Snakes and Snails and Puppy Dogs' Tails

So, in case any of you out there were wondering if there truly is an instinctive difference between boys and girls let me just tell you - there is!!! That rhyme from our childhood rings true to me daily about sugar and spice and everything nice vs snakes and snails and puppy dogs' tails. Just the other day the kids were playing outside when Lilly comes running in the front door so excited, cheeks cherry red and an exuberant smile on her face. "Mommy, mommy, I picked these flowers just for you," she said as she held out this tiny bouquet of purple wildflowers. Five minutes later, Levi comes running through the front door yelling, "Mommy, mommy, can we please keep these," as he holds out a pair of blue crawdad claws pulled from some now armless shelled creature in our yard. I sighed as I told him, "Not in the house, but on the porch," gazing at the pretty flowers from my other child now making their home in a small cup on the table. Oh the differences!! Of course I relate more to the girly girl that is my middle child, but I strive to learn daily how to better relate to my son. He is so much like James in his curiosity of life and how things work and "why does this do this," and "what makes that do that?" So we explore life together and learn how to worship God together as we examine the world He made.

Blessed, Blessed, Blessed

Schoolhouse McCarty is in full swing in 2012 and we are having a blast! I am not saying that every day is a bowl of sunshine, but it is the most rewarding thing in the world to see Levi and Lilly soak up so much stuff! They really are little sponges! Levi is starting to read which is amazing to watch and Lilly knows more at 3 than Levi did just a year ago!

Izzy is growing so much! She is sitting up all by herself! She has started eating "real" food and loving it! It's a riot to watch her figure out how to feed herself! That concept of picking up a piece of food and putting it into her mouth and letting go of it is a hard one to figure out!

We went on our first hike with all 3 kiddos the other day. It really wasn't a hardcore hike, but we thought we'd start slow and work our way up. It's still hard to tell how far Lilly will go before getting tired. Levi hiked Harney Peak (7,244 ft) at 4 years old, but Lilly is not quite that adventurous. I think the little hike went well and we all had a good time but Lilly did need a piggy back ride by the end!

On a more serious note, I have been watching my kids today, really watching them and studying them, and have been overwhelmed at how blessed I am! I am so undeserving of such a wonderful family! I have a husband who treats me like a princess and whom I love more today than when we got married, and amazing children that I adore. Do you ever just sit and wonder why? Why me? I'm not talking about the 'why me' you ask when life is hard, but the one you ask when you are so overwhelmed by how blessed you are that it literally takes your breathe away for just a moment. I am counting my blessings today and I hope you are too!

Bring on the New Year

It's January 8th and the new year is in full swing. I don't know if anyone else is like me, but I love the "fresh start" that January brings. I know that not everyone is up for resolutions that they feel they will just break anyway, but I enjoy making plans to do things different in the new year. I don't always officially call them resolutions, but I guess that's what they are.

One of the more difficult ones for this year is to look for God in the everyday stuff. I am starting to reread a book called "Practicing the Presence of God," and reviewing it with my good friend, Abby. It serves as a good challenge to worship God no matter what you're doing whether you are sharing the gospel with someone or wiping a child's dirty bottom! I struggle with this one and often have doubt as to what I am doing for God's kingdom, but I know that these little ones are God's gift entrusted to me and that raising them and bringing them up to love the Lord is truly one of the greatest things I can do for God's glory.

Okay, now an easier one: lose weight! I know, I know. Way to be a cliche, right? Well, I really have been working on this goal since Thanksgiving with the idea to fit into my pre-prego pants before spring. So far, so good. There is no special secret to this - eat better and exercise! Discipline! Discipline!

My third is to be about relationships! The idea is to be about loving the people around me and caring less about what my house looks like or if my to-do list is complete! In other words, embrace interruptions! This is how God works and He is about relationships!

Those are just a couple that I have. What do you want to change this year? Anything? We should always be working to change! Everyone has areas that need a little tweaking. What are yours? Here's to a wonderful 2012!

Homeschooling

I belong to a group of women known as homeschool moms. I have yet to figure out what all that entails, but I'm committed to what I feel God has called me to do. Most days I love it, but some days are hard, not because of the actual school part, but because I have two other little tots who require lots of attention when I'd like to be able to give all of it to Levi during school time. Oh well, it's the great juggle of life.

