Zach's journal

Zach started learning to read as soon as he slipped his first pair of glasses on last fall. Writing is another story... It's a lot harder to put the letters together than it is to sound out ones already on a page. When he spells a word, we frequently joke that he's qualified to text. For instance, he spells remember RMBR. As I went into the garage to dump the vacuum canister a few minutes ago, I heard him at the kitchen table writing a "journal entry" about his day. (Since spelling is such a pain and takes forever, he was just scribbling "words".) His scribbles read:

"Luke is obsessed with Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaur Happy Meal toys. He is right there, sitting across from me, playing with them this very minute. Sometimes Luke is hurtful, and that upsets me. I like snakes. They are creatures; sorta like frogs, icky, yucky and some could be poisonous. They are reptiles. Jaxon is my friend from school and I miss him since he moved. I liked him in school. He is very, very silly and a lot of fun. Sometimes I even told Jaxon I loved him. There are a lot of different kinds of weather in the world. We have wind, snow and rain. I hope it doesn't storm tonight. I really want to go to the pool."

You can see that his thoughts ramble... Maybe an official journal would make a good birthday gift in September.

A near-miss

About an hour ago, I was faced with the worst decision my oldest child has ever made. We'd been out running errands and I watched each of the boys hop out of the van and run into the garage. I walked around the van to get some bags out of the front seat, shut the drivers side back door with the remote, locked & armed the van, headed into the garage (shutting the garage door behind myself) and began unloading bags in the kitchen. A minute later I yelled for Zachary, just to know what room he was in and what he was doing. When he didn't respond, I knew something was not right. I began yelling rather frantically and headed into the front yard. As I threw open the garage door, I was thinking that it simply WAS NOT POSSIBLE for him to be out front. I'D SEEN HIM GO IN! As I was screaming his name in the front yard, he suddenly popped up from the back seat of the van. He was playing -- hiding! He started this when we were on vacation and I told him at least a dozen times how unsafe and completely unacceptable it is.

I still cannot figure out how and when he got into the van without me noticing. I keep thinking about how I locked and armed the van from the outside; meaning he could not unlock it from the inside. Thankfully, if he tried to unlock it (which he hadn't... he wasn't even concerned that he'd been locked out there by himself) the car alarm would have gone off. But what if I hadn't heard the alarm? If I'd been super busy and just assumed he'd gone upstairs to do a puzzle or downstairs to play the Wii, who knows how long he could have been locked outside in that heat.

So... I think that sometimes this is how tragic accidents happen. A child just swiftly, in a matter of seconds, gets away from his/her parents and gets swept away by their childish desires and decisions. I am the parent that schools chuckle about; the one who has all sorts of safety-oriented questions, as if this is the school's very first day in existence. We still have baby gates on every doorway in our house and hotel locks on every outside door. Many of our friends would joke that we're a bit over-the-top with our safety precautions, but this still happened -- while I was standing there (but didn't see him??)!

It is scary how quickly these things happen. As the summer temps climb even higher, I wish you all a safe summer. Check your backseats before locking the car outdoors.

Prayers please

The bike-a-thon is only six days away... I have a friend who is a freelance writer and, bless her heart, she contacted some of the local news outlets to let them know about the bike-a-thon. This afternoon a writer for our city paper called and requested an interview with our family. Initially we were very hesitant, but decided to accepted her generous offer in hopes that it will bring attention to the event and to the wonderful organizations that serve the needs of children in our community and throughout the state. Our fear is that it will merely draw attention to ourselves and look completely obnoxious!

Our meeting with the writer is tomorrow afternoon and the piece will run in the paper this Wednesday. We would covet your prayers for this meeting; that our discussion will highlight the needs of children, the agencies that meet those needs, and also the ability of even the youngest person to help another.

We also ask that you pray for the event itself. As people who'd initially registered to bike have had to withdraw, we are praying that many others will turn out for the event and that a great deal of awareness and money will be raised.

