{the meaning behind your blog name}
"A Walk in Our Shoes"....
I think it's a little self-explanatory, but by reading our blog, you're taking a a walk in our shoes...looking at things through our eyes...seeing where we're going...etc I personally think it sounds like a very cheesy blog name but have not come up with anything that is any less cheesy so cheesy we will remain.
On another note
Happy Canada Day! Dallas got out our big Canadian flag last night and his plan is to hang it from our upstairs balcony today. Other than that though...being here in Mexico, we have no fireworks to go so the flag will pretty well be the extent of our partying over here. Dallas is out running in a 5k race this morning so the boys and I are relaxing and will soon be getting ready for church.
Brady slept in the boy's room for the first time last night and it was a little bit of work convincing him to NOT play with the toys or bug the other guys. He's slept in the same room with them quite often but then it was always in his playpen and he didn't have much option but to just go to sleep. Now though...his bed gives him plenty of options as far as things to do other than sleep. He was up a little earlier than his usual time this morning so is being pretty cuddly and tired this morning. Now that Carter is done school we thought it'd be nice for them all 3 to be in the same room together but we'll see how it goes :-) when our visitors are here this summer though they'll have to do it so it'll be permanent for the summer and even if they're up earlier it'll be fun in there for them!
Well Brady is complaining about his diaper and saying "ow!" so that's my cue to go change it :-)
Showing posts with label Locker Room. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Locker Room. Show all posts
Sunday, July 1, 2012
Thursday, May 31, 2012
no more babies! augh
Brady is just about 1 year and 10 months old...he'll be 2 in August. He's been in his playpen till now for sleeping, with no plans on our part of move him out of it.
Carter and Logan were already into single beds at about 18 mths old...1 year and 6 mths...but they both had beds with railings, where as we don't have one for Brady.
But well...his playpen was quite disgustingly dirty already, especially all around the top where he puts his hands and chews on it when he's waiting for us to get him out of bed. So this morning I was scrubbing his stroller, a chair, and decided to also do the playpen. And then I thought, why am I giving it a good scrubbing now when he'll use it for another couple of months or who knows how long, only to scrub it again....
So we decided to just take him out of the playpen and move him to a bed.
And then the thought crossed my mind that this could mean we'll never use a playpen or crib again for our kids.....and our babies are gone...sniff sniff...and I mentioned it to Dallas, do we really want to?? and he just rolled his eyes at me.....and I decided, well I just won't think about it and just put him into a bed :-) good way of dealing with it eh!? It doesn't make him any younger keeping him in a crib anyways.
So, we took the extra single mattress we bought a bit ago and wedged it in his room {the guest room} between the wall and the guest bed. This boy is a mooooooooover and we really couldn't imagine him not falling out of a bed less than 20 times in one night. He does think it's a big joke though to climb onto the guest bed so we'll see where he actually ends up sleeping...
He screamed for a couple of minutes when we put him to bed this evening but after that has been quiet...so once it's been quiet for a good hour I'll go check where he actually is!
Carter and Logan were already into single beds at about 18 mths old...1 year and 6 mths...but they both had beds with railings, where as we don't have one for Brady.
But well...his playpen was quite disgustingly dirty already, especially all around the top where he puts his hands and chews on it when he's waiting for us to get him out of bed. So this morning I was scrubbing his stroller, a chair, and decided to also do the playpen. And then I thought, why am I giving it a good scrubbing now when he'll use it for another couple of months or who knows how long, only to scrub it again....
So we decided to just take him out of the playpen and move him to a bed.
And then the thought crossed my mind that this could mean we'll never use a playpen or crib again for our kids.....and our babies are gone...sniff sniff...and I mentioned it to Dallas, do we really want to?? and he just rolled his eyes at me.....and I decided, well I just won't think about it and just put him into a bed :-) good way of dealing with it eh!? It doesn't make him any younger keeping him in a crib anyways.
So, we took the extra single mattress we bought a bit ago and wedged it in his room {the guest room} between the wall and the guest bed. This boy is a mooooooooover and we really couldn't imagine him not falling out of a bed less than 20 times in one night. He does think it's a big joke though to climb onto the guest bed so we'll see where he actually ends up sleeping...
He screamed for a couple of minutes when we put him to bed this evening but after that has been quiet...so once it's been quiet for a good hour I'll go check where he actually is!
Tuesday, May 22, 2012
Using the Clock
Getting 3 little boys - ages 5, 3, and 1 - to get things done faster than they want to get them done....is not an easy task!!
We have Saturdays as the day where the boys do a thourough cleaning of their bedroom - cleaning up toys, organizing, dusting, sweeping, mopping, etc. {although I do the sweeping and mopping} and it seriously can take a couple of hours!!
They stop to play with a toy they're cleaning up. Or stop to try on a shoe they're cleaning up. Or just...whatever. It just seems like I am always saying...ok, boys, back to cleaning up...let's finish this up....
I know they're still young, but they do like having some chores, it just takes them time! And we want them to learn to help out.
So
enter this website I was reading the other day.
The suggestion I liked was the timer one. You tell the kids they have so and so much time to get the room cleaned up. Any toys that are left on the floor after the time has passed....get put into a box and they can't play with them for a whole week. That's my revision of the suggestion, anyways.
