Louwerse Family Fun - Days 5-7

Our week of Michigan fun ended nicely with an entire weekend of Louwerse family activities. James arrived in town on Thursday evening (I don't know that either of us is up for being separated for that amount of time again!), and on Friday we stopped by my grandparents' on our way to Keith and Jeni's where we had decided to crash for the weekend. It was very special to see the boys with their great-grandparents.

Once at KJ's, the kids had a blast playing together, and Keith and James fit in some brotherly time golfing, which Jen and I capitalized on by then informing them some girl time would be in order that evening. So we chatted over a drink and took in a chick flick (The Ugly Truth: cute, funny, raunchy, romantic - something for everyone (so long as you are "everyone" over the age of 18, at least). It was rather odd, yet enjoyable, to be out past 9:00. Speaks to my life these days, doesn't it?

Are these kids CUTE or what?!

Saturday dawned stormy and dark which was bad for the Louwerse Open that the Louwerse men held at a local golf course. Somehow they managed to fit in 9 holes, however, after which we all descended upon the Holland Aquatic Center and enjoyed some swim time as a family.

Some showers/baths/naps later, we met up at another brother and sister-in-law's where the guys took over kid duty, and the ladies stepped out for a night on the town in Saugatuck. SOOO much fun and many, many laughs.

Love these ladies!

On Sunday we once again reunited the whole fam and enjoyed lunch and some birthday celebrating together, then commenced on our merry (mostly) way home sweet home. It was a blessed time all together and while it's nice to be home once again, I'm a little sad at not seeing everyone for another couple of weeks.

Ponderings of a Parent: Day 4 in MI

Day four of vacation draws to a close, and I find myself worn out and thinking deeply, once again, about the state of my relationship with my kids. The effectiveness of my parenting influence, if you will. It was the kind of day at the end of which I had to high-tail it out of the house at the first possible second to cling to any shred of my sanity. As I strolled through Hope College's beautiful campus, sipping my iced mocha and pumping some tunes through the Ipod (and narrowly avoiding decapitation by way of frisbee golfers) I considered, also once again, what it is I have left in my bag of tricks when it comes to guiding and disciplining my children. Not only Jeran and his strong will, but it seems Ben too is going to have to come under a more stern hand. I hate to admit that my sweet little boy seems to be entering into the terrible twos. I just don't know what I can do anymore to steer my kids in the right direction and see some results to that end. What's the most frustrating about this is I tell myself I don't know what else to do and yet the answer is so very simple. Not easy, mind you, but simple: time spent daily in communication with my Lord, total reliance on HIS wisdom and not my own. What is it I am striving for in my parenting and, even more broadly, this life I am living? To bring glory to God and have my character (and that of my kids) reflect my Savior. And so I draw a deep breath, accept this not-new knowledge, and spend time in prayer, grateful that His mercies are new every morning and His grace is ever available.

The highlights of the day were catching up with some friends I haven't seen in a looooong time and a picnic lunch in the backyard with the boys (the whole 5 minutes that it lasted anyway). We'll finally be reunited with James tonight and then tomorrow will kick off a weekend of Louwerse family fun!!!

Days 2 and 3

Happy to report that I am very much on the mend and have been able to enjoy the last couple of days as planned. I'm still a little hoarse but can at least communicate...and reprimand my children when needed. Very important. It's difficult to sound like you mean business when the loudest sound you can utter reaches about minus 3 decibels. And so, our fun...for your reading pleasure.

Yesterday I spent lunching like a movie star. A movie star that likes $6 Chinese lunches. My best bud from the womb, Robyn, and I met up at China Inn. SOOOO tasty. She's so great about letting me always pick our spot. Especially since they are SUCH eclectic and exciting places like Russ' and China Inn (if you live/have lived in Western Michigan you'll catch my drift here). Thanks, Robs. :-) It was great to catch up, and we were very happy my voice had returned enough that we weren't forced to communicate by texting across the table. My aunt Joy and cousin Jami had INSISTED on babysitting all 3 of my boys. Twist my arm, why don't you? So I was able to lunch and run errands, and I didn't have to cart around three extra people plus a backpack full of their stuff that weighs as much as those three extra people. It was a beautiful thing. In the evening we spent time at my in-laws' where some extended family was also visiting. A great time.

