Mischievous Little Drummer Boy

Jacob is starting to follow in Patrick's footsteps even more. He has recently determined that pretty much every object in his path is either a drumstick or a drum and he pounds incessantly: pots, pans, paint cans, canned goods, with paint sticks, silverware, pens, etc., etc., etc. I can't even think of all the things he's used lately. Patrick does have an old set of drums in the basement...they may get more use soon! I don't really need everything all dented. The pots actually have some indentations!

And onto the mischief (other than the wall art). When we returned from vacation this weekend, I was pleased to see all my pretty tulips blooming in the front yard. I must say, I was hoping to enjoy them a bit longer! But my cutie 3 year-old was helping me trim some weeds on the side of the house on Sunday. It was about 3 minutes after I realized he was no longer on the side of the house that I went to the front yard to see that my flower bed did not have one standing bloom on any tulip stem. He clipped them ALL off. Although I had to laugh, really, I do really like tulips and was bummed they were gone. I told a neighbor and he asked if I put them in a vase...I said it would have been nice, but Jacob decided to clip them all right at the bloom, so they had no stem. He is so cute, but we did have a little discussion about this. We planted some more flowers today and he already told me he wouldn't pull off the blooms. However, it appears his younger sister may have noticed the fun and we'll just see how many flowers we end up with!

I suppose these kids are all the blooms I truly need in my life. What fun.

Jacob's Views on Wall Art

Today Jacob was reminding himself about writing on the wall on the stairs with chalk. I think it's been a few days since it happened, but since it was chalk, I wasn't too worried or hurried to clean it off. I actually thought maybe Leah had done it. In any event, he was thinking this out and Patrick actually heard him talking about it. I recently had cleaned some ink off his walls in his room and I guess he noticed because today he said, "Oh, there's the chalk on the wall. But, it will come off like it did in my room." And I thought he didn't even notice the wall art in his room. Silly me, cute boy.

Crazy Week

So this has been a super crazy week. More details later, but I ran across this, and it was perfect...a good reminder to stop, take a breath, and have a little fun! Check out this dancing link.

Rich with God's Love

Last week we were outside playing and saw a neighbor walk by. In talking to him, he told me that he was recently laid off from his job. I told him how sorry I was to hear that and then the boys started asking a lot of questions about why I was sorry. I took some time explaining to them that his job told him not to come in anymore and that he had to look for a new job so he could pay his bills - like for his house, his food, etc. It seemed they understood it from that description, but didn't really know why it would happen. As we talked, the boys were telling me about how they thought that wouldn't be very fun and such. Then my sweet Nathaniel told me, "Mom, that's ok, he can still be rich with God's love."

Yes, Nathaniel, you are 100% correct, and we should always remember that no matter the curves life throws to us.

New Suits

Yesterday we ran several errands in the morning. One of which, Nathaniel was eagerly awaiting - to get a suit like Dad's. We found new suits for all three boys and they sure look great on them. They're looking forward to wearing them for Easter, Beth's wedding, and I think Nathaniel is planning to wear his to church this Sunday! He also told me he wants new black shoes and shoe polish for the shoes - "but not too shiny, just like Dad's." Precious. They do have a great Dad to look up to and it's sweet seeing them want to be like Dad. Sure is cute seeing them all decked out!

Great Day

Not a lot to say, but today was really a great day. The kids were all so happy, playing together, being nice to each other, etc. It was like I didn't even want them to go to bed they were so sweet. One of the cute things was when the boys were getting their teeth brushed and Nathaniel was going to get a drink of water. Leyton reminded him, "Nathaniel, don't forget, no more drinks tonight since we're going to bed & want to make sure you stay dry."
Nathaniel said, "Oh yeah, thanks. I'm all done."

It was just so sweet and a day I enjoyed so much. We didn't do a lot other than spend the day together & play, etc. All days are truly good, but this was even more a treasure.

Sandal Time!

What great weather! I cannot believe how nice it has been the past couple of days! As we discussed it this morning, the boys all decided it was time for new sandals. They are faithful sandal wearers throughout the seasons of spring & summer despite the worn out nature of the end of summer look, sometimes toes hanging over the edge, and definite need for daily cleansing (whew, those shoes smell after a while!). And what can I say, mission accomplished. We went to two stores, but did find sandals for all three of them and they enjoyed them today very much. Nathaniel has been ensuring that he can wear them "whenever I want, on any day I decide." Yes, Nathaniel, that will be great. Enjoy! Leah, on the other hand, does in fact love shoes, any size, shape or color. She'll wear any of mine and today at the store, she was screaming as we left as I didn't let her keep the boys size 7 Lightning McQueen crocs! Ha. She's a trip.