My mom

It is definitely true that having your own children causes you to have a new appreciation for your parents. Since becoming a mother myself I realize even more what an amazing mom I have. She is always patient, generous with encouraging words, strong in her faith, and the most giving person I've ever known. I have a particular memory from childhood that stands out as an example of who my mom is and the kind of mother I hope to be. It is a simple, everyday sort of memory that my mother most likely does not even recall. When I was in first grade the school bus pulled up to our driveway one morning and I anxiously ran to get on the bus. Our driveway was gravel and sloped and in my haste I fell down scraping my knee, ruining my tights, and humiliating myself. I knew that I shouldn't have been running and realized I deserved a reprimand for my carelessness. But I remember my mom gently picking me up, brushing the hair out of my face, wiping away my tears, and calmly telling the bus driver that she would take me to school as if it wasn't any inconvenience at all. There was no scolding, no ‘how many times have I told you not to run down the driveway,’ just unconditional love when I needed it most. That's the kind of mother I want to be. I am not naturally as selfless as my mom and often have to bite my tongue so as not to say, "I told you so.” I fall far (very far) short of being the perfect mom and pray God’s grace will cover my inadequacies. I am so grateful to have such a wonderful role model for mothering as a mom.

The past few months have brought a new journey for my mom as she was diagnosed with lymphoma in August. Once again I am amazed at the joy that she has amidst such difficult circumstances. I am learning from her how to truly surrender to the Lord’s will. I used to think in terms of committing to doing God’s will. But it’s more than that. He desires for us to surrender everything to Him. He wants to show us that He’s all we need. Yesterday I was able to escort my mom to her weekly chemotherapy treatment. It was her sixth treatment and the second time that I have been able to go with her. We enjoyed several hours of conversation and even while she was sitting in the chair receiving chemotherapy my mom was talking about ways that she could reach out to others.

Thanks, mom, for being such an amazing mother and example of authentic Christian living.

Three 'Little' Cowboys

This past Friday night Brian and I were able to go out for a date while the three older boys spent the night at Gramma and Grandpa’s house. It was a nice break for us and Grant, Bryce and Carter had a blast. My mom (Gramma) is always coming up with creative activities for the boys to do. Friday night when they arrived at Gramma and Grandpa’s house they were given cowboy hats to wear and handed a wanted add for Black Hat Bart. Gramma and Aunt Susannah then had fun leading them on a hunt through the 'Wild West' which ended with the capture of Black Hat Bart (Grandpa good-naturedly played the part of the outlaw). It was a fun time for all and a memorable night for the boys.

Cowboy Carter

Wanted: Black Hat Bart!

Gramma Waagner with the three cowboys

Aunt Susannah and Cowboy Bryce

Bryce-isms

Everyday life in our house can be quite amusing at times (when you can see beyond the chaos of four boys). Bryce, our almost four year old, is quite the talker and frequently says some really funny things. While cleaning up from breakfast this morning I heard the well known thump sound from upstairs followed by cries from a little boy. Upon entering Grant and Bryce's room I found Carter in tears and Bryce with a wide-eyed, uh-oh sort of look on his face. When asked, "What happened?" Bryce's response was, "Mom, I was just jumping off the bed and Carter's head got in the way."

During our discussion about his poor choice to jump on the bed, Bryce inquired as to how many spankings he would be receiving. Apparently he thought that three was one too many because he went on to advise me, "Three spankings will hurt a little bit mommy, but two spankings will really hurt."

A few minutes later while I was trying to coral the boys into their rooms to get dressed I had to tell them to stop running in the hall. Bryce looked at me straight-faced and said, "But mom when we're running there's no smoke coming out." Too many Road Runner and Coyote episodes I'm presuming? "Yes, Bryce," I said, "there's no smoke coming out."

Fall Festival

The big night finally arrived. Grant and Bryce have been anxiously awaiting the annual Fall Festival at our church. That might be understating it. Grant, in particular, has been asking for a few weeks now how many days it is until we go to the Fall Festival. He was extremely excited as we drove to church tonight (and that was pre-candy!). All four boys dressed in costumes. We had Venom, the Incredible Hulk, a knight and a bumble bee (a.k.a. Grant, Bryce, Carter and Davis). The kids enjoyed playing games, pony rides, sitting on a real fire truck and lots of candy.