So I've been trying this, and it really works for our guys! I gave them 15 minutes to pick up and put away all of the toys that were on the floor. Seriously, in 10 minutes they were done. And had FUN doing it. They kept asking, how much time is left, mom?? As they scurried about the room. So I didn't get to {ahem...I mean have to} take any toys away yet but I'm sure a day will come...
Then this morning I was thinking, hmmm....Carter eating breakfast in the morning is the same way. He takes 15 minutes or more to eat 1 piece of toast. And it's just because he's so busy talking and talking and talking. He seriously does not stop talking from the time he gets out of bed until we put him into the van to go to school. Which is fine...but it makes everything take longer since he's focused on the story he's telling.
And we're telling him to hurry all morning, b/c he has to leave by a certain time, and after he eats he needs to brush his teeth yet...so today I told him that if he was not done eating by 7:40, I would take his food away. I figured if he went hungry one day it was ok and then Dallas and I don't need to be on him all morning to hurry. And that gives him 5 minutes to brush his teeth and get out the door. He did finish on time today though.
I'm not trying to turn my kids into clock-watchers and "have to be on time for everything" people...but also do want to teach them to focus on what they are doing! It makes cleaning up with them and everything, less frustrating for me also, and more fun.
We have Saturdays as the day where the boys do a thourough cleaning of their bedroom - cleaning up toys, organizing, dusting, sweeping, mopping, etc. {although I do the sweeping and mopping} and it seriously can take a couple of hours!!
They stop to play with a toy they're cleaning up. Or stop to try on a shoe they're cleaning up. Or just...whatever. It just seems like I am always saying...ok, boys, back to cleaning up...let's finish this up....
I know they're still young, but they do like having some chores, it just takes them time! And we want them to learn to help out.
Soenter this website I was reading the other day.
The suggestion I liked was the timer one. You tell the kids they have so and so much time to get the room cleaned up. Any toys that are left on the floor after the time has passed....get put into a box and they can't play with them for a whole week. That's my revision of the suggestion, anyways.
So I've been trying this, and it really works for our guys! I gave them 15 minutes to pick up and put away all of the toys that were on the floor. Seriously, in 10 minutes they were done. And had FUN doing it. They kept asking, how much time is left, mom?? As they scurried about the room. So I didn't get to {ahem...I mean have to} take any toys away yet but I'm sure a day will come...
Then this morning I was thinking, hmmm....Carter eating breakfast in the morning is the same way. He takes 15 minutes or more to eat 1 piece of toast. And it's just because he's so busy talking and talking and talking. He seriously does not stop talking from the time he gets out of bed until we put him into the van to go to school. Which is fine...but it makes everything take longer since he's focused on the story he's telling.
And we're telling him to hurry all morning, b/c he has to leave by a certain time, and after he eats he needs to brush his teeth yet...so today I told him that if he was not done eating by 7:40, I would take his food away. I figured if he went hungry one day it was ok and then Dallas and I don't need to be on him all morning to hurry. And that gives him 5 minutes to brush his teeth and get out the door. He did finish on time today though.
I'm not trying to turn my kids into clock-watchers and "have to be on time for everything" people...but also do want to teach them to focus on what they are doing! It makes cleaning up with them and everything, less frustrating for me also, and more fun.
Tuesday, March 6, 2012
their own blankets
None of our boys have ever had a bed sized blanket when they sleep...they just don't keep them on.
They do each have their certain favorite blanket though
Carter now has one that he got a year ago from his Grandma W, to replace the one he got when he was 1 which we lost on an airport bus last year
Logan has a blanket that he's been using since he was born...one that Dallas and I picked out the material for and my Grandma H sewed for us. It was meant to be used for Carter but he had sooo many blankets being the first baby and all :-)
and Brady has a green one that we also had made back when Carter was a baby. But now is especially Brady's little blanket.
Carter and Logan also always have to have on their beds the blankets that their Grandma Z made for them, plus a gazilion stuffed animals. well Carter has 4 of them and Logan about 10 and every night he makes sure they're all there.
Brady is still fighting over the rights to his favorite stuffed puppy.
anyhoo.
The other day we went and got the boys some bigger bed sized blankets, for them but also b/c it's nice to have extra blankets around when we have company since we really didn't have much extra.
Our options were limited, since the requested Spiderman blankets here are expensive and really thick and these blankets (above) that we found were not super thick...which is perfect for here b/c it's not very cold that often!
For almost every nap Logan takes, he sleeps in our "big" bed and he looooves cuddling up under our blanket. So he really is loving his new big blanket and so is Carter.
Thursday, February 2, 2012
Bedtime
We do have a bedtime routine when we put the boys to bed, and it all depends on how rushed the getting to bed part is as to how long the bedtime routine goes...
If we get in late, the boys usually get some pj's thrown on, go pee, and go straight to bed. Often if we're driving home after it's dark Carter will ask "or we going straight, or do we get a book?"
Straight meaning, straight to bed.
But a usual night is
Put pj's on
Go pee
They each book a book to read
They each pick a song or two or more
They each pray
Dallas and I each pray
Kisses all around
say "good night, love you" all around
We dare not miss the last 2 steps no matter how rushed, as otherwise they'll be yelling from their rooms until we come back "You didn't say good night, love you!!!" "I need a kiss!!"
Tonight at bedtime Carter helped read the Mercer Mayer book he picked - All by Myself. And wow, he could read over half of the book! Some words we had to help him with but he can practically read it. yikes.
Brady most often misses this bedtime routine, we usually change him into pj's, give him a smooch, and lay him in bed beforehand.
