G'Day Mate!

Our Vacation Bible School theme this year was the Boomerang Express. The boys had an absolute blast! At the end of the week, they participated in the musical program- well, sort of. If you watch the video, you will see what I mean. Even though both of them practiced, only one finished strong. I love their different personalities!

Say Cheese!

Summer time brings water fun in this crazy Columbia heat! We went to the spray pool earlier in the week. It was Olivia's first time and, obviously, she enjoyed her self.

Learned Lesson

I am sure I will have to experience innocence lost with my children. CJ and I do our best to let them keep their innocence as long as possible as best we can in this Soddom and Gommorah in which we live: Mainly thorugh protecting their eyes. Boys are so intrigued- and later on stimulated- by sight, it's imperative to me to guard their eyes while I am training them in these early years on what is more important to focus. However, their hearts can only be guarded for so long by me. Sometimes, when they realize the reality is not what they expected, it stings. Cole got a quick lesson in that.

It's no secret my boys love to be either in their underwear or dressed up like super heroes. I suppose it's only natural they would like to wear their costumes out in public. I suppose since we go to a Lowe's where I have seen some in p.j.'s (not me, Dena :) ), it would not be against any decency laws. So, on a trip to Lowe's, Cole decides to wear the Batman regala complete with the mask. I'm not sure how he expected to be received; maybe with thanks of gratitude for continually defeating the bad guys. Maybe he wanted a free soda (very restricted at our house- we have enough energy) for his keen wit. All I know is the conversation went like this:

Cole: Mom, when we get to the store, you just push me around in the buggy because it's a little hard to see in this mask.

Me: Cole, what will you say if people talk to you as if you're Batman.

Cole: Mom, I AM Batman. I think they will like to see me out.

Me: OK, we can do that.

Upon entering, needless to say, not too many people noticed how I was lucky enough to be pushing in THE Batman. They basically just went around their business doing thier thing. We got an occassinal look and brief smile and there was a teenage employee who, indeed, thanked Batman for all of his hard work. But for the most part, it was a quiet trip. We got a few snickers and it was hard to tell if they were snickers like, "Oh my gosh, I can't believe his mom let him out that way." or "Look at him, he is so cute." It was probably a bit of both. But since 5 year olds don't distinguish a sarcastic tone from another one(Note to CJ ;) ), I found my protective mom mode kicking in and trying to avoid the aisles with the perpetrater laughers. When we got into the van, my son proved, once again, he was much more keen than I ever think is.

Cole: Mom, no one seemed to notice me.

Me: Maybe they did and just thought you didn't want to be bothered.

Cole: Well, I looked at people and smiled. They didn't smile back. I even took my mask off so they would not be scared.

Me: Cole, not all people will be kind to you just because you're kind to them. But that doesn't mean we stop being kind. And besides, what about that guy who thanked you for fighting the bad guys?

Cole: Yeah, but that was only one out of all the people I saw.

Me: One is better than none and that must be how lots of other heroes feel when they aren't noticed.

The fact my five year old was brave enough to wear that Batman costume to the store tells me I have the makings of a mighty warrior on my hands. The fact he noticed others tells me he has a compassionate heart.

Lord, guide CJ and me as we seek to train these boys to be seekers of You and warriors for the cross. May we impart knowledge and guidance to them as You grow them and give them talent and wisdom. As mighty as I want them to be, more than that, I want them to be reckless abandoned men after Your heart.

Small and Compact

Not many people can say they still get to bathe their 10 month old in the sink (and our sink is smaller than most standard sized sinks); but really?! How cute is she?!?!

Feeling the Jeffcoat Love

I am definitely getting soft in my old age.

Last fall, we had a stray cat mosey up to our door with the loudest meow! Because the boys play outside so much, they fell in love with her and I agreed to feed her as long as she stayed OUTSIDE! When winter came, it was so cold and she looked o pitiful, so I gave in allowing her to come inside for a couple of nights. A couple led to many and now, Lola has become a permanent member of the Jeffcoat House. Ms. Lola decided we needed to expand and gave u some kittens 8 weeks ago. CJ and I were not amused. Having littel knowledge of how cats operate (we have always had dogs), we found out kittens nurse for about 6-8 weeks and then they can be separated for their mom. We took them to 7 and off they went. Now, as you can imagine, the boys- much to my chargrin- grew close to the kittens. I believe it was the whole "I want what I can'y have thing." because I wold not even let them hold them but once a week. But nonetheless, somehow, how all 5 kittens were named (a couple by me admittantly :) ).

As we are driving around several different places trying to find homes for these animals the boys still had in their minds that somehow, we would keep at least 3 of them: Kitten Batman, Kitten Robin, and Kitten Spider Man. When I finally came out of a door with an empty kennel, you would have thought I had just taken off a pinky toe of theirs. They began wailing and tearing their clothes in sorrow (nah, just kidding about the tearing clothes part)! My most pouty son said, "Mom, how could you do that? I never even got to say good bye!" My spunky one said the worst thing he could possibly think to call me, "Mama, you're a poopey diaper baby!" My logical thinker replied, "Mom, we could have kept at least one. We could take care of just one." Of course the baby was clueless.

We wrapped up our day going to McDonald's and eventually, I wasn' receiving the "Mom, you're so mean" look. Ms. Lola has an appointment to get spayed later next month.

So Sad

It's me, the slackest blogger as of late.
I have come to the conclusion that I can not do it all. I can do anything just not everything (at once) and I need to choose what captures my heart, not necessarily my eye. So, for me, that has been facebooking (because it is like an online social cafeteria), cleaning (or trying to), cooking, playing with my kids, teaching them responsibility by staying in behind them while they do "chores", and teaching preschool. "Why would I teach preschool?" you may ask; it's simple: I love teaching! I have been trained in that field and I truly enjoy it. It's also an outlet for me as I enjoy researching and planning stuff. We are plannng to homeschool our children, so I had a brief time where I could serve other children and there became a need at the boys' preschool/ mother's moring out. It has left time for very little extra curricular activities for myself. When you have 4 kids, it's time consuming enough. Throw in a part time job (no matter how few hours), it makes things crazy. I really do not know how moms work full time and balance it all! Hats off to them! And I will admit, it's easy for me to lose focus and make certain things more important that they should be. I am so thankful for my husband who not only lets me stay home (even though we would benefit from the extra money), but encourages me to do so. I'm the type of person who would lose the balance in the wrong direction.

So, it's been about 6 months since I've posted. I better get busy- tomorrow ;).

Santa Baby

Olivia had a great first CHRISTmas. She was the social butterfly and then soothed herself with a new trick.