A Serious Interview for a Silly Boy

BooMama recently interviewed her 5 year old. It sounded like a fun excuse to play 20 Questions with my own 5 year old, so here goes:

Liam, what do you want to be when you grow up?
“A Daddy.”

No, I mean, what kind of job do you want to have?
“A baseball coach. For the Aggies.”

Where do you want to go to college?
“A&M.” [Insert the tone that tells me I just asked a stupid question.]

Where will you live after college?
“With the Aggie team.”

When do you think you'll get married?
“30.” [This answer deeply satisfied my soul.]

What kind of girl will you marry?
"Her name is gonna be 'Ami'. She's gonna live with me in College Station. A brown girl." [Incidentally, we don't know of another 'Ami', so I am yet again deeply satisfied.]

What’s your favorite place in the whole wide world?
“Pizza Garden!” [I really tried to not roll my eyes at his choice of the pizza buffet joint.]

Besides that?
“The zoo."

What’s your favorite thing to do with your daddy?
“Read books.”

What about with me?
“Play toys. Like Chutes and Ladders.” [Once again, I had to fight the urge of rolling my eyes. That game will be the death of me.]

What are your favorite books?
The Crab. Bob.”

What are your favorite toys inside the house?
“Foosball.”

What’s your favorite thing to do outside?
“Baseball. Football.”

What’s your favorite song?
“A Hard Day's Night. Bulldog.” [Both by the Beatles, of course.]

What are your favorite movies?
“Lightning McQueen. Balto.”

What is your favorite game?
“Chutes and Ladders, silly.” [That game really will be the death of me. Do you think he would miss it if I 'misplaced' it?]

Do you know why we help Brian in Uganda [with Compassion]?
“Get him food. Maybe some toys. Like $100 for a toy.” [I reminded him that we pay for Brian to attend school and to buy food.] "Oh."

What do you know about God?
“He loves us. He takes care of us.”

What do you think about kindergarten so far?
“I love school very, very much. I like to be a kindergarten boy. I like to work with Mommy."

Ahh! The innocence of a 5 year old.

In a nutshell, he wants to marry a "brown" version of me, coach the Aggies baseball team, and in his spare time, take me to eat Pizza Garden and play Chutes and Ladders. Well, as long as I'm at the top of his list of loves, I'll take the buffet pizza. But I need to introduce him to some different games.

Stay tuned for Jack and Garrett's personal interviews....

Friday Funny

Do you know what my boys call cheerleaders?

"Booty girls!"

And I do not correct them.

I Feel Like Such a Liar

Learning to read English must be so darn hard.

I don't remember learning to read, but I'm enjoying teaching Liam to read. With his curriculum, he is learning to read short vowel sounds first. The A says a such as cat, the E says e such as egg, etc.

The curriculum has been moving too slowly for my eager learner, so Rick and I have been adding some easy readers along the way to keep him interested. We have also taught him some blend sounds such as oo, ch, th, and sh.

The other day, Liam came to me with a huge grin on his face and said, "I know how to spell 'soup'."

"You do? Tell me."

"S-O-O-P."

I praised him for the effort and gently corrected him.

Not a minute later, he brought me a book to read. I can't remember the title exactly, but one of the words in the title was 'all'.

He pointed to the word and said, "I know THAT word!"

I cringed, because I knew where he was going with this. He said, "It says 'Al'."

Once again, I praised him and gently corrected him. I also said, "The A says ah, but sometimes it also says ahh like the word 'all'."

His mouth dropped open and his eyes searched my face for further explanation.

"But YOU SAID, 'The A says ah'," he shouted.

"I know I did, and the A does say ah, but sometimes it says ahh."

I didn't bother explaining that it can also say aaa like my very own name.

We'll cross that bridge when we get to it.

Motherhood does call for some lying along the way, doesn't it?

Brainwashing

Evidence that I have brainwashed my boys:
They CHOSE to wear matching shirts yesterday!

I had nothing to do with it. Honest to goodness!

