Go Rangers!

This is from Brody's game on Saturday, which he only played half of because then he had a meltdown and cried the whole second half. Oh, the joys of an irrational, unreasonable 3 year old! I do love this picture, though. He actually did have fun during the first half!

Things that I learned at Brody's soccer game:

1. Give the kid time to finish his orange slice at halftime.
2. Don't under any circumstances, break that orange slice in half, because that, in a three year olds mind, is the equivalence to Armageddon.
3. "Your team needs you" doesn't work on kids who have a broken orange.
4. Just grin and bear it. Even though your kid is crying over *nothing* and you are mortified at all the other parents watching you, it is still all wonderful!

No fingerpainting for Seth

Seth HATES to get anything on his hands, therefore no more fingerpainting for him... don't these pictures just tell the whole story!?

Evan, the newest Jedi Knight

I just had to share these... my nephew Evan just turned 7 (yeah, I can't believe it either) so I did these for him and put them in his birthday card. He LOVED them!

Kooky stuff

Okay, so there is some virus that is going around. It is really strange... symptoms are:

• no fever
• no change to consistency of BM (easier to write this than spell the other word)
• no mood change
• 4 hours of vomiting

That is it. Apparently, it is going around like wildfire. Half of Brody's swim class, and the class in the big pool were missing because kids were home getting sick.

I had it late Saturday night before I had heard anyone else had it. I thought I had food poisoning. Well, when I woke up Sunday I was perfectly fine, but Seth had been sick in his bed. He was sick a couple times, then it was over.

Brody got sick for about 4-5 hours last night. It started in his bed at the end of his nap, then downstairs on the couch (2x with towels under him, just in case), and then the poor thing learned the value of keeping a pot nearby for another couple hours (so sad). I slept with him downstairs on the pullout sofa to take care of him. (note to self... buy new pullout bed that doesn't feel like sleeping on rocks.)

Anyway..... this makes for MUCH LAUNDRY.

No exaggeration.... in the past 2 days, I have done NINE loads of laundry. Still two more to go. Considering that Brody's comforter alone is one, his waterproof bed cover is another. Crazy! We just keep the washer/dryer going constantly!

The kids would usually be at daycare on Tuesdays, but seeing that they have had this virus thing, I kept them home today (Miss Mary said she has also had it, but thought it was food poisoning also). So much for all the stuff I was going to get done! As it appears right now, my day will consist of cleaning up cereal that was poured onto the floor, toys that were thrown down from over the upstairs banister, mopping up vanilla yogurt, and reassembling the couch once the cushion covers are done in the dryer.

Sorry for a whiny, pessimistic start to my day! Hope you all have a much better day, with a lot less laundry!

Sucker for a Sweater Vest

I am such a sucker for cute boys in sweater vests on their way to church!

"Fancy Footwork Brody"

I realized that I never gave an update after Brody's first soccer practice. Well, we went again, and things were MUCH better. He loved it! He had his first game yesterday. I wasn't able to be there, but Kurt went and video recorded it and Mimi went and took pictures. Here are a couple of pics (Thanks Mimi!). Brody, who is always kicking up his heels, is referred to by Coach Dan as "Fancy Footwork Brody". I can't imagine why! And yes, that is the smallest size they had in jerseys, shorts, and socks. He looks like he could be a beekeeper, no inch of skin showing! Kurt says the referee got a big kick out of Brody during warm ups. :)

a Post for Kurt

For everyone else, this is a photo that goes along with a sermon we heard last week, but since you probably didn't hear the same sermon we did, this will just be a nice photo... but for Kurt, I want you to notice how you are holding him, but he is holding onto you too!

Remembering the joyous things

It is 1:43 am and I am not the least bit tired. I thought I would find a photo to lift my spirits... leave it to Brody!

Perspective

It has been a week since I last published. I had a lot of cute photos and stories and things that I was going to post, that is, until the shootings at Virginia Tech yesterday.

I hope this doesn't offend anyone, but I am having a hard time with this, but for a different reason than I would have thought.

I am ashamed to admit that I am completely shocked by my lack of emotion. Don't get me wrong, I am sad. Extremely sad. I am angry, at what, I don't know, but for the most part, I am able to separate myself from what is going on just 4 hours away from here and go on with life as usual.

Maybe, over time, the craziness of our world has been desensitizing me to these large-scale tragedies. I remember having a stronger reaction to Columbine, which happened in a place and to people that I had no connection with, other than the television media reports. At that time, I couldn't have imagined that kind of thing ever happening in this country.

But now, today, has it become "thinkable" that something like this could happen? Has it just become easier to go on with life even though this has happened in my own state, in a city where my in-laws live, and on a campus where they have worked? Shouldn't this be so tragic that I am emotionally spent for the families that have lost their children?

My intellect tells me what an incredible tragedy this is. In fact, I wonder if the reason I am so detached is that I just might not be able to wrap my brain around what has happened yet. I am hoping this is the case, and not that I am learning how to emotionally "deal" with this kind of violence in my world.

