UPDATE

Well, we have been hard at work at what was formerly known as the yucky house. We have been lovingly referring to it as "the barn" thanks to our sweet neighbor, Paul. The exposed studs have been visible for so long now that Paul says he will always call our house "the barn". By the end of this week we should have the sheet rock up and finished!! NO MORE BARN. It will actually have completed walls and look like a home. We will have to come up with a new name for this place once it looks like a home. Mark has been WORKING SO HARD to get things done and ready so the sheet rock guys can start this week. I seriously do not know how he is doing it! He goes to work every day at 7:30 and goes strait to "the barn" to work until 2 or 3 am! This has been going on for several weeks now. Please pray for him as he moves through the home stretch of this home renovation. I'll leave you with some photos of our cutest construction workers ;-)

These little guys have been such troopers as this labor of love has stretched on for so long. Mason has worked with his dad most evenings this summer and Andrew has been there some too when mom goes to work on the weekends. I hope they look back on this as a good experience when they are older. It has been hard, but not many kids can say they helped their dad build their house with their own two little hands.

I have to say this is my favorite decorative feature in the home. We tucked these little hand prints away in a storage area under the stairs.

My Personal Shopper

Andrew was my shopping partner at Wal*mart this week and he is such good company. He has learned to read price tags on the shelves. I have little rain man with me saying "That's $8.97, That one is $4.86, that is G-U-M. I was a bit distracted on this trip because EVERYTHING at Wal*Mart was involved in a rousing game of Fruit Basket Turnover. I could not find anything. We never found the toy department. How they manage to move ABSOLUTELY EVERYTHING in just one week I couldn't tell you! It is a bit of irony that the management can pull off that kind of feat but struggles with basic customer service like helping you find sunflower seeds... I get DISGUSTED when an employee makes it obvious that your request is putting them OUT. I don't know what gave it away but it may have been the tounge click and eye roll, but I digress. I am wondering aimlessly through the cleaning supplies when Andrew suddenly exclaims, "TI*TTY!". I stopped and looked around thinking, my goodness...what else have they stocked with the cleaning products! Then he says it again with such a cheerful ring to his voice and I am embarrassed. Where on earth has he heard that word and why is he saying it here...so loudly in the presence of all these people in the cleaning supplies isle? I calmly ask him what he is talking about, not to draw too much attention to this inappropriate word. He smiles and says, "Over there, Mom, it's TI*TTY." I slowly turn around expecting a nursing mother when I see this...
What a relief! I did not have to have the conversation about body parts and the respectful, appropriate names for them...yet! I only had to explain the long vowel rule. Now he is starting to understand when the "E" is on the end of the word, he is quiet while the "I" says his name. I laughed for remainder of my shopping adventure with my little reading machine and my frustration melted away.

Pop on over to Mary's and hear what else our little tots are saying and welcome the new addition to her family!

What do you do when it is 100 degrees in Texas?

The boys and I, along with our little buddy Cameron, went for a swim this afternoon. It was a nice break as the week comes to a close.
These little happy faces always make me smile :)

Theology Today

While we were waiting in the car at the pharmacy drive-thru today the boys had a small disagreement...aka screaming match from the back seat, about when someone should be expected to share. I tried to use this moment to explain to both of the boys that they are not expected to share everything all the time, but to remember how it feels when someone doesn’t share with them so they can listen to their heart and choose to share most of the time. Andrew said, “I try to listen to my heart Mom, but my brain always interrupts”. I was speechless. That was a great sermon delivered by a 5 year old with one sentence.

More Flashbacks

Spring has flown by and now we are head first into summer. It was 100 degrees or more here today so it is nice to look back at spring and all the Easter festivities.

Tiny Talk Tuesday

Andrew and I were walking from the car to the house when Andrew asked if we could race. So off we went to the front door. When we arrived I said, "Oh, you beat me". Andrew said, "Mom, I know you just do that so I'll be happy and smile since you like my smile so much". He's on to me! Visit Mary for more Tiny Talk.

DADEO

This is Daddy's day. Since we want him to be king for a day, after church I surprised him with Alaskan king crab legs for lunch and the boys gave him their gifts and card. He hasn't had much time to just be daddy lately so that's what he is doing today. There is a bit of work he has to get done at the other house when it cools down a bit this evening but the afternoon is all about being the daddy. So Happy Father's Day to the man who wears the big shoes in this house that two little guys can't wait to fill. We love you!

And many more!

My birthday has me contemplating what I actually like about getting older. When I think back to when I was younger, I struggled more with confidence, as most people do. I worried what people would think, if I sounded stupid, if I looked good enough, all the cliche things young women struggle with. Age brings the wisdom and experience to be more confident with who you are. Not that I don't have days that I still struggle but here are some things that I no longer struggle with...on a regular basis.

• Hair grows back so take a chance on a new cut.
• If I don't have make up on when a neighbor drops by or I have to run to the store quickly, I'm OK with it now. A few years ago I HATED IT!
• I like to have cute clothes but I will not break my bank account to have the latest and greatest.
• It's easier to laugh at most situations now. Even when I was running with Sadie this week and she pulled at her leash just enough to have me loose it and tumble across the track, I was laughing before I stopped falling. I had to look ridiculous! When people keep asking me how I got the road rash, I just laugh again while I tell the story.
• It is easier for me to admit when I am wrong. I have learned that most failures point you to success. The most successful people I know had many failures they learned from to make it to their success.
• I don't obsess about my weight anymore. If my clothes start to fit tight or I start to feel sluggish, I just know I need to eat better and exercise more. It is about being healthy for me now, not thin. This girl is just gonna have a booty and as I tell my boys to say...that's just the way God made me!
• Our past, good or bad, molds us into who we are today but it does not define where we will go in the future.

So here's to getting older ladies. It only gets better from here...with just a few more wrinkles ;-)

On your Mark, get set, GO!

Mason and I ran in a local 5K that my work co-sponsored this past weekend. When I told Mason about the event and the kid's run before the 5K he quickly told me he wanted to do the big race with me! Now I had intended to run/walk the event with coworkers since it has been quite a while since I have done that kind of running. Mason made me step it up a notch since I knew he wanted to run the entire race and I would not want him so far ahead of me that I could not see him. Luckily, my friend and coworker April is in better shape than me and kept up with Mason about a minute ahead of me. I was so proud of my boy. He loved running that race and wants to do many more. I guess this momma will have to get her rear in gear to keep up with his pace. If that is not motivation to stay in shape, I don't know what is! He wants to go run tonight to continue his training...too cute. I'm so thrilled to have this be something for the two of us to do together. So I'm off to take these stiff legs out to run off the soreness!

Moving on to spring...

Our trip to Houston this spring was so fun. Mason and his Destination Imagination team I posted about earlier were honored at the regional competition to be awarded second place in their category. This meant these hard working kids were able to compete at the state level competition in Houston. The kids had chosen to compete in the Video Lit Hits competition. They had choose a piece of literature and create a "music video". They picked the music from a song off of the Lion King soundtrack and wrote new lyrics to tell the story of Jack and the Beanstalk. The kids had to design and build their own set and only have minimal adult direction. When it came time for the performance, the kids had 6 minutes to put up their set, start their music and complete the performance. They did great under all that pressure. They did not place in the state competition but they did a wonderful job! I was so proud of this great group of kids.
Mason played Jack's father in the performance. We also had a giant, Jack, and 3 dancing & singing magic beans. One of his buddies was the "technical producer". It sure was impressive when you realize this was all done by seven 8-9 year old kids. I love how silly they are all being in this picture.