What Winter Blues?

Today Old Man Winter actually thought he would try to claim this season as his own again. Who knows where he came up with that idea. Before he decided to bring his ugly face back to these parts, we took prime advantage of his absence.

God's Mighty Warrior Will cannot get enough of this swing. Or playing his guitar to the song Iron Man. We are praying he forgets about that song long before he's old enough to realize it's all about a crazed time traveler who ends the world by killing everyone.

We didn't have the heart to say, "No, honey, you can't draw on our porch because we are trying to sell the house and people who are looking at it may not think it looks pretty." So instead the chalk remains on the porch as a sort of foreshadowing to all who enter: Children live here. Don't expect much.

Yes, folks, his hair is very red. And yes, it is true what they say about redheads. Someday when I'm 50 and he's away at college I will laugh. Today I will just gaze at this picture and remind myself that at least he is cute, and I will never have to worry about him sticking up for himself. And he's cute.

Our Happily Ever After

The fairytale is slightly twisted around these parts.

You see, our story begins with TWO princesses, not one.


Enter the evil Mommy monster (the villain in our story is extremely unconventional as it is well known that Mommy is never really the monster), who locked those princesses away in a tower.


Whatever are two preschool princesses to do except await the arrival of their slightly under-dressed prince Will? This prince, while he loved his somewhat feminine hat, adored his "star sword" all the more. The poor prince was baffled, however, that he was not allowed to break the princesses free by battering them with the star sword. A prince just can't catch a break around here.


Luckily, the prince discovered his powers of magic (i.e. ripping off his whistle and hat in protest), leading to one Mommy-monster morphing into the prince's infamous side-kick, and together they rescued the princesses from the tower jail cell.


And they all lived happily ever after.

It's Been Two Weeks Since My Last Post

Every day, from 7:30 to 5:30, I have four children in my house ages 3-and-a-half to 7 months. I really don't need to say more than that.



But before you begin feeling too sorry for me, please join me momentarily in a new thing that Christ is doing in me - whispered gratitudes, all day long.

#1: The joy on his face over a newly discovered game.


#2. The joy on mine over his cute rear in underpants. And the fact that I get to see it every day, instead of being at work missing him.


#3. This guy's smile. His giggles. His dimples. His giggles. His rolls. His giggles.

(And I finally have a baby that looks like me! Check out the chins in the above and below pics. No, there's no relation to Jay Leno.)

#4. Not only do I have four young kids every day, I GET four young kids every day. Their excitement about life is infectious, is it not?

#5. Before she "tries" to nap, she asks me to tell stories with her. Of course I've put all the others to bed first, because I anticipate this moment. We lay next to each other, snuggled together under her covers. I play with her hair and hold her close, and tell her silly stories of princesses and frogs and bunnies, of flying and becoming dragons and Mommies who really do know what's best (I have to squeeze that one in sometimes). A perfect moment in my day.

#6. Money is tight. Our house is quite small. And yet, this, too, is a gratitude I find arising from my heart. Those inconveniences are worth all of this. I am not missing out. I am filling their lives with God, their days with the lessons I choose. I am watching their eyes light up when they get it right for the first time. I am the one to hear when the baby first begins to babble. I am the one they run to when they are hurt and just need to be held.

So, Lord, our chaos is YOURS. And we praise you for that. And my blog, well, it may sit unvisited for weeks upon weeks. And you're teaching me to be ok with that. Because I'm living life with my children, one mess to the next, and one day at a time.

Tootsies

Win Win

She loves to read to him. He loves his sister. It's a symbiotic type of thing.

When Life Gives You Ridiculously Cold Temperatures That Only Exist in Movies Where The People Eat Each Other...

...make snow ice cream. The hip alternative to cannibalism.

(Yes, the rumors are true. Sometimes Mommy stays in her p.j.s and never fixes her hair or puts on makeup.)

Brownies are the perfect complement to the snow.

Daddies can play with the leftover snow.

As long as they're copasetic with the destruction that will quickly ensue.


SNOW ICE CREAM (a tradition passed to our family from Carla's)

1 can evaporated milk

1/2 cup sugar

4 tsp vanilla

-Mix ingredients together and add a small amount of snow to chill the mixture. Stir into a large bowl of snow and enjoy!

December in Pictures

I have a very real fear for the life of my blog. It has been two weeks since my last post and I'm resorting to throwing on a bunch of pictures because I can't find the time for regular posting. Nevertheless, here is our month in pictures. So far.

Sweet boy turns four months on Wednesday:


Why I didn't listen to my gut instinct and wrap up a bunch of bottles for Christmas is beyond me:


He loves waffles. He loves digging the butter out of the little holes even more.


Having children gives a whole new definition to the term "slave labor."

Crazy daddy:


I am willing to do anything for a good picture of my children. Yes, even let the three-year-old choke the baby. Unfortunately it was not fruitful this time:

A new playmate for Soph - my cousin's daughter, Tuesday, comes to our house every day now!

Boomer Sooner! Big 12 Champs, baby!! (Please just humor me and pretend the old guy's shirt says Oklahoma Sooners. At least it's the right color).

Cute cousins. It is inevitable that they have to match at least once a year:

The baby and the Russian Czar. I'm thinking of writing a new book with that title.

That's all I got. Bet you're glad you stayed. I hope I'm back soon.

Survival

A question I get asked frequently of late is, "How are things going?" With emphasis on "going," as if the answer is inherent in the question. Three children ages 3 and under. It can't be going well.

Well, let me put it this way. I definitely have had my days. I have great days when I think it will be a cake walk. Then the next day, well, they're more like TODAY.

That's when I call out all reinforcements, and we go into survival mode. Here are some tips for those who may feel in need of backup from time to time.

Step 1: From the first hint that it is going to be "one of those days," put on a DVD for the older kids, sit down with a cuppa Joe, and eat something sweet. Something that you really shouldn't eat for breakfast. Be rebellious for once in your life and just do it.


Step 2: After the first life-giving jolt of caffeine runs through your blood, and while said DVD is still distracting the kids, pull out the good old WORD. Nothing speaks calm to my soul better.


Step 3: Put aside the laundry (or the dusting, the vacuuming, etc...) and say YES to some fun with the kids. It may sound tiring... in truth, it probably is... but worth the effort.

Unfolded laundry:


Happy children:


Well, this one was happy until I pulled the play-do out of his mouth:

Step 4: Stop all attempts to get the baby to sleep on his back. He's not gonna do it today, and two other children want your attention. Nestle him onto his belly between the library books and unfinished laundry (where you can keep an eye on him) and take a deep breath.

Step 4.5: Insert more prayer/scripture meditation here... as the day goes on more of this is definitely needed!

Step 5: Make something really healthy... err... just make something easy for lunch (something you know they'll eat). For them and for you.

Step 6: Let the kids entertain each other. Middle of the day water-play? What a great idea!

Hide and seek under your bed covers? Ingenious!!

Step 7: Naptime for all, or "Personal Play Time" for 3-year-olds who don't wish to nap yet again.

Step 8: Whisper a prayer of THANKS for moments of gentle answers amidst the chaos. Don't forget to THANK him for the precious ones who fill your heart... what gifts they truly are.

Reason #527 Why Every Child Needs A Sibling

...hours of entertainment that poor mom just cannot provide, no matter how hard she tries...

She Prob'ly Thinks This Post Is About Her

Sophie is arranging her own photo shoots now. She seems to think she's quite cute or something. Who am I to argue with that logic?