Go, Pete, GO!

Physical Training this week...

up this hill and back

"RUN, Pete, RUN"

I "timed" him on my watch... trying to be very serious about it.

 After each run up the hill and back, we'd balance beam it around the play sets....

 He was so into this and so serious about it... We did the "course" over and over and over and over!

 I was SO proud of him!  Look at this face!

 good and sweaty--- the goal!

 So very handsome!!  
I love this boy.

Let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him ... so that you will not grow weary and lose heart. Hebrews 12: 1a-3

He provides Strength

from this book (thanks, Sarah!)... this is just what I needed this morning to reign in my thoughts/emotions....

As for your days, so shall your strength be. (Deut 33:25) You must not excuse yourself from the battle because you are weak, for the Lord strengthens the feeble. Do you not know? Have you not heard? The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom. He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint. (Isaiah 40:28-3)

You can not serve Him in your strength. You can only serve Him in the strength He gives as you need it. Here, take the bread, take the fish, and feed the thousands. Never say that it is not enough (Matt 14:17). He will multiply both the bread and the fish as it is broken and consumed. There will be more than you need.

Listen, you who profess to me in Christ, you who love Him, you who have a work to do. God will give you the necessary strength and grace.

A lot recently, I've needed to reign in my thoughts and emotions and worries b/c they are spiraling. AND HE HAS HELPED ME! I hate to say it, but this has been a surprise to me! Its an ongoing thing that will need to re-happen in like minutes.

Can you picture Peter as a 16 year old?

He's a handsome one!

from Luke's birthday party this summer

(Thanks, J&T!)
*I just posted about Peter's birthday party here and Mike's here*

First Day of Preschool

Peter started preschool today!!

We are really excited about the year!

His hair is not as blonde as it was at the start of school last year.  (Yes, important, I know.)

Lily was sad b/c we'd left her bunny inside :(

real life... 

 But we pulled it together and all had a great morning!

I am really excited for this school year... I feel like we have a clue about our routine and what preschool looks like, what's expected, things we need to learn, etc.  And we now know that we have to work hard... so we'll do that!  

Recovery

I've felt a little post-partum as Peter recovered from his surgery last week.

We've stayed inside for days and battled to eat, drink, and take meds.

Poor guy, I know he felt puny for so many days and probably got sick of feeling that way.  And I was sick of being inside & coddling.  Lily was sick of hearing about all of Peter's pudding, ice cream, jello, and popsicles that she couldn't eat as frequently as I forced him to.

He had a fever the first few days that got up to 102.4 so we started antibiotics to kill that before it could do us any harm.  On Monday, I was unsure he would be able to go to school today but he finally turned the corner yesterday.... HOORAY!  for all of us! 

While this was sorta hard and exhausting, it felt so small in comparison to the stress and anxiety what was January thru April of this year.  We'll take it and we are thankful!

Two & Four

Their Well Visit Stats from this summer (July & Sept visits):

Lily at 2:
Wt: 25 lbs  (25%)
Ht: 34 1/4 in  (50%)

Peter at 4:
Wt: 42 lbs  (90%)
Ht: 42 3/4 in (90%)

They've flip flopped.  
Peter was a little baby but is a big boy.  
Lily was a chubby baby but is a petite girl.  

Faithful Growth

When Lily wants me to hold her, she has always said "Wan Mommy hold you"... sweet SUGAR to my soul!  This eve, she told me "Wan Mommy hold ME"... say it isn't so!.... can't I hold onto my baby a little longer?!... but also acutely aware of the blessing that my girl is growing and learning as she should.  She feels so sweet in my arms, either way that she says it.

****

At bedtime, I was in Lily's room with her and told her we were going to pray.  She said "knees, Mommy" so we got on our knees (we've often prayed like this for Pete).  I agreed and as we were getting into position, I told her that God answers our prayers and asked if she could think of something we'd prayed about that God has answered.  She simply said "Pete"... YES!  Enough said.  Just then, Peter walked in (he is usually in his room with Mike at this point).  So I explained to him what Lily and I had just talked about and that we were gonna pray on our knees, would he like to join us?  He said yes and said he'd like to pray.  We all knelt together (my heart!) and he said, "Thank you God for helping me at the hospital...... tonsils out."  Then I prayed that we'd trust and treasure Jesus (b/c I want to treasure so many things other than Him).

Catch Up & "Goo's House"

Kathy just brought me all of her pictures from the last month or so... YAY!

And in the batch were pics from her house.  The kids get to go over there at least once a week and usually more.  They LOVE it!  And so do I!  I always get to hear about their favorite things there and its fun to see these pics, too, to go with the stories.

I might get some of this wrong but here's my commentary on these pics...

They get to watch one "show" when Pop gets home from work... usually its a book on DVD... so their current favorite is Chicka Chicka ABC.  So this is probably Peter saying 'cheese' as he watches his show.

