Three already?! Here we go!

A week and a half ago I said good night for the last time to my two year old.  It was one of those moments when I realized how fleeting childhood really is.  So cliche, but true. This is going too fast for me!  Ah well...Ben didn't seem to notice much as we went full speed into our first day of three.  We didn't do too much, but we did what Ben wanted and it was beautiful.  What a fun day!

Good night my two year old Superman! 

Two favorites: horse back riding (or pretending, anyway)...

...and playing in water.  It doesn't matter where it is!

They slow down for a moment.

A quick moment!

Homemade pizza for a birthday supper.  How could I say no?!

His favorite brownies.
Happy Birthday, Sweet Ben!!!

I'm Early!

I just noticed that the last post here was April 2012.  I feel like I should wait another few months so it can be a full TWO YEARS since my last post.  With that logic, I'm posting early. Ha!  Actually, I didn't have any plans to post anything today, but I had the weirdest dream last night and I felt as if I should come by and drop a line or two.  And no, I'm not going to share the dream.  Just be happy I'm here (or sad, depending on if you enjoy reading this).

Since I don't have any plan or news to share, I'm going to throw up a few pictures of the family.  I mean, I have two years of pictures to choose from!   I hope you are all doing well, and I will try my best not to wait until the boys are in middle school or until I've gone gray (this might actually happen sooner than I think) before I post again.  

Love to you all! 

Seasons Are A Changin'!

Dear Friend,

It has been TOO long since I've visited with you and I miss you so!  I started this blog almost a year ago (I can't believe it's already been that long) to keep in touch with you, and I've dropped the ball.  I'm so sorry.  It has been a busy season for us here but filled with much joy. 

The boys are doing so well.  Jack is busy, busy with school and he has finally found his stride there and is exploding!!!  It has been wonderful to see.  He has also started to develop this fantastic imagination which most often revolves around guns, shooting and soldiers (too much Tintin, I think).  So, we're teaching a lot of "gun" safety (or finger pointing safety) these days.

Jack playing in the cane.

Ben is now Mr. Independent.  While this has been great for my back and arms (less carrying around of the big lug) and has given me a little more free time (thus, the blog update!), it has been challenging on every other front.  He has to do everything by himself or it just won't be done...I mean everything.  I can't wait to see how this will manifest itself around 3 years old and say, 13 years old.  Lots of praying will be a must!

Ben peering at something???

Alex is doing very well.  His work is rewarding and I think we've finally found a "routine" (how much of a routine can you have with two little ones) that works well for us.  He has also been challenging himself by taking a mission trip to Haiti with our church (there are LOTS of germs in Haiti!).  You can see the type of work they were doing at this website: Orphan's Heart - Haiti It was extremely rewarding for him and was a life changing event.  I can't wait to see what will result from it! 

Jack and crazy Papa at the Arboretum.

And how is Mama?  Well, I'm going with the flow and watching how the seasons are changing within our family.  Just like most things everyone told me before I had children, I didn't really understand it until I was in the mix (or ignored it really...I was going to be "different").  There truly are seasons to this life and we are entering into a very different one.  While I was so needed for every...single...moment when the boys were younger, I am starting to see my role be less.  Not less important but more important at certain moments.  Maybe more strategic?  It is hard to explain, but it's been beautiful to watch all the time and training put into those early years being practiced.  It is very rewarding, and it has only just begun (I mean, they really are still very young!). 

Playing in the three days of snow we had.

And so, the Maslowski Machine rolls on.  Just like the nice, hot summer over the horizon, we are looking forward to the next season for our family.  I hope it brings lots of visits with you or at least lots of emails and phone calls.  

The boys looking to see what's next.

Blessings to you!

XOXO,

Amy    

 

Sweet Saturday

This past month has been busy.  So busy that when I look back on our calendar, there are days that so much is scribbled down that I can't even read what the date is.  That's not the way we like to live, but it was what needed to be done, so we pushed through.

Baby Ben asleep in my arms.

Last Saturday things seemed to slow down.  We were able to spend a relaxing morning with new friends, and after a beautiful Autumn day walk back to our house it was time for everyone to nap.  Jack crawled into bed, Ben fell asleep in my arms (which almost never happens anymore), and as I tried, and failed, to fall asleep (still jittery from our friend's yummy coffee) I got to think about how grateful I am for rest.  I almost always look for the next thing to do, but it's the time of rest with my family that brings me just as much joy (sometimes more!) as doing things with them.  And while I didn't get to sleep this day, I did get to enjoy listening to Jack snore, watch Ben drool on my arm, listen to Alex blow the falling leaves off the driveway, and get excited for that night's UK football game with my Dad.  It was such a sweet Saturday.

Happy Birthday Jack

Today is Jack's third birthday.  We've had a wonderful couple of parties for him with friends and family.  We felt like he deserved a couple after missing his 2 year old party (he was sick in the ER this time last year).  It is such a cliche, but I'm going to join the countless parents that have said it before me: these three years have flown by (or maybe it just seems that way when you don't sleep).  I am grateful for all these pictures (and there are a lot here today) to remind me he was once a little boy. 

Jack's first car accident.  Thanks Abuelo!

Getting ready for his birthday party.

Here I come!

Boyd's Orchard has a wonderful animal area.  Jack loved feeding the goats.

