My Faith and Joy… and Boys!

Yesterday we returned from a wonderful week-long vacation to Orlando, Florida.  As we left the baggage claim, loaded down with suitcases stuffed with flip flops and Disney souvenirs,  we were hit with a gust of icy wind and I could feel my spirits flag.  How I longed for the warm Florida sun!  How I disliked having to hunch my shoulders against the cold!  How I feared driving on those wintry roads!  But when we arrived safely home, the first thing my boys did was jump into their snowsuits and snow boots and head back outside to plow the driveway with their dad.  And once they finished that, the boys gleefully rolled around in the snow as if it were a sandy beach.  The girls sat and watched the snowfall as they surrounded themselves with art projects, and I made hot chocolate to warm up the frozen troops.   I told myself not to think about the palm trees and sunny skies…those were indeed beautiful, but not more beautiful than the frosted trees and quiet dignity of the white hillside behind our house.  I absolutely love spring, summer and fall here in New England, and if a cold winter is the price to pay for the green splendor, then so be it. 

I may feel like grumbling as I scrub the muddy footprints off the entry stairs for the hundredth time, but those footprints are joyful ones, left by kids who can’t get enough of stomping through the snow, and by a husband who serves his family by happily plowing, blowing, shoveling, scooping, and raking the snow away (yes, we have to rake the roof!). 

Our vacation to Florida was perfect; we loved every minute of it.  But it’s good to be back.  Jimmy put it well when he was asked to identify his favorite part of the trip: “Coming home!”

(Thanks to my mom for the title of this blog post – that was the perfect phrase to capture our day!)

It’s Build-A-Bear time again!  The kids were THRILLED to receive gift cards from their cousins for Christmas, and since they had been planning their next stuffed creation for months, they quickly got down to business once we got to the store.  Becky picked a My Little Pony, Susie chose a Hello Kitty, Jimmy got a Camouflage bear, and Danny got a Spiderman bear.  We all had so much fun! 

For the last few months, although I put Jimmy and Danny down for a nap each afternoon like clockwork, Jimmy hasn’t slept.  In the beginning, he blamed his wakefulness on Danny’s antics.  And that was probably true – Danny creates quite a racket in his crib, and it’s no wonder Jimmy had a hard time resting.  However, recently, Danny has usually fallen asleep after an initial noisy period, so Jimmy’s sleeplessness was on him.   Usually Jimmy was very quiet and simply rolled around in his bed, looking at books and biding his time until Danny woke up a couple hours later.  However lately (and may be partly due to the fact that Jimmy stopped sucking his thumb in November and therefore has been less content to just lay there), Jimmy has gotten into the habit of calling for me mid-nap, after Danny has zonked out, and asking to go to the bathroom and play in another room.  I initially resisted, as I didn’t want to lose my own quiet time, and I still think Jimmy needs downtime.  I also philosophically believe it’s important for kids to have regular situations where they are left to their own devices with next to nothing to do…that’s the time they are most imaginative and reflective.  But Jimmy and I figured out a compromise: on days that Danny falls asleep, Jimmy can call for me and I’ll take him out of his room and let him play quietly in the spare guest room.  He won’t have anything in there that he didn’t already have in his crib – a few books and a few toys – but this way I won’t have to worry about him waking Danny up because he needs to go to the bathroom (there’s an attached bathroom to the guest room), and I still have my time to myself, since Jimmy is good about staying in the room.  So we’ll see if we continue this arrangement.  Right now, it’s working out well!

You never know what masterpiece Susie is going to create when she asks for the construction paper and tape!  She emerged shortly thereafter sporting a functioning purse, a flip phone, and even some paper money stuffed inside!

Asking Jimmy to dress his little brother may not have been efficient, but it was enjoyable – and entertaining!