The Giving Discussion

Some very good friends of ours gave our boys a $100 bill today and told them that they wanted the boys to pick where they would like to donate it. So tonight when the boys were going to bed, we had the following discussion:

Me: So guys, who do you think you will give the money that Mrs. Deb and Mr. Pat gave to you?

David: To the orphans

Me: Do you want to give it to the Children's home here or some other program that helps orphans?

David: We could give it here or we could also give it to our church.

Me: Nathan, what do you think?

Nathan: I think we should use it to buy us some orphans.

Me: Nathan, you don't buy orphans. They are people, and you don't buy people. Deciding to adopt a child is an important decision and it takes a lot of thought and a lot of work.

Nathan: Well, I think we should get us some orphans even if we don't have to buy them.

David: Yeah, we should adopt another kid, but can you make sure he is younger than me because I like being the oldest.

Nathan: I think we need to get a girl because we only have one girl in our family.

Me: Guys, adoption is a very serious process that takes a lot of time.

David: Yeah, and when you adopt a child, you don't look at what is on the outside; you look at what's on the inside. Well....you can't really do that because...

Nathan: (interrupting David) You can do an x-ray of her to see her insides.

David: I meant that you don't really get to know someone before you adopt them Nathan.

Nathan: Ohhhhhhhhhh...



I think they still have some thinking to do, but I love their hearts. We had a long talk about adoption and the reasons why children go live in a children's home. We have had family members and good friends who have struggled and hurt through the process of adoption, as well as those that we love who have been fulfilled with the process when they were finally able to get their son or daughter in their arms, and we want them to understand that process, although they are still immature boys that don't completely understand where babies even come from. (THAT story is one of my next posts! haha!)

I will let you know what they decide to do with the money.

2011 - A time for new beginnings...

and blog posts!!! I cannot believe that I missed the entire year of 2010 on this blog. I won't lie. It was kind of a tough year at our house. A lot of changes happened. A lot of struggles and worries occurred. However, we are blessed that our children have been healthy and are growing up on us. They are good boys...each with their own struggles, just like their mom and dad.

We are excited about 2011. We are excited about the things to come and pray for a more peaceful year. One of my resolutions is to start writing on the blog again because I love doing it and want a way to remember all these fun stories about the boys. Don't expect posts every day because I am not THAT good, but you might want to check in every once in awhile to see what we have been up to lately.

Blessings to each of you in 2011!

Back to School!

School started back on Monday. I am not so sure that the boys were ready to give up their summertime freedom of playing all day, but tonight, I overheard Nathan say, "I sure wish school was open every day of the week! I guess that getting back to school is not such a bad thing!

David is in Second Grade, and his teacher is Mrs. Adams, who goes to church with us. We are all very excited about it. She is a great teacher and a good friend, and I am excited for all the things David will learn from her. It is only the first week of school and already we have learned that he wll have to work on is his talking! That has become a hot topic at our house because we have also been reminded this week that Nathan also needs to work on talking during class! Where did these kids come from?!? :)

At the end of last year, we decided that it would be good for Nathan to stay in Kindergarten another year just to give him a little more time to mature, and I am very glad that we did. Nathan has a great teacher, Mrs. Barden, and since he wants to go to school every day of the week, he apparently thinks that she is pretty great!

On a funny note, before school started on Monday, Brian asked Nathan if he was excited about his first day of school. Nathan responded, "Dad, it is not my first day of school! I have been to school before! This is the first day of the new season." He then walked out of the room and came and found me to say, "I used to think that Dad was smart, but now I know better!" Such a silly boy!

Here are a few pictures from the first day of school.

I am not so sure that David is into the whole hugging thing anymore! :)

The boys being silly.

Nathan at his desk

David at his desk

It's Time to Dust Off the Ol' Blog

Hey everyone! It has been awhile since I've been on here, but I think it is time to start this blog back up. Schools about to start, so what better way to kick off some new posts. Check back in a day or two for some funny stories about the boys. For right now, I need to do a little more work on the new look of the blog.

Happy Birthday Nathan!

Today we celebrated Nathan's 6th birthday. He got to celebrate the big day at Grandma Sandy's house with his cousins, which made the day pretty special. When he woke up this morning, Grandma Sandy made Nathan snowmen pancakes. He had asked for a snowman cake, so we also made that today. Tonight, Uncle Steve, Aunt Rachel and all the cousins came over for supper, cake and ice cream, and to watch Nathan open his presents.

