Miracles and Mayhem

I've decided to post our weekly family letters here for history, pictures, and because I'll never post here again otherwise. I open my computer to grade and to write family letters. So there you have it. Ta da.

Sunday, March 4, 2012

Dear Family,

The boys keep me running and praying and panting. We realized this week that in the last six weeks or so Levi has gone from sleeping 14 hours a day to 9 hours a day. I’m learning to channel the destructive energy; usually I’m at a loss, though.

I turned my back for about two seconds to change the crib sheet and Levi pulled out all of the dresser drawers and tipped it over. Only with the help of angels did I spin in time to catch the dresser, drawers, glass lamp, basket, and humidifier and shift their direction from completely smashing Lincoln and Levi. They’re both unscathed. It scared me so bad I had to go in the other room and bawl. I think I shook for about 45 minutes. Levi followed me around, “Mom sad. Mom cry. It’s okay, Mom. No sad.” Later Levi took my face in his hands, kissed me on both cheeks and my chin, then announced, “BIG KISS!” Goofball. He seems to know when I’m at breaking point and can help me pull together. My dad tells me to just love him, be patient, and remember that this is not a power struggle. I guess he has distinct memories of being between 4 and 6 of watching his mom hand scrub the floors. He would go outside, stomp in the mud, then calculate: “I bet I can run through there before she catches me”—and then he would proceed to do so. Oh my.

The boys were finally healthy enough that we could leave the house (gasp!). Not to the doctor’s office! (although we do have frequent flyer miles there—they said we had a charge to our account last time, so we didn’t pay. I half wonder if that was just pity.) We went visiting teaching to a sister who has a young daughter, two mastiffs, a little puppy, a cat, and six donkeys. I think the mastiffs are the same size as the donkeys. Lincoln was transported into paradise. Levi squealed. We fed carrots to the donkeys. Levi even rode one. “Lucy donkey! Lucy donkey!” He loved her. Lincoln grabbed her ears and kissed her. Levi has been pretending to ride donkeys all week. Lincoln has often been the creature of choice. Poor kid. I finally convinced them to let Levi be the donkey. This has worked out much better. Lincoln can’t figure out why Levi keeps body slamming and sitting on him.

Lincoln did all of the motions to “Popcorn Popping” this week. He flicks his little fingers and shakes his head. He bounces in the chair. He also bounces all through singing time. He sings, but mostly he dances. And wanders. Levi took one nap this week (then didn’t go to bed until after 11); during that time I tried to play with Lincoln. He looked at me like, “Don’t you have something else to do? I’m busy.” So I left and talked to him from a distance and he talked back. He loves to sit by himself and flip through pages of books. So darling. He also explores everything: I heard a splish splash, ran, and found him happily playing in an unflushed potty earlier this week. He even pulled toilet paper off the roll, blew his nose (as taught by Levi), and twirled it in the water. Gag. No wonder we’re sick.

We moved the crib into Levi’s room. Now it is “THE BOY ROOM!” They’re excited. Lincoln cried the first night, disoriented, until I shifted him to have a better view of Levi. He calmed down and conked out. Hooray! While I moved stuff around, the boys found the baby monitor. Levi put one his shoulder, “Hi! Adoyadoyadoyadoy…ummmm…let’s see…..blablabla…come to our house soon! We live far away! Love you! Goodbye!” He called Gram Cole, Gram Stacy, Bodie, Spence, Morgan, and all of his “friends” whoever they are. He repeated the same message. Obviously, I say pretty much the same thing to everyone. We live out here—but come visit!

No one ever told me the satisfaction that comes from a power drill. Wow. I love it. I dismantled the crib and put it back together since it wouldn’t fit through the door. (Of course I’m smart enough to start this project while Wes leaves for a campout!). But we did it. Levi wanted to help. There were a bunch of big black screws and a few tiny nut pieces. Levi found those while I moved Lincoln. We couldn’t find them anywhere. Then we prayed together, searched all over, and prayed some more. They were stuck in a tiny hole. Another miracle. So amazing.

Then again, it’s a miracle we survive as happily and as well as we do each day.

I also started sanding our kitchen chairs. We bought a sherbet green paint and I’m sewing new seat covers since Lincoln eats the current wicker. They might not look good in the end—I’ve never done anything like this before!—but they really can’t look worse, so why not try. Both the boys helped sand and clean. Good helpers.

Wes gave a presentation on Monday to his group members. Tomorrow and Tuesday he presents at the TWCCC conference. Basically, a bunch of industrial leaders come, interact, learn about the students’ research, put their feelers out for potential employees, and make connections. Wesley will do great. He taught two lectures this week; the students responded very positively. Unfortunately, they have a test this week and the professor has not written the test or shown up for the last week—so even Wesley could offer little guidance. Good luck to everyone on that. On Friday, he stayed home to work. When I came down in the morning he had birthday presents set out. He gave me a Nook Color! I’m so spoiled! And excited. He played with the boys while I played with my new toy. I’m so spoiled. But very happy about it. The boys helped him pack up his camping gear, all the young men’s food, bikes, and other stuff and we waved goodbye. He camped with eight boys and three leaders at Georgetown Lake. The next morning they woke up and biked fifteen miles. They had a great time and even slept a little bit. That night it dipped into the low thirties—quite the change from low eighties. One of the boys brought the clothes he wore and his bike; not enough to keep you warm. But they lived and can now tell the tell. Male bonding makes me appreciate even more that I’m female.

After Wesley returned, we took our boys to our friends’ house. We went to dinner. They played with trains and blocks and pianos. Levi even learned to strum a guitar. They had a great time. It’s amazing how fast you fill up when you’re only feeding yourself! I forgot. I love spending time with my Wesley and then being able to come back to our sweet boys. Awesome awesome birthday. Thanks for all the calls, texts, cards, and fun. It made my day very special.

One last note: I’m really not one to push products, but here’s an update on my Sketchers ShapeUps. There were two days we ran around outside of the homefront and I wore other shoes. My feet and back ached terribly. Before these shoes I couldn’t sleep or sit or stand because my feet and back hurt so much—and now I’m pretty much pain free. They’re worth trying. Especially for moms. Wow. That’s all.

Much love.

WCJL

Peanut Butter Cups (Here you are Tressia! I posted this on the food blog)

Filling

Mix together:

2 c. peanut butter

2 cubes butter, softened (margarine works, though)

1 lb. powdered sugar

Roll this mixture into little balls and flatten them slightly.

Melt milk or dark chocolate. (In the West, we just bought bulk chocolate from Winco, but we haven’t found it here so we just use chocolate chips. Not quite the same, still yummy). Do not use metal utensils on the chocolate! It disintegrates into a grainy lump. Plastic or wood.

Line a cookie sheet with small baking cups. Coat cup with chocolate. You can brush this on, but I usually just put a little spoonful in because I’m lazy and less aesthetic than I should be. Place a PB ball in each cup, coat with chocolate. Let them set up in a cool place (not necessarily a fridge unless you must). Enjoy! And share: people will know if you don’t!