Boggle

I admit it. I love word games. Scrabble. Boggle. Text Twist. You name it. I love it. For some reason letters are music to my ears and mind... and I'm always turning them around, looking for words amidst the words... it's a little odd I suppose. But, well, I'm a word person. What can I say?

For Christmas this year, my husband bought me a new Boggle game. This Boggle set is amazing and much more "family friendly." It's all enclosed, so there is no way to lose letters. Plus it has its own timer. Nice.

(any one else see the word, "begotten" in this puzzle? Oh yeah, 8 letters. Nice.)

So, one Saturday, Nick and I enjoyed a few rounds of Boggle. The boys watched with fascination, wondering what Mom and Dad could be up to, sitting so quietly for 3 minute intervals while writing furiously and staring at the Boggle board. Shortly after we completed our game and were distracted by other things, we turned around to see this:

I guess our little boys (wearing their matching race car shirts) are word game people too. What can I say? I'm proud of them. :) And thought I'd never seen anything so cute in my life!

For of such is the kingdom of heaven

I meant to post this little story earlier this week.

On Sunday, because Isaiah was running a fever and fairly cranky, I stayed home with him from church while Daddy and Josh went to worship together.

Isaiah spent most of the morning taking it easy: reading books, listening to Judy Rogers, snuggling in bed, etc. Being sick, tired, and easily entertained, it took him a while to notice that Joshua was not home.

He asked me in a very concerned voice, "Where's Joshua!?!?!"

I replied, "Joshua went to church with Daddy. Today is Sunday, the Lord's Day. But you and mommy stayed home because you are sick."

Isaiah looked so sad and tears welled up in his eyes. He said, "I need to go to church too!!"

Immediately I remembered my own childhood concept of Sunday highlights (Sunday school and seeing friends), and asked my 3 year old, "Oh, are you sad that you won't get to see your friends and go to Sunday School?"

Isaiah burst into tears and exclaimed, "No, Mommy!! I wanted to worship God in spirit and in truth."

I was greatly humbled by this response from my son and felt the tears well up in my eyes as well. I'm so glad that Isaiah takes delight in worship, in singing and praising our Savior and in hearing God's word preached--- something that quite escaped me when I was 3 years old! A Lord's Day spent at home lacks fellowship of the saints and Sunday school teaching, but... most importantly (as my 3 year old knew), the gathering together to WORSHIP the Lord.

"Let the little children come unto me, and do not forbid them, for of such is the kingdom of heaven." Matthew 19:14

Just for fun

Today on the way to the grocery store, Isaiah exclaimed from the back seat, "Mommy, Mommy!! Slow Down!!"

Looking at him in the rear view mirror, I asked, "Whats wrong, Isaiah? Did you forget something at home?"

"No," he replied, "I saw a yellow light and that means SLOOOOOOOW down, doesn't it?"


To top it off, Joshua chimed in with his latest phrase, "Be careful!!!"

*I just love how my boys keep me on track!!* :)

Singing praises

Today could have been one of "those days"... but it wasn't. The Lord, in his mercy and love, provided for our needs on what would-of, could-of, should-of been a very challenging morning.

Isaiah, who had been battling a cold last week, came down with a fever and a nasty sounding cough on Saturday. His fever remained rather high, but because it was a weekend and the Dr's office was closed, I opted not to make my first ever run to the E.R. (even though Isaiah was very cranky and sick) and just wait it out. I checked his temp, listened to his lungs (hey! I'm a nurse!!), kept up with the Ibuprofen and planned on bringing him into the Dr's on Monday morning (today).

So first thing this morning, I waited for the clock to say 7am, and put in a call to the Dr's office. No answer. NO ANSWER!!!! Arg!! Well, it is Presidents Day, and maybe they are closed like everything else. But I decided to try calling again, and not only did someone answer the phone, but the office was OPEN and had a appointment available at 8am. Thank you, Lord!! And really, I cannot say thank-you enough. What a relief!!

As we bustle around and get ready to go, I look outside to see that its been snowing all night, several inches of new powder on the ground. So now we're looking at a drive in the snow. And just as I'm remembering that the "EMPTY" light is on in the minivan (it went on on the way home from church yesterday), the phone rings and my husband (who already left for classes) lets me know that the roads are pretty icy. The makings for a treacherous morning indeed. But then...

my dear husband adds, "Oh, and I went out early this morning and filled up the gas tank for you, so you should be good to go." Oh, Praise the Lord for my fantastic husband, and another mercy this morning. One less thing for me to worry about. Hurray!!

