Happy Birthday, Jesus!

Zane woke up this morning and was surprised to see our home decorated for Christmas. He came to my bedroom and told Cory and me about it. He then said that only one thing was missing -- the lights. I told him he could carefully plug them in. When he came back to our room he asked, "Do you know what I did when I turned on the lights?" I asked, "What?" and he said that he looked up at the sky and said, "Happy Birthday Jesus, even though it isn't your birthday yet."

Dreaming

I just went in to tell the boys to be quiet and go to sleep. Luke said to me, "I'm having a dream I shouldn't watch." Evidently it was about bad guys.

I did that!

Tonight Zane was trying to teach Cade how to catch a ball. Luke was also trying to help. Zane saw how well Luke could throw and catch the ball and said, "Luke, you can catch really good. I taught you that. I mean it! I taught you so good that now you're better than me. I did that!" Zane was very excited about HIS accomplishment. :o)

Cader

Cade is pretty much potty-trained now. He has had control of his bowels since June, but we've been anxiously waiting for him to do better about using the toilet consistently for potty too. Now, he uses the toilet for potty unless his is in a Pull-up for naptime or bedtime. However, the funny part of all of this, he will asks me, "Mom, what me wearing?" Translation: Am I wearing a Pull-up or underpants? If he is wearing a Pull-up, he is more than happy to go potty in it. Kinda funny...at least we're getting closer. After nearly 7 years, we're almost done with the whole disposable undergarment thing!

SNOW DAY

We had about 3.5" of snow yesterday and the boys were very excited. It was pretty cold outside and so they didn't stay out very long, but I was able to get a few cute pictures.

How they sleep...sandwiched, posed and wrapped!

Fall leaves

Better than socks...

On Sunday it was announced at church that we are going to start collecting socks to give to homeless people under the Washington Jefferson Bridge here in Eugene. Zane asked me to fill out a prayer request card for him. At his request, I wrote, "Zane wants to pray for the people who will be getting the socks."
We are so proud of him!

My silly son, Cade.

If you know me very well, you know I have a little problem with germs. I am not fond of public bathrooms and it is hard for me to take my boys into them. I try to get them in and out without touching ANYTHING. I set them on the toilet, clean up the necessary "parts" and then have them stand motionless while I wash my hands. Being that they truly haven't touched anything, I don't have them wash their hands...after all the faucet and sink have germs on them, right? (I'm starting to question whether I should be blogging this...) Anyway....Recently, Cade has decided he wants to wash his hands. He will look at me and ask, "Is this dirty?" I respond, "Yes, that is yucky. Don't touch it." Then he looks at me and touches it and says, "Touch! Now my hand dirty." Then he will touch something with his other hand and say, "Now my hand dirty." Or maybe he will just keep it simple and make sure I'm looking when he touches the toilet and then say, "Touch! Me want to wash my hands." This could completely freak me out, but I am choosing to look at is as therapy. I guess I should be paying him for forcing me to relax my germ fears.*
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* I just did a little research on Mysophobia (the fear of germs) and I'm starting to think I'm not so bad. One lady, for example, makes her family change from their "outside clothes" to their "inside clothes" as soon as they walk through the door. She also covers her couches with blankets/sheets before company comes over!

The Eleventh Commandment?

Yesterday, Luke and Cade took a whole lot of cough drops without permission. I talked to Luke about stealing. (A lesson that my mom taught me when I took gumballs from her. It really stuck with...at the time it had never occurred to me that you could steal from your mom!) I asked Luke what God's number eight most important rule is. He said, "Do not litter?" (Another lesson I'm trying to teach...)

Were you drug? I was, thankfully.

My mother-in-law, Loretta, e-mailed this to me.

The Drug Problem in America

The other day, someone at a store in our town read that a methamphetamine lab had been found in an old farmhouse in the adjoining county and he asked me a rhetorical question, ''Why didn't we have a drug problem when you and I were growing up?''

I replied: "I had a drug problem when I was young":

I was drug to church on Sunday morning.

I was drug to church for weddings and funerals.

I was drug to family reunions and community socials no matter the weather.

I was drug by my ears when I was disrespectful to adults.

I was also drug to the woodshed when I disobeyed my parents, told a lie, brought home a bad report card, did not speak with respect, spoke ill of the teacher or the preacher, or if I didn't put forth my best effort in everything that was asked of me.

I was drug to the kitchen sink to have my mouth washed out with soap if I uttered a profane four-letter word.

I was drug out to pull weeds in mom's garden and flower beds and cockleburs out of dad's fields.

