Dangle

Did you catch the photo of Sam taking in the puppet show with the big preschoolers at the church Easter celebration? Here he is watching intently. The moment I captured the photo I was immediately transported back a couple of years to Jack at the very same event.

See those feet dangling from the tiny preschool sized chair? I remembered a very similar photo of Jack from a just a couple short years ago. I recall thinking I bet his feet will be touching the ground next year. Of course, Jack has long had his feet planted on the carpet when he sits for preschool worship, puppet shows and the like. Wonder if there's any chance Sam's will dangle just a wee bit longer...

2010:

Now, if you really want to go WAY back, 2009:



Friday Night Fun

Since daddy is spending the weekend working, we were hoping to get some fun in on Friday night. We headed down to the depot in Cornelia where the Apple Blossom festivities were getting underway. This year's event included a BBQ competition. While they didn't have any sampling going on Friday night. There were a pair of BBQ vendors, music, face painting and the chance to see a train up close and personal...good or bad. Sam almost lost it when the train came roaring through just steps away from us. I knelt down beside him & reminded him it was just loud, not scary. It took him a couple of seconds to believe me, but he eventually started waving, "hey, choo choo!"

Batter Up!

Tee ball is in full swing...literally. We spend at least one night/day (and sometimes two) at the ball field each week. Jack seems to enjoy it, and that's all I really care about. The highlight is often snack time, but who can blame him? Sam is hit or miss (no pun intended) at the ball park. Sometimes he's content to enjoy a tootsie pop or play with a car. Other times, he's on a running rampage making mad dashes for the playground or trying to join daddy and bubba on the field. Tonight a caterpillar was our saving grace in the final inning. Never thought I'd wish for more bugs, but whatever it takes. One game in particular, after I had to leave for a meeting, Sam began yelling loudly from behind the fence, "I love you, dad!" "Dad, I love you!" "I love you, bubba!" "Daddy, I love you!" Apparently, it was so loud both teams were giggling. Every now and then Josh would respond with, "I love you too, buddy." Here's to hoping he's always that bold when sharing his heart.

So excited...he got the ball!

Rounding first.

Slugger.

Headed home after some instruction from daddy.

Pirate t-ball...catch the fever!

He sure loves this fun & sweet cousin.

Snap it quick!

Fielding another one!

snapshots

 I found some eggs! Now what?

 Watching the puppet show with the big kids.

 Caught in the act...of sharing. Spotted Jack running toward one of his classmates at his Busy Bees egg hunt. Overheard, "Here you can have this one, Kynna!" Love him.

Sam is the first of his Little Lambs classmates out the door. Such zeal, such excitement, must be the thrill of the hunt...

 Wait, where's your basket? You're running right past the eggs, Sam!

 Who has time for hunting eggs, when we're on the playground?

 Big man is an official solo monkey bar crosser. He's so proud. Can you see the little look of determination, slight fear and enormous hope in his eyes? He couldn't wait to run inside and tell his daddy, grandaddy and uncle jeff!

 Silly dance partying in the bed of daddy's truck with cousin Sean. These three are a mess.

 Ceremonial Easter Sunday snapshot.

 On the hunt at Mimi & (great) Grandaddy's house. Molly's lending some aid.

 Playing peek-a-boo with mom.

Giving Molly some "Sam love," which is often confused with torture. Poor Molly.

Still here...I think

As usual after a more than brief hiatus from posting, I'm not sure where to start. I have dozens of posts floating around in my head and never enough time to commit them to print. So, this may be a bit of a rambling of sorts, but I guess you are used to those if you follow the blog with any regularity. And, if you do, I'm sorry for being MIA. I'm thinking that's sort of a good description, no disrespect to my military families, but I've been in a state of constant action for some time now.

When someone asks how things are going or what you've been up to, do you ever reply, "we've just been busy." I feel like that's become a too often used response for me. And lately, I feel like I must have been misusing it previously. I'm relying on my calendar so much to get me to the right place at the right time these days. I'm still managing to find my way to the shower each morning without a reminder...you can thank me later.

I've heard dozens of speeches and read more than a handful of blog posts about busyness, time management, etc. in the past. I give my husband a hard time for never telling people no, but this time I'm finding myself over extended. I tried following the one major commitment and one minor commitment rule of thumb. I was asked a few months ago to serve on our church's Pastor Search Committee. I had to do some serious praying about it, especially since I'd heard it had taken the previous committee three years to call the outgoing pastor. God reassured me that He'd take care of all the little details, and I shouldn't worry about things that hadn't even happened yet. I humbly accepted the nomination. We've begun meeting weekly, I was recently named the secretary. I think it's safe to say this is my major commitment.

And, I'm okay with that. I'm already experiencing a tremendous amount of spiritual growth from my time spent in prayer with the team God assembled. I know that I have skills that lend themselves well to the role of secretary, and those weren't given to me by accident.

My problem is with the minor commitments. They're sneaking up on me, and all at once. There's organizing crafts for 4 dozen preschoolers and kindergarteners for VBS in two months. I know that seems like a long way away, but that's a lot of stuff to cut, prep, etc. Or managing website/facebook pages for a couple of ministries that I'm involved in. Or deciding it'd be no big deal to throw a party in the midst of t-ball season. I love each and every one of these projects and on their own they are minor commitments, but together they are making my head a jumbled mess...not to mention my kitchen!

I keep thinking this is temporary, but I have to remember that as much as I want to help people and be involved in the ministries I love, if I can't give them appropriate attention then I'm really doing them a disservice. Sometimes you have to step back and pray. God may have someone else in mind to aid these ministries, but I'm too busy hoarding all the opportunities. So, all this is really to allow me to process my own thoughts that have been swirling for a couple of weeks. Obviously, blogging has taken a backseat to all my busyness. Not just writing, but reading too! It disappoints me when I don't make time for blogging. It's one of my favorite things.

So, be patient with me. I'm reorganizing my priorities, my brain and my time. Thanks for coming along for the ride.

Daddy days

At least once a week Jack asks when I'm going to leave so it will be just daddy & the boys. It doesn't offend me since Daddy days are such a treat for him. Usually the boys get to enjoy a fun dinner & sometimes a trip for ice cream. Josh really capitalizes on the rarity by trying to do something somewhat out of the ordinary. Well, last Thursday I had a meeting to attend & left the boys in daddy's charge. Here's what my living room looked like when I returned.

Jack can hardly wait to "go camping."