Dancing with Dad

Any man can be a father. It takes someone special to be a dad. ~Author Unknown

The boys' first T-ball season

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Another project that I have been wanting to do is update the mirror in our bathroom. I bought a mirror before but it didn't look right and was not wide enough. In looking online for a mirror that was wide, I stumbled across a web site called www.mirrormate.com. If you have a regular mirror with no border that is glued to your wall, you can custom order the frame alone for a fraction of the cost to buy a new mirror with a frame.

The installation was fast and SO easy! I was very pleased with the result, and I am not a very 'handy' person.

Here is the "before" picture (ignore me in the corner with the camera, I thought I was out of the way)


Here is a close up of the mirror frame I chose


The finished product! I think it makes the whole bathroom look so much better!

Handprints

Sometimes you get frustrated because I am so small,
and always leave my hand prints on the furniture and walls,
but everyday I'm growing and will be grown-up one day,
and all these little hand prints will surely fade away.
So here is one more hand print just so you can recall
exactly how my hand looked when I was very small.

My brother, my friend

A brother is a friend given by Nature. ~Jean Baptiste Legouve



It's double the giggles and double the grins, and double the trouble if you're blessed with twins. ~Author Unknown

More Spring Break fun

More Spring Break fun...

#3 looking to catch the big one


#3 and Grandpa



#2 and Gram



#2 and Grandpa


Matt


#3 Silly boy



Little drummer boy


Throwing sticks into the water


The boys and their cousins watching Lassie before bed time

We sang this song last night and the words really struck a chord within me. I am always so busy trying to make my life work the way I want it to, and expect God to just pave the way I want it to. But how many times have I just been still and listened for God's will? Below are the lyrics and a video of the song by Selah. I think it is beautiful, and hope you enjoy it as well.

Be Still My Soul
Be still, my soul: the Lord is on thy side.
Bear patiently the cross of grief or pain.
Leave to thy God to order and provide;
In every change, He faithful will remain.
Be still, my soul: thy best, thy heavenly Friend
Through thorny ways leads to a joyful end.

Be still, my soul: thy God doth undertake
To guide the future, as He has the past.
Thy hope, thy confidence let nothing shake;
All now mysterious shall be bright at last.
Be still, my soul: the waves and winds still know
His voice Who ruled them while He dwelt below.

Be still, my soul: when dearest friends depart,
And all is darkened in the vale of tears,
Then shalt thou better know His love, His heart,
Who comes to soothe thy sorrow and thy fears.
Be still, my soul: thy Jesus can repay
From His own fullness all He takes away.

Be still, my soul: the hour is hastening on
When we shall be forever with the Lord.
When disappointment, grief and fear are gone,
Sorrow forgot, love’s purest joys restored.
Be still, my soul: when change and tears are past
All safe and blessèd we shall meet at last.

Be still, my soul: begin the song of praise
On earth, believing, to Thy Lord on high;
Acknowledge Him in all thy words and ways,
So shall He view thee with a well pleased eye.
Be still, my soul: the Sun of life divine
Through passing clouds shall but more brightly shine.

Spring Break, continued

On Friday of Spring Break the boys donned their cowboy boots and UT caps and we headed to the Houston Livestock Show carnival. The boys enjoyed a pony ride and we all had fun seeing all the animals. They even had a display case where baby chicks were hatching out of their eggs as we watched.



Enjoying a snack


On a carnival ride

Spring Break!

Last week we were off for Spring Break. We had a wonderful and relaxing time just hanging out with family and friends.

Saturday was the boys' first T-ball game (pictures and video will be coming later). After that, we headed out to La Grange to visit my parents and stayed for four days. We had picnic lunches, fished, rode around on the mule, flew kites, and just plain did "nuthin" and had so much fun! My parents had to work during the day but at night we had Monopoly and domino 'wars' until late at night.

Every night Gram would read book after book to the boys, and they were mesmerized.


Read another one Gram!


Let's go fly a kite!


Bath time in Gram's tub is always a special treat!

Interior decorators

When a repairman was at our house changing out our foyer light fixture, I borrowed his extra tall ladder and put some decorations on the shelf above the door. I guess my little guys didn't think it was enough so they added their own by tossing their toys in the air. I especially love the teddy bear who landed on top of the decorative wooden box!

Too bad I don't have a ladder tall enough to get them down. Oh well. It is hidden from guests and can only be seen from the top of the stairs, so it has been like this for about two years. I always smile when I see those precious toys and plastic balls.

Dinner and dishes - all in one night!

Last night I arrived home from work after Matt had picked up the boys. He had dinner nearly ready and we ate tacos, rice, and ranch style beans. After dinner was over, he sent me upstairs to give the boys a bath while he loaded the dishwasher.

