Dec pics...

Jazzing around on the Piano with Daddy

"...Baby's got blue eyes..."

Tub time with sister...she's making sure he smiles for me.

Caden's broken elbow and a fake smile.

Decorating the kid's trees.

Each year the kids pick out an ornament of their liking for their own tree. This year, Caden picked a hockey ornament, while Sofia stuck to her traditional princess choice.

An ADD pose and my fat Buddha baby helping out.

My little hands at work.

Admiring the end product.

We were able to go on our very own local version of the Polar Express. A quick train ride with friends, a story read by an animated-kid friendly-jolly man, an appearance from Santa, a glimpse of the North Pole and all the elves, hot Coco and cookies...so fun!!! Sofie pulled Santa's beard.

The kids are enjoying an early Christmas gift in the pic below. I love Sy's hand on Sofie's back.

Caden, with his vivid imagination, used a helicopter and ruberband as feathers for a headpiece when he was pretending to be an Indian. An Indian with a gun. Note: Pocahontas in the background.

Women ARE from mars or Jersey.

I'm standing in a long line at LL Bean recently and observed a situation. I was last in line and behind me, approaching from two different directions, were 2 women...and this is how it began. One was a lone women with a large tote over her shoulder huffing and puffing her way along. The other was a women and man carrying a few smaller misc items in their arms. The women and man sideways glanced and caught the direction of the other women....she was headed for the line. The couple hustled and quick stepped while the other lady cut a corner, technically cheating, and arrived behind me first. The initial thought that struck my funny bone was that the winded women basically hurried along only to be first at being last in a very long line. A NANO second later the couple ascended on her. They began to assert body language...obviously annoyed that this women broke the "approaching a long line civilized" rule in the shopping code of conduct book. Their hands on their hips, lips pursed, shifting from one foot to the other. Then they huffed and moaned and whispered without using a whispering voice that "She was so rude!" and "Can you believe some people?". A few moments went by and the single women gathered he normal breathing pattern; she stared directly ahead. She looked past my nosey ease dropping and curious overt stares. She was rock solid still, gazing directly ahead at nothing with confidence. She had acquired her position in line. By George, SHE was not last, and SHE had won. The other couple began to shift their criticism's elsewhere, LL Bean was too be blamed. They felt there should be more personal. I envisioned line bouncers wearing all black and head sets. I set for a moment day dreaming and allowed my imagination and the background of their conversation to paint a picture...laughing to myself at their intensity and frustrations. Then without a warning everything changed. The couple somewhere in dialog had mentioned New Jersey in all it's splendor and basically, how the stores there are far superior to ours...pretty much saying Mainers cut lines and we suck. THEN the other women turns, relaxing her rigid "I'm the winner off the LL Bean line race!" stance. She says with a huge smile to the couple,"Are you's from Jersey???" They return the huge warm friendly smile and say with love and enthusiasm, "YES! Are you??". The warm chatter begins and I look desperately for something like an airplane bag to puke in. The women giggle and talk loudly while the man stands quietly staring ahead. I am certain, without a shadow of doubt, he is utterly confused. He says NOTHING. The two women are the best of friends by the time we reach the registers. They have exchanged emails and phone numbers. They know each others shoe size, what they have each bought at Freeport, the names of their children, and the year they all graduated for high school. They also have agreed that we, as Mainers, are screwballs, and that men are the hardest people to shop for and understand. How does this happen? Funny huh? Women....we are something else aren't we????

So here's a few from the past that still make me smile. My babies are growin up way to fast. I think Sofia and Silas look a lot alike. I really didn't notice it till' I saw these. This was Christmas 03' and Rich, Sofia and I were Joesph, Mary, and baby Jesus for two different churches. We had to turn down the offers this year due to Joseph's allergic reaction to the hay in 03'.

