Last night was Jacob's 7th Birthday Party. It was really fun! He had a sleepover...for those of you who don't know...
Girls have "slumber parties"
Boys have "sleepovers"
...so we had a sleepover!
Jacob invited 3 friends to his party and they had a great time.
***They played "Nerf Wars" - basically running around the yard shooting each other with Nerf darts. (or...shooting darts into oblivion and then taking a time out to pick them all up and reload their guns.)
***They played basketball. (for...like...5 minutes)
***Paul took them to Blockbuster to pick a movie for later. (ever tried to get 4 boys to decide together on a single movie...yeah, not happening...we had to get two)
***They built a fire in our fire pit. (with teeny tiny sticks...Paul had to keep sending them out for more sticks just to get the flame big enough to roast the hot dogs!)
***They roasted their own hot dogs. (Actually they did pretty good...and they ate them!)
***They roasted their own marshmallows. (burnt them mostly and then threw them in the fire)
***They had a burping contest. (Some of them were too good...)
***They played Star Wars Legos on the XBOX 360. (4 boys + 2 controllers = not as much fun as they thought...and yet they played for hours anyway... left me referee-ing the rest of the night.)
***They sang Happy Birthday (Cha Cha Cha)
***They ate cake. (and made a huge mess)
***Jacob opened his presents (each one was the "awesome-est" and if I hear "open mine, now!" one more time...I might cry...and there were only 3 boys here...go figure.)
***They watched one movie. (Jacob got to pick because he's the birthday boy...of course)
***Then...they...slept. (After 11:30 and several stern warnings from Paul...they all finally slept.
***Then Paul and I slept..until...6:00am
That's right people, the four boys who I just KNEW would sleep until AT LEAST 7:00am were up playing games at SIX A-M! I was just lying in my bed...I wanted to sleep, but sleeping is just not possible when you have 4 boys playing a video game and you know 3 of them are not yours and you really should be up so that nothing happens. You know you should also be up because what if one of the boys goes home and his mom asks what they did and the boy tells her and then she says, "Well where was Miss Tanya?" and he has to say, "She was sleeping." That just wouldn't be good. So like any other Super Mom I got up and made pancakes. Got all 4 boys dressed, 3 for basketball games and one to go grocery shopping with his mom. Then gathered all their stuff, blankies, lovies (yes seven year olds have lovies...actually all of them did...including Jacob) underwear, shoes, jammies, party favors, balloons that they just had to have...the list goes on. It's ridiculous how much stuff four boys can accumulate in 2 seconds.
All in all we had a great time and I am now sitting in my sweats thinking I really should be napping...
zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
Saturday, January 31, 2009
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
There is a reason "children" should not have children
Tonight I took my kids to Chik-fil-a. Not a monumental, blogworthy piece of info, I know. Anyway. I had to go to Wal-Mart to get some items for the church nursery so I went during Paul's small group (which is at my house) and then took the kids to eat. I also got to work on my Beth Moore Bible Study homework while they played...an extra bonus for me!
When I got there I spied a table in prime "kid watching" real estate. So we snagged it and chowed down. Behind me was a little girl and what, I later found out, was her "mother" and "Aunt Sarah". I really thought this odd because when we first sat down the little girl was leaning over into our booth flinging her book and blanket around and the way the mother reacted was totally inappropriate. Not like "abuse" inappropriate, more like "little sister" inappropriate. I kept looking around for the girls mother. Then I finally heard enough of the conversation to figure out that the teenage "child" in the booth was the mother and her "BFF" was Aunt Sarah. I was so disturbed through most of the time we were eating, just listening to the dis-service those "children" were doing to that little girl. The immaturity with which they talked to her and "disciplined" her. They were loud and obnoxious and pre-occupied with their "BFF" conversation. They acted like teenagers...because they were. Every action they took and every word they said was loud for all to hear that "THEY WERE TAKING CARE OF HER CHILD". They made sure they were heard. They made sure it was obvious they were "in charge."
