YOU'VE GOTTA READ THIS BOOK! 
All I Gotta Say Is.....
YOU'VE GOTTA READ THIS BOOK! 
Yet Another Shattering Experience....
Not 30 minutes after I typed the last blog, there was wailing coming from the boys bathroom upstairs. I ran up while balancing a baby and a bottle (sound familiar) to find 2 little, wet, crying, naked boys standing outside of the bathtub. Apparently, Jack squirted a water toy at the light fixture above the tub causing the bulb to shatter. The whole thing fell into the water grazing Thatcher's back on the way down. (go figure)
Luckily, he got by with one small scratch, no blood, no embedded glass fragments. Nonetheless, they were frightened beyond belief. This time a tear ridden Jack said "I'm sad that I made Thatcher get hurt." With that, they both cried harder...then I heard a 3rd cry enter the mix....the cry of a 3 month old baby girl who I had been feeding while trying to calm the 2. The cries of her brothers sparked her own tiny need to sympathize....isn't that what girls do?
Once again the boys are having a "sleepover", snuggled together, and best friends.....
However, Chris' version of the story is "I'VE TOLD THEM A THOUSAND TIMES TO QUIT SQUIRTIN THAT LIGHT FIXTURE! WHY DOES IT TAKE THEM DISOBEYING AND GETTING HURT TO LEARN A LESSON??"
Ouch! That's a whole 'nother blog!................
Luckily, he got by with one small scratch, no blood, no embedded glass fragments. Nonetheless, they were frightened beyond belief. This time a tear ridden Jack said "I'm sad that I made Thatcher get hurt." With that, they both cried harder...then I heard a 3rd cry enter the mix....the cry of a 3 month old baby girl who I had been feeding while trying to calm the 2. The cries of her brothers sparked her own tiny need to sympathize....isn't that what girls do?
Once again the boys are having a "sleepover", snuggled together, and best friends.....
However, Chris' version of the story is "I'VE TOLD THEM A THOUSAND TIMES TO QUIT SQUIRTIN THAT LIGHT FIXTURE! WHY DOES IT TAKE THEM DISOBEYING AND GETTING HURT TO LEARN A LESSON??"
Ouch! That's a whole 'nother blog!................
There Once Was A Boy Who Fell Out Of A Tree...
We have a cluster of huge fir trees behind our house. There is a little area within the trees that the boys have claimed as their secret hideouts. They've added "rooms" with sticks. Chris helped them attatch a rope to one of the branches to pull up the leaves making a "garage" for them to enter. Their imaginations are priceless.
Jack is THE tree climber in the family. One evening he was climbing pretty high up in one of these trees. Unfortunately, he sat on a weak branch, it snapped, and he fell. He landed on his stomach and got the wind knocked out of him. Thatcher watched the entire thing and was traumatized. In fact, the way we found out was hearing Thatcher bawling hysterically. Since we hear this numerous times throughout the day, we didn't jump up. He made his way inside just sobbing. Then screamed out that Jack had fallen out of the tree.
Of course, then I felt like I had the wind knocked out of me. I imagined the worse! I was feeding Margaret at the time, so Chris ran out there. I followed close behind balancing the baby and her bottle.
Jack was okay, just scared from the blow! I had the wind knocked out of me once in the second grade when I fell off of the monkey bars. I understood the feeling.
Thatcher was STILL crying even when he saw with his own eyes that his brother was fine. He turned to us with his little red swollen face and said "I thought he was dead."
When Thatcher said this, Jack began to cry.
What a display of true brotherly love. Yes, they fight as much as they play together, but even with the pushing and shoving they don't love ANYONE more than each other!
That night they both requested a "sleepover." Which simply means that they get to sleep together in one of their rooms.
When Chris checked on them later that night they were snuggled up in Jack's bed next to each other...alive, asleep, and best friends.
PS...Hold Your Comments Tree and Plant People: this picture was taken in another tree. I fully realize that this is NOT a fir tree! Another just so ya know!! ;0)
The Make-up of the Fair Haired Son.....
