Blood Brothers/Sisters

Katrina and Samuel look so alike in so many ways.
Of course Katrina is a girly-girl through and through.
And Samuel is all-boy.
Katrina had more hair at that age and her eyelashes are more apparent.
But they are definitely brother and sister.

Which do you prefer?

When Katrina turned 4 back in February we gave her these shoes.
The very first time she wore them, she fell off a curb and scuffed them up.
I did not respond appropriately.
I yelled at her.
She did not get hurt from the fall. But she did get hurt by me.
She was crying really hard and as soon as I did it I realized it was out of line and inappropriate.
I loaded her into the van and apologized profusely for hurting her with my words.
I also asked the Lord for forgiveness.
He had been beginning to make clear to me that my anger had become an issue.
I was not being obedient to His Word that says, "Be angry and do not sin." (Ephesians 4:26)
I was sinning in my anger.
How often do I snap at Pancho or Katrina or Samuel or someone else I love because a thing has been damaged (the shoes) or something is out of place (dishwasher not loaded how I load it)?
That is sin.
Another thing God has been pointing out is that sin is sin is sin is sin and I need not justify it with anything.
Sin cannot be justified.

People are more important than things and this picture is a good word picture for me (even though it is not a word!).
Yesterday we were at a friend's house for a play date and Samuel went head over heels on their driveway and scuffed up his face.
I ran to him and scooped him up as quickly as is humanly possible.
I held him as he cried and wiped the blood from his nose and forehead.
It never crossed my mind to yell at him.
That would be absurd; to yell at your child for falling down.
He did not purposely trip over the push mower.
He tripped and fell and scraped his face.

I saw Katrina's shoes today and I thought of when she first scuffed them.
I remembered how I yelled at her.
I hope she doesn't remember that every time she puts on the shoes.
She thankfully did not get hurt when she fell off the curb and yet I responded with yelling.

Thank you, Lord, for pointing out the sin in my heart and giving me continued opportunities to be transformed into the likeness of Your Son. "He who began a good work in you, will perfect it until the day of Jesus Christ." (Philippians 1:6)
Please help me better understand how to be angry and not sin."

It's semi-official

Wednesdays around here are a bit crazy. We have AWANA and have to leave the house no later than 6:10.
So, dinner has to be something not necessarily quick to make, but it surely has to be something quick to clean up.
Last week whatever we had made a big mess and I was quite flustered because I don't like to leave the house in a shambles. As I was frantically cleaning up and even vacuuming I was reminded by a note on my kitchen window right behind the kitchen sink that says, "Ruthlessly eliminate hurry from your life."
I had been listening to a Focus on the Family broadcast where that was mentioned and I thought it was quite profound. I copied it down on a sticky note and put it right where I will see it ALL the time, especially when I am in a hurry (because let me be honest here, I am usually in a hurry because I am trying to leave the house in perfect order and therefore I am at the sink washing dishes or getting a wet paper towel to wipe up the dripped juice).
That quote has spoken to me quite a bit over the past two weeks or so. I have read it and forced myself to slow down, to not get flustered or angry and to keep my self-control in check. God has been showing me that anger is one area He desires to free me from and this little quote has helped me recognize that hurrying makes me angry, sometimes.
When I am in a hurry I get frustrated with myself, angry even. Sometimes that anger quickly turns into sin. When I am in a hurry I am more quick to snap at Katrina or Samuel or even at Panchito. In a hurry sometimes I end up sinning and I am so thankful that the Lord has pointed that out to me.
So, back to Wednesday nights... Last Wednesday as I was moving around the kitchen like a tornado trying to get it in order so we could get out the door I remembered that my brother's mother-in-law shared with my one time that when their kids were young the dad was the AWANA Commander at our church and they had pizza every Wednesday night. The dad would come home from work, grab a piece of pizza, eat quickly with the family and they would pick up quick and head out the door to church.
When she shared that I thought it was odd simply because I kind of like to reserve Friday or Saturday or Sunday night for pizza but to each his own. I got to thinking, though, about that tradition and I love traditions! And I thought, what if we had something every Wednesday night that would be easy to clean up and it would become a tradition in our family?
As I thought about that, I thought that it would be great to think of something that everyone in our family likes so that it would be one less battle at dinner too, to eliminate more hurry later.
So, it's semi-official (semi because this is the first week we are doing it and we will see how it works out!): Wednesday night is pasta night at our house. Not always the same kind of pasta, not always the same kind of sauce. Could be spicy chicken alfredo pasta (Jenny Deane!). Could be spaghetti and meatballs. Could be creamy restaurant-style tortellini (kraftfoods.com). Could be tomato artichoke pasta (new recipe we are trying tonight). But it will be pasta every Wednesday night.

