sorts of things to me. With the big blue eyes and the long lashes.

Oh, and Mr. Ian got x-rays at the dentist the other day. Very large permanent teeth are on their way in, as well as six year molars. I checked today, and sure enough, there is just a little wiggle on one of the front bottom teeth. I am so not ready for this.

When did they get so big? And how is it that I am so old that I say things like that?

Go Bucks!

2008-10-11T16:47:00.001-07:00

Okay, so it wasn't that exciting of a game, except that I was there! Thanks Nana, Mac, and Mom and Dad McElheny. We had a fun time. It was my first time to be in Horseshoe Stadium and of course I absolutely loved seeing the band. It brought back a lot of fun memories for me, a former "band nerd". Five years of marching band - clarinet in case you're wondering - senior year as a field commander. It means something special to see the show when you know how hard that band has worked! They really are the best... in the land!

The football was good too. :-) And the overpriced hot dogs and nachos as well, of course.

So far Ian has done well with the new clock method of keeping some kind of a reasonable wake up time. He usually is up with lights on to use the potty before 7, and therefore I am up for the day (light sleeper). But he goes back in his bed until 7 then. Caleb doesn't get it. He knows he is supposed to wait until Ian says it's okay, but so far that hasn't translated from knowledge to action. Plus he has to go potty before 7 as well, and still needs my help with that. I don't think that it's actually going to work - at least not in training them to sleep any longer than they normally do. But maybe it will establish a better boundary about when they can come in anyway. I'll keep working on it. I am still dreading the time change. Again, other ideas are welcome.

Well, that's it for now - Go Bucks!

sleep woes

2008-10-09T12:11:00.000-07:00

It appears that my now three year old is giving up his naps. Today is the second day in a row, and he has been fighting off some kind of bug as well. I don't quite know why he's not sleeping, but I am feeling very protective of my afternoon break at the moment!

I really shouldn't complain because my almost five year old still naps a couple times a week, and I know that is unusual. When he's not napping he's pretty good at staying in his "quiet time" room for an hour or more. Most days anyway.

However Caleb does not enjoy alone time the way Ian does. He wants to be with people all the time. So if he gives up his nice long nap... I suspect my break may be seriously threatened. Ugh. Good thing he's so precious and fun to be around. Some days it is really apparent why little children are so cute. They need to be. Or we wouldn't put up with nearly as much from them. :-)

Both boys have also been getting up at 6 a.m. if not earlier. Moms (or anyone else reading this) I am open to suggestions here! We had a family "chat" last night and came up with the idea of putting a clock in there and letting Ian be the "gatekeeper" by watching for 7 a.m. to come around before anyone is allowed out of their bed. I haven't been out to buy the clock yet, but hopefully this evening I'll be able to so we'll see if it works. I am really concerned about the upcoming time change. For most people the time changes work the opposite way. You get an extra hour of sleep in the fall, and have to get up an hour earlier than usual in the spring. For most moms I suspect it is the opposite (it is for me) because your child's internal clock doesn't shift. So if they normally get up at 6 a.m., now all the sudden it's only 5 a.m. on the clock when that little face shows up next to my sleeping head. My boys have the most adorable faces on the planet in my opinion. But even I do not want to see those little faces next to a clock showing 5 a.m. Please help if you know how! We have always allowed our kids to come in our bed for snuggling first thing in the morning. For the most part we have good sleepers and this has always been a welcome way to start the day. I am not ready to give that up, even though our queen size bed seems to be shrinking these days. I realize at some point this will have to stop. I can't let a 16 year old climb in there with us (and surely he won't want to then), but when? And how? What is the transition? Did I mention I am not ready to give this up?

In all of my fretting and whining I have to relay this conversation I am overhearing up the stairs:

"Caleb, would you like to join my quiet time little bubby?"
(gasps) "Oh sure! Thanks for asking me!" (hard to convey his disbelieving enthusiasm here)
"Okay, here you go, come on in"

They have been playing very sweetly since that point. Preschool helps these two to get along tremendously. Ian is much more into having his little brother around after he's been able to play with kids his own age for a few hours.

I must go and clean floors now, so we can get out and enjoy this beautiful day afterward. I will look forward to putting these two napless guys to bed early tonight!

Why you should always give your toddler a utensil before bringing the cake to the table

2008-10-01T04:29:00.000-07:00

Caleb's birthday gift this year:

Crazy boys enjoying the little car:
(btw, this thing is REALLY well designed for a 3 year old!)

I have no idea why this pic keeps getting rotated or how to fix it, but here you are. You get the general idea. If you care. :-)

Happy Birthday Caleb

2008-09-29T23:21:00.000-07:00

It's hard to believe that my littlest boy is turning three in a few hours. Three years ago right about this time I was going to bed. When I am expecting I have a lot of contractions from about the mid-point on, and I know I was that night as well, but nothing unusual. About 2:15 a.m. I woke up with labor happening fast... he was born at 4:15! By that point I was surely ready though - it was the most pregnant I'd ever been. Ian came 3 weeks early, and we'd been in the hospital with Caleb a few times before the "real deal" (which was one week early from the projected due date). I was one of those women that walked around 4 centimeters dilated for 2 weeks. Ugh. Those extra two weeks at the end were tough. They were extra to me anyway. I really feel for those women who go past their due date!

Look at this pouty face. He still makes the same one.

I am so thankful for cameras. This is one of the most amazing and special moments of any mom's life: finally getting to look into the eyes of the one you've been wondering about for months. We did not know if he would be a boy or girl until the delivery, and it was so fun to finally get to see this little face. I was in love with him when he was inside me, and here is the moment that I was falling in love even more:

8 pounds 9 ounces of joy came into our lives that night/morning and he has been a joy every day since. Now don't get me wrong. He's turning three. He is a normal boy. There have been messes. There has been drama. There has been willful defiance. But mostly, lots of laughter, dancing, hilarious comments, the softest skin you can imagine, and tons of warm snuggles. Caleb is a delight to me! Happy Birthday sweet little boy! And don't rush this growing up thing as much as you did coming into the world!

"... since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you and asking God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all spiritual wisdom and understanding. And we pray this in order that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and may please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, and joyfully giving thanks to the Father..."
Colossians 1:9-12

just chatting

2008-09-23T11:59:00.000-07:00

Since the last post I've made a delicious apple clafouti with homemade whipped cream - YUM... plan to make apple pie, maybe apple bread... definitely will be bringing lots of apples to preschool on Thursday to share with co-teachers. Anyone nearby - you are welcome to them! Come over and pick as many as you want!

Preschool is going SO WELL this year. I get to teach with two great ladies - one I've known for years through church and one is new - both are easy to work with and attentive to the kiddos and it is very enjoyable. I am in a room with slightly older kids this time and they are great kids. Also it helps to have been there for a year and a half. I started out actually knowing how to teach the kids from day one about sitting in a circle and listening for their name to be called. I am much more relaxed and have not yet had a headache yet this year! That is really saying something compared to last year. However the two rooms next to me are filled with cryers - separation anxiety through the roof. You can hear them screaming and carrying on literally the whole four hours. I so feel for those poor teachers. When you leave a room like that you have no reserve left for your own kids, you have no energy, you just feel helpless and depleted. I am so thankful for each of my many boys and my few little girls this year! I realize it is possible that God gave my boss an insight to me - knowing how much I can (and can't) handle, and that there are other teachers more CAPABLE to handle those crazy rooms - and that is OKAY with me. I just want these little ones to at least hear their Bible story and to know how much God loves them by how I interact with them, and if I am at my wits end all day this is much less likely to happen! This year I think those things will be communicated every day and I am really happy about that.

Well I have a non-napper boy upstairs so I might as well take advantage and go to the grocery store. If only you could get a public service announcement of the days when a nap is going to fail miserably. Then I wouldn't even try. I'd just not even bother coming home after preschool and get the other errands done and look forward to putting him to bed early at night. Oh well. Such is the life of a mother to an almost-three year old! One week from today to be exact! I am really hoping that turning three will be a big motivation for him to get back into the swing of things with the potty - he was doing so great for a couple of months and he seems to be falling off the bandwagon a bit. I think there's a growth spurt in process but even so the amount of pee I'm cleaning up is a bit... ridiculous. The worst is the shoes. Oh the shoes!!! I suppose I should just get him another pair of crocs that fit for his birthday - they were so easy to clean. Anyway... off to the store...

apple harvest

2008-09-20T18:50:00.000-07:00

Bounty from our tree:

Oh, and every seed I sow
Will grow into a tree.
And someday there'll be apples there
For everyone in the world to share.
Oh, the Lord is good to me.

Oh, here I am 'neath the blue, blue sky
Doing as I please.
Singing with my feathered friends
Humming with the bees.

I wake up every day,
As happy as can be,
Because I know that with His care
My apple trees, they will still be there.
The Lord's been good to me.

Making applesauce with grandma (about 10-12 quarts so far?):

POWER

2008-09-16T19:58:00.000-07:00

Ahhhhh.... we have electricity here finally. It went out Sunday about 2 p.m. in the windstorm, and is just now back on. It was kind of fun the first night. Other than the boys adjusting to finding potties in the dark (they both missed at first). They like to make shadow puppets with the flashlights, and they love to be read to by flashlight also. We have a crankable emergency radio and found some Pink Floyd to dance around to. Flashlights can create a nice disco effect! The second night was not so fun. By then we were out of hot water and had thrown out tons of groceries. I HATE to waste food. I had just gotten a new refrigerator too and stocked it up Saturday. Argh. We'd also taken some food over to Matt's parents' and did some laundry (remember the missing the potty thing). Today we started out going to the emergency ice place and to buy batteries for the waning flashlights. Home Depot was out of the batteries we needed. We came home and ate the same turkey and cheese sandwiches we've been having for days out of the cooler. Then yard work, then a trek back to the in-laws for hot showers. The third night (tonight) was really starting to get to us but then - praise God - I heard the little blips of noise from everything and we are back up and running.

Thankfully we did not have any real damage to speak of at our house. We had several neighbors dealing with trees in their roofs and things flying around the yard but we only lost a few medium size branches. Also the weather is perfect. Even without power for so long we were still comfortable - not too hot or cold. I think I even slept better than usual with it being so very dark.

I am so happy to be able to put away the coolers and to COOK real food tomorrow and to have hot water and showers and clean dishes. Let the laundry and vacuuming begin! Didn't think I'd ever say that but I will be appreciating it tomorrow anyway.

100th post

2008-09-09T11:28:00.000-07:00

Woo hoo - I've blabbed online 100 times. That is kind of hard to believe. I feel like I'm never on here. But presently I have a new workspace (IKEA rocks) and I am enjoying getting things done in it!

