Yesterday Jer Bear celebrated 5 years!  We ate Lucky Charms, blueberry muffins, Ramen noodles, fruit snacks, and olive pizza at his request for our meals.  He got the Lightning McQueen umbrella he's been wanting for a year, as well as some Cars 2 toys, a Cars scooter, a Bobcat (machine) toy, a huge stuffed alligator, and a few other things.  We took the day off of school and watched Cars 2 together.  It was an exciting and fun day, and it was especially nice that we didn't have the stomach flu, as we've had 4 other years on or close to his birthday!  It's hard to believe 5 years have gone by!  We love our sweet, tender-hearted little guy and it's exciting to see him growing and becoming more mature.

Jeremiah wanted a snowmobile cake.  I couldn't find a snowmobile toy, after checking in at least 7 stores, so I made him one from duplo blocks, and he still loved it!

Jer-Bear's Prayer

Jeremiah de-railed my plans for the day today in the most wonderful of ways!!!  He kept asking about heaven and saying he wanted Jesus to forgive his sins.  He may be only 4 and a half but he has an older sister who has been preaching the Gospel to him for a couple of years ever since she came to faith.

We have no greater prayer than that our children would live for the Lord and love Him with all of their hearts.  This is an exciting first-step in that process!  Little did I know 16 years ago as I practiced my Wordless Book for practicums that someday I would have the AWESOME priviledge of putting those skills to use with my own little children!

When he called his various relatives to tell them about his prayer, his aunt Kianna said she has been praying for him specifically this month to be saved!  How neat!!!  

Four Prayers On Your 4th!

It's hard to believe that it's been four years since Jeremiah David came into our lives.  He is precious, cuddly, and compassionate, and we sure do love him!

I pray these four things for you little Jer Bear!

#1.  I pray that you would find satisfaction and joy in Jesus and not look to the things of the world for comfort and peace.

#2.  I pray that you would learn and grow and continue to find delight in God's creation and the animals, reptiles, and bugs that so fascinate you!

#3.  I pray that you would learn to work hard, and to be a servant to others.

#4.  I pray that you would be healthy and strong and laugh hard and often!

Jer Bear's First Swimming Lesson

Even though he was excited the morning before swimming lessons began, Jer looked at me with huge eyes and said in a serious tone "What if I dwound Mama?"  I assured him I would leap out of the bleachers and rescue him if he started to drown and that two lifeguards would be watching him. 

He had a wonderful time!  He came out of his first session saying, "I LOVE swimming!  But I didn't learn how to do a backflip."  He had high expectations for the first day!

Swimming lessons run year-round in our town and in the past Ali has done them in the summer, when most kids in town do them. But we're enjoying this late-winter session because the kids can burn some energy even when it's cold outside.  There are only 5 kids, including them, in their class and they gets lots of attention.  It's twice a week for 6 weeks and only costs $20 a kid.  Justus can hardly stand to watch them from the bleachers.  He always looks like he is ready to jump the bar and dive in!

Swimming lessons are a huge priority in our family, partly because I love water and swimming for fun and partly because of the dangers for children regarding water. 

Do your kids go to swimming lessons?

Jeremiah's Bruised Head

My Jeremiah is darling. He's sweet. He's cuddly. He's gentle most of the time. We're so thankful and blessed to have him in the family. But he's also one of those people that seems to attract mishaps as though he has a accident-prone magnet stuck to his head. You know, like the person who always gets hit in the head with the frisbee even though they are ducking and running away. If you've ever seen the old movie Pure Luck (and I'm not endorsing it all here--it contains some rough language--saw it a long time ago) he is exactly like the characters in it who seem to be living proof for Murphy's Law.

Consider these facebook status' of mine from this past week:

"Only Jeremiah would bend over with his head in front of the bathroom door and yell, "Come wipe me!" only to have me run into the bathroom, causing the door to pop him in the head, knock him over, and have him land on the bath mat with a poopy bottom, getting it everywhere. Choosing to laugh instead of crying and to be... thankful for a washing machine, wet wipes, and soap and hot water."

(He wasn't hurt, just so you know.)


"Life is rough when you are 3. You're finding out stuff about life everyday and often life's little lessons hurt. Lessons like why you shouldn't step on one side of the laundry basket and what a bloody nose is."

