I Moved!!!

I moved!!! Go to http://allthosemillers.xanga.com. Don't forget to "Go to Next 5" link at the bottom of the posts on the first page to read the rest of my catch-up posting!!! :)

10 Months

* Will pull up to standing and then let go, or remaining standing by himself when you place him on the floor for 5-10 seconds before sitting down.

*Usually wakes once a night to eat

*Takes two naps, one longer, one shorter

*Generally only sucks his thumb when he is going to sleep. Also likes to hold a blanket against his cheek while he is sucking his thumb. Cuteness pie.

*Really playing a lot with Israel. Israel really enjoys him, and it's sort of intriguing how much they can already play. Zion just LOVES to play.

*Is very content generally when he is with me. That makes him pretty easy to take to the beach; he just plays right around me, or climbs around on me, or pats my leg, or pulls up on my shirt, and doesn't try to hightail it off to far away places.

Mommy neeeeeeeed...

*Is very playful. Just a little bit ago, I was sitting with him on the floor, and he took off on a bee-line straight to where the electrical cords are for the computer. About halfway there, he hurriedly sat down and turned around to look at me with a completely mischevious look on his face, gave me a big grin, and then resumed his speedy crawl. After a few more crawls, he sat down again, looked at me grinnily, and when I warned him, he crowed with glee and turned around. He just thought that was great. Skunk.

*Has started in the past few days to use his arm to point, with his hand outstretched.

*He's a leaner. He will lean his forehead into your head, or lean his body into you when he wants some cuddles or kisses.

*Still has four teeth, with another trying to come through.

Still making his cheese faces... :)

*Still in size 4 diapers and is in 9-12 and 12 month clothes.

*Has been going to the nursery at church during the worship service for about two months now. He was getting too squwerky in the service.

*Likes to chew on straws and chewy sippy cup lids.

*Likes to drink water out of a sippy cup.

*Really likes his fruit and oatmeal in the morning. He likes fruit a lot; not always so big on other things. Still breastfeeding.

*Has a happy crow/shriek.

*LOVES to get into the dog food and water bowl, which is HIGHLY annoying to his mommy. He will hustle up to the water bowl, put it into a hasty park, scritch happily around in the bowl with his fingers, and lurch back to give me a wide-eyed "Who, me?"look.

*His hair is FINALLY starting to grow in, and is blond with maybe some red in it, and curls in the back.

*Gets a lot of comments on how mild and content he is.

Home Sweet Virginia

The day after Tim's parents returned to IN, we clambered into our sleek 'n speedy new minvan and sped off for other places. Tim was going to a conference in Iowa, and I felt a little dubious of my desire to stay home alone with the kiddos for a week, so Mom picked us up in Maryland and took us home to Virginia.

This was of course a great delight all around, as Israel firmly states his desire to go to "Gamma's house" at least once a day. He believes every ride in the minivan should end at Grandma's.

Zion was a little suspicious of all being well with the world when we got there - he was a little clingy and not so sure about things. Including not wanting to go to sleep very easily at night, a pattern that continued throughout the week.

There were many golf-cart rides all around...

riding of the tricycles...

and the cars...

busy and important things to help Granddaddy with...

cuddling of the grandbaby...

garden tasks to accomplish...

more cuddling of the grandbaby...

Grandma bathing of the long haired hooligans...

football playing with the Grandma and Granddaddy...

close observation by the oh-so-helpful Maddie dog...

digging of the Grandma's flower beds by aspiring landscapers...

and good times on the swing.

Like to make a boy tuckered out.

Or at least lay down for a nap with Grandma. Under your cozy blanket. On the coffee table...

Virginia is just GORGEOUS in the summertime!!!

This field was covered with Queen Anne's Lace flowers. Beautiful!!

I also got to spend some time with my friend, Sylvia,

and her two adorable munckins while I was home. Vincent wasn't too sure about the whole concept of being set down... :)

A few more pictures...since I don't have enough or anything... ;)

Israel cheesing by his Uncle Quentin's play barn.

Snack time before bed...

I totally appreciated all the help, and not having to spend the week alone in the trenches!!! Thanks so much, Mom and Dad, for everything!

