"Do You Have a Video Camera?"...

...an older, wiser friend asked me yesterday.

"Yes, we do," I told her.  "We can take little videos on our old camera."

She then encouraged me to use it often to record these passing moments in my boys' lives, moments which speed off like a train into the distance, moments which we can never recapture once they're gone.  She told me how, years ago, she and her husband made movies of their two boys and how, when the boys were teens, they would get out those old movies and show them proudly to their friends.

I don't know how my boys will be when they're teens, but I do know how they are now:  they LOVE to watch the little snippets of videos that I've posted on the blog.  They never get enough of seeing themselves--and each other--and laughing about how things used to be.  What an easy way to bring delight to the heart of my children!

So, without further ado, here are slices of our life, in all its extraordinary ordinariness.  :)

Shav is beginning to talk more and more; but even without being able to say a whole lot of words clearly, he communicates very well by other methods, one of which is shaking his head no and nodding his head yes.  I particularly like how he nods.  :)

Shav learned to play the harmonica.  And he's not even two!  Musical genius in the making, I'm certain of it.  ;-)  In this video, when he stops about halfway through and gestures at the wall, he's actually pointing to a picture of Josiah and saying his version of "I-yah."

My raised-on-a-farm mom taught us this neat trick.  When you've shelled a bunch of peas and it looks like there are only shelled peas in the bowl, shake it back and forth gently, and the pods that still need to be shelled will rise to the surface.  I'm not sure scientifically why that happens, but we've loved watching it every time we've shelled peas this year.  :)  By the way, Tobin always forgets that peas are peas, and he calls them beans.  He also loves to eat them raw; and at one point in the video, you can see him open his mouth for one like a hungry little bird.  :)

The previous three videos were from June, but now I'm skipping back to April for the next three.

Apparently, you're never too young for sword fighting lessons.  I know Shav is still only one year old, but already he's in training for a role as a stunt man in the next Zorro movie.  With such skillful big brothers teachers, I'm sure he'll be ready in no time.  ;-)

Something I never thought I'd say:  "Shavi, time to get up and fight again!"  But being a mother of boys means you end up saying some pretty strange things sometimes.  ;-)

When Jeff is in charge of the boys, I never know what's going to happen.  He's definitely a creative, think-outside-of-the-box, make-a-great-memory-for-our-boys kind of dad.  Like taking a bath in the dark, with glowsticks.  Who woulda thunk it?!  :)

Way back in February, I took these next videos but never posted them.  In this first one, I was trying to get Shav to say "choo-choo" because he had recently learned how to say the train noise.  But of course, as soon as I got out the camera, his lips were sealed.  Tobin, on the other hand, was willing to say it, so his is the voice heard in the video.

This one cracks me up.  Besides the fact that David is standing on his head to read a book (which is actually pretty normal for him), I get tickled by the way Tobin tries so hard to stand on his head, too.  But he just can't figure it out.  "How do it?" he asks...and now as I watch it, I giggle.  :)

On a winter's evening, Josiah (who was apparently overheated by the woodstove in the next room because "land sakes, child, where is your shirt?") did a great job entertaining his two littlest brothers.  Simple pleasures are the best.  :)

After Shav's nap one day, David got to his room before I did.  When I walked in, I found two smiley boys.  I can't help but remember when David was the baby who slept in that crib and Josiah was the big brother who ALWAYS wanted to get in with him.  :)

David had gotten the idea to put gloves on his feet so he could be like a monkey.  He's such a natural actor, and his little brothers love to imitate him!

Tickle time is a favorite after-dinner activity, although these days it doesn't happen as often because we're usually outside.  But back in February when this video was taken, the boys loved to try to "get" Jeff...but of course, he always "got" them a lot more than they "got" him.  Didn't stop the boys from trying though.  :)  And meanwhile, Shav invented a new way to "ride" a tricycle.  :)

Once in a while, one of the boys (usually David or Tobin) gets brave and asks Jeff for a slice of jalapeno or a bite of salsa.  In this next video, Jeff had given David a tortilla chip dipped in a tiny bit of juice from his salsa.  Although David's cry is completely fake, the heat of the salsa was not.  :)

 
Whew!  What a lot of videos!  I can't imagine that anybody (except my parents, who win the award for Most Faithful Blog Readers of Spilled) actually watched all of them.  But what I CAN imagine is the moments of happiness that my boys and I will have in the future as we see and hear again the sights and sounds we once enjoyed.

