The Year in Review and a Look Ahead

This year has been full and fast. It seems that the years fly by so fast, especially with the kids. Grace turned 4 this year and Ben turned 2. It is so strange not to have any more babies. I started the year with a "baby", Ben was only 15 months, but now he is 2 years old and talking up a storm. It is amazing what 10 months does in the life of a little one. Grace is blossoming into a beautiful little girl. She isn't a toddler anymore that is for sure. She is a social butterfly and a great big sister.

Peter and I had a big year, I started my jewelry business in Febuary which has been a great success and has been alot of fun. I have really enjoyed finding something that I can excel at and that has provided great blessings for our family. Peter left his job at St. Joseph's Hospital and started a counseling center with a business partner in October and I know that God is going to do great things through Life Builders. Peter and Robbie are challenging the way counseling centers have been done in the past and forging a new path that will impact our community with healing.

Our marriage is stronger today than ever before I believe. We had a rocky couple of months this year, but in the end God spoke words of wisdom into our hearts and years of healing was done in Peter's in one divine conversation. We are truly in pursuit of partnering together and experiencing intimacy in our marriage like never before. I so look forward to a deepening of our relationship.

Being a mom is the toughest role I have for sure. As the kids get older and more of their personality unfolds, it is a constant changing of how to deal with the every day things. Like where does a 4 year old learn to roll her eyes? Or how does Ben know how to be "huffy" with the folded arms and pouty face? They are both very funny and make me laugh all the time, sometimes when I shouldn't. Benjamin has become enamored with burping and saying excuse me, so he likes to make a "burp noise" (it sounds more like a tractor to me) and then say "excuse me" which sounds like "moo me." He also likes to say "Oh Man!" all the time before everything. Grace takes after her mom and has become a proficient hand talker. She is super expressive with her face, you probably have never experienced the excitement she can muster over something as simple as a piece of pink string she found while riding her bike (now coined her "magic ribbon"). She is doing so well in school. She is learning her letters, numbers, she loves to retell stories, and is proud to be able to write her own name. I find myself totally wiped by the end of the day more times than not, they just have so much energy. I am reading a book called, Grace Based Parenting, which I hope will help me as we get into tougher parenting years. As discipline becomes character building versus just trying to keep them safe. I now realize that disciplining a 12 month old so she doesn't stick her finger in the light socket easier than disciplining her now at 4 year olds when she just said "whatever" with more attitude than I would like or figuring out how to explain to my 2 year old that he doesn't always get what he wants despite the fit he is pitching. Anyway, I look forward to what the year brings and I am so blessed to be a mom to these two special and unique little ones.

What's to come for the Dell's:

Well this year Ben will be a ring bearer in a wedding in January. We got his a little 5 piece suit (For $30 can you believe it). We tried the suit on him and he looks SOOOOO adorable, as soon as we put it on he said, "Benny go to work" since Daddy wears dress shirt and pants to work.

I am working hard in my jewelry business to promote to builder and designer by sponsoring other jewelers and hope that I can go to Rally this year in July.

Peter is working hard to help make his business successful. We hope the counseling center will have a great presence in the community and God will direct them to the right places to spend money, resources, and time.

Grace will finish 4's and start kindergarten this year, I can't believe my baby is going to be in school not just preschool.

Ben will be eligible to be in young 3's, but we are not sure if we are going to send him just yet, we will see how the year goes.

Peter and I are both going to start exercising (I know how cliche') but I would really like to run a 5K in March, but I am not sure if I can do it.

We want to connect with people more. We feel like we have had our nose to the grindstone the past couple of years and I don't think we have come up for air, and we miss spending time with people we know, and we really would like to cultivate friendships with new people. We miss having friends to call and relationships with other couples.

Most of all we look forward to spending time together as a family. Deepening our relationships with each other, learning more about our kids and each other, and just living life together. We want our house to be a place where the fragrance of Christ is evident, that our kids call home in the truest sense, and that people feel welcome.

Looking ahead with anticipation and recalling the past with fond memories.