It wouldn't be so strange if these kind of things happened rarely like they happen to Alathia and Justus. But these kind of things happen to Jeremiah ALL OF THE TIME! From getting his arm stuck and pinned to his head when he's getting dressed to trying to hop onto a chair for lunch and missing the chair and hitting the floor to standing in front of the driver's door on the van when someone is opening it, to slipping and falling flat on his face both on the way to the van and on his way back into the house, the little guy is doing these kinds of things on a daily basis (often 3x a day!) If there's a way to get hurt doing it, he'll find it even though he's not an agressive, super-testosterone-driven little boy. And even if you think there is no conceivable way he can get hurt using a certain toy or item, he'll prove you wrong.

I've heard his Daddy was just like him so maybe it's a hereditary thing. Josiah and I just shake our heads and shoot each other looks across the table. "Is this kid for real?" "How is this kid still alive?"

Jeremiah Turns Three!

Our sweet little boy turned three the other day! It's hard to believe how fast the time with him has gone. He had a delightful day and especially enjoyed his monster truck cake, his new monster truck toys, semi, and wooden train, and we went swimming in the evening at his request. My brother and his wife were in town for the weekend and were able to join us and my folks for homemade pizza and cake and ice-cream. We are so thankful God blessed us with our tenderhearted little man!

Best Friends

Picking my friend a flower

Arianna and Jeremiah were friends before they were even out of the womb. Okay, so maybe that is a stretch....but my friend Amy and I spent our entire pregnancies walking together, pushing our firstborns in strollers with our big bellies on display. They were both born on the 8th of their respective months; Arianna is exactly two months older than Jeremiah. Since infancy, they have been friends and they have similar, easy-going personalities that make Amy and I both thankful for the reprieve after our fiery firsts! These pictures reminded me of those calendar pics that people take of little boys and girls smooching and holding flowers.

Jolly Jeremiah

Always looking for a bug or worm

One day a young woman ran past our house, jogging. Lots of people go by each day since we live right by the river walk jogging/walking area. Jer looked at her with a big grin and proceeded to imitate her, jogging down the sidewalk, pumping his arms. She got a kick out of it and we did too! We always ask him to jog for us because he looks so funny doing it!

Two Year Olds

This is my second round at having a two year old. What have I learned thus far? That I really don't like having a two year old!!! I like him and I love being a mom, and yes, there are some cute things about this age, but overall, toddlerhood is so not my favorite stage!!! While Ali is gradually getting less strong-willed and more fun to be around in her zeal to learn and to do things for herself, Jer is becoming our most difficult child for a season. Now, there is a MAJOR difference in the way they have been/are at age two. It is HARD to have a 2 year old, it is INFINITELY hard to have the strongest-willed kid in the world be two years old!!! Yet, Jeremiah is still a challenge.

Just when I thought we were done potty training we went to Billings and let Jer use a diaper for the car trips. Then he came home with a horrible cold and started having accidents because he didn't feel well. So, though I was very frustrated with the messes, knowing that we had once been past that, we persevered through getting him back to going all the time in the potty. And yet, he'll go through spurts of having accidents and then being really diligent about taking himself to the potty. I know boys are harder to train and that potty-training takes a while, but the whole potty-training stuff is one small part of why toddlerhood is rough on me.

Jer doesn't explore or get into as much as Ali did but he's always moving, always making messes, and always talking. And sometimes Mommy just needs a break. Which is why I'm thankful he's an awesome napper and usually naps 3 hours in the afternoon. If I have the option to leave one kid home on the weekend when going somewhere, I try to leave Jer home since he is the hardest to keep track of these days!

Overall, Jer is still an incredibly tenderhearted little guy. He cries over every reprimand and scolding and lately even if Ali just blows in his face or says, "RAAA!" Of course she can't resist doing this over and over since his reaction is terror and tears. I'm forever telling her to be kind and telling him to toughen up. He cries when Justus cries and when Ali gets disciplined or scolded too. It just dawned on me the other day that he is very appropriately named after the weeping prophet in the Bible since he cries over everything and has always been the sensitive, emotional type.

Jer is fascinated with snakes and bugs and racecars and lions and frontloaders and tractors and fourwheelers. He loves to play outside and do all the typical "boy" things. He is thrilled over the trip we are planning to go to the Denver zoo this summer and talks about it all the time.

