Satan is a TeleMarketer!

Didn't we really all already know this?
I have just started a new Beth Moore Bible study. This is the first study that I have been hyped about before I actually started it. Wednesday afternoon, I finally got Luke down for a nap that could potentially give me enough time to get through one day of the study.
During my prayer, I asked the Lord to let Luke rest long enough for me to get through this day of my study. I know we are to pray specifically but I forgot to mention something very important. As I was drawing near the end of my study for the day (about 10 minutes left). The phone rings. I jumped and ran to the phone just to try to get to it before Luke awakened. Of course, to no avail!!!!!!!!!
I answered. There was no one there. You know that means they will call again because I have just provided them with a time of day that someone will be home. I was aggravated because I just needed 10 minutes!!!!!!!! Is that too much to ask? I looked down at Luke who was now looking up at me with both precious little hands on my leg and those little tired eyes, smile on his face. I said, "Baby Doll, Momma needs just a few more minutes and I will hold you for the rest of the day."
I had the remote control sitting beside me. And, there is always at least one Baby Einstein ready to go. I chose Baby Mozart because there are no words to the music (so I won't be distracted from my reading) and Luke loves them all. He sat his preciousness at my feet almost as if he understood what I meant. He watched his video and I finished my Bible study with the soothing sounds of Mozart in the back ground.
When I was finished, Luke crawled up in my lap and stayed there for the rest of the afternoon (which wasn't really that long). I praise the Lord for this precious moment!

Can you see me now?

Here are pix of our little man.

Can you hear me now?

John is constantly nagging at me for not carrying my cell phone. I don't keep it charged. Well, excuse me (first of all) for not being at the beckon call of the world. No one ever calls me unless of course it is John. That could be because I never carry the phone.
It turns out that Luke is a real mover and shaker. The particular "moved and shaken" item of the week is my rarely used cell phone. Normally, this would not be a problem. He looks kinda cute walking around the house with a cell phone attached to his ear saying "'lo!" But as afore mentioned, I hardly ever charge my phone!" Somewhere in this house is a nearly new telecommunicator with a dead battery. So, it's not like I can call on the house phone and follow the ring around until I find the phone (yes, this is a practice that we use often at our house!).
Luke knows where it is. I know that he does. This morning as I was playing Crouching Tiger Hidden Cell Phone Luke was following me around the house laughing. I have crawled through the entire house and no cell phone anywhere.
When I do finally locate my phone, there is a treat waiting for me! I have left myself several messages while trying to find it. I will feel important if only for a moment a to my very self.

The Good Ol' Days

Recently, I was communicating via email with a friend from high school. She was talking about when we were in grade school and used to have disco dance-offs. Even though I have forgotten that particular recess activity, how fun!!!!

I do, however, remember other things. I remember playing kickball. I remember being naive. I remember teachers being concerned because the kids (boyand girl couples)were holding hands on the playground. I remember the pain of telling my mother "I am too old to wear ruffles and lace now Mom." I remember being obnoxious to substiute teachers (something I have paid dearly for in recent years). I remember selling fundraiser stuff and thinking that I was the greatest salesperson in the world. I remember the hurt of not making pee wee cheerleader.

Now, we had our fair share of hardships. I remember one boy getting caught with illegal drugs in 4th grade (he got it from his parents stash). But, overall, we can look back and say we were pretty sheltered in our younger days (or at least most of us).

Having said all of that......Almighty God please be with our children! Times have changed. Not all is bad. I like to sit and watch my daughter play on the playground with her little friends. It all seems so innocent much like we were. But, the things that parents (most of them our age and younger) allow their precious young ones to be exposed. Kids have more access to information through the media than we did.

