Pictures A Lesson In Painting, and Twin Photographers

I meant to do this on Monday, but my week has gone by really quick, and I just now remembered. We went to Mom's and Bill's for dinner last Saturday night, and all the kids got a lesson in how to paint. Now, the correct way to do this, is to stand just right, with your tongue stuck out at just the right angle. See the pictures, and you will understand.

Jonah and Noah have also decided they want to become photographers. They had my camera last Thursday when Andy was here, and took some pretty funny pictures. Todd and I were looking at all the unrecognizable photos, and he asked Jonah about them. He was saying, "did you take this one? This one? This one?" After about the third or fourth time of asking this, Jonah 'fessed, "I took all of them, Daddy. I just wanted to take some pictures." You cannot get even the slightest bit angry at that cute little face with those words coming out of his mouth. I did tell him to ask first next time.

Two more pictures and I will be done. A few weeks ago, some friends from church came over, and we started (too late) playing Phase 10. It was midnight when they left, and when we came upstairs, these are the sights we saw. It's the two photos up on top. Love to all!

Being A Mom

I got this from an email this morning. I didn't write it, but I really like it and wanted to share. I dedicate this to all the moms in my life, my own and the ones I know! Enjoy!

Before I was a Mom ,
I never tripped over toys or forgot words to a lullaby.
I didn't worry whether or not my plants were poisonous.
I never thought about immunizations.

Before I was a Mom,
I had never been puked on,
chewed on,
or peed on.
I had complete control of my mind and my thoughts.
I slept all night.

Before I was a Mom,
I never held down a screaming child so doctors could do tests.
Or give shots.
I never looked into teary eyes and cried.
I never got gloriously happy over a simple grin.
I never sat up late hours at night watching a baby sleep.

Before I was a Mom,
I never held a sleeping baby just because I didn't want to put her down.
I never felt my heart break into a million pieces when I couldn't
stop the hurt.
I never knew that something so small could affect my life so much.
I never knew that I could love someone so much.
I never knew I would love being a Mom.

Before I was a Mom,
I didn't know the feeling of having my heart outside my body.
I didn't know how special it could feel to feed a hungry baby.

I didn't know that bond between a mother and her child.
I didn't know that something so small could make me feel so
important and happy.


Before I was a Mom,
I had never gotten up in the middle of the night every 10 minutes to make sure all was okay.
I had never known the warmth, the joy, the love, the heartache,
the wonderment or the satisfaction of being a Mom.
I didn't know I was capable of feeling so much, before I was a
Mom.

Graham

I had a meeting at Collierville Elementary School today about Graham. At the end of second grade, all the students go through a series of tests, sort of placement tests, I guess, to see where they are scholastically. Graham tested off the charts at the end of last year, and was recommended for further testing. He's been going through these tests since September, and just took the last part back in January. So, today's meeting was about the results.

I have been talking to Graham this whole time about how he felt about having to go through all this, and told him at any time he wanted to stop, I would send a letter to school. Needless to say, that never happened. I also asked him about the work load if he got put into advanced classes, and he wants that, as well.

O.k., well, the results today were as follows: his i.q. is 130. He had to score a total of 50 points to be considered for APEX, and he scored 80. Also, at the end of last year, they upped the requirements of APEX, making it harder to get in. Todd and I laughed at this next part; the only thing that needed improvement was his ability to relinquish the leadership position. That's where being the oldest of 4 boys comes into play. His teacher, Mrs. Plummer, explained that this was because he's used to being one of the smartest kids in his class. She did say, too, that this could be a good thing, that that meant he probably would not easily succumb to peer pressure when he gets older. We all (Todd, Mrs. Plummer, the vice principal, Mrs. Harris, and the APEX teacher, Mrs. Killough and I) agreed that this was normal for oldest children.

I am so proud of all that he has accomplished this year! He has had A LOT of responsibility, and he's proved that he thrives in that type of setting. I am also really excited for him to start APEX! It's going to be lots of fun for him. He will have work that is 2 grade levels above him, so he will not be bored. He will be writing lots, and learning to work independently. He's going to LOVE it!!