I thought this was an EXCELLENT article.

http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2009/august/16.22.html

While I Was Gone...

1. Zion turned 9 months old.

He is such a grinny little cheesy scrunch face cheeseball. I love him to PIECES!!!!

• He has been pulling up to standing since about 8 months 2 1/2 weeks.
• Has four teeth.
• The boy can GET AROUND. He books it all over the place, following Israel pushing a toy, or going to check on who is in the bathtub. (please excuse my unfinished cabinet door...)

• He LOVES to be in on the action, whether it's the boys wrestling with their daddy, and he piles in, toppling over Tim's leg, giggling all the way, or watching Gabe and Israel get their bath, banging his hands on the side of the tub and messing with the water, or happily standing by Gabe's bed watching his two brothers play bouncing Super Heroes. :)
• He really enjoys baths.
• Still breastfeeding, but also does really well with ground up table food, crackers, Cheerios... He loves to eat strawberries, and I will put a whole one on his tray and he'll just gnaw away until his sweet little red-stained face eagerly looks around for more. :)
• Makes a bee-line for electronic objects. Really enjoys banging on a drum. Also loves to chew a rubber duck. Pushes cars as he crawls.
• "Talks" mostly when unhappy, "Da da da da nah nah nah na." or particularly happy.
• Has a toothy grin.
• He is a very happy boy who just loves his brothers.
• He takes a nap in the morning and a nap in the afternoon, of varying lengths. I am way more laid back this third time around, and really could not tell you the average nap length. He does well even if he has to miss a nap.
• Still usually wakes up a least once during the night to eat.
• Has had a BEAR of a time cutting those top two teeth. Phew. Lots of night wakings, screamings and flailing and refusing to go back to his crib, so I would tiredly march him around the house until he calmed down and the Tylenol kicked in. Only 16 more teeth to go. Wide wide Mommy eyes.
• He has been the WORST twisty-turny boy for getting his diaper change of the three. He is a MESS!!!
• Loves to be turned upside down.
• So I was trying to do his 9 month pictures, and he kept not looking at the camera, and falling over in the laundry basket, and was NOT into leaving his hat on, and it was so hot outside, and then he threw up on his hat, his outfit and the sheepskin I had. Sigh. Such are the life and times of a mommy just trying to get a picture before the kid up and turns ten months. Here he is pulling off that bothersome hat...
  

Phew! :)

2. Had Vacation Bible School. Gabe just LOOOOOOOOOVVVESSS things like this. LOVES them. He is such a social guy. From all reports, he was very interactive and did well at answering questions. The theme was "Boot Camp", and sparked a lot of following discussion about that all intriguing "sword of the Spirit". There has been a lot of sword action around here ever since. Also talk about how "God is going to beat the debil (devil)." He does an excellent job still reciting his verses that he learned. Such a good job that I'm going to try to work on more memorization with him.

Israel followed his Mommy around in the kitchen, since he decided he didn't want to be left in the nursery. He had a great time playing with Amber, who was also following her mommy around, and eating snacks. :)

Zion stayed in the nursery most of the time.

It was a good week, but really felt kind of long, since we were still neck deep in boxes at home and Bible School was from 6-9 PM. Phew.

3. A Roseola Outbreak.

All three boys came down with roseola the week after Bible School. That Saturday, Israel had a fever of about 102, and Zion had a low grade one. The next day it disappeared, but showed up again on Monday, again 101-103 for both of them. Zion was starting to break out in red spots by that night, and the next day his fever was gone and as the day progressed he got more and more spotty. :)

Israel got his rash the day after that, I think, and Gabe didn't get sick until Saturday. His was the mildest case. He had a lower fever and fewest spots. Zion was F.U.S.S.Y. Oh my. SO fussy. Really for most of the week, but especially the first few days until his fever was gone. He wouldn't really let me put him down, and had a really hard time going to sleep. He was up until midnight or after for several nights. I thought maybe part of it was those teeth that he was working on.

