Twister.  With Master I  when I heard the hillarious things he told me I knew that i had to record them.  Like when he put on his new clothes I bought him for kindergarten and he looked out the window of our 13th story apartment over the Salt Lake Valley with his hands on his hips he nodded his head and told me, "I feel like I am king over all of this."  That was one of those moments that I laughed to myself and thought that I couldn't believe this was happening.  With Miss R I witnessed sweet things that I wanted to photograph in my memory like seeing her lovingly care for her baby dolls or seeing her hide from people she doesn't know in the shower and eventually falling asleep.  But with Twister it is his craziness that I feel I must record.  I frequently feel that I can't believe this is happening to me.  Just this morning we have had more of those moments.  He told me he needed to go poopy.  I helped him get situated, then following his ritual he looked at me and said, "Get my way!"  That means get out of my way or go away.  He wants his privacy. I try to time my absence well, but when I came back he was swishing his toothbrush in his recent work.  We threw away another toothbrush, cleaned-up,  and then I told him to put his clothes back on.  I left for just a moment.  When I got back he had somehow climbed into the sink and had opened the medicine cabinet and was trying to opening the flouride bottle.  I am sure that I had a look of horror and disbelief on my face when I saw him and said his name.  He tried to reassure me by saying, "Juuuuuust one."

Homemade Halloween

Frankenstein, Kirsten the American Girl Doll, and Doggie

Fall in Philly

 Stopping to enjoy the leaves on the way home from school.

Going for a fall walk at Tinicum Wildlife Refuge

Dad instructs Master I about plant biology

My leaves I collected on our walk

Master I, not to be out down, finds the biggest leaf of all and makes Miss R fan him with it.

Tinicum Wildlife Refuge

Happy Halloween

The low point of Halloween was that Mark worked and I was on my own carving pumpkins, making dinner, dressing kids in costumes, going trick-or-treating, etc.   I missed the days in Utah when I would go to Kristen's house and go through her neighborhood.  It seems easier when there is family that you are doing it with.

The high point was that a friend stopped by wanting to trick or treat in our neighborhood a little and another friend, Sue from around the corner, simply went with me as a help.  Her husband took their son and Master I out in our neighborhood.  They were able to go as fast as they wanted to go.  This saved all of us from a lot of frustration.  All of this happened sort of last minute.  Master I's friend called asking if we wanted to go together and then we divided up and her husband stayed with the boys and she just went along with me.  I was so grateful to her.   As I write about this I recognize God's hand in that  even more than I did in the moment.

The kids loved their costumes and I thought they looked darling as well.  Miss R was the American Girl doll Kirsten, Master I was Frankenstein, and Twister was a dog.  Twister should have just been a Twister.  He had one of his typical moments while we were out trick-or-treating. We went up to the door of a home that had a large front porch where they had displayed their "Halloween Zoo."  They had a white frog, a bunny, a dog, and a bald rat.  This couple really got into the spirit of making Halloween fun and having a party.  Unfortunately, accompanying their festivities was the strong smell of alcohol.  I was peaking at the white frog, while unbeknowst to me Twister was getting into mischief.  I didn't see on the low railing that there was a glass of wine.  I turned around to see Twister with his mouth nearly on the fun-looking wine glass, ready to drink up.  I screamed and ripped it out of his hand.  I feel like I am always in situations like this with this boy.  He is quicker than my other children and has less inhibition and caution.

The pictures below are ones that I find on my phone of Twister in his crib taking pictures of himself on my phone.  I don't know how he got the phone or how he knows how to take pictures.

Another thing that I have realized about Twister is that I am redressing him constantly.  He is constantly getting naked and resists when I try to put clothes on him.  My neighbor had an idea that I hadn't thought of, the clothes must be bothering him.  They must itch or something.  With his history of allergies I wouldn't be at all surprised.  This makes me feel more patient with him rather that just think that he is creating me more work.

But, he is a twister.  Tonight I gave him a piece of Naynay's birthday cake at the table.  I left the table to start the laundry.  When I came back he had it all over his face and squished between his fingers.  After I cleaned up his face and washed his hands he went to go play while I was wiping up the table.  When I finished that task I found his stuffing toys into the guitar.  And he knows he's doing something naughty.  When I get into the room he covers up his eyes in shame!  With Twister I feel like I either have to be playing with him and watching him under close supervision or have him in front of a movie.  I have to take him to the park more.

