Happy Holidays

Christmas is quickly approaching and I wanted to share our best wishes to all of you for a very merry Christmas and an extraordinary holiday season. David drew these pictures of Santa and Rudolph, and I thought they were very fitting to serve as our "online" holiday card. He asked us to set up a table to display them under the Christmas tree so Santa and Rudolph would be sure to see them. We convinced him that it would be safer to put them out Christmas Eve with the cookies for Santa (otherwise his brother might decide to draw on them or eat them...you never know with that kid!)


We have already started our Christmas extravaganza. At Thanksgiving, we celebrated Christmas with Brian's mom in Mobile. Nathan had asked for a drill for Christmas, and he got one from Grandma Barbara. It was great when he opened it because he was so excited. Once we got it out of the box, he kept saying, "Now we have to break something so we can fix it!"

He played with it for awhile at her house and kept looking for the holes that it was supposedly drilling. On the way home, I asked him what he would want for his birthday and/or Christmas now that he had the drill. He said, "That drill is pretend. I want a REAL drill." Yeah...I bet you do Nathan. That is not happening for another 20 years (or at least until you move out.) I don't want everything broken just so you have something to fix.

We let the boys open a few presents from us yesterday. With Nathan's birthday on December 23rd, this time can be an overload of presents from family. This year we decided that we would spread it over a few days and give them a chance to enjoy playing with what they get a little more.

We hope you all have a great holiday season. May God bless your family richly as 2006 ends and 2007 begins.

Saying Goodbye to a Friend

Last night I received an email that Rhonda Frazier, a good friend of mine, had passed away from Alzheimer's disease. She was 34 years old and a single parent of a little boy named Clay. I ask all of you to please remember Clay, Rhonda's parents, sister and brother, and the rest of her friends and family in your prayers.

I met Rhonda at church when I was 7 years old. My family had just moved to Eugene, Oregon, and Rhonda became a very good friend. There were four of us girls that became pretty tight friends and we did a lot together during those 3 years my family lived in Oregon. Those were good times!

When my family moved to Texas, Rhonda and I kept in touch through letters and a very, very occasional telephone call. (And yes, if you know me, you know that Rhonda probably wrote more letters to me than I did to her!) When I was at Harding, Rhonda came and spent almost a week with me. She decided to transfer to Harding the following year, and would you believe that housing assigned us as suitemates even though neither one of us knew anything about it? I still remember Rhonda the look on her face when we found out that we would be suitemates.

Rhonda was an extremely talented person. She lived life fully and completely. She involved herself in everything and was so good at all that she did. Whenever I would think of Rhonda after we moved from Oregon, I would always think of the saying (or Brownie Song) or whatever it is:

Make new friends but keep the old
One is silver and the other gold.

I don't know if my mom used to remind me of this after we moved to make me feel better, or what? All I know, is that Rhonda was pure gold.

From This Day Forward

It has been a long time since I have posted. Life has been very busy. The family has been sick, and it seems like we are constantly running in one direction or another. I knew I had to make time to post today though.

Seven years ago today, a very special man took on a very hard job. That job was being married to me! Today is our wedding anniversary, and if he asked me to do it all over again today, I would do it in a heartbeat.

For better or for worse...We've had a lot of "better" and even in 7 short years of marriage, we have had some "worse". That first year of marriage brought many difficult times that were faith building and bonded us for life. We have laughed together and sometimes even cried together through the years. There are probably some things that we wish we could go back and change...but all those times brought us to today.

For richer and for poorer...We have been poor. We have wondered how things would get paid, but God always provided. He provided through generous people. He provided through some creative answers. He provided by helping us learn to become a little more content and understand that even when we felt poor we were really very rich. Even now, God has also blessed us with wonderful jobs and a dream house. More important than those things is the love that fills that house and the joy we get from the people we work with every day.

In sickness and in health...This one has been a tough one for us. God never promised perfect bodies and the struggles that have come in the health area haven't always been easy, but we can laugh and love...what else matters?

