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Saturday, July 9, 2011
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Sent on the Sprint® Now Network from my BlackBerry®
Friday, July 8, 2011
Thursday, July 7, 2011
On nests, tea, rascals and "Rats!"
Where do I start? Duke has pulled so many stunts recently and said so many funny things. Adyline is growing and changing right before our eyes, and Daniel and I just celebrated our fifth wedding anniversary. God has really blessed our little nest, and we have a lot of fun together. Speaking of nests, we have a bird nest right outside our front door! Poor Mama bird never gets a break. Duke's favorite thing to do is ring the doorbell so Jax (our yorkie) barks and Fire (Duke's name for himself when he pretends to be a dog) can bark like their tails are on fire. The ruckus causes the baby birdies to peep their tiny, sealed eyed heads up as high as they can in a panic. Mama bird needs some coaching from those of us overly protective Mama birds because she just flies away as fast as she can! Today I even risked my 2 eyeballs for the bird family and rescued one of the babies. I came through the entry way just in time to look out our porch and see a tiny bird on the pavement, still breathing. Worried that "Fire" and Jax may have induced the bird's stress led leap of death, I put my gloves on, grabbed my trusty step stool and dropped the birdie back in the nest. I hope you make it baby bird!
Despite his over exuberance to participate with them, Duke loves animals so much! He even talks baby talk to animals--even the bird nest outside. Well, that is when he is Duke and not Fire. Duke is a nurturer and loves anything that is smaller than he is. He got to hold a very young kitten at his Grandma CC's house in Lingleville at a family gathering. She commented that she had kept telling him she loved him, hoping and hoping he'd echo the sweet phrase back to her but instead he'd just be silly. Next she watched him pass the kitten on the way to the car, put both his hands around it, and brought his nose right up to the kitten's and said in his most tender voice, "Bye little kitty, I love you so much!"
Duke has been praying for his buddy and neighbor Liam for many months. Liam, praise Jesus, is recovering from Leukemia. Liam has just returned from a long in and out stay at Cook's hospital in Ft Worth. Duke has always loved Liam's cat Windsor. I don't know how, but Duke is a cat person, Daniel and I are hands down dog people. Anyway, when we helped house sit for Liam's family, Duke walked in saw their cat and said in a voice as though this was a long, lost friend: "Windsor!!!! I thought you were in Ft Worth!" He hugged him and hugged him. In fact, Duke holds Windsor in such high esteem he named one of his favorite stuffed animals (a little kitten) after him. I find Duke's Windsor in Jax's kennel, Adyline's baby swing, Jax's bed, wrapped in a towel, and all over the place. Duke takes wonderful care of him!
Now, there is no living thing who has captivated Duke more than his little sister. He loves her so, so much. He talks baby talk to her also. I often pray that God will fill each member of our family's heart with love for each other. He really has answered that prayer, I have never seen a brother of such a young age show so much kindness or adoration to his sister. When she cries he leans over and says, "Don't cry sister, I am right here." If she wakes up crying in the morning he suggests to me that maybe it's because she hasn't seen him yet. If he keeps up this tenderness he will be able to just have his pick of whatever girl he wants. Now Fire, well, he may not be so lucky....
Duke has had a couple times where he got frustrated with Adyline. Best example is when we were driving home and Adyline, wanting out of her car seat, screamed most of the way home. Duke, the only passenger in the back with her, spoke tenderly, patiently and calmly the whole way home. He said sweet phrases like, "We are almost there" over and over again. He didn't loose his cool until we got in the driveway and she wasn't stopping despite his telling her three times, "You made it, we are home." Well, I guess that's when something snapped because that's when his voice drastically changed 180 degrees and he yelled at the top of his lungs: "WE'RE HO------ME!"
Adyline is a VERY happy baby provided she is with Mommy. She has what Daniel and my mom call a two minute timer. She will be happy in the arms of another for 2 minutes and then suddenly start wailing. I don't know why, because she LOVES when friends, family or even strangers visit with her or interact with her. Duke sometimes leans in to the person holding her and says in a light whisper, "I think she wants Mommy." HA! I love you Duke! That's one phrase blurted out that I can handle! :) Speaking of phrases, 2 weeks ago Duke was drinking milk; I suppose it went down the wrong "pipe" because immediately he is red faced, coughing and teary eyed. Next thing I know he lets out a LOUD gag/burp and then breathes hard and tries to figure out what just happened inside of him. He looks at me, tears still in his eyes, sobered and red faced, and says: "I, I, I....I thought I tooted." I guess I won't be the mother of the year, because thats when I laughed my head off. That's not the first time he has mixed up words either. He was trying to draw up the words "Rice crispy treats" from his memory but instead said, "Daddy, can I have one of those, uh, one of those...uh...one of those, Sesame streets?"
