Mom and Us

A mother and her seven daughters join together
to discuss what it means to be a Godly woman,
single or married, in this day and hour.

Opening Monday, March 3rd

momandus.com

Our Five-Year-Old

Just like this, I have a 5-year-old. It doesn't seem fair... even if this growing boy does make me proud. I love my Gabriel-Boy.

And I am so proud to see him growing and loving. Like when I can see the wheels in his head turning and he makes the right choice. Like when he gushes and mushes all over Aubrey because he's absolutely in love with her. Like when he says, "No, Jesus didn't stay dead. He rose again because He is more powerful than death."

My Gabriel Sinclair:

:: would spend 59 minutes of every hour of every day drawing and coloring and writing if I let him. The remaining minutes would be spent telling me about what he was creating.

:: is still a bit of a loner. His best friend in the world is Uncle Merrick, who he adores. If Merrick likes something, Gabriel likes it. Period.

:: asked for salmon for his birthday dinner. When I asked him what else he wanted with that, his response was, "Maybe candy corn?" (Yeah, nice try, buddy. It might be your birthday but we still have a few boundaries around here!)

:: works hard when he has a goal before him. He has a good grasp of time and so he is not put off by a reward only coming once a month or so but continues to work diligently, counting down the days as he goes.

:: has made great strides in the area of obedience. He still struggles with responding properly when disappointed (I don't know where he got that from!), but generally understands that when told to do something, he must do it.

:: adores his littlest sister. He likes Bronwyn and Jackson, too, but he's got something special for Aubrey. The way he showers her with love and affection is wonderful. And he's great to have around to entertain her in those fussy-but-Mama's-got-to-finish-dinner moments.

:: has a sincere little boy desire to love and obey God. This is the best thing of all.

Happy Birthday, Gabriel!

Aubrey

It's been a bit since I last really wrote about Aubrey, hasn't it? Or maybe it's just that this month of February has crawled by in such a way as to make me think that 3 weeks ago was really 3 months ago.

Anyway.

Aubrey saw the doctor today. Just because. Just so the doctor could listen to her heart, palpitate her liver, and weigh her. These are the sorts of visits I enjoy because the doctor and I just chat and laugh and marvel together about how well this baby we both love is doing. And we don't discuss anything unhappy.

The scale tipped at 11lbs14oz this afternoon. The nurse and I were both rooting for an even 12lbs, but after realizing that simply wasn't going to happen, we were happy with what we got. "Besides, you just put that diaper back on and she weighs 12lbs anyway!" was Nurse Artie's proud declaration.

In two weeks we make our little trek back to the cardiologists for another check-up. I don't know when, but I know that one of these times Aubrey's miracle will be such that even unsaved, formula-driven doctors will have to glorify God. For now, those of us who know Whose hand it is that holds us all are daily awed by this precious living testimony.

Mending

I am feeling almost 100%. I am convinced the only reason I'm not perfectly healthy today is because my own special Aubrey has not allowed her dear mama much rest this past week. If you think I'm complaining about her frequent nursing, though, think again. I am far too thrilled about the ever-rounding cheeks and the dimples that are starting to form on her hands to begrudge her my sleep.

Nurse away, Baby Love, I whisper during the night and sing throughout the day. Grow and grow and grow. You are a special miracle of life!

Somehow, around the nursing, we will be trying to get things back on track here. I have been doing laundry the past two days so that now there is a mountain of clean clothes in place of dirty ones. Good, yes, except that those clothes need to be folded and put in drawers and as yet, I am the only pair of hands in this home that is very good at that job.

Two cheesecakes will be made this afternoon or evening (I hope!) in preparation for Gabriel's 5th birthday. Don't get me started on Gabriel turning five because I might cry.

Seriously.

Little chores have to be done and children's attitudes must be re-checked. It's hard on the whole family when Mama's sick, you know.

Off I go, to the rest of my day. My body is mending, my baby is growing, my children are learning. It's a good day.

Homesick? Never!

I was officially diagnosed with my February round of strep throat on Thursday afternoon. That was also when my three big kids when to my parents' house and ended up staying until 24 hours later.

This bout is definitely worse than the last. My throat doesn't hurt any more than it did last month when I had strep (it doesn't hurt any less either), but my glands are so swollen it hurts to move my neck at all and it's been accompanied by an almost round-the-clock headache.

Today, I am feeling marginally better. My glands are no longer visibly swollen and the thick white patches on the back of my throat are now more "spotty" and leaving room for normal pink tissue to be seen. But I'm still not feeling up to the challenge task privilege of being the sole caretaker of my energetic brood, so one quick phone call by Daniel this morning arranged for the three big kids to go back to Mom's while Daniel's at the campus ministry pro-life seminar.

I was laying in bed nursing Aubrey when I heard Daniel announce that the kids needed to pick up and get ready to go to Nana and Papa's. One might think that after just having returned home yesterday afternoon, they would want to stay here for a bit.

Nope.

"Yay!" was the resounding cheer from all around. Gabriel didn't even want to finish his breakfast because he was so eager to leave. They're all so attached to Mama's apron-strings, can't you tell???

