Swim Lessons

The last two weeks I have been taking Madeline to swim lessons at the Morrisville Aquatics and Fitness Center.  Though timid the first week, she did great.  Then the second Monday hit. We had drama before we even got out the house door and into the car.  I reassured her as best I could and we prayed together.  Though she did not want to get into the pool, she did.  Just as the swim lesson was starting I whispered in her ear that I was proud of her.  BIG mistake.  The tears started to flow, the sobs began, and she began exiting the pool.  What was I to do? Immediately I comforted her, and then tried to coax her back into the water.  This was met with greater sobs.  My mind was frantic--at this point Ryan had climbed up a flight of stairs and I could not see him, and I was not sure how to handle this situation with Madeline.  I did not want her to think that if she cried, she was able to "get out of" swim lessons, but I also wanted to acknowledge and reassure her real fear of swimming.  Finally, after sitting in the water with her for 10 minutes, I told her that she needed to sit on the steps through the lesson even if she did not do anything.  I then went back to my seat a few feet away (of course, after I retrieved Ryan from the upper deck).  The mom next to me then told me that she told her son that if he tried his best each week, she would take him out for ice cream at the end of the week. Desperate, I went to Madeline and gave her the same incentive.  Immediately she began participating.  I'm still not sure I feel right about having done this. . .actually, I know I don't feel right about having done this.  I don't want to teach my children to perform for the sake of external reward.  Next time I hope to be better prepared to help her through a situation that elicits fear.

So, $50 later, Madeline is really great at putting her whole head under the water, doing the back float, and swimming with a kick board.  I am so proud of her because she really did try her hardest.  Well. . .guess what Ryan does today.  Swims. . .no lessons, no nothing.  After watching his friend Jackson jump into the pool from the edge and watching his friend Ty swim with his face under water, Ryan does the same thing.  And not only does the boy jump off the side of the pool, he does forward flips, belly flops, and side ways dives (all of which ended after Mommy had a conversation with him. . .his head was almost coming into contact with the concrete edge).  My biggest heart attack was when he asked me to take his floaties off. . .by the time I had turned my body to put the floaties down on the edge of the pool, he had gotten out of the water and jumped back in without any flotation device.  Thankfully he popped right up.  From that point on, I stuck to him like glue.  

Isn't true that when children are ready to do something, they do it naturally (not always, but often).

I'm so grateful for my sweet babies.

Last Week of Breaking Free

If you are looking for a Bible study that will draw you near to the Lord and challenge you to look more like Jesus, please consider Breaking Free by Beth Moore.

Here are some truths that spoke to me this final week:

"We are never more beautiful portrayals of mortals who know and believe God than when others can look at our lives, hear out testimonies, and say, 'It is true'."

How true these words are.  I yearn to one day be this mortal.  There are a handful of people I think of when I read this statement.  The person who comes to mind most vividly is my high school Latin teacher, Alice Guppy (there was only 1 in my high school, so I had her for 4 years).  From the moment I met her, I knew there was something different about her.  She was filled with joy, had great peace, genuinely loved her students, although she had her own children, and enforced justice.  Mrs. Guppy was my first glimpse of Jesus and she will forever be etched in my heart.  I can say about her, 'It is true'.   

"Without doubt, the more you know God, the more you want to know God.  The more time you spend with Him, the more you will yearn for Him.  The opposite is also true".

Wow.  Why do I ever choose not to spend time with Him???  I hope to one day say that I yearn for Him daily, hourly, and momentarily.

"People who know God well want God well-known.  No one has to force a person who is intimately acquainted with God to be a living witness.  Those who truly know His Name (and all it implies) always want his fame".

What a great gauge for where I am in my relationship with Christ.  Do I want His fame at all times?  Am I always a living witness?  Do I want God well-known?

OBEDIENCE to God's Word results in RIGHTEOUSNESS, which results in PEACE and JOY.

"The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me, because the Lord has anointed me to preach good news to the poor.  He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn, and provide for those who grieve in Zion--to bestow on them a CROWN of BEAUTY instead of ashes, the OIL OF GLADNESS instead of mourning, and a GARMENT OF PRAISE instead of a spirit of despair.  They will be called OAKS OF RIGHTEOUSNESS, a PLANTING OF THE LORD for the DISPLAY OF HIS SPLENDOR.  They will rebuild the ancient ruins and restore the places long devastated; they will renew the ruined cities that have been devastated for generations".  Isaiah 61: 1-4

Tagged

Was tagged by Jen J.  Here are the rules:

1) Answer the questions using only one word.

2) Tag four others.

