Who's who?

Sam

Caleb

Noah

Isaac

Josiah

3 months old - do you see the family resemblance?

Straight up - and gimme another.

I was thinking the other day as I sat down with my Bible - it's very inconsistent these days, unfortunately - how amazing it is that we have such a thing.

The Bible is God's Word.

Isn't that amazing? That means that we have within our reach, Words that = Truth! Pure, undiluted Truth. We can read it, put it into our minds and spirits, and it's better than any other book the world has to offer. By far. There is no other book out there that can claim to BE pure Truth. No wonder it's so powerful.

This just struck me in a very real way, differently than it ever has before. I've always accepted that the Bible is the Word of God and is completely true, without error, but the lightbulb came on and I realized how lightly I take that.

So go do some reading. Be infiltrated by the power of pure, undiluted Truth. Buy organic, avoid the pesticides and herbicides, clean with all-natural products, pack your system with fruits and veggies heavy in antioxidants, suck up those vitamin-rich drinks - by all means! But oh yeah, by the way, your body isn't going to be around for very long no matter what you do (or don't do) to it. Your spirit is for this life and the next.

John 17:17
"Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth."

Watch out for the leather alligator

Another Tuesday, another kickball and t-ball practice. And I do mean PRACTICE. They have yet to play a game of any sort, even the kickballers. Apparently more training is needed to hone their kickball skills before the coaches will deem them ready for a game.

Update on Caleb: he actually fought kids over the ball tonight as the coach worked on throwing it out to a group of about 5. At a different station where he needed to wait his turn to bat, he had his glove in his mouth and was roaring at another little boy and snapping his glove closed with both hands - what I'd imagine would be a pitcher's nightmare. Yes, I can smell the stadium hotdogs now. Major league, here we come. He is doing a much better job of paying attention now though after we threatened to take his end-of-t-ball snack away.

This morning as I sat with Noah and Caleb and the babies watching Sam doing kickball drills, Noah started dancing in front of me and rolling up his shirt so his tummy was sticking out.
"Who made me? Who made me?" he sang.
Then he came over and looked earnestly into my face. "Who made me, Mama?"
"Who do you think made you?" I asked.
He leaned over to whisper. "God made me," was his confident reply.

Reserved for serious infraction of the rules

Smile Baby!

Isaac - Josiah

Isaac

Isaac - Josiah

Isaac

There was a little girl...

We went out to eat tonight - yummy fettuccine alfredo! - and observed an interesting family. Older parents with a girl of about 8 who was, incidentally, wearing a Jonas Brother's shirt. Now, I'm not saying the clothing choice related to her behavior, but...

Here are some of the remarks we overheard from her:
(All said in the brattiest princess voice you can conjure)

"Yuck! Everything on here is disgusting!" as she throws the dessert menu across the table at her mother.

"I hate Dr. Pepper!!"

"Well, what do you THINK??!!" said sarcastically to Dad, along with a dynamite eye-roll.
This one actually produced a response from the mother, "Hey, that's enough."
To which the girl "replied", "NO, THAT'S ENOUGH FROM YOU!"

At this point we were on our best parenting behavior.

"Make sure you enunciate." I whispered to Brian. "They're watching us."

So it made for a very pleasant meal on our part.

"Boys, could you please talk just a bit quieter? Thank you."

"Caleb, I already told you that I didn't want you putting your silverware into your silly putty. Please hand it over to me. Thank you."

"Sam, please sit down in your seat. Thank you, sweetie."

"Noah, what a good job you're doing eating your spaghetti! Where did you learn to twirl your fork like that?"

"Sure you can have another breadstick. Here you go. Sam, please pass this to Caleb. Thank you, Sam."

"Yes, the mints will be your treat tonight."
Sam's response: "Yeah!"

Noted here:
As the other family was leaving, we heard the little girl begging to stop somewhere for a treat. The dad shook his head no, and his facial expression was "No way!" The mother placated her by intervening with, "There's one right on the way."

I hope this family was just having one of those moments where no one really shines behavior-wise, because, as I told Brian, if one of our kids dared to talk to us like that, we'd be in the car headed back home. Maybe to an entire JAR of hot sauce.

I'm kidding. Just so you know. Please don't report me.

But I'd like to acknowledge that we have more than our fair share of less than shining moments as parents. And yes, I believe that one or two may have been observed by the general public. Maybe someone wrote about it on their blog. If you find it, let me know.

Graceful?

If any of you have not seen the movie "Seven Pounds" with Will Smith and would like to, you should stop reading now. Unless you want to know all about it before you watch it.

The premise is this guy who's carrying around a load of guilt for killing 7 people in a car wreck that was his fault. He then proceeds to live out the rest of his life doing penance in the form of donating parts of his body to others who need them.

The main character is driven by this guilt for the entire movie. It is his motivation for donating bone marrow to a child who suffers from cancer, a kidney to an older gentleman, part of his lungs to another, and even his beach house to a single mother needing to escape a bad situation.

There is absolutely no redeeming value in this movie. And I mean that as literally as it can be taken. The man drowns in his guilt, eventually committing suicide when he finally has found a woman deserving of his heart (also meant literally). He also donates through his death, his eyes to a blind man.

So on the one hand we have the possible reaction of, "Wow, what an awesome act of unselfishness and love to those people! He loved them more than his own life!" And on the other, "Wow, this man needed major help to find the grace of the Lord and thus overcome the guilt eating him alive." I tended to go with the latter.

How sad that his guilt completely consumes him! To the death.

And beyond that, he showed no grace in how he chose these individuals to receive the blessing of what he had to give. They needed to fit his criteria of a decent human being. Not a man easily angered. Someone who treats others with respect and decency. If he discovered that they were not that kind - off the list they went!

I'm glad Jesus isn't like that! Jesus would look for the man most undeserving of a second chance at life. He would seek that person out. He would offer him that second chance. That person could refuse him. Or that person could accept God's Spirit within him and change radically into the person God intended him to be. Jesus does do that. All the time.

What a different feeling this movie would have given if the main character could have reached out to those undeserving characters with a gift of a second chance and through that show of love, those lives could have been redeemed. It'd be like watching the visual Bible. I'm glad He chose me, placing His Spirit within me, even though I didn't deserve it.

Sammer in Summer

We should all enjoy life like this!

Crime and Punishment

We're in the process of totally re-vamping our discipline program. To preserve/restore sanity for all. Let us know if you have any suggestions.
The crime will be listed on the left with the punishment on the right. I'm looking forward to referring to the list in the coming days and just reading the punishment rather than trying to come up with something in the heat of the moment (with anger running rampant - it's amazing how angry you can get at a young child for playing with the milk cap/refusing to wear clean underwear/banging on the stair rail) and feeling like a bad mother. Besides, the "go to your room!" approach just isn't working...
By the way, this was a family affair. The boys helped with ideas for punishments. And of course there was a lot of, "What about when Caleb does..." and "Oh yeah, don't forget about when Sam..."

Lying...........................Hot Sauce (referred to as "spanking the tongue" by Lisa
Whelchel in Creative Correction)

Violence (hitting, biting, pushing, etc.)...................Write an apology card

Yelling..........................Memorize a Bible verse (Prov. 25:28, James 1:19-20)
Huh...I may have the entire Bible memorized by the end of
next week!


Disrespectful talk........................suggestions please

Interrupting.......................Reading time (5 minutes per year of age)

Whining............................Physical exercise (Running around the house, jumping jax)

Arguing............................Extra pages of schoolwork

Willful disobedience.........suggestions please

Selfishness........................Stand on a low stool in a designated corner for x minutes

Slow obedience.................Additional chores (choose from the chore jar)

Coming out of the room at rest...........Positive Reinforcement: Extra "up time" for
not coming out given in 5-minute increments
per occasion of rest

Obnoxious table behavior.....................Must eat 2 lima beans for each incidence.
Must also sweep under the table after meal

Taking things without asking (stealing)........Mom or Dad chooses a special toy to
take away for a week

Destruction of property.............................Designated mess cleaner-upper for the rest
of the day

Aggravating car behavior..........................x minutes of silence with nose on knees

Complaining...............................................Pick a chore from the chore jar

Obnoxious laughter (at the moment, this is a very annoying behavior)...run in place
for 2 minutes

Clothes on the floor of the room.................1 drawer gets completely emptied out to
be refolded by offender

We're trying to make the punishment fairly related to the crime and for the time being to leave out spanking as a designated punishment. We've used it plenty in the past, with varying degrees of effectiveness, and with Noah being only 2 yet, he will still be getting his share of spankings as the punishments are a bit "old" for him yet. But for the other two, it's time to shake things up a bit. I would, however, be interested in your take on spanking - it's still in the running as a punishment for disrespectful talk and for willful disobedience. More on this in a later post.

Ideally, we also want to come up with a resolution for after the punishment is over, where they come and tell us why they were punished/corrected, and why it was wrong to do what they did. We will be attaching a few verses to each infraction for the kids to become familiar with because it's important for them to have Scriptural back-up for why they need to behave in a certain way. They can learn to respect the authority of God as well as the authority of their parents. Any great verses come to mind?

This was so refreshing for me to get down on paper. On the one hand, it's kind of fun after a long day of sending kids to their room, spanking, yelling, etc., to make a list of possible crimes along with how it will be punished in the future. On the other hand, it also makes me a bit more laid back with the kids because I feel like everything's "settled" - of course, it has only been about 4 hours since we started.

Anybody Wanna Hang Out?

Contact: The Phillips Family
Looking for fun with friends this weekend.
Does this sound desperate?

First hit single?

This morning Sam and Caleb were going around singing:

"I want a little booty!"

Do I have future recording artists or just common thieves on my hands?

Revelation!

Sam's reading of choice this afternoon was the book of Revelation. At dinner, he claimed to have read the entire book. We were understandably skeptical. That is, until he started relating what he'd learned.
"You know that big monster that is sitting and waiting while that one woman has a baby? He wants to eat it when its born!'

"Oh yeah, the bowls of God's judgment that get poured out onto the earth!"

"The beast...oh yeah, he has the 10 horns on his head. Those are for different kings who rule."

And on it went.

The scary thing is that he understands the symbolic nature of the book and works to understand the meanings of the symbols used.

Brian asked him at one point if he remembered the angel's name who chained the dragon. He couldn't recall it.

"It's Michael." Dad supplied.

"Oh, the woman who helped David." Sam said.

"No." we clarified. "That was a different Michal, David's wife."

"Michael was one of the archangels, one of God's most important angels." I told him.

Recognition dawned.

"Oh yeah!" Sam exclaimed excitedly. "He's the one who came to Noah and told him it was going to rain!"

Oh yes, of course. The arkangel!

Lord, have mercy

5, you say?

A nice family dinner

We may often disagree, but in the end we still love each other.

Monday Madness

No, this will not be a post in which I address my anger issues...

It's Monday - my official laundry day. Also the day I spend doing general cleaning and pick-up from the weekend.

My rule for myself is that I don't go upstairs or down without taking with me something that belongs on the level to where I'm heading. In my brief moments between feeding children, breaking up fights, disciplining children, feeding children, comforting children, dressing children, taking children potty, feeding children, instructing children, explaining to children, answering children, and feeding children, I go on "turbo clean" mode where I spend exactly 30 seconds in whatever room I'm in straightening up messes. If I pass through a room on my way to another one, I do the same in that one. If I'm trying to get dishes done, I do 10 dishes. Or I fold 10 articles of clothing.
I do this with the kids too. I tell them to put 10 toys away in the living room. Then I tell them to do the same in their bedroom. Today, Sam got so into "turbo clean" mode that he was upstairs and downstairs cleaning all on his own. At one point, I went into the boys' room to find everything neatly put away, and Caleb's pillow placed neatly at the head of his bed (all other blankets had been removed - remember, it's laundry day). Sam then came downstairs and started sweeping the entry.
I have my hopes that I passed my cleaning and organizing gene down to that one.

You win some, you lose some

Who needs dieting?

Alternately titled: Bobbleheads now available (babies not included)

The Phillips' 5

Isaac

Josiah

Josiah and Isaac at 2 1/2 months

Can you name them all??

The SIns of the Father

The 3 older boys were out late tonight playing catch with Daddy. Sam was the first one in the house, and I challenged him to get all ready for bed, including brushing his teeth, before Mama or Daddy came upstairs. He loves races. He was already ripping off his shirt before he fully closed the sliding door to the patio.
Not 30 seconds later, he was back down the stairs in winter jammy pants, which were vetoed by Mom. Back up to change. Well, not really. He just took them off.
As the boys and Daddy converged on the bathroom for Caleb and Noah's teeth brushing, the following conversation took place:

Me: "Sam, did you brush your teeth?"

Sam: "Yeah."

Me: "You did? Then you must not've done a very good job, because you've hardly had time up here at all."

Sam: "Yes I did!"

Here, I go to feed the babies and listen in on the rest as Dad takes over.

Dad: "Sam, did you really brush your teeth?"

Sam: "Yes!"

Dad: "Then why is your toothbrush not wet?"

Sam: "I dried it off."

Dad: "Why is the sink not wet?"

Sam: "I dried it out."

Here, he is accused of lying, given a touch of hotsauce on the tongue, and brought back upstairs. He is still insisting that he brushed his teeth.

Sam: "I DID!!! I DID!!!! I DID BRUSH MY TEETH!!" Repeated many times at an increased volume.

To the bedroom where I'm feeding the babies.

Me: "Sam, if Jesus walked into this room right now, is that what you'd tell him?"

Sam: ......."No..."

Me: "Why not?"

Silence.

This is repeated several times.

Me: (new tactic) "Is some of what you told us not true?"

Sam: "Yeah."

Me: "Which part?"

Sam: ...silence and contemplation...deep contemplation...."The part about drying off my toothbrush."

Me: "Anything else?"

Sam: "Yeah. The part about drying out the sink. But I DID brush my teeth!"

We go round and round with this some more, but it always comes back to the fact that he wouldn't tell Jesus that he'd brushed his teeth.

Finally, he admits it was a lie. Apologies are offered and accepted. Hugs given.

Daddy: "Sam, do you know how Daddy knew it wasn't true? Because I told the exact same set of lies once to Grandma Sarah and Papa George when I was little. And they didn't believe me either."

Caleb's first T-ball practice

It helps to wear the glove on the right
(by that I mean correct) hand

Noah enjoying being a spectator - he
wears his brothers' shorts, maybe
he can play ball someday too.

Here, stop this ball. I'm going to roll
it very slowly, and directly toward you.

Yes, playing in the dirt is fun, but
this is t-ball. Remember? Hello??

Watch out for shooting stars

Once upon a time - this afternoon, to be exact - Sam sat at the kitchen table eating his snack of goldfish crackers.
Joined by Caleb...

Sam: "Look Caleb, power stars and power fish!"

Caleb: "No Sam, just power stars. `Cause you know, shooting stars? They're really powerful."

Sam: "Oh. Yeah."

Caleb: "And Minnesota doesn't have any shooting stars. That's how powerful they are."

Sam: "You want one of my fish?"

Caleb: "Yeah, then I'll be able to swim. I'll go right into the basement wall."

10 Indicators that You May Be Tired

1. Instead of turning the water off after washing your hands, you turn the light off.

2. You repeatedly call each child their brother's names until you've frustrated yourself into screaming.

3. After a desperate search at two a.m. for your babies, that you KNOW are somewhere in your bed, you discover them sleeping safe and sound in their bassinet after all.

4. You dream that you're sleeping.

5. You gaze longingly at the babies' carseats and think about how comfy they must be - if only they came in your size!

6. You circle the kitchen island 3 times before remembering that you're not supposed to be wandering aimlessly - you're supposed to be getting the milk out of the refrigerator.

7. You don't bother with make-up because it just accentuates your face, and why would you want to do that?

8. You find yourself standing in the driveway holding a large storage container and rocking back and forth soothingly.

9. You take all the leftovers out of the refrigerator in preparation for dinner, only to remember that you're supposed to be preparing breakfast.

10. Lullabyes bring tears to your eyes.

If these sound familiar to you, you may be short on your sleep. You may be working too hard. Or maybe you have a baby (or 2).

HAPPY 30th BIRTHDAY AND HAPPY FATHER'S DAY TO A MAN WHO...

never decides to stay at work even though he knows what's waiting for him at home, does dishes, makes meals, cleans the showers, changes poopy diapers, does my sewing, disciplines the kids, actually agrees to go out to eat once in awhile (all 7!!!), is a considerate friend, a good son, and a loving husband.

THANK YOU!

Up, up, and...

Caleb learned about the ascension in Sunday School this morning.

First, they tied a "paper Jesus" to the end of a helium balloon.

Then they went outside and let the balloon go.

Then the balloon popped...

Oops - probably kind of ruined the effect.

Dare I say more?

I'd better not.

Love and Caring - with the occasional kick in the head

The former baby
and
the replacement baby #1

Noah is doing an amazing job adjusting to his status as big brother!! He's learning to be gentle, learning to keep his feet to himself, loving all over his little brothers.

Wait...that is Noah, right? Oh yeah, okay...definitely Noah.
With - uh - Isaac.
Running on mini hours of sleep.
Also have boys that all look a lot alike...

BEFORE AND AFTER

Isaac John (left) and Josiah Thomas born 4/6

Biblical legacy

Starting with our first child and moving right on down the line, my husband and I agreed that it would be special to give our children Biblical names. Early in their spiritual education, they have all taken special interest in "their" story, and as they got a bit older, in their siblings' stories as well. As it turned out, we started a trend of giving them an Old Testament first name and a New Testament middle name. Just because it ended up working.

So Sam knows the story of Samuel in the Bible and has also lately become pretty interested in Paul as well. I do think he listens more attentively when his own names keep popping up. And what an awesome legacy for him!

Samuel = God hears
Paul = humble

"God hears the humble"

Caleb is familiar with the story of Caleb and Joshua scoping out the Promised Land. We did find that this is a story that is not widely available in children's book form or even in your typical children's Bible, so it was more of a challenge to expose him to this one.

Caleb = forceful (some translations=dog, which could explain all the growling)
Luke = bringer of light, morning

So Caleb is a "forceful bringer of light". Shine all over the neighborhood, Caleb!
And his one-of-a-kind smile sure gives him the advantage!

Noah has been confused of late when his brothers refer to Noah and his ark and then turn to him and say, "Not you, Noah." Or sometimes he just corrects them and tells them, "I don't have an ark!" He likes playing with his Noah's ark playset and recently got to see the sign of the Promise in the sky - a beautiful, complete rainbow!

Noah = rest; respite
James = supplanter; to follow

"To follow restfully" I guess. Hmmm...being the 3rd child, he has been the easiest to deal with! He gives me rest from dealing with his saucy older brothers.

It was a challenge to come up with such a span of names as we would need upon the birth of our twins - happening in no more than 6 days. But we did it. And we didn't even feel constricted by having to comply with our first name Old Testament, middle name New Testament theme.

For those of you who don't know the names we've chosen, I won't spoil it now when it's so close, but here are some hints:

Remember how Sarah laughed when the Lord revealed to her and Abraham that they would have a son in a year?
Children are such amazing gifts from God!
The Lord has brought me here thus far - apparently I'm super woman to have carried twins this long! Well, God has His hand all over that!
And did you know that there is a name that actually means "twin" in the Bible?

And those are just the boy names! Because what else are we gonna need, right?

I think we'll be more shocked and surprised than anyone if there's a girl in there! But we are prepared...just in case...

For all the curious viewers...

and if my trip to the mall today was any indication,
there are A LOT of them!

Belly shot taken at 35 weeks.

Just doin' my job

A happy 6-year-old is a vacuuming 6-year-old.

Remember when chores were fun to do?

Ahhh, the benefits of child labor.

My 2 oldest now:

- Make their beds each morning, as well as straighten up their room.
- Clear their own dishes, and sometimes little brother's too, after each meal.
- Vacuum the living room (Sam)
- Sweep under the kitchen table each day (Sam and Caleb - one to sweep, one to hold the dustpan).
- Sweep the filthy entryway by the garage and then wash with cleaning spray (Sam).
- Get Noah up from his nap, change him from a pull-up to undies, and get him his snack (Caleb)

Good thing we're making progress because in another couple of months, I expect they'll be running the house.

For when the amnesia kicks in

There are some things I'll miss (eventually) about being pregnant:

* 2 babies!! There is still an unbelieving awe with this.

* Having those 2 babies moving around and pushing each other out of the way.

* HAVING to eat a snack before bed - a substantial snack - mmmm...malts!!

* Prestige of "pregnant with twins" status. I have to admit...

* The drama and anticipation of wondering - WHO ARE THEY??

* Fun with potential names

* Being so considerately waited on by my wonderful husband - of course, he does this whether I'm pregnant or not:) Dishes, making dinners, cleaning the bathrooms, making my malt each evening, putting the boys to bed, even painting the wooden letters I'm planning on putting on the mantle above the fireplace.

* The amazing experience of seeing these 2 on ultrasound each week and hearing their strong heartbeats. Praise the Lord.

* Thinking about how crazy it's going to be and laughing!!

A little nosy

Sam received a new snorkel and mask for his 6th birthday a few weeks ago.
While looking through pictures, Caleb came across this one
and exclaimed, "Look Sam, look, there's you with your nostril!!"