Overflow

crazytown

2012-01-13T22:47:00.000-06:00

Whoa. Nelly.

Life is crazy around here and onlygetting crazier.

And do you know what I do when I'moverwhelmed with craziness?

Nothing.

Just nothing.

I do nothing for a month and then Ithink "Oh yeah, I have a blog that's supposed to be documenting this crazylife so that when I'm old and gray and my sweet, sweet grandbabies ask me aboutwhat life was like "back in the old days", I'll have something to sayother than "uh...I think we had fun?"

Anyway:

We had a great Christmas in SouthCarolina with Joe's family. Joe got me a new laptop for Christmas since my oldone crashed. He is amazing. And also a total cheater since we "weren'tdoing gifts this year". I guess I’ll have to think of a sweet birthdaygift for him!

We got the boys a puppy forChristmas. He's a 14-week-old Golden Lab. His name is Charlie. He is beyondcute and they are beyond overjoyed. I will try to post pictures and video soon.

Silas can walk now. He startedtaking a few steps at a time right around 9 months...but he started reallywalking - as in walking across a room - when we were in SC. He's starting totalk, too, which is super fun. He says "ha-yo" for "hello"- almost always while holding a hand up to his ear as if he's holding a phone.He says "dada", "Bow-ba" for "Roman","ba" for ball, book, and pretty much any other "b" word.His favorite word, though, is "Dyoo-dah" for "Judah". :) Healso signs "more".

Judah loves his "Char-yee"dog. He is always hugging him. He is starting to recognize a few letters and iscurrently obsessed with puzzles. His favorite book is Go, Dog. Go! Judahis Roman's biggest fan (or worst enemy depending on the situation). But, forthe most part, he loves him. He asks for him when he's not around and tells me"Want mwo-mwan". We're still working on those Rs. :) Some of myfavorite Judah moments:

· waving to daddy out the front window "Bye, daddy! Havefun at preschool!"

· always wants Silas to clap so he can tell him good job. Hesays "Siwes cwap". I think he's saying "crap" almost everytime. What is wrong with me?

· I have often said the following in my house: "You'rebeing sneaky. I don't like that". Judah doesn't really understand thatit's not a compliment. He will proudly come out of a room and announce"You're snakey" when he's been up to no good. At least he's honest.

· We have a hard time figuring out what motivates Judah. Hejust so rarely cares about anything. Except shoes, apparently. He lost a shoeoutside at Chrissy's house a few weeks ago and was devastated the whole ridehome. When she called the next morning to let us know Jon found it outside, shebecame Judah's hero. He still tells me, almost daily, "Chrissy find yourshoe".

Roman, oh my Roman. You can mostoften find him acting out a scene from Lion King. For example, he will climb upthe slide at the park and pretend to be Mufasa hanging on the cliff for dear life,while yelling "Scar! Brother! Help me!" This is followed by himletting go, sliding back down and yelling as if he is plummeting to his death.I'm sure this is no way alarming to the other kids (or parents) at the park. Heis getting really good with sight words and sounding out words he doesn't know.I'm sure he'll be reading in no time...and then, Look out, World! He had agreat time "looking at all of Grandma's beautiful bugs" in SC. Romanalways has lots to say...here are a few examples:

· He's getting really close to being able to do a cartwheel. Ihad made him "try again" one too many times apparently, because hetold me "Mom, I'm all out of cartwheels".

· One of his favorite movies is Prince of Egypt. One day hewas reading a children's Bible and came to the page with Jesus on the cross. Hedeclared "I AM that I AM". Maybe coincidence. Maybe some pretty solidTrinitarian understanding?

· Also (I'm guessing due to the current love for Moses), hemashed up red jello the other day and told us it was the burning bush.

· My brother and his wife were invited to attend a concert atthe White House a few weeks ago. We were lucky enough to be able to watch it onTV a few days after. When I was telling Roman what we were going to watch, Iasked him "Do you remember who lives at the White House?" Heresponded "Snow White?" I laughed and said no. Then he said "OH!President Obama!"

· Running around the ottoman he said "Look, Mom! I'mrunning in rectangles!"

· So, somehow, four-year-old boys magically know how toturn their eyelids inside out. I am confident that this is not an innateability in girls. I'm also confident that no one taught him how to do it. All Iknow is that he thoroughly enjoys saying "Hey, Mom!" and getting meto turn around and freak.out. about how he looks like a character in a horrorfilm. Seriously, so so gross.

As for Joe and I, we have a goal toread through the Bible together this year. Thanks to Monica for organizing achronological schedule and posting here: http://therewillbebiblestudy.blogspot.com/ (We would love to have you join us!)

It has been such a blessing to usalready.

And just when I begin to feel overwhelmed about how my planis not going…well, as I had planned, (read: when I start acting like a twoyear old trying to jam the puzzle pieces of life where they clearly do notfit), I am reminded of how the One who has designed every inch of thisbeautiful world, has perfectly orchestrated all that is laid out beforeme. That. Is. Peace.

Job 38

The LORD Speaks

¹ Then the LORD spoke to Job outof the storm. He said:

² “Who is this that obscures my plans
with words without knowledge?
³ Brace yourself like a man;
I will question you,
and you shall answer me.

⁴ “Where were you when I laid the earth’sfoundation?
Tell me, if you understand.
⁵ Who marked off its dimensions? Surely you know!
Who stretched a measuring line across it?
⁶ On what were its footings set,
or who laid its cornerstone—
⁷ while the morning stars sang together
and all the angels^[a] shouted for joy?

⁸ “Who shut up the sea behind doors
when it burst forth from the womb,
⁹ when I made the clouds its garment
and wrapped it in thick darkness,
¹⁰ when I fixed limits for it
and set its doors and bars in place,
¹¹ when I said, ‘This far you may come and nofarther;
here is where your proud waves halt’?

¹² “Have you ever given orders to the morning,
or shown the dawn its place,
¹³ that it might take the earth by the edges
and shake the wicked out of it?
¹⁴ The earth takes shape like clay under a seal;
its features stand out like those of a garment.
¹⁵ The wicked are denied their light,
and their upraised arm is broken.

¹⁶ “Have you journeyed to the springs of the sea
or walked in the recesses of the deep?
¹⁷ Have the gates of death been shown to you?
Have you seen the gates of the deepest darkness?
¹⁸ Have you comprehended the vast expanses of theearth?
Tell me, if you know all this.

I couldn't resist.

2011-12-02T15:10:00.001-06:00

So the boys and I went to help my mom decorate her Christmas tree today. As we were reminiscing about all the ornaments, my mom reminded me that she used to have an adorable, white, porcelin lamb ornament. I remembered exactly which one she meant becuse it was her favorite and I always really like it - so cute.
She told me that it must have got taken out with a tree at one point because she hadn't been able to find it the last couple of years. Sad story.

So, when we came home, I started looking online. Wouldn't I be the best daughter for giving such a thoughtful Christmas gift? I was thinking "I'm probably not going to find an exact replica, but surely I can find something similar or at least equally lovable.

Oh no. No, I cannot.

Here's what I did find though.

uh....no.

what the what?

is it a hippo? It can't be a lamb.

did a 4 year old make this? If so, good job, sweetpea.
but given that you're not my 4 year old, I'm not about to pay $21 for that.

dollar store? You would think so. But, no. $20. And not.cute.

this is closer to what I'm looking for...except, again, NOT cute.

What. Is. Going. On?

I'm scared.

Now, granted, not all of them are so ridiculous but I can't seem to find one that's the right look. There were some pretty cute lion and lamb ornaments, and some beautiful crystal sheep, but they were $70, so that's out.

So, not sure this gift idea is going to pan out.

Let me know if you come across any cute lambs.

Giving Thanks

2011-11-28T15:20:00.001-06:00

Well, Advent has already begun, but we're a little behind around here because I have been sick. As you can imagine, when mama is sick, the little boys don't think to sweep the floor or fold the laundry. My sweet husband took care of me, the boys, and the house all weekend so we're not as far behind as we could have been. I know, he's a keeper.

It was a bummer to be sick for most of the long weekend with Joe at home, but on the other hand I was so grateful this darn cold came upon me when it did. Because I'm quite certain there is NOTHING worse than trying to take care of small children when you can hardly hold your head up.

SO, in summary, the tree is finally decorated, we got started on Advent tradtitions a little late, I am feeling a little better, and my husband is a rockstar.

Moving on.

The blog that I intended to write over the weekend is as follows.

This year we made a Thankful Tree. (Pinterest is the origin of almost all of my good ideas. If it's not Pinterest, it's another, much-more-creative mom. I don't come up with anything on my own).

I wanted to find some branches from the yard and put them all in a nice big vase and make little cicrle ornament-type things, just like the one I saw on Pinterest.

Then I realized that a tree like that would last approximately 22.3 seconds in my home full of busy little boys.

So, instead a cut a tree out of construction paper.

Each day the boys would tell me one thing that they were thankful for and I would write it on a circle and they would stick it on the tree with double sided scotch tape.

Joe and I added a few of our own, but we soon realized that the boys were getting really into this (Roman usually did at least 2 a day and sometimes 4 or 5) and we were going to have a full tree rather quickly, so mostly we just said ours aloud.

Here it is on the last day of November:

I just had to share the things they were thankful for. So sweet, so funny, so them. You'll see what I mean.

In no particular order:
Roman:
Ryan, Kathleen, and Eliza
Veggie Tales
Aunt Chelsey
Kyra
Uncle Tony
Christmas trees
Mary, Joseph, and Jesus
Chrissy
Danelle, Brooklyn, and Jadyn
Paulette
Aunt Theresa
Grandma Wilson
Suzee, Phil, Joe, and Adrian
Melissa Haberer
Aunt Angie
God
Baby Duke
Linda
Shadow
Aunt Mary
Grandpa Tony
Katy Hyatt
Katie Darby
Grandma Suellen
Trees with red leaves
Jesus
Libby
Christina Nichols

Judah:
treats
Father Jim
Grandma Susan
Donuts
cars
playing
Jon
Sedona
Grandpa Bob
pirate ships
the park
Maggie
Daddy
Nemo
Popcorn

Psalm 92:1-2

It is good to give thanks to the Lord, to sing praise to your name, Most High, to proclaim your love in the morning, your faithfulness in the night.

A few things I'm thankful for:

mega lips = mega kiss

Mama's Minivan

2011-11-11T07:13:00.001-06:00

Y'all.

Wednesday was a big day for our family.

We bought a minivan.

I feel like a lost a little part of my youth just typing that sentence.

A MINIVAN.

I don't know why I have this mental mountain to move, but I do. I know plenty of hip and happenin' moms who drive minivans, so I shoudln't have a problem with it. But I do.

It's some kind of weird emotional mid-life crisis or something. But don't worry, I'm not going to start going out to clubs and dancing on tables or anything. (Can you imagine? I'm positive I would be laughed out.)

ANYWAY, I am done with the freaking out. Now I'll tell you why my minivan is very nice and very practical. I can't say that I love her yet, but I'm starting to like her. Yes, this is a relationship and apparently, it's a SHE. Interesting. Didn't know that until I typed it. I guess naming her Stuart is out of the question, Mary. :)

Here is mama's minivan. Well, not really. Because I definitely don't know that gentleman behind the wheel. But this is the 2005 Toyota Sienna in a lovely blue/silver color identical to ours.

As long as I'm inside the minivan I love it. It's kind of like what I would imagine Inspector Gadget's car would be like. There are all these secret compartments everywhere and buttons that open doors and a kid mirror that pops out of nowhere. I always find myself saying "hey, what's this do?" and it's always something pretty awesome.

It's got a lot more space than I was expecting and everything about it is very convenient.

Joe had been trying to sell me on the minivan idea for a couple of years, but when it came down to it, what got me to go test drive was sheer numbers. This van is a year newer than our Blazer was and has about half as many miles on it...we will have a cheaper monthly payment, cheaper insurance and better mpg. I couldn't really argue with that. It wouldn't be very fair for me to object to the wisest financial decision for our family.

Sigh.

I'll let you know if we give her a name. And if she grows on me. I think she will.

PS - can I really pull off starting a post with "y'all"?

A Month of Little Boy Moments

2011-11-08T21:30:00.003-06:00

Really? More than a month since my last post?

That's pretty lame.

So, here's what's been on my mind, in no particular order:

How do you keep a crazy, CRAZY two-year-old busy all day when you can't go outside? Also, how do you keep the items in your house in one piece with said two-year-old in the house all day? Does anyone know the answer to this question? Because I need some help, y'all. (I'm just practicing my southern vocabulary for Christmas with Joe's fam). I mean, other than bungee cording baby gates, refrigerators, and closet doors shut, removing bar stools from the counter, and putting child-proof knobs on every door. Because I've already done all of that.
Parenting is pretty much 100% transition. All the time. I know I've said it before, but it is just so true in my life, I think especially with many small children. We change our routine/what works every day.
Silas is getting pretty close to walking. He takes about 3 steps between people, although he doesn't have much desire to attempt it without someone prompting him. Fine by me. He slept 10 hours straight last night!! (I'm not going to kid myself into thinking that will happen again tonight, because, please. That would be too good to be true) BUT, at least for my kids, more sleep = about to do something new. Exciting and YIKES.
I feel like I had a lot more to say (although I'm sure the sleep habits of my baby has you on the absolute edge of your seat). We may come back to this topic (What topic? Random thoughts?)

Moments with Judah:

calls Mr. Potato Head "Mr. Head".
he pretty much is either eating or destroying something. Or spilling something. Or tackling someone. But I think we've pretty much covered that. Examples (all usually while I'm nursing or changing Silas OR cleaning up a previous mess made by, you guessed it: Judah.):

getting 8 pieces of bread out of the bag. And eating three of them. FOR A SNACK.
climbing on the counter, pulling a glass out of the cupboard, and dropping it on the floor. Of course it shatters.
filling a cup with water, either from the fridge door or the bathroom sink, and then spilling it on the floor (or putting some in his mouth and spitting it out).
carrying either of his brothers (yes, he can lift Roman) across the room or pulling them to the ground and laying on top of them. He better play for the NFL.

All that craziness being said about Judah, I wish I could explain his charm in spite of it all. He has such a very sweet side. While reading Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What do You See? I said, "Teacher, Teacher, What do you see? Judah, what does the teacher see?" I expected him to say children but he said "fwenz!" (friends!)

Moments with Roman:

The first week of school we read The Story About Ping. It's about a duck who lives on the Yangtze River in China. The next week we were driving over a bridge and Roman looked out on the water and declared very proudly "The Yangtze River." We had a good laugh over that one.
Reading a children's Bible "Mom, Jesus has a crazy mustache".
says "chilly bar" instead of "dilly bar".
calls his big wheel his "bike trike"
Mary came to visit a couple of weeks ago and we were talking about someone who was a boy scout. She asked Roman "Is Daddy a boy scout?" Roman responded "No, he's a hero". :)
After Halloween Roman was, well, let's just say slightly affected by the candy. He was running through the kitchen yelling at the top of his lungs and Joe yelled after him "Roman, is that the High Fructose Corn Syrup talking?" He yelled back "Yes it is!"

So, that's what we've been up to...Trying to keep Judah from burning the house down and trying to detox Roman from all the Halloween candy. Oh, and trying to enjoy the last days/weeks of a baby who can't get up and run away from me. :)

I love them so.

Falling Down

2011-10-06T07:00:00.000-05:00

It's fall. My favorite time of year... for a million different reasons...but I can't help but marvel at the trees. I think the fiery red leaves are my favorite.

Have you ever noticed that some of the leaves let go more easily than the others?

Some fall while they are still green. The sun comes pouring through the branches, the wind tugs, beckoning gently, and they flutter down onto still-green grass.

Some hold on for the cooler air, the richer colors, the brisker winds.

And some...well, some curl and turn brown, hold on into the dead of winter. The below freezing winds howl, the snow and ice blast at them and yet they cling.

Don't they know that old, shriveled, lifeless leaves are much less becoming than those that simply let go? The ones that let go are the ones that get jumped in, crunched by the preschooler's shoes. If they would just let go they would be the heat and life of bonfire and the beauty of the elementary school artwork.

Don't I know this?

That letting go is simply the gateway to a new purpose?

Which one are you?

I think my dad would like the sound of that.

2011-10-05T15:28:00.001-05:00

Roman: "Hey, Mommy, do you have a mommy?"
Me: "Of course! You know who my mommy is."
Roman: "Yeah! Grandma."
Me: "You're right."
Roman: "And Grandpa Bob is your dad?"
Me: "No, Grandpa David is my dad. Where does Grandpa David live?"
Roman: "Grandpa David lives in Heaven with Jesus."
Me: "Yep."
Roman: "Was he sick?"
Me: "Grandpa David? No, he wasn't sick. He had an accident."
Roman: "Yeah, he was a little bit sick."
Me: "No, he had an accident. He was driving his tractor and he had an accident."
Roman: "Yeah. Grandpa David drove his tractor to Heaven".

Controversy Remix.

2011-09-29T21:51:00.000-05:00

You might recall this post I wrote over a year ago (which I thought I wrote just a few months ago, btw.) Okay, probably only about three of you recall that post, but I needed to reference it to get this party started.

Party? What party? I'm going to talk about how to save money/live simply/etc. This may not qualify as a party.

ANYWAY, I have had a request to re-post this because more and more moms I know are trying to figure out how to spend more time with their kiddos. Whether you're trying to figure out how to stay home full time or part time, I think it's world-changing when mamas understand how important their job is and want to do it well. If you don't have kids, you can skip this. ALTHOUGH, I think that, even if you're single, we can all benefit from advice on how to save money/live simply...right? Please feel free to leave your tips in the comments. I love hearing how other people do it!

**Before I add any new advice, I'd like to say that the most radical and efficient thing we've done to save money is the number one item on my previous list: owning one car. We currently have two cars, for which I feel truly blessed. But, at this time last year, we only had one. We did that so that we would have one car payment, (and one car on our insurance bill) We could pay down some debt (think about how many hundreds of dollars that frees up per month!!) and we could save to pay cash for a second car, which we did. I think it was the hardest one for me to give up, but if you have a husband who works an 8-5 job in the same town that you live, it wouldn't be so bad. My thought was always that if we could work it out so that I had the car 2-3 days/week, that was enough for me to not get cabin fever.

I also want to reiterate how important it is to have a husband who is not only on board with this idea but who is driving this whole operation. I can't say enough about how amazing Joe is and how thankful I am that he has made it his priority for me to be at home. It would not be possible if he wasn't working hard to make it happen. Having one person at home requires sacrifice from everyone involved. (But it's oh so worth it!)

Oh, so worth it.

I wish I could say that there's some magic formula here or that there's just one key thing you need to get figured out to be able to stay home, but sadly, it's not that simple. Obviously there are a million factors. But, I really think just having a very specific why really drives the how. Not just "I want to stay home" - but why do you want to? For me, I have a few very important and specific reasons for staying home.
1. The littles are only little for so long...and it is SO fleeting!
2. If there's one thing I want my kids to learn before they leave my home it's how to know, love, and serve the Lord. I think that I'm the best person to teach them that. Not because I'm awesome, but because that's the God-given purpose of a parent.
3. I'm the primary educator of my child (just as you are yours - regardless of whether or not you're home full time) and so if it's possible, it seems like the natural thing to do.
Keep your eyes on your why! As long as you can focus on the why - you'll figure out the how.

SO....here we go:

Make your own. I mentioned that we made our own wipes for a while. Since Silas arrived, I haven't been doing that, but I did like them. What else can you make that will save you money? How about laundry detergent? (that's going to be my next experiment!) Google how to DIY almost anything and you'll find tons of options. How about other cleaning supplies? Skip the expensive clorox wipes and use vinegar and a washcloth on your counter. Natural and Cheap. How about cleaning the shower and toilet with baking soda? Works better than bleach, in my experience. Not toxic and, again, cheap.
Ask for gifts that keep giving. Okay, I'm not so much one to ask for specific gifts, but if Grandma and Grandpa are looking for ideas for Christmas, ask for a zoo/science center/pool pass. Then you have free entertainment for the year instead of a toy that will get boring after a week.
I have promised Joe that I will not buy anything just because it is on sale. This is a hard one, but it's necessary. Too many people get sucked into the "I'm saving money because it's on sale" trap when, in fact, that is money that absolutely doesn't need to be spent in the first place.
Don't ask: Do I have the money? Ask: Is this a wise purchase? Let's say you have the money to buy something, or even that you've budgeted for it. That doesn't always make it the right time or the right item or the right price. Is it wise?
Tithing. I am not proud to tell you this, but we haven't always been the best about tithing. We seems to go in phases, which is dumb. It's clearly not optional. (Malachi 3). Now, I'm not saying that you should tithe because somehow God is going to make you rich if you do. Not saying that at all. I'm saying that it's a command and we should do it because we love Him and we want His kingdom to come, not our own. When we tithe we remember that He is in control, and that He is our supreme good. When we tithe we remember that He is enough and that nothing is more important than more of Him in our lives.
Don't compare. I don't feel like I need a bigger house or a better outfit or a newer car, until I see someone else that has that. That's so dumb. Stop it. If you're going to compare, compare to the majority of the world who lives on just a few dollars a day.
Simplify. Do your kids need lots of toys? Absolutely not. Especially if you're at home, the best thing you can give your kids is YOU. Face time. And you can come up with plenty of educational and fun activities from the odds and ends around your house. Again, Google is your best friend. Do you need vacations? I would SO love to say yes right now. But the answer is no. Do you need...(insert so many other options here)? It's not that you can never do any of those things again, but what's most important to you? Can you delay the dream vacay for a few years in order to do what's most important now?
Plan ahead. Think annually and monthly. Budget accordingly. If you want to visit the family for Christmas (And yes, yes we do!), we are going to have to have that insurance bill paid, we are going to have to save money for travel, and we'll have to take into account the fact that, for commission-based jobs, the holidays are a slower time. So, we have to start thinking now about how we'll do all of that.
Examine your heart. Usually when we're talking about money, and how we spend it, we're talking about the following things: Greed. Gluttony. Idolatry. I know that sounds harsh, but let's be honest. Most of us live ridiculously abundant lives. Two-thirds of the world is struggling to find clean water. We can probably do without another pair of earrings. I'm not saying that I/we are never going to go shopping again. Obviously we are. But, we can sure re-prioritize. (This is also easier to do when you're at home and would have to haul the kids into the store to make that self-indulgent purchase!) It's not that I don't want to, it's that, thankfully, it's kinda hard to try clothes on with three munchkins in tow.
Set a challenge. I don't remember where I heard this idea, but it's a good one. Each month, challenge yourselves to one radical task that will save money, and use the money saved to pay down debt (Although we don't agree with all of his advice, See Dave Ramsey "snow ball effect" for how to successfully pay down debt). I.e. September: we give up coffee, October: we give up eating out. November: we give up dessert. (Do you like how all my examples revolved around food? What does that say about me?)
Speaking of Food... I heard John Piper talk one time about glorifying God in our lives and he said (and I paraphrase) How can we use money to show that God is our supreme good? That, to us, money is nothing compared to Christ? How can we use food to show that it is nothing compared with Him? This is a great question to keep us from being gluttonous and greedy.
All of this goes for your husbands too. Again, Joe is a rock star. He literally wore his last pair of dress shoes until their was a hole in the bottom. I'm not sure how many years that was, but I'm so thankful that he's so selfless.
This final comment is from Joe: As a Financial Adviser people always ask me how we have managed to have Ruth Ann stay at Home. My usual response for humorous reasons is that we just got used to being broke! I truly believe it is easier to have your wife stay at home if you start out on one income and never get used to two incomes. If you can survive on one and you don't know any different, then staying on one income is easier. When working with people I can see how going from two incomes down to one is a scary thing. Typically the two income scenerio provides a lot of luxuries... But in all truth are those luxuries worth it at the expense of qaulity family life? I truly believe that if you put your faith in God and trust that he won't let you starve (You might be eating Ramen Noodles and Pancakes sometimes but it is still food) he will provide. We have been in some tight stressful situations and we have been in abundant situations but we are still here making it happen. The greatest thing about my job is the upward mobility it has provided me. When we had Roman I was a Financial Adviser which was enough to live off of. When we had Judah I became a Managing Partner and now run a District Agency which provided more income. Now that we have had Silas we are again moving up. Right now discussions are being had about becoming a Regional Director somewhere in the United States. God is good and makes all things possible! As we have followed His plan for our lives He has uncovered opportunities to keep us moving forward! So I would say the real answer to the stay at home question is faith! I promise you it will be hard! I promise you will have sleepless nights due to financial stress! But life isn't about money it is about completing your vocation and if that is marriage that means your role is be the domestic church to your family! My Dad said it best when he said the primary role of a parent is to get their kids into Heaven. Take the time to discuss this issue with your spouse and discern what is right for you. I'm not saying everyone can or should stay at home. Just take the time to discern and do what is right for your family whatever that may be! Have faith!

