not forever; just of 2010.
the kids and i made a last minute trip down to houston monday night, and then on to galveston the next day. a sweet family at our church had 4 tickets to moody gardens that included every attraction at the place, but they had to be used by january 1st.
monday evening we drove down, went to bed, then drove to galveston (about an hour and change...when i drive) the next morning. it was a great day! we went to the aquarium, the discovery museum, a 4D movie, went to lunch at the rainforest cafe, and stayed into the evening for the festival of lights.
as always on a frans outing (especially when allen is not accompanying us; he had to stay and work) there were a few memorable events to brighten the day....
our tickets included a 3D film of our choice (there were several showing), and a ride on the colonel (one of those old timey paddle wheel boats). however, the boat ride was only offered twice that day and we had missed the first one. the second one fell at the same time as the film colby had picked to see which only showed one time that day. the solution; i took molly on the boat an mimi took colby to the film. we got on the boat and there was a concession stand inside. i thought i would be a fabulous mommy and get molly a 'treat'. she wanted orange juice. i got up to the counter and saw a sign that said 'irish coffee'. well, that sounded delicious! it was chilly and i love coffee. and ireland. what i didnt know, because i dont drink and because i'm an idiot, is that what makes the coffee irish, is the liquor. i thought 'irish' just meant it had mint in it or something. imagine my surprise when i took my first drink, and it was a drink; i'm not a sipper. holy nightmare, batman! it was strong! or maybe it wasnt, but it was strong to me because i'm not used to it, and i wasnt expecting it. so then i was faced with a dilemma. what do i do with it?
i was telling allen about it on the phone later that evening....
me: so, i had an adult beverage this afternoon.
allen: WHAT?!?
me: i didnt mean to!
allen: how do you accidentally drink something?
me: (proceed to tell him what happened)
allen: so you drank it?
me: like half of it.
allen: WHAT?!?
me: well, i didnt want to waste it. it cost me six bucks!
allen: you got buzzed!
me: i did not!
allen: you did. and now you're driving drunk around galveston with our kids in the car. you're putting our children in danger.
i assure you he was only giving me a hard time, and i also assure you i was not driving 'buzzed'.
but, hey, lesson learned. irish coffee is not minty.
after we got off the boat we met mimi and colby at the playscape and let the kids play for a little bit. molly got caught up in doing something and (as always must happen when i'm traveling with the kids sans allen) she peed all over herself. i mean all. over. herself. the good thing is she was standing in the dirt...make that mud, so there wasnt really anything for me to clean up other than her of course, and we passed a target just a couple miles outside the park. we were quite a ways from the car, so she had to waddle for a while. we got to the car and i stripped her down to just her shirt. skirt,leggings, socks, shoes and of course underwear all came off. she rode to target like that, and i was able (thankfully!!) to leave her in the car with colby and mimi while i ran in and bought her new stuff to wear.
never a dull moment.
a few days ago she was singing frosty the snowman, and she asked
molly: mommy, when is it going to snow here?
me: i dont know, mo. it doesnt really snow here where we live. well, sometimes it snows in febuary.
molly: can we go to febuary, then?
me: febuary isnt a place, love. its a month.
molly: but i want to go there!
me: ok. we'll go in about 6 weeks.
molly: ok.
problem solved. now i just have to pray for some snow in febuary, or at least a good ice storm.
i'm looking forward to new years eve as always. this will be our seventh year in a row to spend in with our best friends the lamberts and the barners. we go to dinner and then go to someones house (this year its ours) and play games till midnight when we toast the new year and go home! there will be lots off desserts and coffee to be had by all, and i can promise you it wont be irish!
happy new year!!!
Thursday, December 30, 2010
Wednesday, December 15, 2010
ugh
seriously.
6 weeks?
thats about how long its been since i blogged. i'm a disgrace to consistent bloggers everywhere. i'm no longer fit to call myself a blogger. i have a blog. i dont update it anymore. i dont want to get rid of it in case something hilarious happens, or one of my kids does something ridiculously brilliant that i must document immediately.
i've actually have had moments of 'i need to blog about that' over the last few weeks, but as you can see, i didnt. and now i cant remember what any of thse moments were.
thats what i get i suppose. serves me right. maybe i'll be better in 2011......
i dont know that i even have enough entries on here to do a book this year. i think my grand total is 34 counting this one. i might get one more in before the year is over, making it a nice round 35. thats almost three entries a month, though. not too bad, really, when you look at it that way. maybe i will do a book. it will just be a very very small one.
allen wants me to do the picture-a-day thing again. i definitely blogged more when i was taking a picture a day and posting them each week, but at the time i felt like that was keeping me from blogging on a more regular basis. now it seems the opposite is true.
i hope this season is bringing you joy and lots of time with family and friends. we've been so, so busy; busier than i ever remember being before with just life stuff. i mean, i was doing ANNIE last year through the christmas season, and that was a bit crazy, but this year its just been different parties, and get togethers, and drs appointments, and event after event. all fun though, well except the drs appts.
colby is having his adnoids and tonsils out next wednesday. i week from today. 3 days before christmas. the thought i that the excitement of the big day and he gifts and whatnot will distract him from the pain. that, of course, remains to be seen. i hope i'm right. his adnoids are causing an 80% blockage in his nasal passage. no wonder the kid cant breathe!! as weird as it sounds, i'm looking forward to this surgery. i want my little boy to know what its like to breathe normally! merry christmas, colby! we give you the gift of an unrestricted airway. hahaha. or should i say hohoho. :-)
i went back to africa in november, right before thanksgiving, to work with the kids and missionaries at rafiki. my dad and i went two years ago, and i wanted to go back one more time before the missionaries that we know come back home (in febuary). an old friend of mine went with me, actually, i went with her, and we got to do some great stuff with the kids over there.
one afternoon we were playing a game with the 5th graders (5th grade is their level of education, nt necessarily their age. some of them are 14 and 15 yrs old). the object was to pick a category and start a rythm, then to go around the circle saying things in that category without throwing off the beat. we had done animals, colors, and types of food (which is interesting when you have two cultures that eat completely different things). we were trying to think of another category, and one of the boys said, "madam, please, diseases!!!" melinda and i looked at each other, then back at him, and i said, "o....k...." so he started the beat...
malaria...typhoid...flu (that was me)...gonorrhea...syphillis...strep throat(melinda)...AIDS...etc, etc.
they're saying this stuff as though its no big deal, and to them it wasnt. melinda and i still laugh about it, because it was funny to hear these kids yelling the names of these diseases out loud and proud. but it was sobering to realize that that is their reality. melinda and i are thinking of stuff like the common cold and laryngitis. they're throwing out typhoid and AIDS. wow.
we did have a great time with them, though. i got to do some drama activities with them and some scrapbooking with the mamas there on the village. i was blessed to get to go back a second time.
merry christmas to all of you!! may your days be merry and bright! :-)
6 weeks?
thats about how long its been since i blogged. i'm a disgrace to consistent bloggers everywhere. i'm no longer fit to call myself a blogger. i have a blog. i dont update it anymore. i dont want to get rid of it in case something hilarious happens, or one of my kids does something ridiculously brilliant that i must document immediately.
i've actually have had moments of 'i need to blog about that' over the last few weeks, but as you can see, i didnt. and now i cant remember what any of thse moments were.
thats what i get i suppose. serves me right. maybe i'll be better in 2011......
i dont know that i even have enough entries on here to do a book this year. i think my grand total is 34 counting this one. i might get one more in before the year is over, making it a nice round 35. thats almost three entries a month, though. not too bad, really, when you look at it that way. maybe i will do a book. it will just be a very very small one.
allen wants me to do the picture-a-day thing again. i definitely blogged more when i was taking a picture a day and posting them each week, but at the time i felt like that was keeping me from blogging on a more regular basis. now it seems the opposite is true.
i hope this season is bringing you joy and lots of time with family and friends. we've been so, so busy; busier than i ever remember being before with just life stuff. i mean, i was doing ANNIE last year through the christmas season, and that was a bit crazy, but this year its just been different parties, and get togethers, and drs appointments, and event after event. all fun though, well except the drs appts.
colby is having his adnoids and tonsils out next wednesday. i week from today. 3 days before christmas. the thought i that the excitement of the big day and he gifts and whatnot will distract him from the pain. that, of course, remains to be seen. i hope i'm right. his adnoids are causing an 80% blockage in his nasal passage. no wonder the kid cant breathe!! as weird as it sounds, i'm looking forward to this surgery. i want my little boy to know what its like to breathe normally! merry christmas, colby! we give you the gift of an unrestricted airway. hahaha. or should i say hohoho. :-)
i went back to africa in november, right before thanksgiving, to work with the kids and missionaries at rafiki. my dad and i went two years ago, and i wanted to go back one more time before the missionaries that we know come back home (in febuary). an old friend of mine went with me, actually, i went with her, and we got to do some great stuff with the kids over there.
one afternoon we were playing a game with the 5th graders (5th grade is their level of education, nt necessarily their age. some of them are 14 and 15 yrs old). the object was to pick a category and start a rythm, then to go around the circle saying things in that category without throwing off the beat. we had done animals, colors, and types of food (which is interesting when you have two cultures that eat completely different things). we were trying to think of another category, and one of the boys said, "madam, please, diseases!!!" melinda and i looked at each other, then back at him, and i said, "o....k...." so he started the beat...
malaria...typhoid...flu (that was me)...gonorrhea...syphillis...strep throat(melinda)...AIDS...etc, etc.
they're saying this stuff as though its no big deal, and to them it wasnt. melinda and i still laugh about it, because it was funny to hear these kids yelling the names of these diseases out loud and proud. but it was sobering to realize that that is their reality. melinda and i are thinking of stuff like the common cold and laryngitis. they're throwing out typhoid and AIDS. wow.
we did have a great time with them, though. i got to do some drama activities with them and some scrapbooking with the mamas there on the village. i was blessed to get to go back a second time.
merry christmas to all of you!! may your days be merry and bright! :-)
Monday, November 1, 2010
bangs and marriage
colby turned 6 last week. crazy!!!
tada!!!! the newest addition to our backyard. hopefully it will get lots of use!
cinderella closed this weekend. it was SUCH fun show!! i'll definitely miss it. this is the other stepsister (sam, on the left), the stepmother (suzanne, in the middle), and myself (on the right).
the kids in their halloween costumes. i'm thinking this is the last year they'll let me coordinate their costumes, but we'll see. they really dont seem to mind. this year they were the mad hatter and alice.
molly will be 4 next monday. also crazy!!!
their party is this weekend, and we got them a playscape for their birthday. allen, my dad, and our friend brandon all got out thursday to work on it and get it built. the box said it would take 30 hours, or maybe it was 25, but it only took them half that. they finished most of it thursday, and then dad came back over friday afternoon to help allen wrap it up.
brandon is a stay at home dad, so him coming over to help meant me watching his boys; jaxon, 4, and cannon, 7 weeks.
jaxon and molly have been each others professed future spouses for several months, but when brandon came over that morning, he told me that jaxon would no longer be marrying molly because he has now decided he's going to marry his mimi. the consolation is that, in jaxons words, "cannon can have her."
so that afternoon i'm sitting on the couch and the kids are playing on the floor and i said
me: "jaxon, you're going to marry your mimi?"
jaxon: "yes."
me: "why arent you going to marry molly?"
jaxon: "i only marry big girls."
molly: "i'm a big girl!!"
jaxon: "no you're not."
molly: "yes i am! i'll be four in ten days!"
molly: "yes i am! i'll be four in ten days!"
jaxon: "you can marry colby."
colby: "no! i've already chosen who i'm going to marry."
colby: "no! i've already chosen who i'm going to marry."
molly: "i dont want to marry colby. i just love him."
and it kind of died down after that. i love listening to kids talk to each other.
mollys been pretty adamant lately about wanting to grow her hair long like mine. she cried the other day because she doesnt want bangs anymore, but she doesnt understand that they have to grow out. she kept telling me to cut them off, and she would push them all the way back off her forehead and say, "like this." we've been working thru that.
yesterday morning we were getting ready for church and she said it again
molly: "mommy, i dont want bangs anymore."
me: "ok, well, we can grow them out. its going to take some time though."
colby: "mommy, do you not have bangs?"
