This Week's Highs and Lows

High:  Sunday.  Taking our niece and goddaughter, Raphaella, out to lunch before Matt had to leave town that afternoon on business.  It's been a few months since we've seen Elle, so it was nice to reconnect.

Low:  Monday.  An early morning medical appointment with one of the kids (we're just running some tests--no emergencies).  We got to the lab right after it opened at 8 a.m. only to find it had relocated. We went to the new location and put our name on the list.  We were seventh in line.  We waited over an hour. This kid had been fasting and was hungry.  I hadn't eaten breakfast, either, so I was hungry. Finally, our name was called, but the lab didn't have any test orders for us.  So I called the dr.'s office and thankfully she was able to give direct orders over the phone.  Eight vials of blood later, we were outta there.  Finally.

Low:  Tuesday.  Another early morning appointment.  That's o.k.  I had been up since 4:30 a.m.  I don't sleep very well when Matt is gone.  Elizabeth and I reached the health department right on time, but realized we had forgotten all of the paper work needed for her travel vaccinations.  She thought I had the envelope, I thought she had it.  I didn't handle the situation well.  I panicked.  I lost it. Not my most stellar mommy moment.  I had Liz call Grace, who was home and able to run the papers in.  I thought for sure we'd have to reschedule the appointment for a month from now. Thankfully, they let us wait for the paperwork to arrive and then we proceeded with the appointment as planned.

Low: Still Tuesday.  I didn't get an afternoon nap as I had hoped.  I didn't manage my time well and I didn't get dinner started on time.  Plan B implemented.  Brinner.  Except even that didn't work out. Paul had a meeting. I insisted he eat before he went, even though he was getting more anxious by the second (he doesn't like to be late).  The first waffle stuck to the waffle iron like cement.  I tore a chunk off.  He slathered some pb on it and we ran to the car so that I could drive him to his meeting.

Low:  Later still on Tuesday.  Matt called from CA.  He wondered how the chicks were doing.  I told him the kids said they were fine, but then I went to go check on them.  One of the little kids had taken the water line out of the chicken box.  Yeah.  Those chicks were thirsty. Which lead to another unstellar mommy moment.  As I watered the chicks, I realized that a number of them had crusty poopy butts. It happens, but it must be dealt with.  Unfortunately, Matt wasn't home to do it, so the job fell to me. Only a responsible adult is qualified to torture little chickies and try to keep from tearing feathers off their bottoms.

High:  Wednesday.  The obit in the newspaper revealed that the young man whom I had seen on the roadway after a fatal car accident the previous Friday had been baptized into the Christian faith two weeks ago.  This had been such a burden on my heart.  It was good to know that by time I had seen him, he was in Jesus' arms.

High:  Wednesday night late.  My Matthew returned home.

High:  Thursday:  Liz's passport arrived in the mail!

High:  Friday.  It was a gorgeous day and the boys helped me work in the yard.  Matt and I got to see our other goddaughter, Opal, compete in her gymnastics meet.  She did very well.

High:  Saturday.  We had a family dinner to celebrate my mom's 66th birthday.  This past summer mom's health was such that I thought I wouldn't spend another Christmas with her, let alone another birthday.  God is very good.

For the Lord is good;
    his steadfast love endures forever,
    and his faithfulness to all generations.  Psalm 100:5

  

The Kids: Isaac

Isaac Johnner.  He's our little man.  We named him Isaac because God gave him to us as an answer to prayer.  Isaac means laughter.  Isaac made us laugh again after mourning another child lost through miscarriage and he continues to make us laugh every day.  When he laughs, everyone laughs, because his laugh is contagious.

Isaac turned five at the end of December.  He's tiny compared to his brothers when they were the same age.  In fact, Isaac has a very difficult time keeping his pants from falling down.  The battle is a daily one and it is real.  He's also very concerned about looking "weird" in regards to what he wears. So between his twigginess and his fashion sense, he's been our most difficult boy to clothe to date.

Just like his older brothers, Isaac loves to pretend to be a fighter pilot, a cowboy or a Rebel Fighter. Even though the eleven and under members of the family have not seen the new Star Wars movie, there's enough brand recognition, even in this t.v./cable free household (we do watch videos), that Star Wars is now a thing with our little boys.  Legos are regularly transformed into the Millennium Falcon.  Isaac, Joel and Jude spend a good part of each day running around the house and property pretending to be fleeing the Empire.

Isaac still loves ears.  Now that Joseph is older, he only occasionally tolerates an ear message from his older brother.  Poor Isaac.  He's no longer the rajah he used to be.

Isaac is becoming more his own person day by day.  He's starting to express his ideas and fill me in on funny stories about Joseph that he thinks I would find humorous, too.  Puzzles are a favorite activity for Isaac. He's quite patient and has a long attention span when putting together a puzzle.  His favorite books are still Richard Scarry books.  His favorite food is "cheesy wice." (Leftover brown rice, sprinkled with cheese, heated in the microwave.)

When we manage to pull together family Bible time, Isaac likes to add to the suggestions of what hymns we will sing. One of his favorite hymns is one his daddy taught the family, Victory in Jesus. Isaac also likes to help lead the family in saying the Lord's Prayer.  We pray that Isaac will continue to grow in the wisdom and knowledge of the Lord.

