Survival

 

Last weekend, Noah and Joey wanted to practice "Survival" out in the back yard for a night or two. The idea came from a book Noah read not too long ago called My Side of the Mountain. The boy in the book runs away from home and lives in the Catskill Mountains, living only off what he can forage in the wild. It's a perfect 'boy book'.

So my boys decided they would take a few supplies outside (some apples, blankets, water, camping chairs, tarp), build their own shelter and see if they could survive. They weren't supposed to come inside except to go to the bathroom; which I'm pretty sure they didn't do since boys think it's fun to pee outside....sigh...... They did pretty well at first, built a great fire and ate some food - can't remember what they took out there to eat besides apples....?....

About 11:00 pm, Lance told them they needed to quit stoking the BONFIRE they had going because it was time to quiet down for the night. I think they fell asleep sometime around 1:00 am....Charlie the dog was in heaven, sleeping in the shelter with his two best buddies -  and the boys were in heaven because....well....they were outside!

I think they woke up around 6:00 am and took a walk around the neighborhood....I hate to think who they might have woken up at that hour! They came back and gathered some food to eat - dug up potatoes from the garden and some fennel. Noah said he roasted an apple and a potato over the fire. He even got some onions from the garden and put some onion juice on the potato! Not too bad! I think Joey just ate his apple, a raw potato and some fennel. (Fennel is an herb that tastes like licorice.)

Lance asked the boys to clean up the shelter for a little bit so that Noah could mow the lawn - and then they could set it back up again. As they were cleaning it up, Noah forgot that he had left his VERY SHARP, VERY DANGEROUS knife stuck in the ground under the shelter......yup....my barefoot boy walked right into the knife and sliced his toe!!!! He didn't even really feel it, just noticed A LOT of blood pouring from his foot. Fortunately Lance was there because I took one look at the blood and started silently panicking......

Lance got it all cleaned up - I did manage to give him some Blue Yarrow essential oils, which stopped the bleeding and caused the skin to close together, LOVE essential oils :) - the cut didn't look like it was deep enough to get stiches but Noah was pretty freaked out that he almost sliced his toe off.......

So....long story short, 'Survival' was cut short (haha...cut.....hahaha) and it may be a while before they get to have that adventure again!

BOYS. Never a dull moment.

Growing

The garden is planted. Very much scaled back from last year. Less time = less garden. Oh well, the important things are in. All the fixins for Lance's famous salsa. YUM. CANNOT WAIT FOR THAT!!!

The lilac bush we planted last year is blooming for the first time. We planted it in memory of my sweet Momma who has been gone for 2 years now. Can't believe she's been gone that long. I REALLY miss her. But I love seeing that bush and thinking of her. Lilacs were her favorite.

             

We also decided to put in some sunflowers this year. We lined the garden fence with them, so hopefully there will be lots of them and they will grow big and tall and strong.         

                                          

And speaking of big and tall and strong.....look at these beautiful babies. Not one of them is a baby anymore. Even the baby is a little girl now. They are growing too. It seems like almost every day I am noticing something about them that seems more grown up.....Noah is about 1/2 inch away from matching me in height and he is being more responsible in many ways. Joey is getting better at reading and is such a sweet big brother to Anna. She adores him! (He will still play house with her which is a huge bonus for her!) And little miss Anna is such a joy to have around. She wakes up smiling and is starting to form her own opinions about what's right and wrong and isn't afraid to voice it!

I guess along with the garden, we're all growing. Growing together. Physically, emotionally and spiritually. Each child is figuring out their role in our family and Lance and I are trying to guide them, love them and help them on this journey of life. Sometimes it's incredibly hard, often slightly confusing and always beautifully rewarding. 

How blessed we are to witness and experience GROWTH, in ALL it's forms. The plants in the garden that will produce yumminess (physical growth), the lilacs that remind us that our loved ones are always with us (spiritual growth), the sunflowers that give us hope of things to come (emotional growth) and the children who remind us of ALL of the above.

True Love

I've been thinking about this since Valentine's day.....

I remember being in kindergarten and having my first 'boyfriend'. His name was Jeff Tate and at that point in life I am pretty sure that I didn't really know what a boyfriend was.....but I think I told my mom that I loved him.

Fast forward to 6th grade camp. This is where I met my next true love, Scott Berg. He was 'such a babe' as we used to say way back then. He had black hair, brown eyes, tight wrangler jeans and nike tennis shoes. The only thing I could find wrong with him was that he was slightly shorter than me. On the last night of camp at the dance we danced together and I think we kissed behind a clump of pine trees. Heavy sigh......I was totally in love with him and signed my name "Lee Ann Berg" for months after that. I talked about him to all my friends and I was pretty sure we were going to get married someday. Never saw him again.....

