It's All Magical

We recently watched the movie about the book the Spiderwick Chronicles. One of the special features on the DVD is a recording of the auther or producer telling the viewers that the whole story is real. Their proof is that after putting the story out they got a letter from a family of three kids describing that the very same magical thing happened to them. I've mentioned our saying before--"Well, that pretty much proves it."

Isaac and I were talking this morning and he was reminding me that this whole story is true. We are both reading the Spiderwick Chronicles right now. He was trying to convince me that it was all true. "Mom, someone said it happened to them. So it is true. They said it."

I said, "I've seen a pig fly. No, really. I've seen a pig fly. There, I said it. It must be true."

Matter-of-factly Isaac said, "Mom, how does Santa bring our presents and fly through the sky? What about the tooth fairy? Think about the Easter bunny. He delivers the eggs. We've never seen it but we know it's true. People have told us about it and we believe them. It's all magical. Spiderwick is magical, too."

End of discussion. What more could I say? That pretty much proves it. It must be true.

Eight Years

I feel I should be making some statement about how old I must be getting to have a son who is eight years old as if it somehow sprung up on me. Strangely, it didn't happen like that. I have been watching it unfold all year long. I have watched a rambunctious attention seeking boy mellow a bit, help out a lot, and try to please. Isaac entertains Burke in good humor and is the first to obey. He is clearly eight and capable of making good decisions and though I do not wish the years to continue to fly by as they do (now that I am old) I am excited to see where he will take himself and hope he will succeed. I think he will.

Holding true to tradition

Isaac has a new found love for basketball

The brothers...Theron has given Isaac at least two presents per day over the last few days. These guys are a wild crew but there's a lot of love going around.

The birthday boy looking like a true scouter

Happy Birthday Isaac!!

Roadtrip

Herbert the Snail

It's true I often say, "Burke is making me crazy!" Though I love that boy more than I could really express he really does push me to the limit many times each day! On this day it happened to be because when I blinked (how dare I) he emptied 28 fluid ounces (minus two squirts) of baby wash into his bath water.

When I discovered it I was so mad! I whisked him away, as he screamed and cried for his bubbles, and put him to bed. After he was asleep I felt the reality of my cruelty and the loss of an opportunity to make fun memories with Burke so...I did the only thing I could think to do with a bathtub FULL of bubbles. I let Isaac play in it! It made me feel a teensy tiny bit better about being so uptight and missing out on fun moments with my kids. Poor Burke!

Isaac had such a great time. The bubbles were amazing. Trav, Isaac, and I had a great time with those bubbles thanks to poor Burky boy!
My hastiness made me think of this great song that my boys love called Herbert the Snail. Sometimes I sing it to them when it seems they could be reminded to have a little more patience. I wonder how much better my days would turn out if I just sang this song all day long every day to myself?

There was a snail called Herbert who was so very slow.
He caused a lot of traffic jams wherever he would go.
The ants were always getting mad and the beetles they would fume,
But Herb would always poke along and sing this little tune.

Have patience, have patience. Don't be in such a hurry.
When you get impatient you only start to worry.
Remember, remember that God is patient too
And think of all the times when others wait for you.

When Herbert was much younger, he often got in trouble.
Forgetting that he was a snail he did things on the double.
He'd crash through every spider web and with crickets he'd collide.
'Til one day Herbert's father took his speeding son aside.

Have patience, have patience. Don't be in such a hurry.
When you get impatient you only start to worry.
Remember, remember that God is patient too
And think of all the times when others wait for you.

As you can well imagine there's a moral to this tale.
Some of you may find yourselves behind a creeping snail.
So if you get impatient and you're easily disturbed,
Think about this little song and take a tip from Herb.

Have patience, have patience. Don't be in such a hurry.
When you get impatient you only start to worry.
Remember, remember that God is patient too
And think of all the times when others wait for you.

Just for fun

Travis and Theron in the airplane bathroom for the 47th time. At least Travis is still smiling.

Friends with kids

I stole this letter from a friend.

When Travis gets home from work most days he asks me what I did that day. To which I often respond, "Oh...just sat around and watched TV and ate Bonbons all day." I typically get a decent smirk out of him and then he excuses the mess or chaos that he has just come home to knowing that I likely had a very busy, crazy day. The truth is I don't even know what a Bonbon is and I can't remember the last time the TV was on for the pleasure of either of the adults living in this house.

Other days he calls home during the day to see how it is going. I have been known to ask, "Did you hear about the tornado? Well, it hit down right in the middle of the living room." This is code for the house is a disaster and I'm trying to stay in good humor.

