This means the boys lost some valuable time of putting into practice what they learned.

That said, some great improvement was made.

Willik no longer is afraid of the deep end, and he can jump from the diving board without a care.  He needs to work on his stamina and his back stroke.

Phoenix moved up, and made great lengths in improving on his actual swimming skills.  He feels fine about getting his head in the water, and his freestyle form looks good.

This was Phoenix on his testing day.

We were invited by a friend to join them in a hike, which would also include a creek and some rock climbing.

We were not able to meet them early, so we had to go on our own,  and meet them there.

My boys and I started the trail, looking for yellow blazes on the trees.

That wasn’t a problem, except that sometimes the trail split, and you weren’t sure if it would come back together, or this was the turn toward the creek I was supposed to go to.

I was feeling a little out of sorts, especially since my you gest doesn’t pay close enough attention, and he kept tripping at every other step, and I had visions of him going over a cliff.

My friend called, said they too had passed the point of going down to the creek, so if I kept walking, I should meet up with her.

This eased my mind a bit, and we kept eating our sandwiches and walking.

Soon after, we were rewarded with spotting a deer about 8 feet from us, and I was able to get pictures!  I know!  It was a minor miracle.

We kept walking some more, and a few minutes later, met up with our friends and the fun began!

We had the pleasure of getting to do some “real” rock climbing, with an experienced belayer/climber, so it was a treat.

My oldest loved every minute, and was a regular little monkey/bear on those rocks. The youngest, not so much, though he at least tried.

I even climbed, and I haven’t done that in like 14 years.  I didn’t make it all the way to the top, but I got real close, and I have some bangs on my legs to prove my efforts.

This was the best photo of the day…

Then there’s 4 more from the past….

April 28

Willik playing the saxophone with the school band

April 29

The race for education

April 30

The last set of paintingsI worked on for 30day artist.

May 1

this just felt like a photo that should be black and white. Willik playing the bass with Got Strings? at the Strawberry Festival in New Hope!

The boys looked so handsome, and Willik had said Phoenix looked like a boy model.  So I decided I should take some pictures.

This one was my favorite.  Just look at the love on Phoenix’s face.  Willik often does not realize how much his brother adores him.

Since they were posing, here’s one more.  They are indeed, quite handsome, aren’t they?? I guess I’m biased!

The, the back up photos from April.

This includes April 23, 24(Easter), April 25th(my birthday) and April 27th.

As you can see, I’m missing some days in there…. Life must go on, even if I did not snap a photo.

Soon,we will move into May….

107 yeah! art supplies!!

108 macro close up of a tulip

109 the garden in a friend’s yard

110 silliness in Lancaster

After school, and after homework, I coaxed the boys into going outside, rather than sitting inside to watch TV.

Although they didn’t thank me, I think they had a good time…

The pros, there are lots of things to shoot.

The cons, expecting my husband and sons to cooperate for “normal” photos.

I managed to get a few good ones.

My favorite, the silliness going on by the huge pile of railroad ties…

Not sure what was so interesting that they were all looking at it, but at least they are all facing one direction.

Willik proved to be the best model.

Phoenix does best when he’s not asked to smile.

I will go back and shoot more.

Anyone want to volunteer for some pictures?

But Jr. Madness is.

Jr. Madness is First Baptist Church’s basketball competition for boys in 3rd-6th grade.

This is the second year Willik has participated.

He is not a huge basketball player.  IN fact, he hardly plays at all, but having been asked by some friends, and getting a chance to ask his best friend to join the team, he played.

It was fun trying to capture photos of them.  It just shows me how tough being a sports photographer is.  I would truly need a much faster lens.

But, I set up my tripod, and did my best to capture some moments.

Here was my favorite.

I like how Willik is not losing focus, even though the opponent is jumping in front of him.

I also like this next shot of him, trying out for the 3-pointer shootout.  That’s a hard throw for a 4th grader, and I thought he had good form here.

Mostly, even though they didn’t win, I hope Willik is learning something about the time spent with friends, the lessons learned, and how winning is not all it’s cracked up to be

.

I’m trying to get ready to enter a juried art show in Philadelphia, and spent all morning on my resume.  Had lunch, and was looking over some books for inspiration, when I got a call to come get Phoenix, because he had a 102.9F fever.

Needless to say, picture taking was not a priority.

After some meds, he fell asleep.

This was my picture…

It was good because most of them were there, and I think it helped them get to know each other better, especially since one of the boys in their team is Willik’s friend from school.

Anyway, the few pictures are all from that event. They all have some blurriness due to heavy motion, and lack of tripod.

