what? a peanut butter forward roll?

does anyone remember way back when i wrote about asking the kids if they wanted a peanut butter fold over and chase replying...very confusedly, "what? a peanut butter forward roll?"

well...if anyone does remember that, then you will be amused by his question to chad and i last night after chad asked him what he was learning in gymnastics:

"mommy! daddy! do you want to see me do a fold over?"

somewhat confused, we replied yes...and then watched him do a forward roll.

good grief.

on my mind on a tuesday night

the kids are back from camp. they actually came home friday afternoon after bible school. chad and i went over to my parent's house to visit at lunch time on thursday. some of the kids were getting a little home sick, so we decided to add a visit to them to our "day date." we got a flat tire the night before and our "day date" turned into "getting the truck outfitted with four new tires day" anyways. when we got there, we got to hear the cd of all the music that they had been learning all week at bible school. chase was super excited and said, "mommy!! my favorite song is let your raisins ring!!" it was really let your praises ring...but, i didn't have the heart to tell chase that he had been "accidentally" singing about raisins all week. then, they told us that they were supposed to be looking for "God sightings." (that is when they see someone showing God's love.) chase said, "remember when i was a little boy and i wanted more smoothie but there was none left, so you gave me your smoothie?" i said, "yeah. i do." then he said, "that was a God sighting." ahhhhh. it made me want to make sure they are sighting God in me more often. i mean, after all...they are looking for Him.

i've had some great expectations for the summer. one being to have friends over for supper every week. that's not happening. two being to make a double batch of dinner once a week and take dinner to someone else that night. that's not happening either. but what is happening is P90X. that's right! i am going strong and lovin it. my favorite workout, so far was today. it was an hour of kenpo. i didn't even know what kenpo was until today. it is a combination of boxing and martial arts if my calculations are correct. it was super fun...super fast...and made me feel like a super fighting stud! i'm up to 5-7 pull ups now too. (that's using a chair out in front of me to rest one foot on while doing them...which is supported by the crazy hulk man.)

yesterday was movie time monday and we watched toy story. we are gearing up for friday when we splurge and go see toy story 3 in the theater. speaking of splurge, i just ate the best piece of chocolate cake with chocolate icing with blue bell homemade vanilla ice cream. it was left over from father's day. and it was yum. and i feel ok about it because i spent an hour with the crazy hulk man today...and yesterday...and the day before...and the day before that...and will tomorrow...

well, actually tomorrow is my stretching day...and i welcome it with very sore...but opened arms.

he'll notice me. i'm sure of it.

the other night i watched the movie win a date with tad hamilton. i really watched it because it stared kate bosworth and she is one of my favie faves because of her roll in a little gem of a film called blue crush. i totally want to look like her. i think i've probably mentioned this must-see-movie-to-kick-off-the-summer before. i usually watch it at the beginning of the summer to get me in my "surfer girl" mind set...along with getting the beach blond highlights in my hair, pulling out the tank tops and mini skirts, and breaking out the beach boy's greatest hits. surfer girl, fun fun fun, surfin' safari, in my room and come go with me are my favorites...and surfin' u.s.a. is chase and aiden's. annslee loves to dance in the kitchen with me and colton moderately tolerates them...as discussed previously. :/ he does love it when i change the words to surfer girl to surfer boy and dedicate it to him and then sing totally over the top to him. at least i assume when he screams and runs away it means that he loves it.

anyway...i digress. i would like to go ahead and state here that my reason for landing on this movie had nothing to do with ole' what's-his-name...josh something or other......who is not cute at all. :)

so, as i was watching this...i was completely taken back to jr. high and early high school (i am well aware that i was a little dorky and did not grow out of the jr. high, unrealistic crush thing until a little later than most.) i was in. love. with joe mcintyre from new kids on the block. i went to every concert that they did in houston...including the one a couple of years ago...but we don't need to discuss that one. the point is that i truly thought that he was going to pick me out of the crowd and want to meet me...leading to an innocent dating relationship where he completely and hopelessly falls in love with me and wants to marry me where we live happily ever after. every concert i would get all ready, making sure my outfit, hair, and makeup was as perfect as it could be so that when he spotted me...it would be love at first sight. i don't think you understand that i really and truly thought that this scenario was a reality. well...win a date with tad hamilton would have only validated my cause had i seen it back then. i will spare you a summary.,..as it is a movie that plays out that ridiculously unrealistic scenario actually coming true for a small town girl. paaaa-leeeeeease! to think i could be so silly and naive.

my dream did end up coming true though. but instead of his name being joe, it was chad. and instead of him being on stage as a singer, he was on stage as the pastor. and instead of him picking me out of the crowd at a concert, he picked me out of the crowd at church. the similarities are astounding!!