Just for fun:

12:10 am Travis and I get into bed to sleep
2:35 am Burke climbing into bed next to me
2:37 am me scooping Burke up and hauling him off to his own bed
5:11 am Burke climbing into bed next to me
5:12 am me HAULING him off to his own bed
5:27 am me getting back into bed with tired knees
6:15 am Burke climbing into bed with me along with his animal book
6:15:03 am me GRABBING the book and HAULING him down the hall to his bed

After leaving and coming back to finish this post three times now I am too tired to finish the play-by-play but...I made three lunches, poured five bowls of Cheerios, prayed with the hubs and kissed him good-bye, tied one pair of shoes, brushed four heads of hair (of course, not my own), washed laundry, read scriptures with the boys, missed the bus at the bus stop for the first time this year, drove two boys to school, changed a poopy diaper in the pouring rain in the parking lot of the post office, mailed a baby gift to Heidi, bought milk and ice cream (it is Friday after all) at the convenience store...in the pouring rain, drove home, ran around the back yard picking up toys nearly blown away by the wind...in the pouring rain, changed the train battery, served cupcakes as a not so healthy snack, and deposited the two small stinkers who are at home with me into a nice big bubble bath.
Today I still intend to wash and fold several more loads of laundry, clean three toilets, take a shower, make my bed, vacuum, unload the dishwasher and go on a date with my husband. Now here I am BLOGGING? Some might wonder about my ability to prioritize. But I reason, "How else will I be able to remember the craziness of it all?"

Toddlerhood

Two years ago today Burke-y boy was born. Life has never been the same...

This toddler is nearly obsessed with Baby Einstein. Thus, the EXACT cake replica of the Baby Einstein caterpillar.

All day long the boys have been bending over backwards trying to make this day special for Burke. They came home from school with cards, made snowflake s, wore matching shirts,and even reminded everyone over and over about the family birthday rule...You can't be mean to the birthday boy.

This last photo is just to prove to this fourth child later on in his life that we did celebrate his birthday and there were gifts invovled.

This week my admiration for Burke has grown. It always seems that is impossible. I find this happens to me often when I watch my boys do things that I didn't know they could do. I talk as if the next few stories I write will be heart warming. Probably not to many hearts but mine.

Burke wants to do most everything himself, as many toddlers do. I still snicker every time he says, "I dude it!" when he wants to accomplish something without help.

In an effort to get Burke interested in something other than Baby Einstein I rented a Thomas the Train and Barney DVD from the library. (Not a quality choice I know.) I put the DVD in the player and when it came on Burke furrowed his eyebrows deep, frowned hard, pointed at the TV with his arm straight out and shouted, "Stupid!" What a smart boy! He was right. What was I thinking?

I was watching Burke in the rear view mirror while driving. He had turned his head to look cross-eyed at the warning tag on the car seat only inches from his face. He stated, "Letters." That's right Burke-ster...letters!

Though this babe wakes me up before the sun every day, opens the garage door all day long, safely handles all kitchen knives, eats toothpaste, helps himself to food in the refrigerator, draws on furniture, gets nosebleeds daily, and insists on "dude-ing" everything by himself, I can't imagine life without the craziness he adds to it. Lub oo, Burke!

York, Maine

The weather here is getting a little cooler. This may be my last chance to share these photos of a fun trip we took to Maine this summer with our family.

Rob at Nubble Light

Travis and Theron on the rocky coast

Charlie eating a lollipop much too big for his belly

Burke living it up while we pushed him around in the hot sun

Isaac and Theron watching the taffy machine at the candy factory

Rise and Shine

Charlie: "I'm want my brown candy bag."
Me: "Not right now. We are going to have breakfast."
Charlie jumping up and down: "But I want it!...Then I'm having a cookie."
Me: "NOT right now. We are going to have breakfast first."
Charlie JUMPING UP AND DOWN: "BUT I WANT IT! MOM! YOU ARE RUINING MY DAY!!"

It's Monday...it's only 7:14 am...

YMCA

We have really learned to love the YMCA this year. The boys live for swimming and have really been working hard to become great swimmers.

Last week we went and to our surprise Burke took off on his own (with the aid of his swim vest, of course). He jumps into the water, totally immersed, and pops back up, legs kicking ferociously. This summer he and Charlie both learned to jump off of the diving board. Charlie has even been learning the techniques of diving (this all with the aid of their vests). My favorite dive was when he dove in but his body couldn't seem to get flipped right side up again because of the vest. I think there was a moment of panic for a few of us but it all ended happily ever after as he jumped off the diving board yet again.

