Loves...

The week-end post

Last Thursday, we went to meet Lucas' teacher, Ms. Brown.  He instantly like her when she talked to him about baseball.  Once he learned that she had a tree house bunk for reading in the classroom, he was hooked!

Notice nosey little Cason in the background, checking things out.  After receiving his first homework assignment (more on that soon), we went for dinner at a new place called the City Hall Cafe.  Despite the name of the place, it is no where near city hall.  It is about 10 miles out of town on an FM road, but so worth the drive! We will definitely be visiting again soon.

 Over the weekend, we attended a retirement party for a close friend of ours. Sunday afternoon we went bowling with friends. Lucas had never been and had a BALL. ha! He instantly connected with the other kids and was a fast learner.  Cason had fun terrorizing the other kids, and "helping" too!

 Cason and Mason- she was showing him how to sit and roll the ball down the lane.

Lucas literally chunking the ball.

Before I forget- back to the homework.  The theme for the school this year is "Jammin' with Kids". Each hallway is responsible for decorating according to that theme.  Kindergarteners are decorating their areas with guitars.   His teacher sent home a plain outline of a guitar on posterboard and asked each child and their families to decorate it to reflect their personalities. So... here is the finished product!

 and, here's Lucas in the parking lot the morning we took it back to school. He was so proud.

New

A few days ago I read something that prompted me to to look up this verse:

“Behold, I am doing a new thing;
now it springs forth, do you not perceive it?
I will make a way in the wilderness
and rivers in the desert.” – Isaiah 43:19 (ESV)

Then I looked at The Message translation (and remember, every time you look up a passage in The Message, the ESV totally rolls its eyes).

“This is what God says,
the God who builds a road right through the ocean,
who carves a path through pounding waves,
The God who summons horses and chariots and armies—
they lie down and then can’t get up;
they’re snuffed out like so many candles:
‘Forget about what’s happened;
don’t keep going over old history.
Be alert, be present. I’m about to do something brand-new.
It’s bursting out! Don’t you see it?
There it is! I’m making a road through the desert,
rivers in the badlands.’”

I couldn’t help but think about all the times when I’ve read this verse (no matter the translation) and been encouraged to stay the course, to trust that God is working in and through my circumstances.

And for a split-second I considered how strange it is that one verse – one little bitty verse – has been so consistently comforting to me.

But then I thought:

Well, that’s because He’s always doing a new thing.

Even when we’ve messed up so badly that we feel haunted – and sometimes taunted – by regret.

He’s always doing a new thing.

Even when relationships seem distant and strained and tense.

He’s always doing a new thing.

Even when sadness and hopelessness threaten to overwhelm us.

He’s always doing a new thing.

Even when we’re frustrated by all the stuff that we just don’t understand.

He’s always doing a new thing.

Always.

coffee and kleenex (a.k.a. - the first day of Kindergarten)

He looks all smiley and excited, but there were some tears and lots of nervousness too...


You see, he is starting Kindergarten and everything this year is new and different for him...

Beginnings are always new and exciting, but sometimes scary too. I'm praying for him all day ~that he remembers I am not far away, that he finds comfort in the new routines, that he keep his mind open to learning and his heart open to new friendships...

and I am praying for my heart as well, as I learn to let go, that I trust that he is okay, that I know that God is with him everywhere.

NOT ME Monday

I love being a mom. Love. Love. Love it.  At all times and at all times, but:

I do not have children who sometimes morph into wild animals. Wild wild wild animals that would tire out wild animals.  And of course, I am not a momma who avoids the sweltering heat of this terrible Texas heat wave at almost any cost.


Therefore, I would not condone any indoor activity such as jumping on the couch, flipping off the coffee table, or flying onto pillows...just in the attempt to eek out some of the wildness of the above mentioned wild animal children.

Nope. Not me.  Not my children.

I did not allow my children to eat whatever they wanted for dinner Friday night.  They did not choose donuts, cereal, popcorn, and strawberries.

My five year old son didn't tell me to "please stop singing" while I was cooking dinner this past week.  And it didn't hurt my feelings. At all.

My eighteen month old son does not tell me to "not do dat" when I sing in the car these days.  And it doesn't hurt my feelings. At all! Not one bit.

I did NOT wonder for hours why the front of my slacks kept bunching up and were terribly uncomfortable and why it felt like my backside had doubled in size and was eating my underwear, only to realize that they were on backwards. Backwards, I tell you.  Nope, not me.  I am NOT that Mom.

I also did NOT get a warning ticket. I did not have a light out on my license plate and I most certainly did not appreciate being distracted by the nice young state troopers biceps.

And, lastly, I did NOT laugh hysterically while taking a video of my youngest child feeding himself chicken nuggets by grasping them between his toes!! NOPE- I SURE didn't.


But, today IS Monday.  Of that I am sure.

