And Now For Something Completely Different...

We had a little fun this weekend.

Friday night Libby came over to visit and make homeade gummi's. Turns out the girl knows how to do corn rows.

I have been letting the boys hair grow for fun over the summer (they will get their school cuts tomorrow)

Michael's is pretty long, so this is what we did.

He started out sitting still and laughing...

They moved over to the couch and got serious...

Michael was really a trooper, it was somewhat painful at times, but we had fun.

He took quite a few breaks.

The end result.

Alex's corn rows...really, would he have set still for anything more? I don't think so.

This is what happens when the corn rows come out...fro.

While Libby was doing that, I was making homeade gummi's. It was REALLY simple and good. It is just like gummi bears without all of the preservatives and color dyes.

The recipe is:

1/4 cup sugar

3 packets unflavored gelatin

1/2 cup juice ( used Juicy Juice 100% juice, berry flavor and mango flavor)

Put in a sauce pan and heat until sugar dissolves

Then pour in molds...I used a baster to drip it into the molds so it was not messy.

Refrigerate about 30 minutes.

The Only Way to Travel

My older sister lives in Brazil and she comes to visit several times a year. She always flies on an airplane because 1) you can't drive from Brazil and 2) she and her husband are both flight attendants, so they fly a lot.

The boys are used to the airport and being around Aunt Karen, that is the only way to travel.

Well, my younger sister lives in Kentucky and she is here this week packing up the things she is taking from my parents house. We were out there last night loading up her UHaul.

When we were driving away, Michael asked me where Aunt Susan was taking all that stuff. I told her back to her house in Kentucky.

He was quiet for a minute and then said 'how is she going to fit all of that on the plane"?

So precious.

A Cleaning Tip For You

I wanted to share this with my friends...

Her name is Hazel and she is adorable.

Good help is so hard to find these days.

I know it's hard to clean your computer screen, especially the inside, so here is my little gift to you.

Click the word "here" in the above sentence

Momma

In quiet moments my mind starts to wander...I want it to, yet I don't.

I think of you.

I think of the good times and the bad times.

So much laughter.

So many tears.

You were always there for me.

I thought you always would be.

I never dreamed you would be gone.

The shock is wearing off and the foreverness is setting in.

This is harder.

Much harder.

I want to pick up the phone and call you.

I want to hear your voice say 'hi sweetie'.

I want to ask the stupid questions that you can only ask your mother and not get laughed at.

I want a hug.

I miss you.

I love you always.

God Works in Mysterious Ways

Coincidence...I think not.

So on Saturday nights after church a group of us go out to eat.

Tonight we went to Casa Rodriquez in downtown Bryan.

Whenever we go somewhere, Alex ALWAYS has some kind of toy animal with him (unless it is a frog, those are usually real).

Alex loves animals...he says that is what he was created for and that they need him.

Tonight the animal of choice was Rusty the Racoon, a small beanbag racoon.

He was playing with it in the restraunt and then left it there.

None of us were thinking about it as we stood outside for a while talking. Then we were walking to our car in the middle of downtown Bryan and a real live racoon goes running across the street in front of us.

Really, what are the odds.

Of course Alex takes off running after it screaming the whole way "a racoon, did you see that". The racoon sneaks off into the sewer.

Then I asked Alex if he got Rusty and he said no and ran back into the restraunt to get it.

I knew at the time that seeing the racoon prompted me to remember Alex's racoon but when we got home I really started thinking and went in to talk to the boys.

I told them that I didn't think it was a coincidence that we saw that racoon. We started talking about how God put that racoon there at the exact moment we went by so that Alex would not forget Rusty...it gives me goosebumps just typing this.

We had a great discussion about how much the Lord loves us and cares about us...every detail of our lives.

He knows every thought that we have, every thing that we do and every want and desire in our lives.

O LORD, you have searched me and you know me. You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar. You discern my going out and my lying down; you are familiar with all my ways. Before a word is on my tongue you know it completely, O LORD. Psalm 139:1-4

I told them how we need to recognize that it is the Lord doing these things and not just a coincidence that they happen.

It was super sweet and then Alex said next time he wants to take a shark with him.

Watch out residents of Bryan!!!

Alex Stories

When Alex is in the right mood, his wit is lightning fast and his thought process is amazing...it often floors me the things he comes up with.

Here are a couple of examples...

My sweet Libby came over for dinner the other night and we were eating broccoli. Now Alex only likes the top of the broccoli and Michael only likes the bottom, so it works out nicely.

Alex calls his broccoli trees.

So as he is eating, he tells Libby that they are trees. She remarks that he is only eating the top part leaving the stems bare...he looks at her in an instant and say "it is autumn" .

Really, I would love to be in his head, even for five minutes...I have a feeling I would get quite dizzy though.

We were driving home the other day and Alex says "momma, do you know why I know so much about God", I asked him why. He said "because I go to church and you tell me things and then I was born again and that is why I am still a child".

That's my Alex.

Getting Bigger

My boys are getting bigger and they are doing big boy things.

These are the days that I am so thankful for the Body and the awesome group of guys that teach and love on my kids.

These are the days I also go inside and not look.

I can't look, my momma instinct screams "do you see that blade"

Yes, that is Alex with a lawnmower...Jeff is a VERY brave guy.

Michael did really good, he got his box down and pushed hard...he is just like me.

Alex, bless his heart, was all over the place. He had a great time and Jeff chased him a lot.

No box for Alex...ever.

They worked hard, they sweated and they had fun.

They are so big.

Michael told me when he was done "whew, that was tiring, now I know how you feel, momma"

That made me smile.