Warning - sad little video

We've been in the house for WAY too long, so I have lots to blog about it seems ;). Here's Noah last night. Stir crazy and I think his meds are making him very emotional. He said he wants his life to be different because he's been so sick. So sad! After this video he asked me if I was his real mother.What? He needed some snuggle time and some warm cookies out of the oven. It made all the difference. We're praying for some better days in the O house, the sooner the better!!

Uncovering some hidden blessings

We've been really sick in this house for a few weeks, the worst of it being this week, and Noah has been the sickest. Yesterday I decided to start putting away my Christmas decorations because I was going stir crazy. As I was looking for a spot to put my decorations I remembered a little door in the boys' closets. The door is so tiny I didn't give the space behind it much thought until I looked in.

Yay! What a treasure! I can get all my trees, decorations, and lots more. This was SUCH a blessing to me yesterday, because I really feel better emotionally when my house is not cluttered.


As I was starting to take down the decorations, Noah wanted to help. He's been feeling rotten and he was getting bored. I really did not want to let him help me though. I had a technique, I wanted everything wrapped carefully, and I wanted to selfishly do a task by myself because I had not had any "ME" time. But the little guy was so persistent, and he was so good at spotting just the ornament I was looking for. He carefully handed me tissue paper as soon as I needed it. He helped me carry the boxes of decorations up the stairs. Some were incredibly heavy, like the big tree box, and I really don't know if I would have gotten it up the stairs had he not been so persistent on the tail end pushing with his whole body. I did not ask him to do all that, I didn't want him to do it, but he did it so cheerfully and wouldn't take no for an answer. Once we got that big tree box upstairs I couldn't get it through that little tiny door for anything. I was so frustrated and disappointed because that space was so valuable. Noah kept trying to help and I kept saying, "stand back, you're in my way, I can do this!!". Finally, he says to me, "Um, mommy, why don't you try to turn this box this way" and he used all his energy and I rolled my eyes but helped him....and it fit....perfectly. Gosh I was humbled by his brains and his spirit and I couldn't stop praising him for all his hard work, help, and sheer genius in getting that box through that little hole!! Putting away decorations was so much easier with his help. really, a five year old made THAT much of a difference. He was so proud of himself and it just brightened his face, his mood, and he so needed that time with me to be helpful.

I couldn't help but think about our relationship with God. How many times does He want to cheerfully and eagerly lighten our load, ease our burdens, cleanse our sins, show us the better way? And how many times do we (I'm really speaking of me here), just want to handle it all on our own. WE know the better way, we can handle all the burdens, WE can fix the problems ourselves. We don't need that sin taken away because we need that ME time and don't want to change that. But God is ready, cheerfully, waiting for us to use Him.... to spend that time with us, and have His moment to be proud that He could help us. Thank you, God, for teaching me a powerful lesson through my child. God knows how to reach us, we just have to be moldable to those teachable moments!!

He's 4 and he loves to sing :)

I've never tried to post a video on blogger before so hopefully it works!! Today is Nathan's actual birthday, and I thought I would post a video of him at this age. Here's the words to his song, "When something's really scary, don't try it all at once, try it little, little, little!!!". He sings this when he's in his bed at night sometimes. So cute!! I love him at this age and I'm so thankful he let me capture his song on video. :)

Natey turns 4!!

Well, he doesn't actually turn 4 until Dec. 28th, but we were able to celebrate this past weekend with him. We had an early party because we wanted to make sure he could have all his little friends there, and we were even blessed to have my mom and dad, sister, and wonder twins attending! We had a blast at Udderly Delicious, a combination ice cream shop/miniature golf spot. It was all indoors, no one got hurt, I think it was a success.

When it got time for Nathan to blow out his candles, I just randomly gave my friend April my camera and told her to start taking pictures. I'm not sure why I did that, but I am so glad I did because she took some really great pictures!! I've included a few that really captured the excitement of blowing out a candle and devouring a cupcake. I LOVE these!

 Just a few things I love about our Nathan at this age...
1. He still likes to cuddle. He's not squirmy when he does it, he collapses his whole body into yours and will sit so contently. These times are getting fewer but I cherish each time he does it!
2. He's starting to behave better. The terrible twos that really travel into age 3 are starting to fade and he is starting to mature, be caring and sensitive about things. He's not always perfect, but it is easier to discipline now and I feel like he tries harder to listen and behave.
3. He's personality is just lovable. He's interested in whomever he's talking to, what they are wearing, what they are doing, he's sociable and personable.
4. He wake ups cheerful often singing at the top of his lungs. He loves to sing, but only if no one is watching him. If he catches you watching, he will ask you to look away so he can continue!
5. He loves his brother and they really do love and look out for each other. He is protective of Noah and misses him terribly when he's away.
6. He doesn't eat much, but when he finds something he likes, he devours it!! Kind of like the cupcake above!

I really could go on and on. We love our little Natey and are so thankful to have 4 sweet years with him! I can't wait for the years ahead and I know he will fill our lives with joy and laughter! Love you, Natey Mouse!!

Little friend party

Last Friday the boys invited their little friends over for a movie night. They were all so cute it was almost too much for me to handle. Above they are sitting on the couch watching one of the movies. No, they didn't stay there long, there was too much to see and do when you are ages 2-5!

My dream came true at dinner time. When we decided to build this house, I wanted one thing for the kitchen. I did not want a formal dining room, I wanted a place where I could have a big table where we could be ourselves, messes and all, and laugh and enjoy each other. I wanted plenty of seats so we could have lots of friends over.

One of the movies we watched was Polar Express. There's a fun scene in it where all the kids get hot cocoa so I thought it would be fun for us to mix up a batch up homemade cocoa mix. We learned about measurements/simple math and each little boy got to dump a special ingredient in. They also had to use their biggest muscles as each took a turn to mix up the massive batch of hot chocolate mix. They had so much fun and kept say, "my turn! my turn!!".  Sorry about the fuzzy nature of the pics, Eric had greasy pizza fingers!

After we mixed it up, we traveled back to the basement to finish watching movies....and drink hot cocoa of course!! Things taste so much better when you make it yourself. We had fancy little cups, and we spilled it all over the place, but it was so FUN!! I just love these little guys. I'm so thankful that their sweet parents let them come over for a memorable evening full of laughs. The two best parts....my heart was so full by the end of the night, and my boys slept like rocks they were so exhausted!! Can't wait to do it again!!