We received a Christmas catalog in the mail.  It had umpteen gazillion types of items.  I flipped through it quickly, and saw an ad for some sort of girdle.  Well, the woman in the ad was wearing it, and it didn't look decent enough to let the boys start skimming through it without taking that page out first. 

By then, I was driving, and I told Daniel, who was begging to look through it, that he couldn't until I took a page out first.  I told him there was someone who wasn't all the way dressed.

"But pleeeease.  I won't look at that lady!"

Ethan to Daniel, "Oh, Daniel, don't worry about it.  It's probably just some lady wearing a zucchini!  Mommy'll let you look at it later." Bikini...zuchini...LOL!

We went to the annual meeting of the church where Deron and I met this past weekend, and it was wonderful!  I've never seen it so packed.  They had to bring in chairs from the lunchroom!  Wow...

I didn't get to hear too much preaching (thank you, girls!), but it was still wonderful.  The kids and I went with my brother and sister-in-law because Deron had to work.  It really was something to see so many folks there!

While we were there, Ethan showed me that his tooth was barely hangin on.  We were pretty scared to let him sleep with it so loose so...

He's so excited.  You can't tell, can you?

Next thing you know he'll be graduating high school and getting married and his children will be loosing their teeth!  He needs to stop growing up so fast!

Ethan: "I'm so glad I don't live in the Old Testament."

Me: "Why's that?"

Ethan: "Cause.  I don't think you could go fishin' on Sundays.  That'd be terrible!" That's important right there...j/k! 

So...we have a mouse...just one...that's usually the way it works, right?  It was about 5:30 the other morning, and I saw it come way too close to my foot, so I started screaming like any normal female human being...Deron came running...and the mouse got all confused by my screaming and started running in a circle.  The need for more traps came to my mind. (And btw, I wrote this last week, and that's a dead little mouse now! And I've scoured my floors because it creeps me out that I have crawler on the rodent floors... I get the heebeegeebees just thinking about it!) 

And so later on that morning Ethan attempted to comfort me...or not so much..."Mama, don't worry.  We can buy a lot  of traps just in case it was a mama mouse and just in case she has babies...and then, you won't have to worry about it at all. Is that a good idea?"

Thanks. I felt so much better then.

To my dearest Ethan,

Six years have passed so quickly!  It feels like just yesterday we were in the hospita, and I was strapped to monitors, anxiously waiting for you to arrive.  And now, here we are, and it takes two hands to show us your age.

You have grown up so much this year.  Everything you do seems so grown up.  Everything you say... I just can't believe the difference.  It makes me sad to think of you growing up so fast!

I went upstairs last night to give you one more kiss and hug before you turned six.  And you laughed and told me how I could set a timer and come in there again after you were sleeping and be able to kiss you one more time before the morning came.

Right now, you're riding your bike with a tiny bit of help balancing, helping the little class at karate, getting ready to start first grade this summer, and playing games like a pro.  You're quite the little "trash-talker" which makes it even more fun!  You feed the dog every day and help with other things, and we keep up with all that you're supposed to do on your chart.  You're ready for your "stinkin' baby teeth" to fall out because all the people who are littler than you are already losin' their "little tiny baby teeth!"  You've ridden your first real, roller coaster and grinned with delight the entire time. 

You've got a very sensitive personality but also a very boyish side.  (i.e. You won't let anyone hurt Hannah but it's okay if you come at her with a worm just to hear her girly-shriek of horror!  I will take my video camera next time we're on a worm hunt, that's for sure.)  And it really hurts your feelings when people don't take what you say seriously.  You're perceptive, and you can tell whether people are humoring you or not.

With you getting older, there have been times we've had to let go.  It's been difficult to know when to let go and when to hold on.  Because there is a part of us that wants to hold on!  Growing up happens much too fast!

I imagine you'll wake up with bells on knowing it's ice cream for breakfast, and that's exciting to me!  I love to see your face light up.  You are such a sweet-hearted little boy, and I'm so thankful that the Lord blessed our lives with you six years ago on this very special day.  I thank God for you and all that you mean to our family.

I love you so much Ethan!

Love,

Mommy

I thought I would share Ethan's rendition of "We Wish You a Merry Christmas:"

"We wish you a Merry Christmas,

We wish you a Merry Birthday,

We wish you a Merry Thanksgiving,

And a Happy New Year!

What?  Those are all my favorite holidays!"

He's growing up so fast!  He's at a point where he's not such a little boy anymore, and, yet, he's still little.  He loves to joke around and looks for ways to play with everyone.  He loves his sisters...and brother too...but sometimes, he wears his feelings on his sleeve and has a difficult time in that respect.  It doesn't take much for his feelings to get hurt. 

He's so rough and tumble most of the time.  He'll break out in song while he's doing schoolwork...completely unaware that anyone is listening.  (Daniel, too!)  And his favorite show is "Victoria Stillwell: It's Me or the Dog" on Animal Planet. Ethan can tell you how to train your dog, and he can handle our big German Shepherd, Beau, most of the time.  He's worked with Beau on not jumping or mouthing on him.  He loves it and wants us to get a female, so we can have puppies again.  Hmmm...don't know about that one.

He's so big and then, I see him curled up on the couch sleeping where he snuck down to see the Christmas tree, and I'm reminded of how young he really is.  Five years old and he'll turn six in April.  With four children this young, it's easy to see him as being older than he really is.  I hope and pray I can appreciate him for who he is and where he is in his little life.  I don't want him growing up so fast!  Where does the time go?

I bet you didn't know where chocolate milk comes from...

"First," Deron begins to explain to the boys, "You let a cow eat a whole bunch of chocolate bars.  Then, you shake the cow up, and out comes chocolate milk!"

