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Bennett: "If I were ever to go on an Indiana Jones type adventure, you are the last person I would choose to take with me, Mom."

You Are Mine

"For you are mine. My mother, for I love you.

You and me never stop loving each other."

"A verse I made up" - Chloe 10/2010

I often like to rise early and read my Bible and have study time. The kids try very hard not to interrupt me, but they still want to be with me. This is supposedly my "alone time", but it rarely seems to work out that way. Chloe found a loop hole in the system and decided to bring her own Princess Bible and some index cards and a purple pen with her to the table where I was and declared, "I'm going to do a Bible study too." How can I say no? I just reiterated the fact the Bible studies are normally quiet and she agreed that she knew how to be "quiet".

Sometime in the middle of all the quietness she passes me a note on her index card that says, "I made up a verse for you Mom." The above is the verse. I'm so thankful she got that inspiration from her Bible study. I have since stuck this precious notecard in my Bible and smile everytime I see it, remembering that quiet, dark morning when I learned a new verse; Chloe's verse.

p.s. - Hair and make-up courtesy of Chloe.

God and Bennett

Where has the time gone? Why are my children getting so big, so fast? Or better yet, why am I growing old so fast? But if growing old means I get to enjoy these children even more, then bring it on. I love getting old. The conversations we have now-a-days are so intriguing. We still have more than our fair share of super hero talk, non-sense talk and crazy imagination stories that have to be told to me the instant the thought appears in their brain. And I treasure those even more as they fade slowly in this speeding time warp I seem to have jumped into overnight. But what really makes my heart melt are all the deep-hearted conversations about life that happen at bed time or around the table or most importantly, when you least expect them to.

One morning, the instant Bennett woke up and found me he exclaimed, "Mom, I think God's speaking to me."

Really, how do you know?

"Well, I just have this overwhelming desire to know how I can love people more. And I know that's normally something that would NOT come out of my brain. Why is He speaking to me now?"

Honey, you are learning to listen to that still, small voice, aren't you? I'm so happy for you. This is only something He can teach you and walk you through. Thank you for sharing what He's doing in your life with me. It makes my heart so happy. So, has God shown you how you can love people more?

"Yes. I think I'm just supposed to help out more; think of myself less."

On another random day at lunch he confessed, "Mom, I think God has been talking to me through my conscience. I'll think about doing something and then know that I'm not supposed to."

Awesome Dude! I think you're right. He's made your heart very sensitive to Him. Do you know I've prayed for this very thing for you ever since you were a baby? Insert huge Bennett grin. And now look at the work God is doing in you. Thank you for choosing to listen to Him buddy.

And lastly, the other day as we're swinging on the swing in the backyard, he tells me, "Mom, I used to think that God made everything happen. But now I understand that he allows things to happen. I used to think that God wanted me to do bad during my game and made it happen that way, but now I know that he allowed that bad thing to happen so that I would learn a bigger lesson."

Bennett, I cannot believe that God has already spoken this truth to your heart. Did you know that Mommy just learned that not too long ago?! This learning to listen to God thing is cool, huh?!

Hello Mississippi River

I just love flying by the seat of my pants. Not literally, cuz that would mean I'm on some type of steep incline going downward at a super fast pace and that is not fun (for me). But figuratively, not knowing how a day will turn out (in most instances) is very rewarding and exciting. If you have no expectations, you can't be disappointed, can you?

That was what our Saturday looked like. We knew we wanted to go on some type of hike. Around these parts there's only like 5,894 different trails to try out. How do you know which one to start with??? We had seen a sign as we were driving that said "Mississippi River National Recreation Area". Hmmm....that sounds like a great place to start, at the headways of the great Mississip.

Too bad for us we chose such a 'vague' sign. An area is just that...a large space that isn't denoted in any particular way, it's just there. We got off the highway and followed the signs for what we thought was the 'area' we were in search of. We were in St. Paul. We ended up in Minneapolis (20 minutes away). I have no idea how. Evidently, we just kept following the road and the river until we saw a place to park that actually looked like it led to some trails. We ended up in a place called "Minnehaha Park" (I am not joking).

Come to find out, we landed smack dab in the middle of one of Minneapolis' oldest and most beloved parks...on accident (because we thought we were still in St. Paul). Funny how that happens. We parked near a dog park and seeing as we brought Ninja with us, we thought we hit the jack pot. It only felt fair to let her go get some energy out since we ended up driving around the Twin Cities aimlessly for the past hour. But hey, we're flying by the seat of our pants and this is fun, remember?