If we get in late, the boys usually get some pj's thrown on, go pee, and go straight to bed. Often if we're driving home after it's dark Carter will ask "or we going straight, or do we get a book?"
Straight meaning, straight to bed.
But a usual night is
Put pj's on
Go pee
They each book a book to read
They each pick a song or two or more
They each pray
Dallas and I each pray
Kisses all around
say "good night, love you" all around
We dare not miss the last 2 steps no matter how rushed, as otherwise they'll be yelling from their rooms until we come back "You didn't say good night, love you!!!" "I need a kiss!!"
Tonight at bedtime Carter helped read the Mercer Mayer book he picked - All by Myself. And wow, he could read over half of the book! Some words we had to help him with but he can practically read it. yikes.
Brady most often misses this bedtime routine, we usually change him into pj's, give him a smooch, and lay him in bed beforehand.
Monday, January 2, 2012
right now...
...I am sitting at our kitchen island/table typing on the laptop.
The house is QUIET...ahh the sweet sound of quiet.
The boys are all in bed...maybe sleeping, 1 probably not...but at least they're having a break. Which means I get a little break, too.
Dallas is still out since 7:30 this morning...it's now 3 pm. Another church here in the city asked us to help them out with a Kids Games event they were putting on today, so Dallas and Omar went there for 8 this morning to help set up, then the boys and I, and LeRoy and Faith and their kids went for 10 am. It was sunny and windy and they planned it so well! They had a ton of kids out from their area of the city with tons of helpers, including a group from Canada, so some of us were doing some translating back and forth for them.
The boys and I came home around 2 and Dallas is still out, which is why it's still QUIET. Not b/c Dallas is still out but b/c the boys are in bed...you get the point.
Coffee is brewing and just the sound of the water running through the grinds makes me feel warm and cozy. Even though it's not cold in here.
Right now I'm remembering that exactly 3 years ago today, at this exact time, 3 pm, Dallas and I arrived at the hospital in Steinbach, MB ready to give birth to Logan! It was my first {and last} natural birth and I was 8 cm dilated when we got there...now THAT was the best news I'd heard that day. Up until that point. It only took a bit longer and at 4:54 pm Logan was born {but that was after about 2 days of conctractions...}!
This morning Logan started off his birthday by puking on his bedroom floor. Which was ok b/c he doesn't realize that today is his birthday...since we already celebrated it on Saturday and it's just too confusing explaining to a 3 yr old why he had a birthday party 3 weeks ago and another one 2 days ago and that oh, in fact, today is actually your birthday.
Right now I feel like I should be sweeping the dirty floor and picking up clothes that are on the floor. But after standing for 4 hrs out in the sun playing with kids I just want to drink some coffee and relax.
Beside me I see...my purse thrown on the table with a couple of the boy's shirts falling out of it.
A dish rag. And a rack full of clean dishes. Better than a sink full of dirty dishes.
ok I don't know where I'm going with this post :-) sometimes it's just nice to "talk to someone" so you are that lovely "someone". Thanks for the chat!
The house is QUIET...ahh the sweet sound of quiet.
The boys are all in bed...maybe sleeping, 1 probably not...but at least they're having a break. Which means I get a little break, too.
Dallas is still out since 7:30 this morning...it's now 3 pm. Another church here in the city asked us to help them out with a Kids Games event they were putting on today, so Dallas and Omar went there for 8 this morning to help set up, then the boys and I, and LeRoy and Faith and their kids went for 10 am. It was sunny and windy and they planned it so well! They had a ton of kids out from their area of the city with tons of helpers, including a group from Canada, so some of us were doing some translating back and forth for them.
The boys and I came home around 2 and Dallas is still out, which is why it's still QUIET. Not b/c Dallas is still out but b/c the boys are in bed...you get the point.
Coffee is brewing and just the sound of the water running through the grinds makes me feel warm and cozy. Even though it's not cold in here.
Right now I'm remembering that exactly 3 years ago today, at this exact time, 3 pm, Dallas and I arrived at the hospital in Steinbach, MB ready to give birth to Logan! It was my first {and last} natural birth and I was 8 cm dilated when we got there...now THAT was the best news I'd heard that day. Up until that point. It only took a bit longer and at 4:54 pm Logan was born {but that was after about 2 days of conctractions...}!
This morning Logan started off his birthday by puking on his bedroom floor. Which was ok b/c he doesn't realize that today is his birthday...since we already celebrated it on Saturday and it's just too confusing explaining to a 3 yr old why he had a birthday party 3 weeks ago and another one 2 days ago and that oh, in fact, today is actually your birthday.
Right now I feel like I should be sweeping the dirty floor and picking up clothes that are on the floor. But after standing for 4 hrs out in the sun playing with kids I just want to drink some coffee and relax.
Beside me I see...my purse thrown on the table with a couple of the boy's shirts falling out of it.
A dish rag. And a rack full of clean dishes. Better than a sink full of dirty dishes.
ok I don't know where I'm going with this post :-) sometimes it's just nice to "talk to someone" so you are that lovely "someone". Thanks for the chat!
Thursday, November 24, 2011
Today's Numbers
1 lunch made for school
4 games of memory played with Logan
2 kindergarten kids taken to school (Carter and Brooklyn - carpooling is wonderful!)
