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| Before church today, Jay took a couple of 10 year Valentine pictures for us on our sunny back porch in the gorgeous 60 degree air. Could winter actually be over? I've seen plenty of sage rats over the past three weeks, and none of them have had shadows. Maybe spring is really here. |
Yesterday we had a stay at home date of sorts: Jeff hooked up our TV antenna and we snagged NBC with it to watch the US Olympic Trials Marathon race. Our kids were running amok around us during it, but we persevered and managed to watch the entire 2+ hour Olympic Marathon Trial race. It was incredibly exciting! Those runners are machines! Until they collapse and cry at the finish line. Then their humanity returns. I love seeing the passion, effort, and sheer GUTS of elite marathoners.
Amber gave Galen Rupp "knucks" on the homestretch, clearly securing his dominating win. Jay and Hobbes were shooting pistols at us to keep things lively.
This morning Amber woke up around 4:30am and kept crying every time I covered her up and left her room. So I took her out and held her in the recliner in the family room. Eventually she dozed off a little after 6am. A little while later, Jay and Rose came out and joined us in the recliner, rousing Amber from her snuggly slumber and me from my neck-cricking stupor. We all lounged in the slowly graying dawn, elbowed each other and talked, all squished and crammed into one chair. When the light was bright enough, Jay read us a story, and then we went and dog piled Jeff who was still in bed. It was after 7am at that point and I thought for sure he was awake by then because he rarely sleeps in. So I rallied the troops and we piled onto the bed. Turns out Jeff had been fast asleep! He took it in good grace, like the king of patience he is. I get hungry--like ravenous--in the morning after a whole night without eating. While we were all piled in bed together, I rolled over and mumbled "I'm SO hungry!" Jeff asked me "what do you want?" I said "toast with apple butter and orange juice." And he brought me breakfast in bed! Toast and OJ are my favorite breakfast. It's crazy that the last time I had breakfast in bed was at the hospital when I was deathly sick and pregnant with Amber. It's way more fun to have breakfast in bed as a Valentine's day treat than as a means of survival!
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| Amber lips |
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| The bigger these kids get, the harder it is to all squeeze into the recliner. I have been thoroughly gouged by elbows, knees, shoulders, tail bones, rib cages, and I think skulls too. |
my little breakfast. I chowed down the first piece of toast before even thinking about taking a picture. I was so comfy and at ease, listening to Jeff get the kids breakfast while lounging in bed.
Here are a few more tidbits from our week:
On Friday, when Jay got home from school, he told me that he got to bring home a snail from his class. He was so excited! I was so not! I did my best not to dampen his enthusiasm with my inquiries. Here's the story I pieced together from what Jay said: The teacher drew names out of a hat to decide who got to take home their latest science project study snails. 12 lucky kids got to take home one snail each (there are 17 kids in his class).
"I said a prayer that I would be able to take home a snail and it WORKED" (insert big eyes and O-shaped mouth), Jay said.
"Where is your snail?" I asked.
"In my backpack." Jay replied, matter-of-factly.
"Oh dear, I hope it's in a container!" I thought to myself.
Jay removed a paper cup with a paper towel rubber banded across the top. He asked for a place to keep his snail, telling me that he was going to put lots of soil in it for the snail. I got him an ice cream bucket. When he removed the smelly snail from the cup, however, the snail's soft body was hanging limply down out of the shell.
"I think he's dead." Jay said (again, matter-of-factly)
"Try putting him down in the bucket and see if he moves" I said. Nothing. The thing was totally dead!
"It must have happened while I was running," Jay said.
Swallowing a burst of laughter, I said (in what I hope was a kind, constructive tone) "Next time you bring home an animal, you probably should not carry it in your backpack."
Breathing a small sigh of relief (and being hit with a disgusting stench of snail slime in the process) I quickly suggested that Jay put the snail and his cup into the bucket and throw the whole thing out in the trash can on the driveway. Whew!
Jay came back in and said, "Mrs. Aguilar said that if the snail dies, we should bury it in the ground."