Scratched eyelid from Light Saber
Bottom of foot pierced by nail
Scalped nose on coffee table
Several falls left marks on tail
Toes peeling from eczema
4 inch scrape on leg from tree
Large bite on shin from bug
Falling off bike left bruise on knee
Cheeks stained from rolling tears
Black outlines where bandaids have been
Not a day without drama or turmoil
Nor one without hugs and a grin
Scabs and scars polka dot his frame
Big Brother's shadow- teaser- hams it up too
The size of his heart twice the size of his body
Sweet Thatcher, we sure love you!
The Rays At the Rainforest Cafe....
No, I have NO idea why Jack is NOT smiling in this picture! It's not like he was taken off guard...he knew the purpose of this pose, yet refused to smile! I think he did it to get back at me because I wouldn't let him wear his rotten, worn Nike hat to the restaurant!Otherwise, this picture is a complete reminder of God's blessings for me!
Never knew my heart could be divided into 4 sections and it be a "good thing"!
Martha Stewart, eat your heart out....not only is this a GOOD THING, this is a GOD THING!
(Can I get an AMEN?)
A Peek At Some Photos & A Just So You Know...
Okay, I was talking about this today with my mother-in-law and sister-in-law....lets just get this out in the open....here on the blog.....Yes, we have a son named Thatcher. Yes, we have a daughter named Margaret! Yes, we are AWARE of the former prime minister of England, Margaret Thatcher. Do we have a thing for her? NO! We don't! Were we aware of her when we named our 3rd? Yes, we were! Do we care? NO! Do you know how many Will Smiths and Michael Jacksons there have been since those 2 became famous? Does that matter? No! We love our names, they fit their sweet faces, and we wouldn't have it ANY other way!
Just so you know..... ;)
I promise we love Jack, but he RUNS when I pull out the camera!
You want the TOOTH? You Can't Handle the TOOTH!...
Yes, this post is all about teeth! Jack is a little more sensitive than Thatcher, so I'm limited in my picture taking with him. So, I was not able to document the following story in pictures. You'll just have to close your eyes and mentally view this experience!! However, you have to keep your eyes open to read it.....
Jack has had a stubborn loose tooth for exactly one month! I mean REALLY loose! It's been his top left front tooth of all teeth! It had become SOOO loose that it was sticking straight out of his mouth.....truthfully, he looked like Nanny McPhee! We had been begging him daily to pull it, and he just wouldn't. He'd wiggle it here and there to apease us, but then tell us to quit talking about it! That was all well and fine until the permanent tooth began to come in. We were afraid of it leaving a major gap on his top row of teeth leaving him a bright future in gangsta rap, so we begged harder. Chris wanted to pull it so bad and couldn't understand why Jack wouldn't let HIM pull it! (The man manhandles criminals....Jack knows this)
I FINALLY broke down and took him to the dentist yesterday. Jack did NOT want to go, but he's usually pretty brave when it comes to shots and such and doesn't fight it.....I said USUALLY...We promised him icecream and lunch at McD's since they have the ever exciting Star Wars bobble heads in the Happy Meals....
So, I haul in with all 3 children. Jack gets called back. We ALL go. The overly tan dentist comes in and blinds us with his overly white smile. Agrees that the tooth HAS to come out or Jack's career in gangsta rap would be inevitable. He puts the numbing gel on the tooth, then Jack jumps out of the chair and protests! I was holding Margaret and wrestling with him for 30 minutes. He's a lot stronger at 7 and harder to tackle with one arm. It didn't go. We ALL gave up.
Thatcher was the MOST disappointed because he knew ice cream was now out of the question!
Last night, we begged and pleaded with him to pull this stinkin' tooth! Chris gets him to wrap floss around it and pull. Jack is the narrator, so he has to give us the play by play of each pop and crackle....(wonder where he gets that?) The whole family sits in the bathroom with him for over an hour. He's ready to give up so he takes out the floss! Chris then says "We'll go get ice cream RIGHT NOW if you pull the tooth and McD's for lunch tomorrow!" Jack smiles and with that, the tooth falls out onto the bathroom floor! All it took was a smile?
Needless to say, at 10:40 last night we were all in our pajamas going through the drive-thru ordering hot fudge sundaes! I'm not sure who cheered louder....Jack or Thatcher! And as of noon today we now have 2 ever exciting Star Wars bobble heads to add to our Happy Meal Toy collection....