I'm so very glad we have a camera that takes videos, and I'm so very glad my friend Cindy encouraged me to use it more.  :)

Psalm 133:1 Moments

In the midst of the rush and noise and swirl of life with four young boys, I want to be careful to not miss the sweetness of it all--the moments of "brothers dwelling in harmony" that are pure delight to a mother's soul.

Even if they happen when we're all still wearing our pajamas...  :)

Yes, we have plenty of chairs in our house.  No, I don't know why four boys felt the need to cram into two chairs.  No, that's not our strategy for how to make them "be close."  ;-)

Josiah wanted to practice photography, so I handed him my old camera and let him go to work.  Many (many!) pictures of trains and dinosaurs were taken, and even a few snapshots of his brothers.  As he watched them and they watched him, I watched them all.

This morning, while I was doing laundry, Shav and Tobin disappeared.  I discovered them in the cellar where they had dragged our two laundry baskets and were using them as boats.  Later I discovered them dropping (*not throwing*) pieces of gravel into their boats and onto the ground.  Messy fun for a pair of little boys.

That picture makes me smile when I see it because I remember how dim it was in the cellar and how I was forced to use the flash to get clear pictures.  I NEVER use the flash, so when I did, it startled the boys, resulting in Tobin hiding his face and Shav having a half-grin/half-grimace on his sweet face.  :)

One thing I've learned as I've gotten older and have had more children is to lighten up!  If Shav wants to wear a jacket in the house, who cares?  If he wants to put a hat on, that's fine!  If the boys get my laundry baskets dirty, it's not a big deal; I can clean them!  When I relax and make it my goal to enjoy my children, it sets the mood beautifully for the rest of the family; and usually, we all end up having a good time.

Like this...  :)

Wordless Wednesday {Did You Have One of These Toys?}

Dear Folks at Kohl's

Thanks you so very much for the $10 gift cards you keep sending me in the mail.  I know you're only doing that to entice me to enter your store.  Well, I don't mind.  Not when I can get shirts like this for my husband...

 ...shirts that originally cost $36...

...and I buy them for 84 cents.

I don't mind at all looking on the clearance rack for something that's been reduced to just over $10, and then using the gift card for that.  It works for me!

I have a feeling you won't be as happy about it as I am, but regardless, let me give you my sincere thanks.

A grateful bargain shopper,
Davene  :)

No. 9 on the List

Remember my list of summer goals?  I'm happy to report that we're making good progress as we work our way through the list.  And, of course, we've revised things slightly:  fencing lessons is off, basketball is on, etc. No matter how grand one's intentions are, reality often demands change along the way!

One relatively simple item on the list was to eat supper outside.  So, when last Saturday evening rolled around and the temperatures were cool enough to be pleasant, I decided that it was a good night for that, and we ended up eating alfresco.

Table for two?  Yes, please!

And a table for six?  Yep, we'll need one of those, too.

We dined on Chicken Korma (actually, I sort of combined my recipe for Cashew Chicken with the one for Chicken Korma, so it ended up being Cashew Chicken Korma) :) over rice, Caprese Salad, fresh cantaloupe that my parents brought up with them, and chips and salsa for Jeff (since his motto is "Don't eat dinner without it!").  It was delicious.

It was also:
~ a lot of work to carry everything out to the picnic tables from the kitchen,
~ an equal amount of work to carry everything back in when supper was over,
~ extremely distracting to Shav who, although happy as a clam, could hardly bring himself to eat anything; I think he had one bite of cantaloupe (later, before bedtime, he gestured to be put up in his highchair, so I obliged and then gave him some honey nut cheerios to munch on, because I knew his stomach was empty!),
~ almost as distracting to Tobin who lollygagged around so much with his dinner that it took forever for him to finish (and he required some assistance from his sympathetic and helpful grandma before he could get all his food down his throat),
~ a huge nuisance to be constantly shooing flies away from the food.

