Lifesong

You

You are charming. You are silly. You love being outside. You have the most piercing scream when your sister does something you don't like. You share that scream more than I would prefer. You have the sweetest kisses. You talk constantly.

 

You love for your Daddy to "scare" you and say "again, Daddy!" every time. You want "Fruit Loops" (okay, actually Fruity Cheerios) for breakfast every morning. You say "I can't like that" when you don't want something. You say "I can't like that" way more often than I would like. You ask where Mimi is almost every day. You answer your own question with "at home."

 

You are adorable. You love the jumpy house and call it a "jumpoline." You love slides, but would swing all day long. You love your newest discovery, the sandbox, and can play there for hours. You love applesauce. You don't love vegetables. You love to laugh, and I hear your sweet giggle often throughout the day. You have a high-piping voice when you are excited.

 

You love to correct us - if we call you by the wrong name (which we do on purpose) you say "I not wikipedia, I Christian!" You love to call yourself C Pup, your Daddy's nickname for you. You love airplanes, and tell me often that you want to ride on one. You are afraid of dogs. You tell us you want a motorcycle.

 

You love your Daddy. You love your Mama. You have strong preferences for which one you want in certain situations. You warm up slowly. You rarely talk to strangers. You are a picky eater. You love to look at books. You tell us which book you want read at bedtime. You are an excellent sleeper, even when you are sick, which is sadly far too often. You are drawn to sports, and throw and hit and run like a boy.

 

You have the cutest little hands I've ever held. You will tell me when and where you hurt, but you have a high tolerance for pain. You are sweet. You imitate everything we say, and shortly thereafter use it properly in a sentence. You are starting to use a big boy cup, and are so proud. You are not starting to potty train. You will love golf, if it's up to your Daddy.

 

You love to play with Ansley. You fuss about what Ansley does more than anything else. You still sleep in a crib. You have never attempted to climb out. You love blankets, and sleep with three every night. You point out construction equipment everywhere we go. You show emotion readily. You reach for my hand when you are feeling timid.

 

You have way too many ear issues. You complained of your ears hurting again today. You didn't eat a single thing all day. You had a high fever that couldn't be subdued with medicine. You will be going back to the doctor tomorrow. You are pouting in the picture, but it's how I feel.

You are my Boy. You are the one who makes my heart dance.

You are loved.

Bringin' It

As I get older, I have become more and more aware of the importance of eating healthy and exercising. This is mostly due to the fact that I can't eat donuts every day anymore. Once upon a time, I could, and I did, and I suffered no consequences. Donuts are my weakness, did you know? I love Dunkin' Donuts. It rivals my passion for Chick-Fil-A. In fact, I think there was a week in college when I ate nothing but donuts.

Farewell, twenties! You were so good to me. I only wish I had realized it before I left you.

And, as I get older - crazy thing, John gets older, too. And so we have talked for awhile about making changes. We have done well - cutting out most sugars, eating healthier, and getting on the elliptical when we can. (We have also discussed the fact that both our Dads died too young, and what changes we can make to try and remedy that.) So, healthy is good. But we needed more.

So now? Now we are BRINGING IT. C'MON!!

Oh, sorry. This is what our new fitness guru has been telling us all week. It starts to get in your head.

We are doing P90X. If you have never heard of it, it stands for POWER 90 XTREME. You can check it out here. (Don't be fooled by the website name. Or the shirtless fitness freaks. Or the abnormally large biceps. That's not our goal. We just want to be in shape.) But to sum it up, it is a CRAZY INTENSE workout for people who are serious about getting fit and don't care about pain.

Doesn't sound like me, you say? I would agree. But for some crazy reason, I find myself bringin' it, day after day. I think some people go crazy once they hit their thirties. 

A sidenote: I bought myself the Rascal Flatts Greatest Hits CD to celebrate one week of torture. It is a great CD - if you are a country fan, I highly recommend it. And if you're not, you should try Rascal Flatts. Great songs! It can almost take my mind off the pain.

I also think I am starting to find that inner fitness crazed girl, the one that's been hiding under donuts and a fear of sweating all these years. She has been wanting to get out, she just didn't know how.