4. Gabe went to see his Grandma and Grandaddy in VA. We had some friends that were traveling to VA for a wedding, and were actually staying with Mom and Dad, and so Gabe hitched a ride to have some Grandparent time. He did such a great job. I missed him SO MUCH!!! I missed him before he even left!!! The house felt only 2D without him, lacking that 3D dynamic. It was a lot quieter. Israel missed him, too, and asked about him hopefully every morning and during the day. He was gone 5 days and 4 nights, from Wednesday to Sunday. He had a great time, but said several times while he was there, "I wish Israel could be here." Before he left he said, "Mommy, will you miss me?" I said, "YES!!!" and he said, "I will miss you too!! And I will miss Zion and I will miss Israel!!"

5. We have been taking full advantage of our new surroundings. We have booked more miles on our stroller in the past month than were on them in entirety from before, I think! We have two playgrounds about a 10 minute walk away, we have tennis courts right down the road from our house that Gabe and Tim love to play on, and a track that we have been to twice. I pushed the boys to the library the other week, and we stopped at the bagel cafe on the way home for some tasty sustenance. :) We have walked around the neighborhood, and walked twice to Nanticoke River Festival that was in town last weekend, for food, rides, and some more food. :) I am SO loving our location.

6. Also, my friend Emily came to visit, which is always a favorite event of ours.

Zion working his nose grabbing magic on Emily.

And the boys and I trekked to the beach with some other friends for some sun and sand.

7. WE HAVE A NEW MINIVAN!!!!!!!!! Love LOVE our new wheels!!! We were GIVEN a van, from Harvey and Grace Mast. It is a 2004. So we went from a 1995 Dodge Caravan with over 250,000 miles on it, no airconditioner, no rear view mirror, and a short in the electrical system that meant that I generally had to jump the battery before going anywhere, to this one with air conditioner, a rear view mirror, doors on each side, extended for more room - and it does that amazing thing of just starting right up when you turn the key!!!...I am just so in love with it. My pupils were dilated from sheer van-love for the first few days and I had to keep going places just to try out my new possession. I feel so incredibly blessed right now, in so many ways. We have a house we love, a minivan that works great, and friends that are such a blessing in so many ways. Thank you so much, Harvey and Grace, and thank you too, Mom and Dad for Ol' Blue that we wore to a frazzle. She was a good ol' girl. We sure loved her when she arrived!!

8. Nana Carol and Grandpa Norm buzzed in from Saturday evening to Monday lunch. We really enjoyed having them around. Unfortunately, my camera battery recharger was safely hidden from my searching eyes, and I couldn't find it until Monday. So here's just a few pictures - I'll do better next time!!

Gabe was very busy with his shoot-gun. Too busy, in fact, to adequately participate in the picture. Somehow all sorts of shooting arrived on the scene, who knows where from. There are many many many things that need to be shooted. Like bears, birds, trees, bad guys ("No, Gabriel, you may not pretend to shoot people. Pretend to shoot a bird." Pause. Shot of the "gun". "I just shooted a bird off of the bad guys head.").

Tim and Norm standing proudly next to their grill patio creation.

Here's a silly dude Israel.

Nana Carol with the boysies.

9. And finally, a few random pictures from the month-ish.

Boys happily helping their daddy.

Here was the helper in the stroller.
Mommy is a big fan of all three boys helping their daddy at one time. That way she can sit on her butt on the steps and be lazy.

When it rains, all boys except the baby must retreat huriedly to the tool shed, so they can hear the rain on the roof.

Mommy with her roseola-ed child.

One of Gabriel's favorite activities is being a "monkey" in the "monkey tree" in our front yard.

One of Israel's favorite activities is standing on his toddler bed, watching the world go by.

Grinny Gus. :)

Back When...

