Special Prayer

Abby is a deep thinker and I have had more religious conversations with her than anyone else in my life, maybe combined. I remember clearly while she was in preschool she asked me, "are people born good or with sin?" Excuse me, what? I'm not qualified to answer this! She came home one day from Kindergarten and told me she asked all the kids on the playground if they knew Jesus. Humbled because that terrifies me, I asked her what she said if they said no.... she told them He loves them and died on the cross for them. Wow.

Most of our conversations happen in the car. We listen to Christian music and she would ask what different phrases mean and it would spark conversation. Throw in 2 years of really catchy VBS tunes and we had lots of questions! Abby had asked enough questions by the Spring that in talking to our children's director, we sent her to Kids Praise (1st-3rd grade) on Easter Sunday to hear an official gospel presentation explaining how Jesus, sin and the cross all work together. At the end of that, she said in her response card that she wasn't ready to make a decision. In talking about that with her, we learned two things. One, she didn't understand the breadth of sin. It was just major sins in her mind- lying, killing, stealing. Two, the thought of being baptized was closely tied to accepting Christ and that thought TERRIFIED her.

We would talk about accepting Jesus casually and she would immediately talk about being scared and asking a million questions about being Baptized- how long am I under water? how deep is the water? will they hold me under? can I hold my nose? We fully understand she can accept Christ and not be baptized for a long time- years even- but I wanted her to know the decision was bigger than a fear of water and to want it all in her heart. So we continued talking about Jesus and focused on discussing sin, but also went full force into giving her confidence in the water.

She took swim lessons in May and then we've been at the pool 3-5x/week since then. We worked on swimming, but then focused on going under water. We'd look for toys and then started jumping in the 3 foot, then 4 foot and eventually 6 foot. Then we took off her life vest and did it all over again until now, she swims above and under water all over and can jump into the 6 foot without a vest. During this time, I bribed her with a lego set if she'd let me stand in the 3 foot and holding her body do a back flip underwater. She agreed. Just a few days later, I asked her if she wanted me to pretend to baptize her. She agreed. I did it in the pool and when she came back up, she had a big grin and said, "that's it?". Ha! It really wasn't all that hard after all she had done in the water!

In early July, Abby attended a camp at church that was outdoor fun, but also taught her a Bible verse, gave her a daily Bible story, and taught her more worship music.

Two weeks later, she attended VBS and spent all morning learning more about the Bible, Jesus, and worshipping. She has always loved music and since I really only listen to worship music, it is her favorite. She has combined her love of Jesus with Marcus' ability to learn song lyrics and she is a quote machine! 

Fast forward to July 31st, Abby in the car tells me she has made a decision. I think she is talking about her 1st grade haircut which is a popular topic this week, and she tells me "no, about Jesus. I want to say the special prayer tonight". Gulp. Okay, Let's do this! So, on the way to drop her off at the YMCA so that we could celebrate our 16th wedding anniversary, Marcus asks Abby lots of questions. We both want to make sure she knows the commitment she is making and it isn't due to peer pressure or to please us. He had spent Wednesday during VBS answering kids questions and counseling them so he was trained and ready. She understands Jesus died on the cross so that sinners like her could get into heaven and there isn't another way. Sin isn't allowed in heaven and she will sin. She loosely understands the holy spirit will be with her and help guide her along with the Bible so that she can learn to live her life for Jesus and be a worker on his team, as she likes to call it.

I'm proud of her- accepting Jesus is the first step in living for Him and one Marcus and I really didn't make until adults. I love that she has Him for as long as she can remember and will grow in Him from such a young age. I love that she is a deep thinker as I know understanding God's word requires deep study. I love that she sings to worship Him without abandon. I love that she wants to share Him with her playground friends. I love that I get a front row seat to see what He has planned for her precious life. God is good! 

For posterity, her special prayer with her Daddy is here.

And her goodnight prayer afterward...

