Moving

Today we (Jared) helped some of our favorite people move ... Far far far away... To Mississippi. Martin asked us on the way home when we come go visit them (so that he could sit in these little chairs again). And because they are also some of his favorite people. 

So far he has only experienced people moving across town. Having conversations about real life (people moving, people getting sick and dying, things breaking and changing, etc.) is a hard part of parenting. You want to protect your children from hard things and sadness, but at the same time you know hard things help you depend on God more. In the end the best thing to do is bring it back to the gospel. The gospel give us hope. 

Everything breaks because of sin, but Jesus came to make all things new. It won't always be this way. Jesus is coming back some day. He'll take all the hurt and the sadness. 

People leave and we can't see them whenever we want, but it is a way to help us not become too comfortable on earth and help us long for our eternal home, where we will not be separated by distance. 

Because of Jesus we have hope. That is a wonderful thing! The most amazing thing. I pray for my children to not avoid hard things, but to see the gospel through them and to learn to depend on Jesus alone for strength to face whatever hard experiences come their way. 

"Like full springs in desert dreary, is the rest the cross supplies. Look to Jesus! "

Boy Party

We told Martin we are going to a party this week. He said, "I am going to have a party now."

At his party they eat desserts ("zerts") and salads made of tractors, tools, cranes, Legos, and matchbox cars. But at least they put a tablecloth (the quilt) on the table (the couch cushions). 

"You have a chocolate zert and I have a brownie zert."

M: Here Daddy, you should eat more food. 

J: But I just ate three meals. 

M: Three isn't a lot...

J: I am full. 

M: Why you fool?

J: Full. Not fool. 

Crane in Rain

Last week, after The baby's checkup, I was talked into stopping to look at the crane. It poured down rain. We sat there for 30 minutes and watched them not work because it was raining. But the boys thought it was wonderful. Thankfully, we found a tree that kept us dryish. 

You can tell from the baby's head how soaked we got. It was the walk out to the parking lot that did us in. If I had planned ahead we would have had rain coats and boots to splash in puddles. Oh well, next time. 

In all it spent a good hour of our day, which was good since Warren had a shot and needed a distraction. 

House divided

I am a huge UNC fan!! They are normally really great at basketball and okay at football. Speaking of which, this year in basketball was such an amazing year. I didn't expect them to win the ACC championship and I thought for sure they would be the first #1 seed eliminated. They proved me wrong and it was such a fun year to watch. 

Jared is a huge Georgia fan. They normally stink at basketball, but are great at football. 

Our teams rarely play each other in either sport, which means we can cheer for the other person's favorite team. However, this year, for the first time in 45 years, they will play in football. It is the first game of the season. I've polled the members of our household and our votes are in:

I am way outnumbered! 

That is really a lot of red...

Voting day!

We walked to go vote today. The lady at the polling place gave both boys stickers. Warren cried. 

"Why I have a voting sticker and I no vote?" - Martin

Then we came home and ate lunch on the picnic table and played in the yard.  This baby is going to be trouble when he grows a bit bigger. 

Martin doesn't try to escape. He's happy playing with a stick and a ball. 

Baseball game

Martin went to his first baseball game this past Monday. Jared took him while I stayed home with the baby. The baby went to bed and I read my new book! 

He has been talking and talking about it ever since. He even got his own baseball, which we had to explain doesn't happen every time. :)  

The rest of the week we spent sick with colds, an abscess tooth (the same one as in October - which now they think needs to be removed - happy for a final answer and hopefully the end of five years of trouble), and a stomach bug. Ugh. I am ready for some weeks of being healthy. 

Maybe I'll have more to say when my energy returns. 

We do a lot of this.

This is the boys (and my) favorite book. It is Richard Scary's The Best Word Book Ever. 

It has the greatest pictures for asking questions and explaining things. Once the boys have hit around 18 months they start recognizing things inside and outside the book that are the same (ie. That's a chair in the book and right across the room is a chair). They have both enjoyed it before that age, but it is even more fun when they are interacting with the pictures. I remember loving this book at a child. I am glad that I still do and that my boys love it too. I can't say enough good things about it. 

Note: I don't know if there is an updated version. We have the 1963 version. I love it. I wouldn't want to see an updated version. Who wants to look at pictures of people staring at a tv or computer or phone? Boring. I like the old fashion playground and tools. Most everything else is up-to-date. 

One of my favorite things...

I doesn't happen much, but combine a bit of a cold, playing outside, and a late night and it is the perfect recipe for this. I just love him and I wish he'd stop growing up. 

