Halloween

We had a fun time tonight dressing up and going trick-or-treating.  This was the first time we all went together as a family.  In the past, Chris took the boys while I stayed home and passed out candy.  It was fun to see how excited the kids got, running up to each house and arguing over who got to ring the doorbell.  Even Ashten enjoyed going to the door and getting candy put in her bag.  When we told her to say thank you, she would say "elcome".  It was cute!

Brayden - ninja

Logan - Bumblebee

Preston - Optimus Prime

Ashten - duck

  

 

Brayden (and Ashten) doing ninja poses

Trying something new

For the days in November up until Thanksgiving, I am going to try and post daily about one thing I'm thankful for.  It may be trivial, it may be profound, we will just have to see what pours out of my head each day. 

I feel so bad for Thanksgiving sometimes because it's gets sandwiched between two, highly-commerical holidays and doesn't really get much attention.  But I think gratitude is such a huge part of contentment and I for one would love to be content more than I am.  So, I'm calling this 24 Days of Thanksgiving.  Would you like to join me? 

(I hope to post later today with Halloween pictures of the kids, so you can all see their cute costumes and I can get that post done and over with before this little project starts!)

Lesson learned

The other night, when I was tucking Brayden in for bed, he told me something that had happened at school that day.  He was walking to class when some other kids were behind him throwing snowballs.  They didn't mean to throw it at him and hit him, but they did.  Then, the next one they threw, went over Brayden's head and hit the kid in front of him.  The kid turned around, thought Brayden had thrown it, and accused him of it to a teacher.  Brayden lost recess privileges for two days for something he didn't even do.  He was very understandably angry and frustrated.

I tried to encourage him, saying things like "it happens" and "I'm really sorry" when all of the sudden he said "Mom, it's kind of like that story in the Bible where that woman accused Joseph of something he didn't do and he got sent to jail for a long time for it".  Last Sunday, they had learned about the story of Joseph, basically how his whole life didn't really work out in his favor, but God had a bigger plan through all of it.  The Holy Spirit brought that story into Brayden's mind at just the right time and Brayden was able to relate to it in a personal way. 

After he brought that up, we talked about how it really isn't fair and sure, it's frustrating and angering, but God still has a plan for Brayden through this false accusation, just like God had a plan for Joseph throughout all the bad things that happened to him, even though Joseph didn't understand God's plan and was probably really frustrated and discouraged as well.  That seemed to bring him peace and make him feel much better. 

I wish I could just swoop in and fix my kid's problems for them, it hurts to see them suffer and deal with things like this.  But, unfortunately we live in a fallen world and I would be doing my children no favors if I always came to their rescue and never let them experience failure or pain. 

And then I thought about how God must feel when He watches us go through pain and suffering because of our sin or the sin of others.  How it must break His heart to watch us go through the things we have to endure because of the fallen world we live in, when He could so easily swoop in and fix everything.  But, He doesn't, for our own good.  Because He has a bigger plan for our lives, and unfortunately sometimes that plan involves pain and suffering. 

Thank You, Father, for giving me the perfect example of a loving parent.  Thank you for giving the Holy Spirit to us to encourage us and teach us.  Thank you for growing Brayden's faith and knowledge in You.  Amen.

Homework buddy

Ashten loves to do "big" things with her brothers, like sitting at the counter "helping" them with homework or doing her own homework, whatever she thinks she's doing.

Hmmmm...it looks like Ashten is the one working and the boys who are just goofing off?



Little cowgirl

Trying on Logan's hat:

Fall soccer

All 3 boys are in soccer this fall.  I've already talked about it in this post, but the schedule is crazy!  Two practices and 1 game each per week.  But thankfully the boys are having a good time and learning some good skills (time management, teamwork, soccer, etc) in the process.  And even though this league we are playing in this fall has a bigger time committment, we appreciate the emphasis on learning and growing new skills and not solely on "having fun".

Preston is one of the better players on his team.  He's aggressive, fast and not afraid to get pushed around or go in for a steal.  Probably comes from being the youngest of 3 boys, you think?

