This is where I have been

Some of you may have read my post on potty training and my relationship with God! Well let me share with you where we are on that front, here in the Pomerleau household!
I praise God for those people who constantly remind me as a mom not to get too crazy about the 'right' time, the 'right' way,etc. As you may remember our first attempt of 'training' Luke didn't get to completion and that was simply because he wasn't quite ready. So I decided to wait... and then this is how it happened.

It was a nice, hot day and we were going to head out to the pool. Since mommy was busy dressing Gabriel for the event, Luke decided just to get himself dressed. In so doing he forgot to put on his little Swimmer diaper. I reminded him and he said 'No mommy, I don't want to wear that'. I quickly got ready to get very motherly and say 'luke...listen to your mom...we need to put this on...blah blah blah'. Instead the thought occurred to me that this may be another opportunity to try the potty thing. After all, it would be so much easier this summer just to teach him how to go over in our 'potty corner' by the pool (boys SURE have it easy in this department). Anyway...I gave him the choice to 1) put on the swimmer diaper or 2) not wear it BUT have to go pee the way big boys do when at the pool (the potty corner). He said he would go pee like a big boy.
With that, we proceeded to the pool and had a great time playing and swimming. AND...Luke enjoyed a very successful day going pee 'like a big boy'. Both in the corner and on the toilet! Praise God that has continued with a few accidents here and there, usually when we are in an unfamiliar setting or there is just so much going on and I'm not able to catch him in time. He really is doing well. I concur with other moms who said 'wait for the summer...it's so easy to just let them run around naked while they learn'.
In terms of the big ol' BM on the toilet...well, he did that one time but I don't think he knew it was coming! That was great...unfortunately the next time he had to go his belly must have been a bit sick b/c (without going in to unwanted descriptives) he was crampy and having some 'blow outs'. So...now we are on day 3 with no poop...I think this part may take a bit longer. That's okay though...
I have to admit I am enjoying this sense of a small piece of freedom almost being handed back to me. Not a big deal right now because I am still changing Gabe's diapers...but hey...to be down to just one in diapers...that's starting to feel good.

So...three cheers for Luke, and you know what? three cheers for MOM...I could've pushed the issue a couple of months ago and I think if I had...there would have been trouble! So, too any moms who are feeling a bit "why isn't this happening yet?"...give it some time!

Thank God for the smiles!

It is just one of those days where it does me good to stop and reflect on the smiles from my three boys! May tomorrow be a day of many smiles!

P.S. I am hoping that the pics I uploaded are on this post...though I don't know where they are at the moment. So, Leigh I will probably need you to give me a blogging with pictures 101 tutorial if you don't see any pictures.
Here goes nothing!

Just stuff

Just a little peek in to what's been going on in the Pomerleau household. We had a wonderful Memorial Day Weekend. We have a wonderful friend who bought a 'camp' (camp is a bit strong... it is a 3 br house on a beautiful lake...but we call it camp). Anyway, Chris and his brother are in charge of the upkeep, etc and for that we have open invitation use of this wonderful place. We LOVE IT! It is the ONE place we can truly get away. The boys love it because they truly get mommy and daddy's undivided attention b/c nobody can get to us (except the few who have the house number...our cell phones don't work out there). Anyway, over the weekend Luke became a great fisherman, Nicholas conquered his 'fear' of tubing. Last year he had gone tubing with Daddy and the tube flipped over and so he went in the water (he wasn't going fast)...for my more reserved Nicholas this was enough to keep him from wanting to tube any more after that last summer. So...we head out on the boat and I felt like I watching him fight back the feeling of fear and he said "Mom, I'm gonna' go tubing now". And he did...oh I was SO proud to see how proud he was that he just did it. He had huge smiles (though they were a bit like those i' m terrified but having fun smiles). Needless to say he went tubing a couple of other times...one of those times neither mom or dad were out on the boat...he was with his aunt and uncle. Well, that was neat to see...oh I LOVE to watch my kids work through life things and I praise God for His hand in their life. What else...well, true to the Pomerleau family fashion, we did have to take one trip over the weekend to the Emergency Room. Middle of the night, Gabriel's second night of not sleeping well AT ALL, trip back in to town to visit our favorite ER, motrin and ear drops. That was our outing and thankfully Gabe did sleep better.

Since our time at 'camp' we have been busy at home. Gabriel is in a most exhausting stage of wanting to be literally attached to mommy at the hip! Very hard right now...but still as cute as ever. He is right on the edge of being able to crawl around on his own. I am hoping once he figure that out that maybe that will help it?! Who knows...
Luke had a bug bite over his eye that swelled up SO huge...his eye was practically shut! Oh when I looked at him I wanted to chuckle and cry at the same time.
Nicholas...this is a favorite of mine right now. He LOVES to wear tank tops. But what's great about it is that more often than not he gets things a bit mixed up. He lets me know in the morning "MOM...I'm going to get dressed. I think I am going to wear a TOP TANK today". Too cute, huh?

