Fingerprint Friday

I took the kids to the zoo on Jobe's b-day.
Jobe got so excited over every animal.
As we came to each animal he said: Whoa!
Like it was the coolest thing he had ever seen.
Gorillas.
Whoa!
Giraffes.
Whoa!
Bears.
Whoa!
Penguins.
Whoa!
Mouse.
Whoa!
Tiger.
Whoa!
And I must admit,
even I went Whoa!
At the tiger.
Gorgeous!Psalm 104:24
How many are your works, O LORD!
In wisdom you made them all;
the earth is full of your creatures.

Each week Beki at therustedchain hosts Fingerprint Friday and uses a song by Steven Curtis Chapman as a springboard. Join in. It's a great way to be reminded of God's presence.

POF

My kids are great kids.
They really are.
But we all have things we can work on.
It might be hard to believe this,
since I seem so perfect and all,
but even I have things to work on.

So this summer we are beginning project POF.
Put Others First.My daughter insightfully pointed out
POF could also stand for
Putting Ourselves First.
Thank you, sweetie.
That's very helpful.
(She has her father's sarcasm.)

It's easy to become selfish.
Especially in your own home.
I want my kids to willingly help.
At home.
At school.
At Grandpa and Grandma's.
Wherever they are.Hopefully project POF will encourage them
to think of others' needs before their own.

Last night, Jakie helped me make the waffles for supper.
Without me asking.
That is the first time he has ever helped in the kitchen.
Without me asking.
And him whining.

Amazing.
Could our little project be working already?

Boys and Clothes

When I was pregnant with Jobe,
I was sure he was a girl.
(We always keep our baby's gender a surprise.)
I was looking forward to girl clothes.
I had even bought a couple of adorable sundresses.
Just so sure.

I'm not the fancy, frilly kind of girl.
I can probably count on one hand
the times Brookelynn wore bows in her hair.
Sorry if that offends you girly, girl moms.
In my defense, the girl didn't have any hair
until she was over two.

She has never been the lacy type.
If I would let her, she would wear
Nike shorts and a t-shirt.
E.V.E.R.Y. day.
To church even.
(I wish I was joking.)
Although she is starting to break out of that.
A little.
Thank you, Justice!

I thought it would be fun to have another girl.
Put her in cute little sundresses.
Sandals or flip-flops.
Capris.
On and on and on.
There are A LOT more girl clothes than boy clothes.

But God knew we needed another boy.
And I've learned that
even little boys can be fun to dress.

It's fun to put outfits together for them.
It's rare that I buy a matching outfit.
I save that for Easter and Christmas.
The rest of the time:
I see pair of shorts I like.
I buy them.
Then hope we have a shirt at home to wear with them.
Both boys are wearing shorts from Macy's.
Sadly, the closest Macy's is nearly 3 hours away.
But last summer I was there with a friend.
Who had an additional 20% off coupon.
Friends like that rock.
These shorts were on clearance.
End of summer.
$4 each.
Oh, how I love bargains.
When I pulled them out of the bag this spring,
it was exciting all over again.
Jobie's brown t-shirt was $5 from Carter's.
(Cost more than the shorts!)
And Ezzie's is recycled Old Navy from his cousin.
(Free!)
Their sandals are also recycled.
(I hate the words hand-me-downs.)
Cheap and cute outfits.
The best.
Jobe's shirt and shorts were worn by both Jake and Ezra.
I bought the shorts at my good friend's garage sale.
Her son is one year older than Jake.
She has great taste in clothes.
Well, in everything actually.
Probably 75% of Jake's summer clothes are from her.
And nearly all of his KU shirts.
They love it when I come home
from helping her get ready for her sales.
She has sales twice a year.
I always help her organize a few days before.
And I shop too, of course.
Even Brookie gets some of the warm-up pants.
Or Nike shorts.
Or t-shirts.
Or indoor soccer shoes.
Another friend that rocks.

Anyway, back to the boys' outfits.
I have no idea how that shirt and those shorts
have made it thru three boys with no stains.
I think I only let them wear them sparingly.
Never when we are going out to eat.
Or to the park.
Or on a wet muddy day.
The shirt was a b-day present for Jake from my parents.
The fake Crocs are from Target last year.
He is barely squeezing in to them now.

Ezzie is again wearing a shirt from his cousin.
The shorts were $4 from that same Macy's trip.
His shoes were under $20 from Nike outlet in Branson.
Not as great of a bargain.
But not bad either.
He loves those shoes.

Wow!
This is much longer than I intended it to be.
I'm wordy today.

See how much fun boys are to dress?
I want to go shopping now.

My Four Boys

I like this picture.
And I love these boys.

My man and my three sons.
Yes.
I'm possessive like that.

Fingerprint Friday

I love friendships between boys.
They are different from those between girls.
There's no strings attached, it seems.
Just acceptance.
Just rough and tumble playing.
Just go, go, go.
There is something special about the way boys play.

