my little nurturer

sometimes i totally appreciate noodle's sensitivity and other times, it can be quite frustrating. he is such a lover and loves his momma. in fact, for maybe the first two years of his life, he would call john mommy instead of daddy. john would say, "no, noodle i am daddy." and noodle would respond "mommy," without hesitation. and i am pretty sure he is the cause of my very unusual hernia, as he always wanted me to "hold you mommy."

i am thankful to God though for giving me two very different children. i missed out on the snuggling with burrito but noodle has more than made up for it! and it has made me appreciate burrito's independence a little more.

since we were iced in today, it gave me yet another opportunity to notice the differences in my two boys. burrito was most content ramming his hotwheels into each other or into my walls or into my furniture. and then there was noodle. he was wrapping up his little dalmation puppy in a blanket and pushing him around in the shopping cart and rocking him to sleep. it was very sweet but at the same time, i am wondering, "okay, i am glad he is a nurturer and will one day be a really great daddy, but he's a boy, so should i be concerned about this behavior or discourage it in any way?"

and so in watching him i decided to appreciate his sensitivity and loving nature. it really is sweet. and noodle loves babies so for him to role play this at home should not be a surprise. and my decision was confirmed tonight.

after tucking him into bed, he of course, made an excuse to get up by saying he could not find his puppy's blanket. so i went back into his room to help him find the blanket and i tried to help him cover his puppy up, to which he matter of factly said,

"mom, i can do it myself. i am his daddy."

My little chefs

Have you heard of the cookbook "Deceptively Delicious" by Jessica Seinfeld, the wife of comedian Jerry Seinfeld? You probably have. It's been out awhile and I've always wanted to check it out and try it out on our family. It's only taken me two years or so to get around to it!

On our date night a few weeks back, John and I stumbled across the book at Barnes and Noble and flipped through the pages. We were interested but not committed enough to buy. Well, last week while at the library I had the genius idea of checking it out! So while the boys played at the library I read enough of the cookbook to get motivated enough to give it a try.

Enter my two chefs. Both boys quizically looked at me yesterday when they saw me steaming carrots and cauliflower at breakfast. I think they were relieved when these two veggies did not end up on their breakfast plates!

The whole idea behind the cookbook is to puree fruits and veggies and then use the purees in your recipes to sort of "sneak" in the fruits and veggies your kids might not otherwise eat. My boys LOVE fruit and would prefer it to candy even but veggies, not so much. And admittedly, John and I are not the best veggie eaters either. Salads yes, veggies no.

So I thought we could all benefit from this adventure. So after pureeing the steamed carrots and cauliflower, the boys joined me in baking up some banana bread. This "deceptively" also contains cauliflower. Though I wasn't all that deceptive about it as the boys were the ones stirring in all the ingredients. They didn't mind the cauliflower because all they could smell were the bananas, triggering Burrito's mind to remember the fruit smoothies we like to make. They were official chefs too, with their aprons and chef hat!

So we combined all the ingredients, mixed them up, poured into a loaf pan and patiently waited while it cooked for about an hour. The sandbox outside was a good distraction. And the final result was good. Not the best banana bread I've ever had but the best with cauliflower, and more importantly, banana bread that both Burrito and Noodle were excited to eat! Hooray!

Truthfully, it takes some work and dedication to keep this deception up that I am not too sure is worth it. We will see though. I have several batches of puree to use up and some more recipes to try out. It was fun though, to spend time with the boys in the kitchen....a lot of patience on my part too!

Thoughts on the Inauguration and Other Random Stuff

I had the television on yesterday morning with the news of the presidential inauguration. It was on as we were going about our morning routine and every now and then we would stop to watch. I wanted to take the opportunity at breakfast to teach the boys about the historical significance of the day. So before we prayed for our food I explained to them that we were getting a new president today and it was very important for us to pray that God would give him wisdom as the leader of our country. The boys took great pride in praying for something new. It was sweet to hear their innocent prayers.

Well, the day goes on and we are actually at WalMart buying groceries when Obama is sworn in. So we stopped, along with all of the WalMart employees, to witness this historic event. And when I say historic, I am mainly referencing the transfer of power from one president to another. While I understand the whole election and inauguration meant something more on a deeper level to a lot of African Americans, I think for everyone it should seem historical and significant in the sense that there are a whole lot of countries that do not have a peaceful transfer of power.

The boys parked themselves right in the floor to watch. It was cute to see their fascination with the event.

So on our way home, Burrito exclaims that he wishes "Bawack Obwama" was his daddy. Oh dear.

So I asked him, "Burrito, why do you want Obama to be your daddy?"

And Burrito replied, "Because he's so nice!"

"Really? Now when did you meet Obama?"

And of course his response was one we hear quite often, "When I was a baby!"

And admittedly, my little defense shields went up when I heard him speak so highly of Obama. I think a part of me wanted to say, "Honey, while you admire Obama with childlike innocence, trust me, your daddy is a way better man than Obama."

And I think a lot of Christians have done a poor job in speaking of the new president. While Obama was not my choice for president, I am not going to speak of our new leader in a derogatory way. I just don't think Christ would.

Or hide my head in the sand and pretend he is not president.

I think as Christians we are to pray with fervor for him as he leads our country. While I do not deny his influence, I also remember that God is a lot bigger than a president. And maybe, in God's sovereignty, his position as president will lead to his salvation.

