Christmas Card 2010

Snow Kiss Green Christmas

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The Fine Arts and Weapons

The Toledo Art Museum has a really great program called "Hands On at the Museum" where kids can make a special craft and it's FREE. Since "the brothers" are home on Spring break, they asked if we could go to the museum. I'm thinking, "Excellent idea, the boys will be able to create something fun and maybe even improve their cutting and gluing abilities" (they are all kind of...well..."delayed" in this area). So off we went to the Art Museum.

Upon arrival they discover the craft of the day is either a bug or flowers. "OK," I think, "they will make a bug." Nope, they aren't even the least bit interested. Joel and Drew immediately leave the craft room and head to the play area. Evan makes a simple craft and then joins his brothers to play.

After playing a while we decided to head into the main part of the museum to see some real art. The brothers actually enjoy the art museum way more than I ever thought they would for children who are themselves art-deficient. Joel even looked at one painting for a while and made the observation that the people in the painting looked lonely. Interesting and insightful. I'm impressed.

As we were leaving the museum the lady at the information desk asked the boys if they went to the children's area for the "Hands On" craft. After I tell her that we did she asked if they made a bug. "Uh...no...," I said slightly embarrassed, "he made a gun." Yes, there were buckets and baskets full of free, fun art supplies and my kid makes a gun! I am trying to expose my children to the fine arts and Evan's making a weapon.

I guess no matter what I do, boys will be boys.

I Love This Year

This is the best school year yet! I love that I have alone time with Drew each morning and then Evan comes home from Kindergarten at 11:45, followed by Joel at 3:30. It's perfect. Each kid has their own moment to talk about their day and I am not bombarded with three boys walking in the door at the same time.

I still wish Drew and Evan were 2 and 3 years old (oh my gosh do I miss having a three-year-old in the house), but this year it's been so nice for each child to have a moment when the attention is solely on them. I'm hoping this year goes a little slower so that I can savor each day.

It's O.K. To Be Shy

With two extroverted children living in our house I secretly hoped my last child would be a quiet child. I got what I wanted -- Drew is a shy, quiet child particularly in unknown situations, but now there are times when I force him to be an extrovert. Today was a prime example.

I enrolled Drew in a gymnastics class at the YMCA and he's been telling me he didn't want to go unless I was in the class with him. I explained I would be watching him and would not leave the room, but he was still apprehensive. When we arrived at the class he asked where I was going to be. "Upstairs in the viewing area," I said. Then he started crying and said he wanted to go home. I told him I would stay downstairs and watch but he still wanted to go home. The class started, he did NOT want to go and started clinging to me. I felt bad about forcing him to go in, but I knew he would love the class. The teacher took his hand and off he went and the crying stopped immediately.

He appeared to be having fun the entire class -- using the balance beams, spring boards, parallel bars, etc., but after class he told me he didn't like it. I think he is just being stubborn because when Evan came home from school, he told Evan all about the class.

Sometimes it's difficult for extroverts like me to understand introverts, but thankfully I have a husband who helps me understand the "shy" person. Ben has helped me see that just because Drew is quiet doesn't mean he's not having fun or that he's not completely happy just observing.

Drew is happy being shy but so many times in life he is expected to be an extrovert. As his mother, I am trying to teach him that being shy is O.K., but he may not be rude. i.e. When someone he does not know greets him, he must be polite and say "hello" and give answers to their questions -- like how old are you?, etc.

I have also learned that I need to prepare Drew for what to expect before going into a situation where I know the attention will be on him. For instance, at Thanksgiving we always go around the table and tell for what we are most thankful. If I didn't prepare Drew for this he would just sit silently, but with preparation (and sometimes rehearsal) he does fine.

I am already concerned about him starting preschool next year. Before preschool starts the teachers always ask if there is anything they need to know about each child. I am all ready for my answer to this question: "Drew is shy and that's O.K. Please allow him to be that way."

Now, I don't want a child who is not listening or not participating in group activities, but I also don't want him forced to "perform on command." He will not be the kid jumping up and down and doing motions to "bumpin' up and down in my little red wagon." Do I expect him to be obedient? Yes. Do I expect Drew to come running when the teacher announces auditions for the class play? No. :-)

Joel and Evan couldn't wait for preschool and loved every minute of it. Drew? Well, I don't know how the first few days of preschool will go, but I'm sure there will be a few tears shed (from Drew and ME!).

1 Dad 1:1

Remember the days when we used to put book covers on our school books?

