A walk along the river

I always have more pictures than words to publish.  


The weather over the past few days has returned to the 90s - so we've been sweating a lot! Naturally, it made sense to use a few hours of today to enjoy each other and ride bikes long the river that flows through our city.  Our kids loved the freedom of biking on the paved path and probably felt a little bit of independence being a good bit ahead of us on the trail.  I'd like to make this a weekly occurrence this fall!

  

  

Mitch and I held hands from time to time while walking

....and I liked it.  Tee-hee!

Friendship is sweet

Last night was an evening full of fun with friends, albeit it blurry friends.

Q goes with U

It seems that the riding in the car is the time when my children really seem to share the most with me about their day.  Andrew reminded me of a language rule when coming home tonight:


Andrew:  "Mama....did you know that q can't go anywhere without u?"


Me: "Yep!  So good that you remember that rule, Andrew!  That will be a huge help to you when you're taking your spelling tests this year."


Andrew:  "U can go out alone but q has to stay home if he's alone."


Me:  "Keep reminding yourself of that when you're spelling words like....."


Andrew: (interrupting) "....like cutie!"


Well......not really.

A picture will have to do

a book in bed

Abigail  usually has a book in the bed with her when she falls asleep each night.  Tonight, she said to me in the darkness of her room, "Mama, do you know why I like to sleep with my Bible?  'Cause it makes me feel safe at night in case I get scared." 


My 


heart


melted.


Another tender moment just a few seconds later when she said, "I like the true story of Jonah, Mama.  God opened the mouth of that big fish and SPIT Jonah out just like that!  Jonah disobeyed at first but then he changed his mind.  That's so cool!".

Wordless Wednesday

Cooling off

It is still HOT here in Georgia!

How hot is it?

So hot that, while spending time with a friend this afternoon and giving our kids some play time together, I jumped in her pool with all my clothes on!

The kids joined in and we had a grand time cooling off.

I think I better carry my swim suit in my car from now on.

My mother and her sister

On the left, my East coast mama.

On the right, my West coast aunt.

Aren't they beautiful?

Tanagram practice

To keep from being "bored!"....

You broke my chicken patty!

We just spent 2+ days at Grandma's house where rules were lax and I slacked in my attention to what went into my kids' mouths.....not that my dinner choice below made any difference.

So, while driving back to Columbus tonight with the kids (alone, I might add), I realized that we would be taking the almost three hour drive right through dinner time. This meant I had to stop and order drive-thru food to keep the kids and myself sane (and awake). Burger King has these little mini-Krytal-like burgers and chicken sandwiches which come in a four pack that aid in helping to save money and not waste food. I made it clear to all three children that they could choose between beef or chicken. They said they wanted one of each which made the math work out perfectly for us all. I conquered the speaker and pick-up window with ease and parked to make lap trays and squirt ketchup/sauces.

Did you know that my sweet daughter really wanted chicken nuggets? She thought I could read her brain when she answered my question with, "chicken". So, for the next 45 minutes of our drive, she cried....declaring her disdain and frustration with her chicken in sandwich form and not in the usual processed nugget form (nutritious, I know.....and to think that I want to attempt this). She was so distraught that she refused the sandwich (and fries - horrors!) and said, "Mama, I'm sad and mad!". When she realized I wasn't going to give her what she wanted, she took her chicken patty and tore it in half so she could justify not eating it at all. I looked at her in the rear mirror and saw her pouting, crying, and keeping an eye on me. When she caught my glance, she declared, "Mama. You have broken my heart and my chicken patty. Now I will go hungry forever!".

She asked once more if I would stop to get her what she wanted so she wouldn't be mad at me anymore. I instructed her to take responsibility and eat what's been given to her - or go hungry. That made her angry but I told her to stop fussing and talking about it because I wasn't going to change my mind.

As we kept driving, she began to nibble at the sandwich and eventually gobbled it all down. I smiled to myself and remembered a powerful statement from a post I read a while back:

...if I am willing to die for you, then having you upset with me because I am protecting you is a relatively small thing in my world. - Chris Brauns

And to think that she asked for dessert when we got home!

