Tagged

My friend Rosie tagged me with the question:
"What is the meaning of your kids' names?"

Micah Ryan: Humble Little Ruler
We really wanted a strong biblical name that was uncommon, but not weird. We chose the name Micah because of the verse Micah 6:8.
He has showed you, O man, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.
His middle name is Ryan named after his father of course and it means "little ruler."

Amelia Grace: Work of the Lord
Amelia was the only girl's name that Ryan and I could agree on and the meaning was nice too. What greater calling than to do the work of the Lord encompassed in grace.

Amazing

It all began this morning when the kids let us sleep until 6:45!!! Micah still got up at 5:30, but he played quietly downstairs for over an hour and Amelia slept until 7:15!!! Amazing.

We were playing in Micah's room when he decided to clean up his room. Then he asked me, "Can I make my bed?" Amazing.

We had planned to go to Cannon Beach for the day but never heard back from the friends we were going to meet up with, so we decided to go to the zoo instead. Amelia didn't nap all morning and was great in the stroller. She even enjoyed seeing some of the animals. We pressed our luck and went out to lunch at the cafe at the zoo and she still did fine. Amazing.

Micah had so much fun. The last time we went was about a year ago and he had fun, but you could tell that he would rather play on the play equipment at the zoo than see the animals. Today he LOVED seeing the animals. I did too, frankly. One of the first ones we saw, the otters, were playing. One was playing with a big plastic bucket. The chimpanzee gave us quite a show and jumped up to the glass while we were looking at it. Micah walked a lot and only ran out of gas for short periods of time. He was able to refuel by sitting in the stroller for a few minutes. He didn't complain at all. Amazing.

The weather was incredible. It was overcast the whole time, but never rained. It was a little cool, so we wore sweatshirts. There was hardly anyone there. Amazing.

We drove back to my parents' house for afternoon naps and Micah slept for 2 hours. Amelia is still sleeping. Ryan and I both took a nap too. Amazing.

Something to Cry About

This morning Ryan was cleaning the toilet (I know, my husband is the best) and he told Micah to put something in Amelia's crib.
Micah: I'll just put it here so that I can watch you clean the toilet.
Ryan: But thats not what I told you to do. Go put it in the crib please.
Micah: (lots of whines, crawling) But I want to watch Daddy.
Me: Micah, do what Daddy says right away.
Micah: (more whining, etc.)

Then I took Micah upstairs for a talk and when we were done he came back down to continue to watch Ryan. However, Ryan was done cleaning the toilet. For the next 2 minutes we heard...
Micah: (Crying while saying this) But I wanted to watch Daddy clean the toilet!

What have you cried about this morning?

Amelia's Songs

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Pictures

Here is an update on Amelia's new room. I painted the letters of her name and hung them up with ribbon over her crib.

Note the crib bumper is weaved in and out of the crib bars. It keeps her binkies in the crib but doesn't allow her a step for climbing out of the crib. Genius... I know.

Here's the valance I made for the window in her new room. I hand stitched the black rope onto the fabric (obviously). But I was pretty proud of it. Some of my "Design on a penny" techniques.

This is the progress of the wall we're having built to complete Amelia's room. We can't wait until it is done.
This is the other part that will be completed along with the wall. There was an awkward window coming from our bedroom upstairs looking out into the livingroom. We're having the contractor sheetrock over it. That wall that you see will be white when we are done. Because of the stall in progress, we pinned up a blanket in the window.
Obviously our computer is up and running again. I am so glad. I can post pictures again.

Prayers for my kids

I heard on the radio the other day that God might wake you up to pray for your kids. So when I woke up at 5:30 the other morning, that's what I did. These are the things that I felt urged to pray for:

I pray that Amelia will find her identity completely in you. That she would not seek approval from the world, but that she will find her worth in being a child of God. I pray that she will be one of those people who ooze your love and goodness, that people will be drawn to her because they feel a little bit closer to you when they come in contact with her. Give her the desire to be friends with the friendless and to show your love to those who so desperately need it.

