The Cude Family

We've Moved!

2011-07-03T11:02:00.000-05:00

For more Cude family antics, follow us to http://www.cudefamily.blogspot.com/.

Homeschool End of Year Review (Finally)

2011-06-14T12:12:00.002-05:00

I wanted to do this and then I didn't. I wanted it to be detailed and now maybe just a summary. And in a way very similar to our first year of homeschooling, I have no idea where this post is going to go, but here goes...

Homeschooling was better and harder than I thought it would be. All in all, we had a great year. We loved the flexibility, the togetherness, and the learning together. And yes, we are going to do it again next year. To me, it's one of those things that once you buy into, it's very hard to consider going back. We all lived through it without killing each other, so really that counts as success, doesn't it?

My favorite thing that we have done is the time spent reading, discussing, and learning about the Gospel. Both boys have grown significantly in their understanding and love for God's Word. I think Briggs is at a point where he is struggling to understand and submit to Christ. Trusting in Christ is a simple thing really and while I am expounding on the intricacies of the gospel to make certain Briggs understands every aspect(driven by my own doubts and fears), 4 year old Max is praying every night that "Jesus would take away all of my sins and change my heart." I think he gets it more than we do...

We have also enjoyed reading classic books together. The Narnia series was awesome, Alice in Wonderland was fun, and 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea was just a boy book:)  In some of the homeschool books I have, reading classic literature is deemed the most important aspect of homeschooling (esp. A Thomas Jefferson Education, which I love).  Last year, it seemed like when we were pressed for time, this was one of the first things to go. I hope to make it even more of a priority next year.

Of all the curriculum I chose- quite blindly and somewhat ignorantly- I liked everything except our spelling. I am not a teacher and don't know a whole lot about anything to do with educating, but I didn't think that Spelling Wisdom was sufficient to teach spelling. No real rhyme or reason, no rules, just memorize these words in these interesting quotes and in 3 years you'll be able to spell over 6,000 words. He did fine, I just need a little more structure.

The jury's still out on math. Not only do I not know whether or not I liked Singapore math, I'm not sure that I would even be able to know if I liked or disliked something else. Math makes me nervous. In some ways I think if we just stick to one thing, we will be okay in the end.

*I can hear Rod cringing as he reads this. Math and science are very important to him. He is also baffled by the fact that I am struggling. I have a minor in Math from UAB (which I like to tell myself was harder than math programs at other schools:)) and was two classes away from a minor in Chemistry. Math was my very favorite subject in school. In high school I was all about math and science and being crowned smarter than everyone else by being valedictorian. Whether or not it was actually true, absolutely did not matter one lick. Deep down, I knew it was completely not true, I just knew how to make good grades. The truth is that Satan used that to give me an identity, rather than finding my identity in Christ. In college, I struggled to find a major and finally realized that I wanted Christ to use me to help people. So I went in the opposite direction- social work! I write for a living. I talk to people about their feelings. I analyze everything to death. I am not who I was.*

But thank goodness I'm not!!  On the other hand, I guess none of that helps much when I call Rod at work to remind me how to subtract with borrowing from numbers with a lot of zeros in them...hmm........
My complaint with Singapore Math is not enough practice with one concept before moving on to another. To combat that, we try to do all of the problems in the textbooks, workbooks, and extra practice books. I am not sure how much is enough. The things I like about Singapore are that it introduces a lot of concepts early, contains word problems right from the start, and encourages doing many calculations mentally.

The Lowdown on Next Year's Curriculum

Math: despite all I just said, we are sticking with Singapore. For now... I think... I already bought it.

History: Tapestry of Grace. Love it. We didn't quite finish the whole first year. Actually, we only made it through half. Trying to be relaxed about that. It really is wonderful and I think I will really treasure it by the time middle and high school roll around. We may or may not catch up to where we are "supposed" to be. I am not going to stress about it...deep breath... repeat three times......

Science: Apologia "Flying Creatures of the Fifth Day." Recently an older homeschool mom said, "don't try this one at home, without a co-op." I asked her why and she just said "don't." Not really sure about that. Briggs enjoyed "Astronomy" and learned a lot, so I hope that we can make it through this one without being eaten by the flying creatures of the fifth day.

Language Arts: I loved Rod and Staff Grammar. It was quite tedious but we are sticking with it. The Well Trained Mind says that you may not need a writing program if you are comfortable with writing, so I did not have one for last year. Well, we need one, so I picked Susan Wise Bauer's Writing With Ease.  Last year, handwriting was from Classically Cursive. It was fine, but after some research, I chose Memoria Press New American Cursive. He started this spring and I like it way better. Wish we had just started with this one. Spelling will be The Grammar of Spelling by Matt Whitling of Logos School Publications. It's not one of the more prominent spelling programs, but I liked it. It comes in a three ring binder. Nothing fancy. The big spelling programs intimidate me with all the tiles and flashcards and secret codes that come with them. Briggs is a good speller and I just need something simple. We are actually going to continue to do Spelling Wisdom, but we are going to call it "Dictation." He will still have to memorize the words and do everything we were doing before, but it will be in addition to this other spelling program.

Bible: Finish Big Truths for Little Kids and Briggs will start on Who is God? from Apologia. I can't say how much we have loved Big Truths! The boys are memorizing the answers to the small catechism questions and it is amazing how much it teaches them! Just ask Max how sinful he is and he will tell you without hesitation that he is sinful in his inmost being!

Memory Work: We will continue memorizing select verses from our church's weekly suggestion, and in addition we plan to memorize:
The Books of the Bible
Psalm 100
Deut. 6:1-9
Psalm 23
the Ten Commandments
Luke 12 :22-34
Isaiah 53
Psalm 104
The Lord's Prayer

Poetry:
Rain in Summer
My Shadow
October's Party
All That is Gold Does not Glitter
The Tyger
The Lamb
Hope is the Thing with Feathers
All Ye Joyful

This looks like a lot! It is about one a month. Memory work was one of our favorites parts of the day and it was amazing how easily they memorize things.

Reading:

Independent Reading for Briggs:

White Fang
'Hiawatha
Swiss Family Robinson
The Wonder Book for Boys and Girls
Robinson Crusoe
Story of Dr. Doolittle
Robin Hood of Sherwood Forest
A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court

Read Alouds:

The Jungle Book
Water ship Down
Tales from the Story Tellers House
Last Narnia book
Kidnapped
Through the Looking Glass
Two Little Savages

and lastly:

Latin! I bought Latin for Children and we are going to try it. It's DVD based and for parents who don't already know Latin. It may be too hard to do on my own, we'll see.

I guess none of this was a nutshell summary really. Overall, I still feel compelled to teach my children. We had a good year and all of us learned a lot. We have all changed dramatically this past year. I love the time it allows (and forces) me to spend with the boys. I think I am a better mother for it.

The biggest struggle this year has been with myself. In fact, anything that has not gone smoothly has been because of me. Every time I have gotten frustrated or overwhelmed with anything it has been because my heart has not been in the right place. When my flesh says, "you can't do this and work too" I start comparing myself to other moms and think "I can't do this! It's too much! I need to stay at home! I could be a better mom if I didn't have to work!" It is so easy to compare myself to the other moms in our homeschool group and feel so second class to them. I don't have lots of kids, I don't stay at home all the time, I don't have perfectly behaved children, I haven't been preparing to homeschool since my first child was born. There is a lot I don't know. I am older than everyone who has the same age children as me. But in reality, these things are all in my head. No one has caused me to feel this way other than ME. I know God has called me to serve Him through homeschooling and through foster care and adoption. He has opened some amazing doors and when I think of all the children who are living with families who love them and share the Gospel with them, I know what I am doing has worth and that I am supposed to be doing both right now. In fact, I hope that by working outside of our home a few hours a week, I am showing my children by example that God loves and care for the fatherless, the abandoned, the abused, and the rejected. I know that they are making a sacrifice too, but I think it is a worthy one. Maybe they will just learn that life it not all about them. There is certainly worth in that.

That Max!

2011-05-26T09:40:00.000-05:00

Before I do a year end "homeschool" post, I have to write one more about our sweet boy, Max. We think he is pretty funny and are compelled to document some recent doozies.

Last Friday, I went to the dermatologist to have a couple of moles removed. Just as the doctor was nearing my face with a razor blade, Max stated very matter of factly, "We have a dead cow at our house....cut into little pieces...." Thankfully, the doctor stopped to laugh because I would be in trouble if she hadn't. Of course, I had to explain that we had just bought a half of a cow for our freezer. Why Max thought the doctor needed to know, I can't say.

Speaking of the cow, he was exceptionally confused the whole way to pick up said cow. He thought he might have to milk it at some point on the trip. Once we got there and he saw the um.. state of the cow... he decided that he did not like to eat cows. We also visited the farm so we could see the place. We also thought it would be good for the boys to see where our meat actually comes from (not just magically shrink wrapped from the grocery store.) For a while, I was worried we ruined his ability to eat beef, because when we grilled hamburgers the next day, Max asked if he was eating the cow. When we responded yes, he replied, "cool. I do like cows!" Whew...

On the spiritual front, he never ceases to surprise. A few weeks ago, the Bible story in his class at church was about Jesus turning water into wine. His current favorite song is Chris Thomlin's "Our God is Greater" which begins with the lyric, "Water, you turned into wine." He was quite fascinated with wine for a little while, but thankfully that has passed. The next week's Bible study was about Jesus and the money changers in the temple. His description was, "Jesus almost killed those guys. It was so cool." Totally fit in with his superhero kills the bad guys paradigm. We had a little discussion about righteous anger and got that one worked out, more or less.

This last Sunday, he told me that during large group time, the teacher asked the class of about 50 4 & 5 year olds, who wrote the Bible. Max told me, "Everyone yelled GOD! But I yelled, "CHOSEN MEN!" As in chosen men by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, one of the answers in the catechism book we are reading, "Big Truths for Little Kids." We were so proud!

Every Monday I write our memory verse for the week on the board in the school room. Max had decided he did not want to do school that day, so he was in his room playing Bob the Builder. As Briggs and I began the read the verse, "An excellent.." Max shouted from his room "who can find? She is far more precious than jewels. Proverbs 31:10." We had no idea that he knew it. Apparently, they went over it at church the day before. He had completely memorized it in one day. He really does have some awesome memorizing skills.

Speaking of homeschooling, one day I was trying to encourage him to do a worksheet. He looked at me dead seriously and said, "My name is not Max. My name is Ninja Boy and ninjas.don't.do.worksheets."

He also has informed me that "pockets are way better than purses." I guess that was just FYI for us girls.

While looking for his sippy cup, I told him that I found it and he replied, "No, that's not it. That one is from tomorrow."

Once as I was cleaning off his muddy feet, I asked him if he had been playing outside barefoot. He asked, "bear feet? I have bear feet?" After I explained what barefoot meant, he said, " Oh, yeah, I have a bear foot. A bear came out of the woods and gave me a bear foot." I decided to forgo further explanation and just said, "You are so cute." Of course he replied, "No I'm not!"

A few months ago, Max learned about a tiny country in the middle east. Since then, at random times he tells us that we need to pray for that counrty. One day, he came to me and said that people who live there dress like this:

Earlier this week, we were riding in the car and all of a sudden Max said, "Mom, we need to trust God. We just have to trust Him. We really do, mom. I trust Him, Mom." Seems he's on the right track...or maybe we still have a ways to go:

Yesterday, while waiting for Rod to meet us for lunch, Max was playing with a toy and Briggs asked if he could see it. Max said no and I asked him if he would like to share just for a few minutes. He replied, "no" so I told him that I would pray for him, that God would change his heart and make him want to share. I quietly prayed and a few seconds later he said," Well Mom, He didn't." Oh boy:)

What Mother's Day Means to Me...

2011-05-11T14:45:00.002-05:00

Having a boy who gets up at 5 a.m. because he is so excited that it's Mother's Day he just can't sleep.another.minute.

Getting up a little while later, looking into the freezer for something to cook for breakfast and finding a pencil frozen in a sippy cup of water...and not even needing to ask why.

Counting SIX pairs of shoes in the living room and resisting the urge to bother cleaning them up as I step on cheerios scattered and crunching underneath my feet. Go put on bedroom shoes chanting "embrace the mess, it won't last forever."

Getting sleepy hugs and "Happy Mother Days!" from my little one.

(Always) A treasure hunt to find my cards.

Reading my "musical" card while boys dance. Briggs, a spastic Elaine-on-Seinfeld type dance and Max, a hilarious free-for-all.

Finding Briggs' change-filled wallet inside one of the envelopes with a note "take all you want" in it.

Going to church with my corsage on (just kidding- Is it just a deep south thing that you always get your mama a corsage to wear to church on Mother's Day? Maybe that has gone out of style. Although I love all things old fashioned, I don't miss that one. Makes me think of blue haired ladies with funny colored pantyhose.)

Getting to choose where we go to eat and honestly not having a thought in my head.

Late afternoon asking husband if it is really a good idea to put dish washing soap on the slip-n-slide? I guess I was the lone voice of reason on that one.

Realizing all of the sacrifices my mother made for us that almost always went unrecognized.

Heart-overflowing thankfulness for the precious gift of being a mom. Praying I don't squander these fleeting days because they do not last forever.

The Deep Theological Questions of a Four Year Old

2011-04-22T22:52:00.000-05:00

Did God kill the dinosaurs?

Does Jesus have lips?

Is God here with us right now?

Did God build our house?

What does crucified mean?

Does Jesus still have our sin with Him? Yes? All right!! That's awesome!

A Good Day of Fishing, Baseball, and Battle

2011-04-17T19:16:00.000-05:00

I love taking pictures, of the boys, Leslie, flowers, and just stuff in general. But, there are days like today that overflow the brim to the point that there is not enough time to capture it all on film (or what counts as film these days). The day was to start with a family fishing day at the lake behind my office. It's a very nice location, but only open for fishing a few days a year. This was the first year that Max actually tried to fish on his own. So first we had to buy him his very own Star Wars fishing pole that was about half as tall as he is and a dozen night crawlers to go along with it. The pole he loved, the worms not so much. Between buying a pole and getting it wet however, we stopped for a quick breakfast at our favorite donut shop...Daylight Donuts, yum. Max has found that he loves a glazed chocolate cake donut and Briggs is a constant consumer of the glazed twist. This is a treat that we take in once or twice a month.

In fishing trips past, Briggs has always been bored with cork fishing so this year I let him use a lure. He didn't catch anything, but he sure had a blast casting and reeling in from all around the lake. We spent a couple of hours fishing. Max did well for the first 30 minutes but soon grew tired of his new toy and instead found an awesomely cool fire sword (a free broken stick from the woods) to play with. I caught one small mouth bass, but that was the extent of our fishing luck for the day.

That night Briggs had a baseball game. At the time we were 0-6 in wins/losses. Fortunate for us we were facing another 0-6 team, so someone was going to leave a winner finally. Thanks to a great team effort the boys walked away with their first win of the season and Briggs came home with the game ball. He finally got to move from the outfield to third base, where he played great, and he got a hit every time except once where the catcher caught a foul tip. During all of this however, Max got into a little altercation with some hooligan five year old that was picking on a pair of three year old twin girls. According to Leslie she glanced around to find Max doing his best kung-fu moves, a flurry of tiny punches followed by some blur of a spinning kick, in the direction of our young bully. None of the glances landed, I'm not sure he knew they even needed to, supposing perhaps his opponent would be so overly impressed with his sheer mastery of martial arts skill that he would not dare to proceed any further and would most likely turn tail and run. When Max finished his display however the other boy merely kicked Max (with contact), causing him to cry for a moment. In Max's recollection however, it was an epic battle between good and evil. When asked what happened he says he saw the other boy being mean and said to him "It's Time... to Battle." at which point he commenced with his best impression of what he imagines his lego Ninjago toys must do when he's asleep at night. He doesn't remember any of that being kicked and crying nonsense, only that on this our Lord's day, good triumphed in the face of mortal danger, and damsels in distress were freed to return once more to their loving homes. To leave the post on a graceful note, we did practice a possible response the next time a "battle" is brewing. I think we convinced him that inviting the other kid to play and be friends was a better solution than doing air kung fu on him, I guess we'll just have to wait and see. Nevertheless, the boys had no problem going to sleep tonight. Briggs I'm sure is dreaming sweet dreams of playing third and Max will most likely kick the covers across the room reliving his glory day of being a Ninja Knight in shining armor...

You're My Best Friend

2011-04-16T22:43:00.004-05:00

90% of the time the boys these days (8 and 4 years old) do GREAT together, really, it's a beautiful thing. The other 10% is filled with the likes of "AAAUUGGH Max just kicked me in my ear! (how does that happen? he's not a ninja, yet) ---- Well Bwiggs just took away my blue Lego piece!!! (of which we have like a MILLION)"

I'll not dwell on the 10%, I just chalk it up to boys being boys and them learning some of the necessary stuff siblings must work through as time goes by. The 90% though, is really really neat to observe as a parent. Briggs likes to teach Max, and usually Max listens. Max wants to do and play whatever Briggs does, I can already tell though how Max really is starting to show that he wants to do those things in his own way, which is fine. They do everything together and are usually so complimentary of each other. From time to time Max has taken to telling Briggs "You're a GENIUS!" for what seems like a trivial thing to me and mom. But to Max, big brother Briggs is like some sort of Lego-building, super-spy-ninja, homeschooling, scripture and Jabberwocky memorizing Einstein. And Briggs' affection for his little brother is just as strong. As we were getting out of the car the other night, Briggs asked Max to carry something and Max said "sure Briggs!" and Briggs said "You know Max, I sure do love you...", "Yeah" says Max. "And you know what Max? You're my BEST friend too!", "I knoo-ow" comes a mild mannered reply...

At night they sleep together in Briggs' bed. Briggs has taken to wanting to read to Max, it's a treat to hear them read "There is a Bird on Your Head!". Briggs reads the bulk of the book, while Max reads the responses. They get such a pure and hearty laugh reading it together. After prayers, their newest tradition is telling each other "Good night Big Bro, I love you..." and comes the reply "Good night Little Bro, I love you too..." What a blessing. Thank you Lord for such sweet children...

69 years ago today...

2011-04-01T16:38:00.000-05:00

The other day while searching for something, I came across a copy of a letter that my grandfather wrote to my grandmother.  The day was April 1, 1942. They were newly married and he had just left home for Wendover, Utah after enlisting in the Air Force for WWII.

