The Inevitable

Well, it happened...the teacher met me at the car on Friday...with a very unhappy look on her face I might add. She said "We have a problem. The stamp that is on his hand is NOT from today. It's from yesterday." (He gets a stamp whenever he has a good day and doesn't have to "pull sticks.")

"Oh boy..." I'm thinking..."What has he done!?" (Braxton is not generally a bad kid and definitely not a rule breaker, at least outside of our home). So I said "Ok..."

The teacher continues "We have talked about this many times, I promise, that we only cut...(she looks at Braxton very teachery) PAPER.

"Whew! That's it!" I'm thinking.

"Show mom what you did. (Braxton reveals a 1/4 inch cut at the bottom of his t-shirt.) It makes me very sad and I know it makes your mom very sad too."

"Uh-uh..." I say in my most convincing voice as I try to hold back a smile. Then I proceed to tell her that I've been meaning to talk to her because Braxton is still having problems on the playground. So we agree to make an appointment for next week. I thank her and she goes inside.

I turn around and look at Braxton and ask him "Why did you cut your shirt?" He responds "I don't know." So I say it again. He responds, "Mom, I don't know!" and the tears start flowing.

Ok, so is it me or was that a little over the top? Of course, I would never let Braxton know that because I want him to respect his teacher, but seriously.... First of all the purpose of the stamp is to let me know whether or not he had a good day. I knew he still had the one on from yesterday. It didn't come off in the bathtub. You would think that would be enough, not to mention I would notice the cut on the front of his shirt. Or she could even send a note home if necessary, really anything other than a dramatic walk out to the car the 2nd week of school for an already emotional kindergartener would have been sufficient. I don't know. Maybe it's just me...I would have walked out the girl whose hair got cut (not by Braxton)and explained that to her mom...

I do think if I ever go back to teaching, I'll be a better teacher since becoming a mom. I'll be much more sympathetic to the kids.

Please Pray

Hey Ladies! I have 2 prayer requests that are very dear to my heart because they are friends of mine but also because I understand what they're going through.
My friend Ashley Sullivan's (the one with the twins) sister Sarah, had her baby prematurely. I haven't been able to get a hold of Ashley other than to know that Brayden weighed 2lbs 15oz. He's 4 days old and they took him off the ventilator today.
Also my grade school friend Mandy had her baby (Cliff Jr.) at 25 weeks 1 day. He weighed 2.2lbs. Mandy finally got to hold him on Monday, but she sent me a message today that he has pneumonia. Please pray for them!
Thank you so much!

Masterpiece

Well, we survived the first week of school. It's even harder than I thought it would be. Braxton came home two different days saying bigger kids had pushed him on the playground, but overall he loves school. Then we picked him up on Friday. I asked him how his day was, as he got in the van. He replied "horrible." Lloyd was with me and we both implored "WHY?" Evidently, some girls on the playground were saying he looked "stupid" and like a "freak," and it majorly hurt his feelings. So much so, that his friend Garrett The First Grader couldn't even console him.

It just really shocked me that they start so young being so mean! Friday was picture day and Braxton was dressed in a green striped polo and some khaki pants that roll up to mid-calf with some crocs on. He looked way cute and very much like the other kids, but for some reason he was the target of some girls' cruelty. My first reaction was that maybe they were needy kids who were jealous of Braxton. So I asked him what they were wearing. He said "cool clothes" and went on to describe in detail the girls skirts and shirts. So that ruled that idea out. I thought maybe they were older kids just picking on younger ones for no reason. Evidently they were in kindergarten too. So I'm sitting in the van looking at Lloyd about to cry because MY CUTE BOY IS NOT STUPID OR A FREAK AND HOW DARE THEY SAY SO!!!!! And then I remembered my friend Christina and her countless talks with Hanna about who GOD says Hanna is, and I remembered Hanna's bulletin board with all the verses on it.

So I asked Braxton if he knew what God said about him. He said no. So I said "God says he made you to look just like you. He made your eyes to be Braxton's eyes and your nose to be Braxton's nose. And your ears to be Braxton's ears and your hair and your hands...everything about you God made to be just the way you are. And God says you are His MASTERPIECE." He didn't know what a masterpiece was. So we talked about our friend Mr. Shawn the artist and how he sculpts and paints things and those are his "masterpieces." In that same way, God sculpted and painted him (Braxton thought that was funny) to look just like Braxton and he was God's masterpiece.

I hate that the girls were mean to my cute boy, but I'm thankful that God allowed me to use it to speak to Braxton about what HE says. I told Braxton that the next time the girls were mean to him just to say "I'm God's masterpiece and I don't care what you think." But now that I think about it. I may tell him to say "I'm God's masterpiece and so are you."

May all the mean girls in our kids' lives hear that truth spoken to them, and may our kids be the known as the kind ones....

