Have you ever wondered...

what it's like to have absolutely no common sense?

Well, then come on down to our house!

Aidan has a tendency to do things without thinking. He is a very impulsive person, and I am hoping he will grow out of it, but I am not holding my breath. This morning, he put a scratch in the glass on our back door (or it may just be a mark - we're not sure) by using his dart gun to smack a dart off of the door. Most people would use their hands to get a dart down, but not my Aidan! Dad reminded him that it is best to think before he does something.

Apparently that reminder went in one ear and out the other because this afternoon, I went into his bedroom with a brand-new quilt that just came in the mail today so that I could try it out on his bed and look at paint samples. I found Aidan standing on a chair on TOP of his bed picking little bits of texture off of the ceiling. There was a pile of little while texture blobs on his bed. What possesses him to do these things?????????

Then tonight, while Gresham was breaking the music stand on the piano, Aidan was cleaning his room because he had gotten each and every toy out of his toy chest right before dinner. I went in to see if he was done. There were still toys on the floor, although the toy chest was so full that the lid wouldn't close. Thinking that this was a little odd, I checked the toy chest, and realized that he had stuffed his COMFORTER into the bottom of the toy chest before putting in the toys. I pulled it out, and out came several toys, and Aidan cried because he had to clean up all over again.

Sometimes I lay awake at night and wonder what he will be like as an adult...?

My poor boy

Awhile back, we took away Gresham's pacifiers... I think it might have been November. We were trying to make the "sassy" (as he called it) a distant memory before the baby is born! Gresham apparently hasn't gotten over it and has brought up the sassies several times lately. This morning we had this conversation:

Gresham: whine, whine, whine
Mom: Gresham, why are you so whiny? Are you a whiner?
Gresham: No! I am NOT a whiner!
Dad: Then what are you?
Gresham: I am a boy who has no sassies...

Pathetic, isn't it? Although I don't think there has been any permanent damage done...

Bible Time with a Two Year Old

Today our day has gone like this:

Breakfast
Fighting over toys
Getting dressed
Bible Time
Fighting over seats on the couch
Fighting over toys
Violin practice
Curious George
Fighting over who turns off Curious George
Fighting over colored pencils
School time
Fighting over toys
Lunch
More Fighting over toys

Finally, I sat them down on the couch, and we looked up a few verses about fighting. We read Proverbs 20:3 that says that "any fool will quarrel." We talked about loving our family members and desiring to please God more than loving toys. I thought I was getting somewhere, and then Gresham prayed this prayer at the end...

Mom: Say, God please forgive me
Gresham: God 'give me
Mom: for being selfish
Gresham: selfish
Mom: and mean
Gresham: and mean
Mom: Help me
Gresham: Help me
Mom: to love
Gresham: to love Grandma
Mom: no, to love my BROTHER!

Oh well, I think that Aidan really did get something out of it... We'll see how the rest of the day goes...

And now, a break from our regularly scheduled programming...

...to talk about the economy.

Just kidding... sort of.

This is a topic I have been thinking about for a while, but after visiting a few blogs sites yesterday, I thought I would write about it.

This year, Jordan and I have learned a lot about finances, contentment, and God's provision. In May, I discovered a whole world of "frugal bloggers" who encourage their readers to live joyfully and thankfully on the income God has given them, while using deals and sales to make the most of their money. With knowledge gained from these sites, I have been able to spend considerably less on groceries. This has helped, but the best part was learning how to happily make do with less. I used to wish I could just go to the store and pay full price for what we needed, rather than having to shop all over the place for a deal, but now I am much more content in the realization that God will provide exactly what we need. I don't need to worry about it - I just need to trust Him. If I have to check sales online before heading out to the store, and this takes more time, then so what! I can be thankful that we even have the money to make decisions with! This year, Jordan and I decided not to buy gifts for each other for Christmas since we have several medical expenses coming up that we are saving for, and it really didn't even matter. In the past, this probably would have bothered me, but this year it was no big deal. I realized that I could feel sorry for us, or I could focus on the fact that a lot of people would give everything they have to get what we have - a happy marriage, a nice house, two beautiful boys, another one on the way...

Yesterday, I was cleaning out my list of blogs that I read, and I clicked on a couple that I haven't read in a long time. The first one was talking about how scared she was about the economy, and how she is looking into buying a wood burning stove and growing all their own food so that they won't have to rely on anyone else. The second was talking about putting 3 months of food into storage for a time when they might need it. This project is taking great time and effort. Now, the whole point of being frugal is buying things when they are at their lowest price to save them for later, but it can quickly be taken to the extreme of trusting in the stockpile rather than trusting in God.

Is God any less in control now that the economy doesn't look good? I am all for planning ahead, but I don't want to make that my security. My pantry could catch fire and my whole stockpile could be lost. Something could happen that would require us to clean out the savings account that we have been working so hard on this year. God is the one who knows exactly what will happen in the future, and not only does He know, but He is in control of every detail! If He provided manna in the desert for the nation of Israel, then He can certainly provide for us during an economic downturn. Now, this doesn't mean that there won't be difficult times ahead, but difficult times are quite good for us anyway... hardship strips us of our trust in ourselves and help us see how fully we rely on God.

