Why didn't God heal my Dad?

My goals aren't often the same as His.  His are a whole lot better, even when my vision is cloudy and self-centered.  Excellent read as spring brings memories of Dad being sick.


http://www.desiringgod.org/blog/posts/when-the-angel-didnt-come?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+DGBlog+%28DG+Blog%29&utm_content=Google+Feedfetcher

Tum time

Click here for cute!

Milestone

First laugh!  Wonderful, joyous giggles from the little miss as I was getting her ready for a nap, had her laid down on the bed, and was lifting her arms over her head and kissing her neck and tummy.  What ample payment for 12 weeks of intense naptime efforts for this girl!  Paid in full.  Those were luscious giggles :)

Sunday Best

Raised by wolves?

Well, here's a couple of video captures depicting what happens when a mother of young boys has been too busy with her newborn to pay much attention to her other children.  Or, said another way:  evidence of older siblings' increasing ability to self-entertain upon arrival of an Eden.

The good news is that Eden SLEPT IN HER CRIB FOR ALMOST ALL OF HER NAPS FOR THE LAST 3 OR 4 DAYS!!!!  She has been doing a fantastic job.  Her naps are still micro-short, but she is putting herself to sleep!  Repeatedly!  I am such a free woman now.  Hence, I had the opportunity to come downstairs and see what the children were up to :}

This weekend we had a brunch and swingset-raising with friends from church.  Our super-wonderful neighbors gave us their swingset, outgrown by their son.  Certainly not outgrown around here!!  This is going to be a wonderful addition for summer...which it's looking like more every day!

Here's the good stuff:  http://vimeo.com/39156749

Milestone for you!

Eden, you did it!  You went to sleep on your own tonight for the first time.  Mom got brave enough to try it.  Combo of great timing and perhaps last night's experience :}  Whooppeeee!  May this be the sign of good days to come! 

Milestone

Eden, today your parents achieved a milestone in your development:  it was the night they broke.  They tried to coddle you even more than their previous children because you're so cute, you're the baby, and they were willing to go all out to keep you happy.  But, when you started waking up every hour at night wanting to be picked up and put back to sleep, they knew you weren't sleeping well enough for your own health, and they thought they might go insane.  So you cried for a while this 19th of March 2012, in the middle of the night, and learned how to put yourself back to sleep, and it wasn't as bad as it might have been, but it wasn't pretty either, and your mom hated it as much as you did.  If you have lasting mental health issues, you and your brothers can all go to therapy together and split the costs, and you'll know who did it to you.  Believe it or not, it's because I love you, and want you to sleep better.  (And yes, we love ourselves too :)  Good night.  xoxo

When I grow up...

At bedtime tonight...

Mommy I love you more than the whole outer SPACE!  [Owen's typical bedtime love professions are on a space theme.]

I decided that when I grow up I am going to be a scientist and I am going to make rocket ships that can go so fast that people can fly in them and get to other planets other than the moon.  That's what I'm going to do.  I am NOT changing my mind from making very fast rocket ships and flying to other planets.

Me:  Well, I think that's a great plan.

Yup.  It's my plan.  And it's NOT changing.

Smiles

Eden was all smiles and chatter before I turned on the camera.  Managed to get a couple cute smiles, but hardly the best stuff ;)  She can really taaaaalk....long drawn out sounds, sort of like a Siamese cat.  So funny!  If she gets the talking gene that Owen and I have, it's going to be a loud house :}

http://vimeo.com/38706766

Leprechaun Hunting

Well, it has been quite the St. Patrick's Day around here.  It all started when I picked O up from preschool on Friday.  "Mom, mom, come in and see our Leprechaun traps!!!"  Apparently the kids had read a book about leprechauns and learned a few things from it, and before pickup time, the boys had engineered some great snares.  Owen's was made of wooden blocks that formed a little well, and a ladder up the side.  "Mom, you put a sign that says GOLD INSIDE and then the leprechaun goes up there to find it and gets TRAPPED!!!  And if you catch the leprechaun you get HIS gold."  Nathan and Matthew had other ingenious traps of their own.  They were all QUITE excited and are anticipating going back on Monday and seeing if their traps are full. 

Today I was desperately getting some cleaning done, and kept shooing the boys away.  Then I found that they were just gluing themselves to the computer.  If there's something worse than a kid playing games for too long, it's another child perfectly content to just watch!  That drives me crazy.  So, an ingenious idea if I do say so myself...found a crystal votive holder and filled it up with some Chuck E. Cheese tokens (gold) we had lying around.  The kids were already in their green clothing, so they were the leprechauns, and I hid the treasure around the room I was cleaning for them to find.  Usually they needed some help, so Owen learned about clues and how to interpret them:  "If the gold had fingers, it could throw snowballs without getting cold!"  OK, so maybe I'm not the best clue-giver, but eventually Owen was figuring out that the prize was in the mitten basket.  This lasted a good hour!! 

