On Monday Lawson had to give a report on the animal of his choosing. A report. In Kindergarten. Wow. I'm amazed at what these kids do. They are so bright and have such fantastic teachers. Ok, stepping off my tangent now...
Anyway, he chose the penguin. Before the teacher was even taking requests. Ha. Guess he was adamant about getting that penguin! Ha. He and I looked up facts about penguins on the internet (most of which he already knew) printed off some pictures, made a poster and rehearsed his five facts that he was to present to his class. Each time we practiced he did awesome. He'll be quite the little public speaker! :)
Since I wasn't able to witness the actual presentation I videoed him practicing at home. He's so precise in everything he says. He cracks us all up. My friend Becky, who also works at the school, was able to see him give his presentation and said he did a fantastic job.
Below is the video clip of his practice if you want to see. Make sure your volume is turned all the way up. I'm proud of all he's done in Kindergarten--and a little worried about what the upcoming years hold! Worried I'm not smart enough to help him through 1st grade work. Kindergarten is hard enough! Haha. :) Enjoy!
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
Monday, March 8, 2010
Beautiful happy days with my beautiful family
This weekend was absolutely gorgeous! Our lives have been in constant motion for months now and we were finally all 5 home together at the same time--just us. There were other things that I could have done this weekend. Things that probably needed to get done...
But I would have missed out on things like this...
Watching my oldest and youngest enjoy the sunshine and warm breeze from a trampoline...
Hearing my youngest giggle hysterically as he felt the rush of the air from a swing...
Seeing my middle one delight in a simple picnic in our own backyard, every couple of minutes exclaiming, "Mom, isn't this the best day ever???" :)
Seeing my oldest lead his two younger brothers through a playground maze, making sure each knew their way around.
And these smiles...oh, these smiles!
They were really the sunshine of my day!
The simple things in life...
The greatest gifts I have...
they aren't wrapped up in a box...
or invested in a bank...
The greatest blessings I have were in my own backyard...
and on a public playground...
I was surrounded by God's greatest blessings...
the greatest of which are these guys!
But I would have missed out on things like this...
Watching my oldest and youngest enjoy the sunshine and warm breeze from a trampoline...
Hearing my youngest giggle hysterically as he felt the rush of the air from a swing...
Seeing my middle one delight in a simple picnic in our own backyard, every couple of minutes exclaiming, "Mom, isn't this the best day ever???" :)
Seeing my oldest lead his two younger brothers through a playground maze, making sure each knew their way around.
And these smiles...oh, these smiles!
They were really the sunshine of my day!
The simple things in life...
The greatest gifts I have...
they aren't wrapped up in a box...
or invested in a bank...
The greatest blessings I have were in my own backyard...
and on a public playground...
I was surrounded by God's greatest blessings...
the greatest of which are these guys!
Thursday, March 4, 2010
They're HERE!!!!
Look what came in the mail Tuesday!! Books! Lots and lots of books!! :)
Lawson has been participating in the AR (Accelerated Reader) Program for a few weeks now. A small victory for him since he really does not enjoy reading. I wish he liked to read more; but then again, I never was much of a reader when I was his age either so I guess he gets it honest.
Recently we were looking through our many, many shelves of children's books and noticed that while we had lots of books a lot of them weren't on the AR list where he could take the test and get points for reading them. I realize that I can take him to the Library and check out many of the books that are on the list but I really felt like our personal library should at least have a decent collection of books that are acceptable.
I found on Amazon (who DOESN'T love Amazon??) the 4 for 3 books, meaning buy three get the fourth free, and went shopping! Now I'll have to put a little disclaimer right here. When I was little I LOVED all of the Amelia Bedelia books. I can remember my grandaddy reading lots of books to me but among the most vivid and beloved books were the books about Amelia Bedelia. She was just so funny! Those are on the AR list so I ordered several--for Lawson, of course--and maybe a little for me, too. :) I just think (hope) my kids will love them like I did/do. I ordered several other books that I'm hoping they will like.
