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Carter had his first ever sleepover last night with his buddy, Keaton. I didn’t tell him until just before Keaton came over that he was going to spend the night with us and he was thrilled! “That is GREATTTTTT!!!” he said.
They played nonstop until dinner and then watched part of a movie before going to bed. keaton fell asleep first and I was laying in there with them – I told Carter if he woke Keaton up either on purpose or on accident that he would have to go and sleep in Gracey’s room. I have NEVER seen Carter be more quiet. When he talked to me, he sat up and whispered in my ear – he has NEVER EVER done that before. LOL! 
And when it was time for them to go to bed, I said, “okay, boys. It’s time for bed so we need to lay out your sleeping bags.” Again, first time EVER Carter has been excited about going to bed. “Alright! It’s bedtime!”
They had a fantastic time and it was precious to watch them.
Fat Cat, Fat Rat
Posted March 23rd, 2009 at 1:43 pm. Add a comment
In the past month or so, Carter has expressed an overwhelming interest in books and in learning to read. “What do these letters spell, mommy?” I bouth ‘Hooked on Phonics’ and we’ve started. In the very first lesson, he read the word ‘at’ with no assistance from me – just by sounding it out. After, he added: Fat, Cat, Rat, Bat, Hat and Mat. You should have seen his face with that very first word; it lit up like a kid on Christmas morning and was just so proud.
He already knew most of the sounds so we just had to review and he’s very interested in continuing with more words. He even read his firt mini-story with those ‘at’ words.
I love watching him grow and learn and I envy his enthusiasm for learning. It’s almost as if he is starving and learning is the only food that fuels him.
Good for you, Carter. You read your first word just before your 5th birthday. Although I love to see you learning to read, it concerns me some that before long Daddyo and I won’t be able to spell words to be sneaky. 
The Maker
Posted March 17th, 2009 at 11:58 am. Add a comment
I was at the gym at 4:30 again this morning and rode 22 miles on the stationary bike before 6:30am. I did NOT want to get out of bed this morning, in fact, I had every intention of going to the bathroom and crawling back in bed! As I’m entering the bathroom, I hear Daddyo chanting (half asleep) “go mamma, go mamma”. I cracked up and it was all the encouragement I needed. It’s always so hard to get there but I’m always soooo glad when I’ve finished my workout.
As I got started on the bike, my feet still were not fully engaged with what my brain was telling them to do. As i set the timer for 60 minutes, I thought to myself that it seemed like forever away and I just didn’t know if I had it in me. Once I got going I tried not to look at the time, listenting to a book on my Iphone and just thinking of anything other than the speed my legs were moving as I raced to finish. (not considering that it didn’t matter how fast I pedaled, 60 min was 60 min) In the first 10 minutes I was ready to stop so I told myself, “just go for 15 minutes… when you get to 15 minutes you can stop and do weights for 45 min.” Once I got to 15 min, I thought “I’m 1/4 of the way done, I’ve got another 15 min in me and then I’ll give myself permission to quit. I usually hit a wall somewhere around 50 min and I watch the clock intently, counting down the minutes until I can stop. Breaking through that wall is a challenge, even when I’m not working out at 4:30am, but I perservered. I told myself I only had to do 10 more min to meet my goal for the day. (Claudia and I have a little bet going over who can stick to her goals more often and no way am I letting her win this week – I HAD to do at least 40 min to meet that goal for the day) You know the rest of the story, once I got to 40 min I figured I may as well go ahead and do the last 10 min – besides, I was really sticking it to Claudia by going over and above, right? Don’t you all think I should get extra credit for that?
Life is like riding a stationary bike. My spiritual walk is like riding a stationary bike. The road is sometimes rough and difficult to navigate. There are times when I just don’t think I have it in me to get through this valley and climb back up to the mountaintop. Telling myself I can go just a little bit farther, another week and things will get better. If I can just make it to that next point… if I can’t do it at that point I can quit. And I find a reason to keep putting one foot in front of the other, praying for strength and wisdom. At some point I hit that wall where I think I’m just done. DONE. I cling to Jesus with everything I have and finally give up – give up and let Him carry me the rest of the way. Submit to His will and commit to follow Him WHEREVER He leads me, regardless of my own selfish desire. I find the peace that only comes through complete submission to Him and realize that I can’t do it. But He can and He will just as He’s promised us many times over in His word. When I finally reach that mountaintop I look back over the climb and wonder why I ever doubted, why I ever tried to do it my way.
What will never make sense to me is why I tend to follow the same path the next time I find myself in a valley. I think I get to that place of complete submission a littler earlier in the climb with each mountain I face but still, I try it my way in the beginning. Telling myself if I just keep going in the direction I’m looking then I’ll get there – until I realize that the only way to get there is by keeping my eyes not on the mountaintop but on The Maker.
