My Kids Can Plank Too

Planking is all the rage right now. There are even websites dedicated completely to planking photos. What is planking you ask? Wikipedia has a great description, but to paraphrase:

"Planking" (or the "Lying Down Game") is an activity consisting of lying face down in an unusual or incongruous location. You're supposed to mimick a wooden plank - the hands must touch the sides of the body and the head is turned face down, looking toward the ground. Having a photograph of the participant taken and posted on the Internet is an integral part of the game.

The idea is to find very original and unique places to plank. So when JD started crawling across the monkey bars yesterday, I had a great idea. . . . . introduce the boys to the newest fad. . . . . planking. I told JD what to do and after a few minutes, he was in perfect position and I snapped the picture.

Ryan caught the planking bug too.

I love these pictures!! Everytime I look at them, they make me laugh out loud.
If you haven't tried planking, you should. It's hilarious. To see some other planking photos, click here: www.planking.me/

A Lesson in "Rattles"

When I got home today with the boys, Bud yelled at me from the backyard to grab a shovel. When I came around the corner, he had another shovel in his hand and had a rattlesnake trapped. While he was mowing the yard, he saw the disgusting creature slithering along our foundation so he jumped off and trapped it.

When I got back with the shovel, he used it to cut the snake's head off before pulling the rest of the snake out for the boys to see. It was a small rattlesnake, but a rattlesnake nonetheless. The boys were intrigued. They wanted to touch it and pick it up. JD even asked if he could take the headless snake to school for show and tell. When we told him "no," he walked the snake to the back of our property line and threw it over the fence. I was proud of him for being so brave.

We had a long serious talk with the boys about snakes though, explaining that even though we let them touch the snake, if they ever see one again, they need to turn around and run as fast as they can and find an adult. I love living out here, but if there's anything I don't like, that's it. Snakes make me so nervous. I think about it every single time the boys go outside to play. I just pray to God that He'll keep the boys safe and keep the snakes away.

Women of the Bible

We are starting a new Bible Study in my ladies group called Women of the Bible. We're gonna learn about some of the significant women in the Bible and their experiences. I love this and am totally looking forward to learning about them all, and finding out what I have in common with them. Some things I might like, and some I might not like so much. But either way, I'm really excited about it.

As we were getting a short introduction to the study last night from the lovely lady that will be leading it, Debbie Torres, she was going through a list of questions that we might consider as we go through the next few weeks. Some self-evaluating questions like:

Do I have integrity?
What is my work ethic?
What are my priorities? And does it show?
What kind of wife am I?
Am I a good mom?
What is a good mom?
Am I someone I'd want my children to look up to?

On and on . . . . . but the ones that always grab my attention are "Am I a good mom?" and "Do I have my priorities straight?"

I think I am a great mom most of the time, but as most moms probably do, there are times when I'm not so proud of myself. Moments when I find myself getting really frustrated and yelling too much. I know the kids are only 3 and 5. . . . . but that's just it. . . . . . they're only 3 and 5. They're supposed to be clingy and needy. They're supposed to want 100% of my attention 100% of the time. They're supposed to be loud and energetic. They're supposed to test my limits (I hate that part, but I know it's a part of their development.)

Sometimes I have a lot of patience and am very tolerant. In fact, I get lots of comments from my friends about how patient I am. Sometimes I'm not so patient though - the kids' energy and questions and constant demands really wear on me. It's times like those that stick out in my mind when my friends comment on my patience. I also know that I work too hard, too much. My job is very draining on me both mentally and emotionally. Sometimes I feel like I come home with nothing left to give my family. That's when I really question my priorities. I know my family is my 1st priority, but sometimes it probably doesn't feel that way to them. And that makes me very sad.

All that being said, I know I tend to be very hard on myself. I expect nothing but perfection (hence, the working too hard!) in everything. That's a very high standard to put on myself so I'm trying take it easier (TRYING!!!). But sometimes I wonder if I had been alive 2000 years ago, would God have found value enough in my story to include it in the Bible? And what lessons would women today be taking away from it?

Kids Say the Darndest Things - #1

Since my kiddos (like almost all other kiddos) say some of the cutest things, I thought I'd jot them down here when they happen. So here's the first one:

Yesterday Bud was getting them out of the bath when JD said "Dad, I can't wait until Ryan is 4 years old. Because then he'll be a big boy and not just a talking baby."