1 diaper changed
11 days until my dad gets here
13 days until my mom gets here
5 upcoming days in Puerto Vallarta thought about
1 phone call to immigration made
10 pages of Church Planting homework worked on
20 dishes washed
1 month's rent paid
20 potatoes ready to cook for today's Thanksgiving meal
1 time of sit down devotions and prayer finished
1 Pepsi drunk
2 cd's played
2 little boys in bed for naps
2 presents wrapped to put under the tree
1 permanent marker drawn with on the table
3 walls freed of dirty hand prints
1 Canadian family of 5 getting ready to go out and celebrate American Thanksgiving with fellow Canadian and American missionaries/students/etc!
{Happy Thanksgiving, our American friends!}
4 games of memory played with Logan
2 kindergarten kids taken to school (Carter and Brooklyn - carpooling is wonderful!)
1 diaper changed
11 days until my dad gets here
13 days until my mom gets here
5 upcoming days in Puerto Vallarta thought about
1 phone call to immigration made
10 pages of Church Planting homework worked on
20 dishes washed
1 month's rent paid
20 potatoes ready to cook for today's Thanksgiving meal
1 time of sit down devotions and prayer finished
1 Pepsi drunk
2 cd's played
2 little boys in bed for naps
2 presents wrapped to put under the tree
1 permanent marker drawn with on the table
3 walls freed of dirty hand prints
1 Canadian family of 5 getting ready to go out and celebrate American Thanksgiving with fellow Canadian and American missionaries/students/etc!
{Happy Thanksgiving, our American friends!}
Monday, October 17, 2011
some little boys
I don't know what to write without doubling up our team posts.
So I thought a little update on our boys would be good! My camera situation seems to be improving...did I mention that on here?? I accidently dropped it in the creek a few days ago and it has been caput since then. I had it drowned in rice till today and now the water is cleared out of the screen!! So I have high hopes of it working....it goes on but then the lens goes back in right aways and it says "lens error" so not sure what that's all about yet. It sounds like it might be gritty as the len tries to come out. But anyways, these are some of the last pics that I got out of that camera :-) {and yes, my memory card was intact!}
Brady is a real climber. At the creek he was trying to climb all of the rocks no matter how big they were. He loves climbing stairs, climbing up slides, and climbing into portable high chairs that happen to be on the floor.
He got a few molars in the last few weeks, he has 10 teeth now.
He's not walking :-)
He loves eating rocks and sticks.
His favorite sounds to make right now are "agua" meaning water although he says that for anything, and something resembling "halelujah" although we know he's just babbling...
He is not shy at all which is awesome so that anyone on our team can play with him and help us out!
Logan...hmm...the thing that comes to mind when I think of Logan right now is attitude. That child is stubborn. No doubt about it. When he gets disciplined and has to say sorry, you can just tell he has to WORK at getting that sorry out. He really fights it. But he always does :-) b/c we make him. ha.
Otherwise though, other than this stage of attitude, he is one fun, mischevious kid!! I love his fun loving self and the way he bugs and laughs.
He's into cars and trains, riding bike, learning to kick a soccer ball, and reading books. He also is starting to sing and it's really cute! You'll randomly hearing him singing along to a cd in his little boy high pitched voice.
Carter has these 2 weeks off of school during the Pan Am Games and is super excited to play with his friends every single day while the team is here. He loves interacting with adults and loves playing "family" with the other kids here. He is always the dad and Brooklyn is always the mom. The others are always the "babies".
Carter is reading sentences in English, learning to add/subtract, talking a lot about patterns of objects and rhyming words. He likes to figure out what letter names start with and what they sound like.
He is getting good at soccer {thanks to Dallas} and likes singing.
So I thought a little update on our boys would be good! My camera situation seems to be improving...did I mention that on here?? I accidently dropped it in the creek a few days ago and it has been caput since then. I had it drowned in rice till today and now the water is cleared out of the screen!! So I have high hopes of it working....it goes on but then the lens goes back in right aways and it says "lens error" so not sure what that's all about yet. It sounds like it might be gritty as the len tries to come out. But anyways, these are some of the last pics that I got out of that camera :-) {and yes, my memory card was intact!}
He got a few molars in the last few weeks, he has 10 teeth now.
He's not walking :-)
He loves eating rocks and sticks.
His favorite sounds to make right now are "agua" meaning water although he says that for anything, and something resembling "halelujah" although we know he's just babbling...
He is not shy at all which is awesome so that anyone on our team can play with him and help us out!
Otherwise though, other than this stage of attitude, he is one fun, mischevious kid!! I love his fun loving self and the way he bugs and laughs.
He's into cars and trains, riding bike, learning to kick a soccer ball, and reading books. He also is starting to sing and it's really cute! You'll randomly hearing him singing along to a cd in his little boy high pitched voice.
Carter is reading sentences in English, learning to add/subtract, talking a lot about patterns of objects and rhyming words. He likes to figure out what letter names start with and what they sound like.
He is getting good at soccer {thanks to Dallas} and likes singing.
Friday, September 30, 2011
Answers...
All right...here's the answers to yesterday's post! Who does the following things...
Gets up to pee almost every morning at 6:30 am and then attempts to put his pants on himself resulting in no gitch and inside out pj pants.
LOGAN
Says "you're kidding me".
CARTER {which he got from the "What's in the Bible" dvd series}
Likes to grab my leg and cuddle up against it.
BRADY {and sucks his fingers as he does but I couldn't add that giveaway!}
Puts his hand on me if I sit beside him in the van and gives me this smile that says he knows he's bothering me. Since I like my space...
