Being Purposeful

Last week I told you about my Bible study challenge of writing a Life Purpose Statement and meant to share what I had so far on Saturday. Seems as though I got a little distracted this weekend! Here are the verses I want to work into my purpose statement:

Psalm 90:17
...establish the work of our hands for us— yes, establish the work of our hands.

Philippians 4:6
Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.

Philippians 4:8
Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.

Ephesians 5:1-2
Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children ² and live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.

Ephesians 5:15-17
Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, ¹⁶ making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. ¹⁷ Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is.

Anyone have a verse you'd like to share?

Why Boys and Princess Books Don't Mix

Today Spence decided to join Allie for her nap time reading. She picked out her princess book, as she has done almost every day since she got it for Christmas. (I'm stopping right now and reminding myself that very soon this sweet time of snuggling and reading books will be over. Until then, I will try not to strangle any princesses.)
Throughout the book, Spence had me laughing so hard I had trouble reading! On the page about Ariel (The Little Mermaid, wearing the seashell "bra"), he said, "Look, she has shells covering up those things right there!" This led to a whole conversation about why girls have those things and what they're for. I reminded him that's how I fed Coleman, him, and Allie when they were babies. He said, "But Ariel doesn't have any water babies!" I think we just turned the page!
On Belle's page, he said, "I want to watch that movie 'cause I wanna see what the Beast looks like!" I'm pretty sure no girl ever watched Beauty and the Beast because she was curious as to what the Beast would look like.
And then he wondered why Snow White was named that because she didn't have any white on her dress. He could have cared less about Cinderella, but was quite intrigued by the wicked stepsisters. I guess they're the princess story bad guys!

Okay Okay. I'm going to take a break from writing about my uber-hilarious kids (why does spell check have a problem with that word?) and be a little more serious tomorrow. My Bible study challenge this week is to write a Life Purpose Statement. I'm going to share what I have so far tomorrow. Maybe some of you can even share if you have a life verse or some kind of purpose statement or something that inspires you to live a meaningful life. Until then!

Think Outside the Box, But Play Inside It!

I've decided, that if ever given the opportunity to build a house, I will have one room solely dedicated to big boxes and packing supplies!

Keep Me Laughing

I just love the silly things kids say! So I've listed three things that happened today at our house and the funny things the kids said.

Daddy and Allie sitting on the couch
Daddy: Allie, did you just wipe your boogers on my sleeve?
Allie: Yes. I don't like them on my face.

Coleman had just helped Spence lift his mattress and find all the little stuffed animals that had fallen behind the bed
Coleman: Spence told me one time that he wished I wasn't real. I bet he's glad I'm real now!

The boys were watching You Tube and someone was speaking Russian
Spence: They're speaking Spanish!
Daddy: No, that's Russian.
Spence began listing off all the languages he "knows."
Coleman: You don't know any of those languages!
Spence: Well, I know lots of English!

Be Our Valentines!

Spence and Allie's Valentines for the class parties turned out pretty cute! I hope the kids realize that's a hunk of crayon and not chocolate! So Spence would have some part in making them I had him write "Your friend Spence" with crayon and then I scanned it so he wouldn't have to write it 11 times! I love how he writes now. (Of course what you see on that small card went all the way across a piece of paper and had huge spaces. I had to do a little editing to get it to fit!) Click on the picture so you can get a better look at it!

Reason To Love Her #579

Tonight on the way to church Allie was looking at a My First Bible and really liked it. Our little friend that goes to church with us told Allie maybe she could get one for Christmas. I suggested getting her one for Easter, but Allie said, "No, I want to ask Santa for a Bible!" Then after a little more discussion, Allie said, "Santa's scary. I want Jesus to come to my house!!!" Isn't that the best?

Determination

pop-pa-roo-zer (pop' uh roo' zer) n. an air-filled bubble used in packaging materials that makes a popping sound when collapsed.

I think that is my favorite made up word. And I know this is my favorite popparoozer popper! She has quite the determination and perseverance!

The Classic Stomp

The Classic Stomp taken up a notch

The Two-Footed Stomp

The Mighty Jump and Stomp

The Smack It Good

The I'm Down on One Knee Begging You to Pop

The Face Smash (I've never seen this move work)

And to be used only as a last resort - The Bite and Rip

Aftermath of The Bite and Rip - plastic in your teeth

I think I got 'em all Mama!

This Is Love!

For some reason I've decided that store-bought cards just won't do for Spence and Allie's Valentine class parties. And I used to be creative, but now I just steal all my ideas from the internet! Well, steal is such a nasty word. I use the internet to get some creative juices flowing, then I tweak other people's ideas. There! That sounds better! Here are some Valentines I just love (click the link in the caption to see where I found the Valentine):

Love this elephant!

Adorable butterfly!

Perfect for boys?

And my favorite, once I pretty it up a little...