Despite his tumbling over words, Duke has awesome people skills. Recently I have noticed when he is with his peers how social and well mannered he is verbally. I mean he is three, but 'please,' 'thank you,' 'excuse me,' 'here is a toy for you,' etc. He can be the kindest, most polite child when he relates to other children. This social charm
as it relates to language and relating has encouraged me SO, so much seeing as how he can spend an entire day in what Daniel and I call Fire or "Rascal Mode." No, actually scratch that. His ability to turn on the charm encourages me because he can spend weeks in Rascal mode. When you consider in the last few days that Duke has single handedly, dumped out 3/4 of a gallon of lemonade all over the floor, covered his bedroom in baby powder, flung his body hard enough against the wall to knock pictures of himself off, washed apples in the bathroom (I really hope he used the sink rather than other readily available water sources in the room...), terrorized birds, made countless trips around the shed (I'll explain that in a minute), dropped his pants and relieved himself in an indoor atrium (guess he saw the trees and thought he was in the wild outdoors), come dangerously close to dropping a bucket of ant poison into my mothers pool, took one big swig from a pump of liquid soft soap, and run out of the house in nothing but his "undies", his relational advancement is extremely exciting to me. Can you blame me? Now, make no mistake, the boy has a will of steel and iron! Not the kind of "strong will" that means bossy britches. No, he isn't bossy at all, nope, he just doesn't intend to be bossed. This is a shame and quite a conflict of interests because sometimes I feel like all I do is boss Duke around. My newest idea was inspired in an effort to teach Duke some manners in a fun way; for some quality time and because Duke LOVES tea, he and I have started the ritual of "tea time" following his nap time! We both love it! And as for consequences for misbehavior, I stole a great tip from a friend and have started making him run laps around our shed instead of always sending him to the corner...let me just say, there are tread marks all the way around. He has a curiosity level and magnetizing effect for mischief that would put Curious George himself to shame. I recently heard Beth Moore say that she raised a child that could "make James Dobson cry his eyes out!" Ha! Well, Duke could to, but not without making him laugh his head off first.
My new expression to manage my stress or frustration is: "RATS!" Duke used to matter of factly answer me, "Rats are animals, Mama." But now he uses the expression himself to vent his frustration. This week he told me, "Rats! Puffin [one of his current favorite stuffed animals] is sick!" One of my most recent "Rats!" moments was when Daniel was out of town last week. I drove in the driveway with 2 hungry children, 100 degrees outside, refrigerated groceries in the car, Duke in need of some discipline, a neighbor in the driveway to discuss our shared fence, Adyline swimming in a car seat of overflowed baby poop (she is at that stage, remember it moms?) and to top it off I scratched the life out of my leg in the garage (just amputate it, 'who cares?' is what I was thinking in the moment). Just sizing the whole situation up, I could hardly decide where to put my attention first (I prioritized Adyline and her "mud" bath)! Well, I had one thing to say to the whole charade: "RATS!!!!"
These precious children have made us the happiest we have ever been, but not without making us the craziest we have ever been! No wonder my sudden obsession with dark chocolate. Do they medicate you if you start panicking when your location is separate from chocolate? And I guess when you have more mascara in your bangs than your actual eyelashes, than you know you either a mother of small children or a senior citizen. Oh well, this life is a blast.
Well, there has been lots to say about "brother;" now let me tell you about little sister. She is such a joy, oh she is just a doll! We are all 3 so in love with this girl! She is my alarm clock and with an alarm clock like this one, anybody would be a morning person. She is vibrant and lovely, cheerful and flexible, and glory to God, a good sleeper!!! YAY! She is precious. She is very smilie and interactive. She already knows how to crack up too! Adyline has an awesome sense of humor just like Duke and just when I think my heart is going to burst-- I fall more in love with her. I love washing and brushing her hair and dreaming about all the years to come brushing her hair and talking together. She already loves to babble, so that a good start, right? She always wants to see what Duke is doing (can you blame her?) so sometimes I have to leave the room to get her to sleep or to eat (But, this can be dangerous as Duke sees it as his cue for mischief). Daniel tells Adyline all the time that she's always smiling; and he is right. Truly, even when she is crying she stops and smiles; sometimes when she is dozing off she will look and me briefly, and give me her biggest smile just before rolling her eyes to the back of her head and drifting off to sleep.
Daniel bought me video monitors for both babies (don't even think about telling me I don't need 2 video monitors! Please! Of course I do! No one in their right mind would judge me for taping a video monitor directly to Duke's very forehead for the sake of everyone's safety and sanity.). Sometimes at night (after Daniel and I laugh about what crazy sleep position Duke is in) I will stare from one monitor to the other and think, what on earth that the God of heaven could bless me so much.
