Cell Snapshots: Helping Brothers

So, as it turns out, in the archives of Cell Phone Photo Land, I have documented a few instances of my boys being adorably helpful.
Check it out...

Last year, like every year, our neighbor's pine tree rained pine needles on our backyard. You would think the three-inch-thick blanket of pine needles would be obnoxious, but I'm just so darn excited we have a gorgeous pine tree waving above us, smelling all good, I don't mind at all.
One day, the boys took to raking those pokey things up.
Ben rushed right into action.

James took over and, in true James fashion, he proceeded to rake everything into a nice, straight line.

And that was that.

Another day, I believe early on in the summer, I found the boys getting ready for church. (I will never ceased to be amazed that I can now say "Go get your church clothes on!" and they do it by themselves.)
Anyway, I went to check on them and found a buttoning lesson occurring.

"Now you try."

"Almost, but see...here...you gotta..."

"Yes, you almost have it...but no, push it a little more..."


"...Yeah...uh-huh...well, you're obviously not into this...I'm just going to do it myself."

James loves to button his own church shirt.

He's pretty much got it down!

More recently, we were getting ready to head out to a family dinner. James had mastered putting his sandals on, but Ben was still struggling.
The elder took it upon himself to help out.
This time he didn't bother with instruction.
Just went ahead and did it for him.

Almost...

Almost...

Got the right one!
On to the left!

"Does that feel okay? That fit right?"

Aaaaand....apparently, it is true what they say.
When we're helping, we're happy!

I love these boys. And though it was the brothers documented here, Bethany is most definitely a happy helper as well! No, no, they aren't ready and willing to do each and every little thing I ask of them, BUT they are sweet and kind and notice ways to help so often. And most of the time, they have a wonderful attitude about helping and contributing and I love that they want each other to succeed at little things like buttoning and coloring ("You aren't scribbling Ben! And you're staying inside the lines!!! Wow!") and buckling shoes. So often I overhear them encouraging each other, coaching each other in a kind way, and complimenting on jobs well done. These cute pictures I found remind me of all those times!

The Big 3-0.

Nope, not me yet. :)
It was JC that recently took on another decade! We had such fun on his birthday! Here is a peek back at it:

I had been determined to keep any and all gifts a surprise until his actual birthday.
Success!
Here was our hiding place...wrapped presents in the back of my van.
Though, as it turns out, he did see them there the day before...but kept it to himself. :)
The kids LOVED having surprises for Daddy. The second they were up on the morning of his birthday, it was out to the van to gather the gifts.
See the sleepy eyes? They had probably been up for less than a minute at this point.

When Ben gets excited, he raises his eyebrows so high they threaten to jump off his forehead.

When James gets excited, he squeals and squeaks.

We made a nice pile-o-presents on the couch in the front room.
(The kids wrapped the present themselves...with help from Grandma Trudie, while I was working on an important project)

James ran up the stairs to wake the birthday boy!

When he got downstairs, he took it all in and the kids waited not-so-patiently for him to start unwrapping.

Their excitement was contagious, as you can tell.

Hugs all around for thoughtful gifts for Daddy's birthday.

And Bethany really reveled in the joy.

Then the moment of truth arrived...the big box. The 'important project.' The gift I managed to not only accomplish but keep it a complete surprise.
(Makes me tired just remembering trying to keep it a surprise!)

Ta-da!
I wanted so much to make him a big quilt that he could take hunting with him, that would be made all by me just for him. And, I believe, I succeeded.
I give you...
The Hunting Quilt.

Now, yes, I did all the actual cutting and sewing and what not, but I had lots of help from my mom on the design and the how-to and the haven't-I-taught-you-to-sew-like-ten-times-already?.
And I had lots of help from my sister, Laura, who helped entertain my kids sometimes when we were over there on random summer days so I could work on it.
So, thank you.
And a HUGE thank you to my kids who KEPT IT A SECRET for like, two months!!! I find that rather impressive.
Anyway.
It was fun.
Sewing doesn't come naturally to me at all and it certainly challenges my can-do attitude, BUT I very much enjoyed making something for my sweetie. I hope to do more things like that.
And he liked it.
So yay.

So anyway, back to the birthday...we spent the morning hanging out, enjoying a nice Saturday, then JC and I went out for the afternoon/evening. We saw not one but TWO super hero movies...Captain America and Thor. Awesome. I was pretty impressed with how entertaining and clean those movies were. It was a good time. We ate out, came home, then...pretty much went to bed like old people.
Hey, I've got a husband in his thirties, alright? I gotta keep him well-rested so he can keep up with me. :)

It was fun to have a day for JC and really fun to see how excited the kids were, choosing gifts for him. I had gone to the store with Ben while the other two were at school, and he and I picked out several things we thought Daddy would like. Then they all chose from those things. He ended up with a Transformers shirt, an angry birds key-chain (a video game? I was the only one in the dark there but Ben was pretty sure he would like it), and a big box of his favorite fruit snacks. Those are classic, they show up at every once of his birthdays. Good ol' fruit smiles from Walmart. (Well, I actually think they're gross. "Why is it drose?"...anybody?)
But he loves them.
And we love him.
And that's why we love when his birthday rolls around.

