Monday Stuff

We had a great weekend.  Aidan was home for the whole weekend for the first time in over a month.  His social calendar is so full...parties to go to, campouts, spending time with his grandparents...it was nice to have him home for the whole weekend.  He's getting so big.  I hope he knows how crazy I am about him.  We went to my parents' on Friday night and decorated Easter eggs and had a yummy dinner.  My mom even made a banana pudding, which I had been craving.  I think I ate more than my fair share.  The only food that sounds any good to me lately is food that other people cook...in their own house.  If I cook it, or have to smell it while Mark cooks it, I can't eat it.  So, the dinner was great.  What was even better, was watching my kids and my brother's kids play together.  I'm glad they're all close.  Cousins are the best.  My sister in law is pregnant too...and we're due at the same time!  So, these next 2 babies in our family will only be a few days apart.  Ella and Hayes (my brother's youngest) had a great time together.  They loved wrestling with their pawpaw and jumping all over the house together.  Ella is always saying that Cooper and Hayes are her best friends.  I really hope we get some more girls in this family, or she is going to be a hopeless tomboy!

On Saturday, we got up and took the kids to Cracker Barrel for a family breakfast.  Then the kids used their Easter money to buy some new toys in the store.  Next, it was on to the zoo.  The Fort Worth Zoo has a Dinosaurs Alive exhibit right now that is really cool.  The dinosaurs are scattered throughout the zoo and they are very realistic.  They move and growl.  Ella thought they were real.  But, she wasn't scared.  She wanted to feed them--even the t-rex.

Saturday night, we had more fun family time.  Aidan decided to not watch tv or play video games for a challenge at school.  At first he didn't want to, but when he saw everyone getting prizes, he wanted in on the fun.  So, he spent the weekend trying to come up with other ways to entertain himself.  Saturday night, he turned every room in the house into a carnival.  He made a map for Ella and me and gave us each a bunch of tickets.  He had games like Basketball-Golf (that Ella STILL wants to play), painting, horse lassoing, etc.  He's so creative, and Ella LOVED it.

Next, we made our resurrection cookies.  It seemed to take on a lot more meaning for Aidan this year.  I could see him really processing everything.

Aidan's tooth finally came out at 5:30 on Easter morning.  I know this because Aidan came flying into our bedroom shouting, "Mommy!  Mommy!  My tooth came out on Easter!  I can't believe it!  My tooth came out on Easter."  I about died of a heart attack, but at least the tooth is out!

Speaking of the tooth...he put it under his pillow last night, very excited about what the tooth fairy would bring.  He said she would probably bring a lot more this time since it was an Easter tooth.  I was awoken again at 6:30 this morning.  SOMEONE had forgotten to leave money under Aidan's pillow.  So, I awoke to a little boy bursting into my room again.  He held up his tooth and said, "I know you're the tooth fairy, because I didn't get ANYthing."  He was not happy.  And, I was not awake enough to think of anything to say.  I patted him on the back and told him to try again tonight.  I'm a little offended that he KNOWS the tooth fairy is me, because she forgot to bring him something.  Am I really that forgetful?  I don't remember.

So, if you were me, which excuse would you use:
"I bet the tooth fairy was off last night because it was Easter."

Or:  "I bet the tooth fairy couldn't get here last night because the storms were so bad.  It would not be safe to fly with all that lightning and win."

Please leave your vote in a comment on this post.  I'll let you know how it goes.

That's enough rambling for one post.  I'll close with some pictures.  Hope you all had a great Easter weekend.

Look at this green mamba...yuck!

The t-rex is chasing Aidan!

Happy Easter!

Hayes and Ella

Cooper and Aidan

Bubbles!

Losing the Battle but Winning the War

I will start this post by telling you that I am not the perfect parent.  I know, I'll give you a minute to recover from the shock.




Better?  I make mistakes all the time...lose my temper, toss around a sarcastic remark here or there, let things slide that I shouldn't...parenting is definitely a journey.

But, something I try to keep in the forefront of my mind is to think ahead.  Don't lose the whole war over one battle.  It's hard to explain what I mean by this, so I'll share some recent examples.

Yesterday, Aidan walked home with tears in his eyes.  He was upset because he had made a 50 on his spelling test.  Now, Aidan is a good student.  He makes good grades.  He has a spelling test hanging on the refrigerator with a 106 on it.  So, this is not a habit.  He just blew it on this test.  So when he walked up to me in the driveway with tears in his eyes and blurted out, "I made a 50 on my spelling test."  I had a choice how to respond.  I could have gotten angry.  I could have demanded to know what happened.  But, here stood this little boy, that hates to fail, obviously broken up about this test.  Why did he need me to make it worse?  So, I hugged him.  And, I thanked him for telling me.  He didn't have to.  The teacher didn't send the test home.  I told him he'd do better next week, and I would help him study more if he needed me to.  See, I could have fought a battle over this one test, or I could win the war for his heart.  I want him to trust me.  I want him to WANT to tell me when something goes wrong...when he messes up.  I want him to know he can come to me and we can work together to fix it.  Because, some day, it will be more than a spelling test.  And, when those big mistakes come, I want him to know that he can come to his dad and me, because we are on his side.

