For the Love of My Valentines

I am not a hater of Valentine's Day. I like the pink and red hearts, the pink and red M&M's, and the cute little cards exchanged at school. I like setting aside one day to celebrate the loves I have in my life. The love of my husband, the love of my children, and the love of my family and friends.

That being said, I don't buy into the whole idea of going overboard, either. Expecting a dozen roses and dinner for 2 just because it's February 14th? I learned long ago to celebrate the event--no matter the date you celebrate it on. Derek and I are blessed with days at home together when he is off work and the kids are in school, so we don't feel like we need an evening "out." Especially on Valentine's Day--when everything is crowded and prices are high.

So what do I like on Valentine's Day? To be thought of. To be noticed. To be remembered. So that is what I try to do for my men at home, big and little. :) Like I do every year, I will make them loads of heart-shaped cookies. What better way to treat the boys in my life than with cookies? :)

Notice Ginger is photo-bombing my picture!

What do the boys in my life think of Valentine's Day? Not much, honestly. And the opinions I do hear from them are filled with moans and groans. I've discovered that a man's dislike of Valentine's Day starts when he is very young. He is given the assignment of writing Valentine's Day cards to everyone in his class, and by the way--he has to write them all in cursive because his teacher says that's great practice. He tries to pick out the boring and non-affectionate cards for the girls in his class, just in case they read the cards and get any ideas in their heads that he likes them. (He doesn't.) These are some of the things I heard Aaron say while he was completing this oh-so-fun assignment.

"The only thing I like about Valentine's Day is the party at school. I don't even like the party that much, but it takes up a school day. It's really my least favorite party all year."

"Do I have to give a card to this girl, Mom? She already likes me and I don't like her."

"Ugh, how do you make a cursive upper-case T? Or B? Or H? UGH!!!"

I finally left him alone at the table and let him work out his frustrations in solitude. Kaleb is absolutely LOVING the fact that in 6th grade this dreaded chore is no longer required. Braylen had to make Spanish valentines for Spanish class. He did the bare minimum to get by, using red scratch paper from Aaron's craft tote and taped old Halloween candy to them.

Aaron redeemed the holiday a little bit with his Valentine's box, which Derek helped him make. In Aaron's mind, this is the ONLY good thing about Valentine's Day. :)

Awesome tank, Aaron!

Oh, how I love to laugh with my boys and my husband over this silly holiday. I also try and teach my boys that one day they WILL have a special girl in their life, and they better let her know they are thinking of her, noticing her, and remembering her--yes, even on Valentine's Day. And they can practice with me. :) Right, Derek?!!

A Long Time Coming

Where is all our snow this winter? Temperature swings, sunny days, WIND--we've had all of that. But snow? No. The Great Lakes region and East Coast have hogged it all. I bet they would gladly share--but obviously that's not how it works.

Well, we FINALLY received a few inches of snow the other day! Braylen shoveled our driveway before school without being asked. I love my servant heart son! Kaleb joined him just in time to shovel the street, telling me he made it easier for me to back out of the driveway. All-righty then! I love you too, Kaleb! :) Aaron and Kaleb bundled up to play outside on Saturday and I believe they were out there for hours. Braylen was at an all-day honors band event, so more fun in the snow for him had to wait until Sunday. Derek took him and Kaleb sledding while poor Aaron stayed home not feeling well. Anyway--we are thankful for the little snow we received and are making the most of it. Notice in my pictures the sun is shining? :)

Kaleb building his fort

Aaron's fort

Another much more important event has taken place in our lives recently. Like the snow, it is something we have been waiting a long time for. We have prayed for years for this. Twice the answer has been "no." But this time, after what we thought was another "no" at Christmas, God gave us a "yes!"

Derek has been promoted to a sergeant position within his police department. :) He tested and interviewed for this position--it is quite a lengthy process. He was up against some great competition. We had no idea if this was God's plan for him or not. We prayed a million times for God's best--whatever that looks like. The answer came through last week and I am SO SO SO happy for my husband! 

In all of our excitement, I am not keeping my head in the clouds here. I am convinced that this job assignment, although a promotion, will come at great cost to Derek, and to our family. What it looks like down the road, only God knows. But like the old saying goes, "God doesn't call the equipped. He equips the called." And so we rely on Him to be everything we need--our leader, companion, helper, and guide.

I have a few funnies from the kids recently. Kaleb and Aaron are both fighting colds. The other night at supper Kaleb said, "My nose is so stuffy I can't even smell my stinky feet!" For some reason, when my middle school boys wear black socks their feet REEK! For the record, I could smell his feet just fine, lucky me.

Aaron has always had lots to say. He has lots of questions and deep thoughts, and he processes things out loud. I love it and dread it at the same time. :) In one of his verbal moments he told me, "Life would be boring without words." Indeed.

At bedtime one night, Aaron asked me who was older--me or Braylen? Oooookay, there are SO many ways I could have answered that question. I took the direct route and simply said, "Me. Now get in bed and let's say your prayers." Why on earth my 9 year old son had to even ask me that question is beyond me! We must keep him up too late at night. :)

Speaking of night--only 2 more night shifts for Derek and then he's back to days for a while. Yippee, we are all ready for that!!!!!!

Saturday at Home

While Derek is having a "guys day" at an auto show with his brother and our boys, I am enjoying a Saturday at home. Since I'm fighting a cold, it feels good to do a whole lot of nothing. Cleaning up the kitchen and vacuuming are about the only chores I felt up to doing today. The sun is shining (like always) and it's in the 50's. My neighbor across the street has his windows cranked open. I wonder if we will ever get snow out here. I'm thinking we live in a snow-less bubble of the Great Plains this winter.

