Monster Truck!

Firestone had a party today. Complete with free cotton candy, snow cones, a Guitar Hero tent and a monster truck on display. It is a tire store, so there were also muscle cars and classic cars on display, accompanied by some boss hogs.




I sometimes envy my friend, Krista's blog with all of the talk of dresses and lockets for her two daughters (same age). My life is all monster trucks, transformers, swords and body slams. Aaaah.... One day I will adopt my girl!

First Soccer Game

Pre-game pep talk

The extent of Gabriel's activity during the first two plays of the game.

He started catching on and actually played.

Until the coach for the opposing team bowled over him and made him cry.

The rest of the game was spent with us trying to convince him to go back into the game.

Not Yet Sick of Seaworld

Back to Seaworld with Nicky and Benjamin! Nicky generously took some pictures of me with my boys - a rare moment. Also a couple of pictures of just me - how unusual indeed!

Soccr Practice

Here are pictures from practice last Wednesday. His first game is tomorrow!

Little reader

Basbeball Game

San Antonio has a minor league baseball team. And this team's stadium has dollar night on Thursdays. There are dollar beers, dollar hot dogs, and I think a baseball game. B's coworkers first invited him, then he started bringing the rest of us along. We sit in the grass, enjoy the cool night air and the company of some really cool people - who knows why they are hanging out with us! Well, B is cool, the rest of us - not so much.

Ethan learning skills from his dad and brother.

Exciting

Guess who scored 99 on her Advanced Yoga Certification?

Library

The verdict is in, I am Texas' dorkiest mom.



Some of my most fond summer memories of childhood are the library's summer reading program. My mom or aunt would take me up to the library, we would go to the basement, where the children's section was and pick out books.

When we walked into the library today and the teenager at the reading program table invited us over. I said, "oh, my kids are way too young for this" but he said no - they allow all kids, even newborns. I was considerably more excited than the kids. They got these cool charts and bookmarks.


Did you read that? For each child that completes fifteen books, they will receive a Summer Reading Certificate signed by THE MAYOR! And they will choose a book to keep. How cool is that? I think when I did the summer reading program as a child we got a coupon for a discount at Pizza Hut. Nothing as cool as a book and certificate signed by THE MAYOR!

RoofBall - Fifa Street 3 (best quality)

E-Trade Superbowl Commercial w/ baby

Seaworld... again

We headed back out to Seaworld for a few hours today. It was a mere 99 but overcast. I got chills a few times in the water. Getting so used to 100+ temperatures. Not many Kodak moments on dry land. If only I had a water proof camera!

Ethan enjoys a snack break

Gabriel feeds his obsession with maps.

Goose Egg

It is truly amazing how children - especially boys - can sustain so many injuries to the head and still be normal. It also amazes me how resilient they are.

Lat Wednesday Gabriel and his friend, Aiden, were playing in the grass at Sonic. Gabe tripped on something, a tree root, I don't know, and landed head first on a big rock (part of the landscaping). He came crying to me and as soon as I saw the bump on his head I choked down some barf. Thank God Amy was there - Aiden's mom - she was very strong and said things like, "Oh, you are brave!" and "It doesn't look too bad." Because Amy was so calm, I could therefore, fake a measure of calmness as well. Then the teenager who manages Sonic sold us some ice for his head (thank you again, Amy, for footing the bill). She and I both marveled at how he cried for five minutes then was off playing again but how that sort of injury would ruin our day and we would cry for much longer.

Here are a couple of shots from later that evening. It really healed up nicely by the next day. There's a picture of the day after on "Watching Cartoons" - the previous post.

Watching Cartoons

do not be anxious

Our family is going through a difficult time. Its not appropriate for me to specific at this moment but I wanted to post my source of comfort and hope because maybe some of you need this too.

I am a super big dork so I like to read a passage in at least this many versions before I really start unpacking it. This is a very famous bible verse and popular for anyone going through strife of most varieties.

Philippians 4:6

(New International Version)
Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.

Here our language is "anything" and "everything" - very positive. Ringing affirmative.

(New American Standard Bible)
Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.

Here the language is "nothing" and "everything" - there is nothing but worry outside of God, surrender your worries to God and everything will be ok.

