Loving life w/ these boys of mine…

Oh my goodness!  Has it really been a week since I last blogged?  And even that was just a few pictures.  I apologize.

The reason is really very simple.  We’ve been busy.  Busy just enjoying life.  Enjoying the warmer weather.  Enjoying being outside.  Enjoying the longer days.  I love springtime.

God has been pressing something on my heart for a few months now and I have been pushing it aside.  I have felt the urging from Him of dealing with my boys’ hearts, spending quality time with each of them in every day and enjoying the small things.  Soon enough those small things will be gone and I do not want to regret any of it.  I want to look back and think I did all I can.

We have been going for daily walks despite the weather.  The boys are in a groove of walking down to the ponds and looking for frogs, toads, turtles, snakes, whatever little creature they can find.  We found a baby goose one day, all yellow, fluffy, so cute,  but unfortunately, he had died.  Logan was quite shaken up over this.  He kept saying, “That’s just too bad.”  But he was also convinced that if the baby goose was alive, he would have walked over and hopped right into his hand. 

I picked up a glass aquarium a few years back at a rummage sale.  This tank has certainly gotten its use!  Last year it was the home to many different frogs and toads, and even Snakey who Eli wanted to keep inside the house.  This year we’ve had three frogs who almost froze to death one night when our temps reached down to 32 degrees!  And right now we have a little grass snake in there.  I know I’ve been the mother of all boys for some years because yesterday when I was looking at the snake, a scary thought entered my head.  I actually thought the snake was cute!  I quickly dismissed the thought, wondering if I really was losing my mind.  A snake cute????  What a terribly crazy thought.

Camden loves to go outside and look at whatever is in the tank.  He will stand there for the longest time just looking or screaming at it or giggling.  It is cute. 

This week was a bit busier than usual.  On Wednesday we went down to Legoland.  Every Wednesday is homeschool day there and only $7 to get in.  Plus, for every five kids, an adult gets in for free.   We went with some friends and split the adult cost because we had over five kids no problem! :)

Legoland didn’t open until 12 noon and I expected by 3 or so my boys would be ready to go.  We were planning on going to Awana that night too.  I should have known that  Legos, my boys favorite thing, would not be a three-hour tour.  It would be a five or six-hour tour!  They loved it!  It was great because it was not busy so my boys could do things over and over again.  I do not think we would have wanted to stay quite so long or even enjoyed it as much if it would have been busy.  I actually got to sit and enjoy myself while my boys played with Legos.  Logan and Camden stayed with Grandma for the day, so it was just Isaac and Eli.  It was a great day!

Yesterday was our end-of-the-year picnic with the homeschool coop group.  We made very cool T-shirts by spraying bleach onto an item on our shirt.  For example, I took a wrought-iron cross and laid it on my T-shirt.  Then I sprayed bleach on it, lightly.  Once it dried, I picked up the cross and the imprint of the cross was left on the shirt and the bleach had turned the rest of the shirt a different color.  It was really neat!  Of course, if you’re going to try this, use a dark-colored shirt and maybe don’t do it on such a windy day, unless you don’t mind getting bleach on yourself. :)

Today we have a get together with some homeschool friends.  I need to also get Camden in to the chiropractor.  He’s been, once again, having some issues.  And not sleeping at night is, of course,  involved.  He also has a hard time going to sleep at the start of the night.  He does a lot of tossing his head back and forth.  Always something with him!  Really.

That’s it for now!  I pray God blessed you and your family.

Our Little Bear

Energy

After saying how exhausted I was and that I needed some more energy, Logan said, “I will always stand close to you and share my energy with you,  Mom.”

Meet Slippy

Eli named him “Slippy” awhile back because he kept slipping away.  Eli said he was teasing him.

Well, today “Slippy” met his match.

Eli’s 1st gopher of the season.   And he is so proud.

And I’m sorry, Slippy.  Rest in peace.

Raising Chickens

I’ve shared this with so many of you in REAL LIFE that I figured it was worth a blog post.

We want to raise chickens!!!!

