Monday, February 23, 2009

A Unexpected Reply

I was sitting on Grace's bed giving great encouragement to her on how to organize her things when Kara, our two year old, came to see me. She told me she needed to talk to me. I gently placed her on the bed next to me and asked her what she wanted to talk about. She looked at me with those deep blue eyes and responded with an unexpected reply. Her answer was simply...boys!

The only thought that ran through my head along with the uncontrollable laughter was that I think we are in trouble. She's quite a character.

Thursday, February 19, 2009

He's a funny one....

Aaron is an amazing child. He likes to use the words hideous, sewage and delirious. He also is a tease. He loves to get his two year old sister in a whirl. He gets that twinkle in his eye and you know he's up to something. One of my favorite things about this kid is his one-eyed pirate grin. He kind of squints one eye closed and tilts his head to one side and then, you know he's gonna say something profound. We call him our very own fortune cookie. You just never know what wise words are going to come out.

Yesterday he was teasing his little sister until she was in a screaming fit. I calmly told him that I was going to send him to the moon if he didn't stop. He looks up at me with his one-eyed pirate look and said, Mooooom, that would take a rocket ship!

Ok, so he's got me there. He's a pretty smart kid in my opinion.

Thursday, February 12, 2009

Just Precious

Recently, my mother in law brought over a beautiful new dress for our little Kara. She loves to wear dresses and loves to dance, sing and sparkle. So the dress was a perfect choice for her. After putting it on, she twirled about and declared that she WAS a princess! I truly think she believes that with all her heart.

One night we sat down to eat dinner. Kara clasped her hands and exclaimed in an excited voice, that is was time to do the 'dear Jesus'.

Many times Miss Kara gets up before I do. She likes to climb into bed with me and let me know that she's up. When I don't respond to her giggles, she grabs my eyelids and yanks them open. She says she needs to see my eyes. It is certainly an eye opening experience.

The most precious prayers that I have ever heard have come from my young children. Kara has especially taken a liking to being the one to pray. She folds her hands and thanks God for our food and then tells Him that she loves Him. I get tears in my eyes every time.

Wednesday, February 04, 2009

The Sickies

There is one thing that I try to avoid more than anything else and that is the throwing up kind of flu virus. I know, you are probably laughing at this announcement as you think about me running about with my five kids. Kids seem to be the bearer and spreader of viruses. We even went so far as to stay home from church the two weeks before Christmas. You may think this is extreme but we've been caught too many times during the holiday season dealing with the flu. Let me assure you, it is a real downer to the holiday!

An invitation to a cute little girl birthday party came in the mail to which we agreed to go. What was I thinking? A night full of bouncy fun, pizza and cupcakes were planned along with lots and lots of cute little people under three and a half feet. Should I mention the squealing that was heard to the 30th degree? Two days after the party, our five year old threw up. Maybe a change in my thinking would be good. I say we need to hibernate from two weeks before Christmas to hmmm, let's say....May.

One of the downsides to having a bigger size family is times like these. I always hope that only one kid will be down with illness at a time. I cross my fingers and pray, begging God to spare the rest of us but then, the next kid will begin the process. Ahh...nuts, I say. As one by one, each member of the family succumbed to this sickness, I was determined to remain healthy. I detest throwing up and thus, me running the race to not do that.

In my determination, it may appear to some, mainly my husband, that I am unsympathetic or uncompassionate. One of the things that is important is to maintain healthy air within the home. So we open the windows, widely. I know that it's only 15 degrees outside but I encourage the family to just cover up under blankets and allow the temperature to drop four degrees. Is that so much to ask? It is very difficult to try and not breathe in a house full of the ickies. I can only imagine what the neighbors must be thinking when they hear me yank open the door and run outside to inhale the oxygen that is outside the home.

My husband always wants me to sit with him or hold his hand when he's sick. I suppose wiping him down with Lysol wipes might be going a bit too far? I don't know....maybe. As I was sitting in the office, catching up on some email, I hear this little blip coming from the intercom on the phone. When I looked at the interface screen on it, it told me that it was coming from the phone my darling husband had near him. Is that anything like him ringing a bell for me to get something for him? I'd say so. You can only guess how well that went over.

By the end of the week, I ran screaming from the house. I was feeling a bit claustrophobic. Just how many people can you sit on your lap at one time? There was a church meeting and I went. While there, I got a text message telling me that the final child has blessed the hallway. That left only me, the lone ranger. Ever feel like the odds are against you?

The following evening, the lone ranger lost the fight and joined the ranks of the rest of the family. It's good every now and then to experience a brief moment in time when you think you are dying and never ever again want to partake of food. It makes the moment you are better, seem like heaven. Ah...sweet, sweet food. Then, there are the cheers coming from Ryan, our seven year old, who had just come from the bathroom, empatically announcing that he once again had solid 'poop'. The things we take for granted....