Slug 'Em

Today as I showered Katrina barged through the bathroom door, frantic.
I had shared with her that she needed to stay very quiet because Samuel was asleep (we had a VERY late night last night and he woke up on the wrong side of the crib way too early this morning so he was taking an early nap in hopes that he would wake up in a better mood).
She stormed in nonetheless and was very upset about something.
She said there was a bug downstairs that I needed to come down and see ASAP. She has been obsessed with bugs since her little neighbor friend taught her to be scared of them.
I told her I would come as soon as I was dressed and ready.
On our way down the stairs to see the bug I asked her why she was afraid of it. "It opened it's mouth at me."
I chuckled to myself. That is too funny, I thought. I doubt you can even see it's mouth, I thought.
Well, we got to the kitchen and she began to look for it. It had moved, of course, and she could not find it. I figured it was a small beetle or an ant even and I thought the chances of her finding it were slim.
Eventually she spotted it by the patio door and motioned for me to join her in staring at it.

YUCK!
I was surprised that it was not a bug but rather a slug-like creature.
In our kitchen!
Nasty!
So, I calmly scooped it up with a Chlorox wipe and set it on the counter. I got out the camera to take a picture of it. She was shocked that I wanted to get some pictures of it. I told her I wanted Papa to be able to see it (which is true) but I also wanted to share it with you folks.
Isn't it gross?
After I took the pictures I threw it and the wipe outside into the garbage.
I hope we never find anything like that inside our house again. In fact, I hope we don't ever see anything like that outside either!

Going...

... from two naps to one is so hard.

He may not...

... look a lot like me, but he sure acts like me!
A few weeks ago we were at the library for story hour and I put Samuel inside a carpet-covered bathtub to play. I began to browse for some books for Katrina nearby. Samuel started to fuss a bit and there was a dad there looking at him and kind of looking around to see where his mama was. I was right there, but I said, "Oh, where is your mama, little boy?"
The dad was startled and had a look on his face like, "I cannot believe someone would put their child in this tub and walk away."
I quickly laughed and reached in and got Samuel out and said, "He is mine. I am just teasing!"
The dad was relieved and I got a good laugh out of it.
Samuel and I do not look a lot alike. That does not bother me in the least.
But he sure loves to act like me.
At least in some regards.
I enjoy cleaning (as you probably know!) and I vacuum nearly everyday, sometimes a couple of times a day.
Samuel enjoys vacuuming as well. He runs to get his vacuum as soon as I pull out mine.
Last evening I was vacuuming after a taco dinner (which at our house tends to get the floor quite messy!) and he ran to get his vacuum and started pushing it in rhythm with me. It was so sweet.
I hope he continues to appreciate the art of cleaning as it will be an incredible trait as a husband and father someday, right ladies?

Como Papa Como Hijo

These are some of my favorite pictures of all time.
My two most favoritest (I know that is not a word!) boys in the entire world.
Together.
Dressed alike.
Smiling.
Loving one another more than words can capture.
Los amo mas que nunca, chicos!