As you know,  our oldest started an egg business, which is starting to blossom.  My only regret is that it is at Grandma’s house and she is responsible for so much of it.  Although, I don’t think she really minds.  Through this business of getting chickens, I’ve seen how much  my boys really enjoy it.  Eli has a chicken named Chicken Little.  He loves this bird!  He’s taught it “tricks” like walking on a broom stick.  When he is at Grandma’s, he’s usually carrying around Chicken Little, tossing him into the air and then picking him up and doing it again.  It really is quite a sight to watch him with this chicken!  He also really wants a duck.

Josh and I have been tossing around (joking really) about how we should get our own chickens.  This “joke” is becoming more of a reality though and something I think we should really do.  We’ve even tossed around raising turkeys.  This became more of a reality a few weeks ago.

Some of you know that we *thought* Camden had a chicken allergy.  Months ago he had a few pieces of chicken and it did so much damage to his stomach.  So we assumed chicken allergy.  In talking with the chiropractor at one point about this, she asked if we had tried organic chicken.   No, it was not  organic chicken.  She suggested we try it because her daughter had a bad reaction to chicken but was okay with organic chicken.  Apparently, they add arson to the chicken feed to help with bacteria or something.  Organic chickens would not be fed this.

Well, I wasn’t willing to risk trying chicken again with Camden because it was that bad of a reaction…..that is, until a few weeks ago.  I decided to buy some organic chicken—which, ouch, what a price difference!  Organic chicken is $5 to $6 MORE a POUND!  Times that by feeding 6 people. 

I only fed Camden a few bites because I was so nervous, but there was no reaction.  I was so excited!!!!

So now you see why I think we should raise chickens.  Camden did not react to the actual chicken protein but to all the poison they put in chickens!  Scary really because you wonder what that is doing to the inside of our bodies.

Now is the worst time to bring this up to my husband because all he is thinking about is work, work, work, but I am getting excited thinking about doing this.  The boys are too.  I’ve explained to them that they wouldn’t be for pets; they would be for meat.  And they’re okay with this.  We’ve learned of a place not too far that will butcher them for us rather cheaply (because Josh does NOT want to do this part); otherwise, Eli is anxious to learn how to do that and any other family who wanted to could. 

The only thing preventing me from getting some now is the need for a coop.  We need to lock these lil’ guys away at night so no animals eat them. 

Just another reason to go organic!

(a very long) Quick Takes Friday

1.  I apologize for the lack of posts this week.  It’s just been “one of those weeks.”  The strep germs were shared with me and I was absolutely miserable.  Thankfully, our doctor just called in the prescription right away for me and didn’t make me come in to be tested for strep; it was pretty obvious if Isaac and  Camden had it, that that’s what I had.  Within six hours of starting the antibiotic I was feeling somewhat normal, which allowed me to take Camden in to the chiropractor so we could both get a decent night of sleep.  Logan also ended up getting strep, although he wasn’t down and out by any means.  Nothing gets that boy down.  We cleaned the pharmacy out of amoxicillan and they couldn’t fill Logan’s full prescription.  We look kind of like a pharmacy ourselves.  Everyone lines up for medicine time.

 

Eli and Josh remain the rocks.  Doesn’t surprise me about Eli—he usually is.  And Josh doesn’t count because he’s hardly home these days to catch any germs.

So we’re on the up and up.  I still can’t seem to find my energy and I’m easily exhausted, but hopefully that will return in time.

2.  There were baby cows born!  One was born around Easter and another one just yesterday.  We went on a search to find the cows today because Logan was so excited about the new cow.  He says because there’s two, there’s one for him and one for Bamden.  He’s named his “Cowey” and thinks Bamden should name his the same.  The two of them will watch out the window for cows.

Unfortunately, we did not see the new calf today.  We searched and searched.  The  boys were all mooing and calling the cows.  Even Camden, who once he heard we were going on a walk to find cows, all he talked about was “blah, blah, blah, COW….blah, blah, blah, COW.” 

See, here he is yelling “Cow!”

