…And it allows us to snap photos like this:
And this:
And this:
Oh, and I can’t forget this one:
We’ve never had a camera that takes the picture so fast. I can’t believe how much easier it is to get a good shot!
Garrett lost his first tooth on Sunday, which should have been exciting for him, but I think it was a little, ahem, traumatic. He was eating a Honey Butter Ritz - his new favorite snack, and one of mine too since I got the box for 35¢ at Publix, but…this is not about my ability to find a good deal. Anyway, he was eating a Ritz and realized his tooth was not there and his mouth hurt. He came frantically running in our room, crying hysterically. I thought he looked like he was losing his marbles, but Ricky figured out what had happened. The tooth came out when he chomped down on his cracker. And…he swallowed it.
So, all that to say, if we do start a “Lost Tooth Collection”, we’ll be missing his first tooth. Unless…well…we’ll be missing his first tooth. Check out our snaggle-tooth.
Also complicating the situation, was that the um, Tooth Fairy, was snowed in and Mr. Tooth Fairy (Ricky will kill me for calling him that) completely threw his back out, thus leaving us both unable to get anything to go with the 2 dollar bills we had to give Garrett. Luckily, Aunt Jenny came to the Tooth Fairy’s rescue and dropped off a pack of Trident. Here is what Garrett got from the Tooth Fairy:
Maybe next time, we’ll be better prepared. And we’ll end up with the tooth. 
It snowed on Friday. It snowed alot. We never get enough snow to play in, but this time. We did! We have had a BLAST this weekend. Friday night, Ricky got done with work early and came down (since he works upstairs :)) and he went out back and started a fire in the backyard to keep us a little warmer. We started working on packing down a path on our back hill. It wasn’t packed enough to use the sled, so we did the next best thing, we used storage container lids. We slid down the hill till dark and got up Saturday morning and got ready to go out. Some of our friends from our neighborhood came over and we had a great time. The hill was perfect for sled use, so in addition to the lids, we used the actual sled.
When we all got cold the kids started melting down, we went in and ate some soup and I made homemade chocolate chip cookies. Unfortunately, they had to go home for naps and we put Gracie and Griffin down for a nap. Then, Ricky and I did what any normal parents would do…went out back for more sledding without the little ones. We were trying to see who could go the farthest on the sled. Ricky beat me on the sled, but I totally had his number on the lids. Some of our other neighbor friends came over. We got the little ones up for a little more time outside and then came in and ate pizza. Garrett was so sleepy he almost fell asleep at the table.
This morning we got up, watched our church service through streaming live video, then went outside for a little more sledding. We sledded until there was more grass on the path than snow. So we transitioned to building a snow man. Ricky threw his back out while building the snowman, so after a very active weekend, he’s laid up in the bed.
For those of you that have been reading this blog for the last few years, I know, this blog entry is rusty on style, I’m just trying to get into the swing of writing again. I will include some pictures though!
And here is one of my favorites:
Ricky and I talk about legacy alot. Ricky has always been very focused on leaving a good, Godly legacy for his children, probably something he is more aware of than many after losing his father over 20 years ago. Last night, I saw, first hand, the impact of a legacy.
We went to visitation services for Gabe Brewer. Gabe was a 17 year old that was killed in a car accident. We knew Gabe because we used to go to his father, Chris’s church six years ago. Gabe is one of the few kids I remember, because honestly, after having 3 of my own, my memory is not what it used to be. I remember Gabe as an extremely sweet, friendly, outgoing little boy that loved basketball, especially UK basketball and was cute as a button. He loved God. He loved his family. He loved his church and he loved people. You know the type, well…maybe you do. They are few and far between these days. He was the type of kid that you meet and think, “I hope my kids are like him whenever I have kids.”
After not seeing Gabe for 6 years, I’ll be honest. I wondered if he was the same great kid that emanated the light of Jesus Christ in his smile. I wondered if he had gotten in with a bad crowd, or if he had rebelled or if he had just become mediocre in his faith and love of people as most teenagers do. When we drove up to the church where the visitation was, which is very large, with multiple parking lots, we noticed two large parking lots were full. I wondered what else was going on at the church (I mean it is a large church with many weekly activities) and I wondered if it was interfering with the visitation. I was not prepared for what was inside.
We got there about 45 minutes after visitation started and there were people as far as I could see. We stood in line for over 2 hours before getting to the front of the line. All of those cars were there for the visitation. I quickly learned that not only was Gabe still the kind, friendly wonderful kid we had known, but that he had grown in his faith and impacted the world around him.