Hilarious!!! Where do they come up with these things?

Ryan is Diaper FREE

He did it!! Ryan made it through 10 days straight of dry nighttime diapers, so he got to start sleeping in underwear on Oct 4th. He has done really fantastic so far in the last 11 nights with only one accident. And that was my fault really. I let him drink WAY too much, and didn't make him go potty before putting him in bed.

So we are officially a DIAPER FREE FAMILY!!!

AWANA - 2nd Year

The boys started their 2nd year of AWANA (Approved Workmen Are Not Ashamed) in September. AWANA is great because they get to spend time with other children while learning about God and memorizing Bible verses. They earn awards for learning and reciting their verses.

This year Ryan has moved up from Puggles (under 3) to Cubbies (3-4 year olds). Last year in Puggles, Ryan didn't really learn any verses because he was too little, so they read Bible stories and did cute little projects. This year though, he's actually responsible for learning at least one verse per week. I'll be honest, I was a little worried. He never really seemed to take an interest in that kind of thing like JD did. But man, he surprised us both! Ryan is REALLY good at learning his verses. In order to get his book and vest, he had to learn 3 verses! He learned one the first week: 1 John 4:10 "God loves us, and he sent his Son," and two the second week: Romans 3:23 "...all have sinned" and Romans 5:8 "...while we were...sinners, Jesus died for us." He also had to learn the Cubbies motto: "Jesus Loves Me." Once he knew all of those, he could get his book and vest. Here is a picture of him getting his book. Unfortunately his AWANA teacher accidentally marked the book wrong and didn't show that he'd said all three so he didn't get his book and vest with the rest of the kids. So here's a picture of Ryan getting his book during game time. And this weekend, he's going to get his vest while we're in the sanctuary in front of all the other kids.

For AWANA this Sunday, he knows three verses, so he'll be ready for his first patch next week! I'm so proud of Ryan!!!

JD has moved up from Cubbies to Sparks (Kinder-2), and has done fantastic so far. The very first verse JD had to memorize in order to get his book and vest was John 3:16 "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, and whosoever believes in him should not perish but have everlasting life." He learned it in no time. I'm so proud of him. AWANA has been a lot of fun so far and I think JD really enjoys being with the bigger kids because game time is a lot more fun. The bigger kids are more competitive and understand how to play the different games a little better than the Cubbies did last year.

Here's a picture of JD getting his book and vest in the sanctuary on Oct 2. For tomorrow, he knows three new verses, so I think he'll be ready for his first award too. Yay JD and RYAN!!!!!

Love At First BITE!

I talked Bud into trying Brazillian cuisine. . . . and he loved it!

When I was in CA back in June of this year, I ate at a Brazillian steak house. It was non-stop meat, served right at your table. You could pick and choose what you wanted, how much you wanted, and even when you wanted them to stop and start serving you. I mean, it was designed with someone like Bud in mind. I just knew that Bud would like it.

So when Groupon had a coupon for a $50 gift certificate for half-price at Texas de Brazil, I snatched it up. I had a hard time convincing Bud to go though - he was afraid it was going to be all "weird and Brazillian" or something, but after explaining that we weren't MOVING there, it was only one meal, he agreed.

My dad watched the kids while we went to eat. I didn't realize we needed reservations, until we got there. We waited for an hour-and-a-half to get a table!!! If we'd had the kids, we would have bolted, but since we were alone, we waited. . . . and waited . . . and waited. We finally got our table about 8:30 and the feast began. Bud was still a little unsure about the place, but after the waiter explained what we were supposed to do, and he flipped the card over from red to green, IT WAS ON!!!

It was like the meat servers (in their pirate pants) were flying in flocks. They swarmed our table like bees on honey, piling the meat on our plates. Filet Mignon, bacon wrapped pork, garlic-flavored steak, little sausages, pork, chicken, etc etc. Gosh, I can't even remember the names of all the meats they offered us. Bud ate so much food he couldn't even keep track, but he was proud of himself - happily rubbing his tummy after the waiter removed his plate.

And of course, as if that wasn't enough, we topped it all off with cheesecake and coffee!!! Because what's a meal without dessert?

Needless to say, it was love at first bite! We're definitely going back - maybe even for his 35th birthday next month. :-)