CARTER
Goes to the window as fast as he can in the morning to watch the garbage truck pick up our garbage.
LOGAN
Complains as soon as he gets up if a drink is not ready for him NOW.
BRADY {and that "drink" would be his bottle of milk...}
Plays with random shoes.
BRADY
Randomly goes to the boys closet and pulls out clothes and wants to change often throughout the day. Doesn't matter whose clothes they actually are.
LOGAN
Sleeps with a certain favorite blanket.
CARTER, LOGAN, AND BRADY
Hugs you tight around the neck and smiles demurely at you if you start to scold him.
LOGAN
Takes off his clothes as soon as any drop of water spills onto them.
LOGAN {he loves to get dirty but doesn't like wearing wet clothes}
Is fascinated by certain new muscles he has discovered.
CARTER
Gets a kick out of peeing by a tree.
CARTER
Sticks his finger in his mouth to wet it and then touches your skin with it while laughing.
BRADY
Thursday, September 29, 2011
Silly things that boys do
Guess who does each of these things....and I'll tell you the answers tomorrow :-)
Gets up to pee almost every morning at 6:30 am and then attempts to put his pants on himself resulting in no gitch and inside out pj pants.
Says "you're kidding me".
Likes to grab my leg and cuddle up against it.
Puts his hand on me if I sit beside him in the van and gives me this smile that says he knows he's bothering me. Since I like my space...
Goes to the window as fast as he can in the morning to watch the garbage truck pick up our garbage.
Complains as soon as he gets up if a drink is not ready for him NOW.
Plays with random shoes.
Randomly goes to the boys closet and pulls out clothes and wants to change often throughout the day. Doesn't matter whose clothes they actually are.
Sleeps with a certain favorite blanket.
Hugs you tight around the neck and smiles demurely at you if you start to scold him.
Takes off his clothes as soon as any drop of water spills onto them.
Is fascinated by certain new muscles he has discovered.
Gets a kick out of peeing by a tree.
Sticks his finger in his mouth to wet it and then touches your skin with it while laughing.
ok that's probably enough :-) Guess away!
{and I know most of you readers are NOT commenters...but comment away! Come on out of the closet.....}
Wednesday, August 31, 2011
loss
I seem to have lost my blog ideas lately...I have no idea what to blog about and it feels a little like I'm writing without really feeling like writing. Even though I wish I had a brain wave of what to write about b/c I do really like writing.
I could write about my reflective mood yesterday and today...yesterday early evening I was feeling kinda down, wishing to be with family even just for a coffee. I don't feel this way very often, wanting to see them of course, I would love to see them all the time but not where it has gotten me feeling that way. And then several things in a row happened to bring me joy and show me that God was here and that that's enough.
Carter saw me sad and gave me several hugs throughout the evening.
Logan saw me sad and brought me his toy cars {which is what he does if he sees Brady sad}
Dallas came home from his Workshop with flowers for me.
Dallas had had a good day and shared the excitment with me.
When we put the boys to bed, Carter asked if we could sing "Santo" {Holy - Agnus Dei}. He learned it at school last year and loves it. Dallas and I didn't know all the words so we brought our laptop up to the bed and listened to it on youtube as Carter sang very sweetly along. {and Logan tried but characteristically sang in his funny deep growly voice while laughing}
A friend from Steinbach that I hadn't talked to in a really long time had a good chat with me.
I am so thankful for God's presence in my life...the hope and peace that He brings cannot be compared with anything else. I am often amazed at the feeling of being able to rest in God's presence even when things may not be going great outwardly. And that comes from a relationship with Him! Not just a "yeah I know who He is" but a "yes I know Him" kind of relationship!
What kind do you have??
I could write about my reflective mood yesterday and today...yesterday early evening I was feeling kinda down, wishing to be with family even just for a coffee. I don't feel this way very often, wanting to see them of course, I would love to see them all the time but not where it has gotten me feeling that way. And then several things in a row happened to bring me joy and show me that God was here and that that's enough.
Carter saw me sad and gave me several hugs throughout the evening.
Logan saw me sad and brought me his toy cars {which is what he does if he sees Brady sad}
Dallas came home from his Workshop with flowers for me.
Dallas had had a good day and shared the excitment with me.
When we put the boys to bed, Carter asked if we could sing "Santo" {Holy - Agnus Dei}. He learned it at school last year and loves it. Dallas and I didn't know all the words so we brought our laptop up to the bed and listened to it on youtube as Carter sang very sweetly along. {and Logan tried but characteristically sang in his funny deep growly voice while laughing}
A friend from Steinbach that I hadn't talked to in a really long time had a good chat with me.
I am so thankful for God's presence in my life...the hope and peace that He brings cannot be compared with anything else. I am often amazed at the feeling of being able to rest in God's presence even when things may not be going great outwardly. And that comes from a relationship with Him! Not just a "yeah I know who He is" but a "yes I know Him" kind of relationship!
What kind do you have??
Monday, August 15, 2011
1st day at the "hat" school
When we picked Carter up from school this afternoon he was going on and on, telling me about his day, and then he says "but I couldn't find the hat!".
