Tiny Talk Tuesday

Liam (4) and I were having a discussion about Creation yesterday. Here's how it occurred:
Me: Liam, why did God give you eyes?
Liam: So I can see, silly.
M: Why did He give you ears?
L: So I can hear. [giggling]
M: Why did He give you feet?
L: So I can walk. [jumping]
M: Why did He give you hands?
L: So I can pick you flowers.

Ahhh!

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The New Parenting Era

I entered a new era in parenting on Friday. For 4 1/2 years, I have had to make sure that diapers and wipes were on my person every time I left the house. But on Friday, I was able to pull diapers out of my bag.

I won't ask for applause, if you'll just join me with a sigh of relief...thank you.

Although Jack and Garrett are only 26 days apart, I decided several months ago to tackle their potty training separately. One of the boys is more compliant, and the other is, um, well, he's more stubborn. I won't name names, but I tackled the more compliant child's potty training first.

Jack (2 1/2) began potty training in July, and he's been doing very well since the end of September. Garrett announced Thursday afternoon that he wanted to use the potty and to wear underwear. And when Garrett announces that he's ready to do something, he means business! I gave him some underwear right then, and he's only had two accidents since.

Both boys still wear diapers to bed, so we're not completely finished with buying Pampers, Huggies or whatever cheap brand I find. But Rick and I are already counting ourselves a raise by the significant decrease!

And I am one happy mama!

Friday Funny

When Garrett receives a bump or bruise, he usually whimpers that he needs "a cow."

He does not mean this:

He is referring to this ice pack:

However, if I am the one suffering from pain, I ask for this:

Skinny Cows will heal all kinds of hurt. Yum!

Name That Structure

Yesterday's photo was taken by my hubby at the construction site of the Dallas Cowboys' new home in Arlington, Texas. The trestle seen in the photo is one of two that will span a quarter of a mile across the stadium, the largest of its kind. These two trestles will allow the roof to retract.

Now, will the Cowboys show themselves worthy of such an impressive structure? Only time will tell....

Wordless Wednesday: Name This Structure

Old Faithful

This is post number 200! Wow, I can't believe it!

I signed in to post on God's faithfulness today. I'm not sure that there's an appropriate transition from, "HEY! Look at me! I have 200 posts!" to "HEY! Look at God's faithfulness!" But stay with me....

Part of my daily quiet time is to read a short devotional by Jon Courson from his A Day's Journal. He gave a great illustration today about observing Old Faithful in Yellowstone National Park.

He says:

There we are, standing by the fence waiting for Old Faithful to erupt--as it does every 92 minutes. But after about 30 minutes, you become bored and you see a goose which you follow into the woods. I remain by the fence and see the spectacle of Old Faithful's geyser. You, on the other hand, miss out because you're on a wild goose chase. Finally you say, 'This is dumb. I'm going back to position myself close to Old Faithful again.'

Now, when Old Faithful sees you coming, it doesn't say, 'Well, well, well. Look who's finally decided to show up. There's no way I will erupt for you. You've been on a wild goose chase.' No, Old Faithful erupts regularly, faithfully, no matter where you are or aren't.

Paul [referring to II Timothy 2:3-4] is saying that God is, in the best sense of the word, Old Faithful, because His blessings are continually flowing. If I go off on a wild goose chase, I won't be blessed--not because the blessings aren't there, but because I've moved away. But once I realize I'm in the woods on some crazy excursion and return to the geyser of the goodness of God's grace, I find that God is faithful still....

God cannot deny Himself, gang. He's not faithful one day, and frustrated the next. He's not generous one day, but stingy the next. He is continually and completely faithful.

Father, forgive me for the many times I have wandered out of your will and missed your blessings. But thank you for being the geyser of faithfulness. Help me to apply this illustration to my life. Amen.

Notes on the Sate Fair

My parents and I took the boys to the Texas State Fair on Friday. I'm sure you've heard the phrase, "Everything is big in Texas." And, yes, it is very true. Our state fair is a good example of that fact. We were at the fair for about seven hours and did not manage to see everything!

This is the boys as we entered the gates. Garrett (2 1/2) wore that goofy face most of the day, and he had a grand ol' time. Liam (4) and Jack (2 1/2) managed to have a good time, but they had to start the day off with frowns due to the lack of afternoon nap. Note to self: Take the boys to the fair earlier in the day next year.
The boys enjoyed the kiddie rides. Their Big Daddy allowed them 2-3 rides each, before the mommy put her foot down and said, "No more!" Note to self: Teach the boys to save quarters in their piggy banks for next year's fair. Good grief, those rides are a rip off!

Liam has been wanting to ride bumper cars for months, so he was one happy boy when we found such a ride for his size. Jack could not be happy for his big brother's cruise in the bumper car. It's so hard to be the little brother!Garrett said, "When I be big enough to ride bumper cars?"

But we found a canoe ride that all three could ride together, and all was right in the world again.

When I decided that Big Daddy had blown enough money on cheap rides, we found a puppet show that the boys thoroughly enjoyed. And so did we. Free admission and air conditioning! Note to self: Next year, skip the rides and see more shows.

We also took the boys into the children's barnyard, ate junk food (not in the barnyard), checked out the auto show, and did a lot of people watching. In the end, our legs and wallets were sore, so we headed home with hopes of returning next year.