The 2nd Best 10 Days of My Entire Life (so far)

(Sorry for the long-wind, but it’s my last shot to blog before I shrink back out of this “inter-web” world.)

Well, I’ve gone back and read through all of the entries – three things jump out:

1. Hilarious! My 3 sons crack me up. There are so many funny things that were done and said…and I captured only a fraction of it.
2. It now seems inadequate – I feel like so much more happened than what I actually wrote (which is true). I guess it makes me thankful for eternity, where I’m hoping I’ll be able to look at selectively edited portions of my life on a big screen.
3. Memories – I laughed out loud while reading and also found myself tearing at points. These are memories that, while I’m sure they will have no recollection of, I will cherish for my whole life.

Update on Goals:

• Clean House – sort of. Dishes were either hot or cold. I’d like to think that any negligence was caused by a focus on the bigger things – like playing.
• Major Injuries – gonna give myself a “Passing”. One close call that ended quickly….this is way better than I thought we’d do.
• Veggies – Warrior Poets are honest…..totally crashed on this one. Fruit was good. Veggies not so good. A couple carrots and French fries aren’t going to get me there.
• Change clothes – pretty solid. No stains out of the house.

Other Goals:

• Build memories – check
• Play too much – check. Too much sugar – check +.
• Develop Warrior – pretty good for the weather.
• Develop Poet – tell me how many Braveheart weeks you know of that go to the library 3 times (Little Mermaid?).
• Mindfulness for praying for Mom – check +. Wow, did their hearts grow in this area. Even the content of their prayers.
• Love on each other – star.

Summary – Part 1
I usually cringe at the horror most people have with the thought of a dad taking on his kids for a week…or even a day. It shouldn’t be that way, but I also realize that experience matters and Michelle has a lot more of it. Thus, I expected to be stretched a bit but also never doubted we would make it. I think this was the case….however, let me say:

• I have such a more grand appreciation for the difficulty of the labor Michelle puts into our family every single day. It truly draws on every part of your being – physical, emotional, social, and spiritual. And she doesn’t just put enough in to “get by”/get to bed time/whatever. She labors to make their life fantastic, fun, meaningful, learning-filled, character forming, adventurous, etc.

• Mind you, I didn’t have to worry about obligations like school, homework, friends, schedules – but keeping everything straight seems nearly impossible. I have noted not to give her a hard time about forgetting things or asking me to cover off on stuff while at work. I can’t keep things straight with Outlook – definitely couldn’t do it with moving parts like people.

• Multiple children (especially 3) are all-consuming. There is always a need, never a break. Impossible to explain this to someone – you can only know by experience. To run our home, on top of that, is extraordinary.

• Sacrifice – Michelle has committed so much to her vocation….and there are few applause. Short of feedback on the blog (which I loved), there was no one providing affirmation of what we were doing…only confidence that I knew we were on track. She has chosen to forego 9-5 in exchange for 24/7 work on a very intangible project….with no completion date or promotion. This is love.

• Purpose – I was impressed with the magnitude of purpose in our time together. I could either pacify difficult situations for ease, or dig in to develop their character through it. (That wasn’t always the easy choice it appears when typed out.) The excitement came from how much purpose all of our time was drenched with…more satisfying than any work experience I can think of. Michelle lives this everyday, even if she doesn’t have a PowerPoint presentation to prove it at the end.

"I am so thankful for Michelle’s commitment to true love over self-love, sacrifice over comfort, and purpose over accolades. She embodies Motherhood."

Summary – Part 2
Fatherhood is one of the greatest life gifts that is nearly inexpressible. I simply cannot believe that I get to be one every single day of my life. I can still remember where I was sitting (about a month before Trey was born) when someone said to me, “The moment your child is born…it changes everything.” Couldn’t be more true.

• Every Dad should do this. A week+ of interrupted, dad-only time. The time it affords to live life out together has been transformational – and this is coming from a guy who spends most all of his free time with his kids already.

• Bonding – I feel like I have really bonded with my sons in a special way from such concentrated time. Noticing patterns in looks, feelings, perceptions, needs, and inflections that I think I overlook in short snippets or when I have Michelle to bounce off of. What a foundation to lie down…and not forget the kind of effort it takes to get there.

