The Thrilla in Manila

In this corner, weighing in at 29 pounds......Brooks, the Cannon, Coile!!!

In the far corner, standing 10 feet tall, The Dreaded Architectural Column!!!

ARE YOU READY TO RUMBLE?????????

Winner by TKO......Architectural Column!

You'll get him next time, Brooks!!

Busy Busy

I know Spring is here because we haven't been home except to shower and sleep lately. Since Wednesday, we have been to a track meet, seen Bill Cosby at the Fox, met up with an friend of mine from high school that I haven't seen in 10 years, ate dinner at my mom's house, went to church, went to a wedding shower in Newnan, and visited some friends of Irwin's in Sharpsburg. I'm exhausted and the week is about to start all over again. I need to back-up though.



Wednesday night I had one of those moments as a mother where your heart just overflows with joy. My precious son, Dash, ran in his very first track meet. He wasn't crazy about going out for the track team but I made him do it because it is something that he is good at and I wanted him to feel what if feels like to be part of a team and to work hard at something and reap the benefits of his hard work. We have fought tooth and nail over this track thing but on Wednesday night, Dash ran in the 800 meter race. It was a very proud moment for me and I think he actually enjoyed it. He didn't come in first place and he didn't come in last place. He came in somewhere in the middle of the pack. I couldn't have been happier if he had come in first. I was so happy to see him finish the race. I can't wait until this Wednesday to go watch him again.


I still can't believe my sweet little baby boy is a teenager. It blows my mind how quickly they grow up. It seems like just yesterday he was playing with his Godzilla toys and now he cracks me up when I catch him checking out a cute little blond in a Toyota. He will always be my sweet little boy and though he is a teenager now, and knows everything and thinks he doesn't need a mother to tell him what to do, I am thankful to God for these precious moments and glimpses of the man that he will become as he stands ready, with confidence to try something he has never done before and finishes the task.

The Great Warrior

The Great Warrior...that is our nickname for Brooks. Everything he does, he does big. He eats big, plays big, screams big..you get the idea. He throws EVERYTHING. We're hoping to develop his arm into something worthy of the Majors but in the mean time, we spend most of our time ducking to avoid injury. We've been bitten, hit, had our hair pulled..Irwin's been kicked in the twins more times than we can count. The big question in our family is not whether or not we will visit the emergency room, it's when and how frequently. So, I'm in Nadia's room with the door shut enjoying some sweet Mommy-Daughter time when I hear, "OWWW, Brooks." If you are familiar with our family then you know that I didn't exactly drop everything and run into the other room to get to the bottom of the screeches of pain. Those are pretty common in our house, especially from my accident prone husband (dislocated shoulder, anyone?). But tonight, we have reached a new milestone.

Yes, that red stuff is blood. Brooks whacked Irwin upside the head with a toy and drew blood. Fortunately, the wound did not require a trip to the ER, though we haven't been in the last month and they probably miss us. So in honor of tonight's milestone, I give you some Brooks highlights.

Look at that plate of food. Yes, he ate all of it.

MMM, I like cake.

Beauty Tip #12: If you run out of styling gel, mashed potatoes are a good alternative.

Favorite News Story of the Day

I heard the best news story today. No, not about Hillary and Obama. It appears the an 8th grade class at a middle school got upset that their lunch was getting cut short so they decided to get back at the administration by paying for their lunch in pennies. The school collected almost 6000 pennies that day. That is just awesome....you really have appreciate their creativity.

So we had our second Tball practice tonight. It went pretty well. Weeknights are really tough because it's so hard to pick the kids up, get them fed, and get to practice on time. It really takes an expert in logistics to work it all out. Tonight's highlights include Nadia spending half of practice wrapped around Irwin's legs as he's trying to coach because she doesn't like sharing her Daddy with the other kids, Brooks pitching numerous fits because I won't let him indiscriminately swing a metal bat around, Brooks tripping over Dash and face planting on the ground busting his lip, Dash getting his Ipod confiscated for giving me ugly looks, and Brooks having a meltdown because I wouldn't let him run to the car with a straw in his mouth. Ahhh, the joys parenting. It is not for the faint of heart.

Just to keep things in perspective, I included this picture with today's post to prove that the little turkeys can be sweet. Brooks has asthma so he has to take breathing treatments. His sweet big sis, Nadia, administered his treatment for him and he sat so still and quiet for her. It was the sweetest thing. These little Kodak moments make it all worth it!

Day 2 of the great back pain drama. Sleeping last night was a joke. After waking up last night in severe pain around 2 am, I finally decided to come downstairs and try to OD on Advil. Four seems to be the magic number. I feel totally crippled. I can't bend over, squat down, pick anything up...not that I would ever need to do any of those things with a toddler in the house. So enough whining.



Today our pastor preached a sermon on plugging in to the church and finding your place of service. We were all handed a puzzle piece as we entered the church. The gist of the message was that one piece of a puzzle by itself isn't very useful and the entire puzzle without all the pieces isn't very effective, either. It was a great illustration.

I can't explain the joy and fulfillment I get from serving in the church. I wish everyone would step out and experience it. I get so fired up when I'm talking to people about our Rec League, which is my particular area of service. Serving is really one of those enigmas where you get so much more than you give. I think I could preach a sermon on the joy I've found serving in the church. Sometimes I get so stirred up on Sundays listening to the sermon that I almost jump out of my seat and knock the preacher out of the way so I can finish up for him. I believe that one day I'll be called to speak to people about my experience as a Christian. It's not time yet but I truly believe the day will come and God is preparing me for it now. I've just started this excellent bible study called Experiencing God. I'm just through the first lesson and I'm already amazed at the truths that are being taught. More on that to come... So I leave you with this today, where are you serving? Don't just stand on the side line, get in the game!!! Will you put your piece of the puzzle into play or keep it to yourself? Many blessings to you as you begin your week!

Herding Chickens!

So here we are, the beginning of another season of T-Ball. Today was our first practice of the season. We couldn't have asked for a better day; sunny and 60 degrees. It was beautiful! Our church's Recreation League is something that Irwin and I are very passionate about. We are both very involved in the league and feel called to it as our mission field. There were around 230 children in the league last year and it more than doubled this year to 480. I thought the picture above was an excellent image of what makes our league different; time taken during practice to teach these little ones about Christ's love and to pray. How often do you see groups of children and grown men praying on a Saturday afternoon?

Our first practice went so well! Irwin and I are exhausted! Trying to teach 12 three to five year olds the game of baseball is somewhat akin to herding chickens, but sometime during the season, it will click and they will function like a well oiled machine. It is truly a thing of beauty! We had so much fun at practice today, we decided to come home and continue playing ball in the front yard....and that's when it happened. I pulled my back again. I'm too young for to be hobbling around like this. All I did was bend over to pick up a ball, it wasn't like I did it doing something glamorous like diving for a line drive. So now I'm sitting here with an ice pack on my back. It's just sad...