Quotables from my kids

Well, I've not been feeling great this week. We're supposed to have a garage sale this weekend... and yet I'm once again out of energy... so I thought I'd sit down and catch up on some funnies from my kids this summer. It was inspired by one just tonight from Eli!

Jason was with the praise team tonight for practice, so in an effort to speed along bedtime I combined the kids rituals, and instead of each getting to read three books separately, they were allowed to pick one book each, and I would pick a bible story, and we would read them all together. As they were in the process of picking books, Jason came in and said "Hey guys! Can I read to you?" The kids went crazy with excitement - "Yea! Dad! You're awesome!! WE LOVE YOU DAD!!! WOO HOO!!"
I was still sitting on the floor, smiling, but Eli, being extra sensitive, didn't want to leave me out. "We love you too mom! I mean, YOU are great ... because you married a GREAT man!" Jason and I died laughing... at which point Eli realized it must have sounded funny... "I mean... you are great for other reasons too, like, uh..."
Eli quickly learned the symbol and meaning behind digging yourself into a hole. :-)

I've got some other quotables .. .in no particular order, from the summer. So even though I haven't been blogging... I've had you on my heart and all over in tiny scraps of 'scribbled on paper'....

*****
Jason: "We've got to try that DVD out to make sure it's repaired."
Julia: "Yeah... because we don't got any plugger-ins."

*****
(Julia, as we are in the frozen section at the grocery store one day..)
"Mom! We have to get some freezing dinners! We're all out of freezing dinners!"

*****
(Julia - on a Sunday morning)
"I know where we're going today!"
(Me)
"Really? where?"
(Julia)
"Church. You know how I know? (hands on her hips with a mysterious twinkle in her eye..) Because of the DRESS!"

*****
One morning we decided to go to Golden Corral together. It was about 10:45.
I told the kids to get ready to go, that we were going to eat breakfast together. Realizing the time, I said, "Well, we will actually be able to have breakfast and then lunch. I guess that's why they call it 'brunch'.
Julia said: "I think we should call it "re-breakfast." :-)

Later that same morning, after she'd finished her "re-breakfast," Julia stood at the table telling me she had to go to the bathroom, while Jason was paying the bill. I told her if she could wait just a few minutes, we'd be home. a few seconds later, I look over as she throws up all over the table. (A theme for us this month...)

After I get her cleaned up, and we're all just watching her to see if she's okay, she says:
"Well, I knew I needed to be in the bathroom, I just wasn't sure why yet. Now I know!"

Now THAT's what we call re-breakfast.
(I feel like that's something my dad would say....) :-)

****

After the kids dog piled me on the bed one evening, they both jumped up and I said "Hey! Thanks for the huggins!"

Eli : "Sure Mom... but I only gave you one."
Me: "Oh... sorry for the improper pluralization of the word."
Eli: "It's okay."

****
(You know your kids are enjoying science too much when....)

One morning we were reviewing by memory the ten commandments. We'd only studied 7 and the kids we're forgetting one of them. Finally Eli just guessed:
"Always remain in a symbiotic relationship with dolphins?"
How do you answer that? (Besides "NO!")

One evening, Eli was cold and shivering after stepping out of the shower. I hurriedly tried to reach for a towel to wrap around him. As I was grabbing for it, he said "Man. Aren't you glad we don't have to use echolocation?"
(The manner in which bats find their way around though blind by using sonar.") ummm... yeah.

****

As we were driving to a birthday party, Julia began to beg me to tell her what we got her friend for her birthday.

Julia: " Mom... please tell me what we got her."
Me: "You don't need to know."
Julia : "PLEASE? I promise I wont tell her."
Me: "Sweetie, you can just find out when she opens it!" (Julia had just recently blown a surprise on accident.)
Julia: "PLEASE... PLEASE!! I PROMISE you I won't tell her!" (her voice begging to regain trust again.)
Me: "Okay... we got her Jenga."
Julia: "Jenga. JENga. jenGA. Jeeennnngggaa......"
Julia: "MOM! Now that word is sticking over and over in my head! I wish you wouldn't have told me because now I'm afraid I'll forget to not tell her!"

****
Eli lost his first tooth, FINALLY. However, it took just long enough that he had already begun to question the existence of the tooth fairy. He kept testing us, and we kept avoiding. Finally, one night, I heard him telling his sister that the tooth fairy wasn't real. It was just moms and dads.

I pulled him aside into another room and asked him why he was saying that. He said he really wanted to know, because he just didn't think he believed that. As a parent, I've always felt a little conflicted about what to do when we hit this stage. I want him to enjoy childhood, but he's getting pretty smart , and I also want him to have full confidence that he can trust us. So I tested the waters to see what I could get away with...I told him if he really wanted to know, we could talk about it.