Ethan replies, eyes wide, "Are you kidding me?"

To my sweet and kind-hearted Ethan,

I cannot believe you're five years old today!  It seems like just yesterday you reluctantly came into our lives!  You are such a joy!  I see a little man in you more every day, and if the next five years go as fast as the first five years, you'll be grown and gone before I know it!

God has made you into such a special and tender-hearted boy, and I'm so thankful that I get the chance to be your mother! You are as adventurous and boyish as they come, and this year has been your year to really overcome some of those little boy...or childish, really...traits. 

Your whining has improved dramatically, and one of the only times you tell us a story is when it comes to some sort of dessert you think you're entitled to! :-)  You go out of your way to be sweet to your sister, and you're trying to teach your brother how to be a tough boy!  I can't believe you're over half way done with kindergarten already.  You're so smart and kind and loving and I just can't get over the way the Lord has worked in your heart!  Your care and concern for others is precious.  You love to tell jokes, sing songs, play basketball, color--never saw that coming--, and get filthy-dirty outside! 

You love to know all that you know and you're anxious to know more.  We talk nonstop about anything and everything or well, sometimes you talk nonstop about anything and everything. And then, everything that you can soak up, you do!  Your memory is astonishing!  We've lived in our current home since you were two, but you'll still mention where we used to live  and the dogs we used to have from time to time.  You're such an amazing person! 

My Ethan, my little man--  I cannot even describe how much I love you!  We all love you and are so proud of who you are!

Love,  Mama

I really thought we had a few more years before Ethan's questions became this specific...

Ethan:  Mommy, how is Grace going to come out of your tummy?  Are those doctors going to have to cut you open like they did for Daddy's surgery?  But don't worry, they'll glue you back together.

Me: Hopefully, the doctors won't have to cut Mommy open.

Ethan: How's she gonna get out?

Me:  Wellll, God made a way for babies to come out of their mommies tummies...don't worry.

Ethan:  But how?

Lovely...I really thought we had a little bit longer... 

We began reading Exodus as part of our family time devotion.  We read after watching a little bit of Animal Planet.  I think we read all of the first chapter, and the boys were beginning to pray.  And here is a portion of Ethan's prayer:

"Dear Lord, please bless everyone to have a great time.  And no body to get thrown in a river...and no body to get eaten up by red-bellied piranhas in the river.  Or get bitten by crocodiles or cheetahs or alligators or not to get hurt by big bull elephants..."

His prayer continued, but I couldn't help but hold back barrels of laughter!  I didn't realize he knew red-bellied piranhas existed... And I certainly never thought about how a four-year-old would view that portion of Moses' story, but Ethan was very concerned.   I think he gets that way because we've told him time and time again that what we read in the Bible really happened!  That they're Bible stories but that they're true stories.  Maybe we should cut out the Animal Planet before we have devotion!

Have a great Monday!

Most of you who have seen Ethan lately realize how much he's grown.  Not just physically, but he's getting older emotionally...any way you can grow up...that's what he's doing.  He wants to be like Daddy more now than ever before, and he's wanted to be like Daddy since he was a baby.  Ethan even grabbed Deron's laptop bag and tried to kiss me on the lips before he "left for work" when he wasn't even two years old.  Now, he needs to wear Deron's t-shirts to sleep., and I hear questions constantly--"When am I gonna be a man, like Daddy?...Will I ever get man muscles, like Daddy?"  He looks up to Deron in a new and more mature way every day!  I knew it would come...the fact that he, consciously, wants to grow up, but now that it's here, it makes me a crazy mixture of sad and happy...downright sentimental, I'd say.

But he is still a little boy.  This morning, as I heard his little voice say, "Mommy, can you lay back down with me?," my heart melted, and I climbed under the covers and let him tell me stories and convince me to tell him all about what Daddy is getting for Christmas.  Ethan thinks we should get Daddy a transformer! "That would be perfect!"  A few minutes later, my little early riser and I got up.  I fixed myself a cup of coffee, and I caught him curled up in Daddy's T-shirt under the Christmas tree.  The sight made me want to curl up under there with him and let him be this little a little longer!  Like I've heard time and time again...The days may be long, but the years go by so fast! 

Forgive me...I was scared to turn the flash on, and I need a camera to take good pictures for me!

After I informed the children that we were going to stay up late and then go get daddy at the airport, Ethan pipes up and says, "I like that.  I think sleeping is boring!  You can't do anything while you're asleep." 

Aaahhh, to sleep for a bit and not do anything...

(Edited to add:  In regards to the picture in the header, Ethan says, "Mommy, I sure wish you'd wear that dress again.  You used to be so pretty in that dress."  Gee, thanks Ethan, thanks a lot! )

Me: "Ethan, guess what we're going to do tonight?!"

Ethan: Blank expression as if to say..."I just woke up. I don't know."

Me: "We're going to look at vehicles, again!"

Ethan: "How 'bout we all go jog?!"

Me: Blank expression!  What?!

Ethan:  "I wish I was a grape.  Then, I could turn into a raisin, and I could eat myself!"   He says some crazy stuff!  He bumped his head on the door last night and decided he needed to wear his bicycle helmet for the rest of the night!

And here is Ethan's rendition of The Pledge of Allegiance:

"I pledge of allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and in the republic, for which it stands, one nation under God, and lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil, with liberty and justice for all. Amen."

Bless his little heart.  He has all these things that he's memorized, and the other night, just before bedtime, he wanted to show Deron how he could say the pledge.... And that was what came out of his little mouth!  So sweet!

(edited to add: Please don't mention this to him.  He gets very sensitive.)

"Mommy, I'll give you these two dollars if you don't make me do my reading lesson!"