NOT a lump of Clay.

I read a wonderful article a couple of weeks ago by Richard and Linda Eyer. I have heard them speak and enjoyed it so when I say something written by them I was happy to read it. I don't remember the name of the article I'll tell you about it.

A lot of people look at babies, and think of them as a lump of clay that can be molded and shaped. And while that is true, to a point, we need to remember that our children came from heaven. We lived in heaven and grew under the direction of our Father in Heaven before coming here to earth. We had the chance to develop our personalities before coming here to experience Earth life.

I have 4 boys and they are so very different. Why would that be. They came from the same DNA. They are all raised together, and the same rules are given to each boy, and yet, they are so different!!! You can tell from babies, and sometimes even before that, while they are still in the womb what kind of personality they will have.

Here we have Benji, the baby of the family. He likes to be the center of attention. He is on his own time and thinks all must comply to him. He is feisty and has an opinion on everything that happens. He hates it when I get upset with his brothers. He loves to be held by anyone who happens by, but really he only has eyes for his mom. At night, I'm the one he wants. He has a strong will and knows what he wants. With his strong will he will go far in life, my job is to direct that in the right way.

Tim.... he was my little preemie. Born at 30 weeks and at a tiny 3 pounds 7 ounces. He was a fighter then, and he still is now!! In that hospital crib with all the wires and tubes hooked up to him he looked so little, so helpless, but his spirit was strong and hit his marks with leaps and bound! Today he is still a fighter. {more so with his brothers} He is a strong boy, and a rough and tumble boy. His will to fight will help him to over come many challenges in this life. I need to teach him to keep fighting and not to give up.

Oh my Tommy... He is a light of sunshine! He is so clever and so funny. When he was born the husband was in Iraq with the Army. Tommy is one that has always been quick with a smile. As a baby he would babble to himself and then giggle. Now... he is always telling jokes and wanting to spread the sunshine that he sees everywhere. He knows what is right and wrong, he always has and is quick to call out when someone is not doing what is right. He has a strong relationship with his Father in Heaven. I learn so much about my Father from him. I am to help Tommy keep the optimistic views that he has. It will help him over come any trials that he comes to. Being able to have a happy attitude will make things not seem so bad.

James, my oldest. He has always been able to roll with the punches. Before he was one we had moved 5 times!! Even as an infant he went with it and made the best of every thing. He has always been quick with a smile and a hug. He is so loving and wants everyone to know that he loves them. He loves to learn!!! Even at a toddler he was happy to sit on my lap and have me read books to him. When I made him go outside, he would take a book with him. Even now you can often find him on the couch with a book. I need to direct that learning to all the good things there are in life.

I am so lucky that I am the one that gets to raise these boys. I pray every day for help in guiding them on the right path. They are all so different and wonderful! They all came with their own personalities that I had to learn, so I can help them grow.

I can guide them and help them develop their talents and teach them to use their agency, but as far as them being a lump of clay.... not so much!

Sunday - day of rest.

So peaceful!

A little bit of Lime

We had Garlic Lime Chicken tonight... yeah it was good... Anyway, I was squeezing the limes and Tim wanted some. So I gave him the left over juice. Tommy came up and wanted some. So I told Tim that to give Tommy the left over thinking that Tim would take a drink and them pass it on.

Nope... he kept drinking and drinking it.

And drinking.... anything to not have to pass it to Tommy.

You gotta love brotherly love.

CONFESSIONS

I have some things to confess....

I CONFESS
I love me some Bachelor!!! I love watching the girls drool over one man. I love giggling with the girls that I have in my living room as we watch TV and eat chocolate. We are the lucky ones.... we have husbands... and you know what that means... we don't have to shave our legs, or make sure that we always look cute, or even put on make-up everyday.... I would love to do those things everyday but you see... I live in reality.

I CONFESS
the idea of sending my kids to school to have 6 hours to myself seems wonderful. Don't get me wrong. I LOVE homeschooling and at the moment I don't plan on sending them back. But we have our days when we all need to have a timeout from each other.

