Another Matthew Milestone

Late October and early November have definitely seen Matthew hit some milestones in his young life. First, he learned how to tie his shoes (see here.) Secondly, he lost his first tooth. Actually, he didn't "lose" it, I pulled it. His permanent tooth was already coming in, and I told him it HAD to come out (it was already very loose). As you can see, he was rather upset. His mood changed after the bleeding stopped....and of course after the visit from the tooth fairy!

It's a Tie!

Two posts in one day? Ahhh....just had to share these cute pics of Matthew. At 7 years of age, he finally learned to tie his shoe. It's slow...but it's done! Pretty soon I'll be posting about his losing his first tooth! :0

the Great outdoors!

We are absolutely loving this weather! It is just gorgeous, especially in the morning and late evening. The only downside is the water in our pool is getting too COLD to swim in already! Unbelievable! Our dogs are loving the cooler weather. I've never seen them play so much! We too have found other outdoor activities besides swimming. On Tuesday, Ed decided it was time to take Matthew (age 7) outside and remove the training wheels from his bike. It is time he learned, Ed said. Next thing I knew, the doorbell was ringing. When I opened it, Ed was standing there saying, "Look at that!" Matthew had gotten on his bike (with no training wheels) and just took off! NO BIG DEAL! I stood there stunned. He never fell once! Now if he'll just learn to tie his shoes, we'll be set! LOL!
Below are some photo highlights of the boy free of training wheels! Hope you all have a happy Labor Day,free of, well...Labor!

"Let go, Daddy!"

Matthew and T-ball

Matthew has a love-hate relationship with T-ball. So do I, quite frankly. This is his third year playing. His view is that he LOVES hitting the ball, but doesn't like catching it. He doesn't like being forced to practice, but he LOVES the snacks afterward. LOL! At any rate, here are some photos from the last game he played in Friday night. Isn't he precious in his uniform? I know...I'm a bit biased. Look at him hit that ball!

Crickets and Love

Just had to share these pictures I took of Matthew and Jennifer (a friend's daughter) as we were watching our older boys practice baseball. We were in a grassy field backed up next to a cow pasture. The kids were playing with this cricket that Matthew caught in the grass. Sooooo cute! Don't you miss the times when you could slow down long enough to enjoy simple things like that?

This morning I was listening to Joyce Meyer. She was speaking about selfishness and loving one another. I have to say, it really hit home. According to Joyce, Love-plain and simple-is how your treat people. She says that every night before we go to bed, we should ask ourselves if there is anyone we've mistreated today. If so, we should make it right, ASAP. Are we tired of being mean-spirited Christians who talk about people, gossip, who are critical and who have no time for others, and only love them when they meet all our conditions? WOW!

Jesus says we are to love one another and that all men will know we are His disciples by our love!

In Matthew 25, Jesus says, "When I was hungry, you gave me something to eat, and when I was thirsty, you gave me something to drink. When I was a stranger, you welcomed me, and when I was naked, you gave me clothes to wear. When I was sick, you took care of me, and when I was in jail, you visited me. " Then the ones who pleased the Lord will ask, "When did we give you something to eat or drink? When did we welcome you as a stranger or give you clothes to wear or visit you while you were sick or in jail?" The king will answer, "Whenever you did it for any of my people, no matter how unimportant they seemed, you did it for me."
Jesus takes personally how I treat other people. If I'm hateful to someone, I'm being hateful to Jesus. If someone has a need and I am too wrapped up in my own life to take the time to help them, Jesus takes that personally. And we parents can understand that. You'd better believe if someone is mean to my kids, I take that personally!!! We are to put on love and put on kindness.

2 Corinthians 5:15 says, "And Christ did die for all of us. He died so we would no longer live for ourselves, but for the one who died and was raised to life for us." It's time we stopped being so wrapped up in ourselves that we fail to do what Jesus commands us to do..."Love one another." And I'm talking to myself here! :)

Okay...I'm done preaching. Did I listen well, Joyce?

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend and a safe, fun spring break!

Quick post

Well, today I have both kids home sick. I took them to the after hours clinic last night. Matthew is now on steroids to try and get his cough/inflammation under control. My 12 year old came home yesterday with a 103 temp. He has a sinus infection. Poor babies! But boy am I ever glad that Ed is due home today! I can hardly wait to see him.
I am motivated to do nothing today, but maybe I'll get up to my scrapbook room later. That sounds good, huh. I plan to watch the clock though. I want to make a yummy dinner for my man.
It is supposed to reach almost 80 degrees here in the next couple of days, and baseball season officially starts around here on Saturday. So keep your fingers crossed that the boys feel like participating! Until next time...have a lovely day.

More Random Thoughts

Here are some random thoughts for your Tuesday.

1. I miss my husband. He's in Phoenix, AZ. Here's the note he left me and the kids before he left.

But I have to admit...I'm not cooking nearly as much this week. And that's a plus! (But I still miss you babe!)

2. While he's gone, my 6 year old got bronchitis and will miss school tomorrow for a second day this week. Poor sweet boy! He's coughing his head off right now as I type.
3. Don't even want to talk about the Bachelor! Okay, yes I do. OMG....I can't even believe that finale...or rather the aftermath of the finale. Poor Melissa...you deserve better, girl! Besides,
you didn't really want to go through life beside that guy who is always hyper correcting his grammar. "Her and I..." Speaking of Ty..."between him and I." Give me a break! Doesn't he know to use "She and I" when used as subjects, and "him and me" when used as objects? (Okay...maybe I'm being just a tad OCD here.)
4. Looking forward to seeing what happens with American Idol tonight and tomorrow. I liked the picks from last week.
5. I'm planning our church crop for next month. It's going to have a GREEN theme....in every sense of the word. Should be fun.
Gosh, this day and this post has flown by. Until next time!

Highlights

• This I know....the weekend went by much too fast!
• The ragweed is doing a number on me and Jonathan!
• Loved the sermon series we just finished at church. It was on the differences and similarities between the three major world religions of Judaism, Islam, and Christianity, and what sets Christianity apart. Check it out here.
• Both kids got fall school pictures made this past week. WOWZA, the prices have gone up! I shelled out $73 before seeing one photo!
• On Thursday, Jonathan picked up his instrument for band. We decided to rent to own, just in case he decides he doesn't like it. He will be playing the trombone!
• Went on a field trip Friday to Langley. There was a Native American "festival" of sorts there. We heard stories, saw tribal dances, etc... It was pretty good.
• Driving on another field trip tomorrow. Jonathan will be on the newspaper staff, and we are visiting the Augusta Chronicle. Should be interesting, especially since his GT teacher thinks I think she's weird! (Another blog...another day!)
• This week we started our Life groups back after a break for summer. I enjoyed getting to spend time with the other couples again. Such great people!
• This Friday night is our monthly church scrapbooking crop. If you're in the neighborhood, you should join us!
• Two birthdays coming up...Jonathan turns 12 on Oct. 1st, and my Granny Margaret turns 81 on Sept. 30th.
• Matthew's early progress in first grade has caused me to be a little more optimistic! He's doing well on his Focalin.
• That's all I have...a string of highlights! Let me know what you've been up to lately and what's on your agenda for the coming week!