When I was in the middle of my 8th grade year I brought my Social Studies book home to put a new cover on it as the old one was destroyed. I diligently cut-up a brown paper bag, wrapped the book and taped the cover in place. Perfect. I left it on the kitchen table to be taken to school the next day.

Social Studies was one of my least favorite subjects and, even though I was a pretty good student, I really struggled in this class. Apparently my dad was very well aware of my difficulties in this class because when I woke up the next morning, written on the brand new book cover was the following:

"Thou shalt dwell in this book all thine days which art left in thy school year. I Dad 1:1"

I smiled then and I still smile today when I think if that "verse;" it's one of many wonderful memories I have of my dad.

The Sound of D

In Kindergarten Evan has been learning the sounds of each letter. Last week he had to draw pictures of things that started with the letter D. Here are Evan's drawings; can you identify each? (Yes, he gets his artistic abilities from me.)

Let me help you a little:

Dice (that was an easy one); his blue Nintendo DSi, a donut with sprinkles, a daisy and at the bottom is a dog. But what or who is the guy in the middle? Dad? Nope. It's a "dude" of course! He's riding on a skateboard. I had to laugh out loud when he showed this to me! He might not be an artist, but Evan certainly is cool. :-)

Macy's Parade, Memories and Delicacies

I was so excited this Thanksgiving morning. Why? Excited about a wonderful meal? Gathering together with family? A day to sleep in? Well, while those are all true, I was most excited because my boys, ALL three of them, watched the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade with me! I absolutely love this parade and I've never been able to pass along the excitement of it to Joel, Evan and Drew, but this year they actually watched it and liked it. (I don't think they quite loved it, but there's always next year.)

Thanksgiving is a wonderful holiday but it really doesn't stir up a lot of emotion for me. I told my mom this and she agreed. We think it's because for many of my Thanksgivings as a child my dad had to work so we just celebrated with a meal whenever Dad was off (maybe the day before or after). There is one childhood year for which I do have a distinct memory: right after school let out on Wednesday at 3:10 p.m., instead of getting on the school bus all three of us kids were picked up at school by Mom and Dad (in the big blue van) and we drove straight from school to Grandma's house in Columbus two hours away. For some reason that was so much fun to go straight from school to Grandma's.

One Thanksgiving tradition my mom started that we still do is to take turns telling what we are most thankful this year. I asked the kids what they are most thankful for this year and they responded:
Joel: "My family, friends, God & Jesus, and food & water."
Evan: "God, Mom and my family."
Drew: "Candy."

This year I am most thankful for my dad and mom, for a wonderful husband and three smart and loving boys, and an amazing extended family. With the death of my dad this year it really hit home what a wonderful family God has blessed me with. I love them with all of my heart!

One final thought: I cannot blog about Thanksgiving without mentioning my favorite Thanksgiving delicacies:
my mom's stuffing, Grandma Heibel's pecan pie and my mother-in-law's corn casserole. Oh. my. gosh. They are the BEST! Gotta run and go put on my bigger jeans.

Hillbilly, Ninja and Hawaiian Tourist

Two days before Halloween Ben took Joel shopping for a costume. Two phone calls to me later, still no costume. Every costume came with a mask and Joel did NOT want to wear one. Joel finally decided on a costume -- one that I really did not approve of, but I kept my mouth shut because I was trying to not control the situation -- yeah, a first for me, but it was not a hill to die on. Anyway...the next night as Joel was getting into bed, he decided he hated the costume (it was uncomfortable) and he wasn't going to wear it to the school Halloween party the next day. I suggested I pick him up from school before the party, "NO." I finally came up with a "Hawaiian tourist" idea from things we had around the house. It worked; he liked the costume. For the school parade he even carried a surf board he had made months earlier out of cardboard. So it ended up being a cute, homemade costume. Yeah for Mom!

Then there was Evan's costume. About a month ago he came up to me and announced that he wanted to be a hillbilly for Halloween. I told him I didn't know what a hillbilly looked like and he simply looked at me and said, "Google 'What does a hillbilly wear?'"

He was right! I'm not exactly sure why, but there are several websites that answer this question. (Why in the world???).

So when Evan first dressed in his costume and went to school, he came home and told me the kids in his class thought he was a farmer.

He then gave me instructions that he needed patches on his overalls and he wasn't going to wear the hat. Here is attempt #2 at dressing like a hillbilly. I think Evan was right, this is a little better.

