Happy Birthday to Me!

For the past few years, my birthday hasn't been all that exciting. We have been on mission trips and other youth events for some of them, but even more than that, it isn't really fun to get old. I love how my kids get excited about getting older, but I just can't seem to do that any more.

However, this birthday has already been fun and it isn't even 10:30. My dear, sweet husband let me sleep in and then brought me breakfast in bed. He was going to make it, but the milk had gone bad. (We don't have any milk drinkers in our family, so that happens a lot!) So, he went to Bobby's to get me breakfast! You gotta love some Bobby's!

Then David gave me a present. It was wrapped in plain piece of paper. When I opened it, it was a football card of John Elway. (You gotta love John Elway!) He said, "I found that...upstairs." I didn't have the heart to tell him that it was already my football card. (And yes, I am a cool mom because in the olden days, I used to collect football cards. I have a bunch and my boys are quite impressed!)

Nathan also gave me a present wrapped up in a plain piece of paper. This package held a yo-yo, which was soon taken back by Nathan. I think he decided that I had it long enough and he needed it back. He then replaced it with a handful of pretend fish food. We don't have a fish, so I don't know exactly what to do with the pile of pretend fish food. However, if I "move" it, he will know and yell at me. (Yeah....welcome to my crazy world!)

I've already gotten a phone call from the sweetest nephews and niece in the world...and my brother and sister-in-law too! My mom called this morning too. I also got a call from about an extended warranty...but they didn't wish me a happy birthday.

So, I may just embrace getting old today along with all the pampering that goes with it. My boys take good care of me and make me feel like a princess more often than not...but today, they have promoted me to queen status. Not bad for an old lady, huh?

I know...I know...Long time no see

Wow! It has been almost two months since my last post. You know it has been awhile when you start getting emails and phone calls asking what the deal is!

We have just been plugging along. The end of school was a whirlwind with class parties for the boys and lots of grading and studying for me. Since school has been out, we have had VBS and David went to a basketball camp. We took a quick, impromptu trip to Oklahoma City to see friends and family. Grandma Barbara and Grandma Sandy have both been here to visit. The list can go on and on, but most of all, we have been hanging out and enjoying spending time with each other.

I have lots to share, but I will save that for another day. For now, I will just share some pictures to show how much the boys have grown during this past year.

This picture is from our church Hayride last October.

This picture was taken a few weeks ago. Haven't they grown?

There will be more tomorrow.

By the way, David helped pick out the new blog background. He thought this one looked like Alabama colors, which in his words made it "Awesome".

BIG Dreams

The boys were watching a movie about Moses yesterday and when it got to the part where Moses parted the Red Sea, both the boys were in awe. David looked at me and asked, "How did he do that?" I told him that God was with with him and gave him the power to do it so he could save the Israelites.

David then said, "God is so cool. I wish I could be God. I think I will be God for Halloween next year."

It's been a long time...

Wow...I had not realized how long it has been since I last posted. So much has happened since that post...David celebrated his sixth birthday, Brian made another trip to the gulf coast to help out with clean-up, my business plan competition is over, and just everyday life. It is funny how all of those things are just so big at the time and consume so much energy, and yet, in light of everything that has happened at Virginia Tech and other things going on in people's lives, they are really very small.

I really will write more about my family later, but right now, my heart is touched by so many things going on in the lives of those around us. Brian showed me a video the other night and shared how it touched him and made him very thankful for all the blessing in his life. Once I saw it, I understood exactly what he meant.

Some days, little things seem so hard. Some days, you take so much for granted. Some days, you struggle to have faith that God is in control even when you aren't. And then, the life of a little boy reminds you of God's perspective of your purpose in life. The little boy reminds you what truly matters. The little boy reminds you that God is here...in every way...even when you don't always understand.

If you want to be touched deeply today, you can see the video here.

The Lizard, The Frog and The Mole

It sounds like a storybook, doesn't it? Trust me...this is no storybook.

