Fighting with Silverware

During lunch today, our boys were pretending they were attacking enemies. To make up for the fact that plastic spoons and knives aren't very threatening, they tried to make menacing faces. Two out of three succeeded.

3D Glasses

Nathan and Andrew get the Lego Club magazine. It's the highlight of their week when it comes in the mail. This month, part of the magazine was in 3D. The glasses were a big hit!

Ready for Tickling

The boys lined up ready for me to tickle them. I can't ever resist that!

Evan calls his tummy his "bummy". He says, "Mama, tickle my bummy!"

A Typical Dinner Conversation

Mom: "Andrew, when you're big, can I come to visit you at your house?"

Andrew: "Yes, but I'm going to live in a library. Would you like to come pick out books?"

Andrew then proceeded with a 7+ minute monologue about the beds, bathrooms, kitchen, and books that would be in the library.

In the midst of the monologue, Nathan was getting more and more impatient because he had something to say, and Andrew wasn't pausing.

So, Nathan interjects, "Andrew, when can I talk?" A minute later, "When will you be done? It's 6:30 already!"

Andrew finally said, "I'm going to let Nathan talk while I eat my cornbread. Then, I'm going to start talking again."

Where Does Milk Come From?

This morning at breakfast Andrew announced, "I know how you make milk."

Mom: "How?"

Andrew: "You put water in a jar, a can. You make the water cold in the oven. Then, you pour some more cold water in it, put it in the oven and make it white. You make milk like that."

Mom: "Mama cows make milk for us."

Andrew: "They do? Cows?"

I guess our visit to the dairy farm a few years ago did not make a lasting impression on my 4 year old.

Evan Dearest

Our conversation at dinner:

Evan: "Mommy..."
Mom: "Yes, Evan Dearest."
Evan: "Not Evan Dearest, just Evan!"

Praise Him, Praise Him

Evan is supposed to be napping right now. Instead, I am listening to him sing:

Praise Him, Praise Him, all you little children,
God is Mom, God is Mom...

For those who don't recognize the song, it is supposed to be "God is love, God is love." Unfortunately, I don't think a two-year old can understand completely why that is so wrong!

Go Tell It On The Mountain (The Alternate Version)

Nathan and Andrew were learning "Go Tell It on the Mountain" with the Sunday School kids yesterday. Apparently, they weren't quite paying attention to the words. The verse they sang to me this morning was:

When shepherds watched their flocking
A silent flock by night
To heaven's gates to open
There came a holy light

It was hard to correct them because their version is very funny.

What God Looks Like

Andrew and I ran errands together yesterday. Andrew was curious about what God looks like. I told Andrew that we won't know exactly what God looks like until we get to heaven. Then, we'll spend eternity with Him and can finally discover what He looks like.

Andrew responded, "I think He has a blue shirt and....some brown shoes!"

Enjoying Our New View

Having never seen the view from our big picture window in the winter, we were all excited to watch the snow this morning. Thank you God for the beauty of a fresh snowfall.

Mom and Dad Have Reasons...

A few days ago, we were getting ready to decorate our Christmas tree. This year, for the first time, Nathan was VERY excited to help decorate. He was curious about all the ornaments and the stories behind each one. We had told Nathan that he had to wait to touch the ornaments. We explained that some of them are fragile, and he had to wait for Mom and Dad.

In his excitement, he grabbed an ornament in a plastic package and brought it into the kitchen to show me. It was an ornament that Elbert and I had bought at Disney World in 2006. The plastic package opened, and the ornament fell onto the tile floor and shattered. He told me I could buy another one. When I told him that that was a special ornament and I wouldn't be able to buy another one, he started to cry.

I told him that I loved him much more than the ornament, but I was still a little sad that it had broken. We discussed how there is a reason that Mom and Dad give him certain instructions. And, in his excitement, he needs to exercise self-control and obey.

After he got done crying, he told us that he needed a hook. He grabbed a piece of paper and a marker and went to work on a "creation." He made us an ornament of Mickey Mouse to help us remember our trip to Disney World. It was a sweet gesture. It is now proudly hung on our tree.

Do I Have To Go To School...

It is our practice for Nathan to lay his clothes out in the bathroom the night before school. Last night, we all forgot.

This morning, I walked into the bathroom with Nathan and said, "Nathan, we forgot to lay out your clothes last night."

Nathan (very serious), "Do I have to go to school naked?"

Happy Birthday, Nathan

We celebrated Nathan's 6th birthday recently. How can my firstborn be 6 already?!?

On his actual day, we had his chosen meal of Chinese dumplings, spinach, carrots, cucumbers, broccoli and veggie dip. He wanted Chocolate Caramel Cheesecake for dessert. He has very sophisticated tastes!

The next weekend, Grandma and Grandpa joined us for another celebration. He wanted a Lego cake. It was actually easier to do than I thought. He was impressed.



One of many Star Wars presents he received. He was so excited! Note, UM losing to OSU in the background...
He got an Optimus Prime costume, too.

Nathan's Thank You Note

Nathan composed the note. I helped him spell the words he didn't know.

Andrew on God's Weapons of Choice

We were listening to a lecture this morning in the car on the way to Bible Study. It was called "20 Battles That Changed the Course of History". It talks about the Providence of God throughout history.

We had only listened to a few minutes when Andrew said, "Mommy, God doesn't use weaponeds [his way of saying 'weapons'], guns, or lightsabers to kill anyone. He just uses his voice."

Evan's Sentence

Our Bright Beginnings Parent Educator came for a visit this morning. It's always something that the boys look forward to. She played a "game" with Andrew and Evan to see how many pictures they could name in a minute. She had one picture per card and timed them with a stopwatch.

