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Archive for the ‘Family’ Category

Being an honorary Nowell

Posted in Family, Nowell Kiddos on May 5, 2012| 3 Comments »

3 boys. 1 girl. 2 parents. 1 dog. 1 snake.

That’s who lives at the Nowell house these days. One very big happy family. I know 6 people doesn’t sound like a lot, but our family extends further than those who live under our roof, although that number increased this month too.

This is Mat. He’s the newest member of the honorary Nowell family, and he lives with us. Mat is witty, goofy, and proficient at X-box. We’ve all enjoyed having him here even though he brought his snake with him. I’m kidding. He has blended right in, which was our prayer. Yay God!

We have family from all parts of our life: Blood relatives, old church friends, former youth group kids who are now adults, summer interns, supporters of our ministry, people who’ve mentored us and spoken life over us, people we mentor, street friends and those who aren’t homeless anymore, friends we’ve met online and will someday meet face to face, current church friends, neighbors, former co-workers, camp friends, college friends, the list goes on.

I love my family. 🙂

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Pictures of Pete

Posted in Family, Homeschooling, Humor, Just for fun, Nowell Kiddos, October Challenge, Parenting on October 17, 2011| 7 Comments »

Pete is my goofy kid. He is highly entertaining! One of Benny’s favorite hashtags on Twitter is #randomcrappetesays. He loves making people laugh and he’s one of those kids that is just naturally funny. He uses a lot of big words-most of the time in the correct context, but it’s funny to hear those things come out of such a small mouth. Much to the dismay of his siblings, he also loves playing practical jokes on people.

Pete is a builder. He loves to spread things out so he can get a good look at what he’s got to work with, so it was no surprise when he covered our dining room table with Legos last night and spent hours dreaming up variations of speed cruisers, water/land boats, and various flying machines. He makes all the noises that go along with building things and it gives me the giggles. He plays with such abandon. I want to be more like that.

If we were a normal family –and believe me, I know we’re not – Pete would have been labeled already. I’d have teachers wanting him sedated medicated. The boy has loads of energy. A few years ago I was lectured by a woman who told me that at some point he needed to learn how to be quiet and sit still. Duh. He knows how to do that and I believe there is a time and place for it, but I also let him be him. He often stands up to do his schoolwork, or does a problem then spins around in his desk chair, then does another problem. He concentrates better when he can wiggle a bit. If I notice him getting too squirrely, I have him do jumping jacks or bounce up and down for a minute. It helps. I also understand that he can sit for hours at a time if he is engrossed in what he’s doing (like his Lego time), so I’m not going to let him be labeled. I’m going to take my cues from him, then direct him accordingly.

This pic (click on it to enlarge it) is proof to all who are familiar with his energy level that he can in fact sit quietly in a chair. It doesn’t happen often, but it’s possible. He can also sit still in public. This is him playing Chess with one of our street friends on the mall. He LOVES being there with us, and he talks to everybody.  He is somewhat fearless in public. For example, he took a blanket and his bongos to the Pearl Street Mall and played for over an hour hoping to make a little cash. I NEVER would have done something like that at his age.

He’s an amazing kid, goofiness, high energy, and all. I love him that way, I just wish he’d share some of that energy with me. 🙂

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Night Owl Nowell Kids

Posted in Family, Nowell Kiddos, October Challenge, thinking things through on October 13, 2011| 3 Comments »

I was one of those moms who assumed that when we had children, they would conform to fit our lifestyle. Babies are not the center of the universe, right? So when Max was born, I was pleased when he followed our cues. We were full-time youth ministers at the time which meant a lot of late nights. After he began sleeping through the night, he kept our hours pretty well, plus a few naps during the day. From an early age, he went to bed late and slept late. It worked for all of us, and still does.

Then Zoe was born, and that girl was on her own schedule! She was not about to conform to anyone’s plans, and had her own ideas about sleep and wake cycles. She demanded an elaborate bedtime routine, but slept pretty well. As a 9-year-old, she fights going to sleep. She’s the kid that thinks she’s going to miss out on something.