What is going to happen to this world as my children grow up? When they go to college, will I worry about their safety to a degree that I can't even comprehend right now? Will there be things that will happen in the future that will make the shootings yesterday seem "mild"? What a petrifying thought.

When I really think about it, I realize:
15 years ago, that could have been me there.
15 years from now, it could be one of my sons there.
Right now, it could be a friend there, or my mother-in-law, my father-in-law, a work acquaintance, a friend's child, someone from my church family, or a neighbor.

My point is, these kids were just like US, you and me; ready for their future, preparing, dreaming, planning, expecting, anticipating. And now they are gone. I spend moments of every day of my life thinking of my future, and you know what, we aren't guaranteed another one minute here.

As a Christian, death does not frighten me. It is actually something I look forward to. But I want to be sure that if I were to join Christ tomorrow, that I had lived this magnificent life in such a way that not He, nor any of those students who were taken away so quickly and violently, will be able to stand before me and ask me, "What were you thinking?! You had so much time to enjoy the earth and you did THAT with it?!"

I pray for all the friends and family members of those that lost their lives yesterday. I pray for Virginia Tech, that it will not forever be remembered for "the Virginia Tech Tragedy", but that the Hokie spirit will prevail, and the joy and honor and fanaticism apparent in all the students and alumni will prevail over this evil and will raise VT back up, to show the world what a wonderful, spirited, ALIVE school it is. I pray for this world, for the people that have so much anguish and hatred and sorrow that they could even have thoughts about doing what that tormented young man did, let alone carry out such a monstrous plan. I pray for God's peace, as only he can provide.

Oh, the Guilt!

When we became pregnant with Seth, it seemed that everyone we knew had advice on how to handle a 2 year old and a new baby, or how to handle having two kids in general.

But, nobody told us about the guilt we would feel.

I noticed after we had been at the grocery store for about 10 minutes today that I hadn't said a word to Seth. He was riding quietly and contently in the cart while I was chasing after, scolding, disciplining, searching for, and giving every ounce of energy I had to Brody. And then it hit me... Seth has to fend for himself much more than his brother did.

Maybe that is just the way it is when you are a sibling, or maybe since Brody is so high maintenance, Seth will be forced to become a "behind the scenes" kind of kid. Or, even worse, maybe I am just not as good a mother to two kids as I was to one. This is so disturbing to me! I worry that the MOST IMPORTANT job I will ever have is too much for me, that I am just not getting it done the best that both of these boys need.

When Brody was Seth's age, we would go to the store and I would take toys and snacks and juice. We would sing while I walked through the aisles and I would point things out and name everything that we saw. Now, I find myself mentally shutting down when I have spent every last ounce of sanity trying to get my 3 year old to "put on his listening ears" for the 8th time in 10 minutes. Not to mention chasing him down as he does "open sesame" with the front doors of the store and goes out on his own while I am trying to pay.

How does a mother balance a high maintenance child with one that barely says a peep, one who you could almost forget is there except for the occasional incredible smile?

Oh, there is so much guilt. Guilt that Seth will never have the one-on-one time that Brody had with me and Kurt. Guilt that Seth gets all hand-me-down toys, clothes, furniture, etc... Guilt that Seth hasn't even really started talking yet because we, as his parents, haven't been teaching him enough about the world around him. Guilt that Seth spends time during the day off doing his own thing while I am trying to potty train and run damage control for the kid that washes dirt in the sink, pours juice on his head , and takes all the dvds out of the dvd player and scrapes them on the floor.

Kurt and I have already realized we need to and want to start spending time alone with each child, so each one has one-on-one time... but is there any other advice that anyone can give me? I definitely love my little guys equally, but how can I show them this when one is so demanding of my time and the other isn't? Is this something that all mothers and fathers go through?

*sigh*

Just to make me feel better... here are a few pictures of JUST SETH, including his one year portraits.

Happy Easter!

Just a little yardwork...

You can't really tell from these pics, but we have lawn bags stacked 3 high and about 3 bags deep at the curb. There were 45 bags of leaves and yard stufff from our recent cleanup. Good Lordy! Just a word of advice, never think to yourself, "Oh, we don't need to worry about the leaves this year, we can just get them next year!"

Our Fish out of Water!

Brody had his first swimming lesson today and he LOVED it! It didn't take the instructor long to learn that if she wanted someone to be the first person to try the new skill, ask Brody. He was fearless and loved every minute. He was so upset when we had to leave and I promised we would be back in 2 days. His lessons are Mondays and Wednesdays for 1/2 hour. Not nearly long enough for him!

Unlike swimming, we had his first soccer practice last Thursday, and he HATED it. We left early with Brody crying and saying that he didn't want to play soccer and he didn't like his soccer team. Needless to say, we are waiting on trying that activity, if we ever do make it back onto a soccer field at all! Oh well, you live, you learn!