Life At The Circus

The kids and I started reading the Chronicles of Narnia a few weeks ago.  I finished reading them The Lion The Witch and The Wardrobe and we’re now onto Prince Caspian .  The truth is, I’ve never read these books before, so I am just as interested and captivated as my oldest son is.  The other day during quiet time the oldest two kids started walking back and forth between their separate areas… eventually they asked if they could play quietly together and I let them as long as they stayed quiet.  Quiet time ended. The younger two woke up and still they played quietly downstairs. An hour or so later and they emerged… bringing with them The 4 Thrones of Cair Paravel. I told them I wanted to take a picture and they said they wanted me to take a picture so they could send it into Lego Magazine .  I’m so excited that they are enjoying these books, but more than that, I am excited to see their imagination go wild and watch them create things....

While looking through pictures recently, I stumbled across a few which truly captured life at the circus in its essence. Exhibit A: taken in December of 2010 Here they are working on the pine wood derby car for Cub Scouts.   Notice how everyone, even the baby, is in on the action?  Noticed the leotard?  My girls wear leotards every.single.day…. even though gymnastics is only twice a week, I can guarantee you those leotards are on more often than that.    Also, noticed my baby ripping his sisters glasses off?  He still loves to go for those glasses.  I love how he isn’t even looking at her, just out of the corner of his eye, he spots them and goes in for the grab… Exhibit B: Taken in September of 2010 Here we are keeping the baby occupied.  My oldest son was reading to his little brother and then his sister had to follow suit.  It’s September and yet my daughter is wearing her bathing suit (even though I can pretty much g...

As Scott and I worked to put together the scrapbook and video collage for our son’s 1st birthday, we looked at lots and lots of pictures and video clips.  As we did, one reoccurring theme, was brought to mind. This boy is adored by his siblings. He really has been from day 1.  And by day 1, I mean, the day Scott and I told them about the baby in my belly.  But as we watched videos and looked at pictures of him at the hospital, coming home from the hospital, getting his first bath, changing his diapers, eating his first solid foods, drinking from a sippy cup, eating finger foods, crawling, standing… at each milestone, each new phase for him… you see 3 cheerleaders by his side.  Smiling and clapping, exclamations of “he did it!” ring over and over.  As we celebrated his birthday, that love shone brightly though again.   They’re there, in his face , by his side, excitedly watching him open his gifts, eating his first bite of cake, watching his vid...

Ya know that feeling you get when you look at your kids and you just wanna freeze time?  You don’t want them to grow up, not one bit, so you just try your best to hold on to the moments while you can. Well, we figured out a way to freeze time here at the circus…just a little… Our littlest crew member turned one earlier this month.  Not sure how that year flew by so fast.   However, we didn’t celebrate his birthday until this past weekend.  So, in a way… we froze time for a little longer.  But, now that his scrapbook and video are both finished (circus family 1st birthday traditions), and he’s had that first bite of cake, there really is no denying it… The Circus Baby is one. 

I have a little header on my right side bar that says “One Year Ago”  though it will actually list posts from this date either 1, 2, or 3 yrs ago. (Can you believe Life At The Circus is over 3 yrs old?)  Every now and then I will see  blog title under One Year Ago and it will catch my eye.  I think that tab alone is the motivation for me to keep blogging lately.  I hit a blogging rut this spring where I wasn’t posting or commenting much.  As I read these posts from the past, they provide little snippets into our life then… things I had forgotten and it encourages me to keep posting b/c I don’t want to forgot those precious snippets from today either.  It’s a reminder that even if no one is reading or commenting (besides the ever faithful grandmothers and Happy )  ( Happy you seriously deserve the commenter of the year award… you are so faithful at commenting and your comments are often like mini blog posts themselves… they totally brighten my ...

Last week after telling my kids the Bible story of  baby Moses, I decided to offer a little application for them.  I pointed out how neat it was that God took care of Moses as a baby by allowing the princess to find him.  I even told how amazing it was that his own mother was allowed to take care of him before he went to live at the palace.  After discussing how Moses grew up in the Egyptian palace, I pointed out how God used that later in his life when Moses led the Israelites out of captivity in Egypt.   I was going on about how we don’t understand the plans God has for our lives, but he has special plans for each of our lives, and just like God had a plan for Moses, he has a plan for each of them.  Of course my son had to be argumentative (is 7 the new 13 or is this just at the circus?)   and say he didn’t think there was anything special about his life.   Which I then refuted, telling them that long before they were even in my bel...

