Continue in Patience

Mary's Poem

This week Mary wrote a poem for one of her school assignments. The class did work off somewhat of a template like telling them what lines should rhyme with each other, and then the last couple lines were all the same I believe. She mounted it on construction paper and decorated it. Here's what she came up with:

By Myself

When I'm by myself

and I close my eyes

I'm a white cat

I'm a flower hat

I'm a purple car

I'm a granola bar

I'm a white and black dog

I'm a real long log

I'm the color red

I'm a fan of my bunkbed

I'm whatever I want to be

An anything I care to be

And when I open my eyes

What I care to be

Is me

Create

Good Things to Come

Looking For a Good Book??

Have you ever picked up a book and gotten really into the story....

and then...

unexpectedly...

here comes a graphic sex scene...

or a load of profanity...

or a ton of violence...

You're already into the story, but you don't want to finish because you really don't like all the added garbage???

Why have you wasted your time reading a book that you've now chosen not to finish??

I feel your pain.

Fortunately, I've found a blog that will help you avoid that.

Good Clean Reads

The writer is actually my friend Kim. I've known Kim since kindergarten. (She even probably knows I was 9 before I learned to ride a bike...) Of course after college and not living in the same place for several years now we only see each other in the summer when we both go visit our families.

So thanks to the wonders of Facebook I've now discovered that Kim runs a good blog. She's done a ton of book reviews and gives each a rating system. (Click on the Rating System tab for an explanation.) I did pick up a book the other day at the library and started reading it (The Time Traveler's Wife) and after a while started noticing I wasn't a fan of the language and sex. So I went to Kim's website and lo and behold I found that book in the "Read At Your Own Risk" section. Sounds like the book was going to get worse so I just took it back to the library. Kim couldn't finish it either.

For the rest of the book lovers out there... check out Good Clean Reads. I think you'll be glad you did.

Happy (clean) Reading!!

Obsessed

My boys (particularly Adam) have developed an obsession. If you'd like a hint, just look at their pajamas.

It started innocently enough. A few months ago Adam finally got to watch Cars. Typically this only got turned on in the afternoon while he was napping. Adam's always been under the impression that cars should be driven at a high rate of speed. (Not sure how he decided that, but one of his first sentences was, "That car really fast.") So it wasn't much of a stretch for him to love a cartoon about a race car.

I'm not a rookie parent so I get it that kids become obsessed with movies. At least this one is a movie I actually like not like the Care Bears Movie II, right Dani? (Whoever actually did accidentally tape over that should be eternally praised!)

The obsession got kicked up a notch though when Adam came across a bunch of toy Lightning McQueen cars with all his buddies in the toy box. Suddenly Alex remembered his great love for all things Lightning McQueen. So we had fights most of the summer about who got to play with which car. There are about 15 so you'd think that each could be happy, but oh no. For example, even though we have 2 nearly identical Lightning McQueen cars all decked out in Dinoco gear they still have to fight about who gets the one with the blue rims and who gets the one with the Piston Cup rims.

Fortunately, now that school has started Adam gets free reign of the cars while Alex is at school.

Fortunately, I'm becoming good at finding them even when Alex tries to hide them in the back of the van before getting out at school.

On another positive note, at least in between transcribing notes on exciting things like kidney stones and liver disease I get to hear things like...

Maybe you should have thrown him in a cactus a lot sooner.
Then quit yapping and start fixing.
Punch me, Guido. Punch me in the face.

and Adam's favorites...

Speed. I am speed.
Pit stop.

And who doesn't love to hear about tractor tipping???

P.S. This didn't turn out as entertaining as I'd hoped so I apologize to all 8 of my followers. At least I'm not boring dozens of people, right?

Mary's Baptism

Sometimes I still can't believe that Mary's 8. It really doesn't seem like it's been that long since she was a teeny little thing and I was a nervous first time mom. I guess we've both learned a lot along the way. And I'm sure we've got quite a few more lessons to learn along the way.

Yesterday was a very special day. We got to see Mary get baptized. She's such a sweet little girl. She was so excited about it all. She really has matured in many ways this past year, and I see her becoming more responsible and helpful all the time. It will be a joy to watch her continue to grow and develop her talents. Our Father in Heaven must be a million times prouder than I am. I've thought often this weekend about how much he must love her and how many blessings he has in store for her.

Grandma and Grandpa were able to come up for the occasion also. The kids had a blast with them, though I'm pretty sure they wore Grandpa out. They kept begging him to play the "throw us on the couch" game. He was a good sport though. Adam kept asking to "get in the water."

Motherhood: An Eternal Partnership with God