Guard Your Hearts, People...

This song has been on my heart, lately. 

Ryan and I have always held that it is the small things that have the potential to lead to big problems in our marriage.  So, we try to carefully guard our marriage in the little things.  I think, though, that this is true of any area of sin.  When you see someone do something and think, "How could you DO that?  What were you thinking?" I believe the answer is very simple.  Look at the small, everyday, insignificant choices in their life, and they will point to the end result.

Guard your thoughts.  Guard your mind.  "The journey from your mind to your hands is shorter than you're thinking..."  And when you sin, "it's the little feet behind you that are sure to follow..." and suffer.

"Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life." Prov. 4:23 (NLT)

Treehouse News - February

So, after hard drive issues on my computer, I think I am finally up and running again.  This blogging thing is turning into a once a month deal!  Oh, well.  I will just hope and pray that it gets better.  =0)

Just like January, February could pretty much be summed up in one word:  Coughing.  I was sick the whole month of February into the beginning of March.  I survived, and managed to write down just a few things of note for each of the children.  There were not too many pictures from that month, though.  I had to cheat and use a photo from the beginning of March for Evan for this month!

Princess

All I want for Christmas...

Princess *finally* lost that second top tooth on Valentine’s Day!  She was so excited that she broke out into “All I want for Christmas is my two front teeth” as soon as she could.  Here are some other quotes from her:

"Your kids are going to have a silly dad, Evan"

“Dad-nabik!” - I didn't realize that I had been saying, "Dag-nabit!" until she came up with her own version of it. She had the inflection right, though!

Princess and Little Man have really been into jokes, lately.  This is the progression I heard one day at lunch:

Little Man – What kind of a bagel isn’t a bagel?  A donut!

Princess – What kind of a donut isn’t a donut?  A bagel!

Little Man - What kind of a bagel isn’t a bagel?  A donut!

Princess – (Rolls eyes) I just heard that one.

Princess is really enjoying cooking shows lately, but I have never watched 30 minute meals with her...you would never know it by this next conversation:

“Oh, this is DELISH!  I love it!”
(Me to Ryan) – “What, no reaction?”
R: "I am crying on the inside"
R to Princess: "Could Mom be on Worst Cooks (in America)?"
Princess: "No." 
R: "Because this is too good?" 
Princess: "Yep."

Little Man

A Boy and his Buzz

I didn't have much written down for Little Man this month.  I know that we spent a lot of time talking about his upcoming birthday party.  So, one of the things I recorded during this time was his list:

- A remote control car.
- A Castle, not a Little People one, a real knight one.
- A knight costume.
- All kinds of cool stuff.

Here are a few more quotes from him.

"And we didn’t even plan it!" – Little Man said this when he found out that we were both the second children in our family.  He was so excited that he then came over and gave me a big hug!

“There’s also bumps to let you know there’s a chocolate chip around!” - Little Man's explanation of how you can tell a chocolate chip cookie is the real deal.

We sing to Pookie when she goes to the bathroom on the potty.  After singing her the song, Little Man said, “Now you say, ‘That’s my line!’”

Pookie

Bright Eyes

Pookie continues to amaze me with how much she understands and how she communicates those things to us.  Here are a few things she said during February:

“Uh, you have orange on your head.”  She saw my orange headphones in my ears.

“We are in the ‘dimin’ room!” -  This started a discussion between Princess and Little Man of what “Dining” means.  After discussion, they decided the dining room should be called the “Eating room” and the living room should be called the “Talking Room.”

“3…2…1…blastoff…to infini and eyon!” - This is Pookie's version of "To infinity...and beyond!" from Buzz Lightyear.

I told Pookie I was jealous of something, and she responded, “Why you are jealous?”  I thought her grammar was pretty good for a 2 ½ year old!

“Dad is my friend.  I want my friend…I want Daddy!”

It is so much fun to watch the kids grow and change - and it is fun re-living some of their stories as I record them here.  I am so glad I can share them with you!

Treehouse News - January

So, this is my way of getting everyone caught up with all that happened in our lives the last four months...I will just give you a quick synopsis of each month.  (Well, after typing this one, I think some entries will be quicker than others...)

For the month of January, this is really easy.  The whole month can be summed up in one word...SNOW!!!

Can you find the rock wall?  That is at "ground-level"

And, boy, did we have a lot of it! It is funny to look at these pictures now, because it has been so beautiful here, now. But, in January, it felt like we would never see the yard again!

Back Porch

Front Steps

This was a great time for the kids, though.  They loved playing in the snow, and it was so peaceful outside that I (almost) enjoyed being out there, too.  The snowpants I got last year for Christmas made a huge difference.  If it were not for those, we not have any pictures of the kids playing outside!  I don't do cold...at least not well.

