The day started out with a cold dreary rain and a yard full of mud... too yucky outside to send all these rambunctious boys outside to burn off some energy. I've learned that my guys need a break to expend energy in order to sit still again for school. Boys. :) Plus we had workers coming and going constantly which just makes the boys more curious and more energetic. Not to mention that today was the day we were finishing our volcano experiment. I had to take a break and assign the boys to jumping jacks, sit ups, push ups, and running laps around our interior circle. Then on to the volcano experiment... here's our finished volcano after it was painted. Cool, huh?
Woohoo! Lava! (Or at least some red foaming substance that oozes out of the top!) They were thrilled!
I love that all three of my guys can do part of their school together! I hope that one day they will treasure this opportunity to build their relationships - especially as we have to work together to figure out who gets the only good paintbrush and who is going to pour which item into the volcano. :)
Then came the snow... the beautiful snow! Shepard had to get out in it and played by himself for quite a while. Josiah was more content to stay inside. And Will was napping.
When Shep finally came back inside, his hands and feet were so cold... I wrapped him up in a blanket with a heat pillow - ahhh - and made him some hot chocolate. Life is good! I went upstairs to tell John how Shepard was in ecstasy in his cozy environment and John chuckled, then said, "He's a lot like you". Hmmm... I hadn't thought about that, but come to think of it, I guess he is. I had made myself my own cup of sweet coffee with the intention of sitting in a cozy chair with a good book and watching the snowflakes fall - just the thought of it makes me feel warm and cozy. But, alas, I'll have to just enjoy the thought of it because life is too busy for me to just sit and enjoy anything. :) I was constantly up and down and then just as I thought I might actually get to sit with my now lukewarm coffee, Will woke up from his nap and I traded that book for some sweet cuddles with him for a few minutes. That was a good trade - even if it only lasted a few minutes!
So, tonight was Family Night at our house and we cozied up with pizza and one of the Rocky movies. I'd never watched any of them before and didn't think that I would have any interest in it, but it was good. I was pleasantly surprised. When the movie was over, we had the most rambunctious boys ever. Their reactions to the movie were so according to their personalies. Shepard immediately had to BE Rocky. He stripped down to his boxers and went into character-mode. Will was begging to get out of his seat even before the movie was over so that he could "box" - he just had to get in some action. And Josiah was planning his next Wii characters - Rocky and Apollo. I would have taken pictures of the boys, but in their underwear? Will came out of his room with striped underwear to put on over his diaper and eventually added a stocking cap and gloves for his boxing outfit. I wish you could have seen him hopping and punching the air. Too cute! And in the middle of all this - and I was really enjoying it - the Lord reminded me that these are boy-men and that the rambunctiousness of boys is part of the process of growing them into men. I had been longing for quiet and calmness earlier in the day - (remember the missed cozy chair with a book and coffee? :) ) - but the Lord showed me how blessed I am to have these little growing men to train in His ways. Boys just come with rambunctiousness. I figure that cozy chair will be part of my life again one day in the future. Until then... Lord, give me strength!
