Says the 5-year-old as we watches me prepare dinner...
"Mommy, since you can cook, you can be the cooker. Yeah. Mommies are the cookers. And Daddies are 'the gone-ers."
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Thursday, June 25, 2009
Dats so Fwunny!
We officially hit "the twos" last week. Yes, my darling silent and compliant child has discovered new octives and decibles with which to communicate his displeasure.
On the other hand, he does make me smile and laugh so much. I think, for everyone's sanity, I need to dwell on "the real Weston" for a while so that I don't get discouraged by this phase of child development. I will start with the funny additions of the sound "fffffff" to many words where "fffff" does not belong (like, for instance, replacing the 's' for an 'f' in "soccer." Yikes), and the wwww sound in any number of words that actually need an rrrrr sound. Its adorable, and this phase of language development passes by so fast.
So, we hear West call Baby Drake "Be-be Fwake," and we hear him say "I fwopped a foon. You ged-it uh fwoon fow me, Mommy?" (I dropped a spoon. Will you get it, the spoon, for me Mommy?") "I neen a fwink-a watow" (I need a drink of water). "Oh dere it is. I fwine it."
I tease sometimes - he doesn't get the joke, though - and ask him, "Did Baby Fwake fwop a fwabberry? Dats Fwunny!!"
He still gets stuck in counting his way up to ten... one, two, free, four, five, fwix, fweben... he hits seven and then goes back to "fwix" and continues the countdown. He ends it with a resounding, "BWAS-TOFF!!"
He calls himself "Wet-den." His current favorite DVRed show is "Fwooper Why."
He has also added to his repetoire of phrases:
"No-a hit a-gack" and "obey a-Mommy da fwerst time" and "Daz MINE!" (do any of these need translation?)
He uses the word "so" often. "I'm SO cold!" "Dats SO fwunny" "I'm SO hung-gy."
He tells this joke, exactly like this:
Weston: nah-nok!
ME: Who's there?
Weston: inr-wruptin cow - MOOOOO! (Its particularly funny because he doesn't get it that he is supposed to wait for me to ask "Interrupting Cow, who?" before interrupting me with the loud "Moo." He just goes right into the big, huge, loud "MOOOO!" and then cracks himself up. And then we all laugh, too, because he is laughing so hard. The big boys have made up a game when he tells this joke where they try to - as quick as they can - say "interrupting cow who?" before he get's his "Moo" out. Its impossible to beat his Moo, but they try anyway. And we all laugh a little harder.
And speaking of laughing, for effect when Weston laughs, sometimes he gets on his knees and pound-pound-pounds his fist on the floor with laughter (can you picture that?). It's fwunny.
On the other hand, he does make me smile and laugh so much. I think, for everyone's sanity, I need to dwell on "the real Weston" for a while so that I don't get discouraged by this phase of child development. I will start with the funny additions of the sound "fffffff" to many words where "fffff" does not belong (like, for instance, replacing the 's' for an 'f' in "soccer." Yikes), and the wwww sound in any number of words that actually need an rrrrr sound. Its adorable, and this phase of language development passes by so fast.
So, we hear West call Baby Drake "Be-be Fwake," and we hear him say "I fwopped a foon. You ged-it uh fwoon fow me, Mommy?" (I dropped a spoon. Will you get it, the spoon, for me Mommy?") "I neen a fwink-a watow" (I need a drink of water). "Oh dere it is. I fwine it."
I tease sometimes - he doesn't get the joke, though - and ask him, "Did Baby Fwake fwop a fwabberry? Dats Fwunny!!"
He still gets stuck in counting his way up to ten... one, two, free, four, five, fwix, fweben... he hits seven and then goes back to "fwix" and continues the countdown. He ends it with a resounding, "BWAS-TOFF!!"
He calls himself "Wet-den." His current favorite DVRed show is "Fwooper Why."
He has also added to his repetoire of phrases:
"No-a hit a-gack" and "obey a-Mommy da fwerst time" and "Daz MINE!" (do any of these need translation?)
He uses the word "so" often. "I'm SO cold!" "Dats SO fwunny" "I'm SO hung-gy."
He tells this joke, exactly like this:
Weston: nah-nok!
