A Little Mix-Up

Three-year-old Christopher cracked me up. He was really trying to learn new words, but sometimes things just got confusing.

When we were out and about, the children frequently asked me to park close to a store entrance. I had recently explained how some parking spaces were reserved for people with handicaps and how we couldn't park in those spaces. So the next time Christopher and I were out shopping together, he was quick to remind me not to park in those "Handy Manny" spaces. No, Christopher, it's handicap spaces.

Photo Source: Internet

Photo Source: Internet

 

Next thing I know, Chet got tickets for a baseball game in Grand Rapids and was planning to take the children with him. Christopher was so excited to go see the "Handicaps" play ball. No, Christopher, it's the Whitecaps.

Photo Source: Internet

Poor guy... It's exhausting trying to keep all these new words straight!

Natural Compassion

My favorite Sarabeth quote from one year ago (when she was seven, almost eight), upon bringing some flowers in from the yard:

"There... I rescued these flowers from that harsh and cruel wind."

Good Advice

Posted on our refrigerator by six-year-old Sarabeth:


Tips of Good Manners

1. Do not talk with your mauth full.

2. Be clen.

3. Do not yell.

4. Do nice things for peple.

Pass...

So yesterday in science we were learning about the process of photosynthesis. At the end of the lesson, I asked the children some review questions about the information we had discussed.

The first question went to Christopher: What color is chlorophyll?
"Green!" he shouted. "That is SO easy. Ask me a harder question!"

Okay, Christopher, next question: What is photosynthesis?
Christopher stared at me in silence.
Finally he spoke... "That's Sarabeth's question."

Listening...

Recently Christopher gave Sarabeth $4 he'd saved from his allowance, to help her buy a Barbie doll she'd been saving up to buy. Afterward, he said he didn't want to give her the money but he felt like he had to. I quickly asked him if Sarabeth was pressuring him to give her the money. I wanted him to know that he did not have to give her money. He assured me that, no, she wasn't pressuring him. Then he quietly explained, "God is pressuring me, and I'm pressuring me. I don't want to give her the money, but I have to do it."

May I be as sensitive to the Holy Spirit as is my little boy....

There's Hope for Me

So yesterday morning I changed clothes a couple of times while getting ready for church. Nothing fit right. Ugh! I was complaining about being fat, and Sarabeth insisted that I'm not fat. Then I said that I'm plump, at the very least. At that point, Sarabeth encouraged me by explaining: "Plump is good! Plump is what fairy godmothers are; plus, it's good for giving hugs."

I feel so much better now....

Give Him a Break

Sarabeth and Christopher have always loved Culver's -- the cheeseburgers and the custard especially -- and Mommy and Daddy love a kid-friendly restaurant!

One day at Culver's, when Christopher was just a year old, Chet was scolding him for screaming inside the restaurant. Three-year-old Sarabeth immediately chastened her father: "Daddy, he's just a baby. He doesn't know better. Don't fuss at my brother."

I'm Not Done!

Cake reception after church. Christopher was two and a half.

During the reception, of course, Christopher wanted to play and run around the gym and chase his friends. However... once the clean-up crew began stacking up chairs and cleaning off tables and throwing away trash, Christopher came racing over to our table:

"Don't take me chair... me eat me cake!"

We've Created a Monster

Three-year-old Sarabeth asked: "Why didn't they look at me?" as we passed a family in the lobby of a restaurant one evening as we were leaving after our dinner.

"Why should they look at you?" I asked.

"Because I'm beautiful," she replied.

Oh, dear....

Disbelief

When Sarabeth was not quite three years old, she was quite resistant to eating her vegetables during dinner one night. I told her she didn't have to eat them, but she had to eat them if she wanted another roll and some dessert. With great drama, she moaned and cried out: "Oh, how can this be true?"

First Sermons

When Christopher was three, he went through a preaching spell. He used Sarabeth's doll highchair as his podium, and his attire included one of Chet's white shirts and his own "man shoes." He would open his Children's Bible and preach his sermon, such as: "Once upon a time, there was a little meanie named "Josep" and he died for his sins on the cross and the bulldozer...." Made me love Jesus every time!

 

"Turn in your Bibles to the story of David and Goliath...."

Disclaimer

Christopher, at four years old, upon entering the bathtub: "I'm not coming in here to get washed. I just wanted to play with Sister."

Yummy Stuff My Kids Won't Eat

Roasted Butternut Squash

1 butternut squash, peeled and chopped into chunks (seeds removed)
1 TBSP butter (or more... up to 4 TBSP)
1 TBSP olive oil (or more)
1-2 cloves garlic, minced
2 TBSP fresh parsley, minced
salt and pepper, to taste

Mix butternut squash chunks with olive oil, minced garlic, minced parsley, salt, and pepper in casserole dish. Bake at 400 degrees for thirty minutes or so, until squash is tender. Add butter halfway through cooking time and toss with squash pieces so they brown on both sides.

P.S. The more butter you use, the yummier this tastes... but I'm trying to save calories, so I used only 1 TBSP butter and 1 TBSP olive oil. Still wonderful!

P.S.S. I adapted this recipe from one I received from my friend Laura Christophel last Christmas.

Proposal

Christopher, sweetly (at age five):
"Sarabeth, when I grow up, I want to marry you, because there's no one else I want to marry, and I love you, and I want to marry you."

Sarabeth, with exasperation (much older and wiser at age seven):
"Christopher, you can't marry your sister."

Concerns

Sarabeth, this week: "I could never live without you, Mommy. First of all, I love you too much. And secondly, Daddy wouldn't know what to do."

Hungry Boy

My boy Christopher has always been the early bird of my little ones. One morning when he was four years old, he woke me up asking for his "supper" (by which, of course, he meant his breakfast). I sleepily mumbled, "in a minute...." Moments later, Christopher nudged me again. "When's a minute gonna be done?"

When we got downstairs to the kitchen, he pleaded, "I need some juice! What's a little boy without any juice?"

He's a boy worth waking up for....

Future Plans

Christopher, when he was four:
"Mommy, I just want you to know that, in the future, when I have children and they disobey, I'm going to give them candy anyway. I just wanted you to know that."

Grammatically Speaking

Sarabeth, on the way to church tonight:

"Know what my favorite words are? My favorite words are necessarily, technically, and literally."

Okay....

Historical Significance

Sarabeth: "If Pocahontas knew she had a movie about her and a doll of her, I think she would be very honored."

Photo Source: Disney

The Heart of a Child

In school, we're learning about the ministry of the Far East Broadcasting Company. They produce radio programs about the gospel message that are transmitted into countries closed to traditional missionaries.

Yesterday Christopher brought all the money from his savings bank and put it into our FEBC donation box. He said, "Isn't this better than dumb ol' toys? I don't need toys. I feel bad for those kids that they don't know about Jesus. I don't like it that they worship those idols."

We're praying for children across the world....

http://www.febc.org/

Christopher loving on his cousin Leah

Confidence

Christopher: "Mommy, do you like my Lego creation?"

Mommy: "Yes, Christopher. You did a great job designing it."

Christopher: "Isn't my Lego creation like one of the Wonders of the World?"