This last weekend we were definitely blessed with some beautiful Iowa weather. A few sunny 72 degree days with absolutely no humidity. Definitely out of the ordinary but a completely happy surprise.
Mom made some chili Saturday, and at first I thought, who in the world would want chili in July? But it was just perfect--kind of like the first days of fall (our favorite season here in the Mangan household) with Cyclone football, tailgating with friends and family, and of course--chili and wings.
John and I took the kids to daycare Thursday as we were needing to do a lot of yard work. In the course of the four day weekend, we managed to pull out ALL of our many bushes and plants, plant nearly 40 different flowers, bushes, etc. and dig and dig and plant. It was totally exhausting. In the midst of our day Friday, Avery and the girls were outside with us. We have this totally cool old tree swing that our neighbor, Charlie Brown (sound familiar?) repaired for us and Avery loves to swing on it. I was holding Sophie so she could watch her sister swing while John pushed Avery higher and higher. All of a sudden, Sophie began cracking up. I mean, just cracking up. Whenever Avery would swing towards us, Sophie would just laugh so hard that she could barely stand it. I couldn't see her face because she was facing outwards, so at first, I thought: great, she's gonna have a major blow out. I better get ready to run. But after the initial sounds, when she began heeling over from laughing so hard, I was just so excited. To hear a baby laugh, especially when it's your own baby, is like a little piece of heaven. It lasted for a couple of minutes. Then she got bored and we moved on. From that moment to the present, her sister is the ONLY one that has gotten her to laugh like that. Grandma Nancy did a couple of times, but she thinks Avery is the funniest thing in the world and Avery just loves to make her sister smile.
Sometimes, having children, especially in those early months when you're just on automatic, you think--man, is this going to get easier, better, more fun for everyone? In that single moment when you hear your child laugh for the first time like Sophie did Friday, you sorta forget those times and realize every tough moment, every tear you've shed from pure exhaustion or pain is all totally worth it.
We definitely all felt like God gave us a wink and a smile this weekend by giving us such great weather for the tough job we had landscaping, giving Sophie the gift of laughter and letting us witness it for the first time, and blessing us with the gift of seeing our two beautiful, healthy girls enjoy each other like only sisters can.
I can't wait until I have some time to figure out how to add pictures to this! I tried last week, but when I posted them, it cut everyone's face in half! Not good. I'll try again soon. Love you all and sure hoping you were able to enjoy last weekend's beautiful weather, too.
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
Tuesday, July 7, 2009
Funny phraseology
Avery:
"Sophie, turn that frown upside down!" (Sophie had been crying for a while when Avery bent over and told her this in passing.)
Avery: Mom, does God make all this stuff? Like trees and grass and corn and stuff?
Mom: Yes, he has made it all for us.
Avery: Yeah, but does he even make the planet?
Mom: Yes, he even made the planets.
Avery: Man, he must be sweating all the time!
Avery: Dad, does a C look like an H?
Dad: No, a C doesn't look like an H.
Avery: No, I mean like does a real C look like an H?
Dad: No, I don't know what you mean. A C never looks like an H.
Avery: Oh, yeah. Okay. I just meant a real one.
I think this conversation fizzled out after this comment as I didn't hear any response from John. I don't think he probably knew what else to say.
"Mom, I love you to the moon and the stars and the planets".
Avery: What do doctors do?
Mom: You know that doctors help us to get better if we're feeling sick. They know all about how our bodies work and what to do to fix them if we're sick.
Avery: Do they even know what sick dogs look like?
Mom: (short pause) Um, not all doctors. Just doctors called Veterinarians who take care of animals and not people.
Avery: "Mom, I made this trampoline for dogs that are sick at day care. It's one sick trampoline."
Avery: Dad, you know what I call goose bumps?
Dad: No, what do you call them?
Avery: I call them goose pimps.
Avery: Mom, why do you have your ears appeared (pierced)?
Avery: Grandma, who was my mommy before, when she lived with you at your house?