As soon as I opened the box and saw all the books it just made my heart smile. I immediately envisioned all of us curled up on my bed, Rhett in my lap, Lawson and Jagger on each side, all decked out in PJs snuggled under a blanket while letting the story come alive. I could hear their little giggles with the turning of every page. But you know what? It wasn't like what I had envisioned. It was BETTER--complete with giggles and lots and lots of snuggling. :)
As soon as I opened the box and saw all the books it just made my heart smile. I immediately envisioned all of us curled up on my bed, Rhett in my lap, Lawson and Jagger on each side, all decked out in PJs snuggled under a blanket while letting the story come alive. I could hear their little giggles with the turning of every page. But you know what? It wasn't like what I had envisioned. It was BETTER--complete with giggles and lots and lots of snuggling. :)
Mission: Complete
Well, we got the wigs done. I'm not sure if they look more like "Things 1 & 2" wigs or Marge Simpson wigs, but, never-the-less, they are done. :) I think they turned out cute--to have been home-made, anyway. This picture was taken before the wigs were completely done. After the pic we ended up taking some of the fill off the top. I think I was making adult sized wigs, forgetting I should be making them for grade-schoolers. Ha. They were a little big on the kids so we decided to size them down a bit.
My friend Becky is fashioning the rest of the outfit and I just can't wait to see how the boys look in them. I think they are just going to be the cutest. :) Hopefully I'll have pics of the finished outfit soon.
In the mean-time, I'm headed to Memphis for a date with some fine ladies and George Strait/Reba McIntyre. Pray these ladies all behave themselves! ;) Ha!
Wednesday, March 3, 2010
Todays Mission:
To complete a "Thing 1" and "Thing 2" wig--well, four of them actually. Friday is "dress up as your favorite Dr. Seuss character" day. So, Lawson and his buddy Carter decided to dress up as "Thing 1 and Thing 2". Well, actually, us moms decided that for them. :) Carter's older sister and one of her friends are also dressing as "Things 1 & 2" so we are helping them out as well.
Mom and I thought we could fashion a wig for them to wear fairly easily. So, with the task set in front of us, materials gathered and prayers that I can access that one, semi-creative gene that only surfaces occasionally...wish me luck!
Although, I'm discovering that actually making the wig may turn out to be the easy part. Before we have even began my two younger boys connected on the "skull caps" that we bought for the hair piece. Getting those away from them may prove to be much tougher than the actual construction! :)
Now tell me...have you ever seen cuter little thugs than these??? First time I have ever said that! :)
Mom and I thought we could fashion a wig for them to wear fairly easily. So, with the task set in front of us, materials gathered and prayers that I can access that one, semi-creative gene that only surfaces occasionally...wish me luck!
Although, I'm discovering that actually making the wig may turn out to be the easy part. Before we have even began my two younger boys connected on the "skull caps" that we bought for the hair piece. Getting those away from them may prove to be much tougher than the actual construction! :)
Now tell me...have you ever seen cuter little thugs than these??? First time I have ever said that! :)
Monday, March 1, 2010
Heavy heart
Today I have a heavy heart. One of the ladies I follow on Twitter sent a message requesting prayers for a sweet 2 year old baby girl. She's in the final stages of cancer and her story is heart-wrenching. I can barely read through tears. One of the posts by her mom to her blog reads:
"Towards the end of a pregnancy, a mother will wake up to go to the bathroom every few hours. I think this is the body’s way of preparing you for a newborn and the sleepless nights that come along with it. Layla now spends most of her days sleeping. 30-45 minutes after she wakes up, she is ready to lay down and sleep again. Is this God’s way of preparing me for all the quiet time that is coming soon? The house is quiet. I am able to go through the motions of laundry, dishes, cooking and picking up without interruptions. But I WANT interruptions. I WANT Layla to be under my feet asking for cookies. I WANT to hear her playing with her toys. I WANT to take 45 minutes to unload the dishwasher because she keeps trying to help. For every time I uttered the words “I just can’t get anything done with these kids under my feet all day” I am eternally regretful. The days that I looked forward to naptime so I could get a grocery list made, or finally fold all the piles of laundry…I regret those days too. If I could do it all again, I’d enjoy EVERY SINGLE WAKING MOMENT I had with her. I would never wish for her to sit still or take a nap or go to bed early. I would never look forward to the days when she could sit through an entire episode of Dora silently. I would treasure every second with her."
Hit me smack in the face. Especially after the night and morning we had. Just last night I was frustrated because my 18 mo. old decided he didn't want to sleep in his crib. He decided cuddling next to mama hit the spot and was a softer place to rest his head. Just this morning I was frustrated because he was underneath my feet grabbing for the tooth-brush, attempting to dunk it in the toilet, pulling the hair-dryer down on top of him, reaching for me arms wide open, grunting for me to hold him--all the while I'm trying to get the two older boys dressed for school, my hair dried, breakfast to everyone, lunches made and out the door to deliver snacks to Kindergartners and on to work on time. It was a crazy, hectic morning. I'm ashamed after reading about sweet Layla and what her parents must be feeling to have been selfishly frustrated with my healthy family. I'm ashamed that I take all those little things for granted.
