Weekend Gone Wonderful

We had a wonderful weekend. T has to travel for his job and is gone most weekends now. So this past weekend we packed up and went with him. We picked the kids up after school and headed north. We arrived at our hotel around 5:00 and T had to head to his first appointment. The kids and I stayed at the hotel while he was gone. I took the kids to the pool and they had a great time while I read. When T got back we went out to eat and then we went to a local store to buy lots of snacks for us for the next day. T left again the next morning came back for a swim with the kids left again that afternoon until late that night. The kids and I just stayed in the room and watched movies, played games, and ate. I loved the time I was able to spend with them uninterrupted. Sunday after we checked out we went to eat and then T dropped us off at a movie while he had another appointment. After the movie we walked to a frozen custard place and had a shake while we played this game that I carry in my purse. We started home around 4:30 and got in around 11:00. It was a great trip. The kids had fun, T loved the company and having someone else to drive part way and I was able to just enjoy the time with my family without distraction. The only sad thing was that our oldest wasn't able to go due to baseball and band commitments. He stayed with his grandparents over the weekend, but it sounds like he had a good time too.

Me a meme?

I have never done a meme so I thought I would try this one from Alana.

I will start with meme #2 because I need to think about #1 some more and I will post it another day.

The book I am currently reading is this book. I am loving it and have learned so much about the world of teenagers. I highly recommend it before your kids hit the teenage years. Anyway, the meme is to turn to page 123, find the 5th sentence and list the next 3 sentences. It's a little interesting because I will start in the middle of quote from a teen girl (in brown) and go into what the authors say. Here goes... " 'But I just kept thinking how sad that she couldn't talk to her own mom...that she didn't have that kind of relationship where she could get both understanding and a better solution that was more in line with the family's morals.' With all the challenges and temptations our kids face, it's important that they believe we are safe and clued-in listeners who can be trusted to handle anything they tell us. Thankfully, the kids provided lots of great examples of what makes them feel we are listening, beginning with the revelation that we mentioned earlier." I haven't read this chapter yet, but I tried to skim it over to find the revelation she is talking about and I think it is trying to listen to their feelings and not freak out. Let me tell ya, this is a challenge for me because I am a freaker outer!

Have a great weekend everyone!

Like Son, Like Mother

I'm so thankful for God's grace and my kids grace too. I planned a Game night for the kids at our church last night and my Spicy guy was very testy, to put it mildly, all night. It's always harder to deal with him during those times because I am in charge and have to keep all the other kids entertained, yet I want to deal with his behavior. I had to have him sit out a few times. He gets very disrespectful when he is mad, which makes the consequences even worse. I told my husband this morning what happened. Later I heard him talking to Spicy guy and asking him if he would have treated his teacher at school that way ( something I have also asked him before). Of course he said, "No" and so Tod asked him, "who is more important, your mom or your teacher?" He said, "Mom." So Tod told him he shouldn't be talking to me and treating me that way. As I was thinking about that later it hit me that I wouldn't talk to other kids as impatient or frustrated as I do him. I am much more self-controlled with others. And so is he. Enter God's grace!!!! I know there is the fact that his discipline is my responsibility and he needs to continue to learn self-control, but so do I.

The Best Snow Day Yet...

Yesterday was so much fun! Our family had a blast out on the ice. We have a steep hill that goes past our house and it was absolutely perfect for sledding. Dawn's boys came over to play with us, so we had several races. I wish I could figure out how to post a video. I have one with all of us on a huge sled (look at picture 3 to guess what we used) going down the hill and I am video taping as we are riding down; it was awesome!

Here's our little spicy guy!



Young T-man



Can anyone guess what they are riding on?



Dog pile down the hill!



Dawn's crew!

Hope you all had fun too!

Just Some Funny Pictures

My little spicy guy and my nephew, who is serving over seas right now.