Then, the home-building of leprechaun traps began.  Dad and Owen worked on some new design ideas.  Owen constructed them from legos.  It was so adorable.  He *really* thinks he's going to catch a leprechaun.  I keep telling him that I'm not sure anyone has ever actually caught one, but he says he's pretty sure his trap is a really good one.

Me:  Owen, do you want to put some of the gold in the trap to lure him in?
"No.  I'm just going to put a sign that says there's gold and trick him.  Then he won't take MY gold if he gets away."

MOM!  You CAN'T blink or the leprechaun runs away.  See, watch [eyes bugging out trying to stare without blinking very forcibly].  I'm practicing so when I go to my trap he'll have no chance to run.

This is going to work SO well.  There is more than one leprechaun you know, Mom.  Matthew thinks there might be a billion.  I have one trap at school and now TWO at home, so I will probably catch at least one.  They are just very tiny [holds fingers an inch apart].

I think leprechauns might be nocturnal.  I think that's maybe why we never see them when we're awake. [Umm, that and we don't live in Ireland?  Hee hee.]

Caught a little movie of the leprechaun-catcher explaining his tactics.  Hope we don't have a terribly disappointed little boy in the morning!!  http://vimeo.com/38706681

For supper the kids ate their weight in corned beef, accompanied by butternut squash pizza (sounds weird, but yummy!!) and pepperoni pizza for the kids (wasn't sure they'd go for corned beef).  And celery sticks.  And coffee cake from breakfast for dessert.  It was a weird meal, but hey, I actually cooked it.  We've been eating out of the freezer a LOT.  Which I don't feel bad about at all...I think it's a minor miracle that the children have been steadily fed at all for the last 6 weeks :}  [The awe for her mother-in-law with 6 children further deepens...!!]

Today

Folks, my little girl is in a bad way. She will not sleep a nap longer than 20 or 30 minutes, even in arms. Very moody, overtired and time to learn independence...but to start letting her cry when she's not well-rested...don't know if it will work. Sad we got to this point. I think if someone else was raising her she'd probably be doing well...I seem to have the gift of unteaching babies to sleep as they age. She was so easy-going and now she's a cranky mess. Sigh.

Onto other things...recent pix!

Superman...the untold stories

Me:  Owen.  You are cranky, you are being very disobedient today, and you couldn't sleep in the middle of the night last night.  You need a catnap.  There will be no arguing and no changing my mind.  You will take a catnap on my bed today while Asher is in his crib.
[Wailing and gnashing of teeth, mini-tantrum, defiance ensues.  Mom is set to win, and does.  Owen begins to accept inevitable and is sitting on my bed.]
Me:  Now, it's not so bad.  You do not have to take a real nap.  Just a catnap!  I will wake you up so you don't sleep too long and miss out on your day.  You are going to feel great when you wake up.  You're going to have so much energy and feel like superman!  Seriously great.
Owen:  [lighting up]  Will I have energy like Superman?  Will I be able to FLY? 
Me:  Well, you won't be able to fly, but you'll have tons of energy to play and feel happy until bedtime, and Superman also uses his energy to help people, not just to fly.
Owen:  He HELPS people?? [Neither of the children actually have a clue as to who Superman is, yet they are smitten with him for some reason.]
Me:  Oh yes, that is why he is so super.
Owen:  Are you telling me that Superman takes CATNAPS??
Me:  Of course!  How do you think he keeps up his energy for helping people?  He probably takes a catnap almost every day!  Just a short one!
Owen:  REALLY?
Me:  Oh yeah, no doubt about it.
Owen:  [smiling]  OK, mom.  I'll take a catnap.
[Mom closes door and peeks in mere minutes later and child has crashed and looks like an actual cherub on her pillow.  Mission accomplished!]

Her Pinkness

I just love this little sleeper of hers...ribbon-embroidered flowers and tiny pearls...very delicate and not overdone :)  Just like the brothers, the best smiles and coos stop the minute she sees a camera, ah well.

Princess

Missy upon waking from a nap on my lap. Yes, I am hanging on by my fingernails since she is now exclusively a 15-20 minute napper if she is put down. It's quite unreal...since the mothers left there is not as much opportunity to hold her all day which results in a very tired and wired child. But how can I not just sit and love this face and forget the challenges for a while...even if she did scream bloody murder for an entire hour in the car and no falling asleep today. :}