God...The SuperHero

In our "prayer calendar" tonight Stephen asked me to write down that he's thankful for "God and the battle in Heaven." I didn't really know what he meant and after some prompting realized that in his innocent, little mind, God is almost like a superhero who is battling evil like a Transformer.

He definitely has a long way to go in his theology, but at least He's getting that God is a "good guy" who takes care of us. I'll take it!=)

Save...

Jeremy and I started Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace University on Monday. I've read his stuff before, and we've been incorporating his financial principles for several years now. It's exciting to go through the class, though, and I feel like we've already learned some stuff we didn't know about.

Today Caleb and I took the time to empty out our piggy bank and see what was in there. It wasn't much (grant it, the boys' personal jars are much more full than ours!), but Caleb had a great time looking at all the coins. He's enjoyed his day without Stephen, although he's asked about him a million times!

Hoping we can establish some wise financial principles now to pass on to our boys!

Caleb's Big Boy Bed!

This is where Caleb's supposed to sleep!

This is where we found him last night!

Monkey Joe's!

Thanks to Groupon our family enjoyed Monkey Joe's today for the first time! The boys had a blast, and so did me and Jeremy! We passed Jonathan back and forth, so we could both bounce and slide with the boys! It was a great family day for all of us!

Does He Remember?

August 2007



Unique thing that happened with Stephen today...

This afternoon my Mom, Grandma, and I took the boys to the Museum of Life and Science where we have a membership. While we were upstairs, they began to do a seat belt/crash test safety demonstration. I've seen this exhibit lots but never when someone was actually running it. It's basically a mini version of crash test dummies you see on TV. They put the little guy in a booster seat, strap him in a "car," and pull it up a mini-hill. On the count of 3, the seat flies down the hill and suddenly stops. It really is a neat demonstration to kids of how important wearing a seat beat is. You can't help but catch your breath when the little guy is unstrapped and bangs against the front of the "car" when it stops.

Anyhoo, since we'd never seen this in action before, Stephen and I walked over there. We went to the front and watched the lady strap the crash tummy in and motorize him up the hill. Everyone counted down, and he zoomed by us ending in a semi-loud crash.

As soon as it was over Stephen immediately turned to me and said, "I don't want to see that again." I was like okay, and we went to look at other things nearby. A couple minutes later, they began the demonstration again, and Stephen nearly panicked. He came to me again and said, "Where can I go, so I don't have to hear that again?" I immediately took him in the bathroom, and we shut the door til the crash was over.

Every time a new demonstration was done, I had to rush him to the bathroom or cover his ears. He was truly distraught over the whole thing. There was almost fear in his eyes. I asked him why he didn't like it, and he just said he didn't. I don't know what that means.

I write all this to say that I wonder if Stephen has memories of our car wreck back in 2007. He was only 16 months old at the time, but today definitely triggered something in him I have never seen before. Admittedly, seeing that little boy crash in that exhibit today made me sick to my stomach and brought tears to my eyes. Those sounds brought memories back to me, but I never dreamed my little 4 year old would have the same feelings.

Who knows what Stephen remembers and what today was all about for him. All I can do now is pray that he knows how much Daddy and Mommy love him and trust that he is beginning to understand God has a plan for everything, even the things in life that just don't seem fair. And today, more than 3 years later, I say thank you Father all over again. You did a miracle in our lives...we will never be the same!

Big Brother Caleb!

It's kinda sad when your 2 year old doesn't seem like the baby anymore. Where has the time gone? How is he even old enough to feed another baby? Crazy!!! I guess in this Mama's eyes, no matter how big they get, they'll always be my babies!=)

A Sick Week

Before the sick bug hit our house...



...Everyone was so happy!=)

I question if we will ever be healthy again after the week we've had. Really? I started feeling yucky on Monday and found out Wednesday I had an ear infection. Who gets ear infections at this age? Wednesday afternoon Jonathan spiked a 103.2 fever, and we immediately took him to the pediatrician. His flu test came back positive (which begs to question if that's what I had too??). On Thursday, Stephen had a dental procedure done where he was sedated. He did well, and we're glad that's over. On Friday morning Caleb started running a fever, and although we took him to the Dr., we're not sure what's going on.

Mama stayed with us almost all week and now she's home sick. Jeremy and Stephen are the only ones who have somehow avoided this. It's been crazy!!