The boys took an extra long bubble bath, we read several books, turned the lights out and told stories in the dark.

I truly appreciated knowing that the dishes were done and I didn't have that task looming over my head after tucking the boys in bed.

We watched 24 together and it was SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO nice!!!

Thanks baby for giving me a 'night off'!

One step back

Since my twins were born 3 months premature, the hospital staff told me that their development would be like a dance. Two steps forward, one step back, two steps forward, one step back.

This 'dance' has proven to be true. For the first few months of his life, #2 fought a life and death battle to hang on. He came off of the ventilator after the first few days and I was able to hold him for the first time (two steps foward), and then developed pneumonia and a collapsed lung (one step back). Now that he is older, his development has progressed by leaps and bounds, and one would never know he began life as a tiny 2 pound infant struggling to breathe and grow.

The dance for #1 began very smoothly. Everything seemed to be step forward, and he wowed the neonatologists and nurses in the NICU because he did not develop any of the complications that most preemies are prone to have. He went home from the hospital after only 6 weeks, and everything seemed to be going right (two steps forward). At 10 months of age, the 'dance' began when he had his first siezure (one step back). Then he began to have 3 or 4 siezures per day. The doctors had us give him powerful medication that made him sleep 20 out of 24 hours per day, but that didn't seem to slow the siezures, and he even had them in his sleep. The doctors then had us switch him to a steriod injection twice per day, which made him very fussy, irritated, hungry, and the hair around his upper lip even started to turn dark. Finally, the siezures stopped and we weaned him off of the steriods (two steps forward). He was a different baby after that day (one step back).

Now that #1 has autism, we still do the 'dance' with his progression. He will do wonderful for several weeks at a time, but then he will have a week or two of regression.

I have a feeling that a 'one step back' period is coming because he has had two months of solid steps foward, but I need to prepare my heart. It always devastates me when the step back occurs.

My prayer for this week

Here are the lyrics to one of my favorite songs. It's simplistic words are beautiful. It is my prayer for this week:

Just for Today
Also known as “Father God”
© 1995 Mark Schelske. All Rights Reserved

Father God, just for today
Help me to walk, your narrow way
Help me to stand, when I might fall
Give me the strength to heed your call

Chorus:
May my steps be worship
May my thoughts be praise
May my words, bring honor to your name
(repeat chorus 2x)

Hey look...it's an elephant!

One of Matt's favorite games to play with the boys when we eat together is to point to something behind one of them and say, "Hey look...it's a _____!" (fill in the blank, elephant, tiger, squirrel, giraffe, etc.). When the boys turn their heads to look, Matt steals their plate or bowl and hides it underneath the table, acting as if nothing happened. When they turn back around, the one without a plate/bowl yells, "Heeeeeeeyyyyy! Give it back!!" while everyone else cracks up laughing.

Yes, this is a game that never gets old in my household. Many a glass of milk has been spilled during these attempts to steal plates/bowls, but I love these family meal times.

Little artists

Last Friday after school I took the boys to an art shop for kids to paint a figurine. They had a great time (although their shirts are now stained).

Here is my little right-handed artist painting his dinosaur. He put so many colors on it that it turned out almost black in the end, but he was so proud of his creation.


#2 chose to paint a Batman, but he didn't spend much time painting it. In fact, most of piece stayed white. He spent most of the time mixing the colors in the water to see how they mixed together, like a science experiment.


#1 chose to paint Elmo. Both he and his twin are left-handed. He meticulously painted every inch of Elmo, and then proceeded to pour each little cup of paint on top of him, so Elmo was drenched in color.

I loved how the art shop was set up for kids, with the white pieces all at the front of the store away from the painting area for the kids (so they would not accidentally touch other pieces that I would have to buy), and they had little aprons for each child with stools and sinks to wash their little hands. We will definitely be back there soon! The boys had a great time and are very proud of their work!

Hurtful words

I knew some time I might hear hurtful words come from my kids' mouths, but I wasn't yet prepared for the words I heard #1 tell me yesterday while trying to get him dressed for school. "I hate you! You're mean!"

I know that he doesn't really mean it, but all the same it really hurt me. I started crying and he immediately said, "I'm sorry." He knows when people are hurting and I'm glad he is able to recognize when he needs to apologize, but still I wonder...where is he hearing those sort of words??

A Boy's Milestone

#2 has learned how to make himself burp, multiple times in a row. He is quite proud of himself. I think that feat is part of an unwritten set of milestones for boys, right there with spitting on the ground and making armpit noises. Now if I can just teach him not to do it in public places! :)