Snapshots of Life with Children

A couple of invitations we made.  Simon ran out of 'craftiness' pretty soon.  I think my pig (left) is pretty good .... :)  My favorite part is Corn Pops = Popcorn.

Check out those hands!

Future pianist!

This outfit was originally Simon's.

I am a lazy person;  well, not really, but lazy in this circumstance.

  Someone gave us a huge box of baby wipes awhile ago.  Even though I make my wipes, I thought the store wipes would be good for errands, in a tight spot, etc.  Would you believe that I have not made wipes in months.  The day our last wipe box was empty, I made the wipes.  They take about 10 min. to make 3 boxes worth, but I kept putting it off for months ...

Evie exploring the play structure.  It will be fun when she can toddle around!  I think her cousin Blaize has taken a few steps already!

Simon and I watched a 'how-to' video online about how to draw a pig.

This was his first attempt.

It is actually better than his official one that went on the invitation.

We were able to take Grace to the Arbor Hills with us last week.  The timing was perfect - Simon wanted a friend to go with us and we were able to keep her during her mom's doctor's appointment.   She loved to swing Evie and she had fun taking a few pictures with the camera.

Photographer Grace took this pic.

I LOOOOOVE this face!

Pausing from their energy-expenditures.

A perfect day for scooters.

Simon would overtake us on his scooter (he is near the end of the fence) but would come back when we called.  I had to keep him near us so he wouldn't go starting embarrassing conversations again with strange men.

I spy Simon.

Simon scaling the walls.

My first jello-eggs.

I need a better funnel system for putting the jello in the molds.

My turkey baster did not work so well :)

The kids gobbled them up as well as the fruit gummies that Asa brought to share.

What do you eat at a Charlotte's Web Party?

Simon chose the main dish:  Mac and Cheese

I made the jello eggs (in honor of the rotten egg that Templeton collects)

Debi brought the adorable pig cookies, in honor of Wilbur.

A closer look at Debi's masterpiece.

They were made from a strawberry cake mix.

At one point I paused the movie for the boys to decorate their popcorn bags.

This is a close-up of Gabriel's bag.

It is of the pig being slaughtered.

I made the boys stay on the coffee table while they were eating the buttery popcorn.

Decorating their popcorn bags.

I felt exhausted last week a couple of days.  It was abnormal for me.  Anyway, Simon's party was from 11-2.  I think next time a better time limit would be 11-1.  I was rather tired at 2 and since it wasn't near Evie's naptime, I went into Evie's room (the safest toys) with BOTH KIDS and pushed a heavy bookcase in front of the bedroom door, to ensure that they would stay in there.  Then I rested for an hour on the floor (hence the pillows) and the kids took turns crawling on me.  I took the picture to show the effect of corralled play.

I had to take a picture of Gabriel's ride home from the party.

Simon thinks the above picture is the 'best picture ever.'  He thinks it is pretty crazy and cool how the net is in front of his face.

Loving Those Kiddos

Matt snapped this picture one weekend morning.

It's truly a treat to get cuddles from my little kiddos.

Simon and I camped in the living room one Saturday night when Matt was going to be out late.  Matt had a great time at a Mavs game with Tony, and Simon and I enjoyed homemade hot cocoa and lots of stories.  He fell asleep in my arms!  

That doesn't happen much with a 4 year old!

A playdate at the park with some friends!

They were pretty intense about those Capri Suns!

Evie with one of her 'walkers.'  

Simon 'made' these placecards for dinner the other night.

He only needed help spelling Gigi, Scott, and Matt.

And Kindergarten in August!  Where is time going???

"Do you want to do that, Mama?  Turn your gold into cash?"

Simon and I diligently worked a sourdough starter for Friendship Amish bread for 10 days.  For the commitment there, we scored some awesome Amish bread.  Simon wasn't really as helpful and intrigued with the process as I had imagined.  Besides, everytime he 'mushed' the bag, I was afraid he would bust the bag and fermented milk would go everywhere.