Where is your cell phone? purse

Your significant other? bald

Your hair? thin

Your mother? strong

Your father? smart

Your favorite thing? Bible

Your dream last night? hmmmmmm?

Your favorite drink? dr. pepper

The room you're in? bedroom

Your hobby? running

Your fear? sharks

Where do you want to be in 6 years? wiser

What you're not? adventuresome

Muffins? bran

One of your wish list items? elliptical

Where you grew up? Virginia

Last thing you did? email

Favorite gadget? gps

Your pets? bugs

Your computer? awesome

Your mood? sober

Missing someone? mom

Your car? minivan

Favorite store? Borders

Like someone? Roxann

Your favorite color? yellow

Last time you laughed? tonight

Last time you cried? tonight

I tag. . .Tara D. , Megan S., Katie S., Amanda P.

Fun Times with the Neighbors

By far, the best thing about our neighborhood is the neighbors. Every once in a while, the ladies like to get together on Mondays or Tuesdays for the HT $2.50 subs. A couple Tuesdays ago, we got together for lunch and sat at the table and talked while the kids ran circles around us (and Keegan sat on Ms. Laura's lap).

Here are Lancy, Maddie, Chase and Ryan, sitting together on the floor eating Chex Mix. They left a great pile of crumbs on the floor, but they had a great time!

Given their track record with the crumbs, they ate their popsicles outside. Chase, Madeline and Conor played so well together.

Ryan has never met a desert he did not like, or try to stuff into his mouth.

Lancy opens the spider box. He actually scared his older brother, Chase, by having him open it (and the spider "jumped" out. . .).

Madeline and Ryan genuinely LOVE the Brister boys. It is rare for a day to pass without the kids getting together or begging Roxann and me to get them together. Their favorite activity is jumping on the trampoline after dinner. This past Wednesday was Lancy's birthday and Madeline and Ryan were so excited to make a cake for Lance. Ryan sprinkled the cake with Skittles and Jimmies, and Madeline very carefully placed icing circles on every inch of the cake.

My Honey's Deal

Matt has done it again. I never cease to be amazed at his ability to get a deal. We were searching for a TV for our bedroom, but we did not want to spend too much money (the TV we had in our room, which was from Matt's childhood days, finally died). There was a TV advertised on Craigslist for $100. Via email, Matt asked the seller if he would be willing to sell it for $50. The seller said yes. When Matt went over to pick the TV up, he noticed that there were slight discolorations on the top corners of the TV, and the TV did not have a remote. Matt then told the seller that he would have to think about it and just stood there for a few minutes trying to decide if it was worth $50 (it's a 27" Sony Triniton). I guess that made the seller feel uncomfortable, because he then told Matt that he would take $20 since it had been in his car for 3 months and was missing the remote. And guess what, the Sony remote we have at home works on the TV we just bought!!! Thanks honey, for getting us another deal!

Breaking Free with Beth Moore

I should be in bed, as I'm meeting some ladies to run in less than 6 hours, but. . .I love the study I am currently doing and wanted to share some bits that have really pricked my heart and/or convicted me.  This is from Beth Moore's Breaking Free:

-. . ."belief is not a feeling.  It's a choice.  We may live many days when we don't feel loved or lovely; but in spite of our emotions, we can choose to take God at His Word".

-"Why do we have such difficulty believing God could love those we perceive as good and those we perceive as bad with the same unfailing love?  Because we relentlessly insist on trying to humanize God.  We tend to love people according to how they act, and we keep trying to re-create God in our image."

-". . .the Word of God uses the phrase "unfailing love" 32 times, and not once is it attributed to humans.  Every single use of the phrase refers to God and God alone.  As rich as the love others can extend, only God's love is unfailing".  

Why then do I continually look to others to love me unfailingly and then become disappointed when they do not???  I must no longer have unrealistic expectations of my husband, friends, and family, but I must begin looking to my Lord and Savior, for the unfailing love I often yearn for.  By coming to the Lord to fulfill this need, not only will I draw nearer to Him, I will also strengthen and deepen relationships with family and friends.

The Lord is so good to give us His Word and godly teachers to spur us on to godliness!  Thank you Beth Moore for spurring me on.

Surfside Beach

Before I begin, I must give all the credit to my photographer. . .Courtney Windley. For those of you who read Jackson's blog, you may feel like this is deja vu. All of the below pictures were taken by Courtney. Thank you friend! My camera's battery died when we arrived in South Carolina and I had neglected to pack the charger.

