Spring

The weather has finally started to look like Spring. Blue sky, slight breeze. Good stuff. Naturally I'm down with some sort of chest cold. I felt mostly fine until last night when it hit hard. I woke up I'm hoping that resting today and drinking lots of EmergenC will do the trick. And despite feeling mildly under the weather, I'm enjoying the breezy shade on my front porch at this moment. Paul and Oma are on a walk around the block. Luke is still napping, as is the Daddy-Man.

From my porch I enjoy a great view of my street. I love sitting here. The porch itself is tiny, not large enough for a chair, so I use the steps. Candy tuft and daffodils are blooming in my yard. My neighbor is cleaning out his car. Weeds have taken over the lava rock that separates the sidewalk from the street. Our lawn is mowed, but not manicured liked some. I had a fabulous professor in college, Dennis Martin, whom Erik house sat for the summer we got married. Dennis told Erik to mow the lawn, but not too short. Even while summering in the south of France, he liked to think of his lawn in Tacoma, WA as being a little overgrown. Lovely.

We missed church today because of my cold. I was bummed because it's Palm Sunday, our first at Mosaic. Each year I like to consider the journey of Jesus during this week. He knew riding in on that donkey what Friday would hold. He also knew that the next Sunday would change the world forever. I won't miss church next Sunday, even if I have to wear a sign that says, "Don't touch me. I'm sick." It's just too cool to miss.

And now a few pics of the boys, just for fun. These were taken pre-haircuts, but they are too cute not to share.

Luke wearing his Cubbies vest and holding his Cubbies book. So cute.

Paul with his first flower, a dandelion picked from our neighbor's yard. I don't think she'll mind.

Hair Cuts and Puzzles

I took both boys to get hair cuts yesterday. At the same time. Together. It actually went really well. The place I take them is designed for children and has a train table. That's pretty much all that is required for the boys to declare a place awesome. I love the women that work there. They are patient and kind. About fifteen seconds into Paul's cut, Luke declared his need to pee on the potty. This necessitated all three of us heading into the one-seater bathroom. She didn't bat an eye at this insanity. She's got kids. This was Paul's first "official" hair cut. He did better than fabulous. He was perfect. I had him sit on my lap, and he seriously didn't flinch, cry, whine, or wince once. Low maintenance dude. Luke also did well, only wincing at the finishing job with the trimmer. I think they look great. Here's a video of them yesterday after we got home. They are working on a puzzle together. Luke is a tad bossy, but Paul doesn't seem to mind.

The Brothers Bangsund

I wish every moment were like this. Today before we left the house for a play date with our neighbor, the boys had a spontaneous moment of adorable. They both had their play kitties wrapped up in blankets, like babies. They were sitting on the couch together and Paul began to hug Luke. Super sweet pictures were taken. I can't really pick my favorite, so I'll just give you all of them.

"We could hide out under there..."

"I just made you say underwear!"

Today was Luke's first day wearing underwear. More accurately, it was his first morning wearing underwear because it is currently only 2:50 pm. And a successful morning it has been. We had no accidents and three successful ventures. He is napping, in an overnight pull-up, and is looking forward to putting his underwear back on after nap. After he almost refused to wear it this morning, this in itself is a triumph. After many battles over the past few months I finally wised up. Yesterday I asked my BSF ladies to pray. I seriously did. I asked them to pray for me for wisdom and consistency in potty training. Does that sound insane to you? It did to me at first, but I have decided that God cares about the details of our lives. We see it in the Bible and we see it in our lives.
I am really good about handing God the big things in my life. Lord, should I home school my kids? Father, please provide for our needs. Jesus, help me to shine Your light to those who are hurting. It's the small things that I hold onto, claiming ownership and declaring control over. Potty training. Read a few books. Visit a few websites. Talk to a few moms. You'll be good to go. I did. I wasn't. But I can do this! Everybody does this. I'm in control!! And God said, I love you so much. Please let me help you. Surrender this little thing to me. I know it seems too mundane for the creator of the universe, but it matters to you, so it matters to me.
One of my BSF buddies texted me this morning saying she was praying. I know she wasn't the only one. I prayed. Erik prayed. Maybe you prayed. Thanks. I am thanking God for an accident-free morning and giving Him all the glory. He knew that I needed just a little success in order to face the wet pants and dirty underwear that will inevitably come within the next few days. :-)

