Friday Funny

"You're a sweet girl and you're tiny."

That's what Garrett said to me in one breath.

My memory fails me, but I'm pretty sure he asked for candy in the next.

Or perhaps this is just further proof that love is indeed blind.

Apparently, He Likes Shrimp

This is the face of accomplishment:
(Darn that glare in his glasses! I have already had a discussion with the eye doctor about contacts, because all the glare impedes my hobbies of photography and blogging. We have priorities. Unfortunately, so does the doctor, so we must wait until he's about 11.)

I took the boys to eat lunch with Daddy, Ni (Rick's mom) and our two nieces today. Garrett ordered a kid's fried shrimp basket at Razzoo's. The kid's basket was filled to the brim with shrimp and fries. And he sat quietly at the end of the table and ate every. single. morsel. He is the only child that sat quietly and ate. every. single. morsel.

He is quite proud of himself, and so am I, because I can count on one hand the number of times this child has cleaned his plate in 3 1/2 years. It was definitely a Kodak moment. And Garrett requested that his Coach be notified. Consider it done, child.

Liam and "Lucy" had to sit next to each other. Naturally. As if there are any other possibilities in the realm of seating arrangements.
Those two have loved each other since the day they met, when Liam was about 14 days old and Lucy was 2 years. Incidentally, her name is not Lucy. She has a beautiful name...Amelia Hope. But when Liam was a toddler, he couldn't say her name and began calling her "Wucy".

JMan had to sit by Daddy, because the Razzoo hosts thought it would be great fun for the kids to sit in rolling chairs. Great fun, indeed. After Jack nearly rolled into the stranger behind him, we thought better of his seating arrangement and relocated him. But he took it well, because he still had his lemonade and his Daddy.
Allyson Grace sat quietly and looked pretty.
How do you like the matching dress, bow and fingernails? I have a lot to learn if I ever get me a girl!

And here's another shot of the proud eater with his Lucy.
Now, I'm off to give Coach a report on today's eating.

Wordless Wednesday: Imagination Station

So Happy Together

As our local schools began the 2008 school year yesterday, I am ever so glad that I'm homeschooling Liam. I can't imagine handing him over to someone else 5 days/week.

Although I have a to-do list hanging over my head, I'm glad to be watching him build a "forty-five foot tower" out of blocks and talking to me 90 mph.

The to-do list can wait.

And so can the public schools.

Friday Funny Break

I will be away from the computer today, so let's just save our funnies for next week.

Have a great weekend!

A Day of Imaginary Play

My mom and I took the boys to Texoma Children's Museum recently for a day of indoor fun. Fort Worth has an excellent children's museum, but it's closed for renovations. You know we must be desperate to drive two hours to Texoma for a museum!

This particular museum had a dinosaur dig, giant pirate ship, wooden train, grocery store, art room, dress up room, among other things.
The pirate ship was a HUGE hit with my boys. Hey, Dad, can you build us one for our game room?

Liam would be willing to give up his bedroom to make room for such a ship.

Jack, please don't become a man overboard!

It took every ounce of Garrett's strength to steer that boat.

Jack moved on to digging up dinosaur bones. He looked something like a cat in a litter box.

But I've never seen a cat come up with such a prize as this.

Garrett joined in on the fun. I couldn't believe he got in there barefoot. I won't joke about a litter box at this time.

He, too, was proud of his find. Future paleontologist?

The wooden train was also a hit. But I've never met a boy who didn't love trains.

Garrett was found at the wheel of the train as well. I'm thinking that he might have some control issues, since he wouldn't allow others to steer the ship or the train. I can't imagine where he would learn such a trait.

Liam took his travel by train very seriously.

Hey, Dad, if the ship is out of the realm of possibilities, could you build us a reading fort such as this? The boys would love it!

I knew the day was a success, when this was the scene after only five minutes on the road.

God bless children's museums! Now, Fort Worth, please hurry up and finish those renovations.

Wordless Wednesday: Liam's 2nd Lost Tooth

An Introduction

In all my tardiness, I haven't mentioned that we have a new nephew.

Hudson was born July 22.
Isn't he cute?
And he makes me need another one. A baby, that is.
But I'm not the one feeding him at 3am.