me: "no, my hair is all the same length."
colby: "were you not born with bang holes?"
me: "it doesnt work that way. this is where my bangs would be."
and i showed him, kind of, how it would work if i had bangs.
bang holes. awesome.
i wish i had some reason to use that term in everyday conversation.
this week we're preparing for the birthday party on saturday. mimi and papa are coming for the day thursday to celebrate with the kids, and give them their gifts. then next thursday, the 11th, i leave for africa!!
hope everyone is doing well,and enjoying the very gradually cooling weather--at least down here in texas. i know some of you are up north, and its probably already freakishly cold.
here are a few pictures form the weekend...
tada!!!! the newest addition to our backyard. hopefully it will get lots of use!cinderella closed this weekend. it was SUCH fun show!! i'll definitely miss it. this is the other stepsister (sam, on the left), the stepmother (suzanne, in the middle), and myself (on the right).the kids in their halloween costumes. i'm thinking this is the last year they'll let me coordinate their costumes, but we'll see. they really dont seem to mind. this year they were the mad hatter and alice.Wednesday, October 20, 2010
post punishment prayer
last night as we were getting the kids ready for bed, something happened and allen had to get on to molly for not following directions. she cried through him brushing her teeth, and then he handed her off to me and i took her into her room. she climbed in bed and i tucked her in, and she said
molly: "daddy punished me. thats why there weres (she mixes up was and were) tears coming down my face. and it made my heart sad."
me: "molly we love you so much and we only want whats best for you. thats why we punish you. its so you'll learn to follow directions."
molly: "do you love me?"
me: "yes i love you. do you think i love you?"
molly: "yes."
me: "do you think daddy loves you?"
molly: "no."
right about then allen came in
allen: "molly, you dont think i love you?"
molly: (shakes head, bottom lip sticking out)
she told him the same thing about her heart being sad, and he told her pretty much the same thing i told her about us punishing them because we love them, etc etc.
then colby came in and we decided we'd all say prayers together. colbys been saying his prayers at night and then whoever is putting him to bed also prays when he's done. molly hasnt wanted to pray out loud yet, not on a regular basis at least.
last night, though, allen said
allen: "molly, will you pray?"
molly: "yes."
colby: "i want to pray."
allen: "ok, colby you go after molly, and then mommy and daddy will pray."
molly: "dear Jesus, thank you for this day, and just...for this beautiful day. and please God, that daddy would respect me......."
well, i lost it. i got that giggles and they would not quit. she kept praying, but i didnt hear any more of it because i was doing a pathetic job of trying to get myself together for the rest of the prayer.
colby: "mommy, why are you crying?"
me: "i'm not crying."
colby: "are you laughing?"
allen: "keep going molly."
molly keeps praying, colbys not paying attention because hes distraced by me laughing, which i'm still doing, and allen is squeezing my finger to get me to stop, which is only making me laugh harder.
do you ever get the giggles, and for some reason you cant quit, and everything else thats happening around you only makes the situation funnier; like when you're in church?
so then colby prayed, and i pulled it together and prayed, and allen prayed, and everything ended nicely.
allen told me later that right after molly said "help daddy to respect me, " she said, "and help me to respect daddy." i of course missed that part.
shes got the right idea i suppose. as the prince says in cinderella (a show i'm all to familiar with at the moment), "everyone deserves to be treated with love and respect."
amen.
molly: "daddy punished me. thats why there weres (she mixes up was and were) tears coming down my face. and it made my heart sad."
me: "molly we love you so much and we only want whats best for you. thats why we punish you. its so you'll learn to follow directions."
molly: "do you love me?"
me: "yes i love you. do you think i love you?"
molly: "yes."
me: "do you think daddy loves you?"
molly: "no."
right about then allen came in
allen: "molly, you dont think i love you?"
molly: (shakes head, bottom lip sticking out)
she told him the same thing about her heart being sad, and he told her pretty much the same thing i told her about us punishing them because we love them, etc etc.
then colby came in and we decided we'd all say prayers together. colbys been saying his prayers at night and then whoever is putting him to bed also prays when he's done. molly hasnt wanted to pray out loud yet, not on a regular basis at least.
last night, though, allen said
allen: "molly, will you pray?"
molly: "yes."
colby: "i want to pray."
allen: "ok, colby you go after molly, and then mommy and daddy will pray."
molly: "dear Jesus, thank you for this day, and just...for this beautiful day. and please God, that daddy would respect me......."
well, i lost it. i got that giggles and they would not quit. she kept praying, but i didnt hear any more of it because i was doing a pathetic job of trying to get myself together for the rest of the prayer.
colby: "mommy, why are you crying?"
me: "i'm not crying."
colby: "are you laughing?"
allen: "keep going molly."
molly keeps praying, colbys not paying attention because hes distraced by me laughing, which i'm still doing, and allen is squeezing my finger to get me to stop, which is only making me laugh harder.
do you ever get the giggles, and for some reason you cant quit, and everything else thats happening around you only makes the situation funnier; like when you're in church?
so then colby prayed, and i pulled it together and prayed, and allen prayed, and everything ended nicely.
allen told me later that right after molly said "help daddy to respect me, " she said, "and help me to respect daddy." i of course missed that part.
shes got the right idea i suppose. as the prince says in cinderella (a show i'm all to familiar with at the moment), "everyone deserves to be treated with love and respect."
amen.
Monday, October 11, 2010
colby-isms
i've decided i need to take more road trips with the kids. thats where i get the good stuff.
we went to fredericksburg saturday, just the three of us, for a pioneer festival at a museum there in town.
first of all i thought fredericksburg was, like, an hour to an hour and fifteen minutes away. turns out its two hours. by the time i figured this out i was alread halfway there, so we just kept going.
whenweot there and i saw what it was were were going to, i worried it would be lame. there were hardly any people there and it didnt really look like there was much going on.
we had such a good time!! we were able to go inside some pioneerhomes and buildings from the 1800's and early 1900's. there was even a man in the school that had actually attned that school and was able to show us the desk he sat in and everything. pretty neat.
the kids got to churn butter, wash clothes on a washboard, watch wool being spun into yarn, make a rope, watch a blacksmith make nails (and they each got one), have their faces painted and do a craft project with seeds and beans. they had a blast!!
i told allen it was the most fun i'd had with them in a long time
i was surprised at how good it turned out to be, and we didnt have to wait in line to do anything because it wasnt crowded at all.
the kids were so well behaved and we even got a little christmas shopping done after we finished up at the exhibit.
and the drive is beautiful!!! that by itsself was worth it for me.
i accidentally left my camera at home, so i didnt get any pictures unfortunately.
as we were loading up that morning, colby and molly were messing with each other (they do that A LOT!), and i said
me: "if ya'll cant get along, we're not going today. i dont want to spend the day with you if you're going to fight and argue with each other."
colby: "we just have to get all our misbehaving out of our systems before we leave. then we'll be good."
and they were!! i dont think i had to get onto either one of them the rest of the day!
also when we were on our way there, colby blew his nose in the backseat and said
colby: "ah. my brain feels much better."
me: "your brain?"
colby: "yes. when i blow my nose, it makes some more room in my brain."
me: "oh, so if your brain gets too full, you just blow your nose."
colby: "right."
we went to fredericksburg saturday, just the three of us, for a pioneer festival at a museum there in town.
first of all i thought fredericksburg was, like, an hour to an hour and fifteen minutes away. turns out its two hours. by the time i figured this out i was alread halfway there, so we just kept going.
whenweot there and i saw what it was were were going to, i worried it would be lame. there were hardly any people there and it didnt really look like there was much going on.
we had such a good time!! we were able to go inside some pioneerhomes and buildings from the 1800's and early 1900's. there was even a man in the school that had actually attned that school and was able to show us the desk he sat in and everything. pretty neat.
the kids got to churn butter, wash clothes on a washboard, watch wool being spun into yarn, make a rope, watch a blacksmith make nails (and they each got one), have their faces painted and do a craft project with seeds and beans. they had a blast!!
i told allen it was the most fun i'd had with them in a long time
i was surprised at how good it turned out to be, and we didnt have to wait in line to do anything because it wasnt crowded at all.
the kids were so well behaved and we even got a little christmas shopping done after we finished up at the exhibit.
and the drive is beautiful!!! that by itsself was worth it for me.
i accidentally left my camera at home, so i didnt get any pictures unfortunately.
as we were loading up that morning, colby and molly were messing with each other (they do that A LOT!), and i said
me: "if ya'll cant get along, we're not going today. i dont want to spend the day with you if you're going to fight and argue with each other."
colby: "we just have to get all our misbehaving out of our systems before we leave. then we'll be good."
and they were!! i dont think i had to get onto either one of them the rest of the day!
also when we were on our way there, colby blew his nose in the backseat and said
colby: "ah. my brain feels much better."
me: "your brain?"
colby: "yes. when i blow my nose, it makes some more room in my brain."
me: "oh, so if your brain gets too full, you just blow your nose."
colby: "right."
Sunday, September 26, 2010
rewriting the bible
i dont mean that literally. thats of course completely NOT okay to do.
colby, however, has been getting a bit mixed up with his latest memory verse.
john 3:16, a good one to know.
i wrote it on the white board in the school room and we review it each day. we start with me just saying it, then he repeats after me till eventually i can just say the first word and off he goes.
we were a day or two past the "repeat after me" stage, and i prompted him,
me: "for God..."
colby:"for God so loved the world, that He gave His only forgotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life."
me: "begotten"
colby: "what?"
me: "begotten, not forgotten. begotten son."
i was of course laughing, which only encourages him to keep doing it, so we had a few days of incorrect recitation. i told him tonight at bedtime that he really needs to start saying it correctly. we'll see if he remembers that tomorrow.
cinderella opened this weekend. allen came friday night with some friends of ours, then came again today with my inlaws, nephew, and the kids.
colby waved at me from the fourth row for two hours. i dont think he quite understands that i cant ackowledge him from the stage. but they enjoyed it very much. one of my closest friends is cinderella, so it helped that they know her as well. in fact, molly wouldnt pose with me for a picture, because she was more interested in having her picture taken with katie (cinderella). sigh. she's already outgrowing me.
later this afternoon i was talking with colby
me: "thanks for coming to the show, buddy."
colby: "you're welcome, mommy."
me: "did you like it?"
colby: "yeah! it was great!"
me: "what was your favorite part?"
colby: "the part where you sing your silly song."
me: "i like that part, too."
colby: "you're actually pretty funny, mommy!!"
me: "....thanks."
i'm glad my son finds me mildy humorous.
colby, however, has been getting a bit mixed up with his latest memory verse.
john 3:16, a good one to know.
i wrote it on the white board in the school room and we review it each day. we start with me just saying it, then he repeats after me till eventually i can just say the first word and off he goes.
we were a day or two past the "repeat after me" stage, and i prompted him,
me: "for God..."
colby:"for God so loved the world, that He gave His only forgotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life."
me: "begotten"
colby: "what?"
me: "begotten, not forgotten. begotten son."
i was of course laughing, which only encourages him to keep doing it, so we had a few days of incorrect recitation. i told him tonight at bedtime that he really needs to start saying it correctly. we'll see if he remembers that tomorrow.
cinderella opened this weekend. allen came friday night with some friends of ours, then came again today with my inlaws, nephew, and the kids.
colby waved at me from the fourth row for two hours. i dont think he quite understands that i cant ackowledge him from the stage. but they enjoyed it very much. one of my closest friends is cinderella, so it helped that they know her as well. in fact, molly wouldnt pose with me for a picture, because she was more interested in having her picture taken with katie (cinderella). sigh. she's already outgrowing me.
later this afternoon i was talking with colby
me: "thanks for coming to the show, buddy."
colby: "you're welcome, mommy."
me: "did you like it?"
colby: "yeah! it was great!"
me: "what was your favorite part?"
colby: "the part where you sing your silly song."
me: "i like that part, too."
colby: "you're actually pretty funny, mommy!!"
me: "....thanks."
i'm glad my son finds me mildy humorous.
my first and favorite costume in the show
this is what i wear to the ball and for most of the show, really. the combination of cheap fabric and sweat turns my arms green. lovely.
this is the best i could get with colby after the show today.
