Happy Father's Day from Caleb

Loves Dinos

The first dino dig was such a success I decided to try it again. However, the first one was a birthday present that cost $21. Little pricey, so I found this fun dinosaur puzzle at Michael's for $2.

I had Moon Sand, which usually drives me batty, but was prefect for diggin for Dinos. I just put everything in a 9x13 cake tin. And we used the pointy end of the paint brush to dig and then the other end to dust.

The kids had a great time.  I do recommend this being an outdoor event, Moon Sand is very messy and hard to clean up.

They both got very excited about their discoveries.

And with much bribing I was able to get them to pose for a few pictures.

The finished Tyrannosaurus. Not the most sturdy but pretty cool for 2 bucks.

What to wear?

Watching Makaylee really fascinates me. She loves all things girl, but is rough and tumble and will not let anyone push her around no matter how much bigger. She is totally into going in my closet and confiscating articles of my clothing. It always seems to be slips, bras and underwear. There is nothing like greeting house guests with a pair of granny panties that have morphed into a very fashionable silk scarf.
She loves acessories and apparently thinks winter hats should not be put up for the summer.

I love this little girl she is most definitely got the personality that wants to keep us all in stitches. She feels right at home front and center stage. There is not a shy bone in her body. If someone is within 20 feet they will get a big smile and an emphatic wave.

Caleb also is finding dressing up to be quite enjoyable. 

He loves to run around the house jumping off furniture and swinging his sword at the dragon. Frequently, Makaylee gets to play the role of the dragon and she seems to take in stride blows from the dragon slayer.

From the mouth of babes

One thing that my little buddy does that often leaves me perplexed is giving the cold shoulder to friends and family. It is not necessarily consistent, but every so often he is very unwilling to talk to Grandma, Grandpa Cowboy or sweet Attie Jo on the phone. I feel bad when he turns them down, but making him talk is a battle that is so not worth having.  He has been known to dis his friends on occasion when we meet for play dates. He went through a phase with his buddy Coleton and most recently with another friend the other day. We met up at the mall and Caleb was so excited before they arrived, but upon their arrival like the flip of a switch he become very cold. This was difficult, because I don't like to see people get their feelings hurt. However, I was enlightened by a 3 year old. Landon came up to me and ask, "Why is Caleb being shy to me," to which I wisely responded.  "I have know idea, when you figure it out please let me know." I really think this wise 3 year old had figured it out. When Caleb is feeling a little insecure about a situation he acts aloof. I don't really know how I will help him overcome this insecurity, but I am hoping communicating that his buddies and family are so thankful for him and can't wait to play or talk to such a special boy will do the trick.
 

And baby makes three

No he is not ours, we just got the pleasure of hanging out with him for the day. After a day like this I would say having three would be totally manageable. However, that is given the baby is as perfectly behaved as baby Hayden. The little guy was sick and still content and enjoyable the entire time. He also rocked a two hour nap with no effort to get him into la la land. As you can image this increased my desire for a baby brother all the more. Then my first born kindly brought me back to the reality that this mommy thing is totally humbling me and causing me to fall to me knees in prayer. Each day I ask for the wisdom to raise these little ones. Thoughts frequent my mind that they will have to seek therapy to repair all the damage I have done. That may seem dramatic, but seriously I feel this way.
As I talked about in a previous post things have been rough since our trip to Texas and the moments of joy that come with parenting were growing few and far between. But I am so encouraged, now. I was really feeling like I might have a little buddy that was boarding on bi-polar. No I am not joking. One moment he would look at us and tell us how much he loved us, how wonderful we are and the next be kicking and screaming like an insane person. Cory and I have heard from a number of people over the years how hard we are on Caleb. It wasn't that I didn't want to hear that, I just didn't like the idea of the alternative. I look around at a society that is driven by instant gratification and no self-discipline and with these qualities the depression and strife. Both Cory and I are disciplined and driven and at times we are joy kills, but our drive is really a part of both of us that I admire. We both would attribute this to our Dad's expecting a lot from us. As children it was hard, but we are both very thankful for the people we are today.  But there is always the other side of the coin when you are dealing with people's personalities and I really feel like Caleb is wound up tighter than a drum. I attribute that 100% to me not understanding who he is and parenting him appropriately. In my ignorance I missed that our little guy was feeling so beat down that he was a canon waiting to go off. We have always asked him to walk a very tight rope and it has been way too much for anyone to handle. I think the standers have reached beyond high to impossible. I am not down on myself, because this parenting thing is hard. I'm just extremely grateful for awareness and that Cory and I are on the same page. We have had two days of extreme contrast from the last 3 weeks. Yes, tantrums and naughtiness have still taken place, but allowing him sometime to defuse and reach calmness have been huge. I see joy in his eyes and know that it will be bumpy but we are on a road that I can't wait to go down. A stark contrast to the previous road of fear being the driving factor.

