germs!

well, maddie's germs didn't stay away for long...eli is so sick and has missed school all week! caleb has it too, but not quite as bad. butt cream on a 6 year old is not cute. i've never heard, "mom, my belly is hurtin'" so many times as i then race them to the bathroom. and abram is fussy, snotty, and wheezy. i'm now washing & wiping down every toy, book, etc that has been touched...fun stuff!

6

my first baby boy turned 6 years old last week!! in celebration of eli's birthday we decided to take him and a friend on a special day out where he could pick whatever he wanted to do for the whole day. he chose his friend, maddie, from school and what a fun day we had! first we headed to the children's museum which is always fun, of course, but maddie decided to make it a little more exciting as she vomited in the robots exhibit. i caught as much of it as i could in my jacket, but her entire stomach contents wouldn't exactly fit in my white jacket! needless to say, we were both covered in puke and so i had to strip her shirt off and put her winter coat on to cover her until the boys finished up in the museum. after dropping her off to go "get better" at home, we ate eli's favorite chicken and fries at ljs then had a blast bowling. we finished the night off watching a scooby doo movie while eating our ice cream from frostbite...yummy! he and caleb were so incredibly good all day and truly enjoyed every minute of eli's "special day". sunday we had a small party for him with his grandparents and cousins where he got tons of new lego sets...his favorite thing right now! he was so excited when he opened the big castle lego set he's been wanting from us. i've never seen him hug his daddy so tight after he opened that one. although i can't believe he's 6 already, i feel like he's been a part of my life forever. i can't imagine what i did before having him!! how blessed we are!!

sacred parenting

"...calls us to focus our brief lives on what will create the most impact for future generations. we will soon be forgotten on earth, but we'll be remembered in heaven. let us humbly accept this fact, and then embrace the sacred trust of children that God bestows on us. we must reprioritize our lives according to our own relative insignificance, finally learning to think as God thinks- generationally. we are born, we die, and then we get out of the way. but those who hold parenting as a sacred journey, and treat it accordingly, will leave behind something wonderful and lasting."

18 months

my baby boy turned 18 months old this month! at 1 1/2 years old what does a perfect little blonde haired, blue eyed boy enjoy? let's see...his thumb and "nee nee"(blankie), books!, singing & music, BALLS!, puzzles, counting (which is precious, by the way), putting buckets on his head, barney, baby einstein, attacking his big brothers, bathtime, suckers, and of course, his mommy & daddy! he's also partial to his paw paws. i love this baby boy...his unique little personality and beaming lil smile melt my heart everyday.

morrie's words

i've actually finished 2 books recently, which for me is a HUGE deal. i'm notorious for starting and never finishing book after book. tuesdays with morrie was a gift from jerry for christmas and i already knew i loved mitch albom's writing so i dove into it and wasn't one bit disappointed. there are so many quotes i wanted to share out of it, but here's a few...
--"we all know how to be a child. it's inside all of us. for me, it's just remembering how to enjoy it."
--"do the kinds of things that come from the heart. when you do, you won't be dissatisfied, you won't be envious, you won't be longing for somebody else's things. on the contrary, you'll be overwhelmed with what comes back."
--"devote yourself to loving others, devote yourself to your community around you, and devote yourself to creating something that gives you purpose and meaning."

found

i just finished reading amy grant's book, mosaic, which as the biggest amy grant fan ever, was a fantastic book. at the end she was speaking about her prayer for her children and i was struck by this one part. she writes, "as i listened to my youngest child pray, i realized, He's finding her...apart from me. and she's responding to him. that's my prayer for my children, that when they feel the pull of God, they respond. that's my prayer for myself as well. didn't God say, 'you did not choose me, but i chose you?' in the end our children's journeys of faith will be as unique as our own. my prayer continues to be, God, find them the way you found me".

toothfairy?

tonight my biggest baby boy lost his 1st tooth! after some serious persuasion, i convinced him to let me "wiggle it around a little" and then "gently" pull on it. the thing was so ready to come out that it didn't even bleed! you could basically touch both sides of his gums with it and i can't believe that it didn't fall out from him sucking his thumb so much. now i have to figure out how this toothfairy business works. the boys had a million questions from how big is she...to...is she invisible like an angel? it was so cute. i had to call jerry at work to see how rich he thinks our toothfairy is :)