My Dearest Darling:

I've just read your letters and I was certainly glad to get them. I haven't had very much time lately to write. For the last few days we have been building barracks, etc. Darling, I just don't think that we will be able to stay together (when you come). I don't know how long I will be here. I have been assigned to the 306th bombardment group and the rest of it is in LA.  They are coming here or we are going down there and leave about the middle of July for Australia or Libya. Darling, I hate to tell you that because I couldn't swear that it is true but it came from our commanding officer. The officer said that we would finish our training in the next few months and if the British didn't move into Libya that we would go there, but you can hear most anything. I hope that we can go to LA so you can stay with me that long, it would be a great help. Margaret, I don't mind the fighting, it's the being away from you. That's what I don't like. But let's just keep our heads up and it won't be long before we can be back together and live in peace, I hope. Darling, whether I have to go to another country or not, I'll always be true. Darling, remember that if I am gone a year or three years, it will always be the same. Margaret, I feel better about being here since I've found out what I'm supposed to do. I don't think that the war will last so long, let's hope and pray that it won't anyway.... Things are so uncertain, I wish that we could go ahead and fight and get this thing over with, at least it wouldn't be the same thing over and over everyday. Darling, I don't want you to be worried about me because I'm coming back and I mean that the work I'll be in won't be so dangerous. There's 2000 men in my group and all we have to do is keep 35 bombers flying. Sometimes they open our mail and censor it, so they may tear this one up because I'm not supposed to tell anything. I think maybe I can get a furlough before July; I'm going to try anyway. Lots of the boys have already deserted, but I don't think I could do that.
I think I will get paid by the 15th and if I do I'm going to call you. If I stay out here this summer, you couldn't stay with me because there is no place for you to stay. There is only a filling station or two and a railroad yard. I hope I can be transferred out of here.    Some of the boys down at Kessler were sent to Montgomery. I wish I could have gone there. I would give most anything to be at home with you- where I belong. Sweet, when I do get home I will know how to appreciate you and everything else....I just hope the war will be over soon and I think it will 'cause when we get there we're going to beat the heck out of 'em.
Sweet, if I could just be with you, like I was that Saturday, it seems like a year ago. It was just like a dream... A new shipment of men just came in and they are sick of this place (already)- mostly because there's no place to go...but I've got a wife and a real sweet wife too, so I don't have to worry about going anywhere because I had rather sit and think of her (that's you)! Darling, I mean that too!
Sweet, I feel like everything will be okay after while, so let's don't worry about it, just remember that we love each other and always will.
Sweet, if I find out anything I will let you know. Maybe I will be stationed where we can live together yet. Write and tell me the things that you have to tell and don't forget that I love you and I couldn't live without you, never. And I will always be true to you as long as I live and when I fight, I'll do my best because I'll be fighting for you. I love you darling forever and ever.

Your loving husband,
Robert

He never had to fight in that war. He was eventually sent home because of concerns about his blood pressure.  Almost all of the men in his group never came home.

My grandfather died when I was five and my grandmother died in 2000. I wish I could have known them when they were young.  I have only a few memories of my grandfather, but my grandmother could light up a room with her presence and never remembered to take the ambrosia out of the refrigerator for Sunday dinner. She always let me spin in her bar stools and gave me my first taste of coffee.  She let me play dress-up in her shoes and jewelry and some of the best memories I have are of my sister and me playing in her yard with our cousins nearly every Sunday afternoon. She also snored like a freight train and decorated her Christmas tree only in red silk balls and had the best sense of humor of anyone I know. I think of her every time I use her white tea set that she gave me as a wedding present. And even though today, I sit and drink a little tea with just her memories for company, I know that one day I will see her again and just maybe we can have a little tea party in heaven.   And that ambrosia is going to be divine.

March Poem: Jabberwocky

2011-03-31T12:59:00.000-05:00

Love and Books

2011-03-27T21:51:00.001-05:00

Books, books, and more books! I ordered curriculum for next year and am so excited to continue homeschooling! I feel like I am learning so much and God is growing me in so many ways. And the boys are learning a little in the process too:) Even Max, who despite mysteriously turning into Ninja-boy- whose motto is: Ninjas.Don't.Do.Worksheets-anytime I ask him to participate- is, in fact learning.

The most unexpected aspect of this homeschooling journey is the profound impact that it is having on my mothering. I feel like I am changing in some fundamental ways, and clearly I needed to change. It is amazing to watch God lead me to other moms, blogs, books, etc, who are all pointing me in the same direction, each having a specific impact on my life. I am so hopeful about our family, our future. Not that everything will always be easy, but that it is all pointing me to Christ and His sufficiency. I am purposing in my heart to cherish every.single.moment.
Of course there are days when I feel discouraged and I have yelled and snapped hurtful words and bruise little feelings. I apologize and beat myself up and cry and plead that God will forgive me and change me. Some days I am so overwhelmed that I just want to lay in bed and cry, paralyzed by balancing work, teaching, housework, all of it. But, God is good and He puts me back together and gives me hope for a new day. He is my hope. And He is enough.

Now for a few notes about the boys:
Briggs has been freaking people out by the appropriateness of his social skills, what with him being homeschooled and all. On two occasions he has introduced himself to a new friend, shook their hand and asked them their name and how old they were. One of the moms literally laughed in our face, she was so shocked.

The other morning Max told me that he had a dream. When I asked him what his dream was about, he told me that I had to guess. When I informed him that I had no idea, he said that I should pray and ask God to tell me about his dream, just like he told Joseph the Pharaoh's dream.

Rod took the boys to the park during lunch one day last week while I had a work luncheon. Briggs met a boy at the park who was also homeschooled. I was asking him about it and I asked if Briggs knew if the boy went to church. Briggs said that he did not talk about "that kind of stuff" with the boy. Concerned by what he meant, I questioned him a little. Finally, he said that he was afraid to ask him if he went to church because it makes him so sad to think that some parents don't take their kids to church. So tender-hearted.

A while back a very friendly lady at the allergy doctor was admiring Max's Star Wars Lego watch that he had gotten for Christmas. She asked him if he could tell time on it, to which he replied, "Yes, but the hands keep moving!"

Lastly, as I was reading the Tapestry of Grace blog yesterday, I came across this quote that reminded me of the most important thing about teaching my children: love. It's a paraphrase of 1 Corinthians 13, applied to homeschooling mothers:

1 If I tell my children all day long to love God and each other (in even the most eloquent terms), to study hard, to be diligent, and to love learning but do not let them see a living, breathing example of love as I walk through the process of homeschooling them, then my words are so much noise in their ears. They can never bring about the results that I desire. 2 If I am the wisest of parents, having insight into my children’s hearts at all times, and flawlessly delivering to them all instruction, faithfully, day after day, but do so without love, I am nothing. 3 If, by dint of great effort and sacrifice, I find and manage to purchase an amazing curriculum that is the most expensive and lavish one available, and I work diligently to deliver all the lessons from it as directed, but do not do so in a loving way, I gain nothing.

The greatest of these is love, indeed.

Pinewood Derby 2011

2011-03-05T22:09:00.004-06:00

Ahhh Spring, on to baseball, warm outdoor activities, and getting more involved in scouting. We went to our first Cub Scout meeting a month or so ago and received a block of pine for something called a Pinewood Derby. I didn't grow up in Cub Scouts but did Boy Scouts until I received my First Class rank and then a buddy talked me into switching over into a Search and Rescue outfit. Part of me wishes I had stayed in until I had reached Eagle Scout, but S&R was pretty cool in and of itself. Hopefully though the boys will continue on all the way through. Anyway, I'm a newbie to the world of Pinewood Derby and wow, it's pretty impressive how into it some people can get. There are apparently whole websites dedicated to the various forms of derby racing, modifying, customizing, and what not. Our little den however lives by some pretty basic rules so the cars don't get too far gone.

Briggs' dream car involved something that he would drive (he and Max have Lego versions of themselves), R2-D2 (his favorite Star Wars character) would manage the computer systems, and that Lego Max could ride in the back and blast "bad guys". Briggs' schematic diagram on how to actually accomplish this feat of futuristic funkatude didn't exactly give me a lot to work with. Especially considering that all we had to work with was a block of wood, a BLOCK-of-WOOD. But, we worked together and came out with a product that we were proud of. Briggs learned to use a coping saw, hack saw, vice, drill press, router, and Dremel tool. Which, besides spending quality time with Dad, was pretty much the objective of this assignment. He did most of the work himself with my direction, besides the dangerous stuff. He helped cut it, route it, he sanded it, painted it, and decorated it. Max has already put in that when he gets into the scouts he wants his car to be one that just he would be in, has a lot of blasters, and a canopy (at least that's what I think he was describing).

Cpt. Briggs

Gunner Max

COME ON R2!!!

We didn't win our division (the Wolves) but for all of his effort his car was voted as having the "Best Details"! This was one of the few categories voted on by all those in attendance. He was SO proud, as were we all. Great job son! I had an awesome time building, teaching, and just spending time with you...

The Competition

WAY TO GO SCOUT!

Lego Models and the Zillio

2011-02-22T10:26:00.000-06:00

Homeschool Update:

Last week in our history curriculum, we were studying the Indus River Civilization. Okay, I have never even heard of* the Indus River Valley, but apparently it is modern day Pakistan.One of the arts and craft activities was to build a Lego structure to resemble a building from this time period. I thought that Briggs would really love this opportunity to build something with Lego's and count it as school. It took a while for him to get past no instructions/ I've never built a city or building like this before/ I just don't know where to start, Mom. He finally got past his apprehension and here is what he came up with: (He suggested I put this on the blog)

For Christmas, we got the boys a Zillio. It is a really awesome contraption that helps secretly teach math skills thinly veiled as games with names like "Mountain Goat Scramble" and "Homing Pigeon II." The thing I really love is that it can be adapted for a very wide age range, from preschoolers to 6th graders. It teaches 10 essential math skills:
counting
adding
subtracting
multiplication
division
fractions
number lines
ratios
equivalency
algebra

Basically, when Max plays, he just practices counting. When Briggs plays, he multiples and divides. They can even play the same game at the same time, using different skills. In mom world, it just doesn't get any better than that!

*Confession: I NEVER got history. I just never really understood it. It wasn't taught chronologically and I just memorized the facts hoping I could ace the test that way. I remember taking Western Civilization as an AP class as a senior in high school. The whole time I was thinking, when did this happen? Where are we talking about? Was this BC or AD? How does this fit in with anything that I have a frame of reference for? Calgon take me away! So my ulterior plan with this whole homeschool thing is to re-learn some history and hopefully understand it this time:)

Winter 2011

2011-02-13T23:55:00.003-06:00

Wow, where has the time gone? There certainly hasn't been a ton of down time lately. Since I last opined on the intricacies of coaching a 3 and 4 year old basketball team, I have somehow found myself coaching Briggs' 7-8 year old team as well. So, until now, every week has been busy with multiple practices, planning, and two games on Saturdays. Something tells me it's going to be this way for many years to come, God willing. Max finished up his last game this past Saturday. They only lost one game, that being the first game where I was somewhat rattled by the chaos of it all. Since then, I've just gone along with the flow and the boys have "played" great. Max scored in all of the games and committed his fair share of what would have been atrocious penalties in any other league. But, he had fun, learned a little, I was able to pray with the team every week, and God allowed me to minister to my assistant coach who lost a young grandson during the course of the season. Time well spent.

The Wildcats!

Briggs' team on the other hand hasn't really gelled just yet. The league is clearly split into the "good" teams and well, teams like ours. The boys certainly give it their all and I couldn't be more proud of them but we've only won one of our first six games thus far. Mercifully there are a few other teams in the league with similar records. God, through His grace, has allowed me to share with a divorced dad and encourage him in small ways, conversations I most likely would not have had if I were not coaching.

Baseball evaluations were today and I was surprised at how much we enjoyed getting ready, hitting, throwing and catching, Spring temperatures, there's just something about it. Should be a fun season. While Briggs waited for his turn, Max decided to collect every rock he could find at the ball fields, which happen to have gravel rocks for the parking areas. He has a rock collection he's started for school and wants to "collect" everything he sees now. At one point he had placed them down on a bench, spun around several times, and then did some sort of pre-martial arts battle bow movement towards them; when he saw Leslie and me trying not to laugh at his routine, he became embarrassed and quickly went on to other games. He's become quite the character these days.

Despite the busyness, I must admit that I greatly enjoy being so involved in the boys' lives. Along with basketball, we've still had time for the boys to be in "Mission Friends" and "Passport to the World" while I sit in on a New Testament class on Wednesdays and Briggs has started Cub Scouts. He was SOOO excited after his first den meeting. There's a pinewood derby race coming up and he has been very excited to work on the car, every day he's begging me to work on it with him. I'll have to make a separate post about going through that process, good times though. The only thing we seem to miss out on these days is sitting around watching television, which really isn't missing out on anything at all.

Some notes about church. Briggs is growing up so much, it's amazing how focused he is sitting through a sermon that lasts for around a solid hour, not counting music and prayers. He diligently fills out his sermon notes and asks very insightful questions.  Nearly every week that we're in town he has his scripture memory verse well rehearsed. We have a routine where he confirms it to me just before he leaves for his class; he's so proud when he does it, and rightly so.  And his prayers are so sincere and well balanced. Oh that he'll come to be a true child of God soon. Max, well Max is pretty funny.  After every class we'll ask him what he's learned and invariably he says he can't remember. And then at some random time of his choosing he'll surprise us. Tonight at some completely random moment he broke into telling us all he was learning about Shadrach, Me-Shadrach and Never-kin-ezzer and then broke into some King David stuff.  During prayers he asked me what I learned today. I told him we were studying Acts and how God is in control, he acted stunned and said "wow, why didn't my teachers tell us that!?" A few nights ago during prayer time, he prayed for "Jesus to have a good day", I had to catch myself before correcting him to consider whether that was cool or not. I couldn't think of any good reason for not praying for Jesus to have a good day so we're just going to roll with that.

Alright, enough rambling for one night. I don't have too many pictures that just fit ,so I'll just throw in some from a recent a snow day. I'm sure posts on scouting, baseball, and tee ball are forthcoming, if I can find the time to actually to get on the computer...

Macaron Obsession (not the coconut kind)

2011-02-03T23:54:00.001-06:00

edited to add *Seriously? I had obsession spelled wrong for like a week and never noticed? And how am I qualified to teach my children at home??

I don't remember how it all began, but over the last year, Briggs and I have had a love affair with macarons. Quite of an obsession really. He has been obsessed with convincing me to make them as often as possible and I have been obsessed with getting them right. These delicate little French cookies are difficult to make at best, but I plugged along, undaunted by a year's worth of failure.

Besides having a sweet tooth that won't wait, once I happened upon images of rows of pastel hued macarons in French Patisseries on the Internet, I knew that the only way I would probably ever taste them (at least in the near future) would be to make them myself. Spelled both macaroon and macaron, they are delicious and beautiful in any language!

So many failures, I wondered if I would ever get them to turn out! The process of folding the beaten egg whites into the ground almond/confectioners sugar mixture or 'macaronage' as it is called, has to be perfectly folded- one turn too few or too many and ruin! I should have documented more of the flops, but there have been many like this and worse:

Finally, a couple of weeks ago, they turned out perfectly! I was so excited I had to take pictures. I made three kinds: chocolate, strawberry, and lemon. The shells are all the same (basically egg whites, sugar, and almonds), just colored and filled with different ganaches, buttercream, and preserves. Briggs and Rod love the chocolate ones, I love the fruity ones, and despite his smile, Max won't touch them.

Je crie, tu cries, nous crions tous pour macarons!

Winter

2011-01-17T23:05:00.000-06:00

The first post of 2011! It's taken a while because my fingers have been frozen. It has been so cold so far this year and I can never really seem to get warm. The boys have been out jumping on the trampoline some, but I have tried to stay inside as much as possible. The only time I'm warm is when I am in the bed snuggled under the goose down comforter, which makes it very hard to get up in the mornings! It doesn't seem to matter how high I crank up the thermostat (which my electricity-producing but not too-keen-on-using husband frowns upon), I am still cold!

The cold weather has been a good excuse to make soup! Lots and lots of soup! Ham and potato chowder, roasted red pepper, baked potato, and French Onion soup have frequently been on the menu. I devised my very own, from scratch recipe for the roasted red pepper and it is really yummy! I have attempted French onion several times, never getting it quite right, but I think I finally got it right tonight! I found the recipe here and except for the homemade veal stock - I used regular store bought chicken stock- I followed the directions exactly and it was wonderful!

We will definitely have this one again soon! Warm, cozy, comfort in a bowl!

And a merry Christmas was had by all...

2010-12-27T21:46:00.000-06:00

We all had a wonderful Christmas. On Christmas eve, we went to a special family worship service at church. They handed out silly putty for the kids and Christmas CD's for each family. Our pastor used the silly putty in the service but both of the boys dropped theirs (and watched it roll into the darkness between rows of legs) before we could sing the last carol. Afterward, we read Luke 2 to the boys while they played with the paper nativity made out of the CD case. Rod had carefully placed their new trampoline away from the playroom windows so that they would not see it right when they woke up on Christmas morning. When the boys woke up, they looked out their bedroom window to see if it was snowing yet, and low and behold, what did they see instead? Their new trampoline!
After ripping the wrapping paper off of the rest of their presents, we ate breakfast and read our last Jessie Tree devotion. Then we loaded the car for a five hour, chilly, rainy drive to Dothan. We spent the rest of the day with family, playing with cousins, and enjoying Christmas.

There's No Crying in Basketball

2010-12-13T21:20:00.004-06:00

Wellll, yet again I find myself coaching when I did not sign up for it. But, I have to admit that there is a side of me that does enjoy it, at least the part where I get to spend quality time with the boys. I just finished flag football with Briggs, that was fun and the parents were great, but I think we (not Leslie) are ready to try out tackle next season.

Lookin Good Mom, Nice Job, Really...

The Y asked me to coach 3 and 4 year old basketball, that's THREE and FOUR year olds, "playing" basketball. So far it's been fun and at least I get to pray with the boys, we've had a few practices and this past Saturday had our first game. It's an interesting dynamic when I try to setup our prescribed zone defense and the opposing coach informs me that I'm missing one, I look and sure enough one of the boys is missing. I look to the bench...nope, check the bleachers...not there, maybe I should count to 10 and see if I can find him, finally a grandmotherly figure kindly informs me that my missing child had to go "potty", great. Also, my lone three year old (everyone else is four) spent pretty much the entire 40 minutes crying anytime he got more than 2 feet away from mom. I was a little uncertain of how to handle the situation. Kid is crying, mom and dad are telling me he'll be fine when he gets on the court - pushing him toward me, I'm obligated to put him in the game, kid does not stop crying, kid cries while trying to obey my instructions, awesome. A few other things I've never had happen, after every score kids run off the court to get hugs and kisses from mom/dad/grandmom/grandpa. Kid gets thirsty, regardless of whether or not they're in the game, kid goes to get sippy cup.

There's a Basketball Game Going On?