Recent cute comments from Jer-Bear:

"Mommy, look at my butt! It's a really big butt!" (Everything needs to be BIG when you are two.)

"Mommy, you are my fwend. I love you!"

"I love you too!" (Even before you say it to him, he will say this to everyone.)

Nowadays he usually says "I don't want that" only to say "I want that" a second later. So, I just roll with it and try not to make everything a fight. Even when he says he doesn't want juice, I start filling his sippy knowing that by the time the top is on, he'll change his mind. And for all the hard stuff that comes with this age, at least my Jerby is always good for a hug and a long cuddle session and he is the most repentant child I've ever seen when he needs to be corrected.

May God give us grace and strength to deal with our toddlers!!!

Poopy Realities

I had to write this post in the midst of all of my charming, picturesque Christmas photos to remind you that my life is not perfectly pleasant and cheery all of the time. I don't want to be a complainer and a whiner but I don't want my blog to be full of fakey-ness either. Which is why I will tell you that though a Christmas at the cabin is tons of fun and somewhat larger than life, it does involve mice droppings all around and TONS of work and preparation on the part of the Mama.

Let me just tell you what King Jo and I ended up doing the very moment that Colter was out snowshoe-ing and proposing to Anna on Christmas Day ("How do I kneel with a snowshoe on?")

We were cleaning up poo.

In fact, I felt as though our entire Christmas day revolved around poo. During the present-opening Justus lived up to his nickname "Combustus" and let loose so much that we had to give him a little washbasin bath in front of the fire. He did this at least twice that day. Ali needed help wiping at least twice that day too. But the worst was Jeremiah David, who decided to follow in the steps of big sis and take his diaper off at naptime. I never expected it from him since he is our loving, compliant child who can't stand to have us mad at him and asks for hugs thousands of times a day. He doesn't even know how to take off clothes yet! But, I guess he was bored upstairs all alone and he took off his pants somehow and his poopy diaper, unbeknownst to us. I asked King Jo to get him when we heard him talking up there and my hubby brought a little bare-bottomed boy down the stairs. He told me that he had taken off his diaper, but it was just wet as he didn't see any poo. The others smelled something awful, but we figured that Jer had just passed gas as his Daddy began to put a new diaper on. My mom's dog licked my hubby's shoe but he wasn't sure why and shooed her away.

I decided to go up and see if he had wet on his blankets. What I discovered was HORRIBLE indeed and I hope none of you ever have to deal with this! Because the halls upstairs are very dim and not all of the lights work, King Jo had unwittingly overlooked the fact that Jer had thrown a poopy (not just wet) diaper and that his portable crib, blankets, and clothing was smeared with it. There was also a puddle of piddle on the carpeted floor and one of Daddy's shirts had been wet on. But wait....things get much worse! Of course my hubby had to step right in the big poop on the floor, not realizing it, and proceed to track it all the way down the hallway, down a huge flight of wooden stairs, through the enormous cabin kitchen, down to the living room where the diapers were, back through the living room to the bathroom, etc. etc. Not only that but he had let Jer touch some of his toys and sit on the kitchen table, not knowing Jer had probably played in poop. When I discovered it and screamed my horror, we took quick action to clean Jer up and set him in time-out and clean up the damage..... but it was awful. We both had it on our shoes and it would not come off with scrubbing so we had to bag our shoes up and carry them home where they finally came clean after two rounds in the washer. Josiah had to scrub icky, old, mice-poop laden carpet by hand all up and down the cabin hallways upstairs for over an hour (where's our steam cleaner when we need it?), using a flashlight to search out his poopy footprints, of which he found about twenty. I had to scrub poopy footprints throughout the downstairs, spitting bullets under my breath about the fact that men are so unobservant and wondering if anyone was looking for a two-year old to take in. There is a water shortage at teh cabin, but I had to use lots of water to submerge the entire pack n' play in the bathtub and wash all the toys he had touched. Meanwhile my parents sat in the lower living room, holding the baby for me and being extra thankful that they are beyond this stage of life. King Jo said that we would laugh about it someday and that Jer is such a precious little guy in spite of this one incident but at the moment I wasn't easily convinced! It just doesn't seem that funny when the trail of poo fills not just one room but goes througout an enormous cabin and you have very little cleaning supplies on hand and a headcold/sinus infection going on! I've spent many, many a day scrubbing out cribs and carpet that Ali smeared with poo and I thought my days of that were over! Why me? Most of my friends and my mom claim their kids NEVER took off a poopy diaper and smeared it around! One of my friends went so far as to say that only "mentally disturbed" kids she knew did that. Oh joy!

