Out of Sight, Out of My Mind!!

What happens when you turn your head for a second? What are you missing? Ask that question and most people just look confused- but ask that question to someone with an almost 2-year-old, named Lily Grace, and her momma will laugh half hysterically. Trouble occurs when you turn your back to Lily Grace! And I have several pictures of her in various stages of undress- her favorite thing to do when your not watching- to prove my point!

Now, when Chloe is in the swing- and the swing is not directly in my visual field, things happen. Most of the time it's fine...

and even sweet....

they are having fun.... or LG is anyway....

but hey how does this come off...

mom, you're spoiling my plans go away!

I mean she looks like she's being thwarted!

And then there are meals! This is what happens in three minutes worth of mom's inattention- and it was exactly 3 minutes- my Lean Cuisine timed this one out. I'm all ready to eat, and turn to walk to the table and find this....

Oh, I'm sorry, you wanted to eat your lunch hot? Well I wanted to make mine into a yogurt facial.. It feels quite nice actually...

Toddlers! They are only so sweet smelling because they are constantly being washed down.

But they are fun and all of these shenanigans make me smile...and sigh...but mostly smile!

So do sweet, quiet moments like these....

Don't you just want to lean in and bury your face in her little neck and take a deep breath? Just breathe in the fresh smell of new baby. If I could bottle it I'd be a zillionaire. This is what I enjoy the most at this age- the cuddle time :) If anyone needs some quiet, cuddle time, come on over- it's good for the soul! My rocker is always available :)

Benjamin

Benjamin Foster Brackett- born March 30, 2006. I remember being pregnant with Ben and thinking he was going to be my sweet baby Ben- I think because Jay was just over a year and a handfull :) Benjamin is sweet in many ways. He is all boy for sure- very athletic, covered in bruises and scars and loves the outdoors. He is a great helper for Chase outside and likes to get his hands dirty with his daddy.

He also is very, very smart. He will "officially" be in 1st grade this next year but he is doing 2nd grade math, is reading at a middle school level, and would be bored stiff if he were in a traditional 1st grade classroom. God knew what he was doing when he had us homeschool these crazy boys!

Ben for all his toughness can be very sensitive and intuitive. He asks great questions and likes to know how things work and what makes things and people tick.

Ben has stated on more than one occasion that he wants to be a pastor. We'll see what happens in the long run but as his teachers in his Bible Study Fellowship classes would say- he is tender towards the Lord. I love doing BSF work with him because his understanding of scripture and the thoughts he shares show the Holy Spirit is working on his little heart and I love that. Benjamin did accept Christ when he was four and his faith is growing.

In this first picture he is holding a Shel Silverstein poetry book. He mistakenly calls it his joke book- I think because it makes him laugh and he gets Shel Silverstein's humor. Plus there are funny boy things in there like boogers and dirt and what boy wouldn't get a kick out that!

Recently Ben saw a little white New Testament bible in his folder with his name printed on it in gold lettering (I have a folder for each kiddo with ultrasound pictures, cards, and other special items and the kids love to look through them).  Our friend Jodi Thorp gave him this bible when he was baptized. Anyway, he asked if he could have this little bible and I initially said no, I wanted to keep it in his folder. White, clean, tidy, unsmudged, a keepsake....Then I thought why?? Why would I not let him have this treasure?  What good will the little white bible do in a folder?  Where the pages can't  be  turned and the red words of Christ can't be read? A book that shows God's grace given to the smudged and dirty and untidy. 

Now he has another bible he uses to study from but he saw this one and it was special, it was his, it had red words in it, he wanted it and so I said he could have it.

And here he is with it. He loves it! He reads it. And of course isn't that the goal?  Maybe the white cover will one day not be so white and the pages may be worn but the red letters of Christ will still be there. The owner is the same- a little dirty, a little bruised, but Christ is still inside. So when I see Ben's bible, I won't see the little bible so much as I'll be reminded of my son and the Son who died to save him and I will be grateful.

The Girls

The question of the past two months has been who does Chloe look like? Everyone seems to have a different opinion based on the day and/or picture. Most of the time another sibling or Chase is the one she is said to look like and it's been fun looking at the other kiddos pictures at the same age to compare! So who do you think Chloe looks like in this picture?

Thank you to the peanut gallery who thinks that she looks like me! I think it's the eyes and frowny eyebrow :)

Chloe gets made when you compare her and cries that she looks like Chloe! Poor thing, she's getting a complex.

But this post is titled "The Girls" and there was a reason for that. Lily loves to be read to. Mamaw witnessed that reading to her in her room. She plopped right in her lap and  brought book after book and we do read to Lily every day. We all like to read and some of her favorites are "Where's Spot?", "Counting Kisses", "Mary Engelbreits Mother Goose Nursey Rhymes", and the classic "Pat the Bunny"! All the kids have loved that book and we are on copy #2 as it's not the most toddler friendly- well Lily dipped it in the toilet so the cover is not the most water friendly! Anyway, after nursing Chloe this morning Lily was sitting next to me and wanted to "ho Coco" (she calls Chloe Coco) so I put Chloe next to her and she then started "reading" to Chloe! I couldn't believe it and so I snapped a shot.

Aren't these two so sweet! I look forward to them growing up and playing together. So glad that Lily has a playmate. She needs a different influence than just her precious brothers! Case in point- she lifted the toilet lid today and proceeded to pretend to potty standing up! Yikes- I'm out numbered here and there is more boy influence than girl- she really pays attention to more than we realize :)

Sweet Chloe had her 2 month appointment today with Dr. Middleton- Middleton Pediatrics- and she is just perfect he said. Growing well, smiling, cooing, sleeping (yipee) and all that newborn stuff. She weighed in at a dainty 11 pounds and 4 ounces and measured a very long 24 inches!! For now she is in the 59th% in weight and 94th% in height. What that means long term we'll see! But that length is second only to Jay at the same age! Longer than Lily so another tall baby!  She did have two shots and another oral vaccine. Our family has chosen to do vaccines and thankfully have not had any poor side effects beyond general fussiness. I feel blessed that they are protected from so many harmful viruses.  On another note, Jay has had a very stubborn wart for nearly 2 years now but he was starting to get a little self concious about it. I don't think it helped that Lily started poking at it curiously. Soo he worked up some courage and had it frozen this morning! He was very  brave about it and it helped I'm sure that dad was there to hold his hand!

Genesis

Welcome to the new family blog! Do you like the name? You may be wondering where arrows came from!? With the surprise pregnancy of Chloe, I remember thinking of the bible verse found in Psalm 127 that speaks of children being a blessing and blessed is the person whose quiver is full.

          "Don't you see that children are God's best gift?
           the fruit of the womb his generous legacy?
           Like a warrior's fistful of arrows
           are the children of a vigorous youth.
           Oh, how blessed are you parents,
          with your quivers full of children!" Psalm 127:3-5

With having a fourth child I surely felt we had a quiver full of arrows! I came from a small family. Just one sister! I remember seeing bigger families and being amazed but also I loved the dynamics of a larger family. It just looked like fun! So now we get to experience the fun and challenges of being blessed with a quiver full!

I like the background to this blog because it makes me think of the wide world and how we are also called to go and make disciples of all nations (found in Matthew 28). I like to think that Chase and I have the opportunity to take these arrows God's given us and ready them to be sent out as warriors for the Lord and how desperately our world needs them.

That is a tall order but we are given one life and my life rather my call, in this season, is to focus on these kiddos. It's a challenge for sure. But we are up for it.