Everyone seems better today, though, and I'm hopeful we're on the mend. These type weeks make me so thankful for the health I take for granted!

Why We Attend Saturday Nights!

There are lots of reasons why our family chooses to attend the Summit's Saturday night service, including the following:

-We love it!
-It's Jeremy's only chance since he's teaching all day on Sundays.
-There's a smaller crowd feel (well, at least it used to feel that way!).
-I don't worry that the boys have been there for a long time on Sunday mornings. It's 2 totally different days, experiences, teachers, and groups of kids for them.
-We usually go out as a family for dinner afterwards to "end" our weekend.
-Chick-fil-a is open!!!!
-And lots more...

One of the most important reasons for me, though, is the reinforcement of the Gospel that Stephen and Caleb get. Here's how we've taken advantage of going to church on two consecutive days with the boys hearing the same lesson both times:

...Saturday night they hear a story/do a craft about a story from God's Word. I already know what they're gonna learn, because I get the awesome Summit Kids' e-mail my amazing husband sends out!=) We can even intro it before they get there, so their minds are on that topic already!
...We talk about what they learned on the way to dinner after the service (usually Chick-fil-a!).
...That night I think of a craft that goes along with the story for us to talk about at breakfast on Sunday morning. I focus on making sure it somehow points to Jesus and the Gospel.
...The next morning (mind you, we don't have to rush out at 9:00 since we attended the night before) during breakfast we talk about what they learned and reinforce it with the zany (and very simple) activity I planned!
...Since I serve during the 11:00 service, we get to church around 10:30 (okay, not always---remember, I'm doing this on Sundays by myself with 3 kids since Jeremy has to be there so early!), and the boys get to hear the Bible story again with a new teacher and set of kids.
...Wonderful for us!!!---That way I feel like I'm doing the teaching, and the church is backing me up double each weekend! It's been great, and I'm praying it's making a difference in Stephen and Caleb's lives!

Above are some pictures of what we did this morning during breakfast. This weekend's story was about the One Lost Sheep, so we made marshmallow sheep on peanut butter plates while we ate our pancakes. We even sang the old song "The Lord is my Shepherd, I'll walk with Him always..." and giggled ourselves silly til we got in the van!

I truly love this schedule we've got. It's not always pretty (ie-I am stressed about half the time when I get there on Sundays!!) but nonetheless, the boys are learning, and I'm blessed to be a part of it!!

Cramming In!

This morning we had to leave, and I knew it was time for Jonathan to eat. So, what should I do??? Make Stephen and Caleb be even later for the playdate that they were so excited about? Listen to Jonathan scream the whole 20+ minutes there? Neither!!

Instead, I moved Jonathan's carseat to the back of the van between Stephen and Caleb. I fixed a bottle and put it in Stephen's cup holder. And on the way to our playdate, Stephen fed Jonathan, and everyone was happy!

The boys were super excited that Jonathan was back there! In fact, after noticing the 2 empty captain's chairs, Stephen asked me if I was gonna have another baby! Ha!=) I have joked with Jeremy about wanting to fill our entire 7 passenger van up (counting the 2 of us of course!). I guess we'll see...but don't get your hopes up!=)

Learning At Home

First off, I would not consider myself "homeschooling" Stephen just yet. True, we do "school type things" at least 3 times a week for around an hour or so. I've already learned that my little man bores easily and is a very kinesthetic learning. We do everything from throwing footballs at numbers taped on the wall to hide and seek with Dolche words we're working to memorize.

All of that said, though, we're taking things easy this year realizing that next year is the big K-5, and then I'll have some decisions to make!

Anyhoo, today we finished out our morning time by doing some writing in front of the fireplace. Both Jonathan and Caleb were still asleep, so we had a quiet house to ourselves. We even had some Pandora Classical music playing in the background.

These moments are the ones I cherish with Stephen. I sure love that little guy!

Growing up too fast...

Seriously, is Jonathan already 4 months old? I can hardly believe it! Waiting those 9 months for him (and not knowing if he was a boy or girl) seem like a breeze now that he's been with us for awhile!

Today he had his first tastes of baby food. The more he ate it, the better he seemed to enjoy it! By the end, he was smiling (but still turning up his nose a little!). Caleb actually ate more of it than Jonathan! He and Stephen were super excited to see their baby brother in his high chair.

I think over the next few days I'll have a little eater on my hands!=)