Today I was looking at a Facebook page of someone who just had a first baby, and I came to the "leaving the hospital picture", and suddenly I could totally feel how I felt with the newness of baby Gabriel, the first. When the blue blankets were just waiting to be used, all the clothes were new, the room was waiting, all with that sparkle-shine smell of newness...that thrill of anticipation to see this baby, the looooonnngg last week or two, just waiting, waiting. Back when the house was quiet. That pioneerdom of motherhood, waiting to see all the milestones, the first food, the first tooth. They seemed to take a lot longer, then. Now it feels like they whiz up. Suddenly the baby has four teeth and is starting to stand by himself, and that very first little baby Gabriel is almost five, with arms and legs that seem to lengthen startlingly quickly, a torso getting broader. And there is a shrieking, hurtling, bright-eyed two-almost-three year old between the two of them. Now the blankets are well used and there are many, and I have to pick up some new used clothes from Goodwill now and then to even out different sizes at different times. And time does fly.

Here's to remembering. I hope I always can.

Say What??

"God can make us into a squirrel! He can make me into a squirrel, he can make anybody into a squirrel!"

Gabe quote of the day out of the blue while munching happily on raw almonds, ie. squirrel food.

Life As It Is and Friends Indeed

Well...it's been going. :) Sometimes well, sometimes not so well, but all that aside...we love our new house and will love it even more...when the unpacking is done...in a few years...maybe. Sigh. I was lamenting to Mom the other day that the problem with unpacking a house with three young children is that 5 people in the house need to eat three meals every day and continue to need clean clothes and continue to do things like cut paper into tiny pieces and play with toys and leave messes around. Things that I can spend all day chasing down anyways. So my solution to making the most time for me has been "supper from a box". :) Heh heh heh. I bought, like, 5 frozen pizzas from Walmart the other day and two or three non-nasty looking frozen meals. Things that don't require much cleanup or any prep time.

On top of everything, we have vacation bible school at church this week, which this year goes from 6 PM to 9 PM, and which Tim and I are both involved in. So we get home late, and the kids are getting CRRAAAANNNKKKYYYYYY. Arrrrrrrrrrgh. And Mommy is getting CRAAAAAAANNNNNKKKYYYYY. Mommy is very tired of wailing children. Mommy wants wailing children to pad quietly and peaceably to their beds and take long significant naps when they feel tired, instead of standing in the kitchen diaperless for the third time in 30 minutes wailing at the top of their lungs for sundry reasons, involving things like the fact that Mommy wants to put a diaper back on them, or that diapers exist in the first place or that Mommy won't carry your bare butt to bed, but tells you that you have to walk yourself if you don't have a diaper on. And then said child will lay on the floor while being diapered wailing about how he needs powder. And then wailing to be carried to bed. For the third time that morning. And then, when he is in bed, wailing with maximum distress about something that you cannot for the life of you understand. Just that it is causing great hiccuping sobs and many many many tears. And then there is Gabe, miserably sniffling because he can't have a cookie until he eats his lunch, of which he has first said is too spicy, (which it is not) and then when given a choice between that and a tuna sandwich decides to eat the tuna sandwich and then bursts into tears because there is lettuce on it and says he can't get it off by himself, then decides he doesn't like the tuna sandwich, so it is back to his initial meal, and he pokes and whines and carries on and asks me to feed him and then drops it out of his mouth and then decides, well, he doesn't want a cookie, after asking me to make them about every 7 seconds during the morning until I told him that if he kept asking me I wasn't going to make them (these were from premade cookie dough, in case you were impressed at my baking diligence), and then when I get hungry for them myself and make them, we go through the whole same tearful rigamarole and finally he takes his blanket and falls asleep. Phhheeewww. And then there is Little Squerk, who was busy and slightly cranky and busy busy busy. I sat at the computer with everyone sleeping one hour before we needed to leave with sort of a wild gaze and all nerves at maximum fray.

In other, less stressful news, Zion is (has been for a bit :)) 8 months old now. He hit the 8th month mark during our move and has been tackling new developmental phases like crazy. In a span of about two weeks, he switched from mostly breastfed to a lot of table food and baby snacks (still breastfed, too) basically at his initiative. He started crawling, and he is speedy!!
He also is sitting up very well, and can push himself from a crawling to a sitting position. He also gets up on his knees a lot. He just got his second bottom tooth and is working on his top two front teeth. He can feed himself baby snacks on his highchair tray. He started saying "Da da da da da" and "Na na na na na". He is so observant and cognisant. He will chortle and grin and loves to laugh at you and be laughed back at. He seems like he gets more agitated since he can get around now, because he sees things he has to go GET!!! and he wiggles and squirms to be put down. He has started putting his feet down flat on the ground when held in a standing position, instead of up on his toes. He will play very happily for long periods of time by himself or with the boys around. He is a very good natured baby and has lots of happy grins. He is still in 6-9 month clothing and size 4 diapers.