VBS 2013

We have had a busy week- it is VBS week! I volunteered and Abby and Kyleigh attended VBS this week at our old church. We have so many friends there and it fit our summer schedule better than the new church, so we decided to do it! Kleigh got to do something for the bigger kids called FLYTE and she declared it better than VBS. I love that because it is hard to be appealing to tweens. They scare me!

We were at church at 8:30 every morning this week. How in the world did I do that daily? Wow- I am tired and really miss the hour long snuggles with breakfast and shows in bed. 

I was in the grade school crafts room. The kids most loved these snow cones and honestly, they are so cute but were such a pain to manage with 30 kids. But, they loved them, so we made it happen! We had about 200 1st-4th graders in crafts each day. Kids are exhausting. God love teachers!

The theme this year was Colossal Coaster World and it was amazing what the people at Great Hills did to make it come alive. The white blob in the middle is a spinning wheel with lights. 

The roller coaster behind the screens is a good 20' tall. It is made from PVC pipe, pool noodles and lights. Ah-mazing!

Abby learned about Jeezy as she likes to call him now (funny girl!) and was super excited to see Michael each day. He spent Tuesday after VBS swimming with us. These two are so sweet together- I love him!

I loved the week with old friends, sweet kids, and Jesus and am also happy to return to play dates and sleeping in next week!

Mother's Day Celebrations

First of all, Happy Mother's Day to TJ, Jacque, and Carol. We wish you a day of fun, relaxation, and enjoyment! 

I can not believe this is my 5th Mother's Day. This sweet girl of mine just keeps growing (and I just keep changing my hair!). ha!

This morning Abby wished me a Happy Mother's Day while snuggling in bed... something she needs about 10 minutes of each morning. I know- call me blessed!

I said, "I am so glad you made me a Momma". Abby then says, "who are you talking to?" I said her somewhat puzzled and said that I wasn't a Mom until she was born. 

She then reminded me, "I didn't make you a Momma. God did." 

And I will praise Him for that as long as I live. My heart aches for the many women just waiting and wondering if they can ever celebrate this day.

We have celebrated all week- with a Mother's Day tea party last week at school. Abby made me a cross and a sweet card. At dinner one night, she noticed I didn't have peas on my plate and asked why. I told her I didn't like peas and she said in the most honest and sad voice, "I put peas on your card." The morning of the party, Abby told me out of the blue, "I should have put chicken." 

On my handmade card/questionnaire, Abby said I am 18, I like to eat peas and love to give her hugs. One of three isn't bad :)

Marcus and I celebrated surviving another year as parents with a date night on South Congress. We finally tried Home Slice Pizza. It was delish! Although, the waiter tried to convince us we could each eat 4 slices. Two was plenty! 

Afterward, we walked across the street and I bought a new pair of earrings. I truly don't mind buying my own gift- we both have confidence I will like it. Aren't they pretty! I love Kendra Scott and they are part of her limited time summer line.

Finally, we ended the night at Lick, a local Austin made ice cream shop. They have lots of funky flavors and we sampled a few of them. I ended up having Salted Caramel and a scoop of Chocolate Caramel Roasted Pecan. They were yummy!

Happy Mother's Day to all and a big thank you to Marcus for allowing me to be the Mom I once dreamed of. I spend my days hugging and playing not meeting and greeting and I love it more than I ever knew I could. Thank you dear!

Funny Faces

Abby and I found something fun to do while waiting for gymnastics to start this morning....

And a funny story from this funny faced girl.... I saw Abby bow her head and start crying in gymnastics. I can see through the glass, but not hear her. She went and talked to her teacher who hugged her and then I read her lips that maybe a hug from Mom would make it better.

So, Abby comes to the door and I greet her tear filled face with a hug and ask her what happened. No joke she told me, " I was clapping for myself and clapped so hard that I hurt my hands". I kept a straight face along with the other Moms until she calmed down and went back into the room and then we laughed!

Celebrating 38!