Now your turn! Please share your ideas!

dolphin, destructor, and bug boy.

2011-09-09T22:42:00.000-05:00

Silas:

is now 6 and a half months old. That's half a year, people. Ridiculous.
At his 6 month check up, he weighed 18lb 2 oz.
Right around the 6 month mark, he started sitting up alone, crawling, and pulling himself up to a stand. I know. This is alarming for a couple of reasons. One, being the obvious: that he's a six month old. (I don't want to sound ungrateful for normal development, because I really, really am). But, come.on. I feel a little bit robbed of my baby days. The second reason for alarm is that he doesn't have a whole lot of balance yet, so there is a lot of toppling happening. And then he does this really crazy ninja-type log roll. So...scary and yet funny.
Has a little stranger anxiety.
Now at 6 and a half months, he has TWO teeth coming in (the bottom middle two), he can wave, clap, and give high fives
He likes to climb onto the bottom shelf of the TV stand. What is it with that? Every kid is drawn to it like I am drawn to Orange Leaf. (seriously. If you haven't been, you need to go.)
He also makes this really crazy noise every time I am getting ready to feed him. It's like the anticipation is too much to handle. I don't really know how to explain it, but I refer to it as the "angry dolphin". You can use your imagination. :)

Judah:

says "gotch" instead of "got ya". So funny.
calls black olives strawberries. ?? Maybe they are equal in deliciousness?
is destructive. That sounds really negative, but I don't know how else to describe him. He is constantly in to everything and feels the need to create chaos wherever he is. I imagine that, in his mind, he passes something that is nicely organized and put away and says to himself: "What's this I see? Order? I'll have to do something about that..." This thought is followed by tipping something over, spilling contents out of a container, being loud, sitting on something, breaking something, coloring on something, etc. He is our wild card. We can't so much leave him alone for any number of seconds. He is very difficult to keep up with right now. But I am so thankful for that little stinker. He is crazy as all get out but he just brings us so much joy.
he loves to look at pictures of himself and his brothers
waves with his palm towards himself. Makes me laugh every time.
loves loves loves to dance.
is getting more and more talkative
big blue eyes + shaggy red curls = irresistible.

Roman:

Roman and I have begun the journey of homeschooling! We are excited to be using the Five in a Row curriculum this year and we have even joined a co-op in Ames that Roman is very excited about. He asks me everyday if we're going to preschool, but we only meet once a week. :)
Still loves bugs. LOVES them. he will even pretend that his grape halves are bugs at lunch time. Yesterday he caught a katydid, today a dragonfly. Also, he talks to his bugs. ie. "Are you tired, katydid?" or "Are you having a hard day, Red?" (Red is the name he gave his dragonfly. Duh.)
He is just really, genuinely in awe of insects. He can tell you that insects have 6 legs and a head, thorax, and abdomen. And he will often say things like "Mom, is that a beautiful wasp?" Who is this kid??
saw a baby catfish at wal-mart the other day and was telling Monica about it..."We saw baby sharks and a kittyfish"...she laughs: "You mean a catfish?". R: "Yeah, a kittyfish".
One day I was trying to get Judah to point to different body parts, and I thought if I had Roman do it too, he might think it was more fun. Then this happened:

                  Me: "Roman, where are your knees?"
                     R: "Can't you not see them?"
                  Me: (laughing) "Yes, I can, but can you point to them?"
                    R:   (still really confused) "Don't you see my knees?"
                                          :) I guess we're too grown up for that game at the age of four.

One day Judah was really grumpy and I kept asking him if he wanted to eat or go outside or do a puzzle, or anything to cheer him up. Roman came up to me and said "Mom, you just need to let him do his thing right now".
These next couple are from quite a while ago, but for the sake of me remembering, I have to type them out. One day, I was teasing Joe about something and he said "I can hear the mockery in your voice". Roman pipes up "imagine that".
When we went swimming at the Y in Boone, Roman asked me "Mom, is this Heaven?" Ha.
Speaking of Heaven, I have a more serious topic that I have to write about now:

A sweet little 7 year old boy from our church, Quinn, passed away a week ago today. He had a tumor on his brainstem and has been quite the fighter over the last five months. I have a special place in my heart for Quinn because when he was just one year old, he was in my classroom at the daycare I worked at. Before I spent my afternoons with Roman, Judah, and Silas, I spent my afternoons with Quinn. He was just learning how to walk, and had the most adorable little waddle and the hugest, cutest grin you have ever seen.  After I left the daycare, I didn't see most of those kids again, but I loved that Quinn went to our church because I got to see him and his family regularly.

When Quinn was diagnosed, we immediately started including him in our daily prayers. I didn't go into too much detail when I talked with Roman about Quinn. I just told him that Quinn was sick and I would tell him if he was in the hospital or at home. One day, during prayers Roman stopped and asked me "Mom, is Quinn going to die?" (This seeemed very strange to me because we have had other friends and family in the hospital that we have prayed for for an extended period of time and he had never said anything about those people dying.) "Who told you that, Roman?", I asked. He didn't really answer, so after I calmed down a bit I told him, "Quinn is very sick, Roman. But we know that God can do anything and so we need to ask Him to heal Quinn's body and make him all better". That was the end of that conversation and he never asked me that again.

Well, last Thursday we got an e-mail saying that Quinn was not doing well at all and that his family would all be coming to be with him. So, Friday we prayed a Chaplet of Divine Mercy for him. (That was one of our favorite prayers to pray for him, especially if we had learned about any complications in Quinn's quest). Just a few hours later we learned that Quinn had passed away. I cried as I stood in the kitchen reading the e-mail.

Roman heard me and came to ask me why I was crying.  This is the conversation that we had:
Me: "Roman, I need to tell you something. Quinn went to Heaven today".
R: (excitedly) "And he gets to walk with Jesus now??"*
Me: "Yeah, isn't that amazing?"
R:   "Yeah! But why are you sad?"
Me: "Well, I'm sad because I'm going to miss him, but, you're right, we are so happy that Quinn is with Jesus".
R; "Yeah! Because God made him all better!!"

*I thought the word "walk" was very significant for him to choose. Quinn has been in a wheelchair for several weeks.

Here I was, preparing myself to talk about how God does answer prayers, how God is good, but...
but sometimes the answer is no and sometimes we can't understand God's plan because we can't see everything the way that he does. When in fact, I didn't need to say any of that.

Four year olds don't need to be told that God is good or that he answers prayer. They know it. They don't doubt it. It was very clear to Roman that God did heal Quinn's body. He did answer our prayer.

I'm sure that we have talked about the fact that there's no sickness in Heaven at some point, but it hasn't been something we have drilled into him. Children are so perceptive of spritual matters and I just learn so much from Roman all the time.

Then yesterday, as I was getting ready for the visitation, I asked Roman to pray for Quinn's family while I was gone. He said "Okay. But, dying's not sad, Mom." I smiled and then asked (because I wanted to hear a child speak profound truth): "Why isn't dying sad, Roman?" "Because we get to to go to Heaven and be with Jesus".

Yes.

Then he added, "And someday, we'll go to Quinn's house in Heaven and say hi to him".

Yes.

I am looking forward to that day.

Praise God that this is not all there is.

(This song has ministered to Quinn's family over last weeks and months, and was sung at his funeral) Also, I have been loving it everytime I hear it on the radio, and I don't think it was so much a coincidence that I heard it on my way to the visitation and then it was playing on their slideshow when I walked into the church.

PS - Quinn's funeral was heartbreaking but it was also the most beautiful funeral I've ever been to. What a blessing that his family has been constantly seeking to honor God in the midst of this tragedy. He was glorified in a magnificent way over the last 5 months, and especially today.

Father Jim had this icon displayed at the front of the church today (I hope this is the right one! It works to talk about his sermon, anyway). He talked about how icons are to the eyes what scripture is the ears. He asked us to look at Jesus pulling on Mary's veil in this picture and to remember that we have a Grasping God...who never lets us go and who has used Quinn's life to turn us to Him.

^{Romans 8:38-39}

For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

love in the home

2011-09-08T14:20:00.000-05:00

"If I live in a house of spotless beauty with everything in its place,
but have not love, I am a housekeeper - not a homemaker.

If I have time for waxing, polishing, and decorative achievements,
But have not love for my husband and children, my children learn cleanliness, not godliness.

Love leaves the dust in search of a child's laugh, the dishes for her husband's voice.
Love smiles at the tiny fingerprints on a newly cleaned window.

Love wipes away the tears before it wipes up the spilled milk.
Love picks up the child before it picks up the toys.

Before I became a wife and mother, I took glory in my house of perfection;
but now, I glory in God's perfecting of my family and me.

As a mother, there is much I must teach my child,
but the greatest of all is love."

-Anonymous

August Fun.

2011-08-17T21:16:00.005-05:00

Silas is going to be 6 months old in just a few days. He has been army crawling, getting up on his hands and knees and rocking, and sitting up (mostly) by himself. Toppling over is still a pretty common occurrence, so I'm always staying close by. Another new hobby of his: scooting his way on over to the floor vent, propping himself on hands and feet, and letting the ice cold air blast him in the face. I'm not sure if I should be alarmed by this or not. It seems weird. But, then again, Joe is kinda like a polar bear insisting on arctic temperatures, so the apple must not fall too far from the tree. Silas also responds to his name, and has pulled himself up to a stand one time. It was at Chrissy's house, on this adorable little cube, which is just the perfect height for Silas and Titus to do reckless tricks on. I like to pretend that was a fluke.

Judah is talking up a storm these days. He is putting 4 and 5 words together pretty consistently, and naturally, making us all laugh until we cry. One my favorite things that he does is tell me all the things he likes. It usually goes something like this: We will be ~~rocking~~ wrestling before nap time, and he will start the list (which is always pretty random, but you can sometimes see connections between the items). " I wike outside. I wike Grandma. I wike Maggie. I wike birthdays. I wike cake. I wike swings. I wike church. I wike cheese". What a guy. He has become increasingly infatuated with sweet baby Silas which just melts my heart. And scares the crap out of me. The kid still has zero concept of gentleness. Let me tell you how Judah/Silas interactions usually go: Silas is laying on the floor minding his own business. Judah is playing/jumping off of something/being a renegade. You see him recognize Silas' presence. He zeroes in. Judah sits down on the floor a couple feet away from Silas and scoots his little bottom right over to the baby's head, all the while yelling/growling his name. (if you've heard it, you know what I mean). Silas becomes wide-eyed and clearly concerned for his safety. Smart baby. Judah either says "hold it!" in an attempt to ask permission to hold Silas or just drags him right up into his lap using whatever limb is closest. Yikes. And that's why I can't get anything done during the day, my friends. These boys require constant supervision. :) They are oh so entertaining, though!

Roman is currently obsessed with bugs. Grandma Suellen has got to be loving this (I wish she were closer!) and I'm trying to learn enough to encourage him to keep learning about what interests him. In the last couple of weeks, we have caught butterflies, a caterpillar, a dead cicada, and an ant. He tells me about his love for bugs and how they are "so beautiful". Oh my. Roman is in a bit of a hoarding phase. Well, at least I hope it's a phase. It has been going on for a while now. I know most of his hiding spots though. For example, I couldn't find some papers that were in my Bible {under his bed}, or my hand mixer {under the trampoline in the toy room}. He will make a pile of toys in a chair and sit directly in front of it so no one can reach them. Roman's current favorite book is a compilation of four parables that we got him for Easter. He loves to retell the story of the foolish man who built his house on the sand and the wise man who built his house on the rock. Coincidentally (or not!), that was the gospel reading we chose for our wedding. Makes me so happy every time.

Speaking of our wedding, let's talk about how great my husband is.

The other day I was cleaning up supper dishes while he played with the boys in the toy room. I spoke his name and it all came rushing back to me. In the simplicity of such an ordinary moment, I flashed back to knocking on this very front door and being welcomed into this very home by his mother. I remembered praying with his family right here. Listening to him play guitar in the basement, toasting our engagement at this very table, celebrating our rehearsal dinner in what is now our living room. So much has happened here, within these walls. We started our family here ...before we even knew that's what we were doing. God is in the details. I'm so grateful for the way He has orchestrated all of these moments to create this life that we are living.

And, I am so thankful for you, Joe. I always knew that you were a good man, a Godly man, a generous man. One of the first times you spent an afternoon with my family (before we even started dating) my grandma made a comment about you having a gentleness about you. And you do. It's not always the first thing that someone would notice, because you're strong, a good provider, you're funny and you're confident and you're outgoing. But, it's the gentleness in your strength that makes you easy to trust.

It's the love in your leadership that I have leaned on all these years. The way you encourage my faith and yet challenge me to grow. The way that (three times!) your eyes have met mine in that delivery room...and in the greatest possible pain, as you brush the tears away, nothing needs to be said because I am so comforted just by knowing you're with me.

Every girl wants to marry a man who is thoughtful and kind. One who would lay his life down for his family. I just had no idea I would be so blessed to have one who would pick up groceries for my grandma; one who would fabricate the most elaborate, silly stories to make red headed boys giggle the night away; one who would always put my needs before his.

I didn't foresee any of that when I knocked on this very door.

Gratitude

2011-08-03T15:57:00.000-05:00

by Nichole Nordeman

....just a song, for days when He feels near and days when we are desperate to feel His presence.

A Political Post

2011-08-01T22:26:00.002-05:00

I don't write much of these, but I can't help myself tonight.

Have you heard about the new mandate that says insurance companies must provide contraception with no copay?

If you know me or have read this blog for very long, you can probably guess that I have a moral opinion on this matter.

But, let's set that aside for a moment.

I do have a moral objection, but I also have common sense.

Has anyone else heard that we're in the middle of a bit a debt crisis?

Even if you do not share my moral stance, is this really a wise thing for our country to be spending money on given our current financial state?

If I had the chance (to say my piece about morals AND common sense), here is what I would say.

Dear Mr. President,
First, I want you to know that you have my respect. You hold an office that demands honor and I believe that you are doing the best that you can. You took an oath to preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States. Big job. I'm glad it's not mine and I appreciate your efforts to uphold that oath.

When you promised healthcare reform, I didn't understand that this was going to be part of it. I, personally, don't see contraception as "healthcare", since it prohibits the normal, healthy functioning of the reproductive system. There have been studies showing how it can be dangerous for women (not to mention babies!), especially when taken for long periods of time, and has been linked to breast and uterine cancer, miscarriage/early abortion, and problems with fertility.

When I pictured healthcare reform, I was thinking about individuals without insurance, the boy at my church whose family is probably losing all of their savings paying for his chemo treatments, caring for widows and orphans, or decreasing the cost of my grandma's heart medicine -that keeps her alive...$700/month. (That's AFTER insurance pays $1000/month).

It seems like we need to step back and look at our priorities. How much money is going toward providing free contraception while we are in the middle of these debt talks? It seems like an unnecessary expense. It seems counterproductive. Why is this beneficial? Who is this helping?

Mr. President, we watched you address the nation the other night. Our children watched too. In fact, Roman told me today that he wanted to "watch President Obama again".

We pray for you everyday.

A Silas Video

2011-07-25T16:04:00.003-05:00

Finally! Becuase it's long overdue.

Also, because who doesn't need to hear a baby laugh on a Monday?

Silas is 5 months old now. I know. Where does the time go? I'm pretty sure I say something along these lines every time I write on this blog, but seriously.

Silas is rolling both directions, and scooting all over on his back. He can turn in 360 degree circles on his tummy. Most of the time he's trying to reach his Sophie. He thinks his big brothers are hilarious. He especially loves it when Roman talks to him or sings to him. He also likes watching Judah jump off of the couch, but he is still a little afraid of him. And rightfully so. Judah comes thundering over and sits right by his head and yells his name. I would be disturbed.

Silas can get his knees underneath of him, and he can push his chest/tummy off the ground, but not both at the same time. And that's good. Because I'm not ready for that.

He has been slobbering all over everything, so I am anticipating teeth in our near future. He also likes to blow bubbles of saliva (yum) and he likes to razz.

He prefers to stand when you're holding him on your lap...you can tell he wants to get moving. He coos at you when you talk to him but we haven't had much babbling yet. Just razzing. And, like I said, lots of drool. But he watches my mouth very closely when I speak.

He continues to be a pretty laid back baby, although he has been a little grumpy the last few days (probably teeth).

He still doesn't have much hair but I maintain that it looks red. Joe still says blonde, but it's red.

I love that when I hold him and someone else talks to him, he smiles and then buries his head in my neck/shoulder, and then looks back and smiles at them again. He makes me melt.

I am currently obsessed with his chubby baby legs. I actually despise putting pants over them. My favorite sound is this sweet nursing baby.

You might say I am head over heels for this boy.

The Big Boys (and the big differences).

2011-07-25T14:48:00.011-05:00

Roman - 4 years

Judah - 2 years

I don't know if I've mentioned how very, very different my two big boys are. If you've met them, you know.

Roman is a ham. He always has been. He wants to be in every picture but he can hardly stay in the shot long enough for me to get one because he immediately wants to look at the picture of himself. He is very intelligent. He has a crazy good memory and very accurate fine motor skills. He was a pretty high maintanence baby, but he was talking before he turned one and could put together his United States puzzle by the time he turned two. He could even tell you some of the state names. He is a people person. He introduces himself to everyone he meets and wants to keep tabs on what everyone is doing. He will remember details about someone that he met at the mall months ago and bring it up randomly during lunch. Sure, it's borderline creepy, but I love it. It will make him a great friend and husband. Or priest. Who knows. Whatever God has planned for this boy....it's something big.

Oh my Judah. My sweet, sweet, crazy Judah. I had no idea that he would be so crazy. He was such a laid back baby...cuddly and smiley for everyone. He has these beautiful big blue eyes, crazy teeth, and more charm than should be legal for a two year old. I am going to have to keep him far, far away from girls for a loooong time. :) As soon as Judah started walking, he started climbing. He has no other agenda in life than: eat, run away from mom and dad, climb something, and jump off of it. Oh, and asking for more food about 10 minutes later. So, you could say that fine motor skills are not his strong suit. Doing a puzzle with Judah is one of my favorite things because it is just hilarious. He sees right away where a piece should go, but he just can't make it fit. So, what's a boy to do? Scream, throw the piece, and move on to climbing the nearest object. I assume that the NFL will be recruiting him within the next few years. The kid is a tank. Words cannot describe his adorable deep voice. It's so stinkin cute. I wish I could write about more Judah stories, but this blog will never do him justice because it's not what he says that's funny, it's just his nature.

Roman has always been so funny because he loves being the center of attention so he'll say or do anything for a laugh. Judah just is funny. He doesn't even have to try.

Anyway, when we were at the park this morning, I got to witness the perfect manifestation of their differences. It had rained a little bit when we first got there, so everything on the playgorund was wet. We don't really have plans for the rest of the day, so I wasn't worried about them getting their play clothes wet.

Naturally, Judah ran right to the top of the slide and slid on down. Every square inch of his backside was soaked. And he totally didn't even notice.

Roman ran around trying to catch butterflies with his net for a while and and, after awhile, decided he was ready to go down the slide too. Except that when he got to the top, he said "Mom, the slide is wet."

"I know, buddy", I answered, "but it's okay. We'll just change clothes when we get home, so you can go ahead and go down."

He looked back at the slide clearly weighing the pros and cons. I wasn't sure what he would do becuase he hasn't hesitated to play in mud puddles in the past.

He decided on squatting down and inching down the slide on his feet...all the while explaining that if he got wet he would get a rash.

Oh, my big boys. I'm so proud to be their mama.

Roman on his Fourth Birthday

2011-07-07T08:00:00.000-05:00

A Judah Video...with a little help from Roman

2011-07-06T08:00:00.000-05:00

Birthday Boys!

2011-07-05T14:27:00.010-05:00

Do you feel like you haven't seen many pictures of my family lately? Because that's how I feel. So, I'm going to remedy that today. I will say, though, that I don't have many options to choose from because I have not been so good about taking pictures. Much the way I have not been good about blogging. But the other day I went to upload and saw that there were 150 pictures on my camera. I was just about to pat myself on the back and say "hey, Ruth Ann, you're not doing so bad. 150 ...that's better than you thought it would be..." Well, then I realized that about 97 of those pictures were not taken by me....and they all looked something like this:

our couch and our ceiling.

A foot and some blocks. These will be so helpful someday when the boys want to take a stroll down memory lane and relish in all the fun they had when they were small.

...and this one is my personal favorite: Roman's nose. The photographer himself. Please excuse the boogers.

So, I haven't been doing well on the blogging with only two posts in June, but June was a busy month...that will be my excuse.

June 2nd was Judah's 2nd birthday, I posted about that earlier, but here's a picture of my big two year old:
We got him blocks for his birthday. He's not so much into building, though. He's our demolition man.

...and the Elmo cake:

June 15th was Roman's 4th birthday. The big four year old:

we got him a barn and some farm animals. Big hit.

...and his minion cake (which was maybe the highlight of his life):

...and this is a cute four month old. Just because I can't get enough of him.

I am going to try to post some videos soon...but remember I only post twice a month now, apparently...so I might be playing it fast and loose with the word "soon". We'll see.

clothes and hair.

2011-06-13T12:36:00.003-05:00

For the past several years, I have been hearing fantasitc things about an organization called Pure Fashion. It's a program for teenage girls who are interested in modeling. When you think of modeling, do you think of purity? How about modesty? No? Well, then you haven't seen the Pure Fashion models.

Yesterday, I finally got to attend one of their fashion shows...and it was impressive! There were several girls from our church that were models this year. All these girls were so genuine and beautiful. It was such a blessing to see these teens that have come to know that their value is in Christ and their external beauty is worth protecting.

