Reciprocal

I just got two thank you notes in the mail from friends for things I had done for them. One card said they wished they could repay me one day for all I had done. The word that came to my mind right then was reciprocal. I have been and I know that I will be blessed. Whether or not it is from her. That is how God works. He always takes care of His children. Nice things are done to be nice - to show love and support. I dont ever expect repayment. I think we just go through life doing the nice things that we can do, blessing others as much as we can. Then whether we are blessed back by them or not, its all ok. Someone will bless me. For sure, my life is a life truly blessed. Both my friends have touched lives in ways they would never know. So as long as we all try to bless others and not be selfish, everyone will feel blessed.

All by myself

Im so glad that Haven has started to feed herself. She can use a spoon all by herself and now Im virtually hands free feeding! I love the independence. Here are some pics of her new feat. Also, some of Justus' road he concocted out of his bristle blocks.

Justus' new job

Since Justus is now 3, I thought I should start incorporating jobs into his routine. The first one is making his bed. Here is a pic after he did it and then with Mommys extra help.

Catch up

So to catch you up on our milestone - Justus is doing beautifully. Actually the only reason why we got the rail in the first place - his bed is a double and plenty wide - is cause it is so high off the ground. I honestly wouldnt have minded a fall from a normal bed, but this was a little scary. So we went with the rail. But he seems to be doing fine without it! What a blessing!

On our lawn, I was biffed this afternoon when I saw a notice from the Water people saying that we got a Water Waste Violation. Apparently we were watering on a non-water day. Please tell me how Im supposed to keep our new lawn alive and not water it?

Nice surprise...I got paid an honorarium for leading the girl group this past weekend. Didnt know Id get paid!! Woo-hoo!

Any who....here are some random pics of the kids. So cute!

Another milestone....

Tonight Justus is sleeping in his bed without the side-rail...check with us in the morning to see how it went!

Whirlwind weekend

This weekend was like a whirlwind. We had signed up to be a host home for our youth group. They, instead of going away for a retreat, planned on staying at different homes for the weekend, meet in small groups and then also do large group sessions with worship and a speaker. The host home stuff would have been a breeze since you dont have to go to anything, you just feed them a few meals and make sure they have a place to sleep - even if it is the floor. But a few weeks out our youth pastor, who is a personal friend, asked me to be a leader also. After talking it over with Neil, I said yes. I do really love youth and have always been involved with them until I had kids. The theme for the weekend was Identity. But anyways, saying yes meant I had to be out til midnight fri night while the kids bowled which meant I didnt get to sleep until about 2 or 2:30, had to be up in time to help Neil get the kids out the door to Gigis house cause Neil was laying our sod. Then it was go-go-go all day. Which I am used to an afternoon nap and of course that didnt happen. Then another late night because of a late session and then wrap-up small group session. Not in bed until about midnight or a little after. Then up early to make it to church. But, it was fun and I enjoyed getting to know some of our youth. I had 8 freshmen and sophomores in my house and 2 leaders. And, after all was said and done, we have grass!! and I think the students had a great time. Whirlwind tho it was, it was worthwhile!!

Didnt get any pics of the students, but here are some of the house....

Am I crazy??

Yesterday evening while we were all out in the front yard (cause we are still getting cleaned up for sod) we saw a couple from our neighborhood that has young kids like ours. We had met them before but it was mostly in passing. Well we stopped and chatted with them a bit cause you know, we like to be neighborly. While we were chatting their cute-as-a-button 3 year old girl was being very sweet and fun. Then all of a sudden she totally hit and was trying to push Justus. Thankfully Justus is a big kid and well-mannered (if not at the doctor at least in all other public places) so he didnt retaliate. The parents didnt really react. Then Justus and the girl started running together down the sidewalk which I found totally acceptable and fun. But then it happened again and again - the little girl kept pushing Justus. As moms, you know we are always watching. The Dad then said that this is what she does for attention and they just ignore it. He said they really arent bad parents, they just feel this is the best way to handle it. My jaw wanted to drop! I couldnt believe he was saying that. Im thinking "Really? Thats the best way??" Am I crazy? Is this really normal? Im thinking that Baby 101 is either move the object or move the baby. And if you cant move your kids play partner, shouldnt you remove her - like in a time-out?? I mean really? Does my kid have to just sit there and take it if your kid is trying to get attention?? So when we were done visiting, which I did call Justus over to me to keep him out of harms way, I told Justus that if someone hits him to tell them to "Stop, youre hurting me!" in a really loud voice. And then I also told him he could tell them "Thats mean." I dont know if that part is right...but gracious, he doesnt need to sit there and take it! I know our kids dont always act like perfect angels, but shouldnt the parents acknowledge it and then punish it if it persists?

So am I crazy?? You other moms out there...what do you think? How would you have handled it??