Adventures with Daddy

Little Man will be going through serious withdrawals once Greg returns to work next week. A relaxing vacation at home was the perfect option this year........

 Construction has started on a second house across the street from us. With beautiful weather and Greg at home, we've enjoyed watching Ty observe the process. Any chance we get to see the "loud bulldozer truck" is taken.

I have almost stepped on that little snake twice in the last couple of months. He likes the garage. He is not big enough to do much damage but I still don't want to step on him. Greg tossed him into the field out back after allowing Ty an up close and personal exploration. For a tiny snake, he has big attitude and cracks me up when he coils and hisses as though he is a serious threat. A baby mouse would likely laugh too but someday he will be a big snake and I prefer he relocate prior to that!

Happy 1st Birthday Colby James!

Colby was clearly not impressed by his cupcake and smeared it rather than eat it. So he got a bath.....

Which ended all too soon by Colby's standards......

It's my party and I'll cry if I want to?

Happy birthday Colby! We love you!

Empowering Kids

Life has thrown us a few curve balls the last couple of weeks. Rumors about one daughter's purity floated through two schools. Another daughter has tried to shake an unstable ex-boyfriend for two months and I need him to go away before my husband goes to jail. One of those girls is also learning to set boundaries in her friendships. She has always allowed people to walk all over her for fear of upsetting someone and by the time she is worn out and starts distancing herself, the friend is upset because the rules of the relationship have changed. That child was verbally abused by a "friend's" dad this weekend. I am still shaking with anger as I heard his outlandish behavior first hand. My daughter though, she confronted a grown man with logic and calm dialog. She was upset but respectful and clearly ended up with the upper hand in the conversation as it turned out (once again) that this man had less than half of the story. Isn't that always the case? She followed up with a conversation with her friend confronting the issue and was told that she needed to let the dad's behavior go because he was having a bad day. Aren't we all? It was challenging to sit back and let the situation unfold. I wanted more than anything to step in and set this man straight but instead I let my daughter grow. She was empowered to fight her own battle and she was strong. I am quite proud. Moving forward I pray she sets healthier boundaries in her relationships so this doesn't manifest itself into such a mess. This mom of teens gig is quite a ride!
I'd much rather keep them small and sheltered....it's much more comfortable!

I wrote psalm 139 "I am fearfully and wonderfully made" across the girls' bathroom mirror last night with the follow up question, "what in this world prevents you from believing His truth about you?" I want my daughters to believe they are made for a purpose and should accept nothing less than God's richest blessings for their lives. Empowering them to believe God's truth and walk in that knowledge is difficult with all the messages that confront them in this world but I am determined to pray it over them as they journey through this life.

Weekend Wrap-up

We had a great weekend enjoying the sunshine. Erin had her Child Development doll and spent the weekend out on the town. It didn't slow her down much so I am not sure it made the impression it was supposed to! She thought it was funny to call me "Nana" and enlisted Aunties Kate Bug and Kenna's help to shower and eat. She named it Lillian Rae although some of her nicknames while it was screaming weren't nearly as pretty!

A Cool Birthday!

We were invited to our neighbor's birthday party today. The fire department was also invited! They were great! Ty found the real truck to be "loud" and "scary" so he found a toy firetruck to play with instead. Kate loved hearing about all the equipment used to fight fires and keep us safe. It was a great party!

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Happy birthday to a sweet boy who made his birthday wish out loud, "I wish everyone could just stay here but I know they can't".

Fall Photos.....with a two year old....it's an adventure.

Tick or Treat!

Ty walked over half our neighborhood and would have kept going tonight had I not mentioned candy at home to persuade him to head that direction! He was a champ at trick or treating! He walked for an hour and a half getting "candy". He was on a mission and loving it. Kate enjoyed being the big sister who lead the way. She said, "Trick or Treat" at every house and he said, "one" no matter how many pieces were offered and several neighbors couldn't resist giving more than that as a result of the cuteness factor. Colby and Robyn joined us and that little guy was also so good! It was a great night.

Lauren handed out candy and decided being armed with Colby's golf club was a good idea when our first trick or treaters were older than 15!

