Little Red Wonder

Joshua, AKA "Little Red Wonder", makes me laugh so much these days. He's always had a cute personality, but now he can talk really well too and, well, he's smart.

A couple of days ago in Kroger he was sitting in the basket as a lady was walking our way. He shot his eyes over towards her, pointed his finger at her and hollered, "Hey you lady! Hold it right there!" I think he meant it too.

Tonight at Chickfila - I took the kids there for dinner because there was NO way I was cooking dinner after doing Thanksgiving cooking all day long - I put him up on the changing table to take care of his diaper. (Yes, he's smart, but not smart enough to have the potty thing down yet. He prefers to spend his time doing other things that don't include bathroom business.) As soon as I laid him down he covered his eyes and said, "Keep me safe, God! Keep me safe, God!" over and over again.

In the picture above, you can see him holding the kitchen sink sprayer. There's a chair on the other side of that pass-through and he likes to get on it and turn on the sink. He'll do it again and again, laughing the whole time. At least he can entertain himself, right?

At night he stalls bedtime by asking to scratch my back. How can I say no to that? I love having my back scratched and he's really quite good at it. He's found my weakness and he's only two.

Speaking of "two", we only have a couple more months left before "three", but I don't think this little monkey is quitting the monkey business anytime soon.

And I love it.

Julia's 7th Birthday in Pictures

My girl turned 7 and we had a Pinkalicious celebration! We had so much fun planning for the party - there's a lot of pink girl stuff to choose from at the stores. =) John's parents were able to drive up for the weekend, along with my sister-in-law, Kara. They were all a huge help!

I'll let all the pictures do the talking, but to sum it up we made tiaras, painted nails, played games, ate cupcakes, opened presents, and had a treasure hunt where Julia found her bike. Julia wore a cupcake shirt, a special tiara, and a beautiful tutu that Gran brought for her. Her guests were all school and church friends....

Happy Birthday, Jules!!!

From Irritating to Thought Provoking

As I was driving the other day, I came to a red light. It was a big intersection and I knew the light would be long so I picked up my phone to check for an email I was expecting. Before I even had my emails pulled up, I heard a honk and looked around to see who it was. I noticed the driver to my left, along with her passenger, wagging her finger at me and mouthing, "No, no!"

I was at a loss because it was so unexpected. They rolled down their window and so of course I rolled down mine. She then said, "Don't text and drive!" I just raised my eyebrow and reminded her that the light was red and I never text when I'm driving. (Never mind the fact I wasn't even texting. I don't suppose that would matter though.) She replied, "Okay, just don't do it while you're driving! We're just trying to protect you!"

At this point I just nodded my head slightly and rolled my window back up. I was so irritated. It bothered me for two days straight! I wasn't dishonest with the lady - I don't text or email while driving. I think it just bothered me because she was sticking her nose in my business as if she could tell me what to do. And I certainly wasn't doing anything wrong or unsafe since I was at a long red light. She didn't even know me, but felt she had the authority to speak down to me.

I was so aggravated. Beyond aggravated really. (Which I now see is ignorant, by the way.)

But then the thought occurred to me: this is probably similar to what a pro-choice woman feels when a pro-life person speaks their mind. To them. At them.

I'm not saying those who are pro-life shouldn't speak out, but it really gave me a perspective I've never had before. Just a thought.....

I wonder what you would have done or said if the lady had honked at you?

John David's 10th Birthday

My boy turned 10.

The same boy we've affectionately called "Little" for years.

Except he's not so much anymore.

Yes, that one.

TEN.

Count the candles if you want.

We celebrated with a Star Wars party at home.

And a surprise visit from "Nate the Great" who was a little 8th grader in our youth group back when John David was born.

There were plenty of friends. And plenty of laughs.

And for some reason, John David is now "allergic" to the color orange and he passes out immediately if he sees it. His friends all think it's hysterical.

Of course there were birthday spankings too.

And birthday wishes made.

Games played.

(Those are limes with Yoda faces if you were wondering.)

Lots of presents and a treasure hunt too!

The treasure hunt was very fast paced and dark at times so it didn't allow for many pictures. I did manage to get this quick shot of Darth Vader on crutches. When the garage door opened for John David to find his present - an electric scooter - Darth Vader (with a mask of course) stepped out from the shadows and fought John David. It was great!

Here he is a week later outside on his scooter.

And there's Darth Daddy taking a ride too!

It was a fun night!

(for future reference: Elizabeth, Kyler, JD, Josh, Ava, Jalen, Brianna, Cole, Sydney, Mimi, Kendall)

Happy Birthday, John David!