A.U.B.U.R.N

War Eagle! Football season has started again. Zach has been anxiously awaiting this day for weeks and weeks and weeks...pretty much since February! He has also been teaching Micah how to say War Eagle so far this is how it sounds...

Zach: Waaarrr

Micah: Waaarrrrrr

Zach: Eagle

Micah: Eaaaa-gle...yay!

We're going to try to get it on video soon.

Until then, here is a shot of my two tigers...

cars and girls

Aren't these supposed to be boys' two favorite things?

Yesterday Micah and I made a (very) makeshift track and ramp for his beloved cars. We would love to add to his collection, but I'm holding out for the fall consignment sales. Meanwhile if you've got any cars that need a good home steer them our way! So anyway, Micah loves playing with his cars but they don't roll well on the carpet and I am tired of having my legs and arms be a race track so I got one of our camping tables out of the garage along with some scrap wood and this is what happened.






I'm going to use some spare black paint and attempt to paint some roads on the table...we'll see how that works out!

In other news, while Bella will forever hold top billing, well at least in our minds, we had a new female visitor today. My friend Ashley is going on a well deserved, child free, beach weekend and Micah and I got to entertain her adorable little Maddie for the day. She's 4 months younger than Micah but half his size...her personality however is over the top! She and Micah have had a fun bonding day until of course she touched one of his cars. He ended up sharing though...that a boy!

Do I want it?

Stephanie and Mary have already talked about this for those of you who read their blogs but it was so good hopefully you won't mind hearing about it again.

Our pastor sent us a link to a song that our friend Michael had sent him. WOW! Is all I can say. Listening to it the first time was amazing and so inspiring...but it also makes you think. The song is called Give Me Your Eyes and it talks about asking the Lord to give us His eyes to see what's around us. Making us aware of other's and their lives...really SEEING them.

At first I was just like YES YES I want that and then I thought a little more. Yes of course I want that, but can I handle that. It's kind of like praying for patience. We all know what is going to happen when we pray for patience...you have to use it! Having God's eyes to see is going to open me up to all of that heart break that I try to shy away from. It's so much easier to form your own bubble and only let in the hurts and concerns of those you want to...much easier but not quite what we've been called to do.

While I do want to have God's Eyes, I am praying that I WANT to have God's eyes because I know only He can help me do it.

Please listen to the song for yourself and see what you feel/think/want when it's over!

Crash!!

No, nothing bad happened. Zach here, and I'm sharing a video we took the other day when Isabella was over here. She and Micah were playing on the bed and doing their thing they love doing: Synchronized Crashing! (or "tash", as Micah says it). They like doing this on beds, pillows, bean bags, and even right on the carpet!

They're getting to where they like to count down too. "Ready?? GO! One....Two...Three...CRASH!" :)

sooo.....

I'm an idiot!

I normally wouldn't share my utter stupidity with everyone but I am desperately hoping someone will comment on something they have done to make me feel better.

Here's the story...

This is embarassing for me considering my 'monicaness' when it comes to being clean but my couches are dirty...like gross dirty. I have tried scrubbing with resolve, soap and water, etc and it just doesn't seem to help. I even, right before I had Micah, paid about $200 to get them steam cleaned. I'm sure they were sanitized but they still looked dirty. There's milk stains, juice stains, coke stais and even one cushion on the loveseat was unable to ever be turned because one side had a sweaty booty stain on it courtesy of ????

Yesterday Micah some how spilled an entire cup of water on that same cushion. I tried to dry it with a towel but alas to no avail. What's really interesting though is that I'm pretty sure the water soaked up every dirt particle in the love seat because there was a nice, huge ring left. I freaked!!! I begged Zach to let me go buy new furniture but he said no. boo! I then researched reupholstering but that was going to be ridiculously expensive too. boo again! Tonight while sitting at dinner and staring at the big gross dot from the kitchen table I thought...hmmm...maybe i can rip out the seam in the back of the cushions and either sew it back or put a zipper/velcro so I can wash them. ding ding!!

So here's the stupidity...

after dinner, while zach was giving Micah his bath, I go check the back of the cushions to see how I could do this and there is a FREAKIN ZIPPER!!! I'M AN IDIOT! I checked all the cushions on both couches and yep every seat cushion, every back cushion, a big fat zipper! So basically they could have been spic and span the whole time and never would I have had to sit on or admit to having a gross dirty couch.

So if you have a story about how you're an idiot please share so I know I'm not alone :)

amen

Warning! This may be too cute for you to handle!

Last night we decided to eat dinner in the living room because the kitchen was really hot from me cooking. Don't you hate when that happens! Micah couldn't sit in his normal seat since we have recently upgraded him from a highchair into a booster so we brought one of his little chairs in and sat it in front of the coffee table. I was in the kitchen getting his food on his plate when I heard Zach whisper come here come here come here...

Are you ready for the cuteness?