Phoenix spent his time doing all sorts of things.  One of his “things” was laying behind the basketball reading a track…

They spent a lot of time being goofy as well…

Thanks Al for “coaching” the Five Guys.

Hope they are ready.  As long as they try their best and are having fun, it shouldn’t be a problem.

We went to NYC for a day of giving. 5 families, armed with 200 brown lunch bags.

We went to join Graffiti Church‘s efforts to feed the homeless and others with difficulties.

Did you know that we were able to feed someone by spending only $1.13.  That included getting paper goods and replenishing Graffiti’s coffee.

A nice, tuna salad sandwich on a kaiser roll, a snack-sized bag of  baby carrots and a yummy sweet and filling granola bar.  And a cup of coffee.

I am always amazed how little it takes, financially, that is.

The biggest sacrifice is the time and willingness to get it done.

Anyway, one of the blessings for me was to see 6 boys, from different walks of life, with different circumstances, having so much fun together.

So, my picture of the day are those boys, on 7th Street, being little boys!

Ralphie, Antonio, Isaiah, Willik, Phoenix and Zach

We all should have this much fun everyday!

The other pictures seemed to fit a theme… yellow.

Love those Lower East Side Gardens.

Wish I had a little Vespa like that!

And did you notice there was yellow up at the top picture too??

It sure does help with those dreary winter days in the city!

Thanks Steins, Frucks, Campbells and Orlandos for a fun and super-fly day!

Yesterday was a beautiful day. It was more like summer than spring.
After the boys came home from school and got their homework done, they went to play outside.
They were there a long time, as I started to get dinner ready.
All of a sudden, they both came in and brought me tons of flowers they’d collected.
Here’s what I got…

Although I make it a point to rejoice in those things, often my memory is such that soon after, I might forget the details within the event.

On Sunday, Phoenix tied his shoes by himself for the first time.  I was actually napping on the couch, after a busy mother’s day weekend, when he shouted, I opened my eyes, expecting something terrible, but I was pleasantly surprised to hear, and see, his sneakers tied correctly!

Now, we’d been working toward this for some time, and I had promised him a prize once he could tie his shoes, so I had to deliver.

He got a bubble sword.

Check him out in action:

A few minutes at home for lunch, and then it was off to drop off Phoenix at Kindergarten.

Then I gave a try at exercising at Curves with my friend, Sue.  I liked it and I will go back with Sue regularly.  Just having someone to go with is a huge incentive.

After Curves, Sue had me over for coffee.  And what a nice house, too!

Then back to school to pick up both boys.

Then home to drop off Willik, and out again to take Phoenix to his first piano lesson at Lisa’s house(a new friend from church).

Then back home to make dinner.

After dinner, I was out again to go to choir practice, but not before getting the boys showered and ready for bed.

Now I’m home and I can relax….
Thank God Patti was here!

He’s young and energetic, and keeps everyone guessing…

The one and only,

PHOENIX LORENZ MIR

Here’s what he created this morning, in front of my very eyes…

(click on drawing to see large version)

and if you’re not familiar with who he is, he’s the one about to get hit by the “obstacle” while he and his brother prepare in “Ninja School”.

The boys did great.

Willik was a bit anxious and excited, but he came out of school the very first day saying it was “Awesome!!!”  He’s very excited about the fact that recess is a total of 45 minutes long(15min. in the morning and 30 min. after lunch), and as opposed to his school in NYC, he’s actually allowed to run during recess.  He also seems to be making friends, and enjoying his teacher.

Phoenix was very eager to go.  Unfotunately, Phoenix has only half-day kindergarten, because that is all they offer here.  Also, he’s going to the afternoon session which further cripples his flourishing.

It doesn’t do much for my schedule either, since I have Phoenix most of the day, and when I do drop him of for K. I have to be back there in 2 and a half hours.

The dropping off system, as mentioned in the previous entry, doesn’t conduce friendships, but I did have a short conversation with one of Willik’s classmate’s mom–Dottie.  And that made me happy.

So the first week is over, and it looks as if the transition to a new school will continue to go well.  Praise God the boys are making friends, and enjoying all that is new.

The church thing is still up in the air.  Tomorrow we shall visit our 4th church since being here.  Let’s see what that brings.

Below are some pictures of the boys first day.  Don’t they look like “big” boys?

I mean, literally…. watch this video…

That’s the hardest thing about the summer. The boys just have energy galore. They have no school. So I have them all day, and I’m trying to come up with a variety of activities.

We’ve gone out everyday. Trips ranging from the library, to Botanical Gardens, to the beach. But still, if they’re home for any length of time, they are driving me up the walls. Though I cannot climb like Willik. Phoenix is desperately trying to learn, but his legs just don’t reach far enough yet.

