A Lesson in Humility

Today I'm a little irritated with myself. This humanness can be quite annoying at times. I was sitting at the table just now doing my Bible study when I was told what my problem was. Maybe in the written words of Priscilla Shirer, but the revelation was given by Someone else. Humility. Do I honestly put others above myself? Sometimes. But that's not good enough. I was taking Coleman to school this morning, and although we left pretty much on time (right when it was time to go, my little champion pottier informed me he needed to go poo poo) we were 20 minutes late. Twenty minutes filled with people cutting across lanes and going straight from the left turn lane so they didn't have to wait in the line of cars that I was at the end of. Twenty minutes filled with stopped trains blocking the road where I needed to cross. Twenty minutes filled with finding an alternate route, only to find a police car and fire truck blocking the road because a car had wrecked and overturned. Twenty minutes filled with taking a second detour through a neighborhood that I wasn't too familiar with, only to end up about a block away from the wreck. We finally made it to school. Of course those extra twenty minutes were filled with "look at that jerk" and "who does he think he is" and "oh I know that train isn't stopped across the road" and luckily a "Lord please protect those people who just had a wreck." But that last statement doesn't make up for all those that proceeded it. And Coleman and Spence heard them all. My time and my life is no more important that anyone else's. If anything, I should be of the opinion that others are more important than myself and treat them as though they are just that. Isn't that how we all want to be treated? Humility. What a lesson. And of course the events of this morning aren't the only things going on in my life that tell me I need a lesson in humility. I only write this because maybe, just maybe, someone else is dealing with the same things today. You're not alone!

God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble. 1 Peter 5:5

For kicks I just looked that verse up in The Message and the last part says, "Wise living gets rewarded with honor; stupid living gets the booby prize." Yikes! Not sure what that is, but I don't want the booby prize! Occasionally the person who does the scripture reading at church uses The Message. I'd love to hear this one from the pulpit! I think some of the sleepers might wake up!

Return of the Tomato

Last night we ate at Whataburger, and guess what. The tomato is back! Have you had one yet? I like tomatoes, but they are no where near as important as the dearly loved pickle, so it wasn't as if I was falling into a deep depression while they were gone. I suppose they've just become a common vegetable (or are they a fruit? that one's always baffled me.) to put on a burger, chicken sandwich, or salad. Now, my dad does not like to be referenced on my blog, but I have to share something. Sorry Dad. He and Mom came to stay with us for a few days and they brought their own tomatoes (since they are a staple in his diet) that were homegrown by a friend. Before we left for Whataburger, Mom sliced one for his burger, put it in a baggie, and took it with us! I found this pretty funny. It was like Christmas day when we got our burgers and found that they had tomatoes once again. Tomato jackpot!

OK, but in all seriousness, the boys had a great time with Nana and Poppa. We walked down to the lake and went fishing. Nana caught the biggest fish, and then Nana, Coleman, and Spence working as a team caught a turtle. Of course we threw everything back. The fish probably enjoyed our trip to the lake more than we did. They had a feast of hot dog wienies, since I didn't have any worms laying around.

Ready to Fish!

And here he is fishing!

It takes a village to catch a fish.

Coleman and his 4

Coleman was playing with legos and said, "Look! I made a 4." Then he told me it was my birthday, which actually is correct. My birthday is November 4th. He started singing "Happy Birthday" to me. Then he dropped the 4 and it broke apart. He said, "I can fix anything for you," and put it back together. Then he walked around the house acting like he was straight out of Sesame Street. It was pretty cute.

Spence says, "I may not have made that cool 4 for you, but take my picture too!"

And he continued to try and impress. It worked!

No Thunder Means...

Coleman had swim lessons today! He loved it. Parents have to stay back behind a certain line so we don't interfere with the lessons, so I didn't get great pictures today, but I got a few worth sharing. Coleman is the youngest one in his class. From what I could hear, they had to tell him to stay in the pool and stop jumping in! His class stayed in the 3 foot water for most of the time, so he was able to touch. He would jump up and down and bob around while he was waiting on his turn with the instructor. Then at the end of the lesson, they went to the deep end and jumped off the diving board. He couldn't wait for his turn. I think he cut in line in front of a kid in his class, who looks like he's about 7 years old by the way, and the boy pushed him. He fell off the bottom step of the diving board onto the concrete, but he just got back up and was fine. Later we put a bandaid on his arm. I was pretty far away, so click each picture to get a better view.