Daniel and I just celebrated our 5th wedding anniversary. I would marry him all over again and I have only grown to be more and more thankful for him. He is a great dad and I'm fighting tears as I tell you about what a blessing he is to our children. I thank God that Adyline has a loving dad that adores her, and I pray with all my heart that that assurance will protect her from giving her heart away before God's perfect timing. Oh my darling, "Listen to my instruction and be wise" (Prov 8:33, one of Duke's memory verses. Oh and this one is free, International Version of Duke: "Love your neighbor and yourself"). Oh Lord, despite the moments when I have nothing to do but say a quick prayer and exclaim, "rats!" thank you for these 3 precious people who daily enrich my life; help me live this life for you.
Despite his over exuberance to participate with them, Duke loves animals so much! He even talks baby talk to animals--even the bird nest outside. Well, that is when he is Duke and not Fire. Duke is a nurturer and loves anything that is smaller than he is. He got to hold a very young kitten at his Grandma CC's house in Lingleville at a family gathering. She commented that she had kept telling him she loved him, hoping and hoping he'd echo the sweet phrase back to her but instead he'd just be silly. Next she watched him pass the kitten on the way to the car, put both his hands around it, and brought his nose right up to the kitten's and said in his most tender voice, "Bye little kitty, I love you so much!"
Duke has been praying for his buddy and neighbor Liam for many months. Liam, praise Jesus, is recovering from Leukemia. Liam has just returned from a long in and out stay at Cook's hospital in Ft Worth. Duke has always loved Liam's cat Windsor. I don't know how, but Duke is a cat person, Daniel and I are hands down dog people. Anyway, when we helped house sit for Liam's family, Duke walked in saw their cat and said in a voice as though this was a long, lost friend: "Windsor!!!! I thought you were in Ft Worth!" He hugged him and hugged him. In fact, Duke holds Windsor in such high esteem he named one of his favorite stuffed animals (a little kitten) after him. I find Duke's Windsor in Jax's kennel, Adyline's baby swing, Jax's bed, wrapped in a towel, and all over the place. Duke takes wonderful care of him!
Now, there is no living thing who has captivated Duke more than his little sister. He loves her so, so much. He talks baby talk to her also. I often pray that God will fill each member of our family's heart with love for each other. He really has answered that prayer, I have never seen a brother of such a young age show so much kindness or adoration to his sister. When she cries he leans over and says, "Don't cry sister, I am right here." If she wakes up crying in the morning he suggests to me that maybe it's because she hasn't seen him yet. If he keeps up this tenderness he will be able to just have his pick of whatever girl he wants. Now Fire, well, he may not be so lucky....
Duke has had a couple times where he got frustrated with Adyline. Best example is when we were driving home and Adyline, wanting out of her car seat, screamed most of the way home. Duke, the only passenger in the back with her, spoke tenderly, patiently and calmly the whole way home. He said sweet phrases like, "We are almost there" over and over again. He didn't loose his cool until we got in the driveway and she wasn't stopping despite his telling her three times, "You made it, we are home." Well, I guess that's when something snapped because that's when his voice drastically changed 180 degrees and he yelled at the top of his lungs: "WE'RE HO------ME!"
Adyline is a VERY happy baby provided she is with Mommy. She has what Daniel and my mom call a two minute timer. She will be happy in the arms of another for 2 minutes and then suddenly start wailing. I don't know why, because she LOVES when friends, family or even strangers visit with her or interact with her. Duke sometimes leans in to the person holding her and says in a light whisper, "I think she wants Mommy." HA! I love you Duke! That's one phrase blurted out that I can handle! :) Speaking of phrases, 2 weeks ago Duke was drinking milk; I suppose it went down the wrong "pipe" because immediately he is red faced, coughing and teary eyed. Next thing I know he lets out a LOUD gag/burp and then breathes hard and tries to figure out what just happened inside of him. He looks at me, tears still in his eyes, sobered and red faced, and says: "I, I, I....I thought I tooted." I guess I won't be the mother of the year, because thats when I laughed my head off. That's not the first time he has mixed up words either. He was trying to draw up the words "Rice crispy treats" from his memory but instead said, "Daddy, can I have one of those, uh, one of those...uh...one of those, Sesame streets?"