Dino Dig

Sunday night I came down with horrible stomach pains. It wasn't a typical stomach ache or even stomach cramps it was like there was a needle going done my digestive track poking and scraping on it's journey. Who knows exactly what it was. Possibilities were, I was not able to handle the new Chai Latte that I recently purchased from the grocery in my attempts to get my Starbucks addiction under control. Second, maybe food poisoning from salad dressing in the fridge that wasn't past it's expiration, but had been there awhile. Finally, a mild outbreak of E Coli. I would explain, but it would take too much time and might gross out the weak stomach. So sufficed to say, I was down and out for Memorial Day. Cory was a great help and besides my kids just needing occasional mommy time I was able to rest most of the day. I was so weak by Tuesday with no food or fluids Cory stayed home in the AM to help get me back on my feet. By lunch time I was doing much better. I wasn't ready to run, but a Dino Adventure was perfect for getting my little ones to sit and dig in hard packed clay for a good hour.

It was fun, but I definitely could never be a paleontologist. I would destroy every dig site with my lack of patience. Hence, we lost the neck to our Tyrannosaurus and had to find a replacement, so Mr. Rex's head could be attached. We also broke a couple toes off and split the arm in two, but nothing a little Gorilla Glue couldn't repair.

The Biggest Entitlement Program

If you're like me government entitlement programs are very unsettling. When in history has it ever proved affective to give people free handouts with out requiring any sacrifice on the recipients behalf? So, if it is that concerning when the government does it, why I am I not doing everything in my power to remove entitlement from the little ones in my care? One of our jobs as parents is to teach our children discipline. If all we do is give them freely God's resources that have been entrusted to us how are we teaching them discipline and sacrifice?. The last two weeks around here have been rough. I could easily blame it on two weeks with Grandma and the kiddos getting everything their hearts desire, but I think I would be missing the truth. While that may have contributed to the problem, I was made painfully aware of the monsters I've been creating after the celebration of Caleb's birthday party. He has been naughty ever since we came home from Texas. It has been pretty overwhelming watching my little ones treat each other as though stuff is far more important than loved ones, but until Sunday it was more a theory. After a wonderful party and great celebration one would think I would have the happiest little boy on the planet. Oh contraire! His behavior resembled the little boy in the movie Problem Child.  I decided to take away everything for a few days to help him feel the pain of his bad choices, but what I realized after two days is that my theory was actually reality. I finally fully understand the devastation that results when our focus gets on things.  In the past two days the kiddos have been getting along fabulously. No fighting over toys and I haven't heard the words "hey that's mine" or seen Caleb plow his sister as she confiscates a Dinosaur. I am working on our language to teach them everything is God's and none of it is ours, so they realize they are gifts entrusted to them. A great reminder to me as well. 


I lost my beloved iPhone. I was pretty upset. I left it on the playground and when I went back to retrieve it, it was gone. I wanted to cry, but I thought about the message I am trying to teach my children about stuff. I realized it is just stuff and can be replaced. Maybe not now, because it would cost a few hundred dollars. For now maybe God wants to remove an item that frequently metabolises my time and robs me at times of being all he wants me to be.