We started preschool this morning. My class of 10 has 8 boys. Previously it's always been 2 or 3 boys and the rest girls. Maybe I am destined to be surrounded by boys. It sure is fun. There is never lacking in the areas of adventure, fun, noise, and general wildness. Did I mention noise? I think I am preemptively taking Tylenol before I go in next Tuesday (this week is our open house time, next week the parents will actually drop these little men off and entrust them to us.) I may even employ the use of my magical orange earplugs. Just kidding. I think.

So, since I mentioned IKEA, I might as well give you the rundown for those who've never been. It was unlike any store I've ever been in. My husband couldn't stand it. It is a store for people who enjoy shopping - also smart shoppers - you have to be pretty on your game and self-sufficient in there because there is SO MUCH to see and it's mostly all self serve. We were there for four hours. (Matt's idea of fun shopping is a bit different - he'd prefer less maze, fewer people, and about 3.5 hours less. But he was a trooper. I felt loved.) We started in the very inexpensive and kid friendly restaurant. Then Matt and the boys trailed along with me looking at things for as long as they were having fun - which was about an hour maybe. Then they went to get balloons made by the clown on stilts and went to the car and fell asleep. I ended up with pretty much everything I needed for the workspace I have been wanting to set up, for less than $400. I have a new desk, chair, filing cabinet, accessories, lighting, and a couple of random cutting boards for that amount. Great prices! I also found it was pleasantly geared toward women. I was able to get all the boxes off the shelves on my own (smart packaging) and set everything up on my own as well once we got it home. Tips for other families (I had a friend who gave me some of these and I found it very helpful):

- go online ahead of time and get an idea of what you're after.
- eat first. you need to start out energized!
- it helped me to focus on one room at a time. I saw a ton of things that gave me ideas for other rooms, but was able to keep from being overwhelmed by just sticking with the one room. Maybe that's because I had so much I needed to get for that one room though.
- if you have kids, take them with you through the showrooms for a while, then utilize the kidspace because you can only drop them off for a limited time (we didn't do this, but I could see how it would be the only way if there wasn't a second adult to care for the kids) Then they might have some reserve left for you to finish up your shopping and get through the line.
- follow the arrows.
- write down the item numbers and info on everything you like and take the papers with each display you like - you may never find it again! And you can go online and order some things later.

Hope this helps someone, I personally can't wait to go back.

does prayer really work?

2008-08-27T20:05:00.000-07:00

And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise him up. If he has sinned, he will be forgiven. Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective. Elijah was a man just like us. He prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the land for three and a half years.

James 5:15-17 (NIV)

There is a blog I've been following for some time (thanks M, for posting about it) that has been a tremendous blessing to me. If you have the time grab a box of tissues and read from the beginning. If not, the blogger's husband has conveniently just posted and it includes a bit of a recap. This story demonstrates a hard-to-understand element of how God answers prayer. Sometimes, it's not the answer you hoped for. But He can still use it.

Through the previous blog, I found this blog: another amazing story, this time, an awesome demonstration of prayer being answered the way you can only dream of, and it's happening right now.

I see prayers answered in my own life - sometimes in big ways, sometimes small - sometimes the answer I ask for, sometimes the answer that comes from His Bigger Plan... in any case it is encouraging:

So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen.
For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.

2 Corinthians 4:17-18 (NIV)

some favorites

2008-08-21T06:13:00.000-07:00

Long Overdue

2008-08-19T11:03:00.000-07:00

Thanks to those who went in with me to get Matt's new hammock. He is enjoying it every chance he gets (even watched a meteor shower around midnight in it last week - that is until he fell asleep. :-)) Here are the videos of when I gave it to him. By the way, it rained that day so I had to set it up in the garage.

If you're wondering why he doesn't seem too surprised, well, I kinda messed that up by accidentally charging the wrong account when I purchased the hammock. My husband is extremely faithful and responsible with our finances - if he wasn't I'd have us in some kind of hole by now I'm sure. But this also means that it is extremely hard to surprise him... when a charge came through for "hammocks.com" it sort of gave it away. I was really kicking myself around about this for a while, until I realized that he was going to enjoy the hammock just as much, and there were still a few elements of surprise left to the whole thing as you can see:

I had Ian calling it the "hippopotamus" for a long time because I knew if he said "hammock" in front of Caleb it would end up getting talked about in front of Matt. So much effort just to blow it myself... oh yeah... I'm not kicking myself around about it anymore...

Thanks again Nathan and Krissy, Mom and Dad Shade, Mom and Dad McElheny, Nana and Mac, you guys are awesome!

kite

2008-08-14T12:47:00.000-07:00

Thanks, Nathan and Krissy, for the cool kite. :-)

ahhhh the beach

2008-08-13T22:28:00.000-07:00

I decided to capture some of the surf for use on squirrelly winter days. My boys love for me to show them family pictures on the laptop. Since my camera can take quick videos they often want me to "make it go" - Caleb especially can't understand that not all pictures "go". But this one is useful for both adult and child stress relief. Just pretend you're standing there... let it all go...

By the way that is my family out there in the water, and towards the end you get some close up of my dad and my Caleb. What's that family - you didn't want to see yourself online in your swimsuits??? Well, at least there's some distance. :-) And now you know why I'm the one safely behind the camera. Ha Ha.

a matter of perspective

2008-08-13T11:32:00.000-07:00

There are two ways of looking at today:

1. The floor I had clean is now a mess. The laundry I worked on is multiplying. The toys and clothing I put away got pulled back out again. The neck that the chiropracter aligned is still throbbing. The bear I so carefully stitched up and combed out and washed, ripped back open, and got matted again. The face I carefully washed produced even more zits. (Yes. I am 29. Oh when will they go away?!?!?) The children I instructed did not listen. The discipline I administered did not get the message across. I got spit on at naptime. The cat also shared her saliva with me....

2. I read stories with one boy on each side, warm and snuggly. At least one child ate and enjoyed the leftovers I served for lunch. A child helped to clear off the table. Ian read his Bear each one of the books he is in, quietly and sweetly on the floor. He then carefully kissed and comforted his Bear, and tucked him in his "swimsuit" so he would be okay going for his "swim". Ian actually agreed that maybe Bear could stay home and go to school in Ian's "office" this year for preschool (!!!) While Caleb was not listening to instruction he surprised me by naming several of the states I didn't know he knew... I am an incredibly blessed woman to have these two healthy happy fun boys to spend my days with. And... grandpa is coming to visit today.

odds and ends

2008-08-11T19:03:00.000-07:00

We're home from vacation and pictures should be soon to come. We had a blast. We stayed in Buxton, NC, which is the home of the Cape Hatteras lighthouse. The beach right by the lighthouse is the best beach for kids in the Outer Banks - and for adults for that matter too. It is so shallow and clear water and a long way out before you hit the drop off. The boys absolutely had the time of their lives, and we are all feeling a bit out of sorts and depressed to be back home. That is really saying something since we can tend to be homebodies!

I am literally out of sorts, as the sleeping in strange beds and the 16 hour drive, continually twisting in my seat to provide drinks, activities, etc. put my neck out. Yesterday and today have been a haze of pain. Thank God for painkillers and chiropractic care... here's a bit of my interaction with the massage therapist:
me: "I am starting to breathe through this like I'm in labor"
her: "yeah, unfortunately that's kind of what this will be like for you"

Sometimes they can be almost too good at finding all of the ways in which my back is knotted up like an afghan...

A couple of random items:

- Why on earth do the women of the USA Olympic Volleyball team have to wear such skimpy bottoms? I mean, do they really serve any purpose? I was seriously grossed out with a couple of the camera angles... what in the world is that all about?

- My Ian has a surprising knowledge of animal bodies lately. We got fish on vacation one night for dinner (grilled Mahi Mahi to be exact) and he was asking some questions about where the meat came from. I was trying to give a nice simple gentle explanation, but instead he says, "they chop off the fish's eyes and mouth don't they mommy, and then they drain out all it's blood and take out all it's bones don't they, and then we eat what is left." So much for gentle. By the way, he gobbled it up and asked for seconds. Fully understands, fully enjoys the meat. Then today
I got a detailed and highly imaginative explanation of each of his beanie's eating habits and subsequent pooping habits. Lovely.

procrastination

2008-07-29T13:37:00.000-07:00

We're trying to get ready for a family vacation presently. Since my last post I've done another day of wedding photography and enjoyed several nice summer days and now trying to get organized for our trip. Also dealt with damage done from a lightning strike to our house. We were very fortunate - I think our guardian angels are MVPs. Jobs for yesterday and today, so far completely procrastinated: clean the van, clean the floors, clean the bathrooms.

What I have accomplished: caught up on e-mail, did various internet tasks, organized my junk drawer, gone out for ice cream with a friend, read the book of Ruth and various related passages, gone out for lunch and back to school shopping with my mother-in-law, some laundry, watered the lawn... yeah. Gotta get focused on the real to do list.

A tiny point of interest: my 4 year old is presently talking on my bluetooth. In the words of my sister: "technology is groovy."

very very tired

2008-07-19T19:18:00.000-07:00

Here's why I haven't been blogging: 30th birthday party for Matt/ 4th of July weekend/ a wedding shoot for a good friend of mine (I'm told pics are to come soon - but I'm the assistant and thank God - not responsible for getting them together after the wedding is over!) / fireworks/ mini-celebration the day hubby turned 30/ prepping for VBS/had soon-to-be-10-year-old and night-owl Veronica here to stay for the week of VBS/ taught VBS 1/2 grade all this week/drove Veronica home to Batavia this morning/attended a wedding in Kentucky/drove back home.

My head aches from a two year old boy who we thought was so exhausted and fighting a virus yet he did not sleep for two plus hours after his bedtime in the car ride home nor did he stop talking/singing/yelling/crying/climbing all over me practically all day. We came home and Matt got the boys in bed (finally) and I opted to clean out the van. Now I am ready to crash and hope that this ibuprofen kicks in soon. Perhaps I will get to posting about tidbits of all these various things soon. God has been very good. But for now, I am crashing.

cuteness

2008-06-18T19:26:00.000-07:00

Today I rocked a grumpy snuggly Caleb boy right after his nap. I've started waking him a little earlier than he likes to get up in order to make bedtime easier. He is very pitiful and sensitive until he gets his snuggles and a large dose of chocolate milk. We were still in the pink cheeks, lines on the face, slightly sweaty curls, "mommy hold me" zone when we heard some sirens in the distance. He raises up from my chest and looks right in my eyes (picture the striking blue and looooong eyelashes) and says, "mommy, it's an amblylance!"

There are just some mispronunciations that should not be corrected.

