A Long Day and a Little Lie

Erik and Sean went away on another one of their sports related vacations, so I had the kiddos all to myself for a few days!! I missed my husband like crazy, but the boys and I had a pretty good time if I do say so myself!! Saturday was especially busy and fun thanks to the wonderful spring weather!!! The day went something like this. . .


5:00 my alarm goes off, and I hit snooze. . . This continues until. . .
5:39 when I finally decided to get up so that I can get a shower before my early risers rise!
6:20 I am greeted by 3 red-headed boys as I exit my bedroom! Thankfully, I am dressed with make up and the whole deal!
6:30 Take Rain out.
6:40-9:00 Sip coffee and watch cartoons with the boys/watch them play/make breakfast/try to hold them off on going outside. . .
9:00 Give in and take the anxious little munchkins outside to play. . .
From 9-11 I. . .
*Kept score for the Duke/UNC rivalry game ~

*Took boys to the swing set to play. Erik Daniel has learned to climb the bars and get into the clubhouse, and this is very, very scary!!! He may have fallen once between the bars, and it may have been a really ugly fall, and it may have scared me to death. But, thankfully the soft ground cushioned his fall. Yikes! Little boys! There is no stopping them! There is no talking sense into them! Dr. Dobson is right ~ they do think that they are indestructible no matter how many times they get hurt! Here are my four loves all sliding down the slide together!!
Eriky D. loves being big enough to climb the bars and slide down by himself! He absolutely refuses to let me catch him. He will not slide down unless I move out of his way!!! He's an independent little sucker!!!

Sweet silly big brothers. . .

*Then, we jumped on the good old trampoline! Can you tell it was getting close to someone's naptime???

11:00 to 11:30 We had a little picnic lunch. . .

The only really problem here was that Erik Daniel wanted to eat off of everyone else's plates! Silly boy! He was all over that blanket! So, when everyone had pretty much finished up but were still sitting on the blanket, I looked at Eriky D. and said, "Run, run, as fast as you can! We can't catch you, you're the gingerbread man. . ." He jumped up to run, and we all burst into laughter because in all his wiggling around on the blanket, he must have plopped himself down on someone's yogurt. This is what we saw when the gingerbread man took off running. . .

We laughed hard, and I laughed harder as I tried to chase him down to get a picture of him!!
11:30-12:00 Put little boys down
12:00-2:30 Littles napped, and I took baby monitor outside and played with the big boys. I played basketball ~ Joshua and JCT against me. They beat me! Man, was it fun!!! I am usually watching the little boys in the afternoons after school when Joshua and JCT play. But, since it was nap time, I got to be a part! It was such a blast! I may not have taught them about basketball, since I know virtually nothing about how to play, but, I did teach them a lesson in talking trash!! I had Joshua in stitches!!! At one point I was playing awesome defense (ha! :-), and Joshua could not get around me to get close to the goal, so he stopped dribbling for a second, looked me right in the eyes, and said, "We're beating you!" As if he could intimidate his mama!!! Oh, it was a fun, fun, time! Joshua tried to bounce pass the ball to JCT through my legs, but JCT wasn't looking! Oh, how funny it all was!!

I think my favorite part of the day was watching Joshua who is usually only interested in playing sports find joy in little boy things once again!!! He is usually too busy orchestrating football, soccer, and basketball games that he doesn't have time to stop and do fun little boy things like. . .

* make believe ~ they pretended to be Paul and Silas in jail. JCT was the guard. . .

* And, he played dinosaurs in the mud. . .


* I also caught him in the sandbox playing with his little brothers!

After being outside ALL THE LIVE LONG DAY, I brought the boys inside with the promise of a bubble bath!!!

Then, we made homemade pizzas and chocolate chip cookies!! Yum! When it was time for bed, they settled into their sleeping bags in the living room! I promised them that they could watch the Duke/UNC game until they fell asleep. . .

They were asleep before tip-off!!!!!

It was a fun-filled day, and I went to sleep exhausted and completely fulfilled. I had given myself away all day, and it felt great!! I love to cuddle deep into my blankets and covers with a tired brain and a worn out body and know deep down in my heart that I have been a good Mommy. I have put their needs and wants before my own.

There is lie that often creeps into my head, and it says that doing what I want will make me happy. Playing on the computer will make me happy. Organizing and cleaning will make me feel fulfilled. Sitting on the couch and reading a book will make me peaceful. But, when little boys with long faces are sitting all around me ~ creativity and joy stifled in them, their is no true gain ~ for me or for them. I may get what I want, but it comes at a cost. And, it is not worth the cost! It is simply a lie that I choose not to believe. Fulfillment, peace, and joy come from giving myself away in whatever way God calls. And, on this particular Saturday giving myself away meant getting my hands dirty, my body sweaty, and my mind filled with little boy ideas!!