We have had a fun family day to celebrate Marcus' birthday! Late last night, Abby and I made Marcus his favorite cake, German Chocolate Pound cake. This girl loves to cook. She was asking me "what do we need? Do we need salt? Do we need baking powder?" She is going to be a good little baker real soon!

This morning Marcus opened his presents by 7:15 when Abby woke up. We then made pancakes before going to church. This was our last Sunday to serve as coordinators in the babies hall. We have been doing it for 15 months and it was time. I wanted to leave before we were burned out and be able to devote time to other things we have going on. After church, we had lunch and came home for naps. Marcus and Abby rested while I got some work done.

They ran out afterward to pick up sushi take out. HEB has good sushi and it is the perfect price! I ate potstickers and rice instead. No raw fish for me! Abby had never seen chopsticks before and called them toothpicks!

After dinner we put on our suits and visited our friends Ed and Valerie for an impromptu pool party. They had family in town, so we brought over birthday cake and Marcus and Abby swam in the pool. She also loved chasing the dogs in the backyard. We almost got a puppy for Marcus' birthday :)

Along the pet lines, we had to buy a new fish this week. Dorothy lasted 10 months which I am told is a good long fish life. Marcus didn't want to tell Abby what happened to her and I did. He felt strongly about it, so I let him make the call. He didn't get a replacement in time and Abby noticed when Marcus was at work. Uh, I don't know how to lie about this.... so I called Marcus and he told me to handle it however I wanted. I told Abby Dorothy got sick and went to heaven. She was totally cool about it once I told her we could get another fish. So, we know have a red Dorothy.

Marcus' Whiskers

Marcus grew a beard this winter. It was part following trend, part thrilled about not shaving, and part a test to see if he could do it and what color is would be :)

Spring is here and Marcus was ready to drop the beard. Since his goatee was really grey, he decided to shave it too and hope that it comes back a little darker. Here is the last pictures with the full beard.

Then the fun began! 

 And, finally, clean shaven Marcus. He hasn't been this hairless since college. I like the goatee and he has complained about cold air on his chin all day, so it should be back in a few days.

Funny story, we did this while Abby was napping. We both thought she wouldn't notice and we were both dead wrong. She immediately saw him and looked at him oddly, then she said, "Daddy.... are you.... a different Daddy?" We died laughing! She wouldn't let him hug her until I did it first. Funny how her little mind tried to process the change!

Abby Said What?

I have two new good ones for you courtesy of my very sassy, smart and verbal child.

Today we stopped by my old office to say hello and drop off a few things. The CEO, COO and the Accountant were in a meeting in the conference room, but heard Abby's voice and opened the door to say hi. Abby went into the conference room gave Robert, the accountant, a high five, and then loudly said, "What's that smell?" She has my strong nose! Robert said he fears he may have put on too much cologne :)

Friday in the car I was telling Abby about our weekend plans which included a birthday party for her school friend, Braxton. Abby proceeded to tell me, "I like Braxton. At his party, we are going to go to another place and I'll do what Braxton says because I don't say no to Braxton." Excuse me, what?

Abby Said What: Babies

Abby took a ride in a big buggy with her classmates in the 2 year old class during church on Sunday. While strolling, they passed the buggy of 18-24 month old kids. It is the class that Abby just left with kids almost her age. Abby announced to all of her classmates, "everyone wave at the babies".

This makes me laugh for 2 reasons:

- She is taking the role of the teacher, a common thing we see in group settings

- She is calling the other kids close to her in age "babies"

Oh Abby!

Abby Said What: Poop and My Finger

Marcus and I died laughing on the way to dinner Friday night.

From the backseat, Abby says, "Daddy, do you need to go poop?"

Marcus nicely replies, "no baby I don't need to go poop"

Abby then says, "but Daddy, I smell you."

For the record, it was a skunky smell outside the car, but I love that she assumed it was him!