Here's how. We do different types of exercises for over an hour each day, six days a week. You have a set calorie count and portions of different foods that you can eat from. You sweat and burn and hurt. When I get up from typing this, I will climb the stairs so slowly I will look like an 80-year old woman, and with every step I hurt.  He does the exercises in 30 second intervals, and he says you can do anything for 30 seconds. Our motto is we can do anything for 90 days. That's where the 90 comes in - you sweat and hurt and whine for 90 days, but then supposedly you are in the best shape of your life.

Before you start thinking someone has hacked into my account and taken over my blog, let me say: I don't like it when I'm doing it. I don't like to sweat, I'm not big on hurtin', and I really don't like to watch what I eat.

But yet, day after day, I feel healthier. Stronger. And I like that feeling, so I'm going with that.

And, there comes a time in everyone's life when all you can see are the years passing by. Oh, wait, no, that was just Rascal Flatts back in my head.

In case you are wondering, John and I are doing it together every evening after the kids go to bed. I thought it would be some nice time to chat and catch up on our days, but not really - I'm in far too much pain to actually carry on a normal conversation. But that's okay - there will be time for chatting in 90 days. Well, now in 82 days.

Our basement has been transformed into an extreme gym.

 

This looks like an ancient torture device, doesn't it? But, it isn't, of course. It's a modern torture device. We have to do chin-ups on this, over and over and over....I've lost count, but it seems that the chin-ups will never end.

 

This is something I never thought I'd see in my house. Bet you didn't either, if you know me well. But there it is. Whey protein, to add, why, yes, protein to our diet. We use it in smoothies.

You think that's extreme? Check out our fridge.

 

What's not to love about light mayo, cottage cheese, fat free plain yogurt and egg whites? C'mon! You know you'd love to come visit us! We'll whip up some scrambled cottage cheese eggs. You know you'd love it.

Our personal Fitness Guru says that I will notice a difference in my moods, once I cut out the bad stuff. Bad food = bad moods. I thought that was really interesting, and I was anxious to see the results.

As of now, I've gone one week without sugar.

I'll let you know when the good mood strikes me. I'm waiting.....I know it'll be any day now.

Actually, I do kid. Some. I am sore. I still don't like to sweat. But I'm not hungry. I feel good. I don't crave sugary things. I feel like I'm taking control of my health, and making changes that are bringing positive results.

So there it is. That's what's kept me from being as regular with my blogging. Well, that, and the fact that our internet was down for two months. Two days, really, but it did feel like two months. 

I'll try to be better about bringin' it to the blog as well.

Now I'm off to hobble upstairs, so I can bring it again tomorrow.

Images of Easter

We enjoyed a very fun, beautiful, family-filled Easter weekend!

On Saturday, we dyed Easter eggs.

 

The colorful stripey ones are the result of the Daddy/Daughter Team, putting their heads together. The cracked ones are the result of a team of one, or Team Two-Year Old. And perhaps his Mama is to blame for letting him hold an egg, which really does resemble something like a ball.

After church on Sunday, we had an Easter egg hunt in the yard, which was their one and only hunt this year, so they thought it was a lot of fun. Christian did a great job of finding lots of eggs, until he realized there were M&M's in them, and then the searching stopped and the eating began.

 

We love the tulips we planted in the winter! And, it turns out, they are the perfect spot for hiding an Easter egg.

 

I love this shot. Have I mentioned that this boy LOVES his Mimi? When Mimi is here, Daddy and yes, even the beloved MOMMY disappear. He only has eyes for his Mimi. Bedtime? Mimi do it! Diaper change? Mimi do it! Play cars? Mimi do it! I'm not complaining, I'm just sayin' for the record: this boy loves his Mimi! (He even cried and said "I go with Mimi!" when she had to leave on Monday.)

 

Christian's eggs were mostly in the grass, but Ansley's were a little harder to find. She was so proud when she would find the "trickier" ones.

 

It was such a beautiful day, we spent the afternoon outside, enjoying the sunshine. Christian got a little bat, stand and ball in his Easter basket, and here is Ansley enjoying it. Kind of ironic, isn't it? Yet usually the way it works. (Christian got some good hits in, too, though. On the ball, that is.)