Alrighty...should REALLY get to bed!

More than a bike ride!

Today is my husband's birthday. I hope on this day he was encouraged by how special he is to those around him. Today, I was reminded again of how blessed I am to call him 'mine'.

We had a wonderful evening, just the five of us. A scrumptious dinner and dessert and some gifts. After dinner and the clean-up we decided to head out on our first family bike ride of the year. I LOVE to ride a bike. When Chris was in school at WOLBI I rode often with Nicholas in the baby carrier seat and I so enjoyed it. I don't think Luke really got any riding time in that seat, but he certainly loves to ride his own bike now. This year I was so excited when we were able to head outside for some activity that did not require snow gear that I set out to do some serious bike riding with the boys. Anyway, where was I? Oh...we set out on our first family bike ride.

It was a beautiful night. Blue skies...oh, except for right over there...and as we set out from our driveway we hear thunder. My immediate thought is "oh...we shouldn't do this..stink...the boys will be so disappointed". Chris looked at me and says "what? let's go..." So...off we go! A little more thunder and then a crack of lightning..."ok...that's it...are we even safe out here?" Still, our fearless leader takes us further down the road to our destination. Did I tell you our destination is the nearest movie gallery where we had to drop off the last 3 discs of LOST season 3. It was great we could take care of that errand and have some family fun...except it meant we would be taking our first family bike ride on a route that included some heavy traffic areas, but sidewalks, too. However...I'm a little unsure about how the boys will do. We got to the busy street sidewalk and headed up a slight steady incline. Luke was a trooper...Chris riding between him and the edge of the sidewalk that borders a VERY busy main street in Lewiston. Nicholas, halfway up that road turns around and says "mom, this is CRAZY!" with the biggest grin on his face!

We almost make it to the end of this VERY busy street (I have only yelled out "Be careful...slow down...watch where you're going" a few too many times) and the rain starts. Thankfully the thunder and lightning haven't returned, but the wind had picked up. We pull in to the movie gallery and I think Chris is going to say..."Let's sit here and see if it passes quickly." Instead he runs in and comes back out...looks at me and again says "What...let's get going". So we go! This part of our route involves two fairly decent declines on newly wet pavement. I don't think I was breathing very well at this point. But, the boys don't even seem to notice the rain which was not a heavy downpour, but more of a light downpour if that makes sense? Gabriel was sitting behind me...laughing and giggling and clapping his hands!
We get to our street and the boys 'race' on home...thrilled at the time they had just spent. What a great activity.

This is what I took from that bike ride. Throughout the ride, even from the very beginning, I would see just the slightest opposition and was ready to retreat, ready to just play it safe. Chris, however, urged us on and thankfully we trust him enough to follow. I remember thinking 2, maybe 3 times, that what the boys were enjoying right now wouldn't have ever been if it was up to me. I remember thinking I wouldn't have even enjoyed this activity tonight if it was up to me. We accomplished our task, had some great time of teaching how to do a family bike ride, and had a blast while doing it (inbetween nervous yell-outs to "slow down" or "watch Daddy").

I am SO thankful that God has given me a man who will not just let me retreat. Someone who will urge me on, even when there's resistance. And how much greater for my boys...that they will be urged on to try new things, to see things as possible, and to have fun while trying! I am amazingly blessed that God allows me to be a part of and a recipient of something so wonderful... that is the gift of my husband, Chris.

So, yes...it was a family bike ride...but this ride included some moments of insight for me. Insight to my tendencies and insight to my husband's ways of complimenting those tendencies. Insight to how God took two people each with their own strengths and weaknesses and put them together in a way that I believe can be a tremendous blessing to our three boys if we continue to work together!

Aaaahhh...did you know a bike ride could do all that?

PAUSE

Yesterday, my pastor (also my dad) encouraged us a church as he shared about the pause he took to think on what God has done in and through our church over the last 35 days. Because of a guest speaker at the church he did not need to spend his usual 2-3 hours on Saturday night pouring over his message. So he took some time to pause and look back over the past month or so. He said, and I agree, that we so often get caught up with everything...going from event to event, ministry to ministry that we fail to stop and see exactly what God is doing in those ministries. Anyway, our church had had the privilege to have quite an outreach. In this span of 35 days or so we have interacted with and ministered to 1300 people, numerous nationalities, have spent thousands of dollars, put buildings up, roof tops on, cracked over 500 eggs (breakfast at a youth camp for the weekend), and more!! My dad/pastor shared this NOT so we could feel good about ourselves, not so we could say 'oh good...we're done for a while'...it was to encourage the church to keep on keeping on, to give praise to God who is using us and working in big ways, and to remind us that we are not here for US but for HIM!!!
So I encourage you (and myself) to take some time to PAUSE. Look over the last little bit in your own personal life, your family life, your church life...and take notice of what God is doing. But remember...after you hit PAUSE you must hit PLAY! Get out there and serve Him!