Apparently,

all I need to do to get rain to fall from the sky in August is to complain how rare it is to see rain fall from the sky in August.

It is pouring down right now. On August 18th!

And it's supposed to rain off and on from now through Wednesday.

Amazing. Thank you, Lord!

Now, we're off to play in the rain.

Friday Funny

Liam wrote his first sentence yesterday.

"Liam ack mat sat mos poop"

Translation: Liam and Matt sat in moose poop.

I don't know who Matt is, but notice that he did spell poop correctly. We do train them well in the CupRunnethOver home!

Photographic Proof of Rain...in Texas...in August!

I don't know about you, but I can't seem to catch up with life in general these days. This post should have been written two weeks ago, but I'm just now getting to it. Please forgive me for my tardiness.

In our part of the world, rain is unheard of this time of year. Almost two weeks ago, I thought I was dreaming when I heard thunder rolling as I opened my eyes for the day. In fact, I doubted my ears enough that I set out on my morning run. But I only made it two blocks down the road before I heard more thunder and saw lightning.

My mama always told me to stay inside during thunderstorms, so I raced home and turned on the weather.

Within an hour, the rain began falling, and I have never been so happy to see rain in all my life. I raced to the boys' bedrooms to get them up for some rain puddle play.

"BOYS! Get up! It's raining. Let's go play in the rain." (The thunder and lightning had passed by this time. I did listen to my mama...most of the time.)

But my boys weren't interested in my reindeer games. They insisted on breakfast first. And they weren't talking about cold cereal. They wanted eggs and bacon. The nerve!

I obliged, and by the time all was said and done, the rain had slowed to a drizzle. With full bellies, we headed outside to play in the puddles.

What my boys enjoy doing is putting leaves in the street and chasing them down the curb to the sewer. They pretend the leaves are boats and the sewer is a waterfall.

"Wee," says Garrett.

And no rain storm is complete without a boat race between the three brothers.

I'm thinking Liam might jump in the next time. I'll have to watch him like a hawk.

By mid-day, the rain passed and the sun came out. But by evening, it rained again and left us with this beautiful rainbow.

Fast forward to today, and it's hot and dry, as August should be in Texas. What I would give to wake up to another rain shower tomorrow morning!

Please join me for tomorrow's Friday Funny. Mr. Linky will be up and running for you to share your funny with us.

Wordless Wednesday: Sprinkler Fun

This Hits Home

Yesterday's devotion (Jon Courson's A Day's Journey) struck a chord with me.

Courson takes a short verse to drive home a very important point:

For this cause I Paul, the prisoner of Jesus Christ for you Gentiles... Ephesians 3:1

Paul more than likely wrote Ephesians from prison. Instead of writing, "Whoa is me! I'm in prison. Life stinks. Why did God allow me to be locked up here in this God-forbidden place?"

Which is definitely what I would have written. And it would have gone down in Biblical history that I am a complainer. Yes, I am. Admitting it is half the problem, right?

But not Paul. He saw his prison sentence as an opportunity to witness to others around him. In Philippians 4:22, we see his prison guards were saved and then went to Caesar's palace as "born again believers". (Courson, p. 285)

And without his prison term, we would miss some valuable scripture, such as Ephesians.

Courson continues, and I'm just going to quote him, because he's so good at doing what he does.

Why do I point this out? Because I think happy will be the one who realizes that wherever he is has been ordained by the Lord to bring about good things if he will ave eyes to see and patience to wait. Whenever I complain about my circumstances or situation, I am really complaining about my Father, for it is He who sets my course and determines my days.

Paul never lost his perspective. That is why he could say, 'I'm a prisoner of Jesus Christ, for it is He who has captivated my heart and brought me to this place.

(The italics are mine. Just trying to drill this point into my thick skull.)

Gulp.

I don't know about you, but I'm not a prisoner by any means. I'm typing on my Mac from the comfort of my couch with my boys all resting in their comfy beds and my hard-working husband expected to arrive home for dinner in a few hours. And yet I still manage to find something to complain about.

If I am a prisoner, it is only because I have put myself there emotionally.

Because God has ordained my life, when I complain, I am complaining about His plan.

