One Snappy Dresser

Daddy gave us some SCAG shirts last time we were home at the shop.  James loves any shirt with a tractor, and he wanted SO BAD to wear Landon's new SCAG shirt...so I helped him put it on :)

Clearly, a man would not use a pony tail holder to secure his t shirt, but alas, an almost 2 year old who hangs out with his mom a lot must.  This is why dads can be important :)

And, here's what happens when I let James pick out his own outfit.  A Mickey Mouse swim hate (and he calls Mickey Mouse "Mowey Cat".  Ha.  And, cousin Noah's way to big shoes :)  He is one handsome dude.

Suckers & a Tractor Lunchbox

James ate his first REAL sucker, like for big boys, the other day on the way home from Costco.  The sucker was attached to a balloon we got for donating to the Children's Miracle Network on the way out of Costco. My silly momma self though, "Ah, there's no way he can get all the plastic off of that sucker to eat it."  Ah, I am a fool, indeed.  Halfway home I look back and he has gotten a piece of the plastic of and is just sucking and sucking and sucking that one little part.  HA.  Where there's a will, there's a way, I guess.  He enjoyed it, to say the least.  Here is the end result.

Back around the time James was born, GatorPa gave James a JD lunchbox, for when he was old enough to play with it.  I got it out of the closet the other day, and he was pretty excited.  

The Zoo = A Place to Ride a Choo-Choo

A couple of weeks ago we took our first trip to the zoo.  It was very exciting.  The main thing that made it exciting had nothing to do with animals.  The Choo-Choo was there.  Oh my.  

  There were a lot of school groups there, which was pretty unfortunate – but it was still great.  James did not care AT ALL about any of the animals.  I think he was just confused.  Like, why in the world aren’t we going in there???  So, we would come up to the tigers and they would be really far away and we would be right at the wooden fence, and say, “Do you see those tigers??  See??”  Pointing, pointing, pointing (Me pointing).  Then James just kept saying, “Please? Please,” which I finally figured out meant he just wanted to go in there.  I thought the funniest thing though – and clear indication he could not see the animals all that great – was at the monkeys.  I was trying to point to the monkeys to show him where they were far away, and then he starts yelling, “Where are you monkeys” – which sounds like “WEEE OHHHHHH Moneys???”  At home when we can’t find stuff – like Thomas or like his drink, then I guess I must say that – so James has picked up on it and says all the time, Where are you _____ (whatever we are looking for).  And, from the time we got out of the car, he was asking about that little train.  We did ride it and it was the highlight for him, for sure.  We rode the carousel – which he didn’t like at first, but I hoisted my behind up on the animal with him finally and he felt better about that.  I didn’t, but he did.  I kept thinking…will this hold both of our weight?? He also loved the petting zoo.  All they had in there were goats…he kept saying “Hello Go”  Hello go.  It was really funny.  He didn’t take a nap on the way home either.  We ate at OK Café for lunch – AWESOME!!!!

Mother's Day 2012

I had a great Mother's Day.  First of all, Landon gave me the funniest card ever - and then James and Landon gave me a Pandora bracelet.  I had been back and forth over the last couple of years about whether or not I wanted one, but finally (after debating a couple of years) I decided I really wanted one.  I got the bracelet and two charms - one pretty one Landon picked out for me and a frog charm James picked out for me :)  It was great.  James got mad while giving it to me because he wanted to wear the bracelet and kept saying, "take a turn" over and over.  I am really, really blessed, and I know that.  I am very thankful for my family.  

First Real Boo-Boo

Well, I knew it was going to happen eventually, and it did.  Our driveway is sloped downward, and sure enough, James was running full force down it and fell.  I immediately see teeth being knocked out all over the driveway (in my mind), but thank the Lord, just a skinned knee was the result.  I'm going to have to pull the neosporin, peroxide, and bandaids together so we are ready at all times.  It was pretty traumatic for James, but he is doing great.  We check the boo-boo many, many times during the day.  He is on top of the healing process :)  I think he is going to survive, and unfortunately, I know there are many more to come!

Whoopie Pies!

My mom put some whoopie pie mix in our Christmas stocking this year.  I'm not sure if I had ever had whoopie pies.  The other night when Landon was gone, James and I needed a project.  I found the mix in the cabinet and decided to go for it.  They turned out great...although James only wanted to eat the candy and got mad once the candy was actually rolled onto the icing.  

A big helper!

YUM!

Getting ready to put the icing in between.

The finished product :)

A Great Man, Mr. Hank Rowe

A sweet, dear man went to be with Jesus this past week.  Hank and Lane Rowe attend our church and over the past couple years have become more and more precious to us.  Hank has been sick for quite some time - although he has been able to have pretty great quality of life until here recently - but last Wednesday morning, Jesus took him to Heaven.  Now, although Landon had the opportunity to get to know Hank better than I did since he would visit Hank and Lane sometimes during the day while he was working, I got to know him a little bit :)  And, I sure did love him.  He is one of the warmest, just genuinely kind people I have ever met.  You know when you meet someone who just exudes sincerity, just general "fun-ness", and friendliness??  Well, that was Hank.  I remembered as I began to write this short blog about Hank and Lane that I had written a blog about them when went to dinner at their house quite a while back.  That blog is here:

http://frymires.blogspot.com/2011/09/fenomenal-family-friday-rowe-family.html

We were very thankful for the opportunity to meet Hank and Lane's children and extended family.  They were wonderful.  They had so, so many stories about Hank - his love for them, funny - crazy - funny stuff he had done over the years.  They were a blessing to be around.  Pray for Hank's wife, Lane, as she begins a new journey now.  Pray as she starts to find a new sense of what normal looks like, that the Father will envelope her with His love and comfort.  Pray that we will faithfully and deliberately show love to her - to be Jesus with skin on.  This is one precious family, and it is our privilege to know them!

