Raising Twins V

One of the most pleasurable things about having twins is getting twice the love. Nathan and Matt have always been loving boys. Nathan will tell you right now that he is a "Mama's Boy." He left for school the other morning, got about half a block down the road, turned around and came back because he had forgotten to hug me. That made my day.

The boys not only love me, the love their daddy, their siblings and their grandma. They fell in love with their sister when she was born. They were only two, but, SO protective. We were in a store once and Abbi was riding in the stroller. Some little boy came up trying to touch her. Well, her "big brothers" would have none of that! They both came over and started grunting at him and pushing him away! However, I did have one problem with them when she was little. They NEVER left socks on her feet! She would be in the swing, happy as can be and the boys would go by and take off her socks. I am not quite sure why they did this, but, they did it constantly.

Now, the love they have for their sister is different. They take care of her in different ways. I have seen her wake up in the morning, come downstairs and curl up in one of the big boys lap. I have seen her stop at the third stair up on her way down, hold her arms out and her big brother wrap his arms around her and carry her to the couch and sit down with her. Do they fight? You better believe it. They can annoy each other to death.

I am looking at them right now. Abbi is sitting on the couch with Matthew. They are watching TV together. She has her legs stretched out across his. She just laughed at something he said. They look after her when they play outside. I really worry about when this girl starts dating...any boy she chooses has a LOT to live up to :)

Why Read?

If you walk in my front door, the first thing you notice is the built-in bookshelves. I was very excited to find these in our house. In the last house, we had two floor to ceiling bookshelves and they were full. Technically, these shelves have two sets of four shelves each. However, I have too many books for that. We have books going all the way across the top of the shelves and lined on the floor using the floorspace as extra shelving. These shelves are FULL. Nothing broke my heart more than having to take FOUR bins of books to the used book store to divest myself of before our big move.

Books are lined up all the way across our shelves, with books sitting sideways on top of the other books. I can't help it. I love books. I love book series. I love for my kids to read books and book series. I will admit, we do have a shelf and a half of DVDs on these bookshelves, but, I also have books all over the house. There are several books in my room. My mom has a bookshelf in her room with some of my books on it. My daughter has a bookshelf in her room with a lot of books on it. My sons all have books in their rooms.

I love to read. I read anything and everything. I run the gamut among authors. I read from many different genre. I have favorite Christian fiction books, and I have read the Twilight series. I like Dan Brown, Dean Koontz, and John Grisham. I have several favorite Christian authors from different genre, as well. I read and re-read books by Tracie Peterson, Janette Oke, Judith Pella, and Frank Peretti. I don't listen to other people's opinions about books. I want to find out for myself. I hear hype and controversy, and then I have to read. I want to know what has people up at arms. It never fails to amaze me that no matter what I read, I learn something.

I do not let my kids read just anything they feel like. I have read all of the Harry Potter books, the Percy Jackson books, and others in that genre. I read them because I wanted to read them first and decide if my kids should be allowed to read them. I like to read books for content to see if I approve of them for my kids. Have I said "no" to books? Yes. There are some that I don't think my kids are mature enough to read yet.

I am proud of the fact that I am multi-faceted in my reading. My kids are multi-faceted readers. I like to read before I go to sleep. It relaxes me. My two oldest boys have gotten into the habit of reading before they go to sleep. I see books beside their beds and it makes me proud. I don't just see books. I see novels. They have read classics like David Copperfield by Charles Dickens and new classics like the Harry Potter series. They read quickly and absorb all. Matthew learned enough on the history of Egypt by reading FICTION that he is now a unit ahead in Social Studies!

In my personal opinion, if it gets a kid to read, let them read it. I don't think that all kids should read anything they feel like. Of course there is plenty of trash out there. I KNOW that there are books I have read that I do NOT want my kids to read. This is one reason why I read before they do. I feel like as long as a piece of fiction is not challenging my personal beliefs or those I am trying to instill into my children, then, they should be reading. I discuss books with my kids. I talk to them about what they are reading. They WANT to share with me and ask me questions as they read. This is why from the time they first start school, teachers comment on their vocabularies. They are well-read and well-spoken because I have taught them to love reading. They know the value of it. They enjoy the experience. They learn while having fun. I am so proud that they read and like it!

Public Schools vs Homeschooling

I teach in a public school. I always have. I have always wanted to. My children go to public schools. I am a product of public schools. My husband is a product of public schools. It really bothers me to hear people bashing public schools and talking about how much better homeschooling is than public schools will ever be.

First of all, before anyone gets offended, let me say, if homeschooling is the choice you made, more power to you. If you have the finances, time, organization skills, and energy to homeschool your children, good for you! It is not something I would enjoy, nor prefer to do. I like teaching one subject, and teaching older children. I can tell you right now, my youngest would make me insane were I to try to corral him and teach him multiple subjects by myself.

