"Way off the hook..."

Here's a little conversation that happened between Olivia & Braden today.  It made me smile.

Here's a little background information.
Someone...not sure who....has loaded an episode of Thomas the Train on the tablet.  For a few brief moments....Braden appears to be watching...and Olivia has noticed he is.

Olivia:  "Braden...why are you watching Thomas?  That is such a baby show."
Braden:  "Well...I know kids who are way older than me and they still watch shows like Imagination Movers."
Olivia:  "Yeah...well...Imagination Movers is okay, but Thomas???  That's just way off the hook!"

Some G.O.M.

I can't remember if I've written a post about Julia yet, but she has definitely coming out with some funny stuff these days.  First of all, it's important to know how much Julia LOVES gum & candy.  She is always asking for some or raiding someone's purse to find something sweet!  When we lived with my parents for a while, Julia would pretty much be waiting at the door as soon as Gramma got home from work and her first words were, "Nama...can I have a candy?"  Of course Gramma was her biggest supplier!!!

Anyway...Olivia & Braden would often ask me for a piece of gum as well, but I didn't like when they would say it right in front of her because at that point, she wasn't quite ready to have gum all the time since she would usually swallow it within seconds.  So...I had the kids start spelling it when they wanted some and we would arrange a 'secret exchange' so that Julia didn't see or hear.

But...she seems to have caught on to this little game now.  While I was shopping with her the other day, she turns to me and says, "Mom...I need some G.O.M."  Seriously...how do you say "no" to that!!!

A Note from Olivia

Here is a note that Olivia wrote to her cousin *Brooklyn (love the spelling...LOL)

Brookllen

Dear Brookllen I reilly want to play with you
Is that ok Brooklln. I love you so much Brooklln

Sinselley
Olivia

Hy-pop-athus

Ever since we got our van a few years ago, our kids decided to call it "Herbie".  So today...as we were driving, they were having random discussions again, when Braden comes out with this.

"Mom, you know when we get into our van, it's kind of like Herbie is eating us.  And then, when we get out of the van, it's sort of like he is digesting us and pooping us out."

I said, "Oh yeah...that's interesting."

Then he says, "That's called a hypopathus."  (I think he meant, hypothesis.)

A Handsome Man

Wow...it's almost been a year since my last post.  But...our kids really set the pace for this.  Sometimes there are months where nothing is said or done that is really 'blog-worthy' and then there are days like yesterday, where they  pump out the 'funnies'.

So...yesterday, we had a snag in our plans.  My keys got locked in the van and we had to use my parents' vehicle to go and pick up my husband's keys so we could get in our van. We had to drive about 10 minutes and it worked out that Shawn's boss had to head our way anyway...so we arranged to meet him at his house, where he would bring us Shawn's keys.  As soon as we had finished getting the keys from Brad, we drove off and Braden says, "Wow...he's even more handsome than I thought!"  I could not stop laughing!  I said, "Yes honey, he is a handsome man!"

Still chuckling to myself, Braden starts again, "And mom...you know how sometimes when we say things, you tell all your friends??  Well...when you do that, it makes me embarrassed."  So I tried to explain, "I know Braden, it's just that sometimes you guys say such cute things and I just have to share it with somebody."  To which he responded, "Well...can't you just share it ONLINE??!!"

A few more funny videos of our kids...

These videos are all from 2009, so Olivia is 5 and Braden is 4. I decided it would be cute to put a few of our 'keepers' on here, even though that are a couple years old now. They are great memories and always make us smilie!

Olivia's first attempt at creating a song!

http://videomail.shaw.ca/view/13885573058-1244608890-39636/

Braden's first attempt at creating a song (cause he has to keep up with his sister)!

http://videomail.shaw.ca/view/13885563785-1245428300-18858/


And the song that Mommy & Daddy used to tell the kids that we were expecting another baby! It came in a recordable card that we gave to the kids and they listened to it so much that they memorized it!

http://videomail.shaw.ca/view/13885523924-1258994588-99519/

Video Nov. 2009

An old video of Olivia & Braden, that always makes me laugh!

http://videomail.shaw.ca/view/13885566576-1258653434-31437/

Fall 2011

Cold, not Smart!

