thunderstorms

Parenting is such an adventure and I love every minute of it.  As a parent, you always have to be on your toes.  There have been many moments where I've felt like the boys were always one step ahead of me and I couldn't keep up with their demands, questions, problems, etc.  So many times it's because I'm trying to do too many things at once.  Sometimes it's because I'm going on lack of sleep and my brain just isn't functioning properly and I'm sure other times it's just because I'm too lazy and just want a few moments to myself so I just let them do their thing (which usually means I'm cleaning up big messes later.)  I had one of these got-to-stay-one-step-ahead-of-them parenting moments last night. 

We don't get many thunderstorms up here.  I guess it's because we live by such a big lake or something.  It's such a bummer too.  I love thunderstorms.  However, last night there was a thunderstorm going on as Garrison was heading to bed and, of course, he was scared.  He didn't want Thomas to help him.  He wanted his mommy.  I sat by his bed and we talked.  Well he mostly told me his really funny and crazy stories.  Which usually consists of multiple movies all bunched together with us (his family) as different characters.  As we talked the lightning flashed and the thunder boomed and then God gave me a thought that I shared with Garrison about the lightning and thunder. 

I told him that when the lightning flashed he should think of Lightning McQueen.  Anyone who knows Garrison knows that this kid is obsessed with Cars.  He's so excited for the second one to come out.  We'll be doing a construction paper chain link to count down the days until it comes to theaters when we come back from the cities.  Anyway, back to the lightning and thunder.  I told him that everytime the lightning flashed he should think of McQueen yelling Ca-Chow and everytime the thunder followed it was like Chick Hicks and Lightning McQueen crashing into each other as they raced around the track.  He was very excited about that.  A few minutes later the lightning flashed and I said, "Ca-chow."  Then when the thunder boomed he said, "Did you hear that?  It's Chick Hicks and McQueen."  I kissed him good-night and asked him if he'd be ok with the lightning and the thunder and as he rolled to his side he said, "Yes, that makes me very happy."  Success!  Thank you God for giving me that idea and for turning something scary into a fun little thought for my little boy.

Today we are still experiencing the thunderstorm and every now and then Garrison will say something about Lightning McQueen and Chick Hicks racing and crashing.

I felt a little guilty for not telling him the real truth about lightning and thunder, but Thomas reassured me that he can learn about that when he's old enough to understand.  For now he's having fun with the thunderstorm all because God cared enough about us to give me this little thought to share with my little boy who was scared of something so wonderful... a simple thunderstorm.

Prayers!!!

Today my heart is breaking.  Today I am looking at my boys in a totally different light.  Today I'm not thinking about my needs, wants, hopes and dreams.  Today the tears won't stop falling.  Today I'm lifting a little girl named Maggie up to the Lord.  Her little body struggled in the womb and now she is struggling in this world.  I ask you to please pray for this family and little Maggie.

Thomas and I have a connection to this family as they attended York the same time Thomas and I did.  My memory is failing me now, but I believe Stephen played soccer with Thomas.  Not that whether we know them or not makes a difference, but it shines a different light.  It touches a different heart string.  It tugs a little harder.

Today and this week please pray for this family as they will be saying good-bye to their first born, their daughter, their little baby.

Future star?

Josiah loves baseball.  I'm not sure when this started, but it seemed like overnight he was a fan.  He carries a small bat around the house like he's ready for a pitch.  He can say the word "ball" really well, but can't quite say "base" so it sounds more like "bay ball".  It doesn't really matter what it sounds like, we all know what he's referring too. 

Thomas says he has really good hand-eye coordination.  To me he's just really good.  I love watching him play in the yard.  Here is a very short video of him playing.  I have more, but watching them back I realized how annoying I sound on them.  (side note:  Growing up I remember my mom saying the same thing about home videos.  Now I know what she was talking about.)

What's everyone looking at?

Talk about the uh-oh squad.  When you get pulled over in front of the Bush household be prepared for 4 little heads and a big vicious dog to be watching you the whole time.  They may even start to bang on the window and yell for you to move.  Yep, that might just happen if you get pulled over in front of our house. 

Happy Mother's Day!

Happy Mother's Day! 

 My weekend started off by making this bouquet of "flowers" for my daycare boy's mom. 

Then I got to go hang out with my mom on Friday night to go see this guy...

Yep, Elton John came to Duluth. 

And I get to continue my weekend by spending time with two loves of my life that have made me the happiest mother alive.  I can't wait!!

Easter Sunday

We had a very early morning on Easter.  Thomas and I had to be at both services which began at 8:30 am.  We didn't have time to get a family picture, or any picture, before church.  By the time we got home we were all so tired and just wanted to go to bed.  We tried to take a few good pictures of the boys, but it wasn't working out.  Nobody was around to take a picture of our whole family so we tried our best to get a few good pictures with the boys.  These are the best ones from that day.  Sorry about the poor quality.  Not sure what was happening with our camera.  Oh well.

Later that night my sister Jackie, my other sister, Joanna and her husband, Shane, came over for an Easter dinner.  It was lots of fun.