Foolish Pride

This is my little buddy. I absolutely adore this child- he is my big helper and he is so smart and sensitive. And lately he's been an absolute angel. But today was a rough day. It was just one of those days where we had to discipline ALL day. This morning he was having a hard time accepting our rules and was disciplined for his disobedience and I thought it was all over, until I said, "okay, now say you are sorry." Silence. "Say you are sorry." More silence. I couldn't believe it- all I wanted was two little words and the child would not budge. I left him in his room- came back- silence. All I could think of was pride. Pride! He would accept discipline, hug me, but saying sorry was too painful, too selfless. I realized how much power those words have. I have a hard time saying I'm sorry. In my life we just kind of argued and then got over it- not really getting bogged down in a formal apology. I know firsthand how hard it is. But we have to learn. We have to humble ourselves and put others above ourselves. We have to seek forgiveness for our trespasses. I have to train my children. Discipline without repentance is fruitless. I have to be quick to say I'm sorry to them and then expect the same when they disobey. I'm going to really work on being vulnerable and saying I'm sorry this month. I will lead by example. St. Augustine says "The confession of evil works is the first beginning of good works." (By the way, little man finally said he was sorry and we had a precious time tonight getting ready for a fresh start tomorrow).

Can we build it- yes we can!

Well my in-laws came to Birmingham this weekend for their once-a-year visit. We surprised them with a big project- the kids' new playgym. It was a beast to put together- anyone who has done this knows what I am talking about. None of the parts or screws were labeled- so just finding what you needed took forever. Marc's mom was the contractor and Marc and his dad were the muscle.
My job was to keep the kids away from the work zone- which I did most of the time. Here is Julia doing her favorite thing in the world- swinging from a bar. She will do this all day- from anything- she even swings off of restaurant doors.
Here's the crew- mostly done. They only had to put up the swings, glider, and rockwall and finish putting down mulch and pinestraw. The kids love ZaZa and Grandpa- yes, I said Zaza. Blame my nephew. : )
All in all it was a great weekend. We worked hard on the playset, went to the Southern Museum of Flight again, went to the outlets, ate tons of yummy food and watched several movies. It was nice to have Daddy home for a whole weekend without working. Here is Julia playing in the bubble machine that Zaza fixed. Good times.

Books I love

Okay here's another thing I love: Read Aloud Bible Stories. These are soooooo much better than any other Bible story books we have (and we have tons). We have volumes 1 and 2 now. One of my favorite stories is about blind Bartemeus- he couldn't see the sun, the trees, the houses or the people..... until he met Jesus....then Jesus healed him and he could see the sun, the trees, the houses and the people, but best of all Bartemeus saw Jesus. Okay that's a paraphrase- but I almost cry everytime I read the thing. The illustrations are huge and beautiful. Marky loves the books and I think I'm going to start giving it as birthday presents. My in-laws are here all weekend and the computer is in the guest room so I have been soooo disconnected. I plan to post about the visit tomorrow!

EXPELLED- the movie

My parents saw this movie and it was awesome. Brilliant Ben Stein exposes the religious ferver many scienctists have for being "non-religious". I am going to try to slip away this weekend to see it while my in-laws are here.

Double Whammy

LOST
and THE OFFICE

TONIGHT!!!!

I scream, You scream

We all scream for ICE CREAM! (or "I-keem" if you are Sissy).

Maybe it was Memphis

So it seems Marc has this quirky Uncle John who is a semi-famous artist/sculptor in the Memphis area. Here he is with one of his sculptures in front of a downtown Memphis building. He even did the angel that is over Elvis's gravestone.

