Happy Father's Day!

Happy Father's Day, Eli.

Most women desire to marry a man that cherishes them and will sacrifice for them (loves as Christ loves the church), and will also be a present, loving, strong partner in parenting.   They want a man who does not exasperate his children, but who encourages them, holds them accountable, and practices what he preaches.  They want their husband to be their son's hero and their daughter's first love.

For most women, this is a fantasy, but for me, this is a reality.  Even in my sin and craziness, Eli cherishes me.  Even when I'm hard to love (and I am...just ask my husband and my mama), he still hangs in there and feels blessed by me.  And, well, there is no question about his devotion to his kids.  He is an amazing dad.

So, Happy Father's Day, Christopher Eli Foster.  Your boys love you more than you will ever know.  And that little baby girl already looks at you like you hung the moon.

Thank you for your partnership in this parenting journey, love.  We love you to the moon and back.

Fast Friends

Reese is really good buddies with our neighbor friend, Alexander.  Every morning, he looks out the window to see if Alexander is outside.  And, without putting words in Alexander's mouth, I think he cares a lot about Reese, too.  Whenever we see them outside, he comes running to the corner of the street to try to get to our house.  These two are definitely buddies!

In this video, Reese got a peach from my mom that wasn't ripe.  He bit into it, and he spit it out and said, "Nasty!"  Alexander thought it was the funniest thing in the world, so he was laughing hysterically.  And, because Reese loves an audience, he kept spitting out the peach!

Enjoy the video of these silly boys, and let's just pray that they aren't in the same kindergarten class in three years.  If they are, then I definitely smell trouble.  Mrs. Tara, let me apologize in advance for any notes you get from the teacher about Alexander not staying on task because of Reese!

 

Not Your Mama's Dress-Up

I will admit that parenting is a daily learning process for me.  For instance, let me let you in on my ignorance.  When I had boys, I had no visions of what "playing dress-up" would be like.  I thought that they would pretend that they were superheroes and maybe they would be interested in cars and big trucks...but "playing dress-up" never crossed my mind.  Maybe it's because, in my ignorance, I associated "playing dress-up" with how I played dress up, in heels and fairy wings and princess dresses.  And, since the boys haven't expressed interest in princess stuff, I figured that we would skip the "playing dress-up" phase.

Little did I know that "playing dress-up" has less to do with actual "stuff or clothes" and more to do with imagination.  It allows little ones to unlock their imagination and it lets outsiders into what's going on in their minds.  It helps them develop critical thinking and problem solving skills.  It helps them learn to play cooperatively with others.  It helps them to be strong communicators so that they can explain to others exactly what it is they are thinking about.

Reese gets in on the dress up action! 

In our (short) almost 4 years with Emmanuel, he has gone through many "dress-up" stages.  Pirates, Firefighters, Police Officers, Chef, Preacher, Superhero...you name it, he has created an image of it in his head.  In the last several months, he has taken his thoughts to a new level.  He has chosen a character (usually a rescue person) and then proceeded to find items around the house to use as accessories to complete his "outfit."  What I love about this is that he is uninhibited in his creativity.  We look up things on the internet, we check out books, we talk to real life people in those careers, we find out as much information as possible about what he is interested in, and he takes that information and develops an "outfit" or "costume" or...you know what I am trying to say.

So, for example, for a police officer.  He started off very simple.  He found a walkie-talkie around the house, he then added handcuffs to his outfit, he then needed a baseball cap (and my friend, who is a Nashville police officer, gave both boys badges from his old uniform that my mom sewed onto baseball caps), he added a belt and a stick...you get the drift (we don't do guns in our family, so he didn't go there).  Whenever he discovers something new about the police, we add it.

The "tough" pose

Thankfully, he has also been blessed by Aunties and Grandmas with "real" police costumes, but even still, he is not afraid to add to them or take away based upon his role that day.  "Mom, today I am a police detective, so I'll carry my magnifying glass."  OR, "Mom, today I am directing traffic, so I need my whistle."  His imagination is amazing.  His "playing dress-up" is shaping him and molding him into a young man who thinks for himself, is secure in his decisions, and who can use critical thinking skills. Right before our eyes, he is transforming and growing into an independent young man.

I am utterly amazed that all of this came from playing a little dress up.

Happy Mother's Day!

I will keep this post simple.   No pictures.  No jokes.  Just the truth.

