Good Bye "Dining Room" Stickers

Okay, I know many of you who have blessed our home with your presence over the past two years have questioned our choice in kitchen door decor.  You have probably thought we were either nuts or oblivious to where our first born was sticking his stickers...his fruit stickers (or his Dining Room stickers, as he first deemed them two years ago when the little tradition began).  Actually, it just became a part of our kitchen and a part of Biz, and I never really thought about what it looked like to the outside world.
 

Biz became quite pleased with his work and how it really displayed his love of fruit.

Well, last week, the collage of stickers finally came down.  It really was time.  The stickers were overtaking the door and the kitchen walls were next.  I think it was in a fury of cleaning (which rarely happens) that the decision was made, and the stickers began coming off one by one. 

I did it while Biz was in school.  I know, I should have given him more of a heads up.  But my mind was made up, so it was probably easier this way.  When I picked him up from school, I broke the news to him, fully expecting tears or a heartfelt plea for their return.  But instead with a sigh, he only said, "All of my hard work, Mom." 

Once I reassured him that I had taken a picture of it before I cleaned it up, he was completely satisfied and not another word has been mentioned about the stickers.  Not one word. 

And no other stickers have made their way onto the door, either.  So, I guess Biz was ready to close this chapter, too.  I love it when we are on the same page.

Welcome to Car City

Granny, I thought this might make you smile.  Remember all of the roads I used to draw on the card table in front of the big console television in the living room? 

Well, now we have a big car city covering a card table in the playroom.

Oh, the memories!! 

And the memories to be made!!

The Student has Now Become the Teacher...

Seth has started reading three letter words and is doing a pretty good job.

After all, he does have a very good teacher!

With Love from Sierra Leone...

The highlight of my day was opening my email to find this precious Easter card

From this precious boy

Smiles don't get much sweeter than that one!

We were very excited to get a card from our friend, Suwaju, who lives at The Covering, in Sierra Leone, West Africa.   What an amazing ministry The Raining Season is to the people of that country.  Our hearts have been touched by their mission to bring HOPE through the love of Jesus Christ to the people there, especially the orphaned children and impoverished families. 

This ministry was started by a young couple at our church, Harpeth Community Church, who, while going through the process of adopting from Sierra Leone, saw the tremendous need for help in the war ravaged country that left so many children orphaned and so many families impoverished and unemployed.  Through witnessing the devastating conditions and the need for immediate care to be given to those orphaned in that country, the idea for The Covering was conceived. 

God completely blew away their expectations for what it would become in such a short amount of time.  Their initial goal was to be able to care for around thirty children.  Now they have nearly one hundred kids in their care at The Covering.  That is huge!  But Our God is even bigger than that!  And He continues to provide for their needs, because their hearts are directly in line with His will.

God has used this ministry in a mighty way and the prayer is that He would continue to expand and expand and expand it.  He is a big God.  And He ALWAYS exceeds our human expectations!

Praise Him!

For more information on this ministry and how God is using it for His glory, click here.
Through the site, you can also learn about donation and sponsorship opportunities and connect to The Raining Season  blog. (There is also a link to the blog on the left hand side of my blog)

So Many Blog Posts, So Little Time...

I love to write.  Yep, I do.  Sometimes my thoughts may not completely make sense and my sentences may run on, and on, and on, but that is okay.  As long as I can get my thoughts out and on paper (or rather, in the form of a blog post), all is right with the world. 

Lately, I just can not seem to find the time to put coherent thoughts to keys and create a substantial blog post.  I have so many ideas in my head, so many words and observations that I want to get out, but time is not on my side.  The same is true right now with my love for reading.  I am almost embarrassed to say that I have not leisurely read anything in nearly six months, aside from my bible.  SIX MONTHS!  That is crazy!  I usually digest books one right after another, but for some reason, I can't seem to find the time or focus to even pick out a book to jump into.  Maybe it is a time management issue, maybe it is a distraction issue, maybe it is just a priority issue...I am not sure.  But I do hope to remedy this very soon. 

Working part-time from home has been a tremendous blessing!  I truly love my work, but the problem with my work is that, yes, it comes home with me.  It actually lives here.  My down time is now consumed with work projects, Quick books, databases, and work emails.  And I surprisingly find it all so relaxing and fulfilling.