There are so many observations I could share with you, like how heartbreaking it is to see his sweet teenage girlfriend up by the casket, touch his hair and look like she is about to shut down. Or how Gabe’s mom couldn’t make it through the visitation and his dad, looked heartbroken and would occasionally go over to look at him, touch him and kiss him on the cheek. Or how the majority of people that knew him the best looked like they thought they would wake up from a bad dream at any moment. I could tell you about all of the superman shirts that they wore in tribute to him or of the many teenager that were breaking down in tears. Broken
But. The thing that touched me most, was the legacy that this kid left. There were people there (non-family members) that traveled from many states away. He was quite the basketball player from what I heard. He played hard but maintained his Godliness with his intensity. There was a basketball coach from a rival team that traveled over an hour (and probably stood in line for a few hours) to give his condolences. This kid was different. Opposing coaches noticed. If you’ve been around sports much, you know that you really have to be living your faith for it to show on the court. That is probably one of the hardest places for people to see Jesus in you.
It never makes sense when a child dies. It always hurts and it’s always confusing. I’ve always thought that one of the saddest things about a child dying, is that they don’t get to really “make their mark” on the world. What I realized last night, is that , you don’t have to be a “grown up” to leave a legacy. You can leave a lasting legacy, no matter your age. You can impact the lives around you by being kind, having fun, working hard, loving God and loving people. That’s how Gabe did it.
Well…I knew this day would come. No, not the day I would begin to blog again, although, maybe this is that day.
I have come to the conclusion that I’m going to have to cut sugar from my diet. After a few days of watching what I eat and what my appetite is doing, I have figured out that every time I eat sugar, I have cravings for food. And when I say cravings, I mean, I would rip someone’s arm off for some chocolate or something else sweet.
Now that you all feel safe around me, I just wanted to let you know. I’m going to try to eliminate sugar from my diet, except for special occasions. Oh, and I will continue to put a little in my coffee in the morning, because that doesn’t seem to bother me. And honestly, even if it did, I have my limits. If you know me IRL (in real life), and I seem a little cranky. DO NOT OFFER ME A COOKIE.
Thank you.
Dear Griffin,
This year has flown by. It seems like just yesterday that you were born. You are such a sweetie and have been such a joy to us. We knew you were going to fit in perfectly the first moment we saw you. Your big brother Garrett and you have such a loving relationship. You already have fun together. Sometimes you keep each other from falling asleep because you are talking (well he’s talking, you’re babbling) and playing with each other. You love him so much and he adores you.
You have had a very calm, laid-back personality, except when you don’t feel good. You do like to do things your own way and in your own time. For example, you refuse to drink from a cup, rather you prefer your bottle. You also don’t crawl. You scoot around on your bottom.
You love playing with balls and you’re very strong. You have the prettiest blue eyes and dark blond, curly hair. You like to make a face where you pucker your lips up and close your eyes. It’s hysterical. You like to play independently and with others. You love going to preschool on Tuesdays, you almost jump out of my arms to go in the room.
You have been such a blessing to our family and I can not wait to see what God has planned for your future. I am so glad that God made me your Mommy.
I love you!
Mommy
Yesterday I was walking by the computer and noticed that the Yahoo search engine was pulled up on the screen. I always use google, so I stopped to see what the search was for. In the search box was “Potsto”. I asked Garrett if he had been typing on the computer. He said he had tried to find the Potato Song. Garrett and Gracie LOVE the Potato Song
Uh…so the whole phonics thing really works. He just happened to be a letter off (s instead of a). So, we’ll be getting some child-friendly internet software soon…
In case you’re interested, The Potato Song:
Hmm. What do I say after a 2 month absence on my blog? Long time, no see?
I have no idea where to start. So I won’t. At least for now. Maybe later?
This is officially my most lacking blog entry.
Last night I was reading a few of my favorite Psalms. I started with Psalm 40. I don’t know why it’s a favorite except that I read it to my Nana while she lay in her bed in the nursing home in the last days of her life. I even read it from the same Bible, which my grandfather was so kind to give me for Christmas. It was nice to read from because it’s larger print. Have I mentioned that I suddenly need reading glasses? Anyway…
I skipped over to Psalm 139. I was supposed to be memorizing it with the other 95,000 people that read this blog. Well. I made it through the first 4 verses. I know. Impressive…
Last night I kept reading after verse 4, trying to decide whether to try to memorize the rest even though I’m about 20 days behind on the “schedule”. I couldn’t get past verse 5.
You hem me in - behind and before; you have laid your hand upon me.
Maybe I got stuck because when I hear the word “hem” I think clothing. It’s not really a “Bible” word. I did a little looking, into the Hebrew and stuff. The root of the word means “to confine”. I also found rephrasing of the verse in a commentary: “You so guide me with your hand, that I can turn no way, but where you appoint me.”
What if you allowed God to guide you in such a way that you could not turn anyway but where he lead?
Honestly, I have no idea why we continue to put this thing up.
When we put it up, it said 42 days. Then we changed it to 23 days. And when we had people here for Advent the other night, we realized we hadn’t changed it, so we changed it to 19 days, which is what it still says.
There are 14 days until Christmas. I think our reindeer is lazy. Seriously, when is this thing going to start doing his job and counting down for us?