I CONFESS
I like Battle Star Galactica. The husband got me addicted. I only watch it with him.

I CONFESS
I really don't like Florida. I'm not a fan of the ocean. I don't like the humidity. I don't like the bugs. I don't like the fact that there are alligators in water. My heart belongs in the mountains. I'm counting the days until we leave.

I CONFESS
I hate putting things away... Laundry, dishes, dinner.... I get things out with good intention, but I always fall short? I just tell myself that people don't mind picking their underwear out of the basket. It helps me feel better.

wooooo I feel better. You will too. Link up with Mamarazzi and confess a little... you know you want to.

I like it natural

I find it odd that you can go to the store and buy air freshener that is "Mountain Fresh" or "Lavender." I have smelt them. I don't think the people who make these things have. I have lived in the mountains and the canned mountain air isn't even close.

We have children.... and a dog... and dishes in the sink... and a floor that needs to be mopped. Trust me, we need a little extra help in the air freshener department. But I just can't bring myself to buy anything to freshen up because it just doesn't smell right.

The next best thing.... just to go all natural. I bought a bunch of grapefruits, and put them in a bowl. Oh, I love the smell of citrus... real citrus. So they are on the counter looking pretty and smelling great while we eat them.

Nature does it best.... we should just leave it to them.

Just a bit.

 Here's just a bit of the going ons around these parts.....

This is Tommy's new thing I go to take a picture of him and this is what he does. I'm not sure where he learned it from. I just think it's so funny when he does this.

 One of the boys helped me unload the dishwasher for their morning chore.... I love it when they help!!

Benji has this new thing when he is trying new foods. He always make the "trying" it face. If he doesn't like it he'll spit it out... pretty normal. If it's good he'll happily open up for another bite... again pretty normal. If he really likes it he'll giggle every time he gets another bit. I think it's pretty funny to hear him giggle. He'll get applesauce every day if he'll giggle like that.

Favorite Book as a Child.

My favorite book growing up was "Maude and Claude Go Abroad" by Susan Meddaugh. I remember my mom reading me this book as a kid with all the voices. Oh I loved it!! A brother and sister fox are on a ship that will take them to Fox-in-ville, France when unexpectedly Claude fell over board.... and Maude went in after him "...what else could she do, but jump over too...?"  And then the adventure starts.

I read it to my boys now, voices and all.

{this book is well loved we have lost the cover and it's taped up on many pages. We have bought another one and it's set aside for when we can no longer operate on this one}

Sweet Dreams

My sweet baby doesn't have a security blanket. He has me instead. When he is getting tired and cranky all I have to do is lay him in my lap and put my hand on his head and with a minute or two he is out. It really is the sweetest thing. When I was pregnant I would put my hand on my belly where his head what and he would stop kicking. {hey... I really needed to sleep} And when he was first born I would do this and he would quickly fall asleep.

He is really funny because when he is tired and I'm not paying attention he will take my hand and put it on his head, so he can fall asleep.

The other funny things is when he doesn't want to go to sleep he will take my hand off his head and fight going to sleep.

I hope that when he is a teenager, and older, I hope that he will let me rest my hand on his head and comfort him to sleep for years to come.

Missing my audience

Once upon a time people use to love me.

They use to come and visit and stay awhile.

Even comment... more times than not.

Then I got pregnant, and I was to sick to post a whole lot.

And people forgot about me. They left me! I am so sorry.... please come back!

I am working on posting more and more regularly.

You see, I homeschool the boys and so I use my nights to prep for the next day. If I get a chance I will post, some times I do... some times I don't.

Please understand I still love you all and hope you will come back to visit. I will work to make your stay a good one.

Come back... I miss you!!

Scissors...

Tim is grounded from using the scissors for a while.

I was in the other room and I hear Tommy say, "Tim, you can cover that with your jacket"

I walk out and see Tim using his jacket to cover his chest and running the other way from where I was going.

Finally I got a peek at what went on.

The sad thing is.... it's his favorite shirt.

 He was sad.... he was even able to squeeze out a tear.