I was so glad Scott had the camera handy to snap this shot of our oldest daughter trying to use the view finder at the zoo the other day. Too short to see through the peep holes? No problem, I’ll just hoist myself up there with my own 2 arms and take a closer look. Yea…at 5 she’s already stronger than her mom.  No way I could do a chin up, and hold it! Visit here or here for more fun with pictures this Wednesday!

There are a few words that my 3 yr old mispronounces on a consistent basis.  I find her consistent mispronunciation so gosh darn cute, I can’t correct her.  I loath the day her voice changes and she no longer sounds like a sing songy cartoon character and she learns the correct way to say night gown. Until then, I am savoring her sweet voice and the way she says… night gallon for night gown pastor’s seat for passenger’s seat uppertainment center for entertainment center   How about you?  Any favorite mispronunciations at your house you’d like to share? Visit Mary at TTT for more tiny talk!

One of the many reasons why life is easier this time around is that my older three kids are much  more self sufficient. When we need to head out the door, I can instruct the kids to get their shoes on, go to the van and buckle up.  A few minutes later the baby and I  arrive at the van.  I buckle him in, do a quick seatbelt check on the big kids and we hit the road. This works wonderfully… except for when it doesn’t… Like the time I pulled into the parking lot at church, open the side door and find my 5 yr old barefoot.  When questioned about her missing shoes, she responded, “ I couldn’t find them!”   As I sent her to SS barefoot her sweet teacher (and mother of 6) assured me it wasn’t the first time (which actually made me wonder, if she meant it wasn’t the first time someone came to SS with no shoes or if it wasn’t the first time MY DAUGHTER came to SS without shoes…I didn’t ask).  Then there’s my three year old, who when faced with a ...

They say having kids changes things. And they are right, it does. I remember so vividly after our first son was born.  My heart had grown at least triple in size.   As I held him in my arms, it was love, pure love at first sight.   But, in addition to that, my love for Scott, had quadrupled as well.  I never felt more supported, more cared for, more in awe, than I did that first night after becoming parents.  Scott was awesome.  He was totally there for me for the whole labor and delivery.   He was the exact support I needed.  He was my coach and team mate all in one and I never felt closer to him than I did after delivering our baby.  And from that moment, from the very beginning, I knew we were in this together.   I couldn’t ask for a better Dad for my kids.  Scott is so hands on and involved.  That first week he changed every single diaper for our son.  In fact the first diaper I changed was ov...

With Fathers Day approaching this weekend and the kids and I brainstorming ways to make it ultra special for the circus dad, I feel it also appropriate to spend some time reflecting on my own father. Because, when it comes to dad’s, I have been richly blessed.  While in the throws of parenthood, I think many a parents wonders, “Is it making a difference?  Do my kids even notice?”  And the answer is a resounding “Yes!” Now a mother myself as I look back on my childhood, I am so grateful, so deeply grateful for the relationship I have had with my dad.  As I think of my dad, many thoughts come to mind… he’s hardworking, always a kidder, a follower of Christ, great with kids, a loving and attentive Grandpa, sports fan, great shopper…. but if I had to some it up in one word, I’d say my dad is dependable.  Dad was always there when we needed him.   My brother and I went to a Christian high school that was about 30 min from our house.  I reca...

flag day Noun: 1.  June 14, the anniversary of the adoption of the Stars and Stripes as the official US flag in 1777. 2.  Justification for purchasing those fun patriotic outfits and crafts b/c “It’s not just for the 4th of July you can use them on Flag Day too”. The kids enjoyed making their own American Flags out of ribbon .  They will serve as a great patriotic decoration in our home through the 4th of July. Flag Day Lasagna: inspired from Family Fun magazine A super big shout of of thanks goes to Miss Jen for making these adorable coordinating patriotic dresses!! Dress up Ice Cream Sandwiches by rolling them in coordinating sprinkles.  Idea taken from Family Fun again.  But, I skipped the popsicle sticks and let the kids dip their own.  This was super easy and could be easily adapted to any holiday… hmmm black and gold Sprinkles for Steelers games anyone? This has got to go down as my favorite flag day celebration yet…...