I was not the only one who was noticing these goings on. There was a couple across from me, probably in their 60's, noticing and listening and shaking their heads, not in disgust but in sadness. They too could tell this was a sad situation. To make matters worse when they went out the doors the little girl took off running out the door and straight into the parking lot. Praise the Lord there were no cars coming. Then, perhaps THE most appaling thing of the whole ordeal was that the mother just stood there, yelled for the girl to come back and waited with the car door open, just pointing into the seat that the girl was supposed to be sitting in. The girl literally just stood in the middle of the parking lot. Me and the other couple just sat with our mouths open...literally...watching to see if this child was going to be safe. Finally the girl got into the car and they drove away. The couple and I...literally...breathed a sigh of relief when they drove away.
The couple said a few things to each other and then.....
Abby came bursting through the playroom door wailing and yelled at the top of her lungs, "THE BOYS ARE FIGHTING ME!"
And the couple died laughing. So did I. Leave it to Abby to provide a little comic relief!
Anyway, I just could not help but think how there is such purpose to God's timing and plan. I am, appropriately, studying Beth Moore's Jesus the One and Only, and the lesson tonight (that I was working on at Chik-fil-a...enter God's timing...) was about the impecable timing of God surrounding Jesus' birth. And although Mary was only about 13 or 14 when she had Jesus, it was so divine, so perfect, so timely that people were staring for other reasons and not the fact that she was a teenage mother.
For once, tonight I was actually happy to be...ahem...30...years...old...ahem. I was thankful that I was a more mature mother, that I followed God's plan for my life and my family. Thank you God for timing, thank you God for Your perfect plan.
When I got there I spied a table in prime "kid watching" real estate. So we snagged it and chowed down. Behind me was a little girl and what, I later found out, was her "mother" and "Aunt Sarah". I really thought this odd because when we first sat down the little girl was leaning over into our booth flinging her book and blanket around and the way the mother reacted was totally inappropriate. Not like "abuse" inappropriate, more like "little sister" inappropriate. I kept looking around for the girls mother. Then I finally heard enough of the conversation to figure out that the teenage "child" in the booth was the mother and her "BFF" was Aunt Sarah. I was so disturbed through most of the time we were eating, just listening to the dis-service those "children" were doing to that little girl. The immaturity with which they talked to her and "disciplined" her. They were loud and obnoxious and pre-occupied with their "BFF" conversation. They acted like teenagers...because they were. Every action they took and every word they said was loud for all to hear that "THEY WERE TAKING CARE OF HER CHILD". They made sure they were heard. They made sure it was obvious they were "in charge."
I was not the only one who was noticing these goings on. There was a couple across from me, probably in their 60's, noticing and listening and shaking their heads, not in disgust but in sadness. They too could tell this was a sad situation. To make matters worse when they went out the doors the little girl took off running out the door and straight into the parking lot. Praise the Lord there were no cars coming. Then, perhaps THE most appaling thing of the whole ordeal was that the mother just stood there, yelled for the girl to come back and waited with the car door open, just pointing into the seat that the girl was supposed to be sitting in. The girl literally just stood in the middle of the parking lot. Me and the other couple just sat with our mouths open...literally...watching to see if this child was going to be safe. Finally the girl got into the car and they drove away. The couple and I...literally...breathed a sigh of relief when they drove away.
The couple said a few things to each other and then.....
Abby came bursting through the playroom door wailing and yelled at the top of her lungs, "THE BOYS ARE FIGHTING ME!"
And the couple died laughing. So did I. Leave it to Abby to provide a little comic relief!
Anyway, I just could not help but think how there is such purpose to God's timing and plan. I am, appropriately, studying Beth Moore's Jesus the One and Only, and the lesson tonight (that I was working on at Chik-fil-a...enter God's timing...) was about the impecable timing of God surrounding Jesus' birth. And although Mary was only about 13 or 14 when she had Jesus, it was so divine, so perfect, so timely that people were staring for other reasons and not the fact that she was a teenage mother.
For once, tonight I was actually happy to be...ahem...30...years...old...ahem. I was thankful that I was a more mature mother, that I followed God's plan for my life and my family. Thank you God for timing, thank you God for Your perfect plan.
Saturday, January 17, 2009
Today I witnessed the hilarity of first grade sports...
That's right folks. H-I-L-A-R-I-O-U-S! Today was Jacob's first Upward Basketball game and it was so fun to watch. If you are not familiar Upward basketball, here is a little, very little, insight.
Several hundred children of varying ability playing the game of basketball.