Drew: He wanted to be a pirate until the night before Halloween when he decided to be a Ninja. Thank goodness for Grandma and Grandpa White who have given the boys TONS of costumes in the past. Drew had SO many choices!

The only problem was that Drew had a 104 degree temperature yesterday and now he's trick-or-treating. H1N1 alert: Drew is running the neighborhood and looks like this:After trick-or-treating for 70 minutes, Joel came home and proclaimed that he was done. When I asked him why he didn't want to keep getting candy he responded, "I'm happy."

Good answer.

Meanwhile, the hillbilly and the ninja stayed out with Dad for two hours (apparently they weren't happy until they had enough candy to choke a snake!).

Evan came home and weighed himself after eating lots of candy. He was amazed to discover that he'd actually LOST a pound! I told him it was from all the walking he'd done. ??? Sounded good to me. :-)

Drew's On Two Wheels!

I am so proud of Drew -- he learned to ride a two-wheeler and he's only 4 years old! Yahoo for Drew!

Drew had been riding his bike with training wheels to school almost every day to drop off Evan and Joel, and then we would make the return trip in the afternoon to pick-up Joel. The total for each day is 3 miles! When he got really good at pedaling, I moved the training wheels up a little so that he had to balance a little more. Then one day I took the training wheels off completely. After chasing Drew through the house (he took off RUNNING when he saw me take them off), I grabbed him, put him on the bike, gave him a push and OFF he went down the street! I couldn't believe how well he did! As soon as he got back to where I was standing he said, "Can I show Kristen?" (our neighbor) and then "Can I tell Kaitlin and Whitney and Joshua?" (church friends). He wanted the world to know that he was on two wheels!

As Drew was riding around, Evan asked, "How many (old) was Joel when he learned to ride a bike?" Then, "How many is Drew?" Then came, "I should be able to do it too." So Evan got on the bike, grabbed the handle-bars and immediatly jumped back OFF the back. "Instead I'm not." haha! I guess peer-pressure doesn't affect Evan too much.

Here is Drew showing his "V" for victory sign

Evan's First Day of Kindergarten

Today was Evan's first day of Kindergarten. I am so thankful that it's only half-day because I miss him so much! Drew and I were sitting on the porch 15 minutes before his bus was scheduled to arrive and then the bus was 20 minutes late! Drew and I are just lost without our entertainer; he is the kid who comes up with the ideas for everyone else to play.

When he came home Evan told me he made another friend and this boy (Evan can't remember his name -- haha!) said that he only had three friends so Evan would be his fourth friend. Isn't that cute?

I just hate seeing my little birdies leave the nest. When Joel went to Kindergarten it was easier to send him off because all of this "school stuff" was new and exciting, plus I had two little ones at home that kept me very busy. But now that Evan's is half-way gone (he's only gone for three hours!) it's just so quiet. I will be an absolute basket-case when Evan is gone all day next year and then the following year when Drew leaves. Oh my...I'll probably have to get a dog! ha! (No way!)

Here is Evan's teacher, Mrs. Klagg.

How To Make Applesauce

Evan and Drew wanted to make applesauce today but I sure didn't want to do it so I told them it is something you do in the Fall (and I was secretly hoping they would forget about it by then). So then they asked if we could get the "cooking books" out. I pulled out the kids' cookbooks (thank you Grandmas) and they started looking through them for ideas on what to make today, but they never got away from the idea stuck in their heads to make applesauce. So after much prodding and whining (it was ME doing the whining!), they finally convinced me to try it. So I got online and found a recipe and believe it or not, I had everything I needed.

So, we started peeling...

Drew said that peeling the apples was too hard which prompted Evan to say, "The little guy's right, Mom."

And cutting...

And boiling...

And mashing...

Note: I don't have a real masher so I used a bacon press! haha!! Who in the world has a bacon press but not a masher?

And tasting...

And reviewing...

Yeah for me! I was so proud of myself!

Breaking the Ice on New Friendships

In my last blog entry I mentioned being sad that Joel didn't have any friends in his class this year. But, I'm happy to report that he came home today talking about a new friend!

At school the kids had indoor recess today because of rain and Joel came home telling me about playing a game called "Break the Ice" with Devon. I acted shocked and said, "What?! Is he a new friend?!" Joel grinned from ear-to-ear as he said, "Yes -- and Devon said he wants to play the game again on Monday."

Of course this is when I pulled out the "I told you" phrase (because I told Joel on Wednesday that he would have a new friend within a week), and I was happy to do it.

