Before & After

Before the haircuts--Jacob, assuming "the stance"

After!

Me & my boys!

Jacob and Daddy, shaving

The boys finally got some much needed haircuts on Monday which will hopefully keep them nice and cool this summer! Even Jacob did a great job, with no fussing at all while getting his locks trimmed. We went out for ice cream as a treat for them being so good. I love looking at pictures of both of the boys, they look so different right now, sometimes it's hard to believe they are brothers, but we know better :-) Dan and I had a much-needed date on Friday night. We went to Hot Springs and used a gift certificate for Outback Steakhouse and then did some shopping for a few items Dan needs for his upcoming stage combat workshop. None of us is looking forward to him being gone for 3 weeks, but we are glad my parents are coming down to spend the time with us. And the professional development Dan will receive is important, especially now since he will be up for tenure next year.

Dan and the boys gave me some nice gifts and cards for Mother's Day and we relaxed at home and had family time. At AWANA that night, they had a special cake time for all the moms at the beginning and Micah gave me a potholder that he had decorated with his hand print. I always keep these items that they make in school. They are the most precious gifts to me. And I like seeing how their ability to express themselves changes.

Right now, Micah is coming to a realization about death, and that we all will die someday. I'm not really sure what triggered it, but I can tell it's on his mind because sometimes he will say to one of us, "Jacob (or whoever), I love you, and I wish you could never die." At first I was concerned that he had a preoccupation about this, but after talking with him about it, I think it is just his way of expressing the fact that he wishes his relationships could go on and on, just like he wishes the same thing at the end of a fun-filled day. He still asks a lot of questions about what happens to people's bodies and spirits when they die, but he doesn't seem upset when he talks about this. I think for him, it's a part of understanding his world and not necessarily something he's anxious about. (The way he runs around, sometimes I think he thinks he really is invincible!) For now, we talk about how it is important to focus on what we do with our lives right here and now, even more so because we don't live forever. And we talk about how our bodies die but our spirits, that part that contains who we truly are in our hearts, continue to live on. He loves to talk about how we will have a "new" body in heaven. Like I said, he challenges me to think about all of these things myself because I have to come up with a response for him!

Jacob is learning his "pleases and thank-yous" right now. We are encouraging him to use his words when he wants something. He wants to do everything Micah does, which is sometimes good (using the potty) and sometimes not so good (demanding certain foods at every meal). I love his sweet face, how he stomp-dances without music, and the way he buries his head in my neck before bed at the end of a long day.