So I'll be on the look out for heart-shaped pans! In fact, I think they're so cute that I might even attach some to Coleman's Star Wars Valentines I bought at... the store (gasp!).

That's One Way to Say It

Here's something light and fun for your Monday!

What Coleman calls it: Diarrhea of a Wimpy Kid

What Spence calls them: Vanilla Wifers

What Allie calls them: Sloop Loops

What Spence yells: I lifted up the seat!!!!!!!

Of course there's a story behind that last one. Spence got into the habit of trying to go potty without lifting up the seat or removing the toddler potty seat. This created quite the mess. So I fussed, fussed, and fussed some more. Then I began charging him a quarter when he forgot to lift the seat. I think that's when he started remembering! Anyway, now every time he goes potty, he yells at the top of his lungs, "I lifted up the seat!!!!!!!" Doesn't matter if he's downstairs or upstairs or at someone else's house or if Allie is napping or anything else. He says it every time. Every time. Sad thing is, he still doesn't get it all in the toilet. But at least Allie and I don't have to sit in it when we go potty! I promise there's a story coming...

This morning we were at our Monday morning prayer group, Moms in Touch, where we pray for our school-aged children and their school. (This is an awesome thing to be involved in if you have kids in school!) Spence, Allie, and another little boy were upstairs playing, but during the middle of prayer time Spence came downstairs. The moms were divided up into two groups, and Spence headed over to the group I wasn't in. (I had my eyes opened since I heard him coming downstairs.) He walked over to a lady with dark hair, tapped her on the shoulder, and told her he had just lifted up the seat. He's looking straight at this lady, this Asian lady, thinking he's telling me that he lifted up the seat. The other moms were cracking up! Finally he realized she wasn't me and looked confused. But he quickly found me and informed me that he had lifted up the seat. Oh how that little boy makes me laugh!

Upward Action Shots... and More!

Saturday was Coleman's 4th basketball game. He's doing great and we're all loving it! I cannot recommend Upward sports highly enough. I've been so pleased with the experience. Here are a few shots from the game:

They begin with a prayer



Shoot, Coleman!

I'm really hoping that Coleman develops a love of basketball. That was mine and Brian's sport, so I'd love watching my kids play all through school!

And give it up for my younger two. It's hard work attaining this level of cuteness!




Today Brian took Coleman to a birthday party at the skating rink. The birthday boy plays hockey, but I hear hockey skates aren't for everyone! Apparently Coleman and the other little boys had to go trade in their hockey skates for figure skates. Coleman thinks skating is for 8 year olds! But Brian said he kept at it and got better.

Hugging the wall for dear life!

Looks like he had fun!

How We Measure Love Around Here

Spence is one of the most lovey kids I know. He loves to give me hugs and kisses, even in public, for now! He likes to tell Brian and me how much he loves us. It's always something different such as to the moon, or to a google. Then he reminds us, "But I love God more." My sweet boy...

So this morning I was telling Spence that he was going to learn about planets and stars at school. He said, "I love you to a black hole! To Jupiter!" He wasn't sure which was farther. Then Allie said, "I love you to $18!" I'm thinking that's a lot for her!

Monster Jam!

Thank you Daddy for taking us to the Monster Jam!!!

Where Were We?

Last week Brian found out that a couple he knew when he was a youth minister in The Netherlands was going to be close enough to visit over the weekend. We were going to just meet them for dinner, but decided to make a weekend out of it! It was really a fun family vacation! Can you guess where we were?

Buc-cee's was on the way!

Allie wanted to buy one of everything!

Our hotel

It was really nice!

And then there was the pool... 23 floors up on top of the building!

The kids loved it!

The pool was heated, but the hot tub felt better! You might see a landmark in the background... Tower of the Americas

But you definitely know this landmark... Remember the Alamo!

We wanted the boys to want to visit the Alamo, so the night before we left Brian showed them some fighting scenes from the John Wayne movie. They couldn't wait to visit the Alamo!

They were excited when we got to the Alamo, but we had to remind them that many people gave their lives there and we needed to show respect. They did really well, then we let them have their battle scenes outside.

Brian bought Spence this Davy Crockett hat, and as we were walking along the River Walk, one of the tour boat guides said to his passengers, "If you look over there you'll see a young Davy Crockett!" So funny!


We had a great family vacation in San Antonio this past weekend!

Happy Birthday Coleman!

We have a 7 year old! No, we have the best 7 year old in the world! Love you Coleman!

Star Wars lego set from Daddy and Mommy

Star Wars toy from Grandma and Grandpa

Star Wars blanket from Nana and Poppa

Can you guess what Coleman is into at the moment? Ha! We're planning to celebrate his birthday after basketball season is over by taking him and a few friends to a cave. I'm looking forward to that!

Rainy Day

It has rained and rained and rained today! Once it slowed down a little, I took Spence and Allie out to play in it. Gotta put those rain boots to good use!

It looked like so much fun that I was wishing I had a pair of rain boots!