It’s unbelievable that Camden loves cows as much as Logan did (or still does).  Josh came home last night and we had just gotten home from soccer practice.  Camden hopped out of the car, saw Josh and started running down the path saying “cow…cow….cow.”  Just like Logan did at that age!  Too cute.

We have plans to go on another walk soon and attempt to spot the little calf.

3.  Soccer season has started! 

After much thinking and contemplating, Eli decided to play soccer again.  So we’re back to soccer games every weekend.  He has his first game last weekend at home and they won it!

Logan and Camden  joined in playing too.

Eli was hesitant to play because, technically, he’s not on the correct team.  He’s supposed to be on the U9 team, but it’s full (it was in the fall too).  He was told last fall he could play on the U8 team for the fall and in the spring, he would go to his correct team.  Well, guess what?  The  U9 team is full again!  So he’s on the U8 team, a little disappointed to be on the younger team again but also thankful to be playing soccer.  He’s made some friends on this team too.

4.  I have yet another stinky boy. 

Isaac came to me a couple weeks ago and said, “Mom, Eli stinks bad.”  I kind of blew it off as nothing much, but Isaac was insistent that I “check” Eli’s stink out.  It’s a good thing I did too.  Whew!

So another boy wearing deodorant.  Seriously, why are they growing up so fast?!?!?!  He’s only 8 (well, 9 in a month).

Josh and I are now wondering how long Isaac stunk for before he actually noticed his own stink and said something to us!  How embarrassing!

And now that both of his older brothers are wearing it, and Logan thinks he is big too, he wants to wear deodorant too!  He is begging, crying, whining about wearing deodorant.

He will come up to me and say, “Mom, smell my armpits.”  I’ll smell them and say, “Mmmmm, they smell delicious.” 

“Noooo, Mom, they stink!  I need deodorant!”

When I say “No, not until you get bigger,” he’s devastated because in Logan’s mind, he is  bigger.

It’s an endless battle.

5.  Camden is a handful!

No kidding.  The boy spends most of his day here:

or here:

It’s terribly frustrating.  He is just constantly standing on the chairs or crawling up onto the table.  And we have to be very careful about what we leave on the table.  He’s been caught a couple times gnawing on a slice of leftover CHEESE pizza (which did a number on his insides) or whatever other food is left, scribbling on his brother’s homework pape, throwing napkins everywhere and tossing leftover juice cups on the floor. 

Isaac made chocolate chip cookies the other day and Logan brought in the stool to help.  Well, it didn’t take Camden long to figure out the stool.  I walked into the kitchen to find him stuffing raw cookie dough into his mouth.   AHHHH!!!!  And let me tell you, he did not want to give that up easily. 

Between him and Logan and the two of them together, I am so exhausted every day.  I feel like there’s constantly a mess going on somewhere and definitely never any quietness.  I know these are the days that seem so long but the years will be so fast so I’m trying to roll with the punches and enjoy it…..but I tell ya, some days…..

Josh made it home the other night to have his movie night with Logan and  Camden while I took Isaac and Eli to Awana.  He hadn’t been home early in quite some time and he was really looking forward to his time with the younger boys.   When I came home he said, “Those two are exhausting.”  Ha!  Now you know what I mean, I said!

6.  Coop ended this week!

We had our last coop Thursday.  I am so glad we joined this group.  Despite my boys’ uneasiness about joining, I think they really did enjoy it.  They were able to experience science, art, gym and music in a different setting with other homeschooled kids.  I survived teaching science to 5th grade and up and actually had fun doing it too!  I can’t say I’d want to do it another year, but I did learn things and I’m proud of myself for sticking with it and taking the challenge.  Even if I felt like the high schoolers were teaching the class half the time.

Each of my boys made me something in art on the last day.

Logan learned about gardening and he made a flower with all the parts labeled.  He also planted a sunflower seed.

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Eli made me a stepping stone with colorful stones in a unique pattern.

And Isaac painted a design on a wooden plaque.

I met some new homeschooling friends and I’m very much looking forward to our end-of-the-year picnic in a few weeks.

