The inevitability of change...

Change is inevitable...but it doesn't make it any easier. Every time I hold a newborn - I am reminded that my "newborn" is now almost 18 months old. YIKES!
I just visited the doctor's office with my middle child and he is almost as tall as my oldest and already weighs more! Oh - did I mention that he STARTS KINDERGARTEN NEXT YEAR? YIKES!
Then there is the issue of my oldest, who is 7 going on 17, and in the 2nd grade! YIKES!

When I focus on where we are at and where we will be before you know it...the anxiety attack settles in and my breathing starts to speed up and I think...am I doing enough? Have I told them "I love you" enough? Have I done a good job teaching and showing them Jesus? Have I spent enough time playing with them? It starts to feel as if they are leaving for college tomorrow and I have run out of time! It reminds me of that commercial where the young daughter (probably 4 years old) is sitting in the driver's seat of the car asking the dad for the keys...and then when the dad looks back the daughter is actually 16 years old and he was just reminiscing? That's how I feel!!

I have never really felt adequate as a mom, mentor, teacher, housewife, cook or any other role I sometimes assume, but then I remember...I have time. Yes - it seems the cliche is true that it flies...but only when we let it.
I am determined to raise kids that have a passion for Jesus and for making a difference in this world. And that all starts with me...

We've got a climber!!

The fact that Roman is a climber is nothing new to most of you, but I figured I would talk about it anyway. Roman is my youngest...at 15 mths old. This pic is Roman's latest adventure into vertical mayhem.
Why yes...he is standing on the top rung of a rickety garage ladder, steadying itself on nothing more than air. No worries though...the youngster was grabbed before any danger could befall him.
You know...this all started a month or so ago when he figured out how to climb out of the crib, but it has gradually progressed to much more dangerous exploits.
He has scaled the ladder leading up to Brady's bunk beds, learned to precariously balance himself on the top rung of the back of our dining room chairs and quite often stood proudly on top of his high chair.
He obviously does NOT have a phobia of heights! In fact, other than the slight separation anxiety he displays every now and then, I can't think of any phobia this child has.
Is he fearless - crazy or just plain stupid? We may never know...but this child has been a challenge from the get go, so none of this is surprising to us!
We love him just the same...despite the anxiety and fear that he provides on a daily basis!

Does anybody actually remember how you lost your first tooth? I don't actually remember but I've heard stories. For some people...it doesn't bring back pleasant memories (ahem - Kris - achoo - bless me). For others (ahem - me) it was very exciting. But as I've recently found out...it's hard to convince your kids that it's as exciting as you say it is. For some reason they think you're crazy when you want to tie one end of a string to their tooth and the other end to a door...and then of course they think you've gone off the deep end when you want to slam said door.
Somehow, someway, and despite her paranoia...we convinced Denver to trust us and let us yank her tooth out! How, you ask? By telling her we wanted to get it on video before it fell out on it's own. Let's just say our oldest child has no trouble "performing". We still haven't figured out where she got that trait from! We're actually lucky everything worked out well because Brady was watching and if things had gone bad it probably would have traumatized both of them forever, and we can't have that. This is just the first of many to come because Denver already has 2 more loose teeth!

Bullseye!

When you have a husband who grew up in Minnesota...chances are he learned how to hunt and fish. And if you have a husband who enjoys hunting and fishing...chances are his kids will learn too. These two videos were taken about a week ago, when Kris took Denver outside to teach her how to shoot. I must say she is pretty good for a beginner!
If this country ever does implode and we all have to start living off of our own lands...I'm in pretty good "little" hands!
The interesting thing is...I'm not worried at all about trusting Denver with a gun. She is responsible and trustworthy, and will be cautious and careful. It will be a whole other ballgame when my other two rambunctious tykes pick up a gun for the first time! There are no words to describe the anxiety that thought brings my already overloaded heart!

The Parenthood of Fantasy...

I think we all enjoy fantasy every now and then...but my kids enjoy it ALL THE TIME. Maybe it's because you can act crazy and get away with it...or maybe it's the thrill of stepping into someone else's shoes so you can see what it's like to live their life. Whatever the reason - my kids like it.

Just last night we watched The Last Airbender with the kids and Brady could not sit still...he stood off to the side mimicking all the Tai-Chi type arm movements that the main character "Ang" was doing. I couldn't help wondering what he was thinking at that exact moment as he was staring intently at the screen copying "Ang". I must say, he was very cute and it made me smile.

I got to thinking about the "why's" the other day and something occurred to me. I like fantasy once in a while too...but my reason is simply the escape it provides and the "costume" that I put on is t.v. and movies. Which brings me to the other main reason for this post...parenthood.

Just in case you didn't know, there is a t.v. show called Parenthood. In my opinion (which I know doesn't carry a lot of weight) it's one of the best shows on right now. Even though it is a scripted television show, I LOVE IT. I think I've cried every single time I've watched it. So...once again - I got to thinking about why I like this show so much (and I didn't take into account the wonderful interactions of the boy with asperger's that won't come out of his pirates costume, with his dad - who just wants a normal son).

For me...it's a relief to watch other parents mess up and then have to eat crow and apologize to their kids. I can relate. It's also neat to watch parents speak encouraging words to their kids, especially when the kids are going through a "crisis" (crisis in quotes cause they have no clue what real crisis is). I don't know why it's so easy to tell a kid what's wrong with them, but so hard to tell them what's great about them...I'm gonna work on getting better at the latter part, because I've got the first part down pat!

I'm also gonna cherish these moments where my kids enjoy fantasy...because I know these days won't last long. Time will fly and eventually I'll be dealing with teenagers in angst who think they know everything and will forget all about the days where dressing up and playing was all it took to be happy!

I don't know what the heck I'm doing...

...but I'm doing it anyway. I've never understood why people share so much of their personal information on the internet. It baffles me to the point of being annoyed, but also intrigues me at the same time. I guess I'm curious as to the motivation behind it. When I was growing up it seemed like most adults wanted to hide their weaknesses and points of failure, whereas now a days...people are constantly blogging about them. Whether that is to garner pity or simply create a relatable and likeable personality - I'll never know.
As for me, I'm not one for sharing my vulnerabilities with the public...but I do love sharing stories about my kids and my crazy life. Every kid says funny things now and then...probably not all blog-worthy, but funny nevertheless, so I won't share every comment or shenanigan...scout's honor.
But I do plan on putting together a veritable cornucopia of stories from my life that could include, but will not be limited to...my family, my job, the life of a church staff worker and anything else I deem worthy of blogging about!
I still don't really know how to do this...but writing stuff down relaxes my overstimulated brain...so I'm gonna give this "blogging" thing a shot!