Coleman with his class

Walking around the pool listening to instructions

Holding on to the edge

Days of Thunder

When I don't post for a few days, it either means so much has been going on that I've been too busy, nothing has been going on so I've had nothing to blog about, or I've just been lazy. That last one is rarely the case. I better be truthful or I might get struck by lightning! We've had enough of it around here. In the last week we've been kicked out of the pool three times due to inclement weather. The thunder had no mercy on us today, even though it was Coleman's first day of swim lessons. What a bummer! Hopefully tomorrow it can hold off until the afternoon so he can start learning to swim! I've been trying to hype this up for some time now. He usually says, "I don't want to go to swim lessons because I don't know how to swim!" I've tried to explain that that's the point. I think the concept might be lost on him. In regards to all the thunderstorms, I have to say we're very grateful for the rain, and if getting booted from the pool is the worst of it, we're quite blessed. I know parts of the country are dealing with major storms and my prayers go out to them.

Little did he know, his trunks wouldn't even get wet today.

Remember, it's a swim lesson towel, not a beach towel.

Spence and his kiddie cone at McDonald's

Unfortunately, Coleman's friend Keller and his family did not get to come this past weekend. He woke up with an ear infection Saturday morning. Feel better Keller! We did, however, get to celebrate a week's worth of successful pottying by going to Incredible Pizza Company. Coleman really wanted to go here because they have go karts. He and Daddy won the race, but the pictures didn't turn out very well. Here are a few pictures that did capture the fun.

Cheering on Daddy as he shoots baskets!

Yeehaw!

Conductor Coleman

Oh, another exciting thing happened this weekend. Our neighbor across the street was elected Mayor of Sugar Land! For some reason I feel a little more powerful than I did last week. I'm sure he's dying to hear all my ideas.

And congrats go out to Brian! Sunday night our church had Bunco and Banana Splits. If you don't know, Bunco is a dice game. I overheard one of the older ladies say, "I can't believe this is a Baptist church." Ha! I think towards the end of the night she caught on and might have even enjoyed herself. Back to Brian though, out of about 70 people there, he won a prize for the male with the least amount of wins! Love ya Brian! Ask him about his sweet potato gun some time.

Coleman's Funny Sayings

The other night we got some rain. Brian told Coleman, "Let's thank God for the rain." Coleman said, "Thank you God for the rain!" Then he waited a moment and said, "He didn't say 'You're welcome.' "

Some friends are coming to visit this weekend! Thursday I told Coleman, "Keller is coming to see us on Saturday!" Wanting Keller to come as soon as possible, Coleman replied, "How do you get to Saturday?"

This morning Coleman informed me that there was no Katie in his Bible school class. I said, "Does every class have to have a Katie?" He said, "Every class needs a Katie."

Coleman has been doing GREAT with going potty. He hasn't had an accident since last weekend! Today he was going pee pee and looked down and pushed his belly button. He said, "I push this button and it makes my potty come out."

Since We Last Spoke...

... We've been busy with VBS! Let me think what's been happening. I took a few pictures of Brian and the boys on Father's Day. Of course we did not take them when everyone was dressed nice and clean before church. I remembered it about 7:00 that night. By that time Spence was down to a diaper.

Daddy and his boys on Father's Day

I forgot about the little storm that came through last week and blew one of our trees down. Actually, the storm wasn't that bad, the tree had rotted roots. I still can't get used to it being gone. It provided quite a bit of shade.

The tree that is no more

And this picture is for Jeani. Thank you for sending Coleman this Spider Man costume at Christmas. He likes to wear it around the house, and has even asked to wear it to church. Maybe when it gets cooler. We'll see.

Spider Man doing the, um, zombie walk?

