Right Now

It has been a cozy week-end in the Booker household.

As I type, ALL of the boys are downstairs sitting around the stove in their camp chairs cleaning their guns while Ransom looks on. The boys' guns are obviously toys, but Daddy is already teaching them how to clean, what not to shoot, that HIS is NOT a toy etc. etc. It's fun to watch.

Ransom slept for the very first night in his own crib in his own room last night. He has stayed in our room the longest of all of my boys. I mainly kept him up with us, because in this house he will be on a completely different floor than us which is not really my favorite; but even more than that, the big boys' room is right through a paper thin wall, and they wake up at the crack 'o dawn. So, realistically, now he will probably start waking up an hour earlier than he did upstairs, but then we'll all just adjust to the new rhythm and routine. He's on a pretty good schedule now and does fairly well even on the days that I work and Sundays, at church. He truly is our easiest and most mellow baby, hands DOWN.

In the competetive Booker household, our newest game of choice is this silly thing called "Bop It Extreme." It's a reaction game where you have to do what it says - either hit it, twist it, spin it, or flick it, and it's completely addictive. All of us love it - even Jesse. When we first got it, we were only able to get a high score of 10 or 15. Then one day, Kaden was on a roll and killed us all with a high score of 35! Then I got the high score of 62. And that's when the competition became fierce. Kev played until he walked away with 85....on the SAME DAY. He wouldn't even let me revel in my victory for ONE day. So, last night after supper, we had a Booker Bop It competition. And yours truly has walked away with the victory at a high score of 93. That's right.......

On a MUCH more important note, we are currently at 73% with our support raising. Pretty amazing. God is just really affirming to us that this is what we are supposed to be doing. Starting next week, we are taking our deacons and their wives through the training, so it will be a fairly intensive two weeks for us - but so much fun! And it will be cool to be working with so many teams - both the pastor and his deacons, and also each man and his wife.

Okay. I guess that's all for now. Ransom and I have a baby shower to throw for a friend at church, so we must be off. It's boy #2 for this lady, so I'm having a boy themed shower with older women in the church who have only boys sharing stories, a fun poopy diaper game - which I hope doesn't offend the more genteel of the ladies, a sentimental book to read, and some DELISH food to eat! Good times!

Happy week-end, All! Stay warm......

On Staying in Love.......

Hands down, my absolute MOST favorite blog that I read is found here. Every single time I read her, I am quieted, stilled, refocused, and more in love with my Savior, my life, and my family. She's good.

Here's a snippet of what she wrote about a few days ago:

Fall in Love in Four Minutes A Day

It only takes four minutes a day to move into a deeper heart place. It only takes four minutes a day to connect in soul intimacy; to breathe in oxygen for the other half of my heart. Don’t and I too begin to suffocate, the death heave. I wish someone had told me in the beginning.

Four Fixations

Four times a day think on love. When I leave the marriage bed, leave the front door, when I return to front door, return to marriage bed. These are the four critical archways of time in our day. Touch or whisper a sweet nothing when passing through these gate points, and we walk into hours of closeness. Forever love fixates like fresh love.

Four Embraces

Four times a day, wrap up in husband. Embrace fully and hold each other’s eyes. That’s all. Repeat four times daily. The one flesh breathes best when the skin pores are close; connected.

Four Affirmations

Four times during the day, thank him. For working faithfully to provide, for hanging up his towel, for putting gas in the van, for making this heart skip a wild beat. Look for the ways to thank him and watch how he moves closer.


So good. so SO good.

The Week-end is Upon Us!

It has been a lovely week-end, besides the fact that Jesse woke up with a yucky cold on Friday. Hence, he and I and the wee one are staying home from church this morning and chillaxing. Can't seem to win - Jesse was bummed he had to stay home with Mommy; he wanted Daddy, and Kaden was bummed that he had to go to church with Daddy; he wanted Mommy. Ah well.......

Other than the snotting and coughing, though, it's been my kind of a week-end. A good balance of play and getting stuff accomplished. Because Sunday is our biggest work day, Friday is our family day - our true day off, and Saturday is more like an errand/get things done day - with our family still together. Sunday, we run around like chickens with our heads cut off and are typically home for only about 3 hours the entire day......

On Friday, we decided to kick it to Portland for the day. Both Kev and I are able to "play" much better when we're AWAY. Not sure why that really is, except the we don't see all of the projects and work staring us in the face. It's been awhile since we did a full blown day trip, so this was really fun. We ate at the Macaroni Grill, the boys played at Cabella's, I checked out the Christmas Tree Shoppe, and we even walked the mall for a bit. We haven't been to the mall for ages. So, that was a really fun day. We had no agenda, we just did whatever we felt like doing.

