Model in Training

I think we’ve got a model in training.  Laura teaches 8th grade girls Sunday School at 8:00 on Sunday mornings.  The main service at Bellevue starts at 9:30.  Which leaves me home alone to get the kids ready.  It is a great reminder of what Laura does each morning the other 6 days of the week. 

Getting the kids ready is no small task.  I try to leave the house at 9.  If I get them ready too early, I am almost assured of them getting food, marker or something on their clothes.  So, I try to time it to where everyone’s ready right at 9.  And that means that the vast majority of Sundays we’re ready right AFTER 9.  Which puts us late.

This Sunday was different.  I had them ready at quarter till.  So now, what to do?  I had to keep them busy.  It dawned on me that I should take some pictures of our little man in his little man clothes.  We didn’t have time to set up lights or do anything fancy, but I think he may have a modeling career.  I got him to stand by the wall and un-prompted, he stuck one hand in his pocket.  Funny stuff.  We were running short on time, but I did manage to get a few pics with Haley in them.

Maybe next week we’ll get ready early again.  And Haley can have her individual photo shoot.

By the way, I think Haley’s hair looks better down, but I deserve some props for getting that pony tail done.  It took a SIGNIFICANT amount of effort on my part!

Snow Days

This past week we had a little snow here.  Maybe 3 or 4 inches.  I say a “little” snow, but in Memphis terms, that’s a pretty good bit.  Enough to officially shut down the city!  In the days before the “blizzard” was to hit, I was commenting to Laura about how funny it is that so many people rush out to buy milk and bread.  Really…how much milk and bread do you need?  Of course in our house, with two kids and a wife who is a milk maniac, we always have 2 gallons on hand.  But I was sure those two gallons would last the two days we were expected to be “snowed in”. 

As fate would have it, as we were leaving church last Sunday, Laura asked me to pick up some milk from the grocery on the way home.  Apparently, we’d finished off the last of the milk we had that morning.  So…I braved the madness and stopped in Kroger on the way home.  Much to my surprise, they still had milk.  And, it was pretty funny seeing a couple of folks from our Sunday School class either in the store or cruising through the parking lot waiting on their spouse. 

The snow was a lot of fun.  A few of the 8th grade girls from the class Laura teaches came over and brought an assortment of storage bin lids and cooking pans.  I took a break from work and we all headed over to the hill by the fire station near our neighborhood.  In case you didn’t know, a rounded bottom turkey pan is the best makeshift sled.  Cookie sheets leave a lot to be desired. 

We only spent about 15 minutes in the snow, but managed to sled a couple of runs and Haley and Trey had their first snowball fight.  It was hilarious.  They stood about 2 feet apart and took turns throwing snowballs at each other.  (last picture below)

The snow managed to continue the next day and although the roads cleared up, we still had some snow in the yard through Friday. 

Haley’s Christmas songs

Quick video of Haley singing a Christmas song she learned at school for her program.

The Angels sang, La La La
The shepherds laughed, Ha Ha Ha
The donkey brays, he-haw he-haw
The crows all caw, caw caw caw

Moo says the cow, MOOOOO
Bah bah says the sheep, baaaahhhh
Mary smiles
and Joseph leaps, WHEE
How on earth can God’s baby sleep?
How on earth can God’s baby sleep?

Happy New Year

Man, time flies.  2010 is in the can and now we’re looking ahead to 2011.  I’d heard the older you get the faster time goes.  And with kids it goes even faster.  Those words are ringing true.

Christmas was a blast.  Haley TOTALLY understood Santa this year.  Trey knew he said Ho Ho Ho.  I really think we’ve got two of the cutest kids in the world.  And yes, I know I’m biased.

Kids are so funny.  With all that Trey got for Christmas, his favorite toy seems to be a second-hand plastic tee-ball set that Laura found at a consignment sale.  Funny, because that was probably the cheapest thing we bought him.  So far, Haley’s favorite seems to be a talking Toy Story Jessie Doll that I got for her.  That’s funny because when she opened it the only words out of her mouth were, “I didn’t ask for this”.  And she put it down.  I guess what she meant was that she was surprised she’d gotten it since she didn’t ask for it.  Who knows what she meant.  She uses words that make my vocabulary sound like a 3 year old.

I’ll try to get a video posted on here soon of Haley singing some of her Christmas songs that she did in her Christmas program at school.  Quite possibly the sweetest sound in the world.

New Years Eve was probably our most uneventful yet!  We were in bed by about 10:00.

As I look back over the past year, it seems like it’s lasted an eternity.  It also seems like it lasted only a couple of days.  So far, Laura’s managed to be pregnant in each of the last 5 calendar years.  I guess that’s no small feat.  Haley turned 3 last year, Trey had his first birthday.  Laura turned…well, I won’t say.  And I turned 32.  32.  32.  Wow, I actually had to do the math on it to figure out how old I am. 

One thing I’ve realized this year is that life is short.  Really short.  I know that kids are part of the reason for this realization, but a handful of other events have contributed as well.  I don’t guess I have a New Year’s resolution per say, but I guess if I had to have one it would be to pay attention.  To everything. 

• I need to pay attention to the little things that Haley and Trey do that are so cute…they won’t be doing them for long.
• I need to pay attention to my wife.  She’s my support, my strength, my best friend.  I should treat her that way.
• I need to pay attention to what I say.  Words can build up or cut down.  Just because they can be used quickly doesn’t mean that the impact doesn’t last a long time.
• I need to pay attention to the blessings received rather than focusing on the next obstacle ahead.
• I need to pay attention to the end goal.  My goal for life isn’t to be good at what I do, be in shape, eat right or even to have fun.  These are things that (if unchecked) can actually get in the way of the goal.
• I need to pay attention to the minutes and the seconds.  These turn into the hours, days, years and legacy that will be left behind when I’m gone.
• I need to pay attention to the example I set.  There are little feet following in my footsteps and solidifying their expectations on how they should act throughout the rest of their lives.  They are basing this not on what I say, but what I do.