Feb 16-22: Charlotte Reunion, Fat Tues, Helen's Toes, Snugglie Hopping, Darjeeling Tea, Hidden Blessings

 Yum! Henry enjoyed decorating (and licking/eating) his own cookie. This treat was brought by one of our Charlotte friends when we had a reunion at our house on a Monday in February. Our guests included Mommy's childhood friends Becky, Jessie, and Carley, along with their kids and their moms, Cindy, Kathy, and our Grandma. We had grown up together at First Lutheran Church in Charlotte, MI. Our house is a central location for the old gang now and we were happy to host this rambunctious crew.

 The kids played Cranium Hullabaloo to wear off their sugar buzz from the cookies.

 Poor Addy did her best to hold her own with all those boys (Helen wasn't much help for her).

 The two older generations sure had fun catching up and watching the kids play. In fact, we were so busy that we never took a true group photo. Oops.

Mommy loves Miss Jane at the Brighton library, but she was questioning Miss Jane's judgment when she brought out the shaving cream on Tuesday. At our house, this is an "in the highchair only" activity, even for Micah, because it keeps the mess contained. Sure enough, Mommy spent most of her time keeping Henry from throwing shaving cream on the floor or at other kids (hence, no time for photos). Henry had a blast. Mom, not so much. When the box of musical instruments came out, Mom was relieved.

 On the way home from the library, we stopped at Marv's bakery for our obligatory paczki, as it was Fat Tuesday (our children are 1/4 Polish, after all). Six months later, when we drove by the bakery, Micah asked, "Mom, is everyone in our family Polish?" After hearing the response that only Daddy and the kids have Polish backgrounds, while Mommy's family hails from Germany, Micah demanded, "Then why do you get to eat paczki?!"

 SUGAR HIGH!

 Wed and Thurs were too cold to go out and do anything, other than going to the Ash Wednesday service at church (windchill was -30F). Instead we stayed in - and did some unproductive things... like Henry throwing blocks into the toilet... multiple times.

 Thursday, Mommy tried to head off the toilet troubles by providing other activities, like bean play in cupcake pans.

 Then we switched to water with medicine droppers and our cupcake pans.

 Helen was only able to observe while the boys played, but she also had the opportunity to show off her new trick...

 Putting her toes in her mouth!

 Look at that skill!

That morning the boys also created new game - trying to jump around while wearing Helen's swaddle me cloths (or "snugglies," as we call them). Mom had trouble not to laugh while making these videos.

 After they got tired of falling down, the boys wanted to go and "explore" the basement. This is their latest form of entertaining themselves.

They were allowed to go down, as long as they wore their "explorer hats."

Often, their trips to the basement result in tears or troubles. But gradually, they are getting better at being unsupervised without shenanigans.

We enjoyed playing with Chisaki, Yurika, and Meina when they came with their mom, Kaori, on Thursday afternoon. Chisaki made a loom bracelet for Micah while the younger kids played drums.

To entertain ourselves while we waited for Daddy to come home from basketball that evening, we bowled with blocks and a basketball.

Strike!
We had our challenges this week (Henry threw a block into the toilet again on Thurs), but we could be grateful for how God turns our challenges into blessings, like the piles of laundry this week. When Mom went to tackle the wash that was piling up, she discovered that the cold water wasn't flowing - the pipes were near to freezing. Thankfully we discovered this before there was any burst of the pipes (it really was a cold week!).

Friday morning we saw a beautiful photo which Uncle Lyle took of a Darjeeling flower in Hawaii.

This inspired us to pull out some Darjeeling tea!

First we examined the tea bag. (The kids aren't used to drinking tea, so this was all new for them.)

The attached string was a source of fascination.

Of course we had to smell it!

Next came the taste-test. We tried it plain, with milk, with French vanilla coffee creamer, and with caramel coconut creamer. The boys thought they were pretty fancy with their small doses, but it doesn't appear that they will be come tea drinkers any time soon.

Later on Friday, Mom caught this trouble-making in process. They boys know they're not supposed to be climbing on the railing because they could get hurt...

... So they made sure to put pillows down on the other side to cushion their landing.

Next, the younger brother attempted to scale the rail.

Besides the fact that they were deliberately breaking a rule, they did collaborate kindly toward a common goal. Micah was right there, coaching and cheering on his brother.

Despite the strong encouragement from his older brother, he just couldn't quite get that leg over the top.

It seems there are often hidden blessings in the challenges we face (clandestine climbing = demonstration of brotherly love). Friday was one of those days. No sooner did Mom get the new diaper on Helen (though not before she got Helen's pants back on), than she had to leave her on the changing table to go find out why there was yelling in the bathroom. Micah was telling Henry to get away, while Henry was trying to watch Micah make a stinky... so he could learn how to do it ("I want to watch his tail!"). Mom moved Henry back to a safer distance, but then he decided he had to go as well (he's been very much into using the potty seat this week). Thankfully, he's got a little potty seat, so both boys could do their business simultaneously in the same bathroom. As Micah moved over to the sink, he paused, put his forehead on the bathroom counter in front of the sink, and prayed aloud, "Dear Jesus, thank you for our bathroom so we have a place to go poop and pee." Then he proceeded to wash his hands. In the midst of the hectic moment (bathrooms and mealtimes are Mom's biggest stressors), this was what Mom needed to recenter herself. Instead of feeling sorry for herself that her day seemed to revolve around synchronized potty experiences, she was reminded of the little opportunities we have to bless each other.

Saturday was vacuum day in the living room. With all that open space once the toys were picked up, the boys attempted (unsuccessfully) to give each other horse rides around the living room.

Our little water boy!

He sure loves playing in the sink.

Henry got to go to the tire store with Daddy in the morning, while later Micah got to go to the hardware store when Henry was napping. When Henry woke up from his nap, he told Mommy, "It's gone! My owie is gone! Oh, the Lord is good to me! The Lord is good to me; my owie is gone!" (Mommy is unsure which owie he was referring to, unless it was the small scab on his thumb that was the size of a period, though did require both boys to get band-aids the previous day.)

On Sunday, Micah was Daddy's helper in the basement, as he continued to work on remodeling the guest room down there. He balanced that masculine work with finishing reading "Pippi Longstocking" with Mom. Our kids are great helpers - and God is using them to teach us many fresh lessons as well.

(Gotta have the earmuffs when Daddy uses noisy power tools!)