I don't like reptiles. I mean...I REALLY DON'T LIKE REPTILES! So you can imagine the fun in our house when Nathan yells "Mommy, there is a lizard in the bathroom." I thought he was exaggerating but decided that I just might need to check. Low and behold, there was a scampering little lizard that set my heart a quivering and made me want to scream like the girl I am.

Unfortunately, my dear husband wasn't home and my boys weren't offering to dispose of the lizard. Sooooo, I got my handy dandy dust pan and attempted to scoop up the little guy. It didn't exactly work as planned. Needless to say, this lizard and I danced around the bathroom until I finally got him on the dust pan. I knew I could never make it to the front or back door with him, and I didn't want to take the chance of setting him free in my living room. So I did the unthinkable. I flushed him down the toilet...and then flushed about 10 more times to make sure that he wouldn't reappear.

I don't know where the lizard came from, but Brian did see a frog the other day. I hope our new flowerbeds and mulch aren't going to invite unwanted reptiles into our yard or house! After all, we already have moles in our front and back yard. We have nice little tunnels all through the yard. I would love to say "At least we haven't seen any yet..." but we no longer think that is the case. The other day Nathan came running inside to tell me that he had seen a mole. He said it was black with a face like his and it came out of hole. I am not so sure about the face thing, but I have a sneaking suspicion that Nathan probably saw one of our moles. While the mole encounter didn't phase Nathan, the thought of coming face to face with a mole causes me great trepidation.

David is helping me out though. After the lizard episode, he prayed that I would not be afraid of a little thing like a lizard that wouldn't hurt me. Since he feels that way, David is going to be in charge of lizard removal next time!

The Life of a Youth Minister's Family

Brian took the week off since it is also my Spring Break, and we have spent the past week breaking our backs, knees and muscles we didn't even know existed relandscaping our flower beds in the front yard. (And yes, we were trying to fix the bushes I killed last fall!) In spite of the hard work, it was worth all the effort because they look much, much better. It was a very productive week...with one exception.


Last night we woke up hearing noises outside of our house and found this:

Ahhhhh yes....the life of a youth minister at its best! :-)

The boy next door was mortified that someone would do this to our house after we had spent so much time digging up shrubs and getting the beds ready to plant stuff. While he and his sister helped us clean up, we had to explain that they do this in fun and didn't do it to be mean (we think).

The funny thing is that these teens think they got us. Little do they know that revenge is such a sweet, sweet thing!

Soccer Time

Before I talk soccer, I was clicking on the link to the video in the last post and apparently the video was gone from the link I used. I have updated it with a new link, so if you clinked on that link and only saw some ads for some pretty risque links, I am so SORRY! I turned red when I saw them! Now you can go back and look at the other video and hopefully it won't go away!

Now...on to soccer. Nathan has started playing soccer (or something like that) and his team is hilarious. We have Nathan. I thought Nathan would be in the middle of things playing his heart out. Wrong! Nathan is the kid that likes to lay down on the field. I don't know if he is meditating, playing dead or trying to stop the other team from scoring, but in all honesty, he doesn't accomplish any of the above.

Next comes Canton. Canton is the boy that comes running onto the field and jumps in front of the coach and starts doing the growling-muscle showing move. Unfortunately, a couple of minutes later, he will run off the field in search of his mom and cannot be coaxed back onto the field.

Then there is Kelby. Kelby just keeps on running. He stays on the field and plays hard. He doesn't have the same natural ability as some of the others when it comes to soccer, but he definitely gets the 110% award, and I predict he will do well in sports.

Ben is the only boy that has scored. He is really good but isn't sure about getting on the field. The coach has to coax him on the field and keep him interested in the game.

Caleb is the most cuddly little four year old you have ever seen. He still has that baby look to him, and as long as you hold his hand, he will do anything you ask.