Pete has been a sleeper since day one. He’s almost 8 and still randomly crashes on the couch or in the van if he’s tired. BUT, like his Popa, he’s a morning person. Early on we made a rule that he had to wait until 8 a.m. to come into our room. He’s a cuddler and he’d wake us up by 6 every day jumping on the bed and squirming his way under the covers. He still wakes up before me and crawls into bed, but now he has to wait until Benny’s awake and says it’s okay.

3 kids, 3 different sleep patterns.

Thinking through this stuff has made me realize that our kids have some sleep issues too. Max had night terrors when he was 4. It was awful! What a helpless feeling as a parent. Thankfully he outgrew them after a few months. Zoe is a sleep-walker. We had to put a hotel style lock high up on our front door because we caught her trying to leave the house one night. Sometimes she cries and mumbles but we can’t understand what she’s saying. Pete has occasional nightmares.

How much of this is inherited?

Benny was a sleep-walker as a kid, and I have a long history of nightmares. Is it less about traits being passed along from parent to child and more about stress levels, vitamin deficiencies, and learned behaviors? I’m doing a little research and will be back here next time with information from some experts.

I’m finding this topic fascinating, but I’m nearing the end of this unplanned series. Bear with me as I wrap things up.

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Zoe Grace is 9 today!

Posted in Family, Joy in the Journey, Nowell Kiddos, October Challenge on October 4, 2011| 2 Comments »

She wore a pink, sequined tiara everywhere we went today. She has her own style. She is always moving and keeping a beat with her feet, fingers, pencils, and anything else that will double as a drumstick. This girl keeps me dancing. She’s a straight A student, and wants to work with animals when she grows up. We joke that having 2 brothers gives her lots of practice. She loves to draw, bake, and skateboard. There is no stereotyping this girl.

A few weeks ago she helped me host a baby shower for my friend Karen. She worked hard and was a sweet little hostess, but she really enjoyed sitting down for a bit to help with the pieces for the baby quilt we are making for Jude. She’s pretty crafty.

                       

After Jude was born, she begged me to ask Karen if she could hold him in the hospital. I think she’s in love.

It both frightens and exhilarates me how much alike we are, but she’s no mini-me. Zoe is her own person – sugar and spice, heavy on the spice!

Happy Birthday Sweet Zoe! 🙂

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I love Sliders…not the mini-hamburgers.

Posted in Family, October Challenge, Parenting, T.V. on October 3, 2011| 4 Comments »

We do this thing at our house that we call “Leader of the Day.” Each of the kids is the leader 2 days a week. The leader is responsible for loading and emptying the dishwasher, and setting the table for meals. They also get to be first in line and assist in making important life-changing decision like which movie we’ll watch as a family, or what veggie to have with supper. The best reward for the leader? At least an hour of one on one time with me.

Today was Max’s turn and we decided we’d find an old TV show on Netflix that we can watch together and discuss. Lucky for me, my son loves Sci-Fi as much as I do. After watching half an episode of Kyle XY, we decided it was inappropriate and did some more searching. Up pops a picture of Sliders. YES!

“What if you found a portal to a parallel universe? What if you could slide into a thousand different worlds — where it’s the same year, and you’re the same person, but everything else is different? And what if you can’t find your way home?”

Sliders aired on FOX from 1995-1998 until it was cancelled, but received a second chance on the Sci-Fi channel in 1999-2000. It follows a group of travelers as they “slide” through wormholes to parallel universes trying to get back to the earth they are from. A hand-held timer device determines how long they are in each world, and if they miss their window, they’ll be stuck for 29.7 years. I think Max is going to love it and I’m already predicting that he’ll have created his own timer by the end of the week.

Hooray for Mommy/Max time, Sliders, and Netflix!

What show would you watch and discuss with your tween?

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