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.

Where or Where Has Our Summer Gone?

Wow! The month of July has flown by so fast. We've been on a mission trip to Michigan with our teens. Most of my family came to visit, and we finally got to hold my sweet little nephew, Trevyn. We have been school supply shopping. We've been swimming. We made a quick trip to Edmond, Oklahoma to visit friends and family. It honestly seems like we have spent more time away from home than at home this month. It has been a very fun month though, and we will spend the next week and a half recuperating and getting ready for the boys to start school on August 11th.

Tomorrow I will try to get some pictures uploaded from our summer, but here are some classic quotes from Nathan that I will share with you for today:

Big brothers are so much better than little brothers.

Mom, I think we should use snot as sunscreen.

Yep...so sweet at moments and not so sweet at others.

Some Deep Thinking

Yesterday, Nathan's Sunday school teacher called to talk to me. When I first got the call, all I could think was "Oh no! What did he do now?!" However, this was a pretty neat call. Apparently on Sunday, she made the comment that God made everything, so Nathan asked her if God made the devil. She told him yes, to which he asked how God could make something evil when he has nothing to do with anything evil.

Wow! Not to shabby reasoning for a five year old, huh?

Then, last night the boys and I were saying prayers (Dad was at movie night with the teens), and we were praying for some people who have cancer. After we were done praying, David asked, "Why do we pray for people to be healed? If they die, they get to go to heaven, and heaven is where we all want to be. So wouldn't it be better if we just let them go there?"

Man! Tough questions from the boys these days. We spent a little while talking about heaven and talking about the human desire to be with the people we love, and how hard it is to balance the two.

I love it when my boys ask questions like this because I am able to see how some of the things they are learning from us, in Bible class, in worship, in chapel and at Bible time at school are sinking into their ever-growing brains. I love that they are already trying to flesh through some difficult questions. I am scared to death of what they will ask next and pray everyday that God fills me with the answers to guide them to those answers. I also pray that there will never come a day that they don't ask questions or quit seeking the truth to those questions.

Some days I wonder if I am effective as a parent. There are those days where they spend the whole day fighting with each other, arguing with me, or just being plain ol' naughty. However, these moments where they share the most insightful thoughts about our God or ask a question that lets me know they are working on building a foundation for their spiritual growth help me to realize that we are making a little headway in the greatest responsibility that we have as parents. It also makes more sense about why Nathan has been praying for me so much lately!

Favorite Things About Family

I was thinking about family today, so I decided to ask my boys what some of their favorite things are about family members. Here are their answers:

David's Favorite Things about Family Members

Daddy

1. We go on trips together.
2. Our hair looks the same.
3. We both like Indiana Jones and Star Wars

Nathan

1. We play Star Wars Lego game together
2. We pretend to "toot" together.
3. We snuggle together.

Grandma Sandy

1. I like the look of her house.
2. I like to hug and kiss her a lot.
3. She rubs my back.

Grandma Barbara

1. Sometimes at Christmas she is with us.
2. She lets me sit on her lap.
3. She brings us a lot of presents

Uncle Steve

1. He is funny.
2. He is a farmer.
3. He likes to wrestle with me.

Aunt Rachel

1. She is pretty.
2. She bought me light up Mickey Mouse ears at Disney World.
3. She is nice to me.

Michael (cousin)

1. He likes Legos.
2. He has seen “The Last Crusade”.
3. He likes to dig for diamonds with me.

Tyler (another cousin)

1. We are both funny.
2. We both played T-Ball.
3. He likes trains.

Kylie (yet another cousin)

1. She is cute.
2. She likes playing with the play kitchen.
3. She’s my only girl cousin.

Trevyn (the youngest cousin of all)

1. He is cute.
2. I like him.
3. He is my baby cousin.

Nathan's Favorite Things about Family Members

Daddy

1. That he goes to work.
2. He types on his computer.
3. He plays the Star Wars Lego game with me.

David

1. He plays with me.
2. He gives me piggy back rides.
3. He holds me.

Grandma Sandy

1. She plays with me.
2. We do stuff with each other.
3. She swims or anything and I like her.

Grandma Barbara

1. She helps me get up.
2. I like her.
3. She does stuff for me

Uncle Steve

1. He is my uncle.
2. He does stuff for Kylie.
3. I am his nephew.

Aunt Rachel

1. I love her.
2. She is pretty.
3. She presses buttons for me.

Michael (cousin)

