Workmans Sure Can Make Some Mean Faces

The Great PJs Debacle

Okay, debacle is probably a pretty strong description for what actually happened, but we did find ourselves in quite a quandary (yes, that's the word) on Christmas Eve Eve.

Our Christmas Eve Eve tradition is that the boys get to open one present before going to bed, then on Christmas Eve morning, we celebrate Jesus' birthday and the boys' get to open their other presents from us at our home before heading off to Kentucky to spend Christmas with our family.  The Christmas Eve Eve present is always pajamas.  The boys really enjoy the tradition and so do Eric and I. 

Since "How to Train your Dragon" was one of Biz's favorite movies of the year, I was excited to find him some really cool "Dragon" pjs.  And Biz was very excited when he opened them and couldn't wait to put them on.  When he did, however, I noticed that they looked more like capris than actual pajama pants and he had to do quite a bit of squeezing to get into the shirt.  I grabbed the packaging and the size was right, but when I looked at the actual pjs, the size was not the same as on the package.  They were smaller...two sizes, to be exact.  Oh no! 

Biz was quite happy to wear his obviously too tight pjs and had a really hard time giving them up.  I mean they were his Christmas Eve Eve gift, after all.  After some smooth talking and convincing, we pryed (literally) the pjs off of him and promised him that we would get a bigger size.  He reluctantly put on other pjs and went to bed. 

As soon as the boys were down, Eric headed out to exchange the pjs.  Simple enough, right?  Well, when he got to the store, they did not have the right size and no other "Dragon" pjs in sight.  So, what does my sweet hubby do?  He goes from store to store in pursuit of the pjs.  No luck.  He finally waved the white flag and called saying he had found some really cool Star Wars pjs and would I think they would do?  Of course they would.  It's Star Wars!

So, Eric came home with new pjs that fit this time and actually dressed Biz in them, in his sleep.  He didn't wake up until morning and when he did, the first thing we heard out of his mouth was, "AWESOME."  We knew he had found his new pjs right where he wanted them.

All was well. 

Well, almost.

Seth was a bit disheartened that he did not have Star Wars pjs himself (as displayed in the above picture).  His cool new Superman pjs lost a tiny bit of their appeal when he laid eyes on Biz's Star Wars gear.  Yes, we are still working on having a grateful heart with Seth.  He quickly warmed back up to his Superman pjs.  I mean, it is hard to be sad when you are in the midst of an all out birthday celebration for the Creator.  Especially, when it is your turn this year to pull Baby Jesus from the Advent calendar.

Crisis averted.

All was truly well.

A Little More Snow Fun

After sledding, we had just enough energy to create these snow friends.   The first one is Mr. Smiley and Caleb made him on his own.  The second one is my creation.  I am not sure if we gave her a name, but isn't she pretty? 

Seth opted to pelt snowballs at us while we worked.

And run around with Izzy and Maggie.

Sledding with My Boys

The only memory I have of sledding as a child is riding down the hill behind our house in a garbage bag.  It didn't work very well. 

However, on Christmas morning the boys and I made quite a few fun new sledding memories to redeem those poor garbage bag attempts from the past. 

And we had a blast doing it!

 Neither Eric nor I are cold weather people (hence the reason you do not see my dear hubby in any of these pictures), but of course, the boys could not wait to get out and play in the snow on Christmas morning.  Flemingsburg already had a few inches of snow on the ground when we arrived, and the Christmas snow added a couple more.  As soon as they had the chance, the boys were out the door and in the snow.  And once I saw how much fun the boys were having, I couldn't resist putting my boots on, too, and heading outside.  Yeah, getting a bit chilled was definitely worth it!

It was the boys' first time sledding, and of course, Caleb, who knows no fear, was immediately a natural at it. 

Seth and I were a bit more cautious, but in the end, we discovered that flying off a sled into the snow doesn't hurt so bad. Unless you hit a tree. Which we did once or twice, but they were little trees, so there were no injuries to report.

We definitely need to invest in a sled.  And a big hill to put behind our house.  It was just the best time.  I am not sure if I have ever laughed so hard.  And I think I even snuck in a little work out, too.