Avery: Grandma, did you know I have this sister in Des Moines and I go to visit her sometimes?
To clear the air on this one...no, she doesn't have a sister in Des Moines. She sometimes talks about made-up friends or people. Don't know where she comes up with them, but it's sure interesting.
Avery: Mom, I didn't cut my hair. It actually flew from Grandma's house's garbage can into my can! I don't even know how it did that.
She finally told the truth after several strings of lies about flying hair. There was a giant piece of her hair laying in the garbage can. I had to take all of her scissors away as punishment. Too funny!
Avery: Mom, I am not even going to talk if you don't listen.
(I was in the car, in a hurry probably answering all of her questions with an "uh huh, uh huh, yep") Can't fool her.
I have been trying to teach Avery how to tie her shoes for months now. We don't seem to get anywhere. One day a few weeks ago, Avery said after day care, "Mom, watch this". She proceeded to tie her shoe in a matter of seconds, no mistakes. I was in awe and shock and asked her how she learned how to do this in one day. She said "Korrinn taught me". Korrinn is five. I wish I was there that day to see how it all happened. Amazing.
"Dad, are you going to transform yourself into a, a, a booger?"
She was dead serious on this one. I don't know if she meant to say something else and the word booger just came out, but it was sure funny.
Avery: "Mom, I want a cavity."
Mom: Remember what a cavity is?
Avery: Oh, man. I mean a vitamin!
"Sophie, turn that frown upside down!" (Sophie had been crying for a while when Avery bent over and told her this in passing.)
Avery: Mom, does God make all this stuff? Like trees and grass and corn and stuff?
Mom: Yes, he has made it all for us.
Avery: Yeah, but does he even make the planet?
Mom: Yes, he even made the planets.
Avery: Man, he must be sweating all the time!
Avery: Dad, does a C look like an H?
Dad: No, a C doesn't look like an H.
Avery: No, I mean like does a real C look like an H?
Dad: No, I don't know what you mean. A C never looks like an H.
Avery: Oh, yeah. Okay. I just meant a real one.
I think this conversation fizzled out after this comment as I didn't hear any response from John. I don't think he probably knew what else to say.
"Mom, I love you to the moon and the stars and the planets".
Avery: What do doctors do?
Mom: You know that doctors help us to get better if we're feeling sick. They know all about how our bodies work and what to do to fix them if we're sick.
Avery: Do they even know what sick dogs look like?
Mom: (short pause) Um, not all doctors. Just doctors called Veterinarians who take care of animals and not people.
Avery: "Mom, I made this trampoline for dogs that are sick at day care. It's one sick trampoline."
Avery: Dad, you know what I call goose bumps?
Dad: No, what do you call them?
Avery: I call them goose pimps.
Avery: Mom, why do you have your ears appeared (pierced)?
Avery: Grandma, who was my mommy before, when she lived with you at your house?
Avery: Grandma, did you know I have this sister in Des Moines and I go to visit her sometimes?
To clear the air on this one...no, she doesn't have a sister in Des Moines. She sometimes talks about made-up friends or people. Don't know where she comes up with them, but it's sure interesting.
Avery: Mom, I didn't cut my hair. It actually flew from Grandma's house's garbage can into my can! I don't even know how it did that.
She finally told the truth after several strings of lies about flying hair. There was a giant piece of her hair laying in the garbage can. I had to take all of her scissors away as punishment. Too funny!
Avery: Mom, I am not even going to talk if you don't listen.
(I was in the car, in a hurry probably answering all of her questions with an "uh huh, uh huh, yep") Can't fool her.
I have been trying to teach Avery how to tie her shoes for months now. We don't seem to get anywhere. One day a few weeks ago, Avery said after day care, "Mom, watch this". She proceeded to tie her shoe in a matter of seconds, no mistakes. I was in awe and shock and asked her how she learned how to do this in one day. She said "Korrinn taught me". Korrinn is five. I wish I was there that day to see how it all happened. Amazing.