Max at least is being a big boy, for the most part. Mom tells me that he cries everytime it's time to leave the house for practice but when he gets to the gym he's fine. He listens well and is so proud when he scores. Dribbling looks like a 4 year old trying to kill an orange cat by slapping it to death but hey, he's trying. He pays as much attention as the rest of team during the game, which means I'm going hoarse trying to get the kids to not look at their family and the fly on the wall while the other team is trying to score. Next up, Briggs' 7/8 year old basketball (where there had better not be any crying, nose picking, or sippy cups). Here's a video of Max's first basketball points, pay no attention to the slight travelling violation, gotta love the little hop in his step on the run back...

2010-12-08T23:31:00.000-06:00

The reality of our new life of homeschooling, increased work load, and e-v-e-r-y-t-h-i-n-g-e-l-s-e has set in hard! It seems that there is little time to slow down and catch your breath and ~~blog~~ breathe. So tonight I'm breathing and blogging and gave her a new do! I have finally figured out Photoshop enough to do a proper header and I really love it! (Special thanks to my sweet friend/photog Magan for awesome pictures of the boys).

Homeschooling is... well.... it's weird sometimes. Some days it clicks along great and we almost feel like we are officially "at school" complete with the pledge, recess, and a class president (Briggs was properly elected by majority vote over Thanksgiving holidays). Then other days all our good intentions go to pot and it seems like the only thing anyone learned is how fun it is to stay in your PJ's all day.

I struggle with the weight of the responsibility of teaching my children contrasted with my own selfish desires to clean/sew/craft/zone out. I can definitely say that God is using this time to bring to light my own sinful nature, my desperate need for grace, and how to extend it to my children. In that regard, homeschooling is a bit like being refined in the fire and it burns sometimes.

Since we are wrapping things up to take some time off at Christmas, I thought it would be good to take a long view of what we have accomplished so far this year. I think it will be an encouragement in the days to come, as I hear January is a hard month for homeschooling moms and the cold, gray days it brings.

We have read through our Jesus Storybook Bible and decided to just start over and read it again! We love it so much and it is just as effective at teaching me as it is them. They have memorized one Bible verse a week for the past 16 or so weeks. We have memorized one poem a month and the boys love to recite all of them daily.

In math, Briggs has learned:
Addition with carrying to the hundredths place
Subtraction with borrowing to the hundredths place
Multiplication through his 3 times tables
Division through dividing by 3
Weight
Length
and a little algebra!

He has learned all his cursive lower case letters and most of the capital letters. He said he can't wait to learn cursive numbers next and was sorely disappointed when I informed him there was no such thing.

Either he or he and I have read the following books:
Stuart Little
Trumpet of the Swan
Treasure Island
20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (the abridged version)
Rabbit Hill
The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe
The Horse and His Boy

We have gone on field trips to:
An apple orchard
the plays "Zorro," "The Frog Prince," and tomorrow, "The Best Christmas Pageant Ever" at the Birmingham Children's Theater
American Village
McWayne Center- workshops about weather
Botanical Gardens- learned about Japan
Alabama Power- Safetyopolis
and had a Thanksgiving feast!

We will finish off the year's field trips with the Alabama Ballet's Nutcracker. Since we have been studying composers each month and listening to some classical music, I have high hopes for the boys' enjoyment of the Nutcracker. We have listened to it multiple times in the last couple of weeks and I have told them the whole story several times. I have regaled them with tales of when mommy was a ballerina and danced in the Nutcracker. Max requests to listen to it in the car. He loves the "music without words." Yes, I am sure they are going to love it as much as I do.

Who am I kidding? They're boys. I just hope we make it through the whole performance without an incident.

Science and history have taken a bit of a backseat lately, but we are going to refocus after the holidays. We have completed one whole 9 week unit in history in the last 16+ weeks. The OCD part of me says we have to do twice as much to catch up to where we should be, but the realistic part reminds me that it's okay, there are no history police, other than the ones in my own head!

So there you have it! And although I am proud of what we have accomplished so far, the most important things are the intangible ones- the relationships and discipling that are happening alongside the learning.

Christmas, Christmas Time Is Here

2010-12-02T20:52:00.000-06:00

I can't believe that the Christmas season is here and I have failed to blog about many things lately, specifically:

Max's birthday (that was in SEPTEMBER!)

Briggs' birthday

(which happened to fall on the same day as our home school group's Pilgrim and Indian feast, so we celebrated, Indian-style)

and other various and sundry field trips and Thanksgiving! For some reason, Blogger won't let me add any more pictures, so I guess that's all for tonight!!

Our Ominous Halloween

2010-11-02T21:15:00.000-05:00

We had a double dose of Halloween this year, as our neighborhood trick or treated on Saturday and we went to a driveway party at some friends' house on Sunday night with more trick or treating. This also meant two nights of being superheros, which the boys enjoyed more than getting candy!

I have always liked Halloween, mostly because my birthday is the day before and my mom always made my birthday so much fun: pumpkin patch birthday cakes, homemade witch costumes for my dress up parties, and ALWAYS pancakes with smiley faces for breakfast. This year I made a few Halloween decorations to add to our fall decorations.

The boys helped me with some of them and the best part: I had most of the supplies, got some FREE and spent very little!

My birthday was Saturday and the boys (all of them) did SO much to make it so special for me! Briggs counted down the days for at least a week. I have never seen someone so excited about someone else's birthday! We have a Cude tradition of treasure hunts to find your present, and I got to go on two of them! Briggs initially wanted to make a treasure map with a Sharpie on my stomach while I was sleeping, but thankfully Rod talked him out of it. When I woke up Saturday, I had my first treasure hunt to find the cards Briggs and Max made for me. Then we went to Briggs' last football game. After lunch, the boys sent me to get a manicure and pedicure, while they baked me a birthday cake.

Then I went on another treasure hunt to find my present. Rod loves to get me sort of a joke present, meaning something we "need" but NOT something I would necessarily want for a gift. A few years ago, I got a surprise crock pot for Christmas, this year it was a toaster oven before my "real" present of a new purse.

Lots of hugs and I love you's made my birthday so special!

Lastly, Max has learned a new word and correctly used it in a sentence Saturday night. "I'm afraid something ominous is going to happen tonight. That means something bad, mom." Thanks PBS, I think.

A Touchdown for You and a Touchdown for Me

2010-10-26T13:54:00.002-05:00

We haven't blogged about Briggs' flag football yet and the season is almost over. He has really enjoyed it, especially with daddy being the coach. Before I go into detail about Briggs, I first have to talk a little about Max. He LOVES to "practice" with the team and on game day has been playing a little football of his own. He and another little brother played almost nonstop last Saturday, passing the ball to each other, taking turns scoring, with Max shouting, "a touchdown for you and a touchdown for me!"

Briggs' team is the Giants, which I find so ironic since Rod is a huge NY Giants fan (we don't really know why, he just is). They have only won one game, the only one I missed because I was in the hospital, but they are really improving and having fun. On his one chance to run with the ball and possibly score, Briggs decided to showboat and do a double-spin move. He didn't score, but was really proud to show off his skills. He also is getting better at pulling flags while on defense. Overall, I think we give flag football two thumbs ups!

On the homeschooling front, things have slowed down considerably since I have been sick. We have managed to get most of the basics done everyday, but barely. I am trying not to get discouraged and give myself time to gain back energy and enthusiasm. Last week we went on TWO field trips, which were just what we needed! We saw "Zorro" at the Birmingham Children's Theater and the boys loved all the sword fighting. We continued with the Latin theme and had Mexican for lunch. Probably not a great idea for my tummy, but nonetheless...
Then we headed to the park in Homewood and played for a long time.

On Friday, we headed to the McWayne Center to learn about weather. They had a great time, especially playing with the other boys!

One last thing, a funny story that I will embellish just a tad (only the order of things, not the actual events) for comedic effect.

I know that homeschooling is not for everyone. I NEVER dreamed it would be for us, but God has a way of ditching our well laid plans for His own better plans. I have been guilty of assuming that homeschooled kids were weird and unsocialized. Honestly, I apologize to anyone that I have thought that about. But when you look at the reality, it just is not true that homeschooled kids are not socialized. They get tons of socialization in the three biggest areas that they will live and function in for the rest of their lives: family, work, and community. Okay, so maybe not so much in the "work" category right now, but one day they will.

Anyway, at Briggs' football practice this week, I was talking to two moms and they asked what school Briggs went to. I try not to get anxious about what others think when I answer "we homeschool" but the truth is, you never know how someone is going to react. For the most part, I am surrounded by people who do it or at least have a lot of friends that do it, so I haven't really felt very "alternative lifestyle" yet. I tend to kindof act like it is not really a big deal to protect myself from being considered too weird.

So there we are, sitting in our lawn chairs with the boys getting ready to practice in front of us, when I must explain myself about why we home school. Both moms quickly say it is something they could never do (nor would ever want to do). One says her son does not listen to her or her husband, therefore, she could not teach him anything. The other says her kids just like the socialization that school provides and would not want to be isolated from people. Mom #1 chimes in agreement. Just as I am feeling like I am the mother of weird, unsocialized homeschoolers, I look over onto the field (Rod has not gotten there yet) and Briggs has his dad's coaching whistle, ordering the players to line up to run drills. He blows the whistle and the other players race to the fence, obediently following his lead. He yells encouragement and direction to them as they line up again, exactly as he tells them. Hmm.... maybe we're letting them out of the house too much.

This wasn't in my dayplanner

2010-10-02T08:09:00.000-05:00

As busy as I have been lately, it seems my life rolls along the smoothest if everything is tucked neatly inside its own little box on my iPhone calender. Life rolls along like that Visa check card commercial until someone pays cash and brings the well oiled machine to a screeching halt. But in my case, the last three weeks have been filled with some unexpected tummy troubles that were not part of the schedule. Three days in room 491, six bags of IV fluids, three medical procedures, and countless blood tests later, I try to remind myself that although this has not been part of my plan, God knew this would happen all along. As I lay in a tiny room alone, waiting for the nurse to come and get me for more probing and prodding, I willed my mind to take comfort in God's sovereignty. I gave Him all of my worries about myself, my family, and all of the loose ends that I was sure were coming unraveled with me in the hospital. I made myself do it because there was no other way. By nature I am a do-er and God forced me to become a "be-er" and leave the doing to Him. And He is faithful and good all the time. His sovereign hand has been made visible in how he has orchestrated all the details I never could have worked out on my own. He has reminded me in a quite literal, typed up on a PowerPoint presentation, (isn't that what we always want Him to do? Write His handwriting in the sky? Seriously, I think this is a testament to my stubbornness) the importance of being rather than doing. We all know the story, and if I am honest, I always thought that maybe Martha could just listen to Jesus from the other room while she got the food ready. New Testament multi-tasking. Besides, someone had to do it. Hmm... not really what Jesus says:

Luke 10:40 "But Martha was distracted with much serving."

41But the Lord answered her, "Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things, 42 but one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the good portion, which will not be taken away from her."

Then He speaks these words into my heart: The doing things will pass away. But the being, the time invested in engaging and nurturing relationships, which are ultimately for His glory, those will last. Even for generations.

So this morning, I thank Him for His word, I rest in His sovereignty (He knows what is going on even if no one else does), and take joy in His being with me.

Life

2010-09-22T22:07:00.000-05:00

It's been happening at warp speed around here. Schooling, working, ~~messes~~, science projects, playing, stomach viruses, coaching, field trips, singing, reading, nature walks, resting, memorizing, re-evaluating, learning, growing, forgiving, trying to embrace it all and be grateful.

making craters on Mercury

making a mess

Briggs made a thinking cap to help with his subtraction

field trip about Japan, Max thinks he sees a "Japanese turtle"

learning their names in Japanese

seizing the day

Just One More

2010-09-04T20:00:00.000-05:00

New word for today:

Mind-defying glass: an instrument used to make things appear larger.
Used in a sentence: "It's not fair that Briggs has a mind-defying glass and I don't."

Vocabulary Words

2010-09-02T22:14:00.002-05:00

Max has his own special way of saying words that we find pretty adorable. Although I am working with him on saying his "L's" and "P's", it's still so cute when he says them incorrectly. Here are a few vocabulary words we have noticed him saying lately:

Shefferds: guys that take care of sheep and went to see baby Jesus.

Mono Polly: although it sounds like a cruel playground nickname that some girl named Polly had to endure when she missed school because she had the kissing disease, these words actually describe a board game in which one tries to take the other player's money. I have no idea how Max knows about this game because we do not own it nor has he ever played it.

Menja: a Japanese assassin.

Baby Winestein: Max's favorite movies named after the famous genius who derived the equation E=MC^2.

Coffing: when someone mimics another person, as in "quit coffing me."

Noah's Ark: a small town in Alabama between Troy and Dothan, also known as Ozark.

Moat-zark: a composer from Austria that Max LOVES listening to in the car.

Rafting With Briggs & The Summer of Travel

2010-08-23T20:48:00.011-05:00

Wow what a year so far. It feels like an eternity since I've posted, thankfully mom has been keeping up with documenting our memories. Let's see, it all started with the trip to Indonesia (which I owe a followup post to) and life hasn't slowed down since. Not long after getting back from Indo I took the family to Shreveport, LA and on over to see Dad in Texas. Not long after that I had to go on a surprise trip to Seattle. A week or so after that was a planned trip to Wisconsin.

I had racked up enough flyer points for two free flights by the start of the year. I think Leslie would rather have a root canal than fly, anywhere. I offered to take her on a romantic dinner date on the other side of the country and the only response I could get was a "let me think about it" with a look of "I think I'm going to be sick."

SO, I decided to take Briggs on a trip somewhere, only to figure out where. Between Radical, Ramsey, our new budgeting system, a new found dedication of funds to going on missions and to supporting various missions, and well the travel budget was rather decimated and my vacation hours were slimming down as well. I've always wanted to go to the Smithsonian but couldn't get the logistics to work out, plus I think that would be a great entire family trip instead of just two of us. I considered going to the New York Giants training camp but that would have been pretty selfish of me. I think Briggs would enjoy it for all of 30 minutes, maybe. Finally I decided upon a rafting trip to Moab, Utah. Due to my flights expiring however I had to leave for Utah two days after getting back from Wisconsin, ugh. At least this was for fun and I'd have Briggs with me.

Briggs has never flown, rafted, or camped out anywhere besides the back yard, and boy was he excited! I packed up our gear and off we went. We flew out on a Monday, scheduled to arrive in Salt Lake around 6 pm. Briggs LOVED the flight, saying "you know, I used to be scared of heights, but now I'm not!" I let him use our nice camera and he took a ton of pictures of the clouds, the countryside, the wings on the plane, the food tray, the seats, etc... Moab is a little over 4 hours from Salt Lake. Unfortunately the plane was a little over an hour getting in and we had to get our rental car which put me into our camp site shortly after midnight. The drive out was pretty stressful b/c it was soooo late, the roads wound through the dark mountains at 70 mph, and I was in unfamiliar territory. Briggs slept through it all in the car and woke up when we got to camp. We weren't totally roughing it b/c I didn't think anyone on the return flight would appreciate two boys with 3 days worth of stink on them, the campgrounds at least had a shower facility.

On Tuesday the day started at 6 so that we could get cleaned up, find some breakfast, and get to the rafting office. The night before there had been several flash floods in the area so the river was pretty muddy, but the Colorado is never really clear to begin with. The rapids were only Class 1 and 2, the outfitters let 5 year olds go down them, but Briggs wasn't quite old enough for the higher classes. Still though, he had a blast. We were in a group with a family from England and a couple from France. At several points the guide told us we could swim if we wanted to. One of the English kids finally said that that would just be weird, which was all the incentive I needed. I jumped in and not long after, half the boat was in with me, including Briggs. We ended up rafting for about 6 hours total plus about an hour lunch, it was an awesome day.

We were finished around 4 with about 4 hours of daylight left. We grabbed a shower and decided to head out to the Arches National Park right there in Moab. There's a road that winds through it with several scenic stops along the way for photog-ing. Briggs went nuts with the camera, I got my favorite shot of Briggs, and for posterity we got a great shot of the two of us together. We ate dinner at a local restaurant, grabbed some ice cream, and went back to the tent to bed down for the night. A fine, fine day.

Wednesday started at 4 in the morning so that I could break down the tent, pack up, and get us to the airport with some time to spare. We grabbed a couple of breakfast burritos from a no-name Mexican joint, this would prove to be something of a mistake later on... About an hour away from the airport Briggs looked at me with a puzzled look on his cherubic face and then his breakfast burrito awkwardly looked at me and then it looked at the front passenger seat and the floorboard and a little bit on the passenger door. Thankfully I had time to spare and was somewhat prepared. I pulled over to a parking lot, pulled out a spare clean outfit (my wife is awesome), pulled out a spare soap bar and fresh water and went to town. 30 minutes later all the cleaning materials and dirty clothes were in my waterproof (and stank proof) bag and we were back on the road with a washed down boy and a washed out car that smelled like cinnamon soap from a Holiday Inn Express. Briggs again loved the flight and repeatedly gave me the most awesome hugs at random times all the way home. What a great father/son bonding trip.

We had some leftover money and decided to get Max a couple of souvenirs from the Phoenix airport. We got him two puppy dogs b/c Briggs reminded me that we had to either get him a dog or monkey b/c that was the only kind of animal families that he had. Max LOVED them and was sooo excited to have us back home. I wish he and Les could have gone too but it was a bit much for Max. I did make sure to spend the previous Saturday just with Max pretty much the whole day to make sure he felt special too, it worked thankfully. He was cool with us going and was super excited with our coming back, new stuffed animals was icing on the cake. At the end of the night Briggs asked if just he could read a bedtime story to Max...those boys sure do love each other...

Anyway, it's been an awesome year so far and this trip with Briggs will definitely be a great memory for years to come. I look forward to taking both boys with me for fun and missions as they get older, Les I think is resolving herself to that eventual reality and has even put in that she may try to go "roughing it" with us, we'll see... Thank God for my family, for affording us to go on foreign mission trips, and for allowing me to indulge in the glory of His creation every once in a while, and most especially for giving me peace through salvation in Christ. Wow.

How To Train Your Karate Kid Not To Harm Innocent Bystanders

2010-08-15T17:40:00.011-05:00

Last night we went to the $1 movie to see "How To Train Your Dragon." During the previews, I noticed Max completely enthralled with the "Karate Kid."

He was mesmerized and in that zone where he forgot he was in the world and not the karate kid himself

All of a sudden, out of the corner of my eye, I see him karate chop the head of the woman sitting in front of us.

I was stunned and as I began to profusely apologize and chastise Max, I realized he really didn't know what he had done. It struck me as so funny that I began laughing so hard, with tears pouring out of my eyes, as I am still apologizing to the woman. I know she had to think, "why is this mother laughing that her son just hit me?" I really can't explain why it was so funny, I guess I was just so shocked.