Thank you, friends, for your continued prayers and support. There are no words to describe how proud Bryan and I are of our children. They are such compassionate and generous little boys. And so many of you have dug deep into your own pockets (and schedules!) to support this bike-a-thon. We are humbled and awed by you! We have so many incredible friends and for that we are deeply grateful. We love you!

A wonderful vacation

With Bryan working crazy-long days, Monday thru Saturday, since February, we really needed a vacation. I don't really know how to sum up our amazing week in Colorado (and about 900 pictures) in one blog post, but I'm going to try.

We had the most incredible time! Colorado is a beautiful place, and it was absolutely perfect for us to reconnect as a family and explore nature. There are some precious moments that really stand out in my mind, and I don't have pictures of any of them. So, I will attempt to share with words... During the eight hour drive to Denver (we spent one night there before heading on to Estes Park) no one was bothered by anything. If there were bad drivers on the road, we didn't notice. If someone needed to go to the bathroom ten minutes after we left a gas station, we just pulled off the road and went. We didn't count the number of times someone said, "Are we there yet? How much longer?" but it was A LOT and never a bother. And my absolute favorite was how attentive Bryan was to the boys - they had a lot of questions and comments on the drive out! They wanted their daddy's attention so badly. Unfortunately, we've all adjusted to him being gone a lot, so having him with us was a very special treat! Bryan and the boys even played catch with a nerf football in the van. So sweet...

Another favorite memory is my walk with Luke around the condo property on the second night. We watched birds (he especially liked their "really beautiful chirp" and spied on the chipmunks. We ended up in the condo lobby where we looked through a photo album containing pictures of animals photographed on the property. That led to a discussion with the office staff about the best places to see animals. They recommended the park (and told us that it never closes!), so we went back to collect the rest of our crew and rushed off (in jammies) to RMNP to see what we could see.

On the first day that we fished, Zach got bored so he and I went for a hike around the lake. We climbed rocks, talked and found a lot of little treasures (like a broken Bic lighter). Even the shortest amount of alone time with a child is so precious.

On to pictures....

Luke's first MLB game - at the Colorado Rockies

Happy Father's Day - this was taken outside our condo!
Zach, Grandpa (B's dad), Luke & Bryan

A family picture taken at the other end of our condo building

The boys loved the tire swing at the condo

The most awesome swing ever - at my friend Amy's cabin

Grown up, married, with children..
Amy and I went to school together K-6th grade.

Got knee-deep into the water

Luke absolutely loves to fish!
(Notice the elk about 15 feet away.)

My first fish ever
(I think ruffles are prefectly suited for fishing!)

Bryan and the boys reel one in

Grandpa catches one in the river behind our condo

An amazing 11 mile bike tour through Devil's Gulch

If you look closely, we're down around the corner

Beautiful aspens in Rocky Mountain National Park

We loved climbing rocks at Alluvial Fan

Found this beautiful spot near some privately-owned cabins in RMNP

A self portrait at the edge of a cliff

The hike to Alberta Falls

We made it to the top!

Crossing the water on the hike back down

An incredible sunset in the park

It's official... and it takes my breath away.

I knew the letter was waiting for us in our mailbox; my friend told me so this morning. But as I held the envelope in my hands, I didn't want to open it. The letter reads (in part), "your child will be attending the afternoon session (of kindergarten)." It's not as if I didn't know this; after all, I was there at enrollment! But, today I am not ready.

I have recently discovered that it's true, time does fly when you're having fun. Our summer schedule is packed with activity - a week at soccer camp, a week at VBS, a week of vacation, weekly junior golf during the month of July, the bike-a-thon, two neighborhood summer parties, another week of soccer camp (he loved the first week so much he asked to do it again!), the beginning of soccer season, and then the first day of school! It is going too quickly and we are having too much fun. I don't want it to end. I have enjoyed seeing him all day every day.

Zach is learning, growing and maturing more every single day. Just today he asked me if he could take himself to his VBS class, which I'm pretty sure is against the rules for the kids his age. So, I allowed him to walk way ahead of me so he'd feel like he was all alone -- he came back to kiss me goodbye as soon as he reached his classroom door! He is pulling away, but snaps back as if attached by a rubber band. We have had some independence and discipline issues over the past few weeks. I suspect it's all a part of growing up; him wanting boundaries further out and me wanting them to stay where they've always been. I know the boundary move (and his independence) is inevitable, but today the thought just takes my breath away. Kindergarten is his first really big step into this world of independence and it's one that I cannot take with him.