To love and to cherish...I used to laugh when "old" people would say that those warm and fuzzy feelings go away and there has to be something more to keep a marriage strong. Now, I know that it is true...sometimes. I still have the warm and fuzzy feelings for Brian, but they come more now as I watch him be a good daddy to my boys. It comes when I see him touch the life of a teen or someone else. And, it still comes when he is sweet to me like he was today when he sent me 7 roses and told me that he has enjoyed the last 7 years and looks forward to the next 70. Those moments are pretty special! While I am not always one of those sappy girls, I hope he knows how much I cherish and love him...even when I am giving him a hard time!

From this day forward 'til death do us part...I don't always tell him and I am sure that I don't always show it, but just so that it is clear...I am blessed for having married Brian. God gave me a gem of a husband, and I wouldn't trade him for the world. He is my best friend, my confidant, and my number one supporter. He even does laundry! I couldn't ask for more.

So Brian, thanks for asking me to be your wife and then going through with it! I will never forget...

Raising Boys

This post is dedicated to Ashley, a friend who is expecting a baby boy just any day now. I have had several friends recently who have either had or adopted baby girls, and I honestly don't have a lot of advice about how to raise girls, other than to love them to pieces. Boys though...I can give all sorts of advice about raising boys. So Ashley, here is what you need to know about raising a boy:

1. Boys can be really gross. They have a huge fascination for burping...especially in public. While embarrassing to admit, I found a way to stop it though. I had a burping contest with my boys, and I won. The fascination is gone, and I am cool. So remember, you can gain respect with the small things and sometimes it pays to join in on the "fun".

2. Don't ever turn your back. Boys have this sense built into them that lets them know the minute you turn your back. When you do turn around, they will hit their siblings, run away, break a lamp, hide your car keys and do much, much worse things than these. The funny thing is that when you turn back around, they act like nothing has happened (unless they ran away...then you just can't find them).

3. You will never be fast enough. Little boys are quick, and they are squirmy. If they know that they are about to get in trouble, they will squirm out of your grasp, make a break for it and then run around as you chase them through the house, the backyard, the church building or McDonald's. They know that if they can just get you tired enough, you won't have any strength left to discipline them. I guess that makes them pretty smart too.

4. Boys hate the color pink...at least that is what my boys tell me. They try hard to be macho and tough guys, but they will scream like a girl when they see a bug on the bathroom floor. (Then they will proceed to smash it to smithereens with your favorite pair of shoes.)

5. Boys are truly gifts from God. I know...ALL children are gifts from God. Daughters are just as much a gift from God as sons are, but since this is about raising boys, I will focus on that for now. Ashley, when you look into the eyes of your baby boy for the first time, know that you are looking into the true and perfect image of God. From that point on, God is entrusting you to raise this tiny little boy to be a servant for Him. Your son will be the spiritual leader of His home and a servant leader for His Kingdom. Embrace and encourage his talents, correct his faults, and commit him wholly and totally to the Father. It is a huge responsibility, but it has many rewards. May God bless you guys as you raise this boy.

Oh...I almost forgot. Always have a cloth of some kind handy when you are changing his diaper. If you don't, you will be "christened" every time! From experience, their aim is pretty good and distance is amazing...just ask the lady coming out of the stall at Home Depot back in June of 2001.

Our Family Portrait

We now have a new family portrait by our favorite artist. What do you think?



As you have probably already guessed, David is our wonderful and favorite artist. Just to make sure you understand his art, I will provide a few explanations.

David is on the far left sporting his favorite #6 Wildcats football jersey (and for some reason is bald...maybe he was anticipating his haircut today). Then you have me wearing a blue Broncos football jersey with the number 7. Nathan (who looks somewhat like a caterpillar in the beginning stages of building a cocoon) is wearing his red shirt with black and yellow stripes and is also quite bald. Finally, we have Brian on the right. Brian is also wearing a Broncos football jersey and has very large and very yellow ears.

Yep...it is a perfect rendering of our family!

Halloween Recap

It's been a long time since I have posted, so I have a lot to cover! First of all, we survived Halloween. David was his favorite high school football player, Luke Tribble, and Nathan was a pumpkin WITH A STEM. (Big emphasis on the with a stem part!) The boys enjoyed trick-or-treating around the neighborhood, and we also went to the houses of some good friends and most importantly, Luke Tribble.





