Thoughts and Funnies

How fun to catch Aaron and Braylen playing together nicely. Many times they don't get along, and Kaleb is constantly the peacemaker. Well, when he's having a good day he's a peacemaker. Other days I like to call him the instigator. Sound familiar, Mom?  :)

This time of year can feel like spring has arrived, and the next day feel like spring will never get here. I love the days when the weather teases us with spring temps. On one such day, Ginger got some much-needed attention. I think even she is getting weary of cold, snowy days.

The snow storms do more than just annoy those hungry for spring. They hurt our nation's blood supply by cancelling scheduled blood drives. It's been years since I've given blood, but became convicted to start giving again this month. Why do I give? Because I used to watch my mom do it when I was a kid. Because I have great veins. And because someone very close to me is alive today because of 14 people who gave blood. It took me 45 minutes and I was back at home. Easy peasy lemon squeezy, like Aaron says. :)

Speaking of Aaron, he finished his Sparks book a few weeks ago. This is my first experience with the new Sparks books, since Braylen and Kaleb used the same ones I once used. I think they did a nice job re-writing the material, but I do miss seeing pictures in the books of kids I grew up with. That shows just how needed the new material was! Those other books were OLD! :)


Abe "Aaron" Lincoln doesn't look so old!

Time to end with a few funnies. I've been buying Sweet Baby Ray's BBQ sauce for a long time. The boys like to chant the phrase printed on the bottles of BBQ: "the sauce is the boss!" Last week I bought a new brand of sauce and Aaron asked where the other kind was. He said, "Where's the kind that says, 'the barbecue is the captain?'" Pretty comparative phrase! :)

Aaron and Braylen were each invited to girls' birthday parties on the same Saturday this month. Aaron went to his party, Braylen did not. Hmm. There's a lot I could say about that but this is not the place. :) Anyway, here is how my 6 year-old Aaron feels about girls, as told in his own words. The italics add where he placed his emphasis. :)

"Hannah got Madilyn a Justin Bieber movie for her birthday. He's getting pretty popular you know. But he's for girls. He's a boy but he does girl stuff. Did you see his superbowl commercial? It was terrible."

"The girls are enemies with each other in reading time." Aaron's the only boy in a reading group with 3 girls, so I asked him what he does while the girls aren't getting along. He said, "I try to stay out of it. When it's 2 against 1 and they ask me which side I'm on, I just say I'm on both sides."

I think Derek would say Aaron is wise beyond his years. :)

Trying to Catch Up

Our church is dedicating a new worship center soon. We've been waiting a long time for this! A few weeks ago we were asked to write Scripture passages on the new floor, which will be covered in carpet of course.

Aaron: John 3:16/ Kaleb: Isaiah 40:31/ Braylen: Psalm 136:1-3/ Sarah: Eph. 6:10-18/ Derek: Deut. 11:18-21. It's neat to think about all the verses hidden beneath the new carpet. And we even have a curly tube slide to take kids downstairs to their Sunday School classes! Pretty cool! For the adults, we have a little snack shop. We're all about hospitality at our church, can you tell? :)

Like last year, I made Derek some valentine heart cookies for Valentine's Day. Only this year I splurged and bought his favorite frosting to go with my homemade cookies. Best $2 ever spent. :) For Braylen I found some fleece pants. He loves to lounge around the house in them. Kaleb's finally been bitten by the reading bug, so I got him a book light. How I love to see him reading! And Aaron received some new paints. I love to give gifts to my family. Especially when each gift is just what they wanted! What did I receive?

a ticket to see Amy Grant and MWS together in concert!

Listening to their old songs brought back lots of memories for me. Funny how the words came out of my mouth without even thinking about it. "Saved By Love" brought back days when I turned up the volume on my tape player in my room. "Lead Me On" sure sounds different as an adult. I never knew what that song was about, but now I do. "Friends" is all about my time in youth group, and in my mind "Secret Ambition" will always be Derek's song. I had such a sweet time at this concert with my 2 sisters-in-law and 2 good friends. Thanks Derek for sending me to this concert!


