Giving back to God

We are trying to teach our boys that everything we have comes from God and that, as a result, we need to give back to him. We just started giving our boys an allowance each month to help them learn how to manage money (or at least start understanding a little more about money). They get $1 for each year of their life so Isaac gets $5 while Caleb gets $3.

When we did this the first time last month, we talked about how it is their paycheck just like Dad and Mom get paid each month and that it is their responsibility to do with it what they want. However, to teach them about tithing and saving, we added the following rule when they get paid: one always goes to God and one goes into saving; the rest is theirs to spend however they want. (We got this idea from some friends and from the whole "Love and Logic" parenting principle.)

It all sounds pretty basic and straightforward...to us adults. To a three year-old and five year-old it is not always as obvious. Below are two different conversations we have had with the boys who are obviously trying to still figure out the tithing part of it.

Isaac's perspective:
At first Isaac was not too excited about losing one dollar and actually said, "That's okay, I think I will just keep this one." (Yeah, we had a little talk about its being a gift from God in the first place and that we need to give back to God with joy...I am not sure that he was still totally convinced.) Our conversation continued, but he got a little hung up on actually giving it to God; he took us literally and thought God was going to be at church to collect his money. When we further explained that the deacons collect the money to help God and others, his next question was, "But how do they get it to him? Do they send it up to him?" (The image I got from his question was one of the deacons sticking our money in one of those bank tubes and shooting it up to heaven...maybe that is something like he was imagining. Who knows???)

Caleb's perspective:
Since our boys leave for children's worship midway through the service, the boys have not been in the sanctuary to put their offering in the plate. Today was the first Sunday this month when they were still with us for the offering and able to put it in the basket as it passed by. Rebecca, a good friend of ours and the boys' teacher for moms' group preschool, is a deacon and happened to be up to usher today and handed us the offering baskets. Today at lunch we were talking about giving our money to God since it is the beginning of the month again. Without missing a beat, Caleb asked, "Is Miss Rebecca Jesus?" (It took us a moment to put together what we said and the fact that he put the money in the basket she passed to us.)

To see our religious beliefs and the things we do because of our faith through a child's eyes is so amazing! I catch myself at a loss for words in trying to explain something that is such a part of my being. I am thankful that God uses our children to make me stop and really think about why I do things so I can not only explain it more clearly to them but also live my faith with meaning and not out of habit.

Cooking with Grandma

The grandmas reading this post may be asking themselves how they made the title when they have not seen their grandsons in a couple months. Although they aren't here physically, grandmas have been part of our cooking and baking lately. Let me explain...

Baking bread together

Isaac has always loved helping in the kitchen whether it is washing the dishes or creating something. He still loves to help in the kitchen, but now that he is at school Caleb is getting his chance to partake in all parts of baking and washing rather than having to wait his turn. He absolutely loves it and is always quick to get the stool and stand it up by the counter where I am working!

With that little aside out of the way, here is where the grandmas come in to play. My mom made and gave the boys their own aprons last year for their birthdays. Unfortunately, they were not too sure about wearing them at first. It took a good half a year before they willingly put them on when I pulled them out of the cabinet. Now, they both run to grab their aprons and put them on whenever it is baking time. That is the presence of Gma B while working in our kitchen.

Caleb removing stickers from the apples

Caleb baked cookies with Paul's mom this summer, and she actually let him crack and break the egg into the bowl. Although he does not like getting the egg goo on his hands, he insists on cracking the egg himself just "like with Gma N"! And that is the presence of Gma N the last few weeks.

Since it is apple season and the stores are running sales on all apple varieties, we have been making and freezing applesauce. Every time I make (and eat) applesauce I think of my own grandmas. They always had homemade applesauce that we got to eat whenever we visited them. I remember that both grandmas always had the best applesauce in the world. While in college I asked Grandma Dekkers how to make it. I did not get a specific recipe, but she did give me her ricer which is something I still use today. And that is the presence of both my grandmas in my kitchen.

Isaac squishing the apples through the ricer

With the holidays coming, I know that we have Chex mix, Christmas cutout cookies, and homemade donuts in our baking future. And that is where Paul's grandmas will grace our kitchen with their presence.

I know that I love baking and cooking in the kitchen, and this post reminds me why that is. I not only get to spend quality time with my own boys but get to enjoy "time" with some of the women that I love most.

So, you think you can dance?

Well, our boys do! They get a little bit crazy on our dance floor, and we are at the point where we need to limit it to one dancer on the floor at a time. Here is a video of Isaac showing his new moves--some crazy rhythmic hand waving and serious kicking. (Unfortunately, Caleb was not interested in dancing for the camera since he had been taken out by his brother just a little bit before the camera started rolling.)

Isaac also has been doing back somersaults off the couch and happily did one for the camera along with some more of his stellar moves. :-)

Our little Lego boys...

Halloween is only one week away. Isaac informed us of this today at lunch and explained that he is keeping track of the timeline using his new Transformer silly bands--he takes one off for each day as part of his countdown.