Treasures, Part 2

2008-06-16T14:02:00.001-07:00

This post has been percolating for some time. I mentioned the idea of it on another friend's blog recently during an interesting "conversation" about how someone could find a sexually compatible mate if they don't believe in sex until marriage. I don't think that any of my ideas on this subject are necessarily new, but I do often encounter misperceptions of how I think about this or how the subject will be handled in my family. These misperceptions mainly seem to be that we are going to try to shelter our kids from the subject of sex because we don't want them doing it before marriage.

I don't believe that sheltering my kids will help them out at all to follow God's design for this area of their lives. I believe that I need to establish myself very early on (like now) as a person in their lives who is comfortable talking about this subject, and who will tell them the truth. I think the idea of "the talk" is ridiculous, and it never did anyone much good other than convincing a lot of kids that their parents were completely uncomfortable with the topic and the last ones that they'd ever want to talk to about it again.

Our plan is to answer questions as they come up openly and honestly. We won't be trying to keep our kids in the dark, but we will protect them from "too much information" and we'll especially try to protect them from wrong information. We will attempt to cast a vision for them from early on, that their sexuality is a beautiful gift from God to be treasured. (Like any other treasure, it is to be protected and saved for the right time and the right circumstances.) That it is designed to be a pleasurable, wonderful, fruitful, sacred expression of love and unity, and that marriage is the place where it can best live up to that potential. They will know that they're going to experience plenty of feelings prior to marriage that are normal, natural, and good, because it means they are growing up and becoming the men that God planned all along. We're going to try to help them understand how to cope with these feelings in a healthy and positive way that doesn't cause emotional, spiritual, or physical damage for themselves or anyone else. These boys already know that mommy and daddy love them and are proud to call them sons no matter what they do. They know that we do have certain standards for their behavior, which are for their own good. They know that when they make mistakes and mess up that we forgive them, and love them still, and that we encourage them to go forward and do better next time. We are trying to equip them to make good decisions. We will do our best to walk that fine line between being supportive and settling for less than God's best for them.

I have recently purchased these two books: Why Boys and Girls Are Different: For Ages 3 to 5 and Parents (Learning About Sex Series, Bk. 1), and The Story of Me (Gods Design for Sex) to augment the conversations that have already begun. At this age of course it is all very basic general stuff - nothing graphic. The first book is part of a series from the National Center for Biblical Parenting, which I've already benefitted so much from. There were the fewest parental reviews about it, so I decided to check it out for myself. The second book is also part of a series, that's been personally recommended to me by several different parents and does have many more online reviews. I'll try to post my opinions once we've worked with each of them a little more.

Does it seem a little early to me (ages 4 and 2) to be talking about this? In some ways yes, but the fact is that in this society they are going to be hearing about these things pretty darn early anyway, even with parents that actively try to protect their hearts and minds. I want to be the first one they hear it from, in an appropriate way, so I'm not having to go back and correct misinformation. So far, we're not introducing things to them that they aren't already asking us about. At this point basic questions are coming up just with potty training going on. We will take cues from them about what they want to know, and about what they aren't ready for yet.

One last thought. As part of his Sunday school teaching today, Matt read a short segment from C.S. Lewis' Mere Christianity. Lewis' idea in this passage was that many view God as someone who's just trying to take the fun out of things. I've certainly encountered the idea from others that having rules about sex just makes everything terribly boring. Can I just say, in marriage He demonstrates the relationship between Christ and his church. Marriage is designed to be a sort of self-portrait. Now think about the Grand Canyon and the rainforests and the most amazing beaches you've ever seen. Think about the Northern lights and sunsets filled with color. Think about the fragrance of apple blossoms or the way lightning arcs through the sky. When God paints a self-portrait in creation, is it ever boring? Is it ever stuffy and pathetic? Hardly! Read through Genesis and consider the Garden of Eden. Read through Song of Solomon and consider the passion that couple shared. God's design is not for this to be boring folks. We're talking about Paradise here! That was and is His design. Sometimes boundaries actually provide freedom.

So there you have it. Boy it is good to finally pour these thoughts out! I'd love to discuss further because I know you're not reading this post without some sort of opinion, agreement, objection, question, or something... please comment!

unbelievable

2008-06-10T10:41:00.000-07:00

Sometimes, even I can't believe the things that go on in my house. I just now was putting the boys down to nap. Caleb visited the "throne" and he tends to take a while, even longer if I sit with him. So, I was coming in and out putting away some laundry. I went to hang a shirt in my closet when I hear a mild crashing noise and a splatter. Caleb starts crying, "oh no oh no I spilled it!" Yes, somehow he knocked over his potty chair and poop and pee went flying across the bathroom floor. Of course this took a while getting cleaned up, and he felt that he wasn't finished, so he went to the toilet while I was cleaning the potty chair. I had just gotten everything cleaned up, and took my yucky cleaning rag back into the bedroom to deposit in the basket of dirty laundry. This time, I hear a loud ping noise, followed by a large crash with the clink of breaking things hitting the floor, followed by screaming. I race back in to find that our large framed map of the Outer Banks has been pulled from the wall. Of course my first concern is Caleb - this is definitely big enough to seriously hurt a child. It's quickly apparent that he is crying mainly out of sadness over what he has done, and just a little because it did bump his knee. We had glued shells we collected on the shore while visiting the Outer Banks all around this frame, and several of them were knocked off and broken. I'm sure that the whole thing started because Caleb loves to see those shells and was probably trying to get them closer so he could look at them more easily. He was just horrified and pointing out to me the broken shells scattering the floor around him. I could tell he felt terrible. Then I look up to see that the frame has busted a hole in the wall behind Caleb. As I am gathering up the shells I also notice that the thing came directly down on the toilet paper holder, which has also been busted from the wall. The ping noise must have been from the wire on the back of the frame snapping in half. I'm not happy about the state of my bathroom, but I am very thankful that he wasn't more seriously hurt! I think the wall and the toilet paper holder took the weight so he didn't have to. (Try to remember that Matt when I'm having you repair them. :-) Love you honey!) It took me a while to get the little guy calmed down and once he was in bed he went to sleep much quicker than usual. I have noticed that trend whenever they've experienced something they consider traumatic. Poor guy. May have to find a new location to re-hang the picture. I hope that my little guy is still willing to use that bathroom!

the joy of summer

2008-06-06T18:48:00.000-07:00

Here's grandma's rendition of our first real hot day here in Columbus (hope you don't mind mom) :-) .

Yesterday I hauled myself out of bed early, on my DAY OFF, to go to Columbus with Mike. He dropped me off at Beth's. We were met by two smiling, excited boys who raced out to meet us. It was a quintessential summer day with kids, and I loved every minute of it. We were outside nearly all day, in the sprinkler and/or kiddy pool, riding trikes up and down the sidewalk, back in the air conditioning to cool off and read, because it was stinkin' hot. Ian and his Mommy made popsicles. We picked cherries from their tree. We ate leftover cold pizza on the deck for lunch. I helped Caleb watch ants, pill bugs, find out about bird poop, and pretend to "fish" in a crack in the concrete with a stick. And watch the neighbors--he's very interested in anything the man next door does. Caleb reprimanded me after a lady walked past us with her dog; he continued his nonstop conversation with her, as she passed. Then turned to me reproachfully- "Grandma, you didn't say hello to her!"

I got to read lots of books to the boys, with them cuddled up on either side of me, so I could hardly turn the pages and they had to help me. Then after Grandpa returned, Beth fixed a lovely impromptu dinner of marinated grilled pork kabobs with rice-a-roni, green beans and sauteed sliced mushrooms. The boys chowed down, too. Ian liked the meat and veggies best, and Caleb liked the rice dish. In fact when Ian was done, Caleb moved over to Ian's plate and polished off the rest of his rice. As he had earlier finished off Ian's abandoned dry Honey Nut Cheerios... There is no food wasted at the McElhenys.

days four and five

2008-06-04T18:33:00.000-07:00

Can I give the potty party any higher recommendation? We are basically diaper free. We are still putting Caleb in pull ups for naps and bedtime, but they are dry every time. He is initiating going on his own. He responds well to reminders if I have to give them (like before we're leaving somewhere). The whole process pretty much has made him excited and happy (I mentioned him being upset in a previous post - that's been limited to accidents, which let's face it, you don't want him to be happy about that!) He is pumped to be a big kid and loves his underwear and is proud of himself when he goes. Our relationship has been strengthened if anything. I think potty training is one of those things that can be very stressful for some parents and kids, and can even be damaging to their relationship.

I know that we are still on the learning curve and there will still be mistakes at times, and that is just fine - my goals with this have been to get rid of diapers and to give him the tools he needs and help him to be excited about being big.

Every one of those goals is met or well on it's way. Go potty party, Go Caleb!

You're Gonna Miss This

2008-06-03T11:21:00.000-07:00

I like this song by Trace Adkins:

She was staring out the window of their SUV
Complaning, saying "I can't wait to turn 18"
She said "I'll make my own money, and I'll make my own rules"
Mamma put the car in park out there in front of the school
Then she kissed her head and said "I was just like you"

You're gonna miss this
You're gonna want this back
You're gonna wish these days hadn't gone by so fast
These are some good times
So take a good look around
You may not know it now
But you're gonna miss this

Before she knows it she's a brand new bride
In a one-bedroom apartment, and her daddy stops by
He tells her "It's a nice place"
She says "It'll do for now"
Starts talking about babies and buying a house
Daddy shakes his head and saysAnd s "Baby, just slow down"

Cause you're gonna miss this
You're gonna want this back
You're gonna wish these days hadn't gone by so fast
These are some good times
So take a good look around
You may not know it now
But you're gonna miss this

Five years later there's a plumber workin' on the water heater
Dog's barkin', phone's ringin'
One kid's cryin', one kid's screamin'
And she keeps apologizin'
He says "They don't bother me.
I've got 2 babies of my own.
One's 36, one's 23.
Huh, it's hard to believe, but...

You're gonna miss this
You're gonna want this back
You're gonna wish these days hadn't gone by so fast
These are some good times
So take a good look around
You may not know it now
But you're gonna miss this"

http://www.cmt.com/videos/trace-adkins/217378/youre-gonna-miss-this.jhtml

Day Three

2008-06-02T19:10:00.000-07:00

We're getting somewhere now... today only a couple of very minor accidents. Sometimes I am taking him, sometimes he recognizes his own need and goes on his own. Waking up from naps and overnight dry many times. He's definitely more interested in keeping Buzz Lightyear dry than he is in keeping Spiderman dry. Go figure. His first foray into independence from Ian. :-)

A few observations before I let this potty topic die (yes, I will actually eventually do so). (I just know that when I started this whole potty training thing with Ian I was desperate for ideas/answers/support and I am posting all this because I hope that some other parent somewhere will eventually benefit from it! And because the grandparents like updates. And because it is therapeutic for me. :-)

- A great book esp. for boys: The Potty Train by David Hochman

- A CD that helped keep things fun: Miss Joanie's Potty Party by Joanie Whittaker (though I must say, avoid song #4! - about bad monkeys putting things in the potty - what in the world were they thinking?!? The rest of it was cute.)