Yes, the tooth fairy visited as well....unfortunately she didn't leave enough to cover the dental copay!!
Jack has had a stubborn loose tooth for exactly one month! I mean REALLY loose! It's been his top left front tooth of all teeth! It had become SOOO loose that it was sticking straight out of his mouth.....truthfully, he looked like Nanny McPhee! We had been begging him daily to pull it, and he just wouldn't. He'd wiggle it here and there to apease us, but then tell us to quit talking about it! That was all well and fine until the permanent tooth began to come in. We were afraid of it leaving a major gap on his top row of teeth leaving him a bright future in gangsta rap, so we begged harder. Chris wanted to pull it so bad and couldn't understand why Jack wouldn't let HIM pull it! (The man manhandles criminals....Jack knows this)
I FINALLY broke down and took him to the dentist yesterday. Jack did NOT want to go, but he's usually pretty brave when it comes to shots and such and doesn't fight it.....I said USUALLY...We promised him icecream and lunch at McD's since they have the ever exciting Star Wars bobble heads in the Happy Meals....
So, I haul in with all 3 children. Jack gets called back. We ALL go. The overly tan dentist comes in and blinds us with his overly white smile. Agrees that the tooth HAS to come out or Jack's career in gangsta rap would be inevitable. He puts the numbing gel on the tooth, then Jack jumps out of the chair and protests! I was holding Margaret and wrestling with him for 30 minutes. He's a lot stronger at 7 and harder to tackle with one arm. It didn't go. We ALL gave up.
Thatcher was the MOST disappointed because he knew ice cream was now out of the question!
Last night, we begged and pleaded with him to pull this stinkin' tooth! Chris gets him to wrap floss around it and pull. Jack is the narrator, so he has to give us the play by play of each pop and crackle....(wonder where he gets that?) The whole family sits in the bathroom with him for over an hour. He's ready to give up so he takes out the floss! Chris then says "We'll go get ice cream RIGHT NOW if you pull the tooth and McD's for lunch tomorrow!" Jack smiles and with that, the tooth falls out onto the bathroom floor! All it took was a smile?
Needless to say, at 10:40 last night we were all in our pajamas going through the drive-thru ordering hot fudge sundaes! I'm not sure who cheered louder....Jack or Thatcher! And as of noon today we now have 2 ever exciting Star Wars bobble heads to add to our Happy Meal Toy collection....
Yes, the tooth fairy visited as well....unfortunately she didn't leave enough to cover the dental copay!!
It's All In The Accent....
Just a short musing that I was thinking about today, and I've just gotta post it!
Shortly after we'd moved up here to Michigan, I started attending a Bible Study with the women in our new Sunday School Class. (We found this church online before we even moved up here and became members almost immediately!) So, this was my first time to really get to know some of these people. We were all talking and I said I was Amy Ray and I was from Louisiana..... and blah, blah, blah....then one girl said to me "I'm sorry, now what did you say your name was? Was it Imee?"...................
It's kinda like hearing your voice on the answering machine....never sounds quite like you thought when it was coming out of your mouth past your ears....
I thought "is that how I say my name?...I MEE RAY!
Yikes!! These people must think I just fell off the pumpkin wagon! Will they ever take me seriously?"
How did I respond? I quickly said with a grin "I'm sorry, I'm a hick....no, my name is Amy!" Everyone laughed hysterically and no, they don't take me seriously, but I think I've added some southern charm to the group!! ;0)
Shortly after we'd moved up here to Michigan, I started attending a Bible Study with the women in our new Sunday School Class. (We found this church online before we even moved up here and became members almost immediately!) So, this was my first time to really get to know some of these people. We were all talking and I said I was Amy Ray and I was from Louisiana..... and blah, blah, blah....then one girl said to me "I'm sorry, now what did you say your name was? Was it Imee?"...................
It's kinda like hearing your voice on the answering machine....never sounds quite like you thought when it was coming out of your mouth past your ears....
I thought "is that how I say my name?...I MEE RAY!