Before we jump in the car, I look online to see if any of the military Pharmacy's are open on the holiday so that I can tell the Doc where to call the prescription in to. But alas, all THREE of the pharmacy's on base are closed. Nuts. While I wasn't so concerned about paying for prescriptions out of pocket, I couldn't help but wonder will any pharmacy be open in this small town on a holiday? But...Praise the Lord again, because we may not have much in this town, but we do have Wal-mart. And our Wal-mart has a pharmacy, and they are open!! Yes, praise the Lord again!!

So, we head out on the slippery roads, with our full tank of gas and runny noses, and arrive safely at the clinic with time to spare. God is good.

The Nurse Practitioner we saw was wonderful! I was not only impressed with her knowledge, but in the kind way in which she dealt with my boys. Score!!

As it turns out, ear infections for BOTH boys (their FIRST ear infections EVER) and a sinus infection on top for Isaiah. No flu. No pneumonia. Again, blessings amidst the trials.

The NP sent our prescription over to the pharmacy at Wal-mart, and we were able to hit up the Valentines Day candy 50% off while we waited for the prescriptions! :) Another unexpected blessing. (hee hee). :)

We slid in the ice in the parking lot, and I had the "exciting" experience for the first time in the minivan with kids of losing control of the vehicle. Thankfully, the parking lot was near empty (NO ONE ELSE WAS OUT!!) so we neither hit a car, nor came close to the hitting another car. Thank you, Lord!!

There are many other things I could note, but lastly, the boys were remarkably content and quiet during all the running around this morning too. The Lord is just so merciful. On a day that could have been simply awful and stressful, things worked out, God provided, we were kept safe, and my boys and I are safe and sound at home now.

31 weeks... getting close!

A little of this and a little of that...

Isaiah is doing and feeling fine this morning. When he came running into our room this morning, his opening line was, "Mommy, my head doesn't hurt anymore!!" Even if it was an early wake up call. I was glad. :)

Today has been another busy day. We woke up to yet more snow on the ground and I'm beginning to understand what a Mid-west winter entails. I know that we haven't had as much snow and ice as some areas, but... more snow falling before the last snow melts, wind chills, and frequently below freezing temperatures seem to be what the next few months are about. We'll see...

The boys and I still managed to head out to our Tuesday morning Bible study with the Army wives... and I'm glad we did. We enjoyed good fellowship and discussion. The boys enjoyed playing with their friends.

And now that the boys are down for naps and I've had my daily devotions, it's time to clean, cook, and hopefully relax for a few before my charges awake. :) Being nearly 8 months pregnant, keeping up with two little boys, and being out in the cold weather sure take a lot out of me. Wooh!! Almost there!! It's crazy sometimes to think, that the baby will be full term in just 6 weeks!!

The mother in me

This evening our three year old fell backwards off the couch... flat on the back of his head... worse still, onto our concrete floor. For all you moms out there, you can imagine the sick feeling in your stomach, and the concern you feel for your child, and the incredible overpowering feeling of wanting to care and protect your little one.
I think he's going to be fine. But...

The mother in me held an ice pack to his head, kissed his tears away, snuggled him for a long time, and now that he is in bed sleeping soundly, I'm waking him up every 15 minutes to do neuro checks... okay, maybe that part is the nurse in me. But whatever part of me it is, I know the danger of closed head injuries and know its important to check pupil dilation and cognitive function.

Paranoid you say? Maybe a little.

But... even though I trust my Heavenly Father to do all things well; to work all things out for good to those who trust in Him, I still recognize my responsibility as a mother. Whether it's feeding my children spinach and teaching them the Children's Catechism, or binding their wounds and comforting their hearts... that's my job. And whatever I put my hand to do, I will do my best to do it with all my heart (Col 3:23)

Snow suits

I just had to post this picture of Joshua in his very bulky snow suit, a gift from my beloved hospital coworkers. He is a good sized kid anyway, but with the big layer of fluff on the outside, I couldn't help but laugh half the time I looked at him!! It is just so cute! Also, he insisted on wearing Isaiah's too big orange gloves, because he's going through an "I love orange" phase right now. At least he knows his colors... :)

Just a few favorites

We got a lot of snow this past weekend (as in 5 or 6 inches-- which is the most we've seen here since we moved), so being the fun-loving mom that I am, we bundled up and went outside to tromp around in it. So what if it was only 8 degrees out, thats just the way winter is around here! The boys had a blast! They kept looking at me for approval before walking through or jumping in mounds of snow, as if to say, "Is it really okay for me to do this??" What fun for little boys!