I had lots of crushes on boys in junior high and high school - some 'serious' boyfriends. There were boys that I even got into fights with other girls about. There were some really nice boys and some not so nice. Some that I was totally and completely and absolutely in love with and swore that we would get married just as soon as I was out of high school. Thank the heavens I didn't!!!!

In May of 1991 I met THE ONE. Tall, dark and handsome. (Okay, he's tall compared to me.) Dark brown hair, beautiful blue eyes. And this time, it was for real. You've read on this blog how we met and that whole story. We were married and have been working on that whole happily ever after thing. It really is true when cute, old married couples say "We love each other more every day"..... Not that we are particularly cute and definitely NOT old, but you know what I mean.

And then we started our family. I have been completely, totally 100% in love with every child that God has blessed us with. The moment that Rebecca placed Noah in my arms, the moment that Tasha placed Joey in my arms and the moment that Laura placed Anna in my arms is deeply etched into my heart. These are moments that I will never, ever forget. These were the moments that I realized that I was only beginning to understand what true love felt like.

 True love for our birth mothers was to trust in God enough to know that our family was where these children were supposed to be. They loved these precious babies enough to make the most difficult decision that they will probably ever have to make. These women, each with different stories, different backgrounds, different circumstances have taught me what true love REALLY is.

Painting Toenails

Yesterday was Anna's 4th birthday. She woke up around 8:30 and walked into the kitchen. Hair all crazy and cute as can be in her green footie pajamas. The boys immediately started singing "Happy Birthday to You! Happy Birthday....." Anna starts yelling - while putting her hands out to her sides - "Guys! Guys! Wait a second, wait! I have to tell you something!" The boys continue to sing and then she gets really mad and says, "Guys! Stop it! I have to say something!" They finally realize that she is serious and stop all the fanfare.

Then she tells us that in the middle of the night she got scared, came into the front room and saw all her pink balloons hanging from the ceiling (a birthday tradition in our house). She was so excited to know that her birthday was the next day that she forgot all about being scared and went back into her bed!

Joey was SO excited to give her the present he bought with his VERY own money! He spent an entire $1 at the local thrift store to buy Anna her baby carrier. She was SO excited!

Next came Noah with his present. He bought her some lip gloss and nail polish with his own money - and she LOVED this present. She said, "How did you know that this is what I wanted?"

She wanted to paint her nails RIGHT AWAY - so both boys offered to paint her toenails for her! I just had to smile at these two big brothers who aren't afraid to do something 'girly' for their favorite little sister! Aren't big brothers THE BEST?!

Cozy

 


What is it about newly fallen, green, yellow and brown crunchy leaves that calls to children? Where did the tradition start of making leaf piles and then jumping into them? Ask any child on the planet what they love about the fall and almost all of them will say, "Making leaf piles and jumping into them!"

This is what my kids were doing just a few days ago. I love seeing them play together. There is 3 1/2 years between Noah and Joey, and 5 years between Joey and Anna. And yet they play together really well. Most of the time. Except for when Noah picks on Joey because he can, and Joey gets frustrated with Anna because she's 3, and then I get frustrated with the bunch of them! Anyway - that's off the subject.

So, after this day of playing in the leaves - the next thing we know this happens!

                                 

 

Although I'm not sure that I was ready for this weather - I am ready for all of the things that go with it. I am ready for cozy jammies (any time of the day), hot cocoa and snuggling on my couch reading a good book to my babies. I am ready for watching the snowflakes coming down thick while Anna shouts. "Look Momma! Hno! (remember, she leaves the S off most words beginning with S!) Winter time is the time our family spends more time in the house; playing board games, reading good books, drawing, coloring and watching good movies while eating popcorn (with butter and parmesan cheese!). It's time to cuddle and snuggle and be cozy. To be together. To slow down. To appreciate the opportunity to just enjoy being a family. 

The thing is...I'm afraid this brief deluge of snow will be short lived. It's supposed to get into the 50's this week so most of this will probably melt away.....but that's okay because I know the 'real' cozy time is just around the corner anyway!

But for today, it's homemade chicken soup, homemade bread 
and cuddling by the fire.

Lizards and cactus and tarantulas, oh my!

So last Wednesday night at about 8:00 pm, we decided to join a group of friends that were going to Zion National Park the next day! For anyone who knows Lance, this is kind of a big deal....'spontaneity' is not his strongest characteristic! :) He worked a half day on Thursday, came home and loaded up the camping gear and we were off. We said we were going to leave at 12:30 - which actually turned into 2:30...sigh....oh well, at least we were 'getting away!'

After many, many stops - getting ice for the cooler, stopping to get a late lunch, potty breaks, filling up the gas tank, pulling over because the luggage thingamajig on the roof opened up, more potty breaks and cleaning up Anna's puke (she frequently gets car sick....#somuchfun!) we finally rolled into the campground about 8:00 pm. And setting up the tent in the dark, that always brings a smile......It was at this point that I discovered we forgot: bowls and cups, socks for Noah, heavier coats for Lance and me, Lance's toothbrush, Lance's fleece pajama bottoms, socks for Joey and extra blankets. This is gonna be great. :)

Since we only own one cot, Lance let me use it on this trip - I know, such a gentleman :) - and the first night I didn't blow my camping pad up enough and it felt sort of like being in a hot dog bun. At some point in the night Anna got scared and crawled up in there with me...we became two hot dogs in one bun.

