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Nap Time and Injustice!

It's been so long since we've had nap time! My youngest is almost nine as she likes to put it. Sunday afternoons are usually spent relaxing for a couple of hours after church before we head back for youth group, but it's mostly Dad that naps, not us.

Somehow I managed to get myself and six children to church on time this morning! I even managed to get them into their respective classes and I managed to make it to the youth bible study that I'm teaching. You know, after such a hard week, I also managed not to lose it even one time. That is, until bible study.

So there I am, teaching about Injustice around the world to a group of teenagers, two of which are my own. I was supposed to teach this bible study three weeks ago, but the man was very sick. The following week I had bronchitis and then last week I was dealing with the family crisis. It dawned on me this morning that I was teaching on Injustice around the world; something I'd dealt with all week long.

I'm pretty sure that God knew this was going to happen. After we watched the video, bible study took on a whole new life of its own. And then, I started crying and could hardly speak. It was terrible. But, those kids know me so well, so I'm pretty sure they were surprised as all get out. And I'm pretty sure that our circumstances made it real for them. And I hope that it showed them that we need to stand up and fight against the injustices in this world, and give them the Hope of Christ.  And I really hope that it gave them the courage to know that they can make a difference.

I asked the Talented One if I embarrassed him today. He's so sweet. He said it didn't embarrass him at all, that he'd felt the same way and maybe it was good for them to know. And he was great! After church Dad and B-boo had to be somewhere else, so the Talented One and I were in charge. We had a 4, 6, 8, 10, & 11 year old to feed, as well as ourselves. It was a hoagie sandwich day and it we pulled it off, as well as getting the kitchen cleaned afterward!

And so here I am, writing this blog as I sit next to a sweet heart of a four year old sound asleep beside me. I'd forgotten how much a mom can look forward to nap time!

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Mornings with B-Boo

I'm a morning person; always have been. It's that time when all is quiet and you have just those few moments to your self, or when school is in session, a few moments of one on one with a child. The Talented One has to be at school by 7:00 am. I usually get up around 6 am, have my prayer time and head downstairs. Sometimes he'll want breakfast, perhaps an omelet, other times he wants nothing. We don't have a grand quality time, but we usually do spend a few moments talking before he heads off. I'll do some dishes or make a pot of coffee or tea, depending on my mood for the day. Before we leave to take him to school, I wake up B-Boo so that she can get ready. Her school starts at 8:00 am.

Cocoa_sweetOnce I drop off the Talented One, I go back home and make a bagel or toast for B-Boo. She loves a cup of hot chocolate each morning. Now, this is not the type that you add a packet of chocolate to hot water. No! She likes a real cup of chocolate. The kind that is made with real milk and Ghirardelli's chocolate. You have to make sure the milk is hot enough and then add a few heaping teaspoons of chocolate. It's not complete until the top is covered with whipped cream. (This stuff also make the most amazing chocolate frosting!)

While looking on their website this morning I came across more cocoa products! I cannot wait to try their white mocha! It looks delicious!  I could probably write a whole blog (or two or three) just on chocolate, but this is not one of them. It's about my mornings with B-Boo!

By the time I finish making breakfast and hot cocoa, B-Boo makes her way downstairs. She'll have a seat next to me and we'll start our daily reading. We've been working our way through the Bible. We started Exodus today. (Sometimes we don't get to read because we're studying for a test.) I've discovered we like to read the New Living Translation for our morning reading because it is a little more story-like. My favorite version is NKJV. Anyway, after reading about Moses this morning, we had a little extra time for fun. Never one to miss a moment like this, B-Boo suggested that we watch a youtube of Veggie Tales as she had a song stuck in her head.

We started off with God is Bigger than the Boogie Man and then moved to the Cheeseburger song and finally ended with I Love My Lips . Yes, she's 14! If you've never watched a Veggie Tale video, I highly recommend it. It's not something you outgrow and your children will love them! We've been watching Veggie Tales forever it seems. We used to love singing them when we'd head out on a road trip…or when we just wanted to be silly.

She's at school now and the other two are still sleeping. I think I'll let them sleep a little longer before beginning our homeschool day, and I'll go watch another Veggie Tale!

 

Laughable Moment #5

We have a thief, or thieves, in our home. It's true. We just can't deny it any longer. It's hard as a parent to recognize this and just accept it for what it is. Last night, the Talented One was doing his homework on his bedroom floor. He had his mp3 player sitting next to him. He went on with his evening, playing his piano, showering, etc. When he went to get his mp3, he found it was missing. He searched everywhere for it, but could not find it anywhere. He searched his bed, drawers, anywhere that he might have left it, all the time insisting that he'd left it right where he was doing his homework. Finally, he went to bed, frustrated.

This morning, he still could not find it. He has proficiencies today, and was not a happy camper about his mp3 player. I got up early to make sure he had a good breakfast and then went outside to feed the dogs. Guess what I found sitting right outside the dog door?

Yup, you guess it! The mp3 player had been found. Joey had been sitting with him the night before while he did his homework. We figure when he was left alone, he decided to grab the cord and run with it. We're having that problem with the pups right now. Usually it's socks or a soft toy. They are learning, but they are puppies after all and have to be taught! I told my son last night to check outside and see if the dogs had gotten it, but it did seem like they would have left it alone since it's a hard piece of plastic. Nope…they're thieves.

