Wonderful Wednesdays!

What's NOT to like about WEDNESDAYS? The middle of the work week! And LITTLE FELLOW DAY! I'm always so glad to see this little guy. As I walk up the sidewalk to his front door, I can hear his voice shouting, "Grandma's here! Grandma's here!"

Brendan always has a lot to show me when I come over. There is usually something different about his train layout (thanks to his sweet mama) … so we have to go downstairs to the playroom and check it all out!

Brendan is very enamored with car washes as well … this has been going on for quite awhile, this love affair with spinning brushes and windshield wipers and anything at all to do with rotation in general. So … Brendan is usually able to figure out how to turn any situation into an instant car wash ...

 Here he is with his little remote control car (darling!) and he is using one of his gears as a "spinning brush" to get his little car all shiny clean ...

 He is extremely serious about this endeavor ...

… and quite meticulous with the entire process ...

 He never tires of … washing cars!

Brendan seriously did this activity for 30 solid minutes … looking at each angle and examining every crevice of his rotating brush and car ... 

We played upstairs too with his little doll, Michal. Brendan wanted him to ride on the little Bristle Block train he had made for him … note the blue conductor cap Michal is modeling ...  

Brendan has a wonderful imagination ... 

No! Brendan! You look WAY TOO GROWN UP in this picture! 

Dylan and Brendan read me one of Brendan's very favorite stories. He has loved this little book since infancy (again, thanks to his beautiful mama).  

Brendan knows this entire book by heart. "Owl Babies" is about three little owls: Sarah, Percy, and Bill. Their mother flies off to find them some food, but they are worried that she will not come back. 

Bill is the smallest owl and he repeats the same two lines throughout the story: "I want my mommy!" or "I LOVE my mommy!" Brendan says them with much expression in his voice ... 

 Aren't these the sweetest pictures?

 I love watching these two together ...

We also played a little football with this inflatable ball ... 

 Brendan is built like a football player! He is solid!

 Ah! There's Kelly! She finally made it in one of my pictures! Love you guys!

Thank you for another wonderful Wednesday!

The reward for their labor ...

Four weeks ago tomorrow (Wednesday) marks the day that Ems and I cleaned the upstairs bathroom at her house so that it could be usable for three growing kiddos. She has kept it clean now, with the help of the boys NOT trashing it, ever since. She has washed the sink, mirror, bathtub, toilet and floor every week and has earned $5/week. Matthew has maintained an orderly room for three weeks now, and Christopher has kept his part of the room in order too.

This is a very big deal accomplishment for these children! Also, they have helped to keep Katie's little room free of debris, junk, trash, etc. so that Katie has a nice area to play too. I am very proud of them! 

We had agreed, a few weeks back, that if this could be accomplished I would take them out to dinner at their favorite place, The Golden Corral. It is not MY favorite place by a long shot … but the children really enjoy buffet places, and this is five minutes from where they live. I picked them up right after school yesterday and agreed that they must each eat ONE plate of healthy food before going to their favorite place on the buffet--the chocolate wonder fall.

Yikes. These kiddos ate SO much, I thought they would burst. I think we sat too close to the deserts! But they did make a valiant effort at eating a few healthy items before completely and recklessly diving into their deserts ...

How they ever managed to eat so many plates of junk, I will NEVER know! I was a tiny bit worried they would make themselves sick … but each of them made it home and through the night without losing that wretched meal they ate! 

Dinner out is always a nice reward! They have worked really hard on various cleaning projects around their house. I wanted this little dinner night to encourage them to continue cleaning up after themselves NOT as a chore, but just as a part of their everyday lives--taking care of the good things God has given them.

 Just when I thought they couldn't possibly eat one more bite … the desert guy brought out cotton candy! Christopher said he had never tasted the stuff before so ...

Congratulations Emma, Christopher and Matthew! Grandma is PROUD OF YOU for keeping your areas clean and being responsible for your stuff! Way to go!

They make my heart sing ...

Friday night and all day Saturday has already come and gone. How does it go by so quickly? Every single week just flies by. I would like to put the brakes on and just put us ALL in a time out … just to sit back and enjoy everyone; but life doesn't offer us that option. However, each day DOES have 86,400 seconds in it (I learned this on Facebook this week) and I hope that I can make the best of them while I am still young and healthy ...

We studied about Cain and Abel this week. Such a sad story … but even with all of the bad stuff that happened in the story, we are not left without hope.  

 So we learned a little bit about pleasing sacrifices and talked about how serious sin is and how God requires payment, retribution, and how Jesus was God's perfect lamb. The kiddos did a great job coloring the illustrations as I taught ...

 They are very serious about their art work!

 It was Emma's turn to choose the movie of the week, and she chose "The Secret Garden." I love that story! So we watched it together on my laptop, with everyone in their pajamas, cuddled up in sleeping bags. It was a nice time. I think all of the children were actually soundly sleeping by 11:30--nearly a miracle!

 We had a somewhat late breakfast, but that was okay because everyone slept in! This is good!

Christopher brought over lots of his own art supplies and kept busy all weekend drawing NFL team logos ... 

 We ate lots and lots of mostly healthy food … fruit and dip, salad, veggies and dip … pizza and ice cream (!!) ...

 The kids all get a bang out of my humidifier and like to put their faces in the steam!

 Emma Joy continues to learn more piano skills each week. She has a lot of music in her. I am so glad.

 When I took the children home tonight, I came in to play for awhile. Emma had wanted to show me the little piano she designed using her mini-LEGOS that Aunt Kelly had given her. Look how great she did! 

We played in Emma's room for a little while ... 

 Christopher! I love your smile, sweetheart! I am so glad you came over this weekend. I love spending time with you.

 And I also got to play with Kaity-Girl. She is the cutest little thing.

 Look at that smile!

 She laughs and laughs, skips, plays ball, runs in circles … endless energy, this one!

 Christopher was playing a game pretending that he was stuck underneath Kaity's train table. She kept saying "Guck." "Help." So we kept yanking Christopher out by his feet ...

 It was quite a game, and Kaity enjoyed herself hugely. Christopher even admitted to having fun!

Well guys, this grandma is one tired lady tonight. But it is the very best kind of exhausted there is.