My little man

Since I have posted so many pics of Rachel lately, I thought I ought to share one of Noah. He isn't as camera crazy as Rachel. Actually, I usually have to beg, plead, and bribe to get a good picture of him. This one was taken yesterday on the front porch. I was just lucky - this was the only one he let me take!!

He is growing so quickly! He loves Cub Scouts, reading (especially nonfiction), Pokemon and Digimon, and riding his bike. Noah has a sweet spirit and gets very frustrated when he can't do something perfectly - the first time!! Anyhow, he is growing up and I just know one day soon I am going to look up and my sweet little boy is going to have turned into a young man!!

A Stitch in time...

Well... maybe! I have been continuing to work on Rachel's summer wardrobe. I have really enjoyed sewing for her. She is so funny! She will ask, "Did you make this for ME?" Then she gets so excited and dances around and then wants to put it on - right then!! Oh, I know, I know - enjoy it now, because I am certain it will change soon!

Here are a few pictures of Rachel in her latest "Mommy Creation":

Testing a new program...

Hey there! I am trying out a new program for creating preview slide shows. You can then post them to YouTube. I wanted to try and see if I can manage to then post them to my blog...

Thinking about blow-flowers

I was thinking about "blow-flowers" this morning - otherwise known as dandelions. When I was a kid, it was so much fun to find a dandelion that had gone to seed and see if you could blow all the fluff off in one breathe!! My kids seem to have inherited that same delight. Sam especially loved this - it was one of his favorite things about spring/summer! With that in mind, I have to tell you a quick story! Roscoe has been so diligent in visiting the cemetary and keeping every possible weed off of Mom and Sam's graves. Last year they really looked nice. The other day he went out there to check on them. When he got home, he came in and said, "You're not going to believe this!" When I asked what was up, he told me that Sam's grave was "covered" with dandelions! They had not bloomed yet, but they were definitely there! I had to laugh! I found a little humor and joy in the situation! It just seemed to "fit" the essence of my sweet, mischieveous Sam to have a blanket of flowers that everyone else thought was a weed - he loved them!

OK - don't worry!! I know Sam really did not have anything to do with them being there!! BUT - I could just hear him complaining about Roscoe pulling them up before they became "blow-flowers"! It was a good reminder to me. Sometimes there are weeds in my life that I can't seem to get rid of!! That tends to irritate me to no end! This reminded me, though, that sometimes, if I wait long enough, the weeds will turn to "blow-flowers" and bring me a little joy!!

Have a great day!! Remember - watch for the blow-flowers!

Thoughtful musings of a crazy busy Mom!

Life just seems to fly by lately. Between school and church and scouts and family get-togethers and garden planting and... well, you get the idea!! We seem to have "stuff" going all the time. I really try to enjoy it as I know these early years will be gone all too soon. There are times, though, that it can all be a bit overwhelming! but we are hanging in!

It is hard to believe the school year is nearly over. Today Rachel came home with information about "graduation" - oh my!!! Next year she will be at Huey for the Head Start Pre-K. I was really hoping she could go to Haynes next year, but that did not work out. One more year, and then my kiddos will be in the same school! She already knows the name of her new school and is looking forward to making new friends.

Noah has been working hard on his Pine Car for Cub Scouts. Our Derby is on May 10th. I will be sure to take and post pictures!! He is really excited about it!!

We had a really busy weekend! Saturday we had Samantha, Sara, and Matthew here all day. It was a beautiful day so they played outside most of the day! Roscoe finished tilling the garden, and Saturday evening we planted some tomatoes, broccoli, banana peppers, bell peppers, pumpkins, and watermelons. We already had onions, garlic, and brussel sprouts growing. We need to get our squash, zucchini, and cucumbers in. Rachel and Noah's favorite things to "plant" the other night were WORMS!! They had more fun putting some red worms in the garden....

Sunday was busy!! After a.m. church we went for Grandpa's 74th birthday party. Rachel and Noah enjoyed playing with their cousins! Then we headed back to church to see ELVIS!! We had an Elvis impersonator and his band come do a concert of Elvis Gospel music. It was alot of fun! We had a full house and everyone seemed to enjoy the show!

This week is shaping up to be as busy as any!! Tonight is Cub Scouts, tomorrow I take my dear MIL to the doctor in Arlington, Wednesday night is church, Thursday night is a fiesta for Rachel's school, Friday is Friday, Saturday we are going to Ft. Worth to get some bees out of our pastor's MIL's house, and then Sunday is church. Then it all starts over again!! But that is our life! (See why I say "crazy busy"!)

Finally, I just wanted to share some thoughts that I have been pondering. In Sunday School we are studying I & II Kings. We have been talking about Solomon the last few weeks. Of course, we have studied about how he requested wisdom and God granted it and so much more. Yesterday, though we discussed some of Solomon's not-so-wise decisions. We talked about how he did not destroy the high places and how paganism ran rampant - even in Solomon's own house. Of course, God then told Solomon how after his death God would take the kingship away from Solomon's son. Then we we looked at the choices Reheboam made, you can see the lasting repercussions of Solomon's actions (or lack there of). When the people asked Reheboam to be a "servant-king", he wisely asked for time to make his decision, but then look at the counsel he sought!! He spoke to the elders, and then to the young men, but he NEVER sought the Lord's counsel!! Then, he foolishly chose to listen to the counsel of the younger men. Now, here are my thoughts on that:
1. If Solomon would have provided his children with clear examples of serving and worshiping the one true and living God, then maybe Reheboam would have at least considered requesting the Lord's counsel when faced with a major decision.
2. If he had grown up being taught about the love and faithfulness of God, he would not considered being an oppressive, cruel king instead of a loving servant-king.

Now, that challenges me as a parent! I need to be sure that my children view our faith clearly. They need to know decisively what we believe and why. I do not want our beliefs to become all mixed up with non-Christian, ungodly beliefs just for the sake of "tolerence". That way they (hopefully) will know what direction to turn when faced with tough life decisions.

OK- I am done for now! But I just wanted to share with you a few of the thoughts that were laid on my heart while looking at the life of the wisest man that ever lived. There is no doubt that God granted him great wisdom, but in his humaness, Solomon still made mistakes! I don't know about you - but boy, can I relate!!

Hope you have a great week and I pray God will reveal His bleesing for you each and every day!!

Rachel is 4!!

Well, my girl is 4years old now! Sigh... she is growing so fast. Today was pretty out, so after school we put on her "birthday dress" and went out for a few quick pictures. She even took a couple of her own with her own (new) digital camera! (Thank you, Aunt Joanne!). After church she chose McDs for her birthday supper. We had her bday party week before last. It was alot of fun. I will post pictures soon. For now, I hope you enjoy these from today!!