Jun. 29, 2009 - High Hopes
We are all hung over here this morning from a visit with friends that we had last night. The kids played in the pool for hours. Lydia can barely move this morning. Henry and Jack are spaced out to Little Bear on Noggin, Ben is stil sleeping and Sophia is asleep in our bed. She was crying early this morning so Darin brought her in with us. I think she fell back asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow. I stayed with Sophia until Darin left for work. When I came down, he had finished cleaning the kitchen from last night and since the kids were in the pool all night, our house is still Company-Clean. I just love that. It's a rare thing around here these days! I have become very adept at stepping over the train track and doll house toys in the dark.
Ben was such a big help to me last night. He's of the age where he prefers to hang out and listen to all the adult chatter rather than play with all the kids. He helped me wrestle Sophia from the table and everyone's plates and cups. She was constantly drawn to all that fun. She has also discovered the water in the toilet bowl. sigh. ;-)
Back when Ben was a little guy I had high hopes brought on by the occaisional teen boys we would run into who were so sweet to him. They would play with him, have fun conversations with him - you know, just generally be Real People - not Freaky Teens. I always hoped and prayed that Ben would turn into one of those Real People. So far, so good. ;-) He is such a good big brother to Henry and Sophia. So SWEET to them and at least once a day Henry will say to Ben, "Ben, let's spend some time together." And then Ben will wrestle around with Henry and all will be right with the world.
There really is so much good to look forward to as our kids mature. I feel as if Darin and I are at the very beginning stages of reaping the harvest of the things we have sown as Ben is coming into his own as a young adult. Of course we're a long way from done, but I'm starting to get real optimistic. ;-)
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Jun. 11, 2009 - Nostalgic
I've just been struck in a big way lately about the variety of ages in our family. Ben, our oldest, will turn 14 next month. Contrast that with our 3 and 1 year old who are still taking naps, sitting in my lap to read books and exist to go outside to swing. I guess the thing that is drawing my attention to our age differences is Ben. I guess I knew it would happen eventually, but it seems to be happening all of a sudden. He's "growing up."
First, he's started doing school on his own. That was a big deal for me because I really enjoyed all of us learning together. But the apron strings are still slowly disintegrating because
Second, he will be playing football this fall. This adds something new to his schedule. Not just football, but a challenge. He's going to be tired. Practices are from 6:30 -8:30 A.M. We are not morning people. ;-) The challenge comes when he has to decide to responsibly take care of his chores and schoolwork in spite of being tired or sore. This, to me, is another sign of growing up. I pray that he shows himself equal to the challenge, and
Third, Ben has some summer work mowing lawns, and one job in particular will take him out of the house twice a week from 8-11 A.M. It's a great opportunity for him with one of our neighbors who just needs someone to work alongside him to get the yardwork done. This is a great neighbor-man so we're glad for Ben to spend time with him. The thing about this summer work is that this will make Ben's schedule different from the rest of our schedules. Even though he has been doing his own studies this past year, he has been doing them at the same time that the rest of us do school. Now Ben is going to have to rearrange and fit things in differently. So now, maybe when we're ready to go outside for a little playtime, Ben might have to stay in and finish a science experiment, or math, or something.
Sigh. It's just weird. Today was his first day working with our neighbor, and I wasn't the only one wondering what was going on! Henry, our 3 year old, kept asking, "Where's Ben?" It was weird not to have him here. Then when Ben got home, even though we explained where Ben was a thousand times, Henry still asked Ben, "Where WERE you?"
I couldn't help but think of the little time we have left with Ben here at home! What will Henry think when Ben leaves to pursue his own life? He'll be so young and have many years left here with Darin and me. What a hard day that will be. I can just hear Ben now, "Don't cry, Mom!" ;-)
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Jun. 3, 2009 - Mama's Kisses
I love having so many different ages in the house. Our kids our 13, 10, 8, 3 and 1. We're missing the fun 4-6 age, but that's a whole other story that you can read HERE.
Yesterday our 8 year old came into the house from the backyard pouting and limping. He came over to the couch and sat down next to me, making little whimpering sounds. I took the bait.
"What happened?"
"I hurt my knee." I investigated. It was this little thing, the size of a pinprick.
"How did you do that?"
"I don't know." I held in my giggle.
"Do you want me to kiss it?"
And here is where he melted my heart. He did that thing where he tries to hide his smile but doesn't really succeed because he's so happy he just got what he really wanted. SWEET! I kissed his knee and he said, "You don't know. That really helps me." Then he got up and went back outside.
OH MY GOODNESS. That boy knows how to melt his Mama's heart. :-)
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