I understand some people's reasoning for choosing homeschooling. The ones that bother me are the "religious" ones. "I don't want my child exposed to that", " I don't want my child being a product of the world", "I don't want my child to hear some of the things they will hear in public schools." I ask this, where did Jesus minister? Where would He minister? Public schools are my ministry and my children's ministry.

I get to be a living breathing example of Christ every day in a public place. I get to show my students God's love by being an example of His love. I get to show compassion and teach the Word without ever saying a word. My students know where I stand and how I believe without my ever having to preach to them. How? Because I LIVE it in front of them. They know I go to church, they know I don't use profanity, or give in to a lot of the temptations they have seen. I answer direct questions, but, I do not automatically tell my students how I believe. That is not what I am there for. I am there to be an example. I am there to live a Godly life in front of them. I am there to show them God's love in action.

My children are a light to their world. How do I know this? Because they tell me. My youngest is six. He was explaining to his Daddy this morning (I had already heard the story) about his friend at school who does not believe in God. Benjamin continues to tell him that God is real and God does exist. It is our job to teach them about God at home, which we have done and to put them where Jesus would have been the rest of the time.

The last couple of weeks...

have been some of the most difficult of my life. We all suffered with Daddy for a long time. He was diagnosed with Alzheimer's seven years ago. Three years ago, he went into a nursing home because he had to have round-the-clock care. Two years ago, he began to lose the ability to control a number of his bodily functions. A year ago, he quit speaking at all. He was given six years. He made it seven. That is a testament to Daddy's stubborn streak.

Alzheimer's is so difficult to deal with. It is hard to watch someone suffer and lose their faculties. It was especially hard to watch Daddy. He was always a hard-working man. He was also a young man. Daddy was diagnosed with Early-Onset Alzheimer's at 52 years of age.

He could talk a person's ears off. He loved to talk about his girls. He was so proud of his daughters and grandchildren. He was always pulling out pictures to show people. He would ask people, "Guess how many grandchildren I have now?!" And he liked to say, "I'm young to have so many grandchildren, huh?" He was constantly talking about our accomplishments to anyone who would listen and probably some who didn't want to :)

I learned a lot about my family the last couple of weeks. I learned that my mother is stronger than any of us thought she was. I also learned that she and Daddy faced the reality of his disease a long time ago when they pre-planned a number of things for his funeral. I re-learned that my sisters are amazing women who are strong, thoughtful, and caring. I learned that the men we married are strong and helpful. I learned that the grandchildren are all tender and sympathetic. They all respond to the emotions around them and are some of the most loving children you have ever seen.

I learned a lot about my friends this week. I learned that I have more forever friends than I ever thought I had. I had friends willing to spend hours at my side, take time off work, or drive long distances to support me. I had friends send cards, money, and flowers.

I learned that I work for an amazing school system. I received cards, money, and flowers from a system I have only worked for since August. I had people step in and take care of business for me in Iowa when I had to be in Georgia. When I returned, they were sympathetic and caring. Even my kids were sympathetic and thoughtful.

Even though I have struggled, been stressed, sad, and temperamental, this experience has made me stronger. I have learned that my capacity to love has helped me get through the pain. The love I have given has been returned hundred-fold. I am so thankful for the people God has placed in my life, those for a reason, those for a season and those forever.

I Am Blessed!

First off, let me apologize for not keeping up in the last week or two. Back to school has gotten to me. I caught a "back-to-school cold/virus/general crud thing". I have been coming home and crashing. I am even behind on grading papers for work! I jumped in with both feet and got the kids started doing work immediately, so, I have no one to blame but myself :)

Anyway, this crud I have had has reminded me how truly blessed I am. My husband, mother and, children took over running things for a few days so I could try to get well. Of course, if I had listened to my first instinct and taken a day to rest right off, I probably would have gotten over it sooner, but, I didn't listen.

Chris took care of dinner three nights in the last week. He fixed me something for breakfast nearly every day (He knows that when I am sick, if I have to do it, I probably won't). He took care of the kids and getting them to do their chores. He helped me organize and clean our bedroom today, even though I know he didn't want to :)

Mama took up some of the slack with the housework. She cooked dinner two nights in a row. She made breakfast this morning. She always does the laundry and kept up with that and helping the boys keep up the kitchen. She has also been handling the grocery shopping while I have rested. She is getting really good at matching up the coupons and sales. I have taught her well. Now, I have to convince her that occasionally, it is ok to NOT have a coupon!

The kids have been cleaning a lot today. Of course, most of the mess was a result of them, anyway. They tend to NOT clean up after themselves if they are not reminded constantly. So, today was make-up day. They also took good care of me all day on Saturday. Abbi brought me breakfast in bed, the boys brought me a cushioned half-chair to sit on my bed. They also brought my computer and charger upstairs so I could spend the day watching "hulu". I had orders to stay in bed. I tried, but, eventually made my way downstairs and into the living room to spend time with everyone and watch football. I can't miss football! Even though I didn't get to watch my Dawgs, I still enjoyed some awesome family time watching college ball!