picture with cinderella
Thursday, September 16, 2010
passing gas
we've been having a lot of "toot" issues around here lately. as in , the kids, well really its colby, are discovering that their bodies do this, and theres usually an odor that follows.
i picked him up from the church childcare the other night and the teacher said that he was sitting against the wall by himself, and he said
colby: "it smells bad over here."
teacher: "why does it smell bad?"
colby: "because i tooted."
then last week i had an off night at the theatre and allen was out of town, so i took the kids up there to watch some of the other cast rehearse for the show to see how other parts were coming along. my friend katie and i were sitting there with the kids, and we smelled this really bad fishy smell. we looked at each other at the same time...
katie: "do you smell that?"
me: "yeah, its bad."
colby: "its probably the toot i just did. excuse me."
me: "its not a toot smell, colby, but thanks for owning it."
turns out the guy behind us brought his dinner in with him and there was shrimp in it, explaining the fishy smell. ick. bad choice in close quarters for those of you who may find yourself wanting to eat shrimp in a small building with other people. just sayin.
on another note, the kids have starte their extra-curriculars, so we're officially part of the "im just the chauffer" club. colbys doing swim team. well, more like prep to be on swim team. mollys doing an hour of dance, which she loves. i'll try to get some pictures of her up at some point. colbys hard to get to at his practice, as far as getting a good picture goes, but i can probably get a few of mojo.
they're getting so big!! molly turns four in november and colby turns six next month. he's lost two teeth now, and has two more loose.
we've been talking birthday party preparations and it looks like we're going to have a ballerina and bug party. they're birthdays are a week apart and for now they're still ok doing a joint party as long as they each get their own cake. looks like we'll have plenty of leftovers. which can be good or bad depending on how you look at it--and how strong my self discipline happens to be that day.
i hope everyones doing well as we enter into fall, and finally maybe perhaps start to see some cooler temperatures.
have a great weekend!!!
i picked him up from the church childcare the other night and the teacher said that he was sitting against the wall by himself, and he said
colby: "it smells bad over here."
teacher: "why does it smell bad?"
colby: "because i tooted."
then last week i had an off night at the theatre and allen was out of town, so i took the kids up there to watch some of the other cast rehearse for the show to see how other parts were coming along. my friend katie and i were sitting there with the kids, and we smelled this really bad fishy smell. we looked at each other at the same time...
katie: "do you smell that?"
me: "yeah, its bad."
colby: "its probably the toot i just did. excuse me."
me: "its not a toot smell, colby, but thanks for owning it."
turns out the guy behind us brought his dinner in with him and there was shrimp in it, explaining the fishy smell. ick. bad choice in close quarters for those of you who may find yourself wanting to eat shrimp in a small building with other people. just sayin.
on another note, the kids have starte their extra-curriculars, so we're officially part of the "im just the chauffer" club. colbys doing swim team. well, more like prep to be on swim team. mollys doing an hour of dance, which she loves. i'll try to get some pictures of her up at some point. colbys hard to get to at his practice, as far as getting a good picture goes, but i can probably get a few of mojo.
they're getting so big!! molly turns four in november and colby turns six next month. he's lost two teeth now, and has two more loose.
we've been talking birthday party preparations and it looks like we're going to have a ballerina and bug party. they're birthdays are a week apart and for now they're still ok doing a joint party as long as they each get their own cake. looks like we'll have plenty of leftovers. which can be good or bad depending on how you look at it--and how strong my self discipline happens to be that day.
i hope everyones doing well as we enter into fall, and finally maybe perhaps start to see some cooler temperatures.
have a great weekend!!!
Monday, August 30, 2010
mollys tummy ache remedy
molly and i were laying on my bed cuddling earlier and she said
molly: "mommy, my tummy hurts."
shes been saying that a lot lately, and i selfishly didnt want her to get up, so i said
me: "maybe you should lay here and rest with me. laying down always helps my tummy feel better."
molly: "pooping helps my tummy feel better."
me: "oh. well, yeah, i guess that would do it, too."
molly: "and if its really really hurting i poop, then sleep. poop and sleep should do the trick."
so if you find yourself with a tummy ache in the future......need i say more?
molly: "mommy, my tummy hurts."
shes been saying that a lot lately, and i selfishly didnt want her to get up, so i said
me: "maybe you should lay here and rest with me. laying down always helps my tummy feel better."
molly: "pooping helps my tummy feel better."
me: "oh. well, yeah, i guess that would do it, too."
molly: "and if its really really hurting i poop, then sleep. poop and sleep should do the trick."
so if you find yourself with a tummy ache in the future......need i say more?
Sunday, August 29, 2010
making friends
first week of school!
molly started a 3-day-a-week mothers day out on wednesday at the academy at our church, and i started homeschool with colby that same day.
i love the curriculum i'm using and he's enjoying it, too, so i'm really excited about our year together!!
molly did great, too. her favorite things are playing on the playground and lunch. shes definitely allens daughter. :-)
i went saturday morning to the welcome brunch for the co-op i'll be taking colby to on fridays. he's taking three classes and i'll be helping out in a couple and teaching p.e. for the k-2nd graders. we start sept 10th.
last night when i was giving colby his bath i mentioned something about him making a lot of new friends when he starts co-op, and he said
colby: "i know how to make friends, now."
me: "you do? how?"
colby: "first, you ask them their name, which i forget to do sometimes. then, you ask them if they want to be your friend. if they say no, you just walk away, but if they say yes then you ask them if they want to play with you."
me: "what if they say yes they want to be your friend but they dont want to play with you."
colby: "well then, you ask them if they'd like to sit down and watch some t.v. with you."
me: "and what if they say no to that?"
colby: "hmm...maybe they dont want to be your friend after all."
i remember the days of running up to someone and asking "do you want to be my friend?" they usually said yes, but if i got the occasional no, i'd shrug and go try again with someone else. things were some much simpler then. i wonder what kind of reaction i'd get if i did that today. hahaha!!
molly started a 3-day-a-week mothers day out on wednesday at the academy at our church, and i started homeschool with colby that same day.
i love the curriculum i'm using and he's enjoying it, too, so i'm really excited about our year together!!
molly did great, too. her favorite things are playing on the playground and lunch. shes definitely allens daughter. :-)
i went saturday morning to the welcome brunch for the co-op i'll be taking colby to on fridays. he's taking three classes and i'll be helping out in a couple and teaching p.e. for the k-2nd graders. we start sept 10th.
last night when i was giving colby his bath i mentioned something about him making a lot of new friends when he starts co-op, and he said
colby: "i know how to make friends, now."
me: "you do? how?"
colby: "first, you ask them their name, which i forget to do sometimes. then, you ask them if they want to be your friend. if they say no, you just walk away, but if they say yes then you ask them if they want to play with you."
me: "what if they say yes they want to be your friend but they dont want to play with you."
colby: "well then, you ask them if they'd like to sit down and watch some t.v. with you."
me: "and what if they say no to that?"
colby: "hmm...maybe they dont want to be your friend after all."
i remember the days of running up to someone and asking "do you want to be my friend?" they usually said yes, but if i got the occasional no, i'd shrug and go try again with someone else. things were some much simpler then. i wonder what kind of reaction i'd get if i did that today. hahaha!!
Wednesday, August 18, 2010
a little bit of tattling
we've been dealing with tattle telling around here a lot lately. trying to explain when its necessary and when it needs to be worked out on their own. sometimes they'll come and tattle before even attempting to work it out themselves.
we've started to be able to tell when thats why the're coming to us. we can just hear it in the way they say, "moommmmyyy," or "daaadddy."
the other day colby and molly were playing in colby's room and allen and i were in the kitchen getting dinner cleaned up. colby comes in and says
colby: "daaaddddyyyyy,"
allen: "wait. are you tattling?"
colby: "no, i'm just telling you that mol...."
allen: "are you tattling?"
colby: "no."
allen: "are you sure?"
colby: "well....just a little tattling."
allen: "no, colby. you dont tattle just a little. you're either tattling or you're not. do you want just a little poison, or no poison?"
colby: "no poison. well......what kind of poison is it?"
allen: "whats the most poisonous kind?"
me: "arsenic!"
allen: "arsenic."
colby: "whats it look like?"
allen: "its clear."
sidenote: we dont know what the most poisonous kind of poison is, nor do we know what arsenic looks like.
colby: "like water! i'll have just a little."
allen: "no! you wont have just a little. it will kill you. its poison. and we dont want just a little tattling either."
and we've come full circle. i'm not sure how we got there, or that it made any sense, and we definitely got off on a rabbit trail, but i'm mildly confidant the point was made.
and thats the most we can hope for at this point in the game.
we've started to be able to tell when thats why the're coming to us. we can just hear it in the way they say, "moommmmyyy," or "daaadddy."
the other day colby and molly were playing in colby's room and allen and i were in the kitchen getting dinner cleaned up. colby comes in and says
colby: "daaaddddyyyyy,"
allen: "wait. are you tattling?"
colby: "no, i'm just telling you that mol...."
allen: "are you tattling?"
colby: "no."
allen: "are you sure?"
colby: "well....just a little tattling."
allen: "no, colby. you dont tattle just a little. you're either tattling or you're not. do you want just a little poison, or no poison?"
colby: "no poison. well......what kind of poison is it?"
allen: "whats the most poisonous kind?"
me: "arsenic!"
allen: "arsenic."
colby: "whats it look like?"
allen: "its clear."
sidenote: we dont know what the most poisonous kind of poison is, nor do we know what arsenic looks like.
colby: "like water! i'll have just a little."
allen: "no! you wont have just a little. it will kill you. its poison. and we dont want just a little tattling either."
and we've come full circle. i'm not sure how we got there, or that it made any sense, and we definitely got off on a rabbit trail, but i'm mildly confidant the point was made.
and thats the most we can hope for at this point in the game.
Sunday, August 1, 2010
bedtime prayers
tonight i was putting the kids to bed, and they wanted to say prayers together.
we sat in a circle on the floor in colbys room and held hands.
i thanked God for the day and for my kids, that He would watch over us and give us good rest tonight. i also thanked Him for a great day of church and learning about Him and His Son. i specifically said
me: "thank you that we get to go to church, because there are so many people in the world that dont get to do that like we do."
when i got done praying i opened my eyes and colby was scrunching his face up at me. he looked angry or something, and i was expecting him to say something like "i dont like praying" or something that would result in me telling him to be thankful, etc, etc.
instead this is what happened
me: "colby, whats wrong?"
colby: "you didnt pray that you're sorry those people dont have churches. you just said thank you that we have one."
colby hasn't been wanting to pray lately, like out loud on his own, so i seized the opportunity and said
me: "well, then why dont you pray for that."
colby: "ok, lets hold hands again. dear God, thank you for the bugs and sea animals and i pray that no one would step on any bugs and squish them, even by accident. and i'm sorry for the people that dont have churches. amen."
me: "why dont you pray for them to have churches?"
colby: "what?"
me: "instead of just being sorry that they cant go to church, how about you pray that they can?"
colby: "oh, ok!....and i pray for the people that dont have churches to go to that you would send workers to build them churches. amen."
me: "amen. thank you colby, that was a very good prayer!"
molly: "i want to pray!"
me: "ok, go ahead."
molly: "dear God, i hope that no princesses get squished. i hope that the fairy godmother doesnt turn cinderella into another fairy godmother, because she needs to be cinderella. i hope that colby doesnt ride on any sea animals because that would be very dangerous. and i pray that no sharks would eat us. and i hope that we can have a sea animal cage filled with lots of fish and things, but not any jellyfish cause they sting. and keep us safe. and thank you for our church, and please give workers to the people that dont have churches so the workers can build them a church. amen."
me: "thank you molly! i love it when you pray!"
its not very often that my kids pray willingly. we're still trying to help them understand that you dont have to pray a certain way, you just say whats on your heart. they always want us to let them repeat after us, or they just dont want to pray out loud at all.
this was such a sweet time, and i always get a little laugh out of what molly comes up with.
goodnight!!
we sat in a circle on the floor in colbys room and held hands.
i thanked God for the day and for my kids, that He would watch over us and give us good rest tonight. i also thanked Him for a great day of church and learning about Him and His Son. i specifically said
me: "thank you that we get to go to church, because there are so many people in the world that dont get to do that like we do."
when i got done praying i opened my eyes and colby was scrunching his face up at me. he looked angry or something, and i was expecting him to say something like "i dont like praying" or something that would result in me telling him to be thankful, etc, etc.
instead this is what happened
me: "colby, whats wrong?"
colby: "you didnt pray that you're sorry those people dont have churches. you just said thank you that we have one."
colby hasn't been wanting to pray lately, like out loud on his own, so i seized the opportunity and said
me: "well, then why dont you pray for that."
colby: "ok, lets hold hands again. dear God, thank you for the bugs and sea animals and i pray that no one would step on any bugs and squish them, even by accident. and i'm sorry for the people that dont have churches. amen."
me: "why dont you pray for them to have churches?"
colby: "what?"
me: "instead of just being sorry that they cant go to church, how about you pray that they can?"
colby: "oh, ok!....and i pray for the people that dont have churches to go to that you would send workers to build them churches. amen."
me: "amen. thank you colby, that was a very good prayer!"
molly: "i want to pray!"
me: "ok, go ahead."
molly: "dear God, i hope that no princesses get squished. i hope that the fairy godmother doesnt turn cinderella into another fairy godmother, because she needs to be cinderella. i hope that colby doesnt ride on any sea animals because that would be very dangerous. and i pray that no sharks would eat us. and i hope that we can have a sea animal cage filled with lots of fish and things, but not any jellyfish cause they sting. and keep us safe. and thank you for our church, and please give workers to the people that dont have churches so the workers can build them a church. amen."
me: "thank you molly! i love it when you pray!"
its not very often that my kids pray willingly. we're still trying to help them understand that you dont have to pray a certain way, you just say whats on your heart. they always want us to let them repeat after us, or they just dont want to pray out loud at all.
this was such a sweet time, and i always get a little laugh out of what molly comes up with.
goodnight!!