-This time it ended up being a Potty Party Weekend, rather than all in one day. I think that worked out the best for us, maybe because Caleb is committed to his naps, and day one just didn't give enough practice.

-The whole flushing with fun drinks thing was a little rough. The sugar in the Kool Aid seemed to really make him go an unreasonable amount. Today was much easier because we went back to our norm for fluid intake and that helped us both gauge how often he really needs to go.

-Potty training in the summer beats potty training in the winter hands down. We just play outside a lot, and it's very easy to stay relaxed when accidents aren't affecting carpets or furniture. Plus, way fewer clothes to worry about keeping clean. Every person in the neighborhood has probably seen my child's undies by now, but honestly, who cares. He is so stinkin' cute in them anyway!

Fire Station 30

2008-06-01T19:17:00.000-07:00

The last step of the Potty Party is a trip out to the child's favorite destination to celebrate. This step got put off until last night, partly because Caleb needed more practice. We went to Fire Station 30, chocolate chip friendship bread muffins in hand, and Fireman Tom took us on a tour...

Then, a completely unexpected moment of victory, caught on tape no less. The first time that Caleb actually initiated going potty while in his undies!! Woohoo!

day two

2008-06-01T11:58:00.000-07:00

Here's an excerpt from an e-mail I just sent to a friend:

...I am doing my utmost to be fun and happy and teach him the skill he needs, and it seems that what I have leftover for Matt and Ian is exhaustion and crankiness. It may be totally silly, but will you pray for us? Pray that I will be able to stick to this and that Caleb will start to understand his body's signals and that I won't turn into a horrible person to be around for everyone else in the process!!! If I am seeming completely nuts to you.... just picture endless laundry and floor cleaning and washing out shoes and spending four hours out of every day sitting on a tiny little hard stool watching a two year old sit on the porcelain throne and pretending like it's the most thrilling thing in the universe. :-)

So that was my bit of complaining... but I have to say that I am immensely enjoying one on one time with Caleb and... I even think there may be a tiny bit of progress. As today has gone on, Caleb has started getting upset about his many accidents. I am taking this as a step in the right direction, better than not noticing at all or not caring about being wet. I do hate to see him upset though. I absolutely have come a long way since Ian was first born in understanding that it is OKAY, and sometimes even good for kids to be upset and disappointed at times. If they never are, they never learn! So, I do not cater to my kids' every emotion, and I do not allow their emotions to dictate our family life. However, there is still the part of me that just loves the tar out of them and hates to see them cry.

The weapon of choice:

Off to a good start:

Prefers Pauls' head to the potty chart for stickers...

Mr. Big Stuff

Big Kid cleaning up:

Partners in Crime:

Trying Crocs - may I say, these are the BEST for potty training! They're probably good for other reasons, but this is the first day we've tried them and I'm so glad it's coinciding with all these accidents. Just rinse out, wipe dry, and go.

A nice diversion from the potty stuff: Ian decided all on his own today to make a Lemonade Stand. My pen did not touch his paper. The original sign had to be updated when we ran out of Lemonade (sleepover across the street) but he wrote the second sign for "Kool-Ade" himself as well. He made over $2 because apparently nobody but mom and dad could stand to pay the kid just a nickel... he practically robbed his Grandma Nancy blind... :-)

Ugh

2008-05-31T15:54:00.000-07:00

Well, it's been a very long day for everyone. We'll pick up where we left off tomorrow. While Caleb can repeat back and teach the doll and everyone else that pee doesn't go on the floor, putting that into practice will apparently be taking quite a bit more time. We had a lot of positive moments today, and I think we laid a good foundation. We also had five different pee accidents, which is rather amazing for the amount of time that he did sit on the potty in just a few short hours. Right now, I just want to go to sleep and pretend like we didn't start all this when we get up tomorrow!! I know that we won't - we're not going back - but for now... ugh.

So Far, So Good

2008-05-31T09:43:00.000-07:00

This little guy is taking his job very seriously. He has been potty training his doll Paul for the morning, and he is really doing a good job. He's never had a moment's hesitation or lack of interest. I seem to remember Ian was not quite as easy of a sell on this...

The other big observation is how calm and laid back this kid is when big brother is out for the day!!! He is just not nearly as active and rambunctious a temperament as Ian. When they're together Caleb "rises to the occasion". On his own he is content to sit quietly for much longer and plays much more slowly. I feel like I'm on vacation. I love my I-man so much - and Caleb is missing Ian and Daddy - yet for a mom who didn't get much sleep last night it is relaxing to go back to the "one child" feeling temporarily and especially one child who is so much less wild! At the same time, I can't wait to hear Matt's stories tonight of all the adventures he and Ian are having right now. You never run short on adventure with Ian. :-)

So the next step is to put Caleb in underwear for the afternoon, pump him full of liquids and dance, hop, skip, jump, sing, and ride the "poo poo train" to the potty over and over all afternoon, and praise the tar out of him (no pun intended) when he succeeds. I don't know how it will go, but I'm taking it as a good sign that when I had to change his pull up towards the end of the morning, he didn't want a clean one back on because he wanted to show Paul how he goes pee and poop on the potty. Then just now after he'd been put down for his nap he got up and peed in the potty upstairs, keeping the pull up dry. I hinted that the pull up he has on right now might be one of his last and he was very excited at that idea. I anticipate enthusiasm about trying to be a big kid - but not necessarily clean pants for at least a few more days.

Anyway I hope you enjoy the pictures, I'm off to set out the big boy underwear, make various tasty beverages and put up Caleb's big boy chart (and maybe even nap)!:

Potty Party Day

2008-05-31T04:18:00.000-07:00

Today's the BIG DAY. Always nice when the trainee (who is at this point unaware that it's potty party day) gets up and without prompting comes in the bathroom first thing, pulls off his drawers and makes a poop in his pot, then declares he's keeping his pull ups clean and dry today.

"No more diapers for me"..... yay!

some insights

2008-05-29T19:08:00.000-07:00

Mom sent an interesting article today. At the end of a recent but long post, I asked if anyone had insight into when to allow your child some independence with outdoor play. No one has commented, but I know that there are some of you out there reading...

The upshot of this article was to consider your child's previous behaviors and gauge their maturity, in combination with the potential risk level for whatever activity you're considering. Their example was an 11 year old girl being allowed to go the mall unsupervised or not.

My conclusion in my situation: Ian does not show signs of thinking through outcomes or being aware of injury risk in other situations, (i.e. I think I'll turn my little tikes sled upside down and ski on it down mommy's staircase... just to see what happens... thank God I discovered him in the nick of time at the top of the stairs, rather than whatever I would have discovered at the bottom) and the risks are high when it involves bike riding with streets and driveways nearby. So - he's not ready.

I can't say this is unaffected by recent events with Steven Curtis Chapman's family and others I know of who have lost children. My family tendency leans toward overprotective... and I don't want to stifle growing independence, but in this case safety seems more important than independence.

All this leads to the next question: how do I say, "kiddo you are just too little" without crushing his spirit? (Many of you know first hand, four year old boys desperately want to be big like daddy!) I've had a few attempts at this discussion just today but am not sure how successful they were.

here goes

2008-05-28T20:38:00.001-07:00

It's potty party time for Mr. Caleb Matthew!

a post for grandpa

2008-05-21T12:24:00.000-07:00

My dad is away in Chicago this week. He usually sees my boys on Wednesday nights, so I thought I'd share this video I came across last night just for him. And this is saying something because I really prefer the ones where you can't see me!! Just focus on Caleb people. He's the cute one.

treasures

2008-05-11T11:19:00.000-07:00

One of the things I love the most about being an at-home mom is getting to catch the "out of nowhere" questions that my boys throw at me. Mostly, that Ian throws at me. They are usually hysterically funny, or, the deepest things you want to be able to convey, with no prep time.

For example: thrown into a simple discussion about what happened at preschool that day, "mommy, does every part of you die when you die?" I explained to him that our bodies die and go away into the ground, but that our souls will go to heaven to be with Jesus. I tried to explain that his soul is "him". His heart and mind and who he is. I hope that message came through clearly. He asked more specifics... will his eyes die? what about his nose? etc. etc. and I answered yes, every part of your body, but not your heart and mind - those will be with God. He seemed satisfied and settled into his nap then.

Can I just say I am so thankful to God and to my husband that I get to be home for these moments! These are the type of questions that I want to be there for and answer or try to answer myself. The moments come and go quickly. I'd hate to miss that.

Here's another example I've been trying to remember all of... because this was a much more long and involved, (and correspondingly meaningful) conversation. Early in the discussion he said something like "Mommy, I love you and Daddy and Caleb. I love every one in our family. I love Jesus too." I asked, "Ian, did God love you first, or did you love God first?" He thought for a couple minutes and then said "God loved me first. Then I found out about Jesus and then I just started loving him more and more." Often my bedtime questions are met with silly responses, so at that point I knew he was ready to have one of our talks. We read through the 23rd Psalm (an inspiration from Kelle - whose blog I highly recommend, linked to the right, for mom insights and for glimpses of the life of a soldier in Afghanistan.) and when I finished Ian asked "what does anoint my head with oil" mean? I tried to explain... probably not well... but part of the explanation was about symbols. I ended up giving him the example of my wedding ring to try and explain symbols. Then he asked, "will you tell me a story about your wedding?" After some questions about what he meant I realized he wanted to know about how we decided to get married.

The story telling went something like this:
Well Ian, Daddy and Mommy met when they were in college at Miami. First we were friends (yeah, you liked to be together and have fun)
Yes, and then we became very good friends and then we fell in love with each other.
(you smiled a lot?)
Yes, we wanted to spend a lot of time together and we were very happy. Then after a while Daddy asked me to marry him, and I said yes! That's when he gave me the first part of my ring. So then we planned a wedding and we got married, and then I had the other part of my ring.
(And then I came along, right?)
No, not quite, that took a bit longer.
(Well what happened right after your wedding?)
Well, we went on our honeymoon.
(what's that?)
We went on vacation together.
(And you stayed overnight?)
We stayed for a week, and yes, that was the first time that we stayed overnight together. Can I tell you something else that's very special Ian?
(yeah)
Before Daddy asked mommy to marry him, back when we were starting to think we were in love, do you know what we did?
(what?)
We prayed Ian.
(yeah, you talked to God)
Yes, Daddy prayed to God and asked what God wanted us to do, and He felt like God showed him that we were supposed to get married. And I prayed too and asked God, and I also felt that God wanted us to get married. Isn't that special?
([very excited], yeah!)
We also talked to our parents, and grandma and grandpa thought that we should get married, and so did Mamaw and Papaw too.
(yeah, and then you got married and had me!)
Well, yes, something like that. :-)

I apologize to those of you who are sticklers about punctuation. I know my posts are awful that way. Usually I am trying to just get out whatever it is that's been percolating in my brain, and once I'm finished I have no time to edit for punctuation. Like right now. I've got to get ready for swim lessons.