Part of the fun for the day was helping to style the girls' hair for the show! My friend, Chrissy, recently opened her own salon in Ankeny, Grace Family Salon. YAY! (call and make an appointment right now. I promise you won't be sorry.) Anyway, they asked Chrissy to do the girls' hair - but with there being 20ish girls in the show, well, they neede some other volunteers too. So, while it wasn't like having Chrissy (who is an artist comparable to Edward Scissorhands :)), I can curl hair and so I did. BUT, I got to use some of the awesome new product that Chrissy is using/selling in her salon...Check out Surface. I'm no expert on ingredients in hair product...but I have heard that they can have some nasty stuff in them. Surface products are made from all natural ingredients. No toxins here! AND, they smell delicious and work like a charm. I think my favorite thing that I used yesterday was the Push Powder...it can be used like a dry shampoo and adds tons of volume to your hair. It's like magic. Love.

So, there are my plugs for the day. If you have daughters or you know any teenage girls, put them in Pure Fashion. And, if you have hair, call Chrissy at Grace Family Salon. :)

Where have you been all my life? Or is it where have I been all my life?

2011-06-09T15:07:00.004-05:00

WELL.

I didn't write anything on this blog during the entire month of May. Yikes.

All three of my boys are napping (which is miraculous!) and so here I am. Finally.

Let's just catch up, shall we?

Mr. Silas is...

Well, just kidding. Now I only have two sleeping boys. But I can cuddle a baby and type, so we're still good. (Do you see the predicament? :))

Mr. Silas is rolling from tummy to back (since he was 9 weeks old...he is currently three and half months old, so that's old news, really...not that you would know since I never write on my blog...). He is also scooting around on his back, smiling up a storm, cooing all the time, and just starting to laugh. Mostly at Roman. That biggest brother is a funny guy.

Judah - my big two year old! He had his golden birthday on June 2nd and loved it. He sang along anytime someone sang him Happy Birthday. And now he just sings it to himself about once a day. I made him an Elmo cake, which he loved, and he got new blocks, cars, and water flutes. This little boy is loved. He is chatty all the time but we usually can only understand about one word per sentence. He goes on and on in some made up language that sounds like a variation of Japanese and then ..."strawberry" or "cookie". It's usally food. When in doubt, you can pretty much garuntee he's talking about food. Judah also loves to go to church and talk about God. He is fascinated by Father Jim and runs up to him immediately when we walk through the church doors. He stands right as his feet and stares up at him with a big grin on his face. He usually doesn't say anything, just smiles. But during church, he is very vocal. Anytime Father opens the book, extends his arms, and begins a prayer, Judah has to do the same. It's pretty adorable. But then he ends up LOUDLY saying "Far" (father), "church", "ho speart", "Jesus", "God", "Amen". It's quite the worship experience. But it brings us so much joy. Silas was the one born of the Feast of the Chair of St Peter, but Judah might end up being our priest. :) Judah has a passionate love for the movie Madagascar, and more specifically, the song Move It, Move It. Probably about 10 times a day, he will walk up to me and say (in his deep voice) "...uh...move it?" It makes me laugh every time. So, about 10 times a day, we have a little dance party to Move it, Move it.

Roman is going to be four next week. Could someone tell me how that happened? FOUR?? He has been to Vacation Bible School all this week and is loving it. He gets really excited about singing and dancing to the songs.
Some of my current Roman faves:

Roman: "Mom, are you going to feed Silas?"

Me: "yes"

Roman: "you are a nice feeder".

he calls his piggy bank a "penny pig"

Me: "Roman, how many hands do you have?"

Roman: "two"

Me: "yes! How many mouths do you have?"

Roman: "One!"

Me: "good job! How many hairs do you have?"

Roman: "RED!"

When he learned that our friend from church, Katlin, was going to be spending a semseter in Rome, he said "Katlin, are you going to be a priest??"

I'm sure most of you have heard the story, but for the sake of me remembering in 10 years, I have to make sure I put this on the blog. About three and a half months ago we brought tiny baby Silas home from the hospital. As we were getting the boys ready for bed our first night home, Joe was sitting in the rocking chair with Silas and he asked me to go get some scissors so that we could take off all of our hospital bracelets. Roman and Judah were jumping on their beds. I came back with scissors, clipped off Silas' bracelet, and then I heard the sound of absolute terror. Roman was suddenly screaming and crying so I turned around, assuming he had fallen of the bed or something. But then he shouted "She cut his finger off!!!" He really thought that I had amputated one of Silas' fingers. It was very sad and scary and CONFUSING. But we finally got him to count all of Silas' fingers and assure him that I would never hurt anyone. (I didn't know we needed to cover that, but apparently it was NOT clear to him.) Even the next few days he would occasionally ask me if I had cut Silas' finger off. NO. Just so everyone is on the same page, the answer is no.

I taught him the song Pharoah, Pharoah the other day when we were reading about Moses. (How the heck do I remember all the words to that song??) Now he asks me to sing it all the time.

Oh, there's so much more to say about my beautiful boys, but I will have to save more for later.

As for me, lately I have been ~~spending~~ wasting my time on the follow things in no particular order: watching Modern Family, The Voice, and The Event. Figuring out Pinterest (due to my very savy tech skills, it has taken me a while. Now I'm just trying to not become addicted).

I have been also done a few worthwhile things with my time: obviously spending time with my fam, trying to figure out how to clean my house with three children, reading, writing and leading our high school girls' Bible study!, and probably some other stuff.

I am really just starting to figure out how to handle our family of five without feeling completely overwhelmed. I'm not going to lie, adjusting to three has been a challenge. I think that's why I've taken such a long blog hiatus. I'm just trying to keep up.

People ask me how I do it...and I feel kind of silly when they do. It's not like I'm the first person to ever have 3 children. It's not like 3 is a large number of children. It's not like I'm really even very successful at it. yet. :) It's not like they are ridiculously close together. I feel like there are so many other amazing families out there that they could be asking, but I want to give a few honest answers to that question here. Because, while it's not that I have a super large family, I have heard from numerous people that adjusting to their third child was the most difficult for them.

So, here's how I do it. You can either read this because you would like to see how you might like to do things... or to see how you would not like to do things. I won't judge you either way. :)

I memorize scripture. Large chunks of it. (Psalm 1, Psalm 46, the Magnificat) Because I have been failing miserabley at having a consistent, daily God time. But if it's on my heart, I can take it with me wherever I go. Or shout the verses over screaming children to maintain sanity. Either way.

I wish I was kidding.

I try to be out and about. As difficult as it is to chase Judah around the library, at least we're having a good time, getting some fresh air, and maybe some adult conversation (between running after toddlers, of course!)

summer. summer = parks, pool in the backyard, walks, and more outside adventures. Winter is not so easy. If only I could control the weather...

I try to talk with other stay-at-home moms frequently. I need to be better about this because it's always refreshing when you're sharing a specific vision for your families.

I read the blog A Holy Experience. So encouraging every day.

I need to post this on my wall. I love love LOVE being at home with my boys. But sometimes I want "me" time. I want quiet...and sleep... and the ability to run errands without 6 potty breaks, the chaos that is loading and unloading 3 boys from the car, and bribing someone to "just sit quietly for 5 more minutes". I need that post to remind me of what's important in life, and why I do what I do.

John 3:30. Most of all, what gets me through the day, is reminding myself that He must become greater and I must become less. Being a mom is a daily reminder that our call as believers is to let go of self, die to our own desires, and let God be enough. He will sustain us. He is enough. I can't love my children or my husband enough. Only HE is enough. I can't make myself happy with things or free time or even with friends and family (amazing as they are). Only He is enough.

Only He is enough.

Beatification

2011-04-29T19:44:00.004-05:00

One of my sweet friends and blog readers asked me a question recently that I thought I would share and answer here.

She says: "I am not Catholic and have been hearing about Pope John Paull II's beatification that is coming up in the very near future. I thought perhaps, when you have a free moment, you could explain what that means."

First of all, fantatsic question. I would be happy to explain what I can. Of course, I am no expert, so please don't read this as a comprehensive answer to the question (or as infallible truth!)

Second, if anyone else has questions that they would like me to take a stab at answering, I would be happy to do that. Especially regarding Catholicism, I love to be asked questions because it opens the door for more understanding and unity within the body of Christ. And I trust that we can share respectfully here, even if we may not see everything perfectly eye to eye.

So, to answer the question...

Pope John Paul II will be beatified this Sunday, May 1. The timing is very significant. This is the second Sunday of Easter, which Pope John Paul II himself entitled "Divine Mercy Sunday". In 2005, it was the eve of Divine Mercy Sunday when our beloved JPII passed from this life to the next.

Beatification is simply part of the process of one being canonized a saint in the Catholic Church.

The process of canonization goes something like this:

1. Someone has to die. (I supposed you already guessed that.) Ok, in all seriousness now...the the process begins a minimum of 5 years after the death of someone regarded as exceptionally faithful. (Although, Pope Benedict XVI waived the 5 year minimum in the case of JPII due to his awesomeness. And, yes, I'm sure that's how he worded it. ;) )

2. The local bishop begins an investigation on the candidates life...he looks at virtue, orthodoxy, how he lived, any writings by that person, etc. Then a Vatican panel reviews the investigation.

3. After approval by the panel, the Pope names the candidate "venerable".

4. Next comes beatification. Beatification requires that a miracle take place as a result of the venerable person's intercession. (For example, in the case of John Paul II: there was a nun suffering from Parkinson's disease. A few weeks after JPII's passing, she began asking his intercession on her behalf and was miraculously healed.) If a miracle occurs, we can assume the person is in heaven and praying for us). With beatification comes the title "Blessed". So, after May 1, we will refer to our late pope as "Blessed Pope John Paul II".

5. One more miracle and then comes canonization. This is when a Blessed person receives the title of "Saint".

A few things to remember:

A saint is someone who lives in Heaven. There have been and will be countless saints throughout time. You have probably known many and hopefully you will be one someday. It would be impossible for the church to canonize every peron who is granted eternal life with Christ. The Saints that are recognized by the Church are just some of the exceptional examples of Christians who are worthy of remembering and imitating.

Catholics do not worship saints. We honor holy men and women who have joined the great cloud of witnesses.

Catholics do not pray to saints. We ask them to pray with us and for us.

We do not attribute miracles to the power of the saint themselves, but to the power of God through their prayers. It would be like asking a friend to pray for you. If a miracle occured, you would not think your friend healed you, but you would be forever grateful to that friend for their prayers on your behalf.

Canonization does not make someone a saint. It recognizes that God has already made them a saint.

SO, I think that pretty much covers it. I think. To all my Catholic friends - did I leave anything out or could I have said something more clearly? Please comment if you feel you can shed some more light on this topic.

To my non-Catholic friends - did I answer comprehensively enough? Let me know if you need clarification.

Also, let me just say I love JPII. LOVE him. And so...I leave you with this. May his words minister to your heart

"Do not abandon yourselves to despair. We are an Easter people and hallelujah is our song!"

"It is Jesus you seek when you dream of happiness; he is waiting for you when nothing else you find satisfies you; he is the beauty to which you are so attracted; it is he who provokes you with that thirst for fulness that will not let you settle for compromise; it is he who urges you to shed the masks of false life; it is he who reads in your hearts your most genuine choices; the choices that others try to stifle. It is Jesus who stirs in you the desire to do something great with your lives, the will to follow an ideal, the refusal to allow yourselves to be grounded down by mediocrity, the courage to commit yourselves humbly and patiently to improving yourselves and society, making the world more human and more fraternal."

Three.

2011-04-27T23:12:00.003-05:00

I feel as though I owe you all an apology! I have been slacking on the blog writing. Not that I'm trying to offer excuses, but here's what I've been up to (in case you were thinking that Roman and Judah had me locked in their room or something. Don't laugh...it's probably not that far-fetched).

We have been enjoying every newborn minute with our sweet little Silas. He continues to be about the most low-maintence baby ever. He has such a sweet disposition and really rarely cries. He is adorable and content and doted on by big brothers all day long. We just adore him.

We have had lots of guests, which we have LOVED! Joe's mom came to stay with us for three weeks, which was a huge blessing. Like words cannot describe how much I appreciate her and miss her. I definitely cried when she left and I will never forget the ways that she just stepped in and cared for our family so selflessly.

We celebrated Silas' baptism on Easter Sunday. It was beautiful. Joe's whole family was here and we enjoyed their short stay immensely. Angie is still here which is good...I would be going through serious withdrawl if they had all come and left so quickly.

As far as daily life goes, I have to be honest. The transition to three kids has been a challnege for us. That sounds ridiculous after I just told you what a great baby Silas is...but it's true. It's not so much Silas, or even "juggling" three kids...it's how the big boys have been/are still adjusting to sharing mom and dad with another little one. They LOVE love love Silas which we are so thankful for. They just seem to be a little more grumpy when they don't get immediate attention. Some of that is ok. They need to learn that they are not always the center of attention. But they also need to be reassured that they are always always loved and that mom and dad always care about their individual needs.

SO, if anyone has suggestions on how to help the big brothers adjust, I'd be so grateful.

Also not helping that situation is that Judah is trying to give up an afternoon nap. Um...WHAT?! He's not even two yet. I feel like that's totally not allowed. Except that I can't really make him nap. And I only have about a half hour of rocking/wrestling in me before I give up.

And yes, I have tried letting him play in his room until he falls asleep but he just plays for an hour and never goes to sleep. So...yeah.

On top of all the excitement at home, I am also in the process of co-authoring a bible study for high school girls. Not with a goal of publishing, just for use with some very sweet girls that need Jesus, just like you and I. We are going to start using it/teaching it this summer. If you would be so kind as to pray for grace to cover my fumbling words, I would very much appreciate it.

I want to tell you a hundred funny and charming stories about my boys, but I can barely keep my eyes open. So, I'll leave you with a few of my favorite things (And I promise to try to write more soon!):

Roman:

love the way he talks to Silas in a syrupy voice and says things like "hey sweet baby. Yes, you're a good boy! I love you pumpkin!" (I wonder where he learned that...?) :)

says really funny things when he's trying to explain how he feels...i.e. "I'm angry because I'm sad".

Judah:

asks for food all the time. i.e. we are putting together a zoo animal puzzle when he stops and says "cake?" I tell him we don't have any. He persists in asking for a variety of other foods..."chips? cheese? strawberries? goldfish?"

loves shoes. He found Roman's spiderman snowboots the other day and insisted on wearing them around the house all morning.

Silas:

cooing and smiling

wants to nuzzle right under your chin all the time

getting big! 12lb 8oz at his 2 month check!

The Story of Silas David

2011-03-30T14:40:00.007-05:00

As you might recall, I wrote about Roman's birth story here and Judah's here. So, it's about time I tell you about Silas. (Buckle up. This could take a while.) We found out that we were pregnant with baby #3 at the end of June, 2010. Usually, we can't contain our excitement about a new baby and we end up telling everyone right away. It was a little different this time because we thought that Joe's family was going to be coming to visit in August. We really wanted to tell them in person and so we decided to wait. However, in July the plans changed. Dad was going to be having surgery and so they weren't coming after all. Since we weren't going to get to share in person, and since I was due in February we decided to send out little valentines. They said something like this: "Dear Grandma and Grandpa, will you be my valentine? Love, Baby Pometto #3 (due February 24). It was fun to have a special way to share the news. First trimester was pretty typical for me. I was feeling tired and a bit nauseated, but all around, everything was going smoothly. I went in for my 9 week appointment and ended up having an early ultrasound because they weren't able to find a heartbeat. They assured me that baby was probably just too small or that he might be in a position that would make it difficult to hear the heartbeat externally. No matter how much reassurance, those few moments felt like hours of waiting. We did finally hear the heartbeat, but they went ahead and did the ultrasound anyway since they had already ordered it and they weren't busy. Once I heard the heartbeat (and wasn't freaking out anymore!) it was fun to see our tiny little babe moving around. Everything continued normally until my 20 week ultrasound in October. For some reason I was really anxious the morning of the ultrasound. My mom was coming over to watch Judah and we were taking Roman with us to see the baby. She was running a little late and I called her kind of in a panic. I'm sure she thought I was losing it. She was only 5 minutes late. I remember being almost shaky as we packed up our things. I remember stopping in the middle of the kitchen to take a deep breath and telling God "I trust you with this baby". And I remember thinking that was a weird thing for me to tell Him at this moment. We knew we wanted to find out the gender and we were really excited about that. We kept going back and forth on whether or not to take Roman with us. I kept telling people "I have no reason to think anything would be wrong at the ultrasound, but I wouldn't want to have him there if that happened". All of this is very strange to think back on. Funny the way God prepares your heart. We got into the room and exchanged pleasantries with the ultrasound tech. We have had the same woman with each pregnancy. Right away we saw baby and a good strong heartbeat. One of the first things she said, though, was "This is your placenta. It is completely covering your cervix. Your doctor will talk more with you about this during your appointment". We had heard the term "placenta previa" but didn't know much about it. We knew that the fact that she wasn't offering more information probably didn't mean anything good. I tried not to worry during the ultrasound. I wanted to enjoy seeing my baby and seeing Roman see the baby. We learned that we were going to have a third boy and we were overjoyed. As the ultrasound progressed there was a bit more talk about the placenta and Joe tried to prod the tech for more information. The most we got was "Since the placenta is completely covering the cervix, baby can't get out that way. If it doesn't move you'll have to have a C-section". Again, we were trying not to worry or over react. She said "if it doesn't move" so maybe it wasn't a huge concern? We went to have our appointment with the midwife and the first thing she said when she came in was "I hear we have a complication". That's when it all really came out. She told us that I would need to take it really easy - no more strenuous activity and no more lifting heavy objects...including my children. If I did anything that was too strenuous I would put undue pressure on the placenta and that could cause early labor or even placental abruption. She told me to come in immediately if I saw any spotting or had any contractions. She told us the biggest concern was me going into labor on my own, causing hemorrhaging, which would be dangerous for the baby and for me. She told us that the fact that the placenta was completely (rather than partially) covering the cervix meant that it was not likely to move, and that we should start preparing for bed rest and a C-section. Um, whoah. I thought we were just coming to see an ultrasound and find out the gender of our baby. That was a lot of information to take in. I was very overwhelmed and left the office in tears. Luckily, I have seen this midwife with each of my boys and so she hugged me and told me to have a good cry. She is so sweet. Anyway, for the next month I did exactly what they told me...which was very difficult given that my children were three years old and 16 months old at the time. I was so blessed with so much help. Joe did all kinds of extra stuff around the house and so did Tony. They wouldn't let me lift any laundry baskets, trash bags, or small redheads. I had friends from church that babysat while I ran errands, helped me clean my house, and brought us meals. We just felt so humbled to experience the love of God through his people in such an extravagant way. Every day, I begged God to let me have a healthy baby. I asked him to move the placenta and allow us to experience natural childbirth again, if He willed it. But more than that, I asked him to have his way with us. I would plead with Him on behalf of my son, but I would tell Him that He was in control (like He didn't already know that?) We had so many people praying for us (including you) and we didn't take any of that for granted. We could feel the peace that filled our hearts because of your prayers. We really can never thank you all enough for the way you lifted our family to the Most High. Because "the prayer of a righteous man is powerful", we started a novena (9 days of prayer) to St Gerard (patron of expectant mothers) on October 15 (his feast day). (That was a lot of parentheses). Joe's middle name is Gerard because, ironically, his mom was diagnosed with Placenta Previa when she was pregnant with him. After a novena to St Gerard, her placenta moved and she was able to have natural labor with no complications. So, shout out to St Gerard for praying for our family. (More on saints here). Anyway, long story even longer :), God is SO SO faithful. In November we learned that the placenta had moved some, and in December that it had moved completely out of the way and we were clear for natural labor. Praise God! We are so thankful that we got to experience all of this and to see God move in such a big way. We are so thankful for friends, for prayer warriors, and for a God who is healer, protector and provider. It is nothing less than a miracle that he so lavishly granted us the desire of our hearts. After the December appointment, I felt back to myself...back to not worrying about every little thing and back to enjoying all the amazing things about pregnancy. I continued feeling great until the last few weeks of inevitable discomfort (and, still, I really had no major complaints!) At my 38 week appointment I was dilated 3 cm and 80% effaced. Same at my 39 week appointment, which was a little discouraging, but I was glad to at least be that far along. On Monday night (Feb 21) I started noticing some spotting. With each pregnancy, this is how I know I'm dilating more and that labor will not be far off. I went to bed early just in case. I woke up Tuesday morning and passed the mucus plug (TMI? Well, it's part of the story...), but still no sign of contractions. I decided I would just try my best to go about my day as usual. Joe headed into work and the boys and I got up and got ourselves ready and went to the library. We had lunch and (miraculously) the boys both took naps, so I took one too. I woke up a little after 3:30 with some contractions. I got up and started some last minute packing and cleaning. Now, I guess I should back up a bit. I tested positive for Group B Strep, so I was told to come to the hospital as soon as I was in labor so they could start my antibiotic. SO, I waited about an hour to make sure the contractions were going to stay and then I called Joe to tell him it was time. I called the hospital and told them we would be on our way as soon as our babysitter arrived. My mom was planning to come over and watch the boys when labor started, but she was about 2 hours away. Tony was at work, so I called our sweet neighbor, Paulette, and she came right over. What a lifesaver!! I got the boys their dinner and got everything packed up. We said goodbye to our boys and headed to the hospital around 6:15. Poor Judah was very sad that Joe came home from work and then left right away. I felt just terrible leaving him while he was upset, but I knew we needed to get going. When we got in the car, Joe asked how far apart the contractions were. They had been coming every 5-7 minutes but, truthfully, I wasn't keeping track very well because I was trying to get everything ready to go. We stopped at McDonalds to get a little snack anticipating that I would have a long labor and would need some energy. (Start to finish, Roman's labor was 24 hours and Judah's was 16 hours). On the way to the hospital, the contractions started coming three minutes apart. I assumed that they wouldn't stay that way because with Judah's labor the contractions would come 3 min, 5 min, 8 min, 4 min...etc. Very inconsistent. I always try to metally prepare for the worst (ie the most hours of labor and the most pain I think of) because then if it's not super long and painful it doesn't seem so bad! :) We got to the hospital and started the check in process. Our sweet nurse got me settled in bed with the fetal heart monitor and started the list of (what seemed like) never ending questions. I kept asking when they were going to start the IV of antibiotics because it takes 4 hours for them to take effect. She told me we would finish check in and then the midwife would come see how dilated I was, and then we would start the IV. About half hour into the check in questions, the nurse started realizing it was getting harder for me to talk through the contractions, so she would stop and let me finish each one before moving on. I was also starting to get to the point where I wanted to stand through contractions. I kept thinking that I was in quite a bit of pain for only being in labor for four hours. About 7:30 we finished checking in and the midwife came in. She checked me and said "Well, you've been busy! You're at 7cm and 100% effaced." I was super excited about that. Especially since the contractions were starting to get pretty painful, I was glad to know I had made that much progress. Then our nurse started my antibiotic drip. They kept telling me that I should have "told them I was serious". They said I was one of the happiest 7 cm they had seen and if they had known I was that far along they would have started the antibiotic earlier. I told them that I try really hard to stay calm because it's a lot easier to deal with the pain if you're calm, but I definitely wasn't expecting to be at 7. So, everyone left and Joe and I spent the next hour and a half just talking, and trying to get through the contractions. Back rub, foot rub, and praying. We talked about this blog post that really helped me through labor. At some point during all of that, Joe told me that I should have the midwife check me again the next time she came in. I wasn't so sure about that. I mean, it hurts when they check you while you're in labor. I wasn't feeling much pressure yet and so I didn't think it was necessary. But, when the midwife came back in at 9:15, she asked if I wanted to be checked. I expressed my indecisiveness, but Joe asked me to do it for his sake. He reasoned that if I didn't think I was at 7 when we got there, then I might be further along than I thought. So, she checked and told me I was at 8cm. She also said that she wanted to break my water because the sack was started to protrude out of the cervix. She said that this would prevent the baby from pushing down and causing me to dilate more, until my water broke. So, at 9:30, she broke my water and then said "okay, now you're at 9". I responded "And now I want to push". She told me I could start whenever I wanted to. And thus began the 25 minutes that felt like 25 hours of pushing. :) There's just no getting around the fact that it's ridiculously painful. They aren't kidding when they call it the ring of fire. Tears and sweat, blood and water...and at 9:55, Silas made his debut. He was placed directly on my chest and...oh, what a miracle! He was just as breathtaking as I imagined he would be. I was so overwhelmed with emotion...after all, I didn't know if I would ever get to have a natural birth again. For a long time, I had feared that there would be complications and that he might not be safe, and yet...yet, here he was. So perfect. Joe and I watched the video the other day (don't worry, completely G rated) and he asked me "How can you go from crying out in intense pain one minute, to laughing and smiling the next minute?" The adrenaline of new life is like nothing else. I love that moment. It's unforgettable.