Isaac and Theron are actually working on their technique and have made more progress than I expected. I have discovered how fun it can be to watch my boys learn to do something new really well and to see the confidence that it gives them. It is a good feeling.

King of the Castle...

...in times of peace...

...and war.

That's My Boy

Travis to the crew during family scripture reading: "What does penitent mean?"
Isaac: "I'm not sure."
Me: "It means someone who really wants to be a true follower of Jesus Christ."
Isaac: "Oooooh! That's my kind of person."

Chicago

A Race

Eight years ago we lived in the Boston area just for the summer while Trav did some research at Mass General Hospital. We lived close to his brother and crew so we were able to do lots of fun things with them. Travis and Randy participated in the Hyannis Sprint Triathlon for the first time that summer. Randy and Judianne have been doing it ever since and we have skipped in and out over the years. Some of the other members of the Peterson family have been in on it, too. One year we had thirteen Petersons participating. Sadly that year we also had a pelvis fracture.

This year Travis and I decided to be on a team and do the race as a relay. He swam and I rode the bike and...well we actually decided to turn our race into a bi-athlon, as we never did find a runner.

Though we didn't "finish" the race I still feel the need to mention it. It was so fun for me! After my year of surgeries it feels like big victory to me. I haven't ever ridden a bike like that before. The distance was about 12.5 miles. "Pft!" you might say. But it IS a race AND I was going as fast as I thought was wise or was able the WHOLE time AND IT WAS KIND OF HARD...but fun.

I was not as prepared as many others likely were for this race. I had not seen the route. I did not know how many hills there were, how big they were, or when they were going to come. I actually didn't even know how long the race was until I finished and looked at my odometer. When I started out I must have had a huge adrenaline rush because I immediately felt I was going to throw up. I was not quite sure what I would or even should do. Should I stop to take care of my business? Should I just do it over my shoulder? How would that turn out? Would I be able to finish the race? As I continued on the feeling subsided. I thought, "I really like the way it feels to be pedaling so fast along this shore side road in a race."

As I continued I realized I didn't quite know what my strategy should be. Should I fly down the hills to pick up speed for the uphill stretches? Is that safe? When should I be shifting gears? How fast should I even be going? How long will I have to keep my energy up and will I be able to? The feeling kept coming back to me, "I like this. It feels good."

Then I discovered another challenge. The roads sides were thickly lined with trees which makes for a beautiful ride but complicated things for me. The sun was shining and casting shadows in such a way that when I was in the shadows I could see the road just fine but when I was in the sun and a shady part of the road was coming up I actually couldn't see what condition the road was in. If there was a pot hole, or a dip, or a curve I couldn't tell. ( I would have liked to have the aid of sunglasses...next time.) Again, what should my strategy be? Fortunately, I soared along the road without incident. I did watch a couple of accidents and realized how easily that could have been me.

This experience has given me good opportunity to think about the circumstance I am in on this earth. I am on track to get back to my Father in Heaven but I am not familiar with all the parts of the course ahead of me. How much time will I have to work at getting it right here? When is it going to get harder? Will this uphill stretch level out after the upcoming curve? There may be obstacles, pot holes, curves in the rode. I may even have an accident. I am grateful for the times when my Father lets me know that I am doing a good job or reminds me who I am. That encourages me and it keeps me going. I know that I have been given helps along the way; the gospel of Jesus Christ, the scriptures that teach me about the gospel, a Prophet to guide me, and my family to do it with me. I am confident I will get to the finish line and be pretty worn out, just like I was when I finally stepped off of that bike. I merely had enough energy to take the few steps to the cement wall to sit down. But I am confident that my efforts here on earth will be worth it. I am so grateful for this bike ride and the uplift is was to my body and spirit.

First day of school

We barely made the bus in time. This was the only photo we managed to catch before the boys zoomed away to their first day at school in Massachusetts.

Let's Be Frank

I was playing puzzles with Charlie and Burke on the floor. Burke was sitting on my lap when he decided to throw a little tantrum. He threw his head back and hit it on my lip. Under my breath I said, "I'm probably going to have a fat lip." To which Charlie replied, "Mom, fat lips happen."

I put this in the same pool of stories with my visit to the general surgeon. We all decided it would be better to have surgery after Burke was born rather than while I was pregnant with him. When I asked what I should do in the mean time the Surgeon said, "I could give you a big shot of buck up." I give my kids a dose every once in a while just for kicks.