Sunday Funday

Friday, Papaw took off work and kept Cason and Lucas at our house. They always have fun with Papaw.  They get to do things like this, that Mommy and Daddy don't allow:

(jumping from his play table to the recliner, and back, and then to the couch, and back)

Saturday was a very calm day. I cleaned a lot, caught up on laundry, reorganized my scrapbook stuff, and finished up a few craft projects.  Yesterday, we skipped out. On church. On lunch. On everything responsible! We slept late, cleaned up, then headed out for Incredible Pizza.

Cason was a little grumpy or just didnt want his picture taken evidently...

After Incredible Pizza, we went swimming at the Conroe Aquatic Center.  It has a huge water playground that is shallow enough for Cason to play on, lots of slides, and a big pool.  It was so fun. Both boys had a blast!

Of course, after an afternoon of swimming... we were HUNGRY!  We headed to Five Guys, a local favorite burger joint.  They never let us down.  After that, we went to see the new Transformer movie, in 3D! Lucas (and us) thought it was soo cool.  He was amazed at the 3D effects! Cason wore his glasses for a while before ditching them and napping the rest of the movie.

We look dorky, but we had a great day.  Thankful for the three handsome men in my life and that we have so many blessings!!

WHAT a week....(minimal whining)

We have had such a wonderful week! No, really, we have! (can you sense the sarcasm?)  In all reality, this week hasn't been that awesome. Not tragic, or terrible, but pretty blah. So, I took a couple of days off. These days definitely improved the overall outlook on things! We did some house hunting, shopped for school clothes (school clothes??!  i have a kid old enough to need school clothes?? where did time go??), and just hung out.  We also did a few other things, like:

worked on potty training (i swear- my "under the sink cabinet" is not usually in this condition- Cason "reorganized" it for me)

 bribed Lucas to eat an oyster on the half shell.  He was brave- he took the whole thing and didn't gag once (better than I did the first time). He earned a whole DOLLAR. In my opinion it was worth at LEAST a ten.

 organized my Scentsy area. I know, it is still pretty messy, but trust me- much better than what it was!

 played with a puppy.  Cason LOVEEEEEEEEES puppies.

 And, last but not least.... LUCAS DECIDED HE NEEDED A HAIR CUT. So, he..... CUT it.

Lesson learned.  He's had a cap on ever since. I keep threatening to make him go to his first day of Kindergarten this way, but I think we'll break out the clippers instead! Is it a right of passage for every kid to take scissors to their head or something?

This weekend we have a few plans, including a wedding, a possible trip to Splash Town, and dinner with friends.  As a wedding gift, I made this:

 

(took their wedding invitation, cut into strips, and put it into a glass Christmas ornament! isn't that cool?)

At some point, I'm going to break out this wreath I made a while back.  I've got some cute camoflauge ribbon, some (fake) shotgun shells, some wooden deer, and a small wooden gun that I want to attach and put at our friend Chris' grave!  Can't wait to see how it looks after I put it all together.

My Bad Friend

Random fact about me: After our boys fall asleep I go in their room, cover them back up and watch them sleep for a few minutes. I just love seeing them all sweet and peaceful, something I rarely see during the day. I like to pray over them and whisper how much I love them in their ears. Then I make sure they know Jesus loves them. Even when their sleeping I want them to know how much they've always been loved and wanted. It's one of my favorite times of day.

I spoke with a friend not long ago, and it was mostly about an eating disorder she used to struggle with, but it was also about how a big portion of my life has centered around rejection. After we finished talking, my friend referenced something I had said on Mothers Day. In Sunday School, when asked what we hoped our children would say about their parents 20 years from now my response was that I hoped they would know they were always loved and wanted. My friend simply stated that she now understood why that was important to me. And, honestly, it really is.

You see, my Mom and Dad divorced when I was young and I haven't had much to do with them since then. Or, I guess I should say that they haven't had much to do with me since then.  My grandparents raised my brother and I.  I can't even remember what they look like sometimes. Over the years I've battled with some pretty big rejection over that. I've done some healing but when I had my boys it took a whole new turn. I just thought about how nothing in this whole world would ever keep me from seeing them. Not money, time, jobs, other relationships. Nothing. I'm already looking into where we are going to college some day. Ha! *kidding. sort of.

It just baffles me when I think about it. Though this blog post might lend you to think differently, I really don't think about it very much at all. Unless someone brings it up or I'm with a close friend talking about deep subjects, or I start looking at old pictures. 
As most women in America do, I struggle with insecurity. Big time. My friend boldy sent me a copy of Beth Moore's So Long Insecurity because she and I both know I need to read it. I struggle with being liked, being wanted, being worth anyone's time, wondering if I have any talents, body image, if I'm replaceable. All things, that I'm realizing from this book are from life circumstances I've let take root in my life.

Maybe you don't struggle with insecurity, and Praise the Lord if you don't! But if you do, in any way, I recommend grabbing a copy and reading it cover to cover as soon as possible. No matter what your root is, we have a Perfect Heavenly waiting for us, never absent, always present.

Like Beth says, insecurity has been a bad friend and quite frankly I'm tired of it hanging around.