Making Rain

At first the bird feeder was in the front yard and no birds came. Ryan moved it to the backyard while I was visiting my mom and dad with the kids. When we arrived home, there were birds. We saw and heard Chickadees! That was the first day. The backyard is within the territory of the twins. They had to be taught not to shake the birdfeeder. "Mama, I make it rain!" Sigh...no birds... however, we did see this furry squirrel helping himself. We don't know how he got in there, but when he jumped out, he made quite a mess. "Mama, twirl make rain!" yes, the squirrel made it rain.

Beware the Blue Footprint

In early September we journeyed to Blandford Nature Center in Grand Rapids. Did you know they help take care of injured wildlife? We saw several recovering owls, rabbits, and some turtles. They also have a bobcat there. We also decided to hike a trail. The boys are getting older so we left the stroller in the car. Tim wanted the “green” footprint but Ryan talked him into the “blue” footprint. Important note: One should always read the name of the trail or check the map. Well, after following blue footprints for what seemed like miles, we learned the name of our trail was “the back forty”. Three out of the four children wanted to be carried, one had to go potty, and one kept tripping on the roots. Four mosquito bites, three root falls, and one rustic potty break later, I was wondering if we were on a never ending loop. When things started to look familiar again and we looked at the map, we realized we had taken their longest trail, over a mile! Then we were all proud of ourselves. By the way, remember the “green” footprint Tim wanted? I call it “short, but scenic”.

Upon our return from the nature center, my older two children began requesting unique items to bring outside. Finally, they showed me their “habitat”s. There was a granola bar wrapper on the top of the fence because “Raccoons love garbage, and they can climb.” There was also a cardboard box with cheese in it and grass. “That’s the mouse habitat, Mom, they like cheese and grass.” I was still trying to figure what he had climbed to affix the wrapper to the top of the fence. I had a conference with Ryan and I am pleased to announce that the Westphal family is now the proud owner of a bird habitat. Well, a bird feeder anyway. So far, no birds.

Potty-training Tidbit

Ah, fall. An entirely new season. September, a time for new beginnings. Summer was great this year. Two twin-year-olds successfully potty-trained, despite a rough beginning. (August 2007 Lucas sits on the potty, playing with potty-toys with one hand and insisting mommy holds the other. Suddenly, the unexpected. He goes potty! Much praise from Mama. Hand-clapping and hugs. Lucas is all smiles. He stands up and admires his work. Then he sits back down, grabs my hand, smiles like a movie star, and says, “Do it again, Mama!” hoooboyy….)

Holli and Jesse are having a baby

My sister, Holli, is pregant with baby #3. In these July pictures, she is only four months pregnant. Her due date is in December. Check back in December for a baby announcement. Her one ultrasound has confirmed that she is not having twins. Please pray for a safe delivery and a healthy baby. To see a slide show of the pool party. Click to play Then back arrow to return to blog.

Potty training…hmm… two words that strike fear into the hearts of parents of toddlers everywhere. Not me. I exuded confidence. I was in control. I had a plan, a schedule and stuck to it. I trained a 22 month old boy while nursing a two month old infant all on my own in less than 2 days! Pat me on the back. Call me SUPERMOM. I got this thing down….that was then….2003…what a year…

Have you noticed that just when you think you got it all together, something happens to remind you that God is REALLY in charge, and you aren’t? I’m talkin’ super-humility… Twins have done that to me in so many, many ways. I think God is just smiling as I learn one thing after another…

God is the only reason my twins are learning because without Him, I am truly nothing. I turn to him on a daily, hourly, minutely (is that even a word?), basis for, yes, I can admit it, help! Save me from my enemies: my own reactive anger that swells up inside. Those puddles on the floor, carpet, rug, bed, toys, books, pillow, toys, etc.. The Nothing-else-is-getting-accomplished feeling, the self-doubt, the interruptions, the saying “No” 16,000 times a day, the saying “Wait” 32, 000 times a day.

I am really not a very good mom. What I mean is, I am being a good mom, but it is only through God’s grace, and not my own. I don’t want my kids to think, Sheesh! My mom’s got it all together, or Yikes, my mom is a basket case. Although most days I fall somewhere between those two. Alright, so I lean toward basketcase (those who know me well know exactly what I mean).