And then yesterday, we stayed around the house and puttered. I was able to catch up on mountains of laundry, I moved all of Ransom's 0-3 month stuff downstairs and brought up all of his 3-6 month stuff; (Hard to believe he's already out of that age bracket of clothing. Kind of sad), and I was just able to check off a bunch of little things on my lists that I've been wanting to tackle.

Kev and the boys made a fire in the firepit outside and we had hotdogs and hamburgers over the open fire, the kids played outside for a long time, we watched some home videos, and we made smores in the toaster oven when we came inside! It was just a really nice day. And now today, it's kind of a surprise relaxing day for me. I'm bummed that Jesse's not on the top of his game, but it's been cozy with just me and the two littles this morning.

Here's to another week!
Have a wonderful remainder of your weekend, friends!

Ransom's Room

Well, except for a couple of pics that the boy's painted for their baby brother, Ransom's nursery is just about completed. Lest you forgot what his room looked like when we first moved in, here's a little reminder:



Mmmm. I'm really going to miss those colors. Not.
And here it is now.





Very simple.

Today is very overcast and snowy, and I by no means am a camera expert, so these pics don't show how bright and cozy this room normally is. It gets the most sun and has the best views of any room in the house. The walls are a really light lineny coffee color. Very soft and peaceful.

At some point, I may throw a little rug down on the floor and put a rocking chair in there for the two of us, but for now, it's simple and cozy.

Ransom approves.

And the Days Blend On.....

Man - I seem to be becoming a horrible blog updater. I used to do it every couple of days, but if I can get to the computer weekly, I'm doing good lately.

Lots of just normal life stuff going on around here these days. Nothing overly amazing or exciting, yet the days seem to blur by at lightning speed. The nursery is almost completed, so Ransom will probably be moving in sometime this week. That always makes me kind of sad - one more chapter complete - one more sign that he's already getting bigger and bigger. This baby is just a doll and a total delight. He is really quite easy, super happy, and very mellow. What a gift! We are all just savoring him; he is truly a well loved baby around here!

The other night, we went to see a brand new baby of a couple of "kids" who used to be in our youth group. That was kind of bizarre - to now be in the same stage of life as these guys! It still didn't make me feel all that old - it was just pretty surreal.

And Kevy and I got to go on a spontaneous date - just the two of us over the week-end, as well. The days have seemed crazy lately, and life has seemed a little weird, so it was just a really special and needed time for the two of us to just "be" and talk about our life and family. We are constantly assessing and reassessing where we are at, where we are going, what's happening with loved ones in our lives, how are we doing at this whole parenting of three thing, etc. etc. etc.

It's really been hitting me kind of hard lately that this could possibly be my last year in this specific chapter of life that we are in right now should we choose to go the Christian school route for Kaden next year. This could very well be my very last year to have ALL of my kids home with me. I don't really like change anyway, and I don't know if "greiving" is too strong of a word, but it has just been hitting me kind of hard lately.

In sharing with Kev on our date, we both got all choked up and teary just talking about it! We're still wrestling with and praying about what direction the Lord wants us to take with our kids. There seems to be so many pros and cons to any decision, really. And every family is so different - different values, different convictions, different goals for what they want their lives to look like - so we can talk to people and get wisdom and advice, but ultimately it'll be something that we'll need to decide between us and the Lord.

I still have several months to go, but it's just another reminder to savor these days and THESE moments that we are living in RIGHT NOW. The days may be long sometimes, but the years truly ARE fleeting......

Week-end Wonderings and Wanderings......

I woke up with a headcold today - right out of the blue, so this will be short (for me at least), and then I'm off to just "be" while my three boys are sleeping.

Haven't updated for awhile, but it's been a good couple of days. Although we have had a couple of setbacks around here. One of our little goldfishies bit the dust over the week-end. Kaden would have been devastated had it been his fish, but after making sure it was Jesse's, he just shrugged his shoulders and glanced over at his brother to make sure he was okay. I assured Jesse that we can get another sometime, and after a brief fishy funeral, all was well.

Three days ago, I would have said with confidence that Jesse was completely potty trained, but I think I put too much confidence in him too soon and (a). stopped reminding him to use the potty, and (b). went all over God's creation too soon without more regular consistency. So, after getting both peed and pooped on and feeling like I have a little puppy living here, we are back on track with keeping things consistent and simple for the child.

The horrid black and lime green nursery is now a soft lineny coffee color - with just a FEW traces of the previous colors. But five coats of paint later, I'm ready to call it a day in that room! Looking forward to getting it all set up now. Hopefully, Ransom will be in his own little room before the week's end.