"Well, the trash from our trashcan eventually gets buried in the ground at a landfill," I said. Thankfully that satisfied the ever-logical Jay. I can't help but wonder how the other eleven snails fared.
I had the best time recounting this story to Jeff. We were rolling with laughter! First graders are so awesome.
Ever since Amber mastered saying "Dada" a couple of weeks ago, she has abandoned saying "Mama" cold turkey. She used to say it all the time! Yes, I should be grateful that Mama was her first word (especially since Jay and Rose both said Dad first), but I've been trying to get her to say it again for well over two weeks with no luck. Then Wednesday night she saw Jay and Rose eating leftover birthday cupcakes and demanded some in her 1 year old way, with persuasive loud ahhhhhh sounds and emphatic hand gestures. I cut of a little piece off of a cupcake and gave it to her. Right when she took a bite she looked at me and said "Mama." Hah! Apparently the way to her heart is through her stomach! I can't believe that she already loves treats. She's only ever had bites of cake or cookie a handful of times, but she adores them already! She recognizes when I'm eating one of those sweet foods and begs for a bite. It really has only started in the past week, with Rose's birthday cupcakes and I made cookies last week too. But still! Little sweet tooth Amby. Jay had one dessert per year for the first three years of his life--on his birthday. He didn't care! He didn't know! But the youngest knows. Hah! My old principles are cringing. But oh well! I only give Amber a few tiny bites--just enough to satisfy her--so I don't feel that bad about her begging for sugar.
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| [looking extra handsome for church today] |
Last week, Jay asked me about the cover of The Week magazine where it said "Pick your poison" with a picture of Trump and Cruz on bubbling smoking goblets. He asked me what pick your poison meant. I did my best to explain that neither one of the candidates are very admirable, and that's why it's like picking poison no matter which one is chosen. Jay asked why they were not good, and I told him about how Trump doesn't want to help people from other countries that need help, and that he says rude things. I'm no expert, but I chose one simple explanation to satisfy Jay's question. Jay replied "he probably didn't get enough hugs when he was little." and then he gave me a big hug. I told him he he's the best. I love that boy!
On Monday morning this week, I read Matthew 22:42 "what think ye of Christ?" While I was thinking about that, Rose came in. She woke up and snuggled up to me while I was reading scriptures in bed. When I asked Rose that question, she thought for a minute and then confidently said "that he healed people." The more I thought about her response, the more perfect it seemed. Yes! Go, Rose! In four short words she captured the essence of Jesus Christ's love and mission: healing people. He healed people when he was on earth and he heals people today. How? We have to soften our hearts and turn to him. When we ponder and pray and keep on trying to do better and to be better, he heals us and helps us. Amber has really given me a run for my money this week--she is not sleeping well due to congestion, coughing, and teething. I am totally exhausted from answering multiple wake up cries each night. It's amazing how hard it is to think past a certain level when sleep deprivation kicks in! Monday was the last day that I can even remember what I read from the scriptures, even though I know I read every day. I'm currently especially thankful that Jesus Christ heals and forgives and bears with us in all of our trials and weaknesses.
On Friday, my need for sleep was at its peak and I was struggling. I had things to do, Amber was cranky and needy, and Rose kept asking me to do other things with/for her: play Barbies, make a Barbie castle, read books, paint her nails, etc. Finally after I put Amber down for her nap, I sat down with Rose to read her carefully selected stack of library books. Well, it was three books, but in my tiredness it seemed like quite a stack. Snuggling on the couch to read a stack of stories after saying "just a minute" to Rose all morning made me feel like a good mom again.
Jay just came out of his room and hugged me.
"I just wanted to give you a nice big hug." he said.
"I love you. I'm so glad you're my sweet boy," I told him.
"I love you too," he said. Then he walked away and went back to playing.
Happy Valentine's Day.
1 comment:
That last picture of you and rose is so sweet. Also, this post gave Kyle and I some good laughs--that Jay is something else! We love him!
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