Oh well, it is going fast.  I had to put a piece aside for our friend Casey.  We heard from the wifely grapevine that he is a big fan of Amish bread..... :)

Splices and Spices

We have had a super productive day already.  Evie woke up at 5 a.m. with a high fever, I gave her tylenol and actually took her temp at 6:30 (after holding and rocking her)

 - she was so cute and holdable.  

So, it went down to 100.2

Bonus:  Matt went for a jog this a.m.

I read lots.

I wanted to blog because today is one of the days I'm sending our laptop with Matt (and I won't have a computer so I must blog now) so that I won't be tempted by it.  Though it brought me a good John Piper sermon yesterday while I folded laundry, more often than not, the computer can be a time waster, so Matt takes it for me a few days a week.

Our landline has been down three days now so I am going on a verizon-induced media fast.

My digital camera, however, is in Evie's room with lots of new super cute pictures on it.

So, I stole some appropriate photos from our friend's The Rizzos blog.

These pictures are from a Comedy Night we hosted a while back.

This picture of people laughing is a great time for me to interject the main focus of my blog today.  Simon has been saying some hilarious things that I better blog before I forget.

Matt and Simon play the "Question Game" sometimes at night instead of a story.  Basically, you get to ask a question and the other person answers it.  

Simon's Question Verbatim:  "Why does bad stuff appear in my nose?"

Seriously, he said appear.  So funny.

Disclaimer:  I am to blame for some of the things Simon might say.  I publicly confess that on Monday night Simon heard me say, "I can't take it anymore."  He's heard me say it before, I'm not incredibly proud of it, he's probably even heard me say darker things.  But it's real.  If you've had those days then you understand.  If you haven't had those days, then come offer to keep my kids sometime, please.   They are the greatest; I just forget sometimes and a little time away usually helps me remember!

All of that to say that Simon now likes to say, "I JUST can't take it ANYMORE!"

And after church on Sunday we asked him what he learned in class.  His response:  "Nothing.  That church is IMPOSSIBLE."

Not a catch phrase of ours, honest.

 

Some pictures just have to be posted twice.

Oh, I picked up one of those Amish Bread Starters last week.  I don't know if I'm doing it wrong.  It seemed weird to add milk yesterday and still leave it on the counter.  

And the bag is expanding and now looks like it might explode.

By the way, I have a nike + link on this blog that doesn't work.  It doesn't pick up any new progress so it makes me look even less active than I am.  It's supposed to be linked to my ipod somehow.  

Crazy Kids

Evie mid-cough.

Our kiddos and moi have been sick for a looong time!

I have put off going to the doctor because I know they'll give us antibiotics, but I'm not sure I want to do that again ... Seems like we just did that at the end of last year.

We're definitely improving, though!

Steam showers and rest go a long way!

A passage from "Our Nearest Kinsman" by Roy Hession

The Story of Ruth:  Our Redemption in Christ

The magnanimity of Boaz to the poor gleaner, Ruth, is nothing to be compared to the vast grace of the Lord Jesus toward the one who is humble enough to confess himself a failed Christian and take the sinner's God to be his God.

Once we start taking that ground, we find ourselves the object of his special attention in a way that is not the case when we are protesting our sufficiency.  As we bow before him in our acknowledged failure and poverty, knowing that only Jesus can do the sinner any good, we find love, encouragement and help coming to us from every direction in a way that is quite extraordinary and quite undeserved.  Handfuls of precious promises are left on purpose all over the place, and as we stoop to gather them, we hear the words sounding again and again, "Do not reproach her, do not reproach her."

And we find that, though we are but poor gleaners, the field in which we are gleaning is indeed the field of grace; for Jesus is going things for us that we neither expected nor deserved, and they are but the promise of more to come."

part 1

part II

"This really is the truth and not poetic fancy.  The New Testament says, "God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved"  (John 3:17)

If he is not condemning the world, He is certainly not condemning the failed saint who is honest enough to take his place as such.  The records of God's dealings in the Old and New Testaments with sinners who have turned to Him--from Manasseh, the wickedest of kings, to the woman taken in adultery--all proclaim the fact that God delights in mercy.

