Before & After

So much was accomplished around our house last week, and I want to take the chance to bask in the joy of completed projects! Derek took some days off, and our out-of-state friend (Shawn) settled in for a week of home improvement projects. First of all, I want to thank Shawn and Rebekah for giving so much of their time and energy to us. Without Shawn's construction knowledge, we never would have gotten all of this done in one week.

Our house went from 2 adults, 3 kids, and 1 bird to 4 adults, 4 kids, 1 bird, 1 dog, and 2 fish! Throw in turkey hunting, construction, kids' activities and a birthday party for good measure, and this was one crazy place. Rebekah and her little boy ended up going home on Sunday, but Shawn stayed for the week. Except for Shawn's dog, I was "boy-trapped" as usual. :)

Dakota at 8 weeks at our house

July 2008

Dakota at 11 months at our house in April 2009
"I remember these hot days!"

Completed projects include: cement pad poured in backyard for dog pen, dog pen put up, dog house built from scratch, broken siding on our house replaced, trim put up in basement, and wall of our attached garage securely anchored to the rafters. (A tornado last spring damaged our siding and ripped our wall apart--yikes!) Shawn also fixed a very squeaky storm door that I appreciate very much. :) Derek asked him to do that, since he knew it had been bugging me for a long time!

On the day they poured the cement pad, it was extremely windy. Since I could not walk a full wheelbarrow of cement from the street to the backyard, my job was to keep the new cement from setting up too early. I set my hose on a light mist and sprayed away. Feeling pretty helpful, I was sure surprised when my spray nozzle popped off and sank in our new concrete! The guys had already smoothed that part over, so I cringed as I grabbed a shovel and dug out my hose nozzle. I tried to make it look like nothing had happened, but realized I'm no cement expert. Especially when I could barely reach it. :) It all worked out in the end, but it's a funny little story I'd like to remember.

Before

During

After!

Every day I played fetch with Shawn's 11 month old German Shepherd puppy, Dakota. Every evening I took her for a walk. Actually, she took me for a walk. This dog is a live-wire! I learned the hard way to never go near a pair of guys playing frisbee when I'm walking Dakota. It took every ounce of strength I had to keep her from participating in their game. I also learned that when I stand downwind in capris, Dakota's doggy slobber gets all over my legs. Yes, I still want a dog, and I still want a German Shepherd. I just want to make sure she is trained! Otherwise she will walk all over me. :) We are trying to find the right dog to be ours at the right time, but it won't be long now. Yipeee!!!

All About Aaron

A few weeks ago Aaron and I were driving by the children's museum, and he asked if we could go there. He asks me that every time we drive by. I always tell him we'll go there some day, but not right now. This time I had one of those "ah-ha!" moments and said, "Yes Aaron, we can go there for your birthday party!" He picked 3 friends to invite and I picked the date. 11 days after his birthday, but that's pretty good I think! At the last minute one of his friends could not make it, his beloved cousin, but the show went on and he had lots of fun.

The night before his party, I realized I had completely forgotten to make a birthday cake. I improvised with a bag of powdered donuts that Aaron asked me to buy last time we were grocery shopping. I arranged them in the shape of the number 5, and stuck 5 candles in them. I thought that was pretty creative thinking, but Daddy had another idea. While I was with the kids at the museum and park, Derek went to the bakery and picked up this super-cool birthday cookie. He must have felt sorry for us! :) What a great Daddy!

After the fun and games at the children's museum and park, I brought the kids to our house to open gifts and eat the yummy birthday cookie. Kaleb's parakeet was a big hit, and Aaron taught his friends how to hit the cage when the bird chirps too loud. We're so caring and compassionate, aren't we? One of Aaron's gifts is a Lego police helicopter, which his big brothers drooled over when they got home from school. Kaleb ended up putting it together with Aaron after supper, with only one tearful outburst.

What a great big brother you are Kaleb!

