A Little Ditty.....

Rain! Rain!
Go away
And never come again -
Okay?

I'm sick of you!
You make me mad!
And worse than that -
You make me sad!

The plants are fine
They need no more!
So go away -
You are a BORE!

My boys are nuts!
They've gone insane!
They're tired, too!
Of this numb rain.

So go away!
This prego's done!
When I wake up -
Give me some sun!!!

And if you don't
I swear -
it's true!
This tubby's comin' after you.........

Happy Father's Day!




A day late......

Happy Father's Day to my sweet hubby who loves and provides for his family with all that he has. How blessed are my three little boys to have a Daddy like him to look up to and model their lives after.

We kind of did little mini celebrations this week. The kids made him a really big banner, we made him a fun supper one night, and on Saturday we went down to Cabella's - where else? - and ate out at Macaroni Grill. Good times!

On Sunday - the true and actual Father's Day - I confess.....I was somewhat grumpy with my poison ivy and no A.C. at church. So, Kev and the boys started on their own "manly spaghetti" Father's Day lunch when we got home while I applied my anti-itch creams and got out of my constricting Sunday clothes. After that, all was well, and we all had fun cooking together in the kitchen and having a yummy lunch together. Sorry about that, Love. Ahem.

I love you, Kevy. You are my best friend. My soulmate. The love of my life. I love walking this crazy journey of life with you. You are my perfect fit.

And to my own sweet Daddy-O -----the first man I ever loved! Thank you for being such an example to the three of us kids. Thank you for your humble, gentle strength and for giving me such a rich and wonderful childhood. Thank you for teaching me through your life, about the kind of man that I should wait for and marry one day. How I love you! Happy Father's Day!

********
And on somewhat of a yummy sidenote:



Ohhh sweet, squishy delish-ish-ness!

Shoot Me Now

Up until last year, I have never in my life experienced the glorious pleasure and joy of that lovely little plant called poison ivy. From the time I've known him, Kev has gotten some pretty bad cases almost every year, but either I never walked through the stuff before or I had an immunity to it.

Until last summer. Behold my legs. And this is just part of the joy before it got really bad.



Somehow, I was the only one of the four of us to encounter the POISON, and the blasted stuff ended up getting into my bloodstream and coming out all over my body. I was still nursing Jesse at the time, but finally had to wean him in order to have the strongest prescription to get rid of the stuff.

I would rather give birth a thousand times over than go through that again.

Anyhoo......just a couple of days ago, we went down to the Hampden Marina to get an icecream and watch the boats. Kev suggested walking through this little path in the woods that he used to explore as a kid. Jesse got tired partway through and Kev and Kaden were way up ahead, so I hoisted him up onto my shoulders for the rest of the jaunt. I never do that. I always ride him on my hip - where there is clothing. There was no clothing around my neck. And apparently he had been traipsing through some poison ivy, the little dear. And apparently, the oils from his jeans rubbed all over my neck, and yup - I now have poison ivy all over my neck and on my left shoulder.

And it's spreading. Praise Him.

I am this close to becoming that girly girl that I always tease about and from now on will seriously contemplate staying home to knit or paint my nails and drink tea. Or do whatever every other mother who doesn't feel like going on woodsy adventures does.

Lord have mercy on my soul.

A Gift From My Mom....

My mom wrote me this poem a few days ago, and it made me cry when she read it to me. Another reminder to savor these precious years.....


"My Daughter's World"

Her days are filled with sweet little boys -
Wiping little noses and picking up toys;
Turning over rocks and looking for slugs -
Going for long walks and catching lots of bugs.

Getting slimy kisses from a dear little face
or wiping off his tears - 'till there's not a trace!
One likes his hands clean - he doesn't like the grime -
And one doesn't care if he's covered in slime!

She often hears the sound of small running feet,
or an impish voice say: "Can I have a treat?"
"Mommy, can you read to me - just one more book?"
How could she refuse that precious little look!

"Let's bake some cookies, Mommy!! Let's go to the park!"
"Let's go fishing at the pond - can we stay 'till dark?"
Whether wading in the brooks or catching "tads" and frogs -
They can find all their "treasures" hiding under logs!

Loving everything that creeps, crawls or flies -
Seeing God's creation through a little boy's eyes!
This is now her world - this daughter of mine -
And nothing would she change that could be so fine
as to hear their childish voices singing her a song -
or laughing as they play - while the days roll along.

Two little boys - with another "on the way" -
Sometimes can make for a very long day;
But their sunshiny faces, their laughter and their songs
Make her world a brighter place and set right all the wrongs!

For these tender years are gone too soon
And she knows that she will miss
Those little hands - those litte feet -
And that precious "good night" kiss.


With a final thought so poignant and true: "Treasure these days, daughter of mine! Dedicated to my daughter and her little brood of boys: You are blessed, Amy, and so are they - ....

for "their world" is what you make it!"

Simple & Deliberate

That's what I want our family to look like.

Kev and I have been talking a lot these past couple of weeks - assessing and reassessing our family, our priorities, our values..... our LIFE. Everyone is always busy; life is always full. But when things start to feel out of control and we lose all semblance of structure, it's not good for any of us.

Somewhere in the midst of moving home, a few things got lost in translation, and crazyness has abounded.

So, we've been making some changes around here. When the boys wake up in the morning, one of us will go into them with a little snack and they can play on Kaden's bed or in their bedroom, but they are not allowed out until we go to them. We have them in there for about an hour; and this way we are able to get our heads screwed on straight - get our showers, make the bed, have some devos, and get focused for the day.