The boys had asked me what I was going to be for Halloween, and I told them I was going to dress up as a mommy. David said, "You can't do that! You should be a princess." I asked Nathan what he thought I should be and he said, "A toaster." I am not quite sure how to take that.

This was the year that I really tried to work on Halloween etiquette with the boys, and that wasn't easy for two boys who say it like it is. At one house, the boys got candy and a pencil. As we were walking away, David asks loud enough for the lady who gave it to him to hear, "WHY did they give us a pencil?!" I tried to recover the situation by smiling big and saying, "What a great thing to get at Halloween! It is a special treat and you LOVE to draw! I wish I had a pencil like that!" As soon as the door closed, I hissed, "THAT was NOT nice. I don't care what they put in your bag. You smile. You say thank you, and unless you have something good to say, you keep your mouth shut!" (Don't you remember speeches like that when you were a kid? I am not exactly sure just when I became my mom, but her little speeches just flow out of me in situations like that!)

Just across the street from that house, Nathan thought the lady gave him a package of soap for some reason and launched into a "soap and water can make you very clean" lecture. This time, I just smiled and said thanks and quickly rushed him away from the house. Additionally, any time anybody commented on Nathan being a pumpkin, he would have to correct them and say in an exasperated voice, "I am a pumpkin WITH A STEM!" The very hardest part about trick-or-treating with Nathan was that he wanted to go inside everyone's house when they opened the door. So, we would have to quickly grab him before he made a mad dash to get inside.

By the end of trick-or-treating, the boys did get the hang of saying thank you at each house without being prompted, and Nathan even decided to step his thank you a notch and started telling everyone gracias after they gave him candy. They had a great time and Nathan fell asleep on David's shoulderpad on our way home. All in all, it was a great night!

Halloween Candy

The Halloween candy began its inflow into our house today. David had a fall party at school today and brought home two big baggies full of all sorts of treats. As I went to empty the candy into our candy bowl (that I keep hidden away from little fingers until it is time for a treat), I realized that we still have candy in the bowl from LAST Halloween and Valentine's day.

Without even thinking, I mentioned to David that it might be time to dump the bowl and start over with this years candy. He got a horrified look on his face and asked me, "Does God like it when we throw away candy?"

"David Goes to School"

David has a new favorite book called David Goes to School by David Shannon. This author has written several "David" books about what he heard from adults when he was a child. I think many of them are very fitting for our David too:

"Pay attention David"

"Shhhhhhhh!"

No David!"

All the "David" books are pretty cute and they do end on a positive note so that no child will be harmed with negative thoughts for life! In addition to this series, we also love David Shannon's The Bad Case of the Stripes.

Since the book is new, we have only read through it twice at home. Yesterday, David took his new favorite book to school to show his teacher. Apparently, she read it to the class, and David was quite proud about that. When he got home, he told me that he wanted to read the book to me. Seeing that David hasn't quite learned how to read a book yet, I thought this would be pretty good. He started out on the first page (that had lots of words) and he said, "I never start reading on this page." He then turned to the second page and began reading the whole book to me. It is funny that it is much easier to read a book when you look at the pictures rather than words!

He "read" us the book twice and then Nathan asked to look at the book. Nathan flipped through the book once and then he decided he was going to read the book to me too. He told me that he didn't ever read the first page and then proceeded to read me the book exactly as David did. David was pretty proud that he taught Nathan how to read in less than an hour.

What can I say...my kids are great memorizers! This is a good thing because they will be able to help me remember where I parked the car when we go to Wal-Mart or that one thing I needed to buy at the store but forgot to write down. On the flip side, they also remember every last thing I say, such as "Maybe we can go to McDonald's next Tuesday" or "We'll talk about buying that for you when it gets a little closer to your birthday." I guess the key is teaching them to use it for good to help me rather than for the evil side of using it against me!

Sticky Kisses

Before Brian or I leave the house, the boys always make sure that they have given us a hug and a kiss. Now, as a realist, I understand that this will not last forever. I don't think there are too many teenage boys who will kiss mom before she leaves for the grocery store or kiss dad before he leaves for work. I wouldn't mind it, but I am not holding my breath. So, I enjoy all the hugs and kisses I can get from these little guys right now....well, usually I really enjoy all the kisses.