So here we are in Minnehaha. We head towards the dog park only to discover that it's not really a trail, just a huge open free space for dogs (which, by definition, is what a dog park is...it just didn't look that way when we were walking up to it). We were a bit bummed cuz we had high hopes of walking on a trail right along the Mississippi River, not on some paved sidewalk high above it or within the confines of a chain link fence watching Ninja play. What to do?

But what do you know...just a teeny, weeny bit away from the dog park, behind another chain link fence and past some thick over-grown brush, looks to be a dirt path back in the woods. Aha! That's what we're looking for. But no one else appears to be enjoying this little secluded path. All the better for us. We hop the fence like we knew what we were doing and set off on our next adventure...off the beaten path.

Let the adventure begin! The whole entire hour and a half that we were on this trail (that was not denoted in any way) we passed one other person only. It was perfect, all except for the super steepness of it and the whole fear of heights thing making my legs a little jello-y during much of the adventure.

We traversed our way down the path until we got to the bottom and were finally able to achieve our goal - actually walk along the Mississippi River. It was beautiful. Until I looked down and saw this:

I was just standing there admiring the view when Bennett cautioned me, "Mom, look at that!" as he pointed no less than 6 inches from where I was standing. A little scream and freak out was a totally appropriate reaction in my opinion. I also ran away a little bit (several yards). But once my heart-beat returned to normal and I got over the fact that a huge dead fish was starting at me blindly without my knowledge, I had to return to document it with a picture. Gavin thoroughly enjoyed all aspects of the prodding and poking procedure with a stick.

We continued on down by the river enjoying the sounds of the water lapping on the shore, the serenity of the secluded, wooded path, the light trickling through the leaves. It couldn't have been more perfect or picturesque. We came to a clearing and saw the cliffs that we were walking on before we made it down by the river.

Of course we also did a little rock climbing, tree climbing and tree hugging. But I'm saving the best for last. Remember, this is us...nothing EVER goes according to plan or is ever easy - that would make a boring story if everything always worked out perfectly.

So then there was the little matter of finding our way back to the car from the trail that the rest of the park goers didn't seem to know existed. Plus, we had the added stress of timed parking. We paid for only an hour and knew we were pushing our luck in that department. We saw no signage that would aid us in our uphill adventure. So we used good ol grit and Chuck's innate sense of direction (that sometimes comes in handy - you know, the kind where you never need to ask for directions because you already know....that kind). We knew we had to go up at some point real soon, but there was never a path going up, it just kept following the river. Which was good if we wanted to walk home, but not good, if we didn't want a ticket. So, Chuck picked a random cliff, tried to scale it, decided whether the rest of us would be able to follow and we all made a go of it. Typical Mallott fashion.

Here is the order of the hikers up the steep cliff, Chloe, followed by Chuck, followed by Bennett, followed by Me and Ninja (we are one), followed by Gavin. Chuck is verbally directing Chloe and Bennett which roots to grab a hold of to help heave themselves up the 70 degree incline we're all simultaneously trying to climb. We learned that Ninja is part mountain goat. That is good. However, she didn't want to be separated from me. That is not good. She doesn't understand the command "go" or "forward". I made a mental note to teach her when (if) we get off this cliff and get home. Bennett literally had mud under his nails from grabbing at the dirt to try to pull himself upward. Chloe kept saying, "I know what my perseverance story is going to be tonight." Gavin kept verbally assessing the grade of the slope we were climbing and giving us a play by play. Bennett kept reliving another similar adventure we had back in Massanutten. Chuck is busy pushing little people up by the seat of their pants. I'm in some zen state and am climbing like I do this every day. Not an ounce of fear or thought that we can't accomplish this. It's amazing what you do when you HAVE to do it. There was just no other option. We all miraculously make it to the top and looked back down - WOW!

Next time the paved path might be a little safer, but I'm not sure it could give us more fun than we had 'off the beaten path'.

Carpe Diem

Yesterday, it hit me...I only have 6 more years of Gavin living with us. What?! How am I supposed to swallow that pill? Where has the time raced off to? Six years is nothing, it flies by. It made me question alot of things.

Am I still treasuring him as the gift that God gave me? Do I push him aside more, now that he's older, so that I can get more of "my stuff" accomplished? Do I still sit and visit with him enough and really listen to his heart and crazy imagination stories? Am I living the life I desire him to imitate? Am I speaking with love, kindness, patience and humility in my voice? Do I serve him enough? Am I too busy barking out commands and chores and not praising him for the work he already has done? Am I trying to form him and his future in my image? Am I ready to let him go or am I holding on too tight?