Logan's team is kind of a hodge-podge of different age groups.  It was supposed to be for 6- and 7-year-olds, but other age groups filled up faster, so there are some 8-year-olds on his team too.  It wouldn't really be so bad if the coach would do a better job of getting everyone equal playing time and encouraging every kid to do their best even if they don't score 5+ goals a game, but he doesn't, so it has been frustrating and discouraging at times for Logan.  It's not that Logan isn't a good player, he is, but it's so hard to shine when you are playing on the same team as kids that are 2 years older than you and who are a lot bigger and more coordinated than you.  Logan has maintained a pretty good attitude through it all though, so I am proud of him for that!

Brayden is doing really well in soccer.  This is kind of the first year you can tell that the kids are getting more competitive and really want to play well and not just go out and run around and chase a ball.  Brayden has gotten to play almost every position, but he says his favorite is goalie.  Unfortunately, the only time he got to play goalie was a freezing cold, rainy game, so it wasn't really a fun experience.  He is hoping to get to play goalie again before the season is over.  Brayden has had great luck with awesome coaches who are organized and prepared.  It makes such a difference!  I'm sad that I don't have more pictures of Brayden playing soccer, but the only one I took the camera to was the rainy, cold game!

#2 and #4 and Daddy

I love this picture: Logan and Ashten getting loved on by their wonderful daddy!

Busy, Busy, Dreadfully Busy

Sorry for the lack of posting lately.  I usually do all my posts when I download the pictures off my camera and just schedule them to post every 2-3 days.  But, I have not even had time to get the pictures off my camera, and I have nothing interesting to talk about without my pictures in front of me to remind what has happened over the last month.  I promise to get to it at some point, but the longer I go the more daunting the task seems.  I have over 100 pictures on my camera and the longer I go without saving them to the computer, the more pictures there are just accumulating.  You get the picture......big job, no time!

We have been SO busy this fall, more so than I ever would have imagined.  All three boys are in soccer.  They each have 2 practices and 1 game a week.  They are all enjoying it, which makes it worth it, but it is tiring to be so busy.  Monday nights are Logan's practice, Tuesdays are Preston's and Brayden's practices, Wednesday nights are piano lessons (for Brayden) and church, Thursdays are Preston and Brayden's practice night again, Friday is Logan's 2nd practice night and Saturday we have 3 soccer games to attend.  Sunday we have church and then that afternoon is our time as a family to relax, hang out and prepare for the next week.

On top of soccer and church, Logan and Brayden also have homework and reading to complete for school.  Now that Brayden is in 3rd grade, the time he needs to spend on homework has increased.  We have tried our best to get it all done on the weekends so that he doesn't have to set aside time each evening with everything else going on.  Logan gets his homework on Monday and it is due on Thursday, so we usually try and complete it all on Monday or Tuesday night.  Also, for AWANA, each boy has verses to learn each week and Brayden, now that he is in T&T, has quite a bit more work to complete a section.  He is handling it very well, but it just seems like he's always busy doing something! 

I'm not even couponing very much right now!  (GASP!!)  I used to be so good about doing coupon matchups on my grocery shopping each week and saving at least 50% on my bill.  Now I just get what I need to make dinner that week and maybe a really good sale or two, but mostly I'm just getting by.  And I used to do Rite Aid each week, but I haven't been in at least a month or two.  My stash of free deoderant and razors and toothpaste and other stuff is running low, I need to get back into it!

One of the most major downsides to all this busyness is that we have very little family time.  Last weekend it was very rainy and cold and the soccer games all got cancelled.  We found ourselves with a whole day and no plans!  It was wonderful.  We spent the morning and early afternoon watching TV and relaxing and then in the afternoon we spent some time out of the house as a family.  It was so wonderful!  I miss that, I defininitely took it for granted.  Most nights we don't even get to eat dinner as a family.

I will be glad when soccer is over, not because I don't enjoy watching the boys run around, improve their skills and have fun, but I think it will just give us a lot more down time.  The boys will have more time to get their school work done.  The kids will have more time at home to play and not just do work.  We will be able to eat dinner as a family most nights again.  Saturdays will be boring again!

So I say all this not so you'll feel sorry for me, but just so you know......in my spare time, I'm not blogging.  I'm either hanging out with my precious family or you might occasionally (okay it's way more than occasionally, try daily!) find me on the couch resting, playing angry birds completely concked out (zzzzzz).

Preston's splinter woes

I think one of Murphy's laws is that kids will only get really, really sick or need emergent doctor care outside of normal doctor's business hours.  You know, like how they never get a high fever in the middle of the day, or break their leg on a weekday?

