Several years Craig and I rented a movie that was pretty bad - so bad I don't remember much about it, including the name. All I remember is this otherwise totally dysfunctional family played a game that caught my attention. They called it "High/Low". It just consisted of everyone in the family sharing their high point and low point of the day. Even though we don't yet play this regularly as a family, it is something I have always remembered. This past week while I was at my parents' house I watched a Bill Hybels DVD where he shared about a group of people who played this and how it changed their friendships and their lives as they learned to share more deeply. (I don't think this game was started by the bad movie I mentioned first - that was simply the first time I had heard of it.) Anyhow, I thought that since this is the last day of June I would share some of our highs and lows of various this month.
End of School:
highs -
The First Grade Musical Sarah Winnemucca (our kids elementary school) has the most wonderful music teacher (besides Mrs. Earle, of course). I have been so impressed by her since the first time I sat in on one of Annie's music class, but this musical was quite an accomplishment. Over 100 students were in the musical and each child had a solo, a speaking part or played a musical instrument for one of the songs. Amazing.
Kindergarten Graduation It doesn't get much cuter than Kindergarteners singing songs. The only thing cuter was when they called each child by name and shared how they completed the sentence "When I grow up I want to be..." Annie said she wanted to be an artist. But I think my favorite answer was the kid who said she wants to be a teenager.
low-
Poor Annie. She had a wonderful teacher for Kindergarten and on the way home from school on the last day was sharing her feelings with my friend who was driving carpool that day. I wasn't there, but this is how the conversations was conveyed to me: So, Annie, how was school on your last day? Annie: The last day...a new grade, a new classroom, new friends, a new teacher. This is the worst day of my life. I think she is excited about first grade, but it is nice to know how much she enjoyed Kindergarten.
Father's Day Weekend:
highs-
Craig's friend let us use his family's cabin near Lake Tahoe for the weekend. (Thank you, Scott!) Our highs inlcuded pancakes & baon for breakfast, taking the kids to the beach, finding a great, cheap burger joint, shopping at a craft fair, an awesome BBQ and a fun time just being together at the cabin. The kids were overheard saying things like, This is so AWESOME! (Josh) and When can we live in a cabin like this? (Annie) and Can we come every time no one in Scott's family signs up to use this cabin? (Josh) E-mail me if you want the link to the pictures.
low-
I think it would be for Craig - we were up on the beach hanging out with Max and Noah, teaching Max how to dig in the sand, when Annie came running up and said, "The inner tube is floating away - will you go reach it?" If it had been our inner tube it would probably still be in the lake but since we borrowed it from the cabin Daddy saved the day and dove in and swam after it. Lake Tahoe is pretty chilly in June...
Trip to San Jose:
highs-
Mike Kenny's wedding in Hollister It was a beautiful wedding and we especially enjoyed hanging out with college friend Kristen who had flown up from San Diego
Day Camp Josh and Annie had a blast at camp each day. Their fieldtrips included the redwoods, the children's historical museum & park, Monterrey Bay Aquarium, gymnastics and swimming. While they were at Camp I spent my time catching up with friends I hadn't seen in a while (Rebecca & Kristi) and watching some great DVD studies that my parents have - Bill Hybel's, Just Walk Across the Room and John Ortberg's If You Want to Walk on Water You Have to Get Out of the Boat. Great stuff.
lows-
Our travel times were less than perfect due to events in Reno both Saturdays. An interesting tidbit - we crossed the state line right around 11:30pm BOTH ways. Yep, we left Reno late Saturday night after Craig got back from working a wedding and arrived at my parents' house at 4:00am. Then Friday after Day Camp we left at 5:00. It took us 90 minutes to go the first 30 miles. That only included one short "detour" when I pulled over to change Max after he got carsick. Such a fun trip. Did I mention that Craig flew back Monday morning in time to go to work? Thankfully, Kevin and a friend of his (whose mom I happen to know - crazy...) met us for "dinner" at McDonald's in West Sac lasat night about 8:45. It was nice to have a few extra hands for our stop.