Fortunes and Vomit

My mind is slightly numb as it has been a whirlwind of excitement and events. Last week we spent WAY too much time at the Dr.'s and specialist for Caden's arm.
The Dr. settled on treating him with a cast, surprisingly he wasn't really hip on it. The specialist basically said it could be a couple of different things but all were treated with immobility. Whatever...

I thought that a week of stress could be helped by a weekend of fun! We decided to start the weekend with taking the kids to the Polar Express on Friday night. The kids get to wear their PJ's and go on a brief train ride to the "North Pole". SO neat!!! Before the train ride we decided to stop into Applebees for a quick bite with some friends and their children. About half way through the meal Caden begins to PUKE. It was very weird and kinda slow motionish. I looked over and he had that look that parents HATE to see when your miles away from a pot, bucket, bush, or toilet. Not the look that says, "I goota pee.". It's the green "I'm gonna puke!" look. Rich QUICKLY grabbed him and ran down the isle as he barfed...all the way to the bathroom where he continued to puke everywhere but the toilet. So we cleaned up and sorted out a few details, Sof and I went ahead to the Polar Express. Rich braved the next few hours with Caden. We think he had food poisoning. It was NOT the way we wanted to end a crazy week. Our life is really so exciting:>:>. Sat we skipped the other potentially fun activities we had planned. We opted for nothingness. Rich and I just needed a day. I was afraid to leave the house, scared someone may start vomiting everywhere, wherever we went. At that point I wasn't sure if it was food poisoning or the flu. Caden is doing much better now....well enough to be back to nonsense. He asked the other night what was going on with his luck lately. He said he felt like he had a plague. On Sat night we decided to get Chinese. Caden broke into his fortune cookie and it read, " you will find good health..." !!!! I looked for a map or compass in the take out bag, to assist us in the "finding" part, BUT didn't find a thing. Let's cross our fingers that he doesn't break his other arm looking for it. Soooo here's to hoping on his Chinese fortunes.

To Jeimy and Shannon and anyone else who has solicited me for any parenting advice...

So the story about the picture is evidence that I am in training still. I am really clinging to the verse about completing his good work in me...:>:>

I tried to fix Annie's mac-n-cheese and I got distracted and the noodles burned. THEN, I poured too much milk and it became soup. I just told the kids it was a new recipe. They looked concerned but ate it and too my surprise LOVED it and even had 3rds. The next week Caden asked for " the new yummy noodle soup" and it took me a bit to remember what he was talking about. Then he described it: "the noodles with little bits of black and lots of milk." and I remembered. HA! Good to know that not all of my mistakes will end in hours of future counseling or some adult onset post traumatic something or other disease/syndrome.

His attitude and the blackened pot reminded me that it's ok to screw up and mistakes are inevitable. That it's sometimes as simple as our choosing to change our outlook at a new normal or life's latest recipe; our willingness to take out the scouring sponge and scrub the dirty areas and begin again and again. We are Mom's and we are not superhuman. WE screw up and our children need us to be honest with ourselves and them, because that is how they learn by example to say "I am sorry." or " I was wrong." This is when they can be given the opportunity to say "You're forgiven." and "I still love you." We learn by living and we live by learning.

WITH enough said, hoping to encourage and motivate you all.......

My honest mother confessions and proof of failures:

-I giggle at the wrong times, like when they fall.

-My children have said suck and screw, NOT referring to candy and screwdrivers.

-I have let them stay up as late as possible just to see how long they would last.

-I have let my children go to bed dirty (just for you Shannon).

-I have locked myself in the bathroom and hoped for a stomach problem that would render me unavailable for longer than 15 minutes.

-I scream.

-I asked Richie if we could change the way we spell Sofia 6 months ago.

-The backseat of our van looks like a refrigerator exploded.(Richie here... amen to that... and I'm not cleaning it again).

-I beg at times.

-I am the worst side-line Mom! I yell and charge the field at all the wrong times.

-I have sat on the floor and had temper fits with my children.

-I believe in hand-me-downs and sharing.

-I am a sucker for humor and Caden knows it.

