My heart just jumped out of my chest!  I just posted an entry on here about searching for chores named in a pirate way, that stemmed from a cartoon the boys were watching. I discovered a You Tube video created by a man Tim Bete, the same man who wrote the thing I shared in my previous post about raising your kids as pirates.  I was exstatic to see the man created a video with the song lyrics to my FAVORITE christian band Third Day, to their "Creed" song.  It is one of my favorite songs!  I couldn't sit still in my chair while the song played and raised my hands to God in worship.  The Holy spirit filled my heart overflowing into rejoice.  The music was playing so loud that it masked the sound of the t.v.   When the song ended, the Little Einstiens cartoon was playing a PIRATE theme episode!!!  I was blown away at the timing of everything and I feel like I've been touched by God himself!  I imagine He's laughing at the reaction I displayed, in the way the events occurred beginning with the pirate cartoon, sparking an interest in finding pirate named chores, finding humor in Tim Bete's book, which lead me to find his You Tube site and God used his video of Third Day to lead me to worship, and lastly God blew me out of the water when He linked the second cartoon the boys were watching with the pirate subject that sparked from the first cartoon.  God truly does use the simplest things to touch us and I am thrilled the simplest things can be used to glorify Him.


 "I love you Father, thank you for your presence in our home today.  I feel your embrace!"


The links of events in order that amazed me, in plain terms : )
1. The lyric "swob the deck" from the cartoon Jake & the Neverland Pirates
2. Sparked my interest in searching for other chores named in a pirate way
3. Found a humorous book Ahoy there, parents! Raise yer kids as pirates! by Tim Bete
4. Found Tim Betes video he created with the lyrics to Third Day's "Creed" song on You Tube which lead me to rejoice in worship
5. As soon as the song ended on the computer (which masked the volume of the t.v.) the Little Einstiens cartoon came on and the theme was a pirate based episode
6. Shock & delight in the events that occurred in such an awesome order by my Father

This moring while my boys were watching the opening song with Sharky & Bones from the cartoon Jake & the Neverland Pirates, I noticed the part where they sang about "swobbing the deck."  It made me think about using that term around the house to spice up things instead of thinking about how much I don't want to "mop."  It lead me to wonder if there were more chores that I could change into pirate talk to make them sound more fun.  I googled it and came across this awesome site: http://www.cindyvallar.com/pirateparent.html#column  This is what I read that I absolutely adore:

Ahoy there, parents! Raise yer kids as pirates!
by Tim Bete

I'm not sure when the idea to raise my kids as pirates first came to me. It may have been one of those days when I felt like I was on the wrong end of a mutiny. Or it may have been that Saturday morning when I woke up to my kids shouting and fighting and realized that, unknowingly, I had already raised four little buccaneers.
But I soon realized there are many benefits to raising kids as pirates. If your kids are already rotten, it helps you explain their behavior. Say you're in the grocery store and your children are destroying the produce section. All you need to say to the manager is, "Arrgh! Me kids have been at sea for months and are looking for oranges to prevent the scurvy." The produce manager will be apologizing to you, matey.
You want your children to have high self-esteem, don't ye? Pirates have the highest self-esteem of any occupation, except the occupation of "actor." But you don't want your children to be chased by paparazzi everywhere they go. Pirates are never chased by paparazzi...unless the pirate is Johnny Depp at the opening of Pirates of the Caribbean...but that doesn't count because he's not a real pirate.
Raising your children as pirates teaches them discipline, hard work and a colorful vocabulary. Typical household chores become exciting and fun when done in the pirate way. Your children may not want to sweep the kitchen floor but they'll beg for the chance to swab the poop deck, even if it's only because they can say the word "poop" without being flogged for it.
And young pirates are much more likely to listen to their parents. Your son may not obey you when you say, "Stop fighting with your sister," but he'll listen when you bellow, "Avast ye scurvy dog or I'll give ye a taste of me hook!"
But the best part is that pirates are happy, deal well with difficult circumstances and are team players. They're financially independent and rarely live with their parents past age 18. And they love their mothers, as is often indicated by their tattoos. What more could you want for your little urchins?
Besides, when other parents hear you're raising your children as pirates, they'll stop asking you to volunteer at school. And replacing "family night movie" with "family terrorizing the neighbors with cannons night" is a wonderful change of pace. Divvying up booty is good quality time with the kids, and it's fun to watch the emergency room doctor's reaction when you say your son was injured during "a little mishap boarding a merchant vessel that refused to surrender."
So, what are you waiting for, me bucko, a cannon ball through your mizzen mast? Get your kids some eye patches, a few gold teeth and a dagger or two. Before you know it, you'll be one big, happy pirate family, sailing the high seas or suburbs...