7.  I have gotten so many compliments on the song on this blog.  I chose this song for Easter.  And I’m thankful so many have been blessed by it.  I have a little confession to make though.  This was not the song I originally planned to put on for Easter.  I had a completely different song by a different artist in mind.  When I went to add that song, My Jesus popped into my head.  This was not a song I was 100% familiar with.  In fact, I really just  knew the chorus.  But there it was, in my head.  I didn’t even know the correct name of the song or the artist, but I typed in My Jesus as a guess and I was right.

After I listened to it once, I was convinced it was the perfect Easter selection.  I love it.

And several weeks later, after hearing how so many people like it and have been blessed by it, I know it was a God thing.

Be blessed!

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Enjoy.

 

Cow visit

Camden loves the cows from far away but not so close up.  Big brother Eli took care of him.  We went  to see the new baby cow that was born.  He was so cute.  The horned one shown here is always most friendly with us.  Logan calls him “the brave one.”  The cows are something that are a favorite of Logan’s and seem to becoming a favorite of Camden’s as well. 

Character trait

Be Brave.

“When you lie down, you will not be afraid.”

Proverbs 3:24B

We also read before and after verses that go along with this.  The rest of verse 24 says, “When you lie down, you will sleep soundly.”

Verse 25-26: “Don’t be afraid by sudden trouble; don’t be afraid when sinners are destroyed.”

“The Lord is the one you will trust in.  He will keep your feet from being caught in a trap.”

When my boys pick out the character trait, I know they’re looking for the one that will be easiest to model for that week.  Eli saw “Be Brave” and thought, “Hmmm…I can do that.”  In fact, both Isaac and Eli said, “Logan will never get this one.”  Thus, eliminating one brother  from the competition.  I  took this as an opportunity to discuss what this verse means and how to apply it to our  lives.

We looked up brave, which also means courageous, and also afraid, which means not to worry.  How can we be brave and courageous, not worrying about our lives?

The answer is simple:  Only with Jesus!

Even my boys knew that.  But applying it to our lives and living it is a different thing.  Everyone struggles with worry; yet the Bible tells us not to worry, that God will take care of our every need. 

Read Matthew 6:25-34.

“Do not worry about your life and what you will eat or drink.  And don’t worry about your body and what you will wear.  Isn’t there more to life than eating?  Aren’t there more important things for the body than clothes?

Look at the birds of the air.  They don’t plant or gather crops.  They don’t put away crops in storerooms.  But your Father who is in Heaven feeds them.  Aren’t YOU worth much  more than they are?”

We are so important to God!  Trust that He’ll take care of us.  He loves us.  Don’t worry about tomorrow or the next day or the next.  “Each day has its own trouble.”  We must realize that we need God and we can’t do our own thing.  Things don’t work out for the good when we are independent from God.

Be brave and trust the journey God has you on.

Have a blessed week.

Strep and tonsils

Yesterday I took the boys to the doctor and it was confirmed that Isaac’s strep is back. Poor guy suffered so bad on Thursday, spending most of the day in bed because every time he got up, he felt worse.

The doctor also said she would like his tonsils to come out. This is something I’ve been wondering too—his tonsils have always been HUGE (and we thought maybe he’d outgrow it), not to mention that because they’re so huge, he’s constantly mouth breathing and I think this effects his speech. So we’ll be scheduling an ENT appointment for him.

Camden also was tested for strep because he had similar symptoms (high fever, rash, not eating/drinking, diarrhea) and it was positive. There goes the theory the doc originally told me, “Camden most likely won’t get it because kids under three usually don’t, and if they do, it’s very mild.” Ha, ha, ha! Figures Camden would prove that wrong!

Isaac has been on the antibiotic for 24 hours and he’s 90 percent better. It’s amazing how fast that medicine works!

Camden, on the other hand, had an awful night. We pretty much didn’t sleep from 2 a.m. forward. Every time I tried to lay down with him (or even recline a bit in the chair), he’d cry. He was even saying, “ow, ow, ow.” He’s only had one dose of the antibiotic, but I truly believe his “ow” is because of his reflux. Especially because he says it when I go to lay him down. A classic symptom of his reflux. It would make sense that his reflux would flare up now. One, he’s sick. And two, he’s had a high fever, which triggers the reflux because body temp and the reflux are on the same nerve root.

