last one, I promise!

when an 11-year-old owns a camera

More discoveries on the memory card....I promise I will write something meaningful soon. But in the middle of winter, sometimes I fall into brain-hibernation...and this is the type of thing I find very funny!

Once again, ladies and gentlemen

This is the type of thing I often find on my camera. Enjoy! :)

the rocker

My rocking chair is my favorite piece of furniture in our whole house. I would have a rocker in every room if I could. I love to rock, and I have the most precious memories of rocking and singing my babies to sleep.

So we have a sweet five month old at our house right now. She has no lack for cuddling and loving attention, but amidst the hustle and bustle of our busy family she doesn't very often get rocked to sleep. But the other night I wrapped her in a cozy blanket, sat down in the rocker, and she dozed off in my arms. As I rocked her and watched her sweet face, I all of a sudden had this ache in my chest as I realized how fast my own four are growing up. This might sound silly, but I would so love to rock them to sleep again.......

Wha??

A few days ago, one of my boys asked me the following question: "Mom, you know when you're typing and it does that thing and you want it...how do you get it?"

I have to admit, as dialed in as I usually am to what my kids are talking about, I had to walk over to the computer to see because I had NO idea.

Can anyone guess what he meant?

:)

boys will be boys.....

I have learned over the years the truth that boys do, in fact, make weapons out of anything.


Electrical conduit? Perfect sword.



A burnt marshmallow on a roasting stick? A dagger with hot coals. Of course.



Wait! What does this sweet-looking boy have here....a nice lego set! Is that a king and queen? And people dancing? Um, NO. That would be the scene of an ancient Aztec ballgame ritual in which the winners are ceremonially sacrificed to the gods by having their hearts ripped from their chests.





That's all I have to say about that.

birthday fun and mom reflections

Sam turned 10 last week. Ten on the tenth - his golden birthday! To explain the picture....somewhere along the line it has become a must to get a photo of the birthday boy (or girl) pretending to take a huge bite out of his/her cake. Unfortunately, I was so busy taking silly pictures that I forgot to take a nice one! Oh, well..... He had a really fun party with a few of his buddies. He had been planning FOREVER to have these four boys over for his birthday and play TACKLE football. Tim would ref, and Janie and I had fun plans to have a concession stand for the boys. Well, our plans were changed after Sam injured his elbow (from getting tackled...go figure) the week before the party. We were worried about a fracture, but the doc said it was just hyper-extended. Good news, but no football for a while. He was SUPER disappointed. But we came up with a plan B. He still had the boys over, and they played Wii football and had a Lego creation contest. Janie and I had our concession stand in the kitchen where the boys could come up to the counter and redeem their "tickets" for nachos, popcorn, pop, and candy. This was a huge hit with the boys, and they loved choosing from the menu and "buying" snacks whenever they wanted! They ate non-stop! We even had to "close" the concession stand towards the end so that they would have room for cake and ice cream! (Sorry to the moms for totally sugaring up your kids....:) We all had a really fun time!

It's hard to believe that my first boy is ten years old. I'm so proud of him and how he's growing up....of how they're all growing up!! Many of my posts kind of poke fun at the goofy things my kids do, but I just want to say how thankful I am for them. We all have those moments when we drive each other crazy, but the fact is I love 'em so much it makes my heart ache. Watching them grow and learn and mature is one of the greatest privileges I will ever know.

Okay, I'm finished...but let me close by sharing some unprompted phrases that humbled me this week:

"Mom, this shirt is so cozy..thank you for buying it for me!!" (shirt purchased from Goodwill for probably a dollar, since I usually tell them they can only buy it if it's the half-off tag!! :)

"I'm sorry for acting that way, Mom." (regarding tears of disappointment because MOM made a promise she didn't keep)

"Dear Jesus, thank you for dying on the cross for us and forgiving our sins.." (prayed at dinner by child who usually chooses the 'God is great, God is good, Let us thank him for our food..amen' route)

"I love you, Mom."

...these are the days...to remember......