girlfriend

So today as we are getting in the car after school, Sam announces to me that he has a "girlfriend"! I am utterly shocked. He then proceeds to tell me how "sweet" she is. He says, "Yeah mom, her name is Suzy; (not her real name, I honestly can't remember it) you'd like her. She is wreely sweet." I then fumble with my words and somehow get out, "Oh, you mean a friend that's a girl, right?" "Yes," he replies. (Not that I really feared he understood the real meaning, but I felt relieved just the same!)
Of all my boys, I honestly did not expect to hear that from Sam first. I think I was really thinking it might actually be Asher to say those words to me first! ;) Funny. And both funny and scary how fast they pick up things from other kids. He certainly did not get the "girlfriend" idea from us. But I think, for now, I will rest in the innocence and cuteness of it, in the reality that it was Sam, and be VERY thankful it wasn't some other announcement like, "I punched so-and-so today.", or "So-and-so is mean so I beat him/her up." (Neither of the boys have shown any indications that they would actually DO such things at school, but a mother's imagination can get the best of her sometimes!)
And speaking of imagination, I am now caught in a vortex of the realization of how fast time flies and much sooner than I think ALL my boys will grow into men and one by one begin to announce to us their real "girlfriends"/wives. Then I will officially have been replaced. Ouch. But that's the way God set it up to be. And God is good.

Lord, protect those young girls, whoever and wherever they are, and may they grow to be godly women, wives, and mothers for my boys and future grandchildren. And may my boys learn from Rob and I how to love and serve you first, and how to be godly men, husbands, and fathers. For your glory and your name, not ours. Amen.

Care Packages, Potty Training (?), and Other Randomness

Well, today I just sort of felt like putting down a few thought and ramblings....sorry for those of you hoping for pictures of the boys or something. Don't worry, they will be mentioned more than once in this post!

We received our March and April care packages from our home church just a week or so apart...it was great! We have been so blessed this entire year by the love and care we have experience from our sending church through these packages! They have come filled with pictures, cards of encouragements, treats and toys for the boys, gift cards, and all sorts of an assundry of items! Always a blessing and joy to tear into as a family when one arrives each month! And though the boys love the contents of each box, there is just something about a box and a boy... Sam especially is drawn to play and enjoy the box long after the contents have been removed and looked at. Our March package came with crayons for the boys so they both immediately wanted to color, though Sam asked to color the box! So cute! He had a blast!
And then just the other day our April package came already (Amanda is always on top of things!). The boys absolutely loved all the "Cars" things they got, including the movie itself, but lo and behold, now 4 days later, Sam is enjoying "living" in the box and hiding in it and playing marbles in it...who needs toys when you've got a box big enough to fit in?! So I guess, to anyone sending any future packages, FYI, just send an empty box for the boys and they will be happy! :)

Oh and then there is potty training....what a struggle! No one told me how unbelievably unaccomplishable it will seem with a boy who has quite a strong will!!! Will he ever live in underwear and pee AND poop in the potty ALL THE TIME? I must say, this weary mom's faith is waning. PLEASE pray for potty success!

And when does spring really arrive in MD? It is yet to be seen. 36 degrees in April is definitely not this TX girl's idea of spring! I am dying to wear the sandals and flip-flops (though Rob may be more passionate about the flip-flops than I!) and say "Bye-bye!" to the coats and jackets! I also have a lot more matenity clothes for spring and summer to choose from, so if you see me in my green sweater or green long sleeved shirt AGAIN, please bear with me...I do have other clothes, just not for the cold!

But yesterday the boys and I had a sweet moment on the couch! I was laying on the couch reading to them and after I finished a book Sam asked, "Mommy you have a baby in you tummy?" I said, "Yes, do you want to try to feel her and talk to her?" (No, we don't know the sex, but we are speaking in faith!) Then I let him put his hand on my tummy and try to feel where I thought the baby was laying. She wasn't moving, but it definitely felt harder there than anywhere else on my tummy. He said he felt it, but I'm not really sure. Joel started wanting to get in on it all too and was saying, "HI baby." But then the cutest part came...Sam proceeded to tell the baby, "Hi baby, this is Sam and Joel and Mommy." I guess he thought the baby needed to be properly introduced to everyone! I almost started crying I thought it was so sweet and cute.

Well, that's about I've I got for now. Thanks for reading all my "Mommy Musings". I pray that today, if you are a child of God, that you are more aware of His grace, love and forgiveness, than your failings and shortcomings. Take a fresh look at the cross.

Japanese Potty Training Video

Here is the what Daddy and the boys watch nearly every night (click on the link below)...we hope it is getting them inspired to try it themselves! Potty prayers would be greatly appreciated! This mommy is quite weary of changing diapers and short on money too! Hope it makes you laugh as much as it did us! The boys think it is great!...they call it the "Shee pa-pa woobie"! So cute!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_6-KrrIbAEs

BUGS!

Who knew that God would put us in a place that had more bugs than Kopperl, TX? Well, he did...and not only are there more of them, they are weirder too! Maryland has so many strange bugs...and they all seem to show up on the Tombrella back patio! Each morning that Sam runs outside and I hear him call, "Mommeee, wook, wook, Mommeee!", I have to prepare myself! I never know what I am about to discover! A few days ago it was a green grasshopper whose wings looked like leaves...it was actually quite an interesting creature. And the very next day it ended up on the side of our red chair in the living room! I have no idea how it ended up there, but since I didn't want grasshopper guts all over my chair (Rob only kills bugs...he will not catch them!), I picked him up and tossed him outside. We'll probably see him again in a few days!

Yesterday Sam discovered a brown praying mantis...eewwhh! I put him on a stick and threw him into the woods behind our apartment. Sam then said, "All dun, Mommy, aww dun!" That's his way of reasurring himself the bug is gone. Then today, behind our little picnic table, I discovered a black furry caterpillar (just like the one in the picture above!). He looked pretty scary to me so I scooped him onto the end of the broom and tossed him into the woods. (There seems to be a pattern involving the woods...could be WHY we see so many interesting bugs!)

Of course then we have the spiders...Daddy long-legs seem to flock to our patio and storage closet! Every time Sam sees a spider web he says Spiderman made it! :) Rob told him that one day last week and he seems to like the idea! I think I would feel better too if Spiderman HAD made the webs!

Well, we may all come home to Texas with alter egos like Spiderman (if we encounter a radio-active spider), as anthropologists because I keep looking up the bugs on the internet, or signed up to be on "Survivor" because we feel better equipped! The Lord only knows!

Sam (and Rob's) dream for

Mommy! Ha! Ha!