Rounding up our 6 man team is Trevor. Trevor is probably the best athlete of all of them. Unfortunately, he has yet to make it on the field. He is pretty shy and has showed no interest in playing. He reminds me of David when David played soccer.

And of course, I cannot forget the coach. Oh My! The coach is an out of shape, middle age woman who knows NOTHING about soccer. Oh wait....I AM THE COACH! And yes...all of that is true. The coaches we played last week were talking about corner kicks and were line Nazis. I am out there shouting hurray when our kids kick the ball in the wrong goal. I did tell them that it was the wrong goal, but they were so excited. I gave them high fives and told them they were great!

I have enlisted the help of Savannah, who was one of our youth group kids and played soccer in high school. She is great and helps with some of that soccer lingo. Together we do okay, but we have a big problem with keeping kids on the field. We have yet to score as much as the other teams. We don't keep score, but David does. (After the first game, he decided that girl coaches were no good because we were the losers!)

I think we have five more games, which may be all I can handle. Nathan thinks its great and enjoys getting dressed up to play and always seems well rested after the game.

CAN

Have you ever had a time in your life where you just seemed to be touched by the small things in life? Or have you had those days where you are truly inspired by the actions of others? I have really been feeling this a lot lately. We have had a lot of stuff going on, but in the midst of it, I have found great inspiration in simple acts (and not so simple acts) of true sacrafice.

I came across a video online today about a father and son. I had heard their story before and Brian had told me about the video, but I had never gotten to see the actual video. The father and son are named Dick and Rick Hoyt and here is an excerpt from their website:

Dick and Rick Hoyt are a father-and-son team from Massachusetts who
together compete just about continuously in marathon races. And if they’re not
in a marathon they are in a triathlon — that daunting, almost superhuman,
combination of 26.2 miles of running, 112 miles of bicycling, and 2.4 miles of
swimming. Together they have climbed mountains, and once trekked 3,735 miles
across America.

It’s a remarkable record of exertion — all the more so when you
consider that Rick can't walk or talk.

For the past twenty five years or more Dick, who is 65, has
pushed and pulled his son across the country and over hundreds of finish lines.
When Dick runs, Rick is in a wheelchair that Dick is pushing. When Dick cycles,
Rick is in the seat-pod from his wheelchair, attached to the front of the bike.
When Dick swims, Rick is in a small but heavy, firmly stabilized boat being
pulled by Dick.

Their website goes on to tell a remarkable story of a young man whose father wanted him to be able to do more than just imagine. He wanted him to feel like a winner and went to great lengths to provide that opportunity to his son. Their website shares a touching story, but seeing it on this video is absolutely inspiring and just reaches to the very core of you.

It makes me want to be more to and for my kids. It reminds me to sacrifice so that they can be all that they can be. While I may not have to carry them physically, there may be times they need me to "carry" them emotionally or spiritually just like my father in Heaven does for me. They may need me to travel with them as they forge new roads or cheer them on as they take off on their own. They will need me to hang on to them and they will need me to let go of them. All these take sacrifice, commitment and most of all, they take a love like no other love. They take the love that Dick Hoyt has for his son. They take the love I have for my sons.

David and Nathan...you have my word...for as long as I live and am able, I will be with you, beside you, behind you...wherever you need me to be...so that you can.

Another Change

I think that I am going through a mid-life crisis or something. I have the need for change, and the easiest thing to change is my blog template. The last one didn't feel right, so I am going to try this one. And yes...I know that I need to get out of the house more if I am concerned about how my blog feels! (As a side note, I was right about Brian's reaction to my first change. The first thing that he said about my last change was that he liked my old template!)

In other news, both boys are sick. They have that sinus junk going around and seem to feel pretty miserable, especially Nathan. So, we had pajama day at our house, which was kind of nice...almost like a relaxing vacation, except that I had to work on stuff all day!