So, I said all of this to say, that I know I am blessed. I have had a rough week fighting this thing off. I spent all day Friday resting/sleeping/watching TV. However, with my family there to make me laugh, and try to make things easy, I think I can get through anything.

Raising Twins IV

I had all of these wonderful ideas of how it would be to raise twins. I initially said a lot of "I will not's" and "I would never's". I said I wouldn't get them confused. Oh my gosh!! They looked so much alike that we had to do something! Their hospital bracelets stayed on them until they were about three or four months old! We didn't take them off until the boys outgrew them! They were so difficult to tell apart! We only knew for a while that Nathan was "Baby A" and Matthew was "Baby B", so, that is what we used to tell them apart. Once their personalities and looks became a little more pronounced, we didn't need the bracelets any more. They still confuse me once in a while. Luckily, now, I can even tell their voices apart!

I said I would NEVER give them rhyming names. I managed to do that, sort of. Matt is actually Christopher Matthew and Nathan is Nathanael Loander. Nathan and Matthew was close enough to rhyming for my taste. Then my goofy cousin said he was going to call them "Matt" and "Nat", which had never occurred to me, and I nearly lost it on him! I finally just said, "he is not a BUG!!" So, problem solved. Then, Nathan THOUGHT about letting his friends call him "Nat" until Mama put her foot down.

I said I wouldn't be one of "those" parents who dressed their twins alike all the time. I lied. It started with baby shower outfits. It became convenient. It also became a habit to buy two of everything when shopping. It became a way of keeping track. Two boys in the same shirt were a lot easier to keep up with in a store or somewhere else than two boys in different outfits! Also, I couldn't put one boy in a baseball outfit and a ballerina outfit! I mean, come on! There's only so much cute stuff out there for boys, anyway! I still buy two of most everything. Now, I do it just so they won't fight over shirts, pants, shoes, etc. I may get the same shirt in a different pattern or color. I may buy six of the same pair of jeans, just because they are boys and the same size. Besides, this way, technically, they each have double the wardrobe!

What a Week!

This week has probably been one of the most difficult since the move. I won't say it has been THE most difficult, because there have been MULTIPLE weeks with difficulty! :) However, three trips to the emergency room, working a full week, and the kids going back to school do tend to add up to a difficult week!

Monday was my first day working with my new faculty. I went back to work after spending the weekend cleaning up the mess in the basement that was left from the flooding that week. I got home from work to find my mother not doing well. She was in her bed, wouldn't focus on me, and could barely speak. I called 911 while she fought me, trying to take the phone away because she didn't want to go to the hospital. I won. Turns out she had a mild stroke. She was hospitalized overnight, blood taken repeatedly, and came home the next day.

Tuesday was more meetings, listening to speakers, and working on lessons a bit. However, I had to leave early to take care of Mama. Once she was released from the hospital, she needed monitoring.

Wednesday was a LONG day. I had to be at work at 7:30. I didn't get off until nearly 7:00. We had meetings, speakers, some time in our rooms, and Open House. I got to meet the parents of a number of my students as well as some students. I was EXHAUSTED when I got home!

Thursday, when I got home, fixed dinner, and got ready for our walk, Abbi asked me to look at her arm. I took her to the bathroom and cleaned it with peroxide. I told her to leave it open so it could get some air while we walked. She burned it Monday evening on the side of a baking pan. After our walk, I looked at the wound, again. It was red, raised, puffy, and had a red streak running up beyond her elbow. The burn was just above her wrist. Trip number two to the ER. She had either a strep or staph infection. The doctor didn't feel it necessary to run a $300 test, so, started treating her with two antibiotics, plus, topical ones.

Friday, back to work. (I worked, Thursday, too :D). When I got home, Abbi's arm was more red and puffy, with a second streak running up her arm. BACK to the ER. The doctor was great. He was patient and asked us to give the meds another 24 hours to start working really well. Chris and I agreed. We then went and got some groceries, fed everyone, and I pretty much collapsed.

What have I learned from all of this? One thing I have learned is that it is ALWAYS better to be safe than sorry. I initially thought Mama was having a panic attack. I also initially thought that Abbi would be ok with topical treatment for a couple of days. My instinct kicked in over my brain. I am so glad I listened to my heart rather than my head! I have learned that I am tough! I can deal with lots of things that have been thrown at me (but, I don't WANT to have another week like this one!). I have learned that the closer we get to getting something started for our church plant and building relationships, the harder we are going to be fought! As I said in my facebook status on Thursday morning, anticipating the first day of school...BRING IT!!