ME: Who's there?
Weston: inr-wruptin cow - MOOOOO! (Its particularly funny because he doesn't get it that he is supposed to wait for me to ask "Interrupting Cow, who?" before interrupting me with the loud "Moo." He just goes right into the big, huge, loud "MOOOO!" and then cracks himself up. And then we all laugh, too, because he is laughing so hard. The big boys have made up a game when he tells this joke where they try to - as quick as they can - say "interrupting cow who?" before he get's his "Moo" out. Its impossible to beat his Moo, but they try anyway. And we all laugh a little harder.
And speaking of laughing, for effect when Weston laughs, sometimes he gets on his knees and pound-pound-pounds his fist on the floor with laughter (can you picture that?). It's fwunny.
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
Going On Ahead
I fall into a strong temptation as I peruse the blogosphere. Perhaps the scenario is familiar to you as well: I love reading about how some of you out there are running your lives. The details of how you home school, the descriptions of your family life, the . You follow a blog or six long enough and you really get a picture for the vision each family has. One blog that I love to follow is my friend Kristy, who home schools her girls. She and her husband are living their lives on a farm of their own making and have a strong passion for raising their kids to love and serve the Lord. Another blog I enjoy is Joy's. She and her husband are missionaries in Indonesia. You catch very quickly their vision for how they want to raise their kids and the specific values they are passig down. And then there are the random links I follow to other blogs on occasion, where I take a quick glimpse into the lives of people I have never - and likely will never - meet.
You might think that the temptation I am about to talk about is "spending too much time in the blog world." While that is something I must monitor closely, the temptation I am speaking of is much more sinister.
As a result of my own thinking, planning and praying (with the extremely helpful input from my blog community) I have a solid, Biblical idea of how to best raise up my four boys so that they will love and be effective for the Lord in all they do. I am so thankful for all the wonderful (really, truly WONDERFUL) ideas out there that have helped me form a vision for the kind of boys I want to raise - and how to do it.
"Ah," You say, "Why Jenne, I had no idea you were a single mom." Single Mom? What gave you that idea? Oh, I see that I HAVE given you that idea because that is how I am pursuing our family vision: as though I am the one to set it and pursue it.
In all my reading, planning and praying, I mistakenly consult the blogopshere rather than my husband! And as I march on ahead with what I believe to be "clearly the best vision" under which to raise these boys, I have marched right on ahead of my husband. Up until last week, Ryan and I had never even discussed this together - I had never asked him what his vision for our family is! I must have thought that a.) he could read my mind or b.) he couldn't possibly have a vision or c.) he wouldn't be interested in what the vision is (afterall, its my job to raise the kids anyway). Maybe it is a strong combination of all three options. Oh what a fool I have been!
You might not be surprised that the discussion came up as we were reviewing how baseball season went. We all had a lot of fun, but I was sharing my thoughts about how sports were not really going to serve to accomplish the goals "we" have toward raising these boys for the Lord. And my dear husband was quick to gently correct me. As he described HIS vision for our boys, I realized my foolishness. Please note that the point is not about who is right or wrong, or whose vision is better. I would have liked to argue with him that my vision is more godly than his. I would have liked to make clear to him how I have thoughtfully, carefully considered all that there is to consider. (And OOOOhhhh am I good at making myself heard in this arena!) But the Lord closed my lips and spoke to me loud and clear: I must begin pursuing Ryan's vision for our family. The nuances of that vision can be up for discussion later, but before I have any ground to stand on in such a discussion, I need to come under my husband's leadership. No more going on ahead of my husband - not even in the name of "godliness" because there is nothing godly about ignoring or failing to consult the head of the family.
I suppose you will find it ironic that all these thoughts were made clearer to me through a blogger who wrote this post by, yes, someone I have never and will never meet. Go figure.
You might think that the temptation I am about to talk about is "spending too much time in the blog world." While that is something I must monitor closely, the temptation I am speaking of is much more sinister.
As a result of my own thinking, planning and praying (with the extremely helpful input from my blog community) I have a solid, Biblical idea of how to best raise up my four boys so that they will love and be effective for the Lord in all they do. I am so thankful for all the wonderful (really, truly WONDERFUL) ideas out there that have helped me form a vision for the kind of boys I want to raise - and how to do it.