-I MAKE them watch Christmas movies starting in September even when they protest.

-I throw away artwork.

-I over do it with the photo journalism.

-I say "yes, honey" sometimes when I haven't a stinking clue what they have just asked.

-I pull band-aids off real fast.

-I have dipped things in Chocolate to make Sofia eat it.

-I forget how we spelled Sofia's middle name on her birth certificate.

-They have seen me have road rage. (You would not let me forget that Pam, right?)

-I teach there is always a loser and a winner and they should be the winner.

-I have tried to convince them that the burn marks on food makes things taste better.

-I have no idea when they first rolled over, spoke, ate real food, etc.....

-I have served ice cream for dinner.

-I say "Suck it up."

-My daughter has had worn, chipped, red polish on her fingernails in public.

-We've had cupcakes for breakfast.

-I forget how much they all weighed at birth.

-I replace, not repair.

-I have allowed them to color their bodies with Marker.

-Their socks don't always match.

-I am a horrible baker....the smell of fresh baked pie comes straight out of an airwick.

-Silas has worn a Hannaford bag and Caden's underwear as a diaper before.

-I try to convince them to let me tell about surprises before they happen.

-I keep forgetting to teach Caden how to tie his shoes because most of his shoes are slip on.

-I allow them to wear, in public, their Halloween costumes during the rest of the year.

-I don't knit, I tie knots.

-I tell them to "Go ask your Father."

-I have never sowed a button on.

-I forget to make them write Thank you cards.

I could go on and on......but I wont. We are all a work in progress and I pray that everyone has patience with me. I know that I love my babies...and they love me. We need one another to learn with and experience life together.

KIDISM'S

Caden after Thanksgiving: "I get so tired after I eat Turkey. Why does turkey make me tired?" Rich explains the science to him, stating basically that it's due to Triptophan, a hormone in the turkey meat. He's quiet for a minute. "So then... are turkeys always tired?"

Sofia had a very interesting conversation withe her Aunt Jeimy that is worthy of blogging but I must first issue a disclaimer or it may be taken the wrong way. The kids at various times in the past (and currently) have raised money for African children and missionaries in Africa. At our church a couple years ago, they discussed with the children that a lot of the drinking water in Africa is contaminated and they used a very good visual of dirty water to reach the sunday school kids. It really impacted my children and since then they seem to be fairly sensitive to problems in Africa. Their grandfather has also gone on a couple missions trips to Africa, bringing back pictures that the kids have seen. And most recently, they went and saw the African Children's Choir in Camden which raised money for their orphanage. Now, here in Maine, the population is predominately white. Other than her cousins and Aunt Jeimy who are Ecuadorian, the only other colored skin that she is familiar with is a new friend she has at church and a family that we have recently hung out with. Her ratial experience is nill. Soooo, sitting on her Aunt's lap she is looking at her skin and commenting that it is very different from hers. She is pondering this and then states "The black kids in Africa are very poor. They are poor and have no mommies, and yucky water." Jeimy "yes's" her and Sofia carries on. "and their water is black and that's why their skin is black. We all have to send them money for good water." Thankfully Aunt Jeimy with her brownish skin cleared a few things up for her.

Caden at bedtime after he hurt his arm: "Well I guess it was just part of God's plan that my arm's hurt." I say nothing. "I wonder why it wasn't God's plan for your arm to get hurt instead of mine?" I still say nothing.

Caden at bedtime: "Mom, during Pearl Harbor did the American birds fight with the Japanese birds?"

Sofia in the car: "Mommy, when is Silas gonna be born again?" Me: "I don't know Sofia, that's between him and God." Sofia: " Well, I sure hope it's soon because I sure liked that ice cream at the hospital." (Sofia had unlimited ice cream and juice when I was in labor.)

Caden at dinner: "I know how to spell puppies!" He begins to spell out loud "D-O-G..." Then looking perplexed he sounds out what he has spelled..."D--duh, O--ohhh, G--guh" and then looks at us and we all laugh.