The school's called "Lincoln School"...after Abraham Lincoln and the picture on the website is of him in his tall hat so I guess Carter was thinking he'd see that.
but anyways, Carter was happy to go to school this morning, Dallas dropped him off, they got there a few minutes late b/c one road was closed on the way so when they got there the class was already lined up and singing. Carter had to get in line right aways so Dallas just left...he said Carter was quiet but Carter seems to have had a great day and he says he likes the school. He was much more relaxed this morning before going than he was starting his 1st day last year {1st day of school ever} and he stayed no problem when he was dropped off.
I got the boys to pose in Carter's uniforms, Logan of course wanted to wear it too. We have 2 sets of each shirt. This white shirt he'll wear with any jeans on Tuesdays and Wednesdays.
This blue shirt and blue sweats he wears Mondays, Thursdays, and Fridays.
'
And a sweater for when it gets cold {which it will after about October}.
He has school this year from 8:15-1:30. It takes 15-20 min to get there so we leave the house about 7:50 which means he has to get up about 7:15. I think it's harder on me than on him!! the early mornings I mean...since I'm not the most morning person there is.
This year is "regular" kindergarten for him...I think I mentioned last year that Mexico has 3 years of kindergarten, from ages 3-5. He's turning 5 this year and so he's now in the 3rd year of kindergarten, although we never put him in the 1st year since that is more optional.
The school's called "Lincoln School"...after Abraham Lincoln and the picture on the website is of him in his tall hat so I guess Carter was thinking he'd see that.
but anyways, Carter was happy to go to school this morning, Dallas dropped him off, they got there a few minutes late b/c one road was closed on the way so when they got there the class was already lined up and singing. Carter had to get in line right aways so Dallas just left...he said Carter was quiet but Carter seems to have had a great day and he says he likes the school. He was much more relaxed this morning before going than he was starting his 1st day last year {1st day of school ever} and he stayed no problem when he was dropped off.
I got the boys to pose in Carter's uniforms, Logan of course wanted to wear it too. We have 2 sets of each shirt. This white shirt he'll wear with any jeans on Tuesdays and Wednesdays.
This blue shirt and blue sweats he wears Mondays, Thursdays, and Fridays.
And a sweater for when it gets cold {which it will after about October}.
He has school this year from 8:15-1:30. It takes 15-20 min to get there so we leave the house about 7:50 which means he has to get up about 7:15. I think it's harder on me than on him!! the early mornings I mean...since I'm not the most morning person there is.
This year is "regular" kindergarten for him...I think I mentioned last year that Mexico has 3 years of kindergarten, from ages 3-5. He's turning 5 this year and so he's now in the 3rd year of kindergarten, although we never put him in the 1st year since that is more optional.
Saturday, July 16, 2011
Today in Sentences
"Today in Sentences"...is what I write when I want to write on the blog, but am too tired to think of one topic, and various things happened today...
I woke up with a headache and general tiredness, treated that with some tylenol, and got to work on packing.
The house has become a mess of boxes that we are somewhat trying to keep organized. Today I took an empty box and randomly picked up items that were lying around and threw them in...so now basically everything that's not going in the van with us is packed up :-)
All 3 boys are sleeping together in the boy's room now.
And their beds are all in the middle of the room to prevent them from rubbing their feet all over the walls that I just washed today. Man, those boys left a good line of dirt on the walls by their beds!!
Lunch today was at a restaurant with some friends.
And supper today was at another friend's house to celebrate their daughter's 1st birthday.
And unfortunately we had to leave earlier than we would have b/c Carter's ear infection {yup...another one that we discovered this last week!!} was flaring up and bothering him quite a bit.
He's just on his way up to bed now after having let some meds kick in.
The moving company called today and we may be moving on Wednesday instead of Tuesday...but we will find that out Monday morning. So for now we'll pack as though it were going to be Tuesday...
We are looking forward to the 12 hr drive down to Guadalajara just so we can relax and not be running around for a couple of days!
I may change my mind about how much I was looking forward to it once we're 2 hrs into the trip :-)
I think I'm getting melancholy...or sad...or reflective...about leaving Delicias. We truely will miss the friends that we've made here. We are also so thankful that we were sent to Delicias...for the people we've met here but also the church planting experience we've gained. We've learned a lot through this experience, some very helpful things...culture things, church planting things...and the people here have shown us so much grace!! Especially when it comes to cultural learning :-)
And at the same time I look forward to what's to come in Guadalajara. Right now most of it is unknown...we will need to meet a lot of new people...and it's hard sometimes to put my brain into that but I completly trust that when we arrive there God will "put our brains" into the work there! We're excited for what's to come!
Also we're amazed at the peace God has given us. We have not been stressed as we've packed...gotten things ready to move...it has been really wonderful that way.
This has turned into something other than what all happened today :-) so call it "today in sentences and Tara's thoughts in sentences".
Tommorow is our last church service that we'll attend in Orranteño...and will say good-bye to the people there.
Thursday, July 14, 2011
Brady - 11 mths
Brady Noah is 11 mths old today!
Not a whole lot has changed since he was 10 mths but here's some stats for him:
Weight - just over 8 kg {about 17.5-18 lbs} since I'm not completely sure but that's what he was last week when we weighed him. He's still petite, the clothes that fit him the best right now are size 6-9 mths. But I have to say that when Carter was his age, I was already putting 18 mth clothes on him :-) for one b/c he was a little bigger, but also b/c I must have liked baggier clothes back then as you can tell by the pics of him where the clothes are huge!
Height - ??
