frosty the snowman

1. Isaac has been dying to make a snowman, but unfortunately the snow hasn't quite cooperated. He has talked about it a lot, asked many a question, and has had his plan ready to go. During one of our conversations he told me how he would construct his snowman: "I will make a big snowball, then a medium snowball, then a little snowball. Then I will put a good looking carrot for his nose... mom, do we still have a good looking carrot in the fridge? Then I will put 3 rocks on the middle part, and buttons for his eyes, and coal for his mouth. And, I will put a scarf around his neck... mom, do you have some string that we can use for his scarf? And, put a hat on his head." Last week we finally had just enough new snow to allow Isaac to fulfill his snowman making dream. He named him Frosty.


2. My boys love to give gifts. These gifts are usually items they have found around the house, wrapped in paper that they have decorated. Luke's last present was a plate. He was in another room trying his best to wrap it, and, as usual, I had orders not to look. But, after a while he asks me, "Mommy, could you help me? Close your eyes." So, with my eyes closed, I wrapped a plate so that Luke could give me a present.

3. Isaac and I were talking about names. I was telling him what some of our family member's full names were, then asked him if he remembered what his was. He said, "Isaac Pulley Stephen". After I corrected him, he said, "That sounds like a handsome name."

4. The other night I saw Isaac with a pair of plastic tweezers (the kind that come in those bug catcher kits) telling Luke to hold still while he attempted to pluck his eyelashes. Laughing, I stopped him and told him we don't pluck eyelashes. He says, "Oh. Do we pluck eye boogers?"

5. Asa is at that age where pretty much everything he does makes you go "awww". Other than his climbing, eating markers, writing on walls, and playing in the toilet, he is so much fun. He still says very few words - just a lot of inflection and a lot of variations of "dah". But, one thing he does that is all too adorable is say "uh huh" to any question you ask him. And, he says it in the cutest way - drawn out and serious. I know he understands some of the questions, like 'do you want a snack/drink', but a lot of the time he just says "uh huh" when he can tell you have asked him a question.

Pics of the week:

Isaac had Luke pose so that he could paint his portrait.

You can't lay on the floor without Asa trying to sit on you. Usually he tries to sit on your head.

The boy's morning ritual: crowd the heat vent for warmth.

Cutest super heroes ever!

Another ritual: waddle out of the bathroom wrapped in towels after bath time. They don't like to be cold.

I think Asa needs a haircut. Or a comb.

Another perfect outfit for fighting crime.

One of Asa's common expressions. He looks ticked, but he's not.

coinsidence or divine inspiration?

Being a parent has opened my eyes to the fact that you can see God's hand in your life every day, if you just open your eyes. It's easy for me to look at my life and see how God has blessed me in major ways, but I need to do a better job of looking for those subtle moments in every day life that are inspired moments . Having three boys has required a lot of hard work from the heavens - I believe their safety has depended on it. I think most parents, when they think about it, wonder how their kids make it through childhood without more serious injury, loss of eyes, or worse. Yes, bad things still happen, but I wonder how much is prevented by those heavenly 'whispers' every parent has experienced (recognized or not). How many of those "I'd better go see what my boys are up to" moments are inspired from a loving God. I can think of a couple of these moments off the top of my head, that I want to write down. It's sad that I can only come up with a couple, because I know it occurs much more frequently than that.

The first one happened last summer. Adam and I had just gone to bed (I think I was already asleep), when Adam had the impression that he needed to go and make sure that he had disconnected the power to the hydrolic lift on his big trailer. He realized that the boys liked to play on the trailer and that if one of the boys pushed the button, it could result in someone being crushed by the ramp. Although he really didn't want to get out of bed, he knew he needed to go right then, instead of putting it off. Sure enough, it was still connected. And, sure enough, the next morning the boys had decided to go play on the trailer. Now, obviously I don't know if something terrible would have happened that day, but I'm thankful that we didn't have to find out the hard way.

Another moment that recently happened, was at a family Christmas party. We were at an old church, and some of the kids were playing around some stairs in the building. My sister, Carrie was on her way to the bathroom, when she felt like she should go check on the kids. As she got to the stairs, she saw Asa at the top, squeezing through the railing (the building was definitely built before safety codes). I hate to think what could have happened if she had not been there. I'm very grateful that she didn't ignore that feeling.

I know that if I did a better job of keeping track of my boys and keeping them out of mischief, then their guardian angels wouldn't have to work so hard. I am very grateful for a merciful and loving God who helps us out more than we realize. I think for as many forces are out there working against us, we have as many (or more) stronger forces watching out for us. I'm making it a goal to do a much better job at recognizing God's hand in my life. Wait, didn't someone give a wonderful talk about this very thing? :).

the trickster

I know that there will be so many disappointed people out there, left wanting more of the usual obnoxiously long, wordy posts that I do, but I apologize - just one wordy story this time. I wanted to write down this example of what a trickster Isaac thinks he is... and, how things that are obvious, don't seem to be obvious to Isaac. So, while at my mom's house, my sister and brother were sucking helium, cracking up all of the kids. Isaac starts talking higher to try to sound like them and was cracking himself up. He leaves the room and says 'hi' in the voice, then runs back in - CRACKING up to the point of weakness. I say, "What was that noise? Isaac, did you get into the helium?!", and he is thinking that he really tricked me. He continues to laugh and we all continue to laugh at him. Then, he comes up with a great idea. He is going to trick daddy when we get home. And, he is once again, cracking himself up as he tries to tell me his plan (Isaac has as much fun just talking about something, as he does actually doing it). All the way home, he plots with such excitement: "I will go where daddy can't see me, and say 'hi' (in the voice). Then, daddy will wonder what that noise was, and he will probably think there is some kind of creature in there. Bugs are creatures, huh mom." And, as he goes on and on, I am thinking, I need to make sure to clue Adam in on Isaac's plan, so that he can play along and not destroy the excitement in this sweet, goofy, gullible little boy. So, we get home, and while in the bathroom, Isaac does his high voiced 'hi'. I whisper to Adam to act surprised. Adam plays along, and asks what that noise was and if there was a mouse in the bathroom. Isaac comes running out, laughing uncontrollably. He honestly thinks he has just tricked his dad. I tell Isaac to tell daddy why he was doing that voice, and Isaac says, "No, I don't want to tell him yet. I want to trick him again." So, he goes back into the bathroom and, yes, he tricked his daddy a second time. And, if we are lucky, there will be more tricks in the morning.