And poor Max was so shocked at himself. Then he began apologizing to the woman, over and over. Then he said, "Mom, I'm sooo sorry, it was an accident."

Then Rod came back from getting popcorn and I began laughing/crying all over again trying to tell him what happened. It was wrong, but it was hysterical.

Even this morning walking into church, Max was telling me how he did not mean to hurt that woman because it "was jest a- accident." He really was repentant.

The sweetest part of the movie was when Briggs (at 7 years old) leaned over and kissed me on the cheek and asked, "Mom, do you like this movie? I just knew you would."

Salt Maps, a Solar System, and a Bubble Bath

2010-08-14T09:26:00.007-05:00

This week began with our fourth day of school and the beginning of our history curriculum, Tapestry of Grace. It encompasses history, geography, writing, and art. It begins with ancient Egypt to give a context for studying the books of Moses. Briggs read books about the pyramids, the Nile, and mummies. We studied the globe with all of its continents, oceans, desserts, islands, and mountains. For an art project, he created a salt map made out of old fashioned homemade play dough (my mom used to make it for us when we were little) which is a mixture of salt, flour, and water. He formed mountains, cliffs, peninsulas, tributaries, canals, and islands.

Max had his own little salt map going on.

The next day after it had dried out a little, they painted their maps.

Thank goodness for washable paint on carpet!

The finished product:

Max was exceptionally proud of his which, he said, included volcanoes, islands, a golf club,and the YMCA.

In our science lesson, we were supposed to make a solar system out of balloons. Knowing my boys, who have issues with things that break down and have to be thrown away, I opted for a kit from Hobby Lobby that we would hang and look at the rest of the year.

We painted the planets and tried to put them in the right order of distance from the sun. Briggs has already memorized them in order (the boy loves science), so he told me where to put them.

After such a busy week, all with daddy on a business trip, a warm bubble bath was in order.

General Homeschooling note:

After adjusting to the idea all summer, I had gotten extremely excited about homeschooling. Then, the closer it came and the more books that were delivered to the front door, I got even more excited. And then I got scared, mainly because I have an idealistic image in my mind of how wonderful and perfect it's going to be. So I tried to force my expectations into reality and prepare for things to go awry. And yes, Max has had daily frustration meltdowns and temper tantrums, but they are getting better. They seem to be less during school time and he is learning to be more patient while I divide my time between the two of them. Briggs gets a little frustrated when Max gets to do "fun" things like coloring and pasting, while he has to do work. When I offered him a shape tracing page and a fat pencil, he changed his tune. The two big art projects this week helped too. I also always say that I am making a one year commitment, just to give myself an "out" in case we all hate it or I just fail at being a teacher.

That being said, so far, I really love it. It is so wonderful to spend time with my boys every morning, reading the Bible (well, the Jesus Story Book Bible) and praying with them. They have their weekly memory verses for their small group memorized by midweek instead of cramming it all in on Saturday night, or even worse, on the way to church on Sunday morning. I know that we could have done a better job while they were in regular school, but we never did. We were too busy running and it was so hard to make the priorities actually be the priority. I know other people do it and do a great job, but I am not that good of a mother, with my fleshly, selfish, nature and all. I just feel that we have more time to spend doing the things I've always wanted to do and the resources (curriculum) to guide me in doing it. I really do love it and am so thankful that God has led us to do this.

Homeschooling

2010-08-09T10:59:00.017-05:00

Yes, that is correct. We are homeschooling this year! This has been a huge decision for us, one that has been bathed in prayer, research, worry, panic and even fear. One that has involved much change of heart, mind, and priorities. There are a multitude of reasons that have led us to this decision, but suffice to say, we are hoping to recapture a love of learning, enthusiasm about school, and cultivate a natural curiosity that was almost lost last year in regular school.
After two months of searching, we settled on our philosophy (classical with a little Charlotte Mason) and ordered our curriculum. Here is what Briggs is doing:

Singapore Math
Spelling Wisdom
Rod and Staff Grammar
Apologia Science- Astronomy
Tapestry of Grace for History, Literature, Art, and Writing
plus other reading of "great books," poetry memorization, and Bible.

After three days, I can say that it is going well! I have a preschool curriculum for letters and numbers that I am doing with Max and so far, even he is enjoying school. We made a coconut tree and he gets to put a letter on it each week after we read Chicka Chicka Boom Boom. I'm trying to use lots of positive reinforcement to keep him motivated and interested.

We had a mostly unused room and I was able to convert it into a school room. It took two weeks of cleaning out, painting, and decorating to get it ready for school. Briggs said he didn't want to see the finished room until the first day of school because he wanted to be "amazed!" In the end, they could not stand the suspense.

The room went from this:

Actually, this is after it had been massively cleaned out. Thankfully, there are no pictures of all the junk that was in there before!

To this:

(I have to figure out how to remove the stenciled leaves off of the table without having to redo the whole shebang)

Batman also likes to hang out and read Bob Books in there.

I took pictures of the boys on the first day of school to commemorate this special day. Can you tell they are excited?

I am still working part time, so to make everything work, I need to be super organized and ready for each day. This means some very early mornings and late nights, but I am committed to making it work.. Time will tell how this will all work out, but I know that this is what God has called our family to do and He will see us through it.

There are still cowboys in Texas...

2010-08-04T08:17:00.008-05:00

and even some new ones.

Swinging, Fishing, and Coyote Lodge

2010-07-11T16:53:00.013-05:00

After meeting the animals, Briggs really wanted to go fishing, so we hopped in the back of the truck and drove to the back of Grandpa Wayne's land to "Coyote Lodge" and the fishing hole or tank, as they say in Texas.

Coyote Lodge is a spot beneath a tree that is a perfect campsite, complete with picnic table, grill/smoker, fire pit, and shade. Grandpa Wayne says he loves to sleep out beneath the stars at this place and I can see why. It really is beautiful and so peaceful; the sky seems to go on forever.

We fished for a while, but since the fish weren't biting and it was as hot as blue blazes, we decided to head back to the house for lunch.
Afterward, the boys took turns swinging and feeding the horses.

We took a break from the heat to take a little nap and then went back for some more fishing.

This time the fish were biting (for some of us) and Briggs had a great time catching Perch and Bass!

Try as he might, Rod didn't catch anything, so he set out to shoot a turtle that was in the tank.

That night, we built a campfire and roasted hot dogs and marshmallows under the stars.

Well, that was after comparing "bullet launchers," of course. A tradition that makes this city girl a little uneasy, but she's working on it. After eating, talking, and climbing, we rode back to turn in for the night, trying to contain the excitement of doing it all over again tomorrow.

Deep In The Heart of Texas

2010-07-01T17:38:00.014-05:00

Last weekend we drove to Texas to spend some time with Rod's dad. The boys had never been, so it was a treat to spend some time with Grandpa Wayne. Friday we met for breakfast.

Rod's dad and Uncle Sam eat breakfast at this country store three mornings a week.

Then he took us out to meet his animals.
The boys let out the geese.

Fed the chickens.

And watered everything.

Then we walked out to the pasture to meet the horses.

Next post: Fishing, Swinging, and Coyote Lodge.....

Proof

2010-06-29T14:34:00.005-05:00

You can take the boy out of Texas.....

But you can't take Texas out of the boy.

More to come soon....

16 Years of Wedded Bliss

2010-06-18T09:57:00.011-05:00

Last Friday was our 16th wedding anniversary. To celebrate,we got a babysitter and made dinner reservations. There is a restaurant that I had been wanting to try for over a year. I saw it in Southern Living magazine and tore out the article. I saved it thinking it would be a great place to go for a date night- and a year and two months later- we had one. Has it seriously been that long? I can't remember, but I think it was Valentine's Day 2009. Yes, we both agree that needs to be more of a priority!

Needless to say, it was a special night! We went to Buttermilk Hill Restaurant in Sylacauga. Despite of the year long wait, it did not disappoint! The restaurant is located in an old Victorian house with lots of character and history. The food is southern prepared in a classic French style (see, I am well versed on this because I have the Julia Child "Mastering the Art of French Cooking" cookbook that I love to cook from. I think that makes me an expert, if not in cooking, then eating.) They call it "New Southern Cuisine," but I call it right down my alley.

We started with a mushroom cream soup with Asiago cheese and green onion sausage. We were going to share a cup, but it was so good, we just ordered another one. It was Rod's favorite part of the meal! I had blackened red grouper topped with crabmeat buerre blanc, (French, see?) buttermilk mashed potatoes, and assorted vegetables which included summer squash, asparagus, carrots, and butter beans, all perfectly cooked. Rod had the dry rubbed Black Angus New York strip topped with whiskey buttered onions and the same sides that I had.

Here was our dessert:

Bread pudding with vanilla bean ice cream and chocolate whiskey sauce. It takes 40 minutes to prepare, so you order it at the beginning of your meal and by the time you are done, viola! It is steaming hot and delicious!

The entire night, we were treated to a sort of small town hospitality that you rarely experience anymore. The owners were so gracious and treated us like friends. When we arrived, there was elderly couple there on a date. They came over to talk to us after they finished their dinner and it turns out they were the Purcell's, the owners of Farmlinks, Rod's most favorite golf course in the entire world, nay, the entire universe. Rod and Mr. Purcell talked golf for a few minutes and when we told them we were celebrating our anniversary, Mrs. Purcell told me that they had 40 years on us- as they have been married for 56 years! What a neat picture of marriage to see on our anniversary!

It was so nice to be able to leisurely sit and talk to each other about our hopes and dreams. I am so glad we still share the exact same ones, just as we always have. There is something so special about the knowing that comes when two people have loved each other for so long. I hope there will be many more anniversaries to share- finishing each other's sentences, knowing what the other will order, knowing what the other is thinking just by looking into their eyes. Through all the growing and changing over the years, God has continued to draw us closer to each other and Himself. I am so thankful for that and cannot wait until we celebrate 56 years or more together!

Pretty Profound Words....for a spider

2010-06-02T22:21:00.012-05:00

"Why did you do all this for me?" he asked. "I don't deserve
it. I've never done anything for you."
"You have been my friend," replied Charlotte.
"That in itself is a tremendous thing. I wove my webs for you
because I liked you. After all, what's a life anyway?
We're born, we live a little while, we die. A spider's life can't help being something of a mess, with all this trapping and eating flies. By helping you, perhaps I was trying to lift up my life a trifle. Heaven knows anyone's life can stand a little of that." E. B. White

Last week, Briggs and I finished reading Charlotte's Web. He loved it and looked forward to reading it every night before bed. By the time we reached the end, I felt like I was 9 years old again, reading the first book that ever made me cry. I started the sniffling and shaky voice and he gave me a "you knew this was coming; how could you do this to me?" look. But is was a special moment shared together that I hope he will always remember.

Rod tried to keep Max occupied while Briggs and I sat recovering, swollen eyed and red faced. When we were done, he came in and announced, "How about a happy adventure book next- Treasure Island, maybe?"

Winter will pass, the days will lengthen, the ice will melt in the pasture pond. The song sparrow will return and sing, the frogs will awake, the warm wind will blow again. All these sights and sounds and smells will be yours to enjoy, Wilbur - this lovely world, these precious days..."

Yes, profound indeed. And I can't wait, for they are so precious.

Indonesia Part 1

2010-05-24T19:17:00.013-05:00

INDONESIA 2010 - Part 1

A little background:
Number of islands: 17,508

Number of spoken languages: >700

Muslim Population: ~203,000,000 (Estimated 2009 U.S. Population: 307 million)

Percent of Population that is Muslim: 88%

Percentage of World Muslim Population: 13%

Indonesia has the world's largest Muslim population. At an approximate 6.25% crude death rate that means 12,687,500 people will die every year and most likely never had heard the gospel of Jesus Christ as Saviour of a lost world.

This May I was able to make a two week trip with some friends from church to visit field workers for some projects and to help spread the gospel. We left on a Thursday morning, flew from Chicago to Hong Kong, then to Singapore where we spent the night (in what has to be one of the nicest airports in the world), and finally on to Indo the following day, a Saturday on local time. We spent the first full day just doing orientation stuff and preparing for the days to come. The next day was Sunday and we had the pleasure of attending a local church in Medan. It was like stepping back in time. No air conditioning and old SB hymnal music. The people were very friendly even though for the most part we didn't speak the same language. There were a few who spoke very good English and we spent about an hour after the service just talking to them about our different cultures. That evening we attended a house church that left me longing for worship back home to be equally as pure each and every day of my life.

We spent the next week in a coastal village called Percut (pur-choot). The first impression when stepping out of the nicely cooled SUV was being knocked back by the humid heat and the stench of garbage combined with tidal sewage. Sweet faced children immediately ran up to us calling out "bule'! bule'!" (foreigner) and the only other word they universally knew "photo! photo!". Monday we spent the day walking around meeting the locals and familiarizing ourselves with the lay of the land. Several times in the correspondence before our arrival we were told that we would come across people with a spirit of peace. What an amazing thing to see as plain as day those whom were receptive to friendly conversation and eventually to talk of the gospel. Not a day went by where we were not able to meet new people to share with, I'll expound on that in the second post.

(Friendly Fishermen)

(First house in the village)

(Sweet)

The area school has about 200 children in it. Amongst other potential projects, the school turned out to be where we prayerfully felt led to try to do the most good in our short time there. The school has a bathroom for the teachers but none for the children. Also, most homes do not have a bathroom/squatty potty either so the kids and parents end up going wherever they can. Being a coastal village, wherever they can ends up being dispersed wherever the tides may flow... The next several days were spent talking with local leaders, government officials, the school vice principal, and whoever else it took to get the project going. By the time we left a plan was in place, monies transferred, and a contractor was starting work.

(The area "bathroom")

(The New School Bathroom)

(Almost Complete)

The other project that we were able to work out was a playground area. The current area is below the flood level and turns into a mud filled cesspool as the tides come and go. The village leaders and teachers wanted a better playground for the kids and with some of our support plan to put in a retaining wall and fill it in with fill dirt. It will be some time before it's actually done, but at least the ball is rolling. During all of this we were able to continue to meet with the locals, witness, and help build the long term relationships the local leaders need.

(The Playground)

In the next post I'll go into more of the really important things, the glorying of God that we were able to be some small part in. What I want to finish this first post on is this:

In Indonesian large cities the average worker may earn $5 or $6 dollars a day. In Percut it's down to about $2 a day. Even with the adjustment in scale for how much cheaper some items are, $2 is not a lot to feed or provide for a family or even oneself. Rich or poor, by and large man seems to find a way to be satiated with the little bit of earthly sustenance provided him. I find it difficult to find fault in this, the fault and sin as I am convicted comes in this, being so satisfied with what is given to us that we do not seek He that has provided all things, most importantly redemption. On the opposite side of the world, In the midst of this impoverished region, I could not get past the striking resemblance to my own life and what I perceive to be the general consensus of American culture. Apathy. A lack of concern or heartfelt and sincere interest toward God. I, our country, Indonesia, and I fear most of the world at large is far too easily pleased in material, emotional, and spiritual things apart from the glory of God.

Piper would say "The problem is being satisfied too easily. We believe that everyone who longs for satisfaction should no longer seek it from money or power or lust, but should come glut their soul-hunger on the grace of God."

Piper's quote is rooted in C.S. Lewis who said "Indeed, if we consider the unblushing promises of reward and the staggering nature of the rewards promised in the Gospels, it would seem that Our Lord finds our desires, not too strong, but too weak. We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased."

I would say I have been far too easily satisfied with not desperately longing for the joy found in seeking and doing God's will, in not sharing His Word, His Glory, His Gift, in not turning my eyes (and heart) from things of this world that are eternally useless.

God would say

Zephaniah 1:12-13: "At that time I will search Jerusalem with lamps, and I will punish the men who are complacent, those who say in their hearts,'The LORD will not do good, nor will he do ill.' "
2 Tim. 4:3-4: "For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths. "
Matthew 16:26: "For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what shall a man give in return for his soul?"

But praise God that He also says this:

Philippians 3:8: "Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ"
1 Tim. 6:6: "Now there is great gain in godliness with contentment"
Psalm 16:11: "You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore."
and Psalm 42:1-2: "As a deer pants for flowing streams, so pants my soul for you, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God."

God help me to seek you daily as deeply as I sought you while in Indonesia. God forgive me for my apathy. God help me to not grow further apathetic toward serving and desiring you. God help me to be the kind of man, father, and husband that glorifies you first and me last. Lord please daily help me to pant for you, to thirst for you, to hunger for you with a desire to glorify you and to not be so easily satisfied.

I Hear the Secrets that you Keep....

2010-05-19T14:16:00.005-05:00

All of the boys at our house talk in their sleep. Maybe it's not all that unusual, but the things that they say are sometimes strange and have been responsible for frequent cases of the silly giggles at three o'clock in the morning.

It all started when Rod and I first got married. We took Japanese in college together and Rod retained an amazing amount of the language. When he worked at Sony, his boss was Japanese and he also had to go to Japan. So, he actually used the language and at one point was quite fluent (he might disagree, but seriously, who speaks and understands Japanese?) One night, he all of a sudden started talking in his sleep- in Japanese. I don't remember what he said, but I remember having to get out of the bed and go in a different room because I was laughing so hard.

Briggs, too has always talked in his sleep, although I can't remember anything he has said recently.

Following in their footsteps, Max has recently started talking in his sleep. While Rod was gone and the boys were sleeping with me, he blurted out, "Briggs is not sharing with me!" He even elaborated when I asked him about it (while still asleep).

Then, the night before last, I was about to go to bed and I heard him say something about a bad guy. I decided to go upstairs to check on him and as I was about to leave, he started panting. I turned around and he barked. Like a dog. Twice. I laughed so hard I woke Briggs up for a moment.

They may not all look alike, but they are......

Like Father, Like Son.

Pining Away No More

2010-05-13T17:01:00.003-05:00

I just heard from Rod and he is back in the USA! He still has a few more hours until he boards the final plane for home.

I have missed him so much. This is the longest we have ever been apart and for some reason I started thinking about the night we met. He was about to get on a plane to go to his grandfather's funeral. We literally met for a few seconds, but that's all it took because we were already head over heels for each other. He gave me his letter man jacket and a hug. It seemed like he was gone forever and we talked on the phone every minute we could. Wow, that was a long time ago-1989. I was 15 but I knew he was the one for me. A LOT has changed in our lives since then, but the one thing that hasn't changed is that we are still head over heels.

Maybe it was that Peter Cetera song I heard on the way home from taking him to the airport and then the one I heard again today that made me think about when we first met. Funny how you don't hear a song for years and then hear two from the same era that take you right back to a time and place you had not been in a while.