Well Sweet Miss R didn't like our attempts to have her do extra curricular activities.  She flat out refused soccer.  When she wasn't cooperating with her violin teacher I asked her if she really wanted to do violin.  She looked at her teacher and told her that she didn't want her to teach her, she just wanted her mommy to teach her. She bitterly resented gymnastics.  Her last class I drug her to she cried the whole way saying that she just wanted to stay home and dance and do gymnastics with her brothers.  She didn't want to go to classes and she didn't want to leave home.

Dreading School and Soccer

So I wasn't laughing when there was toothpaste all in R's hair as I was trying to leave the house, but I didn't get mad.  This morning when Miss R had brushed toothpaste all through Twister's hair I did get mad.  What was I doing while all of this happened?  I was in the same room as them, but I was in a contorted position trying to get the toys out from under the bed that they had thrown everywhere last night.  And yet I deeply believe that to get mad is counter-productive.  It may produce the short term result that you want (compliance) but never the long term result (enduring obedience born of understanding and love of you and of God).  I also believe that when we are contentious with our children we teach them a pattern of contention with us and with each other.

So, I owe Miss R five dollars.  I have a deal with the kids that if I raise my voice I owe them five dollars.  She told me that I yelled. I don't think I yelled, but I was pretty mad and I am sure I raised my voice.  I have learned that when I am that mad I just can't even open my mouth.  I have to wait until the blood stops boiling.

Yet inspire of these naughty things, I so deeply love children.  I love to see their happiness, their laughter, their love.  They are so pure and so good.  I love to make their life happy.  I find deep satisfaction from being a mother.  I don't think there is any profession that could even come close to what I experience here.  I wonder sometimes what I will do once I have raised my small brood.  I guess I want more of the same thing.  Teach Kindergarten?



Twister is so, so, so fun.  He is the real Curious George and gets into plenty of mischief, but he is always smiling and happy and laughing.  I love him.  He makes me an all onlooking observers laugh.  The day in the library made all of the patrons' day.

Master I has reached the point in the school year where it isn't all rosy for him.  He has frustrations with how little time he has to play because of a long day at school followed by homework.  He feels like teachers are made at him all day long even though he is a good kid.  And he is annoyed with one of his friends that constantly pinches him.  I asked him what he thought he could do about this last situation.  He told me, "I don't know.  I have already yelled at ____ to tell him to stop.  What am I supposed to do? Talk to a guidance counselor?  I hate my guidance counselor this year.  She is mean.  And I think that guidance counselors are weird.  What is the purpose anyway?  They just want to get in other people's business and listen.  Why should I talk or listen to them?"  This made me laugh so hard.  This was our conversation Friday night.  But this morning, Monday, I felt sad for him as he dreaded going to school.

He wanted me to explain to him again why I won't homeschool him.  I told him that I didn't think that he would like me telling him all day long what to do.  He already can't stand me telling him to unload the dishwasher, brush his teeth, take a shower, practice piano, etc during the small amount of time I am with him.  I told him that I worried that he would hate being with me all day having me tell him what to do.  He listened closely and then humbly nodded in agreement.  I asked him if there was anything I could do to make it better for him.  He told me that he didn't know.  I offered to let him play instead of doing our morning jobs and walking to school and that I would drive him to school last minute.  He liked that idea.  He hoped right into my bed and played on the iPad for the next half hour.  I know it isn't a good long term solution.  Just an experiment to see if listening and trying empathize would help.  I do wish he was in school for much less time.  I wish that he felt that the teachers thought of him as smart and good.  I wish that he had more time to play and I try to protect that time fiercely.

I made Miss R go to soccer this weekend.  She cried when I got out her green soccer shirt and said that she wanted to wear a dress.  The first hour is practice.  She was willing to do it as long as I did it with her.  But she flat out refused to play in the game.  We settled for cheering on the sidelines for our team.  Finally Twister had to go potty so we decided to home home.  Miss R was exuberant.  She ran for the first time all day.  Unfortunately, the running was to the car instead of on the field and while she ran she  yelled to me, "You have made me so happy!  I am so glad that I get to go home!" We really tried to make it fun.  Notice the pink soccer shoes, the pink soccer sock, and the pink soft pants.