• Warrior Poets – Brave & Heart. (Eldredge rip-off alert) Boys long to be affirmed as Men. They grasped on to Braveheart Week more than I ever expected. The tone this set was such a blast and fun to watch. Freedom to be boys and the challenge to act more like young men was craved. It’s not just eating ribs, but showing your brother that you are “listening” to him. This is strong manhood that they loved. Quote: “We need to share, because that’s what Bravehearts do!” Ask them who’s a Braveheart and they’ll tell you – “Jesus, then William Wallace.” Too true. They wanted to be more and loved being affirmed that they were becoming more.

• 2nd Best 10 Days Ever – Apart from our honeymoon (!!), I can’t think of a comparable time. I am walking on clouds right now and dreading that the small nuanced memories will fade. My only consolation is the hope of more to come. It breaks my heart to think I will be sitting at my desk tomorrow working on my laptop because this has been the most enriching, heart pounding, fun week of my life. Unspeakable joy!!

• Leave It All On the Court – my personal goal (I knew the opposite tendency) was to go all out, all energy, all time. Don’t say “no”, “maybe later”, or “I’m tired”. Cross the finish line with the engine red-lining, smoking, and tires screeching. I wanted no regrets that I had these precious 10 days with my sons and squandered any moments being lazy (the Schindler’s List moment). I honestly believe I “left it all out there” and the boys loved it. We squeezed the seconds out of each day. They are exhausted from keeping up and I’ve never been happier…that kind of good tired that comes after a hard work-out. (To think in all that time, Michelle was going triple my pace on her “week off”.)

Best Quotes at Bedtime Tonight (un-coaxed):
Teague: “You have to go to work tomorrow?” “Yeah.”[Dad] “Awww!”
Taatjes: “Dad…Braveheart week was awesome.”
Trey: “I wish it was the first day of Braveheart Week. Can I come to work with you tomorrow?”
Dad: (to each) “Dad loves you. Thank you for the best week ever.”

If this isn’t livin’, then somebody tell me what is?!?!

"Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, who does not change." (James 1:17)

To the Giver of every good and perfect gift…..
Have I said what an incredible, undeserved, life I have?

The Britsh are Coming! The British are Coming!

Wow! I cannot believe it is already Friday...where has the week gone?! Well, our day of reckoning is upon us, so it was cleaning/laundry/errands/ninja day.

• Cereal and coffee. I have to talk Taatjes into trying Corn Pops, instead of Rice Krispies, on the grounds that he can have RK anytime. He settles for the "blend", which sets off the trading floor under the "cap and trade" mini-box allocation system. Dad amends market rules to allow for 2 boxes per each company.
  
• Then, all hands on deck to clean up toys that have been strewn about the house. Not too bad, since Dad cracks down on this one everyday.
• A little dusting and then on to the big stuff. Sky is first up. I can't shave her to no hair, but I can at least get her smelling good for Mom. She seems to appreciate it, as well.

• The car - a real cleaning, which has been a while. The faces in this picture capture the mood beautifully - 2 pouts & a fake smile. Even after an hour of playing at the park, we walk back and still have to wait 30 minutes. Boys did great, for having nothing to do sitting at a car wash. (Dad can only have his gum bubbles popped so many hundred times, and paper/rock/scissors can become highly subjective after a while.)

• We went back to the park to play Ninja's in the afternoon, which can still include "forrrcefields".
• Ninja Bombs - boys volunteer to clean the basement...gotta love that. We then throw Ninja Bombs at each other (hacky sacks). This quickly descends into boys whipping these things at Dad, as hard as possible. We discover they hurt so bad becasue they are actually filled with rocks! (don't ask how we discovered the filling.) :)
• Wii and then WrestleMania 127 - never gets old.
• Celebrate - we decide to celebrate Braveheart Week by getting some hot dogs at the "dive" diner. This is also our first "non-homemade" food of the week (that's right). Greasy food well-deserved. We spent the time recounting all of our adeventures, which was hard to keep straight from memory. These postings will be so fantastic to accurately recount the week. I love that when I knock an entire cup of lemonade on the floor, the boys actually start to sing the "accidents happen" jingle that we often sing....to me.

• End the day with watching Happy Feet, which has so much propaganda in it, I spend most of my time trying to explain to my boys why humans aren't terrible.