The other night we were at our church's version of children's church and the kids were naming the fruits of the spirit. Every time they would name one, Nathan would say, "Oh No! They already said patience!" of "Oh No! They already said self-control." My favorite, though, was when he exclaimed "Oh No! They already said Faithful Mess!"

The sad thing is that, some days, faithful mess describes me better than faithfulness. I admit it; I am a mess these days. I am disorganized and am burning the candles at both ends of the wick and in the middle of the wick. However, I had an experience in the past few days that made me rethink a lot of things, and I am committing myself to clean up my faithful mess. I will try to get organized too, but honestly, that isn't as important as making sure my priorities are what they need to be and that God is always at the center of everything.

I love it when my kids make me laugh, but even more, I love it when they pass on a little gem that makes me think. I am thankful for my kids; they are truly blessings...even when (you can fill in the blank if you have read my blog before)!

So, if you want to join me in a clean sweep of your faithful mess, let me know. We can all encourage each other!

It's a Bad Toe Day

A lot of my stories have been about David lately, so I decided that I needed to share a few about Nathan.

Nathan had a rough night Sunday night. He had a splinter in his foot right by his big toe, and I made the unfortunate decision to remove it. You would have thought that I cut his big toe off. He wailed...and screamed...and cried for at least an hour. He told David he was having a bad toe day. He told me that the splinter would be stuck to my fingernail forever. When I told him that it wasn't stuck to my fingernail, he became even more upset.

So, I did what every good parent would do. I hugged him and put him to bed. Monday morning I asked him how his toe felt, and he said it was great now. Such drama from such a small boy!

Last Thursday, the 4 and 5 year olds from his school went to a pizza restaurant to make pizzas for "P" week. Imagine about 40 to 50 preschool kids taking a tour of a pizza joint and putting toppings on their own individual pizzas. I cannot even begin to tell you how many kids would put a topping on their pizza, lick their hands and then put their fingers back into the toppings. All I can say is thank goodness for really hot, germ-killing ovens!

The teachers have worked out this field trip down to a perfect science. They split up the kids into three groups and had art class, music class and the pizza making part. Brian and I got to see how Nathan interacted with the other kids, and basically we realized that Nathan kind of does his own thing. He stayed at the back of the pack and was busy looking at everything going on around him, which is pretty typical for him.

This week is Q week at his school, and on Tuesdays, they always take something that starts with that week’s letter for show and tell. Well, I forgot to send a Q thing with him this morning. I was taking David to school, so I called Brian and told him to tell Nathan that he could be Quiet for show and tell today. I told him he might have to practice it with him on the way to school.

Brian called me after he had dropped Nathan off at school and he was laughing. Apparently, when the teachers greeted him, Nathan whispered, “Shhhhhh! Quiet starts with a Q!”

Time for a Change

Soooo....do you notice something different? I needed to change the look of my blog. It was time for something new. I love change, but I have found that living with three boys who don't like change so much has stifled me a bit. So, rather than rebelling against them and rearranging all the furniture in the house, I just changed the look on my blog.

In other news, the boys have been really funny lately. We were at a restaurant a few days ago, and there was music playing in the background. Nathan started swaying back and forth. I asked him if he was dancing, and he nodded. David said, "It looks like he is dancing the Mumba." I thought he must be talking about the mambo, so I asked him where he learned about that dance. He replied, "Oh we did it at school." This surprised me and I couldn't imagine preschool teachers wanting to teach ballroom dancing to a bunch of 4 and 5 year old kids. So, I asked him when they learned it. He said, "You were there. It was at that big party in the gym." I couldn't remember what he was talking about, so he said, "You know...with the music and the stick." Ah yes...the Limbo...just a slight difference from the Mambo.

Then we have yesterday. David had not obeyed very well at school, so I decided that we needed to sit down and really talk about it. After we talked about what he did and how he was going to act differently, he said, "Yeah, I guess God forgot to come into my heart and it made me make some really bad choices. Why did he do that?" It's pretty bad when they start blaming God, isn't it? Oh my!