But first, one of the more amusing moments from last night: Matt was leaving for a meeting and gave me a hug and kiss goodbye. Ian was standing there bouncing around us in his usual "daddy is home in the evening" excitement. He says, "Mommy and Dadddy, you are both wearing my favorite color! Daddy's wearing dark red and Mommy's wearing light red and that's my favorite color and you're both wearing red, and you just can't get apart from each other!"

Not sure if he was thinking that the redness was keeping us together or if he was trying to say we should stop kissing already...

nothing much

2008-05-10T19:51:00.000-07:00

I started typing a post the other day, and never finished... I have really been enjoying others' blogs lately, seems like everyone is typing away about things that really matter. Not sure that I have anything deep to share tonight, but it does inspire me to blog anyway. Today started out with the Walk for Life, the boys and I went and met up with friends there. Matt stayed home to wage further war against the groundhog (that's another story in itself) and finish up some other projects. Ian's favorite part of the Walk was seeing the Santa Maria anchored in the river right next to our path. He is truly convinced there are pirates in there because he saw a periscope (so he claims) and wants to go back and go inside as soon as possible. This evening my fabulous husband announced that I was to have a special mother's day evening out. We went to dinner and then took a walk, then Ian suggested going to Rita's, our favorite Italian ice place. Today was a warm day with the sun shining, but by this point in the day things were cooling off. We probably looked pretty interesting sitting on that bench - boys' faces covered in chocolate ice cream, with a red plaid blanket over us and the boys and I had our hoods up. We were shivering but enjoying every moment.

So here's a question for you moms out there. At what age did you let your kids go out to play unsupervised? What things did you look for in them to know they were ready? It seems this summer that Ian and several of the neighborhood boys have been eyeing each other and their various forms of transportation (bikes, rollerblades, etc.) and I'm anticipating that question of "can he come out to play?" Right now I allow Ian to go out both in the (unfenced) backyard to climb our apple tree and in the front to ride his bike on our sidewalk as long as I can see him "often enough" through the windows and as long as he is checking back in with me. Usually I am leaving the door open and either sitting in the doorway (when one is in and the other out) or right by an open window. I'd love to have some input from others who've gone through this stage with their kiddos.

I hope that everyone has a joyous mother's day. I think this is becoming one of my more favorite holidays - it's just really really nice to have that acknowledgement that what you do day to day matters. I know it matters to God, and that he sees every dirty sock picked up off the floor and every bottom wiped, but it's nice to know when it matters to those around you too. Happy Mother's Day!

a boy's best friend

2008-04-21T12:44:00.000-07:00

If you weren't one of the recipients of my husband's recent e-mail with the same link, check this out: http://karmawilson.com/goodkarma/2008/04/14/just-bear-and-ian/

If you have small children and haven't yet enjoyed any of Karma's books I highly recommend them. Unlike some other series every single one of the books is as high quality as the first - beautiful rhythmic and rhyming stories, beautiful illustrations, very fun and soothing to read together. We are touched that this talented author thought enough of our story to share with everyone!

spring glorious spring

2008-04-07T19:34:00.000-07:00

Ahhh yes, it has finally arrived in central Ohio. For a few days. My family moved our Easter celebrations later this year because we wanted it to feel like spring. It's scheduled for this weekend. Forecast says 40s with a rainy snowy mix. If only we could have bottled today!!

Yesterday we broke out the bikes and went on the first of many rides we'll have this season. We can go around the block now with Ian riding his bike on the sidewalk and the rest of us nearby in the road (Caleb in bike trailer). Then Ian hops in the trailer too so we can go a few more blocks and Matt and I can get a workout from it. The I man almost can't fit those long legs in the trailer anymore, but they have 20 pounds to go between them before they hit the combined weight limit. (Think you can pull another 20 pounds Matt?) It's just like the carseats though. Our boys always outgrew them in length before weight.

Must go pack preschool lunches... looking forward to not wearing coats tomorrow! Anything less to carry on the way in and out is a blessing.

invisibility

2008-04-05T12:25:00.000-07:00

A friend sent me this in an e-mail today, and I really enjoyed it. Hope you will too.

I'm Invisible

It all began to make sense, the blank stares, the lack of response, the way one of the kids will walk into the room while I'm on the phone and ask to be taken to the store. Inside I'm thinking, 'Can't you see I'm on the phone?' Obviously not; no one can see if I'm on the phone,or cooking, or sweeping the floor, or even standing on my head in the corner, because no one can see me at all. I'm invisible. The invisible Mom.

Some days I am only a pair of hands, nothing more: Can you fix this? Can you tie this? Can you open this? Some days I'm not a pair of hands; I'm not even a human being. I'm a clock to ask, 'What time is it?' I'm a satellite guide to answer, 'What number is the Disney Channel?' I'm a car to order, 'Right around 5:30, please.'

I was certain that these were the hands that once held books and the eyes that studied history and the mind that graduated summa cum laude - but now they had disappeared into the peanut butter, never to be seen again. She's going, she's going, she's gone!

One night, a group of us were having dinner, celebrating the return of a friend from England . Janice had just gotten back from a fabulous trip, and she was going on and on about the hotel she stayed in. I was sitting there, looking around at the others all put together so well. It was hard not to compare and feel sorry for myself as I looked down at my out-of-style dress; it was the only thing I could find that was clean. My unwashed hair was pulled up in a hair clip and I was afraid I could actually smell peanut butter in it. I was feeling pretty pathetic, when Janice turned to me with a beautifully wrapped package, and said, 'I brought you this.' It was a book on the great cathedrals of Europe . I wasn't exactly sure why she'd given it to me until I read her inscription: 'To Charlotte , with admiration for the greatness of what you are building when no one sees.'

In the days ahead I would read - no, devour - the book. And I would discover what would become for me, four life-changing truths, after which I could pattern my work: No one can say who built the great cathedrals - we have no record of their names. These builders gave their whole lives for a work they would never see finished. They made great sacrifices and expected no credit. The passion of their building was fueled by their faith that the eyes of God saw everything.

A legendary story in the book told of a rich man who came to visit the cathedral while it was being built, and he saw a workman carving a tiny bird on the inside of a beam. He was puzzled and asked the man, 'Why are you spending so much time carving that bird into a beam that will be covered by the roof? No one will ever see it.' And the workman replied, 'Because God sees.'

I closed the book, feeling the missing piece fall into place. It was almost as if I heard God whispering to me, 'I see you, Charlotte. I see the sacrifices you make every day, even when no one around you does. No act of kindness you 've done, no sequin you've sewn on, no cupcake you've baked, is too small for me to notice and smile over. You are building a great cathedral, but you can't see right now what it will become.'

At times, my invisibility feels like an affliction . But it is not a disease that is erasing my life. It is the cure for the disease of my own self-centeredness. It is the antidote to my strong, stubborn pride. I keep the right perspective when I see myself as a great builder. As one of the people who show up at a job that they will never see finished, to work on something that their name will never be on. The writer of the book went so far as to say that no cathedrals could ever be built in our lifetime, because there are so few people willing to sacrifice to that degree.

When I really think about it, I don't want my son to tell the friend he's bringing home from college for Thanksgiving, 'My mom gets up at 4 in the morning and bakes homemade pies, and then she hand bastes a turkey for three hours and presses all the linens for the table.' That would mean I'd built a shrine or a monument to myself.

I just want him to want to come home. And then, if there is anything more to say to his friend, to add, 'You're gonna love it there.'

As mothers, we are building great cathedrals. We cannot be seen if we're doing it right. And one day, it is very possible that the world will marvel, not only at what we have built, but at the beauty that has been added to the world by the sacrifices of invisible women.

Ode to Calvin

2008-03-26T10:32:00.000-07:00

You are such a dumb cat.
You were pampered and loved.

You were a good friend.
You let small boys pet, hold, squish and carry you without a grumble.

You were the most loving pet I've ever had.

You are so stubborn.
I would have kept you forever and let you sleep next to me or one of my babes every night.

You just kept peeing on the floor.
Now you live on a farm, and I miss you every day.
I hope you like peeing in the hay.
All winter I've wondered are you warm and fed?
You would have been here.

If only you would have used your box.
I hope you are enjoying the cows.
You are such a dumb cat.
We miss you.

words from the past

2008-03-26T10:18:00.000-07:00

It's easy for me to forget that my Grandmother once was a young mom of two energetic boys (two girls were later to follow, after my Grandfather returned from war). A while back my aunt found this note, presumably written to my Grandfather when they had the two small boys, my uncles Dave and Steve.

"My boys." - Yes it is OK if you call them mine when they are bad, but only to me. Please don't forget that a lot of so-called "badness" is overwhelming energy and overweening curiosity. But then I don't need to tell you. I'm just remembering that when you are tired and busy it is so easy to be short and impatient and tykes don't understand the sudden reprimands and simply become rebellious and adamant to cover hurt confusion.

that grandma

2008-03-25T10:58:00.000-07:00

Today we made poached eggs for lunch. Ian and I love to cook together. He is my "sous chef". He even loves to sit with me while I fold laundry and watch the food network. At the dentist they ask him what he wants on the t.v., Disney or Nickelodeon, and he says, "food". I love it. Anyway, mom got us an egg poacher for my birthday a few weeks ago. We tried it out today, and we were discussing how perfect it is for us, since there are three sections, and three of us when Matt is away at work. Ian says, "that grandma, she knows how to take away all our troubles". :-)

We are anxiously awaiting the arrival of warm weather. We have all had it with the cold. We keep bundling up whenever it is at least sunny, and pretending that outdoor play time is here. I even got part of the garage organized the other day while we were pretending it was warm.