A New Season

Most of you who know me, love me, and prayed for me OFTEN through my parenting during the infant and toddler years, know how I often floundered my way through.  Okay, I floundered A LOT.  You also know how much I appreciate you and love you for your grace when somedays it was like my brain had fallen out, and I knew nothing, and other days I thought I knew it all. You listened to my venting and celebrated in my victories.You loved me enough to brave my incredibly messy house many days for a playdate.  You loved me even when my kiddos plowed over your kiddos and had much grace.  Much grace.  You prayed for me, counseled me, laughed with me, cried with me, listened to me, shared with me, encouraged me, HELPED me, ....I could go on and on.  Friends, family, husband...you know who you are.

Newborn, infants, and toddlers were very foreign territory for me until I had my own children.  And even then, I spent about half of my time overwhelmed and just trying to keep my head above water.  It is hard to believe, though, that I blinked and that season of life was complete.  There are no more diapers, no more naps, and no more ice cube trays filled with colorful little homemade baby food squares.  The house in no longer baby proofed, most nights we can count on an uninterrupted night of sleep, and I can actually put a candle or picture on an end table and know it will not become a play thing or better yet, end up in a million pieces on the floor.  I can actually negotiate in order to get all of the vegetables eaten.  I can even threaten, if need be, to keep little bodies in their beds at night. 

So, how in the world did we get from there to here?

I can say without a doubt that during the past six years I have grown more as a person and in my relationship with Christ than during any other time in my life.  God has revealed so many things about Himself through the process of parenting. He has revealed so many things about who I am through the process.  Sometimes it wasn't what I wanted to see, but He gently met me where I was and refused to leave me there.  I have learned what it means to truly rely on someone much bigger than myself to accomplish something so very significant.  Praise you, Jesus!  You are GOOD!

Don't get me wrong, this new stage of life definitely has its challenges, too.  And I know that there is MUCH more for me to learn and that I am no where near the depth I want to go in regards to my relationship with Christ.  God is not finished with me, yet, and there are new challenges to come. That is a guarantee. But for me and my personality, this new season of parenting is very interesting and exciting for me.  I love the conversations I have with my boys.  I love the questions they ask and how they tell a story from their little boy perspective. I love how fun and adventurous they are.  I love how creative they are and how they are now able to form ideas independent from Eric or my own.  I love that they are generally more independent now and I don't have to hold their hands through everything...although I still want to be right here when they need my hand.

And I love how they love to learn.  I really enjoy school and learning.  I mean, I did spend twenty-six years of my life in academia...nearly eight of those were by my own choice.  It is an area where I feel very comfortable, so it is no surprise that I have been looking forward to the school age years. And oooooh, how I have waited for this...homework!  Geeky, yes.  But that is okay. When Caleb gets home from kindergarten, I get so excited to unzip his little backpack and pull out his daily folder.  We enjoy sitting down together and going through the work he did at school for the day and then working on homework together.  Caleb really looks forward to the time, too. I really hope it lasts!! 

Seth doesn't have homework yet, but it won't be long.  Actually, yesterday, when Caleb started doing his homework, Seth started asking for homework, too.  Yes, my heart did leap.  I made a copy of Caleb's worksheet and to my delight, the boys sat down and did homework together.  Caleb read the instructions to his brother and away they went. I couldn't resist taking a picture.

I know homework time may not always be this harmonious, but I will enjoy it while it is.

Scratch

For Christmas, Granny gave Seth quite possibly the coolest pjs ever!!

Especially if you are a Kentucky Wildcat fan.

But Seth is quick to point out that he is not actually the Wildcat in the pjs, but he is Scratch, UK's other mascot.

When asked why Seth is Scratch and NOT the Wildcat, this is his answer:

"The Wildcat looks like this."

"And Scratch looks like this."

"And that is how I look."

Granny is Here!

Popcorn, "How to Train your Dragon," and a fun start to a weekend with Granny!

Yay!!

Snow Creations

Today was day #3 of Caleb's snow "week" from school.  On Monday morning, we awoke to snow on the ground and it has hung around since, with a few additional flurries here and there.  It would probably be more appropriate to call it an ice week from school, because it has been FREEZING and that has made morning travel a big ole icy mess.  Brrr! 

It has been beautiful, though, and the boys have loved getting out and playing in the snow.  Luckily, for me, after about twenty minutes or so of being outside, the boys are ready to come in and drink hot chocolate. Usually, that gets it out of their system for the day, and then we all win.

