Special People

About 1 1/2 years ago our church assigned each of my boys a "special person" to pray for them and send them a letter once a month. What a blessing each of these ladies have been to my boys [and me].

Luke and Louise. Louise doesn't go to our church anymore, but we still go see her. Our trips haven't been as frequent as I would like, but I'm planning to do better. She lives on the 18th floor of her building. We really enjoy seeing the city from her apartment windows. Louise is a sweet little lady.



Zane and Bessie. Bessie fell in love with Zane the first time he smiled at her. He was ten months old and we had just moved to Eugene. Bessie has treated us like family every since and blesses us so much. Everybody needs a Bessie.



Pearl and Cade. Cade loves Pearl; he has said that he would like to marry her. He looks for her every Sunday and goes to give her a huge hug. The kind of hug that leaves everyone who sees it smiling. "Pearl" is actually a nickname that her father gave her when she was little; he knew she was a treasure. We agree with him wholeheartedly.

Sweet William

My nephew, William, is staying with us this weekend while his parents are at a marriage retreat. I thought this would be the perfect opportunity to take all four boys to the studio for pictures and scheduled the photos for today. Everything leading up to the appointment was going very well; I had outfits picked out for the all the boys, they had lunch, dinner was ready for when we got back, and William had a two hour nap right before we left and woke up in a great mood! I was hopeful that things would go well. Once we got to the studio William became very serious and reserved. I had the photographer take picture of my boys first so that William could see what was happening and get used to the idea. Nope. I tried showing him the pictures of the boys on the monitor and told him he could see himself too. Nope. I told him I wanted to surprise his Mommy. Nope. I told him that his blankie wanted to be in the picture. Nope. Just the mention of pictures brought him to tears. Poor little guy; he was a puddle on the floor. Fortunately he perked right back up as soon as we left the studio. I guess I didn't traumatize him too much.



Here are some happier times during his visit:

Mohawks and more...

After filling my tank at the gas station today, I asked the boys to guess how much they thought it cost. Zane first guessed $100 and then changed to $50. Luke guessed $4 and Cade guessed $5. Zane won; he was closest. How much you say? $83.19! Eighty three dollars and nineteen cents! Yikes.
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Cade called me in to the bathroom today to help him finish up on the toilet ["Wipe" sounds so crass, but I guess I have to say it for the sake of clarity.] After a few minutes, and more than one summon, I went to help. I took the opportunity to try and gently encourage him to learn to do this by himself and mentioned that one nice thing about learning to wipe oneself is that you do not have to wait for help. He countered with, "How did you feel when you were little and had to wait for someone to help?" I told him that I didn't remember how I felt about that when I was little. I then asked him if he thought I should "drop what I'm doing and come running" when he calls me. He said, " No, put it down and come walking."

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"Mom, you know those zebra kids? The ones with lines on their heads [while using his thumb and finger to trace two lines from his forehead to the nape of his neck]. I like those kids. They look like zebras." Cade, age 5, describing a mohawk hairstyle

Valentine's Day

Cory and I usually try to schedule a date on or around Valentine's Day each year, but this year I thought of a new plan that would be special for us and involve the boys.

The plan: Cory and I would go on a date ... in our vintage trailer ... parked in the driveway. The boys would be our servers and entertainment.

First, I set the table in the trailer: tablecloth, cloth napkins, candles, music, wine glasses for sparkling cider, etc.

Then I fixed dinner: salad, chicken, baked potatoes, corn and rolls. Cheesecake for dessert.

I went over the idea with the boys. I made them a list and gave them a timer. We had two-way radios in case they needed me or I needed them. Plus, two-way radios make everything more fun.

After they met Cory at the door and directed him to the trailer, their list of jobs looked something like this:

1) BRING ROLLS AND ASK ABOUT DRINKS. Henry Weinhard's Root Beer or individual-sized Martinelli's Sparkling Apple Cider.

2) BRING DRINKS.

3) Wait 8 minutes. During this time Cory and I ate our salad that was already on the table and the rolls the boys brought.