I'm still processing things from the parenting seminar. (to give proper credit, all of these ideas are coming from the National Center for Biblical Parenting, and from their books Parenting is Heart Work & Good and Angry: Exchanging Frustration for Character in You and Your Kids. The authors are Dr. Scott Turansky and Joanne Miller, RN, BSN) So far the main things we've tried to implement are teaching the kids to come when they are called, and changing our resolution to time outs. The idea behind the child coming when called is to value the relationship more than the instruction. This is fundamental to the way God interacts with us. He looks at the heart, and always seeks to establish relationship with us in any interaction. When we are close to our child and even looking in their eyes they can see our intent and our heart, and we can see theirs. We can be more sensitive to what is going on with them before giving an instruction, and gauge their attitude, and our instruction will be more meaningful to them. In the end the hands still get washed before dinner or the toy still gets picked up, but hopefully without yelling across the house and without steamrolling over anyone. This prepares them not only to receive our instructions, but teachers, future employers, and ultimately to learn how to relate to God. (See 1 Samuel 3)

The resolution to time out has changed in that it used to go something like this: you did something wrong, you go sit in time out for x number of minutes (we followed the Supernanny idea of one minute per years of age) then I "discuss" what happened with you. Most of the time, to be honest, that was a moment for me to vent my frustration by exclaiming over the wrong committed and then demanding an apology. Now time out lasts for as long as it needs to. In other words, sometimes you feel sorry for doing wrong right away and are ready to make amends. Other times you need quite a bit longer. That's true for everyone, right? The discussion time at the end of a time out now has me asking simple questions and waiting for the answers that show me a heart change has taken place. At these ages those questions are mainly "What did you do wrong?" and then, "What are you going to do about it?" It's surprised me how much Ian can really get in touch with these thoughts. Of course I have to sometimes guide him depending on what answers he gives. But whatever his answer I always find out something about his heart in that moment.

Well this post has become much longer than I had anticipated! The kids are actually napping well today and my lap is full of warm kitty cat. It's lovely to have some peaceful time to reflect and type!

blizzard!

2008-03-09T12:14:00.000-07:00

As you probably know, the past couple of days Ohio, specifically Columbus, has gotten a record snowfall. Last time it snowed this much here according to the news was 1910. Everything is shut down. Nothing to do but spend time with your family and have fun! I've posted some pictures taken this morning of the McElheny family playing in the snow. A couple of tidbits to go along with:

We measured the snow on our deck at 22 inches yesterday.

A bird somehow got sucked into our heat pump unit outside during the storm as the big fan was turning on. Not pleasant. No idea how we're going to remove the "evidence". All of us were horrified. How did the poor thing get in there? (Don't worry - no pictures of that.)

You may notice that our street actually did get plowed! This almost never happens. But seriously, in this situation if there were an emergency there would be no way vehicles could pass our neighborhood without at least the one swipe of the plow that you see in the pictures.

Caleb went down the hill in his big brother's disc sled by himself! He did great! He held on and had a perfect smooth ride. When he reached the bottom he let us know he did NOT appreciate it, thank you very much. :-) It's been sort of a theme since Caleb arrived in our world that I capture these moments on film. Somehow, it represents to me how far I've come as a mom. When he cries over something like this, I can just laugh and take a picture and know he's fine.

Hope everyone is staying warm and making the most of the opportunity to be stranded with your loved ones!

thankful

2008-03-06T12:21:00.001-08:00

I posted that last post unfinished because where it left off leads into saying that Ian is doing soooo much better and this is an answer to prayer! He's gone from 1-2 hours every day and intense frustration about it, to only a few minutes a week of any urgency. And when it does happen, we both are dealing with it much more calmly. Also I think you could see a bit of the "mommy guilt" coming through and I know that most other moms I know deal with that at times.

We went to a parenting conference a couple weekends ago. It was excellent. It was put on by the National Center for Biblical Parenting and they have some awesome resources that I'm going through right now. I was so thankful that my husband gave up his Saturday to come with me and was so ready to learn along with me. For an at home mom to have an all day Saturday event is really something to look forward to, but for someone who is away from home each weekday for so many hours I know he really treasures his Saturdays! Anyway perhaps I will go into more specifics later but it was pretty much just what we needed.

Matthew was asked to speak in our church's contemporary service this past weekend for 8-10 minutes. There were three other men who spoke before him. It was just a testimony about what God has been doing in his life, past and present. He didn't share with me any of what he was going to say before he went up there, and none of it was news to me, but he still completely impressed me! There is nothing quite like seeing your husband stand in front of a crowd of people and share from his heart - being transparent, letting God move in the hearts of others by what he shares. My husband is most comfortable at home. As I said he treasures that time - I guess deep down we both are introverts. So it's not often I feel like the rest of the world gets a taste of how wonderful he really is. I see it all the time, but when he was finished speaking I felt like hopping up and shouting, "That's my man!" I didn't, of course, but the thought did run through my head. :-)

Now I have a boy awake, and another who probably ought to be, so I will wrap this up. Will try to post some pictures soon. Esp. before and afters of the basement!!

Short Update

2008-02-04T11:14:00.000-08:00

Started writing this post several weeks ago... never came back to it... but I will post it unfinished anyway.

Short update:
Basement painting job is finished!! After many rounds of samples from Sherwin Williams and not liking any of them(for the section under our chair rail), I finally mixed some paint we already had into the paint we'd used for the top half of the room, lightening it, and it was the right choice. Now we can add some contrasting colors with other decorations. It feels so good to have accomplished this one goal. I wrote a big fat to do list back in November and just realized the other day that I've finally accomplished all but one of the tasks. The last one left is to plan Caleb's potty party.

What's really going on:
Planning Caleb's potty party has been pushed to the back burner for now because of Ian developing this "daytime urgency and frequency syndrome". Basically he has sessions during the day when he cannot stop urinating. Fortunately for us other times of the day he can go for an hour or so. But when a session hits, it's every minute or so. It is so frustrating for him, and in turn, for me. And with Ian, frustration is a pretty intense experience. I guess I am the same way. Anyhow, the combo of the two of us is not good with this issue. Honestly I am feeling extremely down about it. In part because I want to be able to help him and I can't. But also because I wonder if this is somehow related to stress that I have caused in some way.

it's genetic

2008-01-23T19:50:00.000-08:00

I apparently have inherited my father's gene for house projects. There are a million that we think up, and we have the motivation to get through 3/4 of one before another one seems more urgent/interesting/necessary.

My husband likes the status quo in terms of surroundings. He wants to come home and know what to expect. An interesting desire for one with preschoolers in the house! Not to mention having married the likes of me.

In the past couple of months I have torn down all the wallpaper in the basement (yay!!!!!) enacted a major book removal session, bought a new couch, and chosen paint colors and new lighting for the basement. I have not finished cleaning the wallpaper goo off the walls, bought the paint, or fully completed clutter removal/organization. Then today when Matt came home from work I started talking to him about cutting into the wall behind the refrigerator to make more room for a new one. Yeeps. But hey, at least one of us is the catalyst behind home repairs!! :-) And thankfully I have a very understanding and self-sacrificing husband.

Seriously, did you know that some houses require "cabinet depth" refrigerators? These are shorter depth than the standard refrigerator, yet they cost way more. What is up with that? It is a smaller fridge, yet it costs more! So frustrating.

Now my motivation to finish the basement can be that I will get to move on to the next project once it's done. (Will show before and after pictures before I do that though!) As a full time mom it is a big deal to me, to have something tangible that shows progress, that doesn't get messed right back up again!

Today my fixation and frustration about such house related issues has brought me back to these verses from Matthew 6 that our Pastor went through on Sunday (just substitute "refrigerators" where you see "clothes" and you'll follow my thinking):

19"Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. 20But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

25"Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? 26Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? 27Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?

28"And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. 29Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. 30If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? 31So do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' 32For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. 33But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. 34Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

still kickin

2008-01-20T19:38:00.000-08:00

I'm actually going to blog. Can you believe it? Here's how far back my blog-thoughts go:

Ian and I were writing thank you notes at the table just before Christmas. He and Caleb got to talking about Santa, and about all the things they wanted for Christmas and how they would leave him cookies, etc. etc. Wanting to redirect a little, I asked them if they could think of something we could do for Jesus for his birthday. Ian said, "oooh we should make him a card!"

The outside of the card said Happy Birthday Jesus, and was covered with Christmas stickers. For the inside, I asked Ian what he wanted me to write and this was his response: "Dear Jesus, I love how you take care of me day and night and I love how you stay with me every day close to my side. Happy Birthday!" Love, Ian (signed it on his own). This melted my heart thoroughly, but then he said he wanted to make a card for Mary and Joseph as well. I said we could just add it to Jesus' card and He would share it with Mary and Joseph. So, he asked me to write: "Dear Mary and Joseph, I love how your baby takes care of me night and day, and I love you."

Our latest favorite mispronunciation of Caleb's: "Jophess". The discussion is as follows:
"Caleb, who is in the manger?"
"Jesus!"
"and who else?"
"Mary!"
"and who else?"
(big smile) "Jophess!"

I could eat him for breakfast. :-)
Speaking of breakfast, we had one of my favorite "dinners" tonight: blueberry buttermilk pancakes, omelettes, sausage, and o.j.. I am a major pancake fan. These had part cornmeal, sour cream substituted (with milk) for the buttermilk, lemon juice, and fresh blueberries. Yum. The omelettes had sauteed shrooms and onions and sharp cheddar. Maybe this seems weird that I'm blogging about what we ate for dinner? I am currently watching my favorite channel, the Food Network. Maybe that has something to do with it. I think posts about food might need to happen more often.

The Drs. McElheny

2007-11-14T20:29:00.000-08:00

Sometimes the grocery putting away just has to be put on hold.

new photos

2007-11-14T19:49:00.000-08:00

Here's some previews. See more on our Gallery site.

Putting it into Words

2007-11-07T12:16:00.000-08:00

I just finished Madelaine L'Engle's A Wrinkle in Time. I don't know if I had ever read it before. It did not seem familiar as childhood books usually do, so I doubt it. I loved it! Thematically there are many similarities to Harry Potter, and it is helping me to put into words what I love so much about these books. I am and have always been a sucker for a good story. There are many books I enjoy on that level, but these are even more than great stories. They are fiction books that deal with the real and central (to me) elements of life: Good and evil do exist. They are bigger and more powerful than we can even imagine. We do have choices to make because of good and evil. Choosing to resist evil and stand for what is good matters. Ultimately, love is more powerful than evil. Love is victory.

Sounds simple, but if you've read these books you'll probably agree they are wonderfully complex.

I won't say there aren't elements to Harry Potter that parents don't need to exercise caution about if or when their kids become interested. But I think very few things in our society actually guide our kids to consider the reality of good and evil and the choices they need to make in response. Both of these stories do.

Just some thoughts. I can't wait to get the next few books in the L'Engle Time series. Would love to hear others' thoughts.

My FOUR year old is now awake and wants mommy. Yep. You read it right. As of this past Saturday I have a four year old. I can't believe it. More on that later.

silly quotes

2007-10-12T15:58:00.000-07:00

My son cracks me up.

"Do you know what 'chick magnet' means?"
"Yes, I do."
"Will you say it?"
"It means the girls like you a lot."
"Daddy, that's disgusting!"

"Dear God, thank you for this food, and please bring the mice." (after throwing a piece of cheese out into the yard)
(the scary thing is, I found a dead mouse in our yard this morning. So God heard the little man's prayer, and our cat felt the need to get involved.)