This is Jacob's first year to play. Paul and Jacob's friends dad, Jeff are the coaches and so far they are having a great time. What I like about Upward is the effort to keep things fair. Every child plays the same amount of time. They wear colored wrist bands to match players for man to man defense. They quietly and discreetly have a system to match players on an ability basis too.
So anyway...
Jacob's team, the Puma's, had their first game today after only two practices. It started off pretty good and once the boys got the hang of the "real game" it started to get real funny. The boys ran half the court with the ball, not dribbling of course. As soon as they would come to an open area they would shoot the ball! It did not matter how far away or close they were to the basket. One time Jacob had a "fast break"...as much as you can have in a first grade game...and he dribbled about three steps past half court and pulled up for a jump shot...took the shot...and of course he fell WAY short! I could not help but die laughing! It was so funny because the look on his face was one of, "I can't believe I missed that!" He snapped is finger while swinging is arm in front of his body and saying "darn". Then took off down the court to see what he could do about defense.
All in all, we did pretty good, we only scored one goal for the other team. Not bad for a group of boys who have never played before. So I'll keep you posted on the evolution of the Puma's Upward Basketball team.
Oh and by the way...we don't keep score...officially anyway.
Jaguars 8 - Pumas 7...unofficially..
Several hundred children of varying ability playing the game of basketball.
This is Jacob's first year to play. Paul and Jacob's friends dad, Jeff are the coaches and so far they are having a great time. What I like about Upward is the effort to keep things fair. Every child plays the same amount of time. They wear colored wrist bands to match players for man to man defense. They quietly and discreetly have a system to match players on an ability basis too.
So anyway...
Jacob's team, the Puma's, had their first game today after only two practices. It started off pretty good and once the boys got the hang of the "real game" it started to get real funny. The boys ran half the court with the ball, not dribbling of course. As soon as they would come to an open area they would shoot the ball! It did not matter how far away or close they were to the basket. One time Jacob had a "fast break"...as much as you can have in a first grade game...and he dribbled about three steps past half court and pulled up for a jump shot...took the shot...and of course he fell WAY short! I could not help but die laughing! It was so funny because the look on his face was one of, "I can't believe I missed that!" He snapped is finger while swinging is arm in front of his body and saying "darn". Then took off down the court to see what he could do about defense.
All in all, we did pretty good, we only scored one goal for the other team. Not bad for a group of boys who have never played before. So I'll keep you posted on the evolution of the Puma's Upward Basketball team.
Oh and by the way...we don't keep score...officially anyway.
Jaguars 8 - Pumas 7...unofficially..
Wednesday, January 14, 2009
Today I was a mom.....
Ok I totally stole this idea from another blog, but this really is my day....
Today I was a mom
*I woke up at 7:00am, 15 minutes late, and somehow managed to get Jacob out the door on time to school with breakfast, a lunch and a backpack...victory.
*I worked out a Curves
*I came home, took a shower and got ready for the Bible Study at my house
*I facilitated a Bible Study in my house, while chasing my three and four year old to and from the playroom shhsh-ing them so the other ladies could hear the video
*I took my little ones to Chik-fil-a before trekking to Costco with Paul to buy concession stand stuff for the youth group
*I ran my daughter to the bathroom all the way across Costco, because "she had to go right now...."
*I come home to work a little on my preschool stuff while Paul takes the little ones to pick up Jacob from school
*I greet Jacob when he gets home only to find out that the backpack I gave him this morning as we ran out the door...WAS HIS BROTHERS, NOT HIS! Which in turn meant he did not have his agenda...which meant he couldn't turn in his homework...great.
*I chat with a friend who stops by after school for a bit
*I sit on the couch for a minute...
*Paul fixes PB&J's for dinner because we have youth small group at our house tonight
*I swallow my Lean Cuisine whole
*Then I grab the kids and head to Target to kill some time while small group is at my house
*I referee in the toy aisle's and "guide" my children in making a smart choice in another toy that we don't need, but I have no good excuse to say no...because...I actually have "dollars" in my purse.
*I take my kids to McDonald's for a sundae because by this time I seriously need a Diet Coke
*And now it's time to head home because bed time is approaching super fast
*As soon as we get home I start saying, "no more candy" "no more candy" "that is your last piece of candy"
*I brush 3 kids' teeth, wash 3 faces, clip some nasty fingernails, wipe a bottom, put lotion on a rash, find pj's, kiss 3 sets of lips, listen to 3 sweet little prayers, pray for 3 sweet little kids....
