As You Wish

Today Max bumped his head on the corner of the counter and began to cry.

"Come here buddy," I said, "let me kiss it for you."

"Okay," he said in a way only he can.

I kissed his head and stood back up. He pointed to the spot that hurt and said, "Mo peas."

I kissed him again but again he said, "Mo peas."

This went on until I finally bent over picked him up and planted about twenty kisses in a row on his sweet little head. "Okay," was his response. "Down peas."

Happy Advent!

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Happy Thanksgiving!

Today I'm counting my blessings, among the most important of which are in this picture (besides my brother, Kevin, who is all the way in Kansas City now). I'm thankful for Fr. Zack, from Africa, who has lived with my parents for the past month. I'm thankful for a beautiful home big enough to host family gatherings. And the list goes on and on and on.

I hope you spend today counting your blessings too.

Added to the Rule Book a Little Sooner than Planned

The boys and I were delivering dinner to a friend this evening when her young daughter ran across the room in nothing but her underwear. Before I knew it the boys were chasing after her.

"Boys," I said in a stern voice, "do not chase naked girls!"

My friend laughed and said, "I can see it now: Rule 1 for Parris boys is no chasing naked girls."

Fall Fun

The leaves have been falling for some time around here. As you can see by the way the kids are dressed, the temperatures have not.The kids had hours of fun today "raking the yard". What they did was create an elaborate town with rooms, pools and a beach.
They were busy most of the day. And they were very proud of their creation.
I love that they spent a day outside playing with each other. I love that they are so physically active. No couch potatoes here!

We Train 'Em Young Around Here

Not the Look I Was Going For

Tonight I showered the boys early because my mom was watching them. Since they were going out, I decided to actually comb Max's hair.

When we made it back to the bathroom to check on the boys, they stopped in their tracks. "Aww," Aiden said, “look at Max Dawson! He looks so cute with his hair combed. It looks like he's bald."

Wisdom of the Ages

This afternoon when I went out in the back to check on Dawson, I found him in the backyard about two houses down. I heard his chipper voice chattering away with a neighbor friend of ours.

While he was talking, he was working like crazy picking up pecans out of this neighbor’s yard. The neighbor, a Vietnam Vet and world wide missionary, explained to me that he told Dawson that every time he filled up the pecan picker, he could jump in the giant pile of leaves he had raked up.

As I walked back home listening to my 5 year old relate with joy to someone old enough to be his great grandfather, I was overwhelmed with gratitude. I know I've often talked about the great neighborhood I live in but I most often focus on the kids' friends and my friends. I have failed to recognize the gift of wisdom I have in an older generation of neighbors as well.

It's great to have friends who are right in the thick of things with you, who understand what you are going through because they're going through it too. However, it's also wonderful to have friends who look at your life and smile at you and tell you to enjoy these moments because they go by so fast - people who understand you because they've been there and made it to the other side.

These are the moments I try to remember so that one day, when I'm looking at a young mother through older, and hopefully, wiser eyes I will be able to tell her that all her hard work is going to pay off some day, sooner than she knows.

Seems There Are Some Advantages...

to having your husband away at the beach for a bachelor's weekend trip. Tonight we enjoyed these Oysters Rockefeller courtesy of the guys’ beach leftovers. I'm guessing about half of you are saying, "Yum!" and are slightly jealous, while the other half of you are saying, "Disgusting!" and are very grateful you're not here with us now.

Whatever camp you come from, you'll have to take me at my word when I tell you how delicious they were.

Know-It-All

Tonight in the shower Aiden was singing to himself, "Red and yellow, black and white...Mama, are there really people with yellow skin?"

"Well, I guess so."

"Oh," he said unusually satisfied. "Okay, guess what song I'm humming," he continued, humming the tune to the previously mentioned song.

"Jesus Loves the Little Children," I answered to his total and complete amazement.

A Different Season

Sometimes you choose your mission and other times it chooses you.

This season on my runs I began to use the time to pray for the people in the houses I passed. Out on the trails this translated to praying for the people I passed, or rather who passed me, along the way.

Over the past several months, I have run into people or situations that have really burdened my heart. I pray for them too.

I've never thought of myself as an intercessor but tonight it dawned on me that perhaps God does.

Happy Veterans' Day!

Today our school had an assembly to honor our veterans on their special day. Admittedly history has never been my favorite subject, but after teaching American History for a number of years, I have grown to really appreciate it.

Today all it took was the Pledge of Allegiance before I got a few tears in my eyes. Having a grandfather and several uncles who have served our country helped a bit with the emotional wave that came over me.

With all its faults, we live in a wonderful country that has been built on the sacrifices of so many courageous people. Today, and every day, I am very grateful to be an American.

Sometimes You Just Gotta Record the Moment

It's the hair...the awesome, spiked in the back, totally flat in the front, Sunday morning hair. I'm still giggling.

A Shower of Blessings

When I was uploading this picture I realized that I've taught all of the people in it besides myself and Nelson. One of them went on vacation with us, one was present at my bridal portrait session and one lived with us for almost a year.

The shower turned out to be a smashing success. But even more successful than the shower itself, was the group effort that went into it.

I know I've told you before that I have the best friends in the world, but I'm going to tell you again...just to prove my point. The week of the party, I had three friends who called to ask what they could do to help. They made the cookies and spinach dip. Another friend offered to bring all the wine and yet another provided the keg. I got to work with a former student to put on the shower and she was fantastic. She created, printed, addressed and mailed all 75 of the invitations! My mom and dad made several shopping trips for me.

Another one of my friends (one of the ones who made some cookies AND has 5 of her own kids) called me on Wednesday to tell me that like it or not, she was coming over to help me clean so I had better give her a job to do or else. She cleaned my bathrooms...my bathrooms! And then there was my cousin who also forced her services on me. She came over and made my house look gorgeous. She worked very hard to make my house look as though it effortlessly always looks beautiful and put together. It's really quite an amazing talent she has. And of course there was Nelson who came home early several days in order to get the lights up in the family room and hook up the speakers throughout the house.

As I was running around Friday like a mad woman cleaning like crazy, I was thinking about how truly blessed I am and how God always, always provides. I briefly wondered why this had never happened to me before when I hosted a party. Why had I never had this much help? And then it occurred to me that the thing in this situation that had changed was not the offers from my friends to help, but my willingness to accept it.

For some strange reason I have always felt that it would be imposing to take people up on their offers. What I failed to realize was that they wouldn’t offer to help if they didn't mean it. After all, when I offer to help someone, I'm serious. What I discovered is that making it a group effort is a lot more fun.

It's a crazy, busy life I live but I wouldn't trade it for the world.

A Meeting of the Minds...NOT

Me: Oh my gosh, we're having a shower here this weekend. I need to clean the house, make the food and get the decor in order.

Nelson: Oh my gosh, we're having a shower here this weekend. I need to rewire the surround sound, install the new hook up for the cable and drill some holes in the support beams of the family room to run some lights in there for the first time since we've moved in.

I Finished!

My official chip time was 2:22:23 which is almost 10 minutes faster than last year. More to come.