CAMP GRAN

camp week is here! the three oldest went to camp gran this week. camp gran is a small, comfy, family camp...complete with beautiful southern lodging with great homemade meals, bible school mornings followed by special activities designed especially for colton, chase and aiden...late afternoon swimming with personal life guards, topped off with smores and home made ice cream. (doesn't it sound like a dreamy brochure that comes in the mail that you look at and think "if only..." but know that you don't have the money that it would take to actually make it there?) i know!!! so, where is this little, hidden gem of a camp, you ask???

it's a little place we like to call GRANNA and GRANDADDY'S house!! we really wanted the kids to go to vacation bible school this summer, but our church chooses to not have one. my brother and i grew up going to vbs every summer at our church and i remember it being a place where my foundation in Christ was built in a lot of ways. i still remember the sign language to the song i love you Lord that i learned at bible school in, like, 3rd grade. it typically lasts a week, and lasts until lunch time each day. you learn how to worship, bible verses and stories, make friends and crafts, and is one of the first times that i remember getting really fired up for God. we wanted our kids to have this experience this summer, so we signed them up to go at my parent's church this week. since their church is only a 2 minute drive from their house, and a 20 minute drive from ours, my mom suggested they stay the week there. when i told the kids, they immediately named the week "CAMP GRAN"...short for GRANna and GRANdaddy.

now, if any of you know my mom...you know she doesn't do anything half-way. this is one of the many things i love about her. she is the one who taught me, by example, to celebrate life and experiences in an extraordinary way...making memories that last a lifetime and making the kids feel as special as they are. so...needless to say, she has gone all out for camp gran. there are special activities planned every day, themes, special food and meaningful experiences designed especially for all three of them. we are talkin tents set up in the backyard, water guns, game days, homemade treats, movies, swimming, golf course cart riding, stories, and many more. if my experience as a kid is any indication at all...my mom and dad's presence, energy, hugs and snuggles, and ability to encourage and provide experiences is what will be most remembered from camp gran. i can't begin to thank my parents for the childhood they provided me, and the one that they are helping to provide for my kids! i'm secretly hoping to make this an annual event!!

just having puddie at home lends itself to quiet days for me, and my favorite suggestion by chad...being, "pick some restaurants that you want to go each night and take a break from making dinner." ummm...ok! i have a feeling one of them may be a little, quaint place called camp gran...where the food is great, but the company is the main attraction.

and furthermore...

so my sweety sweet friend, cara left a comment on the 9 going on 19 post that got me thinking more. (dangerous, i know...and a bummer for chad who has to entertain my rants concerning the subject when he gets home.)

maybe you didn't know that my 9 year old's favorite band is the black eyed peas. (what?? my favorite band at 9 was alvin and the chipmunks!) why, you might ask? it's a little song called boom boom pow and another called i got a feelin...and the fact that hip hop music was played all year long in his classroom at school. to his teacher's defense, i'm sure he was playing the "sensored" versions of these songs. (i think. i hope.) the last day of school, i witnessed the entire class get up and do the dance to "wobble"...which was both impressive, catchy, and a little...well...whoa-ish. colt and his friends were just kind of jumping around...and i was majorly glad that colt came out of his shell this year. (previously, he would have turned red, and hid in the corner if someone had suggested he dance.) and, i love a good hip hop dance...being on the dance team in college myself. BUT, when this promotes a love for the black eyed peas in a 9 year old boy...the red, warning light starts flashing! ummmm...no, we can't download the album for you to listen to in your room and you may absolutely NOT watch them perform on the grammys and i would be declared temporarily insane if i let you go to a concert! annnnnnd...if it comes on the radio, i will crank the volume for you and "car dance" with you, but be prepared for me to randomly turn the volume all the way down in the middle of the song and say, "oh...sorry...i thought your sister needed to tell me something."

yeah...i'm pretty sure my job as parent now includes "expert on lyrics and master of quick-as-a-cat volume control."

i'm trying to bring back the beach boys. but for my 9 going on 19 year old, they just can't compete with fergie.