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
my boys growing up!
we've had quite a bit of excitement around here the past couple of days.
i found out monday that i got a part in Cinderella (same theatre where i've done all my other shows). i will be one of the stepsisters and one of my very best friends is cinderella. we've never done a show together, so we're so excited to get this chance!! i'm pumped about the part. when i was grace farrell in annie, well, she's just so sweet and soft spoken. i'm looking forward to being rude and obnoxious. i'm even supposed to have a loud horrible laugh with a snort at the end. pretty awesome.
even more exciting news; colby lost his first tooth on monday (monday was a big day for us)!!! the tooth fairy of course came to visit him and left him some money which he promptly deposited in his bank. he's his fathers son. i would have had that money spent before the tooth fairy had a chance to leave it!
the tooth next to the one he lost is loose, too, so it wont be long before he has a large hole right in the bottom center of his mouth. i love his new smile, but it reminds me that he's growing up. bittersweet.
we were at target the other day and he saw a baby pool and said, "mommy, baby pools are lame."
i was impressed that he used 'lame' correctly (probably thanks to the teenagers he's around at church all the time), and once again reminded that he's not a baby anymore.
he also told me that he's "pretty into rap music".
Lord, help me.
Thursday, July 8, 2010
dinner conversation
first of all, let me address the blog picture.
i changed it a few days ago to one of the kids going down an inflatable water slide. they ewre in their underwear, and one of my friends sent me a text about my blog picture being risque. i know he was kidding (love ya, buddy) because thats what he does, but i wasnt crazy about the picture anyway. it was kind of blurry and too big for the page, so i took it down. my kids just havent been very photogenic lately. i have a few of them individually, but i feel like i have to post a picture of both of them or i'm playing favorites. i have two kids, not one. is that dumb?
anyway, so i thought i would make all you ladies jealous and put this one up for now. yes thats beth moore in the middle. thats pam, my pastors wife, on the right. this was taken at the top of masada in israel.
i promise i'll work on getting an awesomely adorable and fitting picture of my kids, but in the meantime this is what you have to look at. :-)
tonight at the dinner table colby said
colby: "when i get big i want to dance like a mexican."
me: (so. many. questions.) "why do you have to wait till you get big?"
colby: "because i have to learn it."
me: "and how do they dance?"
colby: "well, i know one of their dance moves."
me: "and what is that?"
colby: "you twirl and then grab a flower in your teeth and say 'voila!'"
me: "you mean ole'?"
colby: "oh yeah. thats it. OLE'!!"
i changed it a few days ago to one of the kids going down an inflatable water slide. they ewre in their underwear, and one of my friends sent me a text about my blog picture being risque. i know he was kidding (love ya, buddy) because thats what he does, but i wasnt crazy about the picture anyway. it was kind of blurry and too big for the page, so i took it down. my kids just havent been very photogenic lately. i have a few of them individually, but i feel like i have to post a picture of both of them or i'm playing favorites. i have two kids, not one. is that dumb?
anyway, so i thought i would make all you ladies jealous and put this one up for now. yes thats beth moore in the middle. thats pam, my pastors wife, on the right. this was taken at the top of masada in israel.
i promise i'll work on getting an awesomely adorable and fitting picture of my kids, but in the meantime this is what you have to look at. :-)
tonight at the dinner table colby said
colby: "when i get big i want to dance like a mexican."
me: (so. many. questions.) "why do you have to wait till you get big?"
colby: "because i have to learn it."
me: "and how do they dance?"
colby: "well, i know one of their dance moves."
me: "and what is that?"
colby: "you twirl and then grab a flower in your teeth and say 'voila!'"
me: "you mean ole'?"
colby: "oh yeah. thats it. OLE'!!"
Tuesday, July 6, 2010
a week at camp
allen is camp director for two weeks at a camp down near corpus this year.
we usually take our youth group there, but this year we went somewhere else, so this is two extra weeks on top of youth camp and mission trip.
that being said, allen asked if the kids and i would come one of the weeks and hang out so we could still kind of be together.
the kids and i had our own room (allens was two doors down) and pretty much did our own thing most of the week. a couple of the "band wives" were there and one of them has a little boy whos four, so he's right between colby and molly. the three of them had a great time playing together. that was a blessing because it rained most of wednesday and thursday, so the kids were able to keep each other entertained indoors.
this place we were at had SO. MANY. BUGS. colby was in paradise!
i dont know if there were more this year than in years past or if i was noticing them because colby pointed them out constantly. constantly.
caterpillars (crazy looking ones!), cicadas, moths, ants, dung beetles, crickets, grasshoppers, earthworms, toads and frogs (not bugs, but still cool), bombardier beetles, click beetles, lady bugs, doodle bugs, wasps, hornets....and thats just off the top of my head. i'm sure i could think of more if i sat here long enough.
my mom (she was one of the Bible study leaders so she was there too) and colby came up with this idea of starting a bug show where colby would pick one bug each week and tell us all about it. i could film it and post it on a bug blog. he could become one of those people that gets discovered on youtube and gets his own show on discovery kids or something.
we'll see how that goes.....right now its still just an idea. we dont have very many exciting bugs here in round rock. not in our yard anyway.
on the way home (about a 3 & 1/2 hour drive) molly kept saying
molly: "mommy, are we still where we're at?"
me: "yes molly. we're still where we're at."
molly: [big sigh. full body pout.]
i loved that. it doesnt make any sense. she was basically asking if we were any closer to home. but thats the only way she knew how to phrase it.
the other day, well let me say this first...
sometimes, ok a lot of times, colby will irritate his sister. he wont necessarily start out trying to irritate her, but in the process of him playing or doing whatever it is he's doing, she'll get annoyed and do this screamy, screechy thing that absolutely unnerves me. (we're working on that by the way. the screaming.) however instead of stopping whatever it is that driving her to the potentially glass shattering noise, he keeps on and keeps on.
which makes me say something like
me: "colby! do you want to irritate your sister?
colby: "no."
me: "because thats what you're doing. do you like that noise she's making?"
colby: "no."
me: "then stop irritating her!"
...and back to where i started...the other day we're in the car and they're playing in the backseat (while securely fastened in their booster seats, mind you.) and i hear molly say
molly: "colby! do you want to irritate me? cause thats what you're doing."
except irritate was kind of jumbled, because that word is entirely too big for her three year old mouth.
that girl. i have no words.
so allens back at the camp again this week. then he's home for a week, then off to alaska for mission trip.
i have an audition in a week and a half for cinderella at the theatre. i'm looking forward to it. i think. i havent really thought about a whole lot to be honest. i should probably get on that.
thats whats been going on around these parts.
we usually take our youth group there, but this year we went somewhere else, so this is two extra weeks on top of youth camp and mission trip.
that being said, allen asked if the kids and i would come one of the weeks and hang out so we could still kind of be together.
the kids and i had our own room (allens was two doors down) and pretty much did our own thing most of the week. a couple of the "band wives" were there and one of them has a little boy whos four, so he's right between colby and molly. the three of them had a great time playing together. that was a blessing because it rained most of wednesday and thursday, so the kids were able to keep each other entertained indoors.
this place we were at had SO. MANY. BUGS. colby was in paradise!
i dont know if there were more this year than in years past or if i was noticing them because colby pointed them out constantly. constantly.
caterpillars (crazy looking ones!), cicadas, moths, ants, dung beetles, crickets, grasshoppers, earthworms, toads and frogs (not bugs, but still cool), bombardier beetles, click beetles, lady bugs, doodle bugs, wasps, hornets....and thats just off the top of my head. i'm sure i could think of more if i sat here long enough.
my mom (she was one of the Bible study leaders so she was there too) and colby came up with this idea of starting a bug show where colby would pick one bug each week and tell us all about it. i could film it and post it on a bug blog. he could become one of those people that gets discovered on youtube and gets his own show on discovery kids or something.
we'll see how that goes.....right now its still just an idea. we dont have very many exciting bugs here in round rock. not in our yard anyway.
on the way home (about a 3 & 1/2 hour drive) molly kept saying
molly: "mommy, are we still where we're at?"
me: "yes molly. we're still where we're at."
molly: [big sigh. full body pout.]
i loved that. it doesnt make any sense. she was basically asking if we were any closer to home. but thats the only way she knew how to phrase it.
the other day, well let me say this first...
sometimes, ok a lot of times, colby will irritate his sister. he wont necessarily start out trying to irritate her, but in the process of him playing or doing whatever it is he's doing, she'll get annoyed and do this screamy, screechy thing that absolutely unnerves me. (we're working on that by the way. the screaming.) however instead of stopping whatever it is that driving her to the potentially glass shattering noise, he keeps on and keeps on.
which makes me say something like
me: "colby! do you want to irritate your sister?
colby: "no."
me: "because thats what you're doing. do you like that noise she's making?"
colby: "no."
me: "then stop irritating her!"
...and back to where i started...the other day we're in the car and they're playing in the backseat (while securely fastened in their booster seats, mind you.) and i hear molly say
molly: "colby! do you want to irritate me? cause thats what you're doing."
except irritate was kind of jumbled, because that word is entirely too big for her three year old mouth.
that girl. i have no words.
so allens back at the camp again this week. then he's home for a week, then off to alaska for mission trip.
i have an audition in a week and a half for cinderella at the theatre. i'm looking forward to it. i think. i havent really thought about a whole lot to be honest. i should probably get on that.
thats whats been going on around these parts.
Wednesday, June 23, 2010
kid conversations
a friend and former youth is leaving for school in boston in a week, and today we went to a going away lunch for him.
colbys friend becca was there. i've mentioned her on here before. they were in the same mothers day out class almost 2 years ago now. they were 'boyfriend and girlfriend' at the time, but dont see each other much anymore, because shes a year older than he is, so shes in a different class at church and of course they arent in school together. so they've grown apart. yes i realize they're five (therein lies the humor), and yes i'm going somewhere.
so as i was saying, becca was there today, and she and colby found one another and picked up right where they left off. they're both like shrunk down mini adults in the way they talk to each other, and as i was sitting next to them at the table i was cracking up at their conversations.
becca: "how old is molly now, colby?"
colby: "she's three."
becca: "wow! three? and she's that big?!?"