"Ah," You say, "Why Jenne, I had no idea you were a single mom." Single Mom? What gave you that idea? Oh, I see that I HAVE given you that idea because that is how I am pursuing our family vision: as though I am the one to set it and pursue it.
In all my reading, planning and praying, I mistakenly consult the blogopshere rather than my husband! And as I march on ahead with what I believe to be "clearly the best vision" under which to raise these boys, I have marched right on ahead of my husband. Up until last week, Ryan and I had never even discussed this together - I had never asked him what his vision for our family is! I must have thought that a.) he could read my mind or b.) he couldn't possibly have a vision or c.) he wouldn't be interested in what the vision is (afterall, its my job to raise the kids anyway). Maybe it is a strong combination of all three options. Oh what a fool I have been!
You might not be surprised that the discussion came up as we were reviewing how baseball season went. We all had a lot of fun, but I was sharing my thoughts about how sports were not really going to serve to accomplish the goals "we" have toward raising these boys for the Lord. And my dear husband was quick to gently correct me. As he described HIS vision for our boys, I realized my foolishness. Please note that the point is not about who is right or wrong, or whose vision is better. I would have liked to argue with him that my vision is more godly than his. I would have liked to make clear to him how I have thoughtfully, carefully considered all that there is to consider. (And OOOOhhhh am I good at making myself heard in this arena!) But the Lord closed my lips and spoke to me loud and clear: I must begin pursuing Ryan's vision for our family. The nuances of that vision can be up for discussion later, but before I have any ground to stand on in such a discussion, I need to come under my husband's leadership. No more going on ahead of my husband - not even in the name of "godliness" because there is nothing godly about ignoring or failing to consult the head of the family.
I suppose you will find it ironic that all these thoughts were made clearer to me through a blogger who wrote this post by, yes, someone I have never and will never meet. Go figure.
Thursday, June 11, 2009
Mighty Powerful
Photographs cannot capture the height, depth and breadth of nature. The most beautiful sunset in all the world put on photopaper is just another sunset. Breathtaking snow-peaked mountains are made small. The photographs we took of the waterfalls we saw last week are the same: they are NOTHING compared to standing next to the real thing, hearing the noise and sensing the power of the furiously pounding water. It was truly something to behold.As I was standing there with my oldest nearby I said, "It's so powerful! Whenever I see things like this it reminds me of how powerful God is. You know?"
"Uh huh," was his uninterested response.
"How crazy would it be to be inside that waterfall-or underneath it! I mean, it could hurt you really bad because it is so powerful."
"Yeah!" he said with excitement (stuff like that fuels my boys). "It could probably KILL YOU!"
I echoed his enthusiasm with a resounding,"Oh TOTALLY!" And then, "This waterfall may be powerful but its NOTHING compared to the power of God. God made it and to Him it is just a drop. It does not even come close to God's power!"
"Well I better not mess around with God, then."
"Seriously! You got that right. That's what the Bible means when it says we should fear the Lord. Its not that we should be afraid like He's a monster or something its that we need to realize just how big and powerful and
mighty God is..."I wanted to continue with the theology lesson but determined in my heart that we would need to return to another waterfall in a future spring. There is so much more to consider! There is so much more to understand, like how God has the great power to crush but in that great power He has great control and patience. OH! If my boys (or I!!) could grasp just a sliver of what this waterfall represents it could revolutionize everything we did and thought.
You just don't want to mess around with the Almighty.
Tuesday, June 9, 2009
Wuzzup!
Yes, I know. "Wuzzup" is so four years ago but hey - I'm in my mid-thirties. And plus I'm a dork. (Just ask my sister's husband.)This post is dedicated to catching you all up on our happenings since this started:
(Isn't he a stud?)
In between innings, we took a few trips. The first was to San Fran, just Ryan and I. (I still kick myself for not remembering our camera... we bought a tossable 35mm dinosaur. The pictures are still waiting to be picked up at Walgreens. I wonder how many will turn out?
The following weekend we made it up to Long Beach for our annual trip with Ryan's side of the family. I made brief mention of this trip in this post, if you are interested. Here is Grandma and Grandpa with nearly all the grandkids.
