The Dream vs. REality

I have this fantasy...one where we wake up to a pancake breakfast on Sunday, everyone gets ready for church and we sit listening attentively to the sermon. Afterwards we eat a family lunch and we share what we've learned and we spend the rest of the day having fun together. The children play with each other happily and Bill and I go to bed together peacefully.....Ahhh!

Okay, now let me tell you how today really went. First we did wake up to a pancake breakfast that Bill makes on Sunday mornings but we had to eat it in shifts while getting ready and changing diapers and feeding bottles to the little one. On the way to church the kids were telling Amanda, Taylor's friend who'd spent the night, all of the bad stuff each other did in the past trying to see who could tear the other one down the most. Then they proceeded to complain about Bill's taste in music (some bohemian version of Over the Rainbow).

After the sermon we went to the nursery to pick up the boys and Gavin had a poopy diaper to change. We went to Costco to grocery shop and Liam proceeded to throw himself down on the floor in every aisle to the point that Taylor took him out to the car to contain him. Gavin then started to cry because he was hungry and needed a nap. We got home and threw food at both the kids. The lunch was peppered with Gavin's whining because he was so tired. We put them to bed and I then launched into my 101 things I wanted to do before they woke up.

I was planning to sew first so Taylor asked me if she could sew too. Sure, no problem. We got into it for about a half and hour when suddenly Gavin woke up. He'd only slept a little less than an hour. I let it go figuring he'd go back to sleep. He continued to wail and woke up Liam. Party's over. We got them up and took them outside. WE all spent time playing outside in between Austin and Dylan doing things to aggravate each other. Bill suggested they wash the car and Liam was cooperative for a while. When he stopped listening I dragged him in the house because by this time I needed to make dinner (sausage/spincach foccacia pockets!). He was still wailing so I opened the dishwasher and asked him to help. Ironically this is something he loves to do so he happily grabbed spoons, forks, and butter knives and threw them in the utensil drawer and then put all the sippy cups and bottles away. He also handed me dishes, pots and pans. That was enough to make him happy.

By this time the kids came into the house arguing about who had put the most away after washing. I asked where Bill was but he'd taken Gavin for a walk because he was crabby. When he got back I tried to put him in the swing but he'd have none of that so then I asked the kids to help by taking turns holding him. Liam was on complete meltdown mode so Bill took him downstairs to watch a video. I then finished dinner, made ice cream, and started making baby food all the while trying to clean up the mess in the kitchen.

We ate dinner while Gavin kept fussing and fuming. The kids liked the dinner and gave it a thumbs up ( a new recipe so I asked them for reviews positive or negative). Dylan had bath duty tonight so that means that he gets to help me bathe the little guys. They both had poop, again! Liam decided to go on a potty strike but then changed his mind at the last minute. Dylan threw himself on the floor in protest of his duty (the kids each have two nights a week of help and every third sunday night). When I reminded him that the wii was at stake he jumped up and begrudgingly helped.

After bath I tried to give Gavin a bottle but he still fought it for a while before giving in and drinking it. A friend called to give me some disappointing news and then I had to change poop...again! My house is trashed too! I then put the little guys to bed, finish cleaning the kitchen, making baby food, putting the ice cream maker downstairs, and the sit to eat my bowl of ice cream. Bill has long since gone to bed...lucky for him! I sit to check my email and Taylor wants me to download something on her ipod. I download it but it's still going...two hours later. She's bummed that she has to go to bed without looking at it.

The good news is that we were all together, the weather was beautiful, and we all have our health. As much as I wanted a day of rest I guess that will come in time. In the meantime I can laugh at some of the funny little moments along the way and hope we all still love each other at the end of the day.

Idolatry...it's everywhere.

Here's a great sermon that I just finished watching. It's long but so worth it. It talks about the idols that we all have in our lives. Which ones do you have? I have several of them, mostly stemming from relationships. I hope that one day I will trust in Christ alone and not my idols.

Enjoy!

http://www.thegospelcoalition.org/resources/video/The-Grand-Demythologizer-The-Gospel-and-Idolatry

Easter Fun!

Here are some pictures of our Easter. I really wanted this holiday to have some spiritual significance for the kids this year but again...I dropped the ball. It was basically about the candy. I fear being viewed by the kids as a no-fun mom by trying to get them to think about what Easter really means (Jesus rising from the dead) that I end up doing nothing. Hopefully I can get over that and have a balance some day.

We went over to Bill's parent's house and had a great time. We ate good food, had great conversation and the little guys had an Easter egg hunt. It's really nice to have family in the area. Bill was overflowing with family goodness! Anyway, that's all for now.

Isn't he so smart?

Dylan got new glasses last week and boy have they helped. The doctor said that he had an overfocusing problem. I noticed that he was holding books far away and his eyes would water when he'd read. Between getting glasses and a new reading program he's well on his way to being an independent reader, something very important in life.

Today we went to the orthodontist to get a retainer for his teeth. He hated the molding but didn't fuss or freak out. I'm hoping for a big toothy grin from him someday.

It's great to see him grow and develop into a young man. He's so good with Gavin and plays with him constantly. As incentive to help around the house I told them they could earn an hour of wii playing in the afternoon if they volunteered to help. It's amazing how willing he is now to take the kids to play outside or to hold Gavin when I'm working out! Hey it works! Unfortunately it only goes so far...I still have to change the poopy diapers!

What we do to innocent children.

I'll give you 3 guesses as to who did all of this. Taylor loves to victimize people with goofy outfits. Her friend Anna came over to spend the night and this is how they greeted the boys in the morning. Austin was quite shocked to see this wierd girl with a green mustache right there eye level with his bed, which is a loft bed. She was on Taylor's shoulders. I could hear the two of them laughing hysterically before they went in there. They said Austin's face was a mix of fear and confusion. I guess being born on April Fool's Day helps her be the practical joker that she is.

We're planning a family party for saturday which should be fun. Cousins, Aunts, and Uncles abound in our family. So far the weather looks like it will cooperate so I'm hoping most people will be outside instead of crammed in the house.

I still can't believe I'm the mom of a teen, although it seems I've been one for a long time if you know what I mean. It's not bad or anything it's just that there can be an extreme swing in emotions from time to time. It's not that I don't have them too but these come on suddenly. Overall though I like teens, it's why I became a jr. high teacher. Jr. High kids are wierd and so am I so it fits. Hopefully my kids will still think I'm wierd but in a good way (the jury is still out on that one.)