Gulp. Again.

I think this is another lesson in making lemonade out of lemons.

Father, please forgive me for complaining. I realize that I am called to live my life without complaining or arguing. (Philippians 2:14) Please drive this point to my heart: You have ordained my life, and I need to watch patiently for the way You plan to use every circumstance to glorify You.

Dear Daddy

Dear Daddy,

I spoke to you by phone only an hour ago, but I was reprimanded by your child as soon as I ended the conversation.

"Mommy, you forgot to tell Daddy about my 'amazing' funny," Jack chided.

"Oh, sorry. I'll tell him in a little bit."

Instead of calling you, I think I'll share it here, because it is blog worthy anyway.

As I was putting lunch together, I had the radio on a Christian station, and a song played about God's creation.

"Mommy! They singing about creation like we talked about in church."

"Yes, I heard it. Good listening, Jack."

"God created the earth," he reminded me.

"Yes, He did. Why did He create the earth?"

"Because...[pausing to think]...because He's amazing."

"Yes, He is," I agreed with a giggle.

"You tell Daddy I said that?"

"Yes, I'll tell Daddy."

So, there you go. I've told you.

Love, Me

Friday Funny

About a year ago, Jack (2 at the time) pointed to a picture of a blimp and screamed, "It's a PIMP!"

If you would like to post a Friday Funny on your blog, please sign in with Mr. Linky below. Please link directly to your Friday Funny and include my blog with it. And, please, oh please, keep it family friendly.

He's Growing Up

Nearly every day, Rick and I look at each other and say, "He's growing up." In spite of me, Liam is indeed becoming a bonafide child. His mannerisms, facial expressions, phrases, sense of humor, interests...everything is pointing to the fact that he is truly a big boy.

As with all growing boys, Liam has been anxiously awaiting his first sleepover. Call me overprotective or whatever, but my kids have only spent the night with their grandparents thus far.

But please give me credit, because I bet I'm one of the only moms to hand a newborn over for a night. Liam stayed with my mom when he was 6 days old (our second day to have him), and Garrett stayed with my mom when he was 3 days old (our first day out of the hospital). But in both instances, my mom and baby were in the next room. I'm not crazy enough to let my newborn go too far. But when my mom asked if I wanted a full night's sleep, I jumped in with both feet.

Anyway, Liam has been asking for a sleepover for quite a while. More than anything, I think he wanted to know when he would be big enough for a sleepover. The time has come, and his best friend asked him over last night.

I was happy to let him go, because I love and trust this family. But I was sad to see my baby take this next step in life. And I missed him terribly!

Because this is my only source of scrapbooking, here are some photos from his big event.

Liam and Cab playing cars. Both 5 years old (currently). Both wear glasses. Both adopted into transracial God-fearing families. What else could you ask for in your BFF?

More play time including little brother Caden (4).

Too cute in their cowboy hats!

Swim time. From left to right: Mr. M, Caden, Cab, Fish, I mean Liam.

So happy together!

Winding down for the night.

Mrs. M told me that Liam had planned to sleep in the top bunk but chickened out at the last minute. He wants to be so brave.

The M family took a trip to the track this morning. I bet I can figure out why...the boys needed to RUN OFF SOME ENERGY! On your marks! Get set!

Go!
Liam wanted me to be sure and point out that he is in front. He's a little bit competitive. I have no idea where he learned this. Ahem.

The M family reports that everyone had a good time together and that Liam behaved himself. I'm pleased to know this. We work hard to teach our boys the right way in life, but sending them off in short doses shows us how we're really doing. I think we're passing the parenting test so far.

Should I even post that? Knock on wood? No, I'll take my chance. I know that pride comes before the fall, but I am proud of my boy.

Wordless Wednesday: The Musicians

Garrett and Jack's favorite activity at Ni's (grandmother) house

Spelling THAT Word

For those not familiar with the Word Whammer, one of its main functions is to teach pre-readers how to spell and sound out three-letter words. After the child places the letters together, then he/she can push each letter. If the letters are arranged correctly, then it reads the word and praises child.