As we scrubbed I thought of my starry-eyed brother, out getting engaged and how many moments like this are in store for he and his wife. Life is very hard sometimes, especially with kids! And my brother wants to have a literal dozen! However, after watching my servant-hearted hubby take responsibility for his accidental mess and scrub poopy carpets for a long time, and even laugh about it, and after getting some hugs and some apologies from my little chocolate-eyed, tiny boy, I realized yet again that marriage and parenthood are worth it even when the reality of poop sets in!

Kid Funnies

So this is what an idol looks like?
Gender compromise. A monster truck tea party?

Jer said, "I wuv you Ali."

Due to the fact that we've been learning the 10 Commandments and sometimes our Bible storybooks talk about the Israelites bowing down to idols....Ali came running into the kitchen one day with a blanket over her head declaring she was an idol. Jer immediately copied her and they both ran around with blankets over their head until Jer bumped into something!

One day Ali was missing Fernie and Frida and declared, “I want a friend to play with who’s not in my family!”

Jer always says, “Dust-this Abe-uh-ham is cute?” or “Dus-this Abe-uh-ham is kwy-ing.” He almost never calls him by just his first name.


Ali asks Jer, “Which princess are you? I’m the pink one” (pointing to one of the three on her swimsuit.) Then Jer will choose one and say, “I’m dis pwincess.” You can tell Jer hangs around a sister all the time. He’s always asking me, “Is dis pink?” or saying, “Want make-up!”

Jer scribbled on a piece of paper and asked, “Is dat my name?”

Jer never fails to remind us to pray for Uncle Coco every single night for months! Ali often asks for prayer for Auntie Kika and Grandpa Joel and Grandma Kathy. Recently Jer has added on to his requests for Coco; “Pway fa Daniel.” Sweet! He also likes to do repeat-after-me prayers.

One of Jer’s favorite phrases, “It’s a MONSTA!!!!” (monster) big eyes, horrified expression) He loves to talk about monsters (mainly because Ali has talked about them and they both love anything scary). He also loves to talk about Gwizz-wee bears and Wy-uns (lions) with a shocked expression too. He always talks about going to the zoo next summer and he gets big eyes and says, “wy-uns bite you!!!” They are both still scared of possums too! Ali points to the killer whale in their animal book and says, "A killing whale!" They love pointing out all the animals that bite! When we were in my dad's pasture and his horses started following us Jer said, "Do horses bite you?"

Jerby goes to Sunday School now. Ali says, “I’ll take care of him and watch him!!!” She is so willing to be a helper and be the second mama.

Today Jer frowned, made a puppy-dog face and said, “My duckie is wost!!!” If I ask Jer where something is he usually replies, “Don’t know. Is maybe wost!” (lost)

The other day I heard Ali coaching Jer on how he could climb on something to turn the lights on an off. Daddy taught him to open door knobs recently too since Ali often would shut him in his bedroom. Uh-oh! The age of newfound independence!

Ali will often kick people to get attention. So, Josiah taught her to gently tickle instead of yelling or being naughty. Then she tickled him so much he couldn’t take it and so he said she needs to ask for attention instead. So now, whenever Daddy is home you will hear her saying constantly, “I need attention!!!!” It’s so funny to hear!

Ali thinks our special prayer days (praying for a family member on the day of the week they were born) is the coolest thing ever. She excitedly asks every day whose day it is to be prayed for. Today she announced, "It's your special day Daddy!" then turned to me and said ecstatically, "You get to pray for your husband!!!" On her day, Friday, she said cheerfully, "Today is my day! You can pray for your naughty kid!" I was horrified and tried to assure her that she is not my naughty kid even if she often does bad things and that she is special and loved and a very sweet little girl!

A Racecar Birthday!

Opening a front-loader (fwunt woader) from Cousin Daniel a few days before his real birthday.

Mommy and Daddy got Jerby some stacking buckets! Fun for the whole family!

The kids on all sides were grabbing presents as he opened them. In spite of the fact that he is turning TWO, he shared with them very nicely and was gracious with his new toys at the party.

