Wordless Wednesday

Mean

I thought you all would appreciate this.

Kurt just walked up to me while I was checking my email. He says, matter-of-factly, "mean."

I say, "What did you say, sweetie?"

He says, "Mean."

I say, "Did you say mean?" trying to figure out how he knows that word.

He walks up to me, looks me dead in the eye, and says deliberately, "meeeean."


Then he pinches me. Really hard. All the while looking intently into my eyes.


"Yes, Kurt," I say, "that was mean."


I'm glad that little lesson is over.

Have a great, mean-free weekend.

How we've been spending our time

OK, so this picture has been a Hoyer favorite for the past couple of weeks. I took it while at the L.A. Zoo and we have cleverly called this gem of a shot: "Hippo Butt" because any phrase which includes the word 'butt' is good for hours of giggling in my home. It also makes me feel a little better to have this shot in mind when I step on the scale. Keeps everything in perspective, you know. Hey, I never promised nothin' high brow or intellectual in this post!

Here we are on Kurt's birthday. We spent the morning endeavoring to use every piece of wooden track we own. Kurt sure had a ball destroying, I mean enjoying, all of our hard work. It was a fun project that everyone got into. Here's my big 2 year old playing engineer:

So last weekend my 2 girls (assisted by Gabriel) set their alarms, got up early, and made the whole family pancakes for breakfast. How sweet is that? When I came out into the hall because I woke to the smell of food...quite a disconcerting smell when I know the only 2 people over the age of 12 are in bed...I was greeted by deputy Gabriel who threw his hands up and said, "No, Mom, you can't come down yet!" So I went back to bed, assured that someone would think to get me if, say, there were flames or something. I am very proud of my 2 servant-hearted girls!

I've included this pic of Gretchen cause I like it. That's all. I am still trying to learn how to use the great new camera Gustav bought me for Christmas. I've decided that I need to just play with it in order to figure things out. Because when you have 5 kids, there just aren't enough hours in the day or firing synapses in the brain to make reading the manual anything but a futile waste of time.

Next up, my big Sparkie, Gabriel, was named Clubber of the Month this month. Here he is getting his pin from Mr. Allen. He was so funny when he was up on the stage...he got all pale and seemed to be staring into space. Gustav and I were joking that he might go over. Apparently, he was a little overwhelmed being in front of everyone!


Look what I did! I taught myself how to knit a couple of months ago and just completed my first baby blanket. I am so proud of myself! I actually tore it out 3 times and started over...but the 4th time was a charm. My biggest problem was getting distracted (hard to believe around here, I know) and forgetting whether I had just knit 3 or purled 3. All in all, though, I am very happy with my first attempt. Lastly, anyone want to send their kids over to play in our squishy back yard? Anyone? After 4 straight days of rain, our still-not-landscaped backyard is a child's dream. Mud, mud, and more mud. This makes Crocs worth their weight in gold to me. Just rinse 'em off and they're all clean and ready to go.
For those of you looking for something thought-provoking on this blog today, my apologies. One of these days I will actually get up at two in the morning and blog. That seems to be the only time of the day that my thoughts are anywhere near deep. God is good that He gives me so much to do, I guess, that I need not waste my time actually thinking :-) Have a great day!

My Beloved

Yesterday I celebrated 12 years of marriage to my beloved. To say that the Lord has blessed me with my husband would be a colossal understatement. He was instrumental in my salvation, and continues to be a loving shepherd and spiritual leader.

I still miss him terribly when he goes to work every day. My heart still leaps when I hear the doorknob turn, announcing his arrival home. I still like to hold his hand. I love his eagerness to try something new. I love his commitment to things of the Lord. I love his ability, seemingly, to do anything he tries well. I love the way he loves his children. I love the way he loves me.

Happy anniversary, honey. I really do love you most.

TWO!

Tomorrow our little Kurt turns two. It's shocking, really. I can't believe he is already so big, and yet I can't remember what life was like without him. He is my California baby. He's never even seen New England, what I consider to be home. So many of my most beloved friends have never even met him! In honor of his birthday, here are

Ten Things I Love About Kurt

(1) His hair. I mean, come on. The Beach Boys would be proud.
(2) His utter and complete obsession with trains. He even sleeps with a (clean) pair of underwear in his crib because there is a Thomas on the bum.
(3) The way he rubs and pats my back when I hold him.
(4) His sunshine-y temperament. He frequently hums to himself, and is always there to wave and yell "hew-woh" to the letter carrier.
(5) That smile. The one that gets him out of all the trouble he should be in.
(6) The way he gags every time I make him eat something new. Hey, it's worth a shot.
(7) He loves to dance. Especially to the Kung-Fu Panda soundtrack which we have listened to about 5 million times, give or take.
(8) His uncanny ability to name all of his body parts. Yep. All.
(9) The fact that he just walks into the nursery at church. No separation anxiety for him.
(10) He is a constant reminder that the Lord's ways are above our ways. Gustav and I would never have planned to get pregnant just before selling our home and traveling like gypsies across the country for 3 months before settling in La-La Land. What a blessing that our Lord is sovereign, because I can't imagine being without my little Kurt.

I love you, sweet stuff. Happy birthday.

Wordless Wednesday

The Fourth's Firsts

Well, a number of you have mentioned that it has been a while since I've been active here in my little dusty corner of the web. Sorry 'bout that. I find that when I have much to say and lots to share, I get easily overwhelmed and do what any overwhelmed woman would do in such a position...nothing. So, here I am. Recovered from a busy but blessed holiday season and ready to crawl out from the hole I dug for myself.

We had a great December, full of family, fellowship, gifts, love, and at least TWO firsts for the fourth child of mine. I asked Gabriel a few months back if he was ready to have his training wheels taken off his bike. He answered with an enthusiastic "yes!" but got just a little spooked when he tried riding sans support. His bike sat in the garage collecting dust for almost two months when Lillian offered to help him learn. The two of them spent about an hour out in the driveway and whattayaknow? I come out to check on the progress and Gabriel is zooming up and down the driveway. What a blessing big sisters are.

The very same week Gabriel notified Nicholas that his tooth was "soft." Nicholas, my inquisitive firstborn, had to seek further information and it was soon discovered that Gabriel had his first loose tooth! I found it remarkable that he didn't know what was going on. I mean, he has three older siblings who've all done this multiple times. But naivete aside, when he realized that he had a loose tooth he shouted, "Mom, I've been waiting for this moment for almost my whole life!"

{For those of you who may get a touch queasy at the sight of reeaaaallly loose teeth, the following photo may be disturbing}

Later that day it just popped out. No pain. No blood. Nothing. Just fell out into his hand. It was a good first tooth-losing experience.

After the tooth fell out, my little man came to me and said, in his best salesman voice, "So, Mom. I was thinking. Instead of doing the tooth fairy, maybe we could have a party?"

Gotta love him.