She also has gotten into the habit of pointing to things that she wants us to see; however, she hasn't quite figured out how that works because she is always telling us, "look what is on the end of my finger" instead of "look at that dog across the street I am pointing at". You end up looking at her finger and trying to decide what she is pointing at. Silly girl!

Abby Said What: Mud

We had chalupas for dinner the other night, something we don't make often.

I was asking Abby what each of the items were on the chalupa based upon their color:

What is yellow?

Abby replied "the chip"

What is green?

Abby- lettuce

What is orange?

Abby- cheese

I then asked her what the brown food was (refried beans). She looked at me with all the seriousness and confidence in the world and said, "mud."

Abby Said What, Volume 4

This girl just keeps getting funnier!

At daycare she noticed there was mulch from the beds on the sidewalk, she shook her head and pointed her finger and said, "these trees made a mess".

We have worked really hard on "thank you" and it has paid off. She thanks us all the time for the most random things, "thank you Daddy for my new closet", "thank you Momma for washing my sheets". It is funny! I wish she was better about saying thank you for others and about saying please. I asked her the other morning "what is the magic word?" I expected her to say please. Instead she said, "meeska mooseka mickey mouse". That is the magic word for Mickey's clubhouse to appear! ha!

Abby Said What, Volume 3

My hair did not get cut short enough at my last appointment and now it is too long and I don't have another appointment for 3 weeks. So, I cancelled that appointment and made one for Monday. Thank goodness because when it gets long, I have to turn it out around my ears and I'm over that style.

When I picked Abby up from school Wednesday afternoon and she saw it, she said, " Momma you have crazy hair. Crazy. Crazy Crazy." All the while, she was shaking her head from side to side. Who is this kid!?!

Thursday morning Abby was on the floor to pet the cat. Jean Grey turned to walk away and Abby was suddenly eye level with the backside of the cat. Abby pointed to her rear (you'll have to visualize this one) and said, "kitty has an owie". Nice!

Abby Said What, Volume 2

While talking in her room before bed earlier this week, I was having Abby practice her counting so I would name things in her room and she would tell many how many of that item there were. We counted the birdies in her room, chairs, blankets, etc.

I asked Abby how many doors there were and she correctly told me two. So, I pointed to her closet door and asked her what was that door to? I was curious if she knew the word closet. In all seriousness she told me that door goes to her shoes.

She is my child after all!

Abby Said What, Volume 1

Welcome to the first "Abby said what?" post! My friends with older kids have done "stuff heard 'round the house" and it always made me laugh. As we get close to 2 1/2 years old, the comedian around our house is coming out to play! So, watch for more funny antics written down for posterity here! I hope you'll enjoy, Abby said what?

Abby loves Sarah, the childcare worker at Marcus' gym. She sees her once a week for about 30 minutes, but she knows when we tell her it is Saturday that she'll see Sarah. This past weekend, when they arrived Sarah was visibly sad and hugging a few friends. Marcus feared she was leaving the gym and asked her if she was alright. She explained to her that her boyfriend had just left for basic training to be a Navy Seal. Abby was concerned that Sarah was sad, so they told her why. Abby has walked around all week telling us "Sarah lost her seal". She is genuinely sad for her. I don't think she has a clue what a seal is and likely thinks she'll find it soon.

I am working with Abby on having a relationship with Jesus. I am working on that for myself, too! So, each night, she gets to pick two people and we pray for them. We have been doing this for a month and she always picks the same two people. It gets hard to come up with creative things to say each night! Tonight, I was thrilled she picked two friends from her class at school. I always start the prayer and pause after every few words so that Abby can repeat after me. I guess I was so excited to pray for someone new that I said too many words without pausing so Abby's prayer was, "what Mommy said."

Finally, Abby learned about b**bies tonight. (I don't want weirdos googling me!). She kept poking mine or grabbing them and proclaiming what they were. I explained to her about girls having b**bies and showed her where hers were- they are little because Abby is little. Marcus was in the room and DYING! Marcus was thrilled when Abby proclaimed, "Daddy have no b**bies!"