Mad Gab

Trying to decipher Justus' 2yr old babbling is like playing mad gab 24/7

first round - "eye keem shrk"

Me:  "Ice Cream Shark?"

second round - urgent plea, slightly louder, slightly higher pitched  "Eye Keem SHRK!"

Me:  "Oh, Ice Cream Shark, ummmm a Shark that likes to eat ice cream?"

third round - frustrated, much louder, much higher pitched, "Eye Keem SHRK!!!"

Me:  "Oh Wow!  Really!  That is so cool!"

fourth round - rage, not satisfied with my attempt to play it off...  "EYE KEEM SHRK!!!"

Me:  "Look at the Huge Red Monster Truck!"

fifth round - absolute meltdown, furious that I attempted a diversion..., ridiculously loud, pitch so high all of the dogs in a 1 mile radius are in pain...  "EYE KEEM SHRK!!!!!!!!"

Me:  wits end, panic, what else can i guess...  oh, what's that about to pass me on the right...  an Ice Cream TRUCK!!!  Yay!  Okay, "Oh I see it buddy, an Ice Cream TRUCK!!!"  okay, success!  Whew!  Huge sigh of relief...  attempting to regain normal heart rate and breathing rate...

Justus:  giggles, "Yeah, eye keem shrk"  big smile

OPERATION CHRISTMAS CHILD

My favorite project all year long is Samaritan's Purse's (Franklin Graham's ministry) Operation Christmas Child!!! I seriously think and plan for it literally all year long!

This picture captures the essence of what OCC is all about! These precious kiddos living in absolute squalor, who have never received a gift in their entire lives... are getting their very first gift! The fact that they have never received a gift makes these boxes full of what we perceive as dollar store junk, true treasures not only to the kids, but to their families as well! They are so amazed at getting not only one gift, but a box full of gifts, they often ask, "Who has sent this to me???" They are puzzled that complete strangers would give them, a seemingly "no body", their first and maybe only gift of their entire childhood! This confusion is the perfect opportunity the volunteers of OCC use to share with them the love of Christ. They also include a book in their language about the life of Christ.

The many accounts of new faith in Christ that come from this ministry are amazing, heart warming, goose-bumpy accounts of how a loving God reaches down to touch these very children and their families! One I just heard about this year is the story of Lejla Allison from Bosnia. I won't ruin it for you (although I will issue a tissue warning!), but go watch the video for yourself at:

http://static.samaritanspurse.org/broadcast/OCC_video/LejlaAllison.mov

M&M's are truly MAGICAL!!!

My backyard looked like the toy box had blown up!  I know what I'm about to admit is going to be highly frowned upon...  considered bribery...   and I totally get all that, but still...

 I took one look at the suddenly sluggish neighborhood kids along with my very own and shouted, "I'll give you an M&M for every toy you clean up!"  And VIOLA! Instantaneously spotless!  And it only cost me about 30 M&M's, and the big bonus - I didn't loose my sanity  ;) 

However, this is a very, VERY rare occasion!  I've only used it once before, and basically it's used to bribe neighborhood children...  and they think it's a blast.  My kids know better...  it's a TREAT!

Techies Camping

Saturday Morning Cartoons
A few weekends ago Caleb begged us to go camping... that is, set up the tent in the backyard... ;) We were really roughing it with two mattresses off the beds, two iphones, two macbook laptops, and a heater... all plugged into a heavy duty extension cord... yup, totally techie... ;D

My Li'l Workin' Man

Make a Smilebox slideshow

My friend April "hired" Caleb to come work in her garden one afternoon a week.  He is so excited about his first "job".  He had so much fun!  I'm hoping he learns how to have a green thumb from her, since he ain't learnin' that from mama!  I can kill the most resilient plants while even attempting to diligently attend to their care...