Only six more years of him asking me goofy questions such as, "Would you mind clarifying my job description?" when asked to do his chores.

Only six more years of listening to tale after tale of Bioncle and Superhero feats.

Only six more years of watching him roll around on the floor as he fights villans from some imaginary place that only he knows as he unwinds from his day and retreats into his own little world.

Only six more years of him asking me questions that are above my ability level to answer.

Only six more years of seeing that adorable smile and huge howler monkey laugh of his day after day. He gets our humor and loves it. He has such a wonderful sense of humor and can laugh at himself. He doesn't take himself or his brilliant brain too seriously.

Only six more years of him asking, "So, Mom. How was your day?" when he doesn't know what else to say.

Only six more years of conversations so deep about God, this world and our place in it. Questioning life together. Living life together. The good and the bad, 24 hours a day.

Only six years with my favorite 12 year old. Wow! Thank you God for giving me that gentle reminder so that I can sieze the day and enjoy each moment we have together without any expectations.

Melancholy Moments

Bennett and me on our last date

In one of our many random moments of deep conversation, Bennett tells me today, "Mom, I don't think I could ever live without you. I love you too much."

"Oh sweetie, you'll find that one day you'll be able to live just fine without me and that's okay. If I do my job right, I'm supposed to work myself out of a job the older you get."

"But I don't want you to get older as I get older. When I'm 30, you'll be 60. I want you and Daddy to stay just the way you are now forever."

"Buddy, I have a feeling we'll always enjoy our time together no matter how old we both get, because we appreciate each other and enjoy each other's company so much. Let's just live one day at a time and make the most of each day, that way we won't miss out on any wonderful times together. Deal?"

Hugs.

I love my job!

You Know You're Getting Old When...

....you can't play on the tire swing anymore.

I found this one out the hard way yesterday. We took the kids to an event at a State Park last night. Prior to going to listen to the music, we stopped at a playground on the premises so they could play since we were a bit early (shocker there). Chuck was going to push the kids on the tire swing and the boys asked me to join them order to 'even it out'. Well, in the spirit on being a 'fun mom' and a non-party-pooper, I went and plopped myself down on the swing. Chuck starts out easy enough just pushing us back and forth. But then he starts in on the spinning us around action. For whatever reason, the combination of the two just put me over the edge. I started getting super dizzy. In order to combat that effect, I decided to close my eyes. That, my friends, was my downfall. Although I may have been smiling on the outside while hanging on for dear life, my insides were deciding they wanted to be on the outside. I felt as though I was on a roller coaster. I don't do roller coasters. I have a super low tolerance for scary, bumpy, fast turning rides, all the elements that this little venture was turning out to be. I begged with my life for the 'fun' to stop. I couldn't even get off the thing. Chuck practically dragged me off. I stumbled over to the grassy area as would a drunken person. I made it far enough away from the park and started dry heaving. Thankfully, nothing else emerged. The kids are still hanging on for dear life, moaning and groaning and laughing about how dizzy they are as Chuck continues to push them in maddening circles. They think this is fun. Their moaning and groaning seems to fade as soon as they exit the ride, mine however, has become my constant companion.

It took a very long time for me to walk, in a straight line, back to a bench to sit down. I'm dizzier than all get out right now. It doesn't help that there is a windmill not even 100 yards away that I'm facing. Just looking at it and hearing it is making me even dizzier. Then a headache decides to join in on the fun. Ok already! I learned my lesson! I won't ever try to get on one of those types of swings in the name of fun ever again...just make it stop! I'm guessing this is what motion sickness feels like...with the added bonus of a migraine coming on.

But, alas, the fun hasn't even begun yet. We make it over to the area where we get to hear a live band play. As if the dizziness and headache wasn't enough, now the deafening sound added to my previous condition, makes me run out of the room more nauseous than I was on the swing. I successfully evade throwing up infront of the musicians, make it to the rest room for more dry heaves and apologize to the event coordinators. I asked them to please tell the musicians that their music didn't make me sick, I just couldn't handle the level of the noise with my migraine. I can barely walk out of there. Now I was about to pass out on top of everything else. Can this night get any more fun?

