"Chicks Dig Scars" (We Hope)

On Friday, with me running around getting ready for work and Mike taking care of the kids, Jude slipped out of eyesight for a split second. Next thing I heard was Gavin running towards me, shouting, "It's an emergency!!!" He was right. Jude had fallen and cut himself on a cabinet drawer at 7:30 in the morning. Poor guy...I gotta say, though, he took it very calmly. Mike ran him to the emergency room and I waited at the house until my mom came to watch the kids (bless her!) It still smarts, but he'll be okay.

Under the file heading of "all boys, all the time", we came upon this scene the other day:

Lest you wonder why my oldest is standing in a pile of garbage, here is his explanation--"I was making a garbage shooter. I shot and shot and then, it exploded! I need to practice more." We assured him that there is no market for this device and further practice was not necessary.

I hate to post more on the "sickness" of our family, but it has become an integral part of this season. The baby and I have had a cough again for about three weeks. When I went to the doctor, I was diagnosed with pneumonia--later only slightly amended to pneumosis, which just means the spot on my lung from the x-ray wasn't that significant. I've been pretty much wiped by this. Again, we're on our second round of missing church for five weeks straight. Would have made it today, except Gavin and Jude both had fevers. I miss everyone.

Toby has six teeth now! Gavin got his first teeth early, too, but he didn't just keep getting them like Toby. Toby had the teeth next to his upper front teeth come in first, then his bottom front teeth, then his upper front teeth and is now working on his front teeth next to his bottom front teeth. I'm just going to throw a steak his way soon :)

I've been laughing from one of Gavin's recent additions to our vocabulary. We were driving, and he saw the Seventh-Day Adventist church where he attended Bible school for the past three years (yes, those sainted people accepted Gavin when he was a mere 20 months!) He told me he would be going to Bible school again soon, and I explained that it wouldn't be until the summer. He held his head and said, "Oh Cramp!! That just makes my head hurt." I admit to laughing, and so now it has become his favorite expletive--it's fast becoming mine, too.

Much better he says that then what he told me the other day upon being told to change his pants, "Let it go, Mom...all that talking is giving me a headache." He had an ache somewhere else after that one :) I love every minute of raising my boys.

Who knew?

So I'm on a kick....I am making yogurt at home. I have figured out that it only costs about .60/quart which equals about 5-6 Yoplait containers at .60-.99 each. There was a great article on it in the "Tightwad Gazette III" that said the the most reliable way was to use a heating pad with a towel over it and then a dutch oven turned over on top of the quart jar of yogurt. I am using our picnic cooler, and it is working fine. If you want to know how, go to: http://www.hillbillyhousewife.com/yogurt.htm (Actually, I highly recommend that site--great information on how to economize in almost every way imaginable.)

Yay! Jude went to the bathroom on his own in the little toilet today!!!! The light and the end of the tunnel becomes brighter as I contemplate only having one in diapers.

Valentine's and other events

Okay, I admit I have a problem. I try to fit everything into the blog before posting. I need to learn the principle that shorter is better. So, even though this entry isn't perfect, it's going in!

Valentine's day....what fun! Mike and I didn't go out this year, but we certainly do appreciate each other. Our friend Jill issued a challenge that we have been participating in...as of January first, don't buy anything until Easter that isn't a "need." WOW! We consider ourselves frugal, but I can tell you that we spend more money that we realized.


Because of that, my gift to Mike was $20 to spend at the Goodwill/Salvation Army any way he wanted. He enjoys the shopping, but since it doesn't count as a need, has been missing his "break activity." Well, I needed to give him a gift, and he isn't spending his money this way. It was a loophole, but I am so proud of him for taking this challenge that it is worth it.

The next picture makes me proud. Gavin went to preschool the day before Valentine's day and they had a party. After school, the teacher shared with me that they were playing musical chairs. It came down to Gavin and his friend, Megan. When the music stopped, he said to Megan that she could have the chair. He got the sticker as a consolation prize...but he may have given up the chair for that reason too. All of the kids got a sticker when they were "out." Either way, he is still polite and loving.

I've been contemplating the nature of blogging. I envisioned this as a way to keep a family record, being able to eventually print this out and save it for review in the future. It becomes a little harder when some events in life are not as happy, especially when I think about the nature of sharing information openly on the Internet. In the end, I guess I have decided that life is life, and should be documented....

In the second week of January, my sister and brother-in-law ended their marriage of almost 21 years. It took a mere 5 minutes or less in court, mostly because Deborah and Jeff made a point of agreeing on everything beforehand. Here is a picture I took of Jeff with Toby at the courthouse:

Jude is such a powerhouse these days. I had to sing the "Superman" song about 40 times today while he ran around with his cape. His favorite word is still "mine."

