1st Annual "Spring is Coming!!!" Party

The hope for this new tradition, is to have "bird's nest" makings stored in the pantry, and as soon as the first momma robin is spotted in the emerging spring - we get to throw a "Spring is Coming!!!" party!


The boys spotted their first momma robin today! I have been waiting for at least 3 years to have this impromptu party. This is the first year that the older two have been old enough to be productive with the mess of "making bird's nests". And did they ever enjoy it!!!!! They saw the robin, and supplies in hand, I promised them a surprise and a party, but they had to wait for Declan to lay down for his nap. Oh the agony, mom. ;)

As soon as Declan was headed to the bedroom, Camden and Quin were begging for the surprise. We laid out all the ingredients, and the boys were so excited about the process. All that chocolate & sugar!!! We melted the chocolate chips, smothered the noodles in the chocolate, and started building the nests. Quin was so excited that EACH nest got a momma bird, "just like you mama!" (melt my heart!) Between the two of them, placing the momma bird and the eggs, they laughed enough to melt away the hard memories of so much of this last year. Quin insisted that each nest overflow with eggs, which prompted Camden to proclaim all of the eggs "mei mei" (little sisters). (Camden has his heart set on 5 new little sisters - not one, but five! So the nests with momma birds and all the little chicklets must have prompted his excitement for his hopeful new sisters.)

While we waited for the birds nests to dry, and for Declan to wake up so that we could go to the park, we played with letters, spelling out S-P-R-I-N-G. They were so giggly with excitement. We got the stroller out, loaded it with bubbles, sidewalk chalk, and the chocolate treats.

Declan didn't keep us waiting long, he must have felt the excitement. With Declan in the stroller, and the other two shouting at the top of their lungs, "Spring is coming! Spring is coming!!!!" we headed to the park in our apartment complex. We stopped in to the apartment office to see if our friend Lynn was there, and gave her a "Spring is Coming!!!" bird's nest. It was so fun to hear Camden and Quin explain to Lynn about the nests and about spring, new life, and allllll about the chocolate nests.

Outside, our emerging spring did not disappoint us, we found pansies blooming, and a rabbit nibbling on the little bit of green grass that he could find. At the park, Daddy surprised us. He squeezed time in the middle of all his appointments and met us at the park to enjoy our wonderful 55 degree day! Camden and Quin were so excited to be let loose on the playground. Oh, it has been such a long winter. The slides, the swings, the climbing rock wall, all brought such delight to these little guys who have been bound up inside our little apartment all winter long. And Declan, sweet Declan - RAN all over the playground! The last time we were at this park, he was still hanging out in the stroller watching the other two having fun. No longer! He loved the slide! And loved the freedom of being independent and the wind blowing on his face. We blew bubbles, and all three boys giggled with delight as they chased the bubbles all over the green space around the park. They filled their pockets with rocks for the first time of the season. Can I tell you how excited I am to check their pockets before throwing them in the washing machine? Beyond thrilled, it means spring has arrived!

urgency in everydayness

i've cried this year as i have read (with mother's eyes this time) how moses' mother sent him to live with the pharoah's daughter, how hannah took samuel to the temple to live with eli. suddenly the importance of this time with my boys has become eternally crucial, so much more than colors, numbers, letters and manners. wondered, with new eyes, what mary's days with Jesus were like when he was a toddler. i wonder about these women's moments of tiredness, yet necessity for courage from God. if in the middle of their days filled with meals, and routine, and whiney & sick babies - did these women sense the urgency of the outcome of their stories? probably not in the way that i sometimes nostalgically assume. i'm guessing that they too got caught in cycles of everydayness. that there were times where their little toddler had one more tantrum, and their patience was running low; and times when they just didn't feel like cleaning up one more mess; times when not everything was perfect when their hubby walked through the door at the end of the day, and dinner wasn't ready; times when they struggled to understand and submit to the men that God gave them. i try to imagine what those things were that God was using in their lives too, to purify their hearts, to prepare their little boys to be the men that God would use, to eventually save me.

poke, poke, polka

at night, camden gets pretty slap happy when bedtime comes around. he goes hard all day long! and then he crashes about as fast and as hard as he has been going during the day. it's not unusual for camden to be going through some of his memory verses, and fall asleep in mid-sentence. or, for him to be going hard (read not cooperating) while we're reading Scripture, and suddenly there's silence. i'll look over and literally camden will have been busy 10 seconds earlier, and he will be sound asleep, and the zzzzzz's are rolling.

tonight we were working on some memory work from john 14, the text said, "these things I have spoken unto you, being yet present with you." (vs. 25) when the text says, "I," and it's Christ's words, i have use the sign for Jesus.

as we were talking about the verse, i was asking camden who the "I" was. in his slap happy mood, he said, "poke, poke, polka." i played along and we kept talking and laughing. several times i asked him the same question. always the same response.

finally, he said, "mama, where's my poke, poke, polka?"

he'd been so silly, and we were having fun, i wasn't really thinking too deeply - but he was.

i asked him what he meant. he signed Jesus, and said, "poke, poke, polka."

it hit me what he was talking about. when we were saying, "I" in the verse, he was thinking "me," while we were signing Jesus. we have talked a lot about why we sign Jesus by dotting the palms of our hands with the opposite hand, signifying the nails that the roman soldiers used to nail Jesus to the cross. in his three year old mind - pokes . . . poke, poke, polka.