"Ki-koo fwoot-woop"

I am listening to my boys laugh hysterically over breakfast (fruit loops)... They are repeatedly saying, "ki-koo fwoot-woop" in the highest pitched voices you can imagine. That was little Zach's very first prayer (12 months old - almost 5 years ago). Bryan and I had only starting having real relationships with God after Zach was born, so praying with a small child was something we'd never done before. We prayed at dinner, but that was the extent of it. One night Zach interjected with, "ki-koo fwoot-woop". We determined that he was saying, "Thank you for fruit loops", but we'd never purchased a single box of fruit loops! It was easy to figure out that he'd had fruit loops at church and they must have prayed with him. He'd been learning to pray! We were immediately challenged to step it up and not leave the church to do all the teaching. We'd thought that he was still too young to "get it", but obviously he wasn't. He's been talking to God ever since! These days we simply follow the kids' lead... Leads that have taken us to places we could never have anticipated!

Every single time I pour a bowl of fruit loops, I have a quick flashback to "ki-koo fwoot-woop". We are so very grateful for the amazing children's ministry at our church that has poured not only into our children's lives, but Bryan's and mine as well. They are great partners for us parents!

Superman

I've often wished for a cleaning fairy... Tonight I had a superhero show up! Neither the popcorn mess, nor the heavy Dyson, were too much for Superman. Thank you, my little hero.

Bike-a-thon fever!!!

We are five weeks away from the for KIDS by KIDS bike-a-thon. This bike-a-thon was Zachary's idea and we'd honestly expected to have a few of his preschool friends, their siblings, and our boys' cousins out riding bikes and coloring a few pictures with us. But as we told people about the bike-a-thon, they started spreading the word, and then those people spread the word... Today "the event" is being promoted on various websites, by clubs & organizations, on Facebook, via mass emails and by word of mouth. We are so grateful for the enthusiam and support that we have encountered!

Thirty-one people have signed up to bike and we expect more to register as we get closer to July 11th. I asked friends today for entertainment and sponsor ideas, and was overwhelmed by the response. I am reminded of just how awesome people are! I am in awe of their generosity and willingness to help others.

We'd initially planned a simple morning of bike riding, coloring and a small bake sale. We have added face painting and colored hair spray for sure... And we have a good lead on at least one bounce house for the kids to play in. We are working on a tent with misters, or might just do a sprinkler if the misters prove to be too expensive. We would really love a children's musician, but we've yet to come across a friend with connections! We continue to brainstorm and are so excited to see how the event will actually unfold.

So, our simple little event may not be quite so simple... AND WE ARE THRILLED! We want the bike-a-thon to be so much fun that the kids want to come back next year and bring their friends. This is all about raising awareness about these two organizations, reminding parents to have those early discussions with their kids about personal safety, helping grow children's compassion for other children who are not able to live with their families, showing kids that the community cares about kids, and having fun!

We hope that you will join us at the bike-a-thon... July 11, 9am - 10:30am. For safety reasons, I have never specifically said (on the blog) where in the U.S. we live... Real life friends, please forgive me for referring you to my Facebook or email if you need the event location. We really would LOVE to see you there and welcome your assistance if you are interested!

Please register by emailing me, or leaving a comment here or on my facebook. I just need to know how many bikers to plan for. Cost is $5 per biker.

Determining "the track" for the bike-a-thonTaking the loop for a trial run

Luke was tired of biking and preferred to smell the flowers

The loop works!

