Welcome Back

"Welcome back,
Your dreams were your ticket out.

Welcome back,
To that same old place that you laughed about.

Well the names have all changed since you hung around,
But those dreams have remained and they're turned around.

Who'd have thought they'd lead ya (Who'd have thought they'd lead ya)
Here where we need ya (Here where we need ya)

Yeah we tease him a lot cause we've got him on the spot, welcome back,
Welcome back, welcome back, welcome back."

I can't think of better words to use to say welcome back to Texas President Bush! The boys, Granny, Papaw and I went to welcome George W. back home in downtown Midland this afternoon. We waited in an obscenely long line and stood for hours to catch a glimpse at him, but I believe it was worth it. We also got to wave a few feet from his motorcade as it passed us closely as he was leaving town. Pretty cool day to be a Midland-ite. And I really don't care what anyone else says or what the polls say. I still support 'W' and all that he stood for. He hasn't been perfect, but he is a great teacher of the principle, "Doing what's right isn't always popular." I was happy to teach a small portion of that to my kids today by our presence there. Yep, welcome back.

Scratchy

When helping Blaine get undressed for his bath the other day, I accidentally scratched both of his feet while pulling his socks off. I heard an, "Owww, Mommy," and "Owww." Then he was so cute to follow that up by saying in a very pleasant, encouraging voice, "You are a good scratcher, Mommy."

A Walk Thru the Bible

Brandon, Braylon and I went on a walk this weekend. Not your typical winter day stroll outside or anything...We participated in a program hosted at our church called "Walk Thru the Old Testament." It was a super sweet adventure! Talk about an interactive, memorable learning experience! If you want to know more about how all the puzzle pieces of the Bible fit together and how the Old Testament especially can be relevant to our lives today, find such a seminar in your area. I knew nearly all of the subjects that were discussed, but I can honestly say that I've never made the geographical and time-table connections as I did over the 5 hour seminar. It just 'made sense.' And it made me see that the Old Testament shouldn't be swept under the rug and only read when experiencing severe insomnia. And what fun it was! Who'd have thought a 5 hour seminar about the OLD TESTAMENT could be so entertaining...haha... Check it out!

David Crowder Band

"You make everything glorious. You make everything glorious, and I am yours. What does that make me?"

On Wednesday of this week Brandon and I attended a David Crowder Band concert. Midland, Texas is getting into the big time these days! David Crowder Band came this week and next week President George W. Bush is having a Welcome Home party in the city park. Anyway, the concert was just a great and worshipful experience. I highly recommend this group to anyone who likes lyrically strong, yet worshipful songs. Plus they can really rock out, which we like a lot. Check it out!

Simplicity

Oh, to be 3 again and to find interest in the tiniest aspects of life! Last night when I was tucking Blaine in he hugged my neck and discovered a mole on the back of my neck. Well, it was all downhill from there. He needed to know what a mole was, why I had one, what they are for and every other thing you can think of about a mole. I'm sure it was a stalling ploy, but it was just so darn cute that I had to humor him.

Tooth Fairy

Braylon lost another tooth earlier this week. No really. He lost it. On the playground at school. Instead of saying things are like finding a 'needle in a haystack' I'm going to start saying it's as hard to find as 'a baby tooth on a sandy playground.' I believe the latter would be harder to find. Because the Tooth Fairy is just and kind, however, he simply wrote a note explaining the situation and was still graced with $1 under his pillow. That makes 4 teeth she's collected now. All 4 front teeth, bless his heart!

Perry

Blog worthy news:

Last night my nephew Perry (8) prayed to received Jesus as the Lord of his life. To us that's a BIG deal because it's the first step (and most important) of having a personal relationship with God. I am so filled with excitement for him that I can't really express it adequately here.

God calls us to have a child-like faith meaning to set aside all the 'stuff' we let get in our way and just BELIEVE that God loves us so much that he sent His only Son to die for our sins that whosoever believes in Him shall not perish but have everlasting life. (John 3:16) When was the last time you approached God with a child-like faith???

Awesome, Perry Dean!!! We love you!

Righteous!

Two cute Blaine stories from today - By the way, I love the crazy things that kids say when they are in the age group of 2-4. Never a dull moment.

1) On the way home from a church meeting this a.m., Blaine out of nowhere said, "Mom, I'm righteous." We thought that was an odd thing to say, so Brandon said, "Why are you righteous, Blaine?" Blaine said, "Because I'm nice. I'm righteous."

2) In the line at Furr's this evening, Blaine was quick to ask the elderly lady behind us what was in her nose. The woman proceeded to explain that the tube in her nose helped get medicine into her body without having to take pills, etc. She then told Blaine it was okay for children to ask questions because that's how they learn. After a pregnant pause, Blaine looked up at the woman and her husband, pointed and clearly said, "Ya'll are nice people!" Well, I think this successfully melted this sweet couple and they chatted with us the rest of the time in the line.

God of This City

I couldn't help but to tear up this a.m. when I was driving Braylon to school today. He was sweetly singing along with the cd of the song "God of This City." Here are some of the words.

"You're the God of this city, You're the King of this people, You're the Lord of this nation. You're the Light in this darkness, You're the hope to the hopeless, You're the peace to the restless. There is no one like our God. Greater things have yet to come, Greater things are still to be done in this city."

To hear it sung from a 5 year old stirs my heart in a special way...Especially the part of greater things have yet to come. Makes me curious to know how/where God intends to use Braylon in His perfect plan. Whatever it is, I believe it will be good.

Happy New Year!

Well, we survived the holiday season. The last of family left today and now we are focused on getting back into our groove as we start the new year. The kids seemed to have a blast over the holidays and really enjoyed 3 rounds of gift openings. Among many gifts, one that stands out is an Nintendo Game Cube (it was a hand-me-down from friends, but virtually brand new). We bought a Scooby Doo game to go on it and everyone has had a good time sitting around the tv and watching each other play. I think Daddy is the one who's most addicted, as I feared he would be. Thankfully the kids enjoy watching as much as they do playing it. Haha...