 And the latest thing that Goo has Peter hooked on is books on CD.  

Here he is listening to one.

 One of Lily's favorite things to do is to play with letters on the fridge.  

She usually asks Goo for the "letters" :)

 One morning a few weeks ago, she took only Peter for "Goo School"

... here he is playing with Play Doh (thanks Joy!)

 and another book on CD from the library.  He concentrates so intently!

 and Lily is loving books lately nearly as much as Peter does and she really concentrates on them too!  :)

I love that they get this special time with Goo and Pop!... it benefits everyone involved! :)

Fringe Benefits

...of brother getting his tonsils out!

8 is great!

"Canon in D" is playing on the baby mobile on the other side of the curtain in the PPCU... kinda appropriate as we celebrate 8 years!

Breathing Easier

.... Me AND Peter, that is... but Peter is the one recovering from having his tonsils and adenoids out this morning.  He did great!  The doctor said his tonsils were huge, golf ball sized, deep into his muscles and taking up a lot of his airway.  Crossing this hurdle is huge in my mind.  Mike is more "cautiously optimistic".  I've been working toward this since May so I am celebrating that they are GONE... not to mention breathing easier and all of the resulting issues that could be related!  We hope and pray it will really help the boy.  We can't help but be so thankful for healthcare and insurance today!  And thankful for grandparents who will help us in the recovery period... and pretty much, all the time!  :)

"ready" to be taken to surgery

While we are hanging out at the hospital, I'm trying to learn how to, get Mike to help me learn more about remote blogging and how to use all of the technology that my IT husband and the modern world loves... smart phone, iPad,etc.  I have a lot to learn!

First Sail

I am SOOO behind on my blogging.  I have all 3 of the August birthdays to do!  :)  So check back below this post... I'll probably back-date my posts.  Plus our camera is dead and we still don't have a new one so I feel a little discombobulated on where our pics are... our phones, Snapfish, other people's cameras, etc.  So we need to streamline this and get a new (cheap) camera.  :)

Until then, we went to the river for Labor Day weekend.  The weather was just beautiful and perfect!  Peter went on his first sail on Sunday, then Lily joined them on Monday.  They had a great time and did great per Daddy & Paw's report.  Peter was excited to be a helpful big brother and look out for Lily on their sail.  :)

The Big Party

I could probably work on this post forever...

We had Peter's Birthday Party on Sunday, August 28th at 4pm.  Hurricane Irene ripped through the area on Saturday, 8/27 and left us without power and with a yard full of debris.  My parents had graciously volunteered to come up for the whole weekend to help us get ready.  So they weathered the storm with us then pulled some serious clean up crew to make it happen.  It was a day of beautiful weather and I think everyone was excited to be together and outside after the storm.

We wanted to have a really big birthday party for Peter this year as a celebration of 4.  We wanted it to be for him and his friends but also for our friends... sort of as a thank you!

After considering lots of options, the Fun Bus showed up in front of our house!  :)

Perfect... 

a BUS (Peter's first vehicle love) with FITNESS FUN inside (a lot of our days have been all about exercise at PT and OT)

Nee Nee showed up to deliver the cake and hugs to her boy and girl!  

We missed you for all of the party, Nese!

Peter begrudgingly had his picture taken before getting on the bus.  ;)

Some girlies excited to get on!

 the view on the inside

 handsome *BIRTHDAY BOY*

having fun!

 and pretty sister

Landon, in blue, is the "baby" I babysat before Lily was born.
Catherine, in coral, is a twinie of my friend, Blair, who I walk/run with.
(we've been in small group with their parents for the past 5 years)

 Sliding off the bus!

 And the backyard was all set up.  The adults got to catch up in the backyard while the kids were on the bus... another bonus of the bus!


I can see why fancy people have photographers at kid's bday parties... I feel like these pics don't capture all of the details that I would like them too.  It was my first big kid party to really think through all the details and plan out (well, except getting a new camera that is...  It was an after the fact, 'oh, you have a camera, can I take quick pics with it?' instead of really capturing the little touches).  It was all SOOO fun, one of my favorite days recently, to have all of our favorite people around us (minus our siblings).  I'm always torn in these situations b/t wanting to socialize with our friends, see the kids, finish getting the food ready.  Thankfully, our moms took on the role of hostess and took care of all the last minute food prep and clean up.

We also had LOTS of balloons (thanks to my dad!) but you can't see them in most pics.  :(


 I put brown paper, crayons, and cars on all the kid tables.

And drew a little road map on them for the cars.

THE CAKE:

(thanks Mom for ordering it!).

By the end of the evening, we'd convinced 3 houses worth of neighbors to come over and join us!  We were all without power and we had lots of burgers and food that needed to be consumed.  It was good to all be together!

 A day and evening full of memories and so fun to celebrate our four year old!