I Blinked

Just the other day I was following him as he enthusiastically skipped up the road to the bus stop for first time. 

 Then I blinked and turned from the passenger seat of my van and saw him driving. 

 

First day of Sophomore year

Just the other day I was pushing a grocery cart out to the van and he sat in the seat smiling up at me and we sang silly songs together without a care of who could be watching or listening. 

 Then I blinked and looked up and heard him talking about plans for his 10th birthday.

First day of 4th grade

 Just the other day I was nuzzling his sweet smellin' newborn baby head and giving Thanks to God for the opportunity to be a mama to a third boy.

Then I blinked and saw him glancing over his shoulder at me after trying on his new backpack for kindergarten

First day of kindergarten.

 

 

 

And there he goes...

 

 

 

 

 

9

Dear BuhBuh,

I know, I know...this is late...by two weeks.  This letter has been floating around in my head and I just haven't taken the time to sit down and write it.

Just before your 9th birthday we reflected and remembered those who died on September 11th 10 years ago.  I remember how my life was 10 years ago; how I felt that everything in my life and my country were falling apart.  Then one year and 5 days later there you were in my arms.  You are the visible reminder of hope, rebirth, grace and love in my life. 

And you're a pretty cool kid on top of that!  You have a heart for blessing others.  It's natural for you. You think of others before you think of yourself.  For your birthday party this year you wanted to go to the park so that your cousins had someplace to play.   You have enjoyed baking cakes for your brothers this past year for their birthdays.  Last Christmas you wrapped up one of your old toys and placed it under the tree for Little Dude to have.   You have this way about being able to find lost things that is almost funny.  If something is missing, you can usually locate it.  You also are able to understand what Little Dude is saying when I can't. 

You are a loyal friend and really love spending time with those friends who are your close buddies.  It warmed my mama heart to hear how you sat with one of your friends the other day on the playground after he got hurt.

 In addition to your school buddies you are also very good friends with your cousin who is 5 weeks older than you

Whenever the two of you are able to spend time together you are inseparable.  It is a very sweet, loving relationship which makes all of us smile.  We hope that it lasts beyond childhood and into your teenage years and adulthood. 

You are such a good big brother to Little Dude.  You are patient and kind and the two of you have so much fun together.  He really loves you and looks up to you.  I pray that one day you and The Boy can be friends.  I think you are just trying to figure that relationship out and aren't sure how.  I celebrate the times that the two of you play games or build together.

This past year you rode your first roller coaster at Disney World, played baseball, advanced to a higher level of swimming, and are playing fall soccer right now.  You have taking a liking to playing games, but have a funny way of playing.  In the game Dominion that we like to play you never try to win but try to either earn the most money or have the fewest points.

If I had a magic wand I would make it so that school wasn't so hard for you.  It's hard to see you struggle; hard to make you do homework when you come home; hard to see you get upset about it.  So, we will keep on preserving in the best way that we can because it has to be done.  I know that when you put your mind to something, you will work hard and diligently.  I know that God has amazing plans for you.

I saw a glimpse of a leader last Sunday in Sunday School as you sang loud as we practiced a song and as you re-told the story we were learning about.  I shared how proud I was of you for doing that and will continue to encourage your leadership and faith in church, in the home and at school. 

Micah 6:8 says, "and what does the LORD require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?

You, my darling boy, live this verse.  You seek what is right, you show love and kindness to others and you are humble in your faith.   I'm so proud of who you are and all that you do.

I look forward to watching you grow, learn and serve in this coming year...next stop:  double digits!  But this mama isn't rushing a thing!

I love you!!!!  Happy Birthday!
Love,
Mom

Lunch Box Worries

On the inside of BuhBuh's Star Wars lunch box I wrote, "I love you and God love's you too!  Have a good (with the o's of good making the eyes of a smiley face) day!!"


My thought was on the mornings that were busy and I didn't have the opportunity to write him a note, he'd have a permit message reminding him that he is loved. 

I thought it was brilliant!

He asked today WHEN I was going to take that off of his lunch box and that he had tried to wipe it off with little luck.

I told him it was permanent marker.  


"UGH!!!!  MOOOMMM!!!  When I'm in college, my roommate is going to see that and ask what that is and then I'm going to have to tell him that my mom wrote it then he'll laugh and I'll cry."

I didn't have the heart to tell him that

A. he most likely would not still be carrying that Star Wars lunch box when he got to college and

B. He would probably really, even if secretly, like seeing a note like that from mom when he's in college.

But then again, I'm just mom....what do I know, right?

In the meantime, let's just enjoy 3rd grade, yummy lunches packed in our Star Wars lunch boxes and permanent messages from mom.  