Today found us headed Grand Rapids way to hang out with my cousin, Melissa, and her adorable nine-month-old, Neal (so named for our grandfather. I love that). The boys were less than jovial I'm sad to say. But their antics (and fits) entertained Neal, so I guess somebody won in that deal. It was great to see my cous, and the visit was all too short.

Following this, we met up with my sister-in-law Jeni, Bella, Keagan, and Camille, as well as my mom-in-law, her sister, Lorraine, and HER daughter Melissa and two kids: Riley and Howie. We turned the kids loose at a playground/splash park and let the good times roll. This did mean that the boys ended up missing their nap which is not always a smart idea. But it seemed to work out ok in this rare instance.

So a great couple of days! I'm beat. In a good way.

Michigan Adventures - Day 1

Ahhhh, vacation. The sunshine, the fun, the company...the sniffles?! Because I decided to pack up my three boys and spend a week in Michigan, naturally, I developed a whopping cold, complete with sore throat, stuffy nose, and laryngitis. It just wouldn't be a Michigan visit without someone getting ill. I am frustrated. As usual, I have so many plans mapped out, including visits with family and with friends. I was so looking forward to a week of being here in this place I love with those I love and living the free and easy life of a stay-at-home mom (which is neither free nor easy...discuss). Yet here I sit, virtually alone (with a sleeping Grayson), two of my boys and my mom off having a blast with my aunt and cousin. The time that I get with my family is so limited and precious. It kills me to be so near to them but once again have to distance myself. The details of our week of fun, here-in included, were to be full of smiling pictures (taken on my new birthday camera, no less!) of all of us living it up. Instead you get my melancholy, pouting-like-a-five-year-old ramblings about being sick. Along those lines, allow me to just whine that "IT'S NOT FAIR!!!!!" There must be a point to this, a lesson God is trying to teach me. Something about slowing down perhaps? Accepting the help that so abundantly surrounds me here? I get that. I understand. I'll try. But I can't help pleading with Him to just please give me my voice back and let me go along my merry, anal-retentively planned way. Here's hoping the coming days will bring you a little more uplifted, vacationy-sounding updates.

Through to the other side

The long dark night of newborn adjustment is coming to an end in our home. It truly feels as if I've been slogging through a dark tunnel and am coming out to the light of day. A light that, for me, includes schedules, sleep, smiles, and hmmmm...what other s words? Sangria perhaps?
Grayson has most definitely turned a corner in the last couple of weeks. His crying/fussiness began noticeably diminishing and is really only present now when he gets sick of his car seat (which is still fairly quickly). However, he responds to motion MUCH better, so if I can just find a way to take highways everywhere I go we're good. I would love to have whatever gadget cops and ambulances use to change the lights around here when they need to get through. Gray now spends much more time smiling, cooing, and playing and is so responsive to James, myself, and his brothers. He's really entering into that fun stage where he's much more interactive and curious about the world around him. The next obstacle to encounter was, then, the sleep issue. I don't recall if I've mentioned it here (these days I don't recall MANY things very easily), but Grayson has been sleeping with me almost since birth. This happened with my other two boys as well. It was just the easiest way at the time to get some much-needed sleep. To get him to sleep for naps and bedtime either James would rock him in the bouncy seat or I would walk around bouncing him until he finally passed out. It was not unusual for this process to take a half hour or longer which was getting REALLY old (although I think my biceps and calf muscles have benefited tremendously). This past Friday I had finally had enough, so, because I feel he is at an age where a little bit of crying (if it happened to occur) would not kill him (or me for that matter) I started laying him down in his bassinette even if he wasn't sleeping yet. With Jeran I almost had a nervous breakdown going through the "cry it out" phase. With Ben it never really happened, thankfully. With Grayson I was prepared and ready for it. The first night he cried 45 minutes and then dropped off to sleep. Since then I've been laying him down while he's awake for bedtime and nap, and there is still crying everytime, but it has not gone past 30 minutes. Naps are going really well, and initially at night things are smooth sailing as well. He's still waking up during the night, and is not so inclined to go right back to sleep, so that's been a little bit difficult. Other good news, though, is that he has finally discovered his thumb! This kid has been a little Hoover as far as naturally needing to suck, but he has been absolutely adamant about denying the pacifier. So I am thrilled that he's finding a self-soothing mechanism that could possibly make a world of difference in dreamland. Granted, he still has some of that newborn tendency to flail about and lose control of his limbs, so the thumb-sucking is not a perfected process yet, but it's definitely on the right track.
SO - things here are well. Life is starting to return to some semblance of normalcy, and I feel thankful and overjoyed more days than not lately about my complete little family. I know I haven't expressed it nearly enough to Him or anyone else in the past 3 months, but God is truly good.