1. He likes me.
2. He does stuff for me.
3. He plays checkers with me.

Tyler (another cousin)

1. He eats with me.
2. We have fun with each other.
3. He puts my shoes on for me.

Kylie (yet another cousin)

1. I like to kiss her.
2. I love her.
3. She likes me.

Trevyn (the youngest cousin of all)

1. I like him a lot.
2. He is a baby.
3. I want to hold him.

There are some big trends here, which I am sure you have already noticed. It matters a lot to David if you like Star Wars and Indiana Jones. It matters a lot to Nathan if you do stuff for him, which is funny because he has always been the "I will do it myself" kid. Brian, I am not sure exactly what it means that Nathan's favorite thing about you is that you go to work. I will let you interpret that one on your own. :)

Nathan's prayer

Every night we say prayers as a family, and each person says their own prayer. David's prayers are always pretty long because he prays for a lot of sick people and for families that have lost a loved one. It is always sweet to hear how thoughtful his prayers are and how he thinks of others.

Nathan's prayers tend to be a bit shorter and more to the point. He always thanks God for each of us by name and then generally will pray that tomorrow is a good day. Every once in awhile he will throw something else into his prayer. Two nights ago, he finished his prayer with "and help mom to behave tomorrow. In Jesus name...amen." Help Mom to behave? I glanced over at Brian and he was shaking because he was trying so hard not to laugh out loud.

Last night, Nathan took it up a notch and prayed for both mom and dad to have help behaving. Guess we need as much help as we can get!

Happy Fourth of July....late, of course! :)

I know! I know! I know! I am supposed to be catching up on lots of blog posts, but as usual, I just seem to remain behind. So here is the quick version of what is up in our lives.

Fourth of July weekend was a blast. Brian has off Thursdays, and he helped me get ready to have Buncos at our house Thursday night. (What a sweet husband!) He whisked the boys off to go watch a movie in the youth room at church while all of us women ate supper and played the game. I really do enjoy having people over, but usually the people coming over are in their teens. So, I was a little nervous about my house looking nice and being well decorated. A friend of mine who is a genius decorator came over on Wednesday and helped hang pictures and rearrange some stuff, and I must say that it is amazing what a person with talent can do with a bunch of old stuff! :)

The other part that was a little nerve racking was cooking supper for 11 women who are all really good cooks. This is when I wish I was our friend Erin Cox, who is able to whip up these incredible meals. Since it was so close to the fourth of July, I made brisket, a potato casserole, and a baby spinach salad with strawberries and almonds topped with a homemade honey vinaigrette. On each table, I put some fresh fruit with a fruit dip (in my new $1 star bowls). I finished up the meal with a "flag" dessert. It had a sugar cookie crust, and then was topped with a cream cheese/powdered sugar mixture with strawberries and blueberries placed to look like a flag. While it wasn't quite an "Erin Cox" meal, it did taste pretty good.

On Friday, we were lazy and spent the day playing the Lego Indiana Jones playstation game and just hanging out with each other. We had thought about going to see Wall-e but were so glad that we didn't because some friends of Brian's from Alabama called and were in town bringing their son to Honors Symposium. Brian met up with them at a coffee shop and got to visit for a little bit. When he came home, he was telling me how surprised he was to see that their youngest son was already three. He also said he felt bad for them because he hadn't gotten much of a nap and they were having to take him to a dinner. So, we came up with the plan for Seth to come over so they could enjoy the dinner. It ended up that their twin boys (going into 7th grade) came with him since he didn't know us, and we all had a good time. David loved getting to play with Seth and Nathan attached himself to one of the older boys when he agreed to play the Lego Star Wars game with him. We took them back to their parents about 7:30 and then took the boys to get Frosty's. We finished up the evening by watching fireworks from a parking lot.

This is almost embarrassing to admit, but Saturday, we spent the whole day in our pajamas being lazy. We played games and just had a fun day. Little did we know that it was giving us strength for Sunday.

Sunday was busy! Both Brian and I taught Bible class. There was a potluck that a friend and I were in charge of after morning services. We had a work time for our Michigan mission trip as well as an information meeting. I ended up teaching a class at the last minute for our Sunday night kid's church. Needless to say, it was one of those days where we didn't stop all day. After a really lazy weekend, it was kind of nice.

So, that was our weekend. I hope that everyone had a wonderful fourth of July!