What Exactly Is a Surgery?

David spends most of his days asking questions. Yesterday, David and I somehow got into a conversation about surgeries. (I think it started when I told him not to run with his toothbrush in his mouth.) Needless to say, he wanted to know all about the point of a surgery. When I told him there were lots of different kinds of surgeries, his eyes lit up, and I knew that I had just opened the door for a discussion about all the different kinds of surgeries.

After a few explanations about several "tame" surgeries, he asked if I had ever had any surgeries. I replied that I had my appendix removed. He wanted to know what the appendix does and why it had to be removed. (What exactly does an appendix do?) He asked if that was the only surgery I had. I said no and we moved on to the gallbladder...and then the right knee...and then the left knee. I was hoping we could stop there, but I couldn't lie to him when he asked again.

So, I told him I had a c-section. He asked what that was all about, and I told him that the c-section was done by the doctor so he could be born. I am sure that EVERY little boy would love the thought of having to be cut out of his mom's stomach, but I must admit that the conversation was kind of creepy for me.

However, I must say that it lost some of its creepiness when David said, "So the doctor cut you open and I popped out. What color shirt was I wearing?" At that point, I just started laughing so hard that I cried.

I Am Thinking of a Number...

We were on the way home from church on Sunday night after going out to supper with a good friend, and the boys were beginning to get a little "loud" in the backseat. In the past this has really frustrated me, but I have been trying a new approach that has seemed to be working pretty well. I will play a game like "I spy" or make up a silly song to get their minds off the fact that they really want to pester each other. It just makes the ride in the car or the wait in the line at the store go a little more bearable.

On Sunday night, I decided that they need to be distracted and I thought I would try something a little different. I said, "I am thinking of a number between 1 and 10. Can you guess what it is?" This is how the rest of the "game" went.

David shouted out, "43!"

To which I responded, "That isn't between 1 and 10."

Nathan then responded, "A...B....C"

Me: "Nathan, those are letters. You need to pick a number."

David: "27"

Me: "David, a number BETWEEN 1 and 10"

David: "16?"

Me: "No! Between 1 and 10. What numbers come between 1 and 10?"

David: "I don't know."

Me: "David, why don't you count from 1 to 10?"

After much prodding and many hints, David eventually guessed the number. So then it was his turn. He said, "I am thinking of a number between 23 and 2."

Me: "What?

Nathan: "1"

Me: "That is backwards David, but that is okay. How about 16?"

David: "No"

Nathan: "2...3...4...5...6...7...8...9...10"

Me: "20?"

David: "No, it is 24."

Me: "THAT is NOT between 2 and 23."

David: "I didn't say 2 and 23. I said 23 and 2."

Nathan: "It's my turn. It's my turn. I am thinking of a number between 2 and 3."

David: "Is it 100?"

Nathan: "Yes David! You got it!"

Soooo...math may not be our strong suit just yet. If this is any indicator, it may not ever be our strong suit!

So, Why Did You Choose Us Mom?

On the way home from church last night, David asked, "So, why did you choose us Mom?" I was a little confused, so I asked him what he meant. He said, "You know. Why did you choose us to be your babies?"

I grinned to myself and told him that God had given both of them to me as a special gift and that they were chosen by God to be in our family. I also said how blessed that we were that God gave them to us.

I thought that might end the discussion, but it didn't. He then asked, "Well, how did God get us to you?" Ummm...just a little bit harder of a question to explain. I couldn't just say that he left them on the doorstep because he has seen pregnant women. So, I said, "God let you guys grow in my tummy." He then asked, "How did he get us in your tummy?"

Now, you have to understand that Nathan is crying because he had to turn in his nametag at church before we left. I was trying to get home because we had kids from the youth group coming to our house, so I said, "You know what David. It is really hard to talk about this because Nathan is upset, and we might need a little more time. Can we talk about this later?" (What I was really asking was "If I put off this discussion for a little while will you forget about it and then ask your dad when you are a lot older?)

