My boys

I have noticed something this week about my boys and I decided to share my revelation. My two boys are very different and very similar. Their temperaments, their likes/dislikes, their physiques are very different. However, their love for rough housing, their sports-mindedness, their love for their mother are very much the same. One very significant similiarity is that they are both homebodies. When Owen was little, he was extreme. His extreme was why I quit working. Ian has always been a bit more subtle. I am not sure if this is due to his personality or if he had less of a choice. Owen only had one older sibling to go places where Ian had three. (I think)I have finally figured out why they get so out of whack if we are not home enough. My boys are totally different at home than they are anywhere else. I discovered just this weekend that very few people actually KNOW my boys. There are some family members and a few close friends. That is so the opposite of my girls - they are "what you see is what you get" all the time. Owen and I went to Hickory this weekend for a gymnastics meet. So many people told me how well-mannered he was, how attentive, how he was really focused. Now, I was there and I totaly agree that he was all of those things. However, I saw all over his face that it took everything he had. We were in a new gym with different coaches, different kids, judges, etc. He knew to be on his "best behavior." It was not something I coached, it just happened. Out in public, neither of my boys hardly speak; but at home they rattle off like crazy; talking, screaming, wrestling, aggrivating, etc, etc. I think it is great that they know how to behave outside of our house and that home is their "safe haven." I am also grateful for those few places and people who have invested in my boys' lives and get a real glimpe of how great they really are - inside and out!

Happy Birthday, Owen!

My blog is doing something crazy with the pictures. So, I will give my thoughts then share the pictures. Owen is by far my most strong-willed child. He was born with his own ideas of how things should go. He is the salmon of our family. However, under that pricklyness, there is a wonderful, beautiful, intelligent, talented young man. Owen has my weakness for passion. He is very passionate about what he believes in (whether right or wrong :) ). He is stuck in traditions and thrives with a predictable schedule. He is slow - unless chasing a football. He hates math - unless you are talking sports stats. He loves Jesus, his family, football, the Washington Redskins, and NC State. He is an accomplished gymnast and a 2nd degree Black belt. He is our resident geography whiz, president whiz, and animal specialist. Ryan teases that my "momma bear claws" will come out the fastest to defend Owen. He is my true diamond in the ruff. I cannot believe he is 12 today. Happy Birthday, Owen!
This is Owen the day we came home from the hospital.
He has always been a climber. Emily didn't like him to play with this house because he moved the furniture. This is what he did while she was at preschool.

Storms

Last week was one week I wouldn't want to ever do over. It was stressful from beginning to end. There were days where I just wanted to open the cover of my Bible and wrap it tightly around me - like an infant in a blanket. I didn't want to teach the children, clean the house, cook the meals, wash the clothes, play taxi driver, etc., etc. Tax season is tough on us. Ryan is torn between his responsibilities at work vs his responsibilities here and struggles to find enough energy for both. I struggle with bouncing from leader to follower; leading in his absence - following in his prescence. The kids struggle with who's in charge and just the daily schedule. When the kids were younger, Ryan hated to hear my distressed call of "what time did you say you were coming home?" As the kids have gotten older, the call is different. It is more of a challenge to get them to all their activities as well as keep him in the loop of where we are, what is going on, etc. However, one thing I have learned this week is that there are somethings you should never take for granted. It is easy to get comfortable where we are and no longer notice the things around us or the people around us. During my distress calls to the Lord this week I came across this quote: "Those who abandon ship the first time it enters a storm miss the calm beyond. And the rougher the storms weathered together, the deeper and stronger real love grows." (Ruth Bell Graham) I think of how many things/blessings we may miss out on because we aren't willing to buckle down and weather the storm. I'll be honest, I don't like storms - especially big ones; I cannot control storms, I cannot predict storms. However, I am equipped with what I need to weather storms and to learn from them. This is my new favorite verse "Search me, O God, and know my heart; try me and know my anxious thoughts; and see if there be any hurtful way in me, and lead me in the everlasting way." (Psalm 139: 23-24)