(side note: molly is a perfectly normal sized three year old. just sayin.)
colby: "yeah, i know. and she doesnt even drink that much water."
later i heard this...
colby: "theres a wasp that injects its egg into a grub and when the egg hatches it eats the grub from the inside. i would love to see that in real life some time."
becca: "yeah. that would be pretty cool."
ah, young love.
colbys friend becca was there. i've mentioned her on here before. they were in the same mothers day out class almost 2 years ago now. they were 'boyfriend and girlfriend' at the time, but dont see each other much anymore, because shes a year older than he is, so shes in a different class at church and of course they arent in school together. so they've grown apart. yes i realize they're five (therein lies the humor), and yes i'm going somewhere.
so as i was saying, becca was there today, and she and colby found one another and picked up right where they left off. they're both like shrunk down mini adults in the way they talk to each other, and as i was sitting next to them at the table i was cracking up at their conversations.
becca: "how old is molly now, colby?"
colby: "she's three."
becca: "wow! three? and she's that big?!?"
(side note: molly is a perfectly normal sized three year old. just sayin.)
colby: "yeah, i know. and she doesnt even drink that much water."
later i heard this...
colby: "theres a wasp that injects its egg into a grub and when the egg hatches it eats the grub from the inside. i would love to see that in real life some time."
becca: "yeah. that would be pretty cool."
ah, young love.
Monday, June 21, 2010
bugs, bugs, bugs!!
i don't think i could possibly know any more about bugs than i do at this moment.
colby is freakishly obsessed with bugs. like, even more than he was with sea animals, and i thought that was pretty intense.
his room is decorated in bugs, he reads books about bugs, he watches documentaries about bugs, he looks for bugs, he talks about bugs, he shares bug facts with random strangers (the lady in the checkout line at HEB, or the cashier at the yogurt shop). i could keep going.
dont get me wrong. i think its funny, and hes truly passionate about it, but when we're eating in a restaraunt and he very loudly (because thats the only way he knows how to talk, just like his papaw) starts up about how bugs digest their prey, it can be a little much, if not for me, then for those sitting around us trying to enjoy their meal.
we were on our way to church sunday morning and he asked me
colby: "mommy, whats your favorite parasite?"
me: "uuummmm.....well. i've never really thought about it."
colby: "wanna know what mine is?"
me: "sure."
colby: "its the one that lives on the mosquito and when the mosquito bites you the parasite crawls into the wound and lives in your stomach. i cant remember what its called."
me: "wow, ok. why do you like that one?"
colby: "i just like the way it looks. its cute, like a little worm."
me: "you like the way it looks? did you see it on one of your bug shows?"
colby: "yep! on that one that you recorded for me on animal planet."
(yes, i DVR anything about bugs for him. ok, so i encourage it...a little.)
me: "well, i dont think i have a favorite parasite."
colby: "thats ok."
me: "thanks."
he's also told me that he wants to turn his room into a bug and parasite labratory. he wants to be an entomologist (study bugs) when he grows up, but he wants to work at home. Lord, help me.
on the other hand, i've been able to use his love for bugs to get him to pracitce his reading.
just today i told him
me: "colby, if you want to be a bug scientist, you have to be able to read."
colby: "but why? i dont like reading."
me: "you have to know what kind of bugs you're dealing with and you have to know how to take care of them. if you can read you wont be able to figure any of that out."
colby: "alright. lets read, then."
we also pray for the bugs at bedtime.
we thank God for the bugs (and sea animals too, still...for now), and he prays that molly will stop stepping on them and squishing them.
i may make that prayer list before too much longer. we are down to 2 hissing cockroaches. we started with 5 about a year ago. how i've managed to involuntarily kill cockroaches.....
well, maybe he wont want to keep his bug labratory here after all, once he knows i'm a bug murderer.
rest in peace, cockroaches. i'm sorry i failed you.
colby is freakishly obsessed with bugs. like, even more than he was with sea animals, and i thought that was pretty intense.
his room is decorated in bugs, he reads books about bugs, he watches documentaries about bugs, he looks for bugs, he talks about bugs, he shares bug facts with random strangers (the lady in the checkout line at HEB, or the cashier at the yogurt shop). i could keep going.
dont get me wrong. i think its funny, and hes truly passionate about it, but when we're eating in a restaraunt and he very loudly (because thats the only way he knows how to talk, just like his papaw) starts up about how bugs digest their prey, it can be a little much, if not for me, then for those sitting around us trying to enjoy their meal.
we were on our way to church sunday morning and he asked me
colby: "mommy, whats your favorite parasite?"
me: "uuummmm.....well. i've never really thought about it."
colby: "wanna know what mine is?"
me: "sure."
colby: "its the one that lives on the mosquito and when the mosquito bites you the parasite crawls into the wound and lives in your stomach. i cant remember what its called."
me: "wow, ok. why do you like that one?"
colby: "i just like the way it looks. its cute, like a little worm."
me: "you like the way it looks? did you see it on one of your bug shows?"
colby: "yep! on that one that you recorded for me on animal planet."
(yes, i DVR anything about bugs for him. ok, so i encourage it...a little.)
me: "well, i dont think i have a favorite parasite."
colby: "thats ok."
me: "thanks."
he's also told me that he wants to turn his room into a bug and parasite labratory. he wants to be an entomologist (study bugs) when he grows up, but he wants to work at home. Lord, help me.
on the other hand, i've been able to use his love for bugs to get him to pracitce his reading.
just today i told him
me: "colby, if you want to be a bug scientist, you have to be able to read."
colby: "but why? i dont like reading."
me: "you have to know what kind of bugs you're dealing with and you have to know how to take care of them. if you can read you wont be able to figure any of that out."
colby: "alright. lets read, then."
we also pray for the bugs at bedtime.
we thank God for the bugs (and sea animals too, still...for now), and he prays that molly will stop stepping on them and squishing them.
i may make that prayer list before too much longer. we are down to 2 hissing cockroaches. we started with 5 about a year ago. how i've managed to involuntarily kill cockroaches.....
well, maybe he wont want to keep his bug labratory here after all, once he knows i'm a bug murderer.
rest in peace, cockroaches. i'm sorry i failed you.
Wednesday, June 9, 2010
i'm siiiinging in the.....bathroom.
molly has this thing she does where she sings what shes doing. or while shes playing with her dolls, they dont talk to each other, they sing to each other. like opera...kind of.
she doesnt really care much for singing in general, as far as, like, actual songs. but the girl keeps a running musical dialogue between her toys. its awesome.
the other day she was using the bathroom, and asked to be left alone (implying she would be there for awhile). i went into the living room, or the kitchen or somewhere and got involved in doing something, when i hear her in the bathroom singing. LOUD.
i grabbed my camera and rushed in there to get it on tape.
excuse the slight shaking. i was trying to hold in my laugh, which has physical ramifications.
notice the 'air freshener microphone,' and the "bom, bom" at the end.
and no, i dont know what shes saying, but she means business, i do know that.
she doesnt really care much for singing in general, as far as, like, actual songs. but the girl keeps a running musical dialogue between her toys. its awesome.
the other day she was using the bathroom, and asked to be left alone (implying she would be there for awhile). i went into the living room, or the kitchen or somewhere and got involved in doing something, when i hear her in the bathroom singing. LOUD.
i grabbed my camera and rushed in there to get it on tape.
excuse the slight shaking. i was trying to hold in my laugh, which has physical ramifications.
notice the 'air freshener microphone,' and the "bom, bom" at the end.
and no, i dont know what shes saying, but she means business, i do know that.
Saturday, June 5, 2010
still there?
so it's been almost a month since i blogged and i am sooo sorry. sorry for those of you that check in to see what we've been up to and sorry for my kids in 20 years when they wonder what the heck happened from may 10th to june 5th in 2010. they probably wont care, but i like to think they might be just a little interested.
not much had been going on in the everyday lives of the frans clan. the kids had their last soccer games today. colby was not terribly into this season (no surprise to us), and molly had fun once she warmed up to it. until today, the last game, allen had to be on the field with her at all times. when the season started he had to literally carry her by her under arms around the field and kind of fling her feet at the ball hoping for some contact. she cried a lot and begged us not to make her play, but a) shes the one that wanted to play in the first place and b) we wanted her to learn that when you make a commitment, you keep it. after two or three games like that we told her she didnt have to play anymore if she didnt want to, but she would still wear her uniform and go support her teammates from the sidelines. once we told her that, it was like a little switch went off. we were no longer making her do something; she had a choice. her choice was to play, but while holding daddy's hand. every game she became a little less attached to him, and then today she didnt need him at all. she even almost scored a goal which was good enough for us to cause a small celebration from the spectator section. :-)
i doubt organized sports will be in colbys near future. it doesnt really seem to be his thing. we may try karate and next year, swim team. he loves swimming and is about to start private lessons. maybe by next summer he'll be ready to join a team. we'll give molly the option to do soccer again in the fall. her coach wants her back. i really want to look into dance for her, or gymnastics for both of them. but all that stuff costs money, so we'll see.
i returned monday from a trip to the holy land with a group of women from houston, led by beth moore. i mentioned it on here, well, about a month ago.
it was an amazing experience to say the very least. beth spoke at least once a day, and i recorded all but one of the sessions so i can listen to them again and again.
people have asked me what was my favorite part about the trip and i think the coolest and most impacting...impactful...thing is that now when i read my Bible, i can actually see the places it talks about. capernaum, sea of galilee, mount of olives, dead sea, ceasarea phillipi; i've been to all of them. pretty cool.
the kids are growing like crazy.
we finished up our first year of homeschooling a couple weeks ago, and i would call it a success. colbys reading at probably a first grade level and loves to learn about anything science-y. technically he's not even supposed to start kindergarten till this fall, but he has such an early birthday, that i started a year early. so we're head of the game. we found out that we got into a homeschool co-op here in round rock. 18 (i think) families applied and only 7 got in, so we're really excited about that. colby will be going to the co-op on fridays, where i'll be teaching K-2nd P.E., and molly will be doing preschool 3 days a week at the academy at our church.
we have a busy fall ahead of us, so we're really relaxing this summer. lots of swimming!
i will try not to be as absent anymore. i've been sitting here for two hours trying to get all my pictures uploaded to facebook, so i'm not going to upload them here right now, but i will post some soon. OR, you can friend me on FB and look at them there. amy hamontree frans.
have a blessed weekend!!!
not much had been going on in the everyday lives of the frans clan. the kids had their last soccer games today. colby was not terribly into this season (no surprise to us), and molly had fun once she warmed up to it. until today, the last game, allen had to be on the field with her at all times. when the season started he had to literally carry her by her under arms around the field and kind of fling her feet at the ball hoping for some contact. she cried a lot and begged us not to make her play, but a) shes the one that wanted to play in the first place and b) we wanted her to learn that when you make a commitment, you keep it. after two or three games like that we told her she didnt have to play anymore if she didnt want to, but she would still wear her uniform and go support her teammates from the sidelines. once we told her that, it was like a little switch went off. we were no longer making her do something; she had a choice. her choice was to play, but while holding daddy's hand. every game she became a little less attached to him, and then today she didnt need him at all. she even almost scored a goal which was good enough for us to cause a small celebration from the spectator section. :-)
i doubt organized sports will be in colbys near future. it doesnt really seem to be his thing. we may try karate and next year, swim team. he loves swimming and is about to start private lessons. maybe by next summer he'll be ready to join a team. we'll give molly the option to do soccer again in the fall. her coach wants her back. i really want to look into dance for her, or gymnastics for both of them. but all that stuff costs money, so we'll see.
i returned monday from a trip to the holy land with a group of women from houston, led by beth moore. i mentioned it on here, well, about a month ago.
it was an amazing experience to say the very least. beth spoke at least once a day, and i recorded all but one of the sessions so i can listen to them again and again.
people have asked me what was my favorite part about the trip and i think the coolest and most impacting...impactful...thing is that now when i read my Bible, i can actually see the places it talks about. capernaum, sea of galilee, mount of olives, dead sea, ceasarea phillipi; i've been to all of them. pretty cool.
the kids are growing like crazy.
we finished up our first year of homeschooling a couple weeks ago, and i would call it a success. colbys reading at probably a first grade level and loves to learn about anything science-y. technically he's not even supposed to start kindergarten till this fall, but he has such an early birthday, that i started a year early. so we're head of the game. we found out that we got into a homeschool co-op here in round rock. 18 (i think) families applied and only 7 got in, so we're really excited about that. colby will be going to the co-op on fridays, where i'll be teaching K-2nd P.E., and molly will be doing preschool 3 days a week at the academy at our church.
we have a busy fall ahead of us, so we're really relaxing this summer. lots of swimming!
i will try not to be as absent anymore. i've been sitting here for two hours trying to get all my pictures uploaded to facebook, so i'm not going to upload them here right now, but i will post some soon. OR, you can friend me on FB and look at them there. amy hamontree frans.
have a blessed weekend!!!