 

Christian was playing cars with Mimi (who else?) and I captured this adorable shot. He looks so sweet, doesn't he? He was opening his legs for the car to come in, and then closing them quickly as the car went out. A new game, taught by Mimi.

 

It's important, when you're me, to capture every possible combination of pictures. Some people may get tired of the endless possibilities, especially small people, but one day, they'll appreciate these memories. At least that's what I tell myself, as I'm snapping away. Ansley actually looked at a picture of me recently when I was her age and said "Is that me?" and Christian will point to pictures of me when I was younger and say "There's Ansley!" People tell me at least several times a week that she looks just like me. I guess we resemble each other more than I think we do. What do you think?

 

Another shot, for the memories, you know.

 

Back to Mommy and daughter.

 

We are thankful for the amazing gift of Jesus, and for the gift of our family.

And here's hoping that beautiful weather comes back to stay.

Preparing Our Hearts

My thoughts on Easter have been different this year than in any other year. I don't know if that can be attributed to my older, wiser self (I doubt it), or the influence of our church and our friends, or just the astounding truth of it all, but for whatever reason, I am fully grasping the thought and the fact and the truth that Jesus DIED FOR ME. For my impatience and my selfishness, my corrupt heart and negativity and my unloving, undeserving ways.

And the thought of all this makes candy and eggs and baskets and the Easter bunny seem, well, ridiculous. Why has the secular world come into the Christian world and influenced one of the, if not THE, greatest celebrations of the Christian life? The focus is all wrong. So this year, I want our focus to be where it should be. On Jesus, the Savior of the lost and broken and damaged and torn. Who died and rose for me. For you.

For the past few weeks, we have been acting out Bible stories using blocks and Little People, mostly, as well as a few other props here and there. Ansley absolutely loves this, and has really gotten into it. Christian, well, he mostly steals our props and Little People, but he'll get it one day. Ansley has started requesting our little plays in the morning, and she is responsible for preparing the set, while I read the story and then we both act it out, using Little People.

There have been many fun, amusing, and serious moments as we act out the life of Jesus, from his birth (when Christian stole all the manger animals) to being on the boat with his friends (when I read Jesus says HUSH! Ansley says, no, Mom, he says PEACE! BE STILL!) to feeding the 5,000 (I wish we could have a party with 5,000 friends! I didn't say she gets the meaning of the story EVERY time.).

Today she requests, as if on cue, to act out the death and resurrection of Jesus. So I go to get our Bible and tell her to start preparing the set. When I come back in, I'm amazed. This is what she has set up.

 

And she could explain it to me: Jesus in the middle with the two men on either side, and the crowd below watching. There were also sad animals present, which she said she knew wasn't part of the story, but she felt the need to include them anyway.

We acted out the whole scene, and then got to the tomb. Here is her tomb, complete with two guards standing watch, as well as a "stone" that rolls away.

 

Please don't misunderstand - I am not bragging on my child or her teacher. We go to a wonderful church and surround ourselves with godly, Christian families that we interact with regularly. She could have learned this from any number of places. The point is that she knows it, and it makes me happy that these early truths of the importance of Jesus' birth and death are sinking in at five years old.

Just to keep things real and let you know things don't always go so well, I will share this: the other day we were at the mall, and as we strolled through a large department store, the jewelry caught Ansley's eye. (Where does she get that from?) She starts looking at some necklaces, and the sales lady comes over and asks if she can help her, smiling at me. Ansley points to a necklace, which has an Eiffel Tower charm, and says "Oooh, I love that Paris charm. So exquisite!" Yeah, I'm serious. I don't think I talk like that, but it's true she must learn it from somewhere. The sales lady about falls into the hard glass counter, her mouth drops open and she exclaims "How did you know that was in Paris!?" If I'm being honest, I'm silently thinking about the study we did on France a few months back, and remembering talking about Paris, and I just know a proud homeschool Mommy moment is coming.

Until Ansley responds "From my Fancy Nancy book!"