I am having fun and learning right alongside Levi. As I teach him phonics and he begins reading, I am actually learning rules that I didn't know or had completely forgotten about. It's amazing that anyone learns how to read at all with all the exceptions to the rule there are out there! But Levi is learning! And it is such a thrill to watch him "get it." He has just started to read short sentences and watching him sound them out is similar to playing Mad Gab. Levi sounds out the words slowly and is actually saying the word, but doesn't hear it until he's said it a few times, getting faster and faster each time. But when he "gets it" and realizes that he has just read a whole complete thought, he gets the biggest smile on his face and is so excited. I think the big hit on Friday was,"Bill drives a red van." He probably said the sentence 5 or 6 times before he truly realized what he was saying and then he looked up at me and said it all together with a big grin, dimples and all. It is moments like that when God affirms His call on me to keep my kids home and brings encouragement through their little faces.

Let the Good Times Roll!

Oh how I love, love, love this time of year! Cookies to bake, ornaments to make, crafts to complete, and memories to make! And all in anticipation of Jesus's birthday! It is a time of year when it it very obvious why Jesus said "Let the little children come to me,...for such is the kingdom of heaven." They are so excited about every little thing from the lights on the tree, to the advent calendar that marks the days until Christmas! I enjoy watching their faces light up over the simplest things. We headed down to the Fayetteville square Friday night and they were so excited about all the lights. As if the thousands of lights were not enough, there were camel rides (that's right-I said camel) and little ponies, and horse drawn carriages! To a 5 year old that's about as thrilling as it gets!

We have been very busy doing all the fun things that come with this time of year ( I wish there was a way to spread some of it out throughout the year). We've made paper snowflakes and decorated them - with glitter of course. We've made edible (yummy, yummy) sugar cone Christmas trees. We've made cookies, and ornaments, and colored pictures, and felt snowflakes, and drank hot cider, and told lots of stories about the true meaning of Christmas. There is just something so special about the family togetherness that we enjoy this time of year. I hope that my kids will remember all the fun things that we do and someday pass those on to their children.

Little leg squeezes

Lilly is a big fan of running up to me and squeezing my leg at random times of the day. I could be feeding Isabelle, going through the mail, doing some school work with Levi, or cooking dinner. She just runs at full speed into my leg and squeezes. It is the easiest way for her to hug me at her level. I have been in the habit of patting her head half-heartedly and not really paying much attention to it, probably because it happens so frequently during the day. But a few days ago, as I felt those little arms embrace me, the Lord gave me pause. Some day, I won't have this little girl squeezing my leg throughout the day. The days when she may not want to hug me will be here before I know it. Those awkward teenage years when she sees every little problem like the end of the world and thinks I don't know anything are really not that far away. At 3 years old she is displaying this incredible gift of showing love and affection. Am I returning it? Am I encouraging it? Or am I being so apathetic to her displays of love that one day she will become discouraged enough to stop all together? These thoughts stopped me cold. I reached down to my middle child and scooper her up in my arms. "I love you to pieces," I told her as I squeezed her tight. That was just one little moment in a day full of many "leg squeezes" that come throughout the busy day. I hope and pray that I don't forget that moment and learn to treasure and encourage those times no matter what is on my to-do list! I won't ever get those little hugs back, so today (and every day I hope) I will choose to not ignore them but to stop and welcome them!

Blessed Vacation

Well, we are traveling back from a wonderful trip to South Dakota! I am so thankful to my husband for letting us travel up there to be refreshed by such great friends! We had a great time! But why, always on trips, to kids get sick? Lillian got a cold which turned into conjunctivitis and had to go on antibiotic drops, Levi ruptured a blood vessel in his eye and that got Lilly's junk so he also had to go on eye drops, and Izzy got a terrible cold that it made it impossible for her to sleep so she was up every 2 hours in the night! We got ourselves all out of wack! My new phrase is, "It's all for my sanctification!" Despite all that stuff, we really did enjoy ourselves. I love seeing my kids play so well with their friends even after 6 months of being apart. They have so much joy in their little hearts and are so pleased with the small things in life. It does my soul good to get away from the obligations of home and watch my kids and remember that I can never get this time back so I better enjoy every minute! Besides just having time to love on and be loved on by really good friends, that is the biggest thing I walked away from on this trip. My kids are only this little for a short time. My kids will never be this little again and I want to treasure it and not hurry through it. They are a delight to observe and I am blessed to be their mom!