What Grows in the Nose?

This morning Baby's Sunday School teacher was chasing him with a Kleenex when he told her that he had a raisin in his nose. It did indeed look dark and ominous up there, so she came and got me. I took a look and asked him, "Baby, what's that in your nose?" "Is a waisin, Mommy," he answered sweetly. With a few clean tissues and some gentle persuasion, I realized the good news: There was not a raisin in Baby's nose.

The bad news: It was a blueberry.

Made Me Laugh

Me: "Goliath, you look handsome in your new muscle shirt."

Goliath: "Thanks, but I admit it: My armpits are sticking out."

Owner's Manual

Here's what's wrong with hospitals in America: any woman smart enough (or dumb enough, depending on your perspective) to get pregnant can wait 9 months, go to a hospital, and give birth to a baby. Then they just send you home with said baby and you are expected to care for, nurture, and raise the child into a self-sufficient, well-rounded, socially adept, law-abiding adult.

Children should come with owner's manuals.

And, based on my experience (particularly the last couple of days), that manual should include chapters on What To Do If Your Child....

1. ...Believes that he is a dog. He transports himself on all fours, he barks, he will not use silverware to get food from his plate to his mouth. He insists that you pet him.

2. ...Refuses to eat anything besides Kraft macaroni & cheese and dry cereal. Period.

3. ...Is traumatized by finding his pet guinea pig dead in her cage.

RIP, Ellie.

4. ...Sets off the fire alarm at church.

5. ...Prefers to sleep on the floor instead of in his own bed. For many nights in a row.

6. ...Asks hard questions about God, heaven, hell, sin, and salvation.

7. ...Thinks potty training is fine for other children, but not for him personally.

Maybe one day I'll write the manual and it will be standard for all new parents. Wish me luck.

Proud to be an American!!!

...And Happy Birthday, Daddy! I love you!!!

Wordless Wednesday

Sleepovers, Swimming, and Wiki Wiki!

Summer is well underway! Let's see...what have we been up to?

Goliath went to his first sleepover at his friend J's house.

Eating Twinkies and watching TV


J's VERY fun parents took the boys to the Red, White, & Blue Festival where they
got their faces painted.....

Goliath won a T-shirt....

They did some bouncing.....


and saw some fireworks.

FINALLY asleep!

This past week I also had my first big undertaking as our church's children's director:

Vacation Bible School was so much fun! I had awesome people working with me, and the kids really enjoyed it. I loved seeing little ones really get into the stories and asking good questions--eternal seeds were planted! Just between you and me, though, I'm glad it's over! Now if I could just convince my boys to stop singing "Wiki Wiki..."

We also bought a membership for our family to the new community activity center. They have an indoor and an outdoor pool. We have been swimming. A LOT. Goliath and Little Middle are both doing really well in the water this year! Goliath is tall enough that I don't have to worry as much about him. He can even go down the water slides alone, and he loves it!

That's a quick update. I've been lax about the blog (I blame it on VBS)...sorry! I'll try to do better. For now, I have to run. We're off to the pool!

Kindergarten Graduation

My number one son graduated from kindergarten yesterday! It really doesn't seem like it was that long ago that I was sitting in an early-morning conference with Ms. L--a total stranger at the time--and asking her to make allowances for my son, who was wondering if his mommy would ever get well. Now, nine months later, Mommy is well and Goliath has been a star student in kindergarten! God has been so gracious to us.

This is Goliath walking across the stage. The kids were well-trained to first shake hands with their teacher, then the principal.

Here he is waiting on the risers. He is tall, and is always in the back row!

When the graduation ceremony was over, we went back to his classroom so his teacher could do individual awards. She is great, and every kid in her class received an award. She was careful to point out something good about each and every one of the students--even the most rambunctious "friend" (that's what she calls them, as if Friend is another proper name) got a certificate of recognition for his "high energy and enthusiasm." HA! Goliath's award was in recognition of his "kindness to others." Ms. L said that whenever the class has had a new Friend come in, Goliath is the first to take said Friend under his wing and show them the ropes. He can always be counted on to make good choices and do the right thing, and he shows patience, compassion, and respect to everyone. This is when I started sniffling......

THEN...Ms. L explained that the school administration had allowed each teacher to choose 5 students from their class to receive a special citizenship award. She started calling those names, and just when I was starting to wonder how devastated he would be to not receive one, she called him up. The four kids in front of him had received a certificate and a special pin; MY kid was so fabulous he got a MEDAL. He wore it all day long (even into Firestone to get a flat tire fixed) because he is proud and he thinks it is made of real gold.



He also got a prize because he read 234 books this year--yes, they keep track and yes, we are sick of reading.



After all those awards, we were overflowing with pride in our firstborn. What's a parent to do? We checked him out of school at 10 a.m.! We came home, went swimming and roasted hot dogs in the barbeque pit for lunch.

Goliath and Ms. L (and the medal)

Goliath and his best kindergarten buddy

Post-graduation swimming