I don't think I want to know exactly what my child knows. We were watching TV together the other day and they were reviewing a book that had the word "Sex" in the title. It was on the evening news so I know it wasn't porn or anything. Moriah says "Gross! Did you hear that word he said?" The news guy repeated the title. "That is so disgusting!" she retorted. I wanted so bad to ask but my heart just ached and what the actual answer would be. I am not sticking my head in the sand. I have asked this question on a different too-young-to-know phrase that came up before and I literally felt my body melt and ooze out of the chair in which I was sitting when I got the answer.

So, I guess all things considered, it is still safe to say, "Oh! To be young again!" But, oh to be young again in the 1970s (to steal a quote from my 9 year old). I wouldn't want to be growing up in today's world and dealing with what my daughter does.

Things I've Learned in the Past Year!

*Always place the clean diaper over the cleaned target area before reaching for the ointment.

*You are what you eat explains why little boys are made of snips, snails, and puppy dog tails.

*A Playskool ball fits perfectly in the speaker of a subwoofer.

*Always leave the toilet lid down and the bathroom door shut.

*Nap time doesn't end until you are seated in your nice hot relaxing bath.

*Baby Einstein cures what ails you.

*A crashed computer is not always an indication of a virus.

*A Personal Floatation Device, regardless of what government agency approved it, will not float the way you need it to if your child was born to snorkel.

*Chocolate may be harmful to dogs but is apparently quite tasty to a little boy.

*First steps are used as manipulation and control.

*There is no such thing as a child safety lock.

*The pains of child birth are nothing compared to the lacerations caused by pearlly white little pirahnna teeth.

*Toddlers are little terrorists.

*I have at least 1 and maybe 2 weapons of mass destruction living in my house.

*I have been richly blessed more than I could have ever imagined!!

Hey Baby, You got style!

We were in Waldron driving down West 2nd Street headed to Wal-Mart. There was a middle aged man riding down the side of the street on a bicycle. He was peddling away doing his thing. I said, "That is so uncool!"
Moriah asked what I was talking about. I pointed out to her that the man had on shorts with teenies and black socks. Moriah said, "Ew! That is not stylish!"
I said, "It just isn't right is it?"
She said, "No, it's not. I know this because I have a good Fashion Sense!"
Where does she come up with this stuff?

Grosser than Gross!!!!

Last week we were at the Arkansas Bandmasters Association convention. It is always lots of fun. We have some good friends that we always hang out with at the convention. They have 2 little girls, ages 7 and 2 1/2. Moriah and the 7 year old get along really well.
I'm sure that the baby and Luke will get along well when Luke is a little older. They have some of the same bad habits. For instance, they both put everything they come in contact with in their mouths.
Anna Claire is a beautiful little girl. She looks just like a little doll. Over a period of 3 days these are a few things that she put in her mouth: a cheeto she found under the bed in our room (that belonged to neither family), water from the pool, and beads. Her parents had told us that she likes to chew on baby wipes and they had caught her with as many as 5 totally in her mouth.
On Thursday evening, we went to dinner at Olive Garden. That was a different experience but the grossest thing happened when we got back to the hotel. John was changing Luke's diaper and it required several wipes. Of course, it was chaotic with the 2 other girls running around the room playing. Not to mention, Luke flopping around like a fish out of water and screaming because he can't be still while you are changing him. AnnaClaire reached over and grabbed a wipe from the soiled diaper and stuck it in her mouth. John said in the midst of the madness, "Uh! Anna Claire has a dirty wipe in her mouth!" Her mother began to struggle to get it out. When the mom got it away from the child, Anna Claire stood there with her little blond pigtails, a big ol' grin on her face, and a brown substance in the corner of her mouth. John started whining, "I think she ate a turd!"
I was on the bed laughing so hard I almost wet myself. In fact, I may have just a little. When we were leaving Olive Garden, the waitress gave us some chocolate mints. As Anna Claire was walking into our hotel room I noticed that she had chocolate on her mouth. Apparently, John did not!

Long time no see!