After the promise that he could keep it and wear it as a jammie shirt and a kiss and hug he was feeling better. He was sad enough about his shirt.... but he still can't use the scissors for a short time.

You HAVE to try this!

 These look pretty harmless don't they??? Just your run of the mill brownie huh.... Well this little guys are holding a little secret....

Do you see that??? yup...it's an Oreo!! OH YEAH!! Brownie covered Oreo!!! Want to know how to do it?? what to eat some yourself??? I'm sure you do!

Ok, I'll share it with you.
Mix yourself up some brownies batter. Then dip your Oreo's into the batter. This is messy.... but oh so good! After you dip them put them into a cupcake pan that you have greased.  Bake these babies for 12-15 minutes. When you pull them out run a plastic knife around them to loosen them up.Let them cool for about a minute then put them on a cooling rack.

After that try really hard not to eat them all yourself. At least let everyone else have ONE before you hoard them all down share them with the neighbors.... I mean this didn't happen to me I'm just warning you about how good they are}

Lemon Meringue Memory

Ah.... Lemon Meringue Pie. I made my first one this past Christmas. It tasted right and I was so happy. You might notice the less than perfect crust that sit in the pan. There is a story behind it... the pan and the crust.

When I was younger... a lot younger I would go to Michigan often to visit my grandparents and I was lucky enough to know my great-grandma, Ester Lower. Every year at Thanksgiving time my great-grandma would make goodies and Lemon Meringue pie, the family favorite.

My grandparents lived right next door to my great-grandma so it was fun for my sister and I to have two big yards to play in. I remember waking up one Thanksgiving morning and making my way over to great-grandma's house. I must have been 3 or 4 because I was wearing blue footy pajamas with hearts on it. I remember running really fast because there was snow on the ground. Instead of running through the yards like we always did I ran down the drive way, along the sidewalk and up great-grandma's long drive way so I didn't get my feet all wet running through the snow.

Up at the door great-grandma was already up and ready to start cooking. And the smell of all things yummy was in the air. Of course I was there to help, and as she measured things out I was the taste tester and spoon holder. Finally the cookies were in and it was time for the pie. I was there to put the shorting into the bowl and the flour. Great-grandma cut everything in and I got to help roll out the crust. And then.... the call. People in the other house figured that I was gone and called to make sure I ok. Great-grandma set me back over to the other house with a cookie in hand and a promise not to start the meringue part until I came back.

After breakfast and getting dressed I made my way back to finish up. As promised she waited and we mixed up the egg whites. All the while laughing and talking, having deep conversations about the squirrels running through the yard and the winter birds in the trees.

It's usually not until you get older when you realized how important those moments are. I feel blessed to be able to know her and know of her life.

The pie pan that I made my pie in was hers... the crust recipe is hers, and I hope the magic that she held while making her pies is something I can learn. And one day my crust will be pretty like hers always was.

Boys at Play

James and Tommy are part of a group called ECHO Rangers. It's a program in the area we live in that has activities set up to do in the county we live. We took advantage of one that was a self guided thing. We went to the DeBary Mansion and walked around the grounds. It was cool to see the old ice house and where the current ground keeper lives. There was a place to play for a minute so of course we had to stop to play.  I got some great pictures of the boys!!!

I love the sheer glee hi his face!! I want a rope swing so I can see this face every day!!!

I swear he gets older every day. I mean I know he does, but he is starting to look it.

Tim... really.... can you have a more mischievous look?? He is always up to something I just never seem to know what that is. 

I love these days of childhood I love seeing them grow and having these days with them. People have asked why I home school.... this is part of it. I get the best part of their day. I get to see them at their best.  And enjoy it with them.

{Benjamin was strapped to me so there are no pictures of him}

His done this before

When we got Captain.... 9.5 years ago..... it was just the husband and I. No kids. Then we had James and Captain was slightly annoyed. He wasn't ever mean but he knew he slid down the totem a bit. I wasn't able to take him out as often. Tommy came along and he just rolled with the punches... I was trying to lose the weight so he was walked often. Tim came and poor Captain slid even further down... Tim came with his own set of problems since he was a preemie and I just didn't have as much time for the dog.