Ephesians 2:10 "For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago." (NLT)

School

My oldest son, Braxton, started school on Monday. It is so hard to believe. My mother-in-law told me when he was born that before I knew it he would go to kindergarten and then just a short while later he'd be coming home saying he was going to get married. I thought she was crazy! :) But it's here and I can't believe it. I didn't cry too much. What made me the saddest was looking at Brady thinking just yesterday Braxton was like this...
Braxton wasn't bothered at all. There were several little boys in his class sobbing, and I asked him if he wanted me to stay. He kind of waved his hand like I was dismissed and told me I could go. I made him let me kiss his hand and had him kiss mine (like The Kissing Hand-great book) and he acted embarrassed! He's only 5!!!
He came home telling me school was "Awesome!" and that he had to go the "Officer" when he fell and hurt his knee and the "Prisoner" put a band-aid on it! Public school these days....
Anyway, we are both surviving! Him probably more so than me, but it is a little less chaotic during the day...

Boots, Boats, and Pirates

A few year ago, my mom bought a pair of black cowboy boots at a garage sale for my nephew Dylan. They've since been passed down through the boys. Currently, Bryce is obsessed with them. They are 2 sizes too big,come up to his knees, and obviously not in the best shape, but he loves them! He wears them everywhere (yes with shorts)--to the store, to church, even to the swimming pool!

I keep finding toys stuck down behind the cushions on my couch. I clean them out and everyday, there are more. I knew who the culprit was so I asked Bryce why he was hiding toys. Our conversation went something like this: "Bryce, why are there toys behind the pillows? Did you put them there?" "Ya" "Are you hiding them?" "Ya" "From who?" "The bad guys." "Brother?" "No." "What bad guys?" (After several motions and more caveman speak, I discovered he was talking about pirates) I said, "Oh is that your treasure?" "No. My boat." "Are you a pirate?" "I Jack Sparrow." (Now you understand the boots obsession! Jack Sparrow, the pirate on Pirates of the Caribbean, wears boots.) "You are so cute Bryce!" "No! I cool!" :)

Can you believe I don't have a picture of Bryce in the boots and he's worn them everyday for a month? These are pics of Braxton in his favorite boots at 2!

Bliss!

Last night, I had a few moments of perfection...Colbie Caillat playing softly, lights turned down low, cool breeze from the fan, nice sway from the rocking chair, and the warmth of a sleeping baby...Pure Bliss! I pray that we can stop our crazy, hectic lives, take advantage of those moments of peace God gives us, and bask in them!

I've Already Failed!

I keep getting these emails and seeing everyone's comments about the "30 Day Husband Encouragement Challenge." Honestly, I've been avoiding it. I have good intentions but I really just don't want to make the effort. (Yes, Matt. 12:34"out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks." UGH!) Today, I read a comment that suggested I got check out a blog of a girl I knew in college. So I did, and in her blog Stacey extended the invitation for everyone to join her in the challenge. I feel like God might be trying to tell me something... So, I've decided it's time. My husband definitely needs it and I need to get my heart right. So today is August 1st and it looked like a good day to start.

In case you're not familiar with this challenge, you can go to www.reviveourhearts.com and click on "30 Day Challenges" or you can just click my links on this page. Here are the rules as stated on the website.

Here's the 30-Day Encouragement Challenge...for the next 30 days:
* You can't say anything negative about your husband ...to your husband...or to anyone else, about your husband.
* Say something that you admire or appreciate about your husband...to your husband...and to someone else, about your husband!

Then each day, they give you something else to work on. Unfortunately, I didn't decide to do this until later in the afternoon, and I knew I had already said something negative to someone else about my husband. But I thought I had to start somewhere so I would just start this afternoon. Guess what? I think it's been 6 hours since then, and I've already failed just trying to follow the basic rules. I haven't even made it to the extra stuff today!

Do you have any idea how hard it is to not say anything negative? In case your wondering...negative means: (I thought I'd better look it up since I can't say "anything negative."

• marked by denial, prohibition, or refusal
• lacking positive qualities; especially : disagreeable
• marked by features of hostility, withdrawal, or pessimism that hinder or oppose constructive treatment or development
• not affirming the presence of a condition, substance, or organism suspected to be present

In other words, Ephesians 4:29 "Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen."

Wow! I've definitely failed already, so I'm calling a "do-over." I'm going to get a fresh start tomorrow morning! Until then, I'm going to pray that God will help me to tell Lloyd what he means to me and the only words that come out of my mouth will be ones that will benefit him and build him up.

Let's do this together! If you haven't ever done this challenge before, it's time and you know it. If you started and didn't finish, start again. If you've completed this, please share how God changed you and your husband through this experience. Most of all, let's pray with and for one another on this journey to even better marriages!

Blast from the Past!!!

Here are some old pics I found on my computer! Thought you'd enjoy!