Wow! It's been a long time since I posted. We have been SO busy. Mostly with band director stuff. John had band camp 9-14 and ABA (Arkansas Bandmasters Association).
Moriah has a dark tan. She spends a lot of time in the water and sun. She is ready for school. By that I mean, she has all of her supplies and clothes. Otherwise, probably would rather it stay summer forever.
Luke is walking now. But, he still prefers to crawl, probably because he is really good at it! He gets a little turbo action thing going when he crawls. We just found out that he is going to wear glasses at least for a while. This should be interesting.
John is gearing up for band. Their show this year is 70s Disco. It should be pretty cheesy which usually goes over well. They are playing Disco Inferno, Night Fever, and Play that Funky Music. Tune in later to hear about how it works out.
With me, it is just the same old same old. Fighting off allergens, a messy house, and the teeth of Piranha Baby.

Boyz R So Mean!

We have been watching videos of Moriah when she was a little. She was such a Sweetie! With her Christmas and Birthday "I wonder what it is!" with every present she opened. Her Pebbles Poof hairdo on top of her head was just too cute!

Now there is Luke. In the immortal words of Pooh, "Oh Bother!" He looks just like Moriah (in the face anyway) when she was that age. He is sweet in his own litte ways. The way he laughs when we are laughing; the way he makes his "S" sound; and the way he smiles and bounces on my lap when I sing "To God Be the Glory" to him...especially on the verse about him (don't look in your hymnal, he and I wrote it one morning when he was having trouble going to sleep); it all makes me realize how richly blessed we are with 2 beautiful healthy lovable children.

When Moriah was about Luke's age, she bit me one day. This was a shock! All of the Child Development hoopla that had been drilled into my head during college went right out the window. I spatted her on the leg (not hard; don't feel like you need to call the child abuse hotline on me for something that the statute of limitations has more than likely expired on) and said "No!" She cried for a little bit but not long. A few days later, same story different parent, she bit John. Same result, he spatted her and said "no!" and she cried a bit. It worked. She never bit us or anyone else again. Man, we are such good parents!! We mastered the "biting child" problem..........yeah, uh, WHATEVER!

Then came Luke! Luke bites. Luke bites hard. He has never even tried to bite anyone except family. I tried to tell myself and others that he was trying to kiss. I don't know though. He really seems to enjoy the pain it inflicts on us. We have tried everything short of running from him (Well, actually, Moriah has done that too!). His favorite now is coming up to you, biting you, looking up, smiling, SPATTING HIMSELF, and laughing because you are in deep pain! I want to hurt him just so he will know exactly how bad it hurts! But, just at that very moment, I have an out of body experience (like I'm watching the whole thing on TV) and it is pretty funny! I can't laugh though! Not because of the inappropriateness of it all, but because there is blood dripping down my face where those sharp little razor blades have penetrated my skin and I'm gritting my teeth to keep from screaming out in agony.

I'm sure that John and I did something in our childhood that caused our parents severe pain and this is our punishment!!!!!!

Happy 4th of July!

Happy 4th of July everyone! It hard to believe our country is 230 years old. I remember when it was merely 200. We had a pretty good day. We took Luke to his fireworks display. He loved it! He didn't get upset until the "lights" stopped.

WE sure missed Moriah! I think Luke is missing her too. She is at her Nanna and Papa's for the past few weeks. Mom takes her swimming at the pool and she loves that. I can't wait to see her. We are going up Saturday on our way to band camp. It has become tradition to spend the week with Aunt Laura during band camp.

We have talked to Moriah about everyday. She doesn't seem to be homesick. She is playing outside a lot (this is good). Mom and Dad only have one dog. He is old and is skiddish around everybody but them. Here at home, Moriah doesn't like Chloe jumping on her.

July 1--What a Special Day!!

Eleven years ago today, John and I got married. One year later, at the top of the Eiffel Tower, I told John that I thought I might be pregnant. Seven months later Moriah was born. In 2005, Luke was due on July 1st. He came on June 17th by scheduled c-section. But, today, July 1st 2006, one year and 2 weeks after he was born.......Luke took his first steps. He walked a few and sat down. I ran and got the camcorder, recorded 4 steps and he was done. Good night Sweet Luke! You've had a good day!