So I thought I was saving money, buying a car seat, that was a convertible 3-in-1.  Meaning it would fit an infant rear facing up to 35 lbs, toddler up to 50 lbs forward facing with the 5 point harness, and a child up to 100 lbs using the seat as a booster with the seat belt.  I just learned my car seat rated "NOT RECOMMENDED by IIHS as a booster!  My oldest is 3 weeks away from turning 3 and I now feel like I should research finding a RECOMMENDED one.  I want to have the safety of 5 point harness for as long as possible now that I have seen crash test videos all over You Tube about the various dangers related to child involved crashes.  Upon seeing car seat crash tests, I wondered how my car would actually fair during a front or side impact collision too.  Not bad I'd say, infact it did pretty well from what I saw.  Phew, thankfully replacing a car seat down the road is far less expensive than having to trade in my car.  I wish I drove a tank wrapped inside a magic bubble but I'm a little more content now that I have looked into things a little deeper.  I hope my quest for a good booster results in a well educated, budget friendly, pick.  The only thing I know right now is I want a highback seat for sure.  Any suggestions would be very appreciated ; )

Father give us the guidance and tools to raise our boys under your wing well enough to equip them for this deceitful world.  We only have one shot to do this right!

     I haven't been blogging very much (if you haven't noticed!)  Lately, I have been busy flying homemade paper airplanes, hunting potato bugs, and killing spiders in the back yard with the boys (among the regular cooking, cleaning, and grocery shopping).  We spend what time we can, outside.  It is different everyday, but endless entertainment is always provided one way or another!  I will be chasing 2 unstoppable healthy boys now instead of 1.  Tuesday L took 3 solid steps.  Today in front of all 3 of us, he walked across the entire (hahaha, little) living room.  We cheered and clapped so loud he was scared at first.  It took him a moment to put together what he had done, with what we were doing.  But once he figured it out, boy was he up and at it again, trying over and over relentlessly to attain higher stature without wobbling and tumbling repeatedly.  He is so proud of himself and I am proud of him too, but it is hard watching him gain bits of independence already. 
     Time has really flown by.  I can't believe it is June ALREADY!!  In 3 weeks, my boys will have their 1st & 3rd birthday within 2 days of each other.  We will celebrate both at one party with family and friends.  I am happy for the boys that as they get older there will be a number of fun things we look forward to doing with them, however, as  a mom, I will miss these times all too soon.  I truly cherish the time I share with them and soak up as much as I can because I know how QUICKLY it will pass, leaving only memories to bath in.

A Love Letter to My Boys

My dear sweet sons,

     It has been so long since I last wrote you a love letter.  I am so very sorry I have let so much time slip by.  I have been busy making your days full of love and laughter.  The memories I hope to create for you are of time spent together.  For this, I know it will not matter to you that I have not written your letters, but to me it feels like time lost to record the details of our time together with you.  We love you with all of our hearts; I am confident you know it.  As much as we do though your heavenly Father out-loves your mom & dad.  He loves you more than anyone else can and ever will. Stay close to Him always.  One day we won't be able to be with you every minute of the day (and one day you'll want it that way LOL) but He will see everything you do and He'll be there for you anytime you seek Him.  My greatest hope is that you both love the Lord truly in your heart and live your life with His guidance.

I know you two are BOYS and could probably care less that your mushy mother writes you love letters, but someday when you have your own kids remember their mother might do the same thing ; )  It's a mom thing.  I'm not looking to turn you into ballerinas, just trying to express my load of love, you can't begin to measure!


                     Love always & forever truly, 
                                          Mom

Tryin to Stop Time

My little baby L is turning 1 in a month and a half and I find myself digging in my heels, trying to stop time.  It's not that I don't want him to grow up, I'd just like a little longer to hold him and rock him and cuddle closely.  Baby season is nearing an end for us.  Some days (correction...some moments) I get excited to get rid of all the space consuming baby gear (like the portable crib, bouncer, high chair, etc) but other days I wonder if I can ever let go of things we no longer need like the glider rocking chair that I spent so much time nurturing my babies with.  The moments we shared in it felt as if time was suspended.  The minutes that I thought just lingered, were really expiring.  Passing by one by one, never able to return or grasp.  Only memories can take me back to such times now.  I think, no, I KNOW it is why I have so many photos of our family's everyday life.  The moments that surround me, make my life! {Which revolves around my little boys and my other half.} ; ) Just thinking about the other day, comforting my little guy when he was restless, makes my nose run and eyes water : (  He kept waking up throughout the night and for a while I loved it because I got to embrace him and help him through it.  We cuddled in the recliner.  I kept sweeping my lips and cheek across his forhead, sweeping his hair.  I prayed he'd find comfort and hoped we could stay together in the chair all night.  I just couldn't sleep, thinking 'what if he falls off my lap.'  I was disheartened when I became deliriously tired and tried to take him to bed with me.  He just couldn't stay asleep.  I would have held him all night but my body was weak and began to shut down.  (He is a GREAT sleeper every night, so my body was in shock from the unusual trial I was putting it through.)  I have never slept next to my little love because I never have had the ability to.  My husband is kind of a violent sleeper LOL  he thrashes around too much to invite Baby to lay in between us ; ) I love my amazing husband.  I really loved him when he got up to hold L in the living room for a while... I don't remember a thing after they got up because I slept so sound knowing he was being taken care of by Daddy.  He got him to sleep 45 minutes later and L stayed asleep thankfully.