Great quotes:

• Taatjes discussing battle: "We should love our enemies, even when they're bad."
• Teague: "Dad, will you play checkers with me while I'm pooping?" "How about when you're done, so I can change you?"-dad "No, I'll be d0ne in a second."
• Trey: "They didn't even ask me, and I shared with them because that's what Warrior Poets do, right? It makes me happy to see them happy." (if only this could be applied the other 23 hours.)
• Teague: "Can you put on the Jumping Song? This song is bowing. (r)" The dreaded "B" word....from a 2 year old.

Michelle arrives tomorrow at dinner time and we can hardly wait!!!!! Boys are praying for Mom as she flies home. "Listening eyes to God, rest, and safe...not die." All pretty good, how can you critique that?

Final Thoughts:

1. Michelle is an amazing Mom - she has mothered these boys with excellence - to make them the easiest kids ever, to be with. (bias recognized) :)
   
2. Thanks for all the comments - I've loved them.
   
3. I will have one final post on more complete reflections from the experience - my perspective on Braveheart Week and deeper appreciation for Michelle's life choice...but it will likely be a few days, since I don't want to take up precious minutes tomorrow.

It breaks my heart that this week is almost over. I feel like I "cook" a lot with the boys...but this was getting to marinate with them. Absolutely beautiful souls. What a pure gift to have the ability to take time off work, spend it with my sons, and have a wife who trusts me completely. I don't take any of these for granted. Gift....gift....gift.

Have I mentioned, yet, what an incredible life I have?! (It's almost to the point of absurd.)

Next Level - The Atmosphere

So we began the day as the others...boys in at 6 asking for candy. Trey asking to play the Wii, then catching himself halfway through to make sure he covered off on the "good morning, Dad. Did you have good sleeps?"

• Everything was already set up to make our next round of Monkey Bread, even the chairs to help. Too funny. Everyone continues to refine their mug requests - types, size, color.
• Actually did some preliminary clean up - gonna take a while.
• Off to the library - request for theme songs. If you haven't been cruising in sunny 55 degree weather, windows down, blasting Free Fallin', watching your 4 yr old time his lyric wailing in your rearview mirror....you have not lived, yet. give or take half a beat - Taatjes is money (& the cutest thing ever!) Trey needs a little "Rock Me Gently" - another wailing song. Librabry will have to wait as we serenade the parking garage.
• We have Trey do all his own asking at the help desk, so he becomes confident with adults...and I realize Taatjes hasn't popped back for a while. Turns out he has the lady searching the computer for "Nickelodeon people/humans" - she was actually doing something!
  
• Not a lot of picture moments - but Teague begs to hold my mug and pretend he's still drinking coffee. Blurry, but tell me you couldn't eat this kid up!

Then we set out to build and launch ROCKETS! They thought this was so cool...and that was before they saw the things actually fly.

• Remember these from when you were a kid? Much cooler now. A bit less scary than I recall, too. I'm running over to adults in the field 100 yds. away, warning them of the impending launch. (They actually come down about 50 ft from take-off.)

• You want to talk about Warrior Poet courage? Try clipping on the launch nodes to the flamable rocket engine, knowing Taatjes (a.k.a The Wildcard) is 20 ft. away looking down at the launch button.
• Also, tough to show how thrilled they were at the first launch (it did invoke a "Braveheart" cheer after the fact, though), but here is a quick clip of a later launch aftermath.

• btw...doesn't work to try to shoot them sideways. they go about 30 feet, smack into the ground, blast out the parachute, burning it into a block of plastic. (....uh...we read about this) :)

Stunt Kite

• In typical fashion, Dad got a little overzealous on the kite. "I can get a stunt kite for $3 more?!" This was hilarious and awesome all at once.
• They have a tendency to slice at heads when they go into a looping spin at 50mph. (ask Teague) Even I went from cheering to hitting the ground for cover in about 2 seconds.
• Let me just say, everyone got it up and fought with it for a while. For all the yelling instructions thru the wind, untangling, running, ducking, cold faces.... I found myself whooping and hollering with exuberance when they succeeded. We all did. It was a rush to see them swell with joy and confidence at succeeding. It was one of those "world-freezes", "this is fatherhood" sort of moments. It shot across my mind that this is the essence of Fatherhood - and if I were to write a book, it would be titled something like - "...Because Flying Your Own Kite Isn't as Fun."