Here's some pictures from life of late.

The Move

The Wisseman's install a gate in the chain-link fence.
Gabe had to get a blanket and watch.
Then the boys even got to take a ride. Tom was the man of the hour.
Some beautiful fresh-picked strawberries Al Adams brought us when he came to help paint.
Anita Martin and Becky Wright help paint in the bathroom.
Gabe and his buddies that came along to help. :)
Our first morning in our new house (before our stuff was moved over). We celebrated with a breakfast from Dunkin Donuts, which we can walk to. :) Smile of happiness.
The Snooch was present, too, just to make sure that everything looked okay with breakfast.She's a good girl. Wouldn't want anyone to die of donut overload, or anything.
Kind of makes a doggie yawn hungrily.
Der Poor Hungry Snitchity Snooch
Spring Festival

Last weekend we had the Spring Festival at Greenwood Mennonite School. I looove stuff like that and spent plenty of time marching around happily buying food. :) Fresh homemade donuts, whoopie pies, pulled pork sandwiches, iced vanilla lattes with whipped cream, sweet tea...mmmmm.

The boys loved it too, but for different reasons. Gabe made a beeline for the inflated Clifford the Big Red Dog jumping thingie, but as soon as he caught sight of the water slide, his day was decided. He spent hours on it, with no break, while Israel chortled over the chicks (with help from Aileen Crossgrove),cuddled the kitties, babied the bunnies,and oh-so-delightedly rode around in a little barrel car.I finally fished a drenched Gabe off the slide with the lure of a two hour late lunch.He informed me that he wanted a hot dog, a sandwich, and BBQ chicken. I told him we would start with the hot dog and see where we went from there. He made it through that and the sandwich. While wearing his new dry clothes. :)
Hey, you go with what works. We sat tiredly under the tent, sunned and well-fed,and listened to the worship team from Hickory Ridge, led by Chad Sterling who I went to Rosedale and Cedarville with.Zion worked busily on his own snacks.And finally, here's the boysies. It was just beautiful the other day and we settled out on the lawn in the shade for a pretzel picnic. It was a good day. With many more to come. We have had so many wonderful people show us so much love and help as we have transferred houses. Thank you all so much and we love you so much!!!

And So It Begins...

We (horraaaay!!!) closed on our new house at 3 PM on Wednesday, May 20 and have been feverishly working in it ever since. We have had WONDERFUL helpers come to help us out. My parents and brother were here till Saturday and we have had lots and lots of people from church come in to give us a hand or knock down a shed or PUT UP a shed or pull out a bathtub or slave away over kitchen cabinet doors. Thanks SO MUCH to everyone so far!!!

A whole TROOP of guys came in to knock down our shed and haul it away.
While they were there, they also helped steam off wallpaper, and pull out a 300+ pound blue cast iron bathtub that I waved a very very cheery goodbye to.
By the end of the evening I was gazing delightedly upon this glorious sight.
It did my heart good. Andy and Courtney came the next day to further disassemble the atrocity known as the hall bath and replace it with much better things.
Can you tell I harbored great hatred towards this bathroom? I'm pretty sure it was one of the ugliest I have seen. Old blue tub with matching blue toilet and blue sinks, wallpaper of grey weathered paneling (I mean, who WOULD'NT want that in their bathroom, pray tell?), a grey marbled tub surround stretching all the way to the ceiling, a red board at chair rail height to give it a nautical feel, a shuttered medicine cabinet, nasty old old gold and white lineoleum, and a ceiling with sponged blue paint. As our house inspector had put it - "there's a little of everything going on in here." My heart seriously smiles everytime I pass that bathroom and see how it looks nothing like it used to. Andy came by on Saturday and put in white tile for us. Sigh of happiness.

