Getting Spiritual?

Tonight ... Joshua thanked God for his trains, the John Deer video and Angels.

I'm guessing he meant baseballs throwing ones ... not the harp playing ones?

So Many Reasons Why Not To Leave Eli With A Box of Cheerios ...

1.  The boy has intense curiosity.
2.  Paired with a desire to dump and shake.

3.  Mixed with a drive to follow a task through to the end.
4.  Added to the need of finding new ways to express his inner-drama. 
5.  Then of course there's the fun of crunching ... 
6.  And smooshing ... 
7.  And tossing ... 
8.  And squashing every little last ounce of Cheerios into the fibers of the couch ... 

9.  Until he spots the camera and stops all his activities to say ... CHEESE!  

Now all I have to do is teach him how to vacuum!

Back To The Boys ...

Can I have a drum roll?  With all the business of the past two weeks, I forgot to mention ... WE HAVE A WALKER in the house!  Yes, Eli Bennett decided - after 16 LONG MONTHS - that he'd like to view the world from an upright stance!  Eli has found that walking has many advantages and it didn't take long for J. How use E's walking to his benefit ... 

Joshua is explaining ball retrieval strategy to Eli ... making sure E understands that Joshua won't be moving from his position at the plate ...

His plan seems to be working well so far ... 

They kept this up for a good twenty minutes ... and even more impressive, Eli never got smacked with the bat.  I guess Joshua figured that if he took out his bat boy ... he'd actually have to move.  

Does it appear that the batter is suffering from a superiority complex?  Or is it just me?

At least for now, J How ... you've got it made. Your very own ball boy!  Enjoy it while it lasts!

March 20, 2005

Four years later and I still miss my Gracie Anne. I still have the email I sent the school staff. I still have a devotional my dear friend’s mom emailed me. Four years later and my images of Gracie sparkle with clarity. I imagine blonde curly hair. Blue eyes. Ribbons and bows. I imagine a free spirit. An artist. Rolling down grass hills and skipping to her own beat.

Four years later, I still have a box. A box filled with pinks and purples. Dresses and shoes. I have yet to part with many of her things. I keep holding on. Perhaps it’s my tangible way to remember what might have been. That box sits right next to another box. A box filled with condolence cards, prayers, genetic test results and a death certificate. Together, those boxes cry out the bittersweet mixture of our reality.

Gracie Anne would have been four today.

As a small girl, I sat beside the Christmas tree and planned out my future. I began collecting dinner plates by the time I was twelve. I gave my children names and selected house plans. I’ve always been a planner.

And yet, in all the countless afternoons I mentally sketched out my future, I never accounted for loss. I dreamed about the possibilities. I was full of unwavering hope. I trusted.

Loss. A seemingly unwelcomed jolt.

Today, I went back and read part of the devotion sent to me right after we received news of Gracie’s condition:

Little one, loved before knowing,
Precious one, in dreams so fair;
My empty arms ache to be holding
My rosebud who blooms "over there."

if you had come to be with us
I'd have shown you the stars and the sea;
But your eyes see them eternally clear …
One day you must show them to me.

How precious that one of Joshua’s favorite things to do with Ben is lay under the stars and watch. And wait. And listen. Last week, it was under that huge blanket of God’s majesty that Joshua asked Jesus to come live in his home. I watched Ben interact with Joshua that night, not knowing the details of their conversation. I watched them point and gaze as Joshua listed off the countless creations of God. That night, creation spoke of His majesty. Spoke right into the heart of a listening three year old.

That very same night, Jesus welcomed another baby into His arms. Ours for only a moment. His for eternity.

Many times this week, I have pictured myself beside that Christmas tree. Presents wrapped. Music playing. Me, all alone, with my thoughts and blank paper. A future ahead. Full of hope and expectation.

My blank paper has been filled with many things that were not to have been. Not in MY plan. Not me, please not me.

And yet this thought continues to invade my mind – Bringing back what is His.

An opportunity to trust. To loosen my grip. To offer back what is already His. To hand over my Gracie Anne and the four years of anger that I’ve held tightly. To allow Him to walk alongside me as I grieve this new loss.

To listen to Jesus, as Ben asked Joshua to do last week, in my heart. What is He saying? And to be comforted, that two of my sweet children are blooming, over there.

Entire devotional on Christianity Today website

Green Eggs and Pancakes.

I promised How that we would make green eggs and pancakes for St. Patrick's Day. I figured dying ham green was a bit of a stretch ... and thankfully, Joshua was just as happy to make green chocolate chip pancakes!
My little leprechaun chef ... ready for the coloring process ...
Joshua was in charge of adding the chocolate ... until he used 1/2 a bag in the first two pancakes.
Green eggs. Really ... I just always had a secret desire to go on Nickelodeon's Double Dare and this is my version slime. Not bad, eh?Our masterpiece ... (I first had the meal on white plates but it did nothing for the green eggs ... so the blue plates made a special breakfast appearance!)Totally blown away from our taste sensation!
This is Eli's version of "food moving." You know ... that trick you used when you hated what your mom was serving for dinner and you spread it out all across your plate ... to give the appearance that you'd actually eaten something. E does this with everything. He spends very little time eating and a lot of time making it appear as though he had.
And then this is the look I got at the mere suggestion that we take a St. Patty's Day photo? What is How doing, you ask? A tantrum. Bummer I missed the part where he falls to the floor and stiffens his legs. That's the really exciting part.
Thanks for playing along boys. You know ... it's not as though this is torture!!!
That's better! (Okay ... I bribed them. People ... I told you. Bribing is an everyday parenting technique of mine. I LOVE it!)
Feel the GREEN LOVE ...
And finally ... corned beef and cabbage. A tribute to my people! And ... HAPPY BIRTHDAY, Dad!