Monday, May 10, 2010
molly's adorable big mouth
sunday was mothers day as you all know.
a few years ago the kids started a james avery charm bracelet for me and each year on mothes day they both give me a new charm to add to it.
i love this tradition because the charms are unique to them. they dont get me what i would pick. they pick something personal. the first year wasnt exactly their choice. they each gave me a silhouette with their name engraved on it. last year colby gave me a croc (as in the shoe) because he loves wearing them, and molly gave my a turtle (i'm not sure about that one. its my favoritve animal, but i'm not sure she knew that at the time).
this year followed suit. allen took them to james avery on saturday afternoon and they each picked out the charm they thought would be the best addition to my bracelet.
molly couldnt wait to give it to me. allen told her she had to wait. tears ensued.
all day she kept asking and we kept telling her she had to wait till mothers day. she was a bit confused and asked me on several occasions
molly: "mommy, when is it your birthday??"
finally that night i was putting her to bed and i said
me: "molly you know what? tomorrow is mothers day!"
molly: "(big grin) i got you a princess tiara, but i cant tell you till tomorrow."
me: "(holding in a laugh) well, i cant wait to see what its going to be. i'm sure i'll be very surprised!"
a few years ago the kids started a james avery charm bracelet for me and each year on mothes day they both give me a new charm to add to it.
i love this tradition because the charms are unique to them. they dont get me what i would pick. they pick something personal. the first year wasnt exactly their choice. they each gave me a silhouette with their name engraved on it. last year colby gave me a croc (as in the shoe) because he loves wearing them, and molly gave my a turtle (i'm not sure about that one. its my favoritve animal, but i'm not sure she knew that at the time).
this year followed suit. allen took them to james avery on saturday afternoon and they each picked out the charm they thought would be the best addition to my bracelet.
molly couldnt wait to give it to me. allen told her she had to wait. tears ensued.
all day she kept asking and we kept telling her she had to wait till mothers day. she was a bit confused and asked me on several occasions
molly: "mommy, when is it your birthday??"
finally that night i was putting her to bed and i said
me: "molly you know what? tomorrow is mothers day!"
molly: "(big grin) i got you a princess tiara, but i cant tell you till tomorrow."
me: "(holding in a laugh) well, i cant wait to see what its going to be. i'm sure i'll be very surprised!"
Monday, April 12, 2010
even Jesus got in trouble
when we got home from church yesterday i was asking the kids what they learned in sunday school. usually they 'cant remember', but this week they were both able to tell me.
they said in unison
colby & molly: "Jesus healed the sick man."
me: "good job!"
molly: "Jesus died on the cross!"
me: "yes He did. do you know why?"
molly: "they put nails in his hands and poked him with a sword and he died."
me: "do you know why He died on the cross, though, molly?"
molly: "and then they took Him off the cross and put Him in a tomb with a big rock over the door and when He woke up He couldnt get out!! He was trapped!!!"
me: "no He wasnt trapped. God rolled the stone away so He could walk out."
molly: "and then He went home and His mom and dad swat Him."
me: "they swat Him?"
molly: "yes, becuase He was in trouble."
me: "what did He do to get in trouble?"
molly: "He ate all the food in the pantry and the refrigerator, so they swat Him on His bottom."
honestly, i didnt even know where to start. it was bedtime. i was tired.
i just said ok, and put her to bed.
i promise i will not let my daughter grow up thinking that, after He rose from the dead, Jesus got swat for eating all the food in the house.
they said in unison
colby & molly: "Jesus healed the sick man."
me: "good job!"
molly: "Jesus died on the cross!"
me: "yes He did. do you know why?"
molly: "they put nails in his hands and poked him with a sword and he died."
me: "do you know why He died on the cross, though, molly?"
molly: "and then they took Him off the cross and put Him in a tomb with a big rock over the door and when He woke up He couldnt get out!! He was trapped!!!"
me: "no He wasnt trapped. God rolled the stone away so He could walk out."
molly: "and then He went home and His mom and dad swat Him."
me: "they swat Him?"
molly: "yes, becuase He was in trouble."
me: "what did He do to get in trouble?"
molly: "He ate all the food in the pantry and the refrigerator, so they swat Him on His bottom."
honestly, i didnt even know where to start. it was bedtime. i was tired.
i just said ok, and put her to bed.
i promise i will not let my daughter grow up thinking that, after He rose from the dead, Jesus got swat for eating all the food in the house.
Sunday, April 11, 2010
vacation, all i ever wanted
a little go-go's reference for all you 80's music fans. i was humming that song to myself all week in atlanta.
so of course molly had to come up with a pose for her pictures too. what a ham.
the first thing we did when we got to atlanta--lunch at johnny rockets. colby had his first cheeseburger. he's a chicken nugget kid all the way, but he said he wanted to try something new since we were on vacation.
posing for the camera again.
the coca-cola bear. this thing was a little creepy. it was run by animatronics. there was a guy in there doing the arms and walking around and stuff, but he had a computer that he was operating to make the mouth open and the eyes move. the bear would look right at you. cool, but a little unsettling.
one of the jellyfish tanks at the aquarium.
this tank was 20-something feet deep, and as long as a football field. HUGE. all different kinds of fish and rays, and the only aquarium in the country with whale sharks.
view from the top of stone mountain. yes, it drops off right there.
colby and allen on stone mountain
thats right. the frans clan went on our first official family vacation.
we rode on a plane and everything. legit.
i heard about, hmm, 6 or 7 months ago of the aquarium in atlanta (the biggest in the country), and made it my goal to get us there this year. so when allen mentioned taking a vacation after disciple now in febuary, guess what i suggested. :)
but then the haiti earthquake happened and instead of taking a couple weeks off he spent 10 days in haiti.
i had to work through that to be quite honest with you.
even on my best days i'm at least 10% selfish.
he looked further into the year and blocked off a week in april, right after easter.
usually he takes some time off in the fall as well, so i had originally thought we'd do a getaway to dallas in april (theres a fantastic aquarium there too that we havent visited yet, and some great kids' museums), and visit atlanta in september-ish.
**side note: colby is WAY into all things ocean. that why we're planning our vacations around aquariums.**
after further deliberation and planning (and going on 9 years experience as a pastors wife) i know theres no guarantee that he'll take vacation in the fall, so i figured we ought to do atlanta while we have the week to do it.
i assumed we'd drive. i thought 'its only 14 hours. no biggie.' we'd drive thru the night so the kids could sleep in the car, and allen and i could tag team naps at the hotel on monday.
perfect plan, right?
allen was never a fan of this idea, but i was trying to save us money. plus we wouldnt have to rent a car, because we'd already have ours with us. and we could put an ice chest in the back and take all our own food. brilliant.
allen and i had a heart to heart about two weeks before we were planning on leaving.
i love my husband.
he basically said, if we're going to do a vacation, we're going to do it right.
we both arrived at the same conclusion; if we drive all the way there, 14 hours (plus stops for bathroom breaks, gas, etc) we're going to end up hating each other before the vacation even starts. this is probably true.
so i researched and researched and found a hotel right across the street from the aquarium and the coke museum that serves a full complimentary breakfast every morning and has a refrigerator in the room where we can keep our own food and drinks. the CNN tower, which has a food court, was located right behind it, so we could go there to get dinner in the evenings.
we'd pack our own lunch everyday. so our only purchased meal would be a food court dinner.
the MARTA train (atlantas subway) is half a mile from the hotel if we wanted to go anywhere else. we ended up riding that from the airport and back to the airport as well. total cost $9. awesome.
i booked the room and the plane tickets and 12 days later we were in atlanta.
we had a fabulous time. we flew crazy early so we were there by 9am. we went to the coca-cola museum on monday and the aquarium on tuesday.
wednesday we took the MARTA train, and a bus, and a very short cab ride to stone mountain, which is probably one of the coolest things i've ever seen. its the single largest piece of granite, standing 825 feet high, and i dont even know how long. the park is 3,200 acres if that gives you an idea. we rode to the top and had a picnic lunch, then came back down to the 'village' to ride the train, see some shows, and play a little.
it was a great first vacation, with the exception of atlantas ridiculous level of pollen (it hung like smog over the city. gross.), it being spring break, and the fire alarm going of twice wednesday night, or should i say thursday morning; 3:30am and again at 4:15am.
embassy suites will be getting a strongly worded email from allen this week.
hey, maybe that will get us a free night in dallas for our fall vacation.....
pictures!! (there are a lot!!)
the first few are from easter sunday.
a few days before easterm colby showed this pose to my mom and said he was going to do this in all his easter pictures because, and i quote, "it makes me look cool."
so of course molly had to come up with a pose for her pictures too. what a ham.colby is attempting to do his pose in this picture, too. i'm not sure what mollys doing. and she insisted on having that ceramic cat on her lap...and a sticker on her leg.
the first thing we did when we got to atlanta--lunch at johnny rockets. colby had his first cheeseburger. he's a chicken nugget kid all the way, but he said he wanted to try something new since we were on vacation.posing for the camera again.the coca-cola bear. this thing was a little creepy. it was run by animatronics. there was a guy in there doing the arms and walking around and stuff, but he had a computer that he was operating to make the mouth open and the eyes move. the bear would look right at you. cool, but a little unsettling.one of the jellyfish tanks at the aquarium.this tank was 20-something feet deep, and as long as a football field. HUGE. all different kinds of fish and rays, and the only aquarium in the country with whale sharks.view from the top of stone mountain. yes, it drops off right there.colby and allen on stone mountainsorry this is sideways. the yellow on the bottom of her shoes? pollen.
i'm not even kidding. it was awful.
there was a booth at the stone mountain park where you could get your hair done. molly wanted to get hers done, but she wanted me to get mine done too. i think i look like a dr seuss character.
i have a funny molly story to share, but it'll have to wait till tomorrow. i'm done for the day.
Friday, April 2, 2010
25 things
i was reading thru all my notes on facebook that i've written over the past couple years or so...however long i've been on facebook. i came across this one. just 25 things (goals, facts, habits, etc.) about me. some of them made me laugh, because they're so random. i havent changed any of them. this is exactly how i posted it and they're all still true.
1. when it comes right down to it, i don't think i really want a dog.
2. i suck at drawing.
3. i've always wanted a big brother.
4. i love a good sandwich.
5. when i was pregnant, i would eat a whole pizza and not think twice about it.
6. i regret not pursuing anything passionately in high school. i wonder how good i could have been had i picked one thing and stuck with it.
7. i don't have a college degree, nor do i have a clue what i would want one in.
8. i used to steal that sticky tack stuff off my teachers desk in 2nd grade.
9. i really really love to dance. all kinds.
10. i used to prank call people and hold the phone up to the t.v. on a spanish channel.
11. i like the way skunks smell.
12. i am terrified of grasshoppers.
13. i'm scared of tubing on a river. i almost drowned in one of the rapids when i was in middle school, and about 5 years ago i got dumped out of the inner tube and twisted my knee. i hate it.
14. i love flying.
15. i've never had eggnog.
16. when allen goes out of town, i almost always end up calling the police on our neighbors barking dog, because i get paranoid that theres 'someone out there.' she only seems to bark when allens out of town.
17. in 8th grade, i got pantsed in front of the guy i had a crush on. he pointed and laughed.
18. when i was a junior i would sneak of campus with a friend of mine who was a senior, by hiding in the trunk of her car.
19. theres always a song in my head.
20. i marched in the rose parade on new years day in 1996.
21. i wish my rib cage was smaller.
22. i like rap music, but i dont listen to it...much.
23. i hate cleaning my house.
24. i would love it to be super cute and fashionable to wear pajama pants and tshirts all the time.
25. i really really love my family and cant believe how blessed i am.
1. when it comes right down to it, i don't think i really want a dog.
2. i suck at drawing.
