One night after an evening walk, I saw Simon through his window.
It was one of those moments you know you'll remember forever.
A handsome seven year old dressed in navy long johns and looking at a book by lamplight.
I ran inside to get my camera, and then I knocked on his window to get his attention, and I snapped a few pictures.
Reminiscent of times gone by
A precious moment with Simon the other day was when we were walking to the Dollar Tree near our house. We passed through a parking lot, and there was a really beat up looking car with a patchwork body. The door was a different color/piece of metal, the bumper was different, etc.
Simon said, "Mom I wish that person was here that drove that car."
Mom: Why?
Simon: So I could compliment them. Their car is awesome.
I love kid's perspectives!
So refreshing
Evie after church last week.
I need a cuter pic of this dress.
I love it!
It's definitely not American; to me it seems German.
I bought it for a dollar secondhand, and when I brought it to Bible Study to ask the ladies a question about how to repair the zipper, one of the sweet ladies just took the dress and said she wanted to fix it for us!
We were visiting their church last week on Sunday, since Simon was singing with the Good News Club there, so I made sure Evie wore the dress.
Butterfly sanctuary on our screened porch
It makes me laugh when I think about what the comedian Brian Regan says about butterflies ....
Si staring at the butterfly
This face reminds me of the serious questions he asked sometimes.
Actually, he and carpool can stump me often with deep inquiries.
One of the ones that comes up often, as they inspect their belongings in the car, is
"Mom, why is everything made in China?" - Simon
"Auntie Amy, how come everything says China?" - any other carpooler
My answers must be inefficient or they must have bad memories b/c I have been asked this answer MANY times. It just makes me laugh now. And now I say, "Ask your Dad" to Simon and "Ask your parents" to the others.
Cherished face
The Good News Club after singing, "Nothing But the Blood of Jesus"
My friend Kellie's daughter Moriah at approximately 7 months
We were a little short on toys, but Moriah liked this plastic lid!
What Moriah really likes is all the attention from Evie!
Simon's first "break-up" note!
So funny. It was in his Valentine's Bag.
For the sake of anonymity I "sharpied" out the girl's name.
They really are friends, but I guess she wasn't ready for that next step....
"Dear Simon, I am supar glad you like me But pleas do not call me your girlfriend. Just call me your friend. I hope your Valentine's Day is amazing."
On any given day, Simon has several "girlfriends," but this particular girl has been top of his list for two years now.
I inquired.
Mom: Simon, why do you call ___ your girlfriend?
Simon: Because I love her.
Mom: (thinking ??!!!) Hmmm? Why do you love her?
Simon: Because she is a good reader.
Mom: (sigh of relief)
Hey Shay, I'm still using the pink toolset!
Somehow Matt ends up using it all of the time, too!
The cutest and more boring game of Battleship, ever.
If you think Battleship can be a little slow, imagine this scenario...
Simon is playing both his side AND Evie's.
And they both had fun.
Isn't Evie so cute for Super Hero Day at school?
The school said not to spend any money on a costume, but to put one together from things around the house.
I was proud we were able to put this together!
The kids chose their "super hero power"
Evie's power was that she would "Dance and make people happy"
It was a bit of a parenting fail, though, when I realized shortly after I took these pictures outside of school that Super Hero was actually on THURSDAY. (It was Tuesday)
After a quick wardrobe change in Evie's class the day was saved!
And Evie danced and spread super-heroine happiness on Thursday instead!
Super student Simon doing homework on the porch
The other week we had to have an EKG for Simon for preventative measures.
When they came to get Simon, the nurse said I could wait in the waiting area if Simon was okay with that. He was, of course, and it was easier for me since Evie was with me.
A couple of minutes later the nurse came back to get me, and she told me that Simon requested me. I was flattered because he rarely needs me and is very independent.
As we walked down the hall she confided in me that when she had asked Simon to take off his shirt (for the EKG) he had told her that was inappropriate and that he wanted his mom.
So cute.
Simon and his Dad on Valentine's Day with the gift we gave Simon
Evie's class after the Valentine's Party
Evie LOVES Miss Amber
Almost every morning she queries, "Is today Miss Amber Day?"
My sweet Valentine
Evie's speech is still hard to understand a good bit of the time.
She goes to speech therapy twice a week with the school district.
The other day, though, when I finally deciphered what she was saying it made me smile.
She was walking to the van holding her closed umbrella by its crooked neck handle.
Evie: Mom, Am I walking like Jesus?
Mom: Hmm?
(Well it took Evie several time to repeat her question for me to understand her)
Mom: Oh, Are you walking like Jesus?
Evie: Yes! I am. I am walking like Jesus with this stick.
(umbrella representing a shepherd's staff)
Simon's decorated box for his school party.
Creative, but easy.
Valentine's Day Breakfast with my men!
Soldier and Princess ... more on that later
I've never been a fan of the "Princess" theme for little girls.
Not really when the girls dress up as princesses, but the signs you can put over their bed or something that say Princess. It has seemed a little spoiled.
But trying to ignore the princess play with girls would be as hard as ignoring a boy's tendency to turn EVERYTHING into a gun. Evie can make a gun fairly quickly, too, but she loves to be a princess.
On our family walk the other day she kept talking about how she was the princess, I was the queen, and the two boys were soldiers.
To redeem her princess-stage a bit, when we came home that night and Simon was in the bath, I told her the princess-secret.
The secret is that princesses have to take care of others.
So, we had to think of what we could do for Simon.
We surprised him by cleaning his room/ "quarters" very well and prepared the quarters for bedtime.
We pulled down his sheets, Evie made Simon a glass of water, we pulled out books for him, sharpened two pencils, picked up any trash we could find, etc.
Now we have an even better princess that has requested more than once now to go clean the soldier's room!
And I've told her princesses themselves must keep their room clean, too....
When Simon and I were walking the other day, we heard a lot of music and people at our neighbor's house. They have a lot of family and a lot of parties. The music was in Spanish sounded very celebrational.
Simon asked, "Mom, are they having home church?"
So cute.
Maybe, but I don't think so.
Unless they have Coronas at communion at their church :)
Our new discipline/training approach for Simon
Since writing isn't Simon's favorite thing to do, and we could use handwriting practice, it's a bit of a perfect solution, if I do say so myself.
Now, if God will just give me the grace to be consistent.
Speaking of technology, we have the internet again.
We met our New Year goals for turning the internet back on.
They ranged from various home maintenance projects to losing ten pounds.
Honestly, it is bittersweet to have the distraction of the internet so convenient.
Taking a break from it is so nice. (after the first week of painful detox)
The internet was also our tv (netflix) so we were really isolated except for our Thursday night shows that are local. We love to watch "Parks and Rec," "The Office" and a new favorite, "Up all Night" And then "Awake" We only watch these shows and they all come on Thursday night! Whew! But we are usually prepared with mounds of laundry to do so that we can redeem the time!