Ended the day digging for bugs and practicing casting (Bass: beware this year). And, if they are to be good, Italian, Warrior Poets - it was time - Grandma Belgiano's Meatball recipe.Things Michelle wouldn't do:

• Return all of Trey's school library books to the public library, sending the "worrier" into a panic. (we're still waiting on the phone call.)
• Walk around their room, picking up clothes, to look underneath for any possible sock that could join a new pair for the day.

Also, Michelle is traveling back today and tomorrow.

Is there any way to bring Michelle home and still freeze this week forever?! I still can't believe all 3 of them are "mine". All we have to do is give them back to God...and until then, we get to keep 'em?

Have I said, yet, what a ridiculously undeserved, unreal, incredible life I have?!

The Animals are Going to the Zoo!

Well, I can't say it was a sunny day...or warm, but it wasn't raining - so to the zoo we went, as promised. If you don't know, I love the zoo! Warrior Poets must learn and appreciate the beauty of God's creation. Let alone, it is one of the simplest ways for kids to understand God's awe-someness and the concept of His creativity. My dream occupation is to retire and be one of the "old guys" spouting knowledge at one of the exhibits for the kids. "Feel this fur..."

• Favorite moment - Bring It Boys! So far, Dad has outlasted them. All 3 were out and drooling on the ride there at 10am...fallout from the constant training as Warriot Poets.

• Zoo was fun. I'll spare you my desire to post every animal picture typical of a zoo, but will say that the Brookfield Zoo is pretty cool. We have our membership now, so will be going about 25 times in the next year. Nothing like a warm stroll through the zoo.

• Goose picture, about 6 inches from the stroller, is for Michelle - she'll totally appreciate this. (ask her about geese and swans sometime.)

• Taatjes favorite activity at the zoo, since he was about 18 months old, has been chasing peacocks. He was reunited with his nemesis today....they missed each other. Without missing a beat...he gave the people what they came to see.

• Benefits of emphasizing "obey the first time": I was with Teague in the stroller, so was a bit behind Trey and Taatjes. They kept asking why the sign by the rhinos say "watch out!". (if you've never seen, somehow the males "mark" territory straight out behind them.) I kid you not, it felt like slow motion. All of a sudden, the big rhino looking at them began to turn around...I shout "hey! Get over here!" they turn, look at me, and jog back. The other little girl was kind of freaked out by the strange man (with lines shaved in his face) yelling at her to get out of there. that rhino let loose, spraying everywhere! Boys missed it by about a foot....little girl...not so lucky. We all couldn't stop laughing!! Teague thought is was especialy hilarious. Our friend, at a calmer moment:
• We had so much fun...tried to trade our Taatje-monkey for a baboon with no luck, used Teague's ferocity to "out-growl" the hyenas, and relied on Trey for mapping and all animal knowledge.
• Best part: stopping at each African animal and letting the boys pray for Mom. So awesome to see their big hearts.

What do you miss most about Mom?
Taatjes: (in a blink) "All the fun."
Trey: "Going to downtown Chicago. Remember when I asked her to hold me and she let me sleep on her the whole train ride?" (you think they don't notice a Mom's love?)
Teague: "Cuhying her with my "mulaiy-toow" "What?"-Dad "He said cutting."-Taatjes "With what?"-Dad "my mulaiy-toow!"-Teague "Multi-Tool?"-Dad "yeah!"-Teague
Just so you know...I don't make this stuff up!

• Favorite Teague line for the week: "Hey! You can't talk like that to me!" (not sure where he got that...probably Michelle) :)
• Also - is this supposed to happen? (or...why crayons are better than markers:)
• Side Note: extra credit for Jeremy Lile. He got my trivia correct (first post) - "Yawp" was the barbaric yell of "aliveness" from Dead Poets Society, the original greatest guy movie ever.

2 Final Thoughts -

1. (a) The boys actually prayed that Mom would be a brave Warrior Poet...like William Wallace, today. Now that's funny stuff. (b) Teague heard Trey say "Heavenly Father", so now says "thank you for my Fodder" when he starts praying. Hard to keep it in!
   
2. I am having the time of my life....but the emotional exhaustion is remarkable. I really get the benefit of either "co-parenting", or play time in our regular life. It's the non-stop conflict resolution that wears you down. I feel like quite a rookie, compared to Michelle's mastery.