Anywho. One of the main jobs we are doing is painting EVERYTHING. Walls, ceilings, woodwork, cabinets. Anything formerly known as brown is now white. Or will soon be.
This is Marti Miller and Alan Peterson hard at work.

And Alan again and Tim.
Goodbye dark paneled walls. Goodbye red carpet. Goodbye the brownness of the door. Goodbye brown shutters. Goodbye brown toilet with mold in it. Goodbye brown trim. Goodbye brown window frame. Smile of bliss.

The boys are also, OF COURSE, VEEERRY helpful on the painting front, as you can well imagine.
Here is Painter Gabe. Incidentally, today someone asked him how old he was and he said he was four. They told him that they had a 14-year old grandson. Gabe responded by informing him that he (Gabe) is also a superhero.

We got a video from the church library the other day called BIBLEMAN. (I'm sure you all have seen it. How could anyone miss such a blockbuster?) Gabe's eyes were HUGE during the whole thing. He told me that Bibleman was his FAVORITE!!! :) :)

Today Tim overheard him telling one of his babysitters that he was a superhero, but then he asked her if she knew who the greatest superhero of all was, and she said, "No, who?" and he said "God!" :) That's right, buddy.

Here's another MASSIVE project.
Tom and Wanda and Ronnie Wisseman have singlehandly constructed this ridiculously confusing puzzle of a backyard shed over several days. It is now all finished and I am ridiculously happy about our new shed. :)

Dad and I pulled up from a lengthy, arduous, and very productive Lowes trip where I earned lots of money back on my 10% moving discount :) to find these cheery greeters on our front stoop.
The boys really are enjoying themselves. Lots of people to see and play with, boxes around to make into "cars" to drive on the couch,
storage boxes to take a bath in (cause, hey, why not?? :)),
calculators to lick,
(ok, so fine, that doesn't really relate, but I just had to get a picture of that silly little tongue. :)),
front stoops to watch the world from,
flowers to smell,
cuddles to receive, and giggles to giggle...
...it all just makes a body tuckered out.
Zion has thankfully napped very well at the house. That is a huge help!

I just can't say thank you enough to everyone that has been so helpful. We have also had meals brought in, which are a HUGE help. (I'm pretty sure my husband is going to look at me askance in regards to all my capitalizations in this post, but I can't HELP IT!!! ;))

We have to be out of this house by next Monday. So...adios from my happy state of new house! :)

Mess Mouses

"Someone" wandered out of our bedroom the other day, where he had been hard at work carving a niche in his hair-cutting history. His scissors were still raised to the task when his daddy caught sight of him.

"GABRIEL!!!"

Gabriel jumped about a mile and then scurried to his mama's side with a very abashed expression on his face. He popped two fingers in his mouth that remained while his hair was thoughtfully examined by his mommy and daddy. :)
Tim gave him a haircut with the shortest guard on his clippers, but Gabe's "artwork" is still visible. Gabe checked the box for this "every kid" activity. Goose.

The other week he went along with Tim while our friend Chuck worked on our minivan. Gabe had a SPLENDID time and kept very very very busy the entire time. This is what he looked like when he got back.
He was FILTHY!!! He looked like a little chimney-sweep.

Speaking of another mess mouse, there was one busily painting on the deck the other afternoon.
Painting himself, I mean.
Dude. This child right now... Place weary head in weary hands and utter weary sigh. After a wooonderful loooong break from any colds, this child is back to work hacking and coughing and snotting. And wailing and having VERY. LOUD. breakdowns. The kid is the loudest thing in the world. I hate colds.

And for the final mess mouse...
Dis wittle snoogum woogum is very busily growing right now. He is still cutting his two bottom teeth at the same time, which, along with his own cold, is wreaking havoc on our sleep schedules. Dooby.

His red Clifford ball is one of his gnawing objects of choice right now.
He is also, for the second day, rocking on his hands and knees.
I just cannot hardly believe he is old enough to crawl!!!

Happy Mother's Day!!!

