We have established a new nightly prayer ritual at home. And after a few weeks things are falling into place, the whining and wiggles have worked their way out, and I am enjoying this time. The kids and I kneel around our coffee table and Patrick holds Max in a "wrestling-style" hold to keep him still. The first week, he was anything but quiet. But now he seems to realize crying is worthless, he will be held despite it. Last night he quietly looked at each of us while we named our intentions. He even folded his hands and "prayed" along.
But Sean had the clincher of the night: "I pray that Grandpa has a safe trip, for all soldiers fighting overseas, and that Grandpa Tic Tac is having fun in Heaven."
I'm sure he is. Our family prayer time is likely providing lots of laughs and smiles for the folks up there.
Friday, August 20, 2010
Thursday, August 12, 2010
Say What....
Sarah Clare saw a sign reading Cemetary the other day while driving.
Sarah: "Mom is that the place where they bury dead people or where priests go to learn?"
I need to check with Sean to see if he has done all his morning jobs...make bed, get dressed, brush teeth. Sometimes I don't get around to asking until later in the day. So on a recent car trip...
Mom: "Sean did you brush your teeth today?"
Sean: "Yep, I did."
Luke: "No you didn't. I didn't see you."
Sean: "You don't see everything Luke."
Luke: "I saw you stick a wet wipe on your bottom and hop around saying you were a bunny. And I saw you shoot a nerf bullet into the toilet while I was peeing."
I couldn't help but laugh so hard that I cried. But it did make me long for individual bathrooms for just one second.
Sarah: "Mom is that the place where they bury dead people or where priests go to learn?"
I need to check with Sean to see if he has done all his morning jobs...make bed, get dressed, brush teeth. Sometimes I don't get around to asking until later in the day. So on a recent car trip...
Mom: "Sean did you brush your teeth today?"
Sean: "Yep, I did."
Luke: "No you didn't. I didn't see you."
Sean: "You don't see everything Luke."
Luke: "I saw you stick a wet wipe on your bottom and hop around saying you were a bunny. And I saw you shoot a nerf bullet into the toilet while I was peeing."
I couldn't help but laugh so hard that I cried. But it did make me long for individual bathrooms for just one second.
A Birthday without pictures
Luke celebrated his golden birthday a few days ago. I believe that is what the little girls around here call it...you know turning 10 on the 10th. And here I am....the mother of a ten year old. For some reason, I find this birthday hard. Yes, I may have gotten a bit misty-eyed when I dropped him off for his first day of kindergarden, and our first t-ball game seemed to come all too soon. But a ten year old.....a decade spent parenting a baby (and a willful one at that) into a young man. I don't know how this is possible. I spent the night before Luke's big day weeping in bed. My husband still thinks I'm nuts, as he reassured me...."You know, he's a great kid...." He is. And that is perhaps the cause of tears. Ten is so old......he will be gone so soon. Letting go is so hard.
Luke, while still strong-willed at times, has grown in so many ways. That little baby who insisted on screaming for 20 full minutes before falling off to dreamland at night, now spends minutes, if not hours, in bed reading books I've never dreamed of reading. Greek myths, roman myths, adventures, science fiction, history books. The child will take textbooks to read, if there isn't anything else new around the house. And while he may not be a big fan of actually falling asleep, he now eagerly anticipates "going to bed".
Luke can change a diaper. He can entertain little kids with silly games, mostly involving jumping and running and tickling. He can cook some food items. He can answer the phone and now even makes calls Mom would rather avoid..."Hello, I was wondering if my mom may have returned a video to the library that really belongs to the movie store."
Luke can assess a situation and realize a friend is in need or their feelings are hurt and he attempts to make it better. Luke will offer to carry heavy items for elders, pick up dropped items at the grocery store, and try to help whenever asked.
Granted, we have qualities and traits we are working on, but I'm not ready to think too long and hard about about him being grown-up. I have joy having him here.
And so, due to a Mom moment as Luke likes to call it, I have very little in the way of pictures for his special day. I couldn't find the camera. I found it today. It was behind the piano, against the wall. That beats where I thought it was....yep, at the library....we even called.
