Lucas John

Seven years ago today, I was in labor for the first time in my life. It was a long, hard day. 20+ hours long and hard. But at 9:47pm on Friday, November 12, 2004, my heart loved in a way that it never had before. I had crossed over into the world of motherhood, never to go back to a life where I only was responsible for my own life.

I trusted my body that day. I trusted that my Saviour had created me to birth this child all on my own. I trusted my husband and his support. I trusted my midwife. And when sweet little Lucas John joined our family, our lives were changed forever. I can still remember, as I lay in bed exausted, hearing Gil's voice rising above a newborn cry with a strong but tender tone, "Lucas...It's Daddy." Although I had been up for nearly 24 hours, I didn't sleep a wink that night. I remember just lying there all night in the soft light, running my fingers along the back of my precious little man's neck and stroking his long, dark hair. How could I sleep? I had just completed the most difficult thing I had ever done. And the reward was the biggest prize ever. The Peace Corps has nothing on motherhood. THIS is the toughest job you'll ever love. And love it, I do.

No one celebrates a birthday like mothers. Not our own birthday, certainly, but the birth of our precious children. I am so blessed to be called "Mommy". So today, little man, I wish you a wonderful day as we celebrate you and your seventh year of life. Thank you for blessing your daddy and me. We love you so much!

sweet boys

It's time for an update on our happenings and a few photos of the boys. They both seem to grow so quickly and I don't know where the time goes. So here's kind of a mish-mash of our time together inside as we have Ethan has developed quite a fascination for pigs. "Piggies", as he calls them. This little piggie was actually a decoration at a baby shower last fall for our friend, Jaimbea. Along with trusty 'ol blankie, this has become Ethan's very best friend. I helped him make his very own sling for Piggie. Here he's giving Piggie her vitamin. I guess he wants her to stay well! Just a little finger painting. Lucas had a school project to complete and we didn't have the recommended supplies, to we just improvised and painted! Ethan had paint all over the place.

Can't paint without Piggie there watching!

Finally getting around to posting a photo of our toothless guy! I love it! What a precious stage in this little man's life!

And we continue to be amazed by his creativity and ability to learn in school. Here are a couple of his assignments where he had to draw the word that he completed. Just love his little drawings!

Lucas continues to make us so proud with his giving heart. I explained one day that I was going to the Pregnancy Resource Center to volunteer and he couldn't believe that they didn't pay me. I told him how they need money for the services they provide to pregnant moms and he immediately went and got his savings envelope. He counted out 4 twenty dollar bills and told me he wanted to give his money to them. He received a sweet thank you from Jan at the PRC and a beautiful video for his donation. He has since pulled aside another $100 to give to Lift Up. We are so proud of your giving heart, little man.

Catching up from another paint project with Ethan. We get these great little craft projects from Michael's for a dollar.

Most of it actually ended up on the tractor.

Duh. Mommy finally put on his apron. So, why did I let him paint in a white shirt?

My precious little guy is actually asleep. Just got comfy and sacked out.

Oh, we are all so ready for spring. This was another one of those so-why-am-I-letting-them-do-this? projects. Huge mess. But when there's snow on the ground, boys gotta have dirt.

Happy spring! Hope it actually gets here one of these days.

Catching up

I'm terrible at keeping up with blogging, and every time I post I apologize for not posting in forever. Well, no more apologizing. I just blog when I can and that's all there is to it. So I'll attempt to catch up with a few random things.

All of our new is, of course, centered around the kids, but that's ok. Lucas continues to thrive and grow daily from his home schooling. He has memorized no less than 15 bible verses, in addition to the entire Psalm 100 and Psalm 23. He asked me this morning if he could take a stool outside and stand on it so he could preach. To whoever may be listening. His heart is pure and he wants to share the Gospel every chance he gets.

We were very proud of him a month or so ago when he decided he wanted to give some of his savings to Lift Up. I told him the flyer said $15 would help feed 3 families. So he decided that he was going to give $60 because helping 3 families just wasn't enough. I think he would have given all of his money, but I wasn't sure if I should let him. I guess I need to trust his little conscience.

Ethan continues to amaze us daily. His vocabulary is that of a 4 or 5 year old. He knows more about excavators, combine harvesters and fire trucks than most adults. He has started calling me endearing names like sweetheart, sweetie, sweet pea, and if he really wants something, sweetieheart. I guess he hears his daddy calling me by those names, so why not use them?

As for the rest of us, just trodding through the cold winter months, looking forward to spring. Hope you are all staying warm!