*and sit and type...
*I am a mom.
Today I was a mom
*I woke up at 7:00am, 15 minutes late, and somehow managed to get Jacob out the door on time to school with breakfast, a lunch and a backpack...victory.
*I worked out a Curves
*I came home, took a shower and got ready for the Bible Study at my house
*I facilitated a Bible Study in my house, while chasing my three and four year old to and from the playroom shhsh-ing them so the other ladies could hear the video
*I took my little ones to Chik-fil-a before trekking to Costco with Paul to buy concession stand stuff for the youth group
*I ran my daughter to the bathroom all the way across Costco, because "she had to go right now...."
*I come home to work a little on my preschool stuff while Paul takes the little ones to pick up Jacob from school
*I greet Jacob when he gets home only to find out that the backpack I gave him this morning as we ran out the door...WAS HIS BROTHERS, NOT HIS! Which in turn meant he did not have his agenda...which meant he couldn't turn in his homework...great.
*I chat with a friend who stops by after school for a bit
*I sit on the couch for a minute...
*Paul fixes PB&J's for dinner because we have youth small group at our house tonight
*I swallow my Lean Cuisine whole
*Then I grab the kids and head to Target to kill some time while small group is at my house
*I referee in the toy aisle's and "guide" my children in making a smart choice in another toy that we don't need, but I have no good excuse to say no...because...I actually have "dollars" in my purse.
*I take my kids to McDonald's for a sundae because by this time I seriously need a Diet Coke
*And now it's time to head home because bed time is approaching super fast
*As soon as we get home I start saying, "no more candy" "no more candy" "that is your last piece of candy"
*I brush 3 kids' teeth, wash 3 faces, clip some nasty fingernails, wipe a bottom, put lotion on a rash, find pj's, kiss 3 sets of lips, listen to 3 sweet little prayers, pray for 3 sweet little kids....
*and sit and type...
*I am a mom.
Friday, January 9, 2009
Can I just say...
Oh what a day...
Does it ever happen to anyone else?
I ask myself this question each time Paul goes out of town.
Paul left for a hunting trip last night and of course...this is when things start going badly. The kids "have trouble" falling asleep and so do I. The last time I look at the clock is 12:06 am...and then Abby and Caleb wake up at 5:00 am...this starts my day. I get everyone up, dressed and out the door in time to get Jacob to school and then I go to Starbucks and grab coffee and chocolate milk...twelve dollars later...anyway...and then I head back to school to complete my "Friday duties". The kids were mostly good for the day in the Rahe Bulverde Elementary School Workroom!
The whole day I was communicating with my friend Magan. Her son, Caleb's "best dude", has been sick all week and the doctors were sending him for chest x-rays and blood work. It's been a long week for her. His tests for pneumonia and bronchitis came back negative. Later in the day she had an appointment and I kept her son because her husband is with mine...
So I am now praying for God's mercy on me and my kids for helping my friend...is that super selfish or what? I just don't want my kiddos to be sick...but alas...I am a true friend and I kept the "best dude" who has some sort of serious upper respitory infection...she would do it for me!
THEN...
I feed all 4 kiddos and head to church where I have about 24 birth to 3rd graders to take care of for a sunday school party. Needless to say, we had a major discipline issue that ended with me being kicked and head-butted. sweet.
I am now home, tired, remember I started way earlier than I usually do. My kids hae been good, not great...daddy's gone and they know it.
And on top of everything else, now my throat hurts and my nose is running and my head is stopped up and I am seriously praying I am not sick. For tomorrow I have another day and daddy is coming home...hallelujah and amen.
Does it ever happen to anyone else?
I ask myself this question each time Paul goes out of town.
Paul left for a hunting trip last night and of course...this is when things start going badly. The kids "have trouble" falling asleep and so do I. The last time I look at the clock is 12:06 am...and then Abby and Caleb wake up at 5:00 am...this starts my day. I get everyone up, dressed and out the door in time to get Jacob to school and then I go to Starbucks and grab coffee and chocolate milk...twelve dollars later...anyway...and then I head back to school to complete my "Friday duties". The kids were mostly good for the day in the Rahe Bulverde Elementary School Workroom!