Today was the first time that the boys and I have been out and about since Sunday and we saw some really cool snow creations as we galavanted through town.  The snowmen were pretty elaborate, I must say.  In front of the fire station, there were three snowmen wearing fire goggles.  We saw another one, a snow lady, that had hair and a purse and another with an umbrella and sunglasses.  We even saw a snow Christmas tree, complete with lights and garland.  But the creation that won my boys heart was a really cool snow igloo.  Our entire family could have fit inside.  I thought the boys were going to jump out of the van, but I was able to contain them.  Barely.

However, out of all of the fun things we saw today, only two snowmen had these snazzy little buttons...

And we found them right on our front porch.

Our snowmen never quite make it to more than couple feet tall, if that.  And how do people get those perfectly rounded snow bodies and heads, anyway?  We can't seem to figure it out.

Yesterday, Caleb decided to go in a different direction from the snowman and made a snow fort and castle instead.  Pretty creative.

But all good things must come to an end.  It looks like both boys are headed back to school tomorrow.  Who can complain about a two-day school week, though?

Just Garth and Us...

...and a big bunch of other people.

Including this gang.

In December, we got the chance to do something that I never thought we would.  We got to see Garth Brooks in concert.  The country singer has not toured in over ten years, so I thought that the "seeing Garth Brooks in concert" ship had definitely sailed.  But it had not.  Yay!

To my, and apparently a bazillion other people's delight, he opted to perform NINE shows in Nashville in December to benefit Nashville flood relief.  He was originally only going to perform one show, but the response was so overwhelming that he opened up eight more.  What a guy!  And what a cause! 

That was definitely one of the best concerts I have ever attended!  There wasn't a lot of flash and lights, but there was a whole lot of energy and awesome music from Garth!  Whoa!  During the concert, I discovered why I am unable to remember what I had for lunch yesterday and why I sometimes forget to pack Caleb a snack for school.  Apparently, there is an entire section of my brain that is dedicated to Garth Brooks hits. Stored in that little space must be the entire collection of Garth Brooks songs, because from out of nowhere (well, I guess it was from somewhere, like that little Garth Brooks section of my brain that I didn't know existed until that night), I was singing word for word songs that I had not heard in ten, fifteen, even twenty years. 

Garth definitely rocked and he put on quite a show, but the highlight for me was getting to see my awesome hubby in action.   While I was singing my heart out to Garth tunes, Eric was busy at work, interpreting, so that some deaf fans could enjoy the show, too.  Eric's agency was hired to provide interpreters for three of the shows.  Eric "took one for the team" and gave up a Friday night for "work". I guess being the boss does have its advantages.

I couldn't get any good pictures of Garth, so I settled for getting some good shots of this guy:

 

I know it sounds odd to say you enjoy watching your spouse work.   I mean, how exciting can that be?  Well, with Eric's profession, it really is.  Sign language is a beautiful language and I absolutely love to watch Eric interpret, especially performance interpreting.  He is a person who was truly called to his profession.  I don't know if I have ever seen anyone do their job so naturally.  He is amazing!  Okay, I may be a little biased, but if you ever see him interpret music, you will be blown away.  Eric's gifting is totally God-given.  There is no other explanation.  Even when he was an interpreting student, he was told several times that he signs like someone who has been around the deaf community his entire life.  Well, the truth is, he was almost twenty years old before he was ever exposed to the language and culture.  Eric was an occupational therapy major who took American Sign Language to get a foreign language credit.  He had no idea at that time that he would develop a career helping the deaf communicate. But he fell in love with the language and the culture and the rest is history.  This is so amazing to me and such a testament to the sovereignty of our Lord.  We serve a God who will even use our weakness for his magnificent glory.  Eric is a shining example of just that.  When Eric was a child, he struggled with stuttering and word blocks.  It got so bad that it truly hindered his communication.  He had speech therapy for a number of years and made great strides in that, thanks to a wonderful teacher named Mrs. Ross.  What an amazing God we serve.  One who takes a little boy who struggles to speak and makes his life's work about communicating for those who cannot speak. 

God is good!  God will use whoever He chooses for His glory...no matter how unlikely it may seem!  Praise Him!

We had a great time and my favorite song to watch was "Thunder Rolls."  Eric nailed it!  Well, Garth did, too, of course.

And Eric was excited to get to interpret one of his favorite Garth Brooks' songs, "Two Pina Coladas."

Eric did have a great team interpreter, too.  Scott rocked some Garth Brooks, too.

What a fun night!! 