The Sleep Overs

I promised a post about the sleep-overs, so here it is. When Brian was gone to Colorado on Wilderness Trek, one of David's friend's (Luke) invited him to come spend the night. I teach the three year olds on Sunday morning with Luke's mom, Tish, so she knows David pretty well and was prepared in advance for some of his little quirks.

I dropped David off at Luke's sister's softball game, and Nathan about had a cow when David drove off in another car. He was quite perplexed that anyone else would take his big brother away, but that didn't last too long. Pretty soon he was asking if David could stay with Luke for a week!

David was really nervous about his first sleep-over at someone else's house. We have had some friends stay at our house before, but I think he was kind of scared about the unknown; however, Luke lives out in the country, and David was thoroughly excited to see what country life is like. He was not disappointed. Here is a list of all the things he did (directly from David):

1. He got to watch Luke feed the chickens.
2. Their dog had puppies, so he watched Luke's big brother retrieve them from under the porch. Four of the puppies had died, so they all went to the creek to toss them in so the birds wouldn't eat them.
3. He played air hockey.
4. They had an underwear fight. (Don't ask! I have no idea.)
5. They had a nerf gun fight.
6. They had millions of wasps in their house and one landed on his back and went down his leg, but Luke's brother shot it off with a nerf gun.
7. They played with Legos.
8. They slept.
9. They went to a carnival to kick off the area wide Vacation Bible School. (David told me he only got lost once!)

They ended up the sleep-over by going to the birthday party of twins from their class at school, and I picked him up there.

The funny thing is that I got David's version, but then I also got Tish's version of the night too. David has this habit of asking A LOT of questions when he is nervous, and this night was no exception. All I can say is POOR TISH! She assures me that he was fine, but he peppered her with questions the whole time. He also was quite a little back seat driver for her. In spite of being nervous of the unknown, he had a blast.


David and Luke at the end of school, Kindergarten reception


This past Thursday, I got a phone call from the mom of another boy from David's class (Jalen). She said both of her boys were having a few boys over to spend the night and wondered if David could come. David was excited to get spend the night again at someone's house, so he joined in on the crew. When he got home, he said that they watched four movies and that he learned a new trick. He put his hands to his mouth and made what he calls a "tooting noise". Now I know what happens when you get 6 boys together for a night of fun! :)

They also played outside and had a gunfight. They played Nintendo. They rode bikes and scooters. And then spent a lot more time making tooting noises!

David had fun at both sleep-overs, and I am guessing that this year will be full of requests to have friends spend the night at our house.

Happy Birthday Steve!

Today is my big brother's birthday. I had hoped to get this post on here earlier today, but Sunday is always a busy day at our house. So even though his birthday is almost over, I wanted to send him some good wishes.

Steve is a dad to four kids, a husband, a farmer and most of all a dreamer. He constantly has a new idea about how something can be improved, which I think is a really neat trait. He would probably hate for this to make public, but he is a very generous guy...the kind that gives without weighing out the cost. This is a very small example of this, but I remember one time being with him in Denver. It was late, and we were tired and hungry. We had just gotten a pizza at Pizza Hut and were headed back to the hotel to eat. As we pulled up to a stoplight, we saw a man in a wheelchair sitting by the side of the road with a sign that said he was hungry. Steve rolled down his window, grabbed the pizza and handed it to the man. He then reached in his pocket, pulled out his wallet and gave him all of his cash. Now, many would question what the man would do with the money or why he was asking for handouts, but Steve left all of that up to God and gave him what the man asked for. That is just the kind of guy that Steve is.

Steve was also the one I chose to walk me down the aisle at my wedding. My dad hasn't always been present in my life, and for that very important day, I wanted my big brother, who had always been there through the thick and thin of life, to walk with me and hand me over to the guy that would be my husband and new family (and to make sure I didn't trip and fall). To him it might have not been too big of a deal, but is sure did mean a lot to me.

I spent most of my childhood trying to prove myself to my brother (and probably a good part of my adult life trying to do it too!) We are like night and day; I don't think siblings could get much different. But I love him immensely and hopes he has the best day and best year yet!

Since he begged me to show him some love and link to his blog, you can read more from him here. And just for the record Steve, I was going to write this post before your last comment (although I am still hurt you don't like the new look of my blog!) :)

Have a very happy birthday Steve!

