Every Rose has it's thorns!

During the last couple of weeks, I have been LOVING the roses in my backyard. They are beautiful and smell great. I can't wait to someday plant ones that are a blend of yellow at the bottom and deep apricot or redish/pink at the tips...if you've ever seen the movie Hanging Up, Meg Ryan has them growing around her house on trellises and rose trees (which I love) and they are amazing. I don't think the movie is great, but the roses were gorgeous! Anyhow, I've marveled at the ones in my yard this week...and cut some to bring into our home. Ouch! Do they ever have thorns! But the fragrance is gorgeous! Three small roses, filled our house with the greatest aroma!

On a separate note...I had to add another picture of my boys in church attire! I love church clothes. It's fun to look nice. I think my boys look especially angelic when in church clothes. They love going to church and get excited to do so. What a wonderful uplifting day! Well, both grandmas love it too, because both found adorable outfits for the kids. I am their mom so it's obviously biased, but are they not so adorable? This week they sported the green and brown motif. Back to my theme for this posting...and just as every rose has it's thorns, these two sweet and adorable boys can (at times) behave not as sweet as they look here! So now I'm off to the doctors...Sean jumped off our bed yesterday and is still limping, so we're going to see what's up. Plus, he climbed out of his crib just before falling asleep and somehow hurt his neck...too scared to imagine how, so the doctor can take a look at his eyes and neck to make sure he's alright! You know that commercial about how the parent didn't know how their kid was gonna make it past age 2, then age 7 etc, etc! Goodness. I hear that! My kids hit their noggins all the time! It can't be healthy.

The dickens...We visited with Scott's grandma on Easter and he was telling her that Sean can be the sweetest boy ever and then he can be "the dickens" on occasion. It was funny and true. Aren't kids hilarious! A friend the other day mentioned they thought their 4 month old was manipulative as she does not sleep well. Kids instinctively learn something like this...but innocently of course! They are simply focused on their own basic needs and wants while not using reason and logic. They are babies and kids! The trick is learning to teach them over time this reason, logic, and perspective. On my friend Julie's "flog" she has the quote..."Parenting forces us to get to know ourselves better than we ever might have imagined we could." Mr. Rogers.

How true that is! How wise Mr. Rogers was! Did he even know how spiritual he was being? Having kids has helped me realize more fully just how important our family relationships are in helping us grow and become better, in the end helping us become more like Christ and our quest to live with him again. Thank you Julie for showing that quote to me!