I Hope to Laugh Someday at all of This

When I went to go help Rachel brush her hair this morning I noticed she had spots of white in it and where it was previously smooth it was now snarled and tangled. When I tried to brush her hair I asked her what she had gotten into it. She told me that she didn't put anything in it. I said it look like toothpaste. And then she told me that William had brushed her hair. I remembered how he had asked me for more toothpaste on his toothbrush and to be able to brush his teeth by himself. In his wandering while he was brushing his teeth he must have decided to start brushing Rachels hair. I saw his little, yellow, Winnie the Pooh toothbrush discarded on the ground and thought how gross it was. And  I wondered if I should just throw it away. I wasn't laughing then, but I write these things in the hopes that one day I will be able to laugh at them.

Yesterday I took the kids to the library.  It is a small town library that is the heart of the community. They call me their "best customer" and I always recognize about half of the patrons in the library from people I know or see a lot in town. It is not a place where one can do something embarrassing and be anonymous. This is the curse and the blessing of a small town.  The library has a children's section which is just the law. Isaiah asked for me to go look for a book for him and I told him that I would, but that he would have to watch twister on the loft level while I was around the corner in the main level. After a short month while I heard him tell me that he needed my help. I asked him what he needed. He told me that Twister was being crazy. I told him to put was to on his lap until I got up there. I looked for one moment longer and then started to walk up the stairs when I saw twister emerged from the come corner completely nude!
He had a huge smile on his face and for that matter, so did Master I.  We were the spectacle of the library that day. I rushed upstairs to see a pile of clothes next to a wet puddle on the ground. I learned that he had an accident and then quickly took off the wet clothes. There are challenges to potty training so young that they don't developmentally get other things... Like clothes.

Twister loves his brother and sister and hates being separated from them. When we dropped off Master I for school today he scowled and protested saying," I wuv Yeayuh!"

I was talking summer with I

My Moments of the Day with Da Sweetest Darling

In her prayers tonight she said, "Please bless me to have my peaceful time and for no one to get near me during my peaceful time."

She loves all that is cozy.  She flopped on her bed tonight and said, "I love bedtime!"

I already said that she doesn't seem to like competitive sports.  But, she loves swimming, playing at the park, dancing, and hiking.  When we are in the hiking trails around Swarthmore College she says, "These are my peaceful mountains, like my peaceful beach."

She is very feminine.  She loves to get dressed up and wants to wear a dress everyday.  Not just a dress, but a "spin dress."  It has  to have enough material to twirl when she spins.

She is very good at playing by herself or playing with Twister.  She loves to make him laugh and he worships her for this.  This is one of the reasons I don't send her to preschool.  It breaks his heart to have me drop her off somewhere and have him not be able to go.  I feel like I can teach her all that she needs to know and provide social experiences for her.  I want to be with her and I want Twister to be with her as much as we can.

She is very imaginative and sometimes this can create problems with telling the truth. Mostly I have found her imagination endearing and the foggy lines between reality and falsehood a manifestation of that.   Recently I have tried to take this more seriously and teach her not to lie, especially when it involves lying to me about something she shouldn't have done.  I am not sure if this is too harsh but I have told her, "You are a good girl, but if you lie it will destroy you and turn you bad."  I am sure that her grandmothers will cringe when they read that, but I worry that I need to warn her and be firm now. Anyway, she was quite troubled by that explanation.  She yelled at me, "NO one can destroy or take my love!"  I thought it was so profound that she chose the word love to express her goodness.  How true.

Today I was trying to get her to clean up.  There were food toys all over the ground.  Pick up these toys right now." I said firmly.  She responded by flicking her finger in the air and looked at me with a little defiance.  And then she unexplicably softened and gently said to me, "Don't worry Mom, I am just doing imaginary flicks to you."

My Twister moment of the day:  After I am done brushing his teeth he wants to do it for himself.  He is doing great, but then I see him headed towards the toilet.  I yell, "Noooo!"  But it is too late.  He swishes his toothbrush in the toilet like it was a toilet brush and then puts in in his mouth and makes slurping noises.   I sigh, discouraged that I wasn't able to prevent the disaster, and then I take the toothbrush and then he runs to the bedroom.  It's like he knows what he did was naughty, but he can't help himself.

Master I began his basketball clinic tonight.  I was amazed to see him playing so well.  He plays as a nine year old much better than I have ever been able to play.  I love watching him play.  I remember watching him play as a 6 year old and feeling that it was a painful experience.  He didn't know how to play, he wanted to be so good, and I didn't know how to teach him.  I am so grateful for the hours Mark has spent teaching him and the basketball camps that he insisted that we let Master I do.