Horse play is for Horses

It's been awhile but I do feel I have worthy reasons. Since Oct. 1 we have visited either the hospital or the Dr.'s 11 times in total. Yes, 11 times. Only once for Sofia. She's made of iron, I do believe. Most have been for normal to moderate fall sickies. Same-ol' same-ol'. The excitement did peak last night though. Caden and Sof were playing horsey; a pretty normal activity. Caden was a horse and Sofia/horse/turned wild dog, shifted to attack mode and it got a little crazy. I was busy cooking and peeked around the corner just in time to here a very real "OUCH". Caden suddenly jumped up and began running all over the house. I thought perhaps, he was still an untamed wild horse. Then I hear "ouch, ouCH, OUCH!!!!" and crying. I put my wooden spoon down to go and locate the ouchy hollars--he was still running but I quickly realized he was no longer a horse. I get Caden to stop bolting and gyrating about so I can take a look at him and figure out what the devil's going on. He won't move his arm and his screams are escalating. Sofia begins to cry because she is afraid she's in trouble and that "Caden's gonna die!".Silas begins to scream because he now doesnt know what the devil is going on and then Richie appears at the door about the same time I smell something burning. Oh Yeah! I grab my now black, smoldering, wooden spoon and submerge it into water and turn off the burners. We call the Dr.'s office and then we are instructed to go to the ER, and follow up with his primary in the am. The ER went relatively smoothly. In and out with no solid diagnosis. A night of restlessness later we show up at the Ped's to another Doc who isn't real sure what's wrong. Could be this, could be that routine. She sends us to a specialist who makes me wait an hour....UHG...and then tells me HE'S not sure what's wrong. ARE YOU KIDDING ME??? Meanwhile, poor Sy has been woken up all day to go either in or out of an office at each nap.

AT THE DR.'S: Sofia opened up the fish tank, was told to leave a candle alone, dragged out all the stickers, opened the office door and yelled "Hurry up." at the staff, bit her tongue so bad it bled, took the ped's stethascope and almost blew out Caden's ear drum. Silas sat still and smiled. Caden cried a lot. AT THE SPECIALIST:Sofia begged the Dr. for a cast like her friend, Addie Maddie, (these are 2 different girls she knows and Sof's never real sure which one's which.) grabbed all the bone displays, asked the receptionist to read her a book, asked receptionist where the potty was, asked receptionist for candy, asked 2 different nurses for candy, somehow spotted a huge jar of candy and informed the staff that they were wrong and DID have candy, helped a sippy cupp upside down and watched the water drip out, cried when she bit her tongue again, and got candy stuck in her hair. Later when the nurse had to X-Ray Caden again, Sofia timidly watched her prepare him for it. She saw a red laser beaming down on the tabel where Caden was going to have to sit. She began to cry and said "there's lasers, Caden's gonna be blind Momma!" I explained that he would be fine. Then the nurse asked her to step away while she shot the X-Ray and the Sofia screamed and cried "Oh no! There gonna shoot him, Momma!" I explained that he would be fine. Caden cried a lot and we left with a splint, a sling, and another follow up apt. Silas pooped and other than that he smiled. Life is good now because of Codeine. Pictures soon to come:>:>

The Statue of Liberty and stupid coffee makers

Some of you may be wondering what the two have in common. Let me tell you, they both can be found right here in my very own homey- home- home. First the Statue of Liberty. Recently my husband, while brushing his teeth, noticed that we have an image....a priceless image.... on our very own bathroom sink that resembles her. No, not Mary....the statue of Liberty. At first it was like those black and white images that you get forwarded to you in emails that take like 10 seconds for your eyes to adjust and see. I stared at the area he was referring to and I just couldn't see it. THEN---my eyes focused and I found her...in all her glory....outlined in a delicate stencil like sketch on my hideous bathroom sink. She seemed to be shaded into the very fake essence of white marbling, in our tacky but functional, pink counter top. Pink and white marbling...what the heck is that about anyways....???? I thought about the piece of toast that went for thousands on eBay that had Mary's image. I thought about the wine glass that had the face of Jesus on it that made it on the nightly news. I thought about the gum that Brittney Spears chewed that sold for mucho dineros on eBay. And then, I thought long and hard about our sink. Hhmm... could I manage to sale it ?? What are images of that Statue of Liberty going for these days ya' reckon? So if you squint long and hard maybe, perhaps, you can see her also. Any bidders??????