What a joy to have a third precious boy in our family.

Baby Silas

2011-03-14T21:09:00.002-05:00

Silas David arrived on Tuesday, February 22nd at 9:55 pm. Why yes, yes, I do have a three week old baby and I'm just now posting about it on my blog. Sorry! :) He weighed in at 7 lb 10.5 oz, was 20 inches long, and bears a striking resemblance to his brothers...don't you think?

I will write more soon, but I wanted to check in and let you know that he is just about the sweetest, cutest, most laid back baby there ever was. Everything went smoothly and we are all just spending lots of time oohing and ahhing over tiny fingers and toes, savoring that sweet newborn baby smell, and cuddling our little bundle.

Oh, and his brothers like him, in case you couldn't tell from the pictures. :)

Thank you so much for praying with us over our sweet babe. It is miraculous journey that we have been on...and we are forever thankful that you have been a part of it. Please know that I was praying for your intentions when I was in labor and that I will continue to do so.

Love to you all!

Family Life: Then and Now.

2011-02-22T08:00:00.000-06:00

Sometimes people are surprised that we are so young and have three boys so close together (and so crazy when they are "working" together). :) Is it an easy job? Nope. And it has left me reflecting on my life before children.

Before I had children...
I had cushions on my couches.
I had money to spend on jewelry and eating out.
I had a whole night's worth of sleep every night.
I had couches without stains from dripping sippy cups.
I had mirrors and windows that were free of streaks from sticky little fingers.
I had counters that were free of goldfish crumbs from snack time.
I had time to myself.
I had endless one-on-one time with my husband.
I had relaxing evenings with friends...no chasing or disciplining to interrupt conversation.
I had the ability to take a nap whenever I wanted to.

Now I have...
Cushions stacked for the next big jump

little money to spend on things for myself. I regularly purchase diapers and spider man shirts...and wait to "splurge" on things that I used to consider necessities for myself...like a new calendar. I'm living on the wild side.

Nights filled with one or more of the following: my fifth trip to the bathroom because baby Silas keeps thinking that my bladder is a trampoline, rocking a boy who has had a bad dream, or an early morning wake up because those boys are too excited about life to sleep. Soon to add to the list: nursing a newborn every two hours.

Lots of sippy cup stains. Everywhere. Bonus if you find a week-old sippy full of milk under a piece of furniture.

Little hand prints on every piece of glass in sight.

Goldfish crumbs, raisings, and cheerios on the counters and floors. Constantly.

Occasionally I get a naptime to myself (like right now....ahh, savor the silence!). And sometimes after they are in bed.

Again, after bed time I get some one-on-one time with Joe. Date nights out are a big treat!

Evenings with friends are filled with toddlers and newborns...oohing and ahhing over the newest baby and the oldest child's newest accomplishment. There is talk of height and weight percentile, how we got the one year old to put himself to sleep, the diaper disaster of the week, and the latest trick for getting the kids to sit through church quietly.

My nap time only comes when they are both napping...which has become a rare occurence.

And now that they're both sleeping, I'm (ironically not sleeping) blogging about this crazy beautiful life that is so different from the one I used to live. I am writing about this life that is challenging, that is constantly requiring me to give of myself, that brings me to tears, that brings me to my knees, that leaves me begging God to use this family for his glory. The life that leaves me absolutely exhausted at the end of each day and absolutely overflowing with more joy than I'd ever dreamed of. The life I wouldn't trade for any of those things I used to have or care about.

1000 Gifts (16)

2011-02-21T14:31:00.005-06:00

301. Judah's mop of red hair that lays sleeping in my arms
302. The break from the cold...warmest February weather I've known and the walks and the splashing in puddles with laughing little boys.
303. That Joe can never wait to give a gift.
304. The prayers that go up for my unborn child.
305. The anticipation of seeing the new baby boy, created just for our family.
306. Feeling so in love with him already and, yet, knowing that my heart will spill more new love...more than I ever thought possible the first time I lay eyes on him.
307. Toothy Roman grins
308. Rest. In every sense of the word.
309. All things organized (thanks to the nesting I've been doing!)
310. Videos of my sweet little nephews.
311. Family time...this means help with new baby AND good conversation, bonding, making memories.
312. Skype.
313. New doors opening.
314. Love for friends...so much that it hurts sometimes.
315. Seeing new moms savor the little things.
316. Almost four years of being a mom. Best.Job.Ever.
317. Roman concentrating so hard on writing a friend's name. The S on it's side and the proud look in his eye when he realizes he did it.
318. Seeing Judah admire babies.
319. Hide and Seek. Even when I feel like this pregnant belly can't fit into any hiding spots and I think I'm too tired for another round...the squealing delight of the finding makes it worthwhile.
320. Neatly stacked baby blankets...waiting to wrap him up.

A Few Letters...

2011-02-04T20:11:00.002-06:00

Dear Roman,
You could not have been cuter at your big brother class last night. And I had so much fun on our McDonald's date. I love the way that you got out your "big brother" bag of goodies and showed them to me all over again today...three times. You are so adorable.

Dear Judah,
I love the way you say "my-tar" instead of "guitar". I love that you are a cuddler. I love the way you shout "yah!" when you get excited about something. I love the way you are constantly asking me for food. Tonight after you finished all of your dinner you kept saying "saushage?" Maybe Daddy will make you some for breakfast tomorrow. He has a hard time saying no to you.

Dear Joe,
I'm so thankful that you are patient with me...especially when I'm grumpy and complaining. I love that you totally understand (or at least pretend to!) when I disappear in the evening for a hot shower...and I love that I can hear you laughing with the boys when I come out. I'm so proud of how hard you work and how well you are doing at your job.

Dear DOLE,
Thank you for making the Asian Salad Kit. Its scrumtrulescent blend of flavors is delightful to my tastebuds. I'm pretty sure I could eat a whole bag in one sitting. At the current moment I would totally blame that on my unborn child...because I'm a good mom like that.

Dear Roman,
Please stop waking your brother up during "nap time". Do you know why it's called nap time? You are supposed to sleep. Or at least rest. Thirty minutes is not enough sleep for Judah to have before you wake him up to jump on the beds and wrestle in the blankets.

Dear Judah,
Please stop waking your brother up in the mornings. 4:45 is not an acceptable wake-up time. And pulling Roman's hair is certainly not an acceptable manner in which to wake him. For.the.love.

Dear Mom and Bob (and Maggie),
Thank you so much for watching the boys all the time. It's awesome to have you so close. I love that Roman and Judah get to have a great relationship with you like Jim and I had with our grandparents.

Dear Mom (mom#2 - Suellen :)).
I'm so excited and SO SO thankful that you're coming to visit when Silas is born! You are always so willing to serve. We appreciate your willingness to go out of your way to nurture our family. The boys will be so excited to play with you again!

Dear Roman,
I love how you are totally awed by everything right now. It's such a fun stage. I feel so blessed that I get to watch you experience life everyday. The joy you have in the simplest things is incredible. I want to be more like you in that way.

Dear Judah,
I really can't tell you how much your smile melts my heart. I love seeing how proud you are of yourself when you complete a puzzle. It makes me laugh to see you dancing to music. Seeing you sad literally makes me cry. Like today when you got a HUGE goose egg from running head first into the piano. Let's stick to laughing and smiling tomorrow.

Dear Joe,
Thanks for letting me sleep in on Saturdays. You are so so good to me.

Love,
Me

Big Brother

2011-02-04T07:30:00.003-06:00

Last night was a big night for us. Roman and I got to go to Big Brother/Big Sister class at the hospital. My excitement at least equalled his, if not exceeded it, and the night lived up to our expectations.

We had been trying to prepare Roman for the class...we told him that he would have a teacher and he would get to be the student. We reminded him that it's a student's job to obey what the teacher tells him to do. I told him he would be learning all about baby Silas and he would meet other kids who were going to have new babies at their houses.

We arrived at the hospital and talked about how Roman and Judah were both born there. We walked in and found the very sweet teacher, who gave Roman his big brother button and told him how important the big brother in the family is. Roman listened very intently to everything she said. Then he was sure to tell her "I'm going to be the student". He took the whole thing very seriously. :)

Then, we met the other kids in the class and found our classroom.

The kids started by coloring on some transfer paper that was then ironed onto a bib for their baby. Then we read a book about having a new baby at home. We practiced holding baby dolls and giving gentle touches. We practiced changing the baby doll's diaper.

Then we went to tour the Birthways floor. Roman really liked riding in the elevator. We saw a brand new baby sleeping in the nursery and we toured one of the rooms. As we walked past the nurse's desk Roman was sure to say "Thank you, Nurse!" They all liked that a lot.

We finished with a snack and got some stickers and coloring books to take home with us. I was very impressed with the class and with the teacher. I have been so happy with all of our experiences at Mary Greeley. It definitely made me excited to meet our sweet baby!

Roman and I finished our little date night at McDonald's. I asked him about his favorite parts of the night. His response: "holding the baby doll".

He is going to be such a good big brother (again!)

Hopefully we can share some of his knowledge and (probably more importantly) gentleness with Judah. :)

Heaven

2011-02-01T13:46:00.002-06:00

So, we have been reading Roman stories about some of the saints. He gets really into memorizing their names and pictures. :) One thing that we tried to reiterate about each of them was that they live in Heaven with Jesus.

It's such a blessing to get the opportunity to share the Gospel with your children. Roman can tell you that Jesus died on the cross so that we can go to Heaven. He knows that if we love Jesus then we will get to go to Heaven when we die.

We have also had conversations about how Grandpa David and other friends and family members that we love are already in Heaven.

The other day, in the middle of one of these conversations, Roman asked "Mommy, where is Heaven?"

uh...

This kind of reminded me of our "Did the Holy Spirit die on the cross?" conversation. Usually I feel like I am pretty prepared to answer his questions, but this was another time when I suddenly felt really, really not prepared.

I thought for a minute and tried again with "Heaven is where Jesus lives".

His response: "Tell me where that is, Mom."

"Well, honey, it's really hard to explain exactly where Heaven is. But it's where we go to be with Jesus when we die and it's a really wonderful place. Let Mommy think about another way to explain it."

Well, I've been thinking for a couple of days now and I am still not quite sure how to generate a 3 year old answer. If he were an adult, I feel like I might have an adequate theological response...but to Roman? How do I explain that to Roman? And how do I explain it in a way that's simple and yet truthful? It's really important to me that my answer be accurate...that's it's not some vague "up in the sky" answer that's not deeply rooted in truth.

So, my sister-in-law Angela suggested using the song Big House by Audio Adrenaline. If you rocked any youth conferences or camps in the late 90's, you know the one! :)

So, I'm thinking, this is perfect. It's a song based on what scripture says about Heaven...I can talk about more about Heaven for now...

So, I say "Roman, remember the other day when you asked me where Heaven is?"

"Yeah".

"Well, I want to tell you more about Heaven. Jesus tells us in the Bible that Heaven is our Father's house...and that there are lots of rooms and that everyone will sit down at a big banquet table together. The streets are made of gold and the sea is made of crystal! It's a beautiful place! And it's a very happy place! No one is ever sad and no one ever has to die again. Heaven is where Jesus lives. And all the angels and saints live there too. Roman, I want to show you a music video. This song tell us what Heaven will be like." (see Revelation 19 and see Revelation 21)

I pull up the video and he watches very intently through the first chorus:

come, and go with me to my Father's house

it's a big big house with lots and lots of rooms,

a big big table with lots and lots of food,

a big big yard where we can play football,

a big big house...it's my Father's house.

and then a new question formed in young Roman's ever-inquisitive mind:

"Mom, does Jesus play football??"

SO.priceless.

It was one of the many moments that I just wanted to bottle up and hold onto forever.

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

For the record, at the end of the video, he still asked where Heaven is.

Like I said, I don't want to give him an answer that isn't truth. So, if anyone else has a good 3 year old answer to that question, I'd love any suggestions!

Thoughts on Pregnancy

2011-01-29T22:26:00.005-06:00

I am currently 37 weeks pregnant with my third child. And it is nothing less than miraculous. Maybe that sounds cliche but, let me tell you, I mean it with the utmost sincerity from my heart. I love being pregnant. A friend of mine recently asked me why I so loved this whole experience and I thought I would share a few things that have become crystal clear to me, and/or things that have left me full of awe in this incredible journey. I don't want to forget the precious things about this season of my life.

The whole design of marriage and sexuality and pregnancy is just astounding. It's amazing to me that God made men and women so that we don't make sense apart from each other. Like lock and key we fit together and, in that union, we are able to partner with Him to create life. The weight of this reality is overlooked so often in our society. We don't realize, I mean, we don't really comprehend that each time we choose to become one, there is opportunity for life. what.a.blessing.

I love the feeling of a baby moving inside of me. It's the craziest way to bring a new person in the world, but I'm so glad that He made it that way.

I love that, when I'm pregnant (and aside from the times when I'm complaining about aches and pains or heartburn...oh, the heartburn...), my body is doing what it was created to do. Yes, our first BLESSING was fertility:

Gen 1:28

God blessed them and said to them, "Be fruitful and multiply".

How often do we hear fertility referred to as a blessing? I wish it were a more common way of thinking. I never get over the "wow factor" of being with child.

I love that I get to be a living, breathing pro-life witness. Babies are a gift from God. Nothing says it more clearly than a pregnant woman.

I love that my husband is proud to have a pregnant wife.

I love that pregnancy gives us the opportunity to share more of our story with people. It seems that people are more open to discussing children/family/your beliefs when they can see that you are pregnant. I am happy that we can answer people's honest questions. For example, we have heard a lot of this one: "Do you think you'll have more?" or "Will you keep trying until you get a girl?" They are totally innocent and genuine questions, and are in no way offensive. I'm glad that gives us the chance to talk about how we use NFP and how we discern God's will for our family on a monthly basis. It's a really novel concept to some...I think because many people don't necessarily consider fertility something to discern.

I love that, especially as a woman, this experience connects me to women all over the world.

I love that this life-giving love connects me to our Blessed Mother. Since experiencing pregnancy and parenting, I have reflected so much more on the life of Mary and the role that she played in Salvation history.

I love that at communion, when the priest presents the host and says "this is my body given up for you", I have a little bit more understanding about the meaning of those words.

I love that, in labor, I get to share a tiny amount of Christ's suffering, knowing that it will ultimately bring life and love. It makes me understand why we call it his Passion.

There are so many other reasons that could be listed, but these are a few that are especially dear to my heart.

PS - I would like to be praying for all of you while I am in labor. Leave a comment or send me an e-mail letting me know how I can be praying for you and for your family!

Weakness

2011-01-16T22:34:00.003-06:00

I have been feeling ~~like a bad mom~~ rather inadequate this week. Do you ever get in those slumps? The ones where you feel like you're just trying to "make it through" your day? Where surviving with a few ounces of sanity becomes the goal?

I hate feeling that way.

But, the reality is that it happens. Maybe it's just to me, but I'm guessing that some other people have felt this way before.

I could make a thousand excuses for myself - the boys haven't been sleeping as well now that they share a room, and I am 8 months pregnant and tired, and it's been so cold that we coudn't play outside and I'm crazy emotional about nothing most days, and I just need more "me" time, and on and on and on...

But I have come to realize that excuses don't change anything. I said that I hate getting to the end of my day and feeling like I haven't been purposeful, like I haven't enjoyed the little moments. If I hate it, then what has to change in order for me to change?

Not that some of those things don't factor into making a stressful day, but most of my problem right now is that I have been horribly inconsistent about having my God time. Meaning, it hasn't happened all week. How am I supposed to be giving my children good, Godly parenting when I'm not receiving it myself?

The real heart of the problem is not any of the exhausting things about having little boys. The heart of the problem is that my heart is not in the right place. I am trying and trying to make our house run smoothly and be a good mom and feel like we accomplished something by the end of the day.

But It's not about me.

If I want to give my boys love...true love...Love Himself, then it's about time to realize that this whole journey or parenting and family is about Him. I will never be capable of doing it all and doing it perfectly. The key is surrender. Because His power is made perfect in my weakness.

How freeing!

I don't want to miss out on the right nows...even the times when I feel like I can't possibly say "Judah, please don't climb that" in a nice way one more time. Because they are only little once. And I know there will come a day when I will miss saying that.

***

And how about you, dear friends, what do you do to ensure that you spend a purposeful day being truly present with your kiddos?

A Little Bit of Everything

2011-01-13T21:13:00.007-06:00

It's about time for an update on my little guys...although I am realizing that soon I will have to call them my big boys, since they are going to have a new baby brother in 6 weeks. (SIX weeks?? Seriously. How can that be?)

Anyway, I feel like I don't even know where to start since it's been so long...so let's start with Christmas....because, well, why not?

As you can imagine, since we hadn't seen Joe's parents since last Christmas, the anticipation of their arrival was just about enough to push us overboard. I even felt like a little kid, counting down the hours.

I really wish I would have videotaped Roman's reaction when they came in the door. He was way more excited about Grandma and Grandpa coming than he was about Santa (which is fine with me). He had been talking about it for weeks and his poor little body could just NOT contain the excitment. Have you seen the Saturday Night Live skit, "Surprise Party"? If you haven't, do yourself a favor and click on that link. So.Funny.

Anyway, Roman's reaction reminded me of that girl. He ran up and down the hall and all around the living room just screaming and laughing like crazy. It was awesome.

Their stay was filled with laughter, good conversation, celebrating, shopping, napping, movies, presents, trips to Dutch Oven Bakery (SO much sugar), lots of love and attention from aunts and uncle, singing, Mass, toy trains, horsey rides, playing in the snow, Settlers of Catan, Apples to Apples, and too many other fun things to list. If you really want a good recap, you should watch Mary's video. You can find it here.

Oh. And Roman's first Christmas play.

Yep. Roman was a cow in his first theatrical production. Some friends of ours from church, that homeschool their kids, like to do monthly recitals at one of the local nursing homes. So, they invited us to join them for their Christmas play. I would like to tell you that Roman was a natural on stage but, well...let me just show you:

Do you see the cow? Riding the horse? Directly in front of the Holy Family?

And here...rearranging the set. This one honestly makes me laugh out loud every time.

I'm not saying he doesn't have a future in theatre, I'm just saying we might need to reign it in a little.

In all seriousness, he did pretty well and he had a lot of fun. We just need to figure out how to get through to him that he is not, in fact, the center of attention at all times.

Anyway, it took us a while to recover from the withdrawl of all the Pomettos leaving. And since then? Well, we've had some big changes when it comes to living arrangements. And by "we" I mean Roman and Judah.

It was early in December that Judah (just shy of 18 months old at the time) learned how to climb out of his crib. As I have mentioned, he climbs just about everything, so honestly, I was surprised we made it that far. Anyway, we avoided moving him to a "big boy bed" for a while because we weren't quite sure how to go about doing it, since he would be sharing a room with Roman. After Joe's parents left, though, it was time to break down and make the switch.

It went surprisingly well. It only took a few days/nights of trial and error before we figured out our system. For a while we had revert back to rocking him all the way to sleep before putting him in the room. Although now he is getting the hang of putting himself to sleep in there. The catch is that we can't put both boys in there awake. Otherwise they just spend hours jumping on the bed and laughing, which is cute, until they end up super grumpy the next day.

So, we usually put Judah down and then give him about half an hour to fall asleep and then add Romant to the room. Roman doesn't wake Judah if he's already asleep, which is great. I can't say the same for Judah, though. If he is awake in there and realizes that Roman isn't...well, he just hops right into bed with him and smacks him on the head until he wakes up. So, if we put Roman down first we have to rock Judah to sleep before putting him in there.

Anyway, that was two whole paragraphs of probably way more than anyone cares to know about bedtime routines. Riveting.

On to the funnies!!

Roman:

one day I was playing with Roman while Judah was supposed to be napping. We could hear him getting into the closet when Roman said "Judah's not very good at sleepin." No, no he's not.
one day at the mall, the boys discovered the "rides" - meaning the horse that rocks at about .3 mph. Too bad we weren't even nice enough to put a quarter in them. Oh, well, they were very entertained by the not-moving rides for quite a while.
this is one of my all-time favorites: One day I was asking Roman about all the fun things he was going to with our family when they were here for Christmas. I said "Roman, what do you think you'll do with Grandma when she comes to our house?" He thought seriously for a while and said "She'll probably want to play hide and seek and watch Milo & Otis." That gave me a little chuckle and I said "yeah, she probably will". He went on to tell me that Theresa would want to watch Frosty and Rudolph and that Angela would want to go downstairs and watch Veggie Tales. Good guesses all around. Then I said "Oh! Roman! I bet I know what Grandpa will want to do when he's here! He will want to take you to the bakery to eat donuts!" Roman was very excited about this. He said "YEAH! And Grandpa has a gooood mustache!" Seriously! What a funny kid!
Roman also likes to copy the things that I say, so when Judah gets up in the morning, I'll often hear Roman say things like "There's my sweet Judah" in a very syrupy tone :)
One day I was singing along to some Matt Maher. It's the current favorite around here. Roman said "Mommy, let Matt Maher sing it". Thanks a lot.
On the morning that the Pomettos left I reminded Roman that Grandma and Grandpa were going to have to go back to South Carolina. He responded, sadly, with "Is that today?"
Roman has been turning over his puzzles and putting them together with the blank side up. What does that mean?
Both of the boys are really into this game: "Mommy!! I got SOMETHING for your BIRTHDAY!!" which is followed by them bringing me a basket or a bag full of random toys. It's pretty hilarious and I love that Judah has caught on. His version is slightly less understandable but it's in the exact same tone that Roman says it!

