Toddlerhood

It has only been a year or so since I had my last toddler in my home. You would think I would still remember all the crazy stuff they do. Well, I don't! Shylie is such a busy, busy girl! She is everywhere all at once. She keeps us moving as she is constantly moving and exploring. She is also a climber! I haven't had a climber in many years. The last time I had a climber was when the boys were toddlers.
Shylie decided that other day to take her pieces of cheese and put them in a safe place...her ear! After doing a flush and causing quite the commotion with her siblings (and mom!), her ears were cheese free!
She has also started putting her plate of food on her head if you don't remove it quick enough when she's done! Her hair always seems to smell like food.
She is a very busy girl, but everything she does makes us smile, even the naughty things! Toddlers are just the best! I can't imagine not having one in my home! The Lord knew what He was doing went He created "Toddlerhood"!

Ah, cheddar cheese! Yum, saving it for a snack later!

Cleaning her ears. (She had quite the audience!)

All better!

A little sourcreme is good for hair!

Just look at all that greasy hair! She's still so cute!

Toddlerhood is wonderful!

Warning!

I feel it only far to warn those of you driving on the public roads and freeways that....Shelbie has her driving permit!

Getting ready for her first driving lesson.

Getting everything explained to her from her driving instructor.

Watch out, here she goes!

We warned all small children to stay off our road today.

We all sat on our porch and watched her go and anxiously awaited her return. Her instructor said she did very well...minus one car honking at her.

When you thought I wasn't looking

A friend sent this to me. It is a good reminder for all parents.

WHEN YOU THOUGHT I WASN'T LOOKING . . .

A message every adult should read because children are watching you and doing as you do, not as you say.

When you thought I wasn't looking I saw you hang my first painting on the refrigerator, and I immediately wanted to paint another one.

When you thought I wasn't looking I saw you feed a stray cat, and I learned that it was good to be kind to animals.

When you thought I wasn't looking I saw you make my favourite cake for me, and I learned that the little things can be the special things in life.

When you thought I wasn't looking I heard you say a prayer, and I knew that there is a God I could always talk to, and I learned to trust in Him.

When you thought I wasn't looking I saw you make a meal and take it to a friend who was sick, and I learned that we all have to help take care of each other.

When you thought I wasn't looking I saw you take care of our house and everyone in it, and I learned we have to take care of what we are given.

When you thought I wasn't looking I saw how you handled your responsibilities, even when you didn't feel good, and I learned that I would have to be responsible when I grow up.

When you thought I wasn't looking I saw tears come from your eyes, and I learned that sometimes things hurt, but it's all right to cry.

When you thought I wasn't looking I saw that you cared, and I wanted to be everything that I could be.

When you thought I wasn't looking I learned most of life's lessons that I need to know to be a good and productive person when I grow up.

When you thought I wasn't looking I looked at you and wanted to say, “Thanks for all the things I saw when you thought I wasn't looking.”

Multitude Monday

51. Contagious laughter from a little one.

52. Prayer warriors

53. Little feet
"Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light to my path." Psalm 119:105

54. End of the season rainstorms

55. Tea parties

56. Organizing

57. Birthday parties with giggling girls

58. Conversations with little ones

Poppet: Daddy, when I'm 65 can I get a horse?

Daddy: Well, you'll have to ask your husband.

Poppet: Why?

Daddy: Because you'll be all grown up and married

Poppet: No! I'm never going to leave! I'll still be at home with you!

Daddy: O.K. Well, then when your 65 you can have a horse. :o)

59. Sisters

60. Get togethers with family

A Lolly kind of conversation

Yesterday Lolly was supposed to be in bed, but got up and came in and said that she wanted to buy a necklace. She loves jewlery!

Lolly- "can we go to Walmart tomorrow and buy me a necklace?"
Mama -"well, do you have any money?"
Lolly- "no"
Mama- "well then how are you going to buy one?"
Lolly-"you can buy me one!"
Mama- "no, but maybe you can work to make some money to go buy one?"
Lolly- "I don't want to work, you buy it for me"
Mama- "Daddy works so we can have money to buy things"
Lolly- (getting a bit worked up and scared a bit) "No! I don't want to go to work"
Mama- "why?"
Lolly- "I don't want to leave the house to go to work!"
Mama- "you don't have to leave the house, I have work you can do here!"
Lolly- (all relieved and excited) " O.K!"
Mama- "I have some really dirty baseboards that need washed."
Lolly- "O.K! I can do that!"
She left completely excited about what the next day held!
We teach our children early on that they need to learn to work for things they want. We know that they will appreciate things so much more and take better care of them if they have worked for them. Lolly's whole worry was that she would have to leave her house to go to work like Daddy does. Once she learned that she could clean Mama's baseboards to earn money she was so excited! I will be getting some baseboards cleaned off and Lolly will be getting a trip to Walmart to buy her necklace!
(She is just so stinkin cute! You had to see her big, brown eyes and animation during our conversation!)