Oh Heavens! This has made such a difference in my days. Going from being shocked awake before 6:00 by two little boys jumping on us, to having the day start peaceful and much more centered. And the boys are totally okay with this. They are excited to be together, they are rested, and they play and laugh well together during this time. The room gets slightly trashed.....so now we'll work on that too. But it is SO worth it!

I have also gone from working two afternoons a week to one condensed day. Now, instead of having two of our days disrupted, only one looks different from the rest. And Daddy & Grammy split the time spent with the boys that day. It's good. It's all good.

Just lots of processing and reprioritizing. I don't know if other families do this, but we find ourselves doing this ALL. THE. TIME. For us it's necessary - keeping the finger on the pulse of our family and noticing when things start to get out of balance.

We're also really discussing and very seriously praying about what our life is going to look like with baby #3, with potential travel opportunities for Kev or for the two of us with our new ministry, and with deciding on Christian school or homeschooling. Big decisions, but we're taking them one day at a time. All the more reason to be more simple and deliberate and intentional and purposeful in all that we're doing with our family.

This year is going to be our "trial year" in a lot of areas for us.

:: I'll be learning how to be a Mommy to 3 little boys.

:: We've decided that we are not going to put Kaden into Kindergarten until he's 6, so this year I'm going to "loosy-goosy" homeschool him and just see how it goes for our family. I've been picking the brain of my school's K teacher who I greatly respect and have gotten some really good ideas that I'm excited about.

:: And it will really be the first time for our family where Kev will be doing some traveling and leaving me home with all of them for a few days at a time. So structure is good. And during those days it will be a necessity for sanity!

.....Feeling MUCH better about life


"The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in Him and I am helped. Therefore, my heart exults, and with my song I shall thank Him." ~ Psalm 29:8

On My Counter.....

:: 7 salamanders
:: 8 tadpoles
:: Several slugs.....yuck......
:: 1 warty green tree frog with sticky fingers
:: 1 dobson fly larvae - a stinky, nasty, ferocious pinching somethingrather
:: 2 or 3 spiders
:: 1 dead dragonfly
:: And 2 goldfish

....nothing really cute on my countertops anymore.
....but two little boys who think I'm the coolest.

Breath of Fresh Air

If you have time today, this is a really great article to read for anyone who struggles with falling into the "comparison trap."

The bottom line of it all? - "Do what works best for your own family, and do what honors God."

This is a mantra I so want to live by when "sharing advice" with other moms and when looking at my own parenting methods. Mothering is the most private, most personal thing a woman does - and everyone does it differently. The bottom line is if we're all striving to seek the Lord's wisdom in it all, to honor our husbands, and to love our kids well - then it really and truly doesn't matter how, when, and what method we use to switch our babies from a bottle to a sippy cup; or how long we wait before potty training; or even if we choose to do attachment or "baby wise" parenting. I definitly have my opinions on any and all of these things - but they are only that - just MY opinions.

What's really important is this:
Am I striving to please the Lord?
Am I seeking His face in all that I do?
Am I loving and honoring my husband and going about this whole journey as a team with him?
Am I trying my best to love my kids well and striving to really know them?

If so, then it really doesn't matter what "everyone else" is doing. I eat humble pie every day these days, anyway; but it doesn't matter if I keep up with the latest trends on motherhood. It matters completely that my failure or success as a mother depends soley and utterly upon Christ. My worth as a mother is found in Him alone. It's because of Him - not me - that my boys will turn out to be godly, wise, tender, gentlemen. I can't take any credit now, and I never will be able to.

And all that other stuff..... live and let live, baby.
Live and let live.

Painting the Town.....

Kev left us all this week and flew to Pasadena, CA to do some training with U.S. Center for World Missions. Since it was going to be a weird week with him gone and me lonely, my dear friend Rachey Rach from New York made the nine hour road trip up with her little girl to stay with me and the boys for the week. We've been planning a visit for sometime this summer anyway, so this week was perfect!

I met Rach at PBU when we moved out there three years ago. She and her hubby did the same thing we did: quit their jobs, sold their homes, and completely uprooted, so we were kindred spirits instantly. She and I lived one building over, we took the same classes together, love the same things, and became each other's family away from home - one of those friendships where you are in each other's lives on a daily basis only briefly but where the friendship will last forever. Rach even came over and slept on my couch at 3:30 in the morning and made my Kaden feel loved and special when I went into labor with Jesse.

So, it was a special gift to have her here all week to keep me company. And I do believe that I ran her ragged! I wanted her to see all of the things that we do and love, I wanted to show her my roots, and then I also wanted to do a whole bunch of super fun things with all of the kidlets. So, every day, we did something fun together! I showed her the house that we used to own, we fed the baby goats and got ice cream at a local orchard, we went to Bar Harbor and had a picnic on Sand Beach, we went to Camden and walked the pier, we killed some yard sales, we did some antiquing, we went up home and I took her 4-wheeling, introduced her to black flies, went frogging at the pond, and had smores in our fire pit; and we did very little sleeping!

For two single pregos and three kidlets, I'd say we did pretty good. It was glorious. Her little Moriah finally started to warm up to a household of boys - the youngest of which always wanted to kiss her and hold her hand! She got to snuggle lots of salamanders, and I'm sure she also learned a lot of tricks that her mommy will be thrilled with.

But she was the one who FIRST went wading in hotel landscaping sprinkler system......they just followed her leading......