WORD!

"Word!"
Word is a common expression that John uses since we have been here in Southwest Arkansas. He started using it because the kids did. The kids don't use it anymore because John over-used the 'word.' I think next he will start wearing saggy britches so they can see how silly that is.
The other day we were in Mena and suddenly I realized we were not in a land of ethnic diversity. We were walking through Wal-Mart and this little boy was walking by us. John held his fist up (palm outward; he wasn't trying to hit anybody) and said to the child, "Word!"
John walked on probably not thinking anymore about it. To him, it was like saying 'hello' to the boy. I noticed out of the corner of my eye that the child stopped and was looking in our direction with bewilderment on his face.
Then, I hear "Wurd to yor own self!" I turned only to see a little blond streak disappearing into the store. John never even noticed, well, until I explained my laughter.

Move Over Milk, Farting Does a Body Good

When we were coming home from our trek through Northwest Arkansas, we stopped at Sutherland's Home Center in Ft. Smith. Luke got a sand and water table for his birthday and we found no play sand in Nashville, AR. We knew that we wouldn't need it until we came home and we didn't want to take the chance of Waldron or Mena Wal-Mart not having it (Ft. Smith Wal-Mart didn't have any either). Luke was asleep and we gave Moriah the option of going in the store or we would wait while John went in and checked for sand. She opted to stay in the car.
Half the fun of having a baby in the family is being able to blame the origin of the foul odors that arise. We have tried to instill this in Moriah but she just hasn't gotten the hang of it yet.
We were sitting there in the parking lot and I began to smell something mal-odorous (that is a FultzN'It originale word). I was pretty sure the origin of the scent was from somewhere other than the inside of our vehicle (maybe not though).
"What is that smell? Did you do that?" I said to Moriah. The proper and expected response was 'No it wasn't me! It was Luke!' But instead.............
"Actually, Nickelodeon says that a healthy body does that." Moriah proudly proclaimed.
It took a moment for this to soak in to my thickness. Then, it hit me. "Does what? Fart?"
I questioned.
"Yes!" She said laughing.
John got in (with sand I might add). I was telling him the story. He turned and looked at Mo and asked her, "Moriah, are you healthy?"
"Yes! (Teeheehee)" She answered.
We may not have many amenities here on earth; but, at least we have our health!

The One That Got Away..oh, wait...I guess not!

Yesterday, we were awakened at 7:30am by the sound of a LOUD boom only to discover that there was no electricity. John's mom called Carroll Electric. Of course, it was automated and she got the recording stating that they had received several calls regarding this matter. For those of you who know nothing about living in the country, when the electric goes it isn't just a time without lights. The well pump is electric so no showers or toilets flushing. The gas stove has an electric pilot light so no breakfast. John's mother called several times because the natives were getting restless not to mention smelly. Finally, she called the sheriff's department to see if a wreck or something had knocked the power out. The sheriff's department said that pretty much the entire area was out of electricity and they had no idea why.
John and his mom were out on the porch and saw a squirrel sitting in a tree eating something bright red. John was looking for the camera and he told his dad. His dad told him to get the gun because the squirrels had been in his garden eating his tomatoes. After all, there was no electricity, we WERE in the country.............hey! I know! Let's shoot something!!!!
Needless to say, John and his dad both grabbed a gun (John with a rifle and his dad with a pistol) and went out in front of the house and commenced firing. I think they each fired about 4 times. The first shot fired the squirrel ran a little further up the tree; but, he dropped his luscious appetizer. The 2nd shot, missed again, and a little further up the tree. It reminded me of watching an episode of Walker, Texas Ranger. John and his dad being the bad guys firing at Walker (the squirrel). You know, those guys can never hit Walker. But, shoot away they did. Bang! Bang! Bang!
After the last shot, a minute or so past. Lo and behold, down came the squirrel. Dead weight from the top of the tree all the way to the ground. Bless his heart! He had a heart attack and died. Isn't that a mess? Wouldn't you hate wasting all of that energy dodging bullets only to have a heart attack and plunge to the ground?
The great white hunters went to retrieve the animal and found the munchie that it was enjoying. It was a peach. They also found another dead squirrel that was laying directly under the transformer. It had entrance and exit wounds. It had been electrocuted.
A while later the Carroll Electric truck pulled up. The men went to converse with them. They said that everyone's electric was back on except for ours and they had no idea what had caused the black-out. The men showed them the fried squirrel. Wouldn't you know? Apparently, this little rodent had blown out the power for the whole countryside. This could have all been avoided if John and his dad had been out shooting pesky squirrels at 7:30 in the morning. They probably wouldn't have shot the squirrel but it would have more than likely had a heart attack before it caused the whole mountain to go dark!