4) MAIN COURSE. Zane would bring the prepared plates from the oven, one at a time (with oven mitts, of course). The little boys were in charge of opening doors for him and carrying the umbrella (yep, raining).

5) Wait 8 minutes.

6) ENTERTAINMENT, round one: Zane came to preform magic tricks. He wore a cape. He came up with some clever ideas. He was cute.

7) Wait 8 minutes.

8) ENTERTAINMENT, round two: Cade and Luke came to play music. Luke played the ukulele and Cade played a cardboard wrapping-paper tube. The sound of giggles accompanied the instruments. They were cute.

9) Wait 8 minutes.

10) DESSERT. They brought cheesecake that was sliced and on dessert plates in the refrigerator.

During their breaks they ate the meal and dessert that was waiting for them at the dining room table.

Cory and I have celebrated Valentine's Day together nineteen times. As time marches on, I have forgotten the details of most of them. This is one Valentine's Day that I will never forget.

Luke

Of the three boys, Luke is definitely the most creative with his nighttime attire. I laughed out loud when I found him like this; he reminds me of Ronald McDonald.

Cookie Dough

Remember when mom used to make cookies and you and your sibling would each get a beater from the mixer to lick clean? Those were the days. Now, thanks to Kitchenaid, brothers are forced to share one beater and things can get...complicated.

Zane

Recently I made a pasta dish for dinner that has peas in it. Zane is not fond of peas, but did a pretty good job of eating them without complaining. I complimented him and he responded that he didn't let the "pus" out while he ate them. Apparently he swallowed them whole.

Our friend, Breanne, came and spent the weekend with us. At bedtime Cade prayed that she wouldn't find anyone else to marry [he has proposed to her several times]. Zane then prayed that Cade would understand that that probably wasn't going happen.

Zane was working on a spelling test and asked me if he spelled two of the words that he had been struggling with correctly if I would be, "super, duper, exclamatory happy." I think it is funny that a third-grader uses the word exclamatory.

Zane often reads himself to sleep at night. I am glad that he enjoys reading and I try to encourage him by getting books that I know he enjoys. For an early birthday present I gave him a book from the Flat Stanly series by Jeff Brown. He read the entire book tonight -- all one hundred pages! 2/6/11

Zane is not looking forward to being nine on Thursday (2/10). He would rather that his age not be mentioned. He has come to me a few times blinking back tears and swallowing a lump in his throat because he is "growing up too fast." I know this is a result of hearing my mom and me talking about how fast time is going. I guess we better have those conversations in private from now on. 2/6/11

Blogging

I mentioned to my mom tonight that I hadn't officially blogged anything since August. She was surprised and concerned that I wouldn't have a record of the boys' saying/doings for the past six months. Her comments urged me to finish many that I started and jot down a few more, like this moment with Cade:


I ask, "Cade, What are you thinking?"

"Let me show you!" he responds, and then gives me a huge hug and kiss.


Moments like this melt my heart and, with the help of my blog, will be treasured forever! Thanks, Mom, for encouraging me to get back on track.

Zane's ideas...

‎"The stuff I want to do [for a job when I grow up] doesn't really have to do with words or numbers." Zane, 9/20/2010

Zane said yesterday that he thinks that cars should be germ-powered because you wouldn't run out of germs. If your tank was empty you could just say, "Okay, everybody get out and spit in the tank!"

Pajamas

The boys scored matching pajamas from both Grandma Marsha and Grandma Boom Boom this year.

Grandma Marsha made fireman pajamas for each of the Gant boys. Here is my interpretation of each boys expression:

Cousin William- I have chocolate!
Zane- I want chocolate!
Luke- I already snuck some chocolate.
Cade- Maybe if I'm good they will give me chocolate.



Grandma Boom Boom gave each boy footed pajamas. Zane was excited being that he outgrew all of his footed pajamas and has missed them.



Footed pajamas are great [and adorable] but they can get very hot.