Quirky Little Second Born

Oh, blog, how I have neglected you!  I can't believe we are already eight days into the new year and, gasp, I am just now writing my first post of the year.  I will post very soon on one of the reasons that I have been away...our annual Christmas excursion to the bluegrass.  Other than that, the only excuse I have is that life has been very full and very busy lately.  So much so that I have had little time to sit down and think, let alone, sit down and write.  But I have missed it and I hope to begin my regular posting again and get our little family journal up-to-date.

With that said, what better way to start the new year than with a blog about Sethie?

Have I mentioned that I love studying birth order? There is definitely something to it.  I also love studying my boys.  They never cease to amaze me.   And they always throw me for a loop.  Especially my loveable second born.  Since I am a second born who functions more like a first born, I think that I have them both figured out.

Or shouldn't I, at least?

So, not the case.  I find it so interesting that although Caleb looks like his daddy, he is a mini-ME.  We think so much alike that it is scary.  I guess I should say, we process things VERY similarly, which can drive me crazy at times, but is a comfortable insanity, so I am fine with it.  Seth, on the other hand...I am not always sure how that sweet little angel processes things.  I am still trying to figure him out. 

We are currently trying to get him comfortable with making his own decisions.  We are blessed that are boys are really close, but if there could be a draw back to that, here it is:  Seth can struggle with making a decision independent from his brother.  He adores his brother and wants to do everything that big brother does. Although that is endearing and probably completely normal (especially since Seth is only three), I really want to foster independent thinking in our boys and sound decision making.  I also want Seth to develop his own interests apart from his brother. Not that those interests can't be the same (What a bonus when they are!), but I want him to choose an activity because he enjoys it, not just because Caleb enjoys it.  I want our boys to be comfortable and confident in their decision making.  I don't want them to be arrogant and rigid, but I feel like in order for them to learn to make wise choices, learn how to seek guidance when needed, and discover what they truly enjoy doing, then they must first learn to make decisions for themselves.  Simple enough, right?  I know they are young, but since I have always struggled in this area and am sensitive to it, I want to stay on top of this with our boys, especially our sweet little "go with the flow" (or at least big brother's flow) second born.

But all hope is not lost.  There is one area where Seth actually has no problem expressing his opinion...or shall I say, asserting his will.  Well, actually two.  Food and fashion. 

This post deals with the latter.

Who knew a three-year-old BOY could be so concerned with what he wears? And it isn't always about what he is wearing that is quirky, but actually HOW he wears his clothes. 

Seth prefers wearing shorts and pajamas.  Period.  When it turned cold in the fall, it was the struggle of a lifetime to get him to put on pants.  We came to a compromise, though, that we could all live with.  Most days, as soon as Seth gets home from anywhere, he goes upstairs and changes into shorts or pjs. He wants to be comfortable and I get that. Of course, when we go back out, he has to redress.  He goes through multiple wardrobe changes per day, but he has gotten extremely proficient at dressing himself.  

He does have his favorites, though.  That is for sure.  I have to wrestle certain items away from him just to get them in the wash.  And even though he is very opinionated about what he wants to wear or does not want to wear, sometimes indecisiveness does rear its little head.  So, what is Seth's solution when he can't decide between his favorite blue shorts or his pumpkin shorts?  Buzz Lightyear pjs or Superman pjs?  Star Wars t-shirt or preschool t-shirt? 

He just wears them both at the same time. 

Since Seth dresses himself, we are not always aware of his layers right away.  Multiple times, we have shown up at preschool with his favorite blue shorts on UNDER his pants.  We have also been mid-grocery trip and I will see pj pants peeking out from behind his regular pants.  Yesterday, Seth and I were building with his Trio blocks when Seth told me he was hot.  He proceeded to take his pjs off.   No bare chest was revealed.  No, there was a whole other set of pjs under his Buzz Lightyears.  One evening, I was getting Seth ready for his bath and I couldn't help but laugh, as he had obviously taken his layering to another level.  First his pants, then his favorite blue shorts, then his pumpkin shorts, and finally his underwear.

This has been going on for awhile now, so you would think that I would remember to check for extra clothing before we leave the house.  Some mornings, well most mornings, we are flying out at the last minute, so I don't even think about it.  You would also think there would be a big bunch of bulkiness to make his layers obvious, but somehow, Seth pulls off his look with concealed style.

I am not sure if this is normal.  Probably not, but that is okay.

In the end, there are some battles that are not really battles, so they are not worth fighting.   Plus, it is part of Seth's quirkiness. 

And that is in part of what makes him Seth. 

And we LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOVE our Sethie!