YGMT ~ don't let the bed bugs bite!

I think the boys were about 3 years old ish, when I said "Don't let the bed bugs bite" to them as I walked out of their bedroom at bedtime . And in complete synchronization I heard them say, "Bugs?" They took it quite literally that the bed bugs just might bite them. It was cute AND funny to me at the time. I actually walked back in and explained that this one not a literal thing that I was saying to them; it was just a saying.

And most recently our bedtime routine has resulted in these back and forth exchanges.

(The boys' responses are in blue. They are 8 years old now.)

"Goodnight boys. I love you."

"Good night, Mom. I love you. I love you."

"Don't let the bed bugs bite."

"Don't let the bed bugs bite."

"Bugs??" (we all say this in unison and with a tremendous amount of question in our voices.)

"Sleep well."

"Sleep well."

"See you in the morning."

"See you in the morning."

"Sweet dreams."

"Sweet dreams."

And once more for good measure...

"I love you."

"I love you, too, boys."

"Goodnight."

"Goodnight."

All is right with the world when we say these things to each other, and I love it. Someday I will definitely miss this. But until such time, we'll continue our lengthy goodnights.

Visit my friend, Pam, over at "You're Gonna Miss This" for more YGMT posts.

Your'e Gonna Miss This Moment

Pam hosts "You're Gonna Miss This Moment" each week. The idea is to talk about moments you are going to miss, especially of your children growing up. This post is more about what our family will miss.

I just love Saturdays. Around here they are filled with fun, relaxation, cooking, baking, sewing, drawing, playing, and sometimes traveling. Before we moved here, Saturday mornings involved me getting up to go to work at the chiropractic office I worked at. I would see patients for a few hours and liked being able to take care of them. I guess the problem was that I did that every single Saturday, with the exception of a few, for 3 years straight. Then we moved to England. I don't have a work permit here, nor do I have a license to practice chiropractic. But God knew I needed the break.

Today, Shawn and I took Fletch for a long walk on a beautiful, sunny fall day here in Lymm. I loved spending that time with my husband. A couple needs to get away together if even only for a walk.

We had Braaten take a picture of us in front of our door. What I'm going to miss is living here, at 26 Huntsfield Close just outside of Manchester, England. Why am I bringing this up now? Because it looks like we will be moving back to Michigan around March. Though there is a lot of excitement about that prospect, there is much to be missed. More than I can say.

On our walk we took pictures of things we see each and every day. I wanted to capture it all the best I could so that we will not forget. I'll be sure to share those photos in a different post.

You're Gonna Miss This Moment ~

This is not just any, old pile of fruit.

Every year on the first day of school, in our homeschool, my sweet children give me an apple, or a lemon, or an orange, or whatever fruit I have available.

It is such a sweet tradition because that piece of fruit they are handing me says, "I love you, Mom. Thank you for sacrificing and teaching me, for sitting and reading to me, for grading my school work, and juggling all the other mommy stuff you have to do. Things like thinking up what we can have for lunch, or throwing in another load of laundry, or baking more zucchini bread, or driving us to our riding lesson, or cleaning the house, paying the bills, or writing a new blog about me, or making the dinner I requested." OK, I know I quoted those statements, and perhaps they have never voiced it in exactly that way, but I know they are thankful for the education they are receiving at home because of what God has called us to do.

They have been doing this for the past 7 years and it touches my heart and puts tears in my eyes because of how much they mean to me. Homeschooling is no easy feat, but I wouldn't have it any other way.

Having my husband behind me in this 110% makes my job so much easier. He takes on the role of grading, and setting up testing schedules, going over things he sees that the kids might be having difficulty with, and doing a million other wonderful daddy things, that it makes our homeschool that much richer. I couldn't do it without him!

I love you guys! I'm sure gonna miss getting that piece of fruit in early September one day.

"You're Gonna Miss This" is a weekly blog carnival where you write about moments that you'll miss with your kids. Those moments happen every, single day.

For more "You're Gonna Miss This" posts, go over and visit Pam. She is the brainchild behind this weekly meme and this is her 52nd week of doing it. Happy Anniversary, Pam.

You're Gonna Miss This Moment ~ Giant Kid Slides!

Giant Slides & Other Rides...

Pam has been hosting this amazing, weekly meme for almost a year and it is a great one!

What moments will you miss with your kids? There are about a gazillion, aren't there?

Write a post about it and link it up to her blog over here.

Though we don't go to carnivals and amuzement parts too often, when we do, our kids get so excited. I'll miss those expressions on there faces when they are enjoying a ride down a giant slide or are sitting on a high-speed, rotating thingamabob.

Cooper

Grant

Melanie

Oh What fun!