Sabatical

We are in NW Ark this week. We spent a few days with my parents. We had a wonderful visit with my brother Marty and his little one, Marleigh. Luke got a new wagon for his birthday and Marleigh and Moriah really enjoyed it. Moriah pulled Marleigh down a little embankment and was kind enough to let go of the handle as Marleigh barreled uncontrollably into the fence. Gee thanks Mo! Sorry we didn't get to see you Theresa maybe when we come back through.

Luke had a check up today. 30" and 23 lb. 2 oz. He has an eye appt. on 7-31. He is a little cross eyed sometimes so we are going to get it checked out. I'm sure it is just a product of his environment. We are all a little cock-eyed at our house sometimes. Moriah opted to leave the room when Luke got his 12 month shots. She doesn't like to see "flawless skin" get "messed with."

We are visiting with John's parents right now. It's been a good afternoon. John and his dad went shooting. We could hear them and Moriah wondered "what in the world are they doing?" Luke is enjoying exploring new territory. If anybody wants to see us, feel free to come by here. We will be here all weekend!

I don't have any "kid" stories today. I have a John story but I must edit it in my head before I blog it.

Happy Father's Day

If anybody calls you "Dad," I hope you had a blessed day. Our church didn't have evening services tonight so that we could spend time with our dads. John and I didn't get to see our dads today but we did call them. We will see them this next week. Moriah and Luke are so lucky that they spent the whole day with their dad. John got some hunting boots and the lunch of his choice (which turned out to be all you can eat crab legs at the china buffet). I also added some more pix to his ever growing Father's Day card (I gave him a card 2 years ago of all of the good pix of he and Moriah, this year I added some more of he and Mo, he and Luke, and he and both!
If you are still lucky enough to have your dad, call him and tell him hello and Happy Father's Day. If you don't read this until later, call him and tell him you love him and wish him a belated happy father's day. God bless 'em aren't we glad we have them!!

Happy Birthday, Luke!!!!

It's hard to believe that it has been 1 year. Our little man! I got to say for the first time "1 year ago today at this very time (12:53pm), you came into our lives." We had a really good day. We went to CiCi's and ate pizza and then went to the Best Western in Atlanta to spend the night. We ate cake and opened presents and fun was had by all. Luke dove into the cake and wiped the chocolate icing all over him. It was great! John told Moriah to hold Luke so he wouldn't crawl off of the table. Moriah started gagging like 'Ol' Faithful' was about to erupt and saying that it looked like poop. I had to eat some of the icing that was on Luke's leg to show her there was nothing to barf about. I must admit that it was a bit hard to choke it down since she was gagging over it!
When we left the hotel, John told them there was a towel in the room that was soiled. He said, "I wanted you to know that it is just chocolate!" Some man was checking into the hotel and he said, "I don't know! He (Luke) looks like he just did something on'ry!"
Which reminds me, we got him a t-shirt for his birthday that says "I'm definitely up to something!"

