What Is That SMELL??

Today I had to run a quick errand, I had to run to get sprinkles so I could finish a chocolate dipped order. I set the kids up with school and said; "I'll be back in a few minutes." Not noticing our youngest needed to be timed in Math, our oldest decided to go ahead and get him started. They tried to decide how to start a timer so instead of just watching the clock they decided to start the microwave!!! Don't ask me why, all I can say is....well, I have NO idea!! So, they set the timer for 10 minutes and went back to work. One being timed in Math the other reading in History. When I returned I was met at the van and I knew something was wrong. I hear these words..."Now, Mom, don't get mad but, well, ummmm, we burnt your chocolate!!" When I went to check it out, the whole bowl, 10 pounds of chocolate was so hot it actually burnt and turned into a course sand! When I started to scoop it out of the bowl it melted the trash bag and the spoon I was scooping! Lessons learned today...chocolate stinks really bad when its burnt & DON'T USE THE MICROWAVE FOR A TIMER!!!

A Special Birthday Gift

Going to Wal-Mart on Saturday is NOT my idea of an enjoyable Saturday afternoon, but I wanted to get groceries because we were going into a week of revival services and I wanted my meals planned. I wanted to go Friday but did not get around to going. That was because God had a plan...

As I was running out the door Caleb decided to come along. I always enjoy the alone time with the boys because I get a glimpse into their heart. Caleb recently received money for his birthday and like any little boy he was trying to decide what to buy. For a few months he's been anticipating his birthday. He had a few things in mind that he wanted; however, he kept coming back to one particular item...a new paintball gun! He had been looking online and at the pawn shops for one but no luck finding what he wanted. We talked a few time about waiting on the Lord. We talked about faith and we decided to trust that the Lord had something special just for him on his birthday. While at Wal-Mart he found a $5 item that he wanted, it was not something he needed in fact it was really just a waist of his $5 so we talked about maybe just waiting. We talked about being wise with his money and not just spending it because it was in his wallet. I reminded him that God had something really special for him if he would just wait on the Lord. He had already split his money up into save & spend so what he had was his free to spend birthday money.

On the way home we had one of those special conversations, you know, the ones where he tell me what a great Mom I am! I love those! tee hee!! We had a nice ride home just visiting with one another and enjoying our alone time. As we pulled into the neighborhood we spotted a yard sale sign. Knowing I had groceries in the back he said; "Mom, can we go to the yard sale real quick?' I agreed but said; "I bet its over because its already after 2 and yard sales in our area close before noon!" Sure enough, as we drove by they had everything in boxes and it looked like it was all clothes anyway. As we drove by we noticed the yard sale sign we were following was past the house that was packing up so we proceeded around the corner to another one. Again I repeated what I said a few moments earlier. As we pulled up to the yard sale it was still in full swing! Junk...I mean stuff everywhere! As soon as we pulled up he yelled..."I see a paintball mask!" Now, let me just say this mask was on the back of a table behind some other junk and all you could see was the strap! He jumped out of the van, ran up to the table, talked to the man of the house for a few moments and ran back to the van. I could tell by his excitement that there was more then just a mask!!! He said with great excitement; "Oh, Mom, there is a paintball gun, mask, tank and hopper (only a Mom of boys would know all the names!) for just $70!!! I smiled and said; "Well, lets get your brother so he can look it over." He told the man in a calm voice, you know, not to give away he was really excited; "Ummm, sir, I'm going to get my brother to come look at your gun, we'll be right back". He got in the van and his mouth started running!! Thinking the Lord was about to give him his special gift I said we need to do a few things. One, we need to go home and see how much spend money you have and two you need to take your brother's advice. If he says its good and you have enough money then you can get it; however, if you don't have enough money or if Kyle says no then you need to just take it that the Lord has something better for you and this is a NO. He agreed! When he got home he counted his money and had $50. We decided together if it was good and Kyle said yes he would have to offer the man $50 and if he would accept $50 then he could buy it. Off they went to make a deal!!! They walked back to the yard sale and about 15 minutes later they came into the house .

I could hear them laughing in the front yard before they even opened the door so I knew God had given him a special birthday gift. Sure enough the front door flew open and two excited young men came bellowing in the front door!!! Mom, they said, we got it for $50!!! My heart was filled with joy but little did I know....

You see, our oldest son had been praying that God would give him a new mask because the one he had was to snug. He looked up online a particular mask that he needed but it was $80 and he knew he would never spend $80 on a paintball mask so he decided to pray about it. Would you believe the mask he prayed for was the mask at the yard sale!!! Right down to the color!!! When he saw the mask he said; "My heart started pounding and I could not believe my eyes!" When he told his brother about it on the way home his brother decided Kyle would get the mask, Caleb would get the gun and Kyle would give Caleb the smaller mask.