I view motherhood as a refining fire. It is a constant marathon of testing, of trying, of options to lay down my own desires, of observation of my failings, of opportunity to find my strength in the power above and beyond me in Jesus who can give me strength, and to see his strength made perfect in my weakness. It it is a 24/7 opportunity to joyfully lay down my will. :)

Do not allow the above paragraph to lead you to believe that I am successful in all of those things. :) For I most assuredly am not. I struggle against speaking harshly and impatiently to my children, with not wanting to put down my activity of choice to get them a drink/find them some clothes/break up a squabble/read a book/etc., with keeping my house cleaner rather than messier, with prioritizing what I should rather than what I would prefer. I am inherently selfish, self-centered. Children are a constant opportunity to break that cycle. :)

So a part of me relishes the struggle. The same part that enjoyed seeing myself push myself in running - how fast, how hard I could go. Or watching myself make it through labor without pain meds. Sometimes when I am up at night for the billionth time, thinking in wonderment about how I will get up for good in a very few hours, I'm feeling the "burn" of the emotional endurance muscles, and seeing how much I can take. Or when I catch myself before I snap impatiently at a whining Gabriel, and I gentle my tone, it's a high five I can give myself as I run past.

"Running my race" is a pursuit of excellence that I am passionate about. I have a large pile of books that I am reading all at one time covering subjects of how to do the most that I can do to build a relationship with my kids that will most effectively (but still with no guarantees) communicate the truth of a life-changing, life-saving relationship with the One that life is all about, of how to make my house into a home, of how to mange my time and my resources to the maximum, of how to discipline my children in a redemptive way. I really enjoy the trying and the thinking and the implementing of new ideas. I am finding a lot of encouragement and affirmation in my spirit right now of truths that remind me that there is strength in God for the asking. "Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need." (Hebrews 4:16) Motherhood finds me so needy. I don't have enough resources, knowledge, patience, or character.

This Mother's Day (like the last, somewhat ironically) has been a thorough exercise in all of those things. Two fussy, feverish kids, with Israel coughing/hacking this dry, irritated, CONSTANT cough about 742,673,583 times in one day. Wide staring eyes of enduring. ARRRRGGGHHH. Then tonight, after he went to bed, he coughed hard enough that he puked, and then it was the whole mess of changing clothes and bedsheets and scrubbing the carpet and scolding Gabe for walking in the vomit. Sigh. And speaking of Gabe, dealing with his hyper, silly, giggling, chortling, in-the-baby's-face self that you get reeeeeaalll ready to have in bed by the end of the day. At least he wasn't sick too.

So on this Mother's Day, I find myself thoroughly grateful for my husband. For the Daddy. Who scrubs the puke off the carpet so I don't have to, who holds the baby so I can get something done, who distracts the kids WHEN I HAVE HAD ENOUGH!!!! When I want a break from refinement and want to go read a book in the bathtub. :) I just think that a woman who has to raise her children by herself, and do ALL of the work alone, and come out ahead has to be the STRONGEST woman on earth.

AND, I am also thoroughly grateful for two women who I'm pretty sure both have most of all of "it" down, whatever "it" is. :) Mom, you have been a great mom, and are one of my very best friends. I am constantly referencing back in my head to "how Mom did it". And calling you for maybe a third time in the day if I can't remember. :) Carol, you raised a great son, and I can't thank you enough. You are a great mother-in-law, and so supportive of me and easy to talk to. We all love you both soooooo much!! :) :) :)

At Least...

What would totally make it fine to be up with the baby at 4:46 AM was if I were getting paid for it. By, like, the minute. Which I totally think I am, from my understanding. I mean, I haven't gotten my check in the mail from the last time yet, but I'm pretty sure...

What would also make it fine was if I knew I was getting a sizeable nap in a silent house later. Which I'm not so sure is going to happen, but, hey, that's why I get paid, right??

Another thing that would justify this whole bit were if I got to change a poopy diaper while I was awake. Which I did, so, that totally rocks.

And it would be equally cool if this were, like, the sixth or seventh time I was up anyways this night with two feverish boys and a little guy who WANTS A DRINK!!!!

That's three for four!! Stellar.

At least this little pooper is a cutie patootie.
And at least I never have to worry about insomnia at this point in my life.