Now I'm praying for rain and another indoor recess so that Joel can literally "break the ice" with his new friend. :-) Yeah!!

3rd Grade!

Joel and his over-loaded backpack full of new school supplies!

Joel's first day of 3rd grade was yesterday and I'm in HEAVEN with just Evan and Drew home all day. Evan starts school on Monday and I'm dreading it because he and Drew play SO WELL together. I played with them a little bit today, but only because I wanted to -- not just to keep the peace. :-) They play and play and play. But without Evan, Drew is just lost. I am so thankful that kindergarten is still only half-day; Drew and I will have our noses glued to the front door waiting for that big yellow bus to drop off Evan at 11:30.

So far Joel likes his teacher, Mrs. Nicholson, but he says none of his friends are in his class; this makes me a little sad for him. I told him to give it one week and he'll have a new friend.

I think 3rd grade is going to be hard on Joel AND me -- on the very first day of school they started learning cursive! Wow! I've always heard that the "odd" years are the hardest (1st, 3rd and 5th); with learning cursive and multiplication, it probably will be tough this year. Math is easy for Joel, but handwriting...well, that's a whole different story! I guess he takes after his parents -- neither Ben nor I have nice handwriting but it sure didn't hold Ben back. Maybe with Joel's bad penmanship he too is destined to be a doctor. haha

Joel and Mrs. Nicholson

It's a LONG Way Down

Two of our boys learned to jump off the high-dive at the pool this summer! BUT before they could jump, the life guards require them to take a swimming test and BOTH boys passed. I didn't think Evan could do it, but he was so determined to jump off the diving boards that he swam like a fish (it wasn't a "pretty" stroke -- he still doesn't know how to breathe correctly while doing the freestyle so he just brings his head up in front to breathe).

After passing the swim test, both boys started jumping off the low dive. I told them that if either of them got the idea to jump off the high-dive to come and get me first so I could watch. But did they listen? Noooo! I was lounging in my chair catching some rays...oops, I mean I was busy playing with Drew and teaching him how to swim...(cough, cough) when Evan came running over to me. He was breathless with excitment telling me how he had done it. Joel was very excited for Evan, but Joel admitted that he had climbed up the ladder and then back down. :-) Evan, quite the saleman, was finally able to convince Joel that it was fun and Joel finally took the plunge too. Now they are expert jumpers and are trying "cannon balls" and "can openers."

Now I just need to get Evan off his bicycle training wheels...oh yeah, and teach him how to tie his shoes. But isn't jumping off the high-dive much cooler? :-)

My Shadow

It's been a strange weekend for me -- Ben and Evan went on a church father and son camping/canoe weekend, and Joel is at my mom's house (he did NOT want to go with Ben because he's afraid of the canoe?!) so it's just been Drew and me at home. And Drew is now my little shadow. Every where I go, there he is. I took a shower, he's turning the bathroom lights off and on; I'm in the kitchen making oatmeal, he's helping; I even mowed the yard and he actually walked behind me!! (OK, he didn't walk behind me for long, but I could not believe he even did it for a minute.) He seems so lost without his brothers, but at the same time he loves the attention I'm giving him.

This weekend we played Old Maid and Cariboo; read numerous books; went on a bike ride, got ice cream; went to a family movie night at a local church (he stayed up until 11 p.m. -- I'm guessing this will be the first thing he tells his brothers because they all usually go to bed between 7 and 8 p.m.); and he even got to sleep with me.

I've...rediscovered...no...refreshed...my love for my littlest 4-year-old boy; it's so nice to have this "alone" time with him.

It's been a nice, calm weekend with just one child. I forgot what it's like not to yell at someone for an entire weekend! But, there's always tomorrow when everyone will be home. :-)

How To Play Checkers

Since Evan and Drew were going to Grandma’s together for an overnighter, Evan wanted to teach Drew how to play checkers so they could play with Grandma.

Evan: “When you play checkers you have soldiers and they go over to the bad guy’s side and when the soldiers get there, the bad guys make you a king. Got it, Drew?”

Drew: "Are the red ones the bad guys?"

Evan: "No."

Drew: "Are the black ones the bad guys?"

Evan: "No...(pause)...the OTHER ones are the bad guys."

Drew: “You need to write that down so I can remember. Is that all?”

(Write it down? Even IF Evan could write, Drew can't read!)

Evan: “You move the soldiers and they can jump over the other guys but when they get to your side and you make them a king, then they can move anywhere.”