Recently, Kaleb and Aaron rediscovered their air soft guns. Target shooting in the back yard led to tree climbing. I never thought I'd see the day when our trees would be big enough for climbing. But as the kids keep growing, so do the trees. Without snow to play in this winter, the boys are getting pretty good at coming up with things to do outside. Air soft guns, basketball, soccer, catch, ripstick, and bikes give them plenty to do on these mild days.

One of Aaron's Christmas gifts was a loom for making rubber band bracelets. We have every color imaginable, glow in the dark, and striped rubber bands around the house. He's very good at making these and following directions online. I don't have the patience for it, but I try to help him when he needs it. Last weekend he made a panda bear charm out of rubber bands. He's so proud of his work! :)

Two weeks ago, Braylen played drums in the high school pep band during a home basketball game. We sat in the stands and watched the game, but we were really there to watch Braylen play in the pep band. Derek worked security that night, which he really enjoyed. He still misses being at the high school every day, and this gave him a chance to reconnect with administrators and students. Back at home that night, Braylen played around on his drum and Kaleb joined in on his trumpet. Aaron found his way downstairs to play the trap set. Our house was very loud!

Notice his hat made from a basketball net?

Playing "El Paco Loco" together

Big brother teaching little brother how to play the drums. :)

We are nearing the end of Derek's night shift rotation, hooray!!! Only 7 more to go. I'm very thankful to be on this side of it. Most days I don't mind handling things by myself, but I do get weary at times. Still, I know we are very blessed with a good job and good health. Several of my friends are going through some hard times this week. One friend is in the midst of a messy divorce. Another one lost a family pet in a truly horrific way. An acquaintance of mine is fighting cancer--two years after her husband died from cancer. She has two little boys she's raising alone. With all of these heavy things going on, my first response is to say, "It's too much, God. It's just too much." And yet...

"No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present or the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord." ~Romans 8:37-39

I am thankful for God's love, which gives me HOPE in the middle of the yuck of this world.

When I look at the week coming up I see one big thing on the calendar--9th Grade Parent Info Night. Wow!!! I also see my brother's birthday, which reminds me--I need to get his gift today! :) Better get going, I guess. I'll be back in February! :)

Living, Remembering, and Honoring

2 weeks is a long time for me to go between blog posts, but it's becoming more and more normal, I guess. Life keeps happening all around me, and I'm trying not to miss it. I also want to capture it--so here we go!

Last night I spent two hours teaching Kaleb how to write a speech. He would much rather stand in front of his class and read a paper he wrote. (I would too, wouldn't you?) But his teacher expects a 3-5 minute speech. This is a new experience for Kaleb, and I loved being the one to help him with it. Together, we translated his paper into bullet points on note cards. I gave him tips on his delivery. Several times he told me my suggestions were "too girly!" Yes, I'm sure he's right. Good thing he can filter out all the "girly" things, and I am confident he will give an excellent 6th grade boy speech on Friday. :)

Aaron had another medication decrease recently. On 12/24/13 we decreased his Depakote to 3 pills twice a day. Last week's blood test showed his level to be 58, which is pretty low on the spectrum of therapeutic range. But his doctor says as long as he's not having seizures, we can continue at this dose. We are SO thankful to God for how well Aaron is doing. It amazes me that he was taking 6 pills twice a day for so long--and now we've cut that dose in half. Praise God!

You would think by now I would have a system in place for 3rd grade boys to practice math facts and read books. I don't. It's a battle for me to get Aaron to do these things. His timed math tests in school reflect the lack of effort he puts in with learning his multiplication facts. Consistency has never been one of my parenting strengths--right, Derek? ;) So I'm looking for something that will work for Aaron. A checklist, a set time every day, SOMETHING that will help us remember he is our little boy who needs to learn these very basic things. I wonder if I was better at this with my older kids? By the time the youngest needs to learn things the older ones mastered long ago, you kind of forget he doesn't know it yet. And that's a glimpse into my world of top-notch parenting, 101. Ha!

Braylen stepped up last night and helped Aaron with his flashcards. We didn't even ask him to. Those two can so often be like oil and water--never mixing--but last night they showed me it IS possible for them to get along. Way to go, Braylen! 8th grade continues to be a good year for him. Some days he tells me school is "boring." In fact, that's the response I get most often out of him. He also says it's "lame." As long as he keeps getting good grades and getting along socially, it can stay boring and lame! I'll take it! :)

My mom and dad retired from their jobs on January 10th and 17th. I still have a hard time imagining them at home every day and not at their jobs. They each had a retirement party I wished I could be at. Thank goodness for FaceTime. I was able to hear all about their parties and see the gifts they received--it felt like I was right there with them. Our boys loved visiting both Grammy and Grampy at work. Over the years we made many visits and took lots of pictures. I pulled a bunch of those pictures together and made an online album for Mom and Dad to enjoy. The kids and I really liked looking at it too. Here are a few of my favorites:

2 year old BRAYLEN with my dad

2.5 year old KALEB with almost 5 year old Braylen.
They kinda look the same size, don't they?

They were so cute and little!

Kaleb, age 8

AARON, 3 weeks shy of 8 years old

At at my mom's work...

BRAYLEN age 4 and Grammy

I wonder if this was the first time he rode in the totes? I'm thinking it is.

My most favorite picture--Braylen, age 8.5

Kaleb-6 and Aaron, almost 4

Kaleb-10.5 and Aaron, 8

Aaron-6, Kaleb-8.5, Braylen-10.5

Congratulations, Dad and Mom!!!

Keep taking pictures, Eric, because that is the BEST way to remember all of these things really happened! Speaking of pictures, I do have some from recent days. And I have more to write about. But it seems right to save all that for next time. I will try and squeeze in one more post this month. :)