Where did this kid come from?

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Gaelin is so much different than the other kids! When I started all of them on solids they LOVED them. He hated them for the first week so I stopped and waited a few more weeks and then tried them again. They eat pounds and pounds of bananas a week (good thing we’re going to a place where they grow so easily, huh?!). He hates them. Every time I feed him a mashed banana he looks insulted and spits it out. He loves this little jumperoo toy that we got him. He jumps and jumps and then stops and claps for himself. It’s so sweet to watch him. He is my lovey dovey and gives the most slobbery kisses. The others kissed me when I kissed them but he initiates it. He has recently started making the funniest faces. He’ll screw his little face up and then laugh at himself. He has also started getting into things – like his brothers toys or the shampoo in the bathroom. Thankfully he hasn’t yet found the toilet! God knew we needed this little guy in our family!

Of Cabbages and Kings

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The other day when the girl was working on my nails I got the perfect opportunity to witness to her. She is this really sweet Vietnamese girl. We sat and chatted about many thing. She wanted to know what we were going to do in Uganda. So I had the perfect chance to share the message of salvation with her! I shared that we are planning to start churches there but that first people must believe on Jesus as their Savior. Then I explained what that meant. She listened politely (she was a captive audience!) but changed the subject as soon as she got the chance. Last year when the pastor’s wife took the missionaries ladies here and tried to witness to this girl she got up and left the room. It reminds me of the verse that says that some sow, some water, others reap but it is God that gives the increase. God has promised that His Word won’t return void. Now we just need to pray that Beth will get saved!

Friday we went to Bays Mountain State Park. It was beautiful! We ate lunch there, then walked around and saw the “sights”. They have wolves in captivity there and one of the park rangers called them and got them to howl for us! Another park ranger gave a talk about snakes. Our boys were fascinated! At the end he offered to let any one who wanted to do so come and touch the snake he was holding. Our three older boys touched the snake but James had to make John do it! I had the chance to touch it, too. I just figured, if I can touch a sting ray, I can touch a snake, too. It was soft, like satin, not rough like you would expect.

Saturday we took the kids to this historical house where they got to see a huge train exhibit. The boys were just fascinated by that too. It was amazing to see the intricacy of all the set up: lights for the feed lot, complete with cow sound effects, tunnels, and many other things. Then we took them to another house where they were able to spin some wool. Later we “explored” a cave. It had rained hard the night before and the cave was wet and slippery but the kids really enjoyed it. Then we went back to the main building and they made paper. What marvelous opportunities for our little kids! It was so easy to make the paper that I’ll probably do it with them again at some point in the future to use in making cards and things for people.

A Pedicure

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This morning I had my first pedicure! I’ve always hated having my feet touched or bothered. Last year there was an opportunity for me to get one but I opted to get a much needed hair cut instead. Recently, though, my feet have gotten sort of yucky looking and the heals were covered with dry skin that was messing up my nylons badly. So I decided to take the plunge and go for it! It was wonderful! I got to sit in a massage chair while the girl worked on my feet. My back had been hurting so badly, too, that I REALLY enjoyed that. All the dead skin was worked off. My feet look great.

Truthfully, I’ve never felt a need to make this blog into a “teaching tool” or anything. But Romans 10:15 pops into my head right now – “And how shall they preach, except they be sent? as it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things!” Maybe that is because they were teaching that to the kids last night at church and our boys were telling me about it. Anyway, my feet look more beautiful than they have in a long time. (Not that I think they look all that great now!) But there is definitely an improvement!

Speaking of the children’s class last night, they played a game where they all took off their shoes and put them in a pile and then blindfolded each child and had them try to find their own shoes in the pile. The only problem with that is that all three of our boys wear the exact same style of shoe! So it got confusing pretty quickly! We’ve color coded them with dots on the inside, so when the teachers tried to find the right sizes for the boys the boys were all trying to explain that they get the “red shoes” or “blue shoes”. Finally, they let them pick and the three boys got it all figured out! They also tried to write their names on a piece of paper with a pen held in their toes. It was pretty cute to see it! James and John write their names quite well with their hands but the foot writing was unintelligible!

Kid stuff

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This morning James and John got up early to go with James to the Men’s Prayer Meeting with the missions conference we’re in this week. When the got back James told me that James and John ate a banana and two Krispy Kreme donuts each! “Where did you put it all?” I asked in shock (I can’t even eat more that one at a time or I feel sick!). Jamie looked at me and stated, very matter-of-factly and in a tone that said “don’t YOU know Mom?” “We put them in our stomachs, Mom.”

There is a little playground up the street from where we’re staying. The kids have been begging and begging to go play there. So yesterday morning I walked them all up there to play for a while. We hadn’t been there for 5 minutes when John fell off the monkey bars and face planted in the mulch and Ethan wet his pants for the first time in a year or more. So I comforted John and then walked everyone back and got them cleaned up. So, after days of begging, in only of 5 minutes of play time they all decided they didn’t like the park anymore!

Gaelin is crawling really well and pulling up next to things. He has finally decided that he like other food besides applesauce, namely animal crackers. They’ve been giving him animal cracker in the nursery and really getting a kick out of watching him eat them. He gets so happy when he gets the sugar inside him! He also had a juice pop the other day. He got most of it in his stomach. The rest he got all over his hair, clothes and the person who was feeding it to him!

At lunch yesterday Elizabeth had a grilled cheese sandwich, french fries and applesauce. She was also given ketchup for her fries. So she systematically ate the whole lunch, carefully dipping them first in the applesauce and then in the ketchup. But the entire lunch was gone! She ate it with such relish too, savoring each bite as it went down.

Happy Mother’s Day!

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Happy Mother’s Day!

The kids all got up this morning and told me “Happy Mother’s Day” and gave me hugs and kisses – right after I told them to get back in their room and not bug me about breakfast. My kids are so sweet. John told me later on, “I love you, my precious Mommy.”

Mother’s Day is often a day that I reflect on the job I do as a mother. I remember one day crying because I felt like a terrible Mom and John (always my cheerleader) said “Mommy, you aren’t a terrible Mudder. I love you!” I guess I just want to make sure that I’m not scarring them for life! Yes, I am going to be influencing them but I want it to be good. I sure do love those little arms around my neck and the little slobbery kisses they give. I love having them tease me and spending time with them doing “fun things” as they say, like playing games, coloring, all the things you get to do as a Mom.

This last week I taught Jamie how to jump rope. He would stand in front of me and as the rope came around I would yell “jump!” He caught on quite quickly! Elizabeth tried and managed to jump over the rope once but it hung up on my legs so that was it.

Friday we went to the zoo. We had so much fun! It had been several months since we’d been so everything was new for the kids. We went to the snake house and they oooo’d and ahhhh’d over all the huge snakes and other reptiles. Afterward we stopped through the gift store. Wouldn’t you know, they were clearancing their stock to make room for the new stuff for this season (which starts on Memorial Day weekend). There were these stuffed snakes that the kids have been asking about for a year now that were on clearance! So ever since Friday, they’ve been carrying those things around, sleeping with them, and generally having a wonderful time with them! James’ and John’s snakes were a particular kind (some kind of rattler with a rattle on the end of it’s tail). Ethan’s and Elizabeth’s snakes were just multi-colored. So we named them – Ethan’s is a purple spotted tickle snake and Elizabeth’s a green spotted burpy snake. Elizabeth hugged hers and said “I love my burpy snake!”