Opening a big bulldozer toy from Grandpa Joel and Grandma Kathy.

Racing down the hall to drop balls in the buckets. An impromptu game engineered by Grammy to help the kids run off some energy.

Race-car cookies! Mommy wasn't brave enough to do cupcakes with multiple toddlers! They loved these! They are the same recipe we do every year at Christmas time, my Grandma Campbell's caramel cookies with cream-cheese frosting.

Mommy made a road raceway out of two large cardboard boxes. I ran out of black paint so most of the roads are muddy-looking! The kids LOVED this simple thing! All of the kids brought their favorite car to the party and they played with all of the vehicles on this!

Party favors! 20-cent bags from Wal-Mart, cups 30-cents at Family Dollar, a speed wheels car, and a Cars fruit snack.

Eating cookies and cheese crackers on our kitchen floor. To clean up, we just filled a bucket with soapy water and had the kids wash in it before heading back into the living room to play.

Running a race outside. We tried to let each of the kids get a turn to break the ribbon!

After the party we had a light lunch and put the kids down for a long nap. Then we watched the Disney movie Cars and had bagel pizzas for supper. A really fun day! And King Jo got to get lots of toys out of boxes. What is it with companies today? One bulldozer had about 10 screws you had to undo with a screwdriver just to get it out of the box! He got to assemble and disassemble lots of little vehicles/put batteries in, etc. Just one small reason I'm glad I'm not a single mom! We now have enough boy toys to last us for a while! Front loaders, cars, monster trucks, truck and trailer and boat, and a cute little-boy fire engine that's remote controlled. Ali seemed to think Jer needed help opening every present and she loves to take his new toys away. Jerby has quickly learned a new phrase, "It's my pwesent!!!!!"

My Baby Turns Two

Darling Jer,

You have been a delight to this Mama's heart over the last two years! With your funny little lispy way of talking, you keep us chuckling over the things you say. Your tenderheart shines through in all you do, as even the slightest scolding or frown makes your lip tremble and makes you rush over to ask if we love you and get hugs. When I'm on the verge of losing my patience or am overwhelmed, you always know what to do to instantly make me smile. You are so cuddly and gentle and we love hugging you, holding you, and reading you stories. We pray that you will love Jesus and be a boy after His own heart. You are so precious! Happy Birthday!

More Recent Pics

Wheeeeee!

I'm a big boy now!!!

Justus Combustus in his special towel, made by my friend Lora.

Jerby somehow managed to squeeze himself into the doll highchair and get totally stuck!

3 little friends on swings

Kennedy and Ali

Preschool buddies

Kennedy and Carsen attend preschool with Ali, as well as church and Sunday School and the three of them have lots of energy when they are together!

Ali's Naughty Huh?

Jeremiah has this thing where whenever his sister is being naughty, or has recently been disciplined, he says, "Ali's naughty, huh?" He shakes his head as he says in a funny little way that looks like he's all wise and exasperated. It's humorous, but I don't ever want to reinforce to him that she's the bad child and he's the good child so I often reply with, "Ali is being disobedient right now, but you are disobedient sometimes too" or "you are naughty too" or "Ali was naughty to do _____ but remember that you did _____ today that was naughty." Whenever I say this he replies with "I a good boy!"

The other day Ali was in time-out and I just happened to catch our little guy saying this favorite phrase on video.

Oh, to get at their hearts and to teach Alathia to exercise self-control and teach Jeremiah that he is not "good" in and of himself!

To Make a Cake

Since the kids are forever and always playing in the dirt and mud pretending to make cookies and cakes I decided to have them bake a cake yesterday in honor of Justus' one-month birthday! First they wash hands in a bucket of soapy water (which I keep handy for those times when fingers make their way into noses and mouths....)
Let's grease the pan! Jerby discovers that shortning doesn't taste that good.
Ali gets to add the water.
Both kids get a few turns to stir.
While mom is putting the cake in the oven, Jer decides to sample the raw cake batter.

While the cake is baking, Jerby has fun making yet another mess! Of course it was sister who snuck the water out of the bathroom to make mud and got into trouble for it!
Being dirty is so much fun!

Freshly washed and clothed, the kids frost the cake after supper.
Yummy! Happy One-Month Birthday Baby Justus!!!