The Purchase

Fall seems to be a busy season for us, as I'm sure it is for most families. Weekdays are filled with school and whathaveyou. Weekends are filled to overflowing with football, church, family time, birthday parties, and more whathaveyou.

By Sunday afternoon, I can think of nothing more than a nap. Jack and Garrett take a nap seven days a week and will continue to do so until they're ten years old. Liam's days of napping stopped sometime last year, and I have mourned that loss ever since.

However, every once in a while, I can see an inkling of fatigue creep upon him in the late afternoon, and I seize the moment, oh yes I do, and put him to bed. Yesterday, was one of those days! Hallelujah!
He must have learned in church how God rested on the seventh day. We do teach him the importance of obeying God and parents. And this moment of obedience was cause for a photo.

I wanted this post to share about our weekend, but I've already gotten out of order in all my excitement over Liam's nap.

Before the day of rest, there was Saturday, which was definitely not restful. Rick and Garrett went to the Aggie game, and I won't even pause to discuss the game, because we are not surprised one bit by our loss.

Those who are left at home on game day are very sad. And the boys are forced to wipe my tears and entertain me all day. No, I mean, I scramble to come up with fun ways to pass the time until Daddy returns home.

We had a birthday party to attend Saturday afternoon, so I only had to fill the morning hours. In a moment of insanity, I decided to take the boys to buy bean bag chairs.

Actually, to say it was a moment of insanity would be a lie. This plan actually came to mind about nine days prior, which means that I must have been insane for the past nine days.

My mother-in-law bought my two nieces bean bag chairs recently. When she told me about them, I said, "Oh that sounds so fun! I should get the boys some, and they could read in them or take catnaps in them."

All of you sane people out there are already laughing at my stupidity, but let me continue my story before gratifying you with applause.

When my mother-in-law heard my excitement over the bean bags, she immediately wrote me a check for the cost of three chairs. She's very generous like that.

Anyway, back to Saturday. When I woke up Saturday morning, I wanted Liam and Jack to think "What a fun mom we have!", instead of "Gee, Dad, thanks for leaving us behind with this old hag again." So I knew that bean bag shopping would do the trick.

And I was right. As soon as we walked into the Heavenly Sleep Shoppe, they were in heaven. (No, I am not kidding about the name of the store. I wish I were that clever.) The boys immediately began hopping from chair to chair and telling me exactly which ones they wanted.

"I WANT THE BLUE ONE, MOMMY, THE BLUE ONE, THE BLUE ONE!"

"I WANT THE SOCCER BALL, MOMMY, THE SOCCER BALL!"

"GARRETT WILL WANT THE BASEBALL ONE, MOMMY, THE BASEBALL!"

"BOYS! If you don't stop this SCREAMING, we will walk out of here without a single bean bag!"

They did quiet down, but the noise level should have been another moment where I snapped out of the insanity and realized that this idea of buying bean bag chairs for my boys was not such a good idea after all.

But purchase I did. I did talk the boys out of the soccer ball and the baseball chairs, because their quality didn't seem as durable as the solid colors. We settled on red, yellow and blue.

Now, when we bought them, I imagined that their main residence would be the game room upstairs, but have they made it up the stairs yet? No. Sigh.

When I bought them, I imagined my boys reading books in them. Has that happened yet? No. Sigh.

When I bought them, I remembered taking catnaps in mine as a child. Has that happened in this house yet? You guessed it. Sigh.

In the nine days of insanity, I forgot one minor detail.

I am a girl. My nieces, who read in theirs daily, are girls. My children are not.

Maybe that's 3 details.

And the fact that I've been the mother of BOYS for five years didn't seem to cross my mind. Clearly, I've lost my mind.

Do the boys love their bean bag chairs?
Of course! But this photo of them SITTING in them...that was posed. I'll bet you never guessed it.

This is more like it.
And this.
Or this.
And I haven't caught any of it on camera yet, but the bean bag chairs have provided quality entertainment along the subjects of jumping platforms, boxing matches, sliding, as well as games called "Bury the Brother".

