The Line

My husband laughingly (mostly laughing) refers to something called "the line". It's when the mess in the house crosses "the line" and I can't take it anymore. Or, I'm tired and I cross the line into being too tired. There is no definitive set of circumstances that lead up to "the line" nor is it easily predictable. In my growing wisdom (ha!), I've learned to begin communicating when we are approaching "the line". Communication: We are approaching "the line" with this rental, these boxes everywhere, my children in a tiny box of a room, the limbo and transition. And, we have two more weeks of this chaos.

As I am nearing "the line" I am becoming well aware of my need for a little intervention. Enter: lesson of the day from something I read on a blog. I was reading about God's patience with us when I was impacted by how skewed my idea of patience had become. Patience with my children isn't looking the other way when they disobey or enduring their disagreements. It is lovingly and firmly pointing them back in the right direction over and over and over. And over, and over, and over. Kind of like God does for me when I cross "the line" and I need redirection over and over and over.

Part Squirrel

Jonathan's pants had lots of dirt on them so I quickly threw his outfit into the washer without checking the pockets:
Sixty minutes later I found this surprise from my little squirrel's pockets.

Carving Pumpkins and a Lot of Paint

We carved pumpkins last night. Kind of. Jamie carved one, and the boys and I painted them because we decided it would be unwise to both be wielding sharp carving utensils while trying to referee. This was a good call. I had to be in prime referee/supervising mode. We also decided to do it outside in the whipping wind because we are renting this place (with mostly carpet... ugh) and thought the landlord would not appreciate paint/pumpkin guts on his floors.

Jamie's finished product was pretty nifty. The rest of us had fun. And, that, was our pumpkin thing for this year.

Fight, fight for Iowa...

They fought and they lost, but we still had a splendid time at Kinnick:

James, me, Carla (and baby: due in 6 weeks), and Nate

Jonathan

Jonathan, my oldest boy... my quiet, strong willed one... my bag carrying, outside-loving, dog fearing little boy. Life is never dull with you around. You gather items all day in your bag, bucket, purse, or lunchbox of choice. The items never seem to go together for any purpose, but you know if I remove certain things from the "bag".

You don't give out hugs or kisses or even conversation for free. But, if you are game, your conversation is delightful and your hugs worth the wait. I love that you will still snuggle with me on occasion and you'll wrestle and tackle your daddy until he calls a truce.

You are a master at "Rush Hour" and like to make up your own rules to other games if given the chance. Competition is in your blood, and you'll make anything a race: running, bike riding, racing your little cars, washing hands, getting dressed. I think your daddy may have influenced you a bit on that one :+)

Happy 4th Birthday, big man! I'll miss a lot of things about three, but I look forward to being a part of your life at four!

1,2,3,4!

Four years of fun, big opinions for a little boy, laughing, playing, crying, teaching, and getting to know our oldest boy. We celebrated with a little donut cake this morning which Caleb found very exciting and Denny's for dinner.

Jonathan...

-loves to play with cars, trucks and things that go.

-and Caleb are great friends. So great that they can have some whopper fights.

-picks out his clothes and detests any shirts with buttons.

-thinks that most shoes should be flip-flops.

-is hesitant around new people but talks a blue streak if he feels comfortable.

-enjoys church, story time, making granola or other treats with me, and driving his "Jeep" outside.

-still sucks on his first two fingers at bedtime and whenever he is tired. We've managed to eliminate most mid-day occurrences of this.

-sleeps with his beloved "blue blankie".

-makes all sorts of vehicle and structural creations with legos.

Happy Birthday to our biggest little man!

"Ride Bike Trail"

When asked if Jonathan would like to go on a bike ride, his response is usually, "I want to go to the ride bike trail with Julianne and Erica." He loves these two friends, and we continue to enjoy our weekly nature walks/bike rides with them.