If this isn't livin', then somebody tell me what is! Have I said, yet, that I have the most incredible life?!

Camping

So a major disappointment in Chicago is that winter lasts until July, so camping is still too cold. No big deal - what better way to end a road trip than camping night in the house.

• You think putting up a tent is frustrating? Try doing it inside a little room with the peanut gallery giving you helpful instructions and "constructive criticism". It doesn't help that our tent is probably the most difficult I've ever put together - even outside.
• We ate dinner in it (carrots, too!) and then goofed around with the flashlight. One modern comfort - we laid in it and watched a "Hockey's Greatest Moments" video they've been waiting for. (Pretty sure we saw HeeHaw in the video!) Highlights for boys were all moments Red Wings.

• Sleeping - too fun. 4 wide.
  
• Longest night ever - Dad feels old because he wakes up every 15 minutes with a sore back and to re-cover tossing boys in slippery sleeping bags. Is it possible for everyone to be sleeping on me at one time?
• Only down side to sleeping 4 in a tent is when one wets the bed!! Taatjes hasn't had an accident in a couple months, but picked this night...too appropriate. Dad and Taatjes trying to clean the tent at 3am without waking brothers - pretty comical. All good, we've got more blankets. "accidents happen...don't cry."
• Wake-up to hunt for deer and raccoons. Breakfast at the "campgrounds".

Other notes:

• Clean dishes are over-rated, anyway.
• Baths will have to wait another day...or two.
  
• Still lots of praying for Michelle: "good leader" "serve like Jesus" "good care of high schoolers" "good hugs for kids with no moms" "keep her safe" "....from reptiles...like spitting cobras and crocodiles" "...and other species" "what's a species?" the best:"help her to become a Warrior Poet." We miss her like crazy and can't wait for her to come home - she makes all this playing so much more fun.
• Starting to see obedience becoming optional for Trey. :) Michelle often talks about this, but I rarely get a chance to see it. This would be the downside of independence.
• We've now watched the Braveheart "Freedom" speech about 15 times.
  

Starting to get sad that we're already halfway through. Have I said what an incredible life I have?!

Road Trip!!

So every good Warrior Poet needs an induction into the Road Trip experience...especially if he is to be prepared for college. So that's what we did - hit the open road, with one destination in mind and open eyes to rest of our discoveries as they come.

I know what you're thinking: "Road Trips must have a soundtrack!" Of course. I explained and they loved the concept. Here's the playlist we wailed out to:

1. Jump Around (House of Pain) - this was our "Primary" (played everytime you get back in the car...or need a charge up.)
2. Walk This Way (Run DMC) - Taatjes asked for this to be elected, so we made this "Secondary".
3. Mrs. Robinson (Simon & Garfunkel), Free Fallin' (Tom Petty) - yes, I taught them to sing it Jerry McGuire style, Total Eclipse of the Heart (Bonnie Tyler), Rock Me Gently (Ron Dante), & Jesus is Alright (DC Talk remake).

• Wisconsin - a totally different state. This seemed huge. :)

• Where else, but to the cheese mecca - the Mars Cheese Castle. All the best Wisconsin has to offer. Super fresh. Few things make me more proud than my sons' penchant for free samples...every last one. Even fewer things are funnier than a 4 year old boy telling the worker, "this one tastes aged." on a 5 yr old cheddar. The hype was probably bigger than reality, but it's all in how you sell it. They're pretty sure it was the coolest place ever.

• We asked people at the Cheese Castle something else fun to do...and they said they Jelly Belly Tour. "To the car, gentlemen." (I had heard about this and that it wasn't actually that fun, but we were here and Road Trips don't discriminate.) Turns out you could put a kid in a jail cell and as long as you talk about, show them, and give them jelly beans - it's the best place ever. I almost fell asleep as they drove us around the warehouse (yeah) and we watched videos on how they made them, but they end it with your own bag of free samples - so awesome. We then hit up the store and challenged each other to guess flavors (all free samples). booger, ear wax, and pencil shavings were the favorites. Everything is harder now that Trey can read - never thought I'd be barking at my son "stop reading".