When I was leaving to teach class on Thursday, David and Nathan came running to me to offer these precious hugs and kisses. The only problem is that they had been sitting at the table licking on suckers and I knew that their mouths would be all sticky. Nathan gave me a big hug and then kissed me on the cheek. Unfortunately, all the stickiness ended up on my cheek.

So, I got smart with David. I felt the outside of his mouth before he gave me a kiss and realized it was really sticky too. So I washed his mouth off with a wet paper towel. After patting it dry with a dry napkin, he gave me a kiss. I started to turn to leave, and he yelled, "Wait Mommy! That kiss wasn't slobbery enough. I have to do it again." I let him give me another kiss and it was definitely slobbery enough. Wiping my cheek as I walked out of the door, I wondered where that had come from.

Later that night, I was putting the boys to bed. David and Nathan always give each other hugs and kisses before bed (something else I don't expect to last forever). Nathan gave David a kiss, and David said, "Nathan, you have to do it again. That one wasn't slobbery enough." When I asked him why they had to be slobbery, he started laughing really hard and then said, "That makes them more fun to wipe off."

Such a silly kid!

Things I have learned in the past week or so...

I have learned a great many things in the past week. None of them should be new revelations, but for some reason they have been. I will share them with you.

1. Three year olds don't like the process of getting splinters out of their hands.

Nathan got a really big splinter stuck in his hand, and it took us about 30 minutes to get it out. Although I would classify Nathan as a tough kid, he does not take kindly to the use of tweezers or a needle to remove splinters. By the time all was said and done and the splinter was removed, Nathan was no longer friends with Brian or me for a good hour or so. I can't say as I blame him for not liking us, but as a parent, it still makes you sad.

2. If a five year old sees his brother go through the ordeal of getting a splinter removed, he will hide the fact that he also has a splinter.

Can you believe it? Two splinters in one week. After watching his little brother suffer at the hands of his dear parents, David thought the wise thing to do would be to NOT tell us that he got a splinter. At one point, he asked me what would happen if someone got a splinter, to which I replied that the kid's mommy would need to look at it and see what needed to be done to get the splinter out so that the kid's hand would be well. The whole time this conversation was taking place, David had his hand inside of his sleeve. (As if mom wasn't bright enough to figure that one out!) David's splinter came out much easier than Nathan's and everyone was still friends when it was all over.

3. Kidney stones REALLY hurt.

Sounds obvious, huh? I experienced this first hand last week, and NEVER want to experience it again! Thankfully, the stone is gone and I think I am back to normal. Honestly, I am not sure which was worse...the kidney stone or the fact that the pain medication and phenergan administered through my IV lasted for about 3 days. I know that I am sensitive to medicines, but I never realized exactly how something like that would effect me. On our way home from the hospital, Brian stopped at Sonic to get me a sprite (with good ice) to settle my stomach, and two girls from our youth group were there with a bunch of their friends. You can picture how embarrassing that was for Brian as I kept nodding off in the car because of the medicine. I can just imagine the girls saying, "Yeah, there is my youth minister and his wife...wait...ummm...no, I don't know that guy with the woman who is drooling!"

4. Clorox Bleach spray will ruin your paint.

I know...this should be an obvious thing for most people; however, I was just trying to clean up a very nasty mess made by Nathan during naptime and really didn't think it through. Unfortunately, Nathan thought it would be a good idea (or something) to poop in his pull-up during naptime and then spread it around his room. I don't know why he did this, but it was absolutely gross. When he came out of his room when naptime was over, he said, "Mommy, I have a small problem." I didn't realize that this meant I was going to have a big problem. I cleaned up the kid, and then I cleaned up the room ruining the walls in the process. I guess it is a good thing that I've been wanting an excuse to paint Nathan's room. I sure have one now!