How Gresham talks to the baby...

At least once a day, he lifts up my shirt and says to my belly, "Hi baby! Hi! How doing?"

22 Weeks

Here I am at 22 weeks along... I still have 16 (or more!) weeks of growing to do!

More sweetness from Aidan...

Yesterday, the baby was kicking a lot, and so I told Aidan to come over and put his hands on my belly to try to feel it - he hasn't felt the baby kick yet, and he can't wait to! The baby immediately stopped moving (is this a sign of uncooperativeness to come? I hope not...). Aidan decided to talk to him, since I have told him that the baby can hear us now. He leaned over to my belly and said sweetly, "we painted your room today!"

We painted the room blue, and it looks great. About halfway through, I started thinking, "What if this is a girl???" After that ultrasound, I can't imagine that it could possibly be a girl, but if it is, we'll paint clouds in the blue and make it a sky and decorate with birds or ladybugs or something!

Music Time!

Okay, this one isn't about music, but I had to put Gresham's latest silly face on here! He is turning into such a nut. His sense of humor is very goofy, but he is more subtle and low-key than Aidan, which is kind of pleasant actually...

For Christmas, we went together with Jordan's mom and got the kids musical instruments! Aidan is always begging me to "make instruments" like they did on the Curious George TV show, but how fun is a shoe box with rubber bands on it anyway? We tried making instruments, and they never worked out very well, so we bought bongo drums, a xylophone, recorders, shakers, and claves for them for Christmas. They have had so much fun! It's pretty loud, so we only play them in 15 min. intervals... I keep them in a box and they are not allowed to get them out without me. Aidan can play "Hot cross buns" on the recorder, and he has figured out a couple of his violin songs on the xylophone!

Gresham's favorite are the drums. He is also funny playing the recorder because he hums into it while blowing, with the mouthpiece stuck WAY far into his mouth and slobber dripping out the edges...

My little sweetie...

This morning during church, Aidan was standing on the pew while we were singing (it's hard to see when you're 5...). He looked at the man in front of us, who had his arm around his wife's shoulders. Then he looked at me. Then back at the man. Then carefully put his arm around my shoulder. What a sweetie! Okay, maybe I'll be just fine with three sons...

Life at our house

Wow, I haven't blogged in a while! I have ideas all day long, and then when I have time to sit down, my brain is ready to shut down for the day!

Let's see...

This story was from last week, but Jordan has been bugging me to post it!

Jordan usually closes on Saturday night, and so the boys and I usually do something simple for dinner and watch a movie in the evening. Last Saturday, Gresham spit water all over his shirt during dinner, so I took it off. After dinner, we watched some Sesame Street clips on youtube. Gresham was walking around poking his bare belly and said, "My tummy wants something else. How 'bout a banana?" I laughed and told him that we didn't have any bananas. He said, "Okay, I get a graham cracker real quick!" And he did.

He vascillates between being exceptionally cute and exceptionally frustrating. On Wednesday we had to run out to buy a couple of bedding items, and he told me in the middle of JC Penney's, "I am NOT obeying you!" Nice. We actually saw some neighbors at about this point, but I didn't go and talk to them...

He also cried this week because I wouldn't give him his "potty train." He heard Jordan and I discussing potty training, and he still thinks it's a train with wheels. Once the weather is a little warmer and more conducive to wearing less clothing, we'll start the potty train in full force! I am hoping to NOT be buying diapers for two!

Aidan is excited because we are going to finally paint his room (now that we have been in our house for 3 1/2 years) and hang things on the walls. Stay tuned for pictures of that project...

It's a...

BOY!

We had our ultrasound on Tuesday, and we are pleased to announce that we are having a boy! I must admit that we were all thinking that it would be quite fun to have a girl... Aidan wanted a princess for his castle game. For the record, though, we didn't have a third child to try for a girl. God plans the best families and puts the people that he chooses in them. We are very excited about this new blessing in our lives. I can't wait to see what he will look like and be like. The ultrasound was an amazing experience. The machine that they used was much newer than the one we have had before, and we could see so much detail. My favorite part was the tiny fingers and toes. We also saw the baby yawn!

And so here comes boy number 3. I am feeling a little outnumbered at our house. I can understand girls, but boys are definitely a different breed...

Boys:

• Burp at the dinner table and everyone laughs, even Daddy
• Pride themselves on never changing their socks
• Bring a grub worm in on a shovel to show me while I am in the middle of teaching a violin lesson
• Turn puzzle pieces and bread crusts into a gun
• Show affection by hitting me on the shoulders with both fists (Gresham)
• Make a lot of noise for no apparent reason

But what a blessing we have in our two sons! God has given us the awesome privilege of raising up boys in the knowledge of Him. We are not guaranteed their salvation, but we do take our responsibility seriously to present them with the truth and raise them in the instruction of the Lord. Our prayer is that He will make them into godly men who will stand for the truth in a difficult age.

Here is Gresham in the dirt... what a boy... He is so happy when he is out digging and getting dirty! Aidan wants to make a catapult to take to the neighborhood park and launch things with, and I thought that that actually sounded kind of fun... God has equipped me to raise the boys He has given me!