Car Talk

BuhBuh:  My birthday is coming up.

Me:  Yes it is.

BuhBuh:  But it's not right around the corner.  It's around the corner twice

June

Have I ever mentioned how much I LOVE the month of June???  30-blissful days of being unplugged (except for work.  I was on computer way more this year than in years past.  ICK!) and reconnecting. 

We take this so seriously that even people who come to our house during the month of June have to play along.

Cousins and friends who come over to play, and we even 10 kids we entertained when it was our turn to host for our Babysitting Co-op.

So what all did June entail here at the Yellow House on the Prairie??  (I should rename this blog!  What do you think?)  

Celebrating 15 years of marriage.  I had a conference to leave for that day.  But had flowers waiting for me when I checked into my hotel.  We celebrated when I returned with a Pops Symphony Concert with 

Micheal Cavanaugh and a movie 

Vacation Bible School.  The first one I was 100% responsible for planning and organizing.  It was awesome.  We had over 20 volunteers help to make it what it was.  We had about 60 children and youth and God showed up, that is for sure!

Trip to the zoo with cousins

Lots of games played as a family both inside and out.

 

Day trip to Chicago

 

 

Fireflies and Toads

Evenings at the ball park

Hours spent driving The Boy to and from 2 different camps, weights and conditioning for football, youth group, Village Inn, Friends houses. (Hence the reason there are NO pictures of him.  He hasn't been around much!  SNIFF!!!)

June is over.....but I am looking forward to enjoying July even if there are a few more electronics being used during the month.

End of School

No, the child did not have to stay in school this long.  His mama just didn't get his last day of school pictures up. 

He was excited for summer to begin.  Can you tell???  

We are having so much fun this summer (except when mean mama makes him do math or read) that I doubt this will be the same sort of memory I capture when he returns to school in the fall.

Hugs

A wise mom of grown children told me once, "Never stop hugging your kids.  Even if they don't like it, keep hugging them.  Because if you stop, they might decide they do want to be hugged by you and how would you know?"

So, I make it a point to hug my boys, all three of them, big, medium and small. 

Little Dude runs and jumps into my arms and squeezes.

BuhBuh lets me hug and kiss him.  But most times his arms dangle at his side.  Unless it's bedtime then he wants a big hug.  I think it's a stall tactic, but I don't care.  If he has a bad dream he still insists on a "good night" kiss to make it all better.

The Boy curls up into a fetal position and squirms.  But I hug him anyway.  It doesn't really hurt my feelings that he doesn't hug back.  Because my job is to let him know that I love HIM

This weekend The Boy and I were at a youth retreat and at the end everyone runs around hugging all of their friends new and old.  

As I was trying to round up my group I was standing there face to face with The Boy; looking up to him.  He leaned in and let me hug him.  We were in the middle of a group of people and he didn't care.  We stood there longer than any other hug we have had recently.  This time it wasn't one sided either.  

Brothers

BuhBuh:  I like being the middle child

Me:  *grinning*  Oh yeah?  Why is that?

BuhBuh:  Because if I were the oldest I'd only have two younger brothers and no big brother and if I were the youngest I'd only have two older brothers and no younger brothers. 

After this bedtime conversation with BuhBuh, both of these pictures flashed into my mind. 

  

Mark Twain Lake, July 2009

Starved Rock State Park, July 2010

I love both of these pictures of my boys.

They both tell me a story.

They both capture a precious, shared moment between the three of them. 

They both give me insight into each of their hearts.

They both remind me that despite the moments of arguing and fighting that occur;  despite my worrying about whether or not my boys will grow up and be brothers who are friends; despite me worrying about whether or not I'm treating them fairly because of their "birth order;"  I know...I see that there is a bond between them that only the three of them will ever share.

I pray that it will continue to grow stronger through the years.

Spring Break Vacation

One of my favorite things is to take vacations with my family.  It gives us a break from the everyday.  It gives us an escape from the busy.  It gives us intentional time together to have fun and enjoy one another without the worry of the calendar, clock or to-do list.

Our Spring Break vacation was split between Walt Disney World in Orlando and Grandma and Grandpa's Florida house in Fort Myers.

 I know Little Dude won't remember his first trip to Walt Disney World .  But it's pretty special to watch a 3-year old experience the excitement of Disney World for the first time and to be part of that excitement and joy with them. 

 

Although BuhBuh had been to Walt Disney World 5 years ago, we really got to watch him experience it all over again.  

 

He rode several roller coasters, often times putting up a fight to not ride them, but was always so happy when he did.  

