Don't Have A Cow...

Today the boys were discussing how to milk a cow so I pulled up a video on youtube and we learned how to milk a cow. Z's response was interesting...

Z: Wait, they just squeeze it out?
Me: Pretty much.
Z: That is so disgusting!
Me: What? The udders?
Z: No, I knew about the udders, but they touch them?
Me: Yes, that's how they get the milk out.
Z: But I thought it would be less yucky.
Me: How?
Z: I thought they just cut the milk out.

Yeah, that would be a lot less yucky...

Drugs Are Not Cool...

This is D.A.R.E. week at the kids school, so Z has been running around chanting, "drugs are not cool!". I'm thinking maybe the program may need some changes, though...

Me: Z, do you know what drugs are?
Z: Not cool!
Me: Yes, drugs are not cool, but what are drugs?
Z: Bad things?
Me: What kind of "bad things"?
Z: I don't know. But I am totally turning my back on them!

Sigh...

Loaded Questions...

We are out running errands when out of the blue...

Chris: How do you feel about insurance fraud?
Me (confused): Its bad, I guess.
Chris: Oh. Okay. Never mind then.

Best Compliment Ever...

AJ was flirting with an elderly man who quickly called his wife over to see her...

"Honey, come look at this baby girl. She has Bette Davis eyes!"

Love it!

My Current Prayer...

Dear Lord, Please help me remember that I am not a martyr, I am a wife and a mother and I am thankful that you have given me such a high calling. Amen.

Maybe its just me, but sometimes I put myself up on a pedestal created of dishes, laundry and toys. I start to think that this entire house would fall apart without me, especially since I haven't built it all that securely. AJ has been very humbling for me. I'd forgotten what its like to have something so helpless and demanding taking up so much of my precious time. I am constantly behind, drowning in housework and struggling to keep my head above water and a smile on my face. I worried when the boys went to school this year that I would have more time and yet still be unable to keep up. Is that what happened? No...and yes... See, I'd also forgotten that as infants become more mobile and more independent they also become more demanding. No longer do I have the luxury of 3 hour naps and if AJ is in that grocery cart for more than an hour forget leaving the store without people staring and pointing. The boys need lunches packed, clean clothes to wear and a ride to school. They are going to need to be picked up from school and we will be talking about their day and doing their homework until its time to make dinner. After dinner there is choir, scouts and soccer practice. AJ needs her milk and blankie, Z needs a story and a cuddle and M wants to read just one more chapter. Bedtime comes and the house is a mess, but I haven't had a chance to exercise or hear about Chris's day. So where does that leave me? Well, here. Here in my home where God has called me. And He reminds me constantly that here is not only a place, but a time as well. Here is now. And now AJ is one, Z is five and M is nine. That won't always be the case, as I know all too well. I know in my heart that this time is precious. And since Jesus has my heart, Satan strikes at my head. Because in my heart I know that my priorities are right, but in my head I am losing at this stay-at-home mom thing. My head demands perfection, my heart accepts grace. My head tells me that I am my family's foundation, my heart tells me that that is God's job. In my head I am a martyr, but in my heart I am a wife and mother. And so I pray. A lot. I remind myself to take those thoughts captive and replace them with truth. God's truth.

Unless Jehovah had been my help, my soul had soon dwelt in silence. When I said my foot slipeth; thy loving kindness, oh Jehovah, held me up. In the multitude of thoughts within me Thy comforts delight my soul. Psalm 94:17-19

Favor is deceitful and beauty is vain; but a woman who fears the Lord shall be praised. Proverbs 31:30

You shall teach them diligently to your sons. And you shall speak of them when you sit in your house and when you walk by the way. And when you rise up and when you lie down. Deuteronomy 6:7

Your beauty should not come from outward adornment...instead it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is one great worth in God's eyes. 1 Peter 3:3a-4

Yep, that's better...

Who's Crazy???...

Me: This, my dearest AJ, is a fruit by the foot. They are better than fruit roll ups because they are 3 feet long, but thinner. Plus, you can buy a gigantic box of them at Costco. I hope you enjoy that tiny bite I shared with you, because they are mine and I don't usually share them. But you are a special case and I love you. But no more!