so we talked again about how Jesus died on the cross for our sins, for all the times we don't obey God. and how because of His sacrifice, we don't have to pay for our sin. i know, i don't always get it, how is he supposed to understand? but his answer brought me to tears, seeing his tender faith become a little bit of sight tonight.
 
camden: "mommy, do i have to have pokes in my hands?"
 
me: "no camden. Jesus died for us. His hands had nails pounded into them. He did that so that we don't have to live with our sin. He had to die and be raised alive, so that we can be with our Father God. camden do you know what sin is?"
 
camden: "the yucky stuff." (refering to our memory work from lk 6.45)
 
me: "yeah camden, the yucky stuff."
 
camden: "hey mommy, is He the good stuff?"
 
me: "yes, camden. He is the good stuff. not only is His Word the good stuff that we want to put in our heart, but Jesus Himself will come to live in our heart and make His home there - all because He died on the cross for our sins."

camden: "but mommy, we have to keep His sayings and His Father will love us" (jn 14. 23)

me: "yes, camden. He takes our words and our actions very seriously. just like when i ask you to do something and i want you to obey. what happens when you obey?"

camden: "you're proud of me & i get a star on my chart."

me: "what happens when you disobey, and you're not trustworthy?"

camden: "you get tears in your eyes, and you're sad."

we talked a little more about how disobedience is yucky and that it is sin, that we don't want that in our hearts, because that's what will continue to come out. and about how Jesus is the good stuff. when we hide His Word in our hearts, good stuff comes out.

and in true form, camden immediately fell fast asleep.

i will never again doubt the importance of hiding God's word in his heart - i am constantly amazed at how young he is, and yet the little bit of scripture that we are memorizing, little by little he's putting it together.

grandpa & grandma thomson!

since we now live 5 hours away from grandpa & grandma thomson, we don't get to see them nearly as often as we want to. last week, they came up and we got to spend a couple of days with them. lots of snuggles, and coloring, and reading books, and giggles - from everyone involved.

grandpa was talking with camden about "principles" while we reviewed luke 6:45. it was so fun to hear camden talking about putting good stuff in his heart, and having good stuff come out. and that if you put yucky stuff in your heart, yucky stuff comes out. (thank you lisa for that fun illustration.)

dave and i both know full well that camden didn't "get it." and won't for a while. he loves repeating, and having fun playing games with scripture memory. one day, i pray that what is being carved into his foundation right now, will be The Light that guides his path. i love having my sons stand on their grandpa's wisdom, standing on scripture, from generation to generation. may it be so for generations to come.

you had me at ni hao

camden taylor, 3 1/2

kenjiro quin, age 3

declan stuart, nearly 2

right here with us?

a couple of nights ago, as we were getting the boys all snuggled into bed for the night, camden asked, "mom, where's God?"

i said that God was in heaven.

camden crinkled up his forehead, and twisted up his mouth, really confused.

camden: "is God right here with us?"

me: "ahh sweetie. yes, God is right here with us. right here on the bed. He's here loving us and keeping us safe."

camden: "so we don't have to go get him in the car?"

me: "nope. he's right here with us."

camden: "so we don't have to get our watza or shutza (socks & shoes) on?"

me: "nope. He's right here with us. isn't that amazing?"

camden: "yeah. pretty much."

sticky chewios

the new, long awaited, sprouts natural food store opened last weekend. they had great sales. it was way too crowded. but we got the good sales, and balloons.

among the sales were large boxes of the healthy brand of honey nut cheerios for $1.

camden has renamed them "sticky chewios". a week out, sadly, sticky chewios are long gone. back to the generic, plain jane chewios. with rice milk, mangos and blueberries, of course. they just go down better that way.

safe from tigers

i walked into the dining room, to find the boys all huddled under the table, munching on their cheerios snack.

me: "hey boys, whatcha doing?"

quin: "we're safe under here from tigers."

camden: "that's okay, cause the rabbits are coming."

declan: deep gutteral laugh.

huh? i guess the appropriate response is "tzuga" or "gzzzzzzz".

i cannot get enough of their imaginations. they make me giggle.

home sweet home, xindian, taiwan

welcome to skyline apartment complex in xindian, taiwan. this was where we called home for 4 1/2 mo. (august-december 2008).

after many, many hours, and days of looking around taipei and so many suburbs, we found an apartment in jacky and erin's apartment complex!!!! so wonderful!!!!

xindian is the last stop on the blue line on the mrt (tapei subway system). and, as in most cities, the further you go from the core, the cheaper the prices. all of the apartments in our price range that we looked at closer in were tiny, flights of stairs and no elevators, long walks from the mrt stops, not furnished or barely, etc.

after a couple of frustrating weeks of looking for a place and not feeling good about our options, we started advertising in jacky & erin's apartment complex. pretty quickly, we got a phone call. we were able to take over someone's lease, get a great price on the FULLY furnished apartment, and be neighbors with jacky & erin. 2 elevators per building, an indoor and outdoor playground for the boys to play in regardless of weather, swimming pool, water fountains to play in, coi fish ponds, lots and lots of room for them to run outdoors. 7-11 at the corner of the apmt complex, pharmacy and rt-mart (grocery store) 1/2 block away, and less than 10 min. walk to the mrt stop. God blessed us tremendously - not only with location, but well within our (incredibly) limited budget, and in relationship. skyline has several stay-at-home moms that meet every morning and afternoon in the lobby entrance to let the kids play and give the moms the opportunity to have time together. if we had lived in a smaller apmt building, we would not have had as many people that we were able to become friends with, and we would have had jacky and erin in the next building over. they saved us in so many situations. their generosity was way above and beyond the call of duty.