So there it is -- checkers instructions from a 5-year-old. Pretty good, eh?

In Loving Memory of My Dad

Recently I have been avoiding blogging because I wanted to write something in memory of my dad and I just haven't had the ability to do it yet. I want to honor his life with a written eulogy here on my blog.

On Saturday morning June 27, 2009 a piece of my heart was torn out when my mom called to tell me that my dad had died suddenly of a heart attack while undergoing treatment for multiple myeloma (cancer). I cannot tell you how great of a loss his death is to our family. He was an amazing, godly man who lived the fruit of the spirit every single day of his life -- he was the epitome of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. I know that we will join him in heaven some day, but today I miss him terribly.

Now, a little about my dad:

Not only was my Dad’s college degree in teaching but teaching was his passion. Unfortunately, after I was born he realized he couldn't afford to raise a family on a teacher's salary so he had to find another career. But the love of teaching never left him.

As children he made us do things we didn’t really want to do, all in the name of "educating" us:

We had to go to the Cincinnati art museum and the conservatory. We had to see a movie about Amadeus Mozart that none of the three of us kids wanted to see. We even had to learn to ride a city bus downtown just in case we ever needed that later in life.

Even with his grandchildren, he was always teaching. Each grandchild caught their first fish with Grandpa; they learned how to drive his John Deere lawn mower and how to shoot a B.B. gun (my boys thought it was so much fun to shoot Grandma’s flowers in the backyard).He taught them things they didn’t really need to know…like he was the first person to introduce them to video games! And Grandpa actually got pretty good at the Scooby-Doo game!

He even taught them how to Monopoly. My dad and mom spent two days playing one game of Monopoly with my boys. Oh the patience he had! (The picture below is of my dad wearing a Native American headband Joel made for Thanksgiving one year -- Joel named Grandpa "Patience Chief" because of his great patience.)Another passion of my dad’s was missions. When we were children Dad’s mission field was right at home – his three children were his mission. His mission was to teach us to love and serve Jesus.

When we were grown, his mission field became the world – traveling to many countries using his talents to help others and to teach them about Jesus.

His mission started at home, then went out into the world, and finally when his children grew up and had children, his mission field became his grandchildren. His mission was to show through love and by example what Christ’s love is like.

He left a legacy as a Christian father and Grandpa by teaching us and, more importantly, by demonstrating to us what it meant to be a man of God. I want you to know what a great man my dad was, but he would want you to know what a great God our God is. He lived the scripture: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your mind and all your soul.”

Now, about those grandchildren...

This past December my dad was diagnosed with cancer and although that's not what took his life, he did struggle with the effects of the disease. He was tired most of the time and seemed to keep to himself much more than normal. But, as my mom has told me many times, the thing that made him smile most were stories about the grandchildren. Anything they said or did made him smile -- the more ornery the child, the bigger my dad's smile.

Here are a few more pictures of Grandpa.

Teaching Joel how to bake

(here they are baking cookies,

but cracked wheat bread was his specialty).Teaching Joel about paleontology

(digging for dinosaur bones).Teaching Drew how to hit a baseball.Class: Tools 101 Instructor: GrandpaTeaching Drew how to make ice cream.

If Grandpa wasn't busy teaching the boys something, he was busy just watching them -- his grandchildren were his favorite subjects.

My Dad and Joel, Evan and Drew's Grandpa

LeRoy Robert Heibel, Jr.

December 12, 1940 - June 27, 2009

Dearly, dearly missed, but he ran the race and won!

Stink Bomb

While sitting in a room full of people, Drew quietly turned to me and said, "stink bomb."

I wasn't sure what he meant until the smell started burning my nose, and my eyes began to water.

Drew, you are disgusting!

Flying Squirrel Update

Update on last blog entry:
While riding in the car the other day, Drew randomly said:
"I know everything -- I know Santa Claus is real and the Easter Bunny...(pause)...but I didn't know about flying squirrels."

Flying Squirrel

Drew appeared beside my bed at 6:30 this morning totally naked and asking, "Is there something called a flying squirrel?"

"Get some clothes on kid and come back at eight!" was what I wanted to say.

But instead I pulled him into bed with me and educated him on flying squirrels (well...I gave him as much info as I could recall at 6:30!!).

Then here comes Evan. Evan wanted to know all about bats. Seriously?! Where is Daddy when I need him? Ben was working so this "The More You Know" segment was brought to you by Mom.