And finally, some news about VBS. I'm teaching 2nd grade and am having a good time. It's just exhausting. Coleman has been having a blast! The first morning he was up in my room with me while I was getting last minute things ready. All of a sudden he says, "I've got to go poop!" We hurried to the bathroom and he went. He pooped again the next morning and earned his reward: Buzz Lightyear!

Posing with Buzz before going to VBS

Hello from Outrigger Island!

This afternoon we left Spence at school and Coleman and I went to lunch and a few stores. I told Coleman I'd let him pick out a beach towel to take to swim lessons next week. (I didn't want him to be the little boy with the pink Piglet towel.) When we got to the store, I said, "Let's go pick out a beach towel." He said, "I don't want a beach towel. I want a swim lesson towel." Gee kid, don't take things so literally. Ha! And in case you're wondering, he chose the Nemo towel over the Spider Man and Lightning McQueen towels. I was shocked! He did, however, just watch Finding Nemo last week. We joined NetFlix. We're in the middle of Bee Movie right now. It's great!

A visit from the cow at Chic-Fil-A today

Happy Father's Day to the Three Dads In My Life

Happy Father's Day to all the Dads out there. I am blessed to have three fathers in my life. Here is a message to each of them:

Dad,
What a wonderful father you are! I have so many great memories from growing up. My favorite memories are of going water skiing, bike riding, playing basketball, and father/son canoe trips! I could probably count on one hand all the events I was in that you missed. You were at every basketball game and track meet, and several tennis matches! You built a long jump pit in our front yard so I could practice. You made sure our basketball goal and free throw line were regulation so I could shoot around at home. You always included my friends, especially the ones that didn't have a Super Dad like you. I think you probably would have adopted several of them if you could have! You put up with slumber parties and shopping trips! As I got older, you didn't kill any of the guys I brought home. You probably wanted to kill a few, but you would have missed us too much if you were in prison. Thank you for teaching me right from wrong, taking me to church, always being there, and just being you! I'm sure others have good Dads too, but no one else has you! I love you and can't imagine having any other Daddy!

Gale,
You became my father-in-law 9 1/2 years ago. You have treated me like a daughter since the first time we met. I don't believe I could have found a better father-in-law if I had tried. You are so supportive of everything we do and enjoy being a part of our lives. I enjoy the trips to Montana and your trips down here. I know you were a wonderful father to Brian when he was little, and you are now a wonderful Grandpa to Coleman and Spence. They are crazy about you! I look forward to every chance to talk with you and visit. I feel so blessed to have gained another amazing Dad!

Brian,
Since Coleman and Spence can't put into words what an awesome Daddy they think you are, I'll do it for them. I can tell how much you love your boys. You provide for them everything they need. You discipline them out of love. You give them your time and attention. I know some Dads don't do that with their young children. Of course sometimes they seem to be trying to drive us insane, but you never lose it with them! I thank you for being a godly man that they can look up to. I know they want to be just like you, and that's a good thing! You and I are so blessed to have the fathers we have, and you are carrying on that tradition with our boys. Thank you for being the Dad you are to them! I love you so much for it!

With three incredible role models, I have all confidence that Coleman and Spence will one day grow up and be amazing Dads as well. I love you guys!

Oh So Very Strange But True

The following is a true story. It is also a disgusting story. I find it humorous too, but maybe that means that I'm sick. I've gone back and forth trying to decide if I should post this or not. But hey, this is our life. Sometimes life is messy. I'll warn you now, this story involves bodily functions and feminine products, so you make the decision that's right for you. And please, if you read it, leave me a comment. I want to know if I should omit any future stories of such a distasteful nature, or go ahead and share if they're funny.

Coleman is sick. He's going to the allergist tomorrow. Brian is getting sick. Spence has a stubborn tooth that has been trying to break through for, oh, I don't know, like 2 weeks! Enough already! We were up 'til all hours of the night trying to get him to sleep so he wouldn't keep John and Mary awake. They had to be up and to the hospital for doctor appointments this morning.

It was relatively nice this morning, so instead of driving to Walgreens to get Oragel for Spence, we walked and took the stroller. At the store, I purchased the teething medicine and maxi pads. If you remember, I'm trying to be greener, so I declined a bag for my purchases. On the way back home we passed one of Coleman's favorite parks, so we stopped to play for awhile.