Yikes!! These people must think I just fell off the pumpkin wagon! Will they ever take me seriously?"
How did I respond? I quickly said with a grin "I'm sorry, I'm a hick....no, my name is Amy!" Everyone laughed hysterically and no, they don't take me seriously, but I think I've added some southern charm to the group!! ;0)
Look! It's Actually Growing.....
This is our pumpkin just 4 days later! The other 2 are not growing as rapidly, but they seem to be getting bigger! I saw a rabbit eyeballing it yesterday morning. I walked out onto the deck to "let him know" and he dashed under the tree. I think rabbits are cute like every other female, but if this little cottontail gets a hankering for pumpkin, I might get a hankering for Hasenpfeffer!
So, How's Margaret Doing?.....
She's doing great! Thanks for asking! Margaret is now one week shy of being 3 months old! She smiles SO big and is getting ready to giggle! She sleeps like a champ with a few slip ups here and there, but will usually sleep for about 8-9 hours at a stretch! We now have the ability to go to bed early and catch up on some zzzz's, but we can't seem to pull ourselves away from watching the Olympics!! (We LOVE the Olympics!! Anyone else with us on that?) She's perfectly round, smells good enough to eat, and smiles big at her brothers!
Jack now has a sweet interest in her and will volunteer to feed her, so I can make his lunch!! ;0) He'll kneel beside her when she's crying and she stops most of the time when he's around! She's is SO blessed to have such GREAT brothers! They adore her and love to make her smile!
We are enjoying every minute with her because we know how quickly this time flies! Chris and I will lay on the floor with her, and smile and cooh the day away! It's just fun! I wish I could reverse to Jack's newborn days and be this calm and gooey! I'm hoping he sees how I am with her and assumes I was the same with him! ;0)
Top Story: The Meaning of Life Figured Out....
When my mom came into town a couple of weeks ago, Chris and I had a long awaited date the night before he left for CA. It was so great to be able to be away from the house and talk without being interrupted by the little people! We talked about how busy our life is now with 3 and about how hard life really and truly is! I tend to think as I go and I had this revelation about why being a grown up is so hard.....It's because growing up is not about getting older, it's about going from selfish to selfless.
Isn't it just so true? Isn't that what makes life so tiring? It's because we have dependents...not independence!! Whether you have children or not, if you are truly growing up, you are living your life for others....exactly the way God intended!
It's SOooooo opposite from our human nature. Every day I feel myself fighting against every evil force to call it quits....isn't that what satan wants... I've scoured the Bible looking for the passage that says "Love your neighbor as yourself, however, once a month take the weekend off." Shouldn't that be in Acts?
Have you ever looked back to the people you went to High School with and some of them just seem to be "stuck" at 15? They may be 34 in people years, but in selfish years they hit their peak at 15! Still living solely for themselves....what a waste....
When I got married, I thought it was about me. I thought part of it was for Chris, and part of it was for me. None of it was for me. None of it was for Chris. This marriage is for God. How did I miss that? My children....not for me.....moving to Michigan....not for me....WOW! Just changes the whole perspective.....kinda freeing in a sense....This is God's puppet show. I've got the freedom to cut the strings, but WHY? What good is a limp puppet with no purpose!? ;0)
Besides their salvation, my prayer for Jack, Thatcher, & Margaret is that they don't ever get "stuck." That they become a little less selfish every day of their lives. That they keep their "God strings" in tact and carry out his good and perfect will for their lives!! That they discover through their blood, sweat, and tears the true meaning of life is to give theirs away...it's unbelievably hard, but unbelievably amazing!
It's The Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown....
I would LOVE to be a gardener, but I'm just not. I don't know what color thumb I have, but it's definitely NOT green!So, at the end of the previous school year, Thatcher had some Master Gardeners come to his class and they all planted seeds. He brought home a green bean, marigold, sunflower, and a pumpkin plant. The instructions said to leave them in the ziploc bag, & put it in a sunny window for a week, then plant them in the yard. My first thought was to toss it in the trash because I KNEW of the outcome due to my handicap.....but Thatcher was REALLY excited about these plants, so I humored him.