A New Look

Every so often, I have to have change in my life. It doesn't have to be anything drastic, but I like to experience new things. I attribute this strange need to moving so often as a child, and honestly, a psychologist would probably have a field day psycho-analyzing me about it. However, that will never happen because I kind of like the fact that I like change. I love experiencing new things and the excitement that comes with it.

My husband, on the other hand, is not much for change. He likes things to pretty much be the same. After looking at my new blog, he said that he liked the old version better. He also was not very excited that I decided to switch around the content of almost all the drawers in the kitchen. I would love to rearrange the furniture, but I think Brian might not be handle it. :) Thankfully, he tolerates my need to change things up a bit with good humor and simply shakes his head when he opens the wrong drawer. He is a good man to put up with me!

Other than rearranging the kitchen drawers, we have been busy with fun things. David had another sleepover (and I know I still owe the grandmas a post about the first sleepover...maybe tomorrow), we went swimming at a friend's house, and we have also had fun days hanging out at home playing the Lego Indiana Jones game, putting together legos, and other fun stuff. David also had basketball camp in there somewhere, and we had the area wide VBS. We are getting ready for a mission trip to Michigan where we will do a VBS for a small church in St. Joseph. Many days have been spent painting, cutting out, copying and getting lessons together for that. Throw Father's day and my birthday, along with me studying for the CPA exam, into the mix, and it means I haven't been the best blogger. I keep thinking life will slow down sometime, but I don't think it ever will. However, that is okay. I have enjoyed watching the boys have fun this summer, and there will eventually be time for me to blog about all the things I want to share with you.

So bear with me and keep reading. I may inundate you with too many posts in the next few days, but it won't last for long and I will fall back into my habit of not posting. :)

Nathan's Logic

I shared some David-isms the other day, so now I need to share something about Nathan. Nathan has an uncanny ability to make a point in the most unique way. For example, the other day, David was in our bathroom getting ready for basketball camp and Nathan was wandering through the house yelling his name and looking for him. He asked me if I knew where David was and I said jokingly, "Maybe aliens took him away." He thought for a second and responded with "How am I supposed to be a little brother if I don't have a big brother?"

Here is another one. Out of the blue yesterday, Nathan said, "Only humans drive SUV's. We are human. Why don't we drive an SUV?"

That kid is just funny. He comes up with the craziest things to say and sometimes he just nearly brings us to tears because we are laughing so hard. The problem is that he also uses this same logic to be sneaky when he is in trouble or trying to get his way. Life is never dull with him around!

I've Been Tagged -- TWICE

Hooray! I am finally back in the world of internet usage! Brian left town to take a group of our teens to Wilderness Trek in Colorado and our internet went down. The internet provider told me it was a problem on my end, and my dear sweet computer expert was over 1000 miles away. I fiddled with it, but to no avail, I couldn't get it to work.

Well, Brian came back, switched out cords and did all sorts of other stuff, but he couldn't get it to work either. Then all the sudden it worked again. I am so not thinking it was on my end. Needless to say, I really missed having the internet and getting to check my email, facebook and all the blogs I read. However, in other ways, it was really nice to take a break from spending entirely too much time on the computer and realize that I can live without it.

During my forced break from the internet though, I was tagged by Trisha and Amy, so FINALLY, here it goes:

What were you doing 5 years ago?

1. I was 5 days away from turning yet another year older.
2. I was mom to a sweet 2 year old and a sweet 6 month old (and probably very tired).
3. I was getting ready for VBS mission trips to Iowa and Nebraska (and probably cutting out lots of stuff and painting!).
4. I was about to see my nephew Tyler for the first time.
5. I was watching A LOT of Blue's Clues and Toy Story.

What are 5 things on your To-Do list for tomorrow?
1. Clean my bathroom
2. Clean the boys' bathroom
3. Practice site words with Nathan
4. Mulch the flower beds in the backyard
5. Study for the CPA exam

What are 5 snacks you enjoy?
1. Goldfish crackers
2. Flip side pretzel cracker with cheddar cheese
3. Grapes
4. Sunflower seeds
5. anything chocolate

What are 5 things you'd do if you were a Billionaire?
1. Start a foundation to provide funds for therapy for special needs kids who fall through the cracks of "the system"
2. Support missionaries throughout the world
3. Give to programs (like the Academy of Leadership and Liberty) that teach individuals how to be leaders and/or better themselves
4. Pay off student loans, house, etc. for us as well as my mom, Brian's mom, my brother and his wife, aunt and uncle and my cousins.
5. Buy my husband a silver 1970 Corvette.