Today was a busy day, but it was a good day. Aaron even gave me some more "Aaronisms." When I helped him get dressed, I told him he was my man in black today. He said, "Ooo, I'm a black man today!" Then we were feeding his cousin's fish on our counter, and he wanted to change their water. I told him we didn't have the fish net, so we can't change the water. Aaron said, "Could we just use a fishing pole to get the fish out?" These are tiny goldfish I'm talking about. :) While driving around town, Aaron carried a pinecone with him. At one of our stops he couldn't find it. He said, "I need my kine-pone!" :)

Rough Week

For me, I started a blog to have a place to record memorable things my kids did and said. I like sharing our lives with family and friends who live far away. It shrinks the miles between us. But by sharing our great moments, I hide some of the "real-life" moments. Well, not this time. I am just having a flat-out crummy week, and there's no use in hiding it.

In the span of a few days, here is what's been swimming through my spirit. Strep throat for Aaron, pneumonia for my baby niece, the sudden freakish death of a young mother with 3 small children (6, 4, and 8 days old), a grandpa in grave condition needing amputation surgery, an upside-down schedule revolving around construction projects and extra people living in my home, a birthday party tomorrow for my 5 year old and a few of his friends, a migraine this morning, and a cancelled get-away trip I'd been anticipating with my sisters and mother-in-law. When I sift through these things and see so much pain around me, I feel selfish for grieving the loss of a trip. I mean, where does that rank in the scheme of things? Still, this is where I'm at. Ironically enough, my ladies Bible study centered around contentment yesterday. I can tell I need some (lots) of work in this area. My poor husband is fed up with my moping around the house, and I don't blame him. I think I've been given this headache this morning to slow me down and humble me a bit.

I think of Rachel's family burying her this week and weep for them. A heart-wrenching loss that happened to occur on her oldest child's 6th birthday. I pray and pray for Derek's grandpa and his health, all the while remembering how many years he's been the grandpa to me that I never had. I love him very much. I see Aaron and my niece getting better, praise God. My headache medicine is working--another praise.

So that is what I'm living through this week. I think learning the lesson of contentment is about as much fun as learning the lesson of patience. Still, I press on.

Turkey Times

For a weekend that was supposed to be filled with rain, we sure saw a lot of sunshine! Derek's big turkey hunt went forward as planned, as I heard this phrase whispered in my heart: "O, ye of little faith!" Our friends arrived, the hunt went on, and God smiled upon us this weekend.

Braylen with his "big old gobbler"

Ever since Derek heard the words, "It's a boy!" he's been envisioning some pretty special father-son moments. Camping, biking, Cub Scouts, fishing, hunting. . .this weekend one of those moments came to be. Braylen, who spent the past few weeks practicing his turkey calls with Derek and reading turkey hunting books, shot his first turkey on Saturday. He used a youth 20 gauge shotgun and made the shot from 47 yards! Yipeee! Now, this former city girl still doesn't fully grasp the sport of hunting. But I understand that my husband loves it. So because I love him, I support him in this. Derek really enjoyed his bonding time with Braylen this weekend, and that makes me so very happy. Braylen's blessed to have a dad who invests so much in him. Kaleb and Aaron are itching for their turns--I guess this is just the beginning!

While the men were hunting, the ladies went for a massage. Ahhh, it was so nice! With Grandma watching our boys, Rebekah and I really pampered ourselves. What a difference from our typical hunting weekend. Usually we cook lots of food and entertain kids. I like using my Valentine's gift in April. :)

Rebekah and me--how I love our times together!