At the end of the week, I actually had sprouts and admittedly got a little excited myself. I was talking to my mom and she said "All you do is dig a hole, stick the plant in, and water it! You can do it!" So, I went outside and dug holes and planted the little sprouts. I think "the glass is half empty" theory works to not get hopes up on occasion, so I told Thatcher "DON'T get excited! They probably WON'T grow!"
To try to make this long story short....they all died EXCEPT the pumpkin! We have a MASSIVE vine in our backyard growing in all directions and after weeks of observing, we FINALLY have a pumpkin!! (Hence the picture) We actually found 2 other tiny ones as well, so we might possibly have 3!
The boys are so excited and we've all learned so much about how pumpkins grow! I had NO idea that large yellow flowers would grow on the vine. The first ones to grow are the male flowers. Then they all die. The next ones to grow are the female flowers and THEY have the pumpkins under them!
Did everyone know that, but us? If so...no comments please! :0)
I had absolutely NO faith that any of them would grow, least of all the pumpkin....
Don't you love how God likes to knock our unbelieving socks off....perhaps if I would have had faith the size of a mustard seed, ALL of them would have grown! I will say that today my faith is right about the size.... of a pumpkin seed!!
To be continued......
Another Use For Cooking Spray...
Did you know that it gets silly putty out of hair? It worked for me today!! I would have taken a picture, but the 7 year old was embarrassed and humiliated!! I decided to cut him a break....I'm just glad I didn't have to cut his hair!! ;0)
Olympic Worthy?
I'd give em' a gold medal! Jack is big into stunts these days and "proving" himself as a 7 year old boy!
Wordles...
Jack & Thatcher got in on the fun!! This would have been a terrific writing activity to practice brainstorming when I was teaching school! I did the typing, but all the words are theirs. Jack did the ones about his bear and LEGOS....Thatcher did the one about his Bubba (aka his blanket)!! Chris and I also did them for each other, but can't let the general public in on everything, so I'm just posting these!
The Boy Down The Street....
He has a biblical name, but that's about his only biblical connection. His grandparents actually live 2 houses down and he stays with them on the weekends and some weekdays when his mom works. He is quirky, has a speech impediment, yells when he talks, has to have his own way, very bossy, demanding, goes back and forth picking favorites, knows absolutely EVERYTHING, is ALWAYS right, but the boys could sum him up in one word: FRIEND.
They LOVE this little boy! He causes much drama and practically LIVES at our house and rarely even sees his grandparents. I've fed him numerous lunches, a tooth rotting number of popsicles and I've never gotten a "thank-you". Chris has wrestled with him, thrown the ball with him, and oohed and aahed over his tricks and attention getting abilities. His grandparents rarely if ever speak to us and rarely if ever check on him during the day to see if he's still alive.
He drives us NUTS!!
Why is it that ministering opportunites don't occur to you when you're annoyed? You assume that you'd actually "care" for the person you're ministering to, right? It didn't occur to me until I witnessed one of the lunches all 3 boys were sharing together. They LOVE to eat outside on this precious child's picnic table that has been in Chris' family for years.
I brought out their "gourmet" peanut butter and jelly sandwhich meals and turned to leave. I stopped at the garage door to listen when the child began to eat and Jack and Thatcher both yelled "NO! We have to say the blessing first!" The boy was a little stunned since he's usually the one shouting directions, but he was clearly out of his element. Then Thatcher said "You bow your head like this....close your eyes like this...." Then Jack said "and you need to take your hat off too when you pray...." so....he did.
Then I wiped my eyes after hearing them utter their prayer together then begin to eat, laugh, and carry on as if nothing unusual had taken place. I was SO proud of the two of them, but was SO ashamed of myself. I had rolled my eyes with every ring of the doorbell (which was always several in a row) with every spreading of the peanutbutter and cutting of the crusts. I had been "put out" and was disgusted that his grandparents NEVER said "thank-you"!
I had missed out on the blessing of following Jesus' advice "For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in..... "The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.' " (Mat. 25:35,40) Yes, I did those things, but not with my heart in the right place....
It's when your children do what's right when nobody's watchin' that makes you beam! They could have skipped the prayer altogether and I would have never known....but then neither would this little boy.....Now when they say the prayer outside, this child automatically removes his hat if he's wearing one....he bows his head, closes his eyes, and another seed is planted.....