Alright, I will be quiet now. Love to all!

Happy Wednesday!

I am so glad this week is almost over! It's sad to think that I wish my weeks away by counting down till Friday's with my dad, and weekends with family and friends. I live for the weekends, when we're all home together, not having to be anywhere on time (except church, but that's a given), and just enjoying our time together. I have a lot of fun being the mom of 4 boys. God has truly blessed me.

Yesterday, Sunny and I took the boys to see Diego at Barnes and Noble. It was something I'd gotten an email about, and I figured they'd love getting to see him, so off we went. Diego turned out to be just a Mexican guy. I expected some guy in a Diego costume (like Mickey Mouse, I guess), and when we saw this guy walking in WITH HIS BODYGUARDS, Sunny and I just looked at each other and died laughing. I mean, do they think something is going to happen to this dude? It was pretty funny.

I put Jonah's and Noah's name in for a drawing of a prize, and Jonah won!!! He won 4 tickets to see Go Diego, Live! Looks like I'm going to have another little lucky duck, just like Graham. One problem with the tickets...they're for Friday night, and Todd and I had already bought tickets for us all to go see the Go Fish concert. Jonah and Noah said they wanted to see Go Diego, instead, so while Todd and I take Graham and Drew to the concert, Mimi and Papa are taking Jonah and Noah to see Go Diego at the Orpheum. They're all spending the night with them on Friday night so they can go to the Fireman's Museum on Saturday, so we'll meet up after all the shows are done. We have got one busy weekend ahead. Personally, I'm looking forward to Go Fish! I love their music, and Jonathan Schaade and I already said that we didn't care who saw us, we would be dancing at our seats! He's the kids interim pastor at our church, for anyone who does not know him.

We had an awesome day yesterday, though. We ended up staying with Sunny and Andy all day, so of course, Jonah and Noah loved that. They're with Mimi this morning. I have a couple meetings I have to go to today, child~free. She willingly agreed to let them come and spend the day with her. Mimi, if you're reading this, don't spoil them too much. I'm just joking, they LOVE coming and spending time with you. They were really excited about it this morning, so I hope you all have a fun day. I'll post more later, hopefully with some news about my meeting at school this morning. Let's just say, I am one proud Mama. Of all my boys. They are God's gift to me.

My Current Favorite Song

Natalie Grant - In Better Hands

Natalie Grant In Better Hands
From the album Relentless

It's hard to stand
On shifting sand
It's hard to shine
In the shadows of the night
You can't be free
If you don't reach for help
And you can't love
If you don't love yourself
But there is hope when my faith runs out
Cause I'm in better hands now

Chorus:
It's like the sun is shining
When the rain is pouring down
It's like my soul is flying
Though my feet are on the ground
So take this heart of mine
There's no doubt
I'm in better hands now

I am strong
All because of you
I stand in awe of
Every mountain that you move
I am changed
Yesterday is gone
I am safe
From this moment on
And there's no fear when the night comes around
I'm in better hands now

Chorus

It's like the sun is shining
When the rain is pouring down
It's like my soul is flying
Though my feet are on the ground
It's like the world is silent
Though I know it isn't true
It's like the breath of Jesus
Is right here in this room
So take this heart of mine
There's no doubt

You can't be saved
If you're not reaching out for help

Bible Study

Alright. I know you're thinking I'm a closet preacher (who knows! Ha ha, just kidding!), but I just got home from Bible study. WOW. I was so touched, I cried. Along with Melba Cole, and Kathy Ferrin. God met us tonight, through the d.v.d. we watched. It was powerful. Tonight talked about the Feast of the Tabernacles. The first was the Feast of Unleavened Bread, then the Feast of Weeks, and tonight we reached this last feast. In the beginning of the book, there is a picture of the place of worship (the name has escaped me, Daddy). The women had their own court, the men had their own court apart from the women, and the priests had their court. In this picture, this court was at the top of the 15 stairs that represent the 15 Psalms of Ascent.

