Happy St. Patrick's Day!

I'll be making the corned beef and cabbage today.

Enjoy the music!

Erin go Bragh!

Humor, Halos, and Headbands

Gabe said to me tonight, "Mommy! Look! It's a Gabe and Daddy and Logan samwich!" Sure enough, it was. I will follow up with pictures shortly.

If that wasn't a random enough intro to tonight's post, allow me to mix it up a bit more; I'm tired, hungry, and totally out of it. I'm the only one awake, and I may regret that in the morning, but I should have seen it coming when I decided to pop in an old Gilmore Girls DVD after the boys went to bed. Tonight I have re-witnessed Paul Anka's adoption, Lorelai's look of shock when she saw the gaping hole in her bedroom wall, thanks to TJ, and Rory's reaction to Logan's pictures from the Gloucester Cheese Rolling Contest, amongst other things, and so far, I have received just the dose of humor I unknowingly craved earlier in the day.

Prior to my evening escape, it was still a good day. Seriously, it's hard to go wrong when you start your day with a breakfast of waffles dressed in nothing but sweet, scrumptious strawberries. (Okay, they were sweetened with sugar, I admit, but hey, it was a treat, and a very good one at that.) YUM. I highly suggest indulging in such a delicious breakfast at your next opportunity.

There was also lots of book reading today. Not only does Gabe love books, but it seems as though a book is often the only thing that can distract Logan from the heart-wrenching pain that follows when I must explain that he can't have whatever toy it is that Gabe has just found. (Actually, the privilege of flipping light switches also serves as an instant thrill, but that's a very limited activity... ) He will look at me with tears streaming down his face and the biggest frown a baby can sport, and when I pull out the book he'll say, "Noooo" and bat it away, as if to tell me just how horrible a thing this is for me to do, trying to distract him with what I KNOW is biggest weakness. Then, three words into the first page, he will start pointing to letters, saying "Y, S, A, O" and any number of other random letters he can think of, and soon enough he'll start flipping through the pages, pointing out his favorite pictures like that of the "bus" and "apple" and if he sees a truck, he'll get especially excited, saying, "Ooooo! Truh!" whether the truck is actually a truck - or a car - or almost anything else on wheels. ("Apple" also works for orange and any number of other foods.)

Side note: I Spy books are fabulous at his age.

Added to that, we took an evening trip to tae kwon do, which, to Gabe, meant both some fun watching the kids break boards and a brief attempt to catch a glance at a plane or two taking off from the small county airport on the way. We actually didn't see any planes tonight, but the sunset was sensational from one corner of the sky to the other, and both Gabe and Logan were especially well behaved and easily entertained at tae kwon do, which meant I was able to watch Thomas break his boards like a pro.

These are just a few of the many simple little things that made today a good day, in hind sight.

As an added bonus, I finally acted on my desperate need for a headband. Those of you who know me personally are very well aware of the evil halo of frizz which overtakes a particularly large area around my head. When I was growing up my father told me to wear headbands with my ponytail to control the same problem, but my headbands were large and uncomfortable, and I knew how ridiculous they looked, even then. The idea of a simple i-cord headband, not to mention a very quick black crochet headband, apparently has been hiding from me all these years, but now I have one, I love it, and I will be making more. Yippee!

For tonight, that's all, but I'm going to try to go back to keeping my posts light and good-spirited. It's a wonderful way to boost my mood. I hope you have a great night... err... day?

Until next time...

(But first, pictures: )

Brothers

Triplets

After seeing a recent photo of Logan sporting his latest hair cut, my sister said my "children are triplets of different ages." Given a series of photos of all three of them between the ages of one and two, what do you think?

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I don't know what I think, other than that they are awfully cute!

On Reading the Bible

First of all, I don't know why it was so hard to keep to a daily reading schedule the last time a tried, though I believe I was still in school then. I will admit that I am a couple of days behind today, but I know I will be caught up, if not ahead, within the next day or so, and even though some stories are certainly easier than others, I am still enjoying it.

If you haven't read the Bible through, I thoroughly recommend it, even if you are not a believer and especially if you have questions about God, Jesus, or Christianity in general. I place the most value on my own spiritual growth and sharing that with my boys, but the Bible is so full of history and culture, and you'll actually find some background on several other religions in the process. I've found myself reminded of just how incredible God's glory truly is, and I'm learning how to better steer my life toward His plan. I also find some of the historical references very interesting, and I've taken some extra time to consider that there are some new ways in which I can and will grow my relationship with God.