The Challenge of Parenting

I think the most challenging part of parenting [far more challenging than the physical demands] is conforming the will of three little people, who were born selfish, into boys who consider others more important than themselves, while at the same time continuing my own journey toward selflessness.

Dolly [pardon me] Parton

After my recent post about Halloween costumes, I showed pictures to Luke and Cade of Dolly Parton so they could see who my mom dressed me up to look like one year.

Luke laughed at Dolly's pictures and said that if she tried to kiss her husband she might knock him down. Then he laughed and said, "She'd be good at football. Bang. Bang. Bang. Bang." [No, I'm not joking. It surprised me too!]

And then Cade said, "She couldn't even kiss her husband." [And this, from a five year old! I don't know where he got this from.]

Head's up, Mom!

My dad dropped by today and wanted to take us to lunch. I quickly talked to the boys about finishing school after our lunch trip to Junction City and they agreed they would come back and do their school with a good attitude. When we arrived home, and it was time for them to follow through with their end of the deal, I found that they needed a reminder of our agreement. I added that if they were going to act naughty, then next time, if Papa came during school and wanted to take us to lunch, I would have to tell him we couldn't go.

Luke said, "We're not naughty. You wouldn't be telling the truth."

I replied, "I didn't say you ARE naughty; I said you are ACTING naughty. That is a big difference."

"Sorry, but I might not let you in my house when I'm older."

"Why?"

"Because I don't like you saying that," responded Luke, and then casually added, "Just a heads-up."

Halloween

My mom did a great job of coming up with Halloween costumes for my sister, Joy, and me when we were young. She is, of course, the most creative person I have ever met. She never bought Halloween costumes, but could easily put together something original from her trunk of dress-up clothes. Here are a few samples of my mom's cleaver creations:

Joy, my friend Lori Frieze, and me dressed like Hillbillies.


Dolly Parton and a masked cowboy.


And my personal favorite: Michael Jackson. [Okay, so Mom didn't get the memo about Michael only wearing one glove. She's exceptionally creative, not perfect.]


Fast-forward twenty years. I now have three little costume-wearers to adorn with creative, homemade costumes and possess maybe 1/2 or 1/4 [or 1/32] of my mom's creativity. Mind you, we really aren't too enthusiastic about celebrating Halloween. If they go trick-or-treating, they usually go to family, church members, or our closest neighbors. My philosophy is that if little ones dressed in costumes can bring joy to some of our family or elderly friends, then I think that is a good reason to allow my boys to participate. Sorry. I had to chase that rabbit.

Back to costumes. Last year the boys were sick so I was able to escape the pressure. This year we celebrated with family at my cousin Sara's. Zane decided to be a spy, Luke wanted to be a University of Oregon Duck fan. Both those ideas were easy to do, but I was disappointed that I hadn't come up with some majorly creative idea like my mom would have done.

As for Cade, he said he wanted to be a butterfly. My thought; better now than later. You can get away with being a little boy butterfly when you're five. [And truthfully, I was a little excited to see Cory's reaction.] However, when we got to the store, all the little butterfly wings were gone. Cade saw some pirate accessories and determined that that was the new must-have costume. [I knew the butterfly stage would be short lived...]

Here are pictures of two of my boys with their adorable personalities making even the simplest costumes look good. Luke didn't want his picture taken until he had on a U of O hat to complete his outfit. Unfortunately we didn't find it until we were already running late. I keep trying to get a re-take, but it hasn't worked out.




I am already trying to think of something creative for next year. I have a really fun idea for a costume for Luke and, as of now, he likes the idea. Only time will tell if it comes together or if I again resort to some last minute costume of desperation.

Marry your mom?!

At a tender five years of age, Cade is still in love with me. He was very pleased to learn that Cory is three years older than me and may die first. He thinks that after Cory is in heaven that we might be able to be married for at least a year before I die. He added to the ongoing conversation on another day, "You know, when Dad dies he may have money left and then we could have it." I asked why we would need it and he said, "So you could buy a job." He also asked recently if when Dad is in heaven and we get married if the cops will "be after us." I told him that they might be, being that it is against the law for a mom to marry her son. Rather than being discouraged by the knowledge that our marriage would be illegal, he seemed to think the idea of evading the police sounded fun.