For now we see indistinctly, as in a mirror,
but then face to face. 
Now I know in part,
but then I will know fully, 
as I am fully known.
1st Corinthians 13:12

Got it together???

Confession time.  I hate this drawer.  It's a drawer that starts out pretty organized in the kitchen, but it's the "catch all" drawer (because I let it be) and over a month or two, it just gets out of control.  Company's coming...oh, shove it in that drawer.  You get the drift.  I want to be a good house cleaner.  I want to be a perfect mom.  A perfect wife.  A perfect part time employee of Ronald Blue & Co.  A perfect pastor's wife.  A perfect drawer cleaner.  But, I just can't.  I can't do it, and when I hide the mess for a while, it ends up looking like this picture above.  Finally, I get sick of it and clean it out.  Does anyone identify with me?  If not, just please don't judge me.

Just two nights ago, it had been ONE LONG DAY.  I had been with James, of course, (which obviously is a great blessing - but also tough!), Landon had eaten dinner with us and then gone back to the church for a men's Bible study they are doing right now, so I had James again.  Then, when Landon did finally get home for real, he needed to go out and work on staining the deck.  This legitimately needs to be done, so I was thankful he was doing it, but yet again, no break for the momma.  I had finally gotten James in bed, and I quietly sneaked down the hall to get a shower.  I step out of the shower to hear Landon, outside, hammering something...LOUD.  I mean, LOUD.  And then...wait for it...James started crying.  OOOOH...I was SO MAD.  I took part of my clothes I had yet to put on and went to the french doors in our bedroom that go out to the deck and threw my clothes at the window and told him (mouthing in a LOUD but silent way) "WHAT ARE YOU DOING??? BE QUIET.  HE IS CRYING!!!!!!"  Poor Landon.  The man is working as hard as he can, then coming home to try to do something that needs to be done, and my cup was just too full that day.  Most days I get a lot more help than that, but that day....my junk drawer just felt like it was overflowing.

I've been reading this book called Captivating.  And, truthfully, it's taking me quite a while to get through it. I read in snippets at night if it's not too late.  But, the book is good.  We're going to study it this fall on our Women's Retreat at church with one of my favorite women in the world teaching us - Melissa Haas.  If you are interested in coming. let me know.  That was an aside.  The point is, this book spoke to me the other night, and I just want to write out some of what it said.  Because it just fits with my junk drawer overflowing mood.

from Captivating...
"A woman in her glory, a woman of beauty, is a woman who is not striving to become beautiful or worth or enough.  She knows in her quiet center where God swells that He finds her beautiful, has deemed her worthy, and in Him, she is enough.  In fact, the only thing getting in the way our being fully captivating and enjoyed is OUR STRIVING.  A woman of true beauty offers others the grace to be and room to become.  In her presence we can release the tension and pressure that so often grips our hearts.  We can also breathe in the truth that God loves us and He is good.

Proverbs speaks about two different women, two archetypes.  One is Lady Folly; the other, Lady Wisdom. Both are lovely.  Both set their tables with fine food and aged wine and dress in fine linens.  Both call to the passersby to come in, taste, eat, linger.  Lady Folly's door is the mouth of an open grave.  Lady Wisdom's home is the passageway to discernment, holiness, and Life.

A woman who is striving invites others to strive.  The message - sometimes implicit in her actions, sometimes explicit through her words - is, "Get your act together.  Life is uncertain.  There is no time for your heart here.  Shape up.  Get busy.  That's what's important."  She does not say, "All is well.  All shall be well."  Her fear doesn't allow it.  She is withholding the very things her world needs.

A woman who is hiding invites others to do the same.  "Don't be vulnerable.  Hide yourself."  A woman who makes herself vulnerable and available for intimacy invites others to do the same.  After all, Eve is the incarnation of the heart of God for intimacy.  She says to world, through her invitation to relationship, "You are wanted here.  We want to know you.  Come in.  Share yourself.  You are wanted here.  We want to know you.  Come in.  Share yourself.  Be enjoyed.  Enjoy me as I share myself."  A woman who is controlling cannot invite others to rest, to be known.  They will feel controlled in her presence.  It won't feel safe there.

A woman who is unveiling her beauty is inviting others to life."

So, what do you think?  Maybe to you, my junk drawer and this passage from a great book are unrelated.  But to me, my junk drawer illustrates me trying to be Lady Folly.  Attempting and striving and working and not enjoying life.  What am I doing?  I long to be Lady Wisdom. I long to invite others to life.  I'm praying God will continue to work in me and change me and make me someone new - someone who actually RESTS in Him.

Lakeyard & Tahti's

I do not know why I have not posted these yet.  Ridiculous.  I uploaded them into this post a long time ago and then just never wrote anything about them to publish it.  We went home what seems like forever ago...maybe 3 weeks?...and had such a great trip.  It was short - which is pretty stressful - but sometimes it's just good to get in the car and get out of town, you know?  Not because of problems, but just because it's good to get away once in a while.  

One morning, while Landon visited with his good friend, James and I went to the lakeyard with Landon's dad.  We had the best time.  I had forgotten what a GREAT place it is.  Goodness, I was so lucky to grow up there. 

James' favorite was when Grandaddy would swing beside him - not when he was pushing him.  

James also loved visiting Wise Equipment.  That man loves him some tahti's.  Seriously.  Anytime we see one from the car he starts asking about riding it.  Ride Tahti???  Ride Tahti????  We had a great time, and Daddy even had time to take us for a ride on a Gator.  James was a little afraid, but once I got on and held him, he did GREAT.

Why are these two lakeyard pictures at the bottom?  Who knows, but I don't feel like fixing it :)

We had a great trip home!