5. Life is busy...but it's all good.

Last week was a crazy week. It was tiring, overwhelming and even a bit painful. However, I am thankful for good friends and a great family. Sometimes it takes those bad weeks to remind you of how good life is at other times. I spent a lot of last week shaking my head and thinking "What in the world!" but I also spent time praying...sometimes for peace, sometimes for contentment, sometimes for perseverance, sometimes for patience, a lot of times for no more pain...you get the picture. It was a week of perspective, and that is quite often a very good thing!

Handy Manny

Disney has launched another TV show called Handy Manny and the boys really like to watch it. The show sort of has a "Bob the Builder meets Dora the Explorer" story line. It is about a Spanish speaking handyman and his talking tools who work as a team to help everybody fix their broken stuff.

So far, the boys have learned some new Spanish words including the Spanish word for work and washing machine and have been working on incorporating those into their daily vocabulary. Both boys will act out the show with their play tools, but Nathan has even taken it to a greater extreme. He has started trying to fix everything in the house...regardless of it is really broken or not. He calls his tools by name (the names of the tools on the show, of course) and wanders around the house hammering this and sawing that.

When we first started watching the show, he would go around and say, "OH NO! The chair is broken. Who are we going to call? I know who to call...Handy Manny!" One day we were in the bathroom at Target and there was toilet paper on the floor. Nathan started in with his "OH NO! There is toilet paper on the floor. Who are we going to call?" To which I interjected, "I know who to call...Handy Manny!" Nathan just glared at me and said,"NO...NO....NO! YOU don't say that!" And then he said, "OH NO! There is toilet paper on the floor. Who are we going to call? (looks at me and glares and then says) I know who to call...Handy Manny!"

Yesterday, I realized that his fascination with Handy Manny reached a whole new level. On his way home from Carpenter's Kids, he told us that he had to get home so that he could break the TV. I asked him why in the world he would want to break the TV. He responded, "I will break open the TV so that I can get inside and talk to Handy Manny!" The frightening thing is that I would not put this past Nathan. He is now under 24/7 surveillance and is not allowed alone in the living room, especially when Handy Manny is on TV.

A Blast from the Past

My youth minister from high school is in town, and I have gotten the chance to spend some time reminiscing about old friends and good times. Danny and his wife, Amy, were very influential to me in my teen years and they have remained very good friends throughout the years. They are the type of friend that you just pick up where you left off with them no matter how long it has been since you have seen them or talked to them.

Whenever I think of my old youth minister, one story ALWAYS comes to my mind. I have debated putting this on here, but it is a great story.

While on a high school retreat, my youth minister and I decided to play a game of chicken. In our version of chicken, you stand opposite of your opponent with your feet spread apart. You then take a pocket knife,throw it and try to make the point of the knife stick in the ground. If you get it to stick in the ground, then you get to tell the person which foot he/she has to move. The goal is to get the person to move his/her feet closer and closer together until the person says chicken and you win. This is not your typical youth group retreat game, but everyone seemed to be getting a pretty big kick out of watching us do this so we thought it was fun.

We hit a point in the game where my feet were only about 6 or 7 inches apart. At this point, any reasonable person would have said chicken. The key to that statement was a REASONABLE person. At that time in my life, I was very competitive and wasn't going to give in and lose without a fight. So, I told him to throw the knife. My wise youth minister told me that I really needed to say Chicken, but I wouldn't and didn't listen and told him to throw the knife. My guess is that I really thought he wouldn't do it and that he would probably quit the game leaving me the winner; however, I am not positive I even thought that. All I knew was that I was going to win.

Well, the youth minister threw the knife, and unfortunately, instead of sticking in the ground, it stuck in my foot. I can still see the look of horror on my youth minister's face. Right there, he saw his judgment and job go down the tubes. The preacher's son had a horrified look on his face too; however, it wasn't for the same reason. He yelled out, "Don't tell my dad about this. I wasn't supposed to bring his pocket knife and I am going to be in so much trouble."

I just quietly sat down and pulled the knife out of my shoe (and foot). It didn't do much damage, and we got it cleaned up and put a bandage on it and I was good as new.

In all honesty, here is the best part of the story though. My youth minister felt horrible and dreaded seeing my mom. Obviously, most parents are going to have a cow if you stab their child, especially when you are a youth minister. So, he had reason to be afraid.