I was drug to the homes of family, friends, and neighbors to help out some poor soul who had no one to mow the yard, repair the clothesline, or chop some firewood; and, if my mother had ever known that I took a single dime as a tip for this kindness, she would have drug me back to the woodshed.

Those drugs are still in my veins; and they affect my behavior in everything I do, say, and think. They are stronger than cocaine, crack, or heroin; and, if today's children had this kind of drug problem, America would be a better place.

~author unknown~

Voting

The boys and I are watching the results of the presidential campaign. I told them that Obama is ahead right now. Zane said, "We have to do something!" I told him that we have done what we can; we voted. Then I suggested that he call my parents to make sure that they have voted. Aunt Joy answered the phone and Zane asked her if she has voted. He then asked, "Did you do it for the one who loves Jesus the most?"

Later Zane said, "Isn't there anything we can do? I had the feeling that Barack Obama might make some really bad rules."

Zane & Wayne

For Halloween we went to see my mom's best friend, Margaret. We went in to her house and got treats. I said hello to her son and his family. We stayed for a few minutes and then started to head out to the next stop. Then I heard Zane, "You forgot to say 'Hi' to someone." Zane was right. I had not said hello to Margaret's husband, Wayne. Wayne suffered a serious head trauma many years ago. He is in a wheelchair and cannot say many words. He wasn't in one of the rooms we had been in, but if I had been paying attention I would have seen him.
I'm very impressed that Zane (age 6) noticed Wayne and reminded me (age 35) to visit with him. Good job, Zane!

Man-up! and memorize...

Last Sunday Cory took Luke with him to Molalla to stay the night at Grandma Marsha's house. I was acting sad about him leaving and he said, "Man-up!"
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Today my mom asked Luke what she should teach her Sunday School kids. He quoted John 14:27:

“I am leaving you with a gift—peace of mind and heart. And the peace I give is a gift the world cannot give. So don’t be troubled or afraid."

Mom had all three of the boys come in and quote the scripture to her class. Hopefully, they were encouraged to memorize scripture too.

Halloween 2008

For Halloween we went to our neighbor Mary's house, my Grandpa's memory care unit, and my Grandma's house, along with a few others. Even though the holiday really isn't meant for good, we tried to do our part to at least cheer up a few people. Here are some pictures I took at my Grandpa's.

Halloween 2008

Cade the Train Engineer (sorry the picture is blurry), Luke the Fire Firefighter, and Zane the Cowboy.

Not feeling well.

Zane wasn't feeling well one night at Grandma's.
He wanted to sleep with a bowl in case he got sick.
He was serious about keeping it close.

They're mine, thank you!

During our visit to Molalla this week, Grandma Marsha took us out for Mexican food.
Cade REALLY didn't want to share the beans.

Oregon Zoo

Zane & Luke are not very big compared to a Polar Bear.

Being like monkeys.

Brothers.

Oregon Zoo

Luke and Aunt Melissa.

Zane looking at the Mama & baby Elephant.

Cade crawling through the tree tunnel.

Oregon Zoo

The fish like Zane.

Cade is looking for the otter.

Luke is trying out the saddle.

Oregon Zoo Polar Bear

While we were at Oregon Zoo we saw this Polar Bear swimming laps in his pool.
It was AMAZING! I think I could have watched him for hours.
Luke said, "That Polar Bear must have went to swimming lessons!" Everyone who heard, laughed.

HAPPY DAY

Today is my 35th birthday and my family SPOILED me!

My husband brought me breakfast in bed.

My sister-in-law, Melissa, called to wish me a happy day.

My father and mother-in-law, Terry and Loretta, sent me an oh-so-nice birthday card!

My son, Zane, said out-of-the-blue that he thinks I'm the best mom in the world and Luke and Cade both piped in their agreement.

My mom, sister and niece came to Eugene to celebrate with me. Joy & Lolly gave me a cute new shirt, a balloon, and chocolate. Mom gave me a picture frame and some spending money. She also provided lunch: ham and cheese croissant sandwiches. Yum.

After lunch we went to a pumpkin patch and had apple pie and ice cream. The kids each got to pick out a pumpkin. My mom bought apples for me to make carmel apples. Yummy!

Later in the day, Mom offered to watch the kids so that Cory and I could go to dinner. We went to Marie Callender's and it was scrumdiddlyumptious.

When we arrived back home, I was surprised to find my Dad watching the kids. (Dad wasn't able to make it earlier in the day because he was working.) Dad brought me roses and a cheesecake from Market of Choice! A cheesecake from Market of Choice was the one thing that I really wanted...and he didn't even know that!

