My Sweetpea

I expect to pass through this world but once. Any good thing, therefore, that I can do or any kindness I can show to any fellow human being let me do it now. Let me not defer nor neglect it, for I shall not pass this way again. --Stephen Grellet

I had a couple of people say they really liked this story yesterday when it came up, so I thought I would post it here for the rest of you to hear, too.

First things first...I am "officially" off my crunchers (thats what the boys call my crutches) YIPEE!! Needless to say, we are all very happy and excited that I dont have to use those clunky things anymore, but Josiah seems especially glad that that part of things is over. About 4 days before my doctors appointment when it was time for all of us to say one thing we are thankful for, Josiah's thanks was, "I'm thankful that Mommy wont be on crunchers much longer." And, at least 5 times since I've come home off the crutches he's told me, "Mommy, I'm so proud of you walking without crunchers!" It's so sweet the way he says it and so cool that my three year old would even think to say something like that! What a sweetheart God has given me.

And that's the story!

It is not true that nice guys finish last. Nice guys are winners before the game ever starts. --Addison Walker

Sunday Lessons

This happened last Sunday, but I forgot to post it then. The place is at church. The time is after service when the children are getting picked up by their parents. The main characters are Josiah and Mr. Jake, a long time buddy of Josiah's (he taught his class when Josiah was 2). Among the "goodbyes" and "see you next weeks" Mr. Jake playfully kicked Josiah's behind in a friendly farewell. This is the conversation that followed.

Josiah: Mr. Jake! We don't kick people!
Mr. Jake: (laughing) Oh really? Well, what do we do to them?
Josiah: (with complete seriousness) We RESPECT them!
Mr. Jake: (laughing harder now) Who's teaching you all these lovey dovey words?

it was really funny. Sometimes one of the kids will come up with something like that and it just makes me laugh...ok, I try not to laugh in front of them but it's hard! Like this morning when I playfully hit John and Micah came up to me and said, "Mommy, don't hit things!" Maybe they are listening afterall.

Preschool Texting

Have you seen the commercial of the mom and daughter talking to each other in text abbreviations? They say things like: "IDK, just talking to my BFF" and "I'll tell you what is TISNF" For the last couple of days, I've been living in the preschool version of that. Josiah has decided to abbreviate everything. So I'll get requests like: "Can I have some more catch?" (translation: Can I have some more ketchup?) What about the sprinks? (What about the sprinkles?) "I dropped a goalph" (I dropped a goldfish) Thankfully the circumstances so far have provided a translation for me, but I can see him really latching on to all the abbreviated texting stuff and then I think I'm in trouble!

Micah has started learning his shapes. He likes to try to make them with his hands. He's really good with a triangle (pic below) and if you help he can make a mean rectangle. Circles stump him right now, at least in making them with his hands. It's like he wont relax his hands enough to curve. He also likes making different numbers with his hands. Ever since he learned 2 for his birthday, we've been doing all sorts of numbers with his fingers. Josiah really gets into it, too, because he has started adding so it usually starts with him asking "What's 2 plus 1" and then he adds it up to 3, holds up those fingers on his hand and then Micah wants to do it, too. One of his (Micah's) favorites right now is 6...it uses both hands and he can make the number "self." It doesn't always SOUND like he's saying six, but trust me, he is.


"They" always say better late than never, right? So that would explain the bunny house we decorated this morning. Oh, I know MOST people do these things around Easter, but I've always been a little off "most" people and "they" seem to have more influence on me than I'd like, so here is our beautifully decorated bunny house. They boys had a great time--they LOVE doing things like this. I think eating the candy helps add to the attraction, but thats just a guess.

Another Childhood Milestone

The boys reached a new level of childhood yesterday--they both got their first Pez dispenser. WHOA! I know, big stuff. Well, they were totally thrilled, not that they even knew what they were before they got them, but whatever. They decided that anything that spits out candy at the push of a button was an awesome thing to have...at least until the candy runs out and mommy wont refill it because she doesnt want to deal with sugar shocked kids. What a party pooper!

Can you read that? Josiah wrote it all by himself! He's written his name before by tracing something I've written or by writing his underneath what I've done, but this was purely, all him. GO JOSIAH!