Black Thumb

I have a black thumb.
What? You don't know what a black thumb is?
A black thumb is someone who is terrible with plants. Someone who would love to be good with plants and who did great in botany (an A+ in college!) and yet cannot grow a plant to save her life.
Well, this black thumb got excited about spring planting and decided with the help of Katrina to plant pansies in our front planter bed about two weekends ago already.
If you are not from Wisconsin or if you are also a black thumb, let me just tell you that planting pansies during the middle of April is not a good idea because you will be covering the flowers every single night until it stops frosting at night (which I know will be a while yet, that much I do know!).

But, I still thought you would like to see the planting process.
I don't look like a black thumb in the pictures, do I?
Katrina and Samuel enjoyed the planting (as did I).
Hopefully the pansies survive (and don't prove "pansy." Get it? I simply could not let that one go, folks.)

Learning to be a dipper

I like pasta.
Katrina and Samuel really like pasta too.
So, it makes sense that we have pasta quite a bit at our house.
I don't like, however, the mess that pasta makes for a child learning to eat on his own.
Sauce.
Red sauce.
EVERYWHERE.
Do you know how hard that is to get off of his high chair tray?
(I know... Dishwasher)
So, today I thought it might be time to teach Samuel how to dip.

He learned quickly and it was quite successful.
At least his high chair tray was not completely covered in red sauce.
I have a "little dipper" now.

Teachable Moments

Katrina has been VERY into learning to write lately.
Up to this point she has not shown much interest.
But now she is on the ball and wants to learn to write her name.
So, we picked up a white board from Target today and as soon as we got home she set to work.
She made some wonderful progress on her first day, don't you think?

Bread Basket

Today Pancho had to go to the clinic for a blood draw.
He has to go monthly for now to be sure the medicines are doing good and not harm to his system.
I forgot to remind him this morning that he had the appointment and by the time I realized it he was in a meeting at work with no computer access and no texting privileges.
So, I did what any sane wife would do...
I found his calendar on outlook.
Determined where the meeting was taking place.
Loaded the kids up in the van and drove there.
I told Katrina to look for Papa's car and when we spotted it, we parked next to it and waited the 15 minutes for the meeting to end.
When he came out of the meeting at noon he was super surprised to see us.
I told him what happened and we took him to the clinic and then ate lunch at the restaurant there, the Bread Basket.
It was great to be there as a family.
All four of us.
Eating in the restaurant.
Papa was no longer upstairs and we were not down in the Bread Basket getting a treat.
We were eating all together as a family with a healthy papa.
We praised the Lord there for His hand on our lives, especially on Pancho's recovery.
We saw a few of the doctors and nurses and respiratory therapists that worked with Pancho and we were able to talk with them a bit.
They were also so pleased with his progress.
I honestly believe the Lord spared me from realizing at the time the severity of Pancho's condition while he was in the hospital.
He was very, very sick and I knew that.
But I didn't consciously grasp that, you know?
Thank You, Lord, for Your constant protection of every single part of our lives.
Thank You for protecting my mind and my understanding during that time.
As we walked out and back to the car I pointed out the spot that I sat with my parents one day while he was in the hospital.
"That is where I came with my parents one day while you were resting."
Thank You, Lord, that we are all walking out together today.

Spring has sprung

Spring is here and we are enjoying as much time outside as possible.
Last week we took a walk as a family, our first family walk of 2010, and then the kids played outside while Pancho talked with a neighbor friend and I snapped some pictures.
Samuel fell down on the driveway and bumped his head but only cried for a minute or two and was back with the lawnmower, this time on the grass (per his mama's recommendation!).
I tried hard to get a good shot of the two of them on the doorstep but as you can see, to no avail.
Welcome back, spring. We sure missed you!

KASH Park

Last week we loaded up two vehicles with three families and headed about 30 minutes south to KASH Park in Stevens Point.
It was a gorgeous day and the kids enjoyed playing at the incredible park while the mamas chased after them.
Because it was spring break there were lots of kids there and so it was a bit unnerving have three under the age of 2 and three over the age of 3 to chase, but we managed.
Afterwards we carefully navigated (ahem, Christina) to the DQ Grill and Chill and enjoyed a delicious lunch.
We are all looking forward to many more park days in the near future.
Especially after today when it is cold and rainy.