Princess

Sitting in a Winter Wonderland

Princess' big news for January was that she lost the first of her two front teeth.  Both front teeth were wiggly all through December, so she was pretty happy.  Here are some other "quote-ables" from the month.

"I'm growing up like you, Mom.  A couple is a LOT."  - Ryan always picks on me because I use a couple to describe a "few."  Princess must have heard us talking about that at some point.  I am glad to see that she agrees with me.  ha!

Little Man woke up one morning and exclaimed, "Where did all this snow come from?"  Princess answered, "God!"

Pookie was having a rough time, and was crying...loudly.  Princess couldn't take it anymore, she said, "She is screaming so loud it is like a hundred bees all buzzing in my ear at once!"

The girls were playing together in their room, and Princess decided to have "school" for Pookie.  Here is what I overheard, "Now, you know that this is the prince and princess preschool, but it is also church.  Now, there is a library here, but there are a lot more libraries...this is our library, there aren't many books, but it is fun!"

Princess is also starting to really think ahead.  She started getting dressed, folding her pajamas and making her bed before going to sleep on top of her blankets.  You know, to save time for the next day - so she doesn't have to do chores in the morning.  Ah...a girl after my own heart...I am definitely a night owl!

While explaining to Little Man what a "Tall Tale" was, Princess got a little mixed up.  "...then they get exhausting"  I think she meant "exaggerated".

Little Man

Playing in the tunnel Dad made

Little Man didn't really have any big changes in January, but he did have some fun quotes!

Little Man likes to sneak into our bed sometimes, and on one night he was tossing and turning and waking me up.  I was pretty annoyed, and asked him the next day what he had been doing.  "I was looking for a cold spot on the pillow."  So much like his Dad!

One night, Ryan was contemplating out loud whether or not Little Man should have dessert.  He said, "Is it going to make him all crazy?"   Little Man responded, "No, it will make me all s-l-e-e-p-y...(snore)"  I think he knows what we want to hear!

While having Bible time, we were talking about Jesus walking on the water.  I asked the kids how they thought Peter was able to walk on the water.  His answer?  "Maybe they had water skis."

There is a diner that the women in my family go to every so often for breakfast, while the guys go somewhere else.  One night, we decided to have dinner there.  Little man said, "That's not a restaurant, that's the women's breakfast!"  While trying to explain to him why it was okay, he said, "There's a grandfather in there, I guess that is okay."

One day, we were looking out at the snow piling up after Ryan had shoveled.  I told the kids that I might go out later and shovel so Ryan didn't have to go out again.  Little Man said, "You should do that!  That will make his feelings better!"

While gazing out at the snow one morning, Princess said, "I want to go out there today!"  Little Man responded, "Me, too, sister...me too!"

Pookie

"Blah!"

Pookie had a great winter!  She has grown so much in her communication and is a lot of fun to listen to.  Here are some quotes from her in January:

For the first story, I have to give two background points. The first is that Pookie owns a doll called "Kimochi Cloud" that helps preschoolers to understand emotions.  She hugs "Mochi" any time she is unhappy.  Second, this was said while watching Mater's Tall Tales.  There is a scene where McQueen is chasing after a Mater fan and trying to give him an autograph, the fan clearly wants nothing to do with McQueen.  Here is what she said:  "Poor 'queen.  He needs a hug (she puts out her hands to the TV).  He needs Mochi!"

Pookie is still working out pronunciation of some things.  She was very excited about the "Foofritz" (footprints) in the yard and told us every morning that the ones left in the snow outside the window (by the oil delivery guy) were actually hers.

I heard "I want lipgloss, mom" just about everyday this winter.  So, it made me laugh when she said, "I want lipgloss, Mom.  I want lipgloss all the time!"

Pookie was very excited about the prospect of losing teeth.  One night, after bath, she looked in her mouth in the mirror and said, astonishingly, "Oh!  Teeth!  Two...lost!  I need them!"

I know that Pookie knows that I love her because she tells me all the time, "Mom, I wuv you."  I am apparently doing okay with encouragement, too.  After making them hot cocoa one day, she said, "I so proud you, Mommy." 

We were getting ready to wash our hands, and Pookie didn't want the foaming soap, she wanted the moisturizing soap from Bath & Body Works.  She said, "I want the one with sprinkles."

This little lady LOVES to sing.  She just sings whatever comes to mind.  One of my favorites was a cross between the ABC's, the ones that she could remember, with Baa Baa Black Sheep.  It went like this, "Abcdefg...wxyz...yes sir, yes sir, three bags FUUULLLLL!"

And, if you have gotten all the way here, you get to hear from Ryan, too.  As he was trying to convince me that leaving the heat off for the first floor all day was the wise choice, his argument was, "Think with your wallet, woman!"

I am surprised that I had so much material for January!  I know that I was not really good about writing stuff down in the months that followed, so this may be the longest post.  But, all in all, I would say January was a good...albeit, cold...time.