Emmanuel (age 3) told Eli that he needed to take him to the store so that he could pick out some earrings for me for Mother's Day.   He said, "My mom likes earrings...the dangly ones."  Eli said that he was so excited to pick out the earrings and made sure to get them in my favorite color.  He ran in the door when he got home and gave them to me (3 days before Mother's Day!)  He was so proud of his purchase.

That night, Reese said, "Happy Mother's Day, Mommy!"  And, Emmanuel proceeded to ask me questions about Mother's Day.  I said, "You know what, Emmanuel, I need to thank you."  He said, "Why?"  I said, "Because I wasn't a mom before you were born.  You made me a mom.  And I am so grateful."  He was so proud.

I'm so grateful for all of the special mothers in our lives.  We are richly blessed...

I am so proud.

Tasty Bake Oven

Have you ever heard of the Easy Bake Oven?  You know the cute little oven with the lightbulb that allows little ones to cook baked goods.  I read an article in Food Network Magazine that broke my heart last year because it said that the Easy Bake Oven with the light bulb would not longer be available because it wasn't energy efficient.  

I went to my mom's house later that week and told her that I remember cooking in an oven like that as a kid and that I was sad that they were phasing those out.  Little did I know that my mom was in the process of de-cluttering her house, and lo and behold, she appeared with my Tasty Bake Oven.  She asked me if I wanted it (because, can you believe that she was going to give it away!), and I was like, "Are you kidding? This is a classic, and I can't wait for the boys to use it!"  

Emmanuel couldn't wait to use it to make brownies.  (Now, this thing is so old that we don't have any of the pre-made packages that come with it...so we improvised by using just a little bit of the brownie mix from good ole' Betty Crocker!)

 Reese, who isn't really a fan of chocolate, was eager to eat the batter.

Emmanuel had to get a taste test in too!

Filling the brownie pan...

Sticking it in the oven...

And waiting for what seemed like days.

(No, really, it took a long, long time.  The boys went outside and an hour later, I think the brownie was finished!)

It was a great, nostalgic moment.  And, I wish that I could bottle up how much I love these boys and how much I love sharing these moments with them.  I am so full.  I hope that I never forget how much God has blessed my life, my marriage, and my friendships through these two boys.  

Happy Easter 2012!

I am playing catch up.

It's been a long time since I've had an opportunity to sit down and pen the memories that we've made over the last few months.

Easter.

It is my absolute favorite holiday.  This year, we went all out.  Every morning during the Lenten season, the boys opened up an easter egg and prayed to Jesus on their own, without being prompted.  On about Day 5, it became clear that their prayer would be the same for the rest of the 35 days, but it was so sweet and special and a really neat way to talk about the meaning of Easter with the boys.

Emmanuel's prayer was simply this, "Lord Jesus, thank you for fighting the bad guys for us!"  What a great reminder to me that Jesus does fight our battles for us...he takes care of our bad guys...he is the ultimate superhero...who is gracious and loving and kind.  He gives us hope.

About two weeks leading up to Easter, we started participating in Easter egg hunts, and I realized that I am a psycho mom.  We attended about 8-10 egg hunts.  At egg hunt #7, I started thinking that maybe this was too many.  Maybe I went a little overboard...maybe next year, we will only have our little family egg hunt and call it a day.  Maybe...I am trying to reel in my psycho mom tendencies, but that is really tough to do.

At one of the egg hunts (with the Bellevue MOMS Club), Emmanuel won the prize for collecting the most eggs.  He was so proud of himself, and I believe this is the first time he has "won" a prize for something that he did all by himself.  He was thrilled!

Silly boy!

And the winner is....

Mommy, I'm going to get to this candy by any means necessary!

Bellevue MOMS Club

I try to wake up early every morning (my kids are usually up by 5:45), but I make a special effort on Easter morning.  I stayed up late preparing their easter egg hunt and hiding their gifts.  I couldn't wait until they woke up and saw the trail of easter eggs.  We had so much fun looking for our special gifts, and Emmanuel is convinced that Easter is WAY BETTER than Christmas, but "mama, they are both about Jesus...not about presents" (his words, not mine!)

At worship, we managed to get a family picture (which is super rare)...

And, there would be no Easter celebration without loving on the cousins.

Thank you, Jesus, for fighting the bad guys.  Thank you, Jesus, for giving us a hope that does not disappoint.