Saturday, June 30, 2007
Tuesday, June 19, 2007
Like a Mommy Bird...
I often have people say things to me like, "I just don't know how you do it with four kids," or "I could never manage with a big family like you do." I don't really know how to reply to comments like that. I'm not Supermom. I just do what I need to do because I am the mom of these kids. Sure, it's hard, but sometimes you just "do" because that is what you were made to do.
This spring we had a bird's nest in our front yard inhabited by a mommy bird. She sat so faithfully on those eggs. I was sure the noise of the kids playing right next to her tree would scare her away. But she just stayed there. No matter how close they went to the tree to look at her she just stayed there. When I saw Craig getting ready to mow the lawn I was sure that would scare her away. I mean, really, wouldn't she just give up and fly away with the noise of that lawn mower right beneath her? Nope. She just stayed there on her eggs because that was what she was made to do.
God has a plan for each of us. Thankfully his plan for me is different than his plan for you. (You're probably thinking the same thing, aren't you?) But I belive he has put somehting special inside each of us mommies - the ability to just "do" what we need to do because we are the mom. Just like the mommy bird had the ability to do her job - sit on those eggs - no matter what distractions or scary noises came along, God will enable us to do our jobs as moms - no matter what distractions or scary cirumstances come our way.
This spring we had a bird's nest in our front yard inhabited by a mommy bird. She sat so faithfully on those eggs. I was sure the noise of the kids playing right next to her tree would scare her away. But she just stayed there. No matter how close they went to the tree to look at her she just stayed there. When I saw Craig getting ready to mow the lawn I was sure that would scare her away. I mean, really, wouldn't she just give up and fly away with the noise of that lawn mower right beneath her? Nope. She just stayed there on her eggs because that was what she was made to do.
God has a plan for each of us. Thankfully his plan for me is different than his plan for you. (You're probably thinking the same thing, aren't you?) But I belive he has put somehting special inside each of us mommies - the ability to just "do" what we need to do because we are the mom. Just like the mommy bird had the ability to do her job - sit on those eggs - no matter what distractions or scary noises came along, God will enable us to do our jobs as moms - no matter what distractions or scary cirumstances come our way.
Monday, June 11, 2007
Moving forward on my stationary bike
Over the years I've heard lots of comparisons drawn between life and treadmills. I don't want to be just moving for the sake of moving and not really going anywhere. I figured this illustration would hold true with stationary exercises bikes as well. And then I got one.
A few months ago I won a free membership to a small ladies gym. But a month after I started working out there it closed up. I thought about joining another gym but our family has what I call "extreme childcare issues" and it just didn't seem practical right now. So I bought a bike. I ride for a half hour or so in the afternoon while my babies are napping. My bike sits on my back deck and I really enjoy the fresh air and the peacefulness of my quiet backyard. But best of all, I can read. No one bothers me when I'm on my bike (at least in theory). I just sit there and pedal - and read. It is my quiet time to read and think. I just finished reading Generation NeXt Parenting by Tricia Goyer, thanks to my time on my bike. (If you were born in the 60's or 70's - Generation X - I highly recommend this book. So great to have someone OF our generation write a book specifically FOR our generation. More than just a parenting book...)
This weekend I started reading You're Late Again, Lord:The Impatient Woman's Guide to God's Timing by Karon Phillips Goodman. (Those of you who know me well are already laughing, aren't you?) The beginning talks about the difference between waiting patiently and waiting purposefully. Waiting on God doesn't mean just sitting still and waiting for him to move. It means to wait with purpose. While I wait I need to do what he wants me to be doing. Leaning on him, growing in him, moving closer to him. Serving him. Using my gifts. He didn't make me to sit still! Duh!!! I can put my hope in the Lord and wait on him. Then I will be able to renew my strength and soar on wings like eagles. I can run and not grow weary and walk and not be faint. I can ride my stationary bike in my backyard and keep moving forward!