In past years we have been fortunate to have costumes that have been passed down by my sister or some friends here so we have not had to be too creative when coming up with a costume. We like to give the boys some say in what they want to be but also try to point them in the direction of a costume that is do-able.

I happened upon a website that showed a Lego brick as a costume and thought the boys would be pumped to be that since they (Isaac especially) are into Legos these days. Isaac was sold immediately, but Caleb had other plans and announced that he was going to be a bird (not sure from where he got that idea).

I was a bit concerned with how I was going to make a bird costume but thought I had it mostly figured out after about a week of wrapping my head around the idea. Caleb stuck with that idea for nearly a week and told everyone that was his plan until we told him that he would have to wear a beak and feathers to be a bird. (Actually, I specifically said, "Caleb, if I make you a beak and a feathered costume, you have to wear it. I don't want to do all that work if you are not going to put on the beak.") At that point he changed his mind and told us he was going to be a "Yego" too.

We had two boxes already so yesterday we went shopping for the two items we needed to complete their costumes--paper bowls and spray paint. I know it is not halloween yet but wanted to share our creation process and the end result (though the boys will wear sweatshirts and pants in the same color so they blend into their bricks better).

Isaac enjoyed painting part of his costume with Paul and was ready to put it on even when the paint was still sticky.

At first Caleb was not too sure about having on a box, but last night he kept asking Paul if he could wear his costume. Phew! I'm thankful he went with the Lego costume v. the bird and that he loved the final product!

Knock, Knock

Lately, our boys have been into "knock, knock" jokes. They have not quite figured out the play on words needed for a successful joke but just find great joy in creating their own. Below are some samples to give you a taste of what I mean:

Caleb (first one he created this summer): Knock, knock
Us: Who's there?
Caleb: Cow
Us: Cow who?
Caleb: Cow caught on fire. MOO!

Isaac: Knock, knock
Us: Who's there?
Isaac: Me
Us: Me who?
Isaac: It's actually me!

As you can see, these jokes are just funny when watching the boys deliver them and then laugh at themselves.

Visitors

It's slumber party night at our house tonight. Maddie and Mackenzie are overnight while Jill and Mark are at a meeting in San Diego tonight. Paul is reading our book to all the kids--after the boys caught up Maddie on Ralph and his losing the motorcycle during the vacuum scare. The girls are enjoying it as much as the boys.

Mackenzie was in bed but started crying so she joined story time. Caleb had compassion on her and put his arm around her to comfort her. If you look closely below, you can see his hand around her side. The boys love taking care of her and so far she is willing to let them them baby her. :-)

Beaver, Denise, Anna (their foreign exchange student) and Amelie (her friend & not sure about the spelling of her name) also visited us today--coming to church this a.m. and then for lunch afterwards. It was wonderful catching up with them. Unfortunately, they picked the cold weeekend since it is "chilly" and drizzly here this weekend. The weather is supposed to warm up the day they go home. Go figure!

3 year-old drama

We played one of the longest games of Sorry! with the boys today. Although Caleb quit 3/4 of the way through the game, he still managed to win. Go figure! Anyway, we wanted to share the first moment in the game when Paul decided to knock off Caleb--caught on video. To translate his response when Paul asked him why he shouldn't be the one knocked off, he crossed his amrs and said, "I be so mad." (I think Paul picked Caleb just for dramatic effect and good video footage. ;-)

This second video is from the middle of September and shows Caleb's celebrating when he got a set of four matching fish in Hawaiian Go Fish that the boys love to play.

Our mouse tale...

We received a bag of books from one of our youth group families, and in this bag was one of Paul's favorite books--The Mouse and the Motorcycle by Beverly Cleary. He has started reading it to the boys. Each night before bed he reads a chapter (or more if they can convince him to keep reading).

The first time Paul read to them, they weren't so sure about listening to the story and decided to color while he read. As the story progressed, the coloring became less and the attention turned to Ralph and his adventures. Our routine now is to get jammies on and teeth brushed and then park ourselves in the living room--Paul in our very worn and well-loved recliner and the boys sprawled on pillows on the floor. And on the nights when I am caught up on work, I get to enjoy the story as well.

What fun for us to see how our boys love books and their stories! During my violin lessons each week, Paul takes the boys to the library to return their books and movies and pick out new ones. Isaac gravitates towards the Lego Star Wars and super hero beginner reader books while Caleb is mainly about picking out his movie (usually The Wiggles or Go, Diego! Go! types). Paul would say that I have fine-tuned the art of reserving books so he always hits "our" reserve shelf and adds those books and movies to our bag. (A friend of mine has an "L" last name so we joke to each other about taking up the entire shelf since she likes to reserve books as much as I do.)

Paul has been talking about the day when he could read his favorite chapter books to the boys, and we can't believe we are already at that point! Oh, the adventures and characters to come...the boxcar children and the world of Narnia are at the top of our list. But for now, we are enjoying the ride with Ralph the mouse.