First day of preschool

Today was Ryan's first official day of preschool this fall!

He was very eager to return to his school—he just loves his teachers (Mrs. P and Mrs. K). And his new shoes. :)  Today he said he played with a new friend, Max.  I'm so thankful he has such a wonderful school with caring teachers in a Biblically-infused setting.

Here's what happens...

Here's what happens when you leave a tube TV on the floor for too long...

Your 4-year-old might try to use it as a jumping toy.  Which, in the scheme of things, isn't too big of a deal.  You see, while we are THE last family in North American to own a tube TV, we just received a newer tube TV from our neighbors... so we had intended on taking our 20-year-old, beat-up TV to the recycling center.  (See the missing buttons below, courtesy of the afore-mentioned 4-year-old.)

Not so SHARP anymore, eh?  Get it?  hahahahaha

Creativity flows

Both of my boys like playing with Legos.  But Legos are my oldest son's obsession.  Which can drive me a little crazy at times, I confess.  However, it is quite remarkable how creative a child can be...

This is the firehouse he built, complete with a pole for the fire fighters to slide down.

Here is the fire truck he built himself.  The only Lego fire fighter kit he has is for the fire chief's car, so this was his own design from looking at a Lego catalog! (And if you happened to notice the headless body with a blue suit on the side of the truck, he said that is the fire fighters' chemical suit. Good thinkin'!)

And here is the scene: a house on fire with flames shooting out of the roof of the house. Isn't that cool?!

So yes, Legos are fairly expensive... but the creativity that it draws out is priceless.

Take five!

When it comes to raising young men, this mom is getting more "with the program" all the time. :)  I got a tip that—especially for boys—having a brief interlude between school subjects can be quite beneficial, particularly as it relates to attention span.  So today's activity, between math and reading, was shooting hoops in the basement ala Nerf!

First Day of School

Today was Brandon's first day of 1st Grade!

 Although it is quite a transition from almost zero structure during the summer months behind us, he was eager to begin after he realized:
     1) what a big 1st Grader he would be, and
     2) that he got new LEGO pencils for the first day of school

Hooray! :)



What's up with that?!

What is up with electronics and appliances these days?  So far—since the beginning of 2012—we have had to replace our dishwasher (12 years old), our stove (also 12 years old), our stereo (8 years old), and our portable DVD player (less than 1 year old).  And next on the list will be our desktop computer (7 years old)—but I'll save my rant about technology for a different post another time.

What ever happened to the durable products our parents bought?  My mom & dad had their frig for at least 30 years, if not longer...

What's up with that?!

Worry...

I don't think I'm a real worrier... but sometimes I worry. About my boys. Like, how will they "turn out?" or Are our parenting efforts working? or What about the troublesome character issues we're dealing with?

Unfortunately, worried thoughts upon more worried thoughts can churn themselves into fear... and fearful thoughts can churn into despair. It's useless. There's no hope.

But in Christ, that is NOT TRUE! The Word says God "is able, through His mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think" (Eph 3:20) and that He "causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to His purpose for them" (Romans 8:28).

So I came up with this little saying:

Let worry
drive you to
prayer—
not despair!

It's a reminder to myself to TALK TO JESUS when everything seems out of control! HE is in control—and He cares! I can leave my worries in His loving hands because of His amazing promises (two of which I listed above).

What hope there is in Jesus... what peace! :)