Baby Tears

This is for Shyloh. I love you honey.

BABY TEARS
We cried tears when we learned that a child would be,
that our God had allowed you to quicken in me.
We cried tears with our loved ones as they shared our joy
and we thought about names for a girl or boy.

I cried tears as I thought of the things we would do,
all the things that your Daddy would pass on to you.
And I cried as I thought of each inch you had grown
as I pondered the day you'd make yourself known.

Then, to think of the world you must enter brought fears
once again, Little Loved One, your mother cried tears.

Something's wrong I can tell… once again there are tears
and I'll not get the chance of your love through the years.
Oh, the ache and the sorrow and all of the pain… and again,
yes, again... my tears fell like rain.

Then His peace comes to me as I think of you there
gently rocking with Father in His favourite chair.
Your sweet little fingers clenched tight in His palm
and His Son softly singing to help keep you calm.
Our Father knew your days before they came to be
And He knew, Little One, you would not stay with me.

So I cry, but I know that when this life is done
I will greet and embrace you, my sweet Little One
There's a time to be born and a time to die
and the joy and the sorrow both make us cry.
~Connie Johnson

"Whom have I in heaven but you? And earth has nothing I desire besides you. My flesh and my heart my fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever."
Psalm 73:25-26

Multitude Monday

41. Big brothers playing with little sisters

42. Clean laundry

43. Baby kisses (who can resist these lips?)

44. Quiet, uninterrupted conversations

45. Spring blossoms

46. Flannel sheets

47. Piggy tails

48. Being with those I love

49. A little one knowing what is coming as Mama has to reprimand her.
Thank you Jesus for allowing me the privilege of mothering your precious children! Please daily grant me wisdom and grace and help me to have your eyes to see.

50. The anticipation of what's to come.

May God be gracious to us and bless us and make his face shine upon us.
Psalm 67:1

Parenthood quotes

My friend sent me these quotes. Thought I would share them.

You don't really understand human nature unless you know why a child on a merry-go-round will wave at his parents every time around - and why his parents will always wave back.

Parenthood: That state of being better chaperoned than you were before marriage.

The quickest way for a parent to get a child's attention is to sit down and look comfortable.

Sing out loud in the car even, or especially, if it embarrasses your children.

My mom used to say it doesn't matter how many kids you have... because one kid'll take up 100% of your time so more kids can't possibly take up more than 100% of your time.

If your children spend most of their time in other people's houses, you're lucky; if they all congregate at your house, you're blessed.

The guys who fear becoming fathers don't understand that fathering is not something perfect men do, but something that perfects the man. The end product of child raising is not the child but the parent.

When my kids become wild and unruly, I use a nice, safe playpen. When they're finished, I climb out.

Conscience is less an inner voice than the memory of a mother's glance.

Multitude Monday

I am so glad that I have started making a list of all the many things I am daily grateful for. There truly is a multitude of things everyday. It has opened my eyes to little, unseen things that can so easily slip by unnoticed. The Lord has blessed me and I am forever thankful to Him!

31. Little ones watching and waiting for outside time.

32. Family work day outside.

33. Silliness

34. The men getting to go to a baseball game and the girls getting a girls night.
(and what happens on girls night, stays at girls night!)

35. How sunshine can make even a dirty floor look beautiful.

36. Date with my honey. (boy, I love that man!)

37. Caesar salad with homemade croutons.

38. The smell of rain

39. Lazy weekend morning, cuddling in bed with my hubby and a toddler in the middle.

40. Rainy movie day with lights off, hanging with my favorite people.

Praise the LORD! Give thanks to the LORD, for He is good; His love endures forever.
Psalm 106:1

Haircuts anyone?

Over the last few months I've been teaching Shaylah how to cut the boys hair for me. I've done our own hair for years and decided it was time to pass the baton. Shaylah has done pretty good and overall the boys hair is pretty forgiving. I finally decided that it was time to teach the girls how to trim each others hair.