Now, go ahead and applaud yourselves for seeing what I could not imagine for myself prior to the purchase. Clearly, I was not in my right mind.

I was really hoping for more of this this afternoon:
It isn't meant to be, because he is busy making a train of bean bag chairs and calling me to join him. I better go see how much fun this purchase really is.

Friday Funny

The boys enjoy picking out their own outfits every morning. Some of them are better at it than others. Ahem.

Jack is...how shall I say this...well, he doesn't quite have the knack for choosing shirts and shorts that, you know, coordinate. Because he needs a little help in this area, he has learned to show me his choices before taking the time to put them on.

One day he brought me a brown dinosaur T-shirt and blue soccer shorts. Because we were going somewhere that day, I explained that he should find some jean shorts to wear with his favorite dino shirt.

"Okay, I will wear some ingenious," he replied.

He might need help choosing his outfits for many years to come, but ingenious, he already is.

The Righteous Life Brings Joy

Sigh. Not a sigh of disappointment. But the sigh of relief and peace. Relief because it's nice to sit down and post. Peace because I feel God's hand upon my life.

I'm not sure if you've noticed my absence from this here blog. I've been posting somewhat regularly, so I haven't actually been "absent". But my days have been so filled with this and that, that my blogging time has been nothing more than ten minutes here and there.

Once the calendar turned to September, someone must have pressed the fast forward button. I promise yesterday was August 30th, yet here it is September 16. How did that happen?

My days have not been filled with anything exciting or unusual. I can't even say that I've added much of anything to my plate. Yes, I homeschool, cook meals, clean house, wash laundry, but I was doing all of those things before September.

So why haven't I had time to blog? I don't know. Maybe I have had the time, but my heart hasn't been in the right place.

My mind has felt cluttered and my heart heavy for a few weeks now. So much so that I have enjoyed very little about my life lately. I'm sad to even say that I haven't enjoyed my own kids in a couple weeks. Please don't judge me. I know I am wrong to be unable to find joy in those sweet lives.

My lack of joy has left me confused until this morning. As I read my devotional this morning, the Holy Spirit convicted me.

In John MacArthur's Drawing Near, the September 16 entry encourages us to put on the breastplate of righteousness (Ephesians 6:14). When we fail to do so, we lack joy.

Bingo, Ami!
As soon as I read it, I knew in my heart that I have failed to put on the breastplate of righteousness in quite some time. Thus, my joy has been zapped.

What does it mean to put on that breastplate? In my own words, it means choosing to follow God, to obey Him. If He tells me to do this today, I might not do it at all or I might do it with half the effort needed. But the righteous choice would be to obey with a happy heart. And MacArthur's words are encouraging: "If you're pursuing greater righteousness, you'll know greater joy."

I certainly want to know greater joy! I decided this morning that I would take a more active approach to choosing righteousness in my life this day. And I have truly felt more peace and joy in my heart. I'm sure my boys have appreciated the smiles from my face and the calmer voice spoken to them.

MacArthur continues to explain that when I do not put on the breastplate of righteousness, I deny God the glory He deserves. "Without righteousness you will also suffer loss of opportunity to glorify God. When thinking or behaving unrighteously, you violate your reason for existence, which is to glorify God in everything (I Cor. 10:31)." I want my life to bring Him glory, so I must choose the righteous life.

In short:

  • my righteousness = my joy
  • my righteousness = God's glory
You probably didn't need to hear all of that. But maybe you did. I felt compelled to write it. I hope it blesses you. If you're feeling a lack of joy, pray that the Holy Spirit would enable you to choose righteousness.

In case you were wondering, this day has not been perfect. I am still human. But it has been so much better than the past two weeks. I feel renewed. Thank you, Father!

"Are They Triplets?" Part III

(You can find Part I and Part II here.)

When I tell people that my boys are not triplets, the next question is...

"Well, are they twins," pointing to Jack and Garrett. I explain that Jack is 26 days older. I have also been asked, "How did that happen?!" I had to bite my tongue before answering without too much sarcasm.