He also has an affinity for Hawaiian shirts and has collected over 700 over the years. He donated them to the Memphis College of Art (where he used to be a professor) and they had a huge show where they sold them. We went- and it was something. They had shirts EVERYWHERE- and people were bidding on them- some were going for over $500. They had catered food, music- the works.
Here is quirky Uncle John with Marc and Julia at the show.
Here is just one shot from inside Uncle John's old, junk-store house. He is the quintessential artist. Those are tons of paintbrushes and old clay models.
The next day we toured around Memphis and took a tour of his artwork all over town. He has sculptures in lots of parks and hotels. We also drove by landmarks like the Mississippi River, St. Jude's hospital, and this huge pyramid thing. Then we went up and down Beale Street which was a real treat. Here is (L-R) my sister-in-law Amber with her son Noah, my mother-in-law Nancy, Uncle John, Marky, Me, Julia, Marc and Marc's cousin Amy.
Marky and Uncle John especially bonded and Uncle John gave him a fancy harmonica that he has not put down since he's been home. Uncle John never married or had kids- but he is great with kids. He's 74- and you would never know it. We had a great time in Memphis and I definitely want to go back when we have time to see the rest of it. There is a TON of stuff to do there. We were there about 26 hours- so it was a whirlwind.

United for Life

Last night we got to host a table at the United For Life foundation's "A Taste of Broadway Series: A Dream Worth Living" banquet. It was a fundraiser. United for Life promotes the culture of life through media and the arts. The program was very interesting- they sang several broadway songs and in between would talk about the damage that can be done to people's souls and the culture at large when people use other people as objects.
Here are some of our friends that came with us, Chris and Christy (who recently got engaged!), Susan, and Thomas and Jennifer.
After the main show they had a "Ladies and Gentlemen's Ball" with a 19 piece orchestra! It was so neat- I LOVE big band music. Unfortunately we couldn't stay long- but we did manage to dance a little! Here are John and Julie with Thomas and Jennifer. Thanks for coming everyone!

National Cathedral - My Shepherd Will Supply My Need

Here's the Song

My Shepherd Will Supply My Needs

This morning the gospel reading was John 10 where Jesus says "I am the Good Shepherd." It struck me especially because that theme of Christ as the Good Shepherd is the foundation of Marky's catechism program, of which I'm getting 90 hours of training to be a catechist. It just resonates with children- of course the sheep love the Shepherd. After all, He calls them by NAME. He leads them out to good pasture. He lays down His life for His sheep. If He loses one- He will leave the other 99 and find it, put it on His shoulders and come back rejoicing! Who are we to deserve such a Shepherd? How glorious He is! I've been walking in a bit of a dark valley lately, and it is good to know my Shepherd will always be there with goodness and mercy.

After the reading we sang My Shepherd will Supply my needs- written by Isaac Watts:

My Shepherd will supply my need,
Jehova is His name.
In pastures fresh He makes me feed,
Beside the living stream.
He brings my wand’ring spirit back,
When I forsake His ways.
And leads me for His mercy’s sake
In paths of truth and grace.
When I walk through the shades of death
Thy presence is my stay.
One word of Thy supporting breath
Drives all my fears away.
Thy hand in sight of all my foes,
Doth still my table spread.
My cup with blessings overflows,
Thine oil anoints my head.
The sure provisions of my God
Attend me all my days.
O may Thy house be my abode,
And all my work be praise.
There would I find a settled rest,
While others go and come.
No more a stranger nor a guest,
But like a child at home.

What you won't see on CNN

I was reading a letter written by a soldier I know very well and thought it was so good I had to share with you guys:

