HAPPY BIRTHDAY

to

My First Born

I love you

Preston!

To Landon,

As I'm writing this, your birthday was 39 days ago (September 19), but as you may remember we were at Grandma and Grandpa's for your birthday, and there is NO Internet access, so I couldn't get to my blog. We had just finished having a fun week in Oklahoma and we still had several days left of fun in Kansas.


Now your brothers birthday is almost here and I have to write to/about you before I can write for him.

I can't believe that you have been my son for 8 years! It's been wonderful to see how you are growing, and how God is molding you.


Your heart is so big! I love that your heart goes out in sympathy to your brothers and especially to Kaylie when they are hurt or crying. I've watched you several times go and check out why Kaylie was upset and then you do anything you can to help her so she will be better, even come and "negotiate" with mom or dad.

I see your tender heart and your desire to please. Words and tones can cut you right to the heart and you would rather go without than to think someone is angry with you. This can be good and it can be bad, as it is said, many times our strongest strengths are also our greatest weaknesses. May your heart always stay tender toward the Lord and may your desire to please, be for Christ and not for man.


You stump me with your lack of attachment to things. You get gifts, you buy toys, even very expensive things, and within a day or two, you would trade it (if we would let you), you let anyone play with it, and you really don't care what happens to it. It's not a bad thing at all, because this world and all things in it are temporary, and the looser we hang on to things, the easier life will be. But what do you get a boy who has nothing specific he really wants or collects?


You amaze me at the comments that come out of your mouth. They can be so funny or they can be so serious, causing your daddy and I to really think before we answer.


There are so many wonderful things about you, and I can't share them all here and I can't even think of them all as I'm sitting here typing. But I know I love you! I love your hugs. I love your laugh. I love that you are so funny. I love your smile where you're missing those two front teeth, it just makes me want to eat you! Even the angels love you, because God sent you with an angel's kiss.


May you grow in Christ, and become a man whose heart is soft for the Lord, yet a warrior for His kingdom.


I LOVE YOU!!!
xoxoxo
Your Momma

Imagine This...

The kids and I were riding our bikes along a bike path near our home.
We visited the "dirt hills" where the boys like to jump their bikes.

I'm riding around a curve and I see Kaylie, on her bike,
at the top of this steep, dirt path that has a mound of dirt right at the bottom
that allows the bikes to get just the right amount of air.

Kaylie goes flying down this hill, makes the jump, lands,
then her front wheel gets wobbly and she falls flat on her tummy.

I'm yelling "Wow!" and "Good job!" because
1) I was impressed that she did it and landed it, and
2) To help soften the blow of her wipe out, which ended up having no tears.

I go and park my bike, and Kaylie is still lying on the ground,
so I hike down the path to help her up.
As I'm walking down, Preston is saying,
"She almost fell in the creek."

As I got closer, and as what Preston was saying was registering in my head,
I began to realize the close call that she really had.
The front tire of Kaylie's bike was right on the edge
of an 8-10 foot, straight drop down into a creek,
with big rocks along some of the edge.

As I am picking Kaylie up, and wiping off the dirt,
I share, "God made you fall, so you wouldn't have a bigger fall and get hurt even more."

Later, while the kids were riding around
and Kaylie ditched her bike and was running on the hills,
I was really checking out the close call that she really had,
and thinking of the spiritual lesson that was learned there.

Sometimes, when we are running wild and out of control,
and heading for a huge disaster, that many times we don't even see coming,
God will make us fall.

It hurts. It's not fun.
But the alternative could have been so much more worse,
and even deadly.
We are safe.

Thank you Jesus, for watching over my little girl,
and for watching over me!

A Daddy and His Girl

Today was hopefully the beginning of a new habit for our family.

Every Monday, during lunch, will be "date day.

The kids will rotate each week, while Jeff and I rotate each month.

That will basically give each kid some one on one time with one of us, each month.

Kaylie was the first,

not because she's the youngest,

or because she's the girl,

but because she had the best attitude when I was explaining what was going to happen.

To get ready for her daddy date,

she picked out a dress,

we fixed her hair,

and put a dash of color on her cheeks and lips.

Kaylie chose to go to McDonalds.

So as soon as daddy got home to pick the "princess" up,

she was running out the door and ready to go.

She really wasn't having much of daddy trying to be a gentleman by offering his arm.

The door was open for her, and when she realized she got to sit in the front,

Oh! The excitement!

From what I hear, it was a great time for both!

Promises to Me

All of my boys took this promise today, with their left hands over their hearts and their right hands in the air:

I, {Preston, Tanner, Landon}, promise to always

hug, kiss, and love on my mama,

no matter how big or how old I get.

No matter whether I'm married,

or whether I'm a daddy,

I will always

hug, kiss, and love on my mama.

I make this promise.

Amen!

It was done individually and of their own free will.

It started with Preston when we were standing in the kitchen and

I was hugging him and he was hugging back.

I asked if he promised to always do this,

and he said "Yes".

So I made up this promise,

knowing that he is soon to enter into those teen years.

(I'm sure there are already boys his age who already won't love on their mama's.)

After that went so well I moved to the next and then to the next.

This is recorded here for future references...

and believe me that they will be reminded of it someday!

All About Landon

10-10-10

This date was a big one for our family.

Landon, was baptized into Christ.

He has been talking about it for quite some time, but at first Jeff and I didn't think he was quite ready, but he made that call on his own. He decided he needed to wait.

He then brought it up again and said that he was ready.

Jeff went through the study that he used to go through with anyone who was wanting to get baptized and felt sure that he was ready.

On Saturday he lost a tooth!

Sunday.

Getting his confession of faith (which only required a yes),

and Jeff also tried to get him to share why he was wanting to get baptized,

but he got a little stage fright and wouldn't say a word and just smiled.

Jeff praying with Landon and Kurt, whom Landon shared his day with.

On Monday he lost his other tooth!

Tonight while Kaylie was taking a bubble bath and I was sitting in there with her
she started a SERIOUS conversation, she was truly serious in her manner:

"Mom."

"Yea."

"I really wish I was a horse...instead of a kid."

"Why would you rather be a horse?"

"They have a tail."

????? Not sure what her thinking is behind that.

Of course I then had to go in on how special God thought she was to make her a kid,
because we are created in His likeness.

I also had to throw in this:

"You know that God loves horses. Guess what Jesus is coming back on?"

"The cross."

"No... He's coming back on a horse! A white horse!"

"YES!!! Do we get to ride horses with Him?"

Horses, Horses, Horses

Here are some of the pictures I took of horses,

with the intention of printing them and hanging them in

my horse lovers room. (Kaylie)

I'm debating between color or black and white.

What do you think?

Day 8 - July 30

This is our final day...

Where Jeff and I clean and do laundry,

while the kids get their first taste of technology for a week.

(It's so they don't keep dirting what we cleaned.)

GOODBYE

to our get-away in the mountains...

until next year anyway.