Out of their mouths . . .

Parker has said some things lately that have really made me laugh.

I had to go to the bank the other day and asked which boy wanted to come with me. Parker got to come. When we are walking inside, he said "Where are we now? I thought you said we were going to the piggy bank??" Made me laugh.

A new thing for our house is playing on a mat for a period of time. When we started a couple weeks ago Parker asked what he was supposed to do. I told him he had to stay on his 'play mat'. Now when ever it is time for that activity he tell his brother, "Don't forget to stay on your placemat".

Parker asks to pray for most of our meals (Parker actually wants everyone to pray with him even if he is sitting down with a couple of crackers). Everyday for months he prays, among other things, "Thank you Jesus for hiking, thank you Jesus for sleeping at Aunt Lissa's". For New Year's Eve we let the boys sleep there until we went home . . . made QUITE the impression I guess.

I was reading them a story out of their Bible book and Parker said, "Was Eve a girl? Does that mean she had boobs?" Well, I would guess so. I suppose he wouldn't be a boy if that distinction wasn't important to him :)

Parker's Birthday

Parker got a big boy bike for his birthday. He was so excited. It didn't occur to me that he would have to learn how to ride it (a first in our family and yes it has training wheels) but after ten days on it he is doing really well!

After a hike in the morning, we all went to Jason's Deli for birthday lunch and ice cream! Parker was thrilled to have ALL his cousins around for his birthday lunch.

Parker got this knight costume for his birthday and he absolutely loved it (above). He also got this quilt from Aunt Amy (below) another hit of the day!

Parker is a very, very special gift to this family. There are certain things that were on my heart when I prayed for my kids as babies. When Parker was a newborn, I happened to be reading a lot in Psalms. The great love David had for God was on my mind a lot. I prayed over and over that Parker would grow up to love Jesus the way that David did and that he would have a soft, loving heart. Not that I have seen this come to completion or anything, but I tell you this is the sweetest little boy. He has a very compassionate little attitude and he is such an encouragement to me. He speaks very sweetly most of the time. It is very common for him to see me sitting on the floor and to come over and snuggle me or just sit down next to me and start to rub my back. He is also quick to say encouraging, sweet things to his brothers. "Good job G! . . You look so nice today Davis . . . ect" Three years in and this kid still doesn't love to eat . . good food that is. A bowl of ice cream or some other kind of treat goes down in abundance but dinner time continues to be a battle for him. This hasn't hindered his growth however. He is the biggest (on the scale) of all the boys. He hasn't been to his dr. appointment just yet but the last time they checked he was still off the charts for height and weight and looks to be almost the same size as Davis. His very favorite things to do are dress up (pretty much anything, but the two current favorites are a cowboy outfit and a knight outfit - both bday gifts). He dresses up everyday! He also like clothes in general. He wants out of his pj's and into his clothes for the day within minutes of getting up in the morning (trust me this is not modeled for him by me:) It is also common for him to want to change clothes throughout the day - not mommy's favorite. He loves super heros. He plays in a much more imaginative way that his brothers. He will play for a long time with his figures, imaging some kind of an story with them. Parker has a characteristically deep voice. Almost everyone that talks to him is surprised at first how low his voice is. I can't imagine what it will be like after puberty! However, when he says "I love you Mama" it is always higher - like he is being gentler with me or something. He does the same thing when he talks to Evie and Hugh - this is just sweet to me for some reason. Most of the time Parker seems so much older to me than he is (probably because he talks like a six year old) but sometimes he will do something that makes me realize that he is still just barely three years old. He still wants to be snuggled when I read to him, (he still uses a nuk - don't tell my dr:), and he still wants me to help him eat. Parker loves to sing together. Again - this is something more particular to him. Davis loves songs, but Parker actually want to sing along. I love his little - very out of tune - voice. His very favorite song is "Nothing but the Blood of Jesus" but he also regularly asks for "Lord I Lift Your Name on High", "If You Are Happy and You Know It", "Holy, Holy, Holy" and whatever the current car CD has on it. I really need to record his voice - it is precious. I love this little boy so much. He is a great, great joy to me. Happy 3rd Birthday Parker.

