Just my Thoughts

Our fourth little one is due very soon. And, today when thinking all about how excited I am to meet him and have this new little guy around, a thought came to mind that made me view things so differently. I started thinking on his birth from a whole different perspective.

In my mind I saw, looking down from Heaven, a strong, perfect, tall and amazing man. He was standing on an edge of Heaven. I could see he was anxious, and little nervous and thinking. I could see a hand of comfort on his shoulder and knew he was talking with our Heavenly Father.

They were talking about his pending mortal experience. He was mentally preparing to leave the presence of our Lord to start his test on Earth, and come to our family.

In all my thoughts and reflections of the births of my boys, I've never thought of them as grown men waiting to start a whole new world. I usually think of this new little baby who is starting a new life. One who will learn every second and who I'm supposed to remind of all he knew before coming to earth. BUT, never in my mind's eye have I pictured that man. The men my boys were. I think of all they knew. I marvel at their "old souls" and the incredible spiritual things they say or know, and am grateful they came to me with so much wisdom....but never have I ever pictured the image of their grown spirits before they came.

I've been thinking about that man -the son I will soon meet as a baby- and in my mind I tell him I'm excited to meet him, and am nervous for him too. I tell him I'll do my best, and that I'm sorry for my imperfections, but that I'll try to teach him. It'd be a hard edge to stand on -knowing you are soon coming to be tested, but also knowing how necessary and exciting a body would be.

I cannot wait to meet my little baby. But, I'm grateful for the thought of the man he IS right now before he's my baby. I'm grateful that the Lord blessed me with this perspective. My thinking has changed.

First Days Of School!

Onto Second Grade! Ben was more than excited to be heading back to school. Mostly, he wanted to see all the friends he'd missed over summer break. Ben loves everything about school! In typical Ben fashion, he had his clothes, including shoes with socks inside, laid out the night before. His backpack was ready with his favorite book these days (Harry Potter #4) and the Nintendo DS (for the bus ride). He was ready!

 There was no way he needed (or wanted) me to take him to school. He'd miss the friends who ride the bus, of course. I love that he's so social, and makes friends every where. He enjoys people and talking -it fills him up! We made it to the bus stop with the bus waiting, and Ben anxious to get on the bus, obliged me with a quick picture and smile. "Love you mom!" and he was off! Ben is a mature kid. He's smart. He is out to do good and follow rules. He loves school and learning. I am so glad that he is growing into such an amazing capable young man.

 Kade's in Kindergarten!! I can't believe it; he's been waiting to be here forever! Kade started the week after Ben did, and so I enjoyed two "first day of school"days. I loved that I got the chance to focus mainly on Kade and his first day in big kid school. We had visited with his teacher the week before, and he was able to show off his amazing self! Of course, the teachers fell in love with Kade and his quick humor and incredibly outgoing personality. But, of course, they were so impressed by his reading and how easily he completed all the math questions. He is reading well into first grade level! And his math is into first grade level too. Joe and I couldn't be more proud of our Kader-bum and how much he's grown and how much he knows!

 I love so much that Kade is super social and excited about life in general. He's always positive and ready to try anything! There was no fear and nerves for this kid -but, of course, that's Kade!!

 Standing proud outside the front doors.

Even though Kade really wanted to ride the bus with Ben and all the big kids on day one, I asked (almost begged) him to let me take him to his actual class "just once." He indulged his mama (thanks Kade!) and I got to take him for his first day of elementary. He walked in confidently, found his name and name tag, hung his backpack up, was ready to start the day! Bring on Kindergarten; this kid is ready!

This Kid! Incredible!

It has been very well documented through this blog that Ben loves to read. Since his last birthday he has read the first three Harry Potter books. He recently bought the fourth book (for $2 on the yard sale page -score!) And immediately started reading it -literally- he started reading it in the car on the way home from picking it up.
This book is has over 700 pages in it! And, tonight Ben says to me, "Mom! I'm in the 500's! That means I only have 200 pages to go!" This kid is incredible! I love his thirst to read! And, not only can he read the words, he comprehends them too. This is a Jr. high school level book! And, anything he doesn't know he asks about and understands. He just soaks everything in. It's incredible to watch this boy who isn't even 8 yet, absorb so much, and LOVE IT, and want more books. (Oh, and did I mention, he's read a couple "little chapter books" since starting this one.) He's made it through 500 pages, and has read a few other (ten chapters or so each) books on the side, and he got this book just a little over a month ago! Incredible! It blows me away. Keep it up Ben Ben! We will never let you run out of books to read!