Speaking of Judah:

When we say bedtime prayers Judah often thanks Jesus for Nemo, Dory, and Crush. Can you tell what the current movie of choice is at our house??
He also asks for food all the time. Occasionally we'll be riding in the car or playing with toys and he'll suddenly ask "Chicken?" or "Fries?" "Cake?" "Donuts?" Notice the nutritious trend in those questions.
Judah LOVES the David books. (as does Roman. And what's not to love?) they are really cute and funny. It just priceless how excited gets about "Dayid". They are the first books that he has been able to sort of "read" on his own. He had Oh, David memorized after about a week of borrowing it from the library. :)
Some of my other favorite things he says right now: "here comes!" (this is mostly when he's waiting for a song or video to come on.) "Oh no, wha happened?", "Yemme see it", "Are Far" for Our Father, and "Far, Sah, Hoh Spirr, Maymen" when attempting to make the sign of the cross.
Judah is starting to understand giving kisses...like he actually aims for your mouth occasionally. It's pretty scary, though. I'm usually afraid one of three things will happen: 1. He will bite my nose. 2. He will slip a little tongue in there. 3. He will miss the mouth and get slobber all over my face. But it is still, somehow, melts my heart and he's very proud of himself when he gets a good reaction out of someone.

Silas:

has been making me eat: Italian food, spicy things - especially buffalo chicken, and occasionally some sweets here and there - mostly chocolate, but one night it was powdered sugar donuts. Joe was nice enough to stop at a gas station and get me some that night. Although then he had to tell me: "You know, you like to pretned you have this really refined taste, but when it comes down to it, you have really podunk cravings." He cracks me up.
Is moving around all the time. I love it.
is going to be here so soon! I can hardly believe how fast this pregnancy has gone. You can read Roman's birth story here and Judah's here. I can only pray that Silas' will be similar to Judah's. :)
Thanks so much for praying for him and for our family. We will never be able to thank you enough.

Alright...that's enough about us for tonight! Leave a comment and let me know how we can be praying for you! God Bless your weekend!

No Sled? No Problem.

2011-01-08T20:45:00.006-06:00

yeah...I'm a little behind.

Remember this post about playing in the snow? From almost a month ago??

Well, I thought it was time that I finally followed up on that. I'm sure you've all been waiting on the edges of your seats in anticipation. Or, more likely, you probably don't remember that post at all . :)

Either way, you've got to see this:

1. Why yes, yes that is a recycling bin and a jump rope. I can actually hear Jeff Foxworthy making millions of dollars off of a new "You Might Be a Redneck..." joke.

2. Joe was so excited about doing something fun with the boys in the snow that he dug around in the garage until he found something to take the place of the sled-that-we-don't-have. Pretty awesome dad. And the boys loved it.

3. As Tony so eloquently put it: "Now it doesn't matter how awesome of a sled you buy...your kids will always want you to drag them around in the recycling bin." Sweet.

4. Priceless memory right here. Love my boys.

The Holy Family

2010-12-13T19:59:00.006-06:00

The King in her womb made her visibly great with child. She had grown beautifully large with Grace himself. Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee.

Her skin streched thin over the coming Christ child.
Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus.

The Savior was knit together within her, now a living tabernacle.

And I wonder at the anticipation she must have had. Much like the anticipation all women feel

who have carried a babe. But this...this was different. This was the Son of the Most High. The heir to David's throne.

But her very life sustained his.

And she loved Him as I love mine.

And her Joseph...

I have often thought how my Joseph was appropriately named. My Joseph is much like this Godly man. A quiet hero, who needs no aknowledgement though he deserves much. A man who sacrifices all for his family. Who is obedient without a big display.

And this family is so beautiful.

I pray that our family would grow to be more like this one.

Lazy Saturday

2010-12-12T07:37:00.003-06:00

Yesterday might have been the perfect day. I love lazy Saturdays hanging out with my family! Joe has started a new tradition with the boys in the last couple of months. He lets me sleep in on Saturdays and they all get up and watch a movie and make a big breakfast. Yesterday was pancakes, eggs, and bacon. Yum-0. I got up at 9:30 (which was AMAZING!) and ate breakfast while I watched them chase each other, laughing and roughhousing for quite a while.

Then we got all bundled up and headed out to play in the snow (for the first time this winter!) We actually didn't have that much on the ground...maybe an inch? But it was enough and it was about 25 degrees so the boys weren't freezing. They had a blast. I took some pictures that I'm excited to post soon...you'll notice there are more of Judah, though, because he was the only one I could get to stand still for longer than .3 seconds. I also took some hilarious video...I will tell you that Joe got very creative with some snow activities using things that we already had in our garage...but I won't say any more than that. I'll leave you in suspense because it will be better to just see the video! SO funny.

We had lunch. The boys both napped. We watched some TV. I knitted.

The only downside to yesterday was that we ended up with blizzard conditions by the end of the day. 50 MPH winds made for lots of blowing snow and white out conditions. I was supposed to go to Ames and have dinner with some friends. I tried to go, but I ended up turning around just outside of town because I couldn't.see.anything. I was really disappointed I didn't make it to see those girls! But, better to be safe. SO, came home and ate dinner with the boys. We got into some PJs and watched "It's a Meaningful Life" (which is the current favorite in our house. I have only seen it approximately 30 times now.) :)

Tucked the boys in. Had a pomegranate (have I mentioned that they are FANTASTIC? They are such a yummy winter treat). Watched Community. Watched The Office.

Good day.

I have some really fun stories about the boys to share one of these days! But, Judah just woke up, so I better go get him! I also have to figure out if we'll be able to make it to church today! Hoping the weather is better soon!

The Name

2010-12-06T21:11:00.002-06:00

So, as I said, I need to fill you in on how Silas got his name!

I first suggested the name Silas months ago. And, as you will recall, Joe was not a fan. Not a fan at all. So, we dropped the name and didn't talk about it much after that.

Well, didn't talk about it much seriously. Occasionally I would bring it up again just to see his reaction. That's when Joe told me that if I named our son Silas he would call him Kevin. :) If you happen to be in women's Bible study with me, you'll recall that (when he joined us for dinner one night) Joe made some other extreme comments about how much he disliked the name Silas. I'll leave it at that.

In my mind, it was totally off the table. I stopped thinking of it as an option at all.

But then, one night, we were telling the "Silas/Kevin" story to some friends and Joe asked them to vote between the names Josiah and Silas. They both chose Silas without a second thought.

Joe got all flustered about that and then started asking people to vote between Elijah and Silas and Silas kept winning out...much more often than he had anticipated.

Fast forward a couple of weeks (we still hadn't been talking about Silas as a name option at this point). Joe comes home from some late appointments and the boys are in bed. Pretty much the first thing he said when he came in the door was "I have a surprise for you".

...and the rest of the conversation went like this:

Me: "....ok..."
Joe: "I've been thinking about it a lot"
Me. "....ok...you're kind of freaking me out...just tell me"
Joe: "I think his name is Silas"
Me: "no you don't! You hate that name!"
Joe: "No, I'm serious. I think that's his name."
Me: "What?? When did that happen?"
Joe: "I don't know. I just keep thinking about it and the more I say it and the more I hear other people say it the more I think that's his name. So we can make it official now."
Me: "Uh, no!"
Joe: "What? Why?"
Me: "Because now I've been trying to convince myself that Silas is not an option. And how do I know you're not going to change your mind again in 3 days??"
Joe: "Okay, we can think about it for a few more days"

A few days later we were all calling him Silas. Roman too.

And Judah saying "Si-yes" is pretty much the cutest thing you've ever heard in your life.

And, in case you aren't familiar...here is the story of the Silas.

To me the name Silas brings images of a man of strength, a man courageous enough to speak the truth regardless of the circumstances or of the consequences. It seems to fit this baby given our situation during this pregnancy.

And I pray that he, my third son, will be that sort of man. A man who walks with the Lord and who boldly brings others to know Him.

We have chosen David as his middle name. My dad's name. The name of a king, who, though sinful, was called a man after God's own heart.

We are so excited to meet you, Silas. We have already been on quite the journey together and we can't wait to share more of life with you!

Silas David

2010-12-06T14:33:00.005-06:00

Yes! That is his name!! I am so excited to finally be able to call him by his name! (In case you are wondering what changed since this post....I'll write more on Joe's change of heart soon! :))

***

All I could think this morning, from the moment I woke up was

"only say the word and I shall be healed".

We have been praying so much for our precious baby boy. We have had so many more praying on our behalf and we are so thankful. As I got myself ready to go to our ultrasound this morning, I just kept thinking "God, you can. Only you can. All you have to do is choose to heal this pregnancy, it will happen."

Please, Father.

***

Don't ever let anyone tell you that God doesn't perform miracles. Two months ago, this was a "hopeless" cause. We were told that the placenta was not likely to move. We were told to prepare for bed rest and a C-section. They said we should work on finding people who would be able to help us. Be sure to watch for any spotting, come in right away if there are any contractions. Be careful. Nothing strenuous. If you begin labor on your own, this could quickly become a very dangerous situation.

We said "We'll be praying". The doctor and the ultrasound tech both said "I think that's nice".

Nice? Well, I suppose.

Powerful? Yes. Most certainly.

Our God is a warrior.

***

I also want to say that I know there are some mamas out there who have prayed for their babies and their prayer was not answered the way that they had hoped. There are some people who have begged and pleaded on behalf of some more dangerous, more pressing matter, and have walked away disappointed.

I don't have answers for all of that.

But, here's what I do know. We serve a God who is good all the time. Even when we don't understand what's happening around us or to us, He is good. Even though we live in a fallen world where death and destruction and disillusionment are daily occurances, He is good.

***

I came across this verse in Deuteronomy just a couple of weeks after we found out about this complication in our pregnancy. And it was one of those times when I knew that God was speaking. Not like I could hear an audible voice, but I knew. In my heart I knew this verse was meant for my eyes and my soul at that particular time.

And I knew that either way, no matter how God chose to move or chose not to move, that this verse, this truth, would be the only thing we needed. We only needed Him.

Deuteronomy 4:35

All this you were allowed to see that you might know the LORD is God

and that there is no other.

Now, obviously, Deuteronomy wasn't talking about Ruth Ann's placenta previa. This verse is referring to the way that God revealed himself to the Israelites as he freed them from Egyptian captivity...by testings, signs, and wonders, by war, with his strong hand and outstretched arm, and by great terrors. (v.34)

But, as soon as we heard, "Yes, you see this? The placenta is no longer covering any part of the cervix. This means that you can consider this a normal pregnancy from here on out". Oh, the relief. And immediately, I thought, "yes, the Lord is God, and there is no other".

God has heard us.

He has saved us.

He is a compassionate father with fierce loyalty.

He has intervened on our behalf.

Praise Immanuel! God is with us!!

Shutterfly, My Hero.

2010-12-04T14:19:00.006-06:00

Do you ever get to December and then realize that you haven't even thought about Christmas cards? Or realize that you didn't budget for Christmas cards? Or fret that, now, you probably don't even have time to send Christmas card? Or finally come to the conclusion that you don't have the energy to even think about Christmas cards along with gifts, and parties, and baking, and Advent activities?

That's me. Every year.

We have literally not sent out Christmas cards...ever.

I know, I know. I'm a huge slacker.

I'm always really good at thinking that I'm totally going to do a cutesy little letter and include beautiful photos of my cherub-like children, and then none of it comes to fruition. You already read the why part. (This is also why I am not a scrapbooker...I have so many delicious ideas... and then I get started. And then I get overwhelmed. And then Roman's scrapbook only goes up until he's two months old. Don't judge me.)

ANYWAY, all of this is to tell you that I am SO excited about Shutterfly! I mean, LOOK. HOW. CUTE.

They have adorable Christmas photo cards like the ones you see above, AND they have lots of other very affordable gift ideas like photo books or calendars (both of these items are buy one get one 1/2 off right now!)

AND...right now they are running a promotion for bloggers. Read more here to get 50 FREE photo cards!

Random

2010-11-30T08:00:00.000-06:00

...because I know you love it. Okay, I don't know that. Maybe you hate it. But, mostly because it's easy for me.

Another awesome thing that I caught myself saying out loud the other day: "Roman, don't step on Uncle Tony's head."
Roman loves to sing. He memorizes song lyrics so quickly. One of his all-time favorite songs is Mighty to Save. The other day, my mom was with us when he happened to be belting it out in the car. She asked me how much I think he understands. My response was something like, "I don't know, but to me, it doesn't really matter. At least it's in his mind and in his heart. Even if he doesn't understand much now, hopefully with time, more will sink in, and maybe some of those words will come back later in life when he needs them". Well, just a few short days later, we were at church and he was looking at his little picture Bible. He was really examining the page about the resurrection. All of a sudden he tapped me on the shoulder, and excitedly whispered "Mommy! Jesus is conquering the grave! He's conquering!" I was one proud mama.
Some of my favorite things about Judah these days: he says "sbappers" for "slippers". The way he tries to sing Happy Birthday. He says "Sorry did dat" everytime he gets in trouble. It's in a really deep voice and it makes me laugh every time...not so good for disciplining.
goodreads.com Seriously. Go get an account. We can be friends.
I LOVE Advent. So happy to have a Christmas tree up and to be preparing myself and my family for the coming of the King.
Another ultrasound next Monday. Please pray for us!
Blessings to you all!

I'm not behind or anything...

2010-11-29T20:41:00.005-06:00

So, I am pretty much horrible at being organized or doing anything in a timely fashion. I wasn't always this way. (Well, I may have always had these tendencies, but let's just say that I'm at the peak of not organiztion.)

So, please forgive me for the delay in this message. But, trust me, it will be worth the wait!

I'm proud to introduce you to my new nephew, Jack Vernon:

This little man was born Nov 9, weighing in at 8lb 7 oz. Isn't he handsome?

What. A. Buddy!

His big brother likes him quite a bit!

Jim and Chelsey with Carter and Jack

What a beautiful family! We are so happy for you guys and we feel so blessed to call these two little boys our nephews!

It's only killing me a tiny bit that I won't be able to hold that sweet baby until this spring! I am so looking forward to it.

Another Pumpkin Recipe

2010-11-21T13:52:00.002-06:00

Because we've been on a pumpkin kick...
and because, as Tony says, "they're so fluffy!!" (he ate 9 on his drive to SC)...
and because they are absolutely delightful...

try these:

Frosted Pumpkin Cookies

The One Where I Ponder the Kitchen and the Heart

2010-11-10T16:08:00.005-06:00

I haven't posted much lately because I am having a hard time putting my thoughts and feelings into words. It has been challenging to sort through the emotions of everything that has happened in the last month. Throw in extra crazy-pregnancy-emotions and you get a bunch of ridiculous blubbering that makes no sense whatsoever.

I actually typed out a whole post the other night and when I went back to read through it, I realized that it actually sounded like I was illiterate. It was just a bunch of words that made no sense together. Aren't you glad I didn't post that one?? :)

Anyway, I am going to try again.

The last month has been scary. I think I've pretty much already covered all the bases there.
The last month has been miraculous. God is so good and so faithful to us.
The last month has been humbling.

I know I have already said it, but I am so overwhelmed with all the help that I have received, especially from the AMAZING women at our church. It is so neat when you just a get a call saying "hey, I'm coming over on Tuesday to take the boys to the park so you can rest" or "hey, what day would you like to borrow a teenage daughter? She can play with the kids and clean your house." Seriously? I feel so so blessed. It has really made me think about the kind of woman I want to be and what I am doing right now in order to become that woman.

I feel like there are so many days that I go through my routine trying to "get by" instead of being purposeful. I hate that.

Most recently, I feel like there are days when I dwell on what I can't do--on my limitations-- instead of what is important. For example, I am not supposed to be lifting heavy things or doing anything strenuous. That means little things you wouldn't think of like laundry baskets, trash bags, little boys who don't want to go where you want them to, etc. Yes, it's frustrating to have a messy house and to not be able to lift my little guys. But does that really matter? What is the most important thing to me?

What is the point of keeping up the false appearance that I always have my act together? (that is what it has become. Sometimes I just want to have a clean house, and a delicious meal on the table, with well behaved children so that people will think I'm doing a good job) But, is that accomplishing my ultimate goal to unconditionally love my kids and show them what it means to know, love, and serve the Lord daily...despite our circumstances? And what is a "good job"? And who determines that? I think it's this: "I want to be faithful in everything, even if no one sees but Him." I answer to Him.

I am far from perfect. Far from the perfect parent. Far from the perfect wife. Far from the pefect homemaker.

So, here is my confesssion of the day:

I raise my voice sometimes. Sometimes I downright yell.
I lose my patience. A lot.
I haven't mopped my floor in weeks.
Sometimes I put in a second movie just to be able to sit quietly with my feet up.
There are days when I put my kids to bed knowing that I didn't teach them anything new.
I suck at being consistent with my God time.
My counters are sticky.
There are days when I realize that bedtime prayer is the only time I have talked to the boys about Jesus all day.
Sometimes I am rude and disrespectful to my husband.
There are days when I voice a lot more complaints than I do positive thoughts.
Sometimes I am totally selfish and want to do my own thing with no one bothering me.
I let laundry pile up for days at a time. And I don't fold my children's clothing. Ever.

I'm not proud of those things, but I needed to tell you. Because who am I helping by pretending to be the perfect mom and wife? I know I'm not really fooling anyone. This striving to seem like I have my act together all the time? It's actually pride...keeping me as a slave to himself. I'm done with that. I would rather be spending my time becoming a woman who serves her family and her friends, lovingly, no matter what the kitchen looks like.

Don't get me wrong, I like a clean house as much as the next mom, but I'd rather have a clean heart.

A little Bit of Everything

2010-11-02T15:40:00.004-05:00

So, even after all of my unloading in this post, I still hadn't realized how heavy my heart has been for the past month until we got the good news at our ultrasound last week. It's literally like a weight has been lifted. Yay for Jesus being awesome.

Now I need to catch you up on some good Roman and Judah stories!

A couple of weeks ago, Roman and I went to visit my friend Lindsay. She was kind enough to make us all kinds of fun treats to eat when we were there. One thing she had to offer was candy corn. Roman was lovin that. He kept sneaking more after I told him to stop...until I caught on and finally he gave it a rest. But, it was enough that he was all hyped up on sugar as we were leaving.

As soon as we started walking out to the car, it got really bad. He was rolling around in the leaves and would not follow me to the car. I didn't mind him playing in the leaves for a couple of minutes, but then he was seriously getting out of control. Usually if I ask him "Roman, are you going to come like a big boy, or does Mommy need to help you?" he comes right away. He's all about doing things by himself. So, when that didn't work, I just went and grabbed his hand and he came to the car. He was still squirming and squealing though...all in excitement. He could hardly even sit down in his car seat. Finally I kind of raised my voice and he snapped out of it. He looked at me very seriously and said "I had too much candy corn". HA-larious.

Then as we were driving away, I said "Roman, I had such a fun day with you!"
To which he replied "CANDY!!!!"
Love you too.

10 minutes later he was completely passed out.

Moral of the story: if you want your kid to completely OD and crash on sugar, just give them candy corn. But, remember that first you'll have to deal with the beloved sugar high. :)

My other favorite things about Roman right now are that he loves "Jamma days" because I let them stay in their pajamas occasionally...but now it's become a daily request. And that he loves letters. He is starting to write some words like "cat" and "hat".

And our sweet Judah...
He is talking all the time now...sometimes whole sentences of only-God-knows-what, but it's pretty stinking cute. We are slowly learning to understand more of his words though, and he is getting clearer and clearer. Here's what Judah has been saying:

"Puppies Everywhere" - when he wants to read Puppies, Puppies Everywhere
"go sleep"
"bless you"
"I ate it all" - which comes out more like "i a it ahh"
"oh my goodness"
"See me?" - in a really high pitched voice when he wants to come see you.
"where did he go?" - while playing peek-a-boo...this one is pretty hard to understand, though
"set...go!"
"that's nice"
"Buzz" - as in Lightyear. Duh.
"bapple" for "apple" :)
"oh no"
"ah, man!"
"boy", "sky", "house", and lots of other daily vocab type words...these are just his favorites. he must like the way they sound because he repeats them a lot.
"Cookies? Cake?" at the end of almost every meal...just in case I might have a treat for him
"get down" and "sit down" - probably because that's what he hears every 5 minutes. He's a good climber!
"yep"
He is also starting to count and can say some ABCs...still pretty random orders though. :) And he can say colors, but doesn't identify any yet.

These boys are SO much fun! It makes me so excited to see what the dynamic will be like with three of them running around!

It has been really hard for me to adjust to not lifting the boys. Mostly Judah. I know that I am being a good mom to our third little guy when I am taking it easy, but it makes me feel like a not-so-good mom to Roman and Judah. I know it's just because they don't understand, and that it is a short period of time.

Praise the Lord I have had so much help over the last several weeks! First of all, I can't say enough about my husband. He is such a good dad and has taken on so much more around the house since I am trying to do less. He puts up with all my crazy pregnancy hormones, and is so good at calming my fears. In our couples' group last week, I got all emotional when they talked about the man being the Christ figure. He has been exactly that during this whole experience. I love you, Joe.

On top of that, I have my friends and our amazing church family. I am so blessed to have several "Titus 2 women" in my life. You know who you are...and I am so so thankful for you. Thanks for teaching me what it means to be a Godly woman.

And, let's not forget my incredible brother, Tony. He has been such a blessing to our family. He deserves some kind of award for all the dishes, and diapers, and other dirty jobs he has done.

So...that was all over the place...but at least it was an update! I have been so horrible about writing lately. Please know I'm praying for all of you and your families!

Ultrasound

2010-11-02T07:46:00.004-05:00

Hello friends!

Well, we had another ultrasound yesterday, and I am excited to tell you that we got some good news!

Really this ultrasound was not so much to look at the placenta...it was to look at the baby's spine. The last time we went in, he was feeling a bit stubborn (imagine that...my child...stubborn?) and wouldn't roll over. So, the ultrasound tech couldn't see his whole spine. She said everything else looked fine and she had no reason to think it wouldn't be normal, but we had to come back anyway. I always like to see the baby, so it was fine with me!

They usually wouldn't check on the placenta until 28 weeks - which is another month from now. So, when we went in, she reminded us that we wouldn't necessarily know anything different yet. But right away when she looked she said, "Oh, well that's moved some. I'm going to call it a partial previa". This is very encouraging news, because if the uterus continues to grow the way it has been, it's quite possible that when they check again at our next ultrasound, it will be completely out of the way!

So, basically, thank you, THANK YOU for your prayers! Keep them coming because they are WORKING!

We are not completely "out of the woods" yet, of course. I still need to maintain the same precautions that I have been taking to be sure that we don't put any undue pressure on the placenta. But we are hopeful that this movement, and the continued movement of the placenta might give us the chance to have another natural birth!

And, even if the placenta doesn't move any more, even if we still have to have a C-section, a partial previa is much less of a risk to the baby's safety.

But, as we have seen, God is bigger than this situation and we are so thankful for the way he has been faithful to hear and answer our prayers!

Thanks again for joining us on this journey! Love you you all...

Jeremiah 29:12

Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you.

Pumpkin Pancakes!