+ Silly +

There is plenty of silly to go around at the Gant house. I have proof.

Who knew that eating popcorn would require this kind of attire? Cade! That's who.


Who knew that swimming masks were not meant for water alone? Luke! That's who.


And who would have guessed that Cory [with his amazing eyelashes] would come home with his face painted to look like Jack Frost? Really, who knew?

Solution: Traps

Yesterday I was telling Zane that I think he is an attractive little boy and that he is going to draw people to him like a magnet. I also said that when he gets older he is going to have trouble with girls. He replied, " I've got all kinds of things [ideas] to stop that!" When I questioned him regarding what he would do, he replied, "Traps." He also said that he would tell the girls that he likes how to get out of the trap. It is hard to believe in a few short years that Zane's perspective on girls will change 180 degrees.

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I've been trying to plan a party for Cade's birthday with his cousins Lolly, Gabriel, and Abigail. I had to cancel the first time because my mom wasn't able to be there and really wants to be. When Gabriel, age 5, found out that the party was canceled, he was excited and asked his mom if he could keep Cade's present. Today, when he found out the re-scheduled party is tomorrow he was disappointed. I guess he would rather stay home from the birthday party and play with the present. Hopefully Cade will be extra nice and let Gabe play with it.

Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle, Mary Poppins & Samantha

My boys are very noisy when the play. Zane is the most noisy. He seemingly cannot play without sound effects and although I know I will someday miss this, at times it is a bit much. Really, when they all three get going, it is a lot of noise. Today Zane was playing and instead of asking him to quiet down I decided to start making my own noises. Sort of a Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle approach to parenting. So as I am washing dishes and wiping counters I begin making loud, random noises. Within seconds Zane is by my side asking what I am doing. I respond that I am just washing dishes. I take off to the bathroom to put towels in the washer while making jet-plane-like noises. He is right on my heals. He tries to ask questions. I tell him I'm busy. He asks, "Are you trying to make it fun?" Being that he cannot engage me in conversation, Zane goes off to play. Maybe five minutes transpire and my throat is becoming sore. I also notice that Zane is no longer making noise and I call him to the kitchen to ask why. He says that he doesn't always make noise. Then he asks if I was trying to make my job fun like he suggested yesterday. Yesterday, the boys and Cory were going for a bike ride and I was thinking about whether I should go or not. I asked, "Who will make dinner while I'm gone?" Zane told me that, like the lady with the umbrella says [aka Mary Poppins], we should have fun no matter what we do. He thinks maybe I should stay home and have fun making dinner. I laugh and decide to go on the bike ride. So today, after my experiment with noise making, he thought I must have followed his sound advice and used noises to make housework more fun. Personally, I would prefer the twinkle-my-nose approach to housework like Samantha on Bewitched, but he hasn't [and probably won't] see that show.

Cottage Grove Lake

Last weekend we went camping with Grandpa Bruce and Grandma Marsha at Cottage Grove Lake. We had a great time! Grandpa and Grandma brought their boat and the boys got to ski tube for the first time. Zane and Cade loved it! They had their thumbs up most of the time signaling that they wanted to go faster, faster, faster. Cade would hold up both thumbs hoping to urge Grandma to go ever faster.





You may have noticed that I didn't mention Luke. He didn't even want to be in the boat and was crying [warning: the picture below may break your heart]. He finally decided to give the tube a try, but there were conditions: (1) I would ride with him [not Dad, who enjoys speed and; therefore, crashes on occasion], and (2) Grandma Marsha would drive very slow. While on the tube, he confided that the only reason he agreed to the ride was because he could then control how fast the boat went. [Pretty smart kid!] Thankfully, being that Grandma and I did exactly what he wanted, he eventually liked it and we spent our time absorbing God's beautiful creation as we meandered around the lake.