Turning Little Jars into Shoes and Bricks

The Lord once preformed a miracle and turned water into wine. Well, in my life, He's done miracle's for me, and in one instance turned pint sized mason jars into church shoes and landscaping bricks. :)

Recently I've started selling things via a online yard sale page. It's been really simple and has helped me de-clutter my house while making money at the same time. As a homemaker, part of my job is to manage the money well. I haven't always been good at it, but as I have grown and learned, I know more ways to cut back costs. I have often prayed for help in doing just that. Yard Sale-ing has been a HUGE blessing to me. The Lord has literally given me a way to help bring in a little extra cash in place of all the stuff we no longer need.

Today, was just *too* perfect a set up to not see as a blessing and an obvious gift from the Lord. It may seem very small, and not all that impressive to anyone else, but to me, it was just incredible. :)

The Little Jars ~First thing this morning, I was meeting a lady to sell a bunch of pint sized mason jars too. I know I will not use for at least the next year or more; I just don't want to can these days, and soon the baby will be here and my hands will be full. (Plus, I love having the open space on my garage shelves!) I was selling them for $8.

The Shoes~ Last week we shopped for school shoes. (Ben is now a size 13.) Then Sunday he mentioned his church shoes were too tight. I thought, "Man, we were just there. We could have gotten church shoes. I guess we'll get them some time this week." Then, our of nowhere, a post appears on the yard sale page. "Boys Church Shoes size 13, $3!"  PERFECT!

The Bricks~ months ago we had a stone/brick-ish wall put up in our front yard. We paid for a certain amount of bricks, but after a few unforeseen stacking needs, we ended up being about 20 bricks short of what we needed. So, our wall has been unfinished for months. Despite Joe reminding me over and over, I never remembered to call the landscape place to have them deliver bricks. (Each brick is anywhere form $4-$6) Last night while looking at the yard sale page, up popped a post for landscaping wall bricks .25 a piece!!! They look very similar in color to mine. I could now buy 20 bricks for $5 instead of $100 give or take!! It was an incredible savings!

So , incase you haven't made the connection....I made $8 this morning for my little pints jars, bought shoes for $3, and bricks for $5. And EVEN swap! My little glass jars literally turned into shoes and bricks for me. I am so thankful that the Lord takes care of our needs and wants. When we desire to do good, He helps us find ways to do it. I want to save money, be more frugal and I am working at it, and this little miracle in my day proves that He is mindful of me and my goals. He will help me achieve great things (like getting out of debt) through small and simple things (like saving money on shoes and bricks.) I am just thankful.

Superman Lives Here

Superman has moved in! For the last couple days, Carter has been better known as "Pooper Man"  (that's how he says Super Man) hahaha. We love it. And, we all call him Superman. I've endulged him and have let him wear the cape to the store. Nothin' cuter!! Love this kid!

Kade the Reader!!

All summer Kade and I have been working through a lesson book to help him learn to read and read well. Kade's progressed really well through the book and is almost done. However, he hasn't seemed to think he could really read anything outside of this lesson book.

Today I took the boys to buy books -a principle was selling lots of books for $1 a piece- and I never pass up a chance to buy books!! The boys could spend their $5 on whatever books they wanted. Kade happened to buy a very special gem called Big Cats. Kade enjoys book with facts especially animal facts, and these days his favorite animals are...you guessed it....big cats. It just so happened to be a level 2 reading book. After flipping through it I knew HE could read this book! There couldn't have been a better blessing given at such a perfect time, then this perfect book with the perfect reading level and about a perfect topic for Kade to finally realize he was a reader! (That's too many "perfects" not to be Heaven sent!)

I encouraged him to start reading, and very soon into the book he gained confidence that he could read this book! He read the whole book himself (save a few words here and there).  Kade read his first book today -a 48 page book that says "Grades 1-3" on it. Whoohoo! Reading is everything! And, I've always wanted the boys to love to read and want to read. Kade starts Kindergarten in about a month and he's already reading so well! I love that he'll be ahead of the game. I love the confidence he'll have. If a kid can start off school with confidence, then nothing can stop them! He can always be ahead of the game if we keep him moving forward. And, of course, we WILL! I love that Kade feels confident, and SO excited that he can say 100% that he's a reader! YAY KADE!!

Fish Lake Fun with Fabulous Friend!

This past week the boys and I made a trip to beautiful Fish Lake, near Richfield, UT, with our amazing friends Cami, Nathan and Ashton Petty. First of all, thank Heaven for awesome friends to experience life with! We love the Petty fam!

 

None of us had been to Fish Lake before, and it was only a three hour drive (give or take), to be in a whole new place, doing and seeing new things, not to mention NOT sweating to death in the heat of the St.G sun. Cami and I quickly planned and two day, one night trip for us and the brood of 5 boys!  

The best thing about this trip was our plans were to just exist and go slow and enjoy. We had basic plan to "get into town, buy food, go to the lake, come back to the hotel, swim, eat, relax and go to bed" (we had our maps and knew where to be and how to get there -we are always prepared and planned in those things) but how we did the things we had in mind, and how long we did those things didn't matter. We were just going with the flow and enjoying ourselves. Our three boys and Cami's two boys get along SO well, that they basically ignore Cami and I and do their own thing. That means Cami and I get to talk -and- mostly laugh, and laugh, and laugh. She's just a great friend.