He has always been great with the kids which I'm really thankful for, but now... the look that I get form him as we bring a new kid home is "Really... another one??"

He knows he is loved by all of us, and we always say that Captain is our first kid, and James is our first child.

He really doesn't mind this stage to much... it's the crawling stage that Captain hides a bit more. I think it has something to do with the child being on the same level as him.

He does grow to like, and dare I say it... love each of the boys, and in turn they all simple love and adore him.

Tommy reading

Tommy is a really great big brother!  I needed his help to keep an eye on Benji while I was making lunch. It's not like Benji goes anywhere yet, but he just gets so lonely with he is left all by himself. So I had Tommy look after him. Tommy decided that he was going to read a book to his little brother.

Here he is letting Benji pick the book he wanted to be read.

I took this picture and then peeked over at Benji and he was smiling while Tommy was reading.

I love seeing the boys take care of each other!!

Manatees

 The husband was at an Upper Cervical conference so I hitched up and took the boys to Blue Springs to see the manatees. It was actually really cool!! Manatees are huge animals and they really don't do anything. They hang out in Blue Springs during the winter because it's warmer. They hang out with the alligators, and we even saw two of them laying together.

We took a walk to the end of the spring and was able to get a picture of the 5 of us.

It's fun to hang out with the boys and I'm so happy that they are up for anything. I'm so glad that they love being outside and running wild.

5 Months!!

Can you believe it!!! My baby is 5 months old already!! My, my where did the time go??

Over the Christmas break he decided that wanted teeth. So rather than get one at a time, he got 4!!! 4 teeth all at once, you might think would be bad but really, it was easier than I thought. There was no snot, or fever, he was cranky but nothing much beyond that.

Can you see two pearly whites peeking out?? He doesn't like me to stick my fingers in his mouth unless he is biting them, so no pictures of the bottom two... but they are there... I promise

He has decided that rolling over is for babies and would prefer sitting. He is getting really good at sitting now and has much better control. Every now and then he throws himself backwards and bonks his head but most of the time he does really well.

 

When I say he doesn't roll over I mean he doesn't roll over when I'm watching. He does end up on his back in the morning if I leave him in his bed for to long. He just doesn't roll over when I can see it.

When he is sitting he will get himself to his tummy and play with his toys and even turn himself in a circle on the floor.... but no rolling.

He is starting to enjoy food. Butternut squash is his current favorite thing. Corn.... not so much. I think he just likes being at the table with us, and being fed.... again.... is an extra bonus.

I love his happy little personality! All of the boys were happy babies but Benjamin is a HAPPY baby! He will smile at everyone and then be a little flirty with them too. Flashing them a smile and then hiding in my shoulder.  He likes to giggle too. I'll pick him up and he'll start giggling, and he is starting to have tickle spots... so now I can hear that giggle when ever I want to.... hey... there are some perks to being a mom.

He loves to sequel! When we are all sitting together he'll tell all what he is thinking as well. He will sequel all the time, but it's really cute... when we say prayers he is always quiet. I can count on one hand the times that he has been noisy or even cried during a prayer.

He is such a joy to have!! Time has just flown by!! I forget how fast it goes, and then they are kids and not babies any more. Sometimes... Most times I just want time to stop so I can hold my babies longer while they are still babies.

Boys???

Tim was playing with Tommy the other day. They were running and having a great time.

I'm not quite sure what happen.

One minute he was fine then next.... his face was scraped. I guess that's what happens when you are a boy.

Swaptastic!!

You know you love her!!!! Now it's time for an all pink packages!!

Join up and get some pink love in the mail!!!

Look Here.

He's cute!!

Just wanted to share that.

James likes legos

James is really into legos now. He is into the Atlantis sets. He even saved his money to buy another set.

James worked really hard on following all the directions. I was really proud of him, he work really hard to get them just so. He took these pictures of his work.

I'm glad that it's legos that he is so into. It's way better than video games.