Shelbie was very nervous to have Shaylah practice on her long hair. There was quite a bit of nervous laughter from both of them. Shaylah did good and today we are going to teach Shelbie to do Shaylah's!

Can you see how nervous Shelbie looks?

Waiting his turn.

Next up!

Shadd's turn

Okay, funny girl! No mohawks! Even though Shadd can still look sweet with a mohawk.

Easter

Easter was a bit different this year. Normally we host Easter here and do the typical eating, visiting, egg hunt, and hanging out with family and sometimes friends. This year tradition was broken...accidentally.
Duane had been wanting to get tickets for all of us to go to a San Fransisco Giants preseason game and he found tickets for only $4. What a deal, huh? There was only one weekend we could go and the Saturday game was late enough in the day that I was worried about how cold it would be for the little ones so he went ahead and bought tickets for the Sunday game at noon.
We found out the next day that the Sunday game was on Easter. Duane tried to cancel the tickets, but it was too late. We talked with my mom, brother, and sil who all agreed that no matter what we just wanted to be together on Easter so we got them tickets too. We were all a bit disappointed, but decided that we would make the most of it.
Last year I made all of us baseball shirts to kick off baseball season and for the kids to wear when they are playing ball in the back yard. I made them again this year and we all wore them to the game.
When we got to the game it was cold...very cold. Soon after we got there the rain started. All I could do was laugh because I didn't want to go to the game on Saturday because of how cold it was and here we were sitting in freezing cold rain. Jeff and Shyloh had bought us all rain ponchos, which were a life saver! Instead of sporting our cute shirts we sported huge plastic bags! We hooped and hollered, well some of us did and some whined about how cold and wet we were, and we did lots of laughing. Duane even tried to get the wave going.

Contentment is all in the way you look at things, and happiness is the state of your mind, not your circumstances so even though we were soaked and cold we tried to make the best of it!
We made it thru to the 6th inning and then decided to call it a day. The little girls were so cold that Poppet started to cry and I won't say any names, (I'll protect your identities Shyloh and Shaylah ) but we even had some big girls that were really whining. As we were packing it up they called the game due to the rain.
We came home and made a fire, hot chocolate, and huge pot of homemade chicken noodle soup. We hung out with each other and watched a movie. Uncle Micah made the mistake of falling asleep and Shyloh painted his nails and stuck bunny years on him. I'm sure those pictures will come back to haunt him down the line.
The day ended up being one that we will all remember for years to come, but we will also make sure to check the calendar when Daddy is buying Giants tickets!

It's a very good thing we took pictures before the game because after we looked like a pack of wet dogs.

The backs of our shirts.

Just happy being together!
(you can't see her well, but Shylie is in the front pack which is under my zipped coat and under the poncho. She was such a trooper! I would put my head under the poncho to keep dry and she loved just "talking" with me.)

Don't we look cold?

Trying to look cheery!

Snuggling by Mama to keep warm.

This was before she started crying from being so cold. LOL

Multitude Monday

21. My sweet husbands corny jokes

22. Baths with little ones

23. Vanilla lattes

24. Sisters! Not of blood, but of the heart! The best kind.

25. Dreams

26. God's word...alive and active

27. Planting flowers

28. Homelaid eggs

29. Long distance friends

30. Boys blessing their Mama by doing yardwork for a surprise.
(If you look close you will notice the large holes in my roses. they realized they goofed so then they dug up some of my agapanthis and "replanted" them to cover the holes! Gotta love the heart behind this!☺)

Your love, O LORD, reaches to the heavens, your faithfulness to the skies.
Psalm 36:5

Shh!

Nobody tell her, but Shylie slept thru the night again last night for the 4th night in a row!!! Yes, she is actually 17 months old and should have done this over a year ago, but I guess she never got that memo.

Out of all my children they have all slept thru the night by 8 weeks old except for two of them; Shelbie and now Shylie. Shelbie was 14 months before she slept thru and that was hard, but as the months passed by with Shylie I was starting to think my hopes of 8 hours of straight sleep was nothing more than a dream, a dream I could never finish because I was always getting woke up from her! There were nights that she would actually wake up 3 and 4 times throughout the night! Ugh!! Last year when I was so sick I really thought that just the lack of sleep was going to do me in!

It's really amazing how good a person can feel just by getting sleep! I am hoping that this isn't just a fluke, but that we have really just arrived!!

Sweet Dreams!

Good Morning Mary Sunshine!

Even Shylie feels good after a good night sleep!

I will lie down and sleep in peace...Psalm 4:8