Jake has two best friends.
They spend quite a bit of time together.
It's been fun to watch them.
I'm hoping they will be there for each other.
For years to come.
Ecclesiates 4:10
If one falls down,
his friend can help him up,
But pity the man who falls
and has no one to help him up!

Each week Beki at therustedchain hosts Fingerprint Friday and uses a song by Steven Curtis Chapman as a springboard. Join in. It's a great way to be reminded of God's presence.

How To...

Entertain yourself.
At the grocery store.
Get some reduced price yogurt cups.
And play telephone.
I bet you are wondering:
How do they know about old timey phones?

It could be because
they have an amazing mom.
Who makes sure they are well-educated.
And cultured.
In all areas.

Or, it could be because
that same mom lets them watch movies.
Like Kit Kittredge.
(It's historical, educational, right?)
So she can have some peace and quiet.

Take your pick.

Tip of the Day

I cleaned out my fridge yesterday.
There's a fun job.
I always find things I don't remember making.
Of course, that could be due to the fact that
they have a little bit of mold growing on them.
Unrecognizable.

So, here's my tip.
Be thrifty.
Or Mennonite-ish.
Or whatever your term is.
Save those empty sour cream and butter tubs.
Put your leftover food in those.
Then when you find that leftover food.
Growing in your fridge.
Months later.
(Don't laugh.
This is not really an exaggeration.)
You simply toss the whole tub away.
No guilt.Just don't think about the fact that
it is very unthrifty to throw out all that uneaten food.

Busy

We have been soooo busy lately.
We haven't had time to work outside.
Many of my flowers are still waiting to be planted.
My garden hasn't even been tilled yet.
The lawn needs mowed.
The hedge needs trimmed.
Poor Jakie is still waiting for his b-ball goal to go up.

And lets not even talk about inside.
Beginning to wonder if we will ever
finish the basement,
get the little boys room repainted,
finish the staircase,
get our master bath and closet done.

You know when you have so much to do
that you don't even know where to start?
So you do nothing?
That's where I am.

So I'm spending time catching up on blogs instead.
Logical, right?
I haven't been on the computer since Thursday.

This is the last week of school for my kiddos.
Another year.
Gone just like that.
Ezzie will begin kindergarten in the fall.
Brookelynn and Jake will both be in middle school.
But I'll still have my Jobie at home.
For two more years.

Back to being busy...
It's been a good kind of busy.
Birthday.
Soccer practices, games and tournaments.
Recognitions.
Fifth grade fun day.
Dinners with friends.
Meetings to plan for our new church building celebration.
Meeting for VBS.
Nothing too stressful.
Just go, go, go.

See.You don't feel sorry for me now.
Do ya?
What's more fun than friends.
And a guy who makes great balloon creations.
And eating outside on a beautiful day.

I've got two bathrooms begging to be cleaned.
It really must be done.
Now you feel sorry for me, right?
Bathrooms are probably my most dreaded chore.
Maybe it's not so bad that
the basement and master bathrooms aren't done.
That will just double my bathroom cleaning duties.
Yuck!

Oh!
One more random thing.
Is something wrong with me?
I'm not bursting with joy that
a Chick-Fil-A is coming.
Did I even spell that right?
I've eaten at one.
Once.
It was okay.
I don't remember being that excited by it.
But all my local friends are talking about it.
Somebody, fill me in on what's yummy there.
I need to be informed.

Impossible...

To count
The number of kisses
I have placed
On this cheek

Ramble, Ramble, Ramble

Leaving the grocery store in the rain.
Ezzie: Indians don't care if their jeans get wet.
Random little known fact.
And also good to know.
Although I'm not sure it's accurate.Driving home from Wichita last night.
Jobie: I have abc's for my birthday.
No idea what he was talking about.
Until I got him out of the car.
Pen marks all over his hands and face.
I guess he meant he was writing abc's on himself.
For his birthday.
Possibly a new tradition.Kinda' wish I wouldn't have cut Jobie's hair.
It looks so cute here.The older two both had recognitions last week.
Jake played the temple blocks in his.
Grinned the whole time.
Cuz that's what he does.
Brookelynn sang in a trio.
She was very nervous.
Doesn't care if people watch her.
On the soccer field.
But a stage.
With a dress on.
Scary.
And embarrassing.
The pictures did not turn out.Brookelynn loves her little cousin.
He's already over a year old.
Good thought:
Soon she will be old enough to babysit for us.
Date night for Mommy and Daddy!Which reminds me.
Ryan bought me a really cute dress for Mother's Day.
He has great taste.
It's a little too short for me to wear to church.
Not crazy short.
Just shorter than I would be comfortable with.
For church.
Ryan: Where will you wear it then?
Me: You could take me out on a date.
Subtle, aren't I?
The little boys put a fuzzy rabbit on our bookshelf for Easter.
It's about the same color as our cat.
Every time I see it out of the corner of my eye
I think our cat has gotten in the house.
Two thoughts on this:
1) I'm either a slow learner or very forgetful.
2) Easter decor should maybe be put away by now.