"Excuse me, are you a queen?"

Rachie attends a story time that she loves and call her library school.  The story time is excellent and is more of a class than what you would think of as a typical story time.  The teacher loves my little girl.  They read many fun stories together that follow a theme and have an excellent craft to go with it.  You have to sign up for one of the age-appropriate groups in order to register and attend.  I am able to drop Rachel off and come back 45 minutes later.

I had the most flattering question asked to me today that I have heard.  It was from a little girl that participates in Miss R's story time.  She asked me, "Excuse me, are you a queen?"  It took me a while to figure out where on Earth that was coming from.  Then I realized it was because Rachie was wearing one of her fanciest dress ups to her school and she told her friends while I was gone that she was a real princess.  So I asked the little girl if she was wondering if Rachie was a real princess.  The little girl told me that is what Rachie said.  I told her that Rachie is a real princess, but that she was one too.  And that I believed that all girls were princesses.  This answer didn't satisfy her.  She asked me, "Do you live in a castle?"

Rachie loves her nicknames.  I can't stop using so many nicknames for my children.  I think it is so natural to me because that is the way I grew up.  She loves to tell others her nicknames.  Some of them are Sweetest, Sweetest of Beetest, Na Darling, Squirrel of a Girl.

I was taking pictures of my two youngest children at the park.  I looked down to delete the pictures that I didn't want to keep.  When I looked back up Mister Twister was on top of the play structure nude.  He hates clothes, especially if they get wet.  The play structures were damp this morning.  I told him to come back, but he just kept running away from me.

Later on in the afternoon he had an accident.  It was a very stinky one, but luckily he had a pull-up on.  I asked him if he had an accident.  He looked at me, put his finger to his lips, scowled, and said, "Shhhh!"  When we got home before I could change his, he had started to take off his clothes, get his hands in it, and smear dirty fingers on the wall.  It is hard to explain to others how he got his name Twister.  Sometimes you just have to experience someone to understand.

Yum

Mister Twister has a new nickname that he has given himself.  He can't pronounce his own name.  When people ask him what his name is he says, "Yum."

My favorite Rachie quote was the definition of gunk, "Gunk is something really yucky that can take any shape.  Like even a line or different shape like a wildebeest.  Boogers are gunk with bumps in it."

Miss R got a cold but didn't know how to describe what she was experience.  She said, "Mom, I have an allergy caught in my nose."

I don't think that Miss R was meant for soccer.  We asked her hesitantly if she would like to participate when the opportunity came to play town soccer.  We didn't want to prejudge her and say that she wasn't athletic because she was a girl.  I had the sense that it wasn't going to be her thing, but I told myself not to decide what kind of person she was going to be.  It has proven to be a total disaster.  She wants to wear her princess dress-ups to go play.  At first she tried to play.  Now she just hangs her head and stands out on the field.  Last week Master I was telling her to go back out and play.  Mark was working and Master I seemed to instinctively step in to his shoes.  He went up to Miss R and said, "You have to go out there and play!  We paid money for you to be able to play."

I whispered to Master I just like I would have whispered to Mark, "Well, she is sick."

Master I said to me in exasperation, "I would go out with bloody feet and I would play!"

  Her younger brother tries to encourage her in his halting English he yelled, "GET BALL!"When she was on the sidelines he put his arm around her.

It is all to no avail.  At this point we are just trying to teach her what our parents taught us...finish what you started.

Yum is totally potty trained.  He really learned this summer.  He hated wearing clothes and that is really how he learned.  If I go into the restroom while he is doing his business he yells at me, "Move!"

I try to stay out of doors as much as possible.  I do this for two reasons. 1.) I love the fall weather and I love to be outside. 2.) I have found that whenever I am in the house trying to get things done Twister and Miss R are wrecking havoc in another area.  I can't keep up with the disaster. I get the house clean and I hurriedly get everyone out.  Twister broke the computer last week.  The only thing I can have them do that won't cause a disaster is to watch a movie and i don't like to do that too much.

Master I continues to be a great companion and friend, but as strong-willed and freedom loving as ever.  Today he told me, "I can't wait until I can say no to you.  When I am 18 and I come home from college you will ask me if I will do the dishes and I will just look at you and say, "No."

About a month ago he was trying to express to me he frustration about the lack of freedom he experiences as a child using a chess analogy.  He said, "I feel like I am in a desperate situation and I want to use the Queen, but I am just a Rook.  And I want to take over the King.  I am a Rook and I can put the King in checkmate if I can only use someone else's moves.  But I can't because I am a Rook."

