Thankfulness

Thanksgiving is just around the corner and I am amazed at how time is flying by these days. As I look at my days...I am in awe of how little I get done. BUT...then I realize the precious time I've been able to spend with my little ones. So what if I have a load of laundry STILL sitting in the dryer from TUESDAY....but hey...it's clean. :) (I do need to get to it...most of it is Tim's).

Anyway, the point is that I am happy that I've had the time and opportunity to sit with my Ethan, who is VERY Mommy prone these days. He constantly wants me to hold him, to put my arm around him and to read a book or watch a movie. I know there will be a day when I'm begging him to sit with me for just five minutes and look at my long enough for me to tell him I love him. He often says, "Mommy? I love you." Then he goes on to add things "on top", like berries, cheese, etc. It's so, so special. He is a joy and I just have to remind myself there will be times I miss these unproductive days.

Jacob is amazing too these days. He is nearly a week past 9 months and I still need to get his next set of clothes out. He's growing like a weed and part of me just can't accept that I will be getting out 9-12 month clothes. NO. How did he get so old? How did I miss his infant stages so easily? I want my helpless 8lb baby back. But...then if I had that I couldn't enjoy his excitement with each new food (or his gag reflex). Tonight he ate pretzel sticks for the first time...in his highchair while the rest of us ate pizza in front of the TV. It was so funny because as soon as he got out of the highchair, he tried to crawl up in the chair that Ethan was sitting at. I helped him and got some amazing photos of his intense excitement of being a big boy! He was so impressed with himself that he could sit at a big kid table. Of course that all ended when he tried to look behind him and fell off the chair. Oh well, it was cute while it lasted.

My boys are indeed my joy and my pride. I love each little thing they do and each little thing they get excited about. It's fun to see life thru a child's eyes. They are amazing little creatures and if I take the time to notice...I can learn SO much. For example, Ethan was singing, "I'm going to sing when the Spirit says sing, I'm going to sing when the Spirit says sing..." Do I do what the Spirit says to do? Do I listen closely enough to know what the Spirit says? It's fun to hear him sing and even more fun to help him understand the songs he is singing. He asks about the word "soul" a lot and about how God can "talk to us, and walk with us, along life's narrow way..." He asks about our new bodies that we'll one day receive. This morning at breakfast he asks me, "Mommy? Are our bodies old bodies?" I said, "are you talking about our bodies here on earth?" he said, "yes. I want a new body." I assured him we'd get our new bodies in heaven if we believed in Jesus. It's so cute and so utterly amazing to see his mind churn and discuss such things. I wonder what he thinks about and how he is able to process the concepts he hears us talk about. I wonder when the Holy Spirit will knock on the door of his heart and if and when he will open that door. I long for that day and pray I am able to share it with him.



Well, the bottom line is that I'm Thankful! So very, very thankful.

Going on a trip with Grandma

We went for a visit with Grandma to see her mom...our Great Grandma. Mommy, Aunt Marria and Uncle Guideon came along too. Great Grandma loved seeing us and even played cars on her bed with Ethan. We had a good time on the road for the most part too...although Ethan did not like the end of the trip and got rather fussy in the car - nothing new really!

Grandma and Mommy were heading out to Kansas to help pack up Great Grandma's house...we had a lot of fun going thru things and playing there while the adults worked hard. Ethan had a lot of fun with his Uncle Lee too and kept him very busy - showing him what Grand kids will be like someday.

We missed Daddy and watching the World Series with him...but we got thru it.

What a great visit. My brother Robert, his wife and son, my sister Marah and her four kids and the boys and I went to see Great Grandma and Aunt Polly. It was short...but lots of fun and we got a lot of great pictures. This was Kaiden's first visit and Jacob's second. We all stayed in a hotel and had a great time eating pizza waaay too late at night and swimming in the very cold pool. But...I got to sit in the hot tub and warm up - so all is forgiven.

We took a trip to Walmart while we were there to buy groceries for Grandma and Polly as it's difficult for them to get out. We had a lot of fun there and back too. Ethan was in heaven riding with the Merrills and watching movies in their car. Robert, Alex, I and the babies all rode in my car. It really was a fun road trip. We'll do it again sometime - I hope! :)

Grammy and Grampy came to visit!!! We had loads of fun and we can't wait to see them again soon.

Our attempt at a grandkid picture!

It's hard to get 8 kids to all sit, smile and be happy...but we gave it a shot!

We're new at this...but we have so much to tell!

Okay...so a couple of my friends have created blogs and I'm not one to be left behind...so here it goes.
I love sharing my family with friends and loved ones, so I'm told this is much easier than other options I've used. (As our family grows...I have less and less uninterrupted time to get on the computer, and even less time to print photos and write letters). I am hopeful that I'll not only have time to post thoughts and memories...but photos and milestones. The boys are growing so fast and time just flies by each day, week, month and year. Jacob is 9 months old today and Ethan is a "grown-up" already - according to him. As he says, he's not a man like Daddy...but he's a grown-up boy. A silly one at that.
Well, thank you to Heather and Jenny for encouraging me to start my own blog. We'll see how I do at it. So far, so good and quite easy.