What he likes to do -- pull himself up on furniture
- pull himself up in his playpen
- refuse to take his 2nd nap, although we're still hoping it sticks around for a while longer
- say "uuuu-ah" over and over and over
- eat and have a bottle
- climb stairs
- play with toys
- be wherever Carter and Logan are
- throw toys into the mop pail {full of water since I guess we don't dump it all the time when we're finished with it...}
How the 3 boys interact -
Carter and Logan both like to take care of Brady - bring me diapers for him, help him get down the ledge into our living room by holding him under his arms, Carter sometimes feeds him, they give him water from his sippy cup, shut the bathroom door so he doesn't crawl into there...
The older boys usually don't mind that Brady's with them, now anyways. At first they didn't like that Brady was playing with "their" toys. Logan also especially loves to make Brady laugh! He'll call him, make faces at him...especially in the van since Brady faces to the back and Logan is in the back seat where they can see each other.
The 3 boys don't share a room yet, although they have several times when we've gone away. This weekend they will be too...since we're moving on Tuesday and if we put them all in the same room we can at least pack up Brady's curtains, fan {noise maker :-) }, clean his room....etc.
Saturday, July 9, 2011
The use of the word "no"
A look into a 5 minute conversation in our household:
Carter: mom, could I have a snack? mom?
Me: no
Carter: why
Me: because...
Carter: I just ate? but why does that say "no" (pointing to the word "no" I had typed...)
Me: because it says "n" "o"
Carter: "n", "o" -no- whoa! I'm starting to fall
Logan: carter, look
Carter: what?
Logan: noooooo! (as he runs away from Carter bugging him)
Carter: I'm hungry mom
Me: then you can have a banana
Carter: no
Me: Carter, where are we going today?
Carter: um, we're going to a movie theatre!
Me: but who are seeing before that?
Carter: um, I don't know, mr. John and mrs. Lorna? why are there 2 Johns, mom?
Me: because both of their moms called them John
Carter: that's why God gave them names b/c he wanted them to have names.....ouch! what? but why are we going to watch a movie theatre with you and Logan and Brady and daddy? allll of us going to watch in a movie theatre? mom. y?
Logan: mommy, look
Me: logey are you tired
Logan: noooooo (big sigh of boredom)
Logan: Have that...please??
Carter: No
Time to go entertain these boys.
Carter: mom, could I have a snack? mom?
Me: no
Carter: why
Me: because...
Carter: I just ate? but why does that say "no" (pointing to the word "no" I had typed...)
Me: because it says "n" "o"
Carter: "n", "o" -no- whoa! I'm starting to fall
Logan: carter, look
Carter: what?
Logan: noooooo! (as he runs away from Carter bugging him)
Carter: I'm hungry mom
Me: then you can have a banana
Carter: no
Me: Carter, where are we going today?
Carter: um, we're going to a movie theatre!
Me: but who are seeing before that?
Carter: um, I don't know, mr. John and mrs. Lorna? why are there 2 Johns, mom?
Me: because both of their moms called them John
Carter: that's why God gave them names b/c he wanted them to have names.....ouch! what? but why are we going to watch a movie theatre with you and Logan and Brady and daddy? allll of us going to watch in a movie theatre? mom. y?
Logan: mommy, look
Me: logey are you tired
Logan: noooooo (big sigh of boredom)
Logan: Have that...please??
Carter: No
Time to go entertain these boys.
Thursday, June 30, 2011
today in sentences
2 sleeping boys...this time the older 2...have had so far a 4 nap this afternoon!! It's nice {for a change} but also think that some sickness may be in the horizon as that is usually the case...
Or perhaps they're catching up from a late night last night. Late as in 10 pm :-) so not really late.
I didn't do any packing today. And it made me think I should be doing some.
But instead I worked on VBS preparations. Tracing and cutting out 25 of 60 little handprint nametags. With Carter's little school scissors since I've packed all of our other smaller ones away.
Thus the cramped hand.
I read somewhere that it's motivating to clean your house if you put music on and light some candles. Well, I can understand the music part but when it's already hot in your house looking at a burning candle just makes you feel even sweatier {sweat-i-er...}
Our kiddie pool has holes in it but maybe it'll hold for one more swim tonight with the boy's friends.
Dallas is marinading steak for said friends and their parents :-) mmmm...he's got the perfect combo of ingredients for a steak marinade.
I have bathroom wall art hanging in my dining room to make the walls feel less empty. Until I pack those, too.
Did you know that if you leave a garbage bag full of garbage {mostly food} lying on the ground in your front porch overhang in Delicias MX in the summertime, you will likely have it swarming with cockroaches?? lovely
Pictures likely to be posted soon of Logan sleeping on Dallas' chest on the couch for the past hour...
Time to get some food ready for supper {8 pm ish - regular supper hour in Mexico}.
Baked potatoes...salad...steak...corn tortillas...cake...coming up!
Or perhaps they're catching up from a late night last night. Late as in 10 pm :-) so not really late.
I didn't do any packing today. And it made me think I should be doing some.
But instead I worked on VBS preparations. Tracing and cutting out 25 of 60 little handprint nametags. With Carter's little school scissors since I've packed all of our other smaller ones away.
Thus the cramped hand.
I read somewhere that it's motivating to clean your house if you put music on and light some candles. Well, I can understand the music part but when it's already hot in your house looking at a burning candle just makes you feel even sweatier {sweat-i-er...}
Our kiddie pool has holes in it but maybe it'll hold for one more swim tonight with the boy's friends.