We know he's starving for attention. He has EVERY toy ever made, so his love is bought, not freely given....His parents are divorced and he's an only child....but...HE DRIVES US NUTS!!!Chris and I always say "WHY do they always pick the most annoying children to be friends with?...." It's because there's no let down when it comes to serving others. The spiritual questions from the children always come when I'm exhausted, at bedtime, or not "feeling it"!! The times to extend kindness and love are when I've been waiting in the line at Wal-Mart for 30 minutes watching my milk spoil, when a Siding Salesman comes to my door at 5 PM as Margaret is fussing and the boys are fighting, and when a little obnoxious boy down the street rings the doorbell several times and wants a sandwhich......
They LOVE this little boy! He causes much drama and practically LIVES at our house and rarely even sees his grandparents. I've fed him numerous lunches, a tooth rotting number of popsicles and I've never gotten a "thank-you". Chris has wrestled with him, thrown the ball with him, and oohed and aahed over his tricks and attention getting abilities. His grandparents rarely if ever speak to us and rarely if ever check on him during the day to see if he's still alive.
He drives us NUTS!!
Why is it that ministering opportunites don't occur to you when you're annoyed? You assume that you'd actually "care" for the person you're ministering to, right? It didn't occur to me until I witnessed one of the lunches all 3 boys were sharing together. They LOVE to eat outside on this precious child's picnic table that has been in Chris' family for years.
I brought out their "gourmet" peanut butter and jelly sandwhich meals and turned to leave. I stopped at the garage door to listen when the child began to eat and Jack and Thatcher both yelled "NO! We have to say the blessing first!" The boy was a little stunned since he's usually the one shouting directions, but he was clearly out of his element. Then Thatcher said "You bow your head like this....close your eyes like this...." Then Jack said "and you need to take your hat off too when you pray...." so....he did.
Then I wiped my eyes after hearing them utter their prayer together then begin to eat, laugh, and carry on as if nothing unusual had taken place. I was SO proud of the two of them, but was SO ashamed of myself. I had rolled my eyes with every ring of the doorbell (which was always several in a row) with every spreading of the peanutbutter and cutting of the crusts. I had been "put out" and was disgusted that his grandparents NEVER said "thank-you"!
I had missed out on the blessing of following Jesus' advice "For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in..... "The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.' " (Mat. 25:35,40) Yes, I did those things, but not with my heart in the right place....
It's when your children do what's right when nobody's watchin' that makes you beam! They could have skipped the prayer altogether and I would have never known....but then neither would this little boy.....Now when they say the prayer outside, this child automatically removes his hat if he's wearing one....he bows his head, closes his eyes, and another seed is planted.....
We know he's starving for attention. He has EVERY toy ever made, so his love is bought, not freely given....His parents are divorced and he's an only child....but...HE DRIVES US NUTS!!!Chris and I always say "WHY do they always pick the most annoying children to be friends with?...." It's because there's no let down when it comes to serving others. The spiritual questions from the children always come when I'm exhausted, at bedtime, or not "feeling it"!! The times to extend kindness and love are when I've been waiting in the line at Wal-Mart for 30 minutes watching my milk spoil, when a Siding Salesman comes to my door at 5 PM as Margaret is fussing and the boys are fighting, and when a little obnoxious boy down the street rings the doorbell several times and wants a sandwhich......
It's As If She Knows....
That these will one day end up in her scrapbook for all the world to see....that is if I ever GET to scrapbook again!! ;^) Notice the eyelashes!! They are a mile long and curled at the ends....she also has a curl right smack on top of her head! Is there ANYTHING sweeter than a baby? Not even a bottle of vanilla extract!
Big Bump Update...
The next day Jack's "bites" were significantly smaller and barely visible! (If you don't know what I'm talking about read the previous post!)
So, thankfully that saga has come to an end.
Chris has returned from his week in California and all is fairly quiet on the midwestern frontier....
So, thankfully that saga has come to an end.
Chris has returned from his week in California and all is fairly quiet on the midwestern frontier....
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