Max has his end of the year program tonight and I can't wait to hear him sing his songs. He gave us a preview in the car of Jesus Loves Me. So sweet.

Briggs has field day tomorrow at school. I am not sure if he will make it or not. I wonder if the school would excuse an absence like this:

"Please excuse Briggs from school on Friday. He was not feeling his best." Hmm. I kinda doubt it.

Don't Mess With Texas and Other Conversations With a Three Year Old

2010-05-11T09:09:00.006-05:00

photo by Lily White Photography

From the time Max woke up this morning until I dropped him off at MDO, we had a running conversation that went something like this:

He sat up in the bed and shoved a stuffed monkey in my face; "Mom, you be the mama monkey and I'll be the baby monkey."

Then in the kitchen, "Mom, can I have a muffin in a bowl?" As I stood him up on the counter he said, "look mom, I growed up! I am bigger than you," as he looked down at me smiling. I asked, "Will you still hug and kiss mommy when you are this tall?" He just giggled.

"Okay Max, it's time to go to school."
"Mom, can I just have 5 more minutes to play?"
"Okay, but then we have to go brush your teeth."
"But mom, I brushed my teeth last night."
"Yes, but we have to brush them again this morning."
"Mom, can I take all my pet monkeys in the car? Mom, can I have a pet?"
"Max, you already have so many pet monkeys that we can hardly carry them all!"
"No mom, I need a puppy. And I need him to be a-wiiiiiive."
"If we had a puppy, he might not be alive for very long."

While driving to school, looking out the window, "Do cars scare the birds away?"
"Yes they do."
"Do cars scare dogs away?"
"Sometimes."
"Do cars scare cats away?"
"Yes."
"Do they scare cows away?"
"Uhh, no."
"Well I think they do."

"Is that daddy's farm?" Looking at a pasture full of horses and cows.
"No honey, daddy doesn't have a farm. His daddy has a farm in Texas. We are going to go there in a few weeks."
"Don't mess with Texas, mom."
"I would never."

On Mother's Day, Briggs brought me breakfast in bed: Fruit Loops in milk. He so sweetly had stirred them up for me. He also had made a scavenger hunt for me to find my Mother's Day cards. One of my hints was taped to the milk carton. That boy loves a good scavenger hunt.

Rod comes home in two days! I have had so much help and company, it really has not been hard in that sense. I am so grateful to my family for all their help, love, and care. Aside from a couple of isolated incidents, the boys behavior has been phenomenal. We are talking about two weeks worth of misbehavior opportunities that have just not happened much.

The hard part has been Rod just not being here, sharing the little moments, being able to call him when something funny happens, coming home at night. His sweet, happy, fun loving presence has been deeply missed. And the oven thinks I have forgotten how to use it.

A Homerun and the First Win

2010-05-08T15:16:00.003-05:00

It was the day before Mother's Day. Two weeks left in the season. They had been down by as many as 10 runs. Most fans had quietly given up hope for a first win on that warm Saturday morning. He approached the plate with confidence, a runner on second and a runner on third. The first pitch was not the one he wanted, so he watched it go by. He swung at the next one and took a cut, but the ball went foul. The third pitch was the charm and he smacked it right down the first base line. It went past the first baseman's glove and by the time the ball was fielded, he was headed to third. As the opponent threw the ball to third to get him out, he turned and ran back to second base. But the ball was overthrown and he was again headed to third. This time he didn't slow down as he rounded third base headed for home. As the ball sped its way to home plate, he slid and was declared safe. Congratulations and high fives were in order.

And over the roar of the crowd, you could hear his mother screaming like a crazy woman.

Final Score: 21-17.

Her Mother's Day Gift: Priceless

Mommy & Max Tea, A Meltdown, and Career Day Part II

2010-05-07T09:53:00.004-05:00

Thursday morning Max's school had a "Mommy and Me Tea" for Mother's Day. He gave me a small plant with his picture stuck on a Popsicle stick in the soil. We had a great lunch and listened to words of encouragement about the fleeting moments of mothering small children.

Afterward, I attempted to get Max to take a nap, but to no avail. He had T ball practice at 6 and I knew he was tired. After about 20 minutes, he was distracting other kids, throwing his hat and glove and walking all over the field. When I walked onto the field to redirect him back to his spot, it made him mad and he swatted at me. I picked him up and he really got mad and grabbed my hair! Totally embarrassed, I marched the long walk of shame to the parking lot and enacted some significant corporal punishment. Then I waited and waited for him to stop crying and apologize before attempting to return to practice. It seemed like it took forever, but he finally went back out on the field for the last few minutes of practice. His coach has to be the most patient person ever to put up with crazy people who put a 3 1/2 year old in T ball! Actually, he has done fairly well considering his maturity, up until last night.

Mom and Dad came last night and Dad spoke at Career Week this morning. When we pulled up to the school, there was a man showing his dump truck to a class and letting the kids honk the horn. Then we saw a pilot dressed in uniform walking into the school. Dad jokingly said he didn't know if he could compete with all that. He brought his paint guns, airbrush, and some samples of his work, including Briggs and Max's baseball helmets. He told them about repairing wrecked cars and about how Briggs helps him when we are home. The kids loved it and asked lots of questions. As we were trying to leave, one asked for Dad's autograph and then they were all bringing papers to be autographed! I guess he didn't have anything to worry about after all, and now he is a celebrity!

I just spoke with Rod a few minutes ago. He said that in the last four years of mission work in the area he is in, they have had about 10 people become Christians. Within the last four months, they have seen over 50 become Christ followers! God is doing an awesome work there.

They attended a monthly "small group" meeting that consisted mostly of prayer time. He said they literally spent hours in prayer and it was an amazing experience. I can't wait for him to tell me all the details!

Seven days to go....

2010-05-06T09:56:00.004-05:00

Wednesday, when I picked Max up from school, he showed me a picture he had colored. I read the words on the picture to him: "Thank you God for my mouth." It was a picture of a child eating ice cream. Max quickly corrected me, "Mom, it doesn't say that. It says God likes ice cream!" Hmm. Maybe he does. I asked him for a strong hug and a kiss and after obliging, he said, "dad needs one of these too. He hasn't had one today." No, I guess he hasn't.

Max decided he wanted Yogurt Mountain for supper. When I told him that he could not have it for supper, he protested that we could because Yogurt Mountain lives in Birmingham. I think we've created a yogurt monster. He eventually settled for chicken and rice.

Briggs has been very loving and affectionate. He usually has one big boundary test when Rod goes out of town, but this time he has just been great! He is very excited that his Granny and Papa are coming to visit and can't wait for Papa to go to Career Day at school and show the kids all the things he paints.

I am officially ready for Rod to come home. This is the longest we have ever been away from each other. I can feel my resolve weakening. My prayer for the last two days has been,

Lord, help me to want your glory to be made known among the nations more than I want my husband home with me. Help me to be fully satisfied in you. You are superior to anything and anyone in this world.

In the Radical book, David says that when we pray for comfort, God does not give us comfort. He gives us the Comforter. He gives us Himself, His Spirit. So humbling. So perspective-altering.

Monday and Tuesday

2010-05-04T23:12:00.003-05:00

.....were just a blur. But I'll try to come up with some highlights.

After a spur of the moment trip to Target (without the usual and effective talk to Max about looking without buying), we left without buying anything, including a new container of got-to-have royal blue play dough. This launched us into a 30 minute crying fit featuring the phrase "but I want it" over and over until my eye began to twitch. His crying jag resulted in falling sound asleep in the car. Amazingly he woke up an hour later crying and repeating the same phrase. I have to hand it to him: he has perseverance. See, I am choosing to focus on his strengths like a good social worker and know he will need this later on in life.

Briggs had yet another baseball game and has found his sweet spot, so to speak, for batting. He shows marked improvement and I am really proud of him. Before the game, he apologized to his coach for the way he had acted. I called the parents of the little boy and set up for us to go to their house and apologize to him. It was such a relief; the mother was very kind and welcomed our efforts to restore the friendship.

Speaking of being a good social worker, I went to Career Day at Briggs' school to speak to his class about my job. Last year, Rod showed his mad engineering skills and lit up a light bulb with potatoes. I had no idea if I should even try to follow that, but Briggs wanted me to. Social worker is not an easy role to explain to first graders without quickly getting into trouble, so I decided to go with "happy helper." It went something like:

"Hi, boys and girls. I am a happy helper (just kidding, I said counselor, less questions that way). I help people with their problems."

That was about the extent of my job description.

I like experiential things so I made a game of cards with feelings and corresponding facial expressions on them. I had the kids sit in a circle, pick up a card and either act out the feeling or describe a situation in which they had felt that feeling before. Some of the feelings they drew were confident, embarrassed, enraged, bored, ashamed, and surprised. All of the kids participated and did such a great job! They really seemed to enjoy it and all wrote thank you notes for me. As I was patting myself on the back, Briggs informed me that a Fox 6 weatherman came after me to tell about his job, on TV. Well, who can compete with being on the 10 O'clock news every night? Seriously though, it was fun and Briggs was happy as a clam that I came. That's more than good enough for me.

After school, Briggs and I met with the family to apologize and then play together at the park. We talked about how good it felt to be forgiven. They played for over an hour and I think will be good friends after today.

It was a good day, and since it is almost tomorrow, I will now go to bed.

You Picked a Fine Time to Leave Me Lucille.......

2010-05-02T19:23:00.007-05:00

Rod's gonna kill me for that title, but today is one where the rubber meets the road, so to speak. One that I would rather forget. One that I needed to be over with for sanity's sake, so the kids are in bed and it's not even 7:30. And most certainly one I do not wish to blog about, but I'm already committed.

Okay, from the beginning.

Worship was amazing today, as always. The sermon was on the 23rd Psalm and I don't think I'll ever look at it the same way again. So thankful for a intensely personal Shepherd who never stops giving to us. Even when he takes away. Sustains and satisfies. His grace, resulting in His glory. I knew He was speaking directly to my soul this morning.

Oh, and we got the book! The Radical book: Taking back your faith from the American Dream. Ouch. I need these words so much, I got two copies. This is not new for us, at our church, but something we struggle with, have been struggling with for some time. I am grateful for the struggle. There was a time when I never gave it a second thought.

Baseball pictures were this afternoon. I thought the hardest part would be getting everyone there on time, dressed, and picture ready. As Briggs was getting his picture made, his coach asked me if he could talk to me about something. He said that Briggs and some others had been telling another boy on their team that he was a bad player, making them lose, or something to that effect. The little boy was so hurt, he quit the team and never wants to come to the ballpark again. I was shocked at what I was hearing. I think there is a part of me that thinks we are somehow immune to having problems like this because we try to do all the things we are suppose to do. Of course this makes no sense, we are all sinners. We don't just make bad choices, our depravity reaches to our core.

All I could think was, "This is something Rod needs to handle. These kind of life lessons are just the thing dads are there for." Only Rod is half a world away and I had no idea when he would call again. Soooo, I put on my B.G.P's and began to think about how to handle it.

After a torturous wait, poor Briggs was more than ready to face the music. I prayed about what to say, to help him understand the weight of his sin, the hurt he had caused, but also the forgiveness of our Shepherd. We both shed tears. We read Scripture about the tongue (Prov. 18:21), about the kind of person he wants to be (Prov. 20:11), about forgiveness, and salvation (Romans 10:9 and I John 1:9; 2:1-6). Just as we were finishing, Daddy called. Perfect timing. He immediately said that I needed to call the parents of the little boy and ask if we could come over and apologize. I was thinking we could just write a letter, you know, and avoid confrontation. Things like this make me sweat and my heart race. Normally I would be thinking, "Whew, I'm glad Rod has to handle this one, being the spiritual leader and all." But it seems like God is telling me, "No, this one is for you. It's called humility and it's a good thing."

Of course, face to face confession is the right thing to do and we have to teach Briggs to take responsibility for his actions. It will be a good lesson for both of us, but maybe I should put on a little extra deodorant, just in case.

Saturday Update with Sprinkles on Top

2010-05-01T21:20:00.005-05:00

Max had his T ball game this morning. While the clouds looked foreboding, the rain held off all day. He was so cute batting and running to first. He would run as many bases as they would let him (i.e. they had to stop him from going all the way regardless of what was going on in the actual game). Max decided to show off his newly acquired skill today (albeit no one knew he had "learned" this) of sliding into home. It was hilarious, especially the time he got to home and just laid out on his back spread eagle. Other times he would just appear to fall when he got to home plate. He apparently has been paying attention, because Briggs has just learned to slide and Max does not want to be left out of the action.

After the game, we ate lunch and then headed back to the ball field for Briggs' game. I think this is the first time I have gotten him to the game (without Rod) without forgetting any gear; I have no idea why I have so much trouble remembering everything. The game got away from the Marlins quickly and by the third inning it was 20 to 1. The Marlins made a great comeback and scored 13 runs, but still lost the game. Briggs had two doubles, one that went far into the outfield. His third at bat he had a single with two RBI's. He did great and everyone was so proud of his hitting.

For a special treat after dinner, we went to Yogurt Mountain. The boys were so excited because they knew of the yumminess that would be theirs when we finally made it through the wrapped around line. I kept having to pull Max back to keep him from breaking in line; he could hardly contain himself. Briggs ventured away from his M&M's only topping and opted for a menagerie of fruit loops, vanilla wafers, chocolate chips, two kinds of sprinkles, Reese's pieces and M&M's. He ate nearly every bite. I think when they weighed our treats we had about 20 ounces of yogurt and toppings collectively. But it was well worth it!

After talking to dad on Skype for a few minutes, the tired boys were fast asleep. By the way, Skype is our new best friend. Whoever invented it deserves the Nobel Peace Prize. Or a big trophy. Or at least a yogurt mountain with two kinds of sprinkles on top.

Updates for Dad

2010-04-30T21:08:00.005-05:00

While Rod is on a mission trip about 8,000 miles away for the next two weeks, I want to keep him connected to the boys and what is going on at home. I am (hopefully) going to try to blog everyday to keep him updated on our lives, so that although he is in a land far, far away, he can feel a little bit at home.

On Thursday, we took him to the airport early in the morning and then I dropped both boys off at school. I had planned a lot of errands and a stop by the office to keep my mind off of Rod's very long journey. Both boys had baseball Thursday night (at the same time). Since I couldn't be in two places at once, we went to Brigg's game and skipped Max's practice. Briggs' team has not won a game all season, so we were really hoping for a win to start off the second half of the season. The Marlins were down by two runs on Briggs' first at-bat and Briggs hit a good grounder to third (on his last pitch) for two RBI's that tied the game. His next at-bat took place in the third inning with the Marlins down by 4 with the bases loaded. A home run would have tied the game, but Briggs struck out. They will have another chance for that elusive first win on Saturday.
That night, during bedtime prayers, Max (spontaneously) prayed that God would give "Daddy a safe trip on that airplane." It was so sweet because his usual bedtime prayers are "help mommy, help daddy, help Briggs and Max. Amen"

Friday morning came early because Briggs had a field trip to the McWayne Center and I was going as a chaperone. Briggs has been looking forward to it for weeks and was so excited that I was going. I sat next to him on the bus and he put his arm in mine and told me how glad he was that I was there. This made me feel so good, because he is usually all about dad, all the time. Which is great, because I want my boys to have a close, strong relationship with their dad, but Briggs takes it to a whole new level. (He made a "leader board" at school one day ranking us all and needless to say, I came in last until I made him feel guilty and he moved me to second place:) Hey, around here, I'll take what I can get!

Honestly, I don't know if there is a boy in the world who loves his dad as much as Briggs loves Rod. In his eyes, his dad hung the moon, which is pretty much the way I feel too, so it's okay;) After nearly 16 years of marriage, we are more in love with each other than we have ever been. Our boys definitely have a dad who loves his wife and children and spends time with them. God has blessed us with an amazing spiritual leader that He continues to make into His likeness everyday. Okay, back to the update. I got a little sidetracked...............................

We had a great time on the field trip and Briggs even got on TV when a weatherman from Fox 6 did the forecast from the McWayne Center. Here is the video; Briggs is holding a green poster with a red heart on it: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FeaKzamSrIA

Tonight as he was getting ready for bed, he told me what a great day he had with me and hugged me.

Max and I played with his play dough making bowling balls and pins, taking turns knocking them down, while Briggs was at baseball practice with Uncle Scott. Max wanted to have family worship as his bedtime routine, so he and I got in the bed and read from his Jesus Storybook Bible. Then he sang "Jesus Loves Me" and prayed for daddy again.

God has blessed us with such sweet boys and I hope that this little update will help keep us close to each other over the next two weeks of separation. I love you sweetie and I am so proud of you...................................

10 Times Tougher Than Your Dad

2010-04-27T20:29:00.004-05:00

As Briggs gets older we are having more and more of these little father/son talks that explain to him how the world really works. Most of the time I am at the same time proud and filled with laughter at seeing the light bulb go off and seeing how funny a little 7 year old brain can be sometimes.

The other morning as I was getting ready for work, Briggs came running into the kitchen with my deodorant in his hand . He excitedly asked me how to make more of it come up so that he could use it before school. Curious as to why of all days he chose this day to use deodorant before school, (personal hygiene typically being the last thing on our first grader's mind) he looked at me and said "because it will make me 10 times stronger than you!"

Sad to burst his bubble, it did give us a good opportunity for one of our little talks. We had a nice chat about marketing, commercials, and how advertisements are only trying to make you spend your money. When asked if he really thought a deodorant could make him 10 times stronger than anyone he laughed and said "no, that's pretty silly." I sure do love those boys, even if they aren't as strong as me, yet...

Our Sunshine

2010-04-27T10:28:00.010-05:00

Max's three year old vocabulary grows everyday, sometimes amazing us with his command of the English language ("Mom, I have the pick-ups" instead of hiccups) and sometimes confounding us ("Look at the dragon stools on my hands!") huh? Rod finally figured out that one- dragon scales- when his fingers are shriveled from being in the bath too long.

Last week he informed me that he was tired of saying that we lived in Birmingham and from now on, he would just say we live on Sesame Street. His teacher at Mother's Day Out taught them to say, "Don't Mess With Texas" and so we get this warning rather frequently. We can't wait to visit Rod's family in Texas this summer, they will be so proud.

The other day he asked me to help him put on his Buzz Lightyear costume. As I was turning the legs inside out by sticking my arms in them, he protested, "Mom, it's my turn to wear it first!"

And other times, he just warms my heart when he tells me he loves me. I"ll ask him how much and he replies "24." Maybe that's on a scale from 1 to 24 or maybe it's just all 24 hours of the day. With that mischievous grin, it doesn't even matter.