Oh, and the gun, well, it too was the exact gun Caleb had been praying for and its only been shot about 5 times!! The total package was valued around $300 and God gave it to a little boy who was faithful in praying for a special gift! Don't tell me God does not hear the prayers of our children.

After they settled down Caleb said real quick "I'll be right back, I've got to go to my room!" He ran to his room and when I looked in he was kneeling along side his bed thanking God for the blessing of a special birthday gift. He was thanking God for a gift and I was thanking God for yet another lesson learned.

How I Know Spring Is In The Air

Do you know how we know Spring Is In The Air at our house? This goes up!!!

Every Spring it goes up and stays up for several weeks, sometimes a few months until it gets to hot. The boys have discovered if they put the tent over the top it will not rain inside so now it can stay up wind or rain! Are they roughing it?

ummmm NO!!! Grandpa received a new chair for his birthday so the boys adopted his old one and of course it went in the tent! My rug is in the tent! The bathroom trash can is in the tent! They are not roughing it all all!

They have their X-Box 360 out there and all the blankets in the house! Including my pink one! He is going to love that I have this photo of him in a pink blanket! LOL!

Even the dog has made her home out there with them! So far the tent has been up about a month and they have survived a few stormy nights, 37 degree mornings and a nice windy day. Is is killing the grass...yep, is it in the way....yep, is it blocking the view from the back door...yep, but I've had to ask myself does that really matter? No! I know one day when Spring comes that tent will be in the shed and I'll long to hear them laughing out there. I'll long for the words, "can we eat our dinner outside?" I'll long for the "we discovered stories". I'm going to enjoy knowing two brothers are building a strong bonding relationship. So for now I'm just going to enjoy the annoyance of an ugly tent at my back door and enjoy the sound of them laughing and building memories that they will one day recall. I'm going to enjoy going to check on them to find them sleeping because they think its later then it really is. I'm going to enjoy watching them "clean house"! I'm going to enjoy sitting in the yard watching them play catch. I'm going to enjoy all the sleepovers they have been having because they are "camping". I'm just going to enjoy the job of being a Mom of two fantastic boys because I know way to soon this house will be quiet. I hope you're enjoying your children too and creating a happy joyful home.

Making Lemonade

When Aunt Lynette came to visit my nephews wanted to spend the night so they could enjoy the fun too! In the morning we had a yummy pancake breakfast complete with bacon and eggs. After cleaning up we left the juice glasses out because there was some in each cup. Andy (who is 4) asked me for more juice. I got busy and forgot about filling his cup. I could hear something in the dining room and when I looked around the corner Andy had the lid off his cup and was filling his cup with all the left over juice! After a good giggle my sister said; "I think there is more in that cup then OJ!" After he was finished he came in the living room, put his arm on the chair, propped up one leg on the other and took a big drink of his creation! He then informed us he made "Lemonade!" He said; "Yummy, it taste like gum!" Upon further investigation we noticed the bottom of his cup was filled with pancake syrup!!! Oh, the joys of boys!!! I would not trade them for anything!

Boys!!!

I'm sure you're wondering what on earth is this about? Well, its an ongoing prank that our boys just LOVE pulling on me! You see, they love to put the rubber band on the trigger of the kitchen sprayer, then sit back and wait for me to turn the water on! When I turn it on, you got it, I get a good soaking!!! I never seem to remember to look to see if I'm going to get the shock! This evening our youngest asked "Mom, are you going into the kitchen any time soon?" This was said with a huge smile that he was trying to hide! I said "yep, in just a minute!" He showed Dad what he was up to and I could hear Dad say "Oh, you did not put the trigger down you've got to do it like this!" Having a house full of boys and being the only girl often leads to plastic snakes hid in the cabinet, plastic roaches in my bed, fake vomit on the floor and many other pranks & jokes! I have to remember, one day all these toys will be put away and the house will be quiet. For now I laugh, squeal, jump and give them the "girly" response they are looking for! They get a good laugh and I get a memory that will last a life time! I'm honored to be their Mom even when I'm the one getting wet!

""There has never been, nor will there ever be, anything quite so special as the love between a mother and a son" Author: Unknown"

Breakfast For Mom

What a nice surprise I received this morning....breakfast!!! After the week of VBS I decided to take an hour nap Sunday afternoon. When I woke up I could not get out of the bed. My back gave out and I was in pain. I took some pain medication and on the couch I sat. Monday was just as bad. Getting ready to go out of town and here I sit! This morning to my surprise my son fixed me breakfast! Eggs, bacon and toast! I'm truly blessed with two boys who are attentive to the needs of others and who love their Mom! Thank you for yet again making me feel special!

Break It Up or Let It Go?