The Blessings of Hospitality

We have a special guest today. She is the four-year old daughter of good friends who are having a weekend to themselves. I notice a few things about having a house guest. Luke's behavior is radically different when there is someone here to entertain. My house gets cleaner and stays cleaner when there are other folks here. For instance, after lunch today, rather than needing to follow the boys into the playroom to ensure peace and civility, I let our guest do it. Seriously! Add one four-year-old girl to the mix and life becomes SO much more sane. We are going to do this more often. So while they played, I did the lunch dishes. That NEVER happens. Usually Erik arrives home to a very messy kitchen because it was the last thing on my list. Not so today. :-)

It is currently 7pm, a time of night during which I usually entertain Luke with a game or five. Tonight he and our guest are having pajama playtime together. And I have time to blog before 10pm. I might even read for pleasure. Wow. We need to do this every weekend.

Advertisement: Home for four-year-old girls. One night a week only. Sweethearts and Precious Heads need only apply.

Paul shows off his wheels to our guest.

Pajama playtime!

Things To Do During A Power Outage

• Dust furniture
• Fold clean laundry
• Drink lukewarm coffee
• Eat graham crackers
• Listen to iTunes collection for at least 3 hours and 23 minutes (time remaining on laptop battery).
• Read NPR page that is already loaded
• Write a blog entry with a pen and paper
• Be thankful my kids aren't TV folks and are happily playing in the playroom
• Be thankful that toilets don't require electricity to flush
• Marvel at the infrastructure of our country
• Remember time spent in the third world when the electricity was turned off by the government nearly every evening at sunset. Actually not such a bad thing. More candle light, more guitar playing, more song writing in those days.
• Listen to my children play and notice that Paul is imitating "I see you" fairly accurately. "I ee oo"
• Play "BSF" with Luke which always involves a Bible story, questions and answer time, and hymn time. And don't forget snack.
• Use the Old School kitchen timer for time outs. BRRRING!!!
• Explain to Paul that the electric piano won't work without electricity to which he responds, "Oh."

The power was only out for about forty-five minutes. I still have no idea what happened, but I was very thankful that it came back on before lunch time.

Later I thought of the idea of taking pictures. So here are a few shots after our power outage was over. The list is only comprised of things we actually did during the outage. Anyway, here are a few of the pics from today.

Snack time on the kitchen floor.

King Pharaoh in his palace trying to decide if he is going to let the Israelite people go...nine times out of ten, Luke gets to say, "NO!" to Moses, played by Mommy. Can you see why he likes this game so much?

Happy Paul

Still Sickies

Luke's fever raged for three days and he was a complete lump that entire time. I usually spend so much time telling him to use an inside voice or to stop running in the house, but when he is quiet and still, it's freaky. His fever finally broke Saturday morning and he has been on the mend ever since. Paul's started Saturday evening. I have been able to keep his from skyrocketing using Tylenol and ibuprofen, but I will be staying home with him tomorrow rather than going to BSF leadership. The worst part is the cough for both boys. Their lungs are just so susceptible to illness. We are nebulizing them both with Albuterol and Pulmicort. It's such a process every time. I finally gave up trying to get Paul to sit still and instead just let him stand while I hold the mask up to his face. It works. Luke, on the other hand, loves to sit and hold the mask himself. He's a big boy.
And now the pictures.

Paul right before bed tonight. Never too sick for the trains.

Luke and his tea set in the tub.