Liam has taken a new interest in this toy recently. While playing with it the other day, I would suggest different words for him to try to spell. I would give him a word, such as dog, and he would sound it out and place the letters where he thought they needed to go. Then, he would push each letter to hear the Word Whammer read the word.

One word I gave Liam was God. He sounded it out and placed the letters in the appropriate places. Then, he pushed the letters, and the voice sounded it out as "Guh-ahh-d." And then it stopped.

Liam pushed the letters again. Again, "Guh-ahh-d."

He looked at me and said, "What's wrong with it, Mommy? It won't say God."

I immediately envisioned Leap Frog creators sitting around the conference table discussing this very topic. "Should we include 'God' or 'god'?"

I wonder if even one creator said yes?

Way to go, Leap Frog creators! You managed to deny your Creator with your creation.

Hotter than Hot

I don't know about y'all, but we sweltered this weekend. Dadgum, it's hot! If I put one toe outside, I began melting. And I actually had to buy groceries in this hellacious weather! I thought my insides might actually fry while walking across the Kroger parking lot.

I wonder if God is allowing this heat in order to give us a slight glimpse of the fiery pit of hell? I'm more grateful for my salvation today, because I'm guessing that this 112 degrees is nothing compared to hell. My Bible doesn't say that there's A/C in hell.

But I digress.

One of Rick's friends gave us 8 tickets to the National Cutting Horse Association's semifinals in Fort Worth for Saturday afternoon. We gratefully accepted the tickets, because a) they were free, b) we like to expose the boys to new things, and c) it was an indoor activity. Indoors = A/C. Right now, we heart the A/C.

We wrangled up the grandmothers and 1 cousin to tally 8 people. As soon as we stepped into the building, a lovely smell greeted our nasal passages. Mmm, gotta love the smell of horse poop.

Liam and Amelia decided that covering their noses and breathing through their mouths was the best way to handle the smell.
By the time we found our seats, the kids got over the aroma and were ready to take in all the new sights.

Jack preferred sitting on the wall instead of his seat. This provided a better view for his people watching. He found cowboys fascinating.
I'm sad to say that my kids have never really been around horses. We don't have any friends or family with horses, but I hope to remedy that someday. I would love for my kids to be comfortable with these beautiful animals and even learn to ride them.

After an hour of watching this sport called cutting horses, the kids were bored. We tried explaining the sport, but our knowledge doesn't go much farther than, "See that horse? He has to get one cow in the middle of the arena and make him run back and forth."

Don't know much about horse cutting. Don't know much biology....

Sorry. Sometimes I just can't help but break into a song with the insertion of my own words.

We decided to browse the vendor section and found this backdrop for a photo opp of the cousins.
As I waited for Rick to take this pic, a cowboy stepped on my foot. That would be no big deal, if I were wearing boots. But I was wearing flip flops, because a) it's hotter than h-e-double-hockey-sticks and b) I don't own any boots.

Contrary to popular belief, not all Fort Worth residents wear chaps, boots and cowboy hats, nor do we all ride horses around the city. I'm a long-time Fort Worth resident, and I prefer flip flops, baseball caps, and an air conditioned car.

My toes have recovered nicely. Thank you for asking.

We're going to the movie theater tomorrow and a children's museum later in the week. If I run out of air conditioned activities, we may fill the bathtubs and jump in for fun.

I hope you're surviving this heat wave. If you're not suffering in your neck of the woods, I don't want to hear it. I just might have to smack you with my flip flop.

Friday Funny

Jack is my people watcher. "People watching" puts it in rather mild terms. His gaping has caused him to trip over his own feet, become lost in a public venue, and run into countless walls. He just cannot help himself.

We were eating lunch at Subway the other day, which enabled him to gawk at numerous people coming and going. He was in heaven.

Liam, Garrett and I were devouring our subs in anticipation of warm chocolate chip cookies, while Jack left his sandwich untouched due to his staring. While we three eaters were nearing the end of our subs, Jack said, "Mommy! Those people are looking at me, and they think I'm cute."

Oh my! A lesson in humility might be necessary someday.

If you have a family friendly funny to share, please join me next Friday. Please post your own family friendly funny on your blog. Then, stop by here to add your post to Mr. Linky. I look forward to laughing together!