School's almost out for the summer.
Sleeping in.
Swimming.
Summer storms.
Soccer and basketball camps.
S'mores around the fire pit.
Sounds super!

Three!

Ryan started this blog
a little over three years ago.
Then abandoned it after about 6 months.
He does things like that.
(I picked it back up nearly two years later.)

Anyway...
One of his first posts was this.
Our precious baby boy.
We never found out the gender of our babies.
Prior to their birth.
But I really thought he was going to be a girl.
I had even bought several cute dresses.
Afterall,
I was right with the other three.
So felt certain that I would be right with this one.
Wrong.

Now, here we are 3 years later.
I can't imagine having anyone but my Jobie.
God always knows what He's doing.

We celebrated his birthday with family last night.He's into Buzz.
Toy Story in general.
But especially Buzz.

The present I'm most excited about?
We bought him a Buzz costume.
Shhhh.
He hasn't opened his presents from us yet.
We have a busy day.
He will open them at about 9 tonight.
If he's still awake...Happy birthday to Jobe!
We love you so much!

Fingerprint Friday

It's good and bad.
Brookie is growing up.
She's more and more becoming a young lady.
Rather than a little girl.

She is kind.
Intelligent.
Athletic.
Grateful.
Sensitive.
Artistic.
Beautiful.A part of me will miss the little girl in her.
But I'm excited to see what the future holds for her.

God's fingerprints are all over this girl.

As she enters middle school next school year,
this is the verse I will be praying for her.
It's the perfect combination of
praying that she will grow closer to Jesus,
while giving God the praise for her life
and who she will become as she follows Him.

I Peter 3:18
But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be glory both now and forever!

Each week Beki at therustedchain hosts Fingerprint Friday and uses a song by Steven Curtis Chapman as a springboard. Join in. It's a great way to be reminded of God's presence.

We Did It

The baby is potty trained.

Monday he told me:
Mommy, I have to go potty.

And we haven't looked back since.
It's like he's been trained for months already.
No accidents all week.
Yesterday he went by himself.
I didn't even know he had to go.
Just heard the toilet flushing.
Guess I can get rid of the potty chair.
The boys were playing outside.
I went to check on them.
A little neighbor boy was out there.

I said, to the neighbor boy:
Hi, how are you?
He said:
Good, but there's something disgusting over there.
Me:
Oh, what's that?
Him:
Jobie is naked.

Sure enough there was my boy.
Bare bottom and all.

Me:
Jobie why are your clothes off?
Jobie:
I had to go potty.

The little boy's mom was outside also.
Laughing.
Jobie, who was somewhat hidden by trees,
ran out in the open,
looked at us
and posed.

Not kidding.
Raised his arms up above his head.
And posed.

Oh, dear.
I'm raising an exhibitionist.

Real Life

Well, here you have it.
Life at our house.

Brookie and Jakie dancing.
To Dancing with the Stars.
It was hilarious.
Ezzie the innocent watcher.
Jobie in his own little world.
And Ryan taking it all in.
If you look beyond the kids and hubby.
You see a couch whose upholstery is in sad shape.
We are looking for a sectional.
But we have a problem.
We have expensive tastes.
Without a budget to match that.
We're wanting:
Modern and comfy.
Not poofy and round.
Streamlined and square.
Hard to come by.
At our price.

A school back pack.
Brookie...

A play hard hat.
Don't ever recall the boys wearing it.
But it somehow always manages
to make it into the family room.

A dart gun.
Whose little suction darts are lost.
All over the house.

An air pump.
Kept in the garage.
But finds its way inside on a daily basis.

My poor computer propped up.
It needs to be put out of its misery.

A box of Ryan's old stuff.
I found it the other day.
While looking for other old stuff.
Which I never found.
It will sit there until I put away again.
Where it will be forgotten for another 3 years.
Do you think I could just toss the whole thing?
The minute I do he will NEED something from it.
Guaranteed.

The little black thing next to the box is tools.
Which I also found.
While looking for the thing I never found.
There they still sit.
I will eventually put them away.
Somewhere.
He wonders
why he can never find his tools when he needs them.
Hmmm...

Jobie's little shoes.
Shoes are part of the decor in this room.
As I post this there are 6 pairs of shoes.
In the family room.
Ridiculous.
Here's what I choose to see:
A family.
Having fun.
Content in spite of it all.
Blessed beyond measure.

I'll also say:
If someone would have rang my doorbell that evening.
I would have quickly grabbed some of this junk
and thrown it into the other room
before I answered the door.
Just so you know...

Not Much...

To say today.
Other than I am really happy to be a mom.
To these four fantastic kids.
My momness was hard to find last week.
But it's back.
And I love these kids.
Really, really love these kids.
So much I feel like I could pop.