Life with my sister

Henry is 25 months old. Sometimes I sit and start to panic that I am going to regret not writing it all down. This weekend was one of those weekends. I just sat down and started typing. I feel better now. I know I will never be able to record it all. I have so much bottled up in my heart that will stay there forever. Henry, you are 25 months old: You have learned that you have an opinion and you share it. It is adorable and annoying! You love to say “NO WAY” and “NO WAY JOSE!” You sometimes laugh when you say it…which makes it adorable. You love your “monkey” like crazy. You still like both the blue/white & blue/green one . You love to rub the silky part. When we were at Marmie’s for Christmas Daddy had run an errand in the truck and your “monkey” was with him. Marmie gave you a green silk nightgown and you were happy. Silly, sleepy boy and crafty, smart grandma! You love trucks, trains, tractors, buses, combines, and bicycles…anything that goes, basically. You love pushing your t...

It seems that most of my days lately are spent teaching my kids and then running them around all over the place. They all have somewhere to go and something to do. It also seems that I spend a tremendous amount of time talking loudly (yelling), and disciplining them. I get so tired of it! I feel like my mothering skills are shameful because I'm still having to discipline them at the ages of 13, 10 and 7. Shouldn't they have caught on to somethings by now???!!! But then I remember the times when we drive down the road and laugh with each other. When they all come in our bedroom in the morning and sit on the bed with us. We laugh, talk, and just sit and wake up together. I look at their faces. They have gotten so big. They can no longer lay between Stephen and me. They no longer need me to lay out their clothes or fix their breakfast. I love them so much. I catch myself smiling and wiping a tear from my eye. We haven't done everything right as parents, probably not the majori...

God is so good at revealing Himself in such ordinary, everyday events. He turns the ordinary into the extraordinary. I know from my many years of being a lover of God that He wants a relationship with me. He wants daily talks and He desires my interaction with Him. He also wants me to love His other children, to be a family with them. A couple of my children are struggling right now. Part of their punishment I've given is time alone in their bedrooms. Time away from me and their siblings. As I've had a couple of days to experience the lack of their companionship, I've missed them. I've missed their voices, laughter, and the relationship that we share day in and day out. I'm thinking that God feels the same way about us. He loved us so much, He created us and satisfied the requirement so that we can not only have our present with Him, but also our eternity. I love my children so very much, but it isn't anything like the love God has for them or for me. I hate not...

Please be sure to look at the post following this one. Henry is so very cute!!! Yesterday I was feeling sickly. I had been up in the night and as I was teaching school I knew that there was a kidney stone among us. I've had three and would like to never have to go through that pain again. I would much rather go through labor! I ran to the store and picked up some food items we would need to get through the day, went to church to tell Stephen that I seemed to have a kidney stone and then headed home. I told the kids what was happening and asked them to help de-clutter the living room a bit. I was afraid that if I had to go to the hospital the house would be a mess for whoever was going to have to come watch the kids. While I was putting a load of laundry in the washer, the boys got my pillow and a blanket and laid them on the couch for me. They also put my favorite "sick time" movie in for us to all watch together. Samuel answered the phone and didn't allow a...

I did this last year with Anna, so this year I did it with the boys. And Anna decided to join in too! Here we go: DRB - David, DSB - Daniel SCB - Samuel AKB- Anna What is something I always say to you? DRB -Lets do school DSB -Lets do school SCB - clean your room AKB- I love you What makes me happy? DRB -breakfast in bed DSB -breakfast in bed and when I unload the dishwasher SCB -sleeping in AKB-cleaning the house What makes me sad? DRB -when people do something wrong DSB -when one of us leaves SCB -when we ask whats for breakfast AKB-When we don't take the trash out How do I make you laugh? DRB -tickle me DSB -talk funny in the van SCB -when your hair is in a towel AKB-you tickle me What was I like as a child? DRB -smart DSB -friendly SCB -boring AKB-me How old am I? DRB -39 DSB -40 SCB -39 AKB-39 How tall am I? DRB -6 ft 2in DSB -6 ft 3 in SCB - 5ft 3in AKB-6ft What is my favorite thing to do? DRB -go shopping DSB -have a picnic SCB -go out with friends AKB-shop What do I do whe...