Oh, side note: Coleman has been wearing underwear and hasn't pooped in his pants for about a week now. Back to the story...

At the park, Coleman started acting strangely and doing a little dance we've named "The Poo Poo Dance." I knew we couldn't make it home before he went in his pants, so I asked him if he wanted to go right there. (Nobody else was at the park.) I thought it would be a little obnoxious to just let him poop on the ground, but I had nothing with me - except Oragel and a bag of maxi pads. I opened the package and dumped all the pads out into the bottom of the stroller, then brought the bag over and held it under Coleman's bottom. He went right in the bag like this was nothing new to him! Then I unwrapped two of the pads and just wiped him off, threw them in the poop bag, and dumped it in the trash. I know this has to be the strangest thing I've ever done. Or at least that I'm willing to write about.

Funny Pictures, Funny Questions

The boys enjoying some masks I bought for Vacation Bible School

Coleman had an interesting question this morning. Maybe a wise philosopher out there can answer this one. While eating breakfast we had the following conversation.

Coleman: How does Jesus get in your heart?

Mommy: When you get older and understand more about Him, you can ask Him to come into your heart.

Coleman: Does He see our food go down?

I can imagine that Coleman pictures a tiny little Jesus sitting inside his heart, looking up at all the Cinnamon Toast Crunch he's swallowing!

Catching Up

I can't believe I haven't posted since Tuesday! The heat is draining all of my energy. Wednesday the boys both went to school and I taught my music classes. During the summer there are only 3 classes as opposed to 6 during the school year. It's much better! Mom also came to visit for a few days this week. She finished painting my kitchen walls while the boys were at school. I can't thank her enough!

We love you Nana!

Brian brought some boxes home from work and made a cool tunnel for the boys to crawl through. They had tons of fun until they decided to smash it. I guess that's a guy thing.




I took the boys to the pool yesterday and Spence started jumping in! Mostly I held his hands and he jumped, but once he went in all by himself. And of course Coleman is a fish. They had a blast. I have a feeling we'll be spending a lot of time at the pool this summer.

Coleman and Spence are best buds. Coleman is always wanting Spence to play with him (as long as Spence doesn't want his toy). The other day I caught Spence sitting in Coleman's lap while they watched a video.


And you know I have to tell you some of the interesting things Coleman has said. Today he asked, "Where does the grass go when you mow it?" Then he was following Spence around and sniffing him saying, "I want to smell you because you smell like strawberries!" We got a new carseat that is a lot narrower so a person can sit in between the boys in the truck. It's sitting in the living room now, and this morning Coleman put on his football helmet, strapped himself in, and said, "I'm blasting off!"


Here are two more pictures from today. We went to a playgroup at the park and then to the mall for lunch. Hope you have a great Friday!

Best Buds

Second Blast Off of the Day

At Least You Know Our Names

Yesterday we were driving home from school and I turned right. Coleman wondered what was left.

Coleman: What's that way?
Mommy: People's houses.
Coleman: What are their names?
Mommy: I don't know.
Coleman: Why not?
Mommy: Because I don't know anybody that lives over there.
Coleman: Why not?
Mommy: (getting a little irritated) I don't know sweetie. I just don't.
Coleman: (after a short pause) Are there people who don't know our names?

I just laughed! I love how his mind works!

On My Face

Coleman is at school today so Spence and I are home alone! It's kind of strange, but I'm enjoying it. We were eating lunch and I couldn't help but notice how messy his face was. I thought I should write a poem about it. That's something I do sometimes. Kind of strange, but maybe it will help me remember how sweet he was when he was little. Also, hope you like the new blog look. Brian's still working on it. And yes, we got the design from Pimp My Profile! Now every time someone looks at my blog, they see the word "pimp." So sorry about that. Anyway, here's the poem and the face that inspired it:

On My Face

Look at me and you might see
The messiest face that ever could be!
The first thing you'll notice is pizza sauce.
I had a napkin but it must be lost.
There's banana and strawberry cereal bar
And chocolate from candy I ate in the car.
From my nose to my mouth there's a stream of snot too
But the best thing's my smile that says, "I love you!"