Ready

Maybe it's having bunny figurines set up about the house.

Maybe it's that it's been really cold this winter.

Maybe it's because I began nursing a[nother] sore throat last night.

Maybe it's that I'm tired of bundling kids into big coats every time we go anywhere.

Whatever it is, I am already awaiting spring.

*sigh*

I know... I shouldn't hold my breath.

Valentine's Day(s) Recap

It's been a red and pink and white few days and I've loved every minute of it. (Well... mostly every minute. It's pretty hard to get through a whole few days without at least one Pull-Out-My-Hair second or two.)

On Valentine's Day I buzzed and buzzed in order to get the table set prettily and a yummy meal of chicken & pepper quesadillas, warm cornbread, and veggies prepared for our dinner. Valentine's Day is a family affair around here, which means cards and candy and heart-shaped cookies for each of my lovely kiddos. (OK... so I confess to not forking over the money for a card for Aubrey-- and she didn't get any candy either.)

We shared a candlelit, game-playing, present-opening sort of evening-- presents courtesy a certain Nancy who loves us more than we deserve. It was a blast.

The craziest part of the evening was, by far, when I opened my card from Daniel. He's pretty good at picking out cards so I always look forward to seeing which one he's chosen. He also always buys at least one candy bar for me. But this year? Well, this year when I opened the card an order confirmation fell out.

Yeah. He bought me something. And not just anything, but something I have been wanting that's just seemed like a total pipe dream since the total cost of the gifts I receive annually can't touch the price tag on this one particular item.

You guessed it...

(!!!!!!)

I know!!!!!!!

But the fun didn't stop there. My parents were over the next day bearing gifts: coloring books for Gabriel, Bronwyn, and Jackson and a new calendar for me. Calendars are one of my favorite things in the world: inexpensive art that changes every month!

Then yesterday I got to play Grown-Up. I set the dinner table for eight, put candles all over the dining room, rolled out pastry to wrap around chicken and mushrooms, and tried two new recipes for side dishes (one was a winner and the other? Well... not so much). At 6pm our six guests arrived and while my little ones were upstairs with Auntie Mills, we talked and ate lots of food and answered silly Valentine's Day sorts of questions and played a game and talked much more. It was so fun!

Now it's time to whisk cardboard hearts off the windows and discard puddles of melted red wax. Easter is only a little more than one month away and I want plenty of time for pastel linens and little bunnies and many re-tellings of the resurrection. All in all, though, I must say it's been a few days of Valentine-ish activities that will be fondly remembered long after the remnants are cleared away.

I'm so blessed!

Child's Talent

Mom sent me this link. I thought it was interesting, especially for children ages 4-8 or so. Try it!

I thought Gabriel's results were extremely accurate, though whether he is the next Dale Carnegie, Dr. Suess, or JK Rowland is left to be seen!

Some good activities for your child are as follows:
Word games such as scrabble, crossword puzzles, anagrams, spelling games and most of all, reading.

Your child will probably start writing at a young age, so have plenty of pencils, crayons, and paper handy.

Bronwyn's results were very interesting, too. I've not thought of her as being extremely musical, but now that I'm thinking about it, she's always making us laugh by busting out a brand new worship chorus that she's only heard once and singing the melody perfectly. (The lyrics? Not so perfect!) Time will tell!

Here are some ideas to nurture your child's talent:
Singing is a great way to teach musical children.
Rhythmic movement, and dancing.
Music lessons at a young age, these children would enjoy singing in a childrens choir.

Photo Catch-Up

I never did post pictures from Jack's 2nd birthday celebration. Well... I'm only one month late!

Gabriel explaining his birthday card, which was a super-cute card, by the way



Don't you just love chubby toddler fingers?!?!



In case you're wondering, he likes cake



Playing with his new expansion train track and engines



The Papa with his littlest princess

5 Months

We love this little princess--
How could we not?!
She is sweetness personified.
Her smiles make our days complete
and her coos make our hearts burst with pride.

Our girl is twisting and turning all over the place these days.
She grabs anything in reach and pulls it toward her mouth,
at which point serious chewing and drooling promptly commences.
Her eyes are big and alert.
Less than a dozen pounds and already so full of life.

Don't you love the dimple in her chin?
I do.

But then, I love all of her.
To pieces.

Bronwyn Quote

How many days until I'm a bride and a mama? she asks.

Thousands and thousands, I tell her, grinning at her scrunched nose and inquisitive eyes.

Thousands and thousands?! is her incredulous reply. Then she shrugs her shoulders, That's cool. She pauses, obviously in thought, and then she says with a sigh, I'm really tired.

The Stuff of Living

It's not even 5pm and my kids are already in pajamas and watching a favorite movie while snacking on red grapes and drinking big cups of milk. Daniel will be home tonight (this is unusual for Mondays), but for a later-than-usual dinner. I figured having the kids in pajamas beforehand will mean less tears after the meal when they are bound to be a bit exhausted and emotional. And the movie and snack is to convince them not to fret when they don't get any more food for the next couple hours!