Micah is sitting in his chair with his little prayer hands whispering who knows what to himself and then yells out AMEN! Awwwwwww. I almost burst into tears it was so sweet. Then, when you thought he couldn't get any cuter, while Zach was praying for all of us before the meal Micah talked along with him the whole time. I really tried to not laugh but seriously how dang cute is that!?!?

Jesus said, "Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these."
Matthew 19:14

jam packed

Wow did we have a loooonnnngggggg weekend, but not in that good way. Well I shouldn't say that. All of the things we did were good (mostly) but when you add them all together you sit back and think why on earth did I plan all that in two days.

Friday evening: Zach had a music thing in Old Town Conyers which he went to directly after work. Micah, Daisy and I (after spending the day running errands, cleaning and packing) met him there at about 8:00. We all left after the concert at 9:30 and drove straight to Gainesville to spend Saturday with the May family and arrived at 11:00 pm.

Saturday: Micah woke up at 8 and we went nonstop playing tennis, ordering wedding flowers, eating lunch, Micah taking the most pitiful nap ever, spending the afternoon at the youth room with video games, ping pong, etc, eating dinner, leaving at 7:45 and arriving back in Conyers (after picking up one car and trading it with someone else) at 9:30.

Sunday: Zach woke up at 5:45 am to do some work before heading to church to do more work music wise. I am in charge of planning social events for our church to promote one-anothering with each other and getting to know new people who will hopefully love us all and want to come to CCC.


Right after church we had planned to go to the Braves/Giants game. Well for some reason schedules seemed to collide BIG TIME and 8 people were only able to go. Boo! So off we went with Micah in tow and preceded to have an unfun Braves day. We left in the 5th inning and it was only by the grace of God we made it that far! I could go on about the afternoon but I don't want to. I'll just say I learned one event to never plan again and got a lesson in staying positive while being honest!

Sunday Night: Zach, Micah and I went to dinner with my friend Kristen and her boyfriend Mike. She was in town all last week at Market buying dresses for her two formal wear stores. It was a great way to end this looonnnggggg weekend though. Micah was goofy but so well behaved, the conversation was relaxing and the food was yummy.

So there you have it...a glimpse into our full plate. My old boss/principal used to say if you wrote down everything you had going on and traded with someone else you'd always want your own back. I am constantly thinking about ways to condense the amount of stuff we do and I'm sure you think that occasionally too. However the more I try the less it seems to work. My goal now is to just try to be a blessing to someone while we are doing all we do and make sure that what we do is glorifying to Him...does it make people see his love through it, does it help us love the ones we are with more and does it draw us closer to Him.

After thinking it through I can see that love grew through this busy'ness'. I love my husband more for being a tool of gospel through music, I love my inlaws more for putting up with us and loving my son as if he was there own, I love my friends more for either suffering through a miserable braves game with us or for changing their plans at the last minute to meet for dinner. But most importantly, I love my Savior more for continuing to give me insight into how the everyday makes me want to be closer to Him.

CMC

Today was Micah and my first day at Children's Ministry Center at FBC Covington. We will both be there on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 8:30-1:30. Micah is in the Toddler 2 class and I am 'teaching' the Toddler 1 class with another lady named Heather. Hopefully I will get to start doing some fun things in my class. They are only 12-18 month olds but my teacher brain has already come out of hibernation thinking of some fun, simple, (of course developmentally appropriate) activities to do.

Micah had a blast today. I had to wake him up this morning to get ready to go and as soon as I told him we were going to school he barely wanted to kiss Zach goodbye. He was ready to get on with it! He walked right in with his adorable new backpack and didn't look back. So cute! The window in my room looks onto the playground so I even got to watch him play. It was really easy to spot him because his hair stands out anywhere!



He has two teachers who are really sweet, very energetic and super creative. People after my own heart! They decorated their door with an aluminum foil cookie sheet and paper cookies with the kids names and a sign that says "New Batch of Students." At open house they gave each child a baggy with a note and three chocolate chip cookies in it. Micah so graciously shared them with me.


They even attempted finger painting their first day. When I looked at the picture with Micah he kept holding his hand up and waving it in circles. I think he was explaining to me how he created his artwork.
I hung his work up in the new 'spot' I made for him. I got in an organizational mood Sunday afternoon so I made a school spot for Micah in the laundry room. Now we can hang up all his artwork , notes, etc in one spot where he and everyone else can see them. I even found a use for the random ugly magnets our insurance people send us in the mail. I covered them with scrapbook paper and now they are just cute houses. Now I won't even mind when they send us one every month with the random holiday of the month card.

ready, go

These are the words Micah says before he falls flat on the floor, with no thought at all to his own safety!

We aren't sure who started it first but we do know that after seeing a movie we, along with Matt and Leslie, picked up Micah and Isabella only to have Magda tell us that they had been throwing themselves on the floor pretty much the whole time we were gone. (not in a tantrum'y' way though!)