He loves music and has a special penchant for Etta James, Jerry Lee Lewis and Bill Withers. His current favorites are "Ain't No Sunshine" and "Great Balls of Fire."

Max also loves to talk about Jesus. Here is a recent conversation:

Max: "Is God with us?"

Mom: "Yes, baby, He is with us."

Max: "Is He here now?"

Mom: "Yes, He lives inside of us if we trust in Him and follow Jesus."

Max, breaking out into song: "God has given this land to us,

no need to fuss, He knows what He's doing

We know that He will take care of us, if we will follow Him."

Mom: "What a sweet Veggietale's song."

Max, "Yes, mom. God wants us to be nice to people."

Amen to that.

If This Doesn't Change Your Attitude About Laundry- Something Must Be Wrong With Your Washer

2010-04-18T19:39:00.015-05:00

Most of us probably wouldn't say that laundry is our favorite part of the day. The sorting, the trying to remember to put them in the dryer before they begin to smell, the folding, and it never ends. But that perpetual task that sometimes seems to go unnoticed unless someone doesn't have clean underwear for school; well, that task is about to be meaningful to the life of children without families across the world.

You see, some dear friends of mine are making this amazing all natural laundry detergent with all of their profits going to assist families adopting orphans worldwide, beginning with their own sweet baby from Uganda. This amazing family of 7 are opening up their hearts to a baby girl they have never met, but whom God has ordained to become a part of their family since the beginning of time. You can read about them at http://www.vitafamiliae.com/.

The detergent, Hopesuds, smells fantastic and really gets your clothes clean. I put it to the test on a white t shirt with two day old pizza sauce on it- without pre-treating it. It worked great! I was actually surprised because I don't think my old detergent would have gotten that out on the first wash. My whole laundry room smells good, and I'm pretty funny about smells. But this is a yummy citrusy smell that is chemical free. I'm looking for things to wash! (which is not all that hard). You only use a tiny bit (a tbs) so the little bag lasts for like 48 loads! You can order it at http://www.hopesuds.com/ or if you are local you can get some at Favorite Laundry in Mt. Laurel.

Adoption is something that is very close to my heart. It is the most rewarding part of my work outside of my home. I feel very humbled that God chooses to use me in some small way to help give children happy homes that they can grow up in. This is just another way that we can be involved in a ministry that is making an eternal difference in the lives of children.

Everyone has to have some kind of laundry detergent, why not use Hopesuds and join God in His plan to give orphaned children new mommies and daddies? It will change your attitude about doing laundry.

"Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world." James 1:27

Hopesuds. Do Laundry, Save Orphans.

The Indy Grand Prix

2010-04-13T21:14:00.016-05:00

Last week at work, Mr. Kevin, a very kind gentleman who sits in a cubicle next to Rod, offered him tickets to the first ever Indy Grand Prix of Alabama at the Barber Motor Sports Speedway, about 30 minutes from our house. The tickets were for the Friday practices and qualifying. They also included free breakfast, lunch, snacks, awesome parking and real toilets (as opposed to port-a-potties). Although we have never considered ourselves race fans, this was very exciting to the boys and appealed to the nearly forgotten Daddy's girl side of me that long ago loved to spread Bond-O, order quarts of Oil Dry (another story), attend hot rod car shows, and ride shotgun with Dad going close to 100 mph down Denton Road (much to my mother's chagrin). While there is little chance of us becoming Ricky Bobby's family in Talledega Nights, we did have a blast and would love to go again next year. Here are some highlights:

It was free! That made it so easy to relax and enjoy the day, even with the truck fire that backed up the interstate for miles on the way there. We just turned around and went the back way and avoided the whole mess. The weather was cool, breezy and gorgeous; plus there were not very many people there. There were inflatables for the kids when they tired of watching the racecars. It was easy to get back and forth to the car and to the free food and snacks, so that part could not have been any better.

The Paddock

Aside from the race track, the paddock is where the action is. This is where they work on the cars before and after the races. There was so much going on, it is hard to describe it. Suffice to say, we had to sign a waiver saying that if anything happened to us while we were down there, it was our own fault and we could not sue them. We also had to include the boys on the waiver. We asked the officials exactly what we were getting into, and they told us that it was an extremely dangerous area because of the chaotic movement of cars and other vehicles, which have the right of way over pedestrians. One man said, "You can't be too careful down there."

Part of me was thinking, "Great, this is a mother/social worker's dream. Knowingly taking her children into an extremely dangerous situation...."

SO, Rod took Max's hand and I took Briggs' hand and the boys were instructed that they would under no uncertain terms be let go of for any reason. They complied until a racing team invited them over to sit in a real racecar! They were so excited and we were too! Here is the car:

The Rehagan Racing team was so kind to us, even putting our pictures on their website:
http://www.wesduenkel.com/download/rehagenracing/RehagenRacing_Barber_2010/

(we're on about the fourth page of photos)

Which is great because somehow in the excitement, we did not get a good picture of this.

Both boys got to sit in the winning mustang because little did we know that they would win the Barber 200 on Saturday!

Another exciting thing about the paddock is how close we could get to the race track and pit row. We stood against a fence where the Indy cars were coming in for their pit stops. In some sections, there was nothing separating us from the racecars pulling out of the pits. It was amazing to be that close, but also very scary!

It was so easy to get caught up in the excitement of the roar of the engines at over 200 mph! Sometimes I would pull out my earplugs just to get the full effect! We had such a great day!

By the end of it all, Max was exhausted and asleep on Daddy's shoulder.

I think all in all, the Cude's had the checkered flag on Friday!

Easter

2010-04-10T12:25:00.013-05:00

*Disclaimer: the family members in these photos will be mad that they are on here and the family members not on here will be mad that they aren't. So, I am sorry for both.

We went to Dothan for a very quick trip (less than 24 hours) for Easter. After a great worship service, we drove out to the Crossroads for a delicious Easter lunch and afternoon of playing outside. The boys hunted eggs with all of their cousins and played until it was time to go home.

I though it would be nice to tell the story of the day using mostly pictures (thus the disclaimer). The weather could not have been more beautiful and we all had a great time.

Granny

Dad made a new friend that quickly became more like an old friend

Aunt Sue

Uncle Scott

Hudson shaking his eggs

Eli playing hard

Counting their eggs

Samantha

Cheese!

So handsome in his first tie that he had to have

family portrait

Sweet brothers

"Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. He is not here, for He has risen, as He said." Mat. 28:5-6

Jesus Fweak

2010-03-30T22:24:00.004-05:00

This is Max's favorite song to sing in the car. Our DVD player has not been working, so we have been doing a lot of singing together while riding and Max calls this one the "rock and roll" song. Have a listen:

He's not angry, he just playing the drums with his fist. Surprisingly, the implications of the song are not totally lost on this three year old. Last week at the ballpark he was chatting with some moms and when he had their undivided attention, he informed them that Jesus is with us. One of the said, "Jesus loves us?" and he replied, "No, I said Jesus is with us." She was a little taken aback and I don't think quite understood what he meant because she just replied, "hm humm." But he didn't care if she labeled him a Jesus Freak:)

Spring Break

2010-03-21T20:19:00.004-05:00

It's been so long since we blogged that it took Rod and I both to remember the user name and password! We've been so busy with work, school, and baseball that we haven't taken the time to blog. I don't even know where to begin, so here are some highlights:

The boys have been sleeping in Briggs' bed together and it is working out so well. They snuggle up and sleep all night together.

Briggs lost his second front tooth at church last Sunday after bumping into Max's head. It bled and bled but now he has a cute smile with a gap a mile wide!

Max's monkey collection grows ever larger; it's just hard to say no when he says, "But mom, I have missed him and he missed me." It's like two long lost friends reunited.

The boys took turns with a stomach virus, but somehow I only had a slight touch of it and Rod didn't have it at all.

Max has a slight obsession with play dough and cookie cutters. He likes to smell the play dough and set all the containers out on the coffee table. Then he gets the cookie cutters and lays them all out beside the play dough. He never actually uses the cookie cutters to cut the play dough, he just likes to look at everything all laid out.

For the past month or so I have been on a cooking spree. I got the "Mastering the Art of French Cooking" cookbook and although I am not planning on making everything in the cookbook, I have made several wonderful things that have become part of our weekly menu. I have also been obsessively baking, but I'll save that explanation for another time. I can't remember when I have been so excited about meal planning and I'm sure Rod just hopes it continues.

Briggs is learning "greater than and less than" at school. So I thought I would be the homework hero and tell him about the easy way I learned which was which, i.e. the crocodile's mouth bites the biggest number. The following math test was filled with greater than and less than signs proudly displaying crocodile teeth. I'm surprised his teacher did not count them all wrong.

It rained so much last week our back yard flooded (wetting the basement walls) and our septic tank backed up. To be honest, I did not deal well emotionally with the mess in the shower, tub and toilets. I tried to keep my emotional distress inside, but my sweet husband sensed my distress (or maybe it was my short temper?) and encouraged me to take the boys to my parents' house and let him deal with everything. He had the tank pumped out, a french drain put in the back yard, the house cleaned, clothes washed and put away, and had a card waiting for me on my pillow when I got home. All this in addition to being called out to help at a plant with some problems in Augusta, GA. To say that he is a blessing to me is an understatement.

We had a fun spring break. The boys got to play with their cousins every day. We hadn't been home since Christmas and they had a lot of catching up to do. They played putt putt, had a sleepover, went bowling and ate pizza to celebrate Hudson's birthday, made leprechaun traps on St. Patrick's Day, stayed up late, ate cookies and Cheetos, and watched movies. Briggs went to work with Papa one day and had the best time helping him work on a drive shaft for an old car.

Today's spring break traffic turned our four hour trip home into a six and a half hour trip (with a non-working DVD player). I am glad to be home and even more glad that it's finally spring- even though they are forecasting possible snow tomorrow- I just know that bright, sunny days are just around the corner!

Family Worship Time

2010-02-18T20:07:00.007-06:00

At the beginning of the year, our church began the "Radical Experiment" consisting of reading through the Bible, praying for the entire world, committing to multiplying community (committed to a small group that is intentionally sharing, showing, and teaching the Word while serving the world together), sacrificing our money for a specific purpose, and spending time in another context.

Our small group is about to get involved in Angel Food Ministries and deliver food to about three needy families every month, meeting their physical need but also sharing the Gospel with them. We will be building relationships with people we might not ordinarily reach out to.

Our family has decided to sacrifice our cable TV in order to give more to the church, who has freed up about 1.5 million of our budget to meet urgent physical and spiritual needs around the world. This (cable) is something we have thought about for a while, and frankly I think it will be hard, but so beneficial for our family. I bet we get a lot more done not having mindless drivel (that we sadly DO enjoy a lot of...) to stare at every day!

Rod is planning on going on a two week mission trip this year, to Indonesia, which is on the other side of the bottom of the world! Last year I went on a trip, so it is his turn to spend time in another context sharing the Gospel. I am so happy for him and I cannot wait to see what God has in store for him!

The other two parts of the Radical Experiment, reading the entire Bible and praying for the whole world, have corporate, small group, family, and individual aspects to it. We read the Bible passages every day, study about the same ones in our small group, the pastor preaches on a passage from the text and we have family worship based on part of the text. This leads me to the whole point of this post. Family Worship.

The church has provided a family worship guide on their website with ways to make it work with all ages of children, even preschoolers. It includes a Bible story, a worship song, Scripture memory, prayer focus, and even a coloring page! I think this is the best thing we have ever done as a family and the church has made it so easy to do. We have drawn closer to God, each other, and are intentionally teaching our children about God in a way that they can understand. I love it and the boys actually look forward to it every week, reminding us when it is family worship night.

Not that it has been without its challenges. The first one was a near disaster. Rod and I argued about who was doing what. The boys were wildly bouncing off the couch and not listening at all. Satan never rests does he? Neither does our fleshly nature. But we repented and pressed on.

Last week, we began Exodus and the scripture was about the 10 plagues God sent on Egypt. Rod had the wonderful idea of having the boys act it out. He was Pharaoh, I was the voice of God (that made me really nervous), Briggs was Moses and Max was Aaron. Rod got a staff for Max to hold and he got to raise it and say, "Let my people go!" Briggs kept saying, "what should I do next, God?" It was great!

This week, the verses were about God giving Moses the 10 commandments. Max got to be Moses this time and Rod made him tablets (of paper) and he got to stand on he couch (Mt. Sinai). Briggs was Aaron who made the golden calf for the people to worship. I tried to not be intrusive, but I had to take some pictures, they were so cute.

Max as Moses with the 10 Commandments

little Moses having trouble getting go of the golden calves

Coloring together

Briggs with *CCC on his mouth

Briggs' finished artwork

One thing that has surprised me is how much they love singing the worship song. It changes every week and they love to sing or hum along. Max even busts out with a "haaaaweeewuuuu-ya" every once in a while. We just wouldn't take anything for this precious time together.

*Chocolate Chip Cookie

Elektris-u-d and Snow

2010-02-14T20:18:00.008-06:00

This past MLK day Briggs' class apparently had a "I Have a Dream" project. Briggs' dream is below:

This past week he wrote me a letter during school also below:

Translation: "Dear Dad, Thank you for making electricity. If it wasn't for electricity we would still be in the dark. Love, Briggs"

Lately we've gotten into the routine of getting the boys to sleep in the same bed at night. I read one their story and the other a different story. Les has been reading Charlotte's Web when she reads to them along with some other stories. Afterwards I've been snuggling with both of them until they're nearly asleep, five or ten minutes. Tonight as I lay there I was especially thankful for how much God has blessed me with two fine boys who love their father and who I can love so very much. I greatly enjoy holding each boy on either side of me and hearing them sigh with contentment as they snuggle up close to me and fall asleep, how awesome, man I'll miss these days. The book Briggs read tonight was 'Rockets and Spaceships', a story basically about NASA. I wish I had a picture of the look in his eyes after I told him how proud I was that he wanted to be like me, but that I pray that he'll grow up to be whatever God wants him to be. I told him that if it is God's will he could one day be an astronaut and fly into space to do all sorts of experiments (he LOVES doing experiments), his eyes grew big and you could just see the wonderment and excitement behind them, priceless. God please help me to not provoke my boys to anger, but to bring them up in the discipline and instruction of You, and God thank You, thank You, thank You!

Max has found a new favorite thing, a book. He has a baby Einstein's 'Let's Look' book that he carries around with him nearly everywhere we go. We read it 3 to 5 times a day it seems and he doesn't want to read anything else at bedtime. It has shapes, colors, animals, space stuff, everything a little three year old heart could desire. He's doing great in mother's morning out and that has helped him to do just as great in the church nursery. No More Crying! He's kind of going through a whiny phase right now and boy does he have his mother's temper (kidding, it's scarily all me). When he gets mad he stomps off huffing, it's kind of cute actually. We're going through the phase of having to explain all of his emotions to him and teaching him how to deal with them the right way. He's doing awesome though, it's great seeing him and Briggs play together and growing up loving each other, most of the time :-).

Wow, going into our third winter here and in all three we've had at least one fairly good snow day. A few weeks ago the weathermen were predicting 2"-4". The boys were soooo excited about it and stood at the front door excruciatingly waiting. But in the end were pretty bummed out by what would better be described as a snow mist, not even a flurry...

This past weekend though God saw fit to give us another good snow day, enough to go sledding down the same hill we found last year. This year I bought an inflatable tube that you would pull behind a boat. Briggs loved it, I really enjoyed it, and Max somewhat enjoyed it as long as I was riding with him. My favorite was the three of us riding in it together. I have video of it but pictures were too much to handle (read: Mom decided to rough it out back home with the fireplace and warm coffee...). What a great weekend...

Monkey Love, A Home for Dogs, and the Lord's Supper

2010-01-26T10:28:00.009-06:00

Max received a monkey from his cousin Samantha back in November when he broke his collarbone. He instantly loved it and has been collecting monkeys ever since. Let's see,.... we have Momma Monkey, Baby Monkey, Yellow Monkey, and most recently Little Baby Monkey. He loves them all and has to sleep with them all every night. We wrap Momma Monkey's long arms around all the other monkeys and Velcro her hands (paws?) together so she is holding all of them. So sweet.

On Friday, Briggs stayed out of school because of some tummy trouble. Early in the morning, he told me that he needed to make a doghouse for his dogs. I remembered we had some cardboard boxes in the basement, so he grabbed them and went to cutting, pasting, taping, coloring, and decorating those boxes to make the perfect houses for his dogs, complete with mops, vacuum cleaners, and brooms made out of paper towel cutouts colored with markers. The houses had multiple rooms including backyards. I was amazed at how little it took to preoccupy him for hours. He even made a tall monkey house that Max's monkeys could hang out of.

Which reminds me that nearly every day when I pick Briggs up from school he has some little something that he has made out of bits of paper. A remote control for a robot containing commands such as "freeze, walk, shoot laser beam", a cell phone, and anything that appeals to that little engineering brain of his.

And lastly...........

A conversation overheard during the Lord's Supper:

As the juice passes by, Max says, "what about me?"

Briggs: "you can't have any, Max. You're not saved."

Max: "awwww." Hangs head and pouts lip.

Briggs feeling sorry for him: "maybe you should just pray about it, like this."

Both close eyes and pray.

............as I try not to spill my thimble-full of grape juice from laughing at those sweet boys.

Max's First Week at "School"

2010-01-14T21:03:00.016-06:00

Max started Mother's Day Out last week. We have been hyping it up since before Christmas, so he was pretty excited on his first day. He had a great day and did not cry at all. Then came the second day and he realized this was for real and he cried off and on the whole day. When I picked him up he said, "Mom, I cried and cried for you, but they wouldn't get you." I assured him that I would only come when it was time to pick him up. You can imagine how the rest of the week went, although I am happy that he only cries off and on and not the whole time. He is also doing better at church. We are taking him into the service with us during the singing and then taking him to his class when the preaching begins. He cries when we drop him off, but is learning how to cope until church is over. I think it is a work in progress of undoing how we have (unwittingly) taught him to do over the last few months. Basically, the routine has been: Max cry for an hour, the director gets him from his class and spends one on one with him taking him wherever she needs to go, then taking him back to his class where he cries once again, and finally, page mom and dad. I got used to knowing that if he cried long enough, we would come and get him. We all agreed that this is really not helping him so we have stopped. The funny thing is, last week at school when he cried so much, the director of the school came and got him out of his class and took him with her, where she said he was happy and chatty, and then took him back to his class where he cried again. (Hence the statement: "I cried and cried for you but they wouldn't get you!") So hopefully now he knows that he has to stay at school until it is time to go home. Yeah, I'm going to be optimistic and stick with that.

