Lyrical Fridays: Burn the Ships

This is Michael’s current radio favorite.  Every time it comes on he says “Yay!” and stops whatever he’s doing to listen to it.  I love the song also, and can relate the lyrics to things we experienced or are experiencing in our own lives.  

I loved the song before Michael came to like it, but the fact that it’s his favorite makes the words all the more special to me.  There are certainly times that I get bogged down and worn out with what we go through on a fairly regular basis (and sometimes daily) just to live and keep my own kids alive.  Then I am reminded of the struggles others are facing or have faced and I tell myself that everyone is going through hard things.  God isn’t punishing us or disfavoring us because of the things we’re going through.  Rather, He is our hope to cling to during these times and I’m so happy that I have Him in our lives because these roads would be hell without Him and without hope.  

This song recognizes hardships—it doesn’t make them seem unimportant or try to sweep them away and ignore them.  It gives them their due, but then encourages us to leave the past in the past.  Yesterday is over.  As a mom, sometimes I relive certain experiences over and over until I’m able to find peace with the scenario.  Some instances I’ve been reliving for years because certain pains still weigh heavy on my heart.  

Just this last weekend, I had to give Noah his Auvi-Q injection (similar to epipen) because of a severe and lightning quick allergic reaction.  I was alone with all 3 kids—Aaron was at church and I was frantically calling my mom who instructed me to give him the injection and come straight to the ER where she would meet me.  I told Michael to get Avery and himself into the van, then I got Noah into the kitchen and told him to give me a hug while I gave him his shot.  It was scary.  I am emotionally spent, even now on a Friday.  

My mind continues to mull over the process, the seconds, the outcome over and over and over and the “what ifs” haunt my thoughts if I’m not careful.  Tears have spilled.  Voices have caught in my throat as I’ve tried to process what happened and what could have happened.  “Burn the Ships” can apply to us for diabetes care, and also for allergic reactions, and the sickness traveling through our family at the moment as well.  In all things, I need to make sure my compass is pointed to God.  Nothing that has happened to us took Him by surprise and He knows my mommy-heart and how hurt it was this week.  He is the ultimate Healer and I fully trust that He will care for us.  Listening to songs like “Burn the Ships” serves to remind me of this promise.

Burn the Ships

By For King and Country

How did we get here?
All castaway on a lonely shore
I can see in your eyes, dear
It's hard to take for a moment more
We've got to

Burn the ships, cut the ties
Send a flare into the night
Say a prayer, turn the tide
Dry your tears and wave goodbye

Step into a new day
We can rise up from the dust and walk away
We can dance upon our heartache, yeah
So light a match, leave the past, burn the ships
And don't you look back

Don't let it arrest you
This fear is fear of fallin' again
And if you need a refuge
I will be right here until the end
Oh, it's time to

Burn the ships, cut the ties
Send a flare into the night
Say a prayer, turn the tide
Dry your tears and wave goodbye

Step into a new day
We can rise up from the dust and walk away
We can dance upon our heartache, yeah
So light a match, leave the past, burn the ships
And don't you look back

So long to shame, walk through the sorrow
Out of the fire into tomorrow

So flush the pills, face the fear
Feel the wave disappear
We're comin' clear, we're born again
Our hopeful lungs can breathe again
Oh, we can breathe again

Step into a new day
We can rise up from the dust and walk away
We can dance upon our heartache, yeah
So light a match, leave the past, burn the ships
And step into a new day

We can rise up from the dust and walk away
We can dance upon our heartache, yeah
So light a match, leave the past, burn the ships
And don't you look back

And don't you look back
And don't you look back

Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pOVrOuKVBuY

Until Next Time,
Much Love, Reba

Birthday Interviews (6 years old, 7.5 years old)

I conducted Noah's "birthday interview" this week and Michael thought it sounded like so much fun that he asked if he could do it too.  So, without further ado, here are my boys' birthday (and half birthday) interviews!

Noah: 6 Years Old

What is your name? Noah! (said with a jump!)
How old are you? Six! (said with another jump!)
What is your favorite thing to do? I don't know.  Look at garbage trucks every Monday.
What do you want to be when you grow up? Work at Dad's work.  Be an engineer.
What is your favorite food? Macaroni, and pizza.
Who do you like to spend time with? Mom.
What do you do really well? Homework.
What makes you laugh? Seeing trains.
What is the best time of the day? Food times.
What are you afraid of? Monsters.
Who is your best friend? Michael.
What do you like to do with your family? Go to restaurants.
What do you love to learn about? Learn how to drive one day.
Where do you like to go? To school.
What is your favorite book? The book from Nana and Popa.
If you had one wish, what would it be? That the rain would make snow.



