TYLER'S SCHOOL

So Tyler has ideas of starting schools - whatever is most interesting to him at the moment, he will start a school for that. The first one was a construction school for 4 year olds (he was 5 at the time). He would teach them every Saturday to build bridges, but don't worry mommy, he said, we'll start with something easy - just a suspension bridge. As we are currently in a nerf-gun phase of a young boy's life - Tyler is going to set up a bullet dodging school. So he made up what you are called at every level of your training... Level one: first day-er Level two: beginner level three: dodger Level four: Better level five: end-er level six: end-er plus

PARENTHOOD

My letter to a friend It is so awesome to see how excited you are to be a parent and I believe you will be a most awesome father. I am giving you unsolicited advice. Get quiet and really let God prepare you for this – having a child will teach you in a way you can’t imagine about God’s love for you (I seriously don’t know how God didn’t wipe out mankind after the first slash on Jesus’ back) and for that fact alone it is worth it. You will never agin be able to say “I just want to…” or “my plan is to…” or anything that starts with “me” or “I”. Every trial and hardship is magnified one hundredfold because you are responsible for someone incapable of being responsible for themselves. They will always want to be fed – especially when you want to go in a corner and cry. You will never get to feel sorry for yourself again – ever – you can’t – it is no longer allowable, not even once. You will be pushed to your limit physically, mentally and spiritually and every day you have to be one step ahead. You do not get to relax or you will fail. This is harsh – parenting is harsh – it is forever – it is serious and requires a level of selflessness and faith that I never thought possible. You will see yourself imbedded in another person – all your faults and quirks in full force without the years of softening and you can see the pain and trials this will bring to another through no fault of their own but rather by genetic design and the choices YOU have made for them. Your choices now affects someone else directly and your mistakes are open wounds on an innocent face. You will never be “ready” to have children – you will only be ready to be obedient to God – ask Him to show you His ways and teach you his paths. They will; however, fetch the remote control for you.

GHOSTS???

Do you believe in ghosts? Honestly – when it comes right down to it – what do you really feel about this? My youngest told me this morning that he saw a shadow that looked kind of like me walking across the room and then disappeared. It wasn’t a shadow from the window or in the closet – it was like “something that walks a few steps and then disappears” Wow – the child can’t lie – he isn’t delirious – it was 6am and dark outside and he had just snuggled himself in our bed but he was awake. What do you think then when your child believes. Me, I have a healthy respect for the spirit world and believe that our battle isn’t against flesh and blood… Still, Prayed the blood of Jesus Christ over my house let me tell you…

NUMBERS

It's all about the numbers right now. Tyler is 6 and loves loves loves the numbers. Time is now 60 seconds is one minute and minutes to hours. We count down days. At night Steve and Tyler do math at the table, thinking up equasions to trick each other. They are on division right now and a little bit of algebra. We are a bit totally way past 2 boys plus 3 girls equals 5 children. It's more like 500 dump trucks plus how many bulldozers equals 962 pieces of equipment? Yesterday Tyler got on the scale and informed us that he weighs 50 pounds! and then he got really excited and as he put it - now I'm halfway to mommy's weight. Dead silence in the house until my very handsome and wise husband said "yes, that's absolutely correct Tyler". Yah, he's totally my favourite son right now!

On a very rainy April 26, 2012 (Hope this is the end - they only have 1 pair of socks left without holes in them!) and Steve is walking with Tristan into the Dayhome and this is their conversation: "Look daddy,a worm" take a step "Look daddy, a worm" take a step (repeat) (repeat) (repeat) (repeat)

LEGACY

The continuance of family has been made so clear to me this week. How life repeats itself and how vital family is. I found myself at the beginning of this week out for coffee with my father and had a wonderful time - the only wonderful type of time you can have with someone who knows you inside out and where you don't have to say everything you're thinking but you want to and it's full of comfort and love. Later this week I found myself sitting across the coffee shop table from my son - with the same wonderful time and the same comfort and love.

I remember my grandfather waiting in the car in the church parking lot after church waiting for my grandmother. I also remember my father waiting in the same church parking lot, napping or praying the car waiting for me to finish my youth event so he could drive me home. And on Tuesday night I waited in the church lobby for my son while he was at a church event having a delightful time! I guess it's my turn to drive and wait and pray and I will do so with joy and ferverent prayers and lots and lots of love that I have from generations of loving parents and grandparents and aunts and uncles. thank you all for such a legacy.

IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT

I’m not sure if this makes me super-mom or super-pathetic-sneaky mom. It might explain; however, the times my children don’t sleep well through the night. I confess: I do things to my children when they are asleep. Yep, it started when my firstborn was a baby. I used to cut his nails when he was asleep. No twitching, no screaming and just like that the task was done. Phew! Actually I still cut my youngest son’s toenails while he sleeps. He absolutely WILL NOT let me cut them and will kick and scream and this is from the designated easy-going child, so, I wait until he is asleep and snip snip snip, all done.

I’ve cut their hair too while they slept. Just the eldest’s though – he’s the twitchy one in that respect, not, like the whole head, but just a few straggly pieces that otherwise would have been a battle from the dark side to accomplish.

I got caught though once. When my children were 4 and 6, they were running along the boardwalk and came home that night with tiny little wooden slivers in the bottoms of their feet that they wouldn’t let me pull out. So, after they were fast asleep, I snuck in and, armed with a little flashlight between my teeth and the tweezers in one hand and an iron grip on their little feet with the other I set about extracting the little itchy slivers. My husband peaked in at one point; started to say something, and then just turned around and walked away. Smart man. A while later when the eldest got another sliver in his foot and when I said we should take it out, his reply was “no, that’s okay, God will take it out while I sleep.” Um, okay. Thanks God for taking the rap on that one!

Ah, my adorable little squiggly kids. I’m sorry for your dreams of someone tickling your toes in the middle of the night but thank you for your patience in allowing all those other unpleasant tasks to take place during the daylight hours – I can’t even imagine how I would wash your hair…