I think what mostly makes him feel this way is when he argues with me.  I try very hard not to argue with him.   I tell him a line I learned from Love and Logic, "I love you too much to argue with you."  He finds this infuriating.  I am still trying to learn the fine dance of not arguing and having contention, but being firm in my expectations.

When Master I gets home from school I feel like I need or maybe want to do so much with him.  More than can be done.  

In my ears I hear doctors that warn of childhood obesity and so I want him to get exercise and run around and play.   I hear mental health professionals and grandparents warning me that play is a child's work and that children need unstructured time to be a child.  So I want him to play.

 I have in my mind the words from the letter home to the parents from school about how successful children need a structure time and place to do homework every night, but that it shouldn't be right after school because they need a break.  The teacher also warns that children are expected to read every night for at least 30 minutes in addition to homework.  That suggestion is echoed in any educational literature sent to the home.  I remember listening to Sister Beck share how much she wanted to nurture reading so she let her children read in bed as long as they wanted.

But another need tugs on my heart. the image of an exhausted boy when I wake him in the morning.   The warnings that children need 10 hours of sleep a night.

I think of my husband saying that more than anything he thinks our children need to work more.  I remember my childhood and expectation from my parents that we work and my dad's warning to me to not rob my children of the hard parts of life that made me who I am.  And so I want to make him do chores and do the work of practice needed to learn to play the piano.

I think of my promises to God, to myself, and in memory of parents that drug their body out of bed at 5 am so that we could pray as a family and have scripture study...and that lights such a fire in my heart that I will not let a day go by that we don't study scriptures and pray together, nor a week that we don't have family home evening.

I think of the latest social science warnings echoed by living prophets that children who eat dinner with their family and the dinner table are less likely to struggle as teens.  I remember warnings that it needs to be healthy.

More than anything, I hope I have built my relationship with my boy.  I hope I haven't raised my voice.  I hope I have built Master I's confidence in himself.  I hope I have connected with him.  I hope he feels loved.  I hope he as able to talk to me about things that were on his mind.

These concerns  and many others are always on my heart.  In addition I have another laundry list in my mind of the needs of each other child and the needs of my spouse.

I remember when I began my mission feeling anxious like there was no way that I could do all that I wanted to do.  I remember reading these verses from Mosiah 2 and finding my answer here:

20 I say unto you, my brethren, that if you should render all the^athanks and ^bpraise which your whole soul has power to possess, to that God who has created you, and has kept and ^cpreservedyou, and has caused that ye should ^drejoice, and has granted that ye should live in peace one with another—

 21 I say unto you that if ye should ^aserve him who has created you from the beginning, and is ^bpreserving you from day to day, by lending you ^cbreath, that ye may live and move and do according to your own ^dwill, and even supporting you from one moment to another—I say, if ye should serve him with all your^ewhole souls yet ye would be ^funprofitable servants.

 22 And behold, all that he ^arequires of you is to ^bkeep his commandments; and he has ^cpromised you that if ye would keep his commandments ye should prosper in the land; and he never doth ^dvary from that which he hath said; therefore, if ye do ^ekeephis ^fcommandments he doth bless you and prosper you.

So maybe I try to do all of the things in my heart, but maybe they don't each happen perfectly each day.   Maybe some days are better for play and other days for work.  I feel better just putting to words the different pressures I feel.  

It is similar to the pressure I felt as a missionary. I was a terribly imperfect missionary.  My anxiety to do it all perfectly didn't help.  I think I was much more effective when I still gave my heart and soul, but peacefully accepted that no matter how much I gave I would still fall short, or be an "unprofitable servant." I guess I just have to apply the lessons I learned from my mission to my life now. Just do the very best I can, be at peace with the fact that I can not do all that I would love to do every day, instead try to follow the promptings of the Spirit and do well the things I can, and try to be happy and find joy in the journey.

Rice and Beans

1 Bag of black beans
1 fork full of minced garlic (maybe a little under a Tablespoon)
6 rings of jalepeño  (from a jar)
6 cubes of beef bullion
cumin (2 tsps ?)
oregano (1 tsp?)