So, I am still trying to find the balance between working from home in my down time (what little there is of it) and doing other things that I enjoy.  And miss.  Until I find this balance, I will continue to post pictures of the boys, their antics, and our family adventures, with as much commentary as I have time to throw together. (The grandparents and Aunt B might disown me if I stop.) And I guess that is really what this blog is all about anyway.  Our family journal.  Lots of pictures and silliness, with a few deep thoughts thrown in from time to time.

Ahhh....I feel better getting that out.

A Couple of Good Mechanics

When we go to the Discovery Museum, our boys gravitate to the Car Repair station.  Then they camp out there for the majority of our museum visit. 

Maybe this love for playing mechanic will translate into some car fixing know-how one day.  That would  be helpful, since we do not have a mechanic in the family, but we do seem to have our fair share of car trouble.

Yes, the boys worked hard, stayed busy, and took their work VERY seriously!

Tennis, Anyone?

They have definitely got some skills.  They love having a good time.  They have abundant energy.

So, Look Out! 

These guys can get pretty hard core on the courts!

And if their cuteness did not get in the way, they would be pretty intimidating!

(Darn cuteness.)

Yeah, you've been warned!

Knights in Shining Armor

Although he knew what it was before he opened it, that did not lessen the excitement in his reaction. 

That is for sure!

The only thing Seth really asked for this year for his birthday was a "knight in shining armor," costume.   When I presented him with his gift, he asked if that was what it was...with a big smile on his face.  He was elated when he unwrapped it and found his gear inside!

A couple of months ago, Biz approached me with the idea of getting a knight costume.  The boys fascination with Narnia definitely sparked their interest in obtaining their own armor, and I thought it was a great idea. I told Biz that if he wanted the costume, we would go on-line together, find one that he liked, but he would have to use his own money to buy it.  He was game and we got to looking.  Since it was getting close to Seth's birthday, I asked if he wanted me to order one for him as his gift.  At that time, he said that he would just borrow Biz's costume. Okay.  I was pretty confident that once we actually got the costume, he would quickly change his mind.

Biz and I found a pretty good deal and made our purchase.  Then, the wait began.  Every other minute, Biz would ask when his costume would arrive.  And Seth was pretty excited, too, so the asking was multiplied by two.  Luckily, the company shipped really fast.

The day it arrived, I left the box on the front porch so it would be the first thing Biz would see when he got home from school.  His reaction was pretty similar to what Seth's was.  Elated!

And almost immediately, Seth started saying that what he wanted for his birthday was a knight costume like Biz's.  That made birthday shopping very easy!

There has definitely been a lot of knight action in our house lately.  I am loving this new phase!!

Two very brave knights

Monkeying Around at the Treehouse

Okay, I am not sure if it was the trip to Monkey's Treehouse with his friends or the trip to McDonalds with his friends that got Seth more excited!  He was just about to bust a seam the morning of his birthday playdate.  We had such a fun time with friends who met up with us to celebrate Seth by running around all over the place like, well...monkeys.

We began the fun around 10am and let the boys play for about an hour and a half.  Then we corralled them all and made our way over to the McDonalds that is very conveniently located in front of The Monkey's Treehouse.  Luckily, the big circular 4-year-old party sized booth in the center of the restaurant was vacant and the perfect spot for our band of characters.  It really could not have worked out any better.  And you would have thought Seth had struck gold.  He doesn't get to go to McDonalds very often, but when he does, he thinks it is a great treat.  Maybe it is the fries.  Well, it is probably more like the prize he gets with his meal.

The thing that intrigued the boys the most that entire day, and amazingly all at the same time, was the box of Mario gummies that I brought as "party favors."  The boys were mesmerized by the box and it kept them thoroughly entertained while us mommas ordered food.  It was really funny.  I looked high and low for some sort of Mario favor or stickers or something and could not find anything at Wal-mart, Target, or the two party stores I visited.  Nope, just the Mario gummies, but it proved to be more than enough.  And it proved to be some solid motivation at the end of the party, too, since it is pretty hard to willingly leave a rocking play date.  I strategically placed the box of gummies by the exit and had Seth walk each friend out when it came time for him to leave, with the instruction that he couldn't open the gummies until he got into his car.  It worked every time.  With minimal screaming.

After lunch and birthday cupcakes...topped with sprinkles and Mario gummies, (yes, those gummies were quite versatile that day)  we headed back of to the treehouse to burn off some of that energy and sugar.  The boys played and played and played. 

Caleb even found some interesting attire to sport around.  (I can't wait to break out this picture in about ten years.)

By the time we left, much, much energy had been expended and I am assuming seven boys slept very well that night. 

I know at least two of them did.