I've been battling this awful chest cold this week. It has completely worn me out. Yesterday, I told the kids, "I am just going to lie on the couch while you play. I am so tired."

He said, "Mom, if you are tired, you should go sleep in your room. We can play out here while you sleep." 

This has nothing to do with either of the above two paragraphs other than it is about Martin. Jared says I should stop answering his why questions in so much detail because it makes him ask even more questions.  I don't care. I want my kids to explore and ask questions and learn so much more than I know about the world and everything God has created!!! 

Bookworms

It was really quiet in my house today while I was getting dressed. I found them reading in their room. 

We love Richard Scary word books in our house. I think these are the Greatest Eord Book Ever and the Best Storybook Ever.  I don't like some of the newer stuff, but I love the old stories and pictures (I think these are copyrighted in the 1950s or 60s). My parents bought Martin this six foot long Richard Scary board game that is pretty awesome too. 

Haircuts and Grace

The more you practice sitting still, the easier it is. Tonight is the first night I didn't have to hold the baby's head while Jared trimmed around his ears. He's growing up. Now if we can teach him to sit still during Bible story time (he is improving) and church (not so good)...  Practice makes perfect though. We will keep working with him. 

One of the hardest things in parenting is recognizing when your kids are old enough to be able to handle a certain task and actually taking the time to train them. Left to their own kids will always take the easier route because they are sinners like us and we like ease and comfort. We want to be in control of what feels good to use at the moment. Parenting takes effort. It is hard work to train up a child and to teach them self control. So many days you feel like you are fighting the same battle over and over and over again. As an adult I often want to do what is easy - let my kids do what they want, but I know that won't be good for them in the long run (even though it seems fun now). It is a blessing to see the fruit of your work in small things, such as sitting still for a hair cut and listening to almost all the Bible story quietly.

Press on. Your labors aren't in vain. God uses broken people for His glory. I am so glad He is in control because I so often fall short of being a good parent, wife, friend, etc. He is always gracious. I am so glad. 

Simple game

I have been waiting for Easter clearance since last year, when I missed it, to make this game. Two packs of eggs cost me $0.89. I owned the Sharpie already. 

First, Martin lined the big ones up. 

And then he found the matches.  I tried to make similar letters on different colors. 

He finishes them all, but he takes a lot of breaks in between letters to roll around the floor and sing the alphabet song again or sit in my lap. 

And sometimes he does this and laughs. 

I wish the colors were not as similar. I should have bought a pack of pinks and traded them out for some of the blues. But otherwise, it works as well as I had hoped. 

And this is probably my Friday post, but if I wait until Friday I will probably forget. So, I am just posting today. :) 

I love these two.

Some days they play together and get along for a bit. The baby unconditionally adores Martin, even when he is pushing him over and taking toys from him. 

I have to sneak pictures of them getting along. :) 

Today they stared out the window together at the cars driving past. Then they took all the shoes off the shoe rack and put them back on (with some prompting). 

Hot Air Balloon

Guess where I was at 6am on a Saturday? We were going to wake up at 4:30am to leave by 5, but Warren had other plans and woke up at 3:51am. Oh, well! It was a lovely morning. We met my sister and Michelle to watch 14 balloons. Martin has been asking every since to go see some more balloons. Maybe is a few years, buddy. I can only get up so early so often. 

A plane flew by and drops ChickfilA cows tied to parachutes. You can see a person jumping to catch one. 

Creepy teddy bear balloon. 

We had breakfast and walked around a small town for an hour afterwards. We were home by 11am. Some of us were more worn out than others. Ha ha. 

Tents, Cars, and So Much More

This week has been super busy. We have  picked a bunch of strawberries, made a pie or two, visited all the grandparents, and spent the majority of our free time on planning for my sister's shower. Jared and I snuck in two dates, one for his birthday and one to buy new dresses for me! Thanks to my parents for watching the boys both times. 

We flew in airplanes. 

We drove cars around.  

We ate lunch in a tent. 

We played in the closet together with trains. Warren now crawls and Martin calls him into the closet or under the crib or table. 

We went to the grocery store. Martin put all the cans in my drying rack and then put them away again when he "drove home from the grocery store". 

We visited the crane truck again. 

And I bought four new dresses. There are only three in the picture. One is dry clean only so I didn't wash it. 

Also, I just love how light my kitchen is!! It makes me happy whenever I am in it. I love my house. 