"Santa Claus, Santa Claus,
Bring me a head,
I've got a hat
There's a man named Fred"
"ha ha - I run myself out of my wits"

"I like every day that comes past"

turning two and taking chances

2007-10-03T12:34:00.000-07:00

I have had so many thoughts to put into this blog in the past few days but very little time or computer access (Matt's been busy proving himself on the new job) with which to do it.

We had a lovely (last) weekend going apple and pumpkin picking with Nathan and Krissy on Saturday and Caleb's second birthday(!!!) on Sunday. We tried Lynd's fruit farm in Pataskala and loved it. They had a hay ride pulled by a 1937 John Deere, which of course the boys asked to sit on, and the gentlemen driver let it idle while they sat. They were all excited - even with the hundreds of tractors they've sat on, this was the first one to actually be running. It amazes me that this continues to excite them so much. Insight into the psyche of boys. Of course, I am continually excited by going clothes shopping. Doesn't matter how many times I've done it. Especially if I have some money to spend! Anyhow, we got sweet pickles and pumpkin butter and pumpkins and huge bags of apples we picked ourselves, and peach cider slushies... mmmm.

Caleb's birthday was very quiet, just the four of us to celebrate. We went to a park and baked him a cake and did our traditional decorating of the table. We take a long sheet of paper or paper tablecloth, cover the table and draw pictures or stamps or stickers and write notes all over it for the birthday person. We put balloons on their chair. It's just our way of acknowledging a birthday without a party necessarily happening that day. He got a little Curious George boat for the bathtub from Ian and a ride on Little People fire truck from mommy and daddy. We were a bit taken aback with Ian's jealousy. The fire truck especially caused problems. He is right on the 45 pound weight limit and too tall for it anyway, but he desperately wants it to be his. I thought we did a pretty decent job of loving him up and helping him feel special too, combined with setting a limit as to how much selfishness we were going to tolerate.

I can't believe my little snuggle bug is two!! His daddy and I delight in him. He is such a precious little guy. He talks to everyone, hugs and kisses everyone freely, doesn't know a stranger. He will lean on me sometimes if I am sitting next to him, and offer "I love you mommy". It is so sweet. Wish I could push the pause button on him.

Monday we had Caleb's two year check up. He's 30.5 pounds and 35.5 inches tall. Perfectly proportioned in the 75th percentile. I know that these numbers don't mean much to some people, but for some reason it has always been fun to me to find out where they stand on the growth chart and how much they've added since last time. It was decided during the course of the visit that Ian would also have his Hepatitis A vaccine and a flu shot just like Caleb. Caleb went first. You'll understand what happened next the best by hearing what Ian told Matt on the phone in the car on the way home. I had called him to give him Caleb's numbers. From the back seat I heard Ian, "I need to talk to my daddy." So I handed him the phone, and he says, "Daddy, Caleb got his shots first today, and he started crying, and mommy was helping him, so I took my chance. I jumped off that table, and I was down in the corner on the floor. And before I knew it I was under the table. I was hiding." I was laughing so hard, silently, in the front seat I almost couldn't drive. "I took my chance." What a nut.

Another interesting story from the weekend: During our visit with Nathan and Krissy we were tasting some sample bottles of port. They had about 2 ounces each and there were four. We went to bed late after a rousing game of Phase 10 and left some things out to clean up the next day. About lunchtime on Sunday Ian said, "mommy, my tummy is starting to hurt." I asked why and he said, "I drank something I wasn't supposed to this morning mommy." I asked him what, and he said "I don't know what it was, but I'll show you." You've guessed by now, it was the port. And from what was left I could tell he'd only taken one little sip. The thing about it is, he clearly knew he did wrong. He put it all back the way he'd found it so we wouldn't be able to tell. He even understood that drinking things you're not supposed to could make you sick, and was basically waiting for the hurt tummy feeling to begin, but still not telling me what he'd done. Next time we certainly will be cleaning up after ourselves a bit better!

snippets

2007-09-26T18:29:00.001-07:00

Matt tells me I should share this story of my time trying to leave preschool last week. You may not know, but I teach two days a week of preschool at our church's mom's day out program, and the boys attend. Last year I had to use a stroller to get in and out with three lunches, three sets of coats/mittens/etc. (we started mid-year last year when it was cold out) and a babe who had just started walking two months before. Since then Caleb has learned to "walk with mama" so now we just carry all the stuff. We walk in with two backpacks, a purse, three lunches, and sometimes jackets these days. And usually, two lovey bears. We walk out with all that plus several "art" projects that are usually dripping off pieces and parts as we go. I am usually dehydrated by the time we are leaving and need my drink in the car on the way home. Who can stop to drink when you are caring for 11 2.5 year olds and keeping them all as busy as possible so they will stay happy? So, I got the bright idea to pour my cherry coke zero into a previously emptied water bottle so I could tuck it somewhere without worrying about it spilling. This does not seem to be a bad plan. Pop goes in bottles all the time. They sell it that way in vending machines and grocery stores everywhere, right? So, I put it in my purse, and put that over my shoulder. We eventually traipse our way to the time clock so I can check out. Here there are many things to distract the boys, so of course the few items I have enticed them to carry down the hallway get thrown to the ground and they start pulling out things from the toy storage bin or the lost and found. I am bending down to help Caleb get his bear and put away the toys (again) when suddenly the bottle explodes all over my side and back. It is dripping in my purse, down my leg, into my shoe, all over the floor. I am right in the doorway blocking traffic of other moms and kids trying to leave. So down everything goes again while I find some paper towels to try to at least get my back dry, because this drink was still cold, and I didn't want that against my side! We finally got all the right things in the right places and made it out to the car. Maybe I should bring a wheelbarrow. Or just take the stroller even though no children are in need of it!

While on the subject of preschool, let me just say that easy ups are the bane of my existence. Most of the time my boys are barefoot at home, so we use easy ups here too on occasion. But at preschool when trying to accomplish 11 diaper changes in 10 minutes, taking off a child's shoes and socks and everything in order to use an easy up is the pits. (I think most people reading this blog know what I'm talking about, but just in case, easy ups function like underwear, while diapers can be put on without having to stick the feet through anything.)

Why I love preschool:
-four hours a day that my darling kids are being loved and educated by someone other than me :-)
-hearing one of my three non- English speaking students talk. I love to hear them speaking and singing their own languages (two Japanese, one Korean), and earlier this week we started hearing some English words!
-I may be surrounded by kiddos, but there are also other adults around at all times
-once we're home, Ian tells me the most elaborate details of all he learned, what the other kids did, what his teachers said, and especially his Bible story. Right now he mixes up Daniel and Jonah sometimes, but hey, they both were in trouble and big animals were involved, so he's categorizing. :-)

only Ian

2007-09-14T20:22:00.000-07:00

Today Ian had a particularly bad moment (ear piercing screaming) in a store. Grandma was finishing up our transactions so I removed Ian to the car for a punishment/ time out. Only later, while having dessert with a fellow at home mommy, did I realize how downright hilarious his comments in the car really were.

Apparently 20 minutes of waiting for grandma to exit the store, with no radio, no toys, no snacks because of bad behavior, is an interminably long period of time for a three year old in a car seat:
[tone of desperation bordering on tears]
"Is grandma ever coming out?"
"I can't stand this mommy, I can't wait this long!"
"Mommy, it's like we're going to the beach but we're not stopping at a hotel!"
"Is it even still day?"

I want my mommy

2007-09-05T07:05:00.000-07:00

It is just not right when the whole family is sick with a stomach bug and the mommy gets it too. The mommy is taking care of everybody else. Who is going to take care of the mommy? :-(

Shalom

2007-08-22T17:00:00.000-07:00

I watched Shalom in the Home today - this is a great show that I have only caught once or twice. Shmuley, the host, said some interesting things that struck a chord with me, and I'm still turning them over in my mind. Generally it helps me to turn them over in writing even more, so here goes. One of the things he said was "God gave you these children so that you could learn to be more like them, not so they could learn to be more like you."

The Bible tells us that we should train our children up in the way they should go, and also that we are to become more and more like Christ the longer that we follow him. You could say that these ideas are in conflict with what Shmuley said, but in the context of the show I didn't really take it that way. The Bible also says that we should have faith like a child. I think this is closer to what Shmuley was getting at. Being a parent, it's really not a question in my mind that we are born seeking after selfish things, and perfectly capable of sin as soon as we can walk and talk. Yet at the same time we are born with such innocence. And such ability to learn and be taught about kindness and love. My boys express things so freely, both love and other emotions, without all the complications that we as adults put around our emotions. It's refreshing.

The decision to have children is the decision that your life isn't going to be about you any more. And with each child that intensifies. I can't really think of anything else that could teach us to be more like the Heavenly Father than loving our spouse and children day in and day out. I am definitely talking about love in the verb sense, not in the feeling sense. I know for sure that God gave me my children so that I could learn from them. I learn about who they are and I see that wonderful curiosity, fun, innocence, faith, and unconditional love. I also learn about me so that God can mold and change me through this process. Sometimes that is incredibly painful. I am so grateful for it though. I rejoice that my life is not about me. Some days I try to resist that fact and those are not good days. When I accept it and see the joy and the fun in the task at hand, those are the good days! It is way more joyful and way more fun when it's not all about you.

Another thought process that Shmuley has set in motion in me: Matt and I have been focused many times as we parent together on teaching the boys good behavior and to respect authority. We think discipline is very important. [Probably because they would have managed to tear the house apart completely or seriously maim themselves or each other without it!] But some days we have let these concerns become too much the emphasis. I don't think we've ever lost sight of treasuring our boys' playfulness or their need for fun times with us. I just know that somewhere along the line I've allowed my desire for their respect to become a demand, rather than something I try to inspire in them. Tonight I realized that I was asking Ian to set an example for Caleb, without setting the example myself. And I had a wonderful example of his childlike innocence when I apologized to him. He doesn't hold a grudge. He seemed to understand, and appreciate, what I said and then he let it go with a smile and "that's okay mommy, I have a kiss for you now". I have fantastic kids! I do not want to mess them up!! I really want to be a parent that earns their respect, and inspires them to want to be good kids, rather than expecting or demanding it. I don't think that means I have to lose any of my authority role with them either. I think it means I have to get much more creative, and probably put even more energy into this than I already do. God help me.