(The Message)
Don't fret or worry. Instead of worrying, pray. Let petitions and praises shape your worries into prayers, letting God know your concerns. Before you know it, a sense of God's wholeness, everything coming together for good, will come and settle you down. It's wonderful what happens when Christ displaces worry at the center of your life.

One day I will post my editorial on my opinions of The Message. Not today. Today I will just say that I usually like to read The Message too but I don't hang out in it for very long. Its a great way to get a modern feel for a verse and open your mind to a verse ... let's move on.

(Holman Christian Standard Bible)
Don't worry about anything, but in everything, through prayer and petition with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God.

My new favorite bible. Very similar to NIV.

To worry is to not trust God. To worry is to hold on to that inner control freak. To worry is to think that you can sit around and freak out and somehow, by the power of yourself, your worries will be solved. Wrong! I think most christians intellectually know that everything is possible with God,

Luke 18:27 (Holman Christian Standard Bible) He replied, "What is impossible with men is possible with God."

Have you ever gone through a challenge and spent a lot of time waiting; waiting for a phone call, waiting for a reply, waiting for an answer to a prayer? Even though these two verses very directly concern the answer or the relief we might be waiting for - it also directs our attitudes while we wait. We can easily turn on any one of hundreds of distractions: tv, radio, a drink, drown out our sorrows in our work - but none of these will give us the hope of surrendering our worries and fears to God. None of these will pour the fear out of our hearts, and fill them back up with peace.

Intellectually we know its true. The only way to do it - to bring ourselves outside of our human nature to be control freaks is to pray. Let's pray today. Let's pray for ourselves, our families, our friends, our enemies. Let's dig deep in our hearts, give our worries to God to sort out and pray fervently for each other.

Rare Tantrum

Gabriel has, for the most part, outgrown tantrums. He still has little ones when he gets tired or we are leaving somewhere that he really wants to stay. Last night he had a big tantrum. It was kind of funny watching this big 3 and a half year old behaving like a baby. So I grabbed my camera.

The subject of his tantrum.
He really wanted peanut butter.

His brother's amusement witnessing the whole episode.

Late VBS pics

We didn't take Gabe's epi-pen to VBS. Turned out that they went outside to play and lo and behold ants made their presence known. Lucky for G the teachers saw them before they saw G. His favorite teacher, Steve (who he talked about all week), took G inside to play. G liked it better than playing outside - getting so much attention from his favorite teacher. It was worth the trade-off. Also, said teacher has a pretty granddaughter the same age - in the same class - and was a little jealous her grandpa was giving so much attention to another so she went inside to play too. I promise you, G didn't mind. He has a penchant for pretty girls.

I forgot my book (A Long Obedience in the Same Direction) and was too broke to enjoy shopping at The Rim so I hung around the church building until class was over. The VBS was "Veggie Tales Camp" and the theme was Heroes of God (to explain the shiny cape).

100 degrees fahrenheit

Yesterday was the last day of VBS so to fill Gabe's day we went to Seaworld with some friends, Nicky and her son Benjamin. It was one of our best days at Seaworld. We stayed as long as the kids were being good, which wound up at 5 and a half hours. I kept thinking, "Boy, its hot today." On the drive home I saw a sign with the time and temp - yup, it was hot - 100 degrees. I think it is the first triple digit day this season.

We still had fun. The kids got a LOT of sun and have since been napping. Hopefully they will sleep through the night.

Today was Jessica's Bday (Primrose and Rohan's late daughter) please keep this family in your prayers. It is still pretty recent loss and painful time - even with their new little one on the way, no one will replace Jessica.

Veggie Tales VBS

Gabriel had his first day of VBS today. The church is a half hour (at least) from my house and the class was only two hours so it didn't make sense to come back home, then go back out. There are lots of lofty stores out that way, but its a challenge for me to walk around and not buy anything, not even a sale item. So, Ethan and I went for a hike.

He got tired.

I carried him on my shoulders back to the trail head.

There is a cool mosaic at the trail head. We hung out there and I got some shots of him.
with color boost




he got tired and only wanted to cuddle
Then we headed back to pick up G. Here he is during class. Happy as a clam. He loves school.