We have still been busy and July, though slower than June, has been a full month and I constantly have a ticker tape of the things that I should be doing in my head all the time - no matter what I am doing. The kids and I have been spending so much quality and quantity time together that I can't say that I have spent my time unwisely. There are so many things that I think about making into blog posts, but they never end up getting made because I don't sit down and do it when I think about it. So here is a list of things I have recently wanted to blog about:
1. This summer the kids are learning about super heroes at church. They both have brought home so much knowledge and excitement about it. They often act like super heroes and the cutest part about it is that they both say that they are going to "cunfeat" their enemies, instead of defeat. We have tried to correct them a few times, but it never sticks and it is really cute when they say it, so "cunfeat" it is.
2. I came home from a womens' dinner at church one night right after Josh had put the kids to bed. When I went into Bella's room to say goodnight to her, she was crying. When I asked her what was wrong, she said that she couldn't keep her promise. When I asked her what promise she meant, she said that in devotions that evening before bed they learned that they needed to have Jesus in their heart to live with him in eternity and she couldn't keep her promise to God to have Him in her heart. So after we had a talk about how God helps us keep our promises every day, I lead Bella in a prayer to invite Jesus into her heart. I have to say, something about the way she talks about God has been different since that night. She even got up the next morning and told Elias that she had Jesus in her heart like he did. Josh said that it didn't even seem like she was listening that night and that the devotion didn't even say anything about asking Jesus into your heart. It is amazing how seeds get planted in Bella and she sort of chews on them for a while and they come out all of a sudden.
3. Elias has recently felt that he is getting too old for what he considers "kids shows" and "kids songs". It isn't like I love watching "Yo Gabba Gabba" so much that I can't part with them - in fact, I will probably dance for joy when I no longer have to watch that skinny little man in spandex and his cohorts. But I have been frustrated that there are just no good alternatives on television. It seems they go from preschool to high school, with little in between. All the shows talk about girl/boy relationships and have actors as characters who are always trying to "lose their Disney image". We haven't found a solution yet to the t.v. issue. I make them watch select shows and Elias complains. There are a few shows that we both agree upon, but it is still a daily battle. But in the car, we listen to music that he enjoys because it is "adult" music and also reinforces positive messages. This afternoon we were coming home and Elias was singing "Blessed be your name". I love knowing that he knows these songs by heart, because they are full of truth and goodness.
4. Elias and Bella both are really developing their own characters and personalities, and are no longer just parroting what they see and hear. They make Josh and I laugh and ache (because they are growing so fast) on a regular basis. Sometimes when they say something cute, Josh and I will shoot each other glances. The other night, Elias said something about a girl being cute and I looked at Josh and Elias said, "And don't you look at Daddy that way, because of what I said!"
5. Elias, Bella, and I have read over 50 books together for the summer reading program. It is a fun way to spend afternoons when it is too hot to go outside. I hope he wins a prize at the end for all this reading, but if he doesn't, I may treat him to something anyway. My personal reading, on the other hand, has went by the wayside and I have only completed 1 book since the beginning of summer and still have two that I am currently reading. I have one fiction book that I am holding out starting until I finish those two, but I have had little time for personal reading.
6. I will turn 34 in two weeks. I am now officially in my mid-30s. I feel like I am not old enough to be in my mid-30s. I sometimes have to think about the year I was born and count from there to remember how old I am - maybe when women say they are 30-something, it really is because they don't remember how old they are!
7. We took the kids to Toys R' Us to spend gift cards they received for being part of the wedding. Going up and down the aisles of toys, I felt that maybe we really were depriving our kids. There were so many toy possibilities and so little that our kids actually own. But then I realize that the toys they have are often ignored and that toys often seem more exciting then they really are. We never had a Toys R' Us around us when I was a kid, but we would see commercials for it on t.v.. I thought that the store was a child's wonderland and it was full of fun and excitement at every turn. When I finally went to a Toys R' Us when I was in college, I thought, "This is it? It is just a store with shelves of toys." Nothing really separated it from any other store in my adult eyes. I think I am glad that I didn't see the store as a child. It probably would have made me want what I could not have and not be thankful for what I did have.
There are so many other things that I could list...but the ticker tape is again running in my head, so I have to get up and get busy!
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