Rubba Dub Dub

Three boys in a tub!
First bath all together.  So cute. 
Blackmail for when they're teenagers.

Easter 2012, and some Marshal Revelation

Saturday before Easter, we went to Papa and Grammy K's house for some Easter festivities, including brunch, eggs, and garden exploring.  Love having family close to enjoy these memorable times. 

Tonight, Marshal had been asleep in bed for about an hour.  He woke up and came out to the living room.  "Mom!" He said, wide-eyed, with a sweet smile, "Jesus TALKED to me, and told me he loves me!"  I obviously wanted to hear more, so I walked him back to bed and tucked him in.  "Was Jesus speaking to your heart honey?" I asked.  "Yes, I'm so proud of Jesus for telling me he loves me." Marsh smiled, and fell back to sleep. 

Out of the mouths of babes.  A great message for Easter. 

You okay Mama?

Isn't this the cutest picture EVER?

Taken by Grammy K at his 2nd birthday party.

Mason has a cute habit.  

At night when I make any kind of cough or sneeze, 

he calls out from his bed, "You okay Mama???" 

I of course answer, "Yes Mason." 

And he returns with, "Okay!"

My caring, concerned boy.  Sweet stuff. 

Teaching About Jesus

There are so many things you want to impart to your kids.  From morals, to manners, to the importance of good hygiene... and everything in between.  It can be a bit daunting actually, and my kids are only 3, and 20 months.  What do I teach, when? What if I forget something SO important (clean underwear, for instance)?  Being the planner that I am, I want to schedule out a life lesson a day, then recap two days later, then outline levels of importance... but alas, that is stupid unrealistic.

So.  I felt like God gave me a plan.  Which is really a lack of plan.  Such a novel idea.  Thanks God.

1. As they are able to understand, teach when opportunities arise.

2. Demonstrate the rest.

Lately, some opportunities have arisen :) We are doing a fund-raiser at The Uprising to buy cars for missionaries around the world, through an AWESOME organization called Speed the Light (STL).  In short, the challenge is called Slow Self, Speed the Light, where we encourage students to find something they are willing to give sacrificially to sell through our group Craig's List listings - all proceeds go to STL.  In our home, we pray for missionaries every night when we pray together.  So I figured, let's all think about something we can give up and contribute.  We started talking to Marshal about the importance of helping others, how we have so much and there are missionaries who don't have as much as we do - and asked him what he wanted to give to help.  His first answer was, "money!"  What a great answer! I then reminded him that he didn't have any money, lol.  BUT we talked about how we could sell some toys, or stuffed animals, or clothes to get him some money.  His sweet little nature was just taking it all in.  No decisions yet.  I'll keep you updated. 

As I alluded, we have prayer time every night.  It's the cutest thing you've ever seen.  It ends up being a tag team prayer, where Marshal starts, and then tells each one of us - "your turn Mom" or "your turn Dada". The last of the family finishing up for the night.  We hadn't been including Mason in the turns because, well, he couldn't talk. But as his vocabulary has been growing - we thought we'd give him a chance at bat.  So for the last week or so, Mason has been taking his turn.  He bows his head, quiets his voice, and says: "Praying, praying, praying [as many times as he likes] ... Amen!"  Ooooooh! It's sweet!

Somehow the DEMONSTRATING part of the non-plan/plan is comforting and terrifying all at the same time.  I don't have to feel pressured to DO anything, but I want to BE a lot.  I want to be honest.  I want to LOVE.  I want to forgive.  I want to serve others before myself.  I want to love Jesus.  I want to know Jesus.  I want to be able to share.  I want to be able to say I'm sorry.  I want to be teachable.  I don't want to live my life for this world.  I want to be wise.  I want to bear fruit.  I want to make a difference. So where am I starting?  I'm trying to simply know Jesus, love Him, and ask Him to make me more like Himself.  

Seems like a good place to start. 

More Bunk-Bed Bewilderment

I promise one of these days I'll stop blogging about this bunk-bed stuff.  Maybe.  But I can't get over it! Mason still escapes from his bed every night and sleeps on the floor, until we get ready to sleep and scoop him back to the bottom bunk.

Then last night.

I go in to check on them, anticipating to move Mason (harder to do these days btw, nearly 6 months pregnant) - and BOTH beds are empty.  The room is silent.  Fleeting, random thoughts/fears of:  a.) abduction and b.) rapture, dance through my brain.  I look under the bunks to find them both sound asleep.  Against the back wall mind you.  No grabbing, scooping, or relocating happening from this preggo.  So I threw a blanket over each (well as close as I could get), and called it good.

More Bunk-Bed Updates

Perhaps Mason comes by it genetically?
Wanting to be on the floor?
Under a bunk?

Or perhaps it has nothing to do with the bunk at all...
(Above is how we found him LAST night.)

Every Night!

Oh yes. The saga continues.  

Every night sweet Mason gets out of his securely railed
bottom bunk and falls asleep on the floor.
This time half UNDER the beds.

Makes me laugh, it's like a game of Where's Waldo. 

But in the dark.  

With your baby.

Bunk Bed Business

Remember this sweet post? 