What are 5 of your bad habits?
1. Procrastination
2. Leaving my dresser drawers open just enough to frustrate my husband
3. Spending too much time on the computer
4. Worrying too much about what other people think
5. Putting off studying for the CPA exam

What are 5 jobs that you've had?
1. Farm hand/cook/do whatever they tell me to
2. Grader for professor
3. Intramurals worker
4. Staff Accountant
5. Adjunct Professor

Name 5 places where you have lived.

Man, where I haven't I lived...
1. Searcy, Arkansas
2. Nashville, Tennessee
3. Lubbock, Texas
4. Eugene, Oregon
5. Venango, Nebraska

Who are 5 people you want to tag?

Anybody who is up for the challenge and hasn't done it already!

David-isms

The other day, David asked a question and started it the way every conversation should be started with me:

Mom, since you know everything in the world...

He is going to spend his first night with his friend, Luke, on Friday. I am not sure how he will do because sleeping through the night is not his best talent, but I am praying for a great night for him. Luke lives out in the country, and David is really excited to see Luke's cow, chickens and horse. For some reason we were talking about milking cows the other day, and he said maybe he would get to milk Luke's cow. I teased him that maybe he would get to drink some of the milk trying to get a reaction out of him because he is not a huge milk fan. He responded with

Ewwwww! Drink milk from a cow's gutter?!!! I would never do that!

Our Summer So Far

Summer is supposed to be relaxing, but so far ours has been kind of busy. Last weekend, we headed to Fort Worth to go to Brian's cousin, Megan's graduation. We had to make a quick trip, but we had so much fun as a family. Both David and Nathan did incredible during the graduation and were rewarded with time hanging out in the freezing cold hotel pool. We also went to the cemetery where Brian's aunt was buried and the boys left flowers on her grave. Then we headed out to the National Cemetery where Brian's uncle is buried and Brian and David put flowers on his grave. Nathan was asleep and my motto is to never ever wake up Nathan unless we absolutely have to.

I will admit that sitting in the van watching Brian and David at Chuck's grave was very touching. Brian bent down and was telling David things, and I could just tell they were having a pretty earnest conversation. It was one of those moments that I was beyond thankful for the daddy that my boys have.

The rest of our summer vacation has been filled with playing outside, cleaning out the boys' rooms and closets, and dealing with a mysterious, itchy and contagious rash! David and Brian have both had some crazy itchy rash that has nearly put us all in a mental hospital. Can I just say that David is definitely not the best patient in the world? (And that is truly an understatement!)

Nathan, on the other hand, has just been busy being Nathan. One day he was in the backyard playing. I glanced around the yard trying to find him and couldn't see him anywhere. I looked up in the tree house, and he wasn't there. I was starting to worry when I looked up and saw him sitting on the roof of the tree house wearing a football helmet. I was a little worried that if I yelled at him to get down, he might fall and take a 12 to 13 foot tumble to the ground, so I calmly told him to sit tight and I climbed into the tree house. When I got to him, I grabbed on to his leg and we had the following conversation:

Me: Nathan, what are you doing up here?

Nathan: Hanging out.

Me: Nathan, this is very dangerous.

Nathan: No, it isn't. It is safe. I am wearing a helmet.

Me: Well, it is against the rules.

Nathan: Whose rule is that?

Me: Dad's.

Nathan: (sighing) Okay, I will get down.

All I can say is "Oh my!"

What You Do on a Date

One night at supper while Brian's mom was at our house, David told Brian and me that we should go on a date. I asked David and Nathan what we were supposed to do on a date and here is what we were told:

1. Go to the hardware store and look at tools.

2. The boy is supposed to get the girl presents like a skirt that says I love you.

3. Kiss.

4. Drive around for a long time.

5. Kiss some more.


Well, Brian's mom was sweet enough to watch the boys so we could go on a date, but we didn't make it to the hardware store. Brian brought me flowers, but I did not get a skirt with I love you on it. He took me out to eat, and then we went to see The Bucket List at the cheap theater in town. We wrapped up the night with a cup of coffee at one of the local coffee shops and a good discussion about what would be on our own bucket lists. Let's just say that after we compared lists I was reminded how much opposites attract. :)

Surviving April

That title sounds kind of desperate, doesn't it? April has been a bit of a tough month. We have watched and cried while people we care about have hurt this month. We said goodbye to a wonderful aunt, who died in an accident at the age of 49. It just hasn't been one of those months you look back on and think "This is the best month of my life!"