• Pouring rain - Michelle probably would have thought to bring an umbrella on a day that called for all rain. Nothing the football hold, dragging, and yelling about being melting jelly beans can't solve. Teague also points out to me that "Mom puts on my puffy coat because it has a hood."
• While I'm on the topic: Michelle also reminds me about bringing diapers - that probably would have pre-empted a 6/7 hour road trip without a new diaper for Teague. No issues occurred, but I did make the note about 5 hours in. (Have I ever told you about the hiking incident and large leaves....another time.)
• Last stop - a quick 2 lane change to get off an exit (safely) after we see a whole yard of military helicopters. Turns out it's a military museum - jeeps, hummers, tanks, helis, planes. Does it get any more Warrior than this? Hilarious to watch and "older" gentleman try to explain advanced military concepts, when they just want to tell him about their friend, Aidan's dad going back to fight the bad guys (in iraq).

What a great day! Best road trip ever - no one got pulled over, no break downs, plenty of adventure, great soundtrack, great wingmen, full bags of jelly beans. We ended with a stop at the hobby shop in preparation for thursday's endeavor.

Lamenting that it's already Tuesday. Have I said what an incredible life I have?!

Another Day...Another Adventure

Well...the day started out as usual - the boys coming in at 6:30 asking if they can eat some candy and Trey asking to play the Wii. (Dad - "No.") Individual boxes of sugar cereal (Froot Loops), which previously has been unthinkable, and coffee.

• We headed to the Children's Museum with some friends (Aidan & Charlotte). Lot's of play, lots of water, lots of kids. Boys wanted "gel" hair, which was pretty hilarious.

• Current dishes scenario - could be worse:

• Cold and rainy - it's supposed to stay this way. Need one nice day for the zoo. We spent rest of afternoon coloring, Wii-ing, boxing, wrestling, and playing basketball. Teague stops the game at every injustice and tells the offender "it's a foul on you. penalty. some players don't take the ball, Trey."

• Meat - It was homemade ribs night! It's a slightly barbaric feast, so the boys love it. Here's an action shot before we dig in. They are actually doing our "Braveheart"cheer. And, look closely...that's right, those are potatoes on the plate...vegetables are on the board. :)

Hair - so the great Warrior Poets have awesome hairdo's (reference the sweet locks in Braveheart). When watching March Madness, the boys noticed some cool designs shaved into some heads and wanted to replicate. That seemed like way too cool of an idea to dismiss....so here's how we capped off haircut night. They were actually coaching me through designs, which I clearly got them back to my level of ability. Taatjes reassured me he didn't want the spider and web design, anymore.

























Couldn't be left out, either.








Last thoughts:

• Tomorrow might be a bath day, need it or not.
• I wish I could claim that any of this is really unique to boy craziness....but the truth is, I haven't done anything yet that Michelle wouldn't be totally up for. These boys happen to have the coolest Mom ever!!!
• I don't know how Michelle keeps things straight, especially in a world that doesn't use Microsoft Outlook. Dad to 6,4, & 2 yr old: "Are you guys sure Mom said we were supposed to go there afterward? What did she actually say?" boys: "Yes. She really did. She said to go." Dad: "okay. let's go." The mental organization required is beyond anything required in the "business world".
• Michelle & team are good and in their 2nd locale, the school for orphans.

Have I said how incredible my life is?!

Sunday - The Right Way

After church, we hit up Costco for more stocking up.

• You know you're with Dad when lunch is hitting up all the free samples at CostCo. (I'd like to claim this is a special occurrence, but we do this way more than we should.)
• Bought fruit, hoping this may appease the vegetable vow. Bought steak, ribs, and ground beef - now we're talking.
• Saw a sign for a Pet Expo and did that....totally lame. Boys just wanted to see pets and find "free stuff", which there was little of to their dismay. Too many sad dog rescue booths mixed with a hard to fathom collection of pet paraphernalia. Finally found a couple snakes and a dog obstacle thing. Strange crowd...like couples wearing matching "got huskies?" t-shirts (like "got milk") and yes, a grown man did ask my boys if they'd like to see a picture of his dog, which he had in his wallet. Hard to hold off explaining the concept of dork to them - they'll learn in time.
• More casting practice - they want to do this for hours. getting pretty good. more Star Wars.
• America's Funniest Home Videos has become a favorite in our house. We all giggled a lot.
• Have you ever seen a Peep grow? Microwave it for 15 sec. and you can. The boys love this!
  