Despite his tumbling over words, Duke has awesome people skills. Recently I have noticed when he is with his peers how social and well mannered he is verbally. I mean he is three, but 'please,' 'thank you,' 'excuse me,' 'here is a toy for you,' etc. He can be the kindest, most polite child when he relates to other children. This social charm
as it relates to language and relating has encouraged me SO, so much seeing as how he can spend an entire day in what Daniel and I call Fire or "Rascal Mode." No, actually scratch that. His ability to turn on the charm encourages me because he can spend weeks in Rascal mode. When you consider in the last few days that Duke has single handedly, dumped out 3/4 of a gallon of lemonade all over the floor, covered his bedroom in baby powder, flung his body hard enough against the wall to knock pictures of himself off, washed apples in the bathroom (I really hope he used the sink rather than other readily available water sources in the room...), terrorized birds, made countless trips around the shed (I'll explain that in a minute), dropped his pants and relieved himself in an indoor atrium (guess he saw the trees and thought he was in the wild outdoors), come dangerously close to dropping a bucket of ant poison into my mothers pool, took one big swig from a pump of liquid soft soap, and run out of the house in nothing but his "undies", his relational advancement is extremely exciting to me. Can you blame me? Now, make no mistake, the boy has a will of steel and iron! Not the kind of "strong will" that means bossy britches. No, he isn't bossy at all, nope, he just doesn't intend to be bossed. This is a shame and quite a conflict of interests because sometimes I feel like all I do is boss Duke around. My newest idea was inspired in an effort to teach Duke some manners in a fun way; for some quality time and because Duke LOVES tea, he and I have started the ritual of "tea time" following his nap time! We both love it! And as for consequences for misbehavior, I stole a great tip from a friend and have started making him run laps around our shed instead of always sending him to the corner...let me just say, there are tread marks all the way around. He has a curiosity level and magnetizing effect for mischief that would put Curious George himself to shame. I recently heard Beth Moore say that she raised a child that could "make James Dobson cry his eyes out!" Ha! Well, Duke could to, but not without making him laugh his head off first.
My new expression to manage my stress or frustration is: "RATS!" Duke used to matter of factly answer me, "Rats are animals, Mama." But now he uses the expression himself to vent his frustration. This week he told me, "Rats! Puffin [one of his current favorite stuffed animals] is sick!" One of my most recent "Rats!" moments was when Daniel was out of town last week. I drove in the driveway with 2 hungry children, 100 degrees outside, refrigerated groceries in the car, Duke in need of some discipline, a neighbor in the driveway to discuss our shared fence, Adyline swimming in a car seat of overflowed baby poop (she is at that stage, remember it moms?) and to top it off I scratched the life out of my leg in the garage (just amputate it, 'who cares?' is what I was thinking in the moment). Just sizing the whole situation up, I could hardly decide where to put my attention first (I prioritized Adyline and her "mud" bath)! Well, I had one thing to say to the whole charade: "RATS!!!!"
These precious children have made us the happiest we have ever been, but not without making us the craziest we have ever been! No wonder my sudden obsession with dark chocolate. Do they medicate you if you start panicking when your location is separate from chocolate? And I guess when you have more mascara in your bangs than your actual eyelashes, than you know you either a mother of small children or a senior citizen. Oh well, this life is a blast.
Well, there has been lots to say about "brother;" now let me tell you about little sister. She is such a joy, oh she is just a doll! We are all 3 so in love with this girl! She is my alarm clock and with an alarm clock like this one, anybody would be a morning person. She is vibrant and lovely, cheerful and flexible, and glory to God, a good sleeper!!! YAY! She is precious. She is very smilie and interactive. She already knows how to crack up too! Adyline has an awesome sense of humor just like Duke and just when I think my heart is going to burst-- I fall more in love with her. I love washing and brushing her hair and dreaming about all the years to come brushing her hair and talking together. She already loves to babble, so that a good start, right? She always wants to see what Duke is doing (can you blame her?) so sometimes I have to leave the room to get her to sleep or to eat (But, this can be dangerous as Duke sees it as his cue for mischief). Daniel tells Adyline all the time that she's always smiling; and he is right. Truly, even when she is crying she stops and smiles; sometimes when she is dozing off she will look and me briefly, and give me her biggest smile just before rolling her eyes to the back of her head and drifting off to sleep.
Daniel bought me video monitors for both babies (don't even think about telling me I don't need 2 video monitors! Please! Of course I do! No one in their right mind would judge me for taping a video monitor directly to Duke's very forehead for the sake of everyone's safety and sanity.). Sometimes at night (after Daniel and I laugh about what crazy sleep position Duke is in) I will stare from one monitor to the other and think, what on earth that the God of heaven could bless me so much.
Daniel and I just celebrated our 5th wedding anniversary. I would marry him all over again and I have only grown to be more and more thankful for him. He is a great dad and I'm fighting tears as I tell you about what a blessing he is to our children. I thank God that Adyline has a loving dad that adores her, and I pray with all my heart that that assurance will protect her from giving her heart away before God's perfect timing. Oh my darling, "Listen to my instruction and be wise" (Prov 8:33, one of Duke's memory verses. Oh and this one is free, International Version of Duke: "Love your neighbor and yourself"). Oh Lord, despite the moments when I have nothing to do but say a quick prayer and exclaim, "rats!" thank you for these 3 precious people who daily enrich my life; help me live this life for you.
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