Can cook on a pot or overnight in crockpot on low.  When beans are soft mash them with a potato masher so that maybe 1/4 get mashed.  This makes the sauce thicker.  You can squeeze the juice from the other half of the lime and sprinkle in fresh cilantro if you like.  I think the beef bullion is what makes these beans yummy.  I wouldn't use chicken or veggie

Lime Cilantro Rice
 Cook rice until done.   Immediately sprinkle fresh chopped cilantro so that it cooks slightly and flavors the rice.  Squeeze the juice from lime. Salt if you haven't done so already.

Pico de Gallo (320 Market has an excellent Pico that I just try to copy)
Tomato-seeded and diced
Salt
Red Onion
cilantro
avocado
lime juice

First Day of School

The highlight of the day was the beginning.  Master I and I  had our scripture study together in the morning.  For our study we actually just read Joshua 1:9.  "Be strong and of a good courage.  Be not afraid neither be thou dismayed.  For the Lord thy God is with thee withersoever thou goest." We watched a video of some youth singing a song about this theme.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LVHC0vsIeeA

It has actually been our tradition to read this verse and listen to this song since Master I went to the first grade.  We love it.  It gives him the courage to conquer!

We tried to keep up our other traditions: a fancy first day of school lunch, a new first day of school outfit, a big first day of school breakfast, and the most important to me, a priesthood blessing starting off the school year.  Master I was lucky enough to have that blessing from his Patriarch grandpa this year.  We read the notes that we took after the blessing so that he could remember how he felt again when he received the blessing over the summer.  It was a sweet morning.  When I was done reading the notes he told me, "I really believe that Mom.  I don't think that words exist to describe what it feels like to feel the Holy Ghost."  I agree with him.

Labor Day

This Labor Day we mostly just did labor.  I went to get my hair done and did some shopping.  Mark was home with the kids.  While I was out there was a torrential down pour.  This is what I came home to see.

Everyone had been playing in the rain.  I was so pleased with this.  They were so happy.  Miss R and Twister played in the river in the road while Master I shot hoops.  What a memory and way to seize the day.  Good job Dad!

Camping Trip

I found it more difficult to find a camping site close by.  We decided to do some backyard camping.  The kids had a great time.

When we woke up the kids shouted,"We did it!  We slept outside all night!"  We hadn't contemplated not finishing out the night so I found their pride amusing.

Uncle Lukie Comes to Town

Miss R and Twister played on the stage while.... 

Luke coached Master I in basketball techniques. 

After they worked hard we treated Uncle Luke to a Philadelphia treat...Rita's water ice!

I love this baby brother of mine.  So cute.  So introspective, a conversationalist, a listener.  So positive, fun and happy.  So giving, so helpful to me.  So darn good!

Canoeing on the Brandwine River

It was a lovely day of canoeing on the Brandywine.  I have been trying to think of all of the things that I would like to do with our last week of summer.  I was reminded of canoeing because Master I recently retold me, with vivid details and a huge smile on his face, the story of a time Mark took him out on a canoe at Island Park.  I was amazed that such a simple act had such meaning for him.  I love activities like this.  I love nature and I want to be in it all day.  I love exercise.  I love spending the day with my family--talking, making memories, making them happy.  Hiking is this for me.  A day at the beach is this for me.  I really wanted to do this all as a family, but the company that we did it through doesn't allow children under 5 on the river.  So I set it up for father and son.  Mark asked if I wanted to do it.  I told him that I would love to, but I wanted them to do it even more because I have already made a lot of memories with Master I this summer.  I believe that I had the most fun of everyone.  I loved imagining the enjoyment that they were having.  I loved seeing Master I's happy face.  Trying to catch a glimpse of the action, the 2 younger kids and I went to the starting point on the river, two different stopping points, and then the final take out point.  We ran along the river trail looking for them and then stopped to play in the river at a different point.  So I even got my day in nature, with exercise, and having fun with children.  

It Could Work

Today was a great day.  Mark is working nights, but able to sleep some at the hospital so we have some time to play during the day.  We decided to go to the zoo.  While we were there Twister told us he had to go potty and didn't have an accident before I was able to take him to the restroom.  I told Mark, "Do you realize all of our children are potty trained?"  He had a look of relief and gratitude on his face and told me it was a wonderful thing.

While we were at the zoo Master I kept holding Twister up to see things and trying to make the day fun for him.  I felt so grateful to have him be focused on making the day fun for his younger siblings.  My oldest brother was that way.