3. i've always wanted a big brother.
4. i love a good sandwich.
5. when i was pregnant, i would eat a whole pizza and not think twice about it.
6. i regret not pursuing anything passionately in high school. i wonder how good i could have been had i picked one thing and stuck with it.
7. i don't have a college degree, nor do i have a clue what i would want one in.
8. i used to steal that sticky tack stuff off my teachers desk in 2nd grade.
9. i really really love to dance. all kinds.
10. i used to prank call people and hold the phone up to the t.v. on a spanish channel.
11. i like the way skunks smell.
12. i am terrified of grasshoppers.
13. i'm scared of tubing on a river. i almost drowned in one of the rapids when i was in middle school, and about 5 years ago i got dumped out of the inner tube and twisted my knee. i hate it.
14. i love flying.
15. i've never had eggnog.
16. when allen goes out of town, i almost always end up calling the police on our neighbors barking dog, because i get paranoid that theres 'someone out there.' she only seems to bark when allens out of town.
17. in 8th grade, i got pantsed in front of the guy i had a crush on. he pointed and laughed.
18. when i was a junior i would sneak of campus with a friend of mine who was a senior, by hiding in the trunk of her car.
19. theres always a song in my head.
20. i marched in the rose parade on new years day in 1996.
21. i wish my rib cage was smaller.
22. i like rap music, but i dont listen to it...much.
23. i hate cleaning my house.
24. i would love it to be super cute and fashionable to wear pajama pants and tshirts all the time.
25. i really really love my family and cant believe how blessed i am.
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
hair woes and such
my kids have both recently taken an interest in their hair style. 
well, molly has always been into her hair, which is surprising since she wont let me touch it (the reason i chopped it off a few weeks ago), but lately she just wants really random things done to it. and she does it herself, making it even more....random.
then theres colby, who wants his hair flat on his head. he wets his hand and smooths his hair down with the water. it kind of makes him look like a little old man. i think he's rebelling because he knows i like his hair spiked up.
ah well, its not a battle worth fighting. its like the rain boots and red ruby slippers. whos it hurting really. it might hurt them in 10 years when their friends look at these pictures and laugh.....
allen was putting molly to bed the other night and she asked
molly: "whens my birthday?"
allen: "november."
molly: "november? whens november?"
allen: "november is a long way away?
molly: "it is?"
allen: "yes."
molly: "so far you cant even see it. you'd have to drive a car."
love it.
and lastly, i want to share some super exciting news with you!
at the end of may (the 24th thru 31st to be exact) i get to go to israel on a tour of the holy land with beth moore! for those of you that dont know, beth moore is like the christian womens' icon. shes a ladies' bible study rockstar and, well, just a huge role model to me.
a friend of mine works for her, doing her travel itenterary and booking, and she called about a week ago and told us that there was a spot open on the trip.
apparently beth put together this trip as an opportunity to bless her staff and the people that have been faithful volunteers for her ministry. there were 100 spots and not all of them filled up so she i guess allowed some of her staff to invite their friends/family.
so myself and our pastors wife get to see the holy land, led by beth.
i thought it was too expensive and felt weird about us spending the money on just me, but allen knows how incredible the opportunity is and told me i was going!
can you say 'best husband in the world'? love you babe!!
i'll share more details as it gets closer, but yay!! i'm excited!!
Monday, March 22, 2010
its tough being good
i was putting molly to bed last night and was telling her how special she is, and how much i love her. i was saying how blessed i was to see her grow from a baby into a sweet girl, etc, etc. she was loving on me and giving me kisses (something she does not do often), so i was really soaking up the moment.
then without warning she let out this big sigh and said,
"i wish i could be a baby again. i'm tired of being good."
from the mouths of babes....or 'good girls', as it were.
then without warning she let out this big sigh and said,
"i wish i could be a baby again. i'm tired of being good."
from the mouths of babes....or 'good girls', as it were.
Friday, March 19, 2010
modesty
we went to the beach this week over spring break.
it was the senior trip that we usually take at the end of may/start of june, but the youth summer calendar is so full that allen and the 12th grade sunday school teacher decided to move it this year.
it was a bit chilly (we never got in the water. well, i never got in the water), and it rained our first full day there, so we really only had one beach day. it ended up being fine, because pretty much everyone got super sunburned so they wouldnt have needed more beach time anyway.
i was putting colbys swimsuit on him to go down to the beach wednesday morning and he said
colby: "mommy, i'm naked!"
me: "no you're not. you have a swimsuit on."
colby: "well, i'm almost naked!"
me: "well, you're going to have to get over it. you're about to be on the beach in front of a lot of people. it's fine, colby."
colby: "but my nipples are showing! nipples are private just like penises are private. everyone will see my privacy!"
me: "colby, it's ok. you're a boy."
colby: "its ok for boys' nipples to show but not girls'?"
me: "right."
colby: "why?"
me: "i'm not sure. thats a great question."
colby: "is it cause girls' nipples go boom like this?" (and he thrust his hands outward from his chest)
me: (laughing) "maybe so."
that was it.
we went down to the beach, with all the right parts covered, and enjoyed the water (me from a safe, dry distance).
on a completely unrelated note, here's a video of colby i took about a week ago.
we were eating dinner and he randomly wanted to make a video for daddy to watch when he got home that night.
why he chose to sing a christmas song i have no clue, but listen to the last line, instead of 'don we now our gay apparel.' heeheehee. so cute.
it was the senior trip that we usually take at the end of may/start of june, but the youth summer calendar is so full that allen and the 12th grade sunday school teacher decided to move it this year.
it was a bit chilly (we never got in the water. well, i never got in the water), and it rained our first full day there, so we really only had one beach day. it ended up being fine, because pretty much everyone got super sunburned so they wouldnt have needed more beach time anyway.
i was putting colbys swimsuit on him to go down to the beach wednesday morning and he said
colby: "mommy, i'm naked!"
me: "no you're not. you have a swimsuit on."
colby: "well, i'm almost naked!"
me: "well, you're going to have to get over it. you're about to be on the beach in front of a lot of people. it's fine, colby."
colby: "but my nipples are showing! nipples are private just like penises are private. everyone will see my privacy!"
me: "colby, it's ok. you're a boy."
colby: "its ok for boys' nipples to show but not girls'?"
me: "right."
colby: "why?"
me: "i'm not sure. thats a great question."
colby: "is it cause girls' nipples go boom like this?" (and he thrust his hands outward from his chest)
me: (laughing) "maybe so."
that was it.
we went down to the beach, with all the right parts covered, and enjoyed the water (me from a safe, dry distance).
on a completely unrelated note, here's a video of colby i took about a week ago.
we were eating dinner and he randomly wanted to make a video for daddy to watch when he got home that night.
why he chose to sing a christmas song i have no clue, but listen to the last line, instead of 'don we now our gay apparel.' heeheehee. so cute.
Wednesday, March 3, 2010
mixed signals
the other day we (the kids and i) were in the car and colby randomly said
colby: "mommy, if i were the sea, i'd want you to be my fish."
me: "wow, thank you colby. thats very sweet...i think."
i was reflecting on what a precious son i have, sweet, angelic.
then, not 5 minutes later i was singing pretty loudly (thats the only way to do it) along with whatever was on my ipod, and colby started howling.
was he trying to tell me something?
i'm getting mixed signals.
colby: "mommy, if i were the sea, i'd want you to be my fish."
me: "wow, thank you colby. thats very sweet...i think."
i was reflecting on what a precious son i have, sweet, angelic.
then, not 5 minutes later i was singing pretty loudly (thats the only way to do it) along with whatever was on my ipod, and colby started howling.
was he trying to tell me something?
i'm getting mixed signals.
Friday, February 19, 2010
my new addition
soooo......one week ago tomorrow, we celebrated valentines day with some of our best friends, the lamberts.
that afternoon, before they came over, i decided to go ahead and give allen his gift.
we dont usually make a big deal for v-day, but allen is SO hard to buy for and i'd been thinking it would be great to get him a gift certificate to have his car detailed, so as soon as an opportunity came up to get him a gift, i jumped on it.
so he opened his card and was very thankful that i had gotten it for him and he said
allen: "i didnt get you anything."
me: "i didnt figure you had."
allen: "ouch. well i was thinking the dinner would be the present." (he arranged for a guy that works on our youth ministry to some over and make dinner for the 4 of us. he graduated from culinary school and was an executive chef for awhile. awesome. i was so excited.)
me: "i know, babe. we dont make a big deal for valentines. but i finally had something i could get you, so i decided to do it."
allen: "i'll get you a present."
me: "you dont have to get me a present."
allen: "no, i'm gonna get you something. what do you want?"
me: "........a tattoo!"
allen: "ok."
me: "really??"
allen: "yeah. we'll go tonight and get you one."
now this is a HUGE deal. i've wanted a tattoo since i was, i dont even know, 15 or 16. when i turned 18, my parents told me if i came home with a tattoo, they wouldnt pay for my college. i believed them.
then when i got sick and had withdraw from school, a tattoo was the furthest thing from my mind. then i started dating allen and we were married a little over a year later.
i still wanted a tattoo, but it became an issue of me being a [youth] pastors wife, and what kind of example would that set, etc.
i can understand that point of view, but at the same time, i think its a personal decision. its not that 'cut and dry'.
what i want to get is very important to me. i've wanted a tattoo not just for the sake of having one (although i'd be lying if i said i dont think they're super cool), but because it means something to me, its a reminder of my relationship with Christ; to myself and those around me, and its a great conversation starter and possibly a chance to share Christ with someone. because what i got is different, and truth be told, in the 7 days i've had it, i've had 2 strangers ask what it means.
opportunity.
ok, so anyway, i called april and told her what was going on (she didnt believe me at first) and she prepared to get hers as well (shes was also regretably tatto-less).
we had dinner, headed to the local 'ink shop' and i walked out and hour(ish) later with my long awaited tattoo.
its a western african symbol. when i went to ghana a year and a half ago, i saw it everywhere and asked what it meant. translated to english, it means, basically, 'i am nothing without God'.
i love that. i love the reminder, and i love looking at my wrist and thinking of ghana and the people there i got to meet and love on, and being reminded to pray for them.
so...heres the journey. :)
it hurt, but not near as bad as i was anticipating. i had psyched myself up for ridiculous pain, so i was pleasantly surprised.
that afternoon, before they came over, i decided to go ahead and give allen his gift.
we dont usually make a big deal for v-day, but allen is SO hard to buy for and i'd been thinking it would be great to get him a gift certificate to have his car detailed, so as soon as an opportunity came up to get him a gift, i jumped on it.
so he opened his card and was very thankful that i had gotten it for him and he said
allen: "i didnt get you anything."
me: "i didnt figure you had."
allen: "ouch. well i was thinking the dinner would be the present." (he arranged for a guy that works on our youth ministry to some over and make dinner for the 4 of us. he graduated from culinary school and was an executive chef for awhile. awesome. i was so excited.)
me: "i know, babe. we dont make a big deal for valentines. but i finally had something i could get you, so i decided to do it."
allen: "i'll get you a present."
me: "you dont have to get me a present."
allen: "no, i'm gonna get you something. what do you want?"
me: "........a tattoo!"
allen: "ok."
me: "really??"
allen: "yeah. we'll go tonight and get you one."
now this is a HUGE deal. i've wanted a tattoo since i was, i dont even know, 15 or 16. when i turned 18, my parents told me if i came home with a tattoo, they wouldnt pay for my college. i believed them.
then when i got sick and had withdraw from school, a tattoo was the furthest thing from my mind. then i started dating allen and we were married a little over a year later.
i still wanted a tattoo, but it became an issue of me being a [youth] pastors wife, and what kind of example would that set, etc.
i can understand that point of view, but at the same time, i think its a personal decision. its not that 'cut and dry'.
what i want to get is very important to me. i've wanted a tattoo not just for the sake of having one (although i'd be lying if i said i dont think they're super cool), but because it means something to me, its a reminder of my relationship with Christ; to myself and those around me, and its a great conversation starter and possibly a chance to share Christ with someone. because what i got is different, and truth be told, in the 7 days i've had it, i've had 2 strangers ask what it means.
opportunity.
ok, so anyway, i called april and told her what was going on (she didnt believe me at first) and she prepared to get hers as well (shes was also regretably tatto-less).
we had dinner, headed to the local 'ink shop' and i walked out and hour(ish) later with my long awaited tattoo.
its a western african symbol. when i went to ghana a year and a half ago, i saw it everywhere and asked what it meant. translated to english, it means, basically, 'i am nothing without God'.
i love that. i love the reminder, and i love looking at my wrist and thinking of ghana and the people there i got to meet and love on, and being reminded to pray for them.
so...heres the journey. :)
it hurt, but not near as bad as i was anticipating. i had psyched myself up for ridiculous pain, so i was pleasantly surprised.
oh, and april ended up not getting hers. she wanted words (matthew six twenty-six) on her foot, but the guy wouldnt do it, because he was afraid she would jerk and mess him up...or something. she was bummed, but hopefully will be able to find someone else thats willing.