I want my children to think, yeah, mom was never perfect, but I can say that she loved Jesus. How do I communicate that to those four little minds? That ones that watch my imitation of the Muppets svedish chef while I am cooking and crack up. Those little eyes that watch me yell in frustration at the boys. Those hands that reach for one more book, hug, game. The ones I serve three meals a day. The little legs who run on trips to the zoo, gardens, doctors’ office, parks, libraries, etc.

But it’s really not about me or how I communicate it. Yes, they have seen me pray, and yes, they have seen me apologize and they’ve even extended their forgiveness. Mostly, I think they just have to see me love Jesus every day. This does not translate into - ”everybody go play while I read my bible chapter and drink my coffee”. This is more than that. This is my attitude toward the people we meet. The “friends” they make at the park, and the videos I say “no” to because it’s mommy’s God-given job to protect them. It’s my answer to the guy at the YMCA who asks, “How are you so patient with your kids?” and how that answer points to Jesus, and not me, or some parenting guru or book. It’s my pleasure in serving that communicates Jesus’ love. It’s not my complaining about having to clean the bathroom, AGAIN!

So when you pray for me, pray for less of me and more of JESUS!

SWING PARTS

Hardware is not my strongpoint. I can name all eight parts of speech, tell you if a verb is irregular, edit your resume, and even crochet baby booties in less than two hours, but hardware….

I decided to buy a kids’ swing to replace the baby swing on our swingset. The twins have outgrown it and like the other swings better. Even though having three kids swings and four children provides endless, endless opportunities to teach sharing and waiting your turn, and how weeping, wailing, and gnashing of teeth will not get you a turn quicker, and no, you may not pull your brother off the swing, and please, slow down, you are going to hit …yeah..

Ah, yes, the hardware store. I did my homework. I called hardware stores. I asked about price, location, size of package, where on the shelf can I find that? Is it labeled? Is it in a plastic bag or a box? Is it at eye-level? What does it weigh? Etc… I found the swing, at a good price. I drove to the store. I remembered to bring the children. They even had a big-kid cart. We live for those things. We bought the swing, we even asked for help on which hooks to buy. We were all set. I was confident, supremely confident that I could put up this swing, no problemo…

We went home. I finally got the right chains in the right place and it only took 45 minutes, with a little help from Tim, who pointed out the seat had to be connected to the chain using a connector piece. However, as I proudly prepared to attach the swing, with four sets of eyes excitedly watching, I realized my connector piece-thingies were NOT going to fit. The swing would not hang. It just laid on the ground and we all stared at it. Ah, well, back to the store we went.

We now have four swings hanging in the back yard. Next time, I will turn to my handy hubby and say, “Hey, do you know how to install a big kid swing out there?” (Not that there is a need for next time, but hey, maybe all you hardware-handicapees can learn from my mistakes.)

When Science Comes to You III - The Frog

My sister and her family are here from Washington. My nieces, Willow (7) and Meadow (4) are creative, fun, active children and my kids have really enjoyed playing with their cousins while they are here. We went up to my Mom and Dad's for three days. It was while we were leaving that we met the frog.
Willow caught it by the pond. Just a little green frog. My little Sarah actually held it for a moment, but Tim did not want it anywhere near him. Marcus touched it and laughed, but Luke did not have a chance to see it as he was already loaded in the van. As Tim is getting in the van, he suddenly remembers Grandma said he could pick green beans before he leaves. Being the ever-gracious mom that I am, I agree, if he hurries. I leave Luke, Mark, and Sarah in the van and head to the back of the house to see the green beans with Tim and Willow and Holli.
One child is unaccounted for. This is the child who is holding the frog. This is Meadow, who in her kindness, wants Lucas to also see the frog. Since Lucas is buckled into his carseat and cannot come to the frog, Meadow brings the frog to him. How considerate. However, frogs are not meant to be held by children.
As I round the corner with Tim for the van, Meadow and Sarah are rushing toward me with the news. "There's a frog in the van!" Sure enough, I see him under the seat. However, I side with Tim and I am rather squeamish about actually touching an amphibian, so I opt for Meadow to catch it. She misses. We find the frog again and Aunt Holli tries. She misses. At first, Tim refuses to even get in the van with the frog hiding in there because he is scared. Finally we are all headed down the driveway. Tim is asleep in about 10 minutes. All is quiet on the way home.
The next day, I clean out the van. Children surround me, helping carry things to the porch. I hear their sweet voices. I hear Mark, "Frog, Mama, frog. Go frog." I turn to see him holding a much thinner frog than I remembered, thinner and stiff and wrinkled. He drops the frog and tells it "go frog." Then he picks it up and hands it to me.
I actually touch the dead frog. I announce that we have found the frog and we all look at the dead frog and talk about what sort of habitat frogs need and why we should not bring them anywhere far from their habitat. Tim notes that if people don't touch them, they will stay where they belong. We throw the frog away and wash hands, even the children who didn't touch the frog wash hands. I wash mine twice.