The All-American Past Time and my boys!

Baseball...it is such a wonderful sign of spring!! I grew up watching and playing many sports with my brothers, my father, my uncles, my grandfather's, and cousins. Of course I did the most with my dad and brother's. We played sports outside, inside, with nerf balls, with hard balls, even with balloons!!! Four-square, football, basketball, tennis, soccer, figure skating, badmitton, and of course...baseball! I grew up loving the NY Yankees. In fact I still love the Yankees (though I will cheer the Red Sox on as well, unless they're playing the Yankees). GASP!!
My dad loved baseball. Loved to play, loved to watch it on t.v., and loved to watch his boys play. He didn't love umping his boys' games as much, though... oh those fans were awful!!! He passed on the love of the game to his two son's. I remember them getting so excited for little league. They would get their batting gloves, they would play hours of wiffle ball, and they would call the games as we would watch them on t.v. I distinctly remember laying on the floor, watching a game with Josh and we would try to call the pitch before the ump. Then their was the morning ritual of the sports page. NO JOKE...my brothers read this like their Bible!! They memorized the stats and they could tell you anything you needed/wanted to know about the current season...and how that differed from the season before...and what that would mean for the season ahead!! Of course, we all had our own binders FULL of baseball cards...and we would take them with us everywhere, because you never knew when it would be a good time to make a trade. I loved my Don Mattingly, Ricky Henderson, Ryan Sandberg (who I was in love with), and Greg Maddux..there were others (my memory of who was who is not quite like my brothers). Anyway...they really loved baseball!
Well, I am a mom of 3 boys...and so baseball is something that is often played and talked about and watched. I think one of the first songs my parent's taught Nicholas was "Take Me Out To The Ballgame"!! Nicholas is already an amazing player. He hits well and is really coming to understand the game this year. Luke has grown immensely over the past year. Last year it was the painful 323 pitches before he would finally 'hit' the ball. This year...he can connect quite often. He loves to run the bases...of course the bases are wherever he is running at the time. He loves to catch! He got his own glove for his birthday and he LOVES to crouch down with it and be the catcher (just like his Aunti Abi).
My dad got to take Nick to a baseball game while Chris was in Haiti! I must tell you it was one of those special moments...for my dad AND for Nick. Big smiles and baseball stories Nick had to share when he got back. Oh how it blessed my heart to see my dad sharing with my son just as he did with my brother's.
Well, for the past week my boy's have been doing something that I KNOW will make their grandpa and uncles proud. And, again, seeing this connection passed on to my boys warms my heart in an inexplainable way. Anyway, they now like to see if the Red Sox are on the radio at night (who else would be on Maine's radio). And if they are...that is what they listen to as they drift off to sleep! PRECIOUS!!
You know, I do believe God gives gifts in many ways. Take baseball...a game that many play and many watch. A game, however, that holds an amazing connection that I see and that, yes, I hold very dear. For in this game I have experienced another piece of what it can mean to be FAMILY!!! Thank you, Lord!
P.S. Baseball glove: $15.00 Single game Right Field Box Ticket to Red Sox game: $50.00
3-year old Luke falling asleep to Red Sox on radio with baseball glove on hand: PRICELESS!

Grandpa, Uncle Josh and Uncle Dan...you have passed on much more than a game!

Where I've Been

Sincere apologies to any of my readers who try to keep up with what may be going on in my world...to many it may appear NOTHING has been going on. Well, first let me assure you that is NOT true. My husband was gone for 10 days (11 sleeps as my children say) on a missions trip to Haiti. During that time I had some real fun times with family and friends, I had the opportunity to teach my kids how THEY can be involved in missions by prayer, I had medical issues with all 3 of my children (of course), and I had the opportunity to depend on God as I entrusted my husband to him in a special way for those 11 sleeps. I am SO grateful for the precious moments I was able to have with my 3 boys, and I am SO grateful that God has given me a husband who loves me and is a father who is present and a help!!!
After the Haiti trip I had kindergarten registration/screening for my first-born child!! Nicholas passed with flying colors and mom almost failed. If the room I had to go do my paperwork in was empty I would have dissolved in to tears. However...I quickly regained composure and did my motherly duty as I told this school all about my child. It is an exciting time but SUCH an overwhelming time as I prepare for this FIRST in his life and mine! More to come on that in the future (far too near future for me).
Besides that...laundry, bike rides, baseball games, American Idol, laundry, grilling out, LOST (my hubby and I have watched seasons 1 and 2 and are in the midst of season 3), Arbonne business, and washing the car...more of what I've been doing as we here in Maine get ready for summer!! It has been very nice here with sun and warmer temps...keep it coming Lord, please keep it coming.
Well...just a quick re-cap of where I've been! I've missed you...have you missed me?