She fell asleep on the couch like this - NO LIE!

A classroom observation

First, let me preface this post by saying that I think I should buy some of these.

After coming in from lunch and recess, I read a book every afternoon to my class. They gather around my feet as I sit in the mammoth rocking chair. They gaze up at me and into the pages of playful words and colorful illustrations. As I was at my desk the other day taking notes of my plans and instructing my class to read quietly for three minutes, I looked up to see two little girls licking their middle fingers as they turned their pages. HOW CUTE! I asked them where they learned to do that little trick and they both replied, "From you, Mrs. Jawan! You do it all the time when you read to us in the afternoons!".

They are watching EVERYTHING I do....that's scary!

Pack, pack, pack, & pack

This is what I do every evening before I go to bed....pack 4 lunches. I have to pray as I pack these boxes because it's tedious and I am often so tired that I don't want to do it. However, God reminds me of his abundance, both in food and in the blessing of my family. My kids haven't complained yet so I'm apparently packing them "right"!

Silly thoughts

Abigail has made us laugh this weekend.

Her first question: "Mama, what is a honeymoon?"

Her second question: "Mama, when Christmas comes, will you buy me a bow and arrow so I can shoot all the bad guys?"

She is keeping me on my toes!

PresWIC council

I traveled to the middle part of my state yesterday to meet up with several other women in our presbytery for a training workshop. My favorite part of these times is always hugging and laughing with friends that months have passed between our visits. I am especially drawn to the ladies that serve on the council with me....thank you, Sheila, Diane, Kathy, Lois, Jessica, and Marla! ....I really love you.

And another one....

She attended a friend's princess birthday party today.

Yes, she loved it.

Wordless Wednesday

A beggin' we will go

Even though my in-laws have a pool that we can swim in anytime we want, our kids still begged everyday upon leaving school or church on Sunday, "Please! Will you take us to swim at the pool across the street?" (it stares at us from across the street at church/school, looking all kinds of relaxing). We finally caved - well, thanks to the pool schedule announcement that it would be closing for Fall in three short weeks. The slide, the spring boards, the deep end, the water blasters.....we should have gone sooner!

Just a self-portrait to remind me that I haven't had my hair cut in a very long time. I usually get my hair cut just twice a year but I'm thinking that I really need to make it more of a habit. At least the hair clips were a good investment.

A trip to Hobby Lobby this afternoon brought out the cowgirl in her.

A little girl has my heart

Abigail and I spent most of the morning together today, just the two of us. The area in our city known as Uptown has a Saturday morning market of sorts where all kinds of vendors line the sidewalks, selling their handmade/homegrown goods. As we strolled the booths, we crossed paths with many sculptures that stand on many corners and crossings along the way.

She asked, "Mama, take my picture with this boy and his dog."

Next, "Mama, watch me stick my tongue out like this little girl!"

Abigail held my hand as we stopped and tasted delights such as homemade granola, fresh loaf bread, natural honey, and petted a basket full of six week old kittens - free for the taking (we didn't take one, btw).

I treasured that two hours of time with her. My heart overflows with love for this child and I pray the time impacted her heart and reminded her of the deep love of our Father. Speaking of simple things and holding her on my hip reminded ME of an article I read last week. Here's just a snippet:

When girls are well-known by parents–both the best and the worst about them–they “dare” move close to their heavenly Father because they understand grace. It has been offered to them from childhood. And it all stems from listening to them–knowing them better than they know themselves, then caring deeply and intimately for their souls. This is what they most want. They will love you deeply for it.

HT: Barbara Challies

Trying to empty my card

Her first dive ever.

We're going to work on the belly buster part.

Coloring every page in the book.

He actually enjoys doing this often during the day (just like his dad).

Eating breakfast together last week during one of the last lazy late summer mornings before school was to start.

A canvas I drew and painted for a friend who just adopted a toddler from India.

Luke's free hand drawing. I am amazed!

His muse....

First day of school (2nd grade, PreK, and kindergarten). Luke NEVER looks happy each year for this picture. Andrew lost one of his front teeth the night before....notice the gap.

Isn't he just adorable?