Just Like Me

It started innocently enough… I walk into Lydia’s room on a Sunday morning and ask, “What would you like to wear today?” Her reply, “Well, what are YOU wearing? I want to wear what you are wearing to be just like you.” Now I hear this refrain multiple times a week and I choose a purple shirt and capris or a black and white dress for Lydia to wear so she can be “just like me.” Lydia declares that her favorite color is yellow, “just like mommy.” And that she wants to play the flute and do ballet “just like mommy.” While it’s humbling to have someone idolize me, she does hear “Lydia looks just like you!” so often from friends, family, coworkers and acquaintances that I can’t help but think the idea has been planted in her brain.

And while it’s “cute” at age almost 5, it causes me to ponder. Does she want to be “just like me” when I speak harshly out of impatience or frustration? Does she want to be “just like me” when I stare at the computer screen instead of her sweet face when she’s talking? Does she want to be “just like me” when I run around frantic cleaning or picking up instead of reading or playing with her? Does she want to be “just like me” when I pray or sing? (she did tell me out of the blue today, “mommy, I like the Word FM – our local Christian radio station) Oh, my, how incredibly impressionable our little ones are. And how we should cherish these times that they look at us with awe and admiration (as I know the tween/teenage years are coming all too fast!)

So maybe the next time I’m interrupted from my “work” I’ll completely divert my attention to my little blessings, little lives longing for love, and be proud when I see them do the same. If they want to be “just like me” than I had better be “just like Jesus” And when I’m not, I will seek His and their forgiveness and we will learn together how to walk in His ways and live life to His glory.

Someday, if they are “just like me” may they honor and glorify the Lord as a forgiven child of God. May they exude grace and kindness and respect and love.

Sharing

So last week Shutterfly sent me a coupon code to make a photo book for "40% off". I had envisioned creating this book even before Miriam was born and took this as a sign to just do it! Then today Shutterfly sent me an email telling me I could "share" this book. Again, I'll take them up on their suggestion... Enjoy!

Click here to view this photo book larger

I'm back

I have obviously been absent from the blog world for quite some time now (like 4 months or so). I have a good excuse. I swear! I mean, just look at this face, can you blame me? :)


On St. Patrick’s Day we welcomed our dear Miriam into the world.

After much drama with a dangerously low heart rate in utero which made my scheduled C-section an “emergency” one, this little girl entered the world perfectly healthy. What a blessing! Over the past few months we’ve had the typical newborn sleepless nights accompanied by lots of snuggling, binkie sucking, over-the-top hugging and kisses from her big bro and big sis,

and developing in the way newborns are supposed to. Unfortunately, over the past couple weeks Miriam became a fussy eater which took us to the docs. Turns out she wasn’t gaining weight so he ordered blood work (just in case). A couple hours after the blood was taken (via healstick) we were called by the on-call doc informing us of the results of Miriam’s labs: critically high potassium levels which can impact muscle function including cardiac muscle. Off we went to the ER to obtain a venus blood draw. While there, Miriam was such a charmer, gazing at her caregivers and eliciting compliment after compliment on her “pretty bright blue eyes.” Thankfully, the second round of tests indicated “within normal limits” for most of the labs. Now our focus is beefing her up by feeding her more often and supplementing with formula. Our prayers are being answered as she weighed in at 11 lb. 4 oz. today - a whole pound more than three weeks ago when all of this started. Praise God! Now, if we could only get some sleep...

Miriam adores:
• stuffing her hand in her mouth

• grabbing at anything particularly necklaces, shirts, and her cow
• tickles
• bouncing
• faces
• staring at her Snoopy mobile

• supported standing
• “talking” (babbling, gooing, cooing)



Meanwhile the “big kids” have finished up a school year
Lydia at the end of the year "candy scramble". She got so much she was stuffing her bucket down to fit more in ;)

Lydia on stage for her final MDO performance


Tobias with his MDO teachers whom he adored. :)

End-of-the-year ritual: Ritas.


After a few days of mayhem when school ended, I implemented a “letter a day” lesson to provide some structure (and sanity). The kids latched right onto the idea of “lessons” and we’ve really had some fun with it. It’s amazing to see their thirst for learning. Now, just in case you are wondering, I totally do NOT make up these activities on my own. I get a lot of ideas from various homeschooling blogs who provide free printables and ideas. I also get encouragement and inspiration from my dear friend, Melanie who has directed me to resources and shared her knowledge and experiences (she's way more into the online homeschooling world than I am!) for which I'm so thankful. It's fun to share our flops and triumphs while keeping each other motivated...
Here they are creating "habitats" in shoeboxes.

Tobias telling me what he sees

Driving Trucks on the "T" after being dipped in paint

Tobias points out his favorite letter EVERYWHERE – T’s really are pretty popular, from crosses in church, to exit signs, to the pattern frames are hanging on a wall.

Lydia is having a BLAST with her summer activities. She just finished up a Nature Music Class,
Her class was featured on the CVSM Facebook page. Here she is being a butterfly

she's currently at her 2nd Vacation Bible School, and continues with ballet for another few weeks. It’s remarkable that the comments of her teachers and adult leaders are the same: they marvel at her enthusiasm.

Since Miriam’s arrival the kids have truly watched their fair share of television. Naturally a little “mommy guilt” accompanies this truth. However, I smile with pride when these two bring their TV characters into our world. They pretend they are “Diego and Alicia” or “Toby: you are Steve and I am Blue”. They “save the sloths” and “find the clues” documenting them in their “notebooks.” To get this photo I put the Apple TV on "pause"...


