Be Still and Know That I'm Is God

Sometimes before bed Rhys will ask me to sing to her.  About a year ago, she had a certain order of songs that she liked:  Wheels on the Bus, R-E-D, and Itsy Bitsy Spider.  After about age 3.5, she started asking me to sing her some of "your songs, mommy."  After asking her a lot of questions, I figured out that she wanted me to sing her the songs that we sing at church or that she listens to on my phone when I run. Her new favorite quickly became Hillsong United's Oceans.  So we sang that every night for several weeks.  More recently, she wanted me to sing her some new songs.  Let me say that at bedtime, like most moms, my brain is DONE.  I was having a hard time coming up with any song, much less one that was "new" to her.  One Sunday night (after singing Be Still and Know that I am God in church that morning) I started singing it to her.  She fell in love.  Even to this day, you might hear Rhys humming or singing this song.  I was able to capture her singing on a little video.

I pray that her heart will always remember this truth and she will go to this verse (and song) throughout her life.

"Be Still and Know that I'm Is God" by Rhys Bennett, age 3 (almost 4) at the time of recording:

Snow World

Sea World has a "Snow World" celebration each winter, and we decided to try it out!  Kids loved it, and we all had a ton of fun!

We just happened to be walking by the Sesame Street stage when the characters had a few minutes for pictures with their fans.  This was probably R&R's favorite part of the whole day.  And, for those of you who know Rhys well, it was a BIG deal for her to take this picture.  She has always had a love/hate relationship with characters.

We were also able to get a picture with Abby and The Count.  I think both of the twins were scared of The Count.  He kept trying to get one of them to stand in front of him.  Rhys kept pushing Rhett that way, but this is what we finally agreed on.

We saw a real reindeer!

And we loved looking at all the fun decorations.  Here was a tree made out of boots.

And another big tree made of poinsettias.  It was my favorite!
 

Rhett asked to take a picture with the white bear.

We also ran into Shamu Santa and a cute little penguin that sang and danced.

The big attraction is "Snow World," where kids can ride a tube down a snow hill and also play with snow.  Here we are waiting in line.  We ended up waiting in line for over 2 hours!

Still waiting in line and daddy entertaining Rhys.

Still waiting....

As the line moved along slowly, we figured out that the reason it was taking so long was because they were only letting in a certain number of people at a time.  Those people would go in, play for 15 minutes, and then they would leave and the next group could enter.

While we waited, the kids ran around, ate snacks, and did great!

After our long wait, we finally made it into the tent.  The kids wanted to do the ride first.

 Here is a video of Rhys on the tube.

The kids rode the snow hill 3-4 times, and then played in the snow a bit.  It was cold and fun!

We also got to reach down into this huge tub of ice and make (and throw) snowballs!

The lights were so pretty in the evening.  We were about to leave the park (with 2 very tired kiddos!) and we saw the Candy Cane Forest ahead.  We had to stop and take a couple of pictures.

Aren't these lights pretty?

Thank you Sea World!

Living with Twin Three-Nagers

Dealing with a toddler in the THREE year-old-age range can sometimes be challenging.  I have heard parents using the term "three-nager" to describe their spunky toddler and liken their behaviors to those of the dreaded teenage years.  Like anyone that has ever had a three-year-old knows, life is pretty interesting when you live with these beings of three years.  It is crazy.  Chaotic.  Demanding. Unpredictable.  Exhausting.   Exhilarating.  Hilarious.  Ridiculous.  Trying.  Fun.  Draining. Humbling.  Rewarding.  Sanity-Stealing.  But one thing it is not--boring.

This picture was taken 10 minutes after "nap" time had started.  Three year olds are free spirits.  They are really into nudity.  And add in jumping on the bed?  Pretty much their idea of a really fun time. 

Three-nagers have their own sense of style.  They have a deep desire to be independent, to dress themselves, and to do just as they please.  They do not understand the difference between playing dress up at home and getting dressed to go out of the house.

This was how Rhys dressed herself before we went to run errands one day.  I swear another mom at Target (also with a three-nager in tow) gave me that understanding head nod that us moms need sometimes.  If you have never lived with a three year old, don't judge.  Just go with it.  Today I went to the bank with Elsa and a firefighter ninja.  Sadly, I have no picture to report.

Flip flops in January because your big toe told you it was not cold?  Sure, three-nager, just get in the car.

Here is a bunny that needed to go to HEB to buy some carrots.  True story.

When three-nagers get an idea, it is very difficult to persuade them otherwise.  Why, yes there is a shopping cart full of baby stuff in the truck heading to Home Depot.

I was told there was a "bad storm" coming.  I did not argue.

Rhett saw that daddy was watching football and insisted that the Aggies were winning and he needed to wear his Aggie clothes.  We tried to tell him that it was a different team called the Cowboys that was playing.  Guess who won that argument.

Three-nagers do not keep a neat room.  And can destroy any space in about 8 seconds.

Not even sure what to say about this one.  Let's just say this "game" went on for a solid 10 minutes.

You might buy your three-nager a nice, "big kid" bed, but they will sleep on the floor 50% of the time anyway.

These three-nagers are creative little dudes.  A baseball bat can easily double as a telescope.

They are moody.  You never know which emotion will pop up at any given second.  Here is Rhys crying because I painted her nails.....after she asked me to paint her nails.

I'm not even sure why Rhett was crying here but I can tell you that I only take pictures of crying kids when it is because of something funny.  And I included a crying picture of Rhys, so we need to keep it fair.

Even though these three-nagers are a lot of work, they sure are adorable.  They are loving, sweet, and so innocent.  I adore the smiles, laughs, hugs, and perspective they bring into our home.

Living life with twin three-nagers and learning how to LOVE life with them!

December Fun

We had such a fun, busy December!  Some of the highlights include:

*Decorating our tree!

Rhett mostly ran around while we put the ornaments on, but Tim did get him to contribute a little by putting him on his shoulders.

Rhys LOVED decorating the tree, and probably put on 75% of the ornaments herself.

And that 75% was on the bottom third of our tree.  Our tree did not look amazing, and had some bare spots, but it was just perfect to me.

After the tree was decorated, we continued our family tradition of hot chocolate.  Nothing like wearing shorts and drinking hot chocolate in December.

*Going Christmas shopping as a family.  We had to take a quick picture before we left because I am in love with these new shirts I bought the twins.  Aren't they cute?

Taking a break in Toys R Us so Rhett could help Rhys with her necklace.

*We made a Gingerbread House!  There was lots of tasting and licking going on.  Next year, I will make sure we do this at another time other than right before bedtime.  And I will make sure daddy is home.  There may have been some structural issues with our house.  :)

Here is Rhett with the side of the roof he decorated.

And Rhys with her side.

The finished product.

*Several families from our church went Christmas caroling at a nursing home.  The kids passed out treats while we walked the halls and sang.   I remember doing this as a kid and I am hoping this is a tradition we continue with our family.

*Crafts!  We did a lot of holiday crafts this year, but the kids really enjoyed painting these little ornaments I bought.

Look at the concentration!

We had such a fun December!  More posts coming up soon including Sea World, a trip to the Riverwalk, and of course Christmas!