Tiny Talk Tuesday

Tiny Talk Tuesday helps parents focus on one of the many joys of parenting - the funny things that our little ones (and sometimes big ones) have to say.

Join in the fun and record the Tiny Talk overheard in your house! Publish a post on your blog and link us to the laughs. Then be sure to link to the blog carnival on this post so more bloggers can join in the fun.

The guidelines can be found here if you need them.
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David and Grandma were talking about a bug that they found. As they were looking at it...

D (age 3): It's...it's...it's...sooooo DEAD.
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And there were SO many moments that had me in hysterics this week. But, sadly, I didn't write them...sigh...so I'll be entertained by yours!
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Your Turn:

Answered prayers

It's been a rough few days with one of my girls. And today was no exception.

She just can't seem to get it together in a lot of areas. Most days she is fussing at people and just being plain nasty at times. I know her allergies impact her mood, but it was getting out of control.

So I began to pray.

I took some time as I was moving through the day to pray for her. Then I began to specifically pray for some one on one time with her, which is usually helpful when one of my kids is having a rough patch.

One on one time isn't a quick fix to a problem, but it helps to keep the relationship strong in the midst of time periods where I feel like I am constantly disciplining a particular child. it also helps me to refresh my focus. I don't use the time to discuss any issues, unless they bring up something on their mind. And sometimes they do. I usually find the time gives me freedom to enjoy them without the interference of what is going on.

So I prayed for one on one time with this child. And if you have seen me with my four little ones, then you know it takes a miracle for one on one time randomly during a day.

And God answered that day by providing some time for her and I to play a board game for an hour without anyone else around. The other kids were either sleeping or playing out front. She was punished in her room for about 10 minutes and when she came down, she didn't want to go out.

I casually asked, "Do you want to play a game?" and she eagerly took me up on it. We sat and played Monopoly Jr. and then I taught her a solitaire game that continued to play next to each other for awhile.

Wonderfully, God provided one on one time with every single one of my children during the next 2 days. It was so sweet to watch as it unfolded.

I spent time with one of them in the neighborhood pool for 45 minutes, completely uninterrupted by friend or sibling. Another child joined me on an errand that I thought I would be running alone. And the littlest guy stayed up too late one night after a solid nap so the hubby and I got to enjoy him alone.

Precious time. Time to know them, love them, and enjoy them. Alone.

Thank you, Lord, for each of my children. Thank you for their unique gifts, personalities, talents, concerns, and desires. Thank you this week for providing me time with each of them alone. I knew how much I needed it with one of them, but You graciously took care of it for all of them. You are so good, Lord. Thank you for caring for our family.

The Eldest Child

(This was in my poorly neglected blog's draft folder. With some extra time this weekend, I am attending to this forgotten blog and found this. I added the pictures and am hitting publish now, but it is a letter from June 1, 2010)

Dear K,

I am sitting on the sofa listening to a talk about The Influence of Older Children on Younger Ones by Dr. S. M. Davis. It was listed in my homeschool workshop choices for a conference I am heading to in 2 weeks. By listening to it, I am freeing up some time at the conference to hear something else.

I couldn't help but think about what a blessing you are to our family and to your siblings. The ability to encourage, support, love, protect and praise your siblings comes so naturally from your heart.

In fact, today was your little sister's first day of swim team practice. You filled a gift bag with gifts for her. You included a paper doll that you created, complete with three interchangable bathing suits and a pool to swim in.



You gathered the rest of us around to sing, "Happy First Day of Swim Team". And we all encouraged her.

Seriously, my child, you make your mommy look bad. I have no clue what I would do without you to celebrate and praise these little moments in the lives of your siblings!

And when I suggested daddy come get T after her practice and bring you for yours, you both FREAKED OUT! You were both so excited to watch one another.

You sat on the side of the pool and watched T during her practice. You were the supportive, encouraging, and amazing big sister. And she followed your loving example and did the same thing.

The beauty of the relationship you two are developing makes me so happy. And it is you, the older sister, who is encouraging and modelling that relationship for her.



Your daddy and I are so thankful for the evidence of God's Holy Spirit that we see at work in your life. He has given you such a relational spirit of encouragment and love. May He continue to develop it in your willing heart.