Brian and I have chosen to read both the old and new testaments at the same time, so that each day we are reading a little from each. (The plan can be found here.) Part of me likes that, and part of me doesn't. The two are so very different, and it can be difficult to switch gears without a flurry of questions arising about why and how things changed so drastically (though I know this will all be explained as I continue with the New Testament and have already read a number of individual passages that do offer valuable insight), plus when a passage from the Old Testament is referenced in the New Testament, if I have read it, I appreciate it a bit more. When I haven't, I find myself flipping. Therefore, I think I will be reading it all the way through, a second time, before too long. It is nice, though, to spend some time in the New Testament after a spell of Old Testament reading, since Old Testament rituals were so different from what we practice today. I typically find myself sticking to one testament for a few days, reading ahead, and then switching back to the other testament, in a continuous cycle.

So far on the plan, I have read the complete books of Genesis, Exodus, Job, and Matthew, and some of Mark and Leviticus, plus a couple of Psalms. I found Genesis to be particularly interesting. While things may be very different today versus in the early Bible days, we really are not. That, in and of itself, is not surprising in as much as it makes the material readable and interesting (genealogy chapters aside). Before this year I knew of many of the stories in Genesis, but I did not really know the stories completely. Reading through, there were certain times when I just wanted to say, "Really? God talked to you so directly, and you still did those things?" I guess that just goes to show we really still are the same sinful, guilty, confused people we always have been.

In any case, I will continue on with Leviticus and Mark, for now, and I expect I'll share another update in time. Thanks for sticking with me!

Facebook killed my blog.

Has it happened to you too? Blogging used to be my favorite way to share photos and the occasional anecdote, but now I feel like I am just being repetitive when I post here. Sadly, though, I know I am now neglecting to record precious moments and memories in a fun medium. I do miss blogging, so I'm not going anywhere just yet, but I can't promise how long I'll last!

In other news, I have serious, unhealthy, sinful, obsessive Kindle envy. I have joined three different reward sites in hopes of earning my way to the thousands of points necessary for all the amazon e-certificates I can get my hands on. I have a long way to go, but if I ever get there, at least I know I will have a good system in place for earning the cash needed to buy a few e-books. :)

Knitting, on the other hand, has taken a temporary back seat to, well, everything else.

What are my boys up to? For starters, Gabe is now 3!

The shirt he has on in the picture is one he picked out for himself. We walked by it at WalMart and he got all excited, saying, "A Speed, I am Speed shirt!!!" (That's what he calls Lightning McQueen and all other cars from the movie; that's a story for another day.) I grabbed a slightly different one because I didn't see this one in his size at first, and he quickly pointed out that I had taken the wrong one. Then he carried this one through the store while we bought a few groceries. I have to say, he made the right choice, though I am still amused at how particular he is. On second thought, his momma can be pretty particular too. :)

Thomas is keeping busy; almost too busy. He is involved in some great activities though, and I think they are all worth his time. Despite the increasing troubles with his ADHD symptoms (they always get worse as the school year progresses), he is doing very well academically too. He has recently picked up his reading habit again, fueled in part, I think, by A Pitch in Time, by Robert A. Lytle, which he has been reading for the advanced learners program at his school. I love how much he enjoys a good book. (I plan to get him a Kindle too... Ssshhhhh.) His Odyssey of the Mind problem is coming along too. I hope to be able to attend the competition, but there's no way Gabe and Logan would last all day, so we'll have to find out (that day) what time Thomas' group will be going and hope we can work something out. As great of an activity as it is though, I have to admit that I will be glad when we finally get those weeknights back! Otherwise, his next tae kwon do promotional exam is coming up in a couple of weeks, and he'll be going for advanced blue.

Logan, poor baby Logan, is sick. He has a nasty cold with a low grade fever, and he has been hanging out in my arms all day. (It has taken as long for me to get this far.) This morning I decided it might be time to try laying him down for an early nap, and I asked if he was ready. He gave me a loud and clear, "Nooooo," and about ten seconds later I looked down, and he was asleep on my lap. Knowing how uncomfortable he would be laying down, I let him stay with me until I had to make lunch for Gabe. Of course, when I did try to lay him down he woke up and then continued to spend the rest of the afternoon in and out of sleep on my shoulder. He's finally starting to perk back up now, in that still sick, eyes-half-closed, chapped-red-cheeks sort of way - and even accepting a cracker and fluids.