We all spent the majority of the first day throwing rocks in the lake scaring fish, nad just soaking in the beauty and cool breezes. The boys filled up holes with dirt that they just knew were filled with snakes and other venomous things. We walked around the lodge, and inquired about boat rentals. On a very "cool" and very gross side note, as we walked around the lodge, I spotted a dead bat in our trail. I pointed it out the the bigger boys who, obviously were completely thrilled. Kade thought lightly step on the dead thing, and to their complete pleasure, a little blood squirted out. (And, to hear them tell the story, it was "A LOT of blood!") So cool! We headed back tot the hotel -which is always so fun- and we swam!! We had the pool to ourselves. Ben and Kade their newly acquired swim lesson skills, and Carter turned adventurous and jumped in the pool to me, over and over again! Ben even accomplish a summer goal to do lots of cannon balls into a pool. Success! We ate, later, our fill of Pizza and went to our room to relax and hit the sack.

Have I ever mentioned that our boys are awesome?! And that the Petty fam is just great? With all seven of us ready for bed, we climbed into our designated sleeping spots and once the lights were off, we were all asleep! The boys didn't giggle or talk or cry or bother their mamas. They were angels, and went to sleep. Heaven!

The second day, we head back up to the lake to see things we didn't see the day before and "hike" a little. We found a trail, threw rocks in the lake, of course, and "hiked" some more. We stopped at a beautiful pavilion to eat our lunch of left over pizza and other things, and enjoyed a beautiful little bridge and stream. It was overcast and chilly but perfect and no one minded. We just talked and existed and enjoyed. My perfect idea for a vacation. Also, Carter found a set of five "power rangers" in a little lodge store. He's loving all things Power Ranger these days, so for just over $2 I got these little men for him. By the pictures, can you tell that he loves them? We traveled home, and due to rain crazy weather, and sleeping toddlers, we didn't stop at the couple other stops we'd considering seeing, but headed home instead. It was a great time. Cami and I were proud moms of boys who listened, were sweet, were good to each other, and did wonderfully in the car. We were also women who went out and did something we our kiddos to build memories and to use the summer to be with out boys. It was a great trip. This is the first of MANY similar trips to come.

Another Little Boy.........

Joe and I found out that we're expecting another little boy. I hate to admit that I was disappointed when I heard the news. I felt for sure I'd have a girl put into this mix of men around me. Yet, there's a song I've loved since a teenager, and in it, it says,

 

"All I ever wanted, all I ever dreamed of,

everything I hoped, and all the things I prayed for,

couldn't hold a candle to what I've been given.

I've been given what I need."

 

And, for me I went into the ultrasound knowing that whatever we were having it was what I'd need, and knowing that would help me feel perfectly fine. But, I didn't feel perfectly fine. When the thought of no nail polish or hair bows or purple baby stuff, and barbies came to mind, I did feel pretty sorry for myself. I hate that I cried. I feel bad for not jumping for joy that I was having this boy. This whole person, who I will LOVE and honestly can't wait to meet -I cried because I wanted new girlie décor and new frilly clothes. I'm sorry.

 

I love that the Lord knows me better than that. Even when He knows that I've been dreaming of girlie stuff and frills, He knows that I'd very soon not care about nail polish and hair bows, and that basically I would be focusing on raising a good child. And, because of that, he blessed me to get to raise child I need -another good BOY! The Lord has sent down these incredible spirits to me. I can't take too much credit for their incredible beings. But, I will always do my best to help them stay incredible and guard them from this world and teach them all (if anything) that I can. This world will always need good men, and I have always been so much better instinctively around boys. I was a bit of a tomboy, my best friends (till college days) were boys, and raising the three boys I already have, has just felt natural to me. So, I have no doubt that raising boys is what I'm built for. :) I love my three boys, and they are excited to welcome a new little buddy in to the family. Joe said it proves to be a great compliment that the Lord is giving us another man to raise. I believe that too.

 

Very honestly, I am thankful to be adding a fourth boy. Nothing will "hold a candle to what I've been given." I've always been given "what I need." I can't wait to meet this little guy come the end of November!!

Wildlife Museum

Needing to get out of the house and do something for the day, we met up with friends at the Wildlife Museum! Carter had never been here before, and it had been a long time for me, Ben and Kade. It was out of the heat, and out of the norm of hiking and swimming. The boys really enjoyed the animals, and just running around being with friends. It's not a large museum, but it's enough to keep the boys interested and entertained.

After the museum, went out for a sweet treat. These boys are just fantastic, and it's easy to want to treat them to some ice cream. Onward to more summer fun.