The campground was huge with lots of room to run and play. Joey, being the bug/insect/animal officionado that he is, found this guy and a smaller one as well. 


All the kids were SO enthralled with this 
blue bellied lizard - they all followed Joey 
around for at least an hour yelling, 
"Let me hold him! Let me hold him! 
Please Joey! Pleeeeaaaze!"

Joey offered to let me hold it, but I politely declined. Ew.

We went on several hikes - Weeping rock, the base of The Narrows and Emerald Pools. Oh that hike was fun....Noah decided to run WAY ahead of the group and consequently got separated from the rest of us for over an hour. I was much more panicked than Lance, but after a silent but heartfelt prayer, we ended up finding him on our way down the mountain. There are few things as frightening as realizing your child is lost. But of course, in Noah's case - he wasn't lost - he knew exactly where he was the whole time. (grrrrrrrr...)

The kids had a Junior Ranger book they were filling out to become an official 'Junior Ranger' and they had to find certain wildlife and plants. Cactus was on the list. On the shuttle up the canyon we saw lots and lots of cactus. Anna was so thrilled to point out every single plant she saw! Cactus! Another cactus Momma! Cactus! Oh, there's some more cactus!  They also had to find a tarantula - I thought, "Let's HOPE they don't!" But they did. On the trail up to the Narrows, there was a tarantula sitting right on the side of the trail!! 

Lance took a quick photo and I strongly encouraged everyone to just keep moving along, please and thank you. 

We camped from Thursday till Sunday and at the end of it all I felt tired and dirty, sore and stinky and did I mention tired? Oh, and dirty? On the drive home I found myself asking why, oh why, do we pack up so much stuff, clean up puke from a car-sick little girl, get so dirty, sleep like hot dogs in a bun, get so stinky, panic because of lost children, and stay up too late around the campfire?

I decided we do it for a few reasons:

#1 - Our children absolutely LOVE camping.

#2 - Our children absolutely LOVE camping.

#3 - Our children absolutely LOVE camping.

Quite simply - we do it for them. Now don't get me wrong - I do enjoy camping. Perhaps not to the level our kids do, but I do love being in the beautiful outdoors. I love being away from the distractions of 'the world'. But honestly, the reality is this: they love it and sometimes.... that's enough.

Kids say the darndest things....

The kids and I went on a hike today....the autumn colors really are amazing...reds, oranges and yellows.... 

. 
Just as we begin our hike, we look up and we see this little guy about 5 feet away from us up in the tree! He is just munching away on his acorn (I think that's what he had in his little paws) I took way too many pictures of him (I mean, really, what AM I going to do with 10 pictures of little Mr. Squirrel???)  Noah asks me about 34 times if he could PLEEEEEAZE just hit it with his sling shot. "Pleeeaze Mom, pleeeaze! I could so hit it; he's right there! Please!" Of course I say NO. Mean mom, right? I don't know, I guess I just figure if we're out enjoying nature, we probably shouldn't allow killing.....

As we continue on our hike, we talk about how adorable Mr. Squirrel is and how fun it is to be out in nature and all the cool things we get to see. 

Then little Anna says, "Momma, if that little quirrel (she doesn't really say her S's at the beginning of words yet) fell out of the tree, I would just bend oba (over) and coop (scoop) him up in my hands and cuddle him in my arms" So. Stinkin. Cute. Then Noah says, "Not me - before he fell out of the tree I would hit him with my sling shot, and watch him fall down, then I'd skin him, cook him and eat him and keep the skin and make a coat! Well, I'd have to kill a bunch of them to make a coat." He is SUCH a twelve year old boy. Joey doesn't say anything - he's too busy picking up three million leaves and shoving them in his backpack. He just loves all of the colors and every single leaf is so beautiful and unique that he must take them ALL home. 

Noah continues to BEG and PLEAD with me to please let him kill a chipmunk or squirrel or something that moves, with his sling shot. I continue to tell him no and try to convince him it's just as much fun to hit a tree as it is a moving target. He isn't buying it.

Anna starts to complain, "Momma, my legs are so tired! Carry me! Carry me!" Well, time to head back down the mountain I suppose.

Anna came home with tired little legs, Joey came home with three million and one leaves and Noah came home still wishing he could have inflicted death upon some innocent creature....I came home feeling refreshed and grateful for the beautiful things that God has put in my life; autumn colors, the air that is just barely turning chilly and the chance to be with my little ones....to run and play with them and to laugh at the things they say....