We had to all ride home to complete silence as I held my head with my hand over my mouth and tried to focus on a non-moving object so I could make it home without throwing up. As the night wore on and medicine kicked in, I started feeling human again. But a funny thing happens after I take my medicine and come off a migraine, I can't think straight. It takes a long time fore me to think of a word, or just plain think for that matter, everything is in slow motion it feels like. So, as you can imagine, I was still alot of fun to be around.

I don't think my children will ever again ask me to join them on the swing. We're all much better off if I stick to playing board games and reading with them.

Bowling - Mallott Style

What could be more fun than dollar night at the bowling alley? Exactly - not much else. So we packed up the crew after dinner and headed to the local hot spot. I thought everyone would be there on a Tuesday night with a deal such as this. Apparently, I thought wrong. We were like only the 3rd group there and that was to last for only the first 10 minutes. After that, we had the joint to ourselves. Probably better that way so no-one was there to witness our group failure at the sport. Here's how we did it in picture form:

First...start by finding the coolest ball, whether or not it's the right weight...cool is all that matters, really.

When things don't seem to be going your way, we allow 'frustrated faces and noises'. Gavin had many, many of these.

So many in fact, that he decided to shoot his ball. That's just one of the many benefits to being the only patrons in the entire establishment.

Try hard to look as though you're enjoying yourself. Remember this is supposed to be fun!

Chloe knows all about fun. Thankfully for us, the music was blaring, so we had our own in house dancer. She was probably celebrating the fact that she was beating all of us until about the 5th frame.

This is why. She got the ramp that helps your ball go straight. The boys both tried to use it, but once they saw me break out the camera and point it at them, they immediately pretended they were helping Chloe. Nice try, but we'll always know the truth, even if I didn't get it documented.

Lastly, throw yourself on the floor and have a good, old-fashioned temper tantrum at the end of the game so the kids know how to be good sports. Again, thankful for no other audience members. Actually, Chuck thought I won, that's why he found himself on the floor, but once he picked him self up from his exaggerated pose, and viewed the scoreboard, he happily deduced that he had actually beat me 9 whole points. We were both just happy that we beat Chloe.

Worst Case Scenario

I have inadvertently discovered to whom this odd gene I carry has been passed down to...my beloved firstborn. One day we were taking Ninja on a walk together and he was telling me about his day at school. He told me he was so worried all day because he had forgotten his phone. I said, "Well, it shouldn't matter anyway since you can't make or receive calls/texts while at school. So why worry?"

Ahhh...but there is ample reason to worry. You see, he carries it 'just in case' the school might be bombed, or blow up or catch on fire or if there is a tornado or if the bus flips over on his way too or from school. This is what he explained to me. I cannot tell you how infinitely better I feel knowing he has a plan in place for 'just in case' any of the catastrophes occur. I can rest easy everyday sending my sweet boy to school knowing that if they are bombed, he is ready and waiting with his phone.

And just for the record, I never put any of these thoughts in his head. They found their way there all on their own. My guess is reading one too many Calvin and Hobbes books. All I know is I am so going to freak out if I ever get a phone call from him during school hours. Then my 'worst case scenario' mind is going to go into overdrive.

The Big Jump of 2011

Yesterday was a day filled with lots of outdoor work around the house. It was a wonderful day all working together as a family. But there was one thing we couldn't all do together and that was get up on the roof. Chuck had to paint something up there as well as clean the gutters. I can't even type that without a silly, little, childish giggle escaping. Thanks to Bennett, gutters have a totally different meaning in this house. Thankfully he didn't find any jelly beans up there (those are what Bennett has in his gutters).

So, he spent alot of time with the gutters (he-he), scraping out years worth of leaves and scummy build-up. Of course, I was his helper. I got to hold the ladder on his ascent up, hand him trash bags, position the dumpster just so so that he could throw down bags of trash directly into it = all the important stuff.

Then it came time to get off the roof. I dutifully go to my position as ladder holder and am instructed to guide his foot so that it touches the top of the 8 foot ladder. As soon as I commence my job, he starts yelling at me to stop pulling him. I guess we both have two different assumptions as to what "guide" means. He rarely yells at anything, so I could tell he was scared (he would say 'just nervous').

We had some pretty lengthy conversations at this point about how he was going to descend from the roof. He said there was nothing for him to grab onto but the gutters and he didn't want to rip them off. Again, we can't even talk about this without laughing our heads off. Apparently, the ladder is about 2-3 feet too short to comfortably slide off the roof and have me "guide" his foot onto. What to do?