This is not my political rant, because I am really not that political. And I don't really like to rant. These were just my thoughts in speaking with my children yesterday. I don't want to tell them that I think our president is an evil man. I would rather teach them to pray for him as leader of our nation. And maybe those should be our thoughts too!

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And a few Noodle-isms for fun:

Noodle calls a porcupine a pokeypine. Makes sense, don't you think?

And a hyena, a hynena.

After dropping Burrito off at school, and after another difficult morning with my strong-willed Noodle, I felt I needed to have a conversation with him about his behavior.

"Noodle, I love you but I do not like your bad attitude this morning."

"I know. But it is gone!"

Hallelujah! If only I could believe it was gone and was never coming back!

NEW Music Monday and lots of other NEW stuff

There are so many NEW things to report on our homefront. Where do I begin?

How about....I've given our boys new blogger names. Just using their initials can get a little confusing, even for me, so I thought I would share our personal nicknames for them and use them here instead.

So here's our Burrito:

Burrito got his name because it rhymes with another nickname we use for him and now John usually shortens the longer nickname to just "Burrito." I think it's very cute!

And he's dressed in western wear because Friday was Western Day at school. I think he pulled off the cowboy look even without boots, don't you?

And here's our Noodle:

Noodle got his name because that is what he has felt like since birth. He always just goes limp when you wrestle with him or hold him just like a wet noodle.

So from here on out we have Burrito and Noodle! :)

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And what do Burrito and Noodle like to work on when in their rooms? Is it an art project? Is it picking up their toys? Is it a puzzle? Nope, this is what their hard work looks like!

If only they would channel that intense concentration when say....eating dinner, taking a bath, or picking up their rooms!

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And another first....believe it or not, this is the first fire we've had in our fireplace since moving here a year and a half ago. And Burrito confirmed my reason for not having a fire before now....his intense fascination with it and lack of self control in not refraining from touching things he shouldn't. Of course, Noodle hardly even noticed that there was a fire in the fireplace. It really did a nice job of warming up at least our living room and it just makes you feel so cozy! We even enjoyed a mean game of Go Fish next to the fire.

Happy Anniversary!

Happy anniversary to my love, John David!

On January 11, 2003 John and I entered into our marital covenant to one another. It was a glorious day. I wish we could do it again! I thought I would be nervous, but I was surprised at how much fun I had.

And we were so blessed! Weddings can be insanely expensive and with John and I both in seminary, well, money was just not something we had. But the Lord blessed us with so many sweet and talented friends that gifted us their skills for that day.

My friends Debbie C, Debbie G and Jayna were amazing in decorating and providing food for the reception. Debbie G, being the type A personality that I am, was my wedding "coordinator" because I knew she would get people where they needed to be at the right time. Mrs. Judy provided our wedding and grooms cakes and they were exquisite. Our friends Jonathan, David and Jessica provided first class music with piano, violin and cello. Mr. Jack who played our Bebo love song. Our church had just built a brand new building and we were the second couple to get married there....it was so beautiful we didn't even need to decorate much!

And our wedding party.....we were so honored to have them there to celebrate with us. My girls...Stacey, Julie, Heather, Allison, Kendra, and Robin. John's boys....Justice, Kevin, David, Daniel, Daniel F and Michael. Our pastors, Taz and Elliot. Our flower girls Kelley, Haley and Hannah. Our parents and grandparents.....oh, it was so great to have everyone there!

And to my husband John....I have enjoyed these past 6 years with you more than you know! May the Lord bless us with many more years for His glory and our benefit.

In a quick effort to share a piece of our day with you, I snapped some pictures straight out of our wedding album, so they're not the best quality, but these are some of my favorites.

I am about to walk down the aisle here and I am thinking, "Come on! I don't have time for pictures! I've got to go get married!"

Our beautiful church

Woohoo, we're married!

This was a funny part that we had planned for our exit. I always wanted to leave with bubbles floating all around, but so many had done this and we wanted to be a little different. So we planned with our photographer to act like we were leaving and run through the bubbles to our car. Then he would pretend like his camera malfunctioned and he needed us to do it again to get the shot. But on the second time around, John and I had silly string and we sprayed everyone with it as a surprise. And boy were they surprised! (And we got a picture of the silly string too!)

And then the happy couple, off to the honeymoon in Durango, Colorado and a life full of bliss!

Praise the Lord from whom all blessings flow!

Christmas Break Youth Group Reunion

I am always amazed when I think about John's friends from youth group. They must have had a really good thing because they all are still really good friends. And they didn't just graduate high school yesterday! We're talking friends for 15+ years. I am quite jealous!

It seems that the group always manages to meet up over the Christmas holidays, as everyone is in town visiting family. So this year, we hosted the event. It was great fun to see everyone, to catch up, and let all the kids play.

I am thankful the Lord has knit their hearts together the way He has.

Typical men

I am surrounded by men in this house...a dream come true and, at the same time, a challenge! God definitely made men and women quite different!

And it seems my little men are growing up!

They have been shaving..... Thank you Chrystal! What a fun gift!






Except Noodle wasn't too sure of the foam! That is not a smile on his face!



They have been reclining and watching football......

And they've been coaching basketball games.


Is this what I have to look forward to??? So funny how boys do boy things!

And maybe I have a future guitarist on my hands??? A guitar mother's dream come true! Woo hoo, rock it Noodle!