"Dad, are you going to transform yourself into a, a, a booger?"
She was dead serious on this one. I don't know if she meant to say something else and the word booger just came out, but it was sure funny.
Avery: "Mom, I want a cavity."
Mom: Remember what a cavity is?
Avery: Oh, man. I mean a vitamin!
God's answer is sometimes "No".
I have to tell you about Fr. Don's homily this past week at church and how I was able to experience his message this morning. It was just a pivotal moment for me.
Fr. Don's message was about how we incorporate prayer in our life and how we have to understand that sometimes, the answer God gives us to what we ask for in prayer is going to be "no"...
Sophie was scheduled for a Doctor's appointment this morning at 9 and I decided to stay home with her until then rather then drop her off at the sitter's just to have to pick her up again just an hour later. She has been miserable lately and I was really struggling with finding ways to console her. I just prayed to God that He would give me the grace to get through the morning without losing my patience, that He would make it easier for me.
Well, after two hours of crying and many outfit changes later, we got ready to leave for the medical clinic. The moment I had grabbed my purse, put Sophie in the car seat, and grabbed the diaper bag, it started to pour. I mean pour! I ran outside and put Sophie in the car quickly and got in the car only to realize I'd forgotten my keys inside. So, I went inside and grabbed the keys. I started the car, pulled out of the drive, and turned the corner and there, not two blocks away, was a road block. At that very moment I looked up at the sky and smiled and thought--God, your answer to my prayers this morning was definitely a "no". And then, I thought, maybe, it's not all about me anyway!
I shouldn't have been praying for him to make it easier for me. What I should have been praying for was for Sophie's health; that He would help her to become healthy, well, happy. That He would make life a little easier for her.
I know that sometimes, as a parent and as a human, I ask God to help me get through moments that really don't have much to do about me. Out of selfishness, I prayed for those things this morning and His answer was "no".
But, to the greater issue--Sophie's health--His answer was always "yes". I never even had to ask. He's watching over his precious child and caring for her without selfishness in his heart and teaching me to do the same thing.
Sophie is just fine, now. She's feeling much better and I think I learned a great life lesson today as a Christian, as a parent, and as a human being.
Fr. Don's message was about how we incorporate prayer in our life and how we have to understand that sometimes, the answer God gives us to what we ask for in prayer is going to be "no"...
Sophie was scheduled for a Doctor's appointment this morning at 9 and I decided to stay home with her until then rather then drop her off at the sitter's just to have to pick her up again just an hour later. She has been miserable lately and I was really struggling with finding ways to console her. I just prayed to God that He would give me the grace to get through the morning without losing my patience, that He would make it easier for me.
Well, after two hours of crying and many outfit changes later, we got ready to leave for the medical clinic. The moment I had grabbed my purse, put Sophie in the car seat, and grabbed the diaper bag, it started to pour. I mean pour! I ran outside and put Sophie in the car quickly and got in the car only to realize I'd forgotten my keys inside. So, I went inside and grabbed the keys. I started the car, pulled out of the drive, and turned the corner and there, not two blocks away, was a road block. At that very moment I looked up at the sky and smiled and thought--God, your answer to my prayers this morning was definitely a "no". And then, I thought, maybe, it's not all about me anyway!
I shouldn't have been praying for him to make it easier for me. What I should have been praying for was for Sophie's health; that He would help her to become healthy, well, happy. That He would make life a little easier for her.
I know that sometimes, as a parent and as a human, I ask God to help me get through moments that really don't have much to do about me. Out of selfishness, I prayed for those things this morning and His answer was "no".
But, to the greater issue--Sophie's health--His answer was always "yes". I never even had to ask. He's watching over his precious child and caring for her without selfishness in his heart and teaching me to do the same thing.
Sophie is just fine, now. She's feeling much better and I think I learned a great life lesson today as a Christian, as a parent, and as a human being.
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