Smelling the Roses

It’s summer. And school starts in 37 days. Not that I’m counting or anything. *Ahem*.  Since I’m not a fun mom, I really do a little better with parenting when my big kids are in school.  When I have time to breathe without the 24-hour-a-day “MOMmomMOMmomMOMmomMOMmomMOOOOMMMMMM”! chorus that, punctuated with interspersed baby fusses and screams, gives me adult ADD and makes me want to pierce my eardrums so I can get a hearing aid that I can just turn off whenever I feel like it.

But wait, this is not where this post is supposed to be heading!  Because despite my frustration at all the togetherness this summer (which, really, is my problem, a problem I am having adjusting to being a mom of three, and not their problem at all), I love the crap out of my kids.  And I think they are the flipping BEE’S KNEES! I am so proud of them and am so thankful to be their mommy. So, to remind myself of what the heck I am supposed to be focused on, I thought I’d tell you a couple of my favorite things about each of my kiddos.

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Joshua. My firstborn.

He is exuberant, optimistic, enthusiastic.  He is loving. He loves his friends so much. He often writes sweet notes and letters to his friends, and is very generous with them.  He’s trustworthy.  He wants to do what’s right.  He’s a snuggler, still at seven. How long will I get to enjoy snuggles from my big boy?   I cherish every one.

my beauty

Sophia Diane. My girl.

She is funny.  Comic relief for this mama, she makes me laugh about a million times a day!  She is sweet as can be, and everything she does (good or bad) she does 110%.  She is nurturing.  I love the way she cares for Jonah and any other smaller child.  She is fierce.  Determined and stubborn in a good way.  I hope I can help her learn to always use that for good.

oh my!

Jonah. My baby.

He is happy. Wherever we go he blesses others with his beautiful smile and happy spirit.  He is a joy to be around.  He is silly, blowing raspberries and squealing loudly at all the right times.  He is loving, caressing my arm or face as he nurses.  He is my surprise baby and his sweet personality surprises me every day as it develops more and more.

I love these  babies. They make me crazy, but in between the crazy they bring me joy upon joy upon joy.

And in 10 years, when the older two are writing blog posts about me, I hope they’ll say I bring them joy more than I drive them crazy as well. But we’ll see…

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Oh, he’ll be a blogger all right!

Awhile back I shared with you from Joshua’s first grade journal, which his teacher had sent home at Christmas break. (Now, when I say “journal” – these are all assigned topics, it’s not like I’m about to share his DIARY with you, I promise!)  Another journal came home at the end of the year and once again being inside Joshua’s mind cracked me the heck UP!  So I’ve got to share some more of his best work with you.  Here goes!

Caps

I like caps because Mario weres one there’s lots of caps in this world caps are like hats because you can put both of them on your head.

(You can see he’s inherited my gift for run-on sentences.)

Cheese Its (Oh c’mon my kid can’t even spell Cheez-Its?? Where have I gone WRONG?)

I like cheese its it is my favorite snack I will eat most things cheesy and I like cheese its the best.

He will eat most things cheesy. Clearly I have not gone too wrong.

Love

Love is kindness. Love is treating peplole nice.  Not treating pepole bad.  Love is playing nice with peplole not playing bad with peplole I like to play with my friends and my friends are Ethan I. Lucas Day Alex C and AJ!

Cars

I like cars because I like race cars and trucks my favorite kind of car is a limo.  I have never rode a limo before but i like the way they look limos look like there the longest car in the world I also like monster trucks monster trucks are big but I like limos more.

Well, I’ll make sure and rent one out for your 8th birthday party! Just kidding, keep dreaming, kid.

My family

I like my family I like to do fun stuff with my family I like to play video games with my dad I like to play outside with my sister i like to play with my baby brother and I like to play a video game cold wii fit plus with my mom.

Aww, how sweet.  Here is the picture he drew of us busting a move on Wii fit:

I like my claw hands & the fact that I am so much smaller than my 7-year-old

And finally, to sum up the enriching academic experience we are paying for:

School

I like school because it has a playground.  One of my favorite things about school is lunch and recess.  and I also like it when we go home.

Clearly he is on the path to greatness in life and blogging!  I love my little guy and  I can’t wait to invade the private musings he writes in 2nd grade!

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Seven.

Seven years ago today I became a mother.  And here it is, 10:20 p.m. The party is long over, and I’m half-past exhausted, but I had to take a minute just to say how thankful I am for that baby boy.  Who now does not at ALL resemble a baby!  My big guy.

I had a difficult experience when Joshua was born.  In fact, I don’t even really like to talk about it.  Bobby and I agree that it was at the time, the best day and the worst day of our lives all at the same time.  But God is good, and each year I lose more of the bad memories and feel more of the joy of that day.  Of the first time I knew what it meant to risk, and to love without expecting anything in return.  And the truth is, I’d do it 100 times over if I had to, because I got a healthy, amazing, sweet, smart little boy out of the deal.

To my Joshua, I love you baby boy.  You are everything I could have hoped for in a son.  And I will always love you with my whole heart, no matter what.  I couldn’t possibly be prouder of you, my sweetheart.  I love being your mommy.

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