Love,
Mommy

Tiny Talk Tuesday

Tiny Talk Tuesday helps parents focus on one of the many joys of parenting - the funny things that our little ones (and sometimes big ones) have to say.

Join in the fun and record the Tiny Talk overheard in your house! Publish a post on your blog and link us to the laughs. Then be sure to link to the blog carnival on this post so more bloggers can join in the fun.

The guidelines can be found here if you need them.
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We were all sitting at dinner and chatting about the day. Totally out of the blue, D (age3), who calls himself "The Cat", announced, "There is going to be a big to do at the cat's house tonight."

Everyone cracked up! T (age 5) tells us that he got that from Robin Hood. Hmm?
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D (age 3) loves to show me his ability to wink. He was winking one eye and then the other. He kept alternating. He told me, "One and two. One and two and three at once!"

Hmmmm...three eyes at once?
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T had a friend, M, in the car with her and the boys. They were discussing their favorite colors.

T: My favorite is red.
M: My favorite is purple.
T: That is my sister's favorite!!
D: My favorite is red truck. Like there.

(partly distracted by the red truck next to us, but it was cute to have a "boy color")
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K (age 7) told her grandmother, "You are a revolting lady!"

I think she was a bit confused about the meaning of one of Mona Melendy's favorite words from, "The Four-Story Mistake". I highly recommend, "The Saturdays" as a read aloud! "The Four Story Mistake" is the sequel. The Melendy's are talked about daily around here.
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C (age 14 months) brings us something and says, "EEEE-AAARRR". This appears to be his version of "here", but it is two syllables.

He also now says, "UH OH".
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K (age 7), my thoughtful girl, has spent the last 2 days planning for her sister's 6th birthday. She has made gifts, wrapped presents, and is discussing festivities for the day as well as "birthday eve". It has been sweet to listen to her talk and share in her excitement for her sister. She is a better planner than her mommy these days!
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Your Turn:

I heart my camera

I don't have the kind of time I would like to develop my skill with my camera.

So, a very basic amateur mommy who takes shots of her kids is what I will have to be right now. But I don't mind. Because even just that leaves me with the fun adventure of capturing my children.

Without a doubt, my one year old little C is a favorite subject. He is easy for me to capture because I chase him around he still sticks by me at the parks and playgrounds.



And he is so full of joy, even when mommy captures him with a pole sticking out of his head.



He is the easiest to capture in his own world. In this one, I see his T's profile resemblance so distinctly in his image.



And the camera just captures drool him with such accuracy. Lovely, ain't it?



Oh, he's a cutie. And he's a ham! Here is my favorite of the day for him.



Of course, D (age 3) is so full of faces! It is just that they aren't usually facing the camera.



Even his sweet smile is usually aimed in the wrong direction.



And this little guy is always busy. Always climbing, jumping, running.



And then when I finally get a smile, I put a lovely bar across his head.



But I eventually got him. And for me, this one truly captures him. So it is my favorite of the day for him.



Now my five year old, T, is always off making new friends at the park. So I didn't have a lot of pictures of her.

This one reminds me that she is going to need braces to fix that cute crooked, soon to be very expensive, smile. But then it won't be crooked anymore and I will only have photos like this one.



The other shot I got was a definite favorite for her for the day!



And last, but far from least, is my K. She is happy to pose for you anytime with a smile.



Which can make for cute photos, but can make it hard to capture her essence.



But I grabbed a favorite of her too. It is her posed smile, but more relaxed, in a way that captures her easy joy.



Looking forward to fall colors to play with my camera.

Swim Team 2010

My dear girls,

It was an absolute pleasure to watch you during swim team this year.

I am still shocked by the fact that I am a swim team mom, but it was official again this year! And this year, I had the wonderful pleasure of getting up on Saturdays at horridly early hours watching two little competitors.


And of course, we enjoyed your successful summer.

This year we got to see you both improve throughout the season and end it with quite a bit of awards.

And yes, admittedly, that was exciting. There is certainly a thrill in "the win". Some might even go so far as to say that these awards mean the season was a success.

But, my dear girls, success is not measured in "the wins". I assure you that it is not measured by fast times or in numerous ribbons and medals. Those things are not bad, but true success is measured in the heart and soul of the participant.

It is seen in the joy on your faces. At practice. And at meets.



