Playing wild dogs.

The conversation heard in the play room today....

Keegan: "Brendan pretend you are pregnant, really big and fat."
Brendan: "Remember, I'm not your wife."
Keegan: "Why not?"

That is not so nice that Keegan thinks pregnant ladies are so big...I think pregnant ladies are beautiful!! And I am pretty sure Brendan doesn't want to be the girl dog because he's a BOY!!! I love our boys big imaginations!

Oatmeal and Oma's

This morning I made a hardy meal of oatmeal...and I told the boys that it was just like pioneer oatmeal...and they were excited to try it. Brendan took a bite, and said, "Hey, wait a second, this tastes just like our oatmeal." Then Keegan said, "Did pioneer kids complain when they had to eat their oatmeal?" Then Brendan said, "Pioneer oatmeal fills me up after just one bite!" Nice try Mr. B. It took just as long for them to eat their "pioneer" oatmeal as regular oatmeal...but at least the conversation was a little more fun!!

Now on to the Oma issue...I love my Oma, and feel so blessed that my kids know her and are able to spend time with her. We both only have one grandparent left, so she is very special. It was really cute this past week, Joshie has a little picture of Oma and he has carried it around every day, and says, "This is my Oma" and she goes wherever he goes...so cute!

Homeschooling...

This is the sweet smile I love from my Keegan...
This is such a beautiful shot because reading took a while to master, and now Mr. B can read so well!! I am so proud of him!!

I love that we home school...we are learning about pioneers...can you tell?? This week we are eating like pioneers (with homemade bread and everything!!), reading about pioneers, and some of us are dressing like pioneers!! It is really fun!

In other news, Aliah can sit by herself... it is so cute, she seems so big now. Man, babies grow up faster the fourth time around! And today she also fell asleep on her own in her crib...this may seem elementary, but Aliah has gotten very accustomed to falling asleep in arms, and today I thought we had better break that habit. At first she didn't like being in her crib at all, and she actually threw a bit of a temper tantrum, but, as soon as she saw me leave the room, she stopped crying and snuggled her blanket and went to sleep. What a good girl!

well that came and went quickly...maybe there will be more peace tomorrow

Peace...

Keegan and Joshua, our two middle children, don't always see eye to eye. They have fine tuned the art of pestering each other at a very deep level. Keegan, our older son, can bug Josh with a look, a quick touch, or any other way possible...Josh can scream at the top of his lungs, whether Keegan is bugging him or not...so as you can imagine, this momma can feel like she is going crazy some days...alas, the reason for my post. There is peace in our home right now...Keegan and Josh are in the bath together, playing nice, very quietly, and actually smiling and laughing...this is a huge deal...could this be the start of a beautiful friendship? Only time will tell...

The Shepherd

"He tends His flock like a shepherd:
He gathers the lambs in His arms
and carries them close to His heart;
He gently leads those that have young."
Isaiah 40:11

This is one of my favorite verses at this time in my life. The bible is so full of word pictures of a Shepherd and His flock. It is comforting to know that God is gently leading me right now, and that He loves young children so much, and He holds them in His arms. I find it such a beautiful thought that when one of His sheep has gone astray, He will search for the lost sheep until He can bring it back to the fold. And that in the fold, there are many sheep. The sheep all keep each other warm at night when it is cold. And they huddle together when there is danger. That reminds me of dear friends and family members who stick by me in good times and bad. It also reminds me of all the encouragement I receive from the Lord Himself, and other wonderful believers. I am not struggling right now. But in the business of daily life, when it is hard to even find time to think, in the middle of the joy, and excitement, and busyness, I take strength in knowing that the Good Shepherd is gently leading me and my young ones. Praise the Lord. I am His sheep.

Life at our house is never dull...

You will begin to learn that life is always brimming over at our house. With 3 very energetic, curious boys, we have daily excitement. Today during nap time, a time that I love...Joshie got into Brendan's gum. Brendan is a saver, and so in his pack of 60 pieces of gum, he informed that he has already eaten 13 pieces...so that would mean that he had about 45 pieces left, and I am sure that he shared a few pieces, so there were maybe 30 pieces left. Being 2, Joshie doesn't really get that you only chew gum, it is not a snack that you would swallow...and so,needless to say, he swallowed about 30 pieces of juicy fruit gum...mmm..I was concerned, so I phoned my doctor...my doctor was concerned, so he said phone poison control...I phoned poison control and they weren't concerned...When I gave Joshie's name, they said "Is he 2?"...apparently 90% of their calls are from parents with boys ages 2-3...come to think of it we have called poison control in the past, a number of times, for our 2 older boys when they were 2...anyways, Joshie will survive, he may just have interesting poop, which I am sure Keegan will find fascinating...