• Hoping you will all support me in reclassifying bananas as a vegetable. That would be a big help. "Wow! We've never had bananas at dinner before!"

Noticeable Changes:

• Michelle must have canceled our chef service when she left. We usually have veggies and awesome dinners....but those take time and I don't have that while I'm watching the boys. They occupy all your time. Must be easier when she has that gourmet chef service every night.
  
• Also - Michelle has stacked the deck against me. She must have canceled our laundry service when she left, too. I went in to get new clothes for the boys and they were all dirty...hasn't changed in 2 days. How am I supposed to find time to do laundry?! It's much easier when it just shows up in their drawers for me. Must be nice when she has that laundry service.

Have I said how incredible my life is?!

Pray for Michelle's endurance and leadership. Boys are praying that she "serves like Jesus and keeps the kids safe." I'm sure the emotional and physical demands are taking their toll. I know she is doing awesome, though.

Mornings

So on Saturday we made "Monkey Bread" together - they love this messy process and the reward. Ever since camping last year, the boys understand coffee drinking as a very manly thing to do. (One of the best parts of Saturdays for me is sitting around with Michelle, drinking coffee, and talking in the morning - total bummer she's not here.)
So, we've decided the Warrior Poets drink coffee together in the morning...with their own mugs. Every morning of Braveheart week they get to choose their mug. For those of you freaking out about the health factor - don't worry....it's not decaf, either. It's Heaven's brew....it couldn't harm us. And we're Warrior Poets - our goal is bravery, not safety.
They absolutely love this and call it their "cup of Joe".


Again, is there anything cooler than this?! Telling them we'll be doing this the rest of our lives together.

Have I said how incredible my life is?!

Quite the Start

We got off to quite the start on Friday.

• Parent teacher conferences. Trey is a stud. Michelle has done such an amazing job with him. (brag alert) Trey is reading at a 2nd grade level, has moved on to understanding concepts, and has really improved his focus. Michelle works really hard with him and fights the battles to get him to stick with the frustrating stuff...totally showing results. Even better though, his teacher says he is really loving, a good friend, obedient (for the most part...he's 6), is extremely responsive to correction, and is becoming very independent. Now that's the stuff you want to hear. Considering he is with Michelle 8x more than he is with me, it's totally unfair I get to hear all that in person.
• Library: all about the globe and South Africa. Reading books and kickin' it. Hockey and fishing books become the obsession. (more on this later....)
• To the park - after reviewing everything fly-fishing - going through all my flies, the reel, my vest and every pocket, we hit the park for some tuning. Fewer things are more important than a good fly cast for a boy/Warrior Poet. :) Other kids at the park thought they were "so cool". Trey actually got some good casts by himself. I didn't think to take pics until they were on their own spinning rods, but still pretty cool.

• Star War Battle - swords and light sabers at the park. Hilarious! Teague continues to save me from his brothers by running around me putting up a "forrrrcefield". That's my guy.
• New rule - sword fights on the ground only. The only thing worse than watching your 2 year old fall off the 2 foot ledge he was battling on...was watching him fall head first the next 5 feet off of the entire play structure. Scraped head, remarkably quick recovery, wants his light saber back....will not count as a "major" injury in the books.
• Movie Night - what better way to kick off Braveheart Week than with a boys pajama movie night. Well, I guess we'll count this towards the Poet part. Taatjes begged to get this movie at the library...and they loved it. They were also amazed at how Dad could know the words to "Part of Your World." (I don't take the Poet part lightly, either.) What are you gonna do?
  

Before bed, we pray for Michelle, since she's about to wake up for her day.
Have I said how incredible my life is?!

Warrior Poets

Well....since I have attempted to imitate Michelle's life for a week (minus the responsibility) - I've decided to take over the blog, too. That's right...this is Justin...making my first foray into the ominous world of cataloging life for the planet to see. I prefer to think that only you intimate few are reading. I have had these entries running in my head since Thursday, when Michelle left, but it has taken me a few days to crack the login code for the blog, so I have some catching up to do. Here it goes:

The boys have been pumped for "Boys Week" and were slap-happy when I got home on Thursday. We dropped Michelle off at the airport around 4pm and took off for our week of adventure. I'd been thinking that Boys Week was a bit simple for what we are setting out to accomplish, so embarked on a more emblematic name. At dinner, I walked them through the concept of the Warrior Poet - describing the travails of William Wallace and the bravery he displayed in the fight for justice, as well as the development of his mind and heart as the embodiment of a true leader....thus we are now living out "Braveheart Week", complete with a manly battle cry as we seek to become Warrior Poets. (still selling them on the "Yawp"... source anyone?)