The Holidays

So the Christmas holidays have come and gone and they were pretty amazing. The kids loved all their things they got. Grace got her Leapster, some games, and My Little Pony. Ben got Thomas the Train sets, Mickey Mouse Clock, and cars, cars, cars. My parents brought us into the 21st century (as my mom called it) by buying us a flat screen tv, which is pretty awesome.

We as a family (from my mom) got a Wii. I know like everyone in the world already has one, but we got one this year and Grace loves it. She is better at the bowling than I am. It is so funny to watch her get strikes and jump up and down like she just won the state lotto. She also has become a bit of a trash talker when you play with her, which is so funny to listen to. She told Pete (after a strike), "beat that big boy!" And told me, "oh yeah, that's a stripe (which is a strike)!" She's got a competetive streak in her that is for sure. I have a feeling the Wii is going to afford some good sportsmanship lessons, and that you aren't always the best everytime, which she hasn't experienced too much seeing her usual competition is her 2 year old brother. So unless we are talking about who eats more (Ben), she is usually "the best" right now.

My dad got the kids little ipod shuffles, which they love, it is hilarious to watch them walk around with their head phones "singing." It is amazing how techno savvy kids are these days. I got a cassette player when I was 7 or 8, now my babies have ipod shuffles at 4 and 2.

Looking forward to New Year's and then the year is off and running again. Soon to say hello to 2009!

Cleaning Out

So I am cleaning out the toy room to make room for the new Christmas toys that are going to be coming from Santa and grandparents. My question is how in the world do you decide what to get rid of? I mean my kids seem to play with everything that is not a toy. For example, today I have confiscated (from Ben) a can of hairspray, dishwasher packets, Sissy's dinner plate (which he was using as a hat), makeup, pens, and I am sure other stuff I just can't remember. From Grace I have gotten index cards (all scribbled on and wadded up), mommy's business cards, and makeup. Granted they do play with alot of their toys, I mean they aren't a total waste, but sometimes I wonder? I swear they get the greatest joy out of the weirdest things.

Quotes

So while at the doctor's office with my sick little man I was reading this magazine and they had a page of quotes that I thought were so funny so I had to share!



" Golf wear is the disturbing thing that happens when men take an interest in fashion."



"Sign of a great housekeeper - You haven't misplaced your house once."



" Nothing says 'new mom' like a baby in a dry-clean-only sweater." (my fave!)



"Don't the tires rotate themselves every time the car is driven?"



Kids occasionally need space. Adults occasionally need martinis. Don't mess with a system that works."



"Achieving work/life balance is easy. Especailly if you like creating synergies and leveraging your core competencies in your free time." (Scarily, I know people who talk this way and I have no idea what it means.)



Hope you got a smile out of one of these!

Rosie

So we have a new addition to our family, Rosie. Who might you ask is Rosie, a dog, cat maybe? No, Rosie is Grace's "imanginary daughter." Not imaginary friend or pet, her daughter.

I was watching the kids play outside the other day and Grace was pushing the swing (with no one on it)and talking to "Rosie." When I asked her who Rosie was, she said, she's my daughter. Granted Rosie is not a traditional imaginary friend, she doesn't go with us all the time and only seems to pop up on occasion, but what I notice when Rosie is around is that Grace tends to sound alot like me. It can be very weird to hear your words come out of your daughter's mouth. Although most of it was very sweet and gentle, I did notice a couple of harsh tones and words that I recognized as something I had said to Grace before. It reminded me (again) that my kids are sponges and soak up every word I say, every smile, every bad attitude, every bit of playfulness, and every harsh tone I use.

I in no way have the expectation that I have the ability to raise my kids to be perfect angels all while perfectly dressed and never raising my voice, because I can use the "voice of reason" instead (you cannot reason with a 2 year old). I gave up on that pipe dream a while ago, but I think I do need to be more careful that I don't let my temper get the best of me on a regular basis. There is nothing more special than being a mom, and I love my kids with all my heart and I want to make sure that they know that without a shadow of a doubt.

I want there to be more I love you's than time-outs, more hugs and kisses than angry words, more laughing than crying, and more playfulness than arguments. I just have to keep reminding myself because there is nothing more devious than the monotony of everyday to steal those thoughts from me. So I guess my fight is against the everyday and finding the joy in making my 1,000 ham and cheese sandwich, saying go back to bed for the millionth time with the same calm as I did the first time, or laughing and playing while I clean up the playroom that I just cleaned 10 minutes ago (It's amazing what kids can do in 10 minutes).