M (to Z): When did our mom go insane?

Z (to M): She's been like that for as long as I've known her.

Letters...

Dear M,

I am glad that you want your class to win the box top contest, but was it necessary to pull everything out of our pantry?

Love, Mom

Dear Chris,

Thank you for being late this morning to cut out boxtops. You are awesome.

Love, Busy

Dear Z,

Please do not forget to turn in your box tops today so you aren't crying about it later.

Love, Mom

Dear AJ,

You really need to take a morning nap so that I can clean up the pantry. Thank you for your co-operation.

Love, Mom

Z's First Crush...

Z has a crush on a little girl in his room who always wears bows in her hair. He drew her a picture of a little boy and a little girl with a bow in her hair holding hands. M helped him spell and he carefully wrote, "Dear A, I like you. Will you play with me? Love, Z". He was a bit nervous about giving her the card so his teacher helped him out. When he came home I asked him if A had played with him and he gave me a HUGE grin and said, "Yes. The ENTIRE RECESS!" Score! Now every evening at dinner Z tells us what color bow A was wearing at school. Today he was trying to explain to us that she was wearing two bows...

Z: Two bows. Not one. And they were white-ish. And she had mom hair.
(I was totally confused until Chris looked at my hair-do and grinned.)
Chris: You mean she had pigtails, like mom?
Z: Yep. Except with bows.

Ahhh, young love...

4 Of My Favorite Things...

...About 4 Of My Favorite People...

Chris:
1. He is funny in a witty, sarcastic way which I find extremely attractive.
2. He understands Biblical truth is an amazing way and lovingly and patiently shares it with me.
3. He is a phenomenal father who loves his kids and never hesitates to show and tell them so.
4. He is one of the strongest people I know. He has risen above and overcome so many things to become the man he is today and it has been a privilege to watch him grow from a teenage boy into a wonderful, Godly man.

M:
1. He is creative, constantly inventing new things and coming up with new ideas to improve things. He draws cartoons that crack me up.
2. He is persistent. When he wants something he doesn't let anything stand in his way.
3. He is cautious and thoughtful with his words and actions. He thinks things through before he acts on them.
4. He is a chatterbox. He loves telling jokes and stories and doing magic tricks. He always has something to contribute.

Z:
1. He is FUN. He loves having a good time, but he likes it best when he can share his adventures with people he loves.
2. He is a good friend. He loves making new friends and is sensitive to what they are thinking and feeling.
3. He is daring. He will try things even if they intimidate him and when he is afraid he talks it through and figures out how to deal with it. He never lets one bad experience dictate what he is willing to try in the future.
4. He is just too darn cute. When you tell him good-bye, he salutes you. When he tells you a funny story, he always adds the phrase, "And this part is hilarious..." before the ending.

AJ:
1. She is tough. No matter how many times she falls down (or gets knocked down) she just pops right back up and moves on.
2. She is joyful. Clapping her hands and scooting around on her bottom are enough to make her laugh and she gets excited when the boys just play near her. She makes it obvious that she just enjoys her life.
3. She is sweet. She will pat my feet as she is crawling by and say "mama" just because. She presses her cheek to your cheek and makes smacking noises.
4. She is emotional. She feels everything with her entire being. When she is sad, she is sadder than any baby has ever been. And when she is happy, she is happier than anyone in the world. Luckily, she is usually happy.

Zuckered Again...

Hmmmm...I love how they throw in that the minimum age requirement for facebook is 14, but then claim they can't disable the account. I just find this whole thing incredibly confusing. If facebook has rules such as age requirements, then they must have a way to enforce those rules. For example, by shutting down accounts created by children who are breaking them. I just can't believe that they are that incapable of solving this problem. If the mother was asking them to shut down someone else's account I could maybe see an issue, but basically you have someone requesting to close an account they opened. I just think that this is, quite frankly, ridiculous and that facebook and its creator deserve all the bad press they are receiving from this. But maybe that is just me...