While Aunt Sarena was in town we celebrated my niece's birthday. Braylen's always loved his aunt!

Maybe I can catch up in my next post. Time to be done with this one. The weekend is here, which means I need to get away from my computer for a while!

4-wheeling with 4 boys

After Derek and Braylen had so much fun with the 4-wheelers, we decided the rest of us would join them on Saturday. I've learned I can sit at home by myself while my boys and husband do "boy things," or I can join them. :) I'd much rather join in than be a loner!

Derek says I drove so slow even Ginger got bored trotting along beside me. :) I'm so glad I can be entertaining for my family without even trying. :)

Kaleb did plenty of driving around by himself. When he finally took a break he said it's because his thumb was tired. I guess pushing that throttle is hard work. :)

Aaron rode with Derek of course, and even Ginger rode on the back. I'd like to say she hopped on eagerly, but that would be a lie. Truth be told, she struggled to find her footing and Derek had to hold her in place. Poor dog is too big for her own good sometimes! :)


Aaron's chumby-wumby cheeks were so cute in that helmet.



Aaron did manage to sneak in some solo time on the big 4-wheeler. Derek got to him before he could go anywhere though. I love the look in his face in this picture. If he could've driven away, he would've!

The sun came out for a while, and I admit I gave up my turn at the wheel and took a nap in the sun for a bit. My father-in-law likes to do that when he hunts, so I thought I'd honor him by following the example he's set. :) Later we drove to the lake to see it frozen. Quite a change from when we're boating in the summer! The boys loved throwing rocks out on the ice. No surprise, since they also love throwing rocks in the water during warmer months. We saw a few bald eagles, and that was especially fun for Kaleb. My favorite part of the whole day was at a small park overlooking the lake. Derek and the boys had snowball fights, Ginger chased them around until she was out of breath, and I stood there and took it all in. We even found a football in nice condition, thanks to Ginger's investigative skills. :)

On the drive home the car smelled like a muddy wet dog. We listened to a "Hank the Cowdog" story on cd. And I realized it was the best thing we could've done on that Saturday in February.

Time in a Bottle {Braylen}

Last Father's Day Derek received a bottle with 3 pieces of paper in it. Each boy wrote something they'd like to do with their dad, put their slip of paper in a bottle, and knew they'd get to enjoy doing that with Daddy sometime before the next Father's Day. Braylen's wish was to go 4-wheeling with Derek. His time in a bottle came to life this month!

We took advantage of a day off from school, praying that the weather would cooperate. It did! The ground wasn't too mushy and muddy, but it was warm enough to have fun outside without freezing. (They still managed to bring home some mud!) Both Braylen and Derek loved every minute of their day. Thank you to our friends, S and G, for letting us borrow their 4-wheelers, trailer, and helmets.



What a great way to spend their day together

Derek strapped our camera to his 4-wheeler and took video of Braylen driving in front of him. Watching him drive reminded me of the hours and hours he spent driving his Power Wheels Jeep around and around our cul-de-sac. He loved driving his jeep. I think he loves driving the 4-wheeler even more. :)

Braylen only ventured off the trail once, and Derek helped him get back on track. This day trip gave Derek the ability to talk to Braylen about growing up. It also gave them some much needed one-on-one time together. With 3 sons wanting to be like their dad, Derek gets spread pretty thin most days. But not on this day. :)

Derek's prayer, borrowed from a song: "Lord I want to be just like You, cuz he wants to be like me." Multiplied by 3.

Good Deeds

Every now and then one of my kids has an exceptionally good day. Kaleb chose to shine last Monday, Feb. 7th. I made myself write down his good deeds since they kept piling up. What a gift to his mommy!