Dallas is marinading steak for said friends and their parents :-) mmmm...he's got the perfect combo of ingredients for a steak marinade.
I have bathroom wall art hanging in my dining room to make the walls feel less empty. Until I pack those, too.
Did you know that if you leave a garbage bag full of garbage {mostly food} lying on the ground in your front porch overhang in Delicias MX in the summertime, you will likely have it swarming with cockroaches?? lovely
Pictures likely to be posted soon of Logan sleeping on Dallas' chest on the couch for the past hour...
Time to get some food ready for supper {8 pm ish - regular supper hour in Mexico}.
Baked potatoes...salad...steak...corn tortillas...cake...coming up!
Monday, September 13, 2010
more sports themed stuff
The other day when we were in Cuauhtémoc sitting at a little place eating ice-cream, Faith and I saw a cool looking store just a little ways away. It was full of handmade wooden things, mostly for kid's rooms, but also picture frames, etc.
So I picked up these 3 wooden ball hangers for the boy's room! They only have 1 small knob for hanging things on, so a jacket in winter or their hat in summer. Carter has dubbed the soccer ball his, the basketball Logan's, and the baseball Brady's {although Brady isn't sharing a room with them just yet}.
Friday, August 20, 2010
Carter's nighttime escapades
For the longest time, Carter has always stayed in his room, in his bed, until we come get him. If he has to pee at night, he calls us and waits for us to come get him. When he wakes up in the morning, he calls us and waits until we come get him.
This last week, though, he's been waking up early and then waking Logan up. His method of doing that is: slapping him on the head, bonking his head onto Logan's head, or saying "DICE ALELUYA!!" at the top of his lungs until the whole house is awake.
So last night before bed we told Carter that when he wakes up in the morning and if Logan is still asleep, he should quietly come out of his room and shut the door again. He said "ok".
In the middle of the night - 2 am - we heard their door shut. Dallas went out to check what was up. The bathroom light was on, the playroom light was on, the kitchen light was on, and the fridge door was cracked open. hmmm...
When we asked Carter about it in the morning, he said he had gone to the bathroom, he read his Thomas book, he got a drink of water, he layed down on the couch and got cozy but it was too cold, and then he went to his bed. He was quite happy that he'd done that all by himself.
Let's go over this again. If it's LIGHT outside...then you should come quietly out of your room...
This last week, though, he's been waking up early and then waking Logan up. His method of doing that is: slapping him on the head, bonking his head onto Logan's head, or saying "DICE ALELUYA!!" at the top of his lungs until the whole house is awake.
So last night before bed we told Carter that when he wakes up in the morning and if Logan is still asleep, he should quietly come out of his room and shut the door again. He said "ok".
In the middle of the night - 2 am - we heard their door shut. Dallas went out to check what was up. The bathroom light was on, the playroom light was on, the kitchen light was on, and the fridge door was cracked open. hmmm...
When we asked Carter about it in the morning, he said he had gone to the bathroom, he read his Thomas book, he got a drink of water, he layed down on the couch and got cozy but it was too cold, and then he went to his bed. He was quite happy that he'd done that all by himself.
Let's go over this again. If it's LIGHT outside...then you should come quietly out of your room...
Wednesday, June 30, 2010
wow....
It's almost 10 am and the boys are still fast asleep....this never happens in our house!! They're up by 8:00 at the very latest these days. Usually Logan wakes up before 7:30 though and then that wakes Carter up, too.
Last night though we were out at a grad party till 11 pm so that would help, although last week we were out till 11:30 pm one night then 10 pm the next night and they were still up early!
~ and Happy Traveling to all our EMC friends in Canada going to the Convention!! {that would mean my dad for one :-) } ~
oh, as we speak, I'm starting to hear Logan waking up...
I was impressed with my ability to understand Logan's communication last night though. After he was in bed we heard him kind of crying and saying "uh-oh! uh-oh!" over and over. I said, I bet he dropped his blanket on the floor and wants it. So sure enough he had. We hear that enough when his food drops ALL over the floor at meal times.
Last night though we were out at a grad party till 11 pm so that would help, although last week we were out till 11:30 pm one night then 10 pm the next night and they were still up early!
~ and Happy Traveling to all our EMC friends in Canada going to the Convention!! {that would mean my dad for one :-) } ~
oh, as we speak, I'm starting to hear Logan waking up...
I was impressed with my ability to understand Logan's communication last night though. After he was in bed we heard him kind of crying and saying "uh-oh! uh-oh!" over and over. I said, I bet he dropped his blanket on the floor and wants it. So sure enough he had. We hear that enough when his food drops ALL over the floor at meal times.
Tuesday, June 15, 2010
new bed for Logan
Yesterday evening before the boys went to bed we got Logan's new bed ready. All we did was seperate the bunkbed so that both beds were on the floor. The reason being that the only bed with railings was the top bunk.
He was totally fine with being put to bed in there last night. But we put the pads on the floor by his bed just in case...
10 minutes later we hear a THUD and crying {imagine the thud of a head on pure tile floor...now that sounds nasty! Here though he landed on the pads which helps a lot}. Carter tells us that Logan was trying to crawl over the railings. It was rather funny though...after he stopped crying we put him back in his bed and he right aways hugged his blanket and lay down. As if to say "I'm not trying that again!!".
So no more playpen for him! That playpen will have 2 months of rest before it's next inhabitant arrives...
Logan looks so little for the bed though!
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