And then last weekend we were at Black Butte with my
side of the family. It was four nights all crammed into a house that used to fit us all just fine... but it is amazing how much more room you need with the addition of six little bodies. Our four boys plus cousins Jenna and Elsie have so much fun together. The trip consisted of biking, hiking (the highlight for me), swimming, and game playing. Grandma Jeanette comes with us every year - what a treat to be with her. This year she had little Drake in her room. He woke up nearly every night for one reason or another and she selflessly took care of his needs. Thank you Grandma!!
Now take a look at these two sweeties. From the looks of these pictures you would think they were just the best of friends. Megan and I have every reason to believe that that will someday be true. But just not quite yet. OH MY GOODNESS how they push each other's buttons! No matter what one was playing with, the other wanted it. And when that item was handed over in favor of some other toy, suddenly THAT NEW toy was the one to argue over. I cannot count how many times we heard Weston yell, "MINE!" and "Ewsie take aw ub bum!" Megan and I pretty much have to monitor every minute of their play together. This too shall pass, and best of friends they shall be!
And speaking of Weston, check out how DIRTY he got last week. He was playing in mud that D and J were making with the hose in the blueberry 
patch. He was in heaven! (Notice, if you will, that he is actually in jammies... yes, sometimes it happens that he spends all day wearing dinosaurs on his drawers.
patch. He was in heaven! (Notice, if you will, that he is actually in jammies... yes, sometimes it happens that he spends all day wearing dinosaurs on his drawers.
And finally, a short update on the baby. Drake is just such an easy, wonderful baby. He is sleeping 12+ hours a night, is very flexible when we need to mess with his schedule (how else could he have survived baseball season?). He has been rolling from tummy to back for a few weeks and just this week he began rolling - quite on accident - the other way. He is a smiler, always up for playing, and loves it when anyone interacts with him. I just LOVE this little guy!!Sunday, June 7, 2009
Oh Dear!
We just returned from a wonderful family vacation to find something peculiar in our garden.
What used to look something like this:
Now look like this! 
There are three walking pieces of venison that I would like to have a word with...
Wednesday, June 3, 2009
Dry Run
Summer is fast approaching. With one in school and the others still preschoolers, I am hardly well-versed at "how to do summer vacation well."
I have a few goals for my soon-to-be second-grader, and my nearly-kindergartner LOVES academic worksheets, math flashcards and reading lessons (how woulda thunk THAT one?) so I want to start the summer running with a new morning routine that mimicks what I imagine homeschool would look like in our house, should we ever go that route.
Wake up
Breakfast
Get dressed & ready for the day
(so far, this is nothing new)
Chores
Homework
Play-play-play!
On Memorial Day we did a "Dry Run," where I gave the kids a taste of what the summer mornings would be like. It was abbreviated and a bit rocky, but the expectations are now set for the older two and I am (nearly) ready with the new, "enhanced" (read: longer!) chore lists.
There is still a little bit of time before school ends, so if this idea gets you all excited, make a plan for this saturday. Or, if you don't have school-aged kids yet, YOU HAVE ALL THE TIME IN THE WORLD!
I highly recommend the Expectation-setting Dry Run a week or so before you make the change. Happy thinking!
I have a few goals for my soon-to-be second-grader, and my nearly-kindergartner LOVES academic worksheets, math flashcards and reading lessons (how woulda thunk THAT one?) so I want to start the summer running with a new morning routine that mimicks what I imagine homeschool would look like in our house, should we ever go that route.
Wake up
Breakfast
Get dressed & ready for the day
(so far, this is nothing new)
Chores
Homework
Play-play-play!
On Memorial Day we did a "Dry Run," where I gave the kids a taste of what the summer mornings would be like. It was abbreviated and a bit rocky, but the expectations are now set for the older two and I am (nearly) ready with the new, "enhanced" (read: longer!) chore lists.
There is still a little bit of time before school ends, so if this idea gets you all excited, make a plan for this saturday. Or, if you don't have school-aged kids yet, YOU HAVE ALL THE TIME IN THE WORLD!
I highly recommend the Expectation-setting Dry Run a week or so before you make the change. Happy thinking!
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