So, if you think of it, say a prayer for my sanity in these last 2 weeks in this house. With no backyard.  And mostly no Fabio.

And if you care to, you can take a look at some of my photos from our Canada week. Enjoy!

I woke up hearing the two of them playing. And playing nicely. No bickering. Notell-tale. I even peeked in the living room, without being noticed, and they were playing a memory game which they haven’t touched in ages. I then tip-toed back to my room to check on emails, before joining them for cereal breakfast–another rare event.

What can all this fun be attributed to? A non-rush morning. It’s true! We didn’t have anywhere to be. We didn’t have school or “graffiti“, to which Phoenix exclaimed, “Yeaaah!” Soccer is canceled for today because of the holiday weekend, and it proved to be a great thing! They were playing til recently, and then as I write this, they are out with dad for a boys’ run on the nearby track. A much beloved but also rare activity.

I guess we should “schedule” more days with nothing to do!

So, mother’s day with young kids can feel at times, like more of a battle of wills than a celebration. That’s pretty much what I felt like, from when I first got out of bed. Right away I was having to “fight” to be listened to. That doesn’t get your day going well, no matter what day it is. I was glad it was Sunday, because after missing last Sunday’s service due to the Bike Tour, I was eager to see our friends, and help lead the music. I knew that just being at church would help me feel better about mother’s day.

The Friday night prior, the day we decided to make an offer on a house after yet another house hunting trip, Phoenix had already given me the gift he’d made at school. It’s a white plate which has the personalized drawing which Phoenix made for me, along with a card. It was a great drawing, and I’ll post it here later.

Willik had given me a note from the teacher to all the mothers, but had expressed that he had 2 more things to give me, which he’d give me on Saturday, and the the final one on Sunday.

As it turns out, he’d left his presents at my parents’ house, so he was not able to give me the gifts until yesterday evening, There was a wardrobe sachet, and a little fill-in the blank book about what to give your mom.

But the real treasure was a poster laminated to work as a place mat, which had a drawing and a poem. The poem is what is really amazing. Read it for yourself.

Just so you know, I cried as I read thru it, and I cracked up too.  The day ended on a good note, and I’m so glad I get to be the mom to these 2 wonderful, rambunctious and sweet little boys.  I pray for much wisdom, patience, and sense of humor, as I attempt to lead them to follow God’s ways.  Keep me in your prayers.

Driving is not an option, because finding parking elsewhere is unlikely, and I can’t sit in the car and tell the boys to go do something. Going out to eat is the most logical thing, since it is lunch time, but eating out alone with the 2 boys can be more trying than anyone bargained for. Walking to the park is a decent possibility, but often times, like yesterday, it had been raining, so that was also out of the picture.

I opted, instead, for a walk to the farmers’ market. That would provide some running time for the boys, along the park, and it would help us spend some time, and get some munchies, since we would be going for a late lunch at my mom’s, for a belated special birthday lunch.

After buying a couple things, one of the sellers asked Phoenix why he still had not drank his chocolate milk.  I replied that we were heading back to church, and we would then enjoy our munchies there.  Once I mentioned the church, the seller “next door” asked me more about the church, as the boys and I sampled her jams.  We enjoyed them as I told her about Graffiti and where it was located, and what some of our ministries were.  I was glad for the chance to invite her.

After Fabio was done with his meeting, we got in the car and started driving, when I remembered the  I designed for Graffiti most recently, and asked Fabio to turn around and return to the farmer’s market.  I quickly shuffled thru my backpack and found a new, clean, neat postcard and ran out of the car to hand it to Cynthia.  She was glad to have it, told me that back in the day her son has “lost his way” as well, and had possibly served, or been served there.  I was glad to have a chance to invite her, when it wasn’t planned, and it felt great to hand her something that looked nice, professional and inviting.  I also bought her garlic jelly.  It’s yummy.

I hope she’ll visit Graffiti soon.

I do feel 2 things are responsible for this change:
1. Phoenix decided in his mind, that he was ready to start eating. It was somehow an inward decision that reflects much of his personality. No begging or pleading from us could ever replace his desire and timing to do something.
2. I’ve been asking for friends’ prayers on his challenging behavior, and I think it’s no accident that some of this started to change after I was very specific about asking people to pray for specific needs concerning Phoenix.
God knows me and he knows my heart and my faults. He knows the levels of craziness I am able to handle, and I guess he thought it was time for this to phase to pass.
Yeah for kids who eat! Thanks Lord!