David sat there for a second and then said, "Is it a secret? Does God come to your house at night and climb into your tummy and put a baby in your tummy? Should we not talk about it because it is a secret and Jesus doesn't want us to know how it works?" (I would have loved to see my face at this point in the conversation.)

I replied, "Ummmm...noooo...that's not really it." David said, "Oh okay. Who is your favorite football team?"

All I can say is thank goodness for questions about football!

David's Week

This week has been a tough week for David. Getting back in the routine of school is never easy, but he has had some added events that have just made it a little rough.

Either Monday or Tuesday, Brian brought David home from school and said, "Something traumatic happened at school today." I looked at David, and he burst into tears and those tears soon became heart-wrenching sobs. I was rather bewildered and looked to Brian for an explanation. He told me that a boy had accidentally thrown David's football on the roof of the school. One of the teachers assured David that there was a man with a big ladder that would come get it down off the roof in a day or two, but that did nothing to appease his pain. Every mention of the football caused another onslaught of tears...to the point of being ridiculous. Later in the evening, I discovered that it was really Nathan's ball that was on the roof, and David was worried about telling him. He told Nathan all about it, and Nathan just said, "Oh well." That night, David prayed for the man who would get the ball down off the roof. We still don't have the ball back, but thankfully, he doesn't cry at every mention of it now.

On Wednesday, David came in the door showing me his hand. He had scraped it, and so I gave him the proper sympathy. Then I saw his face. My sweet little boy took a face dive on the cement and had a knot above his eye and some marks on his cheek. I gave him a big hug and asked him if he cried. He said yes, and my heart broke. I hate being away from my kids and not being there to comfort them when they are hurt. He was tough and said it was all okay.

It is Friday, and he is fine. Now he is just bugging me about why rest time isn't over and how long and unfair rest time is!

Finally...Back to Blog World

It has been awhile. I could give you many excuses. I had a cast on my arm. We were traveling. On and on they could go. The truth is that I took a break on writing about my family and just enjoyed spending some time with them.

Christmas was fun. We spent it with my family in Nebraska and the boys were able to have a white Christmas. It was fun...and cold! David and I went sledding with my nephew Michael on Christmas day. We went down a hill that I now refer to as the hill of death. The slope was pretty steep, and David was not real excited about going down it alone. So, being the great and fun mom that I am, I went with him. (Can you say BIG MISTAKE?!) We hit an embankment and our sled flipped. David went flying off and in the process of trying to keep me or the sled from landing on top of him, I injured my right arm. I went to the doctor the next day and ended up with a cast on my right wrist and thumb. That part wasn't fun, but I did get out of doing dishes!

Nathan caught a stomach virus the day after Christmas. I've decided that it is not easy taking care of a kid who is throwing up when you have a cast on your arm. Luckily, Dad pitched in a little and Grandma pitched in a lot to help me out. He recovered, and everyone had a really good time.

We ended up leaving Nebraska a day early because of the threat of more storms, and we had the longest trip home EVER. Our boys are really good travelers, but I don't think I have ever stopped so many times in my whole life. Needless to say, we were all glad to be home!

We rolled in New Year's with a group of kids from the youth group. We had an impromptu New Year's eve bash and it was a lot of fun. I learned how to play Risk and in my second game, stomped all the boys! Little do they know that I learned all my strategic moves from being a mom to two busy little boys. The highlight of the evening was David spilling Sprite down my cast to roll in the new year.

Thankfully, my wrist is not broken and the sticky cast is now gone. I have been working hard to get organized once and for all, and it seems to be working a little bit. Maybe by the end of February, I will be on top of everything!

Hope you all had a great holiday and 2007 is treating you well. May God bless you all through this new year!

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.