Today while traveling through downtown Baghdad on top of a gun truck something happened that I have never witnessed before. There were no cars on the streets due to heightened security and children had turned the streets into a playground. Smiling and laughing as they played stick ball and rode their bicycles they waved at us, giving us thumbs ups and raising the fingers shouting "number one". Adults, both men and women, would come out of their homes as we passed and lean out the windows of their apartments and come out on their balconies cheering and waving as we drove through their neighborhood. Iraqi national police and soldiers stood proudly at their posts at attention as we drove by. Finally on the alert and in control of their homeland and unable to repress a smile at our thumbs up to them. I write this because I know you will not see it on CNN. No media will tell you of it as there is no media there. It is not the story of defeat and futileness that advances the defeatist position being sold by the media, it does not support the failure they have tied their careers and reputations to, but I WAS THERE, I AM HERE and I WILL BE HERE and I am not on CNN. What you don't see on CNN: the bombs that don't go off, the missiles that never launch, the lives that are not lost, the planes that do not fall out of the sky, the tons of explosives and thousand of mortars and hundreds of sniper rifles we take out before they kill. Good men are here fighting the good fight for good reasons. We are fighting against hate, against zealotry, and we are winning. The enemy is doing his all to inflict what loss he can and CNN promotes whatever they can to dishearten and mislead America but do not be disheartened, be proud of these truths I tell you, for right shall surely overcome all objections and once again the good guys are winning, will win and remember WE ARE THE GOOD GUYS.

Let's pray for our heros- the soldiers, the knights, the victors!

Always be ready....

Little man fell asleep with the lights on, on top of the covers, with his easy reader book and of course, the claw! You just can't be too prepared at night.... (this is another reason I love little boys).

I'll be busy tonight

THE OFFICE IS BACK!!!! Finally, some real humor on the tube. Enjoy it while you can, because "in Scranton, life moves at the speed of time."

Editors Note: I was THOROUGHLY disappointed in tonight's episode- it was not funny- just overdramatic and uncomfortable. If you saw The Office for the first time tonight- please don't base your decision on this show. Rent Seasons 1-3 and you will see why folks love the show.

Zoo Days

Today we went to the Zoo. Marky had a class from 10:00-11:00 on turtles/tortoises. He had a great time- here he is with the turtle thingy he made. This is what I get when I ask him to smile instead of making him actually laugh.
While little man was in class, Sissy and I had one-on-one time exploring the petting zoo. Here she is with the chickens. She LOVED all the farm animals.
Here she is loving on a baby goat- she was grateful that the goat got up on the stump to be closer to her.
After class was over- we saw some animals, rode the train, ate some lunch and then went to the water fountains! Here is sissy- all I can think of when I see this picture is that song- "My milkshake brings the boys to the yard..."
Marky ran around like a crazy man in his brand-new Thomas bathing suit that he got for his birthday. All in all it was a great day- and I think I'm going to start doing days like this A LOT this summer.

Jon and Kate Plus 8

Am I the only person who loves this show on TLC?

Happy Birthday Babies!

Today was Marc's 4th and Julia's 2nd birthday! It was a GREAT day. Even though it had rained that morning- it was pretty nice by party time. The jump castle was a hit- we will definitely do that again! Enjoy the pics!

Law Dogs

So tonight was our law school reunion at Ross Bridge Resort. It was Marc's 10-year reunion and my 5-year reunion (which works perfectly b/c we'll always celebrate at the same time!) We laughed all night. Anytime you get Marc around his old roomates you are going to get hilarious stories. And anytime you get me and my old roomate Holly together you are going to get a lot of sass.

Here we are on our way out- the kids were happy to stay with BB.

Here are some folks from Marc's class- in the middle is Marc's roomate Joe and his wife. Here are some of my classmates- Chris C., Christy H., me, Holly and her guy Jeff. Yes, I did feel a little "over" dressed. haha!

Attention Train Table Owners

As Michael Scott would say "Let's get ready to blow some minds." If you have a train table I am about to change your life for the better. If you are like me (and I know you are) you have a love/hate with the train table. Sure, your kids like it when it is completely put together, but that lasts about 10 seconds and then the baby or, as we call our baby, "the master of disaster" comes and tears the whole thing up and then nobody plays with the table. So you can either glue or nail the tracks down and ruin your table or mat....or let the table be a mess all the time. Introducing SureTrack (cue the music). We got these today and they are amazing! Even the bridges don't fall down- ALL the pieces are permanently connected- Miss Disaster even sat on the finished tracks and they stayed together. My son is beside himself. And- we can change the tracks anytime we want. I know..... it's amazing.....