Toby has four teeth now, and his eye teeth are coming in. He is exceptionally good natured, considering how terrible the teething is right now. His laugh is nothing short of infectious! Gavin talks to him to make him cry less. Sad to say, he is a little afraid of Jude. I am sure they will work it out, but Toby will start to cry if Jude gets too close, so we're being careful. We took Toby with us to dinner last week, and found that he can sit up in a high chair:

While I don't want the blog to morph into a list of things the kids have said, this one is going to be that way because of how long I waited. I want to get these things recorded, because I know I won't remember them later, smile.

On January 11th, there was a tornado that touched down in Hazel Dell (the northern part of Vancouver). Later, Gavin asked me why tomatoes were so scary. I told him they weren't, but he commented that the "tor-matoes" were frightening because they are "squishing" through the sky all over.

Sometimes, I don't even know where to begin or end a story, but..Gavin looks for an adventure in the "sewer." We were on our way home from church last week and Gavin had to go to the restroom. Looking for a place to go to the bathroom, we happened upon a Porta-potty. Mike took him in while we waited in the car. Next thing I know, Mike is pulling Gavin out while Gavin is screaming about staying in. He gets in the car and tells me, "Mom, I've got to go into the toliet." I asked him why and he said, "because it is an adventure." I told him that what is in the toliet isn't pleasant (only I explained it graphically enough for him to appreciate the yucky nature of it) but, unconvinced, he continued, "I will close my eyes and my mouth and it will be fine." Take two (Let's just pretend we didn't all think #2) of me explaining the "depths" of how bad this is. Gavin's response: "Mom, I need to do this. I am a big boy. Okay, I will take off my clothes too and it will be ok." There really isn't much more to add--what can you say?

And lastly, from the "I know they'll love each other later" file. Gavin's recent prayer: "God, thank you for making me part of this family. But Jude bites. Can you please take him back?

Hate to See Christmas Go...

It's true. I love Christmas, and now that it is over, I already look forward to next year's season. For me, it's all about the reasons behind Christmas, something I never tire of contemplating. I love the music, too. I fix my radio dial to one of those stations that play nothing but Christmas music from the day after Thanksgiving thru Christmas day, and I am always surprised and disappointed when they go back to their regular format on December 26th.

It's a bummer, but we are still fighting illness. We didn't go to church today, and barely made it last week. Toby has come down with some sort of respiratory illness, leaving my precious almost-four-month-old to wheeze and rattle when breathing. Our whole family went to the doctor (Okay, physician's assistant--you can't get a last minute appointment with an MD these days, aargh. This PA is really nice, tho.) on Friday and Mike, Toby and myself were all put on a course of antibiotics.

It is good that we were able to pull off going to church last week, though, since it was the Sunday for Toby's dedication. I love our church--they are such a family to us. Our pastor and his wife are fantastic! Pastor Jim is hearing and his wife, Dawn, is Deaf. He is one of those rare people who fell into the Deaf world and has never looked back...and he isn't an interpreter, he is a full-time chemist and full-time pastor (though I know it is supposed to be part-time, but, truth be known, it is probably more hours than the full-time gig.)

The people in the church are really a family to us. I know most people like the churches they go to, but I am so happy that we have found a place where we fit. The Deaf church is so warm, Mike loves the weekly Deaf Men's Bible Study, and it's also great because the kids go over to the hearing church for Sunday School/Church with other hearing kids. It helps us strike a great balance. When we had Toby dedicated, I couldn't help but feel so blessed to be able to commit to this great task again; raising a child who has the opportunity to have God in their lives and to see God work in our lives.

As a silly side note, with all the rain, the kids have been inside a lot. We (intentionally) don't have cable television, but have quite a few DVDs. Gavin is obsessed right now with Bibleman; a campy action-packed, sword slinging Christian adventure show. It doesn't take itself too seriously, which would be impossible anyway, considering Willie Aames (yes, of Charles in Charge and Eight is Enough fame) is the star. Gavin runs around quoting lines from the show and throwing any implement nearby at his brother. He doesn't always get the lines right, though. He kept talking about the "sword of fake" until I gently told him that it should be *ahem* the sword of faith.

Wasn't sure if I would post the next one, but...I am so glad that Gavin talks to me about things before experimenting sometimes. He came to me the other day saying, "Your body makes poop?" I inwardly sighed, knowing that with three boys, the body function talk will likely never end, and said, "Yes, that is right." Then the kicker..he said, "That's nothing to eat, right?" I ASSURED him that was right, eek!

We seem to have acquired another cat. This little cutie was hanging around the yard for a few days, and Mike (being the animal lover he is)

couldn't let it go without feeding. Mike picked the name "Deccy" as in December, and we pronounce it "dekie". He is a very sweet and affectionate kitty and joins Mr. Kitty and Dokie as our outdoor/mudroom kitties.