I tried to get him in to the chiro yesterday, but it didn't work out due to his doctor appointment. Now we have to suffer through the weekend. I am going to try upping his aloe vera juice to see if that helps to soothe.

Every virus hits Camden and everything is worse for him. (If I could punch something or scream here to show my frustration, I would.)

So, once again, all your prayers are appreciated.

Meanwhile, I will be searching the Internet for a bubble suit in Camden’s size.

Seriously?!?!?!

So Camden woke up with a fever yesterday and was out of it all day.  His temp was about 103.  He had a very rough night last night, just unconsolable crying. 

Then Isaac wakes me up very early this morning to tell me his throat hurts really bad.  I give him some  medicine and send him back to bed, thinking “That’s really weird, why would his throat hurt him so bad?” 

Well, looks like his strep is back! 

Today is a stay-in-your-PJs and be-lazy-all-day-long kind of day.  I may post a “do not disturb, we’re sleeping” sign on the door.

Easter

We had a fantastic Easter! I think Easter is my favorite holiday. I enjoy the newness of it; everything is new, fresh and alive. And the original meaning of Easter is so amazing; that Jesus would go through all that He did for me. It is awesome.

We celebrated first thing in the morning with the boys searching for their baskets. This year I enlisted the help of Josh in hiding the baskets. I’m always told I hide them in “easy” spots. Josh is definitely his mother’s son, who once hid his Easter basket in a garbage bag out by the garbage cans! He wanted to hide the baskets and leave clues all over the house by rearranging things and seeing if the boys could figure it out. It was very amusing to watch him think of this, but I was in no mood to do this considering it was 11:30 p.m. and I really just wanted to hide the baskets and go to bed. We settled on hiding Isaac’s basket in the bathroom up above on the corner cabinet hidden by a plant (we felt kind of bad about this one—it was hard!), Eli’s was in the stove, Logan’s was behind the curtains in the living room and Camden’s was hidden amongst his toys. Needless to say, Isaac needed several clues. He even said at one point, “If you don’t tell me what room it’s in, I’m not looking for it anymore.”

After everyone found their baskets, we started getting ready for church. This is where my laughter began! As you all know, I had worked hard to pick out matching outfits for my boys. I had everyone’s outfits down to a T, all ready to go. Well, each boy got dressed and then had to add their own personal touch to his outfit. For instance, Eli insists on wearing a tie on Easter. I had forgotten this detail when I was picking out his outfit. He had a checkered green and purple shirt—and we didn’t have a tie to match that! So he just picked out a tie that he thought matched and that’s what he was wearing. He also insisted on his “dress basketball” shoes. Logan insisted on wearing his sunglasses and both Isaac and Logan wanted to wear their Crocs instead of their dress shoes. Josh came out with brown and orange Crocs on too! But even the boys convinced him that he needed to put on his black shoes instead. It was so funny and I loved every moment of their “Okay, I’ll wear this, but I’m wearing this too.”

Actually, Camden was the only one who didn’t protest about wearing something other than what I picked out for him, but I know that will be different next year.

We received lots of compliments at church. “Wow, your wife did a good job of getting you all to match.” “Whoa, that’s quite the purple shirt!”

And these little two were quite the little hams for the camera:

After church we headed to Grandpa and Grandma’s for brunch and an egg hunt. This was lots of fun with all the cousins! I am so thankful for close family and these wonderful holiday memories.

I love this picture of Ellie and Logan:

And of course, the chickens came out:

Will is always looking out for Camden—it’s so cute.

Camden pointing out the “cow.” He’s pretty obsessed with them. In fact,any animal on four legs is a cow to him.

This is a funny Josh picture:

And our family:

Camden’s curls:

After G and G’s house, we headed to Auntie K’s house for dinner and another egg hunt. Another fun time with family.

And Logan was so tired, he cuddled up in Auntie K’s bed to watch “Santa Clause is coming to town.”

It was a wonderful day filled with family and making memories.

Happy Easter to you and your family.