To Remember:

So yes, I'm behind in blogging again. Just wanted to write down what I can remember from my scribbled notecards. ;)

There was a tree-cutting truck on the road right by our house. The kids were watching out the window with great interest. Then, a car came - trying to go the opposite direction. We live on a narrow road, and it was right on a little hill, and Ruby exclaimed, "oh, no! There's a traffic jam!" Yup. There's life in the country - one car not being able to keep driving at normal speed = "traffic jam". ;)

I forget what happened, but David (at least I think it was him) did something, to which Ruby affirmed, "you're the hero!" =)

Ruby called me over to the play house one day to watch her and Isaac go down the slide - holding hands. It was declared to be a "twin slide". ;)

I've been having these terrible quick spurts of pain in my head. Sometimes a little lower than my ear on the back/side of my head, and sometimes in my ear. One day, I was having them a LOT and OFTEN, and Isaac said, "I wish I were Mommy". I asked him why he would want to be Mommy, and he said it was so I wouldn't have those headaches. Sweet boy! I pulled him on my lap and told him that was the nicest thing anyone has said to me in a long time. Sometimes that boy just GLOWS! =)

We let Hickory out of his cage one day, and Ruby didn't want him to "get" her. So, when I look over at her, what do you think that scrawny little child is doing? She's wrapped herself around a little tree - hugging it with both arms and one leg. Cracks me up.

Ruby ate an ENTIRE Jalapeno Popper by herself recently. Normally they're too spicy for a child who can't handles spices well at all. Crazy. Some time, she was eating something spicy and declared that it's "not spicy!" As her face turned red. A little later, she was telling me, "it's spicing my tongue out!" ;)

I drug out the old tape recorder to try to record songs for Sabbath School. It didn't work well. So, Isaac was playing with the recorder, listening to the tape I was recording on. It was an old recording of the General Store, where people call in to the radio to list things they're looking for/trying to get rid of. Not real exciting, right? Well, it was for my I-see, who sat on the couch, with his wrist over his mouth in his trademark resting style, listening to the General Store for probably at least 30 minutes. Crazy guy.

One night, Ruby was having a big problem because her jammies that were clean were too small. So, since HER jammies were too small, she asked to wear Jadelyn's. Yeah...Jadelyn's. Yes, Jadelyn is 2 1/2 years younger than Ruby, and yes, Jadelyn shared a pair of her jammies with her big sister, who wore them to bed that night. Crazy kid.

When I sing the "Goodnight" song to Jadelyn, she often sings along, sticking her lips out at times. I often mirror her lips and we have a grand old time. Well, one night, she let me know that I was not to stick my lips out because it's "not your business. It's mine." Alrighty then. =O

The kids have somehow learned how to get the little slide on top of the playhouse. And they sometimes like to take a loose board out of the roof of the playhouse. One day, they had the roof board off, and screaming ensued. Jadelyn had fallen partway down and I had to push her from the bottom to get her back up. Ruby piped up and said it would probably be a good idea if they put the board back in place. I agreed. They fixed the problem. Goofballs.

One night during bathtime, Ruby informed David that she scrubs herself "'cause I'm a vegetarian." I don't see the correlation, but okay!

Last Sunday our family went on a walk thing put on by the hospital. Couldn't believe we paid money to go for a walk. Whatever. I'm not a "community building" type of gal, I guess. One lady said we were going to have to pay for the kids, too. Unbelievable! Anyways, the lady we finally paid didn't charge us for the kids. Good thing. Come on! Paying about $60 to go for a walk would have been INSANE!!! =O Gulp. Anyways, it was 2.5 miles, and in just over an hour we completed it. David was discouraged. I was proud. Ruby and Jadelyn walked/ran the entire way by themselves. Isaac would have, but his pants were rubbing his legs raw, so David carried him the last bit. For short legs, I thought we did mighty fine! =)

Lately the kids have been playing a bit that Jesus is coming back while standing on the windowsill behind the couch. One day Ruby was exclaiming, "Do you see the glorious place I got ready for you?" before adding that heaven is a "great place" where there are "no thorns" and "Thank You, Jesus." Heaven is a great lunchtime conversational piece, too. Just saying.

Out of the blue the other day, Ruby informed me, "Mom, I will take care of you when you're 64." I asked her why she would need to do that, and she answered, "you're old." Before telling me, "I will have kids when I'm 22. Probly." Where do these random thoughts come from, anyways?

While putting Jadelyn to bed one night, she wanted to kiss my "byows". (aka "eyebrows".) Silly goose.