This was our first year to try putting stuff in the stockings. We are working on solidifying our traditions, it is funny how that takes a little more work than I thought in terms of coming together. We let the kids open the stockings (wonderful creations made by Pat's mom, Edie, and Pat) and eat some candy while we waited for Mom to come over at a bleary-eyed 7am. Jude was told not to eat the whole chocolate bar, but you can see how successful that request was:

Christmas day was lovely. Relaxing, because we didn't do much except hang out as a family and visit my sister (Gavin and I) Christmas evening. Gavin loved his Christmas gifts, and it pleases me so much to hear his gratefulness. He said, "I just love my skates, mom." Jude enjoyed his new drum (thanks, Mike, for buying something you can't hear, ha) almost as much as he enjoyed the packing materials that came with my digital picture frame.

Hope your day was great like ours!

Typhoid Mary blues...

I decided to start the post with this picture because Gavin took it. He is quite the photographer, I must say. Gives me an idea of his perspective on things.

Well, after my last post declaring that we were over being sick, I was faced with the reality that we weren't over it and we were infecting everyone we came in contact with. My mom came down with the bug, and so did Pat and her whole family.


We have hunkered down and are beating this thing! I will go out to work tomorrow but we really have tried to minimize any contact until we are sure we aren't spreading our joyful germs...it's especially odd because I didn't feel sick when I went and saw my mom. I opted out of a cookie party in order not to pass out poision treats :)

Toby slept till 6 a.m. one recent morning, giving me hope of uninterrupted rest. Sadly, that was the only night, but I am trying to get him to bless me with that again. Meanwhile, Mike went to the attic last night and got out the "baby standers" so Toby could stand up and play with the toys. He loves it! Seems a little early at three months, but I won't take it away since he likes it so much.



Gavin and Jude pretend that they are cars and want to drive Toby around. If I'm not careful, they'll love him too hard...ouch. More risk of this with Jude than Gavin.


I am in the throes of Christmas cards. Because of all the sickness, I got a late start this year, but figure friends will forgive me and just be happy for the chance to reconnect. (right?? *sheepish grin*)

Mike has a clever way of keeping track of the kids while cooking....

Jude is a pensive guy...

There are few things in life as sweet as a baby passed out on you.

Batman goes for a drive in his modified Batmobile...

Offical Membership Application to the Blogsphere

With thanks to the Coates family, I have decided that I could likely handle a blog. This seems like a wonderful way to allow Mike's family in Tennessee access to our life, as well as our friends across the country. Certainly I am one of the last to jump on the train, but haven't missed the ride yet!

Our family is recovering from a bout with the flu. For those of you who don't have small children or have forgotten the joy of a gastrointestinally-challenged youngster, DO NOT try to imagine and please, don't try this at home! Days blend into a 7UP haze...

Because of how long we have been sick, we ended up putting off the Christmas card picture until a few days ago. However, with the beauty of digital photography, our cards will be ready in about two days, delivered directly to the Wal-Mart of my choice. I am posting some of the pictures that didn't make the final cut for your enjoyment.

My sweet friend, Jill, was kind enough to come to the house to take pictures. I simply don't know how we would have made it otherwise. Gavin and Toby are generally "picture friendly" (well, not in the adjacent photo) but Jude takes one look, laughs and either runs away or screams while we try in vain to keep him in the photo.

Jude has been a delight of late--truly, he is most of the time. His current fixation and toy is a tea towel. Mike tucks it into the back of his shirt (or pajamas) and Jude runs around like a superhero. He asks for it by coming up to one of us and asking for "My batman." This is Jude code for "put that thing on me NNNOOOWWW."

Gavin is enjoying his pre-school immensely. He is "the" kid in class...you know, you look at a class full of children and say, "there is always ONE." He is the one...and we love him for it. God has given him such a strong will, personality and drive that I cannot wait to see what he will become. However, in the meantime it is slightly disconcerting while entertaining.

Point in fact, his preschool had a Christmas program. Gavin came home one day and announced that he did not want to be a cow, his assigned part. Both Mike and I explained the importance of doing a good job and accepting the role you are given, etc. (Or as Gavin hears/sees: Blah blah blah) He wanted to be an angel.

At the program, he decided to take off his cow costume. On STAGE! Blessedly, he did have clothes on underneath. I doubt anyone could overlook the cow in a state of undress, sigh. He then proceeded to attempt "flips" on stage and fell down, making the whole audience laugh. If you want Gavin to do something he doesn't want to do, you either provide 100% supervision or be willing to let it go. Don't get me wrong, we talked about how wrong it was, and he regretted it and was punished, but there are some things I can't prevent and I frankly can do nothing but laugh about.

Well, if you like this, then please subscribe to the blog and make comments. Would love to see if it is something people enjoy as well as have the utility of a record of our lives.