So, Fight Against the Monotony!!!! This week coming up I am going to find a new way to look at the laundry or the dishes! It's all about the perspective.

Bennyisms

Okay for posterity I have to write about some of my favorite Bennyism's.

Donuts: When ever I say we are going to church his response is "Donuts?", but the best part is how he says it, "Doo-nuts?"

McDonald's: As any kid does, Ben loves McD's. When I asked him, "What are you going to get at McDonald's?" Grace said cheeseburger, Ben's response was, "Daddy's Coke." Ahhh, another coca-cola addict on my hands I fear.

Mickey Mouse: Ben refers to Mickey Mouse as "Hot Dog." Why you may ask, because the song on Mickey Mouse Clubhouse starts out as hot dog, hot dog, hot diggity dog, and somewhere in the process that song translated into Mickey's name. Don't ask me how, because I really don't have a clue.

Castle Party: Both of my kids LOVE Disney, and I must admit, so do I. They both adore the castle stage show called Dream along with Mickey. Right at the beginning they sing a song called "Castle Party." Grace can sing a good part of it, but Ben doesn't have all the words down quite like she does so you only get every seventh word or so, and he throws in some repeat phrases. He does have the tune down though. My favorite part of the song is how he says castle party, it comes out as, "cashew potty."

"Me": Whenever we ask a question like, "Who wants a cookie?" Ben now raises his hand and shouts, "Meee!"

Princess: Ben loves the princesses, partly because Grace does and partly I think he likes giving them his coy little smile that just melts your heart. The princesses were the only characters at Disney that little booger would take a picture with! He also likes the princess songs, and he can sing the Sleeping Beauty song, "I Know You", at least in part and it is so adorable.

Dancing: Ben has quite a little groove and loves music. Give him a good beat and he likes to shake it. He has his little signature move he does that is a cross between the chicken dance with the arm flapping and some type of little bouncing up and down move while turning around in a circle. It is quite a sight to see.

Just writing these makes me smile. He is such a unique little boy and I love him with all my heart. He's my little man!

Girl's Night

So Peter has been away this weekend for a business planning retreat, so it has been just me and the kids. Grace and I have had a "girl's night" which requires Ben to be asleep, rootbeers (in the bottle), cheese, popcorn, and cookies. Don't ask where that food combination came from, I really don't know, but that is what we have at every "girl's night." We watched a Christmas cartoon "on demand" for 4.99, which amazingly gave Grace the creeps because of the bad guy in it. I am always amazed at what she finds scary.

It was alot of fun, I always enjoy getting to hear her thoughts and reasoning on life. She is such an inquisitive and thoughtful little thing, so we always have interesting conversation. She is really getting to the age where you can talk things out and she can listen and really dialouge with you. She has her own opinions on things and wants to be heard. Having the girl's night reminded me that even at this young age she has the need to be heard, to be affirmed, and to be seen and loved.

I think it is easy for her to get "lost" sometimes because Ben is still young and is at that cute stage where he says cute things and he is just adorable, so he garners alot of attention from everyone. Granted Grace had that same thing when she was 2, but I can see in her now that she wants that same attention, that same recognition.

I believe that her love language is quality time, she likes gifts, but nothing seems to excite her more than a date night with Daddy or a Girl's night with Mommy. What I am sure about is that we need to make them more frequent, because if her love tank is full from those times, I think that her need to copy, to be first, or to win would be less. Granted, I don't expect her not to copy Ben when he is getting a laugh or to try her own thing to get laughs and praise, but I want to make sure that she understands that she is wonderful just by being her. That she has been created uniquely beautiful and special. That she doesn't have to be #1 or do the same thing as Ben because she is wonderfully made by the Father himself. And that her worth doesn't lie in how funny she is or who is done with dinner first or who can jump the highest or run the fastest, but instead in who she is as a person. Grace is a pretty amazing little girl and I know she will be a remarkable young woman, and an astounding adult. I want to make sure that she knows Mommy thinks that way about her.