here's Jo-Jo

I told you the other day that I'd share pictures of our new friend Jo-Jo. While I feel a bit bad about the delay, I should get credit for entertaining you with a video of Joshua and Patience while you waited. By the way, it was the first time that I exerted enough energy to figure out how to upload a video to share, and not a single one of you commented about how impressed you were. Where's the love? We used to get lots of comments and emails back when we had a new crisis every other day, but now that life is quieter no one takes the time to comment anymore. You do realize that I have very little adult interaction these days and depend on the internet for socialization, don't you? But I digress...

Last Friday Joshua had his first snow day. Every time we see 3 snowflakes in the air, Joshua asks if we can build a snowman. Every time the ground turns white, he's certain that this must finally be enough snow for a snowman. On Friday we at last had enough good packing snow to make a child sized snowman. Unfortunately, Daddy had to go to work, so Mommy had to play the role of the involved parent instead of just sending the kids out and enjoying the quiet. Actually, Mommy had to do nearly everything because Joshua and Patience quickly lost interest in pushing the big snowballs around the yard. However, everyone was happy to take credit a little while later when Daddy came home. After vetoing all the names we suggested for our new friend, the kids declared him Jo-Jo.

surgery report

By mid afternoon it appeared that Joshua was feeling much better.



mvi_5631.avi

surgery

We got a call this afternoon from the surgery center where Joshua will have his eardrum repaired tomorrow. They had a cancellation, so our arrival time has been moved from noon to 9:20am. We are very thankful, as we were dreading depriving Joshua of food for the entire morning. The surgery is considered generally risk-free, although there's always the chance of a reaction to the anesthesia. If you think of us any time on Tuesday, we'd appreciate your prayers for a smooth morning at the surgery center, complete healing, and grace for all of us as Joshua comes out from under the anesthesia. (The day the older 2 had their teeth fixed was difficult, so we're hoping for the best while preparing for an emotionally draining day.) We'll update later tomorrow and share some pictures of our new friend Jo-Jo!

is global warming really so bad?

OK, before we get any nasty comments from anyone who accidentally finds our blog through a google search, I must start by saying that we are very concerned about reducing our family's impact on the environment. I've even indoctrinated our kids about the importance of recycling, using less energy, and consuming fewer resources. My tired brain was simply searching for a catchy title for my blog post.

Moving beyond the disclaimer, we have loved the random warm weather breaks this winter has offered. Getting out periodically for some fresh air and exercise makes the cold gray days much more bearable. Peter took the day off Monday because he was in Pittsburgh for Worldlink Friday to Sunday. About noon we headed to the car for a trip to the city only to discover that it was nearly 70 degrees out. Who knew? It didn't take us long to change course and head up the street to our local zoo to enjoy the animals and the great playground. (By the way, our zoo membership runs out the end of May, and we'll be taking a break from the zoo for a while. If you want to bring your kiddos to join us for an afternoon at the zoo, let us know so we can take you before time runs out!) While we were there, we filled our memory card. The beeping camera reminded us that we haven't downloaded and shared any photos since the new year. So in the spirit of avoiding angry emails from people who want to see our kids, we've uploaded all of our warm weather adventure pictures to our web album for you. Enjoy!

By the way, make sure you scroll down to see the last picture in this post. Garty fearlessly climbed all the way to the top on Saturday. He's not even 2! We're in serious trouble.

eating habits

Tuesday evening we headed to IHOP in the middle of nasty winter weather because it was Pancake Day, and we couldn't stay home until the storm ended like sane people. We like to celebrate food-related events too much. When the waitress suggested free pancakes for dinner, we happily agreed. Then she asked if we wanted 4 stacks of pancakes and an extra plate for the baby. When I replied that Garty would definitely eat 3 pancakes of his own, she looked shocked. I can't imagine how much more shocked she was when Garty finished his second pancake before anyone else at the table. Our kids never cease to amaze people with how much they eat.

Early on we used to let the kids eat until they were full or the food ran out. Most often it was the latter. Now that they're far beyond starving and they realize there will always be enough to eat, we cut them off after seconds except for vegetables. You wouldn't believe how much salad they can consume after being cut off from other food! The standard answer I give Joshua when he asks for thirds is, "You've had as much as (or more than) Daddy, so I think you've had plenty." If you've seen Peter eat, you understand the significance of this statement!

Joshua is really into comparing things. Who is taller? Which pencil is bigger? Is the fork longer than the spoon? Recently he was having a conversation with Peter about the size of people in our family or something like that. I honestly wasn't really paying attention until I heard my son with the enormous bloated malnourished belly say, "Mommy's gut the biggest." I was already on a diet. Now I'm also in therapy.

wasting time, feeling stupid

Looking for a new way to improve your vocabulary while feeding those in need? Check out Free Rice. I (Becky) thought it was a stupid idea until I was messing around online last night and tried it. It's a bit addictive. It didn't do much for my self esteem to see how few words I recognized, although my French and Spanish skills did help me make quite a few intelligent guesses.

In other news, Peter came down with a bad cold Friday that just isn't going away. Now it appears that Garty has it. It should be a fun week!

Ash Wedneday

Ash Wednesday is here, but it's also Peter's birthday. Unfortunately, I haven't had time to focus on both. Lent has become an increasingly special time to me, but this year it lost out to planning Peter's birthday celebration. I guess we'll pilot Ash Thursday this year. That means I have 24 hours to plan my fasting and time with God for the next 39 days.

Joshua is completely thrilled to have birthday secrets to hide from Daddy. He keeps telling me, "I not tell Daddy." Then when Daddy tries to trick him into telling, Joshua just laughs and laughs. I explained to him that for my birthday it's OK to tell me things because you should always tell your Mommy everything.

I've got to get going now or there won't be birthday dinner or pie or presents!