Another "first" this week occured on Tuesday. Braylen joined our city's track club! We've liked watching Braylen play soccer, baseball, and flag football. "Atheltic" is definitely a good way to describe him. But running is where he shines. Derek and I both ran track in middle school and high school, so it's fun to see our son enjoy it too. Kaleb's looking forward to t-ball this summer, and Aaron's "sport" is watching his brothers' sporting activities. He doesn't seem to mind, so I'm in no hurry to put him in a program. :)

Aaron. . .we decided to skip kindergarten round-up this week and give him one more year at home with me. Not an easy decision at ALL, but we feel it's the right one. After much prayer and counsel from those who have gone before us, we see no reason to rush our baby into school. He would do fine in kindergarten this fall, but I want him to do better than fine. I look forward to pouring into him during this "extra" year at home.

This week brings a week of construction at our house. We hope to get our attic and garage wall fixed from last year's tornado. The temporary fix that was done back then was not meant to be permanent. We also hope to get our dog pen up, the cement pad poured, and the doghouse built. We'll see!

Finally 5

What a great time we had celebrating Aaron's birthday on Easter Sunday! Even though the sky was gray, our spirits were not. Braylen and Kaleb did a super job of making Aaron feel special. This is the first birthday I can remember when they didn't remind Aaron that he's still the youngest, even though it's his birthday. We all got ready for church and Aaron opened one present: a tiny Easter chick snowglobe that lights up in all different colors. Since it didn't make noise (thanks Grammy!) we let Aaron bring it to church. :)

After church we dashed home to hunt for Easter baskets and I put the finishing touches on the meal prep. We even took the time to pose for a family picture, since it had been awhile. The first try cut off Derek's head--that's what he gets for being tall in a family of short people! :)

During Easter dinner at Grandma & Grandpa's house, we enjoyed a special time with the kids telling us the Easter story using resurrection eggs. Braylen had the job of narrator, and I'm amazed he was able to eat inbetween reading his lines. Next we switched into birthday mode. Grandma asked Aaron 5 questions, and everyone had to go around the table and try to guess his answers. We all learned a little bit more about Aaron because of this! Here are the questions:

1. What is your favorite toy to play with?
"my bicycle" (smart cycle)

2. What do you want to be when you grow up?
"hockey man" (Kaleb guessed, "I think he wants to be just like me!")

3. What's your favorite food?
"meatballs"

4. If you could go anyplace in the world, where would you go? "Illinois, to Grammy and Grampy's house" (at first he said michigan, then ohio, trying to remember where they live!)

5. What is your favorite story in the Bible?
"the man in jail with no clothes on--Jophes!" (notice the name switcharoo? joseph)

After dinner, Aaron opened his gifts. I must say, you'd never know this was our third boy. He brought in quite a haul! Everything was a hit, and Aaron couldn't wait to play with his new toys. His favorites are definitely Mario Kart for the Wii, a camo truck with hunting figurines, a new dino cartridge for his smart cycle, a balloon pumper, and a giant box of football cards.

Cake time! Aaron wanted a green bunny cake, so that's what he got. I always love watching my kids' faces while the entire family is singing to them. Aaron didn't let me down, with his shy grin and all. :) Some of us had green teeth after eating that cake, but nobody's teeth were as green as Aunt Sarena's. :)


Back at home, we all had the chance to talk with my mom and dad on skype. Aaron showed them his gifts and they sang "Happy Birthday" to him. While we wish they could have been here, at least we were able to "see" them through the miracle of technology! For supper Aaron asked for pb&j sandwiches. Yayyy!!!! Easy peasy, as Aaron would say! We all stayed up late playing Mario Kart and Monopoly. Fun!

blowing kisses to Grammy & Grampy

6 Easter baskets+loads of presents+yummy food+bunches of balloons=one very happy day. I also went down memory lane a bit in my own mind. It's hard to believe my baby is 5 years old. To think of the many scares I had during his pregnancy, and the fears that went along with that...Aaron is such a gift to us. He is our blessing through and through. My favorite Bible verse for Aaron is found in Genesis 21:6. "Sarah said, 'God has brought me laughter.'" Anyone who knows Aaron knows how much he makes us laugh!!! On a more serious side, our verse for his life is found in John 15:7-8. Jesus is speaking here. "If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you. This is to my Father's glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourself to be my disciple." We pray that Aaron will grow up to be a mighty man of God, using his life to bring forth much fruit!