Secondly, there is the issue these days of my coffee maker. We have gone round and round and round trying to find a decent one. One that is consistent. One that brews HOT, clean, fresh tasting coffee. One that doesn't sputter, leak, and scream. We found one that we thought would be a cure to the burnt coffee problem. It brews one or two to go cups at a time. BUT....that really stinks when you have company. We keep forgetting to tell everyone to bring their to go mugs. It does have a filter, so the taste is a bit better. BUT, the thing about this coffee maker that drives me nuts is the one mug or two mug switch. It's the topper that tips this maker to the poopy pile with all the others for sure. On Sundays we click the switch to 2 cups; were both home; we both want coffee at the same time. Life is good...two cups to go. Then Monday comes, I want one cup. I forget the switchy bc 5 or 6 days a week I don't switchy the switch. I push "on" and walk and way returning minutes later to the entire counter top flooded with coffee. Two cups in one cup doesn't work. Blasted coffee makers. I just want my daily Dunk---from Dunks.

Cheap Birth Controll

These are my legs and feet in my jammies. I found these P.J.'s in the little boys section of Target. I Love love love.....the kiddos love them as well. They think it's supper cool that I have P.J.'s like there's. I think it's supper cool that I found something to keep me warm and as an added plus they glow in the dark. How awesome is that? I figured it would be a great way to insure that I don't get prego this winter as well. HE HE HE.

Sleeping Beauty and GI Joe

Well, he's Army soldier Caden...not GI Joe. FUN FUN FUN!!!!! We love to dress up. Not so big on all the scary halloween crap but I love the candy and the fun costumes. We go to festivles and fun things like that rather than trick or treating....it's easier and more safe. This year Sofia really protested the princess thing. Funny girl. She wanted to be wonder women or a horse with a person on top. HHAHAHA.... Those costumes were a bit to difficult for me to muster up so she had a choice...princess or princess. She got to the festivle and there were lots more just like her so she was very upset. Most of the girls, I think, rather liked being all dolled up bot Sofia grumbled and told me, "Next year I'm a horse k???" She did not like the fact she looked like everyone and so she lost her crown and wand and at one point I caught her in the bathroom trying to disasemble her costume. I asked what she was doing and she explained she just wanted to wear the slip and t-shirt because it was different from all the othere girls. How funny is that??? Caden loved his military get up. I had allowed him to carry a toy gun to show his auntie and uncle but told him he would have to leave it in the car when we went into the church and on the wagon ride. Well, directions were not followed and I was tracked down by an adult who, rightfully so, was not happy that Caden "JUST SHOT ME IN THE FACE!!!" I confiscated the rifle and princess droppings and the rest of the night was great. Just a few glitches. Caden won best costume. He really was upset that he couldnt show Army man Jack and Uncle Josh his costume. He thought they would "dig it!!" ---Im sure they would.:>:>:>

Boredom+A box of hair dye=Not good.

Yeah, so it's not so much the look I was aiming for. I think I have a problem. I know what I expected but it surely wasn't what I got. Rich needs to create a support group for husbands. I would think its rather exciting to go to bed with a blond and wake up with a red head but he no likey so much the frequent changes. Never the less, I continue morphing and cutting and coloring and changing---it's cheaper than therapy, I think....??????