Me: "Eli - I will always do my best to tell you the truth about everything. If you don't believe in the tooth fairy, who do you think it is?
Eli: " You."
Me: "Eli, do I ever have any money lying around that I'd be able to leave under your pillow?
Eli: "Yes."
(Me... scrambling since the sarcastic adult humor diversion didn't work....") "Well, who else might it be?"
Eli: (eyes widening....) " A stranger?"
Me : "Now, do I ever let strangers in the house?"
Eli: "Well, no. And there's the whole alarm thing."
Me: "Yeah..."
Eli: (Eyes really wide.. very serious, and now whispering..) "I know... is it Santa?"

:-)

Okay...my unintentional summer sabbatical is almost over....

Thanks for the encouragement (?) to start blogging again. I had never really intended to stop!!... but the summer took a VERY busy turn! Anyway.... I kept a few things in mind and even jotted a few funny conversations with my kids to catch back up. So the summer summary....


1. We committed to working with the college group from Memorial for the summer. A highlight for us was 2 hours each Monday night spent with about 15 kids who wanted to study more on how to become leaders. It was challenging, encouraging and refreshing! What an amazing group... it encourages me for God's kingdom!


2.My husband's younger brother, Aaron moved from Ohio to live with us this summer before heading to AIM for the fall. - Wow. We've always loved him... but it was fun getting to know him all over again as an adult. He impressed and blessed us. And little did we know that God intended to use Aaron to address many of the hopes we had for the college group. It's amazing to watch our God work. He was a blessing to our family and this became a special summer because he was here. We seriously miss him already!

3. My husband's other brother, Jeremy, and his wife Jessica, and daughter Elizabeth, moved to Tulsa, and moved in with us until they bought a house.
How exciting to have them here! We are thrilled. God opened amazing doors for jobs and a house... making their transition quicker than I had ever dared to hope for. They lived with us for about a month.

With both brothers and family, the house was full and hopping with activity... but it was a special and unique time that I doubt will ever happen again....and I can honestly say I treasured every moment with them! Aaron's in Lubbock, and Jeremy & Jessica are now getting settled into their new home, but come this fall...we may get to have the whole family ( including Jason's youngest brother, sister in law and nieces, together for Thanksgiving. This will be a first that I can remember, so I'm thrilled at the possibility!

3. VACATION! The crazy summer was brought (nearly) to a close by a wonderful vacation in Destin, Florida.

We went with some dear friends... and it was wonderful! We sometimes ask our kids what the "highs" and "lows" of their day was... so I'll share a few of those for our vacation time....

LOWS:

Julia throwing up massively about 5 minutes before we left the house. Undeterred, we loaded the car and left. She continued to throw up about every hour, despite stopping in Russellville and then Conway for Rxs, (sorry we didn't call you Dusty...) until we finally stopped in Memphis, TN. At one point Eli was throwing up at the same time. Somehow I managed to keep the car completely clean. I was impressed with myself. That was probably a "HIGH" for me. :-) I'm a pro with baggies now....

Also, I got stung by a jellyfish. What's funny was that it was on the inside of my thigh, and it was painful enough that for a day I couldn't walk comfortably or gracefully.... My mother-in-law told Jason last night she heard you were supposed to "pee" on jellyfish stings to inactivate the poison. I'd say I wish I knew that then... but somehow I think I would've just put up with it anyway. :-)

HIGHS:

No phones or email for a week... no "to do" lists... no makeup or fixing my hair....

Homemade Strawberry shortcake almost every night, AFTER the kids went to bed!

Swimming every day... naps every day...

Going to beach, enjoying the view and the sounds, then, after getting hot and sandy, coming back and jumping into the cool clean pool to swim for another hour!

a spectacular lightening storm one night!

our kids enjoying each others' company so much that they wanted to have a "sleepover" together... even though they were already on vacation together!

Eli lost his first tooth!

We not only 'remained' friends through the week... we enjoyed and were thoroughly blessed by the whole time together!

Overall it was a wonderful time and a HUGE blessing... really the first "major" vacation that I can think of that we have ever taken - purely for the sake of relaxing, with no agendas. It makes me appreciate more why God called us to rest at times.

***

Well... I have in front of me a stack of 7 papers on which I have jotted notes or conversations to eventually blog... but I think I'll save those. The summer is not quite over.. we have a busy weekend , school begins next week ( and my baby is off to Kindergarten!), and then a garage sale to plan for next weekend... but after that, things should slow down. I'll save my cute stories for then... and won't take so long to get back!

I'll leave you with this Julia-ism: (with me while grocery shopping):

"Mom... we have to get some freezing dinners. We are all out of freezing dinners at home."