Success is seen in the comradiere of sisters. It is in the ecouragment and support you give one another.


Success was seen in your team spirit, your desire to be at events, and your friendliness to other team members.

It was measured by your effort, desire to do your best, and the continual race with yourself. Both of you beat your own times over and over again!




You can be sure that the world around you will measure your success. Sometimes you will end the race with a ribbon to show for it.




And other times you will just finish the race.



But true success, measured in the heart, will rarely earn you a ribbon. But it will reap far greater rewards in the end.

And it is my prayer that your success in swim team and beyond, will be measured by a heart that desires to serve the Lord in all things.

Wordless Wednesday: My Babies

Tiny Talk Tuesday

Tiny Talk Tuesday helps parents focus on one of the many joys of parenting - the funny things that our little ones (and sometimes big ones) have to say.

Join in the fun and record the Tiny Talk overheard in your house! Publish a post on your blog and link us to the laughs. Then be sure to link to the blog carnival on this post so more bloggers can join in the fun.

The guidelines can be found here if you need them.
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My sweet husband is home with the four kiddos while I am visiting a dear friend in North Carolina. They are having a great time!

After a fun day at a special playground with daddy, daddy stopped at the gas station to get a treat.

D (age 3), who likes to pretend he is a cat, was so excited. He started exclaiming, "This cat is so excited. This cat is so happy! Meow Meow Meow!"
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C (age 1) woke up Monday morning and it was very quiet in his crib. Then daddy heard, "Mamama mamama mamama".

Awwwww.....my cutie pie. I sure miss him since I am in NC while writing this.
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K (age 7) randomly announced to me that she thinks "Honolulu" and "Tallahassee" are the funniest names of capital cities in the US. Later she added, "Boise".
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I knew the girls would miss mommy and talk about it. It was delightful to hear that my three year old little guy was asking for me today. He misses mommy too!
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Your Turn:

A late birthday

My dear little C,

You turned one this summer and it went by without any sort of acknowledgement on this blog of mine. But I wanted to take a moment and tell you what a fun day we had.

You opened your presents and explored your new toys. Though you didn't get to do this task alone. You had quite a few "helpers" alongside you the entire time. You don't mind. These same helpers are around you all day and you delight in their presence.



You have always been my observer, not smiling easily, but watching and observing. Your approach to the candle was exactly what I would have expected. You watched it in fascination and confusion. I wonder what you were thinking and trying to figure out about this mysterious fire in front of you.


But the cake? Well, you figured that out. And you enjoyed it quite immensely!



Happy Birthday little guy! You are such a delight to our home. Your personality brings a new dimension of wonder, curiosity, and determination. I have enjoyed seeing the world through your eyes this year.

I love you.
Mommy

Tiny Talk Tuesday

Tiny Talk Tuesday helps parents focus on one of the many joys of parenting - the funny things that our little ones (and sometimes big ones) have to say.

Join in the fun and record the Tiny Talk overheard in your house! Publish a post on your blog and link us to the laughs. Then be sure to link to the blog carnival on this post so more bloggers can join in the fun.

The guidelines can be found here if you need them.
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The girls spent a week at my parents' house for Cousin Camp.


Upon returning, T (age 5) spent the next 24 hours saying, "Poppy. I mean, Daddy."
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C (age 1) now tells us all, "Baaa naaa maaa baaaa maaa naaaa"
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Your Turn:

Tiny Talk Tuesday

Tiny Talk Tuesday helps parents focus on one of the many joys of parenting - the funny things that our little ones (and sometimes big ones) have to say.

Join in the fun and record the Tiny Talk overheard in your house! Publish a post on your blog and link us to the laughs. Then be sure to link to the blog carnival on this post so more bloggers can join in the fun.

The guidelines can be found here if you need them.
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After winning a medal and two ribbons at our city swim meet championships, my five year old T was in the back seat looking at her "prizes".

T: This is so exiciting, Dad! I am so excited!
Dad: Yes, it is exciting to win and get a ribbon, isn't it?
T: No. I am excited that cousin camp is soon!

Because we had been telling them that after the swim meet, then they'll get to go to cousin camp at my parents. Clearly, they were excited!

And now, that is where they are this week. So I have a list of "to-do's" that I have to get to while we only have the boys!

So that's it for me!
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Your Turn: