Thursday, October 28, 2010

Meet My Boys

In light of yesterday's trip to the kind lady doctor, I wanted to write about my BOYS.

Alex and Isaac are 21 months apart. 


This is a cool story:  
I was barely 20 years old and about 7-8 months pregnant with Alex when clearly as any flesh and blood human being, I heard God say, "Alex will have a brother close in age to him that will help him fulfill his mission in life"

OK.

I know people say all of the time that they heard the voice of God say this or that... or an impression or a dream of a vision. I know that God speaks. Usually, my personal policy is to wait for confirmation, but I was dreading it.  I did NOT want to have another baby right away. Kurt and I hadn't been married a year, and we wanted to spend some time just the three of us before getting on to the whole big family thing.

Every month that went by, I waited. We took precautions, but I knew it wouldn't matter. The same month that Alex turned ONE, I knew... here comes his brother!

We named him Isaac because he was a child promised to us. (Even though, unlike Sarah, I never asked... It's ok. God knows what we need even when we don't ask...)

These boys... Alex was vibrant, precocious, strong willed, and determined from the start. Isaac was a pretty laid back baby - happy to toddle behind his brother. UNTIL HE TURNED THREE. Then it was like a flip was switched in his brain and he sprang to life with the kind of energy that can only be explained by a divine locomotive engine in his soul. 

Alex is a concrete thinker. He likes things to be orderly and predictable. He's quick to judge whether or not something deserves his attention, and he chooses which rules apply to him and which he feels he can rise above. This makes him a calculated risk taker. He's got a strong sense of self, but I think some of his apparent confidence is his unwillingness to share what he's really thinking. He feels deeply - more so because of his ability to grasp the complexity of emotion - but he usually keeps it to himself. Alex has a powerful sense of justice and a quick mind. He feels the most loved when we have long conversations. He thinks a lot, questions a lot, and is a solid, determined kiddo. Even with a 9 year old attitude. ;)




Isaac is a "leap before you look" kind of kid. He's a no-holds-barred risk taker. The world is abstract to him. All rules can be bent or broken, including gravity. He's experiential - he wants to test it out and figure out the results for himself. He's constantly creating - from art to construction to cooking to music. He's emotionally intuitive and closely attuned to the moods and attitudes of others. He feels deeply, like Alex, but he wears it all over his body. He's wiggly and adventurous and loves to cuddle. He feels the most loved when we're spending time together or snuggling. He dreams in technicolor, thinks so far away from the box that he doesn't know it exists, and is an unstoppable force. 



Both boys, while unique, will compliment each other well, just as God forewarned me. They also seem to hurt themselves. A LOT.

Alex claims 2 sets of stitches in the head, a broken collar bone, a fractured wrist, a torn soft pallet (by jumping off of a table with a pen in his mouth), jammed fingers, and the usual scrapes and bruises.


Isaac has the proud honor of 1 set of stitches and 1 set of staples in the head, a broken nose and chipped tooth, a badly broken finger that almost required surgery, a concussion, a few black eyes, and as of yesterday, a fractured pinky. 



Note that none of their injuries have prevented them from running around and hurting themselves more.

I know they've been protected from far worse. And boys will be boys. But they sure do keep us on our toes.
We love them dearly and truly - even through the rough times. And we're thankful for them.


Psalm 127:3 "Sons are a heritage from the Lord, children a reward from him."

Parenting our boys: It's All Worship.

Wednesday, October 27, 2010

mornings...

Ok, true confessions time.

When I heard my oldest boy shriek in a maniacal, hyper-spazzy cackle at 6:00 this morning, my body was in his bedroom and my mouth was open before my Spirit-Girl (the part of me that listens to the voice of the Lord) woke up. Doors flung open, and cold, distant words slid out of my mouth. I pointed at Alex and his sleeping bag and then to the couch. I ordered Isaac not to move a muscle from his top bunk and decreed that both make no sound until I told them it was time to wake up.

1) Isaac does not operate well on very little sleep.
2) I do not operate well on very little sleep.
3) Hubby is out of town, and hence unavailable to lay the proverbial smack DOWN.
4) Admittedly, I've been a little bit emotional lately, and so maybe... less rational than one might hope?
5) DON'T PLAY THE DS AT 6:00 AM AND GET CAUGHT!

I went back to bed and prayed that God would somehow remove every angry bone from my body. Ugh. I was fuming on a level that was slightly exaggerated for the circumstances.
Finally, my alarm went off, and I turned my iPod to Sean McDonald to hopefully set a better tone.

By the time we got to the school, I grabbed Alex's hand and said, "I love you. Sorry about this morning, we'll do better next time." He nodded and then walked with his brother into the building.

Don't you hate it when your day starts off with a missing wheel? It's like I need a "do over" button so that the rest of my day doesn't follow the pace of the first hour or so.

PS: As a consequence, Alex is cleaning out the insides of all of the trash cans (to get that nasty stuff out that misses the bag), and Isaac is cleaning the boys' bathroom. Maybe tomorrow they'll sleep until it's time to get up - or at least be quiet about it! ;)


Lord, I know that your mercies are new every morning. Can we extend that to every half hour until lunch? Love, Emily


Asking forgiveness: It's All Worship