The whole day would have gone off without a hitch, except Nathan happened to fall headfirst down the stairs that go to the basement. He ended up with a bump on his forehead, a rug burn above his upper lip, a bloody lip and what will probably be a black eye in the next few days. That put a small damper on the day, but he recovered quickly and the birthday ended well.

Here are some pictures from his big day:

A snowman pancake to start the day off

Getting ready to open his first present of the day


Nathan with his cake. He was not excited about getting
his picture taken because of his injuries.

This picture really doesn't show his injuries very well. They are much more

pitiful to see in person, but you can get the gist of the swollen lip,

the rug burn and a little bit of the swelling under his eye.

Dear Brian,

Nine years ago today, we shared a pretty big day together. We stood up before a group of people and made some promises to each other, exchanged rings, and shared an awkward and very long moment at the unity candle wondering why we picked such a long song. You sang to me as I walked down the aisle towards you, and you still won't let me forget that I didn't cry a single tear during that whole ceremony. We gave each other our hearts, and you gave me your name. What a day!

Well, here we are nine years later. Some days it seems like that day just happened, and other days it seems like we have been together forever. We have grown up and grown together these past nine years, haven't we? We have handled some tough experiences and experienced some great times together.

There are so many reasons for why I am so thankful for you, but since we have been married for nine years, I will share nine reasons why I am thankful for you and why I love you.

1. I love to talk to you. I am so thankful that I can tell you anything. I am thankful for the insight that you have on situations and how you are able to make me see things from a different perspective. You listen to my thoughts, ideas, problems, concerns and dreams, and you never dismiss them as silly, dumb, or something you don't have time for, even if you don't agree with them or if they are crazy.
2. I love how you make me laugh. You have that sarcastic sense of humor, and you know exactly when to use it. I can be boiling mad, and you always know what to say to bring a smile to my face and a chuckle from my heart.
3. I love to watch you be a dad. You are a great dad. I love that you have taught our kids to place God first in their lives. I am so thankful that you are involved in our boys' lives and there is nothing better than watching you with them.
4. I am thankful that you help with the dishes and the laundry. You help me out so much, and I really appreciate it.
5. I love it when you stop by my office to bring me a cup of coffee. Nothing makes me feel better than knowing that you want to go out of your way to see me.
6. I am thankful that you let me work on cars with you. We haven't worked on a car together in awhile, but don't think that I have forgotten or will ever forget our first date! :)
7. I am so very thankful that you get rid of any mice caught in the mousetraps in our house and that you will kill the spiders in the boys' bathroom without me having to ask.
8. I am thankful for your God-centered heart, and your knowledge of the Bible.
9. Last but not least, I am thankful that you chose me. You could have picked any other girl, but you picked me and have completely given me your heart. I could not ask for anything more.

Brian, you are my best friend, and if you asked me to do it all over again, I would gladly marry you again in a heartbeat. Thanks for choosing me and for all that you do to make this family a great one.

I love you and I will never forget...

Stacey

Elvis

The other night the boys and I were eating dinner, and Elvis came up in our discussion. (Don't ask...I cannot remember how.) As soon as his name was said, Nathan said, "I saw him in a concert, and Brock was there too." Here is the rest of our conversation.

I kind of chuckled and said, "I don't think so Nathan. Elvis is dead."

Nathan: "UH-UH!! ELVIS IS NOT DEAD!!! I SAW HIM!"

Me: "Seriously Nathan, he really died. People dress up like him sometimes, but Elvis really is dead."

Nathan: "NO! ELVIS IS NOT DEAD! I saw him and Brock was there too."

David: "He saw him at the Redbirds game Mom. Remember the guy who dressed up like him and was singing his songs. Brock was at that game too. Nathan, Elvis really is dead. He started Rock-N-Roll and then took too much medicine and died."

(At this point, I am sort of staring in shock at David.)

Nathan: "Ohhhhhhh. I guess he didn't have God in his heart, did he?"

Me: "Ummmm...he definitely made some bad choices in his life."

David: "Like what? What other bad choices did he make."

(Nothing like being put on the spot by your 7 year old.)

Me: "Well, he drank a lot of alcohol and got drunk, and God tells us in the Bible not to get drunk."

Nathan: "SOMEBODY DRANK ELVIS?????!!!!!"

Me: "Noooooo! He would drink stuff called alcohol and that can make you act crazy and it is called being drunk."

Nathan: "Ohhhhhh"

David: "So what is alcohol?"