He finally decides he's going to jump. We guesstimate it to be about a 12 foot leap from the lowest part of our roof to our nicely padded grass lawn. I offer to go drag a mattress out. He refuses. I figure he doesn't need me to "guide" anything any more and since I'm so scared of heights (even for other people), I go hide in the garage where I can't see him break anything upon his descent.

Bennett is the only other witness to this event. Once I see Chuck walking around the corner with no blood and all his limbs intact into the garage, I deem it ok to come out of hiding. Bennett comes around the corner exclaiming Dad's greatness. Chuck plays it cool like there was nothing to it, "All you got to do once you hit the ground is tuck and roll, Buddy. Remember that, tuck and roll." Bennett is beaming at his super hero jumping Dad.

All that for clean gutters.

Fillin Up The Love Tank

It dawned on us yesterday that we have been going non-stop for over two months now with all this move stuff. It is all consuming it seems. There's always something to do. The work is never ending. But it comes with a price. The price for us is time. Time together is one of our family's biggest love languages. It doesn't matter if we're at Legoland or sitting on the floor playing Uno, as long as we are giving each other undivided attention, we feel our love tanks filling up. Needless to say, we've been guilty of giving a lot of divided attention as of late. I try to squeeze a minute in here or there with one of them, but no one has been given my devoted attention. Until today.

We thought we would surprise the kids with an hour of 100% Mommy and Daddy time today. Each kid would get 1 hour of our undivided attention to do whatever they wanted to do with us. It was pure bliss. Our agenda did not rule. Our only joy was to see their joy. I've done this once before...I don't know why I waited so long to do it again. It is a wonderful way to keep those heart connections strong.

The first hour I spent with Gavin and Daddy spent with Chloe. I was welcomed into the world of Bionicles with open arms. I got to play Bionicles with Gavin for 30 minutes...I even won two of the battles we fought - I have no idea how, he just said I did. We also got to play a game together, play Legos and read a book about volcanoes. Chuck ended up being Chloe's horse for 30 minutes. She couldn't have been happier. They also played several games involving blocks and shape pieces.

The next hour I was indulged in "Spa Day" with Chloe while Chuck and Bennett did some bonding over wrestling and football. I have to say, I really lucked out. I was treated to a hair and makeup session. She even let us take a break and have a yogurt snack. Bonus! Then we were on to her Playmobil Horse Farm. Man, time flies when you're having fun.

The last hour Chuck and Gavin played Yu-Gi-O cards (I have no clue what that means) the whole time. Bennett spent part of the time explaining his Yu-Gi-O cards to me (which went right over my head). We also played a game and kicked the soccer ball. We still had time left so I asked him what he wanted to do. He said, "Let's Cuddle." It couldn't have been a more wonderful time. It was a cold, gray day out and cuddling under the quilt telling silly stories to each other was just perfect.

It's amazing to see what your kids choose to do with you when they're given total freedom to choose and know they have your undivided attention completely focused on them. Their thankfuls at dinner were all the same, "I'm thankful for my time with Mom and Dad". That was also Chuck's and my thankful. I'd say our Love Tanks are back on "full".

Down on the Farm

This past weekend we changed our city clothes for country clothes. I guess the only change of attire that was noticeable was the lovely Target bags around our sneakers since only one of us owns mud boots (lucky Chloe). The above farm was the view from the one we were at.

Chloe looked right at home with her cute pink (toy) rifle and mud boots. Not to even mention the fact that she's the only one of us who knows how to ride a real horse, not just one of those little ponies that is led around in a circle at a petting zoo (that would be me). She's a natural cowgirl.

Another noticeable difference between us city slickers and the locals was that we carried our dog around. While all the other 8 dogs were free to roam, ours is getting carried like a baby. I'm sure she was embarrassed out of her mind, but practicality won out with us. We just didn't feel up to cleaning mud off of her for the next 3 days. Seriously, the mud was over a foot deep.

I don't think #11 was all too pleased with the mud situation either. How can you resist a face like this? He is only 2 weeks old.

We really enjoyed our time visiting Aunt Lu and Uncle Joel and the cows, and the horses, and the goats and the pigeons and the bunnies and the chickens and the geese and the dogs.

But the most wonderful thing about being on the farm was the serenity, the "fresh" air (if you just try to block out all that manure smell) and the wide open spaces. I never tire of sunsets and sunrises. I stand in awe each time like it was the first and only one I've ever seen. I probably took 10 photos just like this one:

This is what I woke up to the next morning (thank you Ninja for needing to go potty at the break of dawn). Another day I'm thankful to be alive.