The Kids: Jude

Jude is still doing life at his own speed.  He's one tough dude, yet he's a cuddle bear.  He's the only one of our boys who will voluntarily give me a hug.  Randomly throughout the day, he'll catch sight of me, smile, run to me and wrap his arms around me.  It's enough to make my heart melt.

Jude is learning to read.  He seems to be having some of the same struggles with reading that his older sister had.  Each of them had terrible ear infections their first year of life.  Each ended up getting tubes in their ears.  I'm wondering if the constant infections affected their ability to hear language and contributed to their difficulty in learning to read.  It's just a theory that I've formulated based on some of the material I've read.  I'm no expert, just a mama trying to figure out how to teach her kids to read and enjoy all that reading will afford them, not the least of which is the ability to learn about God through His Word.

We are using the All About Reading Program, which is more time intensive than other phonics programs I've used in the past, but is highly recommended for children who struggle to read.  So far, so good.  Jude even read some of the words on the back of the cereal box to me the other morning.

Other than reading, Jude spends his days running here and there and every where.  He rarely walks. Anyone who knows Jude knows that he is not very quiet, either.  As his Grandpa Bob says, "Jude has one volume--loud."  Just seventeen months Joel's junior, Jude could not be more different in personality than his older brother.  He's a "take life by the horns" type of guy.

Jude makes me laugh every single day.  Between his facial expressions, his guttural noises and his quirky sayings, he's a crack up.  The other day, I stood in the kitchen and yelled his name.  I needed him to come to me as I had a job for him to do.  Our house is big, so often times kids don't hear me well, thus the yelling.  Thus the gift of the intercom system for my birthday.  "Juuude!  Juuude!" I shouted.  Finally, the intercom unit in the kitchen came on. "I'm not able to collect laundry right now, Mom.  I'm going to the bathroom!" (Yes, some child thought it was a good idea to put one of the intercom units in the bathroom.)

Jude also loves to playact military battles, just like his older brother.  One day not long ago, I returned home from running errands and MP Jude granted me clearance to park in our driveway. "Cops and Robbers" and "Cowboys and Indians" are also among Jude's favorite playtime activities.

Last summer, I was going through a stressful time and as a result, I wasn't sleeping well.  My friend, who is an expert in all things essential oils, set me up with a diffuser and some lavender oil.  I couldn't believe how much it helped.

Then, one day, I was in the health food store and I spotted an essential oil, took a whiff and on a whim, decided to bring it home.  It's called "Cheer Up Buttercup!" I often times get this oil going in the diffuser in the morning.  I'll make a big mug of tea, say a prayer, put on my big girl "I can do this" attitude and dig into that day's homeschool lessons. Jude calls the oil, "Suck It Up, Buttercup!" because he can't remember it's real name.  I think I like Jude's name better.

We are beginning to see glimpses of the soft heart Jude displays toward the things of the Lord.  He asks thoughtful questions during our Bible study time and quietly contemplates truths we are studying.  His dad and I trust that the Lord will fashion Jude into a "contender for the faith," just as his namesake exhorted believers to be.

The Kids: Joel

Joel Robert William.  It's a fitting name for a grown man stuck in a boy's body.  Joel is the only one of our children who has two middle names.  Matt and I weren't sure that we'd be able to have more children after Joel, so we decided to give him both of his grandfathers' names just in case.

At eight, soon to be nine years old, our little mustachioed man is growing taller and more philosophical by the day, although he no longer sports a stache. Joel is an observer and will only join an activity once he thinks he has a handle on it.  His is very concerned about proper rule following, which leads to concern over rule breaking.

For the most part, Joel is quite serious. That doesn't mean he doesn't enjoy laughing.  He does. However, he's not into silliness.  He speaks slowly and purposely.  He doesn't waste words.  He often times is quiet during our loud family dinner conversations, but then will pipe up with a deeply profound statement that bowls us over.

Joel recently took over Paul's chicken business which supplies eggs to a few customers and partially supplies our own family with eggs.  Paul was looking to get into his knife sharpening/making business and it seemed appropriate that Joel would take over the chickens.  As such, Joel is responsible to let the chickens in and out of the chicken house each day and make sure they have plenty of food and water. He also collects, cleans and dates the eggs every day.

Joel loves to read and he loves to role play WWII battles with his three little brothers.  Matt got me an intercom system for my birthday so I wouldn't have to do so much yelling to get kids to come from the far corners of the earth.  Of course, the kids have used the system more than I have.  Joel especially loves to put out WWII fighter pilot mayday messages.  "I'm going down.  I repeat, going down!"

Joel is very protective of his little brothers.  He allows his brothers to sleep in his bed when they desire to do so.   I often find all three boys (Joel, Jude and Isaac) and the dog squeezed into Joel's twin bed when I do a bedtime check.

Joel helps Jude to memorize his BSF verse every week.  Jude is always so tickled to come home from Bible study and tell me how he was able to say his verse in class.  This is due to Joel's diligence, not mine.

Before I conceived Joel, I prayed that the Lord would give me another son to raise to His glory.  I did conceive, but I miscarried.  One morning I was having my devotional time and reading in 1 Samuel. Hannah's cry to the Lord for a son became my prayer and I distinctly heard the Lord say to me, "I will give you a son."  Not long after that, I became pregnant with Joel.  He is the son for which I prayed and I know the Lord has great plans for this little boy of ours.