A few months ago I won a free membership to a small ladies gym. But a month after I started working out there it closed up. I thought about joining another gym but our family has what I call "extreme childcare issues" and it just didn't seem practical right now. So I bought a bike. I ride for a half hour or so in the afternoon while my babies are napping. My bike sits on my back deck and I really enjoy the fresh air and the peacefulness of my quiet backyard. But best of all, I can read. No one bothers me when I'm on my bike (at least in theory). I just sit there and pedal - and read. It is my quiet time to read and think. I just finished reading Generation NeXt Parenting by Tricia Goyer, thanks to my time on my bike. (If you were born in the 60's or 70's - Generation X - I highly recommend this book. So great to have someone OF our generation write a book specifically FOR our generation. More than just a parenting book...)
This weekend I started reading You're Late Again, Lord:The Impatient Woman's Guide to God's Timing by Karon Phillips Goodman. (Those of you who know me well are already laughing, aren't you?) The beginning talks about the difference between waiting patiently and waiting purposefully. Waiting on God doesn't mean just sitting still and waiting for him to move. It means to wait with purpose. While I wait I need to do what he wants me to be doing. Leaning on him, growing in him, moving closer to him. Serving him. Using my gifts. He didn't make me to sit still! Duh!!! I can put my hope in the Lord and wait on him. Then I will be able to renew my strength and soar on wings like eagles. I can run and not grow weary and walk and not be faint. I can ride my stationary bike in my backyard and keep moving forward!
Friday, June 8, 2007
My kids say the darndest things!
Some of these are from a while back but I thought they were worth posting...
Jan. 06 We were sitting at dinner tonight and out of the blue she says, totally seriously, "When can we play Pass the Max? We'll just pass him around the circle and whoever is holding him when he spits up wins!"
2-6-06 I decided to buy Annie a new dress for her birthday. Monday night I took her to the store with me and on the way I told her that I was going to show her her birthday present when we got there. She loved the dress I had picked out! (I'd had my eye on it for weeks...) She wanted to hold the bag in the car and was talking about how she wanted to try it on when she got home to surprise Daddy and Josh. At one point I said, boy, you sure seem excited. Her reply - I'm so excited it's like we're getting pizza for dinner and the whole world was made out of chocolate!
2-13-06 Annie wouldn't get up and went back in there and said, "Are you a sleepy-head today?" She replied, "No, I'm a frozen-head!"
August
I was toasting frozen waffles for breakfast this morning. But, there was some debris in the bottom of the toaster oven and one of the waffles caught on fire. Next thing I knew Josh was out of seat on the floor saying, "Annie - quick! Get low!" To which Annie responded, "Yeah! And don't forget to stop, drop & roll!"
Sept.
My kids came home from church tonight with an especially neat craft. I asked her their teacher was and my daughter replied, "Miss Piggy." I laughed thinking about how they had watched The Great Muppet Caper this afternoon, but I wondered what she meant. After a minute I asked, "Could it have been Miss Peggy?" "Oh, yeah, that's what I meant."
A recent funny conversation:
(walking down the hallway in opposite directions)
Me: I love you.
Josh: I love you.
Me: Really? You do?
Josh: Yep, I do.
Me: Hey, that gives me an idea. Maybe since we love each other you could be my kid and I could be your mom.
Josh: That sounds good.
Me: Okay, but what do moms do?
Josh: Well, they get pregnant, have babies and make rules!
Oct.
10-5 My daughter announced at dinner last night that she is the "Craft Queen" and her brother is the "Snack King."
10-8 The other night we ordered Chinese food for dinner and in the middle of the meal Josh (6) said, "It's a good thing I wasn't born in China." Knowing how much he loved Chinese food, I asked him to explain why he thought that. "I don't know any Chinese," came the reply. "Not a single word!"