When he's not sick, though, he's practicing his walking and perusing all the books he can get his little hands on. He's also beginning to expand his vocabulary. I'm pretty sure his current favorite word is "truh" (truck), though I still love his "wow" and "woah," amongst others. He's such a little sweetie. I'm not sure I'm ready for him to get too much bigger.

Brian is out straight. Between working full time, finishing up his master's degree, assistant coaching Odyssey of the Mind, running Thomas around when I need a hand, and taking care of the house, driveway, and cars, he has no time for rest. I have to admit that I have been feeling especially overwhelmed lately, myself, but such is life with three boys, two of whom are still pretty little. Hopefully one day I will breathe a sigh of relief that I managed to get through it all with a tiny spec of my sanity still intact. No? (Please don't tell me if I'm wrong. I think it's better that I just pretend, for now, at least!)

♥

What's in a new year?

I hope you had a wonderful holiday and a fun new year celebration!

I opted to try something new for 2011 and rung it in with my first cookie swap. We were small in number but full of high spirits, and I'm really glad we did it. To those of you who participated, thank you! Let's do it again.

What's with the title? Well, I guess I don't think of a new year as anything really different. I figure most people use New Year's Eve as an excuse to party, but that's about it. I always waver as to the idea of creating new year resolutions too. While I'm sure it's a good thing to set goals and work toward them, I try to do that all the time. Maybe it works for some. I just find that time brings with it some very unpredictable events, and I need to be able to adjust my routines accordingly, without feeling like a failure just because I had to change my plans.

2009 was a great example of that; it brought on a resolution disaster for me, but as hard of a year as it was in some ways, it was also full of wonderful, life-changing miracles like that of Logan's birth and of finally finding our first home.

On the flip side, I did most of the things I set out to do in 2010, but 2010 was harsh. I always try to focus on the positive and avoid dwelling on pain and trouble, but I expect I will always look back on last year with a certain amount of sorrow. It's difficult to know how to turn pain into laughter when your sister's worst nightmare has come true. She and my nieces and nephews are amazing, still counting their blessings and carrying on together, but I know her pain is indescribable, and everything I have ever cared about has been put back into perspective since Billy passed away.

Sadly, Jessi wasn't the only one who suffered such a loss; for a while I felt as though I was watching amazing friend after amazing friend lose a close loved one this year. These events all seemed to happen to the best of the best; those people you want to strive to be like. That made it all even harder to stomach. On top of it all, there were other painful, heartbreaking events which I can't go into.

There were, of course, great times too; our wonderful July vacation, camping in New Hampshire with my sisters and brother, the daily joys of watching Tom, Gabe, and Logan grow and play, making memory upon memory with the best friends a girl could have, soaking up Brian's unconditional love even when I know I was a bear to be around after some particularly challenging days as a stay-at-home-mom, and so, so much more. I am very grateful for all of those things and for every day I am given.

Back to this year, though, there is really only one new thing I am setting out to do, and I'm admittedly excited about it. After years of (albeit lazy) searching, Brian and I believe we have finally found a church where we feel right at home, and our pastor has challenged anyone interested to read through the Bible before the year is over. Brian and I are participating together, which I think will really motivate me to finish this time. (I have set out to read the Bible in a year before, but that was completely on my own, and while I happen to have read many verses over the years, especially in certain books of the Bible, overall, I never made it very far.) We're only a week into it so far, but I feel great about it already and am confident that reading it will benefit both myself and my family, both now and in the future (no matter how far I make it, though I am very set on finishing this time).

So, whatever may be coming your way for 2011, I hope it is filled with life, love, and spiritual growth. May you have a very blessed new year!

And a very belated Merry Christmas to all. :)

She Still

She still blogs. She still knits. She still bakes. She still takes oodles of pictures and then some. She just doesn't organize her time well enough to share it all as often as she used to.... but she IS still here!

She can't, however, keep up this 3rd person writing style for long.

What's going on at my house?

Lots and lots of this! We're singing too. Logan especially likes Deck the Halls since learning how to "Lalalalalalalalala" along with me.

I also have some sparkly blue slippers on the needles. I'll try not to wait so long before posting again. I need to apologize for falling so behind on your blogs too. I haven't checked my reader in the longest time, but when I do I will be in for a treat, for sure.

If you are looking for an entertaining read, may I suggest my sister-in-law's blog. She is currently volunteering for the Peace Corps in Morocco, and her perspective can't be beat: Beth's Adventures You'll thank me!

Love you all!