This next example is a little harder for me.  Aidan has a loose tooth.  I hate it when Aidan has a loose tooth.  He has some odd pathological fear about pulling his teeth.  I know how he feels, because I had the same fear when I was little.  This tooth is barely hanging on.  If he would let me, I could pull it in a second.  It takes all my will to not grab him, hold him down and yank that tooth out so the whole thing will be over.  Or, I could try the old, "I just want to look at it" trick and pull it as soon as he opens his mouth.  But, he probably wouldn't fall for that anyway.  He wants to pull it himself, when he's ready.  It sounds silly, but I have to really calm myself down with this one.  I have to remind myself that in the big scheme of things, this is nothing.  The battle is the tooth.  I could win it, if I really wanted to...make him pull it on my time, not his.  But, I want to win the war for his heart.  It's more important that he learn to face this fear on his own, that he feels the pride of pulling it himself, even if that takes a day or two longer.  It's more important that he knows if I say I'm not going to pull his tooth unless he asks me to...that I'm really not going to do it.  Because some day he will have to face bigger fears on his own, and I won't be able to help him.  He needs to know the feeling of gathering up all your courage and doing the thing that needs to be done.  And, I know he'll do it...unless the tooth falls out first!

Vicky Courtney says we should raise our kids to be godly, not good.  There's a difference.  Raising our children to be "good" is self-serving.  We can brag about them...their grades, their behavior, etc.  It makes us feel good when our kids are good.  The thing about good kids, is they are usually being good to please someone, and their definition of "good" will change based on who that someone is.  Godly men and women make mistakes, but then they repent and allow God to use their mistakes.  Godly men and women live for an audience of one.  They live to please God.

So, what are the battles you fight with your kids?  Are you winning the battles, but losing the war?  Try to change your perspective.  Think long term.  Think about what you're teaching them about your relationship...and about their relationship with God.  Give consequences when necessary, be honest with them, teach them the right way to do things instead of criticizing them when they do it wrong, remember they are little and still learning.  Hold them to high, Godly standards, but always remember the grace and mercy that God shows to each of us.

I would love to hear your thoughts on this too...we're all in this together!  Raising a generation of Godly men and women is an enormous task!

I hope everyone has a wonderful Easter weekend.

Where Did We Go Wrong?

I am really embarrassed to tell you this story.  I'm sure it reveals some flaw in my parenting.  Maybe it is a flaw in Mark's parenting.

I will preface this story by saying that we teach our kids about the real meaning of Easter.  We do activities, we read books, we take them to church.  Aidan and I have discussed the fall of man and God's plan for redemption many, many times.

So, when I asked Aidan today, "why do we celebrate Easter?"  I really wasn't expecting the answer that I got.

At first, he said, "Jesus' birthday!"  That's not too bad...I can see how you could get Christmas and Easter confused.  "No, that's Christmas I told him.  What did Jesus do for us?"

And that is when the whole thing went wrong, terribly wrong.  I know he knows this, so I was totally unprepared for what followed.

Aidan thought for a minute and then answered, "He killed Adam and Eve?"

Where did we go wrong?  Seriously?

I will say, after a little while, he answered, "He died for us."  But, that first answer just about killed me.

Wow.  Please don't tell my mother.  I will never hear the end of it.

Odds and Ends

Please excuse the complete randomness and the rambling of this post.  Thanks.

Aidan came home from school the other day with a form about pledging to not watch tv or play video games for a week.  There was a log they had to fill out and bring back to school for a reward.  Aidan handed it to me and said, "I'm not doing this.  TV is my heart and soul."  Where did we go wrong?  I was just a tiny bit relieved that he wasn't interested, because tv and video games have been my life saver with this pregnancy.  I know, please make sure you spell my name correctly on that mom of the year award.  Thanks.

Last night we got ice cream and went for a drive with the kids...just to get out of the house.  Aidan put in his Halloween songs for kids cd.  So, less than a week before Easter, we are driving around with both of our kids dancing to Monster Mash while using stick horses for guitars.  Does anyone else have kids that are this strange?  I didn't think so.

I am craving spicy mustard, banana pudding, a banana pudding frozen custard from Wooley's (does that place still exist?), cantaloupe and bread and butter pickles.  Not all together...thankfully.

I think it is not nice to tell a hormonal pregnant woman who is about to throw up in her own lap that she cannot have the medicine that keeps her from throwing up.  I don't think it's nice at all.