10-16 Our family is dressing as Wizard of Oz characters for Halloween this year and my 5 year old daughter is going to be Dorothy. When they scheduled my c-section for the week before Halloween Annie asked if the new baby could be Toto. Well, yesterday
I picked up a basket at Wal-Mart for her to carry. I figured she could use it to put her candy and prizes in and it would go nicely with her costume. She was /so excited /when she saw it because she thought she was going to get to carry the baby around in the basket. After all, she is Dorothy and the baby is going to be Toto. I think she was okay with the candy/prize idea once she got over the initial disappointment...
Nov.
Some recent conversations with Josh, age 6:
Josh: Mom, how many hours are in a day?
Me: Twenty-four.
Josh: How many hours are in a night?
How do you answer that?
Me: Kids, go get your shoes on. We need to go to the grocery store.
Josh: You know, Mom, if we get a cow we'd never need to go buy milk.
Me: Nice idea, Josh. Just go get your shoes on please.
We decided to try rearranging the kids' bedrooms and were moving Josh (6) in with Max (15 months). As I was tucking him in, Josh said, "Mom, what happens if I'm so asleep that I don't hear Max if he cries?" I told him not to worry because I always hear him. Then he said, "Oh yeah, moms are always awake. I just stand by you and your eyes open right up. But dads have to be patted and stuff for a while before they wake up."
12-1
Annie was making her peanut butter and jelly sandwich for lunch and she was describing each step out loud as she did it. When she noticed I was watching her she looked up at me and said, "I'm just being Rachel Ray!"
I was on the couch feeding the baby and was starting to doze off a little. Annie was next to me so she leaned over and gently stroked my arm and started to sing in her sweetest voice, "Rock a bye grown-up..." I laughed so hard I almost dropped the baby!
I decided to introduce the Advent wreath to my kids this year in hopes of creating a new family tradition. The first Sunday I set the table in the dining room for a special dinner and put the wreath in the middle of the table. After dinner, I started to explain to the kids that each candle represents something different and we'll talk about a different part of the Christmas story each Sunday as we light that candle. Right as I'm talking about what a fun way this will be to help us count down the weeks until Jesus' birthday, Josh interrupts with, "Is this a menorah?" Gotta love public school...
January 2007
Annie: I need some more tennis shoes, Mom.
Me: What happened to your other ones?
Annie: They shrunk!
(Me: Yeah, so did my jeans...)
I took Josh and Annie to get their hair cut over the weekend. While we waiting our turn another family walked in with a little blond girl about Annie's age. Annie turned to me and said, "Can I have my hair golden like hers?" I answered, "No, honey, God picked the color of your hair and we need to keep it that way." Her answer - "But you color your hair, Mommy!" Busted again.
Annie: Can I have a snack, Mom? I'm Spanished!
Me: I think you mean famished, Annie.
Annie: Oh, yeah, famished. What does famished mean?
Josh: Do you want me to eat some of those tater tots right now to make sure they aren't poisoned?
Craig: Please stop - that is so irritating.
Annie: What's irritating mean?
Josh: It's when one ear is frustrated with the other.
March 20, 2007
Max doesn't have a very big vocabulary yet but one of his "words" is "quack quack". He always says it when he sees a duck, but he thinks other animals make that sound too. This morning he was looking at the fish and frogs in our tank and started to say "quack quack." Josh came over and corrected him - "No, Max. That's not a quack quack. That's a glub glub."
Jan. 06 We were sitting at dinner tonight and out of the blue she says, totally seriously, "When can we play Pass the Max? We'll just pass him around the circle and whoever is holding him when he spits up wins!"
2-6-06 I decided to buy Annie a new dress for her birthday. Monday night I took her to the store with me and on the way I told her that I was going to show her her birthday present when we got there. She loved the dress I had picked out! (I'd had my eye on it for weeks...) She wanted to hold the bag in the car and was talking about how she wanted to try it on when she got home to surprise Daddy and Josh. At one point I said, boy, you sure seem excited. Her reply - I'm so excited it's like we're getting pizza for dinner and the whole world was made out of chocolate!