 Recently I have reflected on how wonderful my oldest brother Mike was to me.  We have uniquely strong sibling relationships in our family and I started to realize he was probably a big part of the cause of that family culture.  I remember him inviting me and actually wanting me to play with my older siblings and their friends.  The summer evenings were filled with playing shark  or rag tag in the pool together.  The games were instigated by Mike and he wanted me to play.  When it was time to sleep we would all crash underneath the stars on our huge deck with a blanket and a pillow.  He would invite his friend Horse over on the weekends and all of the siblings and Mike's friends would have a game after dark of capture the flag on our 5 acres. For some reason he wanted me to play. It was more fun for him to have all of us there.  My parents would take us to go on beach trips in the summer.  All of the kids that were old enough would go out in the waves together.  I remember treading water to be able to catch the swells with him.  I just wanted to be around him so much and I felt so grateful that he always wanted me.  For some reason every thing was more fun for him when I was there.  He wanted to to go on the Great Dipper at Santa Cruz with the older kids.  He made my life so fun.  He always loved Christmas and helped to make in magical for his younger siblings.  We would pile onto the floor on Christmas Eve night with sleeping bags.  We would have conversations about what we hoped that we would find under the tree in the morning.  The conversation was interrupted by Mike hearing Santa's bells or seeing him whiz past the window on his sleigh.  He had me fully convinced.

I love Mike and I have realized more and more how magical he helped to make my childhood by including me, by playing with me, and by loving me. I looked up to him.  I loved watching him win his basketball games and receive awards for how outstanding he was in academics as well as sports.  I know his excellence has had a huge impact on my life.  It nagged at me.  I told myself again and again that I had to be smart and excellent too because I was his sister.

Well, that was a tangent.  But, all of those thought were running through my mind as I went to the zoo today with my husband and children.  We had a fun day.  And instead of me despairing over the challenges of such an age gap between my children, I saw something different.  I saw an oldest son that  found joy in making the younger children happy.  I saw that age gap as being the same amount between me and my oldest brother.  And I was filled with hope.  I felt like Tom Hanks on Cast Away.  I wanted to turn to Mark, like Tom Hanks turned to Wilson after so many hardships on the island, and say, "It could work!"My family liked each other today! It could work!  I have hope!

The best part of the day is to see how peaceful  and content Mark is.  I believe that this has come from getting a job offer that he is really excited about.

The night was lonely and I got bored, but Master I watched a movie with me and proved to be such a companion. We watched Love Comes Softly. Master I gasped at all the right parts and enjoyed it right along side of me.  He even turned to me and asked me if I believed what one of the characters said.  He was referring to the line, "Sometimes love isn't fire works.  Sometimes it comes softly."  I told him I though it was true.  He said that he thought it must be true too.  I am sure I wouldn't seek and appreciate Master I's companionship like I do if that need was always met for me.  So, in the end, even that was a great blessing.

Back at Home

Well we are finally back home. At first I was relieved to be out of the suitcases. But, then we Got unpacked and then we were lonely. After a couple of days we figured out how to get along with only each other again and got it.

This last week Master I had basketball camp. He loved it. There were competitions all week for the kids's shooting skills.  There were three areas:  hotshot (how many shots you can make from different areas on the court in a minute,  a lay up competition, and a free throw competition.  Master I was in the top three each competition. By the end of the week he won the hotshot competition. He was thrilled and got a special award.

Master I was also the only boy in camp to win to a shooting game. The game was called "Go For It." Only a couple of the children were chosen each day to try win.   Isaiah was chosen on Friday. The player was given a chance to make a shot relatively close to the basket.  If they made the shot then they won a candy.  If they wanted to "go for it" they would take another shot farther away from the basket. If they won that they would get a Gatorade. If they lost it they would lose the candy bar as well.  Then the child needed to decide if they wanted to risk in again by taking the farthest shot in hopes to to get a Swarthmore College practice jersey in addition to the candy and drink or risk loosing what they won.  Master I was the only child to win all 3 items that week. When he won the game the coach put him on top of his shoulders and ran him around the gym. All the kids were cheering.  It made him feel really special.  He told me that he didn't think he would have that experience until he won in college or the NBA.

Miss R continues to feel really grateful for everyday life.  Every prayer that she says in the same.  She thanks God that we are all back together again after a summer apart. She'll say, "Dear Heavenly Father, I am really glad we are all here together.  Amen."   It  was very hard on her to be away from her Daddy. However, she has cried the past two days for her Monet.  It is hard for Miss R to be away from people that she loves.