Daddy Hero

2007-08-22T11:05:00.001-07:00

Since day 1 my Ian has been a mama's boy. For the first few years of Ian's life Matt has had to endure many tears and cries for mama, and sometimes even being shoved away and told that he wasn't wanted. He has persisted in being a wonderful loving fun daddy to Ian, even when there were times I know his feelings were hurt over it. Caleb's arrival in our family created some forced bonding between them because I was otherwise occupied, and also gave Matt the gift of a little boy who is very free in his affection - he got lots of hugs and cuddles from Caleb even on days when Ian was pulling out his most mama-clingy behavior. Caleb has now reached an age where he is starting to sometimes prefer mama, though it's never with the intensity that Ian demonstrated it. For Matt and Ian though, in the last few weeks the tides have turned. All the sudden Ian has been crying for daddy during the day, and talks about him all the time. I have been asked when I will go away to work and daddy will stop going to work and come home to take care of Ian all day. Matt has been questioned about when he will retire. Ian just wants his daddy!!! In the mornings for the past two years Ian has jumped out of his big boy bed as soon as he was permitted (and sometimes earlier) and climbed into our bed next to mama for snuggling. Some days it would just be a brief hug before he was off to play. Lots of days he would go back to sleep all warm and snuggled in. About a week ago or a little longer, I became chopped liver. I have been consistently bypassed every morning - he high tails it around the bed to Matt's side and clambers in. I don't even get a good morning.

It may sound like I'm complaining, but I'm not. I won't pretend that I don't often think he's growing up too fast, or miss the amount of affection I used to get, but I am just so happy for the two of them! I know from the child development courses I took in college and the books I've read that this is very normal, for a three year old boy to begin to idolize his father. This is the time when a child is developing gender identification, and I think my husband is a fabulous role model, the very best a little boy could have, in this way. It is a strong sign that they have a very healthy relationship. And I also won't pretend it's not a relief that the one Ian seems to want at the end of the day when I'm worn out, is daddy! It frees me up to either take a much needed break, or to get to stand aside and watch the two of them together, which invariably brings joy to my heart.

two things to make you laugh

2007-08-05T11:00:00.001-07:00

Ian and his daddy sometimes share a less than soothing bedtime ritual of telling the story of Jack and the Beanstalk. Yesterday Ian was stomping around the house shouting, "Fee Fi Fo Fum, I smell the blood of an Englishmaaaaan." Next thing we know, Caleb's little voice is calling, "Fee Fi Fo, I smell it!" He's caught on to our amusement at this and now it's getting repeated quite a lot. You'd be surprised at his comedic timing. :-)

Here's a link to a Dave Barry article that I remembered reading a long time ago, which relates to the story in my last post. Babies and Restaurants: the Chernobyl of Parenting.

I'm off to go collect our things from the church, which we had to evacuate this morning due to a fire upstairs near our Sunday School room! I don't think it was too serious, but since there was a thunderstorm in progress at the time they told everyone to get in their cars and go home. Thank God Ian didn't take Bear today, and we have a back up for Caleb's lovey Bear Blankie. See, we've regained some of our intelligence since being new parents.

new pics posted

2007-08-05T10:12:00.000-07:00

Hi - check out the gallery link to see photos from our vacation, this year's visit to see tractors, and some shots of Veronica's stay with us.

There are several stories to go along with these photos, but I'll just tell one. In the beginning of the vacation album, you'll see shots of the Berry kids along with our kids. Our vacation was just a few hours away from a dear friend's home in North Carolina, so they graciously piled their kids up and drove to see us at our beach house for a couple of days. We haven't seen one another in quite some time, and we'd never met their youngest. It was such a blessing to get to hang out again!

I suppose we were all rather presumptuous, in thinking that we could go on a sightseeing adventure with six kids as part of our visit. We went to the Cape Hatteras lighthouse. If you follow the pictures you may notice two types: pics from the lighthouse, and tired worn out kids. Well, it turns out that this is the tallest lighthouse in the United States and you can only climb it if you are 42" or taller. No child can be carried at any point either inside the lighthouse or up on the balcony at the top. Either you're big enough to walk it alone or you don't go. Ian made it only because his hair is so spiky right at the top. :-) So, Kelle, baby Roman, Sami (2), myself, and Caleb (21 months) decided we'd walk down to the beach and let the others go up to the lighthouse. Well, the only way to the beach is to walk the path where they moved the lighthouse a few years ago. You can see it in one of our photos. This is gravel and sand mostly, with some grass growing up in between. Some parts are all sand. It was a HOT day. Many of you parents may have also discovered that strollers don't go very well over sand. You are either carrying the stroller with child inside it (Kelle) or you are pulling it backwards behind you until you give up on it altogether and leave it by the side of the sand dune and go on (me). The upshot of all this was that Kelle and I ended up stranded on the sclading hot beach with three very unhappy babes, and Matt and I had mistakenly not transferred car keys to each other so he couldn't bring the van over even if he'd known that we were getting desperate. Kelle's cell phone died, and she didn't know where Michael or Mikey (her husband and older son) were at. What we really needed were about four more sets of hands, and vehicles to come pick us up! Everyone, Ian especially, had a blast touring the lighthouse, but of course that was tiring too. Eventually we all found each other and got everybody what they needed - no harm done in the end - but we had to laugh at ourselves. Why did we think we'd actually get to visit in this situation?? This is the silly illogical brain of the parent. I think it's just a defense mechanism. You go through this cycle of gearing up to believe that you can successfully get out of the house and enjoy things like you used to as long as you pack enough stuff. And once you've actually done it you realize, we went out, we did that, but we didn't actually get to relax or enjoy anything! So then you hole up for a while and only do fairly risk free (extremely kid friendly) activities, until you start to get that itch again and somehow you think, this time it will work. Even though the past 14 experiences have told you it won't, you just can't live holed up all the time!! Anyway it was really great to see the Berrys again despite this less than relaxing portion of our trip. :-)

Enjoy the pictures.

still here

2007-08-01T19:32:00.000-07:00

This has been quite the hectic month. We've had my eight-year-old cousin Veronica living with us while her family was in China. First we spent a week with her in North Carolina, near Cape Hatteras. This was loads of fun for all, though Matt and I were laughing at ourselves for having bought beach chairs. Sit down and read while on vacation with three kids? Ha ha ha. That never happened. Even with grandma and grandpa in tow. But we never would have chanced it without them I don't think!

Having Veronica with us has created some trade-offs in our home. The noise level has gone up exponentially. You would never know this to meet our family in public, because Ian and Vee both clam up with strangers. But get them on their own.... it gives me a new appreciation for all the noise we must have made as kids when the cousins came over and we roller skated on my parents' hardwood floors upstairs while the adults were trying to visit right beneath us. Sometimes in the last month Matt and I have just sat on the floor, dazed, while listening to what sounds like our house coming down around us. And we're not sure we're done having kids. Hmmmmmmm.....

The flip side of that coin is the wonderful joy of seeing these cousins play together. They love each other. They have such a great time. Ian has had to learn some new ways to interact because Vee is so different and obviously more mature than Caleb! It's been good for him. And, I am not called on to entertain the boys all day long! They are naturally entertaining each other. This is one of the reasons I've always wanted to have more than two kiddos.

All this makes it sound like Matt and I are decision-making about more kids. We're not. But this situation just makes us think. Kids love to be around other kids. It brings a whole new dynamic to have more than one person to play with at any given time. Our selfish adult nature screams daily though, "what about some peace and quiet!!!!" "What about having a conversation with one another or some time alone?" "What about having some extra cash to be able to do basic home maintenance for once..." None of that really seems important though when I look at those little faces and hear them saying their prayers at night, or gather them around me on the couch to read a story. Today Veronica told me that if I were her mom, she'd be a mama's girl. You'd have to know the whole sordid tale of her life (she lives with grandma and grandpa now) to fully appreciate that, but those are the moments when you just know that extra time to read a book or fresh paint on your siding or having a clean carpet just does NOT matter. Not eternally.

So often during the hectic moments it takes God working through me to be able to respond to the 432nd request of the day with a smile and a heart to serve. And there are moments every day that I fail at that! I thank God for a supportive and highly involved husband, for supportive and highly involved grandparents and Auntie Em, and for my dear mom friends who I can call up and just hear their voices. Sometimes we can't even say what all we are going through out loud, but just to know that they are there and going through it too means so much.

Well anyway, tomorrow is Vee's last day with us. I suspect next week is going to be quite interesting for me as the boys adjust to it being just the three of us during the day again. I anticipate missing having another girl in the house, and that they will be missing their playmate and will likely be extra demanding of me. I will probably also be relishing that first naptime when my house will actually be quiet for the first time in a month. Ahhhh. :-)

Pictures are hopefully soon to come of our vacation and even more recent as well.

They did it!

2007-07-02T09:58:00.000-07:00

Congratulations to the Dixons:

In a nutshell: gorgeous day, gorgeous bride, joyful wedding. What God has joined together: a couple truly perfect for one another. May they enjoy their Jamaican honeymoon!

(sorry no ceremony pics, too hard to juggle maid of honor duties and snap photos as well!)

ftmomma

Mama (in-law) said we'd have days like this

oh all right

Another baby on the way

Having fun in spite of sickness

trouble

First Day of School, New Wheels, and a Sandbox

exhausto day

“In regards to this great Book , I have but to say it is the bestgift God has given to man."

The original quote goes on to say: "All the good the Savior gave to the world wascommunicated through this Book. But for it we could not know rightfrom wrong. All things most desirable for man's welfare, here andhereafter, are found portrayed in it.”

Vacation day 2

2009 Family Trip - Day 1

proof that my children sometimes play nice

Discussions with Boys

Big Machines

more merged than ever

Daddy Pics

honesty

general musings

clingy at 3 1/2

good day

Amazed

Pictures from Beth

Birthday Poem

mommy moment

Milestone

A Samuel Update

Finished!

almost done...

mid-way

bathroom repairs

Disaster Averted

Asparagus

a reflection on motherhood

Christmas Cheer

Surgery Successful!

surgery

update and reminiscing

update - Baby Samuel

Baby Samuel

New Pictures

Happy Birthday Ian

a quote from Mr. Caleb

Go Bucks!

sleep woes

Why you should always give your toddler a utensil before bringing the cake to the table

Happy Birthday Caleb

just chatting

apple harvest

POWER

100th post

does prayer really work?

James 5:15-17 (NIV)

some favorites

Long Overdue

kite

ahhhh the beach

a matter of perspective

odds and ends

procrastination

very very tired

cuteness

Treasures, Part 2

unbelievable

the joy of summer

days four and five

You're Gonna Miss This

Day Three

Fire Station 30

day two

Ugh

So Far, So Good

Potty Party Day

some insights

here goes

a post for grandpa

treasures

nothing much

a boy's best friend

spring glorious spring

“In regards to this great Book , I have but to say it is the best
gift God has given to man."

The original quote goes on to say: "All the good the Savior gave to the world was
communicated through this Book. But for it we could not know right
from wrong. All things most desirable for man's welfare, here and
hereafter, are found portrayed in it.”