(At this point, I was thinking, "Why isn't your dad here for supper tonight?!?!")

Me: "Alcohol is something that is in certain kinds of drinks. Beer has alcohol in it."

David: "ROOT BEER? I have had root beer before. Why did you let me drink something that would make me drunk?"

Me: "Root beer doesn't have alcohol in it...just plain ol' beer. Look, Elvis made some bad choices, and God wants us to make good choices instead. Now finish your supper up so that you have some time to play before bed."

That ended our Elvis conversation. I am going to bet that Nathan went to school and told somebody that Elvis is dead because someone drank him and that David probably will check the ingredients on the root beer next time we offer him a drink. Oh my!

I've Been Tagged!

Trisha tagged me several days ago, and here is my attempt at getting caught up! I have to answer the following questions with one word answers and nominate 10 other blogs for the "I heart your blog" award. Here goes...

1. Where is your cell phone? One word???? How do you say "I left it on my desk at work" in one word???? Okay here goes.....Work.
2. Where is your significant other? Work
3. Your hair color? Brown
4. Your mother? Amazing
5. Your father? Gone
6. Your favorite thing? Home
7. Your dream last night? Frightening
8. Your dream/goal? Self-growth
9. The room you're in? Living
10. Your hobby? Kids
11. Your fear? Failure
12. Where do you want to be in 6 years? Happy
13. Where were you last night? Driving
14. What you're not? Super-model
15. One of your wish-list items? shoes
16. Where you grew up? Everywhere
17. The last thing you did? Email
18. What are you wearing? Clothes
19. Your TV? Off
20. Your pet? None
21. Your computer? Frustrating
22. Your mood? Intense
23. Missing someone? Grandpa
24. Your car? Dirty
25. Something you're not wearing? Shoes
26. Favorite store? Target
27. Your summer? Hot
28. Love someone? Brian
29. Your favorite color? Red
30. When is the last time you laughed? Today
31. Last time you cried? Yesterday

For the record, this was kind of hard. I kept wanting to explain why I answered things a certain way. Sometimes, I had more than one answer for the question, and I wanted to put both down.

Okay....I am not going to tag anyone. If you want to do it, then you consider yourself tagged by me.

Getting Caught Up

I know. I know. I always say that I am going to stay up to date, and then I continue to post nothing for a month. I have had so many stories tucked away that I want to share, but I just haven't logged on to do it. I haven't even spent much time reading blogs lately either. I am not going to make any promises for future posts this time, but I will try to share the funny and cute stories a little more often. After you read this post, you can get caught up with some new pictures from Grandparents' Day, soccer, and the zoo.

I do have to share a funny prayer story with you. The boys were saying prayers a couple of night ago before bed, and in his prayer, David said, "God it will be so great to see You on Your throne by the River of Life." When it was Nathan's turn to pray, he didn't want to be left out and said, "God, we will see You at the Nile River." Then the next night, Nathan got the name of the river right, but he said, "When we get to Heaven, we will go swimming in the River of Life and I hope there is not a waterfall."

Grandparents' Day!

October 17th was Grandparents' Day at the boys' school. My mom has never been able to come visit during the school year because she was teaching; however, she retired this past May and got to spend the week with us. She got to watch the boys perform in a program and then got to go to their classrooms. Here are some pictures of the boys during Grandparents' Day.

David with the Wildcat

Nathan and his friend Sienna going into their classroom

Even though it was a super busy week, it was a lot of fun having my mom here. She and I got to spend a day in Little Rock Christmas shopping and also had some time to sit down and talk in person. My mom and I are close, and I always cherish the time I get to spend with her.

Grandparents' Day ended with another special surprise. My best friend and college roommate came to town for a few hours, so we got to spend some time catching up. I love seeing Cindy, and even though she only lives a couple of hours away, we just don't see each other as often as we should. So, that was a great way to end the night.

What Do You Want to Be When You Grow Up?

Nathan's class was discussing what they wanted to be when they grow up, and they got to go to school dressed as a person in that profession the day before Grandparent's Day. Mrs. Wells asked us to direct our kids towards real professions rather than superheroes. After finding out that he could not be Batman or a Jedi, Nathan decided that he wanted to be an eye doctor. I know a lot of eye doctors wear dress clothes with a white lab coat, but I thought it would be a whole lot easier to make scrubs. Thankfully, Grandma Sandy was here to actually make the scrubs for us because they look so much better than what they would have looked like if I had sewn them. He also took an eye chart and an eye cover thing-a-ma-bob as props.

