a little child shall lead them....

Last night the kids got to bed late due to a long, hot Little League game which meant showers for all boys afterward. It was about 10:30, and I heard post-bedtime footsteps coming down the stairs. Not one of my favorite sounds. I was immediately ready to roll some heads. Until Joe peeked his head down the stairs and gave me the following report:

"Mom, I just wanted you to know that I asked Peter if he wanted to be a Christian, and I told him I would pray with him and he could repeat after me and I helped him become a Christian."

Silence as Tim and I digest this news... Can you just picture the scene up there between those two little beds? I had to stop and really realize that, even if Peter doesn't really understand what being a Christian means, that Joe just had a hand in Peter's early understanding of salvation. It amazes me that a six-year-old boy would even have that on his mind at 10:30pm on a Thursday night. A humbling reminder that God is at work in even the littlest.

P.S. Just to keep things real, I have to add this little bit....In my over-analytical-ness, I made sure to talk with Joe about the fact that while a prayer is an important part of making a decision for Jesus, it is the belief in our hearts that Jesus is the Son of God and died for our sins that truly makes us Christians. He said he knew that, and also that he believes in Santa. "I don't know why, I just do." (in all earnestness). Okaaaayyy. I guess we'll sort that one out later!

ahhhh.......summer!

another tough guy..

A few Sundays ago, we met Tim's brother's family in Peoria to see a traveling Titanic exhibit. Upon arrival, we learned that the wait time to get in was FOUR HOURS. Just think of standing in line with NINE children altogether for that long. Not even close to comprehensible. So, thanks to Deb's Garmin, we found a nature center that had some hiking trails. We had a great time hiking, finding snails, having cousin-fun. Of course, with that many kids, there had to be at least one injury. And of course, poor Joe took one for the team.

tough guy

This morning, my husband asked me to remove a splinter from his foot. He knows how I LOVE to get splinters out. (I'm quite serious about this. I find great satisfaction in removing splinters. I get excited when my children get splinters. Sick, I know.) His was right on the bottom of his foot - unfortunately not in a calloused area. So I found my choice tweezers (the kind with sharper edges, not those blunt ones - totally worthless), arranged the lighting, and set to work. Though the splinter was visible, there was nothing to grab onto, so I had to do some work with a needle. This is the part I particularly enjoy, although my victims--I mean, patients vehemently oppose this practice. Anyway, my big strong husband - who once shaved off the end of his finger with a wire cutter and wrapped it with electrical tape, who goes to work with broken ankles, and who slides into second base with shorts on - this man squirmed and yelped during the splinter removal process. We decided he wouldn't make a good prisoner of war. The enemy would have no trouble getting him to sing like a canary.

little heart-breaker

Can't you just see the girls swooning over this one in a couple of years? (I'm talking about Joe, not Tim --although I personally think there's much to swoon over in the latter as well) ;)

I love those boys.

kids music

Tim listens to music pretty much all the time. He's got great taste in music, and is always introducing new stuff to us. (For you parents, one of our ALL TIME favorite "kids" albums is called "Slugs, Bugs, and Lullabies" by Andrew Peterson and Randall Goodgame....absolutely wonderful). So the kids have quite a repertoire of songs in their little noggins. That's great. But there is a band that they seem to have really caught on to called the House of Heroes. They are a VERY talented group of young punks (by young, I mean twenties). Not exactly kids music, though. They play for Christian venues, and they are incredible musicians. I even attended one of their concerts. Aside from feeling OLD, it was great. But my kids sing their songs all the time, and sometimes it makes me wonder if we should only be letting them listen to "Wee Sing Bible Songs".

They are particularly drawn to a song called "If". The following are some of the lyrics: "I could be in love..if..you wore that dress everyday....your beautiful smile and your eyes of gray...if you mine if you were mine if you were mine...a beautiful bird on a line...a beautiful bride of frankenstein...a beautiful drop of iodine....if you were mine, i'd have the world...i'd have the world...if you were mine..."

Nothing inappropriate, really. But Peter sings this song to himself while coloring or playing legos. And Sam, when asked in Sunday School to share one of his favorite songs with the class, chose this one. His teacher later asked if I would help him select a "Christian" song to share next time. Sigh.

Another one is about a guy in love with a communist girl. ????? My children know this song.

Can you imagine peeking in on your four-year-old as he builds a train track, hearing him sing "Red, Red, Baby's a Red, she's blood red, Baby's a Red, the feds said lock her in lead, she's red, but, I love her...."?

Don't judge me. It's how it is at our house. I told Tim to make up for all this nonsense, he has to put "Wee Sing" on his ipod and play it while he's got the kids in the car. That will go over big, I'm sure.

catching up..

(I thought I'd share a picture of our new table - see previous post about selling old table on a whim at garage sale...- I have since stained the top, but have not yet painted the legs..you get the idea anyway. Isn't it grand and sturdy-looking?)

I have spent the last few weeks enjoying my friends' blogs, fully intending to upload some pics and post something new (Tim says I need more pics on the blog...true..I'm just lazy and half the time can't find my camera..). There certainly has been no lack of blog material around here...I've been storing them up in my head. So each night when everyone is finally tucked in and quiet - the perfect time to recall the day's happenings - I sit down for just one or two episodes of the office on Hulu, and then it's all over from there. ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ's. And more ZZZZZZZZZZZZZ's. You get the idea. I've tried posting in the middle of the day, but you know how I have a hard time keeping it short and sweet...and so many distractions...and it ends up all rambling and not making much sense.

LAND THE PLANE, as my friend's husband always says..in other words, get to the point.

So I'm trying to get back in the blogging saddle. It has been an adjustment around here getting used to six rather than four. I don't adjust very quickly. It's always a messy emotional ride. Usually not pretty. And messy. Isn't life just messy? Ours is. Anyway, the adjustment period is settling down. So I'm going to try to get some things blogged so I can look back and be glad to remember the little things.