I like to blame it on something when it goes wrong and credit it to my creative bravery when it goes right. This time its wrong...very wrong so I will blame it on the fact that a new drug store opened down the street. I was browsing the hair isle and felt a gravitational pull towards the color....feeling like there was some hidden treasure awaiting in the little boxes. I grabbed the auburn brown thinking the color is fallish...and its fall so a good time for a warm change. Right?? The trees look different each season so why shouldn't my head? Well, it's not auburn BROWN...for sure. It's auburnish-pinkish-kinda. Oh well. The show must go on.

Parental harrasment

My dad has been guilting (:>not really)me about the absence him and my mother on my blog, well other than my few references here and there. So, as an ode to them I will leave you a pic of my parents, me, my brother, and sis-in-law about 10 years ago. Not much has changed. I also will try to uploaded a couple more on flicker.

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the benefits of christian radio....

This morning I was on the phone sharing life's struggles with a friend. We were gushing over mommy issues and all the things that exhaust us. At one point I think I said something along the lines of needing a break or time off. Later, I plopped down on the floor next to Caden as he played with his cars and started chatting with him. I asked him to show Mommy patience because I was grumpy. He looked at me and said, "Yeah, I heard you need a break. " I said "Yeah, I think Mommy could use a little time." He says with complete confidence " Well, I think you need to do your devotions, that would help." I laughed. He then went on, " and I heard on positive 89.3 that moms need time outs and that the MOPS lady on the radio says you should find a big window in your house to watch the sunset or something quiet and nice. I think that would help you." I laughed so hard.....they hear everything and understand so much more than we give them credit for.

The last day for Apple Picking

Apple picking on Monday was awesome!!! We had soo much fun. Corn maze, bouncy tent, appples, pumpkins, a friendly dog, hay mazes, corn pit, goats, sheep,blue skies, and warm weather, what more could we ask for??

We burried one another in the corn pitt. I had never seen a corn pit...very fun.

Later we came back to the house and carved pumpkins and roasted the seeds. Silas found a leaf to play with.

the last 48 hours

No likey life right now. I feel like I have a Mommy hangover. Let me explain. Tuesday by 9am I had called poison control. Sofia ate the silica gel pack inside a package of pepperoni. Yes, Pepperoni at 9 am. So don't fret if this happens; non toxic if eaten in small quantities. Well, what the heck is a small quantity because she crunched they whole bleepin thing. AND why, for cryin out loud, do they have "DO NOT EAT" all over the silica pack if it's no big deal?
The rest of the day was somewhat normal. Normal for us anyway. THEN, at the drive through of Micky D's I rolled, tapped, bumped, glided..whatever... into the Blazer in front of me. The man in the blazer whipped his head back and yelled a few choice words which directed the two Mc Donalds employees attention my way. They leaned out the window and just looked at me. I was trying to count my change and somehow just went a little bump into the dude and boy let me tell you...it was not a bump on his Richter scale. And speaking of scales, this dude was definitley on the larger side, I was shocked the vehicle even moved. How embarrassing. I hop out and tell him to pull up to the parking spot, and He said "I am, you didn't have to tell me that." UH-OH right???? As I crawl back to my blue beast, the lady in a car behind me says....I just did the same thing yesterday. I wasn't able to decipher which was more humorous to me; the fact that the lady had been in another drive through the day before as well, or the casual empathy in her voice that led me to think "it must just be a women thing.", or the fact that the man in the blazer waited for his fries before pulling up. All ended well, big scale man got out of his vehicle, looked at the nothing, and said "it's nothing.", got back in his car and drove away. I sat there gathering myself and Caden says "it's OK, you'll live momma. Auntie Ave has gotten into bunches of accidents and shes still driving and healthy." Funny funny.
SOOOO, Wed. we awake to everyone sick. Lots of sickies. Caden was running a temp of 104 constantly all day. Sy was a butterball of flim and Sofia was just Sofia. We watched movies and did the chill on the couch-watch movies and cuddle thing all day. That was nice. I wish we didn't have to have sickies to have those days sometimes. At 2am I wake myself up coughing my brains out. I went to the computer room so I wouldn't wake anyone else and drank my weight in airborne. I checked on Caden and his temp was back and so I gave him meds and then I heard Silas hacking. I went to his crib and the poor bugger was all crusty and have a hard time breathing. I picked him up and tried to do that blue bulb sucky thing. He likes it...how weird is that. He just grins and giggles. Ha. I rocked, I hummed, I shushed, I rubbed, I patted, all to no avail. He moaned and groaned and coughed and wheezed till he finally conked out around 6ish, about the time that Sofia decided to get up for good. She had been somewhat awake since 4 when she heard Sy and I. I threatened her life and her offspring if she didn't go back to bed...that didn't work. So I told her if she went back to sleep I would give her chocolate when she woke up. That worked. parenting skills go flyin out the window when you have no sleep. Sofia falls asleep, Silas is now asleep, so now I begin to drift around 6:45 when Caden bounces down stares announcing that he has puked everywhere and peed his pants. I quietly deal with this mini crisis, get him calmed down and back to sleep and go back to bed around 7:30. Silas wakes at 8:15; Sofia is pulling my eyelids by 8:30 asking for chocolate. Life is good. I just need a 4th to really add something to my life. I really just have to much bliss ya know?????