A few weeks ago, we had a similar situation with Preston.  On Saturday, Preston got a splinter in his foot.  Which isn't really a big deal around here since we have a wood deck and a wood sandbox.  Usually I'll notice it a day or two later and wrangle a screaming child to pull it out.  On Sunday, however, Preston wasn't walking on the ball of his foot at all and when I looked at it, it was so swollen and was as hard as a rock.  I had him soak it and then tried to dig around in it a little to see if I could see the splinter and get it out.  The minute I broke the skin, some pus came out, but after that Preston would scream anytime I put any pressure on it at all and he wouldn't let me thouch it.  Since he was obviously in pain and his foot was obviously infected, we decided to take him to the after hours care.  Preston chose to have Chris take him, which was a good decision in hindsight.  I don't think I could have stood to watch what they did to him.

They took some x-rays of Preston's foot, but didn't see a splinter (duh - wood doesn't show up on x-ray), so they made the decision to just get all the pus out of his foot and make it bleed a little so that the splinter could eventually work it's way out.  So they strapped Preston down to the table, literally!  They put him in a straight jacket type thing so that he couldn't move around while they were digging in his foot.  They gave him 3 shots to numb him up, but I don't think any of them worked because Chris said Preston was screaming the whole time and said it really hurt afterwards.  I think Preston was also really freaked out that he couldn't move his arms or anything.  So the doctor got out a bunch of the pus and blood that was making his foot so hard and then sent him home with an ACE bandage and some antibiotics.

On the following Friday, Preston took off his sock and came over to me and said "mom, I think I have another splinter".  So I took a look at it and I got a little freaked out.  There was a piece of wood (not a splinter, like a piece of wood!) coming out of his foot.  He didn't want me to touch it, so he pulled his foot away right when I went to try and pull it out.  I instead touched the bottom of the ball of his foot and this huge thing just shot out of his foot.  Like that thing on the turkey that pops out when it's done!  It was over an inch long and not like at all like a normal splinter that looks like a sliver.  This kind of reminded me of a piece of mulch. 

I can't believe that thing was in his foot!  No wonder it was so sore and infected.  I just can't believe that it was so deep in there that the doctor didn't even see it when she was digging around!  Every day after that, Preston would come up and show me how his foot "squished" again when he pressed on it.  So glad he's doing better, how scary!

A day in the life.....

Glamorous? Hardly. Mundane? Sometimes. Hilarious? Always!

Life is never dull around here.  It may get boring, but it is never monotonous.  The kids keep us laughing and busy every day! 

My day begins at 5:15 when my alarm goes off and I roll out of bed.  I am really tired, but if I don't get up and do my devotions in the morning before the kids are up, I won't get them done.  Throughout the day, my to-do list piles up and the kids always need something, so this is a necessity for me to be grounded in God and His word every morning!  (Coffee is a huge blessing in my life these days!!)  My day ends at about 10 pm or a little after, when I usually fall asleep on the couch in front of the TV.  This is the part I really need to be better about.  I feel like by the time 8 pm hits and the kids are in bed, I'm exhausted (understandably).  But, as a result, I feel like Chris gets my leftovers.  I need to figure out a way to recharge throughout the day so that when Chris and I finally have some time alone, I have some energy left to give him.

I don't really have a schedule I follow every day when Chris is at work and the older boys are at school, other than absolutely being home for nap/rest time every afternoon.  Most mornings I try and get out and do something fun with Preston and Logan, either with friends or just us.  Some mornings I have errands to run, although I try and limit that to only once or twice a week.  I know once winter hits it is going to be harder to get out and do stuff, so I'm hoping that 1) we may set a habit now so we find it easier to still get out when it's cold and dreary or 2) we get it out of our system now so that when it's all cold and yucky outside, we are plenty content to just sit at home and play inside.

Our fall schedule is especially crazy this year.  Every single night of the week we have something.  Monday and Friday Logan has soccer practice.  Tuesday and Thursday Brayden and Preston have soccer practice.  And Wednesday is piano lessons and church.  Saturdays there are 3 soccer games and Sundays are church and then, hopefully, relaxing time as a family.  We are glad our kids are involved, but sometimes it feels like too much.  It really is such a hard thing to balance.

So, now you know.  Like you were really wondering, huh?  This post may fall under the category of "This will be fun for me to go back and read 10 years from now".