All We Need Is Love

I have had a lot on my mind lately...it probably doesn't help that I am not allowed to do anything. I have been under pregnancy house arrest for a few weeks now and I have felt guilty for not really being able to play with my boys because I need to keep my blood pressure low. I have my daughter coming on Monday, kind of blowing my mind. It almost feels like a business transaction having a scheduled c-section. 

I pass the time keeping up tabs on friends, reading scriptures and other books, and watching Netflix. In keeping up tabs with friends, I have had several in the past few days post frustrations about having young, angry children. I have friends who feel inadequate as mothers. I have been reading news stories that just about break my heart. Like this picture I saw of a little orphan girl in Afganistan who drew a chalk picture of her mom on the ground and curled up inside of the drawing because she missed her mom so much! My heart lept out of my chest and I yearned to hold her. 

I read a story yesterday that still has my mind reeling. A 5-month-old baby boy was left in his car seat for eight day, and died from his feces eating through his skin and spreading infection. Can you imagine the last week of that little boys life? 

It really got me to thinking about my role as a mom. I know I can't be a perfect mom, and there will be times when my kids will hate me, or claim they hate me. I know I fall short just like every other mom on the planet. My ultimate goal as a mom is to help my children feel of my love for them, and God's love for them. My favorite response from my children when I tell them that I love them, is "uh-huh" in the affirmative. I feel like I am doing a good job if their response to my love is a deep belief in that love. 

Reflecting again on the infant boy that died from neglect, I think a lot of us "moms" are doing a much greater job then we are really giving ourselves credit. We aren't simply deciding we are done and allowing our children to die from neglect. Maybe we don't always play with our kids as much as they want, maybe we spend too much time on social media, maybe we lose our tempers with the impossible stubbornness of our two-year-old's, maybe we forget to pray for help in seeing our children as the children of God that they are. But we TRY again each day by working to provide great lives for our children, taking care of their basic needs and showing them love by expressing it in words and actions daily. We are doing Heaven's work in raising the kids we are sent, so we are all receiving Heaven's help. Happiness is a choice for each of us, including our children, and so our job is not to make our children happy. Our job is to love them for who they are and teach them the way to find true happiness. 

Face Drawing

Every time Bram draws he ends up drawing something on his face or hands. I thought I would help him out today. He LOVED the result. He kept asking to take 1 more picture and then he would run and admire himself in the mirror, and say, "So funny!"

Because I'm calm

Bram was being crazy as I was trying to change his diaper. Then he stopped and was relaxed and asked: "gummie bear?"

I said, "why should you get a gummie bear?"

Bram said, "because I'm calm" very matter-of-factly...

I painted a crocodile and green ice cream

Can you see them?

Bram's response was "oh, I see!"

Ghost

Bram likes to take our laundry bag and pretend he is a ghost. He came up to me and says, "Mom, I ghost. I gonna eat you!" Of course, by the time I had the camera ready he was trying to pull it off and was done pretending...hence, poor photo quality.

Pure Cuteness

Anders runs into the kitchen with his sleeves pulled up and goes, "Dad, look what's on my arms!" David turns to look. I was thinking he had been mischievous with lotion or something. Then he says, "I have hair on my arms! I am going to keep it." 

"Hey! Come on."

Bram is so expressive all of the time, that a lot of his idiosecrencies don't always stand out. But this latest one of his gets me every time. When we load the Netflix application on my iPad, and whatever show we are wanting to watch doesn't load right away, he says, "Hey! Come on. Come on. Come on." He will repeat it EVERY single time until it loads. I don't know where he picked it up, but I LOVE it. I always secretly hope it will lag loading just so I can hear him say it.

Strange Request

Anders: "I want peas for breakfast."

David: "You mean pizza, or peas?"

Anders: "Peas. Bram, you want peas for breakfast too?"

The boys love building towers out of Lego blocks. I am always so amazed by how intricate they are, and Anders' attention to flare. Here is the tower flavor of tonight:

Don't mind me photo bombing unawares. I was trying to get the boys to smile and had no idea that David was including me in the pictures.

Holding Hands

It is rare that I get to capture the precious moments between the boys and David. Over the Christmas break we were able to capture a lot though. Here is one from a few minutes ago. Bram asked David to come hold his hand, and Anders asked Bram to hold his hand. And so my three boys are watching "How To Train Your Dragon" while holding hands. 

Great Jobber

David here...

So Anders came shopping with me this morning for groceries and I thanked him for the help. I told him that he did a good job. His answer: Yup, I am a great jobber.

That we all could be great jobbers at whatever our jobs may be in this new year!

Good Change

We have been overdue for a new shower curtain for longer than I care to admit. I LOVED the old one and was having a hard time finding a new one that I liked as much and that was affordable. Everything in Canada is just too dang expensive. So we went to IKEA today as our family outing. The boys were so stir crazy from being sick and stuck inside for two days straight. It was -38 degrees Celsius today, which doesn't really provide good incentive to do anything outside. 

We only planned on getting one of IKEA's special nightlights. We already have one for the bathroom at night. Our bathroom doesn't have an outlet, so Anders was struggling making it to the toilet in time in the middle of night by himself. So he can push the top of the nightlight on the counter and see what he is doing, and then turn it off when he is done. 

We wanted another one for our bedroom for when Astrid is born because turning on a light to change a diaper in the middle of the night, or to see enough to nurse, or find a pacifier, doesn't require a lot of light. Plus, if you are the parent trying desperately to catch your few zzzz's the light of a bedside lamp or overhead light is so jarring to any rem-cycle. Even when you are past exhaustion. So we get the light, have some lunch, and head downstairs. 

Then I have the epiphany: maybe IKEA has an affordable and cute shower curtain. THEY DID! So after six and a half years we now have a new shower curtain and the change feels good!

Even Anders is really excited for it!

Broking

Bram knocked over the bedside lamp in our room and David went over to fix it. Anders asked his dad, "Bram broke it?" David answered, "Yes, but I am fixing it." Anders turned to Bram and shouted at him, "You broking it BRAM!" Bram was not phased in the least.