Overheard

Jeran is at that age when really funny things are said on a weekly, almost daily, basis. Some of my favorites of recent days:

While I was taking a shower this morning JJ sauntered in, proceeded to drop his drawers to use the potty and said:

"So, Mom, did you have a good sleep?"

It was just a funny moment and such a grown-up little opener.

In the McD's drive-through:

JJ: What kind of toy will I get this time, Mom?

Me: Well, I actually didn't get you a happy meal this time, buddy.

JJ: (after a pause) Did you get me a sad meal?

Lying in bed with us one morning:

JJ: Mommy, did we get Grayson from the hospital?

Me: Yup. Mom went to the hospital and they helped get Grayson out of Mom's tummy.

JJ: Did they use a hammer?

Ben is also starting to talk up a storm, and 18-month-old language is always cute. A few favorites of mine from him:

Mo or Mo-mo = Elmo

Mooca = Cow (or Moo, cow!)

He's also regularly using please, thank you, and love you which we, as his parents, of course love. He's becoming a big copycat of his older brother, too, which is both good and bad.

And, not to leave Grayson out of the mix, he has started making adorable cooing noises accompanied by smiles:

Forever Young

I had an epiphany over the weekend. I discovered that I really want to freeze my kids at the age which they are currently. Now, if you've spent any amount of time with me in the past two months (or even read this blog, particularly between the lines of it) and have witnessed me attempting to keep up with 3 boys age 4 and under, you may think I've gone completely off my rocker. True, it has been a rough adjustment to being a family of five, and true, my kids are BUSY, but just hear me out on this one. What I have realized about this stage is that, first of all, my boys' innocence is largely intact. The world, for the most part, has not invaded their lives enough to do them any permanent harm. Also, my kids LOVE each other. I can't say Ben is always particularly pleased to receive those eye-popping tight neck-hugs that Jeran is prone to give, but more often than not they are laughing together, hugging, and easily forgiving. JJ doesn't like to be where Ben is not, and their room sharing is, at this point, a joy to them both. Thirdly, my kids love ME - unconditionally, it would seem. Despite my doubts about myself as a mom, and the countless ways in which I fail them daily, I still, ten times a day, will hear "I love you, Mom. You're my best mommy" from Jeran, and will get an exuberant "MAMA!" from Ben followed by a hug (or pats on the back which he enjoys giving). Grayson is finally into smiling, and so easily gives me that lopsided grin which reveals the single dimple in his right cheek. And all this even though I may not be quick to praise or play (and, on Grayson's side, have openly declared that he's up for grabs during many a crying-filled day). I want this innocence and unwavering love to last. I don't want my children injured, either physically or emotionally, and I don't want to lose the closeness that I have with them and they have with each other. Does growing up automatically mean these things will happen? Well, to some extent, probably, yeah. And I guess I just want to put off the day when I witness it happening. Can my kids maintain some of their innocence or at least turn their loss of it into compassion for others? Can their love for me and each other remain tight? Certainly - with my intentional guidance. Once again I realize the gigantic task God has appointed to me in the raising of my sons. But, when all is said and done, I'm so blessed that he picked me to do it.