Rainy Day Rambling

What a glorious rainy Tuesday afternoon we are having!  I've always liked Tuesdays, not sure why?  But, I always have.  Yesterday was out of control, but today has been bliss.  We all need a day or two like this each week.  The rain has my boys couped up inside, and I like that!  They are playing indoor basketball ~ living room court.  The dog is sleeping soundly on his bed in the sunroom.  Every so often when the boys remark loudly, he'll raise up one heavy eyelid and peep out at them.  But, then, he slowly closes his eye again and drifts back into peaceful blissdom ~ breathing slow and deep and loud.

My daily laundry is done ~ waiting in everyone's respective basket to be put away.  I am sipping coffee ~ enjoying the rain and a good basketball game ~ Oregon versus Indiana.  Lije is curled up by his "buddy," the sleeping Rain.  I love listening to him whisper sweet words to his furry friend.  He loves hard, my Lije.

And, in the distance I can hear the cry of my youngest coming from his room upstairs.  So, I am sending Lije to talk to him and give me a minute or two before I have to leave my coffee and rainy window view.

Erik Daniel asked to sit in his bed earlier today and look at books.  He sat in there for a good 20-30 minutes all alone and flipped through books.  This completely baffled me.  None of my other children would have ever asked to be confined to their crib all alone.  He is unique.  They all are.  Sweet loves.  Each one so different from the others.  At times I try to compare them, but, seriously, they are so different.  It simply isn't possible.

JCT, I am convinced is not from the same planet as Erik and I, and I am not sure how he landed here.  But, I am soooo glad he did!!!!  He adds so much to our world.  Yesterday Joshua was given a University of Oregon, Singler, jersey.  JCT put on a Duke jersey, so they could play Singler vs. Singler. But, JCT was struggling with the fact that his Duke jersey did not have Kyle Singler's number on it.  Later, he announced to me that he wanted a Kyle Singler jersey.  I quickly said, "Well, you'll have to talk to your Daddy about that." He turned his head, flipping those long straight strawberry blond strands, and said, "Oh, I don't need to do that.  I've already talked to Sean, and he'll take care of it."

Oh, he will, will he?

So confident, that funny little man!!

Then, today I announced to the boys that Daddy bought us a new DVD player.  Our old one has been broken for a while now.  JCT quit playing basketball, smiled up at me, and said, "Oh, good!  What kind did he get?  A Blu-ray???"  Seriously, JCT, a blu-ray?  Erik and I are not techno savvy. We just kind of float along, and before we are completely outdated we join the rest of the world.  We got our first smart phones a few months ago. Before that, we were both using "Go" phones.  I'll never regret that move!  But, to be honest, JCT was more excited about my iphone than I was!!  As soon as I brought it home, he asked for it.  He played with it for a few minutes then asked when I was going to buy some apps.  He is something.  And, no, Erik did not buy a blu-ray.

Now all my little monkeys are playing upstairs ~ hide and seek, I think.  And, my thoughts are beginning to turn toward dinner.  I am thinking we will do something simple and fun that everybody likes ~ like breakfast for dinner ~ pancakes, eggs, and fruit.  Eriky D just came to sit with me.  He says, "De dunder scures me!"  And, I'm okay with that because I get to steal a bunch of sweet sugar from the baby soft skin on the back of his neck.  Yum!

Yesterday evening I called my husband from my car outside his office and asked if he would let me in.  He came out to find me all alone ~ the boys at home with a sitter!  You should have seen his smile!!  I highly recommend surprising your husband at the end of a long, hard workday with a night out alone with you, his favorite friend.  We enjoyed a quiet evening, looking across a gently lit table and talking about all the things that we haven't had time to talk about lately.  And, after we discussed the main things, we just enjoyed chit chatting over a yummy meal.  I love quiet alone time with my love.  On the way home, Erik joked that he almost forgot we had a houseful of sleeping kiddos.  It felt like old times.  Marriage is such a gift ~ a gift I never forget to be thankful for!!!  We've been through so much together, and I love that when we are alone, the richness and fullness and love is not only still very much alive, but over the years it has grown in depth and beauty and tenderness.  It is truly an amazing thing to share your life with another.  I'm so grateful.

I keep thinking one of these days I will post about one of our school days, how it works, what we do, etc.  But, every day differs here and there, and so I keep putting it off!  I keep thinking I will nail down a schedule, and then I will post that so I can have a record of what our year looked like this year.  But, I have come to the realization that with young children you have to be flexible, and I will never have a strict schedule that we adhere to perfectly each day.  We have an order of events.  Three of us have check lists that we keep up with throughout the day.  But, I tend to go with whatever is working each day.  If at 8:00 the little boys are busy playing in the sunroom, I don't make them come sit and listen to a story.  I do math with one of the big boys while the littles are occupied.  If I want to do grammar with Joshua, but Lije needs some TLC, then I put off the grammar and read to Lije, or I hold Lije while I teach grammar.  And, this is why, we do not adhere to a rigid schedule.  But, I feel we do have order and stability ~ it is just flexible!

I remember Roan telling me once that when her children were young, she would teach while little ones crawled on her head!  I thought, at the time, that that sounded awful, and that I'd never be able to do that!!  I am a tunnel vision girl ~ one track!!  But, God has grown me so much in that!!  Now, I invite my little two to sit in my lap while I teach the big boys!  Especially Eriky! He will curl up, head on my shoulder, silky in his hand, thumb in his mouth, and snuggle in while I teach.  I like that!  And, I envision myself, a couple months from now, holding a newborn while teaching.  The newborn stage is too short!  I'm a believer in holding them as much as possible until they no longer want to be held!!  Life is just too short!

Well, the rain is still pouring down.  My boys are completely occupied in imaginative play ~ knights!  And, only Rain and Eriky are near to me.  They want me to protect them from the "dunder."  Ahh... the peace.  And, I will end with my afternoon's counting. . .

*  Raindrops breaking the pond's surface.
*  Little boys ~ my superhero knights in shining armor
*  Kissing soft baby neck skin
*  Distant thunder rolling
*  A hand or heel protruding from my swollen abdomen
*  A sweet, old, easily frightened, dog
*  A peaceful afternoon in a house full of couped up boys ~ only with Jesus!!
*  Grace that goes on and on and on...