"She smiled"

Today I heard Tucker asking Marky to get him an apple and Marky said, "go ask Mommy if it's okay."  Tucker ran with his little feet pounding the hardwoods and said, "Mommy, may I have an apple please?"  I, of course, said yes and heard his little feet thump thump thump back to the kitchen so fast.   Then I heard Marky say, "well?" and Tucker said, "SHE SMILED AND SAID YES!  Hooray!"

Marky said, "What did you say?" and again Tucker said, "SHE SMILED and said yes!"

How often do I not think about HOW I'm saying things or what my expression is when I'm dealing with the children.  How often to do I have an exasperated look when they ask me for something?  I know I smile at them a lot.  My children truly delight me to my core and I can't help but be happy with them, but I'm also many, many times just distracted and busy and sometimes just frustrated.  And yet I know they need my smile.  They need to know they light up my heart by the joy in my face.

Sweet little Tuckerman noticed right away when I smiled at him and ran to tell his brother.   It takes so little to fill their little hearts with joy and yet I act like remembering to smile is just too much to do sometimes.  I for one am going to really work on my countenance this week.  I want my children to know they are my joy because it's too obvious to deny- just look at the smile on my face.  How often do I ask Tucker to "fix his eyes", but I'm not always "fixing" mine.

Proverbs 15:13 says "A merry heart maketh a cheerful countenance."  And I've recently pondered on the fact that the happiest people I know are the most selfless.  Selflessness brings joy.  Nobody has taught me more about that than Julia.  She is the truly happiest person I know in the world and she has no thought of herself.  She rarely gets her feelings hurt because she's not thinking about her feelings.  Even her bad dreams are about things about other people like "I dreamed Tucker fell down- it was terrible!".  Death to selfishness     is the key to overflowing joy.  Death to the selfish desire of wanting to read the internet right now and getting frustrated that the kids are asking for apples.  It's choosing to pour out my life more today than yesterday.   Everyday I'm learning this same lesson a new way from a new perspective.  But it always goes back to- die to yourself, to your wants, to your selfish desires and you will be free- you will be happy.  You will serve.  You will smile.

Tonight Marc took Tucker a cup of milk and said, "Mommy wanted you to have this."  Tucker said, "Mommy loves me."  Yes I do sweet baby boy.  I love you with all my heart and from now on with all my smiles.

Getting ready for Candelmas

Saturday is the feast of the Presentation of Christ in the Temple, also known as Candelmas.  I've always wanted to make beeswax candles to take to the church to be blessed, and this year I finally had my act together and got it done!

The kit came yesterday and it was SO easy to do and the children loved it.




You literally only have to cut the wax paper to size, lay a wick inside and roll it up. Even Tucker could have done this (but he was asleep!) :)

 

Julia used a heart-shaped cookie cutter to cut out white wax to make Valentine candles.

 

We made 16 candles in all including stripes, polk-a-dots, a cross for a Lenten candle, etc-

Sissy just couldn't wait to get them blessed to use them so we lit them up to see if they worked- and they do!

And when the time came for their purification according to the Law of Moses, they brought him up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord (as it is written in the Law of the Lord, “Every male who first opens the womb shall be called holy to the Lord”) and to offer a sacrifice according to what is said in the Law of the Lord, “a pair of turtledoves, or two young pigeons.” Now there was a man in Jerusalem, whose name was Simeon, and this man was righteous and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him. And it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Christ. And he came in the Spirit into the temple, and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to do for him according to the custom of the Law, he took him up in his arms and blessed God and said,

  “Lord, now you are letting your servant depart in peace, according to your word;  for my eyes have seen your salvation that you have prepared in the presence of all peoples,  a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and for glory to your people Israel. 

 Luke 2:22-+32

Julia's art

"Green Eyes", by Julia, age 6

Overheard

Reading to Marky about the spread of the Muslims across Europe in the 700s I say, "and listen to this- they named the Strait of Gibralter after a Muslim general.  It used to be called the Pillars of Hercules.  Isn't that interesting?"

Marky:  "Yes, the Greeks and Romans, well at least I know the Greeks for sure, believed that Hercules used that point of land to cross over to do his twelve labors.  Remember?"

Um, not exactly.  I don't remember a thing about Hercules from my grade school days.   I just say, "Sure."  :)

Day on the farm

Sunday after church we drove out to the farm to spend the day with BB and Poppy.  We had a wonderful lunch of grilled-out steaks with warm apple pie for dessert.  Then we put Charlie down for his nap and enjoyed their picturesque Paradise Cove.  :)


The first thing we did is look at the four new apple trees Poppy planted. One for each grandson (including sweet Michael).

 

Poppy told Julia not to worry- she had a new PEACH tree-

 

He planted three peach trees by the lake for the three girls- Julia, BB, and Me-

   

Tucker is so blessed to have wonderful men to follow and learn from as he grows.

 

And he has great men to take him fishing. All the children LOVE to fish-


 

Marky actually wants to catch a fish so he usually walks away from all the chatter from Frick and Frack to get a better chance-

 



But Frick and Frack have a lot of fun!

 


After a while the children decided that they could definitely fish better from the canoe. So they were off!