Let me explain...again

Zane told me this morning, "I don't understand why Cade frustrates me when he knows that he is going to get hurt." After thinking about it for awhile I later told Zane that I think it is because Cade wants his attention so much that he doesn't care if he gets good attention or bad attention. Zane responded, "So he really does want to get hurt." I think he missed my point and I had to go over it again to try to help him understand and be more empathetic.

Commando/Taekwondo

Cade is still wearing Pull-ups at night. In the morning if he is wet he takes the Pull-up off and wears only his pajamas (no underwear) until it's time to shower. He used to say to me, "Mom, is it okay if I go commando?" however, recently he got a bit confused and began saying, "Mom, I'm going Taekwondo."

Speaking of Taekwondo, my niece Lolly has been taking lessons and my mom cannot remember the word Taekwondo. It seems each time she mentions it to me it comes out a bit different. One of my favorite versions: Kwon-fondue.

I recently asked Cade if he wanted waffles for dinner. He replied, "YES! You are a genius!"

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Today we have Zack, age 7, over to play. I made a picnic for them to eat outside in their fort. After awhile Luke came in the house holding his neck. Here is how our conversation went:

Next time they ask if Zack can come over and play, say no.

Why?

He hurt me!

What did he do?

He hit me in the neck with a cantaloupe [ball]. Luke giggles because he thinks that sounds funny.

You really don't want him to come back?

Well, he can come back, but don't give him cantaloupe.

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In June we had a Palmer Family reunion. Luke spent a lot of time pushing Cade on the swing. I was very proud of him and later told him so. He said, "I want to get stronger" then added, as he threw his thumb over his shoulder pointing toward Zane, "So I can beat him up!" Humorous, but his motivation did somewhat negate the kind deed.

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This morning I showed Zane a video of a real car that transforms into a plane. I knew he would like it because he often talks about inventing something like that. As he watched the video he said, in a quite awestruck sort of way, "My dream. It's possible. It's possible. It's possible."

CUPCAKES

FAMILY PHOTOS

TWYLA ROHDE is an amazing photographer. I'm so glad that I worked up the nerve to have our family pictures taken. Here is a sample of her magic.

I've been wanting to for years, but it is difficult. It makes me so nervous! I don't even understand people who enjoy having it done. But, finally, I made the call and scheduled the appointment. Then I had to wait two weeks. Two weeks to think about how I could help, what we should wear, what I should bring. Yesterday came and Brad and Twyla, our friends and photographers, arrived. We drove to a farm on the edge of town. Five people to catch at just the right moment: no blinking, no wrestling (unless asked for), look at the camera, be still, smile naturally, look comfortable, etc. Three of the five have small attention spans and don't see the importance of remembering this time in our family history. So, I bribed them. I brought "shiny pennies" to give them each time they did what Twyla said. And I brought cupcakes to celebrate if they did well. There were some meltdowns. Thankfully, they were just before and right after. Having pictures taken is a lot of work for little ones (and, therefore, everyone else involved). There were also some weather/lighting concerns. But, now it is done and I'm thankful. Thankful that I will have these photos to help me remember how blessed I am to have Cory, Zane, Luke and Cade. On this day, Mother's Day, I am overwhelmed with thankfulness as I reflect on how the Lord has blessed me with such a wonderful family.

Soon, after a little more waiting and wondering and hoping, I will be able to share the photos that Twyla took. Until then, here is one from Cory who also brought his camera along. He just couldn't help himself.

Three Ride

While Cory and I were in Seattle my mom and dad watched the boys. These are her favorite pictures from their time together. And her favorite story, which she requested that I blog, is from a trip they took to the park. Another boy that was about the same age as Zane kept daring him to do different things. Zane finally told him "No thank you" and walked away. He then went to my mom and asked, "What does dare mean?" She got such a big kick out of that.

Seattle 2010

Cory and I went to Seattle last weekend as an early celebration of our 17th wedding anniversary. After we settled in to our hotel we went to Pike Place Market and Cory bought flowers for me. Later we went to the Space Needle for dinner and enjoyed the amazing view as the sun went down.