Then wednesday, Phoenix starts at Rainbow preschool. He went there for about 2 weeks, in the summer, since Willik had broken his wrist, but that was just the “lite” summer version. Now it will be everyday, all day, and he will be adjusting to being away from me on a daily basis, and showing his success with the potty training.

Then from thursday on, I will be starting a new phase of my life, where I’ll become mom-chauffer in the morning and afternoon rush hour, and in between, I will become an artist again! More on that later…

Now that Phoenix is also 3, he seems to have a interest in it as well; He has no fears or qualms about picking up any bugs–in typical boy fashion. The other day he found a fat slug in his car seat–another blog entry.

Anyway, yesterday, we went on one of those walks, searching for cicada shells. I had a small container to hold all the ones we found, so we could check them out more closely when we got back to the house. We collected 11 shells, though we saw probably another 6 or 7 which Fabio couldn’t reach as they were too high. We also found a dead one, with it’s wings still on. We managed to spot 2 others that were climbing up the tree, still in it’s beginning stages, before it’s wings are out. Fabio even touched a live one, though it flew away before he could actually get a hold of it.

We made a few discoveries while at it…
1. They seem to like trees that have lots of leaves, especially weeping willows.
2. They are loud, and good at hiding.
3. They aren’t very fast walkers, but seem to be quite good at flying.
4. They have high and simple goals in life– climb high, look and sing for a mate, mate in song and lay eggs for the next generation.

After all that, Fabio and I were particularly impressed with their “climbing high” goal, which I think most people lack. I think most of the time, people don’t aim high enough, and are too easily side-tracked by the difficulties, and the “what-ifs”, including myself.

Also, I was more curious about cicadas, and what they are all about, so I went and read more at Cicada mania. It’s pretty fascinating stuff, and I hope others will take the time to take a look at more of the nature that God has put around us, even if you live in the city. Just keep your eyes open, and you just might learn of some other way in which God’s infinite creativity will astound you.

When we got home, all of us washed our hands real good. You never know what little maggots might lie inside of a cicada shell.

And who knows what in the world sets it off. It can be anything from a fight over matchbox cars, to just a gleeful-screamful run around the house. Whatever it is, I don’t know, because as aforementioned, I’m on the phone.

I want to make public apologies to anyone of you, who because of being on the phone with me, might have lost some of their hearing. No, I am not kidding! I think that is entirely possible. My apologies also go out in saying that I’m sorry if you’ve had to repeat yourself countless times, because I’ve had to say that I don’t hear you. I’m sorry if you felt like you were calling the zoo. Sometime I feel like I’m living in it. I’m sorry for saying excused me a minute, as I’ve attempted to corral the situation.

If you know all about what I’ve talked about so far, then you probably know about this second part, and that is, the part about me screaming back. Sure, I try to be discreet sometimes, and sometimes I’m able to handle it with a stern look, or a uick strong voice, but too many times, I find myself screaming just like them, if not louder, just so I will be heard!
Yeah, I know what you are thinking…screaming doesn’t help. I agree, but sometimes, that’s all I got.

Anyway, about a week ago, a friend sent me a link to this little movie below. She said all that was missing were Willik and Phoenix at her feet. I thought it was hilarious, and I think she was right.

Let me know what you think. If you can identify, and have answers, please send them my way too. But mostly, send prayers.

And as I said on sunday during our worship songs time …
deep down I know, I must thank God…
for screaming kids

In all this madness, I need to find equal and powerful ways to be excited about these moments too.
I’m learning….

Willik turned 4 yesterday. He is a kid now, I think. I don’t think he can be called a toddler any more.
For his birthday party at school we had pringles chips, juice and ice cream cone cupcakes, with frosting.The frosting was a big hit, especially with Phoenix . One party down, 2 to go.

Well, on the other hand, 2 days ago, the first day of this incredibly hot and humid heatwave, I decided that I would have to be the meanest moom in the world, if I didn’t take the boys to the park for a bit after preschool, so we made our way there.
We weren’t there but 10 minutes, when Phoenix had an accident. He trip on his own feet, as he ran toward a slide. The slide broke his fall, ON HIS FACE! So, with a crazy bleeding nose, lots of crying, and some ladies being “thankful” that I was not this kid’s babysitter (they were); we got back to the car and made our way home quickly, attempting to ice Phoenix’s face.
Not only did I have Phoenix screaming in pain, but Willik was crying too, because he wanted to stay at the park!!!
Thus, the roller coaster of emotions and events.
Phoenix is fine, just bruised up. Looks like he was in a fist fight. Check out the photos[you'll have to look closely]…