 

Then it was inside for ping pong and air hockey. A superfun day with the family.

 


And here's proof Charliebear was there. Here he is climbing stairs after his nap. :)

 

Overheard

Sissy: I just saw something that made me think of Halloween.

 Mommy: Was it the skull and crossbones on that sign we just passed?

 Sissy: No, not that- what I saw was a skeleton's head with two doggie bones.

 Mommy: Oh, okay- thanks for clarifying. :)

Marky's art

He saw this picture-




And drew this-
 

Owl, by Marc, age 8

Welcome to now!

That black thing on the left is what I've been using as a phone.  It's a flip phone.  It took awful pics, had no internet, and to text you had to push 1-1-1, 3-3-3, etc to get to the letter you want.  What in the world.  I was happy with my phone- in fact, I said I didn't want to be "too" connected- I hate it when people are always looking at their phones- and that definitely wasn't me!  :)

BUT TONIGHT I HAVE SEEN THE LIGHT!  A manchild at Best Buy talked hubby and I into stepping into the 21st century and we have Galaxy SIIIs and I'm already blown away by the difference.  You can text so much easier- you can see your conversation history- they suggest the words you are typing- is this how you all have been living all this time?  Why didn't anyone tell me there was such an easier way?!!!  :)

I asked the guy "can you get navigation on this?  Can you watch youtube on it?" and he was literally laughing under his breath.  I might as well have had white hair and a walker and ask him how to access "the world wide web on the internets".

Granny Donna is on the internets people- now I don't have to wait until I get home to check my calendar.  :) Now I don't have to wait until I get home to check my email.   I've got the power!  :)

The only sad part is I have to change my cell number which has been the same since 1995- when I had a bag phone.  18 years is a long time to have the same digits!

(All night I've been singing Two thousand zero zero party over oops out of time.....tonight we're gonna party like it's 1999....) 

Of course-

Right after I type how tough and into everything Charlie is he surprises me and while I'm installing bathroom locks- (please, please let this Safety First thing work)-



I find him in the den by himself totally content to build a Magna-Tile tower.  I think it helped that the older three had gone and given him some peace.  :)





We all love you so much sweet Charliebear.  God gave you your energy for a good reason.  And you sweet personality.  You have Mommy's heart.  :)

t-shirt idea

Remember when Charlie was the easiest newborn baby and I wanted to get him a t-shirt that said, "If I was any easier I'd be a stuffed animal"?  That shirt NO longer applies.  At all.

Charlie has been in all the toilets this morning- emptied out two drawers and one cabinet- and been generally offended by any toy that I hand him.  "Seriously- you want me to look at that teddybear when I could empty your pots and pans- girl please."   I need someone to get me a t-shirt for him that says "Toys are fo suckas".
 

Thursday- b'ball, books, building blocks

Here's punkin boy.   I love this little guy so much- Daddy says he's my toy.  I've said before how he has a long attention span and can really get engrossed in something and occupy himself for a long time.  The other day as I homeschooled the older children I told him he could skip his nap only if he found something quiet to do.  He sat on the floor for over an hour with little wooden blocks and just happily made things and talked quietly to himself.



"Look,  Mommy, I made a dump truck stuck in green muck"- this simplicity makes him happy!



Speaking of building blocks- that is our favorite thing to do. We have all types of building things- the kids build every single day.  But I will say Magna-tiles are right at the top of our list of best blocks (along with Kapla blocks and tinker toys). Zaza got the kids another 100-piece set of Magna-tiles for Christmas so now they can build even bigger castles and towers. Julia did this by herself yesterday morning- it's actually a bit complicated-



The other thing I have too much of along with blocks are books. I buy books like other people buy paper towels. In my defense they are all read many times- and I justify it as our "tuition" expense for Ayers Academy. Tucker's obsession with the moon led me to buy this book, which got here today and he lost his mind!

I had just gotten tired of reading the astronomy encyclopedias every night as his bed time stories.   I also got some other new books today that we love.  I loved especially The Ink Garden of Brother Theopane that describes how monks made illuminated manuscripts.  It mentioned the Book of Kells in Ireland that I really hope we can take the kids to see sometime. 

 Also- the book on the father of Italian Renaissance painting, Giotto was fun.  

Marc emailed me a pic of Marky playing basketball last Saturday.  Go big boy!

And here he is watching The Hobbit where he got to eat a monster-sized bag of popcorn!

Night with our big boy

Tonight Marky had his first Lacrosse practice for the year, and they had a mandatory parents meeting.   I had already spent over 2 hours this morning at the pediatrician's office getting Charlie treated for yet another ear infection.   With the temperatures so cold I called a sitter on a whim and she kept the babies at home while I took Marky to practice and went to the meeting.

Marc met us there and they let practice get out early because of the freezing temps.  The three of us went out to Mellow Mushroom and had a nice dinner where we got to talk to our biggest boy.  The waitress said, "does he need a kid menu?"  Marc said no.  I said yes.  I know he's big and tough, but he's still my baby.