However, it has also been a very blessed month. I think that all four of us have grown so much this month. We have been stretched. We have been pulled. We have been tested in so many different ways, and through it all, our great God has walked with us. He has walked in front of us guiding us. He has walked next to us holding our hands. He has even picked us up and carried us. He has opened our eyes a little wider this month. He has opened our hearts a lot wider. He has showered the great blessing of perseverance and you can't persevere without gaining some new character traits.

In spite of the times where we have cried, we have also laughed and laughed and laughed. I thank God every day for the sweet boys He has given to us. They make us shake our heads at times, but they also teach us so much about life, about love, and about God.

I usually use this blog to share funny stories and to share a glimpse into our crazy world. However, it has just been hard to share the funny stuff because I have not wanted to trivialize what has been going on in my heart. I wish I could share all the details of everything we have seen this month and all I have learned, but I just can't. However, I can share that I love our youth group kids as if they were our own. I hurt when the families I love hurt. I have grieved over the loss of a wonderful sister in Christ from church and two special aunts...one who was so tragically taken from this life much too early and one who peacefully left to meet God after a long life. Most of all, God has shown Himself to me daily in so many different ways, and I could not ask for any more than that.

I pray for God's blessings over all of you today on this beautiful day of a brand new month!

Happy Birthday David

Seven years ago today, I was staring into the face of a beautiful little boy for the first time. It was probably pretty close to the exact time that I am typing out this post. This morning after the birthday boy had been served breakfast in bed and was getting ready for school, Brian turned to look at me and said, "I can't believe it has been seven years!" The funny thing is that I was thinking the exact same thing.

David is a sweet boy. He cares about people's feelings and is a bit of a people pleaser. Now, I will admit that this does not keep him from talking excessively during school or telling people that they are wrong, but he genuinely does care about other people. For example, I was taking cupcakes to school today for his class, and he asked if I could get both chocolate and vanilla cupcakes because there were several in the class that don't like to eat chocolate. He also wanted to make sure that the girls got something different than the boys because they might not like boy decorated cupcakes. So, he can be pretty sweet sometimes.

Today we had a family birthday celebration time, and on Tuesday of next week, he will have a party with his friends. He wanted an Indiana Jones party, so we are going on a search for a lost treasure, and there is going to be a big boulder in some form or fashion because everyone knows that you can't have an Indiana Jones adventure without a boulder...or so I have been told.

It has been a fun day for David, and Brian and I have enjoyed getting to spend the day talking about all the little things we remember about the day he was born and each of the days we have been blessed to have with this special boy.

David's BIG Day

No, it was not his birthday. He is eagerly awaiting THAT day which is only a week away. However, this past Friday probably ranks up there of top days of his life in his sweet little heart and mind.

On Friday, David received Wildcat Mail Call in chapel. Every Friday, the teachers will write notes to the students who have shown Christ and they are given the notes in chapel. Just so you understand, these notes are not handed out in a quiet fashion. They count out how many notes there are by slamming them down on the podium and all the kids scream out the number.

ONE --- TWO --- THREE --- FOUR --- FIVE ---
SIX --- SEVEN --- EIGHT --- NINE --- TEN --- ELEVEN.

Then, the principal steps up to the podium, and in a voice befitting a basketball game announcer, begins to call out the kids' names. "From our Kindergarten classes, let's here it foooor....." and then he gives the name of the kid. Then the rest of the kids go crazy. Everyone starts jumping up and down screaming for this kid. It is the most incredible thing to watch. You have all these kids that are truly excited that someone else has gotten a wildcat mail call card.

I don't think I will ever forget the look on David's face when his name was called. He heard his name and then jumped up and ran to the front. He was so excited. He then stood there and was ever so serious about reading what his teacher had written.

To top the whole experience off, David's big buddy, Greyson, did the devotional that morning in chapel and talked about how God blesses us and is so powerful. He then shared how God had blessed him with a great little buddy and talked about David's impact on him. All I can say is that I truly love Greyson and the impact he has had on my son. He has been a great example and a great friend to David. I am so impressed with this sixth grader who has an incredible heart for God. I am thankful that he is David's big buddy and mentor.

Friday was a very special day at our house. Brian and I were reminded and once again in awe of the depth of feelings you can experience when you watch your child experience something truly phenomenal in his life. It is moments like these that I hope to carry with me forever.