Embracing who they are

Our younger son has recently started hitting his brother. He hits when provoked, and hits when completely unprovoked. Bryan and I are doing our best to disciple, redirect and train Luke, but some days it seems our efforts are to no avail. Yesterday I asked my Facebook friends if they had any success disciplining this kind of behavior with their children. Most replied saying to allow our older son to hit back. This is exactly what Bryan had suggested the day before, but I am hard-pressed to imagine my 60 pound son hitting my 38 pound son! It does seem like a very logical solution though, so we've decided to give that a shot since nothing else has worked... You should have seen the look of glee on Zach's face when we told him that he was allowed to hit back! This could end disastrously.

As I was reading through my friends' suggestions, I came across a post from my friend Annie. She talked about how her mother raised 4 boys and 2 girls. Annie said that her brothers were very rowdy and rough with each other and her mother was so godly and patient that she allowed her kids to be who they were... Her mother had the patience to allow the kids to run circles through the house while she played her piano or did her devotionals in the other room. I simply cannot imagine that kind of patience!! But it is truly that kind of patience that I would like to have.

I believe that it is important to discipline and train our children. We will continue to work on eliminating hitting; however, I think I need to do a little work on myself too.

As I have thought about Annie's mother, I am reminded of the way Bill O'Reilly talks about his mother in his book A Bold Fresh Piece of Humanity. He writes about how his parents had definite rules and expectations, but that his mother also nurtured his individualism. He repeatedly says that he was high-energy and had a tendency to be a hooligan and prankster. It's been a while since I read his book, but he pretty much says that his mother had a lot to deal with in him, and that she was always consistent, nurturing, accepting and encouraging. I want my kids to think of me that way when they are all grown-up.

Our boys are definitely high-energy. Only time will tell if they will be hooligans and pranksters, but I can certainly imagine a lot of that in Luke's future! During these days of constant high-energy, loud silly noises and creative imaginations, I find myself feeling self-conscious about my kids' behavior when they become rowdy or won't sit still in public. When a waiter shows up at the table and comments on how we have our "hands full" or when a friend refers to them as "energetic" (with that tone that sounds like they disapprove), I feel a twinge of insecurity and find myself wishing the kids would just "behave". As I think about Annie's mention of patience, I think that is largely what it boils down to for me. A lot of times I expect my kids to be "as well behaved" as the other kids who are around; and all patience goes out the window when they are "not". However, I feel I have come to realize that it is not a matter of my kids' "misbehavior" as much as my impatience, expectations and pride. To borrow a phrase from Bryan, I sometimes want to "fit a square peg into a round hole". Out of pride and impatience, I sometimes want my kids to be cookie cutter children, just like the "other kids"... whatever that means!

My honest desire is to nurture and encourage my children's individuality. I want to have the patience that will allow me to go with the flow, accept them as they are, nurture their interests and creativity, and not spend so much time each day nagging them to settle down, be quiet, quit running, and ask the invisible friends to leave. God designed my children to be exactly the way they are, so I think it's time for me to stop trying to change them into something else. This is suddenly reeking of John Eldredge's Wild at Heart.

“I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.” Psalm 139:14

Kids' bedroom tour

Kelly's Korner is at it again... This time it's Show Us Where You Live Friday (or Tuesday in my case!) - Kids' Bedroom Edition. With our busy schedule, I didn't have a chance to participate in the dining room tour last week. (I don't really understand how I was too busy, as the entire room can be captured in two pictures!)

The kids moved into the same bedroom a few months ago. Zach sleeps on the top bunk; Luke sleeps on the bottom. I asked Zach this morning if he enjoys sharing a room with his brother and he emphatically answered, "YES!" So, I'd say it's going well... I still can't believe four people live in a three bedroom house and we have a bedroom that's not used as a bedroom at all! It's my scrapbooking room.. I will be posting that later! On with the tour...

This is the view from the door. The bunk beds were our first ever Craig's List purchase. We were looking for a full (bottom)/twin (top) bunk bed and found this full (top and bottom!) w/twin trundle and three drawers underneath instead!!! It came complete with all the mattresses & a matching dresser for $350. I found the bedding on walmart.com for about $30 each - BARGAIN!

Their closet is behind the double doors. The bookshelf is packed (was Bryan's as a kid - we painted it red) and there is Jawhawk stuff everywhere! These awesome chairs (one basketball & one baseball) were a splurge from a furniture store. We love them and they will definitely grow with the boys - I think they'll make good video game chairs!