However, despite all the hardships, at least once a summer, we just have to eat supper outside!  I'm thinking that both Jeff and I--and my parents--are glad that we can cross that one off our list for this year.  ;-)

The Authority Chart

Tired of hearing my boys trying to boss each other around (with dismal results, since the boss-ee always got mad at the boss-er), I decided to take action.  I whipped out a piece of paper and a pen and got to work.

"Look," I said.  "This is how it goes.  At the top is God, and under Him is Daddy."  I started drawing names and lines on my paper.  "God has authority over Daddy.  Under Daddy is Mommy because the Bible tells me that I need to submit to him.  I also submit to God; I am under God's authority, as well as Daddy's authority."

I looked up to see if little eyes were watching me or had gone completely blank.  They were with me, especially because they were wondering what I was going to draw next.  Time to ask them a question.

"Next comes Josiah and then David, but where should I draw them?"

One suggested that David's name would be written under Josiah's name.  Seeing my opportunity, I pounced.

"Wrong!" I exclaimed, grateful that they had expressed that thought because that was EXACTLY the point I was making.  "David does NOT go under Josiah.  They are on the same level.  Equal.  All of you boys are."  More names and lines drawn on the chart.

To make sure it had sunk in, I asked them silly questions.  "Does Tobin have to obey Shav?"

Heads shook no, and grins brightened faces.

"Does David have to obey Tobin?"

No again.  

We continued with such questions as, "Does Josiah have authority over Mommy?" and "Does God have to obey Daddy?" which made them laugh.

It was time to introduce a new concept:  the umbrella.

"You see, boys, authority is like an umbrella.  God's authority is over all of us; His umbrella reaches over us and protects us.  As long as we stay under the shelter of His umbrella, we're safe."  (Not implying that bad things never happen to good people, but that's a topic for another day's discussion!)  "When we step out from under the protection of His umbrella, we suffer the consequences.  When you obey Daddy's and my authority, you are safe under our umbrella and we can protect you.  Does that make sense?"

"Yes," they chorused, with genuine interest in their eyes and voices.  Or maybe they were just intrigued by my attempt to draw an umbrella.  I've never claimed to be an artist.  ;-)

"A problem occurs when you boys try to put your umbrellas over each other.  David, is Tobin under your umbrella?"

A dutiful head shake no.

"Tobin, is it OK for you to put your umbrella over David?  Is it OK for you to have authority over him?"

Another no.

I continued with my explanation, hoping fervently that it was sinking in.  "Many times I hear you all try to command each other to do something, but that's not OK because you don't have authority over each other.  You can ask each other, but not command.  You cannot expect that your brother will obey you."

With a view to the future, I said, "Is anyone under your umbrella now?  No!  Just you!  But someday, Lord willing, you will marry, and then your wife--and your children, if you're blessed in that way--WILL be under your umbrella.  You'll have authority over them.  But for now, you can't put your umbrella over anyone."

Wanting to be encouraging and end on a positive note, I went on, "Having brothers is such a gift, and you all can be each other's buddies and best friends.  You can play together, help each other, look out for each other, and so much more.  It's wonderful!  But you need to be careful to put your umbrellas away, if you start commanding each other to do something."

Smiles all around...peaceful hearts...mission accomplished.  For the moment anyway.  These kinds of things need frequent repetition; and although I had drawn this chart previously for Josiah and David, I realized that it had been quite a while.  I'm not sure that David remembered it, and certainly Tobin did not.  I expect that in another year or two, we'll be doing this again--to remind the older ones and to teach little Shav about authority, umbrellas, and the like.

 When David saw what I was doing, he got himself a piece of paper and copied my chart.  I think he did a terrific job with it!

The original chart I drew got taped to the underneath side of the top bunk of Tobin's bed; that way, when he lies in his bed (the bottom bunk) at night with his head on his pillow, he'll look up and see the chart.  Think he'll learn the lesson quicker that way?
 ;-)

Simply drawing a chart and having a talk doesn't solve all issues of siblings and authority, of course.  But these days, I have a quicker, more effective way of reminding the boys of how they should relate to each other.  I simply say, "Put your umbrella away," and they instantly get the message that they're overstepping their bounds and need to back off.