One more note: last week, Briggs came home from school and informed me that the new little boy in his class did not have anything to eat for snack at school, so he shared his snack with him. I was so proud, I almost cried! I think what made me so proud was that this kid doesn't sit at Briggs' table and he noticed from across the room that someone else in his class didn't have something so it was up to him to share with him. Now if only he and Max can learn to get along so well :-)

A Sweet Surprise

2010-01-08T19:37:00.009-06:00

For Christmas, my mother gave me a wonderful surprise that immediately became my favorite present that I received: a cookbook. But not just any cookbook, a cookbook from one of my favorite places to have lunch in Dothan, the Garland House.

The Garland House closed four years ago, after having been in business for 30 years. They specialized in serving crepes and quiche. The restaurant was in an old house near downtown that had a large front porch with rocking chairs that wrapped around one side of the house. Inside, there were different dining rooms with fireplaces in each one. The tables were made from old sewing machine stands and you had to walk through the kitchen to get to the back dining room. My favorite lunch there was Chicken Divan Crepes, Spinach Salad with their secret dressing, mini yeast rolls, and Peanut Paradise Pie. As I poured over the cookbook over the holidays, I could not believe that I had the actual recipes from that wonderful restaurant. I couldn't wait to get home and try them out; and one night for dinner, I did! We had all of my favorites and it was wonderful! It took me 2 1/2 hours and almost every pot that I own, but I made all of it! Those wonderful flavors brought back so many memories. Then tonight, as I re-read the recipes and stories included in the cookbook (while eating a few left over yeast rolls with some soup), the real reason I loved having it hit me. While having those coveted recipes is amazing, that cookbook represents much more.

There are so many memories of eating there, I had almost forgotten them. But tonight, they came flooding back like a long lost friend. I don't remember when I began eating there, maybe in high school, maybe before. Since they were only open for lunch, it was a special treat to go there during the school year and more often in the summertime. I had my bridesmaid's luncheon there with my sister, who was my maid of honor, my aunt Sue, who was my matron of honor, my mother, and both of my grandmothers, among other friends who were in our wedding. We had a private room and we talked and laughed and it was perfect.

I cannot count the times I have met my mother there, or my sister there, or both of them there to eat lunch. It always felt a little special to go there, but I wonder if I took it for granted that I would always be able to do that: to spend an idle hour talking and eating as if we had no place else to go and never even considering not having dessert. Rod and I also loved to go there and he always got the same thing (that I never got): Old Tavern Crepes and the Brownie with Mocha Sauce and Ice Cream. Briggs even got to go there a little while and sit in their old fashioned wooden high chairs and eat ice cream.

At some point, some of our family ( Sue, Scott, Granny, Mom, Brooke, Hudson and Briggs; I can't remember if Dad ever went? Probably not his favorite!) started going there between Christmas and New Year's as sort of an after-Christmas celebration. We went the last year they were open and the next year felt lost as we tried to think of somewhere else to go. Our perfect little place had sadly closed, and we could not believe it. And although each year since has been fun, it has not been the same.

So now, all we have are the memories of good times spent there, together, enjoying good food and each other. Memories, that I had not thought of in many years and had almost forgotten. So I just want to thank my mom for bringing them back to me, for sharing them with me and to tell you that you gave me much more than a cookbook and a sink full of dirty dishes.

Christmas Memories 2009

2009-12-31T16:58:00.027-06:00

Christmas Eve we went to church for a service and the Lord's Supper. Afterward we ate at the Macaroni Grill and hurried home to get the kids in bed. Christmas morning everyone got up at 6 to open presents (Briggs- a PSP and some Star Wars Legos and Max- a baseball machine and the tiny green "Cars" tractor he has been wanting for months) and to have a french toast breakfast that Briggs had declared was a tradition. After that we drove to Dothan. After Christmas with my parents (Briggs- a bicycle and Max a charger for a Leapster) we went to my grandmother's house where we ate dinner and the boys got even more presents (Briggs- PSP games and Max- a Mickey Mouse Train and a case and games for a Leapster). The funny thing is, Max never actually got a Leapster (well, until the day after Christmas)! Mom accidentally bought the charger instead of the Leapster! He was so funny walking around with all the accessories looking very confused. He was really fine and had fun playing with all of his cousins: riding piggy back with Jessica and Samantha and playing with Hudson and Eli. Granny's house was filled with children laughing and playing for hours. It reminded me of when we were little, playing with our cousins at her house at Christmas.

This year, Mom and Dad got a new, enormous-hang-on-the-wall-TV. Last year, their TV was having problems and the screen blinked on and off every few seconds. Well, this year the TV is great, but because we had to do some rearranging of furniture to accommodate it, the cable could not be accessed and we could only get one over-the-air HD channel. So, for the entire week if we wanted to watch TV, we were at the mercy of whatever came on ABC.

Max also got a sleeping bag and a little tent from Mom and Dad. All the boys loved playing in the tent and even sleeping in it; Briggs and Max slept in it almost every night and Briggs and Hudson slept in it together one night.

All week Rod has been in constant contact with the weather channel to plan a perfect camping trip on the Brown's 140 acres for him and Briggs. They had to keep rescheduling because of the cold temperatures until finally they settled on a warmer night, but with a chance of rain. Yesterday we watched as Rod set up the tent by the pond and chopped firewood to build a fire. Just as we had all made s'mores, it began raining and eventually put out the fire. They decided to brave the weather and camp out anyway. About midnight Rod woke up and realized his feet and head were getting wet. He would have bailed, but Briggs was warm, dry, and snoring (or as Briggs put it, "I was a log"). So he fixed the leaky places and toughed it out until morning when Briggs woke up and was completely confused as to where he was. He woke up with a funny look on his face and asked "where are we...the back yard?" After getting up and looking at the pretty sunrise over the pond, Briggs asked what was a redundant question for him, "Monet could paint this couldn't he Dad?" It was a pretty sight. They walked back to Uncle Scott and Aunt Sue's house about 7 and Rod was grateful to sleep a few extra hours in a soft, warm, dry bed.

At lunch, we met everyone at Huggin' Molly's in Abbeville for our annual family lunch. We all had a great time eating, talking, laughing, and watching the kids run around (we had a private room). After eating too many cheesy fried biscuits, French onion soup, burgers, sweet potato fries, chocolate malts, and caramel cappuccinos, we headed back to prepare for the New Year's festivities. We watched a great firework show and rang in the new year from the other side of consciousness, we were just too tired to stay awake!

CHRISTMASTIME

2009-12-17T15:40:00.024-06:00

'Tis the Season For:

Peeking

Decorating

Singing

Giving

More Decorating

Goofing

Acting

Wishing

Scoring

Tricycling

Smiling

Hoping

Snuggling

Remembering

Baking

Celebrating!

Max the Donkey Blaster

2009-12-06T22:05:00.008-06:00

I'm not sure where this exactly started from, but lately Max been fascinated with the ton of imaginary donkeys that apparently live in our house and throughout the community. It seems like no matter where we go there's always some crazed donkey in need of blasting by imaginary blasters that pop up out of Max's forearms on command. At least a few times a day he's disintegrating donkeys to smithereens and saying "I keeled that donkey!" and then he proceeds to tell us that he saved mom, or me, or some oblivious pedestrian who didn't even see the dubious donkeys on their march of impending doom. I'm not sure what their motives are exactly, but Max obviously knows that their scheming hearts are downright nefarious in nature. Thankfully, we can all rest a little easier at night knowing that Max the donkey blasting machine is on the job, whether you know there are evil donkeys out there or not...

Thankful Hearts

2009-11-30T10:25:00.010-06:00

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving this year with our family. A couple of weeks ago, we made a "Thankful Tree" to help us be more intentional about being thankful for God's blessings. I got the idea from a family that I am helping with an adoption. They have five children ages five and under ( plus one more soon from Uganda!) and every night they asked each of their children what they were thankful for and they put it on the tree. It was so fun to see what the boys would say; I think I am going to leave it up until Christmas so it will help us stay in a thankful frame of mind! Some highlights from the Thankful Tree are:

Briggs- family, God, school, food, cousins

Max- cookies (his #1), toys, leaves, colors, trees, mommy, daddy, and Briggs

We went to Dothan for Thanksgiving, as always. I helped mom cook more than usual since she has very little use of her thumb right now, due to the parade mishap. We had Thanksgiving at Brooke and Tim's house and it was so much fun. Everyone ate too much turkey, dressing, rice, peas and butter beans, yeast rolls, and casseroles (chicken, sweet potato, vegetable, and broccoli) plus pecan, chocolate, and pumpkin pie! My cousins Blake and his wife Megan came with their three girls and my other cousin, Clint, came later with his wife Angie and their two girls, which made 9 children ages 7 and under running around everywhere!

Friday, we went to Uncle Scott and Aunt Sue's house to watch the Iron Bowl, where there were more Auburn fans than Alabama, but it all worked out in the end! After the game, everyone ate chili and turkey sandwiches and then we went on a hayride! I hope it will be the first annual Brown's Crossroads hayride because it was so much fun and I think we should do it every year! It was the longest hayride ever on the trails through the woods on Uncle Scott's land. There were lots of tree branches to duck under (one large one that broke off as we pulled out that nearly killed us all if Rod had not saved the day! haha) The boys howled at the moon like wolves and recited lines from their favorite movies. At one point Max (for unknown reasons) yelled, "we're all gonna die." It must also be from a movie but it was so funny coming from him. I have no idea what the little girls were doing in the back, because all I could hear were the loud boys around me. I think everyone enjoyed the hayride and were grateful to Uncle Scott and Clint ( and Blake for the idea) for taking us.

That night, Hudson and Eli spent the night with us at Granny and Papa's house and all the boys slept on the floor in their bedroom, except for Max who got in the bed with them as soon as the lights were out.

Saturday, Rod and Brooke took all the boys to the movies to see Astro Boy and then the boys played at Brooke and Tim's house until supper and bedtime.

Sunday we got to go to church and eat lunch with everyone before it was time to go home. It was a great weekend.

As I look back over Thanksgiving, here are some things I am thankful for:

That everyone is healthy

That all of the family was together at Thanksgiving

The fun, late night talks that my sister and I have every time we go home

The relationships that I have with each of my family members

That Alabama beat Auburn (just kidding)

That Rod, my parents, my sister and her husband and my extended family are all Christ followers

That God is sovereign over all.

It truly was a happy Thanksgiving!

A Cosmic Birthday

2009-11-23T21:40:00.007-06:00

What a difference a year and some better planning make for a birthday party. Last year at this time we were all freezing our tails off at a park with some unseasonsably cold rain, wind, and near freezing temperatures. This year we decided to go indoors and what a great decision that was. Briggs chose to go to the bowling alley and it was really one of the best parties ever. He had six kids from his class come, his cousin Brayden, as well as some of the siblings. The bowling alley was setup all "Cosmic" style and the kids loved it. The alley prepared the food and drinks and took care of pretty much everything. Leslie the super-mom made a bowling ball and pin shaped cake into the wee hours of the morning because we had some oven issues that delayed her a bit. She did all this despite me telling her to just go buy a plastic pin to go along with the cake ball. At midnight she insisted that she press on and that I apparently don't "get it". Big cake turn out great as far as me neanderthal brain know.

The only difficulty was holding Max back from trying to tote around a 10 pound bowling ball with a broken collar bone whilst insisting "I...do it...my-self!".

Several parents commented on what a great host our little seven year old was. Completely unsolicited, Briggs, the future politician, spent a large portion of the party going around making sure everyone was having fun and telling everyone thank you. Happy Birthday Briggs, what a fine young man you are growing up to be, too quickly I might add :-(

Everyone Needs A Redeemer, Even on Their Birthday

2009-11-21T09:24:00.005-06:00

I (Leslie) had intentions of writing about Briggs turning 7 with words describing how sweet, loving, and wonderful our first-born son is. And he is all of those things that I wanted to say. But after a very long day on the day marking his birth, I was also reminded that he is a sinner in need of a Savior.

When I picked him up from school Thursday, he was so excited about the treats I had brought him for his special "Birthday in a Bag" snack to school. I had filled it with a Spider man cupcake, a balloon on a stick, and some animal bracelets. He was so excited, until Max asked to look at the green ones. He refused to share and then started begging me to make Max take a nap when we got home because he wanted to "relax and watch TV alone." I informed him that if he wanted to be alone he was welcome to go in his room and close the door, since that is his space, but that I would not forbid Max to go in the playroom. Of course, he did not want to do that because there is no TV in his room. Briggs kept on complaining until Max got very upset and started crying, "Briggs is not my brother anymore." His little feelings were so hurt that I think he meant, "Briggs does not want to be my brother because he is being so mean to me." I told Briggs that he was hurting Max's feelings and that all day Max asks when we can go get him from school because he misses him during the day. Briggs continued on saying that it was his birthday, not ours, and he wanted to watch TV alone. So when we got home, I gave him one more chance to be kind, give Max a chance to play with him nicely, and share. Briggs refused and even became more determined to get his way. So, I gave him what he asked for (sort of). I sent him to his room to be alone. For nearly an hour, I would not let him come out of his room. He cried, he screamed, he stomped on the floor. He was so upset, I thought he was going to give himself an asthma attack. As much as I wanted to go in and make him calm down, I refrained. Finally, I knew his stubborn will was broken and I went in to see if he was ready to be with the rest of the family. He was very contrite and repentant. We talked about how God created us to live together in families and we have to share our space. I told him that it is okay to want to be alone sometimes, but that it is not okay to hurt others in the process. We talked about sinful hearts and forgiveness. We talked about our Redeemer who loves us through our rebellion and brings us back into fellowship with Himself through our repentance.

But, for the rest of the day, I dwelled on the fact that I was so disappointed that his birthday had turned out so badly. I just wanted him to have a good day, without any problems or concerns. And then God changed my perspective. He reminded me that, this very day, I had said that my goals for my son are not for him to be happy and successful with an easy life free from difficulty. My goals for him are for him to love and follow Christ with his whole being and to glorify Him with his life. This "bad day" was in fact an opportunity to point him to the cross. To help him understand his sinfulness and his need for redemption, for forgiveness, for Jesus. Although I do this frequently in disciplining him, for some reason this time was different for me. I have to admit, usually when I discipline him, I am angry. I know you are not supposed to let your emotions take over and never "spank" out of anger, but honestly, I am nearly always angry when I have to discipline him. It is something that I have struggled with for a while ("why else would I want to spank him unless I was mad at him?" was my honest feeling.) I feel like the worst social worker in the world! I could tell other people what to do, but when it came to my own child, I struggled to do it. I needed a Savior too.

That day, God changed my heart and genuinely gave me a different perspective. I was not angry with Briggs. My heart grieved for him. I even cried because of the sadness I felt for the way he was acting. But I also saw it as a "good thing"- an opportunity that I was given to disciple my son. Although I knew that this is what disciplining should be, after all, they are basically the same word, I finally really "got it." It was not about punishment, as it has been many times in the past, but rather about teaching. Discipling. Sharing Christ. I am so glad that God forgave me for so many times of disciplining the wrong way and for teaching me His way.

We are all just sinners in need of a Savior. I don't want to miss His grace, or for my children to either.

"But God disciplines us for our good, that we may share in His holiness. No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it." Heb. 12:10b-11

Halloween, The Peanut Festival, and Broken Collarbones 2009

2009-11-18T18:35:00.004-06:00

Wow where does the time go!? I've been on the road a lot (for me anyway) lately and it seems life is going by entirely too fast. I do my best to slow it down, but despite my efforts this year is flying by. I'll throw a lot into this post just to document recent months. I am very much looking forward to a little holiday break this year.

Let's see...we finished fall baseball with Briggs. It was a lot of fun b/c they play pretty much normal baseball and it's a little more laid back in the fall. Briggs did fine as always. Max during each practice would take the tee into the batting cage, hit a ball, tell you to tell him to "Run Max! Run!", he would proceed to mock run bases, go get the ball, and the do it all over again. Good times. We're skipping basketball this season to try to slow things down a little bit and spend some quality family time together before spring ball picks back up.

For Halloween we decided to go to a neighborhood not far from here with a lot more houses than ours. Briggs wore his Obi Wan Kenobi costume and Max was a frog (hand-me-down from Briggs that Max wanted to wear). The boys had a good time going from house to house and seeing the other kids in their costumes. They racked up on candy but the only one that ended up eating any of it was Leslie, the rest eventually was thrown away. I guess they inherited my non-sweet tooth...

We were excited to finally get to go back to the Peanut Festival this year after being home-bound last year with Briggs being sick. Unfortunately however things didn't go exactly the way we planned. On the morning of the parade we were walking toward our seats (myself, Briggs, Leslie, Max, and Grannie). We had to park a couple of blocks away and took a shortcut across some rail-road tracks to get to the next street over. I thought that would be the "dangerous" part of the trek, little did I know that the next street over actually had it in for us. While walking down the street, Grannie was walking and holding Max's hand, at some point she tripped, fell, and took Max down with her. Long story short, she's going to need some surgery on her thumb area after the swelling goes down and Max has a broken left collarbone. He's been a real trooper through all of this though. The first day he was understandably pretty pitiful just wanting to be held all day, but by the next morning once he realized he could still get around without too much pain, we couldn't slow him down. The good news is that it'll heal up just fine in a few weeks and all he has to do is wear a sling (easier said than done) and stay out of the trampoline. Briggs was able to enjoy the whole parade and got to go to the fair to ride rides with his cousins Jessica, Samantha, Hudson, and Eli; they had a blast. I really hate Max had to miss it but he'll be plenty big next year to enjoy pretty much everything that he would have had to skip this year. Sue and Samantha (along with some graciousness of the carnie after hearing of Max's untimely disability) won Max a monkey that he has loved playing with.

Last couple of notes. Briggs has started wanted to take showers instead of baths lately. The other night he told me "Dad, I can do it all by myself, you just go sit down and relax." NICE. Max and Briggs have been playing great together and yet also getting on each others nerves a lot lately too, a sign of things to come I'm sure. Tonight they were playing some pretend rocket type scenario and when it was time to "go to bed", Briggs laid Max down on the couch, then told him it was time to read him his Bible verse, and then proceeded to read him all of Psalm 79 which he had randomly selected. I'm proud and yet am at the same time hoping Max doesn't have nightmares from it :-).

Parenting Day

2009-10-22T17:27:00.006-05:00

Today was Parenting Day at Briggs' school. Parents were invited to come and make a time capsule with their children. We had to bring a picture of us when we were in the first grade and write a letter to them about our experience in first grade. Briggs was so excited, his teacher said he organized the reading center for her in preparation for all of the parents coming. Briggs showed me a poster on the wall with his name as part of the four member "Skinny Pencil Club." This exclusive club is for students who have mastered their penmanship enough to write with skinny pencils! So far there are only three other students in "the club" and apparently it is a big deal because at least two other boys came up to me to make sure I knew Briggs had made it in the club. First graders are so cute!

