To pee or not to pee?

I am writing this post for fear that someone else will beat me to it! So... today I had to go up to the church to talk with some people and drop off some papers so being the responsible mom that I am I really tried to plan ahead. I fed the boys lunch so that they wouldn't be hungry. I went before nap time so that they wouldn't be grouchy, and I brought their bikes so that they would have something to do. But no amount of planning could have prepared me for what was to come. I stood there talking to about 5 people close to the window so that I could see my kids and all of the sudden I see them BOTH pull down there pants and pee on a tree in the middle of the church courtyard in front of the office windows. All I could say was "Oh my gosh!" When I stepped outside and said,"what in the world are yall doing"? They informed me that they were pretending they were at work and went on a restroom break!
"could you not have gone inside to pretend the restroom break?" They just looked at me with big eyes and sad faces as we headed home for a spanking and nap!

Camping

Some of Chad's fondest childhood memories are of camping with his family and friends. He has been trying to get back into it since our boys are getting old enough to enjoy it with him. So for Christmas he got a tent, lantern, and out door stove. This weekend the boys convinced us to go camping for the night. We called our friends the Marriotts to tag along. Tim put up a huge 3 bedroom tent and all 5 kids were stoked about sleeping in it. They also brought their pimped out RV. After putting everyone to bed I attempted to sleep in our tent on the air mattress we borrowed. At 1:00 in the morning I started digging through the car and only found a towel to cover up with. At 3:00 in the morning I decided to check on the sleeping angels in the big tent only to find that they had all deserted us and joined the Marriotts in the pimped out RV . They were sleeping soundly in the Ac on the mattresses with BLANKETS. Perhaps this is why my fond childhood memories included the holiday inn!

I'm believing

So here's the deal.... Tonight we had our small group and it was my turn to steer the discussion. I was a little nervous about how it would go. But God showed up. Doesn't He always show up if we just get out of the way. I don't often give advice about youth ministry because there are so many amazing people with such great ideas, but this one time I just can't resist because I see such a huge difference in this small group vrs ones we have done in the past. We started this group by getting up on the stage and saying if you want to be a leader in this student ministry meet right over here and sign this paper. Then we called the names on the list and said meet at our house tues. night 7pm. We eat dinner together, then our worship pastor leads us in worship. This totally sets the mood! We read scripture together out loud then silently. Then open the floor for discussion. The adults can hardly get a word in. Then we always shake it up. We try to have a creative aspect every single week. For example tonight we passed out plates of sand for the kids to write in. This went along with our lesson in John chapter 8. This creates meaning and experiences for the kids. With this group of kids we have really been focusing on quiet time with God, prayer, journaling, bible reading, accountability groups. The next step for this group is to reach out to the other kids at the uprising. This means they have to step out of their comfort zones and lead. Andy, Chad and I are expecting big God size things from this group in the Fall.

The snake

My oldest son Cameron will be 7 next month. He loves camping, swimming, bike riding, the ocean and beach and ALL kinds of animals. He is always catching something, but he never keeps it. He always wants to return it to its natural habitat. Well today he found a snake in our back yard. I hate snakes so I told Chad to kill it. Cameron begged me not to kill it. He said it was God's creation and that we could catch it in a coffee can and let it go in a field across the street. So I agreed as long as it was out of my back yard. Chad went over to the side of the house to catch the snake in the coffee can. He bravely bent over to scoop the snake up, but the snake jumped and scared Chad so he hit with a baseball bat. THEN he scooped it up in the coffee can. As soon as he came inside Cameron asked "did you get the snake into the can?" "yes, it's in there", replied Chad. He had good intentions! lol

student small groups

I'm so amazed at God's perfect plan. His willingness to use imperfect humans to express his love to the next generation. Chad and I meet with 12 students on Tues. night in our home. This group of high schoolers have been a huge encouragement to me. They are so willing to be transparent about their lives. They discuss the scripture with such passion. They are eager and hungry to draw close to God. Each week has been a unique experience that I find myself savoring every moment of. I have seen them worship God and be moved to tears. They have reached out to hurting kids in the group. They offer each other encouragement and accountability. This group is the base group that our small group ministry will be founded on in the Fall. In Sept we will launch small groups to student ministry. We will all meet together for food, worship, and an intro to the lesson. Then we will break into our small groups which will be student led by the 12.

Happy Birthday Cooper

As I laid in a hospital bed three and a half years ago Chad and I were a whirlwind of emotion as the doctor stood before us announcing that I was probably having a miscarriage and because I was only 4 months along " the baby wasn't viable". As I spent the night alone in the hospital that night I remember thinking I can't believe that in a hospital where they have all kinds of drugs and know all kinds of procedures they won't do anything to save this baby. Crying alone in a hospital bed that night I prayed " God, you are the only hope this child has. I know this this baby is viable to you. I know you have a plan for him. God work a miracle."

After months of bed rest and weekly appointments with a specialist it was determined that when the baby was born he would have issues with his kidney's. One kidney was missing and the other was under developed. So the plan was to whisk him away for exams and x-rays to determine the severity. As long as he had one working kidney he would be okay. So we prayed...........

On the day Cooper was born everything went as planned. They whisk him away for testing and a few hours later they brought him back placed him in our arms scratched their heads and said " this child is perfect. He has TWO fully developed working kidneys" God, you are so big!

Happy 3rd Birthday Cooper Brady! You ARE "viable" to God.

mother's day

Today was the Mother's Day party at Cameron's new school. Don't you like my southern bell hat? As you can plainly see this hat was made for style not comfort! lol I couldn't see a thing, but I wasn't about to take it off. The class drew pictures of their mom's and we guessed which one was us. I guessed right on the first try, only because that is the only smile Cameron ever draws. He also made a book about me. He said " My mom is 23. Her favorite food is brownies. She likes to shop at HEB. She looks pretty when she wears her skirt. Her favorite show is Grey, Adam, and Eve. (Grey's Anatomy) I love my mom because she is always there for me!" It was really sweet. I felt so special to Cameron today. It's a privilege to be his mom.

(the inside of the hat)