During this feast, there are all kinds of things taking place, one of which is the celebration of lights. Beth Moore painted a beautiful word~picture of the thousands of people lining the hills of Jerusalem in their tents, or booths. Inside all these booths, were glowing candles, which when the sun went down, illuminated everything around them. Can you imagine?!?!?!

During this feast, there was also the pouring out of water. The priests would descend from those top steps, and come down to the other courts to go to the Pool of Shaloam (totally guessing there on that spelling), where they would draw water out with a gold pitcher, then take it back to the tabernacle, where they would pour it out. The priests that did this, were the most pious of priests, or very dignified. When they had finished doing this ritual, they would shout, Hosanna, Hosanna! They would be shouting and praising God, in other words, they would be acting totally undignified! Do you ever want to act like that? Get up and shout, or fall down on your knees crying? Whether you're in church, or in your kitchen? Does He only talk to us in church?? No way!!!

Referring to the celebration of lights, Jesus says, "I am the light of the world." And about the water being poured out as an offering to Him, check out what Scripture says in John 7:37&38. On the last and greatest day of the Feast ( of the Tabernacles, my wording only), Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, "If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. 38 Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him." Isn't that something?!?!?!

The thing that amazes me most about the Bible, is that there is not one thing that is insignificant. There is no talk of this celebration of lights, or of this pouring out of water anywhere that I've ever read. That doesn't mean it's not in there, just that I've never heard of it before. At least not in a way that would make me say, " Oh, yeah, I've heard that." God uses illustrations like this one in John 7 to make us understand that if we are thirsty, or if we are living a full, unsatisfied life, to go Him, that He will give us life! He is the only one that will satisfy us! This is kind of like being thirsty, but not being able to quench a thirst. He is streams of living water that will flow within us. Beautiful imagery, there.

O.k., well, now I've gotten that out of my system, I'm going to go do all the nights of homework for this week. Man, we had church tonight. Wish you all could have been there. If you have never done a Beth Moore Bible study, I strongly recommend her. She paints word pictures like no other.

Spring Fever!

I am so ready for Spring!!! It's gorgeous today, and it actually feels really good outside. This is only a tease, though, tomorrow we're back to cold weather. :( We had an awesome weekend, once again! And church was really good yesterday, especially last night. The youth group led the service, and the music was good, the preaching was good, but the altar time afterwards was what made it. Really powerful. I feel God stirring up something in me, and I don't really know what it is. Like He wants me to do something, but I don't know what. I keep on feeling this, and actually have been having this feeling for almost a year now. Weird and hard to explain.

I cannot wait until May!!! My wonderful husband bought us tickets to see Casting Crowns, my all time favorite group. I am so excited!!! I'm also excited about our date night coming up this Friday night. The boys are spending the night with Mimi and Papa and going to the Fire Museum with them on Saturday, so we get all kinds of time together!

I'm in the middle of planning birthday parties for all the boys. Jonah and Noah are having a pajama party on Friday night, March 7th, and you are all invited. I won't necessarily feed everyone, but we will have lots of cake and ice cream. Andy and Holly are spending the night after the party. They wanted more kids to spend the night, but they don't understand that sleepovers usually don't happen until you're in kindergarten. But their older brothers do it, therefore, they want to do it! I know that Andy can spend the night, and he'll be fine. The same goes for them at his house.

Graham and Drew are having their first all boys party. They're both having sleepovers. With lots and lots of friends. You may want to start praying for me and my nerves now. As of right now, Graham is having 5 friends over. Jesus help me. I hope nobody gets hurt! I'm not sure where they're all going to be sleeping...probably some in the office, some in their room. Drew is having the same, with the same amount of boys. Maybe one less. One of them may not come because I'm not sure my nerves can handle him. He came over Sat. for a couple hours, and we took him home early, he was getting on my and Drew's nerves so bad. Yes, even Drew said, "Mom, he's getting on my nerves." Hmmm, what does that tell you?!

O.k. well, I'm off to finish cleaning and to put myself together before I go and pick the boys up from school. More tomorrow.