The other day, Ruby wanted some candy when she was done with her meal. But alas, she had eaten all her candy. Isaac immediately offered to share some with her. He had 2 pieces left in his bag. So, he gave one to her and had one himself. It was so unselfish and sweet, I would have cried if I wasn't so hard hearted. Oh, to be unselfish like my little man!!!

Yesterday, Isaac was telling Jadelyn that she could buy her prize with his money (or something like that), but she would have to get what he told her to get. Ruby piped up, "Isaac, that's being like me. That's being bossy." Admission is the first step to recovery, right? =O

This morning, I was giving David a haircut. Jadelyn was watching and asked why I was "erasing" David's hair. ;) Then, she asked why David had his eyes closed. Followed by asking if I had MY eyes closed. HOPE NOT!!! =)

David's feeling sick today, so he was laying on the couch and all 3 kids were rubbing his back. Then, Ruby started rubbing his calves. But she informed me enthusiastically, "I'm squeezing Daddy's cavities!" =) Ha!

There's just been an overall lot of sweetness in this house lately. And I've been enjoying it. Mucho. =)

One last thing - the other week our Sabbath School story was about when Jesus rode the donkey and the people were shouting "Hosanna!" Yeah. That one. Anyways, the kids had "Thank You, Jesus!" papers. Here they are:

Isaac - That I helped Ruby go down the step and up the step. For helping me think that I could put my hands by the fire to warm them. And mittens. That I only need two more stickers. That I got those many stickers before Sunday. And for a special Daddy. (I think I probably helped him with that last one. =O)

Ruby - Isaac helping me down the step with toys. Help me go up the step, too. There's something else I'm thankful for, too. He only gave me light toys to carry. That we've had a good day. I hope we can find a new teacher. That we could help Jadelyn close the log up so Jadelyn wouldn't fall again. That Sabbath is here. I'm thankful that we get to stay for potluck today.

Jadelyn - For a nice walk with Daddy. For visit with Mr. Tom and Ms. Tina. Mommy yeah! And Daddy. Ruby helped me go up the steps. Got to see Daddy all day. (She had to have help sometimes, you know.)

Well, that's it!

Wowzers...

Two sweet days in a row! I'm blessed.

Isaac was over-the-top sweet today. Going out of his way to do anything nice for his sisters, specifically Ruby, who was tired today. Because she was tired, Isaac got her new sippy cup for her. And when it was time to pick up, he made sure that she only had to carry light things. And held her hand as she went down the step into the hallway. Too bad I somehow got terrible at taking pictures of sweet things.

This week's Sabbath School lesson is about the Triumphal Entry and how we can worship Jesus, too, when we praise Him. An activity we're doing this week are "Thank You, Jesus" papers. Today, Ruby wanted to praise Jesus for "Isaac helping me down the step with toys. Help me go up the step, too. There's something else I'm thankful for, too. He only gave me light toys to carry." Isaac wanted to praise Jesus "that I helped Ruby go down the step and up the step. For helping me think that I could put my hands by the fire to warm them." And use mittens. Jadelyn, with help from Mommy, decided to praise Jesus for the nice walk with Daddy tonight. OH! And Jadelyn decided to sweep the floor for me today, but tuckered out soon in the process. =P Love the sweetness. Love it. Got to give out lots of stickers today! =)

Today is my little brother Mark's 30th birthday. How did HE get so OLD?!?!?! =O Anyways, I guess that means I'm about ancient. =P It's also the kid's Great-Grandpa Link's birthday. We were talking this tonight, and Isaac wanted to know who was older, Grandpa Link or Mark. I told him Grandpa Link was older. Then they wanted to know how much older Grandpa Link was. I told them that Grandpa Link was 55 years older than Mark. Ruby's eyes were HUGE. Then Isaac piped in out of nowhere, "I thought Uncle Darby was older!" =) That kid is still so random. =)

Sweetness...and Sadness...and CRAZINESS!

So, all 3 kids earned 7 stickers this week, thus earning them a prize. Ruby and Isaac wanted to buy something with their birthday money, so off to Wal-Mart we went. Ruby was going after sunglasses, and Isaac - he was going after spending his money. Isaac picked, of all things, a sippy cup. One of those items I had finally ridded my cupboards of. AHHHH!!!! Ruby saw that, and decided later that's what she wanted, too. Then, David took the kids to pick out Ruby's sippy cup, and Ruby decided that she would buy Jadelyn one for her prize, too. David said he almost cried. Ruby told him that she would have $1 when she was done buying those dreaded sippy cups because she had $5, her cup cost $2 and Jadelyn's cup cost $2. David was so proud. Both of her math and her sharing skills. Now they are drinking so much water I'm afraid of how wet their beds will be in the morning. =O