Prior to our trip, I researched restaurants to eat at that were recommended by Food Network's Guy Fieri. He has the show "Diners, Drive-ins and Dives" and being that Cory and I both like hole-in-the-wall kind of places I thought it would be fun. We went to Voula's Offshore Cafe for breakfast and it was delicious. The biscuits, gravy and hash browns were some of the best I've had. [Cory and I always like to try every restaurant's biscuits and gravy.] Later in the evening, we went to Pam's Kitchen to try Trinidadian food. It was also delicious. The Curried Chicken Roti with Paratha bread were great. We also really liked the Peanut Punch. It tasted similar to a peanut butter milkshake.

I'm glad we were not counting calories on this trip! First, we went to FROST Doughnuts so that I could get a t-shirt for my niece, Lolly FROST. While there we felt obligated to try their bacon maple bars and white chocolate raspberry donuts. [Actually, I kinda lured Cory into driving me there by showing him a picture of the bacon maple bar.] Then, being that cupcakes are quite the rage now and I have never been to a cupcake shop, I wanted to experience Cupcake Royale. I walked for nearly two hours in downtown Seattle before I finally found it. [I did have their address, but God did not equip me with an internal compass. I count on Cory for that and he wasn't with me at the time.] After the lengthy walk I felt justified in taking a couple cupcakes back to the hotel with me. On Sunday, we ate lunch at the Cheesecake Factory and I thought it would be rather silly to go to the Cheesecake Factory and not eat cheesecake. Can you blame me? I guess our trip to Seattle will always bring back sweet memories!

THE LATEST STORIES

"Luke! You cannot control your anger that way!" Zane Gant, while pulling Luke off of Cade

"I like hot showers and I'm teaching you [Luke] to like hot showers. I'm teaching you to be a man!" Zane Gant

"Nothing is too heavy for me to spill!" Luke Gant

After talking about the Bible story where Elijah was taken to heaven in a chariot I tried to explain to the boys what a chariot is. I said it is similar to a buggy but built for one person and the rider is standing. However, the boys are also unfamiliar with a buggy and therefore my explanation wasn't too helpful as evidenced by Luke's comment, "It must have been a big bug [that took Elijah to heaven]!"

A few days ago Cory took the family for a drive to see a house in the country. It is a nice house in a beautiful location and comes with a hefty price tag. The boys decided that they should help save for it. Today Cade came up with a plan. He is going to hold up a sign that says, "I don't have any money!" when we are out and about and hope that people give him money. I should also mention where Cade got this idea. My sister, Joy, had all the kids in her Sunday school class [and Luke and Cade were there visiting that week] pretend to be beggars. They were holding signs like "I don't have any money!" and "I can't work." This was suppose to help them relate to the Bible story she was telling about a beggar. I'm not sure Cade understood the point of the lesson, but he evidently did remember how easy it was to get money from people when you're cute and little and at church. 5/6/10

BREANNE

When you're lucky enough to have one of your youth group kids become a Physicians Assistant all kinds of fun ensues. Breanne is in Eugene for 10 weeks doing clincals and she has been coming to our house for dinner once a week. The boys have absolutely fallen in love with her. They love it when she tells them long make-believe stories [she has quite an imagination]! She also gave us all well-checks. She put on her lab coat and had her bag of goodies. She checked our hearing, reflexes, ears, blood pressure, etc. Afterward, I told her that she could perhaps payoff some of her school loans by providing birthday party entertainment. Who needs a clown or horse when you can have Breanne come to give well-checks? Well, at least our family thought it was a lot of fun.










Last week Breanne also stayed the night with us. Cory's dad was staying the night too and Cade repeatedly suggested that she sleep with Grandpa on the fold-out bed. For some reason, she opted for the couch. ;-) The boys were up at 7:00 and snuggling with Breanne. I have never seen Cade flirt so much with anyone before. Now that Breanne is his newfound love, I'm less worried that he will "off" Cory so he can marry me like he has been subtly suggesting.