One morning this week I went to wake-up Miss R and she groggily told me it was her birthday.  This is one of her idiosyncrasies. She will declare that it is her birthday on random days, will remind me that it is her birthday all day long, and she'll insist that she is five.  I asked her last week how many birthdays she has a year.  "Twenty." she said.  I figure that is about right.  The funny thing was that a friend was cleaning out her toy room and gave us a huge toy kitchen complete with play food and dishes.  She also gave Miss R many lovely Disney princess dresses.  When I put her to bed that night I told her, "It really was a birthday today!"

Twister is back to his twisting ways.  He is climbing on things, tearing apart the couch, constantly trying to wrestle me or the kids,  jumping off of things etc.  He was so much easier this summer when he had a pool in the back yard, a big home to tear through, and lots of friends to distract him.  But, don't get me wrong.  That boy is so darn enjoyable to me that I can't get enough of him.  He is so playful and happy.  I adore him.  Just watching him brings me happiness.

Mark got back from a great interview in Fort Worth, Texas.  I am thrilled about this job prospect for him.  It is precisely the type of job he has been wanting and that I desired that he would have.  The down side is the Yosemite valley isn't right around the corner for him to sneak off to and have his John Muir moments.  I have so longed for him to have that.  I also hoped for a job were our parents could drive  to see Master I play basketball or were we could enjoy a Sunday evening chat after dinner.   That is a gift that I would have loved to give to my children and to my parents.  Maybe we can still have it all somehow.  I am still trying to figure it all out.  But, in the meanwhile, I am grateful that Mark is no longer asking me (sincerely) what I would think about moving to Qatar.

Cha Cha's Story

Twister's name for Miss R is Cha Cha.  I hope it doesn't stick.  Cha Cha wanted to write a story today.

Once upon a time  there lived a lalaloopsy.  The name was Bee.  Then Peanut came.  Bee and Peanut were playing outside.  They were playing easy football.  Then Peter Rabbit came.  Peter Rabbit said, "Bee, how are you doing and can I play football with you?"

Bee said, "Yes!  Come on!  Let's play easy football!"

Then Peter Rabbit said, "I'll go get my sister Benjamin Bunny to play too!" ( I told Miss R at this point that Benjamin Bunny was a boy, but she insisted that she wanted it to be a girl.)

Then she came in a hop hop with her friend Rachel.  Peter Rabbit said, "Hi Rachel, ya wana play?"

Rachel said, "Ya." And then she said, "Hey Benjamin Bunny, I'll go get my folder and show you a story I wrote up."

I have to write it up write now ok.  And Benjamin Bunny said yes. (I think we are transferring to present tense pretending and imagination.  Rachel is writing is coloring a picture and calling me Benjamin Bunny.)

Then Pillow came and Peter Rabbit said, "Hey, do you want to play?"

And then Peter Rabbit said, "Ya!  Let's play easy football."

The End

As a side note, Ms. R is obsessed with Lalaloopsy

Basketball

Well, here I am again.  I have very fond memories of praying my heart out for my older brothers while they were playing basketball.  I wanted so much for them to have glory.  I even visualized the coach turning to me, putting me in the game, and then winning the game for them.  My brother would be forever grateful for me.  Then I got to pray for my younger brother while he played.  We lived in California again because my husband was in medical school.  I prayed throughout the game and I prayed at home for him, on my knees that he would make the team.  I cherish the feeling of love that I have for my brothers as I watched them play basketball.  Now, I get to do it again my my own son.  I hope and even pray for him in the game.  I love it.

Cousins!

Look for the Good

There is probably nothing that gets on my nerves more than when my children are mean to each other.  I started a new program with them to try to incentivize nice behavior.  They earn a token for being nice and they loose on for being mean.  They used all of their tokens having fun at a place called Oasis.  It was a lot of fun.

Picking up Master I

The kids come with me to pick up Master I.  The walk is a perfect bit of exercise for them.  They anxiously wait for him and try to spot his face out of the distant crowd of returning children.  When they see him they yell his name.  This is one of my happy moments... when my children love each other.

The Tot Lot

There is a lovely little park in our town that is just for little kids.

We can't wait for warmer days to come.  We still play outside, but look forward to days when we can feel a little more comfortable and stay out a little longer.

The Please Touch Museum

We have a lovely friend that took us to the children's museum in Philadelphia for a special outing for Ms. R's birthday.