Speaking of fun. Have you checked out my one-year blog anniversary giveaway that's coming up? If not, go over to this post and then leave a comment. If you follow me, let me know. If not, do that and you'll get an extra chance to win. A third way to win is to post it on your blog and leave me the link in a separate comment.

You're Gonna Miss This Moment

Food Loiterers!

Does anyone else have these lurking about their kitchen? I don't mean cockroaches! In our home their names are Grant and Cooper, our precious twins. 

Each and every morning, they wake up with such joy, ready to start their day. They are filled with excitement and anticipation of a blessed day. They also have very hungry tummies and they want breakfast "yesterday". 

Come along with me and let me show you what this looks like in my kitchen...

On this particular day, I am making French toast and only Cooper is at my hip watching every step of preparation in anticipation of filling his tummy. You would normally see Grant, too. 

He also helps by setting the table, getting ingredients out, and wanting to help in any way to facilitate the process. If he wasn't talking to me as I cook, I think I would hear his stomach growling. He appears to be that hungry!

At this point, I had Braaten snapping pictures because it occurred to me that these boys do this daily and it needs to be captured! I'm not sure why Grant was missing out on all this culinary fun.

Can you just see the anticipation?

This is a happy kid! I love him.

Braaten felt the need to capture the beauty of the toast.

And, YES!, he picks the entire thing up with his fork and goes at it just like so. 

Does anyone else have food loiterers? It's a funny term but oh so true.  I have a funny feeling that these little guys are going to do this for years to come, so I think I will miss them at this age. It's when I really noticed that this happens. 

Check out Pam's blog here, and tell about a moment that you will one day miss. It is a great weekly blog carnival. And honestly, aren't there about a million moments we are going to miss, even though sometimes we wish those moments away? 

You're Gonna Miss This Moment- Mini Golf in Majorca, Spain

Pam over at "You're Gonna Miss This Moment" has come up with what I think is a brilliant, and I am not overstating that, weekly blog carnival. It's about posting the moments you will miss that your kids do, or say, or are involved in that you will simply miss one day. Try posting one of your own and link it up to her blog over here. You will not regret it. 

Okay, so anyway, about two weeks ago we went to Majorca, Spain, which I have not posted about yet, but here is a small chunk of it. We did all the usual stuff like swim at the pool, go to the beach and swim, swim some more and then we played mini golf. Oh, we played ping pong, spent lots of coinage on crazy teeth, we shopped for souvenirs, and, of course, we played mini golf. Austin is the king of mini golf and just had to play it.  

I'm pretty sure we will play miniature golf through the years, but what I will miss most is the age they are right now as we play together. The age where they still think it's fun or cool to hang out with us and just have fun. I guess it's our older children that might find it awkward to do all these things in the future. I hope not, but it's probably inevitable. 

Anyway, we had so much fun!!

Look at that serious face.

Daddy-o

Braaten

Moi

I threw in a few pictures of their local flowers.

Melanie

And my silly guys, Grant and Cooper.

So what is it that you will miss? Go over to Pam's and link up a post about it. 

In the meantime, I'll be trying to post more Majorca pictures in the very near future. 

Blessings to you!

You're Gonna Miss This Moment - Backyard Fun

Just the other day it was really sunny out and everyone was playing something in the backyard. They were all having so much fun. They were having:

Bubble Fun!

Baseball Fun!

Jumprope Fun!

And the thing-around-your-ankle Fun!

Someday I will miss the innocence of backyard fun, where the kids are carefree and love to run around outside. Someday they will be way too cool for that ankle game or their foot will be too big to fit into it. I don't think bubbles get old though. I still like to mess around with them. 

What moment(s) will you miss? Stop by Pam's blog to join in on the fun. 

You're Gonna Miss This Moment - Storytime

Our kids have always loved when we read a story to them. What kid doesn't, right? It seems that over time we had gotten away from doing a bedtime story for various reasons. Being too tired comes to mind very quickly, but then there is the going to bed too late as it is, never mind staying up even later to read. 

So about a week ago, I was alone with the twins. The girls were having their sleepover and Austin was also over at a friend's house. I told the boys to pick out a book that we can read together. It was as if I had given them a brand new toy or something. They were smiling from cheek to cheek. 

We sat and read, and the next day during prayer time in the morning, they thanked God for having been read to. Don't get me wrong, in school at home I often read to all five together as we cuddle on the couch. If I could do that every single day, I would. I love the books we read as much as they do. In fact, we are currently reading, "Freedom Train: The Story of Harriet Tubman".   

There will certainly be a day when I will miss this.

 

How about you? Do you read to your kids? To see more great moments that will be missed, visit Pam's blog.