If confused and overwhelmed by such grace we ask, as Ruth did, "Why have I found grace in Your eyes that You should take notice of me, seeing I am what I am?"  He will reply much as Boaz did to Ruth, "It has been fully reported to me all that you have done."

He will point back, not so much to our sins as showing what we have done, but rather to our sighs over our sins, to the beginnings of a new honesty about ourselves and to the feeble faith that dares to hope that surely "there is plentiful redemption in the blood that has been shed."

This is what attracts him to our aid.  Sometimes He comes to us and says:

(read on)

....

"I've come in answer to your prayer!"

" But I haven't prayed, Lord,"  we reply, "I've been too weak to pray."

"Did you sigh?"  He asks.

"Yes, Lord, I certainly sighed."

"Then that was your prayer,"  He says, "and I have come in answer to it."

~ p. 60-61 from "Our Nearest Kinsman" by Roy Hession

Simon spent a good part of one morning in our kitchen window sill, having a one way conversation with a treetrimmer on the neighbor's property.

"You're doing a great job!"

"What are you doing?"

"You're so strong!"

"Are you making firewood?"

"Why aren't you talking to me?"

Breakfast out on the front porch one morning.

I still don't know why we weren't on the private back porch.

Simon probably wanted to watch the cars.

hiiyah !!!!!

Too much camera action too early in the morning

Evie Spevie

Evie contemplates while wheeled contraption to use for leverage.

I was in IKEA some time ago and overheard a conversation between two employees who were arranging a new living area.  One employee was commenting on the decorations and other eclectic pieces they were using and was asking the other employee where they bought all this 'cool stuff.'  She commented that they had been shopping for the store displays earlier that day at a bunch of thrift stores ....

And that's the secret of the pros.

The other day Simon and I sounded out the word, "LET" which was on a magnet.  Once he sounded out "let" he guessed the rest of the magnet, "Let the little children come to me!"

It actually said, "Let us not become weary in doing good,"  but I was still impressed.

I remembered teaching him that story the week before, but when I further questioned him he gave me no credit.

****

Mommy:  Do you remember me teaching you "Let the little children come to me" last week?

Simon:  No

Mommy:  Well, how did you know it then?  That's a verse from the Bible.

Simon:  Jesus told me.

Mommy:  Really?  When?

Simon:  When I was sleeping, He told me, "Let the children come to me" and He was nice and good.

Let go, sweetie!  Let go!

Under all that silly string is our favorite italian - Tony.

*************

Later that night I had this conversation with Simon:

Simon:  I want a kid party with only kids.

Me:  Okay, we can have a Charlotte's Web party since you finished the book and we'll watch the movie and have popcorn.

Simon:  And none of your friends can come.

Me:  Okay, and I won't climb on any of your friends' heads.   It would be nice if you would do the same for us ;)

Evie, also known as R2D2 chilling in her space-ship.

Simon makes us all a spaceship and we report there every once in awhile.  Evie actually has two spaceships.  I dubbed her playpen in our closet as R2D2's Spaceship Number 2 so that she can get some sleep every now and then in her spaceship.

My (Princess Leia) spaceship is the couch which works well when when are on dock for an extended time.

Simon's (Luke Skywalker) spaceship is usually the big red chair.

Evie has been promoted to management.

I know, I know, I know that I need to do a Food Face Blog Post soon.

It's coming, and it's going to be yummy.

Our homebound kids have been coping fairly well.

We might risk being around people tomorrow night, unless they have a negative relapse tomorrow.

I debate almost every day on the doctor; maybe I will go and just make sure it's not strep.

I am very conflicted on that end.

It's seems like we just had strep, so ....

I put Evie's booster seat/chair combo next to the piano today and it kept them entertained for awhile.  I played in the middle of the keyboard.  Simon said that Evie was playing on the 'melody' end and that he had the 'strong' end.

Roasted Lamb and Veggies