his middle finger sums it all up.....

Well, I know it doesn't look like it by the 1st photo but, Silas, these days is not feeling very himself. He is teething, he has a cold, and on top of it we started solids and I feed him something that bothered his belly. While apple picking he was by anyone Else's standard amazing but just not the typical Sy-Sy we know so well.
We caught this 2nd action on camera, cracked up, stating that it seem to capture his unspoken thoughts.

The differences between a boy and a girl.

A few weeks ago I went to visit a friend who will remain nameless. This friend has 3 adorable boys, 2 with cute strawberry blond hair. The 3rd was born just a few weeks ago. Hint Hint....
BUT this friend will remain nameless.
So, Caden and his 4 year old buddy act like they are trying out for WWF ( I know it's not called that now??:>) or something along those lines. They wrestle constantly sometimes requiring a little referring from the folks. All the while loving it and not complaining one bit about what I'm sure has to be occasionally painful. I'm sure everyone at our church who has witnessed this exchange between the two boys thinks they are really fighting and that we as Mom's spectating the event are nut's. I assure you we think their crazy also, but have been told over and over by them they're " just having fun". Boys will be boys is all I have to say. Glad they have found one another.
Well, this activity is worthy of blogging bc of what it almost became two weeks ago we were stopping in to say "Hi.". The boys started in right away. They were flinging one another all over the place with huge grins on their faces. Sofia and the younger brother embraced and ran to the "safe zone" are of the yard and played. At one point I noticed that Sofia appeared to be stuck in the baby swing seat so I ventured out to assist her. Well, as I approached the kids I overheard the grunts, giggles, and threats being muttered from the two wrestlers. Sofia was in the back ground whining to get help and saying over and over "I'm stuck." in a very dramatic helpless voice. I hear Z--h (nameless remember?) say to Caden, "Your gonna get it! It's gonna smush all over you." Caden then says; "nu-hu, your gonna get it and smell really bad." Z: "Whoever gets thrown into the poop first looses." Caden: "Yeah, whoever throws the other into the poop wins." Z: "Yeah, I'm gonna win." ME: "WHAT???????????, WHAT are you two talking about?" I redirect my steps to where they are wrestling forgetting about Sofia. Then overhearing the fear in my voice, Sofia magically gets herself out of her predicament and heads over to investigate what the two are doing. I holler, while trying not to show my amusement, for them to stop. They are literally inches away from a HUGE pile of German Sheppard poop. I ask again what are they doing and together they state the obvious. "Were trying to push each other in the dogs poop." Me: "Why??????" Them: still wrestling, "it's funny." ME: "NO it is not funny and you both need to stop right now." Surprisingly they do. We all stand there for and moment. Sofia says "eeewwweee, you're Gross, that's disgusting." I thought to myself how different boys and girls are and that Sofia would never enjoy wrestling in poop. Then, without warning, SOFIA stomps here little bitty feminine foot into the huge pile of poop and laughs. Caden and Z laugh and run off with Sofia applauding her behavior. So much for what I know about the differences between a boy, a girl, and dog poop.