The truth is if something happened to me or (God forbid) one of my precious kiddos I don't want to look back with regrets. I want to have soaked up every carefree, deliriously happy moment as well as the "not-so-great" moments. Because they are moments. Frustration fades. If we haven't made all the memories we can, won't those fade, too? That's why I want so many memories that it will take decades, or better yet, a lifetime for those memories to fade. I want to pour myself in to my kids and feel the completeness that we bring to each others' lives.
I don't mean to be a Debbie Downer. I'm just so, so sad for the family mentioned above. I can't imagine the horrific ordeal they are facing. Please pray for peace for this family and that they'll feel God's love and comfort during this impossible time.
So, in hopes of ending a sad post on a good note, please enjoy some pics I snapped this weekend of my fabulous, precious kiddos. Just a typical Saturday morning, hanging out, doing what we like to do--absolutely nothing. :) Hug your babies tight tonight and say a prayer of thanks!
"Towards the end of a pregnancy, a mother will wake up to go to the bathroom every few hours. I think this is the body’s way of preparing you for a newborn and the sleepless nights that come along with it. Layla now spends most of her days sleeping. 30-45 minutes after she wakes up, she is ready to lay down and sleep again. Is this God’s way of preparing me for all the quiet time that is coming soon? The house is quiet. I am able to go through the motions of laundry, dishes, cooking and picking up without interruptions. But I WANT interruptions. I WANT Layla to be under my feet asking for cookies. I WANT to hear her playing with her toys. I WANT to take 45 minutes to unload the dishwasher because she keeps trying to help. For every time I uttered the words “I just can’t get anything done with these kids under my feet all day” I am eternally regretful. The days that I looked forward to naptime so I could get a grocery list made, or finally fold all the piles of laundry…I regret those days too. If I could do it all again, I’d enjoy EVERY SINGLE WAKING MOMENT I had with her. I would never wish for her to sit still or take a nap or go to bed early. I would never look forward to the days when she could sit through an entire episode of Dora silently. I would treasure every second with her."
Hit me smack in the face. Especially after the night and morning we had. Just last night I was frustrated because my 18 mo. old decided he didn't want to sleep in his crib. He decided cuddling next to mama hit the spot and was a softer place to rest his head. Just this morning I was frustrated because he was underneath my feet grabbing for the tooth-brush, attempting to dunk it in the toilet, pulling the hair-dryer down on top of him, reaching for me arms wide open, grunting for me to hold him--all the while I'm trying to get the two older boys dressed for school, my hair dried, breakfast to everyone, lunches made and out the door to deliver snacks to Kindergartners and on to work on time. It was a crazy, hectic morning. I'm ashamed after reading about sweet Layla and what her parents must be feeling to have been selfishly frustrated with my healthy family. I'm ashamed that I take all those little things for granted.
The truth is if something happened to me or (God forbid) one of my precious kiddos I don't want to look back with regrets. I want to have soaked up every carefree, deliriously happy moment as well as the "not-so-great" moments. Because they are moments. Frustration fades. If we haven't made all the memories we can, won't those fade, too? That's why I want so many memories that it will take decades, or better yet, a lifetime for those memories to fade. I want to pour myself in to my kids and feel the completeness that we bring to each others' lives.
I don't mean to be a Debbie Downer. I'm just so, so sad for the family mentioned above. I can't imagine the horrific ordeal they are facing. Please pray for peace for this family and that they'll feel God's love and comfort during this impossible time.
So, in hopes of ending a sad post on a good note, please enjoy some pics I snapped this weekend of my fabulous, precious kiddos. Just a typical Saturday morning, hanging out, doing what we like to do--absolutely nothing. :) Hug your babies tight tonight and say a prayer of thanks!
Thursday, February 18, 2010
Great quote
I see this quote regularly in the hallway of the dorm and I like it every time I read it. I think it's so good and just thought I'd share today.
"To be a Christian without prayer is no more possible than to be alive without breathing"
-MLK Jr.
Just sit and think and chew on this for a few minutes. Let it sink in. Very true. Are we claiming to be Christians without ever having conversations with God?
"To be a Christian without prayer is no more possible than to be alive without breathing"
-MLK Jr.
Just sit and think and chew on this for a few minutes. Let it sink in. Very true. Are we claiming to be Christians without ever having conversations with God?
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