The day left me feeling very, very spoiled.

Thanks SO MUCH, family, for making my day special.

Pumpkin Party

We had a nice pumpkin party yesterday.
We learned about bats. We listened to a story about bats, made bat Shinky Dinks,
played with play dough, and played a "bat game" similar to Marco Polo.

Clockwise from bottom left: Hannah Shelley, Zane, Sarah Shelley, Lolly Frost, Cade, & Luke.

It's my story...

Tonight Cade was bonking himself into my leg. I asked him to stop and he said, "Me can't. It's part of my story. Cade bonks into Mom, brothers and Dad." He got this from a PBS cartoon called Super Why. The "super-readers" go "inside" of story books (like Humpty Dumpty, Little Red Riding Hood, etc.) to learn how to solve their own problems. In the story, the characters will say they have to do this or that because that is what their story says. Then, the super-readers change the word in the story to "save the day." I "zapped" the word "bonks" in Cade's story and changed it to "hugs."
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Last night we went bowling with some friends. This was the first time that our boys have bowled. I have never excelled at this sport (or any other one, really). But, last night, my six year old son bowled a higher score than I did! I scored 97 and he bowled 98! Cade even got a strike! They definitely want to go again. Zane wants to have his 7th birthday party there (or, as he just informed me, all of his birthdays there).

Our boys are funny...

Today during school I told Zane that I was cold. He said, "Tell you what, after this, I will go get some wood and you can build a fire."

This week while driving, Cade has asked me several times, "Mom, are we on Beltline?" Beltline is a major bypass/expressway in Eugene. It took me awhile to even understand what he was saying. Being that I have no internal compass, it is always nice to learn that the boys are not inheriting that gene from me. I am counting on them to be my navigators as they get older and it appears that they may be able to help me sooner than I thought.

I have been blogging now for several years and the boys are starting to realize that I like writing down the funny things they say. This week Luke asked me if I was going to write what he said in my blog. It reminded me of when I was little. My mom always kept a diary of the funny things we said and I once asked her, "Mom, are you going to write that in your diarrhea." My mom really did inspire and encourage me to keep this online journal. I am so glad that I have.

Breaking news...

Curtis and Melissa are having a baby boy! I can hardly wait to watch him toddling around after his older cousins.

The boys were trying to help name the baby:

Zane Cole suggested (1) Leroy, and then (2) Hunter. He later added (3) Cole Gant.
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Luke Dion suggested (1) Dion, and then agreed with Zane on (2) Hunter. (They don't care the
name has already been used by a cousin.) Luke also likes (3) I Love You Gant.
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Cade Roy likes (1) Cole. (He said, "Cole. Like me." I guess he isn't sure of his middle name.)

Then he changed it to (2) Jumper (the only catch with this name is Cade said it is for
the dog that Melissa has in her tummy.)

His last pick was (3) Goal. (When I read this back to the boys, Cade changed it to
"Goal Tink Gant". He doesn't even know we have a Tink(er) in the family.)

Cade changes quickly, now he says, "Goat Gant." And also recommended,
"Coat Boat Gant". (I think the kid likes to rhyme.)

Luke is 5!

Yesterday was Luke's 5th birthday. Grandpa Bruce & Grandma Marsha, Papa & Boom-Boom, Aunt Joy and Lolly came to help us celebrate. The kids made their own little pizza's, made Shrinky-Dinks, played with play dough and watched Kermit the frog. Luke received many nice gifts: frog pajamas, a remote-controlled King car (from the movie Cars), the game Operation, a Nerf gun, and a Transformer. (Zane gave the Transformer to Luke. He asked to go shopping for a gift and was so excited to give it to him. Very sweet!)

Baby Gant

I showed the calender to Luke today and told him when his birthday was. I also told him that Aunt Melissa will find out if the baby is a girl or boy the day after his birthday. I asked him what he thought the baby would be and he said he thought it was a girl. I asked what her name should be and he said, "I Love You Cutie Pie." I said, " I Love You Cutie Pie Gant" and he said, "yes." It is a long name, but at least she would know she is loved.

First Grade Zane

Today during school Zane said,

"It doesn't seem like they* think I'm very smart."

I asked "Why?" and he answered,

"Because I know how to do all these things, but they make me do it again and again and again."

He then went on to say,

"I'm not being silly. I mean it. It's true."

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* "They" are those that write our A Beka homeschool curriculum.

Adorable Brothers.

Our maiden voyage in the "canned ham."