Last night, when Braden was finished his bath, I brought him his towel. As usual, he stayed all huddled on the floor under his towel for a few minutes. While I was cleaning up the bathroom, he says, "Mom, I'm cold. Can you carry me to my room?" I said, "No Braden, I can't right now. I'm busy."
"But Mom, I don't know how" he said.
"I'm sure you'll figure it out," I responded.
Then came his witty response.
"I said I was cold, not smart!"

Halloween 2011

Olivia came home from school on Halloween and said, "Mom, people at school keep asking me why I am a Christian." "Mom, why are we christians?" So...that led to a pretty cool discussion about becoming a christian and so on.

So...that night, we took the kids out trick or treating in our neighbourhood. Olivia was a nurse, Braden - batman, and Julia - a very cute little ladybug!

Anyway....after we got back home and they had taken stock of the 'plunder', Olivia was getting ready for bed when she came and gave me a big hug and said, "Thanks for taking us out for Halloween, even though we're Christians."

A Midnight Moonie

Today I heard a new one.
Braden & I were up early this morning having breakfast together, as we usually do. He's always the first one up and I'm the sucker that gets to 'arise' with him. (I secretly love it though.)
Anyway...while my mom was getting ready, she asked Braden if he had eaten breakfast already? He said, "Yeah...I had a Midnight Moonie!" Guaranteed, my mom had no idea what that was. So she asked and he answered with, "You know...it's when a mom and her son have breakfast together."
Thanks Braden...that made my day!
Here's to many more Midnight Moonies!!

Trusting Ourselves?

Braden was whining to me the other day about bringing all his lego upstairs to play. I kind of have this rule that it needs to stay downstairs and he's usually pretty good about it, but once in a while, he likes to bring it upstairs and play in the livingroom. I did not want the visible mess, so I stuck to my guns and told him he would need to keep it downstairs because I don't like when he dumps it all out on the floor. He persisted by promising to not dump it all out. The best line was, "MOM...don't you trust me? (pause) I trust myself...."

It's just what Dads do...

Again while driving....the kids and I were talking about when they grow up and of course Braden somehow weaved LEGO into the conversation. He said, "Mom, I bet when I grow up, my boy is going to like lego just as much as I do." I said, "...and are you going to play lego with him just like Daddy plays lego with you?" Obviously this was a 'no-brainer' 'cause Braden answered, "Well...YEAH! That's what dads do!!!"

The New Heaven & the New Earth

On Thursday, September 29th...my grandpa (who my kids refer to as 'Megapops') had a heart attack and was hospitalized for some tests. Since my grandma needed a ride to the hospital...we offered to drive her. I picked the kids up from school a bit early and we headed over to get Grandma. On the way, I was explaining what we were doing and what had happened to Grandpa. Of course, that sparked some interesting conversations about life and death and heaven.
After a few rounds of 'questioning'....Olivia says, "Mom? How long will we be in heaven before Jesus makes the new heaven and the new earth?" I was kind of amazed at her intelligence to even ask such a question, but truthfully had to reply, "I'm not really sure, honey." There was a short pause and then Braden piped up from the backseat and confidently answered, "Umm.....I'd probably say 4 weeks!"

Our Happy Little Boy!

I hesitated whether to post this cute little story...but it demonstrates the innocence of our children and was just too cute to not put down in our 'memory bank'.

The other day Braden was outside with my mom and and kept holding the front of his pants (as little boys often do). So...thinking he maybe had to pee, my mom asked him if he needed to go to the bathroom. He replied, "No...just sometimes when I'm happy, I hold the front of my pants!" Pure innocence...pure cuteness!

Olivia's burden for her friend....

First of all...my lack of posts over the last few months is not due to lack of material, just lack of time. We just moved from our house in Abbotsford, BC to my parents' house in Goderich, ON for the summer until Shawn is able to find employment somewhere here in Ontario. So, in the midst of all that going on, there hasn't been a lot of time to record all the little things here that would normally qualify as 'noteworthy'.