But here are the details. He turned 10. The party invitation went something like this.....Please bring your guns, ammo and protective gear.....actually the tears may have started then for me....He had an airsoft battle with his friends. They all wore camo. They played in the woods. It was all the younger kids against the two teenagers. They had a blast. The younger kids lost. All the families stayed. We swam. The sisters all had a tea party. We grilled out. We had so many people that I RAN OUT OF FOOD. I felt very bad, as my hubby and another late arriving dad ate left over stew. They even ate it cold for some reason or another. The boys played basketball. They had ping pong games. We had a camo cake. Luke really, really, really liked his cake. The cake decorating classes payed off with his excitement over his cake. I did get a picture of the cake on my phone. I don't know how to dowload it onto the computer.
And now it is back to school, sports, and watching a child grow more into a young man and man of God every day. And I am so very thankful to be a part of it.
Luke, while still strong-willed at times, has grown in so many ways. That little baby who insisted on screaming for 20 full minutes before falling off to dreamland at night, now spends minutes, if not hours, in bed reading books I've never dreamed of reading. Greek myths, roman myths, adventures, science fiction, history books. The child will take textbooks to read, if there isn't anything else new around the house. And while he may not be a big fan of actually falling asleep, he now eagerly anticipates "going to bed".
Luke can change a diaper. He can entertain little kids with silly games, mostly involving jumping and running and tickling. He can cook some food items. He can answer the phone and now even makes calls Mom would rather avoid..."Hello, I was wondering if my mom may have returned a video to the library that really belongs to the movie store."
Luke can assess a situation and realize a friend is in need or their feelings are hurt and he attempts to make it better. Luke will offer to carry heavy items for elders, pick up dropped items at the grocery store, and try to help whenever asked.
Granted, we have qualities and traits we are working on, but I'm not ready to think too long and hard about about him being grown-up. I have joy having him here.
And so, due to a Mom moment as Luke likes to call it, I have very little in the way of pictures for his special day. I couldn't find the camera. I found it today. It was behind the piano, against the wall. That beats where I thought it was....yep, at the library....we even called.
But here are the details. He turned 10. The party invitation went something like this.....Please bring your guns, ammo and protective gear.....actually the tears may have started then for me....He had an airsoft battle with his friends. They all wore camo. They played in the woods. It was all the younger kids against the two teenagers. They had a blast. The younger kids lost. All the families stayed. We swam. The sisters all had a tea party. We grilled out. We had so many people that I RAN OUT OF FOOD. I felt very bad, as my hubby and another late arriving dad ate left over stew. They even ate it cold for some reason or another. The boys played basketball. They had ping pong games. We had a camo cake. Luke really, really, really liked his cake. The cake decorating classes payed off with his excitement over his cake. I did get a picture of the cake on my phone. I don't know how to dowload it onto the computer.
And now it is back to school, sports, and watching a child grow more into a young man and man of God every day. And I am so very thankful to be a part of it.
Grace is.....
Grace is...
-a clock ticking away at 5:30pm and a dinner waiting to be started
-a child banging (creating music) on the piano
-a toddler chasing a kindergardener around the house in circles laughing hysterically as he tries to hit him with the very germy flyswatter (how did he find that, again?)
-a child attempting to send an email to a friend on the computer and needing help
-two dogs needing to be fed only to realize you are out of dog food
-laundry piling up in hampers around the house as you wonder, "start today or wait until Saturday?"
-finding yourself placing one more "this belongs upstairs, not down here" toy on the stairs to be returned at bedtime
...a smile erupting, a giggle surfacing, and joy overflowing my heart as I again realize how much I love my life and how truly blessed I am by the Lord!
-a clock ticking away at 5:30pm and a dinner waiting to be started
-a child banging (creating music) on the piano
-a toddler chasing a kindergardener around the house in circles laughing hysterically as he tries to hit him with the very germy flyswatter (how did he find that, again?)
-a child attempting to send an email to a friend on the computer and needing help
-two dogs needing to be fed only to realize you are out of dog food
-laundry piling up in hampers around the house as you wonder, "start today or wait until Saturday?"
-finding yourself placing one more "this belongs upstairs, not down here" toy on the stairs to be returned at bedtime
...a smile erupting, a giggle surfacing, and joy overflowing my heart as I again realize how much I love my life and how truly blessed I am by the Lord!
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