Enjoying Life

We've spent a little time watching a crane raise beams up into the sky. So grateful for my part-time faculty parking pass that lasts all year long. The campus is a fun place to take walks when we are tired of the zoo, especially when they are building  new buildings. 

And some time jumping in puddles at church and my parents house. Unfortunately, I was nursing the baby and didn't capture any pictures of Martin jumping in and floating boats in the gutters at my parents house with my Dad. He was drenched and happy. 

Who knows what adventures tomorrow will hold! Having kids is so much fun. I love to teach them and show them new things. They get so much joy out of the simple things. I love them. 

I really like this article

http://www.thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/erikraymond/2015/03/31/helping-kids-to-benefit-from-the-sermon/

I found it very useful and I wan to revisit it when my children are older. So I am posting it here. 

Sticker

My mom sent Martin a letter and it had stickers on it. He peeled this one off, brought it to me, and said, "wake up! Wake up!" I guess he thought it looked like his aunts. Ha ha. He plays a game with them where they close their eyes and he tells them to wake up. 

Also, on my trip to pick up Jared from the airport we stopped at Chick-fil-a for a milkshake. :) As soon as he saw the sign he said, "chick away? Chick away Martin eat chick away? Yeah. Martin eat chick away." 

The fact that he recognizes their logo, which I know he does because the other day he brought me one of their kid meal books and pointed to it and told me it was chick away, makes me never want to let my kids watch tv and be assaulted my kid commercials. Ugh. Kids don't need too many things!! Enough of that. 

So we are driving away and this conversation follows. 

"Martin pee potty chick away?"

"Do you need to use the potty?"

"Yeah. Potty chick away."

Knowin that he has only used one other public restroom, I say, "If you actually use the potty at chick-fil-a I will give you some of my ice cream."

"Martin chick away, pee potty, ice cream! Yeah. That's fun."

So he went inside with me and used the potty. He went in two public restrooms in one day! I am so proud of him and so excited. And on top of that he hasn't had an accident in two day. What?!? Today will probably be a disaster, but I am rejoicing in the small victories. :) 

I love my funny sons. 

Sovereignty and Children

Isaiah 55:6-9

6  "Seek the Lord while he may be found; call upon him while he is near;

7  let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts; let him return to the Lord, that he may have compassion on him, and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.

8  For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord.

9  For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.

I wanted to focus on verses 8 and 9, but I thought 6 and 7 were a good reminder as well. We have to seek, call, and forsake our old ways. This year these verbs have been sticking out of passages that I have been reading. God had commanded us to DO a lot of things. It doesn't earn our salvation, but as Paul says in Romans, "what, shall I go on sinning so that grace may abound? May it never be!" Our life is changed and thus, we should act differently. 

I also love how verses 6 and 7 talk about God's abundant pardon. I have also been noticing The Bible talks about God's exceeding grace, he is rich in mercy, he graciously gives us, he lavished upon us, Unsearchable riches, and His abundant pardon. What a wonderful savior is Jesus my Lord! 

All that is a side note to what I wanted to say. I have learn a lot about God's will and sovereignty from watching my children. He is my latest example. Warren has been rolling over, a lot. But once he is on his stomach, he gets angry and annoyed. So, I graciously stop what I am doing and push him back to his back. I warn him that he doesn't like his stomach. But does he listen? No, just because he knows how to do something, he thinks it is the best way. He flips over shortly and gets mad again. I also have to strap him in his chair now because he tries to escape. I know he might enjoy his freedom for a little while, but he would quickly become frustrated. 

This started me thinking about rules and events in my life I don't enjoy. Sometimes I make my life unpleasant because I think I know the right way and I don't follow God's way. Sometimes a rule seems bothersome, but it is there to keep me safe. I am thankful I have a Heavenly Father who doesn't grow weary or tired because I am so often like a small child, doing the same stupid thing over and over again. 

Children are a wonderful picture of this to me. Often when I am telling them to do something that they don't enjoy, but that I know is good for them or will make them stronger, I think about God's ways being not my ways and his thoughts higher than my thoughts. It is a good reminder to trust him. 

Warnie

He's such a happy baby. 

And he loves his feet.

Boys

Warren is moving much sooner than Martin. He rolled all over the floor last night before bed. His head hits the ground with a "thunk" each time he flips over. It doesn't deter him though. Over he flips again with a huge grin on his face. He also is trying to crawl. I am not ready for that yet. 

Martin will be happy once Warren can play with him... Until he takes his toys. Ha ha.