Harborfest

We spent a day at Harborfest and the kids had a ball! There were pirates and tall ships, clowns and jump castles. By the end of the day we were all worn out!

Catching Up....

Time to catch up on some blogging....here are some pictures from my Grandma's visit to Charleston. We had such a great time. We ate at Poogan's Porch, went shopping on the Market and went out to the beach. The kids loved spending time with her as much as I did. Man, I miss her already!

Mother's Day lunch at Gilligan's with Clay & the kids and a bunch of our friends. We are going to miss Amber, Jesse & DJ when they move next week. : (

An old Chinese proverb...

You've heard the old Chinese proverb:

Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.

Well this weekend, I got a chance to teach a child something that I've never taught anyone before...how to wipe his own butt. (Yes, you read that right.)

Before I go into great detail about it, you've got to understand that I have the great opportunity to teach kids about Jesus every weekend. My responsibilities sometimes go above and beyond the typical "Sunday school teacher" that many think of when I try to explain what I do for a living. I love writing curriculum, I love creative storytelling, I love leading worship, I love working with a great team of volunteers....I don't love helping kids go to the bathroom! One of the first things I ask when new kids come to the preschool room.."is he potty trained?" I have a couple of baby bums I'm responsible for here at home, I don't need a few hundred butts to wipe at church. (For the record: I love kids, just not their bathroom rituals!)

So here is how it happened:

In preschool, we were starting off with prayer as always and the room was relatively quiet as a little girl was on stage whispering her prayer into the microphone. As eyes were closed and heads were bowed, a shout rang out from the bathroom stall in the back of the room, "Someone needs to come wipe my butt!"

I jumped up and hurried into the bathroom to see a little 4-year-old boy sitting on the toilet with his pants and shoes off and his underwear down to his ankles. He said, "Go get my mom so she can wipe my butt!" I asked him if he was serious. He continued, "She's on the elevator, go get her to wipe my butt!" I told him that she's not on the elevator and that she was in big church and I was not going to call her out of church just to come wipe his butt. I asked him why he couldn't wipe his own butt and he said it was because he was afraid it might get on his hand. (seriously)

So, I said I would show him a sure-fire way to never get poop on his hand when wiping his butt. I had him stick out his right hand (assuming that was his wiping hand, but you know what happens when you assume...heheheh...had to throw that one in there!)

Anyway, I took a square and placed it in his palm and told him that it was the first and most important layer of protection. Then, I pulled a long piece and wrapped his hand up to look like a mummy....around the fingers, around the thumb, around the wrist, around, around, around. Then I wadded up a big piece making "a flower" for him to hold onto (which will do most of the wiping) and finished off with one more square for good measure. Then I told him to wipe.

He did, then all the paper fell into the toilet, it just slid off...poop and all! The kid pulled his hand up and looked at it in amazement...no poop! So, I helped him put his pants and shoes back on and had him wash his hands. My job was done!

Now, I'm sure some mom is hearing from her son about the mean teacher at church that made him wipe his own butt for the first time (did I mention that he was 4 years old!)...and I may get a concerned email or phone call about it. If so, I'm ready with my rebuttal, my own Chinese proverb: Give a kid a wipe and you clean him for a day. Teach a kid to wipe himself and you have a great story to tell for a lifetime.

Maybe he'll remember me when he wipes his own butt from now on...oh, one can only hope! : )

Sunrise Drum Solo

This morning I woke to the sound of large thumps and banging. I was certain that someone must be pounding on the front door or there was heavy construction going on right outside the house. The nerve of some people!
As I got out of bed and tried to figure out what could be causing such a racket, I thought I heard sound of cymbal crashes in the middle of all the thumps and bangs. Were my ears playing tricks on me?
I finally realized what it was - it was Cody playing away on the drumset at 6:30am!. By the time I got in there and called his name, I could see the joy on his face. He was so proud of himself for his early morning drum performance. I didn't have the heart to tell him that it was way too early for drums. : )

Things I never thought I'd say...

You remember the show "Kids say the darnest things", right? We'll I thought I should start show called "Parents say the darnest thing"....since kids often bring out the best in us! So I'll start off with a few of mine and let you guys add to the list. I'm sure some of you have some good ones to add to this list....so bring it on!


Things I never thought I'd say:

• Its too quiet...what's he in to?
• Get out of the cat food!
• We don't throw things in the car!
• Don't hit your sister or you'll get a spanking!
• Do you want sugar rocks in your chicken milk ? (ice in your chocolate milk)
• Yes, I see it....now put it back in your pants!
  

(little) Man on a Mission

Cody has been caught in Abby's crib on occassion, but we had not yet figured out how he was doing it. I finally caught this moment on camera the other day and got a good laugh out of it. I thought I would share with you the determination and stamina of a toddler on a mission. Enjoy!

Backyard Bible Blog Begins!

I just started another blog for those who will be hosting, helping or attending a Backyard Bible Club this summer. Let people know that they can sign up for thier BBC Host Packet. I'd love some feedback on it, so keep checking in on the blog and let us know how we can make it fun for everyone this summer. Yeah! : )

I'm Back!

Over a week and no posts on the blog....you know something must be up. Oh yeah, sickness has crept into our world. Clay & I just got over strep throat. The kids were fine...too fine actually. Cody and Abby have had unbelievable strength and energy these past few days. When all we wanted was sleep, the "dynamic duo" wanted to play hard and skip naps. How did they know that our energy level was running on fumes?

This morning, we found Cody IN Abby's crib along with about a dozen books, several Hotwheels cars and some other toys. We still aren't sure how he did it or how long they were in there playing together before we noticed it. I think its about time to give them their own rooms. What do you think?