If you happen to be spending time with us anytime soon and you hear us talking about putting umbrellas away, but you don't see any rain--or any umbrellas, for that matter--now you'll know what we mean.  :)

My Boys Think It's Great Fun to...

...get all the dirty clothes out of the laundry chute and spread them around on the floor of the laundry room.  They call it their bed, and they love to romp around on it.  Was it Josiah or David who first came up with this idea?  I'm not sure; but regardless, all of them joyfully participated one day this past week.  The things kids come up with!

Silly boys.  ;-)

Only 3 Pints

I love peas.  I love eating them, of course; but I also LOVE shelling them.  In fact, that quite possibly ranks as my very favorite garden job.

Sadly, since we moved back from Israel five and a half years ago, we have never succeeded in having a good pea crop.  I'm not exactly sure why:  maybe there was something wrong with our soil, maybe our pea seeds were too old, maybe we planted too late, maybe we weeded too little!  But every year, I have wished for a better harvest.

This year has been our best so far, thanks in large part to Jeff's hard work in the garden.  We actually had enough peas to eat a mess (Southern for "a batch," in case that's confusing!) for several meals; and wonder of wonders, we even had enough to freeze!

True, it's only three pints; but it's a start!  Next year--Lord willing--I'm going to follow the advice of sisters Miriam,  Sally, and Gail (I'm sure their other sisters could also give helpful advice about peas, but I haven't spoken with any of them about the matter)  :)  and hopefully improve from three pints to...well...who knows?!

The sky's the limit.  ;-)

Lunch Is Served!

The boys are settled down, having quiet time and naps, and now it's time for my lunch.  Hmmm...what should I eat?  [Open refrigerator door.]  Let's see...there's a little bit of strawberry yogurt...

...left in this container.  

I think I can do something with that.


Let's add some walnuts.

Good!


And some raisins.

Even better.


Next, an apple, crisp and cold from the frig.

This is getting better and better all the time!  But it still needs...something...


I know!  Chocolate chips!  Chocolate improves EVERYTHING, right?

Perfect!


Now, let me grab a spoon and stir...

and stir some more.

Until finally, my concoction is ready. 

Lunch is served!  :)

Some Traditions

Some traditions are born out of careful deliberation.  A husband and wife sit down when the woman is 8 months pregnant with their first child; and they decide that every Easter, they'll make Resurrection cookies, every Thanksgiving, they'll serve a holiday meal in a homeless shelter, and every Christmas, they'll give their child three gifts (after all, Jesus got three from the wise men, so why mess with a good thing?).  Such strong traditions on which to build a family!

But then there are other traditions:  the ones that just sort of happen.  The ones you never sat down and planned out, but they gradually became part of the family rhythm as the years went by, and now no one can imagine not having them.

In the latter category falls our tradition of having a piñata on the boys' birthdays.  It just kinda sorta happened.

The first time I remember celebrating one of their birthdays with a piñata was probably June of 2006, our first summer here in Virginia after moving back from Israel.  Josiah turned four; and among the guests that day were the Shanks, our Old Order Mennonite neighbors.  I'm certain their girls had never been part of a piñata celebration before!

I don't know for a fact that we've had a piñata for Josiah's birthday every year since then...and for David's birthday, once he was old enough to understand the concept...but I do know that by this point in time here in 2011, we would have some very downcast boys if we suddenly decided to forgo the piñata ritual.  

When David's piñata from his birthday came through relatively unscathed, I thought we would patch it up a little and use it for Josiah's birthday.  However, as that event drew near, our firstborn voiced his opinion that for his 9th birthday, he really did not want to have a Thomas the Tank Engine piñata!  I hadn't thought about it before, but it makes sense; after all, I remember being little but feeling So Big, and wanting to put childish things behind me and grow up faster than the calendar was telling me I could.  I remember wanting so desperately to not seem babyish.

So, we went shopping, and Josiah picked out a big, colorful Nemo piñata.  One of these days years, I might summon up my courage and try my hand at making one; but the mere thought of that makes my non-crafty-mom bones shudder.  ;-)

The beating of the piñata occurred on June 15, two days after Josiah's birthday, in the backyard of some good friends who had invited a few other families over for dinner anyway.  It made it a whole lot easier on me to not have to plan a separate birthday party, and Josiah was very excited about having these friends be a part of this celebration.  Win-win, for sure!  :)

The first hit...