I feel really awesome saying that I'm married to a thirty-year-old man. Because everyone knows that the older a man gets, the hotter he is. (Please tell me I am not the only one who knows this.)
And he feels so much older than me now that he's thirty because I do NOT feel like I am almost thirty! I still have trouble grasping the concept of being an adult, so the idea that I am married to a thirty-year-old man makes me feel cool, like I said.
So, anyway, good times.

We love you, hon. I hope this is your best year yet. I'll be doing my best to do what I can to make that happen! :)
You old man, you.

1st Grade...Kindergarten...Here We Come!

Okay, prepare yourself.
Because I know you are concerned about the topic of this post.
I know you are still emotionally attached to the idea that Bethany is still a toddler and James is still a fat little baby who can't even sit in the bumbo because his legs are too chunky. I know, I know.
So...
let me break this to you slowly...
They are...
both of them...
in elementary...sch....school.

- - Let's just sit with that for a moment. - -

We okay?
Okay, great, let's move on.

Once you see some pictures of how darn happy and excited they were about it all, you will feel better.
No, I promise.

First day of school.
Miss Bethany headed off to first grade, to Mrs. Lunsford's class!
And Mr. James ready and willing to jump into kindergarten, in Mrs. Standage's class!
They could hardly sit still.

I love that they love each other.

So, here's our veteran school-go-er.
Got a year under her belt and she is ready to take on the first grade world!

And this little guy...
oh man...
off he goes!

He was ready.

Caught this moment here.
You can tell Ben knows it's the end of an era.
Last year was awesome, the two of them home together, having brotherly bonding time...
Now it's time for a new era, eh, Ben?

Good thing is, it's just a few hours out of a few days a week. Nothing this bunch can't handle.

Once we got to the school, we trekked across the field to the playground like we did last year.
Ben knew the way.
Last year he and James did it in a stroller. Holy heavens.
They grow up.
But anyway, look at them go.

JC was able to go into work a little late so he could see them off. I love that things like this are important to him.

Pretty girl.

Here's James, among all the chaos, lined up with his class! Ready to go.

And sweet Bethany found her sweet friend, Hannah, from church. They got to be in the same class this year which was the cause of much rejoicing.
Cute.

The first day, the first week, the first month...it all has gone pretty good. Not to say it doesn't take some getting used to! I have had my moments much more than they have had theirs, but it does take some adjusting on all of our parts. I can happily say that we are in a bit of a groove now. And we have moved past the first bit that held days where someone was lost, someone lost their lunch box, someone didn't know where to go, etc.
Bethany already wakes up some days and says she is too tired for school. So, the novelty has worn off a bit haha.
James is eager every single day to get back there. He gets a little miffed when it's not a school day. So I guess that is a good thing, right? I remember Bethany was like that last year. Ah, the beauty of the eager kindergartner!
Oh, but it is still hard sending them there every day. They feel out of my reach for a little too long for my liking but that it a part of all of us growing up. And I know they are good, happy kids with a strong sense of who they are. Luckily, I am reminded of that often...like when Bethany was asked to bring in five things that would fit in a paper bag that would tell about herself.

All on her own, she chose a horse, a little picture of a girl playing on the computer, a picture of Mason and JC together, and pictures of Jesus and of her family.

I guess, even if they spend their days out in the unpredictable world of elementary school, we're doing okay. :)

Rite of Passage

I can't remember why we had them in the house, the Oreos.
Maybe there was a late night craving a few days previous. Maybe I baked something that required them. I really can't remember.

I can't remember why we had bought it, the cow's milk.
Almond milk rules the roost around here...and I don't know why we had the other stuff on hand. Maybe JC had wanted to join us in cereal consumption (he doesn't really do the almond thing). Maybe it was purchased purely to give companionship to the Oreos. I really can't remember that either.

But one Sunday afternoon, we found ourselves with both Oreos AND cow's milk.
- - JC thinks I should just call it 'milk.' But...this is my way of reminding myself where it comes from and giving myself the opportunity to question why it is I drink it. I...do still drink it sometimes...yes, but at least I think about it first. :)
And besides, if we say "goat's milk," "breast milk," "soy milk," "almond milk," etc...why do we simply say "milk" when it comes to cow's milk anyway? Who decided that, one might wonder...

But this is not about discriminating against this milk or that milk...
It is about Oreos and milk.
And about the connection between that and childhood. The chocolate. The cream. The dunking.
I figure that, even if we rarely have stuff like this in the house, this is one of the things I want my kids to hear about from me FIRST.
Differing cultural views...the birds and the bees...unkindness in the world...important values to maintain...Oreos and milk...
There are just some things, as a parent, you must teach your children about before they venture too far out there.
Because if they don't hear about it from you, they will hear about it from someone else.
Right.
So.
Sunday afternoon.


The children were presented with the cookies.
JC poured a glass of milk
And the teaching began.

Bethany, ever the big sister, went first.

The boys followed suit.

Aaaaand...
WOW!

Back for more!

Every last crumb was enjoyed.

And how.

But then they were gone.

...wha...???

I know, kids, I know.
But don't worry, this isn't the end of Oreos at the Ballard Household.
They'll come back around someday.
(Not as often as the green smoothies, but I promise, they will come back...)
(and I won't hide them on the top shelf in the pantry...every time...)