Oops. What's that verse about pride and falling? Yep, here's my pride, and there I go.

So I'm hardly bragging - I have nothing to boast about, because even when I start to think I'm making an impact and doing something fabulous, Fancy Nancy shows up and bites me in the hiney. And it hurts!

But that does remind me of a sweet Christian story. The other night I was putting him down for bed, and he grabs my hair in his little fist, and twirls it around and around.

C: Mommy, your hair is pity.

M: Aww, thanks, buddy. I'm glad you think my hair is pretty.

C: And flowers are pity.

M: Yes, flowers are very pretty. Especially red ones....

C: (looking up at me) Mommy, YOU pity!

M: Sniff, sniff.

I tell ya, that Boy makes my heart dance.

I am easily distracted. That's why it's taken me so long to update my blog - I sit down to do it, and forget why I'm there. Okay, I guess I exaggerate a little, but I am so easily distracted these days. 

Where was I?

Oh, yes, so today we decorated a Ressurection Tree. I let Ansley come up with all the ideas for it, and I thought she did a great job. We decorated our tree with hearts, crosses, a crown of thorns (made from branches), a purple robe, and nails.

 

I thought it looked exquisite.

And, for the record, I highly recommend acting out the story of Jericho with your kids. Building a huge wall, marching around it seven times and then screaming at the top of your lungs while knocking over said wall NEVER gets old to a five and two-year old.

Or to me. I know the more often they hear these stories, act them out, learn from them and know that they are real, the more real Jesus becomes to them and these Biblical truths will get into their hearts, and I pray it never leaves.

Bye-Bye Bloggie

I have been struggling with this decision, but I have finally decided that with all that we have going on, from homeschool to activities and just life in general, this blog has become more of a burden for me than an outlet to do anything productive. And it takes up too much of my time. So, this Friday will be my last post, and then I will shut this blog down. I do appreciate all you faithful readers, and commenters, and I have really enjoyed the blog-world for the past three and a half years.

But this will free up a lot of my time to do more productive things. Like clean out closets, organize the playroom, oh and sure, teach my kids.

Sometimes the line is blurry between April Fool's and a flat-out lie, isn't it? So, yes, this is my April Fool's joke, but I knew probably no one would fall for it, since I am ALL ABOUT the blog. I do love being able to express my thoughts and random feelings on here, and get your comments and emails, as well as share pictures and keep people up to date on what's going on. So, just in case you're confused, there will be no shutting down of the blog. It was all a lie. I mean, an April Fool's joke.

This morning, I came downstairs, grabbed a cereal bowl and squirted some green food coloring in it, then poured Cheerios over that and set it on the table. Ansley comes moseying down, and asks for Cheerios - perfect! I tell her it's already on the table, she just needs to pour the milk. So she gets the milk, pours away, all while I pretend to not know what's going on.

"Umm, Mom?" she says. "Something is going on here."

"Oh? What's that?" I say, acting oblivious. Sometimes it's not acting, but this time it was.

"Something has HAPPENED! TO! OUR! MILK!" she says, obviously quite alarmed.

To which I respond, "APRIL FOOL'S!"

She thought it was hilarious. Then she brainstorms some ideas that we could do to John.

A: I know, I know! We could say, Daddy, my milk was GREEN this morning! Oh, wait, no, that's not how it works, is it?

M: Well, not exactly. It has to be something that didn't actually happen.

A: Okay, okay, I got it! Daddy, we went to the PARK this morning! No, wait, that's the same thing.

M: You're getting there, though, I can tell.

A: Okay, now I really have it! Daddy, we didn't do school today! APRIL FOOL'S!!!

M: Yes, now you have it!

And all day long, I've heard many, many versions of her April foolishness. Sometimes a five-year old just doesn't know when to stop.

I thought Christian might get a kick out of green milk, but turns out two year olds don't really get into that. This picture is what I like to call "The joke's on you, Mom."

 

He had a green mouth, green hands, green hair, green pants, all while Ansley was chanting "April Fool's! April Fool's!" which made Christian cry and say "I not April Fool's. I Christian."

I guess there's always next year.