Everyday all day

He does it all day long. A time out on the stairs seems to be his preferred past time as of late. He's happy to wait on the stairs. It gives him time to plan how he is going to get up onto the counter the next time.
NOTE: The stool on the counter. Placed there following a previous incident.
NOTE: The silverware on the counter. Each piece has been lovingly slobbered and removed from its place in the open drawer. Anyone want to come for dinner?
He kept insisting no matter how many times I removed him, "Pider! Pider! Pider!" Which is to say, "I see a spider on the window screen and it should meet death by baby palm." He did discover one thing worthy of distraction...the butcher knife.
When Burke is awake there is no rest.

Random thoughts from way too early in the morning...

Burke is hardly a baby anymore. How sad.

Me walking around looking for Burke: "Burke."
Burke: "WHAT!"

So that's it all of a sudden he's a six year old?

Yesterday as we were leaving the beach Charlie said, "Mom, I wish I was still little." I'm thinking, "Are you not?" but instead I ask, "Why?" He answers, "Because then I would be really cute." If only he knew how cute I think he is. A few mornings ago he said, "Mom, I just took a guy-jantic bite!" Kind of cute.

When I sat down to type this post I had so many more random thoughts and they are all lost now. Well, as Travis and I like to say, "That pretty much proves it." It's way too early in the morning. Thanks a lot Burkey boy.

I Am Grateful

I have been blaming my camera, my computer, my surgeries, my packing, my moving, my surgery, my packing, my moving for my inability to create a post that anyone would care about but me. I still don't have any pictures but my fingers are not broken and life never gets any less busy...and we did get a new computer which is up and running as of today.

I have so many things to tell, so many things to be grateful for. I'm grateful that Burke still has all of his fingers. I found him calmly sitting in the kitchen sink yesterday. He was grasping the blade of a very sharp paring knife. His face and hands were covered in red. I took a deep breath and slowly walked over to him. I washed his hands off and realized he didn't have a cut anywhere. My eyes wandered and landed on an empty strawberry container next to the sink that had been half full the last time I saw it. Burke devoured those strawberries, stems and all as far as I can tell. For this and many many other reasons I am convinced that Burke has a team of angels assigned to him. I am grateful.

We sold our house in six days. So many people ask, "How did you do that?" I can only respond, "Heavenly Father has answered our prayers and we are blessed." I am grateful.

I attended a church meeting today and I came away with a powerful tool. It is to ask myself, "What would a Holy woman do?" every time I do anything. I tried it this afternoon. Isaac and Theron had a tiff that involved a bit of physical agression. I separated them and while we all had time to think I asked myself, "What would a Holy woman do?" I recalled a story in the Bible that was the perfect illistration of what went wrong between my two boys today. After sharing the story with them, they worked out their problem and life is blissful. I am grateful.

I am blogging instead of ironing four white dress shirts for church tomorrow. I am grateful (for the moment). Actually, on second thought, I am grateful that I get to iron those dress shirts.

I had five of my six screws taken out of my hips last week. After three surgeries I can walk and do most anything I want with my body. I am grateful.

Last night Travis graduated from a five year orthopedic surgery residency. There is so much to say about our experiences over the last five years. I could not type anything in a blog post that would be adequate. He works so hard for our family and to help bless the life of others. I am grateful.

I look at the circumstances of my life and and can see that I am blessed. I recognize this daily. I don't know how to react to this and so...I am grateful.

WHAT?? A post??

This post is just a little foreshadowing of great things to come soon on this blog, lots and lots of great things (once we finally get a new computer).

We are moving. Travis, Isaac, and Theron just went to pick up the moving truck. When they got back the boys were so excited to tell me about the windows in this truck.

I: "Mom, have you seen the windows in the truck? The can roll down even when the truck is off!"
T: "Yeah, they're super super fancy! You can control your own window and no one else in the truck can control it. It would be so awesome if we had those in the back of the van!"

Travis encouraged me to look inside the truck...manual handles to roll down the window...FANCY!

Just A Crazy Saturday

Happy Birthday Charlie Boy!!

So I have tried several times to post about cute Charlie's birthday (it was at the beginning of last month). I like to refer to our computer as BUST. BUST is actually cooperating tonight.

Breakfast in bed, compliments of Aunt Allee.

A little brotherly love. He was such a fun birthday boy.

When anyone asks Charlie how old he is, whether he is talking to them on the phone or in person, he always holds up his "OK" sign with his hand and says, "Dis many on my birfday."

Now they are all set for a summer full of camping.