Both kids adore going outside. (If we could just get them to remember to shut the door – the AC goes out with them and the bugs enter in…)
Whether it's picking strawberries,

Spending the day at Fuller Lake,

Or splashing in the pool on our deck.


Last week Lydia found a barely alive cicada. With daddy’s help she proceeded to let it crawl all over her shirt and arm. Then, she and Tobias built a house for it. A little drama followed when it passed to cicada heaven (and then disappeared!) but it’s remarkable to me that they love nature so much. In fact, both of them slept in a tent in the backyard with daddy on 4th of July weekend. Well, if you can call a 4:45am wake up by Tobias “sleeping”. They had a blast chasing fireflies with their bug nets, making s’mores, and using their flashlights in the tent.



One of the running “themes” of our big kids’ play is “baby.” (I wonder why!) They take turns being the “baby” and the other fulfills the responsibility of feeding, napping, playing with, and generally ordering around. A glimpse into our world…

Future

As soon as I saw the title of this final assignment, I knew what I wanted to capture: some how, some way, my WHOLE family together, one place, one time, loving on each other.

Here is the description: "What do you see in your loved one’s future? What will they be doing? What will you be doing with them? What do you look forward to doing with them? How is their future bright? Take a step in your own personal time machine and capture something with your lens that will foreshadow your loved one’s future."

I've heard this saying many times, but it seems particularly poignant at this moment, "I don't know what the future holds, but I know Who holds the future." Yes, in 2 short weeks we will be adding another little miracle to our family. I don't know if it's a boy or girl, I don't know what his or her face looks like or what type of personality he or she will have. I don't know whether this child will be healthy or have some sort of disability. I don't know how the dynamics will be with my three children...

This I do know, this child was known and created by a loving God. This child is loved beyond belief by his or her heavenly Father and is welcomed into a family who loves him or her unconditionally. This child is loved by family, friends, brothers and sisters in Christ. Oh, the blessings of this new little life. Oh the love that already surrounds this miracle. Praise God for this amazing gift of life, His perfect plan for it, and His indescribable love!



It has been a great adventure capturing the "Joy of Love" over this past month. Thanks for joining me - looking forward to sharing more love to come...

What they say

Now here's a challenge: "What do they say to you? this can be a favorite phrase or slang that they use OR it can be words that they use to encourage you and motivate you. You can also capture them saying a phrase they say over and over or just find something inanimate that best captures WHAT they say." Tough stuff. Really I contemplated first, "who says what that really touches my heart?" and then, "how the hay do I capture that in a photograph?"

Tobias recently started calling me "Mommo". No big deal, I guess. I mean, I suppose lots of kids have fun names for their parents. Yet, this little nickname has become special to me. It's something he didn't do because of his big sister. It's something special that just he and I share. It's a term of true love and affection. And I cherish it.

I set the camera on "continuous" and had him say, "Mom-mo" over and over again. Here is my precious Tobias saying my name in a way that only he can... (Ok, so I made a "story board" of this on Photoshop but it won't load on Blogger so I'm just uploading the pics)




I'll always be your "Mommo", Tobo!

Bromance

Ok, first of all, I think the title of this assignment is hilarious. Second, I didn't really follow the instructions which read, "Who do they want to spend all their time with when they are not with you? Celebrate their bro-mance or their relationship with their best bud! Photograph them with their wingman."

When Mark and his friends orchestrate a time to hang out (which, unfortunately, is relatively seldom), it occurs what they call "late night" which means when all of our children are tucked into their beds. While this is incredibly considerate of them, it makes it pretty impossible to photograph them (in the dark). They also tend to "go to the mountains" which means I'm definitely not able to capture what they do. Honestly, sometimes I'm not sure I want to know what they do, so I'll maintain my ignorance about their guy-time and move on to a different type of male-bonding.

As I mentioned before, Mark loves learning about cars. And he is passing this love along to his son. Tobias LOVES watching Mark play "racing cars" on the XBox. Mark lets Toby choose the type and color of car to race and they have fun "zooming" them around the track and crashing into things. When it's convenient, Mark also attempts to catch "MotorWeek" on PBS on Saturday mornings. Here is a photo of Toby and daddy snuggled up delving into the world of "fast cars" for 1/2 hr. We often hear the refrain, "Daddy, I wanna watch racing cars!" I love to watch this love develop between father and son - not their love of cars per sae, but their unity and excitement in a common interest.

When you love them most

This assignment was posted a few days ago. I'm attempting to "catch up" this weekend. I currently have a gloriously silent home so I'm taking advantage to complete these last couple days...

Here is "day 25"'s challenge: What makes you tick about your loved one? What do they do to go out of their way to make sure you are happy and that you have a GREAT day?

So, I am spoiled. My husband comes home from work every day at lunch. I'm not sure how to express how much I appreciate this daily act of service. Sure, he could go to the lunch room and chit chat with his coworkers. He could read ESPN.com or work on school work during his hour lunch break. Instead, he chooses to enter into what he knows will be a little bit of a crazy time (in the midst of a sometimes-stressful work day). He makes lunch for his 2 & 4 year old, he gives big hugs and asks how our day is going, he takes Tobias to the potty and puts him down for a nap, he gets the mail, and all four of us gather at the lunch table TOGETHER. It is a tremendous help to me to have this mini-break in the middle of the day particularly when my morning has consisted of rushing around, transporting little ones to their appropriate destinations, and completing various errands or chores. What a blessing this man is to sacrifice his "me time" for our family. I'm so grateful as he shows me and his children how much he loves us through this gift of time and attention.

Caught him playing games and goofing around with the kids. I love how he's wearing his scrubs and his OT badge is dangling.

We love you, daddy!