Brag On Your Kids Day

I came across a blogger today who had a great idea. She gave us permission to brag on our kids! Too often we try so hard not to be "that mom" who tells anyone within earshot how wonderful her kids are, that we don't brag on them at all. Or worse, we only share the "bad and the ugly" (not the good) in hopes of being relatable. So today, let me tell you how wonderful my kids are:

Reed is best defined by his athletic ability. He amazes me with the natural talent that he has at many sports, but especially basketball. He is so fun to watch on the court! He has never shown interest in playing any organized sport other than basketball (and homeschool soccer), but I am pretty sure that if he gave football or baseball a try he'd excel at those sports also. (Yep, I said it. I'm allowed to brag on him, remember??)

Reed is funny. He's learning quick come-backs and one-liners just like his Dad, and is getting pretty good at them. Lord, help me!

I'm sorry, (no, I'm really not) but Reed is handsome. So handsome. I adore his flawless skin (envy it, really), deep baby blues, those lips... I could go on and on. Let's just say I think he's gonna turn a few heads in the next couple of years. And I won't like it... just being honest.

Miles is an entertainer. Loves the spotlight. Keeps us in stitches. He is in his element when he has the attention of everyone in the room. This year he was the only Kindergardener who tried out for a part for the children's musical at church. And he got a little part that is right up his alley.

Miles has a beautiful singing voice. Perfect pitch, right on key. Often after we've put him to bed at night we'll hear him in there singing to himself. Love those moments.

Miles is a good friend, and everyone wants to be his friend. On any given Sunday in Kids Worship, there are 4 or 5 boys his age fighting - literally pushing and shoving - over who is going to sit beside Miles that day. And he eats it up.

There you have it... my kids rock. To participate or to read about someone else's awesome kids, visit It's Almost Naptime.

Forgiveness

We were sitting at the dining room table one recent morning, ready to begin another school day. As we always do, we read out of our devotional book before starting our school day with prayers. The story that day was about a boy who had broken one of his mother's favorite vases. He was too afraid to tell his mom, so he took the broken pieces and buried them in the yard. His father later bought a shrub for the mother and - you guessed it - planted it in the exact spot where the broken pieces of pottery lay. His sin discovered, the boy apologized to his mother, who reminded him that she would have forgiven him the day it happened, if he had only come to her.

The application questions asked: Are you hiding some sins, thinking they will never be found out? Do you think you are getting away with something? God knows all about it. Confess your sins, take the consequences, and receive forgiveness.

After reading the questions, Reed looked over at me with a trembling lip and tears welling up in his eyes. "Mom, I did something", he said. Worried about what kind of confession I might hear, I asked anyway. He came to me and buried his head in my chest, sobbing with guilt and shame.

"You know how at CiCi's they will give you a quarter if one of the machines doesn't work and it takes yours? I told them that had happened and it didn't really... I just wanted to play another game."

Tears - confession -forgiveness -relief. He had been hiding that secret sin for months. He told me that as I read the story and asked the questions, his heart was beating out of his chest and he knew he had to confess that very day. The Holy Spirit was working in his little 9 year old heart.

Thank you, Father, that Your Word promises forgiveness when we come to you.
If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 1 John 1:9

Photo Shoot

We had a girl from our church come out and take some professional pictures the other day. Actually, it was a birthday gift for my mom from my sister - a photo shoot of Nannie and all of her grandkids. She took us aside and shot a few of just me and my boys. I love them...

We did it!

Without a doubt, if you had told me in high school that one day I'd be interested in a 10k race, I would have told you "No way"! How things change! Today my best friend, Lisa, and I walked with about 32,000 others in the Ukrops Monument Ave. 10k in Richmond. It was fun, and we actually did it! I'm pretty proud of us! Here are just a few pics:


Before the race begins... lining up at the start line.
We were so excited to see this! Only .2 miles to go!

Lisa signing for Steve, her husband, who is currently facing a cancer scare. If we walk the 10k again next year, we'll walk it in his honor... after he beats this cancer!

Another first...

I wasn't sure it was possible...

... to find a better deal on some awesome jeans, but I did! Check out my Kohl's deal from last night:

In case you can't see it, I paid $5.15 (with tax!) for new trouser-style jeans. Crazy! These jeans were originally $49.50! Have I ever mentioned how much I love finding a bargain?!?!?

What Happens When Miles Gets Bored and Has a Little Time on His Hands

Snow Day!

It's March 2, and we have SNOW! Lots and lots of beautiful snow! Our principal (um... Jay) declared today a snow day, so we played in the snow and lazed the day away. **Let me clarify that... "we" = everyone except me** Miles' best bud, Kevin spent the night last night, so he was here for the festivities! (and you'll notice Reed is absent from the pictures... he stayed inside with a fever today) Here are some pictures of the fun:

Fun With Money

Wow, that post title gets me all excited. I love having fun with money, as in seeing how much I can get for just a little bit of $$; but, that isn't what this post is about. Miles is learning all about money in school right now. In one of our Math books, this cute little game was introduced yesterday. We actually did this when Reed was in Kindergarten also, and it was fun (at least one day's worth of fun... I'll take it). It's so simple you'll wish you had thought of it. The lesson was about following directions as well, so here are the directions:

Toss The Penny

Put a muffin tin near a wall. Stand 1o steps away. Toss a penny. Try to make it go into a hole. How many pennies can you get into the hole?

We of course had to add a little competition to the game, so we made each hole worth a certain number of points. It was Miles' idea to have that bonus 50 point hole... with stars and all.

As you can see, we also stepped it up a notch and put the muffin tin on the recliner, so the judge could swivel the chair and make it just that much more difficult. (Again, Miles' idea) And we did a few rounds blind-folded. We are all about the difficulty level here. (**you might notice that Miles isn't exactly standing 10 steps away in these pictures. This was our 115th round, so we're starting to get a little lax here.)

Another way we are reinforcing the money lessons is with this cute video I found at the library. Dancing and singing pennies, nickels, and dimes...dollar bills with electric guitars??? What more could you want in a lesson? Miles liked it alot and learned some new things. Reed mostly rolled his eyes, although it wasn't intended for him anyway. He chose to sit in and watch though, and I think secretly he was entertained. It was definitely a cute way to review your money skills.

If only we could find some videos on a 4th grade level with dancing parallelograms and quadrilaterals with guitars. Then we'd have it made!

Basketball Star

Apparently this was the year of humility for Reed in the Upwards program. Last year his team was undefeated, and this year, they were mostly... defeated. He had a great team; they worked well together as a team and all got along well. They were supportive of one another and had so much fun out there, win or lose.

We've been so proud of Reed this year. He really is a great basketball player (he gets it honest), but more than that, he is a great person out on that court. I can see in him a humble spirit, a caring heart, honesty (even when it means the other team gets the ball), a fun-loving attitude that is contagious... and these are the things we are most proud of in him.

We love you, our basketball star! You are such fun to watch! We will always cheer you on, win or lose. Love, Mom and Dad (Coach)