Instead of telling secrets about Abby I have decided to write about each of my children for the next 4 days. This isn't so much so that you can get to know them, but so that I can have something written about them at this age. But I do hope you enjoy these little snapshots into their lives. Samuel Charles was born October 11, 1997. My pregnancy with him was very unplanned but once we found out that what the doctors thought was a kidney stone actually turned out to be a baby we could not contain our excitement! Samuel was born 2 weeks early due to a once-in-my-lifetime bout with pre - eclampsya . As the doctor looked at him for the first time he called him a miracle baby. His cord was in a knot. The dr said most babys don't live when this happens. He didn't think it had anything to do with the car accident I was in 4 weeks prior, he said it probably happened early in the pregnancy. Samuel is the first born grandchild on all sides, so to say he got everything he wanted or ...

Last night we sat around the table eating potato soup (from a Bear Creek mix-the best!!!), and we began talking about our futures. David said he wanted to live in a mansion, yet he wants to be a reading teacher. I told him both of those probably were not going to happen, but he didn't seem deterred. He also gave us the name of his children. He plans on having 2 boys and 2 girls, their names will be John, Luke, Lucy, and Gracie. His wife is going to get to pick out their middle names. He thought this was fair, because they would each have gotten to pick out 4 names. Anna wants to work at the mall, she asked me very nicely if she could. I told her "of course you can." I mean she is 4, I would hate to taint her love of the mall at such a young age. She then asked if she could have 2 jobs, because she would also like to work at a restaurant. It turns out, the girl just wants to work at cash register. And she got one for Christmas, so things are working out just fine for her. ...

Do you know what I'm talking about? Everything is achy, PMS, can't stand the voices of your own children, have 54 things to do but can't seem to get the first one done, want to decorate for Christmas but it isn't even the middle of October yet. You know what I mean? There are weeks that go by when I think I have this mom thing under control. And then it all comes crashing down. I realize that my lapses in disciplining my children over time have rewarded me with disrespectful, disobedient children. And it isn't that I don't know better. I know all the Bible verses, I've read all of Dobsons books, I am a Babywise mom(Oh how I love the first Babywise book!), I have 4 children and homeschool them, how could I be doing this all wrong?!! I'm supposed to love my childrens voices, enjoy cooking breakfast and lunch for them, and enjoy our time together. But then there are days like today. What is that verse again? Isaiah 40:11 ...and (He) shall gently lead ...

Two nights ago as I was tucking the twins into bed, David said his prayers. He prayed that all the flood and tornado victims would find shelter. And then he prayed this "shelter even better than what they had". I was blown away by that, how sweet that he would want them to have better than before. Last night as I tucked him in and he prayed, he prayed the same thing. So , I asked him why he wanted them to have better shelter than before. He said "so next time a flood or tornado comes they will be safe." I don't talk a lot about the twins different personalities, but David has a tender heart. He feels for others and wants the very best for everyone. He prays that everyone in the whole universe(he says he prays for the universe in case their are astronauts in space) will be saved. He isn't even a Christian yet. He is really a sweet boy, I can't wait to see what God has in store for him. David's mom-Julie

I haven't bragged about my kids here yet, so let me take this opportunity to do so. My oldest is a 3rd grader and a handsome little thing. He is making all A's in school(except for a B in math that should be an A by now!) and playing hard on the baseball field as both a catcher and a pitcher. Not at the same time, as my Daddy likes to joke about!! He is learning responsibility by taking out the trash and cleaning his room and also by being a good big brother. My next child is 5, very soon to be six. He is in kindergarten and making all S's and has recently had 3 stitches removed from his forehead after he ran into a door at the house. He was quite a trooper, I'm very proud of him. He is learning to read and wants to know what every word is that he can't sound out by himself. My next child is 5, very soon to be six. Does that sound familiar? Oh the life of a twin! He is also in kindergarten and also making all S's. He loves to draw and make houses for his stuffe...