The Adventures of Mat man, continued...

As dictated to Mommy today:

"Mat man and the ice"
Mat man had ice. The ice flies. He hits the ice and the ice pokes him. Ouch! "I'm going to save the day again." says mat man.
The end.

"Mat man and the lion"
Mat man sees a lion. The lion tries to get him. Mat man hits the lion, and is goes soaring up into space. Then it falls back down on mat man's face. The lion thinks he is saved. Then mat man flies and sends him into space, where he floats around."
The End

Of course, I have to read these with the appropriate super hero voice and actions until we are all laughing. Maybe I have spent too much time watching "my hero" on PBS, better known as Thermoman. Yikes.

Mat man

Tim is learning to read. He can sound out three letter words and we've started the McGuffey readers, "Nat can fan Ann." hmm.. the story content is not that exciting. So we've invented, "The Adventures of Mat man!" He is a winged superhero who wears a mat instead of a cape. We have made up many adventures of Mat man. Here is the version Tim can read.
Mat man has bad man.
Bad man runs.
Mat man runs.
Mat man flings mat.
Mat hits bad man.
Mat man wins.

After Tim has successfully read his version, I am instructed to re-read it with appropriate sound effects, like mat man having a hard time running because a mat is much heavier than a cape, not to mention the herculean effort in flinging the mat after the criminal. Hey, it makes Tim laugh and keeps him interested in mat man, I mean reading. Look out for more adventures of. . . the Mighty Mat Man!!

Adventures of the Gruesome

I opened the boys door after "rest time" to find this scene. The closet contents had been spilled into the room, with the exception of the totes, which are too heavy to lift. But I couldn't find the boys. Heart in my throat, I scanned the empty bed and started to look for legs under the pile.

That's when I spied the "gruesome". Sound asleep in the closet, on top of the immovable totes. Although immovable, they had been conquered.

When Science comes to you II

This week we found two kittens wandering the back yard (and a pet carrier near my neighbor's porch). We took them in and the kids had great fun playing with the kittens for the day. This was the same day my sister, Holli, and her family arrived from Washington state. Her girls were also excited to see and play with the kittens. I did have to "gate" the kitties in the laundry room for their own protection. "The gruesome" tended to hug them too hard or play tug'o'war with them. Timothy took lots of pictures as he will miss the kittens.

We had the opportunity to talk about how kittens grow and how to handle them gently, etc. Sarah --"Look how tiny God made their paws!" Tim -- "and He gave them claws for protection." My neighbor has a real heart for animals and thinks someone left them so she could find homes for them. So when she arrived from work, she came and took them home. (Whew! I was getting nervous as timsarah were coming up with names!) Later that night when we let poor Lenny (our own cat) out of his exile, Tim exclaimed, "Wow, Lenny is HUGE!" I wonder what will happen next week.

When Science comes to you

We had an interesting science opportunity when we opened the door this morning to find a fully moulted cicada clinging to the door frame and still attached to its previous skin. To see a 28 second speeded up version of this amazing metamorphosis, go to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=go4MqVq9HVM .

The Gruesome

“The Adventures of the gruesome two-some” -- it occurs to me that this is not the most encouraging label for the boys.
FOURTH OF JULY
Ryan took Tim and Sarah to the flag-raising early this morning at the park. As I was saying goodbye outside, he looked up to the boys’ window, “Uh-oh,” he intoned, “the gruesome are awake”. Sure enough, two little faces peered down from the window. They were happy to see Mommy but they were more interested in “Daddy go?” and “Timsarah”. Thankfully they LOVE their breakfast, and were soon their happy selves again.

Summer Mental Images

Summer is for remembering.

Summer is my favorite season, and I don’t always have the camera. I take mental pictures all summer long. Is it strange to have others pose for them? On a recent date-night outing to Holland, I had my friend pose near a statue of Ben Franklin for my mental album. It was a really cute picture. I also posed while she took a mental picture of Ben and me. Maybe the strange part is talking your friends into taking mental pictures.