2010-10-31T13:33:00.003-05:00

I made pumpkin pancakes for breakfast yesterday and they were a big hit with my family! I found a recipe here but added some brown sugar to the mix for good measure! (I had to) :) Here was my final product. Enjoy!

Pumpkin Pancakes
(makes 8-10 pancakes)
2 cups flour
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 Tbsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp ginger

1 1/2 cups milk
1/2 cup canned pumpkin
1 egg
1 1/2 Tbsp vegetable oil

Mix all dry ingredients in large mixing bowl and set aside. Mix all wet ingredients in small bowl. Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and stir until combined. Batter will be thick.

I would cook these pancakes at a slightly lower temperature than you might use with plain pancakes (I did medium-low) because they are very fluffly and nobody wants a brown pancake that's not cooked in the middle, right?

Delicious when lathered with butter and drenched in maple syrup!

Let me know if you try them!

To post or not to post...

2010-10-25T20:50:00.010-05:00

So...here's the deal: I have gone back and forth about a hundred times as to whether or not I should post this on my blog. I have been reading it and editing it, and saving it and coming back to it...I guess we'll see what I really think when I get to the end of writing and have to decide whether or not to click "publish post". :)

All of this is probably going to come out in one big jumbled mess. So, take it or leave it. If you feel like it's TMI, feel free to sit this one out. I promise I won't be offended. I am (I think!) going to post this and any subsequent posts in order to keep people in the loop about our third pregnancy. And, more than that, we would love to ask for your prayers.

As most of you know, our ultrasound showed that we have another healthy baby boy on the way! Praise God!

It also showed that I have a Placenta Previa.

I would link to something that tells you more about what that means, except that I don't like reading about medical issues online. Too scary. :)

Here's the gist of the situation: As of right now, the placenta is completely covering the cervix, so unless my uterus grows in such a way that the placenta moves, baby can't get out that way. The doctors say that it's not likely the placenta will move at this point in the pregnancy.

We say God can do anything.

So, we are hopeful (not hoping) - I am learning there is a difference. We are hopeful because God is good all the time. We are hopeful that God will move the placenta and that we will be able to have a natural delivery.

If God chooses not to change our circumstances, (and in that case, we will not be hopeless, because God is unchanging...remember, He's good all the time?) that will mean that baby will be delivered via C-section. It also means that I may have to be on bed rest towards the end of the pregnancy. Regardless of what God does or allows, we trust that it is all in His plan.

In the mean time, I am supposed to be taking it easy. I am not allowed to lift my children, or do anything strenuous. I am still trying to figure out what that means considering I live with Roman and Judah. :)

I would be lying if I said I'm not scared. I would love to say that I am totally at peace and willing to go wherever God will lead us...but fear is, for me, the biggest way that Satan tries to get me to doubt God. Just the thought or mention of a possible complication makes me my mind reel in images, scenarios, and worst-case thoughts. Throw in words like "placental abruption", "hemorrhage", or "dangerous for mom and baby" and...well...I have to stop and remind myself to breathe normally again.

How likely are any of those complications? I don't know. And I'm not really interested in finding out. Because, honestly, it doesn't matter. God will have his way in this no matter what the statistics show. And that's what we want anyway.

This has been a difficult thing for me to write about and talk with people about - not because I don't feel comfortable sharing, but because I'm afraid that people will think I'm being over dramatic or that I will come off as either naive or not trusting God enough. The reality is, in a few weeks, I might be saying "scratch that...none of this is even an issue anymore!" I would love to honor God by showing that he is faithful to us in that way. But if he chooses to be faithful to us in another way, in a way that people don't necessarily understand to be "answered prayer", I want to honor Him then, too.

Does any of this even make any sense? In one sentence I say how much I trust God, and in the next, I say how scared I am? Is that even possible? Am a total hypocrite? Is it both or neither?

I just know that I honestly feel both.

So there ya have it.

We have another ultrasound and doctor's appointment on Monday, and again 4 weeks after that, so I'll update again as I know more. We are anxious to see how God will move in our lives and in the life of this sweet little guy. Please pray that He will be glorified in our family, no matter the situation.

"pray for me...that I won't spoil God's beautiful work." - Mother Theresa

Small Steps to Big Stupid

2010-10-21T07:25:00.001-05:00

You should probably read this post over at Stuff Christians Like. So good.

Baby Clothes

2010-10-20T21:43:00.003-05:00

So, I have been looking for a coming home outfit for our new little bundle of joy.

I haven't found anything that I really wanted yet, although there are lots of cute options.

And many ridiculous options.

Let me put it this way: if you pay $50 for a coming-home-from-the-hospital outfit, you are an ~~idiot~~. What I meant to say is, you may want to rethink that decision. Your baby will probably wear that outfit for all of 5 minutes and quite possibly destroy it with some kind of bodily fluid.

I'm all about getting something cute and special, but let's be realistic.

1000 Gifts (16)

2010-10-19T12:22:00.005-05:00

301. The overwhelming generosity and love that the Body of Christ has poured on our family.
302. This post. Just scroll down to the blue box entitled "What a Mother Must Sacrifice". Absolutely beautiful.

303. Pandora.

304. Naptime. Just being honest.

305. Super fantastic conversation with a good friend visiting from out of state. love you.

306. Getting to share the laughter and the tears.

307. Isaiah 9

308. Christmas parties.

309. Get to see our baby again on Monday.

310. The sweet librarians we get to see at story time.

311. The right words at the right time.

312. A thoughtful husband who puts the needs and wants of our family before his own.

313. Being reunited with our family in just a few short weeks! I am only afraid of the emotions that may come blubbering out of me. I know they say your hormones are supposed to even out at some point during pregnancy...I feel like that has not been the case for me this time. Good luck to anyone who has to hang out with me in the next 3 months.

314. That Roman is learning to say how he feels. This morning when he woke up at 6:00, I told him he needed to go back and lay in his room for a little longer. He responded "I am very angry!" I laughed, but it's exciting that he'll have words for that instead of crying.

315. That Joe has started giving the boys foot rubs before bed. They love it and it's calming.

316. A blanket and a book when it's cold outside

317. Decaf chai. They have it at Dutch Oven Bakery in Boone now, which makes my life so much more complete.

318. Baptism class tonight. In all honesty, I'm not that excited about it considering we have been through the class before, but I'm excited that we'll have a sweet baby to baptise in just a few months!

319. Red-headed boys in the morning.

320. Classic Christmas movies. Roman loves Frosty the Snowman and Rudloph.

Only read this if you have nothing better to do.

2010-10-18T15:06:00.003-05:00

..because it probably won't be life changing. :)
In true Ruth Ann style...I give you: a completely random list.

1. when I look at Roman and Judah's baby pictures, it makes me SO excited to hold our third little BOY! (Who really needs a NAME!)

2. corn chowder + a honeycrisp apple = best fall lunch EVER.

3. one of my favorite things Judah says right now is "gokay".

4. I had to put Judah in his first time out today. For climbing on the table after being told not to. I told him to go sit in thinking time and he went right over and sat down. I didn't know if he really would know what to do...but apparently he does. He kept getting up out of his spot...so I told him to sit down and he did. He started to get up again so I went to sit next to him...he looked at me and said "sorry". First time he has ever said that so it was actually kind of funny.

5. Roman is excited about halloween but he doesn't get it. Whenever I ask him what he wants his costume to be, he says "red".

6. Sometimes I catch myself saying absolutely ridiculous things. The other day I actually said this sentence: "That stays in your pants unless you need to go potty". Nice.

7. Joe really likes the name Elijah. I like that name a lot, but I feel like it's too common. Joe hates every name that I come up with.

8. the baby moves a lot now, which is the best part of pregnancy, in my opinon! :)

9. maternity jeans are stupid. No me gusta.

10. We took the boys to the pumpkin patch yesterday which was really fun. We also took our sidekick, Uncle Tony, so that I didn't have to worry about chasing or carrying one or both boys. He is the best uncle ever.

11. I asked Roman what his favorite thing about the pumpkin patch was. He said "Well, probably feeding the goats some food". And by "some food" he means, "my parents didn't actually buy me any food to feed the goats, so I picked up single kernals of corn that the other kids dropped and fed it to the goats." In our defense, he doesn't usually like to feed animals so we didn't think to buy any food. I know, we're classy.

12. God is teaching me a lot about marriage. Especially by opening my eyes to how good my husband is to me. In times that are more of a struggle, Joe always steps up and takes on whatever he needs to for our family. He is such a good dad, has such a servant's heart, and I'm so thankful for the way he gives of himself unconditionally.

well, I think that's all for now! The boys are both napping, which means I probably should be too. Have a great week!

What's in a Name?

2010-09-30T17:00:00.002-05:00

As you know (or if you didn't know, you can probably guess) baby names have been a big topic of discussion at our house lately. We feel like we did a stellar job picking the names Roman and Judah (we are very humble, also...). The fact that we love both of those names so much makes it difficult to find another that we both feel is unique, meaningful, and worthy of what we can only assume will be another amazing little Pometto. (I know. I already mentioned our immense humility). :)

Anyway, I have been trying to convince Joe to love the name Silas as much as I do. I love it. He hates it. Every time I bring it up he tells me that he hates it and it will never happen. Of course, I realize at this point, if he feels that strongly, that it's totally out of the question. But, that doesn't mean I can't keep bringing it up just to hear his reaction. I'm a good wife like that.

So, yesterday I said "how about Silas? What's so bad about it? I love it!"

Joe's response is still cracking me up.

"Ruth Ann, if we name our child Silas, I will call him Kevin."

I love him.

Roman Rides a Horse

2010-09-29T14:48:00.003-05:00

...and Judah got to ride too! :)

Thanks again to my Uncle Dan and Aunt Marla for letting us come and ride their horses! (And to Caleb and Cana for spending the day with us and helping the boys have fun!)

For a long time now, Uncle Dan (my dad's twin brother, by the way!) had been telling Roman that he should come out and ride the ponies sometime. So, knowing that Roman can be a little bit anxious about trying new things, I started showing him youtube videos of kids riding horses, and getting library books about horses, and showing him pictures of Uncle Dan's horses. He started getting excited about it and eventually asked me "When can we go ride Uncle Dan's horses?" So, we set up a time and kept talking it up.

Joe and I still wondered how he would do. And, although he was little bit nervous when we were walking towards the horses, he loved the whole experience. I think it helped that Dan just picked him right up and put him on Rockstar for his first ride. He didn't have that much time to think about it.

Judah, of course, jumped right on with no trouble at all. That one has no fear.

On about lap #57 Uncle Dan said, "Ruth Ann, I think you started something!" I think he's right. And I think it's fantastic.

Our Sweet Judah

2010-09-29T14:34:00.002-05:00

For those of you wondering "where are all the videos of Judah?", this post is for you. Not that any of you are probably wondering that...but just in case. :)

I don't have many good videos of Judah for the following reasons:
1. He is so much different than Roman. Roman loves showing his "tricks" and people clapping for him, etc. He loves to be the center of attention. Judah...not so much. He doesn't care about doing tricks. He smiles when you clap for him, but it provides him no motivation whatsoever. He is laid back and on his own schedule. I love him so much I can't even stand it!

2. Whenever Roman is awake, Roman does all the talking...in videos or otherwise. It's hard for Judah to get a word in edgewise. But, as you can probably guess, he doesn't really seem to mind it. He just goes with the flow. It's amazing how much more he talks when you get him one-on-one.

Also, let's just talk about this:
1. Judah's pants are so crooked throughout the entire video. I'm a good mom like that. Very observant and attentive.
2. Do you like how I say "careful" AFTER Judah falls down? Nice.
3. the "Mommy", "Judah" game...yeah, we do that all the time.
4. Could he get any cuter? Or sweeter? What a blessing.

Let me be honest.

2010-09-20T22:51:00.002-05:00

I don't really have any good reasons for this long blog sabbatical.

I feel like I have had so much on my mind and on my heart that I really don't know where to start writing. So, let me be honest. Here's a glimpse into my head at the moment:

I am so excited about our baby. I am tired. I am trying really hard to be patient with a certain three year old. We have had many a discussion, and lifted many a prayer about discipline...how to do it well and what specifically to do on a daily basis. I want to teach my children the right attitude to have in their heart, not just punish them for one specific act of misbehavior. Do I have the right attitude in my heart? Have I been purposeful today? Was I truly present with my kids today? What can we do to improve our marriage and therefore our family and our ministry? There is such a big world out there and God has been laying the children of the world on my heart. We want to sponsor a child. We don't know which organization to sponsor through. Our youth group is raising money to build wells in Ghana. I love those teenagers. I am praying that they are truly coming to know the Lord - not just knowing about Him. Why can't I ever get my laundry folded? Probably because I spend too much time on the computer. Judah is such a sweet and cuddly baby. He charms everyone in his line of sight. I love the stage he is in right now. I will have to stop calling him the baby soon. Bittersweet. I need to be more consistent with my God time. I am excited about the new women in our Bible study. I am excited about my friends who are having babies soon. I am praying for their journey of parenting. I wish my basement would organize itself. I have more important things to do, and yet it is driving me crazy. My "landscaping" (for lack of a better term) = complete disaster. Again, who has time to pull weeds while parenting a one and three year old? I am in the very awkward stage of "my maternity clothes look ginormous on me but my normal clothes are not flattering or comfortable anymore". I don't want to complain anymore. I want my words to impart grace to all those who hear. I caught myself asking for grace the other day (asking God to help me extend grace) when I realized I was the one in need of it. I need to take a shower and I should probably go to bed. Judah's last four teeth are coming in all at the same time...which means not too much sleep for anyone involved. It's really cute when he talks in his sleep. Roman fell out of his bed last night. He's was fine. And I learned today that he is a pack rat. He found an old container of crumbly play doh in the trash, brought it to me, and said "Mommy, you should not throw this away". He is so stinkin cute. But seriously, I should go to bed. I probably won't be able to fall asleep though because I am constantly racking my brain for a unique and Biblical name for our baby. Ideas?

Maybe the sabbatical was the better option?

1000 Gifts (15)

2010-09-18T17:17:00.004-05:00

281. being filled with sorrow for people I don't know in places I've never been...and being challenged to do something about it.
282. rainy days perfect for much needed rest
283. two cars! I got to go to DSM yesterday and see some friends. It was long overdue!
284. finding out the gender of our baby...two weeks from tomorrow!
285. the way Roman says "woolly mammoth". It comes out more like "woo-ee ammouth"
286. Judah slept through the night last night! Maybe the teething is almost over? I hope!
287. My husband - have I mentioned that he is amazing!?
288. Little boys running to the bath.
289. that we have a live-in-babysitter! Thanks for being willing to help out at the last minute, Tony!
290. Life Teen building wells in Ghana
291. Roman singing his two favorite songs: Our God by Chris Tomlin and How He Loves by David Crowder Band - this one is a slideshow set to scenes from The Passion of the Christ. I thought that was really beautiful.
292. Judah also tries to sing How He Loves...but he just says "oh, oh" over and over again. :)
293. friends that are never far away...even if they live a few states away.
294. Italian food. Baby always wants Italian food.
295. cooler weather
296. That sometimes God grabs you by the hand and leads you to safety (Gen 19:16)
297. That he can turn water into wine. Hope that He can turn this ugly, sinful, selfish heart into one that acts graciously, loves unconditionally, gives joyfully.
298. Pondering the word unconditional.
299. ~~coincidences~~. God-incidences.
300. the freedom that it is to live life abundant

I had to share.

2010-08-26T06:52:00.003-05:00

I had to share this beautiful response I got to my previous post. If you have missed the countless times I have referred to our dear friend, Jeff, just go read his blog and you'll see why we love him so much and why we are SO excited about him becoming a priest. He is so genuine and thoughtful, and he loves Jesus so much. :) Jeff, I really appreciate your response, your wisdom, and your friendship. I love it that you took time to answer a three year old's question while you are in ROME. It's proof that you will make it your passion to be Christ to everyone you come in contact with. The Church will be so blessed because of you.

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

Roman, Roman, Roman... You’re three years-old and already a theologian... you continue to amaze me. (Joe and Ruthann, he might have to skip Sunday School with this one and enroll him straight into some Catholic university...)

But now to the question at hand: “Did the Holy Spirit die on the cross?”

Ruthann, I shall begin with your intuitions because they are quite wonderful. The Trinity has indeed always existed... three Persons, one God, for all eternity... and so it might be said that each Divine Person was “present” prior to the passion, death, and resurrection of Our Lord, Jesus Christ; yet it might also be said that that “presence” was to be dramatically changed after the Son of God was to break into history, for our sake, and become Man. For after the Word of God would take on flesh, God’s relationship with us, and quite profoundly our relationship with Him was to change forever... (and quite for our good, might I add), but this change was only to occur after the Son’s obedience to the Father, through his Sacrifice on the Cross was completed by His Glorification in Heaven.

And this is why when you read in John 16 Christ's words, Christ is telling his disciples that “if I do not go, the Paraclete will not come”; because if he is not Glorified, his Sacrifice would not have been complete... (for what is a Sacrifice if it is not received?)

So don’t get the impression that he is saying that the Holy Spirit is not yet around (or even not yet able to be witnessed on Earth, for recall that he had already been seen at Christ’s Baptism, “in the form of a dove”)... Instead, Christ was saying that if he did not complete his work of atoning for our sins, we as unredeemed sinners would have never been able to share in the intimate life of the Trinity... which is a participation in their intimate Love... whom we call the Holy Spirit.

But now to answer the question a bit more directly... and to do this, we might think of what is meant when we declare that “Jesus died on the cross.” As St. Thomas said (see link), what we declare when we say those words is that Christ died “as man” but not “as God.” For as God, Christ could not have died; it would be impossible for him to have died... God is God, Existence Himself... the Great “I am”... and the Great "I am" could never have been or ever be the Great “I am not”... but in becoming man, the Word of God, through his humanity ,was able to enter death and so make an acceptable offering to the Father for all of Mankind.

So then when we turn to whether or not we could say that the Holy Spirit died on the cross, we have to decidedly say, “no”; for the Holy Spirit, as well as the Father, and even the Son, in his Divinity, cannot be said to pass out of existence.

But please don’t accept this as infallible, for I am far from it...

Jeff

http://www.newadvent.org/summa/4050.htm#article1

www.newadvent.org

Something to Ponder...

2010-08-25T13:34:00.003-05:00

Roman asked me a question this morning that still has me thinking. He is so profound. It's a question I'm not sure I am theologically qualified to answer. Although I have some different ideas running through my head, I'm probably going to need some help here. Father D? Jeff? Anyone else? Let me know what you would say. Remember he's 3. :)

"Did the Holy Spirit die on the cross?"

It's a tough one, huh?

As I understand it, the Trinity has always existed. Three in one. Free of what we know as "time". Before creation, and outside of what our finite minds can grasp. All three persons have always been. (Gen 1:26)

And yet, Jesus had to die in order that he could descend to hell, be raised to life, and ascend to heaven...all so that he could give us the Holy Spirit. (John 16:7)

There is always something to ponder. What do you think?

1000 Gifts (14)

2010-08-16T19:31:00.002-05:00

261. understanding friends (who don't judge you for a complete outburst of emotion in public)
262. new books to challenge me
263. free new books thanks to sweet, generous friends :)
264. silence
265. Psalm 73:26
266. when food tastes good to me
267. teenagers who are hungry for truth
268. cool breeze
269. underdogs
270. red head coming down the slide
271. that this season will pass
272. witnessing two becoming one
273. family
274. dusk
275. footie pajamas
276. early ultrasound...so nice to see little hands and hear strong heartbeat
277. smell of hospital soap reminding me of the pain and the joy
278. big blue eyes
279. birthday money
280. knowing prayers are heard and answered

Big News

2010-08-16T14:46:00.002-05:00

think February 2011...

In Case you Don't Live in Iowa...

2010-08-12T13:55:00.002-05:00

Ten feet of water in Hilton Coliseum. The basketball court was floating...

http://www.cyclones.com/mediaPortal/player.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=10700&id=718487&db_oem_id=10700

1000 Gifts (13)

2010-08-12T13:40:00.002-05:00

I want to be thankful everyday, for everything. I want to be more consistent about doing a 1000 Gifts post once a week. I want to be thankful in all things, even in the storms of life. Which, right now...living in Iowa... I mean quite literally.

241. clean, running water to drink
242. clean, running water for showers
243. the opportunity to sort, organize, throw away, and clean
244. an excuse to light lots of candles
245. an excuse to stay in the air conditioning
246. a nice house to live in
247. sweet, generous neighbors
248. friends getting married!
249. best husband ever
250. getting out of the house!
251. compliment on not needing a new dress
252. jumping, chasing, laughing little boys
253. Truth
254. marital wisdom shared by friends
255. Judah trying to say the ABCs
256. Roman playing the guitar
257. people who cherish life
258. the beauty of the storm clouds
259. a safe neighborhood
260. that God knows what I don't

When You Desire an Overflow...

2010-08-04T10:00:00.000-05:00

Sometimes I don't realize what I'm saying until it comes out of my mouth.

Yesterday, as I was making dinner, Roman yelled from the other room "Mommy, I need more cold milk!"

I responded, "Roman, you need to bring me your sippy cup and then you need to ask me using some nice words".

He came into the kitchen, holding his little yellow Sesame Street sippy cup, and said "Mommy, can I have some cold milk please?" (And, yes, he always asks for COLD milk. It's not like I have ever served him warm milk, so I'm not really sure why...but it is what it is).

"Thank you for using good manners!", I said. I got the milk out and held out my hand waiting for him to to hand me the cup.

Suddenly he clutched it closer to his chest and said "No".

"Roman, if you want me to fill your cup, you have to give it to me".

And in that moment it hits me like a ton of bricks.

Jesus said, "If you knew the gift of God, and who it is who says to you, 'Give Me a drink', you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water"
(John 4:10).

I have asked. I have begged. I truly have the desire to change.

I want Him to fill me.

I know that only He can do it. And I want him to.

And, although, He wants to, he can't if I won't let him.

He can't fill me when I get distracted and turn away, he can't fill me when I refuse to surrender.

When you are thirsty...
When you long to have an overflow...
Just give Him your cup.

You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies.
You anoint my head with oil;
my cup overflows.
Psalm 23:5

Funny Boys

2010-08-03T21:49:00.004-05:00

Sorry it has been SO long since I posted last! We have been busy around here! I wanted to be sure I got a few of these funny stories down before I forget them...so here goes:

Roman

One day I was laying with Roman before his nap time, and he said "Mommy, what does a porcupine say?" This is a common dilema...he will ask us what the most random animals say...we usually just make something up. But this day I said "What do you think a porcupine says?" He poked my arm with his index finger and said "boop". Now you know.
Life with Roman is like constantly being in a spelling bee. I don't mean to brag, but I did win the eighth grade spelling bee, so I'm usually pretty confident. :) But, seriously, all day he's asking "Mommy, how do you spell hat? Mommy, how do you spell Carter?" etc.
Here's a good one. I think I've already mentioned that Roman is now potty trained! YAY! Anyway, the other day, as I was making lunch, Roman left the toy room, went to the bathroom, did his business, and returned to the toy room. A few minutes later I hear him saying "Mommy, what's it do? What's this do, Mom?" So, I went to check on him...only to find that he had stolen a tampon from the bathroom and had dissected it into 3 pieces. Neat.
Roman is really starting to understand church. It's so exciting to watch him growing and learning. What an awesome feeling as a parent to know that your child is beginning to love the thing that you most want for him in life. A few weeks ago, one of our favorite priests of all time, Father Dennis Miller, moved from St Thomas in Ames to a new group of parishes in northern Iowa. We miss him already! But, we made a card for him before he left, and I asked Roman "What does Father do at church?" and he said "Father says 'Jesus' and Jesus comes down and walks with the people". He is also really starting to understand communion. When we go up, he says "Now you go and drink the wine that Jesus bleed". I just keep praying that he will continue to desire to know and love and serve the Lord!
I overheard this during play time the other day "I love you, Judah. You're crazy!"
Also, Roman is always trying to get Judah to make his "silly face". Which =

honestly, it's one of my favorite games because they laugh so hard at each other.