*sigh*

9 is the new 19

childhood is not what it used to be. i was lucky enough to grow up in a cul-de-sac full of kids. we would play and play and play...all day and till the sun went down at night. i especially remember summers. i had to clean the kitchen after dinner and i remember thinking that i couldn't work fast enough to get back outside and join in the screams and laughter of the rest of the kids. all of the adults would bring their lawn chairs and iced teas to our driveway and sit out and talk and watch us play. we would spend the night at each other's houses sometimes. we would go to each other's houses all the time and talk and play for hours.

we don't live in a cul-de-sac filled with kids, or even on a street with a lot of kids that my kids play with. there are no kids colton or aiden's age. we do have a first grader and a fifth grader that come over regularly and i love that the kids have them to play with. i did have to have an uncomfortable conversation with the fifth grader today explaining that the conversation topics needed to stay "g" rated. i'll tell you somethin else....fifth grade ain't what it used to be either. that is one thing i've learned. today, i had to come inside to feed annslee and colton and the fifth grader were left outside on the porch swing talking. i just sat in the nursery, feeding a.j. and praying that God would protect colton's innocence and his little ears from hearing things that he wasn't ready for. i came to the realization that i can't be with him all the time shielding him and directing and steering the conversation to where i want it to go. although i would love to.

is anyone else wondering where childhood went? and how to get it back for our kids?

summer days

as i pondered how i wanted to take advantage of the sweet time with the darlins this summer, i realized that i had to take some action. my first goal is to successfully slow time down. colton is 9. that's 9. here are some stats for you. half of his time at home with us is gone. when annslee is his age, he will be driving. when aiden was annslee's age, he was 4. it feels like yesterday that i was walking chase to his first day of kindergarten. i will walk aiden to kindergarten in 2 1/2 short months. i will blink and she will be starting 2nd grade like chase and colt will be in jr. high. and so on...and so forth...

so...slowing down time is my only option. and since i am unable to do that fly-around-the-earth-backwards-superman thing, i feel that my best line of defense is to make each day count and to not pack them full of busy schedules and activities that don't build our relationships. i'm happy to not be taking jam packed trips and that things like facebook, e-mail, and the computer are an after-thought. here is a tentative plan that is on the fridge for our summer days. i am praying that it fosters growth of the spiritual, emotional, and camaraderie kind.

8:00 breakfast

followed by bible story and prayer together
chores
free time

12:00 lunch

followed by 30 minutes of reading

1:30 pool (t/w/th/f)
movie time monday (m)

3:00 snack

free time

6:00 dinner

8:00 talk time and journal

this is where chad and i will get to go room to room and spend time with them alone. tonight, for example i got to tell chase a story about a frog from when i was a little girl. he loved this. and so did i. i also got to read colt the story i wrote in my journal on his first day of kindergarten. i did this to show him how fun journaling can be when you get to look back at it years later and remember the details of what happen and how you felt. he had no idea how hard that day was because of how much i missed him. it made him feel good. i also got to read them some of my prayers from when aiden was a baby and i was praying for God to heal her reflux and they saw how He answered those prayers. it made them want to pray for God to heal annslee's reflux more.

and...possibly my favorite thing is that they each get to pick out a spiral notebook to be their journals. they will keep them in their nightstand drawers with a pencil and every night they will write in them about what they did that day, how they are feeling, or even a prayer. once a week, they will write a letter to chad or i in it and we will write them back on the back. i'm super excited about this new, little activity and really hope it sticks. can you imagine taking a box of old spiral notebooks with you to college that had entries dating all the way back to elementary school? love it.

and who better to hold me accountable to this slow paced summer day schedule other than you?

great. now i'm singing that cher song..."if i could turn back time"....in my head.

"hearing" God

today i took colton and aiden to the store with me. aiden had birthday money that she wanted to spend and on this particular day, colton needed to be anywhere that chase was not. they have been "relationally challenged" lately. and most of the time i can't pin-point who or what the problem is. i have somewhat successfully convinced myself that this is just a phase that will be outgrown as quickly as it came, but for now...separation seems to work.

aiden is starting kindergarten in the fall, so she has been promoted at church to the school age sunday school department. she gets to go in with her boys and we have been talking this up for the past several weeks. on the way home from our grocery day of separation and fun, i asked her about it. here is how the conversation went:

me: "so aiden......how did you like your new class this morning?"

aiden: "it was good. the teachers really love God."

me: "do you love God?"

aiden: "a little bit."

me: "what would make you love him more than a little bit?"

aiden: "if he would talk to me."

the conversation didn't end there, but i did appreciate her honesty. and i even wondered if sometimes i didn't feel the same.