Some other commonly asked questions are:

  1. Are they yours? (Um, no, I picked them up off the street corner this morning, yet they call me Mommy.)
  2. Where are they from? (As if they must come from Africa, since they are black.)
  3. Are they brothers? (If I am the mommy to all three, then that makes them brothers.)
  4. whispering Are they adopted? (YES! And there's no need to whisper!)
  5. Do you want any more children? (I may be crazy, but I think I do.)
I cannot leave my neighborhood without being asked at least two of these questions. Most of these questions come about because people are not accustomed to seeing trans-racial adoptive families like us. They're forced to come up with questions on the fly. We try to laugh it off, and most days we're pretty good at it.

Friday Funny

I wish I could claim the creativity behind this one. I received it in a forwarded email, and I have no idea where it originated.

"Are They Triplets?" Part II

(Part I can be found here.)

If I could have a penny for every time I have received that question, I would have a second home in the mountains and a third on the beach.

I bet you can guess what the second most commonly asked question is....

"Are They Triplets?"

Would you dare to guess how often I am asked that question?

Friday

One morning, I told the boys to head upstairs and get ready for the day. Jack (3) decided to hide behind the couch instead. After some thinking time, I asked him what got him in timeout. "I didn't get my booty out of the couch," was his response.

Something like that.

No, I didn't keep a straight face for that one.

A True Aggie

Saturday was the biggest day of Garrett's life. He has anxiously awaited this day for three whole months. A lifetime in the mind of a three year old.

When Rick went to get him up for the day, Garrett jumped out of bed and said, "TODAY IS THE AGGIE GAME!" He was just a little bit excited about his first Aggie football game. Rick has compared this pure excitement with that of Christmas morning. It was no ordinary day.

No game day is complete without the entire family donning our colors.
(And this photo shows how badly I need a haircut. Tonight is the night. I'll try to contain myself and not go terribly drastic, but when I see this photo, all I can think is "bleck"! I also wonder why the boys aren't showing the excitement we had experienced all morning? And then I wonder why my dog turned his back to the camera? The perfect family photo eludes us.)

We sent Liam and Jack with my parents for the day. We only have three season tickets, and we figured the fans around us would appreciate us not sending all three boys without adult supervision. Anyway, Garrett is the only child that shows true interest in football.

Before every home game, there is March In, where the band and Corps march in. I bet you could have figured that out. Anyway, we made sure that we arrived in College Station in time for G to experience this.

I couldn't convince him to stand or sit beside me, but he did lean over my back to get a better glimpse.
I love this photo, too. While the Corps marched by us, he waved at some of them. So sweet. So innocent. My little big boy.
Then, it was game time! And we were right when we decided to take Garrett. He watched the entire game. His only complaint was that he couldn't see over everyone's heads. I know the feeling. We vertically challenged people rely on the jumbo screen.

Here he is in Daddy's arms awaiting the band at halftime. In addition to sports, he loves music. He was enthralled with the music and the marching.
After the game, we were able to take our boy to play a little ball on the field.
And we found a couple to take our picture in front of that ugly scoreboard.
The after-game interview was broad casted across that same screen. We lost 18 to 14 to Arkansas State. Yes, we are embarrassed of ourselves. We have now lost all hope for this season.

But we teach our boys that life is not only about winning. So we cling to each other and carry on.
Because you never know what is right around the corner.

Like Yell Leaders. Or Yellow Leaders, according to my boy.
And they might play catch with you. (Just after this shot, the middle guy fell over as if Garrett threw him to the ground with his throw. Naturally, my camera wouldn't click fast enough.)

Gig 'em, Garrett!
As if that wasn't enough to hang his moon, we ran into a trumpet player who was willing to let Garrett hold his instrument. Look at his face!
Cloud 9
Garrett can't decide if he wants to play baseball, football, the trumpet, or be a Yell Leader. But there's no doubt this boy wants to go to Aggieland. Although he was born in Sooner country, we got him outta there as quickly as the adoption laws would allow. After all, he bleeds maroon!