I pray that Micah will speak your truth with confidence. He desires to know you, to serve you, and to do what is right. Give me the wisdom to teach him about you in words that he understands and give him the courage to share that truth and your incredible grade with everyone he comes in contact with. I pray that he will live out your truth in everything he does and says.

I've heard it many times, but the Lord has really impressed on me how important it is that I pray for my children. I plan to put those prayers on my blog. Thanks for reading a bit of this mother's heart.

Running out of Toots

One of Micah's favorite sayings is that he is running out of gas. Meaning he is too tired to keep walking, riding his bike, picking up toys, etc. In other words, it is his current favorite excuse. This morning we were driving to a friend's house and passed by a gas station. Micah was in one of his silly moods.
Micah: "Mom, do we put gas into the car's mouth?"
Me: "No, it goes into the gas tank."
Micah: "Wouldn't it be funny if we put gas in our mouths."
Me: (rolling my eyes) "Yep. That would be funny."
Micah: "Would it be funny if we put gas in our tummies."
Me: "Sometimes we do have gas in our tummies. Then it comes out our bottoms like toots."
Micah: ... thinking... "Sometimes I run out of toots."

Clumsy Mom

Yesterday I was walking out the door of a friend's house carrying Amelia when I just fell. My ankle twisted and after a little slow motion I was on the ground. Amelia was fine, but I got a nasty scrape on my ankle. I think this might be the third time I've fallen while carrying Amelia. Poor Girl.

FYI I haven't been posting pictures because our computer is broken for the moment. It should be up and running by this weekend. I'll post some pics then.

More Quotes

Micah likes to play "Spiderman." In fact, I have earned the title of "Spider-Mom." He runs around telling me who he is fighting. I said, "Don't you fight the Green Goblin?" He said, "Yep. I have to go fight the sound guy... and the green goblet."

He also runs into the room and says "Spiderman" in a sing-songy voice and pushes his hip out to the side. He did this the other day and I leaned over to Ryan and said, "Maybe a female version of Spiderman." Not 10 seconds later, Micah said, "Spiderman virgin!" Apparently he heard me say version but it didn't come out the same.

Never a dull moment.

The Fly Spanker

We had just arrived at Grandma and Grandpa Brody's house to get ready for our Mother's Day barbeque when Micah offered some advice to Grandpa.

"Grandpa, if you see a fly, you can just take the fly spanker and just spank the fly"

A conversation in the car

Micah: Mom, I don't want Garrett to come over to my house because he's mean to me.
Me: Do you know what Jesus says we should do when people are mean to us?
Micah: What?
Me: He says we should still be nice to them.
*pause*
Micah: Does Jesus get mad when we are mean to him?
Me: No, he still loves us.
Micah: But I thought he gets sad when we are mean.
Me: He does get sad, but he still loves us.
*pause*
Micah: I'm going to pray about that.
Me: Okay.
Micah: Dear Jesus, thank you for today. Thank you that you still love us even when we're mean to you. Amen. Was that a good prayer mom?

Things that make Amelia MAD!!!

All of these things happened today and nearly everyday.

1. getting her diaper/clothes changed
2. taking the car keys away from her
3. running out of diet coke at the fast-food restaurant
4. not holding her hands to help her when she wants to walk
5. taking her out of the baby swing at the park
6. closing a cupboard door as she is crawling toward it
7. holding, eating, or cutting a banana in front of her without giving it to her

Our little girl has a temper and a soft snuggly side too.

Recent Pictures

Family pictures at Easter

My big girl

A Conversation With Dad

Micah: Dad, when I'm big enough to drive, I'm always going to drive the special way to Jessie's (the babysitter).
Dad: Do you think we will still go to Jessie's when you can drive?
Micah: Yeah, because I'll drive you and Mommy there so Jessie can watch my babies, and then I'll take you and Mommy home, and we'll visit for a while and then I'll go to work.
Dad: Sounds like a good plan.

Melts my heart.