I told my mom about it and do you know what she said? This is not an exact quote, but here is the gist of it. "Stacey, what were you thinking? You have got to learn that you cannot let your competitiveness and pride override good judgment. The simple fact that you would not back down is evidence enough that you deserved to get a knife stuck in your foot."

Wow, what a lesson I learned that day! She made a big point that I could not blame anyone but myself, even if someone else showed poor judgment too. I can't say that I have always practiced this learning. I definitely have to work on my pride and competitiveness on a daily basis, and I would much rather blame someone else...who wouldn't? However, I still see the look on her face and the words (basically) that she said to me. I hear them after I act prideful. I hear them after I blame someone else for something. Now, I just need to work on doing something about that!

My youth minister still cringes about and takes full responsibility for this incident. Thankfully, I did not have a mother who was prone to overreacting and try to get him fired because he has gone on to do many great things at several churches. He has served as a minister and an elder and an advocate for serving God with all of your being. I respect him and his family a great deal. I think my mom talked to him, but I don't have any clue what was said. While I think it is a very bad idea to stab members of your youth group and do not advocate stabbings of any kind, being stabbed by my youth minister played a big role in growing me as a person and a Christian. (And thankfully, there probably aren't a lot of people who can say that!)

Insult to Injury

Brian is still sad from Alabama's loss to the Arkansas Razorbacks (or pigs, as David calls them.) He came home from the game upset, depressed and in shock. Little did he know that life would get even worse for him.

You see, David was supposed to go to the game with him. However, we were having some pretty nasty storms and they were predicting a 60% chance of rain during the game in Fayetteville. Since David had just gotten over strep throat, mean ol' mom had to put her foot down and say no to the football game. Brian wasn't happy about it because he wanted to take his son that loves Alabama to his first Alabama football game, but he agreed it was best for David. David, on the other hand, was not happy about it at all. I promised him we could watch it on TV and that seemed to appease him...or so I thought.

Somewhere during the Arkansas v. Alabama game, David switched his allegiance to Arkansas. I tried to talk him out of it. I assured him that people in this family only liked Nebraska or Alabama, but it just didn't work. He said that Arkansas was his most favorite and bestest team. And ever since Saturday, he has been rubbing that in Brian's face.

Brian is heartbroken. He thought this would be something special that he would share with David. I told him to let it go for now and hopefully he would outgrow it. If not, at least there is still hope with Nathan. The problem with that is that leaves me without a Nebraska fan. Sometimes life can be so cruel!

Nick words?

I love to call my kids by all sorts of crazy names. I do it to make them laugh and to have a lot of fun with them. I have been known to call them "Guacamole", "Little Mister", "French fries" and on an on. (Yes, I KNOW it is weird!)

Last night, it was time for bed, so I said to David, "Come with me, my chick-a-dee." After I said it, I thought that chick-a-dee my sound a little girlie for my boy, so I then said, "Come on little chick-a-roo. It is bed time for you." (Not only do I come up with fun names, but I can also make them rhyme with stuff!)

David looked at me and said, "Is that one of those nick words?"

I responded with a "What???!!!" To which he replied, "You know...a nick word." I thought he might be talking about a word that our good friend Nic might use, so I asked him about that. He responded, "NOOOO! You know...the words that people use to call you by instead of using your name."

Then it hit me...nickname. I explained that it sort of was, but that nicknames ususally last longer than the names that I come up with and use only once or twice. I then asked him what he would like his nickname to be and he replied, "I think it needs to be Luke!"

Funny kid!

So Pitiful...but Oh So Sweet

David is sick. He has strep throat and is enjoying a life of pampering right now.

When David gets sick, he always runs extremely high fevers. A 103 or 104 degree fever is nothing for this kid. So, when he came into the living room Tuesday night burning up and complaining about a sore throat, I knew that it was going to be a long couple of days.

On Tuesday night, he asked me to rub his back to help him get back to sleep. Although he REALLY wanted me to rub his back, at one point, he told me that I probably needed to stop. When I asked why, he said, "I don't want you to get sick too." I told him that I had taken care of him many times when he was sick and I was pretty sure I wouldn't get sick. He then proceeded to compliment me on my back rubbing skills telling me that I was doing a great job.