Oh!  And he got to have a little light saber battle.  

 

Although he asked if he could battle on the dark side (sigh) he thought it was pretty cool. 

The Boy was such a trooper.  He did get to ride several roller coasters which he enjoyed.  But he was a good helper with his brothers. 

 

 

He never complained when we rode on the "kid" rides.  

 

I was worried that he wasn't having any fun.  This was the first vacation that I actually worried and wondered about that.  But when we got home he did tell me that he had fun.  My Sweetie and I realized as we walked out of the Magic Kingdom at 1 in the morning on our last "night" in the parks, that he might not be with us the next time we go. 

We really crammed a lot of the Disney Experience into a short amount of time.  We walked a lot, ate very little, slept very little, but had a ton of fun.  

After the Extreme Disney part of the trip, we drove to Fort Myers to stay with My Sweetie's parents at their Florida home.  We spent one day looking for alligators in the Everglades.

 

The rest of the time there we spent relaxing on the beach. 

It was BuhBuh's and Little Dude's first time to the ocean. All three boys had a blast playing in the water, digging in the sand and searching for shells. 

I had a blast sitting in my chair watching and soaking up the memories. 

As we wait with much anticipation of warmer weather, we can't wait to get outside and enjoy life here in the Yellow House on the Prairie.....it's a little chilly still, but we've managed to get a preview of the fun that spring and summer surely will bring.

Fun with Daddy

I wonder how much longer they will be able to do this? 

Lost

I can't believe that I forgot about Valentines Day!!!!!

The pictures have been living in my camera.  OOPS!

We celebrated on Sunday the 13th because the 14th The Boy had High School orientation and I didn't want to be rushed. 

 

We had our traditional candle light dinner of chocolate fondue with lots of yummy dippers.

Little Dude had been sleeping.  We didn't want him to miss out so we woke him up.  Sort of.

I think this is one of their favorite meals of the entire year.  

It's a sweet way to celebrate with the loves of my life. 

Photo Op

It melts my heart when I walk into the living room and see BuhBuh snuggled up on the couch reading a story to Little Dude. 

It was a really sweet moment that I wanted to capture.

But I just wasn't sneaky enough.....

Bedtime Stories

The boys listened intently to a story I had read to them several times before.  The Little Engine That Could by Watty Piper.

You know the one.

A train filled with toys and good food for the children at the other end of the mountain breaks down.  A Shiny New Engine comes by and is asked to help pull the train to the other side of the mountain but the Shiny New Engine is a passenger engine and says, "I pull the likes of you?  Indeed not!" and leaves.

A Big Strong Engine comes by and the dolls and toys ask if he can pull them to the other side of the mountain.  The Big Strong Engine is a Freight Engine that pulls trains of big machines over the mountains and is too important to pull the train of toys and food for the children over the mountain.

A third engine approaches; Rusty Old Engine also says he can not pull the train because he is just too tired.

The the Little Blue Engine comes by and is asked to pull the train to the other side of the mountain.  Even though the Little Blue Engine is much smaller than the other engines, agrees to pull the them over the mountain and believes in herself so much that she is able to do just that.

As I read, BuhBuh interrupted about half way through the story.  "Mom.  This story reminds me of that story from the Bible.  The one where people keep on passing by the guy laying on the road."

"The story of the Good Samaritan?"  I asked.

"YEAH!!  That one!!!" 

I paused a moment to soak in what he said then continued reading.  When I closed the book we compared it to the familiar parable.

The first three engines to pass by the broken train were all bigger and much more capable of pulling the load over the mountain but refused.  They felt like they were too good or too important to do such a job.

In the parable of the Good Samaritan the the priest and the Levite that passed by the injured man were the two who should have stopped to help but refused and ignored the man laying on the road.  I wonder if they felt like they were too good or too important to care for the injured many?

The Little Blue Engine was much smaller and not as capable as the other engines but thought about the boys and girls on the other side of the mountain who would be so happy when the train arrived and did the right thing.

The Samaritan was not the likely choice to stop and help the injured man.  The Jewish people and the Samaritans typically despised one another.  Yet this Samaritan knew what the right thing to do was.

BuhBuh struggles a with reading and comprehension at times.  But the fact that he was able to recognize and compare The Little Engine that Could with the parable of the Good Samaritan warmed this mama heart on so many levels.

He pointed something out to me that I hadn't ever thought about before. 

He does understand and comprehend what is being read and I was assured that reading won't always be as much of a struggle.

The word of God is on his heart.

Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?” The expert in the law replied, “The one who had mercy on him.”   Jesus told him, “Go and do likewise.”  Luke 10:36-37