Mother's Day 2011

Today we celebrated Mother's Day. We went to church together and then enjoyed a nice lunch at Crisper's. I have to say that there is nothing I enjoy more than being a mom. It is the most challenging and frightening calling, and I pray daily that God would give me wisdom in the task, but I absolutely love it. I love waking up to Cole yelling, "It's time to wake up!" I love Noah's hugs and the little dance he does in the morning when he sees me open the door to get him . I love how Cole is so tender with his brother and how Noah will just randomly hug Cole. I love hearing Cole reading off fan name after fan name from his multitude of fan catalogs. I love that one of Noah's favorite foods in the world is broccoli (mine too). I love that Cole still adores his blankie and still loves me to hold him. I love tucking both of my boys into bed at night. I love lying in bed with Cole at night and giggling as we tell stories and jokes. I love that Noah gets so excited to show me things when we're driving. I love playing "punch bug" with Cole, and how no matter who sees it first, he ALWAYS saw it first. I love when Noah tells "knock knock" jokes. I love making all of Cole's stuffed animals talk and play with him. I love spending each day with my little guys and watching them grow and change. I so just want to hold onto these memories and precious times with them. God has so blessed me with my boys :)

At the end of our church service today, the pastor's wife read a book about how parents are always celebrating their children's "firsts" (first steps, first words, first tooth), but that we rarely remember their lasts (the last time we held them, the last time they picked us a flower, the last time they snuggled with their blankie, etc.). Needless to say, I (and every other mother in the service) was a mess. I almost start crying just thinking about moving beyond these sweet years, yet I know and remind myself that each stage is special and that the goal is not to hold onto them forever. I pray for strength to embrace each milestone and look to the future with excitement, while still cherishing these amazing years with my little guys.

And more camping

More camping

First Camp Out

We took the boys on their first camping trip to Little Manatee River State Park last weekend. They really had a fun time . . . except that Noah was up ALL night. It turns out he was getting sick, but we didn't know it at the time. Cole had a blast sleeping in the tent and exploring around the camp ground. He was thrilled to see his first centipede :) Noah enjoyed digging in the dirt and smearing it all over everything and everyone. We had a nice breakfast on the "campfire" in the morning and headed home for some much needed sleep. That may have been our last opportunity to camp for a while, as it has gotten very hot down here. We're looking forward to taking them again, though, in the fall when the cooler weather comes and Noah is a bit older. I'll post some more pictures in another entry . . .

Tiny Tots and Tunes

Our church offers a music-type class for kids 3 and under in the fall and spring called Tiny Tots, so I did classes with both Cole and Noah from January to March. I had done it with Cole when he was 2 years old as well, but this time, he REALLY got it into it. He loved the music, dancing, and Bible stories. He also did a great job memorizing his Bible verses for the class. Noah seemed to enjoy his class alot too. He loves music and dancing, and I enjoyed the one on one time I got to spend with each of them in their separate classes. My mom joined us for Cole's last class, and Cole certainly hammed it up a bit with her there. Noah had to miss his last class because of a fever, but he can do it again in the fall. Cole will be too old for Tiny Tots, but he can start to participate in a kid's choir class if he wants to do that. We'll see how that goes :)

Lessons

Most of the time, Cole is a truly sweet boy . . . very kind to Noah and extremely helpful to me. However, every once in a while that sin nature comes creeping out, particularly when he is tired. I know that it is common and normal for kids his age to be selfish and act out, but I certainly don't want to normalize that behavior and have a higher standard to follow.

So, yesterday, after driving almost a half hour to Hyde Park, we went to look around the toy store down there. All was going fine, and Cole and Noah were playing on the Thomas the Train table. Another little girl joined them. Cole took it upon himself to remove from the table several of the toys with which he knew the little girl was playing. She didn't even notice, but I did. We promptly left the toy store and made the 30 minute drive back home after only being there for about 10 minutes. When we got home, I showed Cole in the Bible where it talks about being kind to others. We talked a little about that and decided to try to think of nice things we can do for people each day. I love my kids immensely and probably indulge them a little too much at times, but I am realizing that it is important to gently remind them every once in a while that they are not the center of the universe. I let Cole come up with the ideas, and I wrote each one down on a piece of paper, folded them up, and put them in a bowl for us to pick each day. Some if his ideas were . . . make cookies for neighbors, make muffins for neighbors, send letters to people, buy ice cream for Daddy (that was an everyone wins one :). I suggested maybe of thinking something nice he could do for Noah. He then replied, "Maybe we can write some down for me." I just had to smile.