One reason I love winter in Iowa.




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Why aren't we as generous as our children?

I've been convicted lately of being less than generous. By whom? My children, specifically, Hannah.

After Trick-or-Treating, we got home and Hannah wanted to start sorting her candy. I mentioned that a friend was leaving on a mission trip and was collecting candy and shoes to take. I had thought this would be a good way to decrease the amount of candy in the house. Hannah got all excited and ran and got a zip-lock bag. I assumed she would start with, "I don't like this kind, so they can have that."

But no, my 6-year-old with a strong sweet tooth, turns over the entire contents of her pumpkin into the bag. And then runs to get a second bag because she had so much. And what was my thought? "Awww...but, hey, save some Snickers for me!" :(

The next day, she went through her closet and found 3 pairs of shoes to give away. That may not sound like much, but it left her with a pair of black Sunday shoes, her softball cleats, and two pairs of sneakers.

And her favorite? Buying things for her shoe box. Every year our church participates in Operation Christmas Child.

This is Hannah's 3rd year filling a shoebox. The first year, at age 4, she looked the cashier straight in the eye and said, "These things are ~not~ for me! They are for a little girl whose mommy can't buy her a present. Please be careful with them!"

And this year, she grabbed her purse before walking out the door, and counted out all her money at the register and paid for everything herself. She spend every bill in her wallet, and borrowed $0.23 from me. And came home and picked up the yard from the dogs to pay me back. That's dedication.

And she does it all with a smile on her face.

Why can't I do that? Why do I feel so torn about packing up a bag of out grown clothing for the battered women's shelter we volunteer at? Why is there a little voice in the back of my head that says, "But I could take these to the consignment store and make a few dollars?"

Why do I feel like I deserve more and others less? And when I do give, want recognition for it? The verses of Matthew 6 have been ringing through my mind for the last month or so.

2“So when you give to the poor, do not sound a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, so that they may be honored by men. Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full. 3“But when you give to the poor, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, 4so that your giving will be in secret; and your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you.

A hard pill to swallow....

Can he talk yet?

I love my brother dearly, but he can be a little spacy...despite being smart enough to have finished his PhD program in chemistry and landed a nice job in Oxford, England. I digress.

Michael spent the summer after Hannah was born in Boliva doing a medical missions service project. When he got back to the US, he called to check up on us. So Hannah was about 4 months old.
"Hey! What's Up?" Not much. "So, is she saying Uncle Michael, yet?" Uh, no. "Is she walking?" No... "Crawling?!" No... ....long pause, and quietly, "Is there something wrong with her?"

This story is told often and with much gusto in my family. :)

Isaac loves his Uncle Michael, or as he calls him, "Uncle Buddy." So it didn't surprise me all that much when the day after David turned 1, Isaac says to me,

"Can he talk yet?"

Oh the things they say...

1. Monday morning, while eating breakfast, Isaac said something about eating so much his head would explode. My response, "Oh, dear, we wouldn't want that to happen!"

When I turned around he was looking at me with a quizzical look on his face. "What's up, Isaac?"

Well...your mouth was kinda sounding like Grandma!

Okay.....

2. Wednesday night, Hannah is telling Isaac that he needs to be careful with her stuffed kitty (Spot) because he is the daddy kitty and there is no mama kitty. "What happened to her?" I asked.

Well....She's dead. She had 12 kitties in her tummy and her tummy started to hurt. Maybe she didn't drink enough milk...too much water. And so all the kittens died. Except for Spot. She got out okay. Soooo, Isaac's the daddy so....he has to take care of her."

Okay.....

Letters of Intent

I've been following this blog for a little while and decided today was the day to do my own letter.

Dear Dr. So and So,

I'm so glad that my name was referred to you by a clinic I actually like working at. Clinic "A" has a great staff, is an easy drive, and pays me as I walk out the door. They practice high quality medicine and have a great set-up. When they want to book me, they usually call 1-2 months in advance and call to confirm.

Now, I know you are new to the whole "scheduling a relief doctor" thing, but let me tell you how it usually works. If you call me, and ask on Thursday if I'm available to work Saturday, the answer is probably "no." Saturdays mornings, as I told you, book up pretty quickly. When I told you in early September, that I was booked on Saturdays until Nov 20th, I was telling the truth. So to call, on a weekly basis, to check my availability for Saturdays, does not endear you to me. Especially since you told me you would be paying 60% of what Clinic "A" pays!

You decided to call ~again~, this time about a week day, and my darling husband answered the phone and just passed it to me (!!), and I caved. Yes, I will work for you! But please, back off! You see, you are located 45 mins away, when there is ~no~ traffic, and I know that on a weekday, there will be! You are paying me less as well. So, my sitter will have to come earlier, leave later, but will still charge me the same rate. So on top of the pay cut you have so kindly extended to me, I'll be taking home even less.