Now that we are a bit settled, I am trying to make time for these important entries again. Olivia said goodbye to a number of her little grade 1 friends in BC and during her last few weeks at school really developed a passion to prove to her classmates that God is real. She informed me that one day at lunch time, she polled her class to find out who believed in God and who didn't. Apparently there were a few who said they didn't and one of them was one of her friends. So...since that day, Olivia has been on a mission to help this little girl come to believe that God is real. We have prayed for her on many occasions at bedtime and Olivia has had many of her own little 'conversations' with this friend.
Well, the other day, she was in her 'artistic zone' and was making a picture or a booklet or something. I turned to her and said, "Olivia, if you ever want to send your friends in BC a picture or card or something, just let mommy know and I'll put it in the mail for you." Her response was, "That's what I'm doing Mom! I have to prove to _____ that God is real. Otherwise, she will be stuck here when the new earth comes and then she will have to go to Saul." A little confused, but pretty sure I knew what she meant, I said, "Saul??" Olivia says, "Yeah, or whatever that other evil heaven is called." Then I said, "Oh, you mean hell." "Yeah, that's it," she replied.

While we were travelling from BC to Ontario, we had stopped at this waterfront area for a break and the kids were playing around. We kept seeing all these wasps around, but what we didn't realize was that Braden was hitting a wasp nest with his sandal, trying to kill them all. Knowing the nature of wasps, we were completely amazed that they didn't attack Braden and that he never got stung. So, we thanked God for protecting Him, fully believing that to be the reason he never got stung. Olivia must have been impacted by that.

So, now 2 weeks later, she goes on to write this note to her friend that read something like this,
"God saved my bruther's life. Naw that is power from God. Braden was poking at wasps and God saved him."

It's always interesting to me to see how our kids process the information they receive and try to put it all together in life. I'm thankful that our kids have a burden for their friends who don't believe in God, but we are now in the process of helping them to understand how to deal with that in a way that is still loving and respectful, yet still full of faith and truth.

Did you say...Ace?

Last night I was playing a quick game of "Go Fish" (or Goldfish as Braden says) before bed. We were playing with a regular deck of cards this time and the kids aren't too schooled yet on the Jacks and Aces and stuff like that. So it was Olivia's turn and she asked Braden if he had an Ace, to which he replied, "Nope...Gold Fish!" A few turns later, Braden asked Olivia if she had something and since she didn't, Braden picked up his card from the pile. As he picked up his card he smiled and muttered under his breath, "Yes! An anus!" I wasn't sure if I had heard him correctly, but I knew I had when it came to his turn again. With great confidence he said, "Olivia, do you have an anus?" After that came a little pause in the game where Mommy had to gain her composure and politely instruct her innocent little man on the correct name for a certain card.

A little bit of controversy over where Jesus grew up...

Shawn and I were thinking of taking the kids to the ocean in Bellingham yesterday. I guess they overheard us talking and Braden says to Olivia, "What's Bellingham?" And Olivia says in her 'motherly' tone, "Braden, that's where Jesus grew up."

A Single Mother???

The other night I got the rare opportunity to head to the movies with my friend Janelle....leaving daddy at home with the 3 munchkins. When I left they were all downstairs...playing lego starwars with the exception of Julia, who was just motoring around, exploring everything within reach. While in the theatre, I get a call from Shawn, which totally made my heart race! I automatically thought something must be wrong, but found out he was simply calling to tell me what Olivia had said. I guess he left to go upstairs for a minute and he hollered down to her, "Is everything alright Olivia?" She responded with, "C'mon dad, I'm trying to play a video game and I'm watching 2 kids here! What am I, a single mom?"

An excellent question!

The other day, Olivia was walking all around the house with a pile of blank papers and writing lines upon lines of nothing. When I asked her what she was doing, she replied, "Oh, I have to do this to save money for our school." Not really understanding, I asked her how writing lines on a paper was supposed to help save money for her school. She paused and pointed her pen at me and said, "Mom....that is an excellent question. I really don't know."

At least she's honest.