It could have been ugly...

Whew. Treyton woke up early from his nap today. I was trying to let him stay up there in hopes that he would go back to sleep, but he kept calling me. m(low gutteral sound)ommmmmmmmmmm. m(low gutteral sound)ommmmmmmmmmmmm. So I gave up on him going back to sleep and went to get him.

I walk in to the nursery to discover that he is naked from the waist down and the room reeks. In his hand is a neatly folded diaper that he is holding out for me. I'm soooooooooooo thankful that he didn't play in it, do an art project or sit down. His little hiney was covered in poop, but there was none on the sheets.

A miracle.

I'll thank God for that and will dress him in onesies, super glued together from now on! ;)

...and we all lived happily ever after.

Maybe this is a sign that he'll potty train earlier than the other two!
 
Hopeful. So hopeful.

If At First You Don't Succeed

I'm so thankful for the age of the digital camera...

Getting a quality family picture where EVERYONE is looking at the camera can be quite the challenge.

ok, I guess we'll use this one...

Joy

The family Evie married into has a lovely tradition of having the wedding party share during the ceremony.  As brides-maids, we were to share with Joe what a gift he was getting in Evie.  I chose to focus on her Joy.  Lest I forget what I shared, I wanted to write it down somewhere "permenant." So bear with me while I share what a gift my sister has been to me and now is to Joe...

To Joe,
What a treasure you are getting in Evie. Her life swells with joy - sweet, exuberant. Why? Because her joy is from the Lord, through the Lord and a gift back to the Lord. It is a joy that fills her so that she breaks herself open and pours out - giving, giving, giving. She is a woman who enjoys the presence of the Lord. And in His presence is fullness of joy.

This joy of hers spills out to those she loves in countless ways. She cheerfully serves others, even in the mundane.

I still can’t get over how Bethany convinced Evie to do her laundry all those years. But Evie joyfully did so, never complaining once, even when I tried to convince her to make her sister do what she should have been doing or at least work out a fair trade. The thought of only giving if she received something equal in return was foreign to her.

It is also impossible for Evie to remain mad at someone she loves. And this is something you will appreciate and in good old Heller fashion be able to take advantage of… Whenever she would be mad at one of us, it would never take long before she would crack. A funny face, a simple joke or even a tickling hug would usually result in her joy bubbling back to the surface and forgiveness being generously doled out!

Our parents feel that names in a sense are prophetic. This is clearly evident in Evie’s life. Her middle name, Joy, is a reality in her life and now you will be the daily beneficiary of this! You once wrestled with the question of whether the “joy of today is worth the pain of tomorrow” when you didn’t know if you would ever have Evie’s love. Well now you can bask in the happy thought of knowing that you will get to revel in the joy she brings you for the rest of your life.

Love you Ev!

Love

It's been a season of LOVE in our neck of the woods.  My baby sister got married this last month.   Nothing like witnessing new love to remind one of the blessings of marriage!

We were busy, busy, busy getting everything ready for her wedding! Rich was a trooper, taking care of the boys, so I could help w/ wedding prep. The boys LOVED their role as "ring bear" and "cubbie bear". Keegan was insistent that he wasn't a ring bearer, but cubbie bear instead. (Can you tell what is a highlight in his life right now???)

We all loved helping Evie get ready!

Posing for pictures!

Celebrating with Evie and Joe afterwards!

Exploring the beautiful grounds...

enjoying a little cousin rivalry...

(They have the cutest little love/hate relationship right now!)

Explore, Discover, Collapse.

We rediscovered a state treasure this week!  The Boyce Thompson Arboretum is a fabulous place to stop for a day trip!  The boys and I drove for an hour and landed in an oasis in the middle of the high desert! 

We met a group of lovely ladies there...

...and set off to explore

hidden paths

an old Austrailian shepherds shanty in the "outback"

an old rock house

...and discover!

While admiring some roses, we discovered a baby grasshopper.  The kids had fun admiring the little guy and passing him around before Keegan accidentally (dropped) released him back to the wild! :)

Whew.  It was a tiring, but beautiful day.  I can't think of a better way to jump into our study of Creation than by going out and enjoying it!

Toothless

Xander had quite the adventure last week.  The tooth that he had chipped 3 years ago started to flake apart.  (You can thank Rich for not having to view the scary "before" picture that I took.)

The poor guy.  He could feel it coming apart and would actually pick at it with his fingers, so we quickly booked an appointment to see the dentist.  It was so bad that the exposed tooth just continued to come out in pieces and they were forced to dig out the very long root out.

Xander was a trooper and now only remembers the "prizes" from the dentist and his first visit from the tooth fairy!

He also loves showing off his new "look!"

Sorting and Sequencing!

Ahh the joys of sorting and sequencing.  This is the kind of "work" that has been engaged with relish in our house of late.  We love our doller store find of these bright rocks.  We've had fun sorting by color in trays as pictured and making patterned paths across the table and back! 

It's amazing how such simple things like playing with rocks can build a strong foundation for later math skills!

An interesting article on the importance of sorting and how to implement it in everyday life puts it this way:

Parents may think counting and recognizing numbers are the nuts and bolts of preschool math. While these are important skills for young mathematicians to master, building a foundation for complex mathematical thinking begins in the early childhood years. Sorting and classifying objects helps children begin to notice how items are alike and different, and creates an awareness that is vital for math learning.

It's so amazing that such simple "games" can play such an important role!  Check out the article to find a variety of easy ways to bring this in to everyday life!

Happy sorting...

The Way of Gentleness

I've been struck of late with how the Lord interacts with us -in gentleness.  As I think about how God deals with me when I make mistakes or even outright rebel, I'm reminded to extend patience and grace to my children.

I've discovered that my demeaner and my heart attitudes are so important when interacting with my children.

I'm inspired to imitate my heavenly Father in being "slow to anger, but abounding in love."

Last week, I was trying to hurry through getting Keegan down for a nap.  We were at my parents home to celebrate a birthday and I wanted to quickly get back down to fellowship.  As Keegan began to whine and and make a comment about being lonely, my patience snapped.  On the tip of my tongue were harsh words and a threat of discipline if he didn't quickly obey, be quiet and let me get downstairs.  But something made me stop before those selfish words left my mouth. 

Mercifully, my eyes were opened.  My harsh words turned to words of comfort.  My hands gently caressed his hair.  A minute of cuddling and loving words, calmed his fears and I was soon on my way back downstairs.

I am so thankful that God's spirit is at work in me.  Changing me -daily.

I'm thankful for forgiveness, fresh grace, for new days and fresh beginnings.

Motherhood involves a lot of training.  Over and over and over again.  I have to remind myself that training is a process.  What I did today, I need patience to gently train them on again tomorrow.   Ann Voskamp has inspired me, yet again, as I found this old post where she discusses gently guiding our children.  She reminded us of the following fable where the wind and sun argued over which was stronger:

“The Wind began to blow cold blasts, but the man only drew his cloak closer, tighter about him to keep out the cold. Then the Sun took his turn, shining warm and full. Under the sun’s rays, the man released his grip on his coat, then threw it back, and, at last took it off! The Sun’s gentleness accomplished what the Wind’s force could not.”

So after a day, when I lacked gentleness and patience, I go to the Source and pray that I would hear His nudging and follow His leading tomorrow.   That instead of mighty blowing, I might be a reflection of the Son to my children and watch Him do a mighty work in their lives.