Robyn said Colby was Peyton Manning after the injury because he will now play golf....I said he looked like "Aunt Jemima"

Fall "Fun"?

So our church hosted a fall festival today. It was total chaos. I stood in lines with four kids for two hours so they could do three things. Let's just say I will neglect to put this on the calendar next year. I was a little saddened to hear secular music,see witches and monsters volunteering, and no one directing the flow of people who may as well have been at the mall for the difference our church did not make today. I feel as though we sometimes miss the balance of reaching the world vs being part of the world.

On the other hand, little man was bribed with candy to finally put on his costume! He decided he liked being Buzz once he was finally dressed. I've attempted this multiple times the last few months and  had all but given up on it. He was pretty stinking cute. The bribery continued throughout the afternoon to keep him confined in the stroller in previously mentioned lines.

In the end, Ty said, "it was FUN!" That counts for something.

Ryan's Story

Lauren got upset at school on Monday because her peers were laughing about drug abuse as they prepared for a mock trial they're presenting in class Friday. She needed a break as this has been an ongoing observation and something she hadn't been comfortable speaking out against for fear of judgment as a "goody-goody". One of her advisers noted she needed a break and allowed her some time away from her studio and then inquired as to why this topic upsets her so much. She shared Ryan's story and felt like it was time to finally say something. Her advisers empowered her to put together a presentation and invited all three studios to join the discussion. She spoke in front of 100 or so peers this morning. I'd like to take a second to mention that she was unable to do a group presentation a few weeks ago for biology because she's never spoken in front of anyone. This was clearly something she felt was important. I went in to support her and was amazed once again by her school and came away as proud as ever of Lauren. 

Lauren's words:

I know everyone thinks it is cool to laugh about drugs and no one wants to listen to adults who think they know everything but I don't laugh and I don't think it's funny. People who use drugs hurt the people who care about them. They hurt people when they don't mean to. Their decisions effect others whether they realize it or not. I want to tell you my story. When I was six years old, my family was really close to another family in our church. We were in the same gymnastics, preschool and cheer leading groups with their kids and our families spent a lot of time together. They had three kids and we had three kids. I was in the middle of two sisters. The mom got pregnant during that time and the baby did not belong to her husband. She asked us to adopt her baby. We were really excited, especially once we found out he was a boy. We named him Ryan and planned his room and bought him a few things. Ryan was born three months early on December 20, 2003 and only weighed one pound two ounces and was ten inches long. He was so sick I was never able to see him in the hospital.  We found out when he was born that his birth mom was addicted to drugs and that is why he was born early and was so sick. He died nine days later. I miss the little brother I was supposed to have. I know he was supposed to have a life with our family and we loved him as our own. Some days are still hard on all of us. So, this is why I can't joke around about drugs. This is why I can't do drugs. This is why it matters so much to me that my friends take care of themselves and not do drugs. I hope Ryan's story makes a difference and people will stop and think before they take drugs. Your decisions affect more than just you. The baby ring I wear around my neck is Ryan's. I know some of you have asked me about it but I just said it was my brother's. I thought it was private but now I think I need to say more so maybe more people will think of him and not take drugs.

She was amazing, strong, poised and started a dialog with her peers that lasted an hour. I was grieved hearing some of these young teens talk of addiction in their families and personal lives. Several stated how long they have been clean after starting drugs in elementary school with their parents. Some admitted to using now. The stories were tragic and authentic. I loved watching them trust their advisers enough to be honest. The advisers were also great about re-capping at certain intervals in order to make points about destroying relationships, throwing away dreams and ruining their bodies for a temporary high. A few articulate teens were able to share reports they've studied on the brain's chemical response to "artificial highs" from drugs and how the "natural high" our brains have naturally is destroyed by drug use, leading to addiction because eventually you can't be happy or pain free without that drug in your system. I could go on and on. These kids were incredible. Like Lauren, I think Ryan's story should be told. It may not impact everyone but if we tell his story perhaps we can see meaning beyond our personal grief. How amazing is our God?  Eight years later using our sadness to speak to the hearts of teens.

"And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose." Romans 8:28