I think Subway should put in a drive thru.  That way, I can order a sandwich drenched in spicy mustard without having to get my daughter out of the car...because she's still in her pajamas...at noon.  Just to clarify, the last name only has one L in it...when will I receive this award?

Mark was talking about Toby Mac being in concert at Six Flags the other night.  Except when he said his name, he put a strong emphasis on the first syllable...so, he said TOby Mac.  We've been laughing about it ever since.  We really don't have much going on in our lives right now, which is why this post is so dumb.

Ella says "got-for" instead of "forgot."  She also says, "cause-be" instead of "because."  We'll never tell her she's wrong.  It's too cute.  Aidan is very worried about what will happen when she goes to a job interview and says "cause-be."  He thinks we're crazy for not correcting her, and it irks him to no end that we won't let him correct her.

Ella wants to name the new baby, "bubba jr."

I was watching a Spongebob episode the other day.  It was the one where Patrick realizes he doesn't have a nose, so he gets one from a nose store.  Then, he realized that everything smells and he can't take it.  It makes him kind of crazy.  It was so nice to feel like someone understood what I'm going through.  Even if it was Patrick Star.  Someone help me.

I wish I could make the people at Target understand what kind of havoc it wreaks in my life when they change their pull ups from pink with dogs and cats to purple with fairies and unicorns.  This was the catalyst for a huge screaming fit yesterday.  Shame on you Target.

Today, Ella was being especially good, so I commented that she was "such a big girl."  Aidan said:  "just like me....no, wait...I'm a boy."  Good job, Aidan.

Ella walked up to me this morning and said, "Mommy, I totally rock."  I think she inherited Mark's self esteem.  Mark's self-esteem and my bossiness...pray for us.

Thanks for staying with this nonsense for this long.

Jessica

Easter Stuff

Hello!
Just got home from our first ob appointment for the baby.  He (or she) looks like a little bean and we could see the heartbeat pounding away.  It's amazing to me still how this all happens.  It is breath taking to see that little bitty heart flashing on the screen.  Looks like we'll be due on November 27.  Man, that seems far away!  Hopefully, this morning sickness will let up soon so I can function like a normal human being!

Before time gets away from me, I wanted to tell you a couple of things about Easter.
First, I was very excited to find out about these chocolate lambs you can order for your kids' instead of chocolate bunnies and chicks.  I love that they each come with the story of the lamb and part of the profits are donated to Compassion's child survival program.  This program helps infants and their mothers get the care they need in 3rd world countries.  I think you can order up until Wednesday and still get them in time...we may have to wait on this until next year...but just in case you're interested, click here:  Easter Lambs.

Also, I posted a recipe for Easter cookies last year, and several of you did this with your kids and enjoyed it.  So, I'm posting a link to that post in case you want to do it this year.  You make them the Saturday night before Easter.  My kids loved doing this.  Here's the link:  Easter Cookies

Please pray that my morning sickness ends soon.  I think I'm about to lose my mind.  Finally, I need to give a shout out to Mark.  He has really out done himself with taking care of me during this time...he's cleaning, doing laundry, taking care of kids, listening to me whine, doing without any kind of home cooked meal, and just generally being awesome.  What a comfort it is to know that there is someone you can count on whenever things are rough!  Don't tell him though...I don't want it to go to his head.

I hope everyone takes some time this week to focus on this Holy Week and what it means for all of us.  Don't let the busyness and the holiday demands detract from why we celebrate!

Morning Sickness is a misnomer,
Jessica

Little Roger

We banished the kids to their rooms the other night, so we could have an actual conversation after dinner without having children running in circles around us.  How selfish of us, I know.  But, even though the kids complain when we do this, they always end up having a really good time.  And, they usually come up with something really strange to do.  Well, Aidan usually comes up with something really strange to do.  Ella just goes along with it.  The other night, Aidan dressed Ella up in his clothes and renamed her "Little Roger."  She started calling him "Big Roger."  Ella loved it so much, she wouldn't let us call her Ella for the rest of the night.  We had to call her "Little Roger."  When she got up the next day, the first thing she said was, "I want to be Little Roger again."  Check out Little Roger and Big Roger:

Big Roger and Little Roger, showing off their muscles

Do you notice that they each have a basketball and one  Spongebob slipper?

No doubt, my kids are strange.  They get it from their father.  But, they have a good time.  I thought it was interesting that Aidan taught her to "walk cool."  He also had her put a peppermint in her mouth, so she could "really look like a little Roger."  I'm not sure what that has to do with anything, but whatever.  While Ella was "Little Roger" she didn't use her normal voice.  She didn't use a deep voice either...but a very high pitched airy voice.  Aidan and I could hardly keep from laughing every time she spoke!
It's always a good time around here.  Can't wait to see how the new baby fits into this mess!