Davis

I hesitate to put this on the www because I can't control how it is read but I really want this documented in our family journal so I hope that my tone and context isn't lost. I want to cushion this story in the reality that this has been a particularly hard week with Davis. I know it goes in phases with the whole child rearing process but what happened tonight made me so grateful. God reminded me that lots of opportunities for discipline also means LOTS of opportunities to tell your kids the gospel over and over again. (Consequently Davis has heard the gospel ALOT the last couple of days) It should also be said that Davis very rarely chooses to pray. We have chosen not to "require" our kids to pray with us or before meals because we want it to flow from a personal desire not obligation (just our choice). Anyways, he doesn't very often ask to pray. Parker on the other hand is eager, eager to pray before meals - another story for another time - but it is very sweet too. Tonight the boys were having a snack at the table before bed. Parker asked to pray (he prays for ALL food consumed - very thankful little boy - good reminder for me!) He prayed and I started to walk away from the table and let them eat their snack. Davis said, "Wait, can I pray too?". So he prays:

"Jesus, will you please change my heart. Will you please help me to obey my mom. I want to obey You. Please make my heart obey. I love you Jesus. Amen". I'm still a little shocked as a type this that his heart was so soft tonight AND that he chose to pray that out loud. Not sure what God is doing in his heart exactly but I know that God in His grace GREATLY encouraged me that He alone is in control of my boys and their hearts and that in His time he will reveal truth to them and that I need to just continue to be obedient and tell them the good news of Jesus. This is huge for Davis. He is not easily swayed into praying and praying something like that for that matter. Thank you, thank you Jesus. Please, please give him a heart that love You very much!

Hiking with the Fam

Troy and Melissa started the tradition of hiking South Mtn on Sunday mornings and my boys have been really loving it. I love it too. Hubey is missing from this picture - but he is often a part of the clan. Parker prays before most of our meals and there are some things that always make it into his prayers - everyday for weeks he thanks God that we get to go hiking with Uncle Troy and Aunt Lissa and thanks God that Uncle Matt carries him down on his shoulders. He did get a ride down with Matt one time - but Parker really holds his own. I'm so proud of him. We've never carried him "up", only down to save time. Some of those steps are really huge when you are only three feet tall! He tells me he is Grandma's hiking buddy because she is usually willing to hang with him and go at his pace (which is a bit slow sometimes:) I also love to watch TJ hike - he loves it and always looks so very proud of himself when he gets to the top. I don't know if Davis loves it as much as P - he just loves hanging with all the boys . . . but he pretends . . for me:)

Should I have four more ?????

Should I have four more . . . NO! But we had a very successful first run at a Johnson/Filleman sleep over. My sister had plans before our husbands made plans to go meet Clayton in Las Vegas this weekend so I suggested the kids come here and you would not believe how smooth it was to get them all in bed. Evie Grace and Grayson slept up stairs and all five other boys slept downstairs. None of them got baths or anything, but I had five sleeping boys within 30 minutes of laying them in their beds which felt like a victory for sure! My boys are still talking about how fun it was to have them sleep over. AND for old times sake my baby sis came back to spend the night with me so I didn't have to be home alone either!! Yeah for little sisters :)

Waffles in the morning for b-fast

No joke, Eli is one of Grayson's FAVORITE people on the planet - "Eeee-yi" is even one of his only five words that he can say and he yells it the whole time he is in Eli's presence. Eli is super sweet to him and happy to play with him - Grayson beams the whole time!

Logan wore Woody jammies over here and Parker was so excited. He called him "Woody" all night and Parker wore his Buzz Lightyear wings around until I took them off for bed.