Last evening I had to make a decision, break it up or let it go. The boys were in bed (they share a room with bunk beds) and I could hear them talking. I could hear soft talking, then our oldest would say "Good Job!" I decided to listen to what they were doing before telling them to be quiet and get to sleep. Our youngest received a Nintendo DS for Christmas and was looking forward to "texting" his brother from the top bunk! I know, we thought it was funny too! Anyway, after a little investigation I could tell they were texting but what cracked me up was that our oldest would say a spelling word and our youngest had to spell it and text it to him! So guess what I decided to do? Yep, just let it go! They "texed" spelling words for about 30 minutes then it got really quiet and they were sound a sleep! I guess that's what you call choosing your battles!

Oh, Christmas STAR!

Every year about this time I like to go on a date with our boys. They write out a Christmas gift list of items they would like to purchase for family and friends, work in a budget, then we are off on a fun date just the two of us. I love it because its one on one time and I always find a treasure in them that I never knew before. This past week was my date night with Caleb our youngest. Caleb is all about the holidays! Its not just Christmas but its every holiday, birthday, he will even make up holidays just to have fun! This year he is especially enjoying the holiday season. As we were working on his list we turned the aisle and there in front of us was a wall of Christmas tree toppers. Now, keep in mind I looked for about 12 years for the perfect tree topper for our snowman tree and when I found a fluffy snowman head tree topper I knew I found the perfect topper! I tried the star, the bow, the angel but nothing was more fitting then the adorable snowman head.

Our Caleb had other plans for our tree topper! When he was 3 he carried the large tree box to me in the living room and pointed out to me that there should not be a bow on the top of the tree because the photo on the box did not have a bow! Then the next year he told me the Angel should not be on the tree she looked scared on top! When I found the snowman head he just laughed and said, "That's not a real tree!" So this year as we were shopping together he saw the perfect tree topper, a STAR!!! When he saw the wall of stars he said, "Now, this is what I am talking about!" We need a STAR for our tree!!! At that moment I had to decide, am I going to put my foot down and say, "We already have the perfect tree topper!" or am I going to enjoy this moment with him and cherish this time and let him find the perfect topper for our tree. Well, we purchased the "perfect" tree topper and he was so excited that we found the perfect topper!

Kyle got into the spirit too and enjoyed helping decorate the tree! He added a Christmas hook to my slipper and added that to the tree!!!


My snowman head has been demoted! He is now a decoration on the tree and has a brother and sister added to the mix to balance him out.

So, a new tradition arrived in the Littleton home this year, and I'm sure when Caleb is married and gone, I will still cherish this little star and I have a feeling my "perfect" tree topper is now a small little silver star on top of a cute snowman tree.

Fall Is In The Air

Our boys have a tradition, the first week of fall weather they get out the tent, set it up in the back yard and "camp" for a week or two (yes a week or two). Now let me just say they about empty their room (video games and all) and put in the tent! Its become a fun tradition they really enjoy. They spend the days outside laughing, playing and being boys.

Even though fall is in the air, the flowers in the yard are still in bloom and looking beautiful!
Grandpa decided the boys needed to have the outside of the tent decorated so he got out the fall decorations and helped them set up camp!

They're looking forward to having their cousins over tomorrow to spend the night and have a cookout, complete with hot dogs and smores. We love fall in our house and we work hard to take time to enjoy each day. I enjoyed listening to them laugh and make 100 trips in and out of the house getting supplies. They even ate their lunch and dinner outside today. My Dad always reminds me to enjoy the noise, enjoy the mess, enjoy the moments because one day soon they will be gone. So this little inconvience is just part of building great family memories.

Take time today to enjoy your children, build some memories they will cherish for years to come.

Taking A Time Out

It seems like our lives are so busy these days with a to-do list that's longer then my arm. I often have to stop and remind myself to slow down and enjoy the things around me. I'm always reminding myself its the little things that matter to my family. Yes, getting things accomplished is important but not at the expense of ignoring my family.
Our boys love to skateboard and they love for us to come outside and watch them. Since my husband is now working late each evening I've been making more of an effort to go out and do nothing but sit and watch and okay be a cheerleader for them.

This past evening our youngest (our daredevil) fell and hurt his leg. When we came in I said, "Why don't you get in the shower (which was followed my moaning and the wonderful words Mommmm) then those words of moaning ceased when I followed up with, "While you're in the shower, I'll make a batch of brownies!" Then it was "REALLY!! You're the best Mom ever (followed by a big hug)!!! Then all the shower blues vanished and life was happy again, the shower did have to wait until he cracked the eggs for me, since that;s his favorite part of cooking!

We work hard on communication with the boys and times like this encourages them talk and talk and talk. I often find out things that I did not know and hear about dreams and goals I did not know they were considering. Take time today to do something special with your children. You'll be surprised what you might learn.