Springtime...

...is when the outdoors becomes a mother's best friend.

A New Friend

A friend of mine and her husband adopted an adorable brother and sister from Ethopia.  The boy named Fikadu is Isaiah's age.  The first time Isaiah met Fikadu was a couple months ago in Sunday School, and I got such a kick out of how Isaiah described the language barrier. He said, "I talked to him, and he had no clue what I said.  He talked to me, and I had no clue what he said.  But I think we'll be friends eventually."  

Sure enough, Isaiah was right.  Two months later, they are buddies and understanding each other much better.  Today while they played, I grabbed the camera when  I saw them both wearing some hats the exact same way.

2 Months

My nephew is now two months old and as cute as ever!  His cheeks are ridiculously kissable.

I'll leave you with a quick Sieb kid quote:

I was telling the kids, "I love Prince Red Head and Prince Brown Eyes and Princess Gorgeous."

Isaiah responded, "And don't forget the bald guy you love the most!"

Rule of Thumb

When I was younger, I used to be critical of my hands. I thought my finger were too wide and too short.  But I'm feeling more attached to them since they are all still attached to me. Confused? Let me explain. 

On Sunday, I was making some omelets for the family.  To mix the cream cheese and cheddar cheese *super yum* for the inside of the omelets, I was using an immersion blender.  I went to clean out the blender, and my other hand accidentally hit the start button (yes, I'm stupid). We're pretty sure that it was my thumb bone that actually stopped the blender from taking off the top of my left thumb off.  The blade made it through 3/4 of my thumb, and part of my nail...disgusting.  Thankfully my mommy was around to be just that: my mommy.  

Around our house, there are a couple of times that bribes are acceptable; one of those rare times is when a child is injured and is too upset to sit still while I take care of the wound.  Candy can be extremely helpful in these instances. Anyway, a couple of days later while I was re-bandaging my thumb, Adriana stood by me very curious and very concerned.  She piped up in her cute little voice, "Momma, if you're a good girl, can I have a piece of candy?"

Visitor's Week

Two weeks ago we got to have not just one, but two sets of out-of-town guests.  The Siegmann family came from Oregon for a visit at the beginning of the week, and Steven's brother's family came to see us at the end of week.  The weather was a bit schizophrenic around here that week as we braved a Virginia sized snowstorm with the first guests, and took at trip to the zoo with the next with temperatures in the 70s.  We had SO much fun with both of them, and life seemed a bit too dull and normal when the week was over.

Adriana invading Elaina's personal space:

Before Steven and Eric headed to a Maple Leafs game, the boys made them a lego hockey rink:

Eric, Autumn, and Trinity with us at the zoo:

Short

Dear Neglected Blog,

  I haven't forgotten about you; I promise. I've just been busy- as in, really, really busy. Today I again remembered why I take the time to write posts.  It all flies by too fast.  Everyone told me it would; and yet, so many days seemed just the opposite: long.  Today I put the crib away.  It freed up space and made the room look so nice, but still I felt an ache in my heart.  There's been a crib in our house for nearly seven years, and it was hard to let it go. God only knows if and when it will be brought back out; but I'm finally realizing what everyone meant. Yes, the days can be long; but the time is so short. So, dear blog, thanks for helping me remember all the beautiful moments that God has blessed this momma with.

Sincerely,

A Woman Who Has More Than She Deserves

Around the Camp Fire

We bought a nice humidifier at the beginning of this winter.  It really kicks out the steam; and the kids think it's pretty neat and, to quote Isaiah, "comfy."  Steam, however, is not a concept my children understand; they think it's smoke.  A couple times before bed if I didn't remember to start it, Adriana has told me, "Mom, you forgot to light the fire!"  This misunderstanding became much more pronounced today.  We have a real fireplace in our home, and the kids are accustomed to watching Dad throw paper and cardboard into the fire to get it going.  During playtime, I found the kids feeding their own "fire."  They had turned on the humidifier and torn pieces off a box I was going to recycle, shoving them down the slots at the top of the humidifer. I'm learning never to be shocked at what three little minds can scheme up.  So, I got to spend 20 minutes or so taking a humidifier apart; because with three kids, I of course have lots of spare time to spend on things like this....

A couple of great quotes from the week:

Adriana has taken to telling us, "My name is Luke."  

We have no idea where she got this from.  We only know one Luke, and I'm not even sure Adriana knows who he is.  Where she thought up that name is a mystery to us and why we hear, "I'm not Adriana, I'm Luke" is a mystery to us.

Adriana was asking me where God is.  I was trying to explain that He is everywhere; and though she can't see Him, He can always see her. 

She responded, "I want to see Him so that I can hug Him and kiss Him." *melt*

I gave Isaiah a haircut on Saturday.  He looked in the mirror to see and said, " I don't even recognize myself!"

Valentine's Pics

The more clients I've had, the less I've photographed my own children (shame on me!).  So I decided to do some Valentine's photos with them. By the end of it, I remembered why I rarely do my own kid's portraits.  Being the photographer and the mommy can get a little hairy when it involves three small people.  And to add to it, I did all this while Daddy was at work...why can I never learn from past mistakes!?!

So many whines and bribes later, we at least managed a couple of decent photos:

My oldest thinks he's a little magazine model:

Umbrella

Undeserving

I typically keep this blog to stories about the kids and updates on our lives, but this post is going to be addressing something a bit different.  If you just read this blog, you might think that we have it all made with a near perfect life- the boys are always sweet to their little sister and our days are filled with nothing less than hugs and fun memories.  I intended for this blog the record sweet moments and milestones and to celebrate the joys of family.  But this blog gives a glimpse into just a part of our lives; we still deal with siblings fighting, bad attitudes (Mom included), tantrums, and daily disobedience.  And this week has been especially full of the above list. I have found myself discouraged, complaining, and wondering why God chose me for this task of mothering.  But a verse in my devotions this morning from Genesis 32:10 got my attention.  Jacob prayed, 

"I am not worthy of the least of all the deeds of steadfast love and all the faithfulness that you shown your servant."

I was freshly reminded that my bad attitude was like telling God that I deserved better.  And yet I deserve none of this- not the loving husband, the children I adore whom God is using to work in my heart, not the home I have or the church I love, not the extended family that cares for us or the faithful friends- none of it.  And if all those things were stripped away, I still have far more than I deserve. I have a Savior who rescued me from the dark slavery to my sin and who made me right with God.  The Holy Spirit convicted me this morning to look at my not-so-easy job of mothering with fresh eyes.  When my child is throwing the tantrum, I want to remind myself that I don't deserve to the gift of that little person in my life and the grace that God is at hand to provide.