Andrew was whizzing through them and got 32. Evan was hilarious. He didn't know some of them, so he started off by saying, "I don't know." Then, by the end, he was saying, "I don't know what that is." Nicole and I were both impressed with his sentence. He ended up getting 6 of them right and was very proud.

Dad is an Octopus

A very random conversation with Nathan this morning:

Nathan: "Who is the grabbiest in our family between you and Dad?"
Mom: "Grabbiest?"
Nathan: "Yeah, like an octopus grabbing people between his tentacles."
Mom: "I don't know. Who do you think?"
Nathan: "I'll say....Dad."

Wisdom from Nathan

On the way home from church tonight:

Andrew: "I'm not used to Nathan."
Mom: "What about him aren't you used to?"
Andrew: "Sometimes he hurts me."
Nathan: "This is a sinful world, Andrew. We all sin against God."

55 and 100

Apparently, 55 is the new 100. Scary.

Andrew: "Mom, when you are 55, you will be close to 100."

Pumpkins

Here are a few pictures of the boys with their pumpkins. Andrew designed his pumpkin, and Elbert carved it. Nathan designed and carved his pumpkin all by himself. He worked for almost 3 hours carving it. I told him in the middle that I was proud of his perseverance. He told me several times later, "I have a lot of perseverance!"


Andrew's pumpkin is on the left. Nathan's is on the right.

Before trick-or-treating

Heading out into the cold
Back to warm up...They were out for almost an hour and a half. I was happy to stay in our warm house and hand out candy.

Stay-at-Home Moms Don't Work

This morning as I was getting Evan up from bed:

Evan: "Where's Daddy?" [A question he asks almost every morning]
Mom: "Daddy went to work."
Evan: "Mommy don't work."
Mom: "Mommy stays home with you."
Evan: "Mommy don't work."

Flashback Friday - Halloween

2008:


2009 - on Wednesday at Trunk or Treat:

This afternoon: Andrew and Evan trick-or-treating at Daddy's school. The Tigger costume worked much better for Evan than the Elmo costume. Elmo's head kept falling into his eyes on Wednesday.

The Book of June

We've been working on singing the books of the Old and New Testament. Today at breakfast, Andrew announced, "Mom, June comes right before Revelation!"

The Truth from the Mouth of a 4 Year Old

Andrew: "Mom, you can do anything you want in our house."

Me: "Well, I still have to obey God."

Andrew: "Yes, you always sin."

Nothing like some conviction from a 4 year old first thing in the morning.

Grand Rapids Kids Marathon

A typical family picture...only 2 people looking at the camera.

Nathan ran the Grand Rapids Kids Marathon for the 2nd year in a row. Andrew decided to "run" it this year, too.

Nathan ran with Dad the entire way (1.2 miles). Andrew mostly walked with Grandma. According to Grandma, he needed lots of encouragement to finish.

We were proud of both of them for completing what they started.

At the start of the race...

You can do it, Andrew!
2 proud boys!

Family Movie Night

We had our first "official" Family Movie Night this month. We watched Wall-e. The kids thought it was the best thing ever. We had to break it into 2 nights because of bedtime, which made it twice as fun. Here are a few pictures.

All ready to watch in their robes...


The 2nd night, we gave them popcorn -- an extra bonus!

Andrew's 4th Birthday

We had a fun celebration for Andrew's Birthday. On his "actual" birthday, we had his chosen meal (chicken on-the-bone, sweet potatoes, and cornbread). We ate cupcakes for dessert.

On Saturday, we celebrated with Grandma and Grandpa. We had a busy day. We went to Nathan's soccer game in the morning. Then, we went to Home Depot for their "Build-and-Grow". In addition to the building project (a bank), they had rescue vehicles that the kids could explore in the parking lot. It was a really fun morning.

In the evening, we had birthday dinner #2 (spare ribs, potatoes, and cabbage). Andrew was so excited to see the Castle Cake that I had made for him during rest-time.

Here are a few pictures:



All three playing (and not fighting) with the Cars game that Grandma and Grandpa bought for Andrew

Mascara

Nathan to me when I was putting on my mascara: "Mom, you look mean when you put that on...much more mean."

Thanks for the encouragement!

Flashback Friday - Andrew

It never ceases to amaze me how much the children change in 1 years time. This is Andrew in Sept. 2008. His face looks so much older now.


Here he is earlier this week with his "morning hair".

Tithe

Nathan (after putting his money in the offering plate): "I just made the church a lot of money. I put in 6 cents!"

Flashback Friday - My "Baby"

My "baby" started kindergarten this week. I think back to 5 years ago when he was just starting to walk. People always say that the time goes by so fast. Now, I finally believe them.

Here are a few pictures of Nathan in Sept. 2004. He was 10 months old.


This is one of my favorite pictures of Nathan. He woke in the morning with his arm completely out of his pjs. He was so proud.


Another of my favorites...
My hair was so short!

It's hard to remember life as a family of 3. This was taken in Winona, MN on a trip to visit Aunt Debbie and Uncle Josh.

Strange Family

Andrew at breakfast this morning:

"Every day my wife is going to have 6000 babies, and they are going to grow up to be soldiers."

Nathan's First Day of Kindergarten

Nathan had a great first day of kindergarten! He couldn't wait for us to leave this morning. He kept asking if it was time to go yet. All the kindergartners were asked to bring a "stuffed friend" with them today. Of course, Nathan chose his biggest stuffed friend, Reveille.

He has 3 half days this week. Next week, he starts MWF all day.