April

Will I ever find the time to journal, scrapbook, or blog regularly? Doubtful. However, I can rejoice in the fact that I have made time to enjoy many things this spring...

We've joined the zoo and already been twice. Another visit is being planned now. We've walked at the aboretum three mornings in two weeks. I've walked the neighborhood nearly every night. We've been to a nearby park today. We've planted a spring garden. The boys have been watering new grass in our yard, twice a day. (Some of our dirt has been replace with grass! Yeah!) We visited my grandfather, who lives an hour away, finally. (We always avoid his house if there is any chance we have a family germ since he is over eighty. So it's been a long time since we've been all well- for certain.) I've taken close to a hundred "portraits" of our nearly three year old son, in hopes of capturing one that can be enlarged and framed for his grandmother's collection. I think today we were finally successful! I've made two dresses for a friend and started an outfit for Joshua. I hand pleated it and will eventually smock it. I even made dinner last night (normally Kelsey blesses us with her cooking) and have eeven read a few books. I've been doing alot of bible research with commentaries, dictionaries, teaching CDs and the like. I definitely feel "full". So, that's why my scrapbooking is over a year behind and my blog looks abandoned. Besides, I'd rather read Resolved to Worship's blog and adore her gorgeous photos than post my own.  In keeping with tradition and in hopes that I will enjoy one day looking back over my entries, I'll post a few photos. : )

Noah will be three next week.  Capturing him has been a week-long task. He looks like a professional here and he should be.  This was the last of about seven photo shoots this week!!!  Ha!

The best way to have fun with the family is to put Joshua in the Ergo and hope it's soon his naptime.  It has been such a blessing.  And I love to feel him go limp on my chest as he's fallen into a precious slumber.  When he's awake he chews on the strap. : )  Or tries to flip out backwards.  Adding his twenty pounds to my walk is probably good for me too.  I have many thoughts about being in this season of motherhood for eighteen years now.  Most of them are sweet, and ultimately grateful.

Every one of our babies has a framed photo on our mantel and it's time for Joshua's.  I think this one will do.

Here are 7 of 9 at the zoo.  I think Kendal stayed home this time to do schoolwork and Joshua was in the stroller or Ergo with me.  Noah's wearing a shirt that says, "Good Boy".  We make him wear it often to remind him and us! : )

I don't usually get a good shot of Daniel and Isaac.  I love this one from today.  They are hard-working boys and they really bless our family in many ways!

 This is everyone with my maternal grandfather, Grandpap.  Check out Noah.  He's just being himself-rarely conforming.  Grandpap asked me how I can keep from losing one of the children...I didn't have the clarity of mind to come up with an answer.  But I'm thinking now that the answer should have been - God.  What else?

Childtraining, continued...

At breakfast I try to have a bible study followed by prayer time each week day. We pray in a circular fashion. Our nearly three year old has been interrupting other family members' turns with his own prayers. That caused us to finally give him a turn too. Now when it is his time to pray I try to coach him. If I don't, we will be listening to hundreds of repeats of all the prayers he's heard before. It sounds innocent enough. Unfortunately he asks for people to "come to know You" who already know Jesus, and so forth. I think he needs some direction.

Recently I decided to make the most of the opportunity and have him pray for himself. He has been quite headstrong and very challenging to train, thus far. That means his days are full of tribulation. I asked him to copy my words in prayer. I usually try to suggest praying that he will be obedient, come when we call him, not cry about having to go to the potty, and so forth.

Twice recently I have said, "Please help me to obey today". So he prayed, "please help Mommy to obey today!" I repeated the prayer several different ways, but no matter what I'd said, it was always the same when he prayed: "Please help Mommy to obey today." Alright, maybe I needed those prayers and I'll have to resort to praying for him myself. But the good news is that he has been listening to our prayers. He copies them perfectly. He is the one who cries to potty, stands up in his chair, refuses his breakfast, demands toys, so I'm wondering how he heard anything over top of himself??? It's a good reminder for Mommy to keep obeying God and train them up in the way they should go no matter how disinterested and unaffected they appear on the outside.