Allergy Tests & Donkeys

2009-10-14T08:39:00.010-05:00

Last week we took Briggs to the allergy doctor to get a second opinion on the treatment of his asthma. Last Christmas, Briggs got sick, which turned into walking pneumonia. The cough never seemed to go away. It was worse in the spring and he been really bad this fall. When Briggs got the flu and then bronchitis a few weeks ago, he got an inhaler to take to school with him. We had been doing two different medicines in the nebulizer in the mornings, the inhaler at school, and sometimes another breathing treatment at night. Then, for the last two weeks he had been coughing a lot and the breathing treatments did not seem to help. So we decided to take him to a specialist. I did not really prepare him for allergy testing, since I was bringing the results from when he was tested at age 3. Apparently, they had only done testing for a few things and this new doctor wanted to to a complete testing for environmental allergies (everything but food). So, the nurse did the first one which was interrupted with kicking and screaming. He was pretty hysterical. Another nurse came in and tried to hold him down to do the rest of them, but I could not stand it. I asked them to stop. We decided that he might do better with dad there, so we scheduled to come back that afternoon. We had already been at the office for 2 hours. So we met Rod at the bowling alley and ate Chik Fil A and let the boys bowl. Rod talked to Briggs about finishing the testing and offered to get him a new game if he let them finish. Briggs agreed, but we still had to hold him down, but at least it was his mommy and daddy holding him and not a stranger. (That almost seems wrong, but it really was better). The doctor told us that he believed Briggs would be allergic to almost everything they tested him for (called pan-allergic) because of the progression he has shown so far of going from eczema, to nasal allergies, to asthma. Boy was he right.

It was even worse than it looks. It itched terribly and I had to fan him for twenty minutes because he could not scratch it. He was allergic to everything (38 things) except for 3 things: cats and two kinds of mold. The doctor recommended allergy shots to hopefully stop the progression of his asthma getting worse. He said that it is the closest thing to a cure and that he has a 50% chance of his asthma going away. The allergy shots would go like this:

3 shots once a week for 1 year

3 shots every 2 weeks for the next year

3 shots once a month for 3 years for a total of 5 years.

Dr. Soong reports that the shots are not that bad, since they don't go in the muscle, only under the skin, but I guess we will see about that. His first ones are on Oct. 21.

And not to forget about little brother. He got to observe the whole thing. He did rather well, considering we were there for over 4 hours total. He was very loving towards Briggs and very concerned about him. While we were waiting, I read a Winnie the Pooh book to him about Eeyore being sad. I think somewhere the stress of it all got in his head and made an association with Eeyore. That night he did not want to sleep in his room because he was scared of the donkey. He even dreamed that night about "that bad donkey." Poor Max. I hope he never has to have allergy testing, there won't be enough nurses to hold him down. For now, he'll just stick with entertaining everyone with his push ups.

Happy Birthday Max: Bye Bye Terrible Two's

2009-10-07T15:43:00.015-05:00

Last Monday was Max's third birthday. He has been so excited about his birthday, he has been talking about it for several months now. So we decided to celebrate all week long with friends and family. Sunday, his cousins, Jessica and Samantha, Angie, and Aunt Sue came uphere and we went to eat at the Cheesecake Factory. Max got an ice cream Sunday and the waiters sang "Happy Birthday" to him. Then Monday morning, I(Leslie) made him a chocolate chip muffin with three candles in it and we all sang "Happy Birthday" to him. Then, he wanted us to do it again, so we re-lit the candles and sang again! At lunch, before our family had to go home, we went to P.F. Changs and got him a little dessert with a candle and sang again! Thursday, we had his party at Jumpin' Jax and he had a great time playing with his friends. Granny and Papa came up and picked Briggs up from school and were the first ones at the party. Then we loaded up on Friday and went home to have a family birthday party with Eli at Aunt Brooke's house. The funny thing about Max is that he never ate one single bite of his cake, dessert, cookie cake, or ice cream sunday! He was just happy to feel special (and get presents).

When we were at the toy store getting Max a present, Briggs did not understand why we were only getting Max one thing. Rod told him that the present would be from all of us. With tears in his eyes, Briggs said, "but he's my brother, I have to give him something too." Sooo, Briggs got Max a trailer for his "Cars" collection.

Although Max can be strong willed, mischievious, and difficult sometimes, he is also such a sweet, loving, empathetic little boy. He wants to do everything that Briggs does, from playing baseball and golf, to bowling (Max beat him this week!) to saying his Bible verse after Briggs says his. This evening Briggs was in danger of getting a spanking and Max thought that he already had gotten one, he ran into the room and started standing up for Briggs by making muslce arms and saying "don't spank my Briggs!" So I (Dad) spanked him for talking to me like that. Kidding ;-) a stern talking to took care of that.

Max has the strongest sense of smell and says, "what's that sme-ull" at least 5 seconds before anyone else smells anything. Briggs thinks it's so funny. Max loves to snuggle and always wakes up sweaty and snuggley after his nap. He is afraid of the bathroom door in his bedroom and the donkey that he thinks is after him (I'll explain later). He amazes us with his ability to use words that I didn't even know he knew! He can be shy but also a social butterfly who loves to talk to strangers and enjoys showing off his amazing push ups.

I will miss greatly these days of having my two young boys to play with, but look forward with wondered anticipation at watching them grow into young men. It is amazing to see how different and yet alike the two are. I am already so proud of both of them. I am amazed at how God, in these two wonderful and "spirited" boys, has blessed us beyond anything we could have ever dreamed of.

Happy Birthday Max! We love you so much, sweet boy!

Marvelous Light

2009-09-25T16:12:00.006-05:00

This morning began like any morning, rushing around trying to get Briggs to school on time. He is doing MUCH better and has not cried since Monday. After dropping him off this morning, Max and I were driving around a curve on the back road I use to take him to school, when I looked up and saw the most beautiful sight. The morning sun, which has been mostly absent for many days, was peeking out from behind the clouds and its rays streaked with sky more clearly than I have ever seen them. In my spirit, I immediately felt God speaking to me, showing me a glimpse of His glory. The streaks of marvelous light coming from the sun made me think about when Jesus will come again from the clouds. And there, in the car, with a movie playing in the background, I worshipped and God spoke to me so clearly and the tears started rolling. I always cry when I feel God is speaking to me and sometimes Rod will ask me if I'm ok- and I don't really know why I always cry when I feel the presence of God, but I almost always do. I guess it's hard to explain, but I get so overcome with Him; He takes my breath away.

As I looked at the sunlight, God reminded me of verse after verse of His promises and that speak of His light and how His light shines through us. He began reminding me that He is always there, even when we can't see Him, just like that beautiful sunlight is still there, even when it's hidden by the clouds and the rain. He brought to mind the book of Esther, (that I am study in a Bible study) where God is never mentioned in the entire book, but is behind the scenes, carefully orchestrating everything for their good and His glory. And He is doing the same thing in my life, actually in mine and Rod's life, and it is more evident to me than it has ever been. It's like that song (I have no idea the name or who sings it), but it says, "whatever you doing inside of me, it feels like chaos, but somehow there's peace." He made me want to run home and open my Bible and spend time with Him, not out of guilt, or so that He will be less mad with me, but because He loves me and longs for that relationship with me. Thank you for helping me finally understand that. And thank you, Jesus, for your glorious light; you are "my light and my salvation, whom (or what) shall I fear?" Psalm 27:1

"He wraps Himself in light as with a garment; He stretches out the heavens like a tent." Psalm 104:2

"I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life." John 8:12

"But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, THAT YOU MAY DECLARE THE PRAISES OF HIM WHO CALLED YOU OUT OF DARKNESS INTO HIS WONDERFUL LIGHT." I Peter 2:9

"The city (the new Jerusalem) does not need the sun or the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and the Lamb is its lamp." Revelation 21: 23

Help me to declare the praises of the One who called me out of darkness, who redeemed my soul from the pit, until the day He comes again in the clouds.

Growing Pains

2009-09-10T21:53:00.008-05:00

Last year I thought Briggs was fearless. A social butterfly. A happy-go-lucky little boy. I thought kindergarten was the best thing he had ever experienced; he loved it so much. This year, I am wondering if it was all just too good to be true.

Everything thing is just... different. He cries a little every day before school. He begs me to let him stay home. Then he begs me to come eat lunch with him. At lunch, he begs me to check him out and sheds a few more tears. Then he begs me to come really early to car line.

There is nothing he can exactly put his finger on that is wrong ...... other than he is bored, school lasts too long, and he just misses us.

I want to fix something, but I can't fix any of these things. Today my mom reminded that "he just has that homesick feeling." That brought back some memories, as I am all too familiar with that feeling. I had a terrible first grade year and I can still feel that sense of dread and that lump that wells up in your throat and that unmistakable stomachache that I felt just about every day of first grade (and for the two days I stayed at Space Camp before calling my parents to come get me!)

Today as I watched him and the other kids walk into the school, I saw a little girl trip and fall on the sidewalk. As she got up crying, her eyes frantically searched the car line to find her mother. At first her mother did not see her and my eyes filled with tears for her. Then as the cars were pulling off, her mother pulled over and got out to see about her little girl. It's amazing how moms can make some things better. But not everything I guess......

Why does growing up have to be so hard? I did not know it was just as hard for the parent as it was for the child.

And so I pray...

that God will be his friend, his comforter, his superhero. That in time He will make all things new. That He will work this out for Briggs' good. That He will show Himself faithful to even a six year old.

Castles, Naps, and Our Colorful Family

2009-08-21T10:40:00.009-05:00

Max called me in the playroom a little while ago to show me the castle he built. He was so proud and this must be one of the first things he has built entirely by himself. Both boys do a lot of "building" around here. Blocks, Legos, pieces of square cheese, etc. become spaceships, castles, and fortresses.

I had a parent/teacher orientation at Briggs' school last night and this is what I saw when I sat down at his desk:

There are so many things I could say here. Maybe Rod should just stay out of the sun for a while...the likeness is uncanny though, the tone and hair of each person is spot on...

And now, the top ten excuses Max has been giving for not wanting to take a nap:

10. He has to go potty

9. He needs to turn the light off (it's already off)

8. He's scared of the door

7. He's scared of the invisible elephant in his room

6. He just wants 10 more minutes

5. He wants to snuggle in our bed

4. He just wuvs me

3. His bed is broken (because he pulled the sheet off)

2. He has to go potty again

and my personal favorite:

1. He can't take a nap because he has boogers in his nose.

Good times...good times... :-)

The First Day of First Grade

2009-08-16T22:42:00.003-05:00

It is official! We have a first grader!! Briggs started school on Thursday. He was very excited and did not even want me to walk him in. Of course, I did, but only on the first day. He does not have any of the same kids in his class from kindergarten, but he makes friends very easily, so it did not bother him. I got to eat lunch with him on Friday and he already had three or four friends to introduce me to. Car line took over an hour the first day, it was CRAZY! He could not remember a lot of specifics about his day, except that he did NOT have a good time in P.E. because "Coach Hackett talked, and talked, and talked, and talked." They did not get to run or play because she had to talk to the new students about the rules of the gym. He likes his teacher; "she is fun." I think it is going to be a great year.

Briggs also promoted from the preschool department to the children's department at church. This, by the way, is a big deal. The children's department is awesome! They have large group time with singing, a praise band, a praise team, and kids sharing their testimonies. Then they go to their small group for Bible study. Our church uses the Children Desiring God curriculum from John Piper. This year, the first grade is studying, "Faithful to all His Promises." They will also be memorizing Psalms 119:1-80. Yes, I said 1-80!!! I am beyond excited. They stress that parents' have the primary responsibility for training their children in the faith and they assist parents with doing this. They give you a daily Bible reading guide that is a repetition of what they learned the last Sunday. I can't wait to add this to what we have been doing! We have been reading Exodus in Brigg's Bible for early readers. He is loving it. In 2nd grade,they will be studying the "ABC's of God," based on the attributes of God. They will be memorizing the rest of Psalms 119, verses 80-176. And then in 3rd grade, "In the Beginning, Jesus. A Chronological Study of Redemptive History," WOW! Their goal is for children to make Christ Lord and Savior while in the children's department and have such an understanding that they do not grow up and doubt their salvation was real. Oh, this has been my prayer. I am BEYOND excited for the support, resources, and framework that they have given us to train our children in the Faith!

And not to leave out Max,

They are also doing the Children Desiring God for preschoolers and they even have memory verses!! Twelve for the year! They are learning about creation in August and will memorize, "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth." They teach them simple truths from the Word and make sure that all are God-centered, with God being the central character of every story. For example, not "Moses' mommy put him in a basket in the river to protect him," but rather, "God told Moses' mommy to put him in a basket in the river because God had a special plan for Moses' life." It's not all about the Bible characters, it's all about God. How cool is that? Have I mentioned how excited I am? Well, I am BEYOND excited!

What a huge responsibility and challenge it is to train your children in the faith. It's a good thing God isn't asking us to do it. He's asking for us to submit to Him, ask Him to do it, and be the vessel that He uses to do it through. What a relief! I can't wait to see what GOD does. I better get to praying!

The Beach

2009-08-09T19:19:00.009-05:00

As much as we love to go to the beach, we had not been this year. So last weekend when we went home to visit, we planned on going to the beach for the day. I was so excited that Brooke, Tim, Hudson, Eli and my mom got to go with us! We had a great time just being together, eating a picnic lunch, playing in the water and on the sand, and eating at our favorite place, Captain Anderson's. At the end of the day, we tried to get a few pictures while the sun was setting.

By the end of the day, we had too much sand, too much sun, and just the right amount of fun!

"I'm Not a Kid Anymore"

2009-07-29T11:11:00.010-05:00

Yesterday I took the boys to the park and then to McDonald's for lunch. At the park, Briggs was not his normal I-can-have-fun-anywhere-self. He was bored and ready to leave after a few minutes. Afterward when I got them lunch, I made them wait because the chicken was very hot. Briggs got tired of waiting and in exasperation said, "Mom, I'm not a kid anymore!" When I flipped out and and started my "what do you mean you're not a kid anymore, you're only 6 years old" speech, he quickly retracted and explained he meant that he was not a 2 or 3 year old baby anymore. I think he was upset that he was being treated like Max, so I gave him his chicken nuggets to cool off himself.

Of course, this made me think about all of the ways he is trying to become more independent, like not wanting to hold my hand when we cross the street, getting his own glass ready at dinner, and even helping me with laundry. I know that this is a small taste of what is to come since growing up is really all about children learning to become more and more independent of their parents. How does a mother, whose job it is to nurture and protect, get ready for all this independence?

Last night when Briggs was saying his prayers, he prayed for Max to be good. Afterward, I reminded him that he is not perfect and also needs God to help him to be good and to forgive him of his sins. We talked about forgiveness, how we can never be good enough, how we deserve punishment, and how Jesus took our punishment and became our substitution on the cross. He says that he understands all of this and has already asked God to forgive him of his sins. We then talked about Jesus being the Lord of your life and how that means that He is in charge, not us.

I think Briggs is close to understanding all of this. I think because Briggs is a good kid and wants to please us, it is hard for him to see his sinfullness, whereas Max's is pretty clear! I just pray that it truly is the Holy Spirit drawing him to Himself, showing him his total depravity, and preparing Briggs to be lavished with His grace. It's the most important thing that will ever happen in his life and I am so excited to watch his love story with Christ unfold.

Carpe Diem

2009-07-25T22:43:00.011-05:00

The summer is flying by and Briggs will start first grade in less than three weeks. Some days we have been busy and some days have been boring. Yesterday was one of those boring days. In my boredom, I was reminded that I have been wasting days as if I am promised an unlimited supply. Lives are not made up of as many big events, as they are small hours. I can never get this summer back once it is gone. So I prayed that God would help me to cherish every day and motivate me to create sweet memories with my children.

So today I set out to document the entire day. Rod took the boys to do manly things, like go to the Tractor Supply Store (even though we have no tractor in need of supplies) and to borrow a chain saw from a friend to cut down some dead trees in our back yard. I, on the other hand, grabbed the camera and headed to the Mt. Laurel Farmer's Market to buy some local produce and to enjoy a few peaceful hours to myself. Mt. Laurel is one of my favorite places, right after Seaside. The houses are like a mountainous version of Grove Park (our old neighborhood) with tons of trees and just about everything you need to live there and never have to leave. There is a corner grocery, a soda fountain, a pizza place, a toy/candy store, a dry cleaners, I could go on and on. It is so beautiful and a story book place to live. Mom and I went there last Saturday, but Max did not feel well and we did not get to stay very long and browse. (Ok, that's a lovely way to put it, but not at all true. He pitched a fit as soon as we got out of the car.) So today I went back alone and met two farmers from Jones Valley Farm, a very beautiful (and very hip) farm just down the road from Mt. Laurel, who told me all about their chocolate bell peppers, lipstick peppers, San Marzano tomatoes, and fresh basil. They supply vegetables to some local chefs and inspired me to make some fresh pasta sauce with roasted red peppers and basil.

I also met a precious woman, who remembered me from last Saturday as the mother of the screaming child, who makes gourmet shortbread cookies using German molds that were belonged to her mother. I was privileged to talk with her long enough to hear her testimony and what becoming a Christ follower has cost her. My heart ached as she told me her story and I was amazed at how two strangers can connect instantly when they are sisters in Christ. The delicious and beautiful cookies have images of flowers, shepherds, angels, or even Jesus on them. Rod especially liked them and said for me to keep buying the "Jesus bread" for him.

After driving around looking at the houses for a few minutes, I headed to Bug Juice Gardens for some more plants to kill- uhh -water frequently. They have really beautiful plants and it was fun to look around without worrying about little hands causing mischief.

After a couple other stops, I headed to Edgar's Bakery for a fried green tomato BLT. It was so good, but I thought people might think I was crazy if I took a picture of it. This sign below will have to suffice. I also picked up a cupcake and a cookie for the boys and headed home.

After Max's nap, we all went outside. While Rod worked on the trees, the boys threw the frisbee to each other and played on the swingset and trampoline.

Briggs and Max decided they wanted to roast hotdogs for dinner, so after Rod finished working, he built a "campfire" to cook our hotdogs. He made four seats out of the tree stumps and we all sat around the fire, sweating.

We ate our hotdogs (except for Max who decided he just wanted a poptart) and the boys played until it was too dark to keep playing. At 9:00 the freshly bathed boys finally went to bed. Briggs and I read the last chapter of Ruth, so that he would be ready for the sermon tomorrow; and we both prayed that God would help him sit still and listen to it.

As it is now midnight, I think I can say this day was seized. Thank you Lord for such a good day. Help me to treat everyday as if it were as precious as it really is.