• Pulling into the garage after school, Kaleb noticed I had a full load of groceries in the van. He made many trips (unasked) to help me carry everything inside. He did it cheerfully.
• Inside, he began unpacking the bags and had fun putting the groceries away. I was stunned!
• After snack time he did his homework without complaining.
• He practiced his piano without being reminded and again, did so cheerfully.
• I needed the doggy do-do cleaned up in the yard--the dreaded chore among our boys. I told all 3 kids I'd pay them $1 for each scoopful they picked up. (the scooper is pretty big) Guess who took me up on my offer with a smile? Kaleb! His brothers made themselves scarce.
• Before going out to a banquet with my handsome husband that evening, Kaleb looked at me and said, "You look very nice Mommy."

I felt continually blessed by Kaleb all afternoon that day, and as I typed this out I realized something else. It was his attitude that made all the difference. I completely understand what God means when he says he loves a cheerful giver. If I'd asked Kaleb to do all of those things for me, and if he'd grumbled and complained about doing it, he would obey out of duty and obligation. The jobs would be complete, but would there be any love in that? No. I would feel weary and drained after listening to constant complaining and whining. I'd also feel unappreciated, not to mention unloved.

At the end of the day, I loved all 3 of my boys just as much as I did when they woke up that morning. I didn't love one of them more than the other one. But which one did I want to bless? Which one made my mother-heart skip a beat? Kaleb of course. This is not a new revelation to me. But to experience it as a parent helps make it very real in an eternal perspective. God doesn't say he loves only a cheerful giver. His love is there unconditionally. But he must love it when we do things for him with a cheerful heart. It means so very much to me as a mother, so it must mean infinitely more to him as our God!


Mom's night at Awana means I have 3 pretty pink carnations. :)

 To wrap this post up, I have a few funnies and one oops! At Mom's night last Wednesday, Aaron's class was asked to share what they love about their moms. Some kids said their moms are pretty, they play with them, things like that. What did Aaron share? "I love my mom because she plays a cd for me at bedtime." Well, that was easy! Forget all the millions of ways I love that boy. All he needs from me is a cd at bedtime. :)


Aaron's using "the force" to control his humidifier. :)

Last Tuesday I heard a local dj tell of his drive to work. Bottom line--his car was smarter than he was, and wouldn't let him drive above 50mph until he put more air in his tire. I heard this on my way to the library and laughed at the thought of a car being "smarter" than it's driver. Well. Being zero degrees, I decided to leave my van running while I dropped my books in the outdoor book drop. Quick as a wink I dropped off my books and ran back to my driver's door. The door was locked. My van decided I was announcing to all would-be car thieves that it was there for the taking and proceeded to show me who was smarter. Hmm. A running van with all 4 doors locked. With my purse and cell phone inside. The nice librarian let me use the phone to call my husband. Praying he'd answer, I called him. God must have had pity on me for Derek actually had time to drive home, pick up our extra key, and drive to the library to rescue me. 20 minutes later and he would've been in an all-day training session unable to help me. As it was, he didn't have time for lunch because he chose to be my hero. True love! I will never pass judgement on a radio dj again. :)

Finally, we rented the movie "Secretariat" last weekend. Very good movie! Taking place in the early 1970's, the main character wore lots of tweed skirts and blouses. Nothing revealing by any means. She portrayed a married mother of 4, and of course owned the most magnificent race horse, Secretariat. Aaron looked at her in one scene and said, "Those pushy things are low." Let me translate: "pushy things" are "breasts." HAHAHAHAHA!!! :)

Where it all began...

When I think of Valentine's Day, I think of a park in Ohio. Derek and I spent 4 Valentine's Days in Ohio, and I'm pretty sure this park was involved with each one. The leaves were not green of course, but we'd bundle up and walk through the trails anyway. One year Derek was sick on Feb. 14th and he met me near my dorm with a single long stem red rose. We might not have visited our park that day, but we still walked together. And he wonders why I love to go on walks with him so much today. :) 
Happy Valentine's Day to my forever valentine. :) And to my first valentines, my mom and dad. I love you so very much! I am very blessed!