Happy Birthday Aaron William! We love you bunches and bunches!

Anticipation

In my years of mothering, I've learned that the anticipation of an event is often more thrilling than the event itself. Our latest celebration countdown has been going on for weeks, and it involves a little boy with an Easter birthday. Aaron has found so much joy in counting down the days until his birthday, that he's turned it into a fascination with numbers. He used to count to 11, maybe 12 if he was lucky. Since his number kick, the boy can count to 30 and beyond without a hitch. He counts his football cards, pages in books, cars, eggs, etc. He has 83 football cards, so 83 is his benchmark for deciding if a number is big or small. 101 is a new favorite as well. He finds Braylen's chapter books and turns to page 101 and announces to me that 101 is more than 100.

Today's most exciting number for him is 2, since that is how many days until his birthday. :) I'm sure he'll be overloaded with goodies and gifts on Easter, raking in quite a stash as a new 5 year old. I look forward to it, but I also live in the real world. It will be a long day. He will be tired, over-stimulated, and cranky by day's end. (I'll probably join him in it!) So we've really enjoyed the countdown stage, for the gleam in his eye is from pure anticipation of what's to come. I love it.

Braylen and Kaleb are looking forward to Easter too. Grandparents and parents make good Easter bunnies! As spring is arriving, they are spending more and more time outside. Our basketball hoop gets lots and lots of use. They are anticipating the end of 1st and 3rd grades. I am not. As much as I love summer, this school year has been exceptional. Great teachers, good ages for our kids--I just don't want to see it end. So for now we will enjoy our 4th quarter.

Coloring eggs on a rainy day

Some Aaronisms I keep forgetting to note. Aaron loves meatloaf, and one night when we were having meatloaf for supper he said, "Oooo, we're having moat-leaf, loaf-meet, leaf-moat...what is this called?" Another mixed-up word is basket. He keeps telling me about his Easter "bastic." As he grows, his word mix-ups are fewer and farther between. That's why I don't want to forget even one.

Boys & Girls

I never know what I will find out about my boys' days in school. I'm convinced I know much less than the mothers of girls, since boys (and men for that matter) missed out on the "conversation" gene. Yesterday Kaleb came home from school and went through his usual description of his day. (at my prompting of course!) Yes, his teacher was back from a two-day absence. No, he didn't eat all of his lunch. No, he didn't have any homework. Then he told me he greeted a classmate like this: "Hello there, woman!" He laughed and laughed, and then he told me the girl "laughed her butt off" at his greeting. Okay, so now I know why I don't hear much about their days in school. When I do, this is the kind of information I get!

After snacks, the boys went downstairs to play their Wii hunting game. I settled in to sneak a peek at my latest fiction novel. A few mintues later, the doorbell rang. I found our neighbor Chloe at the door, asking if she could play with Kaleb. She held a stuffed chipmunk and toy baby bottle. I invited her in, and sent her downstairs to ask Kaleb herself. She must have decided to sit there and feed her toy chipmunk and watch the hunting game, because she never came back up. 5 minutes later the doorbell rang again, and this time our neighbor Sarah was at the door, asking if she could play with Braylen. I sent her downstairs too! After a while I took pity on the girls, who wanted to play with my boys, and turned off the hunting game. Braylen and Sarah played basketball for a bit and then he went to her house. Kaleb and Chloe played with toy dinosaurs and drew on the white board. Nobody was hurt, everyone was happy, and I wished boy-girl relationships would stay this easy! Derek calls me a dreamer, can you tell? Braylen came home from Sarah's house raving about the fishing lures her dad makes. She just might get him over there again! ;)

Well, it's 3:50 in the afternoon and the doorbell just rang. Sarah is back for more. I wonder if Chloe will come back?