Sick chicken died. Finally. Poor chicken. When they got to the door of the chicken shed, David asked the kids if the chicken was dead. And Isaac answered, ever matter-of-factly, "yes, it's dead. It's head is down." Then, while David was burying the chicken, the kids were all standing around saying "it's sad. It's so sad. It's sad." Or at least the girls were. Then Jadelyn asked if the chicken was going to come back alive. And Ruby told her "no". Animals won't come back alive. Only humans come back alive when Jesus comes again. David told them that there will probably be chickens and other animals in heaven, but not that exact chicken. And Isaac asks if we can ride the chickens in heaven. THAT KID!!! =P (Side note: By the time they got back inside, they weren't so bothered anymore. In fact, David had to remind them to tell me about the chicken.)

Went to visit Mr. Tom and Ms. Tina tonight. They are the sweetest neighbors EVER. And don't fire us from coming to visit even though at times Hickory gets into their stuff and drags it over here. Ms. Tina teared up a couple times about the flowers David brought her. And then gave us some Jiffy-Pop popcorn - saying it was for when the kids were in bed and David and I were alone. Mr. Tom said at some point during our visit that our kids mind better than any kids he has EVER seen. Was a nice thing to hear when so often I feel like I'm failing. Or at least beating my head against a figurative wall. =)

David's now singing a song about "I like sleeping." "In my bed." "On my head". I think I should head that direction now. Craziness continues to abound.

Little Tidbits...

Overheard Isaac talking to Jadelyn yesterday in the sweetest voice. My favorite line included the words, "Honey Lyn". =)

Jadelyn was walking around yesterday, asking, "where's my Ruby?"

The kids were drinking water out of medicine cups yesterday. They went through two big containers of water (that were about half-full each time) in this manner. Then, they were all sitting at the piano singing, "Water is so good for you!" Way to flush out their systems, 'eh? ;)

Today, I asked crazy Jadelyn where she came from. She didn't know. I asked her if Jesus made her. Yes. I asked her if Jesus loved her. Yes. I asked her if she loved Jesus. "Monkey's bite me all the time" was the answer I believe I got. Okay, kiddo. =P

OH! One more thing. Yesterday Isaac drew a giraffe on a magnadoodle. I could actually tell what it was. I was SO proud I took a picture. Funny kids can really draw but except for these little glimpses into their abilities, they just scribble and cut their masterpieces into tiny little shreds. And I love 'em anyway.

Bad day....

David went to work EARLY and got home LATE. Fights. Tempers. Hitting. MANY trips around the garden. Lost my cool. Beat tired. One chicken is sitting like a penguin - I don't think that's a good sign. Jadelyn took less than an hour nap. Chores always take longer than I think they will. Did I mention I'm beat tired? Adios.

Flyswatters....

My kids like such random things.

Yesterday (I think) Ruby was telling me about how she and Daddy got me a card for Valentine's Day and how she wanted Daddy to buy 3 flyswatters for the kids, but he didn't.

This following Isaac wanting (and finally getting) a weed-killer-squirter thing so he could drink water out of it.

Are flyswatters and weed-killer-squirter-things normal things for young children to want? Crazy kids.

Oh...today, the kids were dressing up in summer clothes and swimsuits. The best dressed award would have to go to Isaac, who was wearing Ruby's swimsuit over his long-sleeved gray shirt. He exclaimed to me that this was his first time wearing a girl's swimsuit, and he liked it. Oye. =P All three were running around the house like crazy, and then jumping into the "hot tub" (aka "hallway"). The fun they had! Even without the flyswatters and Isaac's weed-killer-squirter-thing (that he lost for today due to poor behavior yesterday.)

Pretending....

Today I caught Ruby sitting on the couch in the position of her anticipated cast. Which started a conversation for us. Ruby thinks about having a cast/surgery a lot. But "didn't know" what she thought about. We kept talking. She is scared. I am, too. She is worried that "I won't wake up". I am, too. We talked about the actual surgery. I did a quick, crazy, "cut, saw, bend, fill-with-bone, drill/screw, sew, cast" surgery on her. She loved it. We did it over and over. She also had two "long" surgeries. Lasting like 10 minutes, including going to sleep, getting the IV, getting scrubbed up, etc. If 10 minutes for a surgery seems long, and it did, I can't imagine what a 5 hour surgery will feel like. To Ruby, it will seem as a second. To me, an eternity.

Tonight at her bedtime prayer, Ruby thanked Jesus for giving her such a good Mommy. This is NOT a normal prayer in this house. I think that my multiple-surgery-time was well spent, and I hope we relieved some of her anxieties. 51 more days to go......