A House of Heavenly Peace.... I Rent It !

That's a line from a play I was in in high school: Noises Off. Only now can I truly appreciate that line and the title of that play. I wish, as every parent before me, that I had a "Noises Off" button on the remote.

It's Sunday evening after sundown. I used to find this time depressing, mostly because Monday morning and an entire week of work loomed ahead. (What a difference the right job can make.) Now I'm quite content to sit here in the kitchen and listen to the sounds of Christy doing the Sunday dishes (don't get indignant -- I made the dinner), and the occasional squeak of the boys' bedroom door opening, followed promptly by, "Riley, for the last time, shut the door and go back to bed!" Two more things make this an enjoyable evening. First, about an hour ago Christy popped some frozen homemade cookie dough into the oven along with some muffins she's baking for Sammy's preschool class tomorrow. There's a faint aroma of fresh baked goodness left in the air, along with an echo of semi-sweet chocolate in my mouth. This, combined with the soothing sounds of "noises off" (the absence of children's voices IS a sound, I maintain) is a recipe for the kind of relaxation that can only come after our weekly Sabbath day of stress.

Zeke's news of the week is that he's in the Jacobs' baby stage of mild constipation. His older brothers both experienced this rite of non-passage at about his age as well, although Riley's was certainly the more infamous of the two. Who can forget the saga of the soap suppository of aught-five at Wolf Creek Lodge? (Well, luckily for him, Riley can.) Mercifully, Zeke had two episodes today that left him a little better cleaned out. Oh yeah, and he had his first bottle yesterday--administered by me. Now Christy is plotting a Friday night sleep in the basement bedroom, leaving me alone with Zeke.

Sammy is more into books than ever lately, and making us proud by constantly trying to sound out words and, more often than not, getting them right. We're really not pushing him, either -- he just loves words and books. His cousin Tracen is equally impressive with numbers.

Riley, bless him, is struggling these days. He is no longer the baby and finds himself getting less attention and Mama time than he used to. He doesn't seem to have pinpointed Zeke as the cause, thankfully, because he's really pretty good to his brother, if a little over-zealous in the brotherly affection. But he's falling to pieces much more frequently and dramatically than he ever used to, and is exceptionally clingy when it comes to his Mom. As for me, I think he'd rather that I didn't exist. In his defense, I let myself get too authoritarian with him and don't show him quite enough understanding and patience. I'm going to blame Zeke on that one too, though, because it's hard to be gentle and patient when you're always sleep deprived. And I don't even have it as bad as Christy. Speaking of my wife, my hat is off to her for just surviving this long because she gets even less sleep than I do and, unlike me, she is constantly in demand from three little boys (four if you count me). Usually she even manages to maintain control all day, whereas I'm liable to blow my top an hour after getting home from work. So I'd just like to take this opportunity to thank my brother Dan, for showing me that I'm not the only one who buckles under the strain of insanity that only three boys age four and under can instill. Bless you, Dan!

Don't misunderstand though -- neither Dan nor I are overly physical with the kids -- just a little overly vocal at times. Fight fire with fire, that's what we dads are about.

Leah sang an arrangement of "I Stand All Amazed" in her sacrament meeting today, and Christy accompanied. I didn't get to hear it first-hand, in order to watch the kids at home, but I did hear them practice yesterday and it was really beautiful. You all know what a great voice Leah has (and of course my wife is a maestro on the piano).

Well, until next time... RILEY, GET BACK IN BED NOW!! I'M WARNING YOU... ONE... TWO.... THREE! OKAY, HERE I COME!! ... have a great week.

Love,
The House of Peace