I'm Back

It's been a while...I haven't been blogging because I've been caught up in a bout of nausea induced self-pity.  When you feel like you could toss your cookies at any second, it's hard to think of anything else, and I imagine most people don't want to read about how miserable morning sickness is...so I spared you the details.

Mark and I are trying to decide where we are going to put this new little bundle of joy.  Our house is pretty full...we are out of bedrooms.  But, we're not sure we could sell our house for enough right now to get out of it with anything to put towards a new house.  We found a house in a neighborhood that we LOVE that is in our price range, but it is still 3 bedrooms...it's a little bigger, and arranged a little better, so we think it would be more workable than what we have now...but, we just can't seem to take that leap yet.  We're praying that God makes his will clear to us in this area...if worse comes to worse we'll all just cram into this little house together.  We really like each other, so that's not so bad.

On another note, right now, Ella is sitting in the living room singing, "this is the stuff that drives me crazy!"  It is so cute, and I'm trying not to laugh, because that would make her mad.

I can't believe there are only 6 1/2 weeks left in this school year.  I am really excited about summer, but I CANNOT believe Aidan is going to be a 3rd grader.  I die a little bit every time I think about it.  He is such a sweet kid. When Mark and I were discussing buying this house the other night, Mark suggested we could save up and build on another room if we needed to.  He said, "in 10 years, we could build on."  I quickly pointed out to him that in 10 years Aidan would be going to college and we wouldn't need another room anymore.  And then my heart shattered into about 1,000 pieces.  Ten years?  That's it?  I remember when 10 years seemed like an eternity, but now it seems like a flash...especially where my kids are concerned.  Of course, we may have nothing to worry about, because when Aidan saw a commercial about going to college in your PJs he was very excited.  He said that's what he was going to do so he could stay home with me and get his work done quickly so we could play and watch tv.  I love that kid.

Sorry this post is so rambling...can you tell I haven't had much contact with the outside world in the last few weeks?
Now to what I really wanted to say today.

What I really wanted to say today is that with God, everything can be redeemed.  Everything.  A bad childhood, a bad decision, a bad relationship, abuses you've suffered, abuses you've committed, EVERYTHING.  Give it to Him and He will redeem it.  He will work it together for your good.  He will work it together for the good of others.  It doesn't matter how bad or ugly or embarrassing it is.  God can use it.  Guilt is never from God.  Conviction? Yes. Guilt?  Never.  How do you know the difference?  Conviction will address something that you are doing now and prompt you to change.  Guilt attacks you for things you did in the past and can't possibly change.  If you suffer from guilt or disappointment about the past, or if you think you are less qualified to serve God because of something that happened to you, you're wrong.  Give it to God and watch Him use it for something beautiful.  Everything can be redeemed.

That's been on my heart lately and I thought I needed to share it.

If you're reading this, we covet your prayers over the next several months...for my health and the baby's health and for discernment on what to do about our living arrangements...and that Aidan keeps his grades up so he can get into Pajama College.  :) We are so thankful for our sweet friends and family!

Sick

Here is a list of smells that are making me sick.  Can anyone relate?  Have any tips for me?  I've tried Saltine crackers, ginger ale, peppermints, sea bands, eating lots of protein, Tums, and everything else I can think of.  What worked for you?

1. Food, all food
2. My clothes (and they're clean!)
3.  The inside of our drinking cups
4. My carpet (and it's clean...sort of)
5. The paint on my walls
6.  The inside of my refrigerator
7.  Water...even in the shower
8. Cologne and perfume
9. Soap
10. The dog
11. My couch
12. Food
13. The trash
14. Aidan's lunch box
15. My car
16. Gasoline
17. Coffee
18. My makeup
19. The apricot glaze on the pork tenderloin
20.  The inside of my oven (it's new and has a weird smell every time you heat it up)
21. The inside of the grocery store
22. Food

I had this idea to wear a bandana over my nose...old west bandit style...but I could not take the smell of the bandana.

So, if you'll excuse me, I think I'm going to go sit outside for a few months.

A Special Announcement:

Ella has something she really wants to tell you:

Isn't that great news?  Our family is very excited.

Snicker Doodles

I made snicker doodles the other night and took them to our small group.  Everyone really liked them.  Be careful...it's hard to eat just one or two!  This is a recipe I got from my grandmother when I was in 4th or 5th grade.  They are always a big hit.

Ingredients:
1 1/2 c. sugar
2 eggs, beaten
1 c. shortening (or you can substitute butter)
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. vanilla
2 tsp. cream of tartar
2 2/3 c. flour

1. Mix sugar, eggs, shortening and vanilla
2. Mix flour, salt, cream of tartar and baking soda
3. Slowly add dry ingredients to sugar mixture.
4. Roll into 1 inch balls, chill (at least 15 min.)
5. Roll in cinnamon and sugar
6. Bake on a greased cookie sheet at 350 degrees for 10 minutes.