The other day Roman was in the bathroom and I heard him say "This is a penis. It's not a toy." Not that I have to say that 80 times a day or anything. :)
Baby Eliza (Ryan and Kathleen's sweet 2 month old daughter) was at our house the other day...when she was crying she sort of snorted. Roman said "She's like a pig".
More on the topic of potty training...(like it ever ends!) We were eating at a restaurant with some friends way back in the beginning of June. It was just before Roman's birthday. We were out with all the lovely ladies in my women's Bible study and all their kiddos. We were seated next to a very sweet couple who were so patient and kind to our children. They told us about their grandchildren and it was obvious that they loved kids. As we were finishing, Roman wondered over near them and the lady asked him to come talk to her. She said "How old are you?" He said "I'm gonna be 3 on June 15th!" As if she knew...she asked our "trigger" question "What do three year olds do?" And Roman diligently responded with what we had been drilling into his head "Three year olds go potty on the toilet!" The man could not stop laughing. Only he didn't know it was about to get better. A few minutes later the lady commented on how adorable Eliza is and asked how hold she was. Kathleen told her...only to be interrupted by Roman's in depth explanation of childbirth "When I was born, mommy went to the hospital and pushed me out". We left quickly so as not to impart more graphic information that the poor couple never wanted to hear over dinner! :)

Judah

is always making us laugh! Unfortunately, there are not a whole lot of stories to really type up because it's more just his nature and his reactions to things.
He is still not talking a whole lot, although he does have a few new words to add to his vocabulary: down, no, mine, jump, elmo, boo, pizza, potty, ("der go" for "there you go"), he sings "Row, Row, Row" at the beginning of Row, Row, Row your Boat, yay!
He is so so sweet. I love how he is smiling all the time and says "hi" in an excited high pitched voice to anyone in sight.
He LOVES my grandma. He always wants to sit with her and touch her hair. She was running her fingers on his legs the other day and he was, literally, in a trance. He almost fell asleep sitting up.
loves music and dancing
still loving books. He is really into any books that have pictures of Veggie Tales characters. Especially "The Veggicational Book" from Aunt Angie. Bonus points if you sing him the Veggie Tales theme song at the end of the book. He tries to sing along...so cute.
He also tries to sing the ABC's...which mostly comes out as "B B B B B B B" - but it's in tune!
Has puppy radar. We have actually been looking for a dog since that was what Joe promised Roman as a potty training reward. Whenever we see them he can't stop saying "dog! dog!" in a very deep voice, or "pu-ppy" in a sweet little voice. So cute.

Well, that's the latest rundown. Sorry that it was so long since I'm trying to catch up! More to come soon!!

This Might Be Controversial...

2010-07-12T14:18:00.003-05:00

...but that hasn't really stopped me before, now has it? :)

In all seriousness, though, I am about to write a post on something that is very important to me. My goal is not to offend anyone, but to provide encouragement. Feel free to tell me if I am crossing the line in some way, as that is not my intention.

Most of you probably know that I'm a stay-at-home mom. It has always been a dream of mine to be able to stay home with our children and I am incredibly thankful that I get to do it. I am forever indebted to my dear husband, who makes it possible for me to spend all day every day with our children. It is only because he makes it his priority everyday to provide for us that we are able to do this.

Now, moms come in all shapes, sizes, colors, and personalities. We all have different dreams, goals, priorities, and talents. We each have our own fortes, weaknesses, pet peeves, and passions.

No matter our differences, I think we can all agree that we share one commonality: loving our children more than life.

Each family functions differently on a day to day basis. We all have different family situations, living situations, work situations, etc.

We are married, single, divorced, widowed. We are happy or depressed, we are pleasantly surprised or we regret that things turned out the way they did. We work full time, part time, stay at home, work from home, use a child care center, in home daycare, nanny or family/friend babysitter.

None of these is the "right" or "wrong" way to parent a child or children. None of these things mean that some parents love their children more or less than others. As parents, our lives will always be a combination of joy and struggles, no matter what our situation.

I want to be clear on the fact that I know and have a great deal of respect for a wide variety of moms. Moms that live and mother differently than I do.

My mom had to work so that we could pay our bills. Later she was a single parent so, even more so, she had to take on the role of breadwinner. I will probably never know how difficult that was but I am thankful that she did what she had to do for our family.

I have a lot of friends who are working moms...full time or part time. They are all incredible women whom I love and admire.

I also have stay-at-home mom friends who love what they do and I love them for their example to me.

So, the real reason for the post stems from a couple of different things: I had a conversation with Lindsay the other night (expecting her first babe! YAY!!). She was saying how she never thought that she would want to be a stay-at-home mom, but that she and her husband have decided that it is really important to them. They are going to make it work regardless of what sacrifices they will have to make.

Also, I have kept up with a lot of high school friends on facebook. People I really don't know that well anymore, who are saying how sad they will be to leave their baby when they go back to work. How they wish they could stay home because they can't stand the thought of someone else being with their baby more than they are (regardless of how wonderful the caregiver is!)

And it just made me think.
1. I know that staying home isn't for everyone. Whether it's because you love your job or because you can't afford to live without the income (or both!), I applaud you for the hard work you are doing for your family and for the people you come in contact with at work. It can't be easy to juggle work outside the home and work inside the home, but there are many women who do it remarkably well.
2. I know that there are a lot of women who really want to stay home with their children but think they can't afford to. This is who this post is really for.

Again, I know there are cases where it absolutely isn't financially possible, and I'm not trying to put those people down. Everyone has to make the best choice for their family based on their individual circumstances. I just want to encourage those moms, who truly desire to stay at home to really look at all of your options. Look at the ways you can cut back and live more simply. Look at some other options for earning extra money. It might be something radical, but if it is really a priority to you, you'll be willing to do some things that other people aren't willing to do.

In our marriage, and our journey as parents, we have gone through times of abundance and times of scraping for every last dollar to pay every last bill. But, I will tell you that we have always felt very blessed to be able to make it work. We have always found a way even when it was really uncomfortable.

Here are a few things that we do to make staying at home possible for me:
1. We have one car. This one is my least favorite, but for now it's the best way to save money. There are a lot of days when I'm very frustrated that I can't go somewhere, but it's worth it to me to stay home. I have to ask myself...what's really important in your life? It's a good reminder.
2. Joe's brother lives in our basement. We lovingly refer to him as "the creepy man in the basement". :) In all reality, Tony is a huge blessing to our family. He was going to move out and then plans fell through for him. As we were talking about whether or not he would find a place without roomates in the fall, we decided that little bit of extra income is very beneficial to us right now.
3. I have done temporary in home child care. It was actually a really good way to learn that that is not my forte. I loved teaching and working in childcare centers, but in home daycare wasn't my thing. But, the offer came at a time when we needed a little extra cash, and so we took it. Probably won't do it again anytime soon, but it met a need and now we're done.
4. We don't usually pay our babysitters. That sounds really bad! What I mean is, we usually wait to take a date night when a family member is available to watch the boys. We have also traded with other couples...or taken a rain check on trading with expecting couples! :) Every couple needs some alone time...after all, good marriages make good families, but you can still find inexpensive dates. On our last date, we used a restaurant gift card and went to a dollar movie while our "creepy man in the basement" :) watched the boys. I think we spent $10. For the record, we do pay babysitters when we need to! I mean, we try to be frugal but not stingy!
5. We make our own wipes. Joe refuses to do cloth diapers, but I know a lot parents save money that way. Everybody has to pick what they want to sacrifice on, and that just isn't it for Joe! I can't say that I'm all that upset about it either. :)
6. We don't eat out as much as we used to. Trying new restaurants is one of my favorite things so it's hard not to, and we still do more than we should, but we have cut back quite a bit.
7. We stick to necessities. Well, as much as we can. I'm sure I'm a big hypocrite on some of these things! I never do any of these things perfectly, in case you didn't catch on to that! My point is, before we make a purchase, before we spend money on most anything, we put some thought into it's importance. What do we really want to provide for our children? What do we want our family to look like? Unconditional love, a foundation of faith, good friends, time with family. We want to meet their material needs. We want to provide healthcare. We want to give them social and cultural opportunities. We want them to have fun and be filled with joy and peace. So, we have made the priority me being at home rather than buying a DVR or a new summer wardrobe. Although, I'm thinking I need to buy a new dress before the weddings I am going to this summer...the one I have had since freshman year of college is looking a little worn!

I can't think of any more right now. But, as Lindsay and I were talking the other night, it made me want to share more with other women so that they might feel a little more empowered in making a decision to stay home or work. Everyone wants to be able to provide great things for their kids. Some of that includes material things, but what better way to provide for them than to be present with them as much as you can?

So, whether working mom, or stay-at-home mom:
What are your tips on living simply?
What are your tips on being truly present and purposeful with your kids when you are able to be home?

Sleeping Babies

2010-07-10T08:00:00.000-05:00

Apparently my boys can sleep anywhere... Why Roman chose the tiny corner of his closet, I will never understand! :)

Belated Birthdays!

2010-07-09T14:03:00.006-05:00

I have been a huge procrastinator lately...and so here, FINALLY, are the pictures of the boys' birthdays! I have lots more from the big party we had with our friends, and more pictures of the boys enjoying the summer...you can view those here.

Roman's new kitchen from Grandma Susan
Roman's guitar cake...I have been trying to get into this tradition of making a special cake for each of the boys on their birthdays...Roman requested a guitar. I was happy with the shape, but I definitely should be gone with licorice for the strings....it kind of looked like a 5 year old did that part. :)
construction hat and trucks from Grandpa Tony and Grandma Suellen
Roman in his cool new hat from Grandma and Grandpa. Judah climbing into the box to get the truck....or just for the sake of climbing. :)
Judah likes cake!

we got a pool for Judah for his birthday...and Roman picked out the big blue ball. So sweet!
Judah's puppy cake
My cute three year old!
And my adorable one year old!

Boys

2010-06-22T15:40:00.004-05:00

I haven't given an update recently so here goes:

Roman:

is FINALLY having some success with potty training. Joe is the genius behind the potty training plan here...you'll have to ask him how he masterminded his brilliant system! :) It is working really well and we actually only had one accident yesterday and one today! YAY! Roman is very proud of himself and very much enjoys all of his prizes.
Roman is also going to hold Joe to his promise of buying him a puppy once he got potty trained. He talks about dogs more than ever. Actually, we have some neighbors that moved in across the street a few months ago and recently, when we were playing in the toy room, we saw them outside with their dog. Then a couple of days later, we were outside doing sidewalk chalk when they pulled into their driveway. We exchanged "hellos" and then Roman yelled across the street "You have a dog!" The woman kindly responded "Yes, we do. We also have a cat." Roman was very impressed with this, "You have a CAT??" They nodded and went inside...but Roman continued to yell "Are you going inside to see your dog and your cat?" Nice.
Today Roman told me he needed to go potty and so he got up and walked toward the bathroom. I was reading to Judah at the time and so I said "Do you need me to come help you, Roman?". This was his response: "I'm just gonna do it myself and you can read Love You Forever to Judah". Awwww.

Judah:

climbs everything...including couches...which is terrifying since he really doesn't know how to get down.
is talking up a storm: bubble, go, more, please, all done, puppy, mommy, daddy, hi, bye bye, "go-nee" for Tony, yeah, baby...and probably some more I can't remember :)
loves books. His favorites are "Love You Forever" and any book that includes a picture of a baby or has different textures to feel.
will push his big truck over to the window so he can climb up and look out
loves playing in the pool with Roman
makes the funniest face every time he sees Tony

Anyway, they are keeping me very busy and they are always making me laugh. Love those little guys!

SALSA!

2010-06-21T10:00:00.000-05:00

This is another favorite recipe that I absolutely have to share. I discovered the Tasty Kitchen site a few months ago and I'm officially addicted. I have to be careful not to read it late at night, though, otherwise I want to eat.

Here is the original recipe for Ree's "Restaurant Style Salsa"...and here is the Pometto version of the recipe. We just made a few changes...like more onion, because more onion = more deliciousness, and we added some peppers for extra spice and chunkiness. :) ENJOY!

SALSA!!

1 can (28 Ounce) Whole Tomatoes With Juice
2 cans (10 Ounce) Rotel (diced Tomatoes And Green Chilies)
2 whole chopped onions
1 clove Garlic, Minced
1 whole Jalapeno, diced, with seeds
¼ teaspoons Sugar
¼ teaspoons Salt
¼ teaspoons Ground Cumin
½ cups Cilantro (more To Taste!)
½ whole Lime Juice
assorted chopped peppers

Basically all you have to do is throw it all into a blender or food processor until you reach the desired consistency.

I love you, salsa, for being so delicious and nutritious. And yet, I despise you because you make me eat chips all day. :)

Father's Day

2010-06-20T21:21:00.002-05:00

I used to dread Father's Day.

As many of you know, my dad passed away when I was young. There are countless other people who struggle to get through each Father's Day without their dads, whether it be due to death, divorce, deployment, abandonment, mental illness, miles of separation, or some other extenuating circumstance.

Whatever the case may be, it makes for a tough day. Awkward. Painful. Silent. Lonely.

But, that's actually not what I want to write about. I want to talk about a story of redemption. A story of blessing after years of pain.

You see, I loved my dad so very much and I miss him everyday. But, even in the loss of my father, God always managed to bless me with Godly men in my life...men who cared for me as their own daughter/sister/friend.

I obviously can't list them all here but I have to give a few examples because I don't think I could ever really express how thankful I am to have had them in my life. (I'm going to try to go in chronological order)...

My grandfathers, Ted and Ralph, for being strong, steadfast, gentle, hard working, loving, and kind.
My uncles: Dan, Tim, Daryl, and Mike for loving my dad and being willing to tell his story or tell me that he would be proud...even when it was very difficult to say.
My brother, Jim, for acting like a big brother even though you are younger than me! :)
Jim Ott. He was the pastor at my church camp,and was/is an incredible example of a Godly man. I will never forget the conversation we had one summer about how I was struggling with not having my dad in my life. He told me to go read the book of Joel...what I found was that God plagued the land with locusts, and then repaid them the same number of years with blessings. That brought me so much hope.

“I will restore to you the years that the locust has eaten.” Joel 2:25

Very appropriately next: my amazing husband, Joe. I never say enough about him, but he is hardworking, sweet, and the best dad ever. Our boys are so so lucky! He is a thoughtful and helpful husband, he is always willing to serve. He is my hero. Dream come true. :)
Some pretty amazing guy friends: Adam, Ryan, Phil, Jon, Andrew, Dameon, Jeff...the list could really go on and and on...and could include some of their dads - i.e. Mike Babbitt! :) These guys have treated me as their sister, have done so much for our family, have been good friends to my husband, and have shown me a lot about true masculinity.
My brother-in-law, Tony. We like to call him "the creepy man in the basement". :) Yes, he lives with us. He is hilarious, tender hearted, and we will miss him when he moves out...especially Roman and Judah...they so look forward to lunch with him everyday!
My father-in-law, Tony. If you could dream up the best father-in-law ever, you would get Dad. Joe gets his servant's heart from his dad. He is willing to do anything for his family and you will never meet a sweeter man. He has so much character and is the best Grandpa ever. He has always treated me as his own daughter and I will never forget our "father-daughter" dance at our wedding. Cutest ever.
Joe's uncles, for accepting me into the family!
Fr Dennis, Fr Richmond, and all kinds of other priests that have been spiritual fathers in my life!

So, basically I am super blessed. I am truly grateful for all the men in my life...the ones on this list, and all of the others who have been so good to me. Love you all.

Fumbling and Frustrated, I Surrender

2010-06-16T10:00:00.000-05:00

His fingers fumble with the wrapper.

He has earned a sucker for cleaning his plate and he is so proud. He is grinning, picking at the wrapper, reminding me again, "I ate it all".

He turns it round and round, pulling at the waxy blue paper. His brow is furrowed in concentration. The pulling starts to get more aggressive...

I lean over, my face close to his face.

"Would you like some help?"

"No! I don't want some help"

He is persistent. He starts again...but in vain.

He yells out in frustration this time. No words, just a yell.

I lean over once again, looking into his big blue-gray eyes. I take note of the quivering lip.

"Honey, why don't you let mama help you".

"yes." He seems to feel defeated somehow.

I unwind the wrapper, drop it on the table, and hand him his prize. He perks right back up, satisfied with the reward.

Psalm 18:6
In my distress I called to the LORD; I cried
to my God for help. From his temple he heard
my voice; my cry came before him, into his ears.

Psalm 33:20
We wait in hope for the LORD; he is our help and our shield.

Psalm 46:1
God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble.

Psalm 108:6
Save us and help us with your right hand,
that those you love may be delivered.

Isaiah 41:13
For I am the LORD, your God, who takes hold
of your right hand and says to you, Do not
fear; I will help you.

In the Third Year

2010-06-15T21:07:00.004-05:00

Dear Roman,
I can't believe you are three already! In the last year we have experienced so much life together and I don't think I will ever be able to tell you how thankful I am for each moment I have spent watching you grow up.

In the last year, you:

have been such a good big brother
have been the ring bearer in two weddings
took a lot of trips to the zoo and to the library
were a pirate for Halloween
made dozens of cookies with me
survived our first road trip to South Carolina
aquired a love for dance parties
have gotten really good at letter recognition and phonics
are starting to get over your fear of dogs
have gotten so much taller
have gotten so much funnier
have not budged on your picky eating habits!
have made lots of new friends
have gotten so good at conversation
have made me laugh every day
have brought me joy every day...even on the days when you sat in time out more often than not :)
have brought tears to my eyes...some in frustration, some because the moment was so bittersweet, some in pride, some in laughter...all in love.
have changed my life for the better
have changed a lot of lives for the better
have challenged my faith by saying some of the most profound things I have ever heard (even from adults).
have done a lot of other things, but mostly, you have become such a big boy.

...but, tonight...all I can think about is this:

We are so proud of you, Roman.

All my love always,
Mom

The Sacred Heart of Jesus

2010-06-11T15:00:00.004-05:00

Today we celebrate the Solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus.

Here is a beautiful excerpt from the homily given on the Solemnity of the Sacred Heart last year by Pope Benedict XVI:

The heart of God burns with compassion! On today’s solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus the Church presents us this mystery for our contemplation: the mystery of the heart of a God who feels compassion and who bestows all his love upon humanity. A mysterious love, which in the texts of the New Testament is revealed to us as God’s boundless and passionate love for mankind. God does not lose heart in the face of ingratitude or rejection by the people he has chosen; rather, with infinite mercy he sends his only-begotten Son into the world to take upon himself the fate of a shattered love, so that by defeating the power of evil and death he could restore to human beings enslaved by sin their dignity as sons and daughters. But this took place at great cost—the only-begotten Son of the Father was sacrificed on the Cross: “Having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end” (cf. Jn 13:1).

Three years ago the Solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus happened to fall on June 15th...which happened to be the day that God blessed us with our first child.

We thought for sure Roman James would be born on the 14th, but God had other plans. After 24 hours of labor, 10 hours of pitcoin, 40-some hours of no sleep, being just 10 minutes into the day of June 15th...

with one last gasp for relief, one last life-giving push

...I shed the final tears of pain and began to shed the many tears of joy.

That day God showed us a tiny fraction of the kind of love that he has for us...the love of a Father who would die for his children, the love hidden within his Sacred Heart.

One year ago today...

2010-06-02T20:50:00.010-05:00

getting ready to go to the hospital...but first we had to take a few minutes to play squirt guns with Roman. :)

brand new Judah!

he was wide awake...

...and we were so in love.
Happy first birthday, Judah! It's a bittersweet feeling saying goodbye to your "baby" days, which we treasured, and saying hello to your little boy years...which we are so excited to share with you. We love you so much and you bring us more joy than words could ever say.

She conceived again, and when she gave birth to a son she said, "This time I will praise the LORD." So she named him Judah
Genesis 29:35

This One's for You...

2010-05-27T22:45:00.004-05:00

Well, I don't even know if she reads my blog...but if she does, she'll know this post is for her.

We always end up having these late night chats, she and I. It's usually online. It' usually when I should be sleeping. It's usually something insightful. And she usually doesn't even know it.

She is wise beyond her years.

Tonight I tell her that I have been where she is. I tell her that as I look back on my 25 years, I wish I would have slowed down to enjoy each phase. No, not even necessarily enjoy...because life is hard and messy and frustrating and painful and tragic...and sometimes you just can't find joy. There is a time to weep.

I wish I would have made the effort to find contentment in each stage of my life.

Contentment.

It's hard concept to grasp in a culture that finds little to no value in anything that's not instant and/or self-gratifying.

Contentment.

To me, it's not so much a thing or a feeling... or even a state-of-being.

Contentment has a name: Jesus.

So, what I really should have said to this sweet girl is "I wish I would have looked for Jesus in every stage of my life".

I should have looked for Him in each person I loved and in each person I despised. I would have seen Him in both.

I should have looked for Him in every situation - good and bad. I would have seen that He was waiting to show up and prove His faithfulness.

I should have looked for Him in the laughter and in the tears. I would have seen that God has a plan to bring us hope, and that sometimes devastating things happen anyway. No matter the circumstance, though, He stays the same.

I should have looked for Him in the dark places, where I thought surely He was nowhere to be found. I would have seen that sometimes that's where I can see His face the most clearly.

I should have looked for Him when all was right in the world, when I didn't think I needed Him so much. I would have seen that he is the giver of everything good and perfect; He is the Alpha.

I should have looked for Him when I thought He was disappointed in me. I would have seen that I am His and that nothing can separate us.

Let me make one thing clear. Contentment is not the same thing as ignorance. It doesn't mean that we turn a blind eye to all the suffering in our lives or all the disasters raging around us. It means we accept the pleasure and the pain, the blessings and the trials, for what they are. It means that we rejoice in knowing the One who ordained each moment before there was time.

I should have looked. I would have seen.

1 Tim 6:6-7 But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it

I would have seen Him.

Psalm 119:57, 114 You are my portion, O LORD...You are my refuge and my shield; I have put my hope in your word

I would have found Contentment Himself.

Philippians 4:12-13 I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do everything through him who gives me strength.

R-O-M-A-N

2010-05-24T15:40:00.002-05:00

One of Roman's favorite things to do is play with magnets on trays or cookie sheets. He is also getting really good at letter recognition. So, today I sat him down with the magnets and put the letter R on the bottom of the tray and asked if he could find the rest of the letters in his name. I knew that he could verbally spell his name, but I was impressed to see that he could pick the letters out and put them in the right order. Good job, Roman!