Of course, it had to be a Cars cake.

I love the excitement on his face! Next to Jack is Zeinon, his friend from school and it was his birthday party, too.

Eating the ice cream wasn't enough.  He had to lick the bowl...that's my boy!

More please?!

Family party cake.

MORE cake and ice cream.

Presents!  Thanks, Tia Maria.

Tia Maria flew in to celebrate Jack's birthday. Jack was so excited (Ben was pretty happy to see her, too!).

A rare picture of Jack and Mama.  Thanks, Maria.

Post ice cream...do I need to say more?

Oh, how I love that smile.

I think this picture sums it up.  Jack had a great birthday!

My Children Are Perfect

That's right.  You heard me.  My children are perfect.  Now, go on.  Go tell everyone I said so, laugh about it, gossip about it, then come back and finish this read, and I think you'll agree.

As a Christian, I'm always told I am the perfect mother for my children, and I believe it.  I believe God plopped Jack and Ben in my womb knowing I would be the mother that could provide exactly what they need.  I'll have to admit, though, it has become my 2AM mantra.  You know what I mean.  It's 2AM, Alex is out of town on business, both kids are sick, and I have just bonked one kid into the door frame as I was running through the house to try and rescue the other from falling off the bed, and they're both crying in my lap.  What do I do? I cry, of course, and keep repeating over and over: I am the perfect mother for these children, I am the perfect mother for these children...  Ha!

An early AM play session

While there is truth in my roll as their mother, what I have found over the last three years is that the reverse is also true.  My children challenge me in ways I never thought about.  They make me a better mother, a better person, and they have helped me grow as a Christian more than any Bible study, sermon, or revival ever could. They've also made the Bible much more clear for me. 

There is a Bible verse that has always thrown me for a loop:

And he said: “Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.

Matthew 18:3

Now, what in the world does that mean? Pre-babies, I always thought I needed to throw out worldly knowledge and understanding to get a glimpse of what Jesus was saying here.  As someone who loves to read, learn, and try to understand how this world works, I had a very hard time with this. However, Jack has shown me differently. 

Recently, Jack has been tearing through his Bible.  I mean tearing through it.  He will read it day, night, weekends, fall asleep with it, talk about it, sing about it, and dream about it.  I wish I could say that I had something to do with it, but I don't (besides providing him with the Bible).  This is of his own accord, and, honestly, I had a really hard time with it. I love that he wanted his Bible...to an extent. I value a balanced life so much that I was becoming concerned.  It all came to a head when we decided to walk to our local health food store for lunch.  

We're on the way out the door and Jack wants to take his Bible.  I'm trying to talk him out of it.  I mean, there are hippies there and I don't want to make them uncomfortable (read here: me uncomfortable!).  In the end, he wins out and we're off.  We run into a lady in the street and Jack shows her his Bible.  She's kind, but she quickly runs away because I think she thought I was about to witness to her (Ha!  If she only knew how much I sweat just writing this semi-anonymous blog).  We make it to the store and Jack is telling everyone about his Bible, the stories he's read, and it's so normal for him. He's talking about his Bible just like he's breathing in and out. 

Ding, ding, ding!!!  And it all starts to click.  Think about that verse now.  Don't give up your reason, your understanding of this world, but just live your Christian life as if you breathing in and out.  It's who you are.  It's what you do.  There's no church Amy and secular Amy.  We're one and the same. What an amazing lesson for me, and you know what. I don't think I would have ever understood that verse without Jack.  

I couldn't have planned this picture. Thanks for helping me out Jack!

 And, this is just the tip of the iceberg. They have taught me patience, how to control my temper, how to listen to them (those baby books are worthless. I wish I had never read a one), and how to take life day-by-day. So, you see what I mean? My children are perfect...for me.  Now, if I could only get those boys to quit picking their noses, they really would be perfect. 

Week of Ghosts

This week was a tough week filled with ghosts from the past. I don't know why I dwell on things from so long ago, but I do, and I let it affect every part of my life (you should have seen this disaster of a house I had here).  Mostly I thought about the way I've hurt people, how I could try to make amends, and if I can't, I just fester.

It takes time, sometimes days, for me to move past these ghosts.  When I do, I try to think what I have done to hurt, and it's almost always because I have forgotten how important the small, honest gesture is.  So often I focus on the grand event or the big to do, when all I need to do is to take that genuine step toward another person.  An email, a call, a wave, some bread, help someone move, appreciation for something given, an invitation, a thank you, a hug, an attempt to understand where they're coming from, an ear to listen, a ride somewhere, an apology, a look in the eye, an honest explanation. Really, this list could go on forever, but invariably, I have failed, sometimes purposefully, one of these and hurt someone dear, or sometimes not so dear, to me.  And these are the hard ones to repair.  These all are a move away from someone, and that hurts us to the core.  They're so simple, not always easy, but so, so simple to do.

As I fester, I pray, and I try to find ways to apologize and ask for them for forgiveness, but there are some that I will never be able to apologize to.  So, I ask God for forgiveness, try to forgive myself, and pray that I don't do it again. I wish I had learned how simple it all could be earlier in life.  I'm not saying I'm giving up the big to do, there is something to be said for it also, but I will be focusing on these small, genuine gestures from now on.