say a little prayer for you

the other week, while riding in the car, mikayla proposed a new game for us to play. she said she would go first, and pray for one thing. then i would go and pray for something else. i told her that was a great idea. mikayla started by praying for lindsey. she said the sweetest prayer mentioning lindsey's "sick kidney that's not really hers but actually papa's". after that i prayed. i expected mikayla to go again but before she had a chance, mt piped up praying for his motorcycle. it is always precious to hear my children pray.

must not forgets 5/2

faves of the week:

-lindsey filled in for me at "moms and muffins" at mt's school. i met them at the park afterwards and linds gave me the flower the kids gave their moms. mt saw it and told me "not yours mommy, lindsey's flower"

-this pic is a result of me allowing michael to dress mt. the loafers have built in cushions, yet michael insists on mt wearing socks so he does not get blisters. this is an on-going discussion between us ;)

-on friday, lindsey and i went to mother's day tea with mikayla. her class sang three songs about moms for us.

i loved the smirk/smile on her face - she was so excited but slightly embarrassed at the attention. afterwards we went to pick up mt from the carpool line. mikayla ran down the hall to get him and his whole class is yelling "hey mikayla" then mt jumps up.

he starts hollaring to everyone "bye y'all" and "bye adisen". then he runs down the hall to us.

-linds, mikayla, mt and i were running errands. i stop to get gas and mikayla starts crying hysterically. somehow she got a staple stuck between her two front teeth. lindsey and i were dying laughing and of course we had to get a picture.

-lindsey introduced mt and mikayla to pop rox on saturday. mt was not sure what to think at first but was quickly hooked.

-i laid mt down for his nap sunday after church and tried to snuggle a second with him he told me "get out mommy and shut the door". oh the love.....(i guess he didn't realize it was mother's day)

okaloosa island

we had the chance to go to okaloosa island during my spring break with lindsey, tyler, and the stricklands. it was an incredible week from the beautiful weather, relaxing while the sitters kept the kids during naptime and evenings out, to hanging out with incredible friends.

michael discovered bocci ball and was instantly hooked.

we took hugh with us and he was a great help with all the little kids - very patient. he also served as the judge for who had the closest ball in bocci ball.

mikayla had a blast, spending most of her time in the hot tub. both her and hugh spent many hours helping michael dig the largest hole on record. all the kids rode waves on the kayaks and enjoyed ice cream and seeing "how to tame a dragon".

mt loved the sand. he would throw himself down in it with no hesitation. he was great the whole trip. even at nap time he went straight down, after telling me he preferred to sleep in his own bed at home that is.

leaving a legacy

i love the conversations mikayla and i have driving places. mikayla wanted to know if she would be a little girl when she was in heaven. so i told her how the bible tells us that we will have perfect bodies in heaven. she thought a minute then said that’s not true because remember how those mean robbers hid behind the bushes on the road and then beat up that man and left him to die. so he didn’t have a perfect body in heaven. i then explained to her how that happened a long time ago but not in heaven. on earth? she asked me. i told her yes. a few minutes later mikayla asked me if people would tell stories about her after she died. i told her yes. she wanted to know who. i told her all the people who loved and knew her would tell stories about her. the conversation ended with mikayla saying, i guess i need to start being really, really good.

little women and life plans

michael has started reading to mikayla these kid version classics. so far they have read great expectations, robin hood, and king arthur. they are about to start reading little women (one of my favorites) so i was introducing mikayla to the characters. i told her about amy, who loved to paint and was very concerned with being pretty. (mikayla commented kindof like me and my babysitter amy). i told her about beth who was extremely sweet but very sick. (that’s like lindsey). jo, i told her, was a tomboy who loved to read. (mikayla said that is exactly like me but i am a womanboy) when i got to meg & her getting married, mikayla said she didn't have a plan for marriage yet because she was too young to figure that out. she paused and then said when she was 6 she would decide who she was going to marry. then she told me she already had a job plan. when she was tara’s age she would be an artist for sixty eighty years. then when she was a mommy she would be a teacher to little kids. finally when she was in heaven she would share all of her stuff with everyone.

“i not charlie”

last night in the car mt dropped his gum. he immediately turned to me crying about his lost gum. he wanted another piece to replace it. i told him sorry charlie, no more gum. with an extremely indignant face he yelled at me through his tears “i not charlie!”

mikayla’s unique style

tears, frustration, sharp words used to be the norm for both mine and mikayla’s mornings. all over what she wore to school/church that day. she either didn’t like the clothes i had bought for her or i didn’t like the combination of clothes that she wanted to wear. but all has changed now. last weekend i took mikayla shopping, gave her a budget and allowed her to completely pick out what she wanted to buy. i informed her teachers that mikayla’s attire was a battle i no longer would be fighting. i wanted them to be prepared for whatever mikayla chose to wear. the very first day i could tell she was testing me. mikayla picked out to wear jeans, 2 skirts, and a shirt. i didn’t even blink an eye when she showed me what she would be wearing that day. i will say that when i picked her up from school that day she was minus one skirt. most days mikayla dresses fairly normal with a slight flair. i am really glad i decided to give over control. the only rule i stipulated was that she could not wear a piece of clothing two days in a row. otherwise she would wear her favorite purple dress every single day. our mornings are much better now.