The Park with the Boys

2010-05-19T23:30:00.003-05:00

Here's a little glimpse into what it is like to take my two to the park:

Today I got the boys loaded into the stroller and announced that we were going for a walk...to the park. Of course Roman was very excited, and Judah wore his usual laid back expression. :)

We started down the street, discussing the trees, birds, sky, cars, etc until we were about a block away from the park. It was then that I heard the sounds...sounds of a bus full of children at the park.

Uh 0h.

I didn't really want to try to keep track of Roman and keep Judah from eating rocks with another 30 kids to distract us. So, we headed in the opposite direction to a different park. It was a longer walk to a park with not as much equipment, but we were all glad to be out and about on such a beautiful day. Roman kept repeating what I had said to him "We'll just go to a different park."

And asking at each new block if the plan was still the same... "We're gonna walk to another park, mommy? We'll just go to a different park."

We discussed our rules for the park as we approached the playground.

I steered the stroller over the bumpy ground, unfastened the buckles, and set them free. (Well, I let Roman run over to the teeter totter, but I put Judah in the baby swing right away. He is happy as a clam for a good half an hour in a swing...just talking away and smiling ear to ear the whole time. He can't quite say "whee", so when I push him he coos "eeee" in a high pitched voice.

Roman keeps running across the park, to the teeter totter, to the swing...and back...and back to the swing. He keeps asking me to give him a "dog under". :)

We run and laugh, and play and sweat. We tickle, talk, and hug.

It is in these moments that I know memories are being made.

(disclaimer: naptime was not so picture perfect...but we'll take what we can get! :))

1000 Gifts (12)

2010-05-11T21:39:00.002-05:00

221. Roman kneeling right in the middle of the church aisle, arms raised in adoration
222. sipping on a glass of wine
223. the galloping daddy and laughing boy on his back
224. the words that God speaks in the silence of my heart: "Stop doing my job".
225. the chance to finally return a favor
226. how Judah LOVES dogs
227. how Roman is still a little timid around dogs...but he's getting so much better!
228. beautiful flowers and a sweet Mother's Day note from my boys!
229. graduating seniors that give me hope for the future
230. awesome concerts - i.e. Chasen and Kutless!!
231. when I realized the trials I have faced in life have prepared me to love someone else through the same situation
232. Jeremiah 29:11
233. the way Judah needs to come back to me for a hug every few minutes while we play
234. that God is good. All the time. No matter what else is happening around us, God is good.
235. the freedom to live simply
236. that I get to take Roman to Sesame Street Live!! Thanks, Mom!
237. childbirth - the more I talk about it/experience it/have friends that experience it, the more I LOVE it. It's so miraculous and I love the anticipation and the beauty of the whole experience. Maybe someday I'll be a doula or something. :)
238. Roman and Judah "getting" each other...which really means running around and laughing
239. raindrops sprinkling the windshield...wipers pushing them into one long stream running down the side
240. free shed for our yard

1000 Gifts (11)

2010-05-05T22:09:00.002-05:00

201. lessons hard learned
202. the feeling of dough rolling under kneading hands
203. circumstances that remind me how important my job is and how purposefully living each day as a stay-at-home mom is fulfilling exactly what God is calling me to do
204. Intercessors of the Lamb
205. shopping getaway with the girls!
206. cuddles with my boys
207. sleepy eyes
208. trees swaying and bending in the wind...their whispering act of worship
209. a new niece or nephew to love! Congrats Jim and Chelsey!!
210. Roman and Judah in the crib together, erupting in laughter
211. miracles
212. God's perfect timing. Even when we don't see it that way.
213. Fr. Richmond
214. people who are brave enough to embark on a completely new life endeavor
215. sitting on the couch with Roman watching Joe mow the lawn
216. Judah's scrunched up smile and crazy top teeth
217. how Roman still asks me to sing O Come, O Come, Emmanuel every night
218. Watching Judah figure out how to put blocks together
219. sunny afternoons at the park
220. warm summer evenings...just as the sky begins to darken

Dreams

2010-04-19T21:36:00.002-05:00

Today was the first time that Roman was able to tell me about a bad dream that he had.

I'm sure that he has had them before...he has woken up crying and distressed...but he has never been able to explain; he has never been able to verbalize what he saw and why it scared him.

Today he woke up from his nap with loud crying. I went into his room thinking maybe he had fallen off of the bed or that he just wasn't quite ready to wake up (that happens sometimes...to me, too!). Right when he saw me he said "Mommy, hold me!"

I walked over and picked him up, all the while reassuring him that everything was ok.

Then he said "The horsies can't get you!" I almost laughed at first because it seemed so random and took me by surprise. I just wasn't expecting an explanation, and it made me so sad for him!

He continued, over the course of the next few minutes, between some more crying, to tell me that a black horse was chasing him. Then he asked me "Are they downstairs?"

I made it clear that there were no horses anywhere in our house. I also attempted to explain that dreams are just pictures we see in our sleep, and they're not real...that they're gone when we wake up (that's got to be a hard concept to understand when you're not even 3!)

Then he kept reassuring himself all afternoon: "No horsies". "No horsies in our house".

On the one hand, I felt so bad for him, and on the other hand I was so glad he could finally tell me why he was sad.

I love that kid. :)

Recipes: Granola

2010-04-19T07:00:00.000-05:00

If you know me at all, you know I like food. I like to cook it. I like to eat it. I like the camaraderie that comes with sharing a meal.

I am going to start sharing some of my favorite recipes here. The first is my current obsession: granola. I am on a huge yogurt and granola kick (which happens frequently). Try pairing with Stoneyfield French Vanilla Whole Milk Yogurt Enjoy!

Lazy Granola
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup oil
1/2 cup honey
1 tsp. cinnamon
2 tsp. vanilla
7 cups oats (I use old fashioned, NOT quick cooking)

Mix brown sugar, oil, and honey in a small saucepan. Bring to a low boil.
Remove from heat. Stir in cinnamon and vanilla.
Pour over oats in a large bowl. Stir until well coated.
Spread oats in a 9×13 pan. Bake at 375° for 10 minutes.
Take out and stir.
Return pan to oven. Turn oven off.
Go to bed. Wake up to a delicious, cinnamon-y sent wafting through your kitchen!

*Except that I usually make it in the morning and can't wait very long...so when I put it back in the oven I end up only waiting about 15 min...but it is better when it's been sitting a bit longer. Crunchier that way.

**I add pecans and craisins for extra deliciousness.

***I totally stole this recipe from some friend or website...which I totally can't rememer now. If it was you, I owe you many thanks.

Let me know if you like it!

Need a Pick-Me-Up? Look No Farther!

2010-04-14T19:35:00.003-05:00

a sleeping Roman...something I rarely get to see! Isn't he sweet?! Usually he has to be closed in a dark room in order to fall asleep. :)

My buddies. Roman likes to climb into the crib with Judah...Judah finds it very amusing. I should probably stop him from doing it but it's just so darn cute. So, I take pictures instead.

Mr. Blue Eyes

Why yes, yes this is three rolls of paper towels completely unrolled in our living room. Roman did this while I was making dinner one night....again, do you like how I just took pictures instead of correcting the behavior? :) I figure he worked pretty hard to get to that point, he deserved to enjoy it.

So happy!

Didn't that just bring some extra joy to your day?

Roman Reads...

2010-04-04T16:52:00.002-05:00

Here is a fun video of Roman "reading" one of his favorite books, "The Zoo Book".

What I Thought I Knew

2010-03-24T22:48:00.003-05:00

Monica did a great post on why last night's episdoe of LOST was so disappointing. Well, the episode wasn't disappointing, it was just one scene...but we both sat there with jaws wide open and hearts bursting with frustration. The thing that was the most annoying to me, was that I felt they did a good job of representing authentic Catholic faith in some of the earlier seasons.

It's the perfect example of why there are so many misconceptions about Christianity and, specifically, about Catholicism. It happens all the time in the secular media. No need to list examples, I'm sure you can think of plenty on your own.

When I joined the Catholic Church (7 years ago this Easter!!), it wasn't necessarily a popular choice. There were people in my life who did not agree with my decision, there were people who believed I was doing it "for Joe". We weren't married, or even engaged at the time, so I never really understood that argument.

I still have close or even great relationships with all of the people who expressed some type of concern, so this isn't to point fingers or express any bitterness. The truth is that, for the most part, I understood why they said the things they did.

Maybe that sounds like a contradiction, but I understand why some people felt I was making a bad choice. Honestly, if you had asked me about Catholicism anytime before 2002, I would have said (and in fact, DID say) that I would never become Catholic. God had other things in mind (as he usually does!).

I was under a lot of assumptions about the Catholic Church based on hearsay...on what I thought I knew, based on what other people had said to me. I thought I knew some things about the Catholicism because I knew some people who were "Catholic", and I had seen plenty of things on movies or TV shows that reaffirmed all the things I "knew". The secular media is good at that game. And to be honest, people are good at buying into it. I would just like to encourage you...if you are not Catholic, or if you are Catholic and you are looking for an answer to some question, please go to a reliable source that will give tell you what the Church actually teaches. Here are a few of my favorites:
Catechism of the Catholic Church - search any topic
Catholic Answers - ask a question and get an answer or browse topics
Scott Hahn - Protestant minister who converted to Catholicism
Christopher West - Writes books about JPII's Theology of the Body. Good News about Sex and Marriage explains a lot of the Church's teachings on sexuality.

Maybe at some point I will share more of my faith journey here. It's a story that is very dear to my heart. I am still in awe at the way that God has pursued me through all my life. He has captivated me and challenged me in ways I never thought possible. He has sometimes shocked me with the things he has asked of me. I never pictured that I would be where I am today, but I wouldn't have it any other way, because I know that I have been obedient to His call on my life and he is ever drawing me nearer. What more could I ask for?

In closing I would just like to say one more thing.

There is not a Catholic Body of Christ and a Protestant Body of Christ. Though we have doctrinal differences, we (sadly) have division, we have different styles of worship, we have different liturgical practices...

It all comes down to one thing. One man.

God made flesh.

Freedom for the Captives.

Because if He sets you free, you are free indeed.

A Day in the Life

2010-03-17T21:34:00.004-05:00

Even though we have all been a little under the weather (we have all had a bit of a cold...and poor Judah has an ear infection), we had so much fun today!

For starters, Joe went out and got us donuts before he went to work today. He got some coffee for us, too, and decided he would give Roman a sample of his iced chai latte. Roman took a sip, grinned ear to ear, and enthusiastically asked "What is that called?" We all cracked up because his reaction was just so over the top and hilarious.

As I have mentioned, the boys love to have dance parties, so that was next on the agenda. Roman's newest fave is Nichole C. Mullen's "Freedom". This one is old school. She was one of my favorites in high school...we listened to this song a lot on our mission trip to the Rosebud reservation in South Dakota...I know some of my girls reading this are dancing just thinking about those good times!! :) When I saw Nicole sing at the Women of Faith conference I went to last weekend (that's another post coming soon!), I had to bring her back. Needless to say, she's a big hit with my little ones.

When the boys nap at the same time, I get to have some "me" time, which is great...and some days necessary. :) But, when they stagger their naps, like they did today, I get to have more one-on-one time with each of them...which I love! So, today I got to thoroughly enjoy each of my sweet boys.

Judah is loving music more and more everyday. He recognizes "Move it, Move it!" and gets so excited to dance to it. He also tries to beat box with Joe when Joe sings it to him. Hilarious! He is so sad after he coughs hard...which breaks my heart! Thank God it's finally starting to go away! He laughed SO hard at me gargling salt water the other day. Judah is a CLIMBER. He always sits on the bottom of the TV stand and then stares at me with defiance in his eyes when I tell him "no". When Judah has something he knows he is not supposed to have (i.e. remote controls), he grabs it and runs (ok, it's not quite a run...but it's a really fast walk) down the hall toward his room.

Roman is learning Genesis 1:1. I am trying to get him to learn how to compose notes for friends and family members, so that he can start sending mail. He is starting to get it, and it's really cute. He really loves putting coins in our Rice Bowl for Lent. He is really good at drawing triangles. He says the same sentences over and over again...i.e. "I'm all clean and fresh" after a diaper change or "Mommy, please can I get you some cold milk, can I get you some red milk?" when he wants a drink. I don't know why, but it seems like once he likes the sound of sentence he sticks to it. No variation. (And, as you can tell, we're still working on the pronouns. We're getting better...but it's going to take a while!)

After their naps, it was nice enough to go for a walk. We went yesterday, too, but it was pretty chilly later in the afternoon, and Judah wasn't really feeling it. But, today, it was BEAUTIFUL outside! We walked for about 45 minutes and enjoyed talking about everything we got to see along the way. Naturally, Roman's favorite thing was seeing all the dogs out walking. Joe has told him that we can get a dog as soon as Roman is potty trained...which doesn't really seem to be working, but we'll be excited to get a dog sometime...you know, hopefully before he's 12.

My Recent Favorites

2010-03-01T21:57:00.002-06:00

Judah:

will be 9 months old tomorrow!! Wasn't he just born?
is walking! (As of about a week ago, I would say that he is a really proficient walker) He is even starting to be able to turn around. He's good.
such a good eater! I know I say it every time, but seriously, it brings me so much joy. Today at lunch I literally had to bribe Roman to eat pizza. Pizza. Judah, on the other hand, laughs when the spoon is coming towards his face and yells when I am taking more than about 3 seconds in between bites....which brings me to...
he doesn't cry, he yells. It's not a half-cry. It's not a high pitched scream. It's a from-the-gut intensely angry yell. This is Joe's newest biggest pet peeve.
he says "ba-ba" when you ask him what a sheep says and sniffs when you ask him what a bunny says.
Raises his hands above his head when you ask him how big he is...and smiles ear to ear when you say "so big!"
he LOVES to play with Roman. They laugh at each other so much. They especially like to wrestle around on the floor in blankets.
loves playing "peek-a-boo" and now puts the blanket over his head by himself.
is obsessed with drinking out of sippy cups...and chases after Roman's as if he has found the Holy Grail.

Roman:

"reads" books all the time (from memory)...which I find to be the most charming thing ever.
memorized Hebrews 11:1 this week
so good with letters! today he put his drum sticks perpendicular to each other on the floor and then announced "That's a 'T', Mommy! T says /t/ like Tony".
still not able to count objects...just can't get the one-to-one correspondence. Ideas?
is currently obsessed with the movie "Homeward Bound".
LOVES making Judah laugh and chasing him around
Yesterday I asked him "Roman, what color is grass?" After some deep thought he responded "green?"...yeah, I can't really remember either.
loves dogs...especially Sedona, Chrissy and Jon's new dog. He told us on Sunday that Sedona is his best friend.
is more affectionate now than he ever has been. No complaints here. :)

Sometimes it Takes a Toddler

2010-02-10T23:18:00.004-06:00

As I have demonstrated over and over again through this blog (and many other life circumstances), I tend to be a little slow on the up-take.

Yes, I am a college grad. In elementary education.

I was on the Dean's List.

I have a long list of resume-worthy descriptions of myself. None of which make me immune to the density that sometimes overtakes me. I guess maybe it's not so much density as plain old self absorption.

Let me give you a perfect example.

I may have mentioned that I recently read the book Crazy Love. If you haven't read it, you should. It will change your life.

Now, I tend to exaggerate...just a tad...every now and then, but I couldn't be more serious about this. I am pretty sure it was the most challenging book I have ever read. When I say challenging, let me clarify: it was an easy read, but it made me rethink so many things in and about my life. You should go buy it/borrow it/check it out. right now.

One of the main points that Chan conveys in the book is that we need to take much more literally Christ's command to love our neighbor as ourselves. How? Well, it's obviously going to be a different call on everyone's life. I appreciated that he acknowledged that. It could be through giving money, serving, sacrificing time or comfort of resources. He gave a lot of good real life examples.

I also really appreciated that Chan was bold and unapologetic about saying that, for some people, it would be a very radical call. He says something along the lines of "I'm not saying that everyone is called to quit their job and move to Africa to be a missionary. But, are you? Maybe." The point is that we are quick to claim that we are "called" to only things that we want to do and feel comfortable doing.

Enter: me.

I could give you hundreds of examples of how I am a lot of talk and not a lot of walk. I am an outright hypocrite about so many things. In all reality, until I read that book, I didn't think too much of my lack of faith-in-action. I am easily caught in the trap of comparing myself to everyone else and thinking I'm ok.

You know how it goes.

You put your life up next to someone else's and you start tallying.

"Well, at least I don't struggle with _____".

"She might be better about_____...but at least I am doing ______".

"Even though he has_________...at least I have my act together when it comes to _______".

And, seriously...what's the point of that??

We are called to:

Feed the hungry
Give drink to the thirsty
Clothe the naked
Shelter the homeless
Visit the sick
Visit those in prison
Bury the dead
PERIOD.

(Matthew 25)

It doesn't matter if I feel like doing it.

It doesn't matter if it's not convenient.

It doesn't matter if other people don't make it a priority.

It doesn't matter if other people don't think it's a good idea.

It's what we are called to do.

Why is that so hard for me sometimes?

So, all of that to FINALLY get to the real story.

The other day I was driving somewhere in Ames with the kids. I saw a man walking on the sidewalk. I have seen him before. I don't know his story, but I know he's homeless. I passed by him without a second thought.

Until about 30 seconds later.

Remember the part where I am slow??

So, after I realize that I am an idiot...about 1000 things start going through my head.

"What should I have done? I have kids in the car. I don't know if he is mentally stable...some people say he's not. Other people say he is. How much should I consider my own safety? Maybe if Joe was in the car...would that have actually changed things? Does it matter? I didn't do anything. I could have at least bought some food for him. Is that lame? Shouldn't I be taking that verse in Matthew 25 literally? Does that mean I...like...bring him home with me?"

Ridiculous, I know. It's hard to be in my head sometimes. (To be quite honest, I am still a little confused on what this should look like - especially when there are kiddos involved. Any ideas?)

About this time, Roman pipes up from the back, singing a song at the top of his lungs, from the Veggie Tales movie, "Jonah".

"If you believe God's love is true then you should know what you should do"

And I actually start thinking about Jonah's disobedience.

I know, I know.

If I claim to belong to the King, then I need to be serious about people being able to see Him when they come in contact with me.

I should know what to do.

The eating and the not sleeping, The pretending and the dancing

2010-02-10T22:50:00.004-06:00

It's been a while since I have written about what the boys have been up to...the time has come.

Judah:

still eating like a champ
still not sleeping much (much to my dismay. But, much more to Joe's dismay...he has very little patience in the middle of the night. Can't blame him.)
cruising and getting really close to walking! He actually took a couple of steps to me today - although it was slightly falling forward steps. :)
waves
says "hi, da", "mama", tries to say "baby", "bye-bye" - none of these are super clear, but he says them in appropriate situations or when you ask him to say it.
gives kisses
gives high-fives

Roman:

really enjoys pretending: pretends to drive his little 4 wheeler to the park, to the zoo, to Grandma's house. pretends to make me chocolate cake.
is very in tune to the people around him: knows to "make" Tony a cheeseburger (because he loves McDonald's) and Judah an avocado (his favorite lunch), gets very upset when Judah is sad
memorizes Bible verses: he knows John 3:16, Zephaniah 3:17, Ephesians 4:32. We are working on Phil 4:13. Any other recommendations??
asks for a dance party every time Joe comes in the door (which consists of Veggie Tales music and Joe's DJ lights)
can identify most letters and knows some letter sounds. I was really impressed with him the other day when he got out his Noah's ark matching game and stacked matching cards on top of each other so that the word "lion" was right above the word "lion" on the card underneath...I hadn't shown him that, but he was noticing that the words matched.
the other day he dumped out his woven toy basket and laid in it. When I looked over at him, he said "Just like baby Moses".
He ruined his first library book :(. I put him down for the night, and later walked by his bedroom as I was going down the hall and noticed he had turned his light on. I opened the door to see him sitting on the floor with three torn pages. We had a nice long talk...several times. A couple of days later I took him to the library, and before we went in, I reminded him he needed to apologize to the librarian. He walked in, went right over to her, and said "I tore the pages". She kind of looked at me for an explanation, so I said "Roman has a confession to make". He repeated and then said he was sorry. She reassured him that he was very brave for being honest and telling her. We had to pay for the book, but I was so proud of my little guy for being big enough to apologize.

1000 Gifts (10)

2010-02-08T22:18:00.004-06:00

181. hope in the dead of winter: Isaiah 1:18 "Come now, let us reason together," says the LORD. "Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow..."

182. winning free things - especially free things that we needed anyway!! We won a tricycle AND a car seat at Boone's health and safety fair this weekend. That was a God-incidence.

183. time out of the house doing fun things with my family

184. dinner with 3 couples whom I love and admire

185. people who chose to be genuine and make themselves vulnerable

186. God's timing...a lot of things have come up recently that can only be explained by a providential plan.

187. new babies

188. a sweet message at church today about spiritual warfare in the most obvious places...why is it that we never look in the most obvious places??

189. my husband...words can't describe how much I love that man.

190. people who are obedient to God's call when it requires much sacrifice and much more trust...you know who you are! So excited to see how God will move in the upcoming weeks!

191. high schoolers. I love them so much. I love that they aren't afraid to ask questions. I love that they aren't worried about being "politically correct". I love that they want raw truth.

192. people who challenge me

193. Lent. Because 40 days in the dessert makes you thirst.

194. El Azteca. Best Mexican food ever.

195. How incredibly adorable Roman is when he carries on an entire conversation with me...using correct pronouns!

195. Judah's first steps.

196. sunshine

197. Sunday = day of rest

198. people who work hard to make their marriages great

199. Children's Bibles

200. The 5 Love Languages

**For the record, I am not editing these as I go. As I look back on this list, I see many things that are repeats from other posts. My first instinct was that I was doing something wrong.

After some reflection, I think I'm doing something right.

A Few Funnies...

2010-01-30T08:48:00.003-06:00

...courtesy of Roman, of course!

When Judah was done eating I said "Good job, Judah! You ate all of your food." Roman felt the need to add "You did it, Judah! I'm so proud of you!!"

"I love puzzles...and I love ABCs"

Adam was over and we were talking about whole names - ie Roman James Pometto. I asked Roman to say Adam Marshall Babbitt, so he said "Adam Marshmallow Babbitt" :)

Roman likes to describe things by their color...especially if he doesn't know another word for something he will just say the color. So the other day I wore a dress and I said "What is Mommy wearing" and he responded "a blue." He also asks for "cold milk" all the time...and since he drinks whole milk he will sometimes ask for "red milk" or "cold red"....OR if he wants his milk in a blue sippy cup he will ask for "blue milk". You really have to speak his language, I guess!

Roman likes to get into the refrigerator. The other day I was feeding Judah and he came out into the living room holding a container. He said "What's that?" I responded "that's mustard...and you need to put it back in the refrigerator". He looked at the cone shaped spout on top and said "That's very pointy".

He is really surprising us with the way he is carrying on conversations these days! The other day Joe was reading to him and He said "Where's Murphy and the blue blanket? I'll go find them. You stay here. I'll be right back".

More soon...