So I've been thinkin'...

I know that's a shock. These moments are fleeting so I thought I would share some of my brains rattlings outloud. Close your screens if clarity and bliss are what your looking for. No conclusions here.
The past couple weeks presented odd situations and conversations that caused me to look inward. Something that's so important and often ugly. I hate unwrapping my heart at times. It's a present that I'm not sure I want anyone to recieve. My bows are lavish, pretty, and tied tightly. They unravel and reveal dollar store gifts, penny candy, left overs. Sometimes, just a bunch of good for nothins.
The highlight was Monday afternoon at an apple orchard. Our family decided to take a day to be together and enjoy the unseasonably warm wonderful weather that we've been blessed with. Near 80 with no humidity and lots of blue skies. As we pulled up to the orchard we noticed a group of unique individuals milling around the spot we were headed for. They were Yogi's and lived on a commune. No electricity, no running water. They share everything for the common good of everyone. They looked very different. Caden thought they lived in another country. I didnt have to ask what they belived because their beliefs were woven elequently into everything they said. They were confident and gentle. They were kind and friendly. The young age of the children did not dictate or limit there ablilities to speak "their" truth or beliefs. It was not what they thought or believed, it was who they were. There were 3 adults and about 8 children. They were some of the most well behaved controlled children I have seen. They were some of the friendliest women I have met. One of the "spiritual teachers" was only 18 herself but her eyes and prescence spoke of experience and determination far beyond those years. We chatted and spoke of light things. My mind, of course was all over the place. I prayed, I yearned for an "oppurtunity". I listened to them talk and felt a bit of jealousy. I am suppose to be salt and light. However, I felt like my salt shaker was empty, I felt like a shadow. Just that am prior to leaving our house I listened to James McDonald preach about boldness. He spoke of Paul and the confidence in which he presented his beliefs. He spoke of the unrefutable power of the simple message of the cross. He spoke and I listened and understood and believed. Yet standing there today, I was unsure of how to approach such a group. So I watched and absorbed. I secretly wished we had more people like them on our "team":>
I am certain they are not perfect. I am certain they struggle with the same ugly heart issues. However, I am certain that if true believers were to be so bold and kind our world would be different and the kingdom of God bigger. If we, like them disciplined ourselves to eliminate so much of the worlds noise and influences perhaps we would here our Lord louder and translate his message clearer. We are to go to all the world but I think we often forget that our world starts in our back yard. You don't have to go to the edge of civilization to meet those who haven't heard, or those who may have heard but don't understand. If we could only be a better advertisement...if our lives were a better reflection of Him.
I had many conversations this week that made me think about the way we respond as Christians to one another and to the world. We are in this world but not suppose to be of it. Yet, I think that we blend in so well there is no difference. We look the same, we sound the same, we respond to one another the same way, we forget to forgive. Our grace and security creates passiveness. We surround ourselves with other like minded individuals and forget to reach out. We protect our children to the point of hindering growth and understanding. We often remove ourselves from uncomfortable, unfamiliar situations to "protect" ourselves and hurt Christ while doing so. I want to be wise. I want my families heart to be sensitive to others and their needs. I want understanding. I want for us to know when to speak and when to be silent. I want our passion to point to peace and not dominance. To help and not hinder. To be part of the picture but not in the way.

They synced we were different, "enlightened", and continued our conversing beyond the typical few moments of casual exchange. For this I was thankful that our spirits spoke. I praise God that a HOLY spirit lives within my children, my husband, and I.
They wanted to engage with us. I wanted to engage with them. There Yogi's and they are also a creation of God...knit together...loved...saught after by a savior.