A few goals I will try to keep you updated on:

• Keep the house in some reasonable order of cleanliness (using new dishes for meals will be one measure of how I do)
• No "major" injuries...key word is "major".
• Follow through on a promise to give them "vegetables" - whatever those are...sounds different than meat, though.
  
• Change everyone's clothes a couple times (including mine). I try to think WWMD on letting them be seen in public with that stain.

Other Goals:

• Build tons of memories - Have the best week ever!!
• Play way more than we should. Eat more sugar than we should.
  
• Develop the Warrior - have battles, rockets, zoos, fishing, hiking, wrestling....
  
• Develop the Poet - Read lots of books (we have a 100 book limit at the library)
  
• Develop a mindfulness of praying for Mom - what else, other than safety?
• Love on each other like crazy - love on others like crazy.

A couple starting notes:

• We almost made it an hour before for the boys decided it's more fun to be naked. Teague following suit, dancing with glee, asking "dad, can you take my diaper off so i can be naked?" It is hilarious how funny they find doing anything with no clothes on.
  
• You know you're with Dad when they come up actually asking for my t-shirt to wipe their nose. (I have always found the effort for tissue a bit unnecessary.)
• First order of business was to go junk food shopping. YoGos are the pinnacle of this food for them.
• Nothing cooler than sitting with your 3 sons, eating pizza on a blanket, watching March Madness. What did I ever do to deserve such a ridiculously awesome life!?!? (nothing)
  
• We've set a world clock to South Africa and are monitoring what Mom is doing. They can't believe how long she flew for. I have yet to remind them to pray, since Taatjes asks to pray for Mom about every 2 hours and everyone does. Love their hearts.

So clearly, I haven't mastered the art of the short blog (rookie). More to come, hopefully in smaller junkets. Also, Michelle is safely there and the team is doing well. I've only received that update so far.

Trey's 6th Birthday Party....

What a whirl wind of a party! 11 six year olds plus his brothers - wacky, crazy, really? We all had so much fun at Trey's party. Instead of stressing out, I spent the whole party laughing at all the kids running around playing games and eating cup cakes:) We played a number of games that left these kids sweating and completely exhausted by the time their parents came to get them.
Balloon pop - hilarious...they could have played this for hours. They just kept running in circles giggling not remembering the point of the game is to pop some one's balloon. After about 10 mins of this Dad strapped a balloon on and jumped in!
Potato Sack Race - no pictures of this because I was too worried that someone would fall or crash into each other to take any. We split them up into teams and they had fun laughing and racing against each other!
Pin the Tail on the Donkey - A classic! One that they loved! Each kid did so well, Justin and I were amazed at their blind accuracies! Until one honest boy told us he could see under the blind fold:)
Parachute - A huge hit for this age group too! They did not want to stop! Great team work moment:)
Duck/Duck/Goose - or rather hamburger/hamburger/hot dog....or the one we had to keep stopping, dirty poop/dirty poop/fill in the blank! We did not think they would want to play but they did! This was the game that they were cracking up so much they could barely run to catch one another. Again Dad jumped in and he quickly became the focus of the game. "Pick Trey's Dad and see if you can beat him!"
Cup Cake decorating - This is my favorite! You really get to see each kids personality. From the crazy cup cakes to well thought out designs! What 6 yr old doesn't want a bunch of toppings and the full control to create their own cup cake!

Side Note - Dad totally rocked out this Birthday Party!!! He played all the games which was so fun for the kids to gang up on him:)

Check - one 6 yr old boys party! Glad it came and it is over:)

Busy...

The mad dash is on...
Trey will be 6 yrs old in 9 days!!! We will be having his party for all his friends next Saturday. I am on the move to get ready for that.
Next I will be leaving for South Africa in 16 days! I am on the move getting all my medications, meetings, and packing for that as well. March is going to fly by!
If you want you can check out one of the organizations we will be working with during our trip. www.thriveafrica.org beautiful! They have Zebras on their propriety wow!