This morning I took the kids to the church to play in the gym for a couple hours. It helps to have a place for them to run around and burn off some energy on these cold winter days. In an ideal world, I'd bring them over a couple mornings a week, but the chores here around the home demand that I be here most days of the week. But even just once a week is a blessing to all of us.

After several weeks of not seeing many people and feeling pretty lonely, I was very happy to get over to her house Saturday night for dinner. For the record, Daniel actually said the following on the way home: "Usually when I eat other people's food, I find that I'd rather just be eating something you made, but not with Lisa. She makes awesome food!" I would be insulted except that Lisa has the amazing ability to make something simple like corn chowder taste out-of this-world delicious.

On top of visiting with the Criscitellos, I actually made it to church yesterday for the first time in a month because everyone is healthy! In the afternoon I got in an hour plus at Carina's salon, celebrating a whole year in business! Add to that the anticipation of hosting a handful of couples here Saturday night for a Valentine's Dinner and-- wow!-- I feel drunk on grown-up interaction.

I've really been loving being home for the most part, though. This season has required a more focused attention on my home and children than ever before and it has been wonderful. There are long and emotionally-draining days for sure, but for the most part this has been a great winter. (Well... aside from all the sickness.) It is much easier to get the necessary things done to care for my family when they are truly top priority on my day-to-day list.

Snow Fun

My dad, who is on a 3 month sabbatical, and Merrick came over the other day to build a snowman in our yard with Gabriel, Bronwyn, and Jackson. The result was a super cute snowman and very happy kids. At least once every day since then one might see three little faces pressed up against the family room window, checking on "Frosty," as they dubbed their snow creation.

What fun!

Back to School

I declared today "Back to School" day around here following several back-to-back weeks of various sicknesses and emergencies.

No, we didn't trace the alphabet or add & subtract piles of raisins or anything fun like that. We had a whole day of Character Training 101. Back to the basics. Back to saying, "Yes, Mom," and not grumbling and complaining. Back to obeying the first time. Back to speaking in kind tones. Back to letting Mom get a word in edgewise when Dad's home. Back to entire days without even a single half-hour of Thomas the Train or any other desirable DVD-viewing. Back to taking turns and being generous.

Yeah...

And, boy, did we have a blast.

Now all four little ones are asleep. [For now.] And I. am. tired.

Tonight as Daniel headed back out the door after dinner, I asked him if I could have the day off tomorrow. He looked at me with that Fat Chance [aka Nice Try, Babe] look.

This is Character Training 101 for Mom, too. For every one time my children have to choose obedience over disobedience, you can bet your bottom dollar I've had to choose consistency over laziness, persistence over discouragement, and eternal-perspective over selfishness ten times. God may have given me four wonderful people to shape and mold, but He hasn't let up on shaping and molding me either.

One day, the training will be over and we will be made like Him. For now, we're in this thing for the long-haul-- no days off or exceptions allowed.

Vote

Ron Paul

The Latest

It was a busy weekend around here. Daniel and I spent 7 hours in the ER with Aubrey on Saturday-- completely unrelated to her heart. She'd been running a fever for several days without any other symptoms of illness and on Saturday when it rose instead of getting better, I spoke with the on-call doctor who wanted me to bring her in to be seen. Long story short, we're fairly certain she has a UTI.

Last night, Aubrey's fever broke and she slept in her car seat for the first time in 4 days. Sharing my bed all night long with her wasn't difficult, but the fact that she was very sensitive to movement and wanting to be in my arms all throughout the day, too (the Moby was not OK with her), made life a bit challenging. I'm glad she's feeling better-- and not just because she's sleeping better, but also because she's much happier and more herself again.

My parents and Merrick came over last night to watch the Superbowl with me, which was nice. I made homemade pizza and individual custard cups since the Superbowl simply isn't complete without good food to eat. It was a great game and I was glad to not be watching by myself. The crowning moment was when I realized in stunned disbelief that the team I was rooting for won. I almost always pick the underdog so I have grown accustomed to being a member of the losing crowd.

Tomorrow morning I am going to get my teeth cleaned. This is the first time my teeth have been cleaned since I was eighteen years old, except one time when my friend Liz (who is a dental hygienist) very graciously cleaned them in my parents' family room during the years when I didn't have dental insurance. Getting my teeth cleaned has been on my list of things to do since we moved up here in October 2005, but it obviously wasn't much of a priority. Fortunately for me, my dental exam last month showed no cavities and just a little tartar build-up. I realize it could have been much, much worse and the scolding I received from the very nice dentist has definitely made me ashamed of my neglect.

This week I am hoping to go 7 entire days without anyone in my family getting sick. If we do, it will be the first whole week of health for the whole family since before Christmas. I am also hoping to clean out the freezer, re-organize Aubrey's dresser (there are a few 0-3 month items that were bigger and still being worn a few weeks ago, but now that she's over 11lbs and 24" long, they really ought to be put away), and work on my kitchen re-model plans.

And that's the official latest.