Only the beginning. 

For the last two nights we've gone in to check on the boys and found Mason out of his bottom bunk... drooling-asleep on the floor.  (Very soft new carpet I might add, I've been tempted to sleep on it myself.)

THEN TONIGHT!!!

We heard a banging through our baby monitor and went to check - - -No babies in EITHER bunk bed.  Both UNDER the bottom bunk. They were busy banging little plastic balls on the wood; which they must have silently snuck.They had to do the walk crawl of shame, back into their respective beds.

Sweet brotherly mischief (only the beginning?)

Pray for me. 

Love them.

Can't wait to see what they dream up for tomorrow night.  

Brotherly Love

We are officially in (and even settled) into our new house in Clarkdale.  It feels so great! The first night we were in, we figured Mason would want to sleep in his crib again (now in the baby's to-be-room) for a little stability.  We put Marshal to sleep in his new bunk-beds; top bunk, per his request - and laid Mason down in the other room.

AN HOUR LATER, Mason is crying and crying.  New house we figured.  Adjusting? Well after there was no end in sight for the tears, I asked Mason if he wanted to go sleep with Brother,  and he quickly answered in his husky little voice - "Uh-huh!"

So we laid Mason in the bottom-bunk-big-boy-bed and he rolled over and went to sleep.  All he wanted was his brother close by.  And just like that my little M is not as much a baby anymore... and has been in a big-boy-bed ever since.  So precious.  Growing up.

The Bed-Time Twins

This is what we have to (get to?) deal with at bed time.  Partners in crime. Crawling all over each other, smothering each other, kissing and hugging each other.  Belly laughs.  All while we are trying to "calm down" before bed.  We're trying to say prayers, talk about the day, and speak words of life to each boy.  Needless to say, it's an adventure.  And Mason really needs a haircut.

Black Furry Boogers

Mason has all of a sudden blossomed this amazingly funny personality.  He makes cute, coy faces.  He chases his brother.  He gives everyone sweet kisses.  He likes to clap.  He imitates his big brother.  He's SO close to walking! He'll stand by himself and take a few steps, but I think it's too slow for him, and he resorts to crawling.  He's got the most PRECIOUS dimples.  I love to snuggle him and kiss the back of his neck.  He's addicted to Panda Pete.  He loves him so much that he wakes up with a black-hair-crusted-booger stuck in his nose from nuzzling Pete's black fur all night. 

He's my amazing sweet boy.  I'm so thankful he's OURS.

Bedtime Changes

Marsh's bedtime routine has changed once again.  He now goes to sleep in our bed, then gets moved to his big-boy-bed when mom and dad turn in.  He now likes to be completely under the covers with the big body pillow smushing his little toddler body into our pillow-top mattress.  You can see his little hand sticking out from under the pillow in the first picture.  Isn't it so cute???

Close your eyes!

Since his birthday, Marshal has been transitioned to his bigboybed. So his bedtime ritual has changed a bit.  Now we read and pray and snuggle in his bed. He'll say "snuggggle?" and press his cheek against ours, no matter how hot and sweaty the day is.  Lately he loves snuggling so much that he's awake even after mama and daddy have fallen asleep.  Yesterday, trying to be stern (well as stern as we could muster), Daddy said, "Marshal, close your eyes."  

And without wasting a second he reached up with his pointer finger and pushed his eyelid closed. 

Sweet Nothings

Marshal has a bed-time ritual: pick up toys, brush teeth (including a super-cute rinse directly slurped from the faucet and a mimicked spit), drink of water from the red cup, find Doug-Dog, turn on the humidifier, rock in the rocker, pray/sing, and then lay down to sleep.  You laugh, I know, at so many detailed steps - but it is a fail-proof plan for Marsh's peaceful sleep, which, generally lasts 10-12 hours :) With results like that can you blame me?

Lately after we pray together I have been whispering tender thoughts about him in his ear: "you are so special", "I love you because you are ours", "you are my smart pumpkin", etc...  Well a couple of nights ago after these whispers he kept grabbing my face and smothering his hot little lips up against my cheek - and he was babbling these quiet and sweet words (incomprehensible with the exception of a sporadic "mom", "dad", "blueberry").  I would laugh, and turn my head to not disturb the moment - and he would take his pudgy little hand and pull my face back into his lips and start the sweet-nothings all over again.  He did this multiple times until he finally fell asleep with my face all sweaty and stuck to his face.  Precious boy.  I love your tender heart.

Marshal's Bedtime Buddies

Marshal has recently taken to adding additional comrades to his night-time routine.  In addition to Doug-Dog, this last week he has taken Veggie Tale DVD cases, a snack box of Cheerios, and tonight a small, gray plastic goat... who knows the logic behind his choice of pals!

Marshal's Best Friend Doug

Marshal has a best friend Doug.  (aka "Doug-Dog")  This stuffed buddy was given to him for his first birthday by Lorie Bassett.  Since then the pooch has served diligently as a confidant, cuddle-er, and comforter.  Marsh can hardly go to sleep without him.  Doug's neck is completely void of stuffing, as it has all been squeezed to the bottom due to millions of neck hugs.