Michael: 7.5 Years Old

What is your name? Michael.
How old are you? Seven and a half.
What is your favorite thing to do? Play video games with my family.
What do you want to be when you grow up? Video game maker.
What is your favorite food? Supreme pizza, spaghetti, macaroni and cheese.
Who do you like to spend time with? Everybody in my family including people who aren't in this house who I know and love.
What do you do really well? Play video games.
What makes you laugh? When someone tickles me on my belly or my ribs.
What is the best time of the day? Snack time.
What are you afraid of? Most likely reason-- the dark.
Who is your best friend? My friend at school named Ethan.
What do you like to do with your family? Play video games with them.
What do you love to learn about? Science.
Where do you like to go? Out to pizza restaurants.
What is your favorite book? All of my Pokemon books and Nintendo books.
If you had one wish, what would it be? To make my own Pokemon game and my own game company.


Well, there you have it!  Two very different boys with two very different views.  I love them both and their sister so dearly!


Until Next Time,
Much Love, Reba

Noah: 6 Years Old!

Noah turned 6 at the beginning of January, but we had his birthday party this weekend so that his school friends could come.  It might just be me in my emotional mommy state, but I can already see a big difference in his attitude from being a 5 year old to being a 6 year old.  (Not to say the tantrums are gone, because they're not... but he's being more helpful around the house which is nice).

He's VERY much into all things police these days, so that seemed like the perfect party theme!  I searched something like "police birthday party ideas for kids" on Amazon and a whole slew of things came up!  He helped me pick out most of his party supplies and all of his favors.  Here's a glimpse of the invitation.  It was SO CUTE.

On his actual birthday, I let him open one of his gifts right away and then we saved the other ones for that night when grandparents came over for cake.

That night, we had a simple yellow cake with cream cheese icing.  He added the black sprinkles at the end.  He wanted to add all of the Halloween sprinkles but I advised against. He had also picked out bright pink strawberry icing and after tasting a tiny bit, I convinced him to use that only in the middle and to use the cream cheese frosting on the outside of the cake.  I used a badge cookie cutter for my template on the decoration.  Fortunately, Noah thought it was great and that's all that really matters. :) 

When assembling his party favors one night this week, I was so impressed with how cute they turned out!  Noah picked out little sheriff badges, handcuffs, and little notepads (for writing tickets of course).  I grabbed some cellophane bags off of Amazon and bundled the items together to make 12 little favor bags.

On Friday night, I made sugar cookies and on Saturday morning I added some yellow food coloring to cream cheese frosting for the tops.

The tablecloths, forks, spoons, two different plate designs, and napkins (and all the favors) were all Amazon purchases.  Noah picked out a variety bulk bag of chips, and we also added a fruit/cheese tray to the table and Capri Suns closer to the start of the party.

Just like for Michael's party, Noah requested the bouncy house, so we blew that up and had it indoors.  This is actually such a great idea no matter what time of year a party occurs.  In August, it was great for Michael's party because we were in the inside with AC.  For Noah's party, it was cold and slightly rainy, so having the bouncy house indoors was a great idea.

Noah had a few kids from his class show up, then we had our friends from church and all of the grandparents again.  It was a good time to connect and meet some new people and allow all of the kiddos a safe place to play and run off LOTS AND LOTS of energy!

I'll share Noah's birthday interview, and subsequently Michael's nearly-seven-and-a-half-year interview since he thought it sounded like so much fun that he wanted to do it too. :)

I continue to be amazed at how much joy these kiddos find in life and in the special events like birthday parties.  It reminds me to find such joy in my own circumstances.

Until Next Time,
Much love, Reba

3 Things to Start 2020

Happy New Year!

Is it weird for you to think that it's 2020?  I'm not sure it's really sunk in for me yet.  I haven't had to write out the date on a check or anything yet, so maybe that'll be the real test.  Maybe 2020 won't ever seem super "odd" to me because it's really just another year.  I hadn't even really paid attention to the fact that it was going to be a new decade.  I do remember being super excited for the transition into a new day, month, year, decade, century, and millenium on December 31, 1999-- so maybe these transitions from one year to the next and one decade to the next aren't so impressed upon me.  To be honest, I forgot to have my older kiddos count down the new year last night (usually I set the clocks ahead by 4 hours and act like it's 11:45 when it's 7:45, and then they'll count down the last minute to the "new year" before going to bed).  Aaron worked from 6:00am to 10:00pm last night and I just kind of forgot.  Until my neighbors began shooting off fireworks that really should belong in a municipal 4th of July show-- then I remembered it was New Year's Eve and felt a twinge of sadness that I forgot to count it down with my kiddos.  But we woke up this morning happy and excited for it to be January (even if I wasn't too excited one way or another, my kids were excited and that's enough for me). :)

I figured I'd start out 2020 on the blog with a random assortment of three facts about each of my kiddos at this stage in their lives.