Thursday, February 11, 2010
feeling the love
i know, i know, long time no blog.
we've been crazy busy around here, and although i miss doing the 365 each sunday, i havent missed the pressure of getting a fabulous picture every day. i think i've used my camera three times since new years eve. yikes!
that being said, i havent had the motivation to get on here and blog about anything in particular.
i was telling allen the latest 'kid stories' last night, and allen said, "you need to blog!"
so here i am.
we've been having some issues with PDA lately. thats 'public displays of affection' for those of you that dont know.
for the past two wednesday nights, colbys teacher, ms chris, has had to pull him out of class and speak to him about being inappropriate with his friend tayler (who, by the way is gorgeous! at least he has good taste.) during story time.
he lays all over her and kisses her, right there in the circle while the teacher is telling them the bible story!
last week ms chris pulled him out and said
ms chris: "i dont hug and kiss my friends while pastor mark is speaking. does your daddy let the big kids do that while he's preaching to them?"
colby: "no, but they're tools from God!"
ms chris explained that ms pam is a tool of God too, and so is anyone else that is talking to us about God/Jesus.
then last night it happened again. when i went to pick him up chris said she left herself wide open because they had a valentines party and were talking about ways they show love.
when colby was kissing on tayler again during storytime, ms chris called him down and he said
colby: "but this is how i show her i love her!"
touche, colby. well played.
so then she pulled him out of class again and explained that boys are blue and girls are pink and together they make purple. and purple is not allowed.
she was telling me all this and about that time colby came out into the hallway. i said
me: "colby, what color is not allowed?"
colby: "purple! but tayler must not know that because she was wearing purple shirt tonight."
me: "no its not about clothes, colby. its about hugging and kissing tayler at inappropriate times. its ok to give short hugs when you're saying hello and goodbye, but we dont need to hold onto each other and we definitely dont need to lay on each other. and kissing is not ok at all."
colby: "but why? i love her so much."
me: "well, lets think of some other ways you can show her you love her."
the conversation carried on till we got home and started getting ready for bed.
we'll see if it sticks come next wednesday when he sees tayler again.
shes a cutie and hes super affectionate. i guess the two dont mix.
we've been crazy busy around here, and although i miss doing the 365 each sunday, i havent missed the pressure of getting a fabulous picture every day. i think i've used my camera three times since new years eve. yikes!
that being said, i havent had the motivation to get on here and blog about anything in particular.
i was telling allen the latest 'kid stories' last night, and allen said, "you need to blog!"
so here i am.
we've been having some issues with PDA lately. thats 'public displays of affection' for those of you that dont know.
for the past two wednesday nights, colbys teacher, ms chris, has had to pull him out of class and speak to him about being inappropriate with his friend tayler (who, by the way is gorgeous! at least he has good taste.) during story time.
he lays all over her and kisses her, right there in the circle while the teacher is telling them the bible story!
last week ms chris pulled him out and said
ms chris: "i dont hug and kiss my friends while pastor mark is speaking. does your daddy let the big kids do that while he's preaching to them?"
colby: "no, but they're tools from God!"
ms chris explained that ms pam is a tool of God too, and so is anyone else that is talking to us about God/Jesus.
then last night it happened again. when i went to pick him up chris said she left herself wide open because they had a valentines party and were talking about ways they show love.
when colby was kissing on tayler again during storytime, ms chris called him down and he said
colby: "but this is how i show her i love her!"
touche, colby. well played.
so then she pulled him out of class again and explained that boys are blue and girls are pink and together they make purple. and purple is not allowed.
she was telling me all this and about that time colby came out into the hallway. i said
me: "colby, what color is not allowed?"
colby: "purple! but tayler must not know that because she was wearing purple shirt tonight."
me: "no its not about clothes, colby. its about hugging and kissing tayler at inappropriate times. its ok to give short hugs when you're saying hello and goodbye, but we dont need to hold onto each other and we definitely dont need to lay on each other. and kissing is not ok at all."
colby: "but why? i love her so much."
me: "well, lets think of some other ways you can show her you love her."
the conversation carried on till we got home and started getting ready for bed.
we'll see if it sticks come next wednesday when he sees tayler again.
shes a cutie and hes super affectionate. i guess the two dont mix.
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
mollys prayer
i was putting molly to bed last night and when i started praying she said
molly: "no, no. i want to do it."
me: "ok, thats great! go ahead."
molly: "dear Jesus, thank you for this day, and for just everything. please help colby to feel better (hes been having trouble with his asthma), and help me to find the screws that fell out of my light on my wall, and help me to not get swat. thank you for the butterflies and my pretty hair. amen."
priorities people.
molly: "no, no. i want to do it."
me: "ok, thats great! go ahead."
molly: "dear Jesus, thank you for this day, and for just everything. please help colby to feel better (hes been having trouble with his asthma), and help me to find the screws that fell out of my light on my wall, and help me to not get swat. thank you for the butterflies and my pretty hair. amen."
priorities people.
Friday, January 15, 2010
ladies or money; cant have both
my friend sean came over last night to do some work on our computer.
we were sitting in the playroom and colby comes in and sits down. sean and i continued our conversation (i dont even remember what we were talking about) and colby out of nowhere says
colby: "i like ladies."
me: "what?"
colby: "i like ladies. i like them a lot."
me: "well, thats good. we want you to like ladies."
colby: "i like ladies more than money."
at this point i cant respond because i'm laughing to hard to say anything.
sean: "that will help you in the future."
colby: "oh yeah?"
sean: "yeah, cause if you like ladies you wont have any money."
colby: "i'm going to give all my money to the ladies."
sean: "yes you will. if you like them, you will."
so random but so funny.
i still have no idea where that came from.
we were sitting in the playroom and colby comes in and sits down. sean and i continued our conversation (i dont even remember what we were talking about) and colby out of nowhere says
colby: "i like ladies."
me: "what?"
colby: "i like ladies. i like them a lot."
me: "well, thats good. we want you to like ladies."
colby: "i like ladies more than money."
at this point i cant respond because i'm laughing to hard to say anything.
sean: "that will help you in the future."
colby: "oh yeah?"
sean: "yeah, cause if you like ladies you wont have any money."
colby: "i'm going to give all my money to the ladies."
sean: "yes you will. if you like them, you will."
so random but so funny.
i still have no idea where that came from.
im a heartbraker...dont you mess around with me
sorry, i couldnt resist that last part. and now i'm singing the song. dang it.
ok, i was putting colby to bed tonight and as i was leaving he said
colby: "wait mommy! i have to tell you something."
me: "ok, what is it?"
colby: (starts to tear up and wipes his eyes) "i love you so much."
me: "i love you too baby."
colby: "when you're with me it feels like theres a heart around me, but when you leave it feels like the heart is breaking."
this is all said on the verge of crying. he is the sweetest little thing. or hes a freakishly talented 5-year-old actor. at any rate i stayed a little bit longer and loved on my sweet boy.
tomorrow i will look into acting classes.
kidding, kidding.
ok, i was putting colby to bed tonight and as i was leaving he said
colby: "wait mommy! i have to tell you something."
me: "ok, what is it?"
colby: (starts to tear up and wipes his eyes) "i love you so much."
me: "i love you too baby."
colby: "when you're with me it feels like theres a heart around me, but when you leave it feels like the heart is breaking."
this is all said on the verge of crying. he is the sweetest little thing. or hes a freakishly talented 5-year-old actor. at any rate i stayed a little bit longer and loved on my sweet boy.
tomorrow i will look into acting classes.
kidding, kidding.
Thursday, January 14, 2010
ladies' man
i went to pick colby up from awanas last night and the teacher, ms. chris, pulled me aside...
ms chris: i have to tell you what colby did tonight.
me: thats always an exciting way to start a conversation.
ms chris: colby looked around at the girls as said, 'who wants to marry me?' and tayler said, 'i want to marry you more than a rainbow!!' i dont even know what that means, but she seemed to think it was a very big deal. then ruth said, 'i want to marry you too, colby.' so colby put his arms around both of them, but you could definitely tell there was some love there between he and tayler.
as shes telling me this, colby and tayler are locked in a farewell embrace. i guess you cant fight a love stronger than rainbows.
ms chris: i have to tell you what colby did tonight.
me: thats always an exciting way to start a conversation.
ms chris: colby looked around at the girls as said, 'who wants to marry me?' and tayler said, 'i want to marry you more than a rainbow!!' i dont even know what that means, but she seemed to think it was a very big deal. then ruth said, 'i want to marry you too, colby.' so colby put his arms around both of them, but you could definitely tell there was some love there between he and tayler.
as shes telling me this, colby and tayler are locked in a farewell embrace. i guess you cant fight a love stronger than rainbows.
Sunday, January 10, 2010
project 365, week 2
its been so good to get back into a routine this week after 3+ weeks of holiday craziness!
went to the gym 4 times. did all 3 days of school with colby with only minimal frusteration. grocery shopped on monday. life is good. this week we'll add awanas at church on wedensday night back into the mix and maybe squeeze in a midweek playdate.
SUNDAY, january 3rd
allen preached last sunday. his sermon was callen "new years resolutions are from hell." you can listen to it here. we hung our ornaments up yesterday. i'm not going to tell you what they're for, but if you listen you'll find out. haha, hows that for leaving you hanging?? :)
MONDAY, january 4th
molly got a serious hair cut today. she wont let me do anything to it, so it always looks stringy and scraggley. they took about 2 inches off and trimmed her bangs. she was not a fan of the idea, but i told her she'd look like dora. SOLD!
TUESDAY, january 5th
i made a greek salad today. i've been craving greek food, but cant personally cook it, so this will have to do for now.
WEDNESDAY, january 6th
no picture. i'm a failure.
THURSDAY, january 7th
worked on my blurb book for most of the afternoon. its coming along....slowly.
FRIDAY, january 8th
my water was frozen solid when i got in my car to go to the gym this morning. this doesnt happen in texas, so it was worth taking a picture of.
SATURDAY, january 9th
cute napkins i picked up at the grocery store. this picture is NOT sideways on my camera, and my computer wont let me flip it, so......grr.
have a blessed week!!!
Friday, January 8, 2010
a post for my husband
i shared this story with allen the other night and he said, "you have to blog that! its great!"
i dont really want to blog it, because its embarrasing to me, but it is funny so.....
the kids and i were in colbys room a few days ago. we had done colbys school work in there that day, but had finished up and were playing on the floor.
i passed gass, tooted, farted, whatever you want to call it (eek, i hate putting this into print), and it was loud; not my usual...style, if you will. colby turned and looked back real fast to where i was sitting with big eyes and i said,
me: "excuse me!!"
colby: "mommy, that was you?!?"
me: "yes, it was me, colby."
colby: "oh, i thought daddy was home. he's the only one that toots like that!"
there ya go, allen. now we can remeber this forever.
i dont really want to blog it, because its embarrasing to me, but it is funny so.....
the kids and i were in colbys room a few days ago. we had done colbys school work in there that day, but had finished up and were playing on the floor.
i passed gass, tooted, farted, whatever you want to call it (eek, i hate putting this into print), and it was loud; not my usual...style, if you will. colby turned and looked back real fast to where i was sitting with big eyes and i said,
me: "excuse me!!"
colby: "mommy, that was you?!?"
me: "yes, it was me, colby."
colby: "oh, i thought daddy was home. he's the only one that toots like that!"
there ya go, allen. now we can remeber this forever.
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