He was quite proud of his costume and seemed to have a lot of fun on career day! Thanks Grandma Sandy!!

More Soccer Pictures

Soccer is officially over. David had another great game two Saturdays ago. He scored 5 goals (although he claims it was 6 goals). I have a few videos that I will try to edit and post them online so you can watch the boy in action. He is fast and has great control of the ball. It is amazing how much he has improved since the beginning of the season.

Nathan has also improved since the first game. He almost scored in the past two games, which is a pretty big deal for him. I can't say that Nathan is a natural at soccer, but he is a scrappy player and has no fear of getting in the middle of the pack to kick the ball.

Both boys had good coaches and we are thankful that they will get to have the same coaches in the spring.

The boys together after their games

David headed down the field

David about to score a goal

Nathan, Jaxson & Canon doing a belly buster after Jaxson scored a goal

Nathan throwing in the ball

Getting ready for a kick-off

Zoo Pictures

Nathan's class had a field trip to the zoo, and since it was on a day I was teaching, Brian got to go with him. I missed getting to be a part of the field trip, but I loved how excited Nathan was about getting to experience it with his daddy. I think his daddy kind of enjoyed the time too. Here are some "classic" Nathan pictures from the trip.

The Number 5

The number 5 infiltrated every aspect of our weekend. First and foremost, David scored 5 goals in his soccer game on Saturday! I think we were all in a bit of shock. He went from being a bit timid to this aggressive little player this weekend. After the game, he told me that the first and third goal kind of made him a little nervous, but the rest were pretty fun.

His teammate Tyler, who just happens to be the only girl on either team, scored 7 goals. I think having a girl on is team has been good for him because he tends to be a bit chauvinistic at times; however, he has quickly gained a good measure of respect for Tyler. :)

Now back to my other 5's. My boys are all happy to say that Alabama beat Arkansas by 5 touchdowns. During half-time of the game, David put on an Alabama uniform and Nathan put on an Arkansas uniform, and we had our very own Alabama vs. Arkansas game in the backyard. According to David, Alabama won that game too.

Now for my final 5 story. In our children's church, the kids have been going through the 5 steps of salvation this month. The leader asks different kids to say each step, and one by one, they list out the steps Hear, Believe, Repent, Confess and Be Baptized. Then they always add on a final one that is Live Faithfully. He had already asked other kids the five steps, and then he asked David what else we need to do. Instead of live faithfully, David responded, "Live safely."

If you know David at all, then you completely understand the irony and why I laughed so hard. :) I can honestly say that I hope that we all live faithfully and safely this week!

Hurricane Ike Damage

I guess to be accurate I should title this post Tropical Storm Ike damage, but I just wanted to share what good ol' Ike did to our tree.





These pictures don't show our car, which was parked right in front of where the limb fell. We think that our car was probably grazed by the limbs because there are a few scratches and a little dent on the trunk possibly caused by it. However, we were very fortunate that it didn't fall a foot the other direction.

We also lost a few shingles, but our greatest loss (besides the time Sunday afternoon to chop down our tree) is our air conditioner. We don't know if a power surge zapped it or exactly what happened to it, but it does not work in the least little bit right now.

In spite of everything, it was an unusually fun day cutting down the tree. Brian got the manly job of running the chainsaw, and the boys and I hauled the limbs to the curb. I will try to post pictures tomorrow of our huge pile of limbs and wood, as well as our cute little tree stump that will soon be history thanks to the stump grinder people. Our neighbor and his son helped us out too, which was also very, very cool.

Have You Been Wondering What We Are Up To?

Nathan was superstar last week. As you will see in the pictures, he dressed up as Darth Vader, which is very appropriate for the week that they are learning about the letter D. The superstar kid makes a star sharing 5 things about himself on each point. Nathan's star was not easy. When I asked Nathan what he wanted to share, he really didn't have any ideas. So I told him that the note said that he could put his favorite things on it (i.e. color, candy, restaurant, vacation spot, etc.) Nathan told me he wanted to put a picture of his favorite door. I asked him where his favorite door was, and he replied, "The door to my room." I told him that was not exactly what we were supposed to be doing, and so he asked if he could put a picture of his favorite room. (Yep, you guessed it...his bedroom.) Needless to say, the task of making the star took a long time, but we ended up with Handy Manny tools, Lego Star Wars game pictures, a picture of Nathan on a fast ride from an amusement park, a picture of Nathan with Mickey Mouse, and a blue crayon for his favorite color.