Me and my little bumble bee.

Gramma and Davis.

Grandpa eating with the boys. He introduced them to funnel cake. Yum!

Our family.

Grant's First Day of School

September 2, 2008 was a big day for our family. Grant started school and Brian and I officially became parents of a kindergartner! It was exciting for all of us as Grant got on the bus and headed off to school. Brian captured some of the moments from the first day of school as well as photos of Grant over the past 5 1/2 years on the video below. Grant is thoroughly enjoying kindergarten.

(Note: You should stop the music on the playlist.com icon on the bottom of this page before viewing)

This week's happenings

My baby boy is now three months old. Davis is such a sweet baby and so easygoing that the past three months have gone by very quickly. He is now cooing and giggling and giving us lots of smiles. He especially likes watching his older brothers and gets a big grin on his face whenever one of them stops to tickle his belly or say hello.

Carter is talking more than ever and my 'pantry kid', as I call him, can now frequently be found standing at the pantry door crying "chocolate bar." He really has a sweet tooth. In my defense, though, he is referring to a chocolate granola bar, not a Hershey's bar.

On our recent visit to the library Carter picked out a book on trucks. He loves cars and trucks--even more than the other boys. As he excitedly looked at the book at home, I heard a loud rip. When I began to tape the torn page I couldn't help but notice that almost every page in the book had been torn before. Apparently several other mothers had also been forced to remind their little boys, "Gentle, please." I couldn't help but wonder if the books on princesses and bunny rabbits (or whatever it is that girls check out from the library) have nearly so many tears...

The picture below is what I found when I went to wake Carter up from his nap yesterday. I opened the door to find the bed empty. I glanced around the room. No Carter. I looked in the closet. No Carter. I made sure that none of the lumps under the covers on the bed were a little boy. Still no Carter. I began to get a little worried. Then I thought, under the bed! There he was sound asleep. He must have gotten hot under there because as you can see, he tried to take his shirt off. Silly boy.

Bryce and I are beginning to do a little bit of preschool work at home. For the letter "C" we read The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle. Bryce had fun making a caterpillar out of an egg carton. We also found a video of The Very Hungry Caterpillar at the library. I was able to trick Bryce into getting a photo with his caterpillar. He is not a big fan of the camera.


On Sunday afternoon Grant and I had fun baking a spider cake together. An entomologist at heart, Grant has been a long-time fan of spiders. Using the idea from a Halloween cake I saw in the Ukrop's bakery, we made a chocolate cake with a spider on top of it. The spider was made out of an Oreo with M&M eyes and black licorice for legs. Grant requested a black widow, but I opted for a friendlier version of a spider.

Soaring on Eagle's Wings

This past weekend our family made a brief trip to Maymont Park. Maymont is a favorite Richmond attraction offering trails and animal exhibits. They have a new raptor exhibit which turned out to be the highlight of our visit. Grant in particular has always had an interest in animals and the Bald Eagle habitat apparently sparked a new interest in our national bird. He has been talking about bald eagles, wearing the shirt he already owned with an eagle on it, and making sounds like bald eagles--you can only imagine what these sound like, especially when Bryce and Carter join in. We checked out some books from the library to learn more about these majestic birds and today made a simple bald eagle craft out of a toilet paper roll. One of the things that we learned about bald eagles is that they especially like to eat fish. So the boys had goldfish crackers for a snack this afternoon with their eagle crafts sitting on the table helping to devour the "fish." Of course "feeding" the fish to the eagle through the toilet paper roll quickly progressed to Bryce pointing out, "Mommy, look my eagle is POOPING fish!" Then it became a lot of fun to watch the goldfish crackers drop out of the bottom of the eagle! Carter just enjoyed the crackers.

Grant showing us his wingspan as compared to that of a bald eagle.

Grant at the owl exhibit with his owl shirt on--dressed for the occasion!


Grant and the bald eagle craft he made.


Bryce and his eagle "pooping fish."

Carter enjoying the goldfish crackers.

Hopefully the boys have learned something about the bald eagle and perhaps have a greater appreciation of our national bird. To go along with this week's eagle infatuation our new memory verse is Isaiah 40:31 "...but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles;" What a tremendous promise and what a word picture the Lord gives us in the awe inspiring flight of the eagle.