The whole day I was communicating with my friend Magan. Her son, Caleb's "best dude", has been sick all week and the doctors were sending him for chest x-rays and blood work. It's been a long week for her. His tests for pneumonia and bronchitis came back negative. Later in the day she had an appointment and I kept her son because her husband is with mine...
So I am now praying for God's mercy on me and my kids for helping my friend...is that super selfish or what? I just don't want my kiddos to be sick...but alas...I am a true friend and I kept the "best dude" who has some sort of serious upper respitory infection...she would do it for me!
THEN...
I feed all 4 kiddos and head to church where I have about 24 birth to 3rd graders to take care of for a sunday school party. Needless to say, we had a major discipline issue that ended with me being kicked and head-butted. sweet.
I am now home, tired, remember I started way earlier than I usually do. My kids hae been good, not great...daddy's gone and they know it.
And on top of everything else, now my throat hurts and my nose is running and my head is stopped up and I am seriously praying I am not sick. For tomorrow I have another day and daddy is coming home...hallelujah and amen.
Tuesday, January 6, 2009
I have a great husband
So I'm sitting here trying to decide what to blog about. Paul says, "blog about me".
So here goes...
Paul Michael Brand
Born in a Hospital...
As a baby...
No seriously...
Quite possibly the most amazing man to walk the face of the earth...after Jesus ascended into heaven of course.
We have had almost 9 years of marriage and although I have been the cause of some of the not-so-fun times, all in all...9 years of bliss...whatever bliss is.
He...
*cleans
*folds and puts away laundry
*does dishes
*picks up the house
*runs a super successful ministry
*coaches t-ball and Upward Basketball
*encourages
*loves
*buys me flowers every other week (no kidding)
*is super funny
*disciplines
*snores
*hunts
*can run fast
*loves our children...big time
*takes care of me...big time
*let's me go shopping...when I want/need to
*looks at my scrapbooking when I come home at 1am
*tends to the kids in the middle of the night
*does anything I ask and some things I don't
*is an amazing drummer
*plays the guitar
*loves to worship
*is almost 30 years old...just had to throw that in
*is right almost all the time
*thinks before he speaks
*laughs alot
*wants the very best for me and the kids
*is a really good preacher
*has a big heart for missions
*wants to change the world one student at a time
*loves buck sticks/beef jerky
*sits with me
*rubs my feet
*washes my hair when I'm sick
*lets me control the remote
*covers me with a blanket so he can crank the AC at night
*takes me out to eat when I don't want to eat
*loves dodgeball
*loves hanging out with students
*would choose me over anything
...well I could go on and on, but I'm sure if you have read this far you could care less about reading more! So I'll end now. Ok...now.
Seriously...now.
So here goes...
Paul Michael Brand
Born in a Hospital...
As a baby...
No seriously...
Quite possibly the most amazing man to walk the face of the earth...after Jesus ascended into heaven of course.
We have had almost 9 years of marriage and although I have been the cause of some of the not-so-fun times, all in all...9 years of bliss...whatever bliss is.
He...
*cleans
*folds and puts away laundry
*does dishes
*picks up the house
*runs a super successful ministry
*coaches t-ball and Upward Basketball
*encourages
*loves
*buys me flowers every other week (no kidding)
*is super funny
*disciplines
*snores
*hunts
*can run fast
*loves our children...big time
*takes care of me...big time
*let's me go shopping...when I want/need to
*looks at my scrapbooking when I come home at 1am
*tends to the kids in the middle of the night
*does anything I ask and some things I don't
*is an amazing drummer
*plays the guitar
*loves to worship
*is almost 30 years old...just had to throw that in
*is right almost all the time
*thinks before he speaks
*laughs alot
*wants the very best for me and the kids
*is a really good preacher
*has a big heart for missions
*wants to change the world one student at a time
*loves buck sticks/beef jerky
*sits with me
*rubs my feet
*washes my hair when I'm sick
*lets me control the remote
*covers me with a blanket so he can crank the AC at night
*takes me out to eat when I don't want to eat
*loves dodgeball
*loves hanging out with students
*would choose me over anything
...well I could go on and on, but I'm sure if you have read this far you could care less about reading more! So I'll end now. Ok...now.
Seriously...now.
Thursday, January 1, 2009
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