Here are some pictures from his special day:









David and all the other first graders are Kingdom Kids this year, and they had a concert one day a couple of weeks ago. Unfortunately, my new teaching schedule has made me miss some of the boys' stuff at school; however, Brian got to go see David sing and took pictures for me.





And now on to what has kept us hopping the most lately: Soccer. Both boys are playing soccer and are having a great time. David didn't know anyone on his team but has made some new friends. There is a girl on his team that is by far the best player on the team, but David is doing pretty good considering he hasn't played since he was 4 years old (and even then he never wanted to get on the field to play). He is great on defense and is just incredibly fast.

Nathan, on the other hand, is just Nathan. He seems to be having fun, but spends a lot of time acting silly. At his last game, I overheard his coach telling him that there is no hugging in soccer. Yeah....that about sums it up.

David has practices on Thursday and Friday, and Nathan has practice on Thursday. Both the boys play games on Saturday. There is an option for a Monday night training session; however, we decided three days were enough for the boys at this age, especially with homework and life in general.

Here are some pictures of the boys from their first games:















Besides all of these things, Brian started a masters program, and I am now teaching 4 classes and studying for the CPA exam. Life is hectic, but also very nice right now. I am thankful for my sweet boys who keep me laughing, and my sweet husband who randomly brings me flowers for no reason at all. I hope life is going just as well for all of you!

So, how is school going?

I have gotten this question a bunch of times in the past few days, and my answer is that it is going pretty well. The boys have only had a few "mishaps", and we consider that a good thing.

Tuesday was an eventful day. David got his card moved once for talking, which is just a warning. However, yesterday he was able to keep it in the right place all day long.

Nathan....oh my! It was raining here Tuesday, so recess was in the gym. Apparently, Nathan needed to go to the bathroom, but didn't tell anyone he was leaving the gym to go to the restroom. The teachers blew the whistle to tell the kids to line up, and Nathan was nowhere to be found. David said teachers started getting really scared and going around all over the gym yelling his name. I guess one of them eventually checked the bathrooms and found him.

Nathan was pretty nonchalant about the whole thing and didn't seem to get what the big deal was all about. I am thankful he wasn't doing anything naughty or dangerous, but we did have a long talk about never leaving the place where you are supposed to be without getting permission first. I have a feeling this just might be an interesting year!

On a different note, I will end by sharing part of Nathan's prayer last night.

...Thank You for letting us have a good day tomorrow. Thank You that Daddy has a fun job. I want to have a job like that when I grow up.

That last part made his Daddy smile pretty big! :)

First Day of School

Yesterday, the boys started school. It seems so early, but I will say that I think they were both ready. David has Mrs. Mote for first grade and is very excited about that. From what I understand, First grade can get pretty tough and there will be a lot of homework, but David is a smart boy and loves school. His biggest challenge will be that he loves to talk too much. We worked on his self-control last year, and this year will be more work for him; however, I know he can do it if he just puts his mind to it.

Nathan started Kindergarten yesterday. Several people have asked me if I cried, and I could honestly answer that I didn't. It was a little tough because he just seems so young sometimes and we always have to worry about what that kid is up to. I am afraid of getting the call that he is on top of the roof or something like that; however, I also know that as a parent, the goal is to let them be independent and to not hover and stifle their growth (something that I have not always been good at). So, I am entrusting this little guy to Mrs. Wells and am just going to do a lot of praying! :)

Here are a couple of pictures before school yesterday:





Look how different the boys look from their first day of school picture last year:

Back to School Trip to Memphis

Every year we take the teens to Memphis for a Back to School trip. We start out the day at Putt-Putt, which obviously has miniature golf courses, but it also has an arcade, lazer tag, go-karts, bumper boats, batting cages, and rides for little kids. The boys love going along, and this year David was finally old enough to play lazer tag with the big kids. (Just for the record, lazer tag is the highlight of his little world, so that was a very cool thing for him.)

After spending several hours at Putt-Putt, we headed to a mall for some shopping. Then we headed to a Memphis Redbirds game (during Elvis week...woohoo!). We didn't have as many teens able to go this year as usual, but we still had a really fun time. Here are some pictures of the boys enjoying the day.


Nathan on the dinosaur ride


David driving the mini go-karts


Another picture of David driving the mini go-kart


Nathan in the big go-karts waiting to go


David waiting to ride the big (noisy) go-karts

Pics from Michigan Trip

Here are a few pictures of the teens and the boys from our Michigan VBS trip.