That was about a month ago but they're both still going strong. I haven't been able to get a picture of them together but to give you a mental picture just think of the synchronized divers from the Olympics. Perfect unison mattress crashing. Anything semi soft looking is the only thing needed; pillows, sorted laundry, rolled up blankets, dog bed, bean bag the list goes on and on...he is not picky!

This trait came straight from his father I assure you. I am not one to, without hesitation, perform death defying acts. I know an 18 month old falling 2 feet onto a bean bag does not seem death defying however it's only a warm up I'm sure. I've seen bungee jumpers and they have the same nonchalant looks on their face before they go off the tower. It's in his blood. Zach and his brothers will jump off, over, and on anything they can create with the objects at hand. Hopefully they learn as time goes by that if they want Micah to join I better not know about it and he better come back in one piece!

not alone

A month or so ago we were discussing something in our church's small group. I think it was about being a stumbling block for others in our actions when fellow believers are struggling with something that we aren't necessarily struggling with and what is the action you take or in some cases don't take to keep your brother strong in their faith. That sounds about right. Anyway something was shared that I LOVED immediately and felt I should read/look at/concentrate on every day so I wanted to share if with my blog world.

Here it is. I hope it touches your heart like it did mine and makes you realize how important we each are to others in His Kingdom here on earth.

"Sin is not just a private matter. Everything we do affects others, and we have to think of them constantly. God created us to be interdependent, not independent. We who are strong in our faith MUST, without PRIDE or CONDESCENSION, treat others with LOVE, PATIENCE, and SELF-RESTRAINT."

Wow...yeah I know that is a very tall order but remember 'we CAN do all things through our Christ Jesus!'

Can we build it...

Yes we can!!! Finally! Apparently in the world of baby information they are supposed to be able to stack things at 12 months...not in this household. I bought Micah foam blocks when he was 8 months and then bought him mega blocks for Christmas. They might as well have been chew toys because no block building went on at all. Oh well!

This week he finally decided that he would start building with his blocks. Yay! We sat down one night and he all of a sudden started stacking away. I know this picture shows a rather advanced tower but that's just because we were playing together. I'd love to say it was a product of his imagination but no one in their right mind would believe that! Since this night he has gotten better and better at putting his blocks together. Check that milestone off the list!

Zoo Atlanta

Yay! Saturday Micah and parents enjoyed his first trip to the zoo. We had an amazing time at Zoo Atlanta with just the three of us. I couldn't even remember the last thing we had done (besides go eat!) just our little family. How sad is that!

Our day started with the tigers of course...War Eagle! She was frisky that morning. She kept running and jumping into the water right in front of the glass. Micah loved it! He kept saying "tider tider" so cute! Unfortunately Zach was changing lenses and didn't get a picture of it but thanks to our friend Adam's zoom lens we got great pics anyway!


Next we continued through the Asia section to see the Pandas. Of course they were all sleeping! Micah loved them because they were laying really close to the window and he could see really well. They are such beautiful animals.


While we were walking around we kept reminding Micah of the animals names and the sounds they make (at least the ones we know!). He is best at the monkeys so that was a definite highlight in the day. We saw Orangutans, Gorillas, Spider Monkeys, and Golden Lion Tamarins which were so darn cute! They were really quick and would chase each other back and forth along the trees. What was really cool is that they weren't really enclosed. They were right in the open of the kids sections. You were close enough to almost reach them, but we didn't!








To get away from the 94 degree weather (yes that's hot!) we hid in the Reptile House for awhile. I looked at a few things but since all those slimy scaly things give me the willies I let Micah take Zach around and show him everything. They had a blast being boys and staring at colorful and oddly shaped frogs, snakes, turtles, lizards and iguanas.




At 11:00 every morning the zoo has elephant training in a special room. We got there just in time to see Tara doing her daily exercises. It is amazing how huge those animals are in person! On the way out Micah wanted to go look at the little elephant statue in front of the viewing area. He did a great job pointing out the little elephant's ears, eyes and nose.


Before lunch we finished the African section of the zoo with my personal favorite...Zebras! Along with their giraffe, rhino, and ostrich friends. We also HAD to see the lions. The new lion cubs weren't out that day but we got to see (and hear) the daddy. He perched himself on his own Pride Rock and bellowed for all the zoo to hear. WOW! I do not see how you can't see God glorified in those creations!






After we devoured our packed lunch (the zoo makes me hungry!) we headed to the kid zone for the petting zoo and train ride. I really thought Micah was going to need a little encouragement to get down amidst all the animals but not at all! He went straight for the goat and petted away. He even tried the brush for a few minutes and of course had to point out the ears, eyes and nose of the sheep.





One of our last events for the day was riding the train which was very fun for our choo choo lovin' boy! He was so big sitting in the seat between us. Gosh when did he grow up!?


It was a fun, hot, family filled day and we all had a blast! It was definitely worth it but we were definitely worn out by the end...can you tell??