There are few sounds I cherish more than that of my oldests son’s belly laugh.  You just can’t help but smile when something strikes him as truly funny because his laugh is infectious. Until recently nothing could bring out that laugh like Tom and Jerry or Snoopy .  But, then I gave him his very first copy of Mad Libs .   And as I listened to him laugh out loud while he filled it in and read it to himself on the couch,  well, I had to grab the camera and snap a few pictures.   He couldn’t even read it out loud to me b/c he kept laughing so hard.  I had no idea what he was saying, though I laughed right along with him.   How could you not? Look at that face… I know I can’t get away with saying this much longer, but seriously, is he cute or what? This one is not staged at all, I swear to you, he put his hand over his mouth as he was laughing and reading it out loud.  I hope your day is filled with a nice long, bel...

This morning I was reminded what a great gift forgiveness is.  It was a rough morning… the last day of a very busy week with not as much down time as we’re accustomed to.   I felt the fatigue that morning with heavy eyes searching for the remote to buy me a few more moments of rest before I hit the to do list.   I noticed the fatigue in children who quickly burst into tears or whiny screams over rather insignificant things.  And then, it happened… I was busy trying to clean up the kitchen b/c we’re having a new oven delivered and installed today and it seemed having a table still full of breakfast dishes and a sink overflowing as well, wasn’t the face I wanted to present to the world.    A temper tantrum erupted, I can’t recall over what, but I do know that my 3 yr old wasn’t just whining she was screaming (a new tactic of hers which I find incredibly annoying)… just screaming at an ear piercing decibel). I screamed back.  Yelled a...

My girls had their Mini Olympics Show yesterday afternoon and I gotta tell you, I was one proud Momma as I watched them perform.   Their class did a floor routine (which was super cute to watch) and then each girl had a chance to perform on the bars, trampoline, and tumble track.   The event concluded with a trip to the medal stand for each girl and then the opportunity to pose for pictures afterwards.  In January, the girls were placed into the same class.  This was nice, not only b/c it allowed me to take fewer trips to the gym each week, but also b/c the girls really enjoyed being together in class.  This summer my older daughter will move up to a new class.  I hope though, that it isn’t the last time they share practice time.  They both worked so hard this year and learned so many new skills.  I love, LOVE watching them work hard in the gym as well as practice their skills in the living room floor, on what they have dee...

While we’re making him wait till the end of the month to savor his first taste of cake (at his party when his grandparents can be there to ooh and aah), we couldn’t let his day go by without some sort of yummy mess.  Enter baby’s first donut for breakfast. First, he ate each individual sprinkle off of the donut.  Then, it was time to ditch the hat, and tack a dab at the icing… again using his fingers to scrape it clean. Next, it was time to dig into the donut itself. Hey Mom, do ya have any more? No? Ok, no problem… The circus baby says, “Hooray for donuts!”

It was one of the best days of my life.  Even though it seemed like the time would never arrive, finally it was time.  The doors opened, and Scott’s best friend began playing Trumpet Voluntary on his trumpet.  And dad and I began our walk down the aisle.  I will never forget the look of love in Scott’s eyes as I walked toward him down that aisle.    I have a picture of his face on my dresser so I can remember it always.  Love… Pure Love… as he looked at his Bride… How in the world was I ever lucky enough to be chosen as his bride?  We sang a few praise songs, the pastor gave his sermon (I remember him talking about the two becoming one and relating it to chemistry some how)  Then we said our vows “I Crystal, take you, Scott, as my husband.  I give you my solemn words, as a sign of my faith in you and love for you.  For better or for worse; for richer or for poorer; in sickness and in health; to love and to cherish you...

I don’t share the kids names on the blog… but ya wanna know a secret? If our youngest son, had been a girl, her name would have been Joy. And as I reflected on that recently, I couldn’t help but think what a perfect word that is for our little man. He truly is Joy personified. Never have I seen a more happy, more contented, more easy going baby. He showers us all with laughs and smiles. He is a true joy. And he has brought such depths of joy to our family this past year. His brother and sisters adore him . Truly adore him. And they have from the moment I told them we were having a baby. He was loved and welcomed into the circus crew from the womb. As far as our planning is concerned, this little man will be our last baby. And knowing that, I have tried very hard to savor every precious moment with this guy. I have never been rushed for him to reach the next milestone or stage. I haven’t minded the nights when he needed Mommy to snuggle him to sleep on the couch or the fac...