Thanks for our brothers...

Several times this week during family prayer, Gracie has said,"Thanks for our brothers". This struck me for a lot of different reason, and I have spent some time pondering about it. One of the things that is interesting to me is that she is not simply saying thank you for MY brother, but our brothers (sorry sisters, no mention of you). I have spent some time this week thinking about our brothers.Why is it that brothers want to tease and play jokes. I have seen first hand that it is innate. They come built that way. Samuel loves nothing better than to tease Gracie (or pull her hair, pinch and hit, but really that's another blog post). I remember my brother chasing us girls around Ann Morrison park with the carcass of a duck. Our screams were not screams of pleasure. I also remember being chased around with fish heads, snakes and any other repulsive thing my brother Adam could find. When My Nieces and nephew were visiting last month, they joyfully told me about the jokes their Daddy (my brother Adam) likes to play on them.

When I returned home from Young Women on Wednesday, Chris and his brother Brandon kept asking me to clean something off. That should have been my first clue, since when do either one of them care about cleanliness? I kept putting them off until Chris went outside to take out the trash and walk Brandon to his car. They got no further than the front of my kitchen window when I went to wash my hands and heard peals of laughter when the sprayer in my kitchen sink, sprayed water all over me (not to mention the rest of the kitchen). They had placed a rubber band around the sprayer so that it would shoot water as soon as the faucet was turned on. I had to laugh as I watched my husband and his brother giggle like small boys outside for several minutes.

My husband speaks fondly of growing up with his brothers and has special memories of the time they spent together. Chris doted on his youngest brother, Adam, and speaks often of how much fun they had. Chris and Brandon talk about all the trouble they got in together (I'm pretty sure I know which brother was responsible).

I have found myself internally expressing gratitude for "our brothers". For the good men they have become. For how hard they work for their families. For how much they care for their children and wives. They are Men of Valor. They are strong, yet can show such compassion and love.

The last night this week that Gracie prayed for "Our brothers," Samuel woke in the middle of the night and went looking for Mommy. He has been ill and not sleeping well and has needed some extra love and comfort. When Mommy was gone in the early morning hours (as mommy always is. Again, that is also another post). Samuel went and found Gracie to sleep next to and comfort him.

Thanks for our brothers.

Daddy?

When my visiting teachers were over last week Samuel came and sat beside me on the couch. He began looking through the new Time magazine that had come that day. Suddenly he shouted, "Eh, Da" which is what he says when he sees Daddy. Curious, I leaned over and this is what I saw.









What do you think?

Last week I moved the kids bedrooms around. Samuel got Gracie's bunk beds and his very own big boy room . Gracie got a new trundle bed and the vanity and dressers that were her great- grandparents. I have noticed that all the stores sell pictures on canvases that look like a child has painted it. I decided to let each of the kids paint their own canvas for their room.

Gracie found several other canvases and pieces of paper to paint. When she was finished for the night, she asked if she could sell her paintings. I sceptically told her she could try. That was all the permission she needed. The next thing I knew, she was pulling her small table and chairs outside and asking me to make her a sign to sell her paintings and hot cocoa's. I tried to dissuade her. I told her it was too dark, too cold, no one would be driving by...it was dinner time. Gracie told me she was an artist and she knew she could sell her paintings. I appeased her by making a sign to sell hot cocoa and a painting for $1.00 each. What a bargain ($4.00 below her prefered asking price).

Chris and I watched her trudge outside with her paintings and her hot cocoa's determined to prove us wrong. We assumed she would quickly get cold and discouraged and would promptly return inside. Thank goodness we were wrong. When Grace sold her first painting for $10.00 her dad brought out the portable heater to keep her warm. Samuel and I joined her outside where Sam drank a good portion of her hot cocoa. All in all she sold 3 paintings and went through 4 batches of hot chocolate before we called it a night (The heater burned out and the cold did get to her eventually).

Here is what Grace taught me. Don't listen to the people who say it can't be done. Believe in yourself and do what you know you can. Even if you don't succeed, what have you lost in trying? You will be better for the effort...and make sure to take along plenty of hot chocolate. It warms the tummy and the soul when sipped with someone you love.

Tea parties

We recently had a tea party before school. Notice Gracie's very proper little finger.

Scenes from my kitchen Window

OutsideInside

Love potion number ?

Gracie has gotten into the business of love. After coming home from The Chapeks with a vial/vile of "Love Potion" that she was intending to drink before bed ( mommy advised her quickly not to drink the black, sparkly concoction that smelled like a mixture of bathroom deodorizer and cheap perfume...not that there is much difference between the two), Gracie decided to begin mixing her own potion and conducting experiments on Mommy and Samuel. Starting appropriately with an apple juice based mixture, because really all good love stories contain apples. IE. Snow white, Enchanted, etc.. She mixes her potion in her special potion pot (an old beef jerky jar) and has Mommy or Sam drink it and then says things like, "Now, tell me how you feel." , "Hmmm" and "Kiss". While I secretly love the abundance of slobbery kisses that Sam then bestows on me, I act appropriately smitten by the love potion. Which interestingly enough Gracie tells me has no effect on her.