Michael:  (7 Years Old)

-Michael is conservative in thought and expression, but loud in voice volume and about topics he is passionate about, which include Pokemon and Minecraft with the occasional Mario tidbit thrown in for good measure. He wants to be included in activities but will hesistate to participate if he's not sure he can do things perfectly or if he's afraid he'll be scrutinized too heavily by anyone watching.  This reminds me so much of my older brother and it makes sense that Michael acts this way too, seeing as he's a firstborn.

-Michael is SUCH a gifted reader.  He'll devour books on the day he gets them.  He LOVES going to the library (whether the one in our town, or the school's library).  I can almost guarantee that he'll have a book or two shoved underneath his pillow or his bed.  He reads books multiple times in a row and prefers very long stories at bedtime as opposed to little quick board books.

-Michael is a jokester.  He loves telling jokes, but will also create jokes and try to make jokes out of everyday statements by adding a drum & cymbal sound ("ba-dum-chhh!") to them if he has thought of a way in which the statement can connect to a pun or double meaning.
Example:
Me: Do you want another slice of pizza?
Michael: Yes, I'll take a slice of "piece-za."  Get it?  Ba-dum-chhhh!  Because pizza, like piece-za?




Noah: (5, almost 6 Years Old)

-Noah is a highly entertaining little boy.  He's very small for his age but makes up for it with a raging personality of exuberance and joyfulness about life.  He literally jumps up and down in place multiple times a day when he's excited about something.  This same excitement can be seen for items or objects of varying degrees of simplicity.  For example, the exuberant jumping is the same when you tell him he can have a sleepover at a grandma's house, or if you told him he could have a pickle for a snack.


-Noah is shocking all of us with his behavior at school.  Since the first day of school in the beginning of August, Noah has only gotten the two highest behavior colors-- green and purple.  Green means "ready to learn" and purple means "super star behavior."  I'm not sure how much longer the streak can go on, and I will say that some days Noah seems to save his misbehavior for when he's at home, but I am semi-okay with this because I can handle his tantrums and I know that if he's been good at school all day that he might be nearly exploding stage inside with all of the energy that's bound to come out of him in one way or another.  I'd much rather have him be well behaved outside of the house and leave his sour moments for his daddy and me.


-Noah is a middle child through and through.  Since I am one myself, it is easy for me to notice the swings that come with feeling like everyone is paying attention to the oldest or the youngest.  Noah and I share a bond in this feeling, but now that I'm a mama I fully understand that there is no favoritism being played; it's just the way that middle children deal with being middle children.  Since I am one, I catch onto it and can redirect Noah into acknowledging his skills and value just as my parents did with me.



Avery: (2 Years Old)

-Avery is really working on saying two syllable words which is equal parts funny and cute.  The gap between syllables is quite evident and most of the time comes with an emphasis on the second syllable.  So for "mommy" she'll say "mom----hee."  On the other hand, she'll say "mama" with super quickness, so it's only certain words she is working on mastering now.  "Potty" is "Pot---hee." "Bottle" is "bott-hole." "Michael" has gone from Mow to "Mow-how."  Noah is still "broo" for some reason, but sometimes I'll catch her saying "No---huh."  This stage is just so cute and fun!


-Avery is very much into imaginative play.  We bought her a super cute kitchen for Christmas and she'll make us coffee and fruit and dessert platters all day long.  She's also still very keen on carrying around her "Baby Pat Pat" and also alllllllll of her stuffed animal dogs and Grinch.  She also pretended to go potty last night on her plastic toddler potty (which is in the living room-- read: convenient) and then proceeded to walk to her toy kitchen sink and "wash hands."  :)

-Avery is in the process of making sense of all the different things going on around her and will often repeat what we say, but in question form.  So if I ask her if she wants her jacket zipped, she'll reply with "zipped?" in a long drawn out two syllable form.  If she's eaten one fruit snack and has one piece left on her tray, she might say "froo snack, where go? Had two." and I'll say "You ate one." And she'll reply "one?" again in a very long drawn out two syllable form.  It's really funny and highly predictable.  These days are surely some of my favorites.


Well, there we have it.  Three little things about three little kiddos of mine.


Until Next Time,
Much Love, Reba