Yesterday, he continued his sweetness. At one point, he asked for a drink. When I gave it to him, he said, "Thank you for taking such good care of me mom." This was the same child, who, earlier in the week, would demand "Get me a drink now Mom!"

I think he is well on the way to his normal self today though. He has already had some pretty good scuffles with Nathan and is walking around the house with toy tools stuck all the way around the waistband of his shorts. I am going to assume that this is a sign that he is well and pretending to be a carpenter. Otherwise, his medicine he is taking is way to strong!

A day in the life...

I was sitting in the living room working on some homework, and I hear Nathan say, "Oh NO!" This never is a good thing, so I ask, "Nathan, what's wrong?" He replied, "I'm stuck."

Now, this generally means that he has wedged his body between two very large stationary objects and he can't seem to wiggle out. That was not the case today. He walked into the living room and had one of those little potty training toilet seats around his neck. He had found it under the sink in his bathroom, and had decided it might be kind of fun to try on. Now, he was desperately trying to get it back over his head to get it off, but it just wasn't working. I finally worked it off of his head and strongly advised him NOT to put things on over his head except for shirts and pajama tops. I am sure that advisory will last all of 30 minutes...or at least until his ears quit hurting and fall back into place.

In the middle of all this, David walked up to me and handed me a piece of paper. On this paper he had written "AWiLVLEFBS". As I am reading it, he asked, "What does it say?" So, I read off the letters to him and tried to hand it back. He then says, "No mom. What word does it say?" I looked at it again and tried to make out some kind of word that he would know. I was guessing that he had tried to write a word he had seen and didn't want to spoil the fun. Finally, I gave up and said, "Why don't you tell me what it says?" He looked at me like I am nuts and said, "Mom! How am I supposed to know what word it is? I can't read!"

The Program

David's class has had a ribbon-cutting ceremony and program at school the past two days. They have been doing a construction unit where they have done a blueprint of themselves. Mrs. Tammy has turned each of these precious pages into a great keepsake book. In it, the kids have drawn pictures of themselves, made pages with handprints and footprints, and even drawn a portrait of God. David's portrait of God showed Jesus dying on the cross. The kids each got to take the book to his or her parent, cut the ribbon around the book and then show everything in the book. It was a pretty special moment and I just think that we will keep that book forever.

At the program, the kids recited some of their memory verses, sang some songs and did some chants about the months and the Fall season. It all ended with a slide show.

In the past, David has been very timid at school programs. He, as a general rule, does not participate and pretty much stands there with a deer-in-the headlight look. Well...NOT ANYMORE. David is now the life of the program. You know those kids that are loud, talk too much and sing really, really loud? That is our new David.

Since they were doing this program for two days, Brian went yesterday and I went today. Apparently yesterday, David was even a little more outgoing than he was today. At one point, when everyone was supposed to be singing Jesus Loves the Little Children but they were all singing Jesus Loves Me, David stopped them and said, "That isn't the right song!" in the most "teacherly" voice possible. I guess he then got them on the right song. When they were done, he said, "Okay, now let's sing Jesus loves me." (So much for letting the teacher be in charge!)

Today, he only made a few comments and only corrected the teacher once. Oh my!

David's Hero

David has a new hero. It's not Superman. It's not Spiderman. Nope...this superhero is much better. David's new superhero is... (drumroll please)

Luke Tribble!

Okay, so now some of you are asking who Luke is. Luke is the quarterback of the Wildcats and one of the big kids in our youth group. In David's newfound love for football, he has taken to idolizing Luke.

Last night, we went to a Wildcat football game. On our way to pick up Brian for the game, David asked me if I knew who is favorite player was. I responded that I didn't know and asked him to tell me. He responded, "Luke, the big kid, is." Little did I know what having a favorite player meant to David; however, everyone sitting in the stands by us soon found out. David spent the whole time telling us what Luke was doing in true commentator fashion.

"Look, Luke has the ball."
"Luke kicked the ball."
"Luke took his helmet off."
"Luke is tying his shoe."