And, no, I will not be making an extra trip down to your clinic to "meet and greet." Trust your referrals. I'm an excellent doctor. I will show up on time. I will practice good medicine. I will keep immaculate records. And frankly, the thought of loading up my kids for a 1.5 hour round trip, only to chat with you in between appointments for 5 mins....not that appealing.

And, by the way, after working for you that one time, I'm pretty sure that even if you have the best clinic in the whole world, we're "not going to be a good fit for each other."

So, enjoy your weekend away, I'll be there at 8 am, and I'll take great care of your patients and clients. But please, throw away my business card!

Sincerely,

Dr. D.

We've had the stomach flu at our house for the past week and yesterday was beautiful day. So I loaded up the kids after school, and we hit the park!

Cheesy grin in the swing

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Posing oh so nicely.

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To busy playing to stop and pose.

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Having fun with our friend V.

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Oh, Baby David, go to sleep!

This weekend, our babysitter and the kids decorated the whole house with "masterpieces." I had them move most of them to their bedrooms.





Today, David just would.not. go to sleep. Dirty diaper...wet diaper...then I just ignored the bouncing, the laughing, the talking...

Two hours later, this is what I find...




(he's crying because I went to get my camera instead of picking him up)

After removing the tape stuck to his chin, I called Isaac in.



"Mom! Why did you let David do that!!??" Yeah, Buddy, always Mommy's fault.

What we did in June/July/August .... Part II

We spent a lot of time with family this summer too! In June, we (the kids and I) drove up to Iowa for some time with my family and Chris's family. My parents have a home in Pella and my in-laws are in Altoona so it makes it easy to go back and forth.

Hannah and Isaac had so much fun helping my mom in her garden. Digging for worms, picking blackberries, pulling weeds...it was a blast!

Spending time with Cousin Noah was great fun too! My sister lives just outside of town and has a nice acreage. Perfect for finding toads and chasing butterflies. At one point, Hannah had 17 small frogs in a large mayonaise jar. How the child who can't find her shoes when they're on her feet finds these quarter sized toads is beyond me!


I was also blessed to spend time with a great friend I haven't seen in 6 years! Yep, vet school graduation was the last time we saw each other, both with infants in our arms. Cara's Ross was born 1 month before Hannah and Claire was born 6 months after Isaac. Sadly, I don't think we got any pictures of the kids playing together. It was great to sit and chat with a good friend! Facebook and email just don't compare with sitting on a picnic table at a park!

My mom drove back with us and spent a few days in Texas before flying back. It's always so good to have her around, and Hannah loves having sleepovers with her Grandma.

The last week of July, my sisters, parents, nephews, niece, and our family headed for a vacation house in Arkansas. Although it wasn't as close to the lake as we were expecting, we had a great time kayaking, swimming, tubing, chasing fireflies, playing games, visiting a National Trout Hatchery, caving, and catching up. If only I hadn't burnt my big toe the second night we were there!!



My older sister Becky and her two kids came back from Arkansas with me. You would have thought that a flat tire, the middle of nowhere Oklahoma, 5 kids ages 6 and under, and 2 women on the side of the road was an ominous start to our time together...but we had a blast! (Except for that of course!) We had two and a half great weeks of watching our 2 three-year-old boys play trains and mostly love each other, and our twp 9/10 month old babies crawl all over the place. Hannah had to make do with visits to her friend down the street. :)



To finish up our fun-family-filled summer, the Hannah and Isaac spent the last week of the summer in New Mexico with my in-laws. They made it back on Sunday night and Hannah started school on Monday. So we literally had fun from the first day of summer to the last! Isaac still asks when he can go back to the "house in the mountains" and Hannah came back with oodles of stories and lots of crafts she had made.

Catching Up - What we did in June/July/and August...part I

I can see that I have much neglected my sad little blog. How I will ever get to be a cool blogger with give-aways, followers, and comments if I never post? ;)

The first two weeks of June were filled with swimming lessons and time outside! My kids love love love love to be outside. Chalk, paint, swings, slides, bikes...you name it, we do it.

So we started our mornings with 8:30 am swim lessons. We did three sessions of two weeks of lessons for 30 mins. At the time I registered them, 8:30 didn't seem so bad. Only 30 mins early than school starts, and they only have to have swimsuits on, and they don't have to have hair combed....well.... I forgot that they wouldn't be falling asleep as quickly because of evening sunshine, and I forgot that swimming lessons were going to be a good 10 mins further than school, and I forgot that my kids don't move all that quickly. Well, maybe I didn't forget that part, just ignored it.

But they love to swim! And they loved their lessons. So we spent most mornings running out the door with dry cereal in a ziplock baggie to be eaten in the van. :) Luckily, my friend Dorothy had registered her daughter for the same time, so there were a number of times that she saved me from having to drag David along too.

