Never a Dull Moment

We enjoyed lots of company in May- I think my mom was here twice, then there was my sister and her family, Anna Marie, and Brooke and 3 of her kids. We had great fun and sweet fellowship. Still, we are glad to be just the 8 of us for awhile here. Yesterday was strangely calm. I started the weeks' laundry, did some school, and took the kids outside for awhile. Then today we were having a really great day including a big bike ride to the library, some school work, and playtime in the backyard. This was the first time since Teshome came home that I left the kids unattended out there. Usually he is obsessed with the bike and not interested in the swing set, but today they were all having a great time pretending they were the "wild kratt's" (from the PBS show) I managed to get the refrigerator cleaned out- one of my most unfavorite jobs- and I was thinking to myself "now what shall I do." I actually laid down on the couch with a book. That's when Kate came running to the door saying Peter stepped on something. Well, I took my time getting to him in the backyard, thinking it was a minor thing. Then I saw IT- the montsrous, wicked looking "splinter." I called the pediatrician because I wanted to know if I should try to yank it out or just get to the doctor. They were closing in 30 minutes and we have a 30 + minute drive so I made the quick decision to just get there and I am so glad I did!! I threw everybody in the van, literally grabbing Charlotte out of bed and plopping her in, drove to the backyard to pick Peter up and away we went. I won't go into any more detail, but I am just glad that the doctor was the one to dig that sucker out of Peter's foot and I could hold his hand while he yelled and screamed like his foot was being sawed off. He's recovering now with the foot elevated and on ice. He'll be on an antibiotic for a week and had to get a tetanus shot.

Even in our pain and trouble, there is grace. I was able to get in touch with Pete's mom and she took the girls for me so I didn't have to haul everyone in to the doctor's office. If we'd had to go to the ER, it would have cost us a FORTUNE and we would have probably waited a long time. We are so thankful to the Lord that we are safely home. Lord willing, Peter's foot will heal quickly and we'll all be back to normal- whatever that is. I'll try to post a picture later- when I figure out how to get it off my phone and onto the computer :)

Brothers

There's Music Here

Over the past two and a half years that Peter has been taking piano, there have been many tears, moments of frustration, and the desire to give up- from both him and me. I have often wondered if the craziness of getting out of the house on a yucky, snowy afternoon, often having to wake little nappers up, was worth it.
Well, lately when I tell him to practice, there is no argument. He has even been sitting for longer than required and playing some of his old favorites. I have actually been ENJOYING the music he is making and I am hopeful that there may be hymns in our future. I definitely have always regretted giving up on piano so quickly and long to have children who can play hymns as we sing as a family!

December

Where Does The Time Go?

 

Peter on his first birthday

He usually has an answer

Tonight I had JUST finished reading a bedtime story to the three oldest kids when Maddie, out of nowhere, asks, "how do mommies get a baby in their tummy?" WHERE did that come from? I'm usually pretty quick with the simple, not too many details kind of answers, but before I could even open my mouth Peter said, "Nobody knows, Maddie. Nobody knows." I LOVE it! This is from the same kid who turned to stare at the wall of the movie theater when there was a kissing scene in Ramona and Beezus. And when asked about why he did that and why he thinks kissing is gross he informed us that No, he will not ever kiss his wife and why should he, Nana and Papa don't kiss??? Oh, the innocence!

How Can It Be.....

....that our firstborn is turning EIGHT tomorrow?

He has so quickly gone from a chubby, rosy cheeked, golden curled, curious toddler to a lego loving, book reading, basketball loving, long and lanky boy!

Peter Ryan, we are so blessed to have your sweet, inquisitive, fun self in our lives. May God continue to bless you with a love for His Word and guide you as you grow.

Soaring Dreams

Peter just told me that he's not sure what he wants to do before he's president, but after his time in office, he's going into archaeology. I love his big dreams!!

He's Ready

Peter loves to wear camo- all camo at the same time. From socks to pants and shirt to suspenders. And he let me know this morning that he is going hunting for bison today!

Learning about Egypt

In honor of learning about Egypt, today Peter made a pyramid using legos (that took him all of about 2.4 seconds- I'll have to make it harder next time and have him use clay!)

Then for lunch we made "mummy dogs"

Peter's question of the day

"Mama, if you had a backpack and it was invisible and you had things in the backpack would you be able to see the things?"
This is why my brain is tired. What could possibly be the right answer to that question?

my son the genius inventor

Lately the kids have been coming up with new names for their favorite condiment mixtures. For example, Peter likes to mix a little A-1 with his Ketchup which he calls ketchup-1. Brilliant, I know. "I just don't know where they got their love of dipping from" (she attempted to say with a straight face). Their father thinks he knows though. And I'm sure my parents think they know too. I happened to remember them having to tell a certain daughter of theirs not to dip her green beans in A-1.

Tonight at dinner Peter suddenly got bright eyes and said, "hey- I know what I'm going to do when I grow up. I'm going to put something new in stores. It's going to be called shalt." Now do you have any idea what that would be? Yes, if your food needs a touch of salty sweetness or sugary salt (depending on how you look it) you'd sprinkle on some shalt.

It's a good thing the boy gave me a laugh because when he dropped the dust buster on the floor today and who knows how many weeks' worth of dust, food crumbs, etc went flying all over the entire dining/kitchen floor I was so NOT laughing! And just so you don't think I'm terrible for not being happy that he was trying to help clean up, we do have a rule about the dust buster. He is supposed to sweep and THEN ask ME to get it down from it's holder 5 feet off the floor. And that rule is due to the fact that he dropped it once before. And it cracked. And now it's really not doing well. So tonight while Pete is grocery shopping at Walmart, his favorite store (insert sarcasm here), he will be looking for a new one.