This went on the whole game...and I do mean the WHOLE game. I was thankful that Luke's grandma, aunt and uncle were sitting in front of us because anyone else may have tried to duct tape his mouth shut.

After the game, Brian took David onto the field, and he got to talk to Luke and get his picture taken with him. Luke knelt down by David and talked with him. It was a pretty special moment for our little guy.

On the way home, David talked all about Luke and asked all sorts of questions about him. At one point, he asked me what kind of car Luke drove. When I told him I didn't know, David thought it would be a good idea to go to his house and ask him. (Kind of scary, huh?)

I couldn't be happier with David's choice in a hero. Luke is a great kid. After all, how many seniors in high school would kneel down on the ground to talk to a 5 year old after shutting out another team? My guess is not many. For that and many other reasons, I am thankful that Luke is David's new favorite football player.

What was once lost....

Has been found! I was not supposed to blog about this at the request of my husband, but since I talked nice about him last time...well...it's fair.

Awhile ago, my dear husband misplaced his ring. I was pretty sure that he had lost the ring either in his office or at home. I could vividly picture him placing his ring on the counter and having the help of a little guy named Nathan to aid in the losing process.

On the way home from Nic and Mandy's wedding, he commented on losing his ring and wanting to replace it. He made the comment that it was better that he had lost his ring than if I had lost my ring. (Guys, that's not a smart thing to say to your wife (especially after she has been to a wedding and is feeling kind of sappy!) I was a little put out by his comment and reminded him of the whole "This is a symbol of our everlasting, never-ending love" line in the wedding ceremony. However, I conceded that it would cost a lot less to replace his ring.

Before our wedding, I had the jeweler inscribe the words "I will never forget". It was a special phrase that simply began because of the fact that I am quirky. Before we married, I would always start my stories with the phrase "I will never forget when..." and then proceed to tell the story. I don't know if I still do it or not, but it became one of those silly, special phrases for us. I thought it would be very fitting to engrave it on the inside of his ring and remind him that I would never forget why we got married.

In the process of talking about getting him a new ring, we talked about whether or not anything should be engraved in it. I finally told him that I had decided on the perfect thing to engrave. The first ring said, "I will never forget" and the replacement should very fittingly say, "But I guess you did!"

Lucky for him, I found the ring though. He had apparently put it on top of the armoire and it had been pushed out of view by the very short people that live in this house. I found it while I was dusting the top of the armoire today and have yet to decide if I will give it to him before or after he reads this blog!

A Great Day

Yesterday was a GREAT day. We started the day with Brian, Nathan and I dropping
David off at school and then heading to the open house for Nathan's "school". While parents wrestled two, three and four year olds during the general meeting part of the open house, we all half listened to the rules and were introduced to the teachers. Nathan was quite emphatic that he was still going to Miss Pace and Miss Jessie's class until he realized that his classroom had a horse he could ride on. He quickly forgot about Miss Pace and Miss Jessie and was ready to move on to one of the three year old classes!

After open house, Brian, Nathan and I went to the golf course. I thought this would be an easy thing because I knew Nathan would love riding in a golf cart and that would be a really neat treat for him. Well...it would have been great except he quickly figured out how to unlock the parking break and we couldn't leave him alone in the cart. We debated about playing and I was trying to convince Brian to play and we could just ride along with him, but Brian felt bad about doing that. So, we took turns playing the holes, and I FINALLY got to try out my new golf clubs that Brian got me for my birthday. I had so much fun and have definitely found a new hobby.

After golfing, we ate lunch, ran a few errands and then went and picked up David from school. We had planned on going to a football game of some of the kids in the youth group, but Nathan fell asleep on the way home. So, instead of all 4 of us going, David and Brian went to the game and had some father-son bonding time. They left the game to come get me and Nathan, and then the boys all dropped me off to teach my Thursday night class. They then went and had some guy time together, including a stop at the infamous Frozen D's for ice cream.

The boys went to sleep happy and pleased to have spent so much time with their Daddy. They love being with him and he loves being with them. I am thankful that the boys have such a good daddy and I am married to such a good friend. We all enjoyed being together and spending the day as a family. I hope that lasts forever!