Tobin gets a turn...

David's first turn...(and Emily's rescue of a getting-too-close Tobin)...  :)

Joelle takes a swing...and Tobin gets a new "hat"...

Everyone else got a turn to hit it, but I'm skipping all those :)...now, back to Tobin hitting it...meanwhile, Josiah sped up the hill to report to me on how things were going...

Can you tell Josiah was a little excited?  :)...and Tobin, too--hear his "Mommy, candy almost going to come out!"?  :)

I skipped some more turns, but here in this final video, Grant had the bat and that was the final straw...candy poured out, and eager children pounced.  :)

By the way, right at the end of that video, I caught Julie interacting with Deborah's foster baby...so if it's unclear what Julie (and Becky) are focused on, it's him.  :)

Time to find every single pack of Smarties, every little Warhead, every piece of bubble gum that might have flown through the air a ways, or be hidden in the grass.  All must be found...

...and counted and sorted and maybe traded and exulted over.  :)

Shav was happy with his prize...

 ...a single lollipop some kind soul gave him.  There's beauty in contentment.  :)

There is also beauty in traditions; and even the breaking of a piñata--complete with excitement, laughter, shouts, anticipation, minor squabbles over whose turn it is with the bat, a mad dash for the candy, and finally, a sugar high--can be a shiny, strong thread in the fabric that knits the hearts of a family together.

Wordless Wednesday {Just Because I Think He's Cute}

Boys & Trains {A Classic Combination}

This evening I got my supper dishes cleaned up early and didn't have anything pressing to tend to, so I was planning to spend a significant amount of time blogging.  But then, I got a little distracted...by this video, if you must know.  I sure do love that Bible teacher!  ;-)

So, a quick post, and then I'm off to bed, as soon as I round up the library books that I need to return tomorrow.

********

My brother David gave us this train table, used and outgrown by his children.

My mother-in-law gave us almost all of the tracks and trains.

 God gave us the boys.

 It's a winning combination!

 From Josiah our firstborn to Shav our fourth-born...

 ...these tracks have been built and rebuilt...

...and these trains have been pushed along...

 ...during countless hours of imaginative play.

They are Very Useful Engines indeed!  :)

As We Kiss Spring Goodbye...

...one image, above all others from this absolutely delightful time of year, stays foremost in my mind.  It's this...

 ...two small boys zooming around the yard...

 ...making wide circles around the house...

 ...over and over and over again.

 When the weather first warmed at the beginning of this season and we got the Gator out of its winter resting spot in the woodshed, Tobin could hardly drive it.

 He tried, to be sure, but he ran into things and couldn't figure out the coordination of steering and accelerating and all the other intricacies of driving a power vehicle.

 But then, something happened, and it seemed to click for him.  Suddenly my three-year-old was driving quite skillfully around the yard, and frankly I was astonished.

 He started giving rides to his younger brother...

...and these two boys have spent hours happily occupied...

 ...enjoying the ride...

 ...breathing in fresh air...

 ...soaking up the sun's rays in their Vitamin D-deprived winter bodies...

...and waving as they go past.

Wanna see?  :)

 We got the Gator almost two years ago, purchased secondhand from one of Jeff's co-workers and given to our older boys when Shav was born.  That first summer, it entertained Josiah and David--and various friends who came to visit and who got turns driving it.  But in time's unceasing march, the boys who originally drove it have grown so much that they hardly fit into the Gator, and their knees stick out at funny angles when they try to fold themselves into that little space on the seat.  Now the younger set of boys have their turn, and so, The Spring of 2011 is, in my mind, almost synonymous with the sight of Tobin giving Shav a ride and the sound of their happy voices laughing and shrieking as they go down small hills and careen around corners.

Now that spring, my favorite season, is departing, I'm consoled by the fact that the pleasure of Gator rides--along with so many of the other wonderful activities we've enjoyed this spring--can continue without pause...

...right on into summer!!  :)