2-13-06 Annie wouldn't get up and went back in there and said, "Are you a sleepy-head today?" She replied, "No, I'm a frozen-head!"
August
I was toasting frozen waffles for breakfast this morning. But, there was some debris in the bottom of the toaster oven and one of the waffles caught on fire. Next thing I knew Josh was out of seat on the floor saying, "Annie - quick! Get low!" To which Annie responded, "Yeah! And don't forget to stop, drop & roll!"
Sept.
My kids came home from church tonight with an especially neat craft. I asked her their teacher was and my daughter replied, "Miss Piggy." I laughed thinking about how they had watched The Great Muppet Caper this afternoon, but I wondered what she meant. After a minute I asked, "Could it have been Miss Peggy?" "Oh, yeah, that's what I meant."
A recent funny conversation:
(walking down the hallway in opposite directions)
Me: I love you.
Josh: I love you.
Me: Really? You do?
Josh: Yep, I do.
Me: Hey, that gives me an idea. Maybe since we love each other you could be my kid and I could be your mom.
Josh: That sounds good.
Me: Okay, but what do moms do?
Josh: Well, they get pregnant, have babies and make rules!
Oct.
10-5 My daughter announced at dinner last night that she is the "Craft Queen" and her brother is the "Snack King."
10-8 The other night we ordered Chinese food for dinner and in the middle of the meal Josh (6) said, "It's a good thing I wasn't born in China." Knowing how much he loved Chinese food, I asked him to explain why he thought that. "I don't know any Chinese," came the reply. "Not a single word!"
10-16 Our family is dressing as Wizard of Oz characters for Halloween this year and my 5 year old daughter is going to be Dorothy. When they scheduled my c-section for the week before Halloween Annie asked if the new baby could be Toto. Well, yesterday
I picked up a basket at Wal-Mart for her to carry. I figured she could use it to put her candy and prizes in and it would go nicely with her costume. She was /so excited /when she saw it because she thought she was going to get to carry the baby around in the basket. After all, she is Dorothy and the baby is going to be Toto. I think she was okay with the candy/prize idea once she got over the initial disappointment...
Nov.
Some recent conversations with Josh, age 6:
Josh: Mom, how many hours are in a day?
Me: Twenty-four.
Josh: How many hours are in a night?
How do you answer that?
Me: Kids, go get your shoes on. We need to go to the grocery store.
Josh: You know, Mom, if we get a cow we'd never need to go buy milk.
Me: Nice idea, Josh. Just go get your shoes on please.
We decided to try rearranging the kids' bedrooms and were moving Josh (6) in with Max (15 months). As I was tucking him in, Josh said, "Mom, what happens if I'm so asleep that I don't hear Max if he cries?" I told him not to worry because I always hear him. Then he said, "Oh yeah, moms are always awake. I just stand by you and your eyes open right up. But dads have to be patted and stuff for a while before they wake up."
12-1
Annie was making her peanut butter and jelly sandwich for lunch and she was describing each step out loud as she did it. When she noticed I was watching her she looked up at me and said, "I'm just being Rachel Ray!"
I was on the couch feeding the baby and was starting to doze off a little. Annie was next to me so she leaned over and gently stroked my arm and started to sing in her sweetest voice, "Rock a bye grown-up..." I laughed so hard I almost dropped the baby!
I decided to introduce the Advent wreath to my kids this year in hopes of creating a new family tradition. The first Sunday I set the table in the dining room for a special dinner and put the wreath in the middle of the table. After dinner, I started to explain to the kids that each candle represents something different and we'll talk about a different part of the Christmas story each Sunday as we light that candle. Right as I'm talking about what a fun way this will be to help us count down the weeks until Jesus' birthday, Josh interrupts with, "Is this a menorah?" Gotta love public school...