We took the kids to Camden on Friday for our family day. Our most fave coffee shop is down there, along with this little hiking/skiing trail by Mt. Battie that we hike up until we "feel the burn" and then pop the kids onto a couple of sleds and wind 'er back down the hill! It's super fun. I drove the two older boys, and Kev plopped Ransom in his carseat right in front of him - as he is the MUCH better steerer than I - and away they went, as well. Ransom was napping on the walk up. However, he was VERY wide awake once they reached the bottom. All smiles, though! The last time we did that, I was very newly pregnant with him. This year, he got to play, too.

Okay. Well, that's all for now. My head feels about the size of China, and I hear Ransom stirring for his mid-afternoon snacky-doo....

Have I mentioned lately just how delicious this child is???

Three Things.....

My dear friend, Esther-la-Vista, just had a glorious idea for one of her posts that she gleaned from her super smart sister, so I am going to copy this idea, and anyone who reads either of our blogs - please do the same!

Share with the world three things that you are proud of that you accomplished in 2009, three things that you could have done better or maybe would change if you could, and three things that you hope to accomplish in 2010. Heavens, there are so many for me, I'm not sure where to begin. But, here they are in no particular order.

Three things that I am proud of:

(1). I LOVE being a wife and mother. I know that I'm not the best that there is out there, but I really do just love this stage of life that I am in right now. I'm proud of Kev's and my relationship - that we have stayed best friends, that we are continuing to grow in our love and friendship despite the crazyness of life, and that we are a team. I love being a Mommy to my three boys, and I am so thankful and feel so honored that God has entrusted each one to me.

(2). These past four years have really been a crazy journey of faith for our little family, and I am thankful than we obeyed and listened to the leading of the Lord in our lives. I think that a lot of people have probably thought that we were/are crazy, but I am proud to have a husband who cares more about what his Heavenly Father thinks than that of what others think and say. So, I am happy and content where we are at, and I have also learned - and am continuing to learn - to hold things loosely and really and truly be willing to go, and be, and do whatever God calls us to do.

(3). My two NEW gifts of "last" year - sweet Ransom Malachi and our new home. Two amazing gifts that are "above and beyond all that I could have ever hoped for or imagined." So so very thankful.....

Three things that I wish I had done better:
Oh Heavens....where to begin?

(1). I agree with Esther: Comparison destroys contentment. I worry far more about what others think than I should. Maybe it's just me - or maybe it's the plague of all women, but in many cases, I wish I had worried far less about other's opinions and ideas and cared only about the Lord's. Pride is an awful thing.

(2). I wish I had savored my kids more. I have a motto on my wall that is really more of a prayer: "Lord, help me to SLOW and see the sacred in the chaos." I have such a hard time being STILL and fully embracing life and just playing with my kids with no other agenda when there are things to be done. But the truth of the matter is that there will ALWAYS be things to be done, but I will not have my kids forever. This is a daily battle for me.

(3). I would have been more intentional in both my spiritual and physical health. Both tend to be sporatic for me - good spells and bad spells. But again - life will always be busy, and it will only get busier, so I need to be intentional about making time regardless.

Three things that I want to accomplish for this next year:

(1). I want to really savor my children and fully embrace all that comes with this season of life. I don't want to have any regrets. I want to learn each one of them as an individual better - what makes them tick, their love language, what makes them frustrated, etc. etc., and then, I want to be intentional about helping him grow and learn and love better. I want to be less mindful of all of the things that need to get done and more mindful of the things that are lasting and eternal.

(2). We need to make a decision about schooling for Kaden, so I want to really give homeschooling a serious shot and not be so concerned about failing, but really dive into it for at least a trial run and just focus on having fun with it.

(3). I want to be intentional about all areas of my health - physical, emotional, and spiritual - and use my free time wisely...consistent devos, exercise regime, and healthy meals and snacks.

(4). More random acts of kindness. I know - we were only supposed to do three, but this is my post! :0) I want to do more little things for people - like making random meals, giving random gifts, planning little teas for my young mommy friends, etc. etc. - making those that I love (and those that I even don't know, I guess) feel loved, appreciated, and special.

(5). Eternal things: Be still more, snuggle more, say "yes" more than I say "no" to my kids, not worry so much about my to-do lists, make memories, spend time with those I love, seek to be an encouragement to others, listen more than I speak.....

(6). And not-so-eternal things: paint and set-up the nursery, get Ransom's baby album started and brought up to date, grow a garden, have a compost pile, not get poison ivy this year, lose ten pounds, keep clutter at bay, run two miles a day, plan an anniversary party for my parents, go camping a lot, learn new things, be open to change and new ideas, make a difference............

whew. I'm exhausted.