It should also be said that I would do just about anything for my niece and I believe she might have gotten old enough to figure that out. First of all, she loves me (at least, I choose to believe that:) When I laid her in bed she started to cry - which I have never heard - so naturally I picked her up, took her out with me and held her for a while until trying to lay her down again later. I must have "sucker for babies" written all over me in words all small children can understand! Oh well, it is my job as an aunt, right? Thanks for sleeping over boys - it was so much fun. I love these kids!

Happy Birthday Davis

I think I say this every year, but Davis' birthday is a particularly special holiday to me too because it the anniversary of the day God made me a mom and the memory of that will always be so overwhelmingly special to me. But . . on to the other thing we celebrate on January 28th, our precious, oldest son! I keep this blog because trying to come up with memories of the entire last year would be next to impossible for me. These are the things that stand out in my mind about this year. We started an at-home preschool program with Davis and it has been my privilege to watch him grow in the learning process. I was just telling my mom that when Anne Stirber introduced me to "phonemic awareness" stuff it seemed like Davis had no idea what we were doing and now he is breaking apart words/putting together words himself and has recently started sounding out words in books by himself (just in the last couple days). So cool to watch their minds grow and learn new things! Davis has also initiated a lot of very cool conversations in the last couple of weeks about spiritual things and I am always grateful for the chance to tell him what I know is true and trust God to hide it in his heart. He is really interested in understanding the differences in God's Word when it talks about God the Father, Jesus and the Holy Spirit. He has also talked a lot about "the children of God", making that connection from what he learned about Israelites in BSF last year to understanding who are "God's people" now. He has finished such conversations, on many occasions, saying that he loves God and wants to be his child too. We pray everyday that God would do that work in his heart. While some things has grown and changed, some things only stay the same :) This kid LOVES tools, any tool or anything he can make into a tool. A couple months ago Mark let him help him hammer and staple gun four stakes together to make a square that Davis then turned into a doorframe and added a piece of cardboard to make a door. His mind his very methodical but he can also be very creative. I would say his other favorite activity, hands down, is digging a hole. Our side yard is a dangerous place to walk in the dark! He is a great big brother. If someone asks him if he wants to do something - he always mentions that his brothers should get to come along too. I think he really sees he and them as a package deal and I love to watch that relationship develop between the brothers. While he can be very "firstborn" about 'directing' them (I have a lot of compassion for this quality in him:) I know that he often does it with good intention. He really loves his brothers and cares for them in a sweet way. I love this kid SO much I don't even have words. He is a joy of my life and I am so thankful for him. My boy loves me back and I am glad for that. He told me on his birthday, "I'm five but I'll never stop being your baby boy". Makes me cry just to type it. Okay, I'm done :) Happy Birthday Davis! Mommy and Daddy love you so much.

Davis' Special Day

For Davis' fifth birthday, I wanted him to feel very celebrated and special even though we had some regular "day-to-day" stuff on the agenda. Our day of fun started with Bosa donuts before BSF on Thursday morning

TJ and Logan came too - so fun

Then we went to lunch at PPP after BSF - don't worry - Davis and Parker are having a birthday party that is a little more put together than this last minute luncheon - we are waiting for the AK fam to get here!!

Davis and E at PPP

Blowing at candles on his birthday cupcakes from Grammie

After naps - Daddy took everyone to Fuddruckers to have dinner together - Fudd's is a favorite for Davis and was his pick. Of course I forgot to take pictures of that outing. I think he had a very fun day. He has been talking about his upcoming birthday for weeks so I think he had really built it up in his mind. When I tucked him into bed I asked him what was the best part of his day, he said "The whole thing because it is my special day". Then he said, "I don't really FEEL like I'm five though". (What do you mean buddy?) "Like, I didn't feel myself grow or get bigger or weigh more - I don't think I got any bigger today." I guess deep down I wish he didn't get any bigger too :( but I'm always mindful, at times like birthdays, how grateful I am that God has protected him and kept him healthy.