Isaac was registered for the Pre-K class but I knew they wouldn't keep him there for long. The Pre-K class is supposed to be for ages 3-5 and covers blowing bubbles, splashing water, etc. And Isaac was really beyond that last summer already. So about 10 mins into the first lesson, I see Isaac being led over to the Level 1 group. :) Yep, my 3 year old is swimming with the big kids now. :) So he spent the first 2 sessions in the Level 1 class, and then for the final session of the summer, he was in Level 2. Way to go, Big Boy!


Hannah repeated Level 2 for the first two sessions and then moved up to Level 3 for the final session. Hannah is a great swimmer and very comfortable and confident in the water. She loves to dive for rings, jump off the diving board, swim underwater, and pretend to be a mermaid. She just doesn't care so much for perfecting a certain stroke. :) I think she will always be my free spirit. :)


David? We spent most mornings eating babyfood in his stroller and then getting rushed home for a nap. :)

Hmmm...

Yesterday I was looking for a pencil to help Hannah with her telling-time clock worksheet. The first one I found had no eraser or point, the second one had a good eraser but no point. Then I couldn't find the pencil sharpener.

Hannah looks at me and says, "Mom, maybe God doesn't want me to work on telling time."

It's kinda looking that way, kiddo!

Interview with Isaac

Answers given by Isaac, age 3 1/2.

1. What is something mom always says to you?
I - umm...Come here?

2. What makes mom happy?
I - umm...me. :)

3. What makes mom sad?
I - being naughty

4. How does your mom make you laugh?
I - she sees me.

5. What was your mom like as a child?
I - I just not know

6. How old is your mom?
I - umm...many? How many Mommy? hmmm,, 8?

7. How tall is your mom?
I - That long. As long as the blue, that long blue thing.

8. What is her favorite thing to do?
I - Play on her computer

9. What does your mom do when you're not around?
I - She goes at church.

10. If your mom becomes famous, what will it be for?
I - Famous for tookin' (cooking)

11. What is your mom really good at?
I - Playing with me

12. What is your mom is not very good at?
I - Being naughty

13. What does your mom do for a job?
I - Go at work

14.What is your mom's favorite food?
I - Pop corn

15. What makes you proud of your mom?
I - Me

16. If your mom were on a show, who would she be?
I - An animal doctor

17. What do you and your mom do together?
I - Play with me, took with me (cook)

18. How are you and your mom the same?
I - We wear shirts

19. How are you and your mom different?
I - I am three and I don't know what you are

20. How do you know your mom loves you?
I - Cause she gives me a heart.

21. What does your mom like most about your dad?
I - I don't know...but someone stealed Daddy's phone! That's not very kind, that's called stealing! (got stolen out of a locker at a baseball game)

22.Where is your mom's favorite place to go?
I - Um....Target?

Interview with Hannah

Answers given by Hannah, age 6.

1. What is something mom always says to you?
H - Clean up

2. What makes mom happy?
H - obeying her

3. What makes mom sad?
H - not obeying her

4. How does your mom make you laugh?
H - by tickling me!

5. What was your mom like as a child?
H - She had blue eyes?

6. How old is your mom?
H - 50?

7. How tall is your mom?
H - hmmm....uhhh..20 feet tall?

8. What is her favorite thing to do?
H - Sewing

9. What does your mom do when you're not around?
H - I don't really know, cause I'm not around

10. If your mom becomes famous, what will it be for?
H - hhhmmmm...famous painter? Or famous sewing-er?

11. What is your mom really good at?
H - sewing

12. What is your mom is not very good at?
H - doing hard puzzles

13. What does your mom do for a job?
H - being an animal doctor. That one was easy, Mom. Where are you getting all these questions!?

14.What is your mom's favorite food?
H - pancakes

15.What makes you proud of your mom?
H - helping me

16. If your mom were a cartoon character, who would she be?
H - Dave, from Dave and the Giant Pickle

17. What do you and your mom do together?
H - have Girls Only Days

18. How are you and your mom the same?
H - We both like kitties

19. How are you and your mom different?
H - We have different colored eyes.

20. How do you know your mom loves you?
H - Because she hugs me

21. What does your mom like most about your dad?
H - hhuuhhh. Sleeping with her? (that caused a guffaw!)

22.Where is your mom's favorite place to go?
H - to visit her mom

Conversations with Hannah

Mommy, what is "in love."

Well, it's when you love someone very much.

Do you marry them then?

Yes, usually, but you have to be a grown up.

Oh...I'm in love with Jacob, but he's going to marry a different Hannah. (Hannah Willis)

I'm sorry, does that make you feel sad?

No, I'll find someone else to be in love with.....Mommy, what if you want to meet a boy to fall in love with, but he pushes you?!

Hmm...that doesn't sound good. Does Daddy ever push Mommy?

No.

Let's find you someone else to be in love with then.

Okay, but not until I'm old like you.