My son was relieved to find that no harm had fallen on his mp3
player (although I thought I heard some muttering about shooting the
dogs), and I got a great chuckle this morning.

IMG_0003 The Smart One with Joey the Thief

Does he look like a thief to you?

Funny Things Kids Say

When told that Mom was done driving everyone around, the drama queen, 8 years old said,

"So mom, if I want to go anywhere tomorrow, I have to walk or figure it out, right?"

We were watching a movie the other night that had Lindsey Lohan in it. When this same child saw her, she remarked,

"They need to feed her in real life. She's too skinny!"


One day when the Talented One was about 4 years old we were at my oldest son's baseball game. We were all sitting on the bleachers, which were full that day. Grandpa was sitting on the lower rung and our son was sitting on one higher up. He stood up and proclaimed to the whole world that day,

"Grandpa! Did you know you have a hole on your head?!"

Poor Grandpa was so embarrassed! Now the whole world knew he had a bald spot!

Another time this same son was looking at his grandmother's hand and asked her,
"Grandma, how come you have all those cracks in your hand?"
Poor Grandma had to explain that they were wrinkles.

And then there's our youngest son. When he was about eight years old, he started growing his hair out longer. Before then, he'd always worn it very short. A friend (bald) remarked to him one day,
"Boy, you need a haircut!"
To which he quickly replied,
"Well, at least I have hair."
It was definitely a spewing moment!

But the one that takes the cake for the week had us in stitches tonight. Seriously, I had tears pouring down my cheeks it was so funny! Our two youngest have been having a week of not being very nice to each other. After the final straw tonight, hubby marched them up to our room for a good shaking the fear into them! They are both standing there with tears streaming down their faces as hubby explains to them the need to be kind and loving towards each other. I add in the "treat others as you want to be treated" part, etc, etc.

And then it happened. The Drama Queen just couldn't take it anymore and wails out loudly and with as much drama as she can muster,

"I try to be nice! I'm trying really hard! I can't help it if God made me this way!"

Ok, she was so earnest….and we tried to take her serious, honest we did. But when we looked at The Smart One's face and saw him trying really hard not to laugh as tears were streaming down his face, we just lost it. I mean, I tried biting my lip. I tried turning my face. I did, honest. But….it just bubbled out! We were downright laughing out loud, the three of us, as my poor Drama Queen just stood there wailing. Which made us feel even worse….and continued the drama….until she at least smiled through her tears.

After things were all settled, hubby and I got a moment to ourselves…and just started giggling again. We couldn't help it! The mental picture will be with us for years to come!



The Case of the Missing Hamster

Monday, November 6, 2006

 

What a weekend!  Middle son’s hamster showed up missing on Sunday morning. He’d cleaned the cage on Saturday evening and forgot to lock it.  The little booger knows how to push the door open, which is why he has to keep it locked!


Here’s the story:

So we searched and searched and finally went to bed, telling our son the hamster was bound to show up in the
middle of the night by running across someone’s feet. Not so.

At 4 am, I was awakened by scratching noises. They’d gone on for a few moments I think, as I was between the land of gone and come back. As I drifted back to consciousness, I realized the sound was coming from the wooden TV table. About a second later, I realized it must be the hamster! I leaped up, turned on the vanity light so as to not awaken my slumbering husband….but the little critter had vanished. Bummer.

I decided to go back to bed and pray and try and get some sleep, all the while wondering how that little hamster got up all of those stairs and made it to the farthest room in the house! A bit later, I heard the scratching again. I crawled out of bed again, turned on the light, and …….don’t hold your breath….nothing.

I crawled back into bed, prayed some more, tried to doze. About 5:12 am, I heard it again…this time going through plastic…and I immediately freaked. You see, we have a poster of our oldest daughter that I still had not framed, wrapped in heavy plastic beside hubby’s desk in the room. I envisioned this hamster shredding away that poster; the very last poster of her competing in gymnastics….this was war! I jumped up onto the bed and pounced over hubby while yelling at him “WAKE UP! The hamster is in our room!”….made it to the light in a flash…and caught the little booger, standing up on his hind legs on the carpet at the end of our bed as if to say, “Oh Lord…she’s caught me and she doesn’t look happy!”

Hubby quickly shoved the door close so she wouldn’t escape! Then he went on one side and I on the other. He is now wide awake and yelling at me to catch the hamster….yeah right! The dern little critter was way to fast for me! As she
scampered between my legs and headed off to my closet, I grabbed my cell phone and called the hamster owner who was downstairs in his bed dreaming the night away.

I heard a groggy, “Hello?” to which I screamed into the phone,
“GET UP HERE NOW!!!”

1/10 of a second later he appeared in our room. (I didn’t know the boy could move that fast!) I yelled at him that his hamster was in our closet and he needed to get her out of there please. She was so wound up every time he caught her she’d jump out of his hands, so I ran downstairs and grabbed her ball, ran back upstairs, handed it to him and she jumped right in. He promptly took her back downstairs, put her in her cage and locked the door. He said the poor little thing was just guzzling down that water!

I gotta tell you; I asked the boy…what were you thinking when you ran upstairs? He said, he thought something horribly awful must have happened and he’d better get up there now. Poor kid…he’s probably traumatized for life. I still crack up every time I remember his look of sleep and surprise; I’ve been laughing ever since!