Fourth Child Jet Lag

So when it is opening day for your big brothers and your sister has pre-school, you just try to fit in - even if you are jet lagged and asleep. Sweet Sweet Eliot.

Not many people can say....

So when we were getting ready to leave England (more posts to come, I promise!) there was a nice piano sitting there that said 'play me'. I looked at Jack and said, 'Not many people can say they played the piano in the middle of Heathrow airport.' That was all it took - he was sold. And here is his little solo -

Theo's Opening Day - Coach Pitch

So Theo is on theTexas Rangers this years. They aren't the greatest team in baseball but they do have a nice blue shirt which he looks really cute in.

Theo's first game was last night. He had a blast. Charles is out of town so I wrote him an email telling him the details of the game so I am going to cut and paste some of it here:

Hey - tonight went as well as I could have hoped for. 

I had a fully loaded coffee at 4 and that helped. I took sandwiches out to the park and we were on field 4 which is the nice big one - kind of funny but really helpful because it has the little playground area right there. The kids did well. Our group of parents seemed really friendly and nice so that was encouraging. Matt (the coach) is a good pitcher which is also encouraging because so much rides on that. Theo did GREAT. He looked so super cute. The blue shirt is great on him and he was the only one with a red belt so he looked very professional. He played right field the entire time. It looks like that is how Matt is going to do it - just play the same position the whole time. He came with a big wipe board and vecro names and velcro at all the positions. He then had the boys names moved to where they should go. He also had the line up in velcro - very elementary school teacher but VERY helpful. 

Theo batted second. He was three for three with hits all down the first base line so a little slow on the ball. The third was a great in the air hit that made it to the outfield. He rounded first like he wanted to go to second but Matt held him back. His second time he hit solidly but right to the first base man so he got out and he handled it very well. He also had a good ball hit to him (they had him playing in almost like a short stop position between first and second) that he fielded perfectly and then made a dynamite throw to first but the first baseman didn't catch it. It was clear though that he knew what he was doing. So a great start. He prayed at Bible time - thank you for making baseball and thank you for letting us play it. 

Amen to that. A great opening day.

Jack & Theo go to Bonkers

So we had a friend who was visiting from Chicago and then they went back to Chicago and left their six-year-old with his Grandma in Columbia for a few days. The Grandma called and asked if Jack and Theo would like to go to Bonkers (an indoor playhouse) with her grandson. They were thrilled with the idea.

She made it very clear that it was going to be her treat so I prompted the boys before they left to make sure they used excellent manners and to thank her for being so generous in asking and taking them. Both boys took this advice to heart, here's how (you see their personality in full view here):

Theo walked straight out to the car and very quickly and boldly said, 'Hello Mrs. Miedema. My name is Theo. Thanks for taking me to Bonkers."

Jack instead wanted to be prepared. Preparation is key to Jack. So he took it upon himself while he was at his rest time to write out this note to keep in his pocket. He just wanted to make sure he remembered her name in case he needed to address her while they were there. He is too funny. Here is the notecard he carried in his pocket the whole time they were at Bonkers:

Baseball - Opening Day

Our family was overly excited today for the Royal's first baseball game of the season. We watched the game (which was a smashing success of a start), played some of our own, and even had a friend who left these donuts on our doorstep (Carly is the best!).

Here's to hoping our luck didn't get used all up last year - Go Royals!  We have some little boys who have high hopes - don't let us down!

Saddest Days by Theo Anderson

Today as Charles, Jack, and Theo were walking out of church, one of Charles's colleagues tried to start something by asking Jack, "How does it feel to have already had your highest moment as a Royals fan? To know that everything is downhill after the World Series?"

This prompted Theo to reflect on his 2014 World Series experience. Shortly afterwards, he asked Charles, "Dad, do you know that my saddest day as a Royals fan was when they lost the World Series? I cried."

"Yes, Theo. I do remember that," Charles replied.

But then Theo threw a bit of a curve ball.

"Do you know that was my second saddest day ever?" he asked.

"No," Charles said. "I didn't know that. What was your saddest day?"

"It's everyone's saddest day," Theo said, in an almost reproachful tone, as if the answer was obvious.

Charles was still pretty clueless. "So what day is that, Theo?"

"When Jesus had to die for our sins," came the matter-of-fact answer.

A precious memory. So true Theo. So true.

Theo - Officially On The Bike

I think Theo has been learning to ride his bike for about a year. He shows a bit of interest and then none so it has taken a long time, but over spring break we cracked the nut. Here is a video of him succeeding:

Right after this, he started to be braver and attempted to go down the hill of our cul de sac and try to make the turn. The first time he tried he went straight into the curb and over the handle bars. He landed in the grass and to his credit he got up and wanted to try straight away again.

On his second attempt it became clear to him that the same outcome was coming true again - instead of trying to correct it and turn, he just started yelling 'Oh no! Not Again!' as he soared over the handle bars and into the grass again. It was priceless. A neighbor boy was standing around and was polite enough to not start laughing until he knew Theo was okay. I am afraid I cannot say the same for the rest of us. I so wish I had it on video!

Night Away At Grandmother's and Grandad's

This past week Charles and I celebrated our 15th wedding anniversary with a night away in a bed and breakfast. My parents very graciously had all four kids. Here is a picture of them with back packs packed ready to go.

They had a great time. Spending the night at Grandmother's and Grandad's always means elaborate breakfast which to four small kids just means lots of bacon!

The funniest story was one that my mom texted us that night. Here is what it said:

'All is well. The children are in bed. Dad and I are sitting in a room watching TV. The monitor all of a sudden says grandmother grandmother we can't get our light off. I went downstairs to solve the problem but Jack had already unplugged the light. I said glad you solved the problem I thought God was speaking to me when I heard the monitor go off. Theo said God would have called you Julie. God doesn't have a grandmother.'

Too funny.

Pre-School Cool

Today when I went to pick Eliot up from his Seeds of Promise Class (childcare during women's Bible study at church) he had two mints that he was intent on getting out of his cubby hole. This is an unusual occurrence so I asked the helper where he got these two mints - clearly they had told him that he couldn't eat them until his class was over.

The helper said 'I am not really sure. Two boys came by and leaned in over the half-door and gave them to Eliot'. I then looked at Eliot and said 'were they your brothers?'

He very proudly replied, 'Yes, Jack gave me a high-five and Theo gave me two mints.' Evidently, the homeschooling class had walked by and Jack and Theo had sought Eliot out. That takes 'cool' in the pre-school class to a whole new level. So funny and Eliot was so proud. I think the teachers were a little confused which made the whole thing more comical.

Lesson Learned From Mr. Popper's Penguin

Today we were reading a fun book called Mr. Popper's Penguin. We were reading about how the main penguin was near death and the only diagnosis they could come up with was 'loneliness'. I stopped to ask the boys if they thought that could be the legitimate problem. They thought for a minute and they said yes they thought it could be. Then Theo followed up really quickly, 'I don't have to worry about that sickness because I've got Jack'.

Very thankful for moments like this one. Recording it so I won't forget and also to remind them when they are fighting some day in the future!