January 2007
Annie: I need some more tennis shoes, Mom.
Me: What happened to your other ones?
Annie: They shrunk!
(Me: Yeah, so did my jeans...)
I took Josh and Annie to get their hair cut over the weekend. While we waiting our turn another family walked in with a little blond girl about Annie's age. Annie turned to me and said, "Can I have my hair golden like hers?" I answered, "No, honey, God picked the color of your hair and we need to keep it that way." Her answer - "But you color your hair, Mommy!" Busted again.
Annie: Can I have a snack, Mom? I'm Spanished!
Me: I think you mean famished, Annie.
Annie: Oh, yeah, famished. What does famished mean?
Josh: Do you want me to eat some of those tater tots right now to make sure they aren't poisoned?
Craig: Please stop - that is so irritating.
Annie: What's irritating mean?
Josh: It's when one ear is frustrated with the other.
March 20, 2007
Max doesn't have a very big vocabulary yet but one of his "words" is "quack quack". He always says it when he sees a duck, but he thinks other animals make that sound too. This morning he was looking at the fish and frogs in our tank and started to say "quack quack." Josh came over and corrected him - "No, Max. That's not a quack quack. That's a glub glub."
Thursday, June 7, 2007
Some things I've learned lately...
Learning the hard way…
When teaching a one year old how to crawl down the stairs be sure that you are behind him.
If you are going to lock your keys in the car, try to do it before you put the baby in the backseat.
Too much of a good thing is possible...especially when you're talking about yogurt and a one year old's tummy.
Letting a Kindergartener push the grocery cart is probably not a good idea...especially if you are near a very large display of Cheez-Whiz.
It is so much easier to pay for a cart full of groceries if you actually bring your purse with you to the store.
Today's Lesson: If you have a few inches of snow on your front windshield and you think it looks light and fluffy enough that you get the bright idea to just turn on the wipers and swish it, be sure to pull both legs into the vehicle and close the door completely before turning the wipers on.
Review of Yesterday's Lesson (lesson revised): Even if you think you are just going to take the kids to school and come straight back take your purse with you. You might get the bright idea to go to the bank which you never went to yesterday because you didn't have your purse then either.
Lesson continued for day 3: Having your purse with you isn't enough if your wallet isn't actually inside.
Don’t believe everything you read on the internet. Putting a chopped up onion on a plate inside your car will not actually remove the smell of vomit. It will just change the smell to seem like the child who got sick had just eaten an onion prior to throwing up.
The "fix it and forget" method for cooking dinner works much better if you remember to actually plug in the crock pot.
When teaching a one year old how to crawl down the stairs be sure that you are behind him.
If you are going to lock your keys in the car, try to do it before you put the baby in the backseat.
Too much of a good thing is possible...especially when you're talking about yogurt and a one year old's tummy.
Letting a Kindergartener push the grocery cart is probably not a good idea...especially if you are near a very large display of Cheez-Whiz.
It is so much easier to pay for a cart full of groceries if you actually bring your purse with you to the store.
Today's Lesson: If you have a few inches of snow on your front windshield and you think it looks light and fluffy enough that you get the bright idea to just turn on the wipers and swish it, be sure to pull both legs into the vehicle and close the door completely before turning the wipers on.
Review of Yesterday's Lesson (lesson revised): Even if you think you are just going to take the kids to school and come straight back take your purse with you. You might get the bright idea to go to the bank which you never went to yesterday because you didn't have your purse then either.
Lesson continued for day 3: Having your purse with you isn't enough if your wallet isn't actually inside.
Don’t believe everything you read on the internet. Putting a chopped up onion on a plate inside your car will not actually remove the smell of vomit. It will just change the smell to seem like the child who got sick had just eaten an onion prior to throwing up.
The "fix it and forget" method for cooking dinner works much better if you remember to actually plug in the crock pot.
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