Before and After…. …. no, Before and During
Posted March 16th, 2009 at 4:04 am. 2 comments
Although I know my clothes are fitting differently and I got to move down a size, it is still hard for me to really see the difference. So I had Daddyo take a picture today and I compared it to one from mid-November.
I say Before and During because I still have a long way to go. I’m not to ‘after’ just yet.
Anyway. I’ve had a few requests so I am relunctantly sharing. You can see the photos by clicking on the link “Photo Gallery” at the top. You can’t open the individual pictures for some reason. I think the file was too large. But it’s okay, you still get the idea.
Nothing.
Posted March 14th, 2009 at 4:11 pm. Add a comment
I’m just writing to say I have nothing to say.
I need some inspiration. IF anyone is actually still reading, give me some ideas here.
Economic Advisors?
Posted March 7th, 2009 at 4:49 am. Add a comment
So seriously, if we are asking these “ladies” about the condition of our economy, doesn’t that say more about the condition of our sanity?
Tonight on Nightline, interviewing a waitress at Hooters…
Hooters economic advisor AKA WAITRESS: (when asked about the continuing profits at hooters in spite of the economic trouble) “Honestly, the reason that people come here and don’t stop coming here is because of the economy. Because it is so bad they have so much on their minds, they want to get away … they might not have money to go to Florida or California so they go to a nice environment like here and they get to talk to nice girls like us.”
I mean, really? You can’t make this stuff up, folks.
conversations
Posted March 6th, 2009 at 5:18 pm. Add a comment
Carter: We’re dinosaurs. No! I’m God. And Jesus. I’m God the Jesus AND I’m Jesus the God.
Gracey: hello God. Do you fight like this?
Carter: No. I’m not a dinosaur, I’m God.
Gracey: Hello
Carter: Gracey, here it is. I got it. This is a dinosaur candy book. (while holding the book ‘the very hungry catepillar’)
Gracey: oh
Carter: do you want to eat some?
Gracey: yes. Mmmm. Yummy for my tummy!
Carter: Gracey! No! That was the bad candy. You Goose.
Carter: Look. It’s the cocoon.
Gracey: Cocoon?
Carter: Oh no. Not butterflies, I love butterflies.
Gracey: I want to eat them.
Gracey: Carter, want to go to China?
Carter: no. China is a bad place. if you go there you don’t get to see your family ever again.
Gracey: ever again?
Carter: not ever again. you don’t want to go to china, do you?
Gracey: no. that make me sad.
Carter: unless your mommy and daddy and family was there. then that would be good. Like a potato! haa ha ha haa
Gracey: Yeah! ha ha ha that be good!
Indecent Proposal
Posted March 6th, 2009 at 4:39 pm. Add a comment
I’m constantly amazed at what parents allow their small children to watch and hear – the things parents think are funny that are wildly inappropriate. (adult humor and language) I’ve never been as shocked as I was while in the waiting room of Carter’s SIT appointment.
Gracey was running around talking to everyone and making new friends of boys, girls, grown ups and small children. I had to make her stop playing with one lady’s foot and stop insisting that one girl follow her around the room to see everything. Most of the kids we see in the waiting room have special needs, many of them severe. Gracey walkded up to everyone and said hi and didn’t flinch with those who were different from her. She’d simply say, “Mommy! She doesn’t walk. She sits. She nice. She my friend.” And it would continue with the next person. She’d run up to him/her and say, “mommy! This my bestest friend!” I think everyone in the waiting room was entertained by her social networking skills.
There was one little boy she kept playing with and he was 3 years old, just like her. They ran around a bit and sat at a table together looking at books, etc…. Next thing I know, this is the conversation I hear:
Gracey: MEEEE?
Boy: yes. Shexy.
Gracey: I shexy?
Boy: Yes. You like shexy?
Gracey: I LIKE shexy!
Boy: I like shexy, too! You want shexy with me?
At this point, I’m thinking that surely I am misunderstanding what this child is saying. He most certainly can not be using the work “sexy” with my 3 year old. As I am trying to control my facial expressions until I have a better idea of what is happening, I hear Gracey SCREAM:
“MOMMY! He say I SCHEXY!”
That was it. I didn’t know who I would take out first, the kid or his mom sitting near by, but someone was going down. I looked at his mom with a questioning face and she laughed. “That’s how he says ‘Chucky Cheese’”. I was glad to hear their conversation was about Chucky Cheese but still….. lady… teach your kid how to say Cheese or Chucky…well, I guess if she focused on Chucky that could open up a whole new can of worms.