Work & Play

I didn't know what a router was until I married Derek. Now our 11 year old son is using one! This past weekend Derek and Braylen built some shelves. When we gave Braylen his own room last summer, I mentioned that I'd like some shelves on the wall. Derek and I both agreed that's a good winter project. Now that they're completed, Braylen has plenty of space to display what's important to him. I thought he'd use some of his shelf space for books, since that would free up two dresser drawers. Nope! Maybe that will come later. :)

Braylen had some "help" painting his shelves. I feel blessed to have a husband who not only uses his talents to build a few shelves, but teaches Braylen how to do the same. It would have been easier to do it himself, but how much more meaningful to let Braylen have his own hands-on experience. Thank you so much Derek! :) You are teaching our boys what they need to know so they can do these kinds of things in their own homes someday.

Aaron is not only playing Star Wars wii these days, but he and Kaleb are also playing Star Wars together. They use their imaginations (and Star Wars toys) to create hours of play time. How fitting that one of our favorite Super Bowl commercials was the VW Darth Vader. Thanks Dad for giving us a heads-up on that one! :)

Last night Derek and I had the chance to get out of the house to attend a banquet in our town. It might not be anybody's idea of a fun date, but it sure helped boost my spirits! We visited with friends and family, enjoyed food I didn't have to prepare, and our kids were safe at home with a babysitter. I see that as a fun date indeed!

Today I had one of those "oops" moments. But that's for another post. :)

We Dig Winter

As January turned into February, winter reminded us it wasn't ready to leave just yet. Derek and I laughed at the advertisement in the paper last night reminding us to have our lawnmower serviced soon. Yeah right! While I'm a big fan of summer, I actually don't mind the winter. I think it can be fun. That must be why I live in a place where we get to experience all four seasons.

This lastest round of winter weather has been too much for our kids to be outside in. But Ginger the snowdog can handle it. :) She went into a digging frenzy in this snow drift recently. I thought there must be something delicious trapped beneath all that snow--she was working so hard! It made us laugh as we watched from the comfort of our warm house. Right now she's basking in the sun, so don't feel sorry for her out in the cold. She's taken over our kitchen with her big clumsy self. :)

Aaron loves our fireplace. Derek took this picture today before leaving for work. What a treat to start school 2 hours late. Also in this picture is evidence of our newest endeavor. We are enrolled in  "Financial Peace University" by Dave Ramsey. I have feared this class for years, and yet, I crave financial peace. Who doesn't? How can our income cover all of our needs, present and future, and still leave money left over for things like vacations and Christmas? How can we give more? Those are my questions that I hope to find answers for. I find it funny (ha ha) that at the same time we're in this study I'm also in a women's group at church studying "Lord, Change My Attitude." In the first two weeks the focus has been on replacing a complaining attitude with a grateful attitude. A perfect way to make sure I don't complain about all the hard things we're doing in Dave Ramsey's study. Ouch! Talk about getting hit from both sides! :)
To close this post I'm just going to list random things our kids are doing right now. It's my way of making sure I don't forget even the little things about today. :)

• They listen to "Hank the Cowdog" stories every day.
• They play basketball in Braylen's room and it sounds like a war zone in our house.
• Aaron always asks me what color his yogurt will be after he mixes the colors together. "What does pink and purple make? What does pink and yellow make? What does blue and pink make?"
• They shout at each other with a sound I can't reproduce in the written word. They are not fighting when they do this. I think they are communicating like cave men.
• They're playing Star Wars on the wii again.
• Most days I feel overwhelmed with the amount of homework Kaleb has--both written and online. And he's only in 3rd grade!
• Aaron gives us kisses, butterfly kisses, and eye kisses at bedtime. An eye kiss is when he presses his winking eye against my cheek.
• Braylen asked Derek a hard question the other day, but we're happy he's comfortable enough to ask questions like that.
• Aaron loves homemade banana milkshakes, and I'm happy to make them for him. A few extra calories can only help that boy. :)