Here's the baseball chair and a cool hat rack that I found at a garage sale for $5 (the base is a baseball and the post is a bat).

We hung a shelf up high for all of their treasures that they don't want broken - pictures, piggy banks, trophies, etc. This dresser was also Bryan's when he was a kid - we painted it. The baskets on top hold diapers & creams that we have almost completely outgrown. Luke is on track to be out of nighttime pull-ups in no time! The pads leaning on the right of the dresser were Bryan's when he umpired baseball... The kids love to wear them! (The door to the right goes down into the attached playroom... pics below!)

Our Jayhawk room was completed with the addition of the KU basketball signed by the team!

View from the top bunk

View from the boys' bedroom window. Our house sits up high enough that we see A LOT of July 4th fireworks from these windows! (We also face a few sports venues that have fireworks all summer long. We also see the occasional fighter jet fly-by and military choppers.)

The upstairs playroom... This room did not exist when we bought the house - it was attic space! Bryan and his dad built the addition when we were pregnant with Zach. This is the view from the doorway. The red table & chairs belonged to Bryan and his sister when they were children. My father-in-law repainted it for us. My father-in-law and I painted Jay on the wall (we used a projector to draw the image).

View from the bottom of the stairs (it's lower than the bedroom - three steps down).

Just being honest... I ran out of paint and haven't had time to finish it! See the artwork hanging on the wall? That's a cool chain thing with clips that my friend gave me. Great way to display all of their papers!

I love all of this storage. I bought these three units from the same garage sale - totaling $9. That far right unit is filled almost entirely with puzzles!

"School"... I came up with this idea as a way to coax Luke out of Zach's preschool without too many tears. He wanted so badly to go to school too! So, this is now where we keep some school materials. Luke and I would come here every day after dropping Zach off, and then on Zach's off days he wanted to do school here too!!

Rock chalk!

Hope you've enjoyed the tour... You're invited over to play anytime!

Enhanced photos

Remember those park pictures? I loved them as they were, but really wanted to see if we could add more character through editing. I enlisted the help of two of my professional photographer friends, and then also sat down with my Adobe Photoshop Elements to see what I could figure out on my own. It had been so long since I'd used my Elements for anything more than cropping and fixing blemishes! I'm very happy with the results...

My work

My work

Photographer #1's work

Photographer #2's work

Photographer #2's work

If you don't have a photo editing program, I strongly recommend you get one. We are very happy with Elements... and I don't think we've had professional portraits done since getting it! Why would we when we can take our own pictures and edit them to look so good? (One reason - TO GET ALL FOUR OF US IN A PICTURE!!!)

A blessed day

Garage sale days are always loads of fun around here, but yesterday was extra special. The kids had their big bake sale (benefiting a local child abuse prevention & victims advocacy center and another organization that does a great deal of work with foster children in our state) and every loaf of bread sold was celebrated! If Bryan and I weren't standing there when someone made a purchase, the boys would come find us - screeching about yet another success! After all was said and done, the kids raised $112 and our family was only left with one full size loaf and one mini loaf. We are so very grateful for the dozens of strangers who bought bread, and deeply touched by each of our amazing friends who came by to support our boys in this effort. With every batter we mixed, I prayed for the organizations, the families impacted by their work, and that garage sale shoppers would generously support this cause. If the sale wasn't a huge hit, my greatest concern was not that I'd gain 20 pounds eating the left-overs, but that my children would receive the message that people do not really care about kids. I'm so happy to report that they received the exact opposite message! As soon as we called it a day Zach bounced into the house saying, "Now we've got to get on that bike-a-thon! We need to go over there and figure out our track!!" The boys' excitement and compassion is inspiring.

Zachary explaining to our friends what friendship bread is, which loaves have chocolate chips, why they should buy it and
how much it cost!

Friends enjoying their bread!

Luke and one of our other little friends enjoying a water gun battle.

A hot day demands dumping bottled water on your head!