Boys growing up

Over the past few days, we've seen all three boys showing signs of growing up. We're thankful for the privilege of watching these boys, shepherding them and pointing them to the Lover of their souls.

On Saturday, five of us went ice skating (Walter went to a Lego workshop with a neighbor!). The first graders from the school were getting together to skate, so we headed to the North End, ready for adventure. Clayton and Theo were both very excited to get on the ice, though they have very limited experience. They both ambled out, wobbly, tippy and soon very discouraged.

Clayton would try to rev up speed, only to have his feet fly out from under him. Theo saw his classmates gliding past him, and felt embarrassed that he didn't have the same skills. We were able to obtain stacked crates for each one, so they slowly, slowly, slowly began to make their way around the ice. One time...two times...until Theo was keeping up with his buddy (still with his crates). Clayton and I practiced without crates a few times, but then he went back to them so he could go faster! (With boys, it's all about the speed.)

John and I were so proud of their perseverance and great attitudes. They kept at it, fought through the difficulty to get to the fun. I can't tell you how many times Clayton would wipe out and immediately say, "I know, I'm okay. It's okay," even while he grimaced with the bumps and bruises. It was such a fun afternoon, and now we know we need to get them back on the ice soon, before they forget that they can do it!

Note: We debated about putting Lucy in skates, not knowing if they even came in her tiny size. But they did, so we set her up with teeny tiny skates and a little PVC pipe supporter for her to lean on. To our surprise, Lucy took right to the ice. She skated around for over an hour, and outlasted her brothers. Several people on the ice commented on the fact that she must have skated many times before. Someone called her a natural. Note to self: look into skating lessons. I'll be a figure skating mom before you know it. :) WISH we had our camera with us!

Walter has taken a much greater interest and responsibility in the kitchen in the last several weeks. He wants to be my special kitchen helper many nights, and is now a great salad maker. He even gets to use "Papa's shiny knife" (dubbed by Lucy) and is very careful with slicing peppers, removing the seeds, peeling and slicing cukes, adding tasty extras, like nuts and feta cheese.

Last night, John was at a meeting, so I decided we would have breakfast for dinner. I cooked the bacon in the oven, because while I love bacon's yummy taste, I hate it's messy cooking and clean-up. Meanwhile, Walter measured and mixed the buttermilk pancake batter on his own. Once I had the stove-top griddle set up for him, he cooked and flipped each pancake into PERFECTION. I'm not kidding, the kid burned maybe one pancake - much better than my record. He is now officially my new pancake flipper. I really love working with him in the kitchen, and seeing him grow into new privileges and responsibilities.