Joshua. Check. Eli. Unavailable.

Our church has a fancy check-in system for the kiddos. Keypads and computer monitors. You punch in your code and up pops your child's name. A room number is listed and off you go. And fancy systems are great and all ... but for our little guy, there has been a bit of glitch. You see, I punch in our code and up pops the kiddo's names. Joshua. Check. Eli. Unavailable. Hmmm? Perhaps it has something to do with the fact that after E's name pops up, you can select from the following: crawling, walking confidently, or potty trained. For reasons we have discussed NUMEROUS times on this blog, I select CRAWLING. And E comes up UNAVAILABLE.

Today, after church, I went to get the "issue" resolved. A volunteer in the children's building typed in our name and before the gal could even answer my question, I blurted out, "Is this because he's not walking yet? You know ... he can walk. He just chooses not too. He climbs furniture. Bungie jumps. Rock climbs. Is totally into motor sports but he just prefers crawling. And I wouldn't want to lie and mark walking confidently ... because after all ... this is church and you'd find out sooner or later that I was ... ahem ... stretching the truth." "Oh," she says. "I'll just clear the system and next week, you punch in walking confidently. Then just explain your situation to the teacher and they might make a room adjustment."

And the moral of the story: Um ... we'll be putting in serious walking workouts this week or maybe we might just skip the workouts and go straight for potty training. After all, I strive for over-achievement!!

The Charmings Are Famous ...

Okay ... well, not quite. But they are featured on our friend Andy's blog today. Mr. Andy (as How calls him) is a super creative guy. He's almost out of our crew's league ... seeing as he lives in Nashville and knows men who wear cool scarfs (his words, not mine) and if you start reading his blog ... you might just find yourself addicted. Scroll down a little to Trip Lesson #4.

The Charmings ...

This past week, our family from the great Northwest was in town. We have a wonderful exchange program worked out. They come here when it's rainy and dreary and we go there when it's 112 and we're dying to put on a light sweater. We rather enjoy the set up!
The ladies (my mom, grandma, aunt and great aunt) came over to our house last week. Joshua greeted them, "Hello ladies. Welcome to our house!" My Aunt Sonna (holding J How) refers to our children as ... The Charmings! I rather like the name so it just might stick! And on a side note ... my great Aunt Olive will be turning 91 next month. With skin like that ... please, please, please tell me I got her side of the gene pool!!!
Everyone does their part trying to convince Eli that walking is the wave of the future! Hop on board!
After the ladies left, it was time to head to the garage where we store our favorite blue engine.
What's this? Are they living up to their new name? Smiles and sharing?
One time around ... still pleasant ...
Two times around ... the pushing and squishing begins ... Three times around ... Eli puts his hands up in disgust!
Four times around ... I believe The Charmings are both done with practicing sharing for the day!
Five times around ... we're done. Not bad, folks. That is five more times than we accomplished just last week. We're making SERIOUS progress!

And On The Menu Today ...

Let me just start off by saying ... I hate cockroaches. Actually, I'm quite certain I've never met anyone who felt differently. There is nothing even remotely appealing about a cockroach. If they have a redemptive characteristic, one is certainly not coming to mind.

So last summer ... when I saw one crawl across my kitchen floor ... I dialed up the bug people. Ants, whatever. Crickets, the chirping gets on my nerves but they're harmless. COCKROACHES ... um, not in my house.

You can imagine my surprise when I opened a package from my mom a few days after the indoor cockroach sighting and found ...

A plastic, self-propelled, cockroach.

I haven't seen that cockroach since last summer. I had thought of throwing it out but the fact that my mother actually found a toy cockroach ... in Idaho ... made me want to keep it. Seriously, where do you find one of those?
Let me rephrase ... I should say, I hadn't seen that crazy roach ... until this morning. I plopped Eli in his highchair, paying no attention to the toy in his hand. Minutes later, when I came back with oatmeal ... Eli was already munching ... on a tiny bit of cockroach leg. Nice!
And let's just say that when a cockroach gets a breakfast invitation, he takes full advantage of the opportunity. That cockroach was the life of the party ... the boys tried to make cockroach faces ...
And then they tried to make cockroach sounds ...
(For those who wish I had video ..imagine a hyena mixed with the chirping of a small bird ... )
And then they tried to pass off the cockroach to me ... thanks, but I'll pass!
Breakfast with boys! Anyone out there want to loan me a girl? She could come over for breakfast ... with her Barbie collection and teach that cockroach a thing or two! You name the morning! We'll be ready!

It Was Bound To Happen ...

This is our new favorite game,  Hulabaloo.  It's FABULOUS!  The fact that I, a non-game loving kind of girl, thinks it's fun ... I'm sure makes J. How VERY happy.  

He talks of playing it ALL day long!  "Mom.  Joshua and Cake and Pap Pap and Bella and GiGi and How How and Dad and E-Why and Mommy ... we can all PLAY that game TOGETHER!  That would be so fun!"
It does require a bit of coordination and agility ... so if you're on the above list to participate ... start doing your stretches!

Even non-walkers like to participate because tossing the pieces around is just as much fun as following directions ... 

Oh wait a minute ... what's this?  Is Eli tired of perching on his toosh?  He's ready to give those leg muscles a go??

A little downward dog to steady himself ... (notice how his big toe seems to be getting a SERIOUS workout!)

And he's up!  ONE ... 

TWO...

THREE ... 

Four ... and

CRASH!

And after that attempt ... it was back to crawling the rest of the day.  Perhaps if he could just gain a bit more strength in that big toe of his ... he'd have walking in the bag!