What is a Scontion?

The Mineral Springs fight song is On Wisconsin! Not so much a fight song; but, it's what the band plays when the Hornets score. John always sings, "On Wisconsin, on Wisconsin, on Wisconsin, On!," over and over and over all the way through the song. Of course, you live with insanity and it starts to rub off. I sing it. I thought Moriah did too! (Sad little sidenote: Some of the band kids thought that those were the actual words....so sheltered and naive; yet, so worldly!)
Last night, Moriah was doing some of her "cheerleading kicks." She said, "I need to practice dancing. What is that song that the band plays that always makes the cheerleaders start doing their dance?"
"I don't know." I answered.
She said, "Yeah you do. You know, On Your Scontion."

Indian?????

After we got to Mom and Dad's house from Precious Moments, we spent a few days with them. I had talked with my sister-in-law, Theresa, before we went to Missouri and we had made plans to go to the Alma water park with the kids. My niece, Marleigh, rode to the park with Moriah, Luke, and me. We had a blast! We cranked the tunes (Chicken Little Soundtrack) and rocked all the way there.
Before we arrived at the AquaPark, Moriah started putting on her sunscreen. She always puts sunscreen on when she goes swimming. Although this is a good habit to get into at a young age, it is unnecessary during those times that the pool is INDOORS!!!! On this particular day, however, sunscreen was very necessary for the pigment-impaired.
She offered her cousin Marleigh some of her sunscreen. Marleigh told Moriah that she didn't need sunscreen because she didn't burn. Moriah, of course, asked, "How come?"
Marleigh replied, "Because I'm Indian."
Moriah stated, "Uh-uh! You ain't from no India!"
I explained to Moriah that Marleigh is an Indian but not from India; she is a Native American Indian. Marleigh began her own explanation. "Yes." she said, "It is on the Glasgow side. Not all Indians are dark-skinned, some are light like me and have blue eyes."
Moriah was amazed at this new revelation. "Really?"
Marleigh said, "Really! That's what they call me. A blond, blue-eyed white Indian girl!"

Precious Moments

Recently, Mom, Moriah, Luke, and I went to Carthage, Missouri to visit the Precious Moments chapel. We spent the night at the Best Western Precious Moments Hotel. It was the color of this font. Moriah loved it!!! She jumped out of the car and pulled her pink shirt out and said, "Mom, LOOK! What do I match?" (Because everything has to be in the form of a question). She was so excited and kept saying "Look! The whole place is PINK!" I didn't think we would ever get checked in because much like Fatal Attraction, she will not be ignored.
The highlight of the evening was the indoor pool. It was wonderful because it rained all night. The pool was open until midnight but by the Grace of God she wore down before then. Mom was in the room and wasn't feeling well. Luke was getting a little waterlogged. And, there were like 12 kids in the pool area. I find myself with what seems to be less and less toleration of other people's. Even though they weren't really that bad, the third time I got walloped up the side of the head with one of those neoprene sponge balls, I was done. I had managed to talk Moriah in to going to bed, yea!
As we were leaving the pool area, the Pizza Hut delivery guy walked in with about 4 pizzas and handed to one of the ladies that was in there with the mob. Moriah trotted over to me and exclaimed "Momma! That guy just walked in here and gave them PIZZA!!!!" Oh please, let me be the only one that heard that! My cry-out was to no avail. The lady carrying the pizza over to the table grinned at me. I told her "You know, we do get out a little more than that." She asked "Would it be okay if she has a piece of pizza with the kids?" I graciously declined stating that we had just eaten before we came to the pool. It was actually about an hour before but it was around 10:30 at that moment, much too late for anyone to be eating. I thanked her for asking. It geniunely was kind and I did appreciate that.
But. you know, the more I think about it, I don't ever remember us having pizza delivered anywhere. We have always either picked it up or eaten it there. It had never occurred to me that a man walking in and handing someone a pizza would be foreign to her.