Marc and Marky have been this whole year reading the Lord of the Rings series at night after the littles are in bed.  They started with the Hobbit and a couple nights ago they finished Return of the King.   Marky actually finished Return of the King on his own when he had strep throat last week.  He sat and read for hours and when Marc got home one night he said, "Daddy I went ahead and finished up."  Marc drilled him on the facts and sure enough he knew even tiny details of the plot.   So while we were sitting at the restaurant Marc and I checked the movie times and found one at the perfect time and Marc decided to surprise Marky with "The Hobbit" movie.

Tonight as I sat looking at my sweet boy who is growing up so fast I said to him, "Marky, Daddy is going to take you to see the Hobbit tonight".    He was BESIDE himself with joy at this totally unexpected and unusual turn of events.  I said, "you are getting to go because you've been such a good boy lately.  The other day when you cleaned the whole den and kitchen without being asked, today at the dr.'s office where you sat quiet and patient for two hours, and every day when you patiently help me with these babies- those are good choices that help serve our family."

The I told him what Poppy always told me, "if you are good, good things happen.  I said, when you make good choices Daddy and I are happy to do little extras for you.  Just like when I was little and Poppy told me if I made good choices, life would be good for me (from my parents that is)."

Marky smiled and said, "yep- and you were good and so now you have four children."

I for some reason was totally caught off guard with that response and got tears in my eyes.  "No, sweetie, my children are not a reward for good behavior, you are the result of God's grace to me and a precious gift I didn't deserve."

I didn't "deserve" these children, they truly are an unmerited gift, and I am touched the Marky's comments reminded me of that, but I'm even more touched that Marky has eyes to see that children are a GREAT REWARD- A GIFT- A BLESSING- not a burden.   He thinks to have children is a great joy.  He sees children with the eyes of Christ.  When he thinks of "rewarding someone" he thinks of "giving them children."  How backwards is that in this day and age where there are people who think of babies in the womb as disposable and children at home as something to merely endure?  Thanks be to God for his eyes of faith.

Overheard

Last night we heard a ton of banging around in the boys' room well after bedtime and Marc went upstairs and swung open the door and said, "what's going on in here?"

He saw Tucker, in footy jammies, standing holding a sword.

Tucker:  "Hi Daddy."
Marc:  "What are you doing buddy?"
Tucker:  "Marky dropped his Grrr (his bear's name) and I'm trying to get it from behind the bed."
Marc:  "Well, can you get it?"
Tucker:  "My head won't fit!  It's too plump.  My head is full like a full moon and I can't look behind the bed!"  :)

Overheard

Mommy:  "Marky, do you know who Martin Luther King is?"

Marky:  "Jr. or Sr.?"  :)

Sat and Sunday pictures

BB is on crutches from surgery she had a week and a half ago.  We all had strep throat and other ailments and didn't get to visit her until this Saturday.  The kids made her cards and got her flowers and the little ones and I had a nice day at the farm (Marc took Marky to his basketball game).  The most exciting news at BB and Poppy's- a new air hockey table in their basement playroom- they had already gotten a ping pong table. These kids will never want to leave this place!  :)



Notice the horsey decals on the wall for Julia- (also- I want to remember how sweet Julia was to Tucker.  She kept beating him 15 to nothing over and over and without being asked she started letting him win without him knowing- he would look away and she would push it in and say- "look Tucker you got one!" and even let him win an entire game.)




And Tucker and Charlie LOVE the Thomas decals (and that's Marky's artwork in the frames)-



And here are things I don't want to forget about Tuck Tuck.  (I have no where else to write these memories).  For one- I've said before how he loves to learn.  He is always finding something to learn.  Today he himself found some preschool folders and worked them all.  He had come in from jumping on the trampoline and thought he'd "relax" with a little work-






 Also- I love how he knows ALL the phases of the moon (I still don't know how he learned those- Marc said he thinks it's in a book somewhere). He's obsessed with the moon (just like Daddy) and looks for it every day. A couple days ago he went on the deck and came in and said, "Mommy- today we have a quarter moon, no more crescent." Thanks Tuck. Then on the way home from church this morning I hear, "OH- Look through the trees everybody! I see a "Gibbous" moon! Do you see the gibbous moon, Mommy?" :) We love your thirst for knowledge Buddy Bear.



Charliebear after church and lunch.  Something I want to remember about Charlie- he LOVES soup.  I've never had a baby like soup, much less freak out about it, but I cannot eat soup in front of Charlie.  At Jason's deli all we get him is a cup of brocoli cheese soup and he eats the whole thing and then tries to eat mine and screams if I don't give it to him.  A quirky little Charlie thing.
 

"Cheese"- I leaned down to take the pic so he leaned down too. :)
   

"Stick"-
 

I dressed him more like a boy to compensate for the Breck girl hair-
 

Sissy the sweety pie. When we were taking a meal to BB I said, "Julia, feeding the hungry is a corporal work of mercy and that's what we are doing today." Her eyes got so big and she smiled and said, "YAY!! We are doing a corporal work of mercy! How wonderful! I'm going to offer all this food and even my whole day to God."
 

And finally the shaggy-haired big boy with giant eyes-
 

Can you please do a real smile just once? :) Thank you Buddy.