A Mother's Prayer

I wash the dirt from little feet,
And as I wash I pray,
"Lord, keep them ever pure and true
To walk the narrow way."
I wash the dirt from little hands,
And earnestly I ask,
"Lord, may they ever yielded be
To do the humblest task."

I was the dirt from little knees,
And pray, "Lord may they be
The place where victories are won,
And orders sought from Thee."
I scrub the clothes that soil so soon
And pray, "Lord, may her dress
Throughout eternal ages be
Thy robe of righteousness."

E'er many hours shall pass, I know
I'll wash these hands again;
And there'll be dirt upon her dress
Before the day shall end.
But as she journeys on through life
And learns of want and pain,

Lord keep her precious little heart
Cleansed from all sin and stain;
For soap and water cannot reach
Where Thou alone can see.
Her hands and feet, these I can wash -
I trust her heart to Thee.

-Barbara C Ryberg

My grandma shared this with me & it is special!

Our Little Cowboy

Cowboy Poem
By Garrett Tatro
Winfield Scott Elementary School
Teacher: Stacia Weilert

I'm riding down the street
My boots on my feet
My shirt on my back
The sky turning black

My guitar in my hand
No need for a band
Singing a cowboy song
As I wander along

My chaps at my side
I wear them with pride
Riding the open plains
Just holding my reins

Working on...

• ridding our house of sneezes, sniffles & coughs
• not worrying about things I can not change
• getting Trevin to take longer daytime naps (30-45 minutes max right now)
• organizing my recipes to have meals & shopping lists made out ahead of time
• reading & writing with Benjamin
• getting Benjamin enrolled in a Montesorri school for the fall (there are waiting lists...what??!)
• plans for when Grandpa Larry comes to visit (we are very excited!!)

So...I'll be busy today!

our blue eyed boy

Our firstborn had big blue eyes for a long time and then overnight they changed. I still love Benjamin's eyes, but it is fun to have another blue eyed baby around.

4 months

I'm having a hard time getting his smiles & laughs on camera, but here are some other cute facial expressions.

Finger in mouth

Enjoying frog legs

Thoughtful

Big blue eyes

This is one of my favorite, warm winter outfits - Eric Carle's hungry caterpillar

Award

Thanks, Kristin! Here are my answers...

1. Where is your cell phone? purse
2. Your hair? up
3. Your mother? encouraging
4. Your father? patient
5. Your favorite food? chocolate
6. Your dream last night? None(too tired to dream!!)
7. Your favorite drink? Dr. Pepper
8. Your dream/goal? full night's sleep
9. What room are you in? office
10. Your hobby? scrapbooking
11. Your fear? Getting ‘old’
12. Where do you want to be in six years? Texas
13. Where were you last night? home
14. Something that you aren't? blond
15. Muffins? pumpkin
16. Wish list item? Furniture(outdoor)
17. Where did you grow up? Texas
18. Last thing you did? Sang #1 with B
19. What are you wearing? long sleeves
20. Your T.V.? none
21. Your pets? stuffed (check these out!!)
22. Friends? many
23. Your life? full
24. Your mood? satisfied
25. Missing someone? Damion
26. Vehicle? dark gray
27. Something you're not wearing? watch
28. Your favorite store? dangerous
29. Your favorite color? blue
30. When was the last time you laughed? today
31. Last time you cried? Friday
32. Your best friend? husband
33. One place that I could go over and over? beach
34. One person who emails you regularly? Grandma Florence
35. Favorite place to eat? Pei Wei

Tinker Toys

History and FUN FACTS about Tinker toys!

Inspired by watching children play with pencils, sticks and empty spools of thread, Charles Pajeau and Robert Petit created Tinker Toys in 1914.

Tinker Toys originally sold for 60¢ and were first called the “Thousand Wonder Builder.”

The distinctive “mailing tube” package was selected to help reduce shipping costs. The back of the package included an address label with a space for postage.

By 1918, over 2.5 million sets were sold. Up until the 1960’s, the company averaged sales of over 2.5 million sets per year.

Red spools were added in 1932. Red sticks were introduced in 1953. Green, blue and yellow sticks were added in 1955.

Other Toy Tinker products included the Tilly Tinker and Tip-Toe Tinker dolls, Flying Tinker propeller toy and the Dachshund Tinker pull toy.

Benjamin has started spending a lot of time creating race cars, swimming pools, wheels with spokes with the set he got for his birthday. Thanks cousin Damion for some great fun!

Trevin at 4 months

4 month stats:
16lbs, 9 oz (75th percentile)
25.75 in. (75th percentile)

New things...

~he's almost rolling

~blowing bubbles & giggling a lot

~he'd decided his thumb definitely tastes better than the pacifer (okay, I'm giving up!)

~likes to be included at mealtime (ie sitting in his bumbo on a chair or sitting in our laps)

He still...

~loves cuddle time

~eats frequently

~finds his older brother quite fascinating

~does not like tummy time

Happy 2010!

We're starting our year off with a bang - construction progresses on a covered patio on the back of our house. We can't wait to start enjoying it...all year long! Our handyman boys have been staying out of the way & looking out the back windows to observe the hard work. Benjamin has helped some afternoons by picking up the scraps & trash. He's a good helper! We enjoyed fellowship & great food with friends on New Year's Eve. It was special.

One of our handymany boys - I love this outfit that we got as a gift for Benjamin 4 years ago

Our completed gingerbread village

Serious dicussions with Elias on racecars & building houses

Fun times

Best wishes in 2010!