Though we had every intention of making it to Surfside Beach by 10am on Wednesday, we ended up not leaving Wake County until after 10am. As Matt walked out the door to pack the car at 7am, he realized that his car and house keys were missing from his key chain. We searched for about an hour and a half before giving up (thankfully, our neighbor found the keys in our front yard while we were away). Then, as we were about to head out the door, Ryan catapulted himself off the couch. The back of his head landed with a thud on the edge of the coffee table. Blood immediately started gushing. Because of his hair and the pain he was feeling, it took a LONG time for us to get a good look at the wound to assess whether or not we needed to make a trip to Urgent Care (thankfully we did not). At 9:30 we finally made it out of the house, but because we were down one set of keys, we had to visit our neighborhood Lowes Hardware store to make copies of our house and car keys.

Once we made it down 95 and arrived at Southside Beach, we had a wonderful vacation. Sweet Vera was a joy to be around and Jackson and Ryan were as happy as could be spending day after day together. Like Courtney said in her blog, the best part of the trip were our times of fellowship. Once our little ones were in bed we were able to play games, chat, and laugh together as adults. Though Matt and I knew we would be exhausted for staying up late each night, we determined it was worth every yawn and bout of exhaustion we would face the next day. We are so grateful for good friends.

Here's a little aside. . .it has been a long time since Matt and I have gamed together and unfortunately, our competitive spirits got the best of us in the 3rd round of Chinese Rummy on Friday night (Bobby and Lanie, you know how it is!!! :)). A contentious "buy" sparked the "spirits". In the car on the way home, we re-visited the "buy", and though the conversation began with much tension, we quickly moved on. It is funny that that which attracts us most to our spouses can also be that which causes us the most tension. I love Matt's competitive spirit and liveliness. . .BUT not when he attempts to steal a buy from me in a round of Chinese Rummy. :)

As an aside, the food was great! Boy did I learn a lot about Southern eating habits. Who knew that people SALT their watermelon, cantaloupe, and honey dew? Have you ever heard of a PIMENTO-CHEESE sandwich??? Did you know that people eat zucchini and okra fried? Forget that, do you even know what okra is? And all I can say about boiled peanuts is. . .DISGUSTING (thank you Mike for this experience)!

My sweetie enjoys a pool of water dug by her Daddy. This little girl and her daddy spent special time together at the beach. Two days in a row they hit the beach while Ryan (and I) napped. This girl might be a beach bum like her daddy. Don't worry Grandma. . .she was well SPFed the whole time. :)

The two buddies enjoy the sand. Actually, more than enjoying the sand, they enjoyed showering each other with sand.

The boys loved playing in the water. Jackson is so fun to watch. He loves the water washing over him and easily recovers when his head goes under. It is a joy to watch these boys play together, enjoying friendship at such young ages. And their enjoyment of the water allowed Courtney and me to have some good fellowship.

Really, this picture is uneventful, as I'm pulling Madeline on a boogie board. But since I'm rarely in pictures with the kids, I thought I would include this one.

Jackson graciously shared his floatie with Ryan, and Mr. Mike taught Ryan how to ride the waves. As you can see from the look on his face, Ryan LOVES wave riding.

Madeline was brave in her attempt to ride the waves, but she decided that she would rather collect sea shells and dance along the water line.

How funny is this??? Ryan is attempting, with all his might, to pull his friend Jackson. Though the picture is a still image, this activity produced NO motion (I don't think Ryan understands the laws of physics and mass, combined with the fact that Jackson weighs a few pounds more than him).

The beach is never complete without a trip for ice cream! The memorable part of this ice cream trip is that we drove in a golf cart to get there. Though I love sweet Jackson, he really put a crimp in my ice cream "style". I am usually able to sneak at least a quarter of Ryan's ice cream onto my own spoon, but not on this trip. Each time I made an attempt to "help" Ryan, Jackson informed me that it was Ryan's ice cream, not mine.

I cannot get enough of this sweet face and smile. I love my girl.

Jackson and Ry enjoy some down time at the end of the day. Isn't it sweet how they sit together!?

Oh, I almost forgot. . .our first night at Surfside we went miniature golfing. Courtney and I golfed with the kids. If I had known this would have been an aerobic activity, I would have skipped my run that morning. We ran after their balls, chased them down rocks, coaxed them away from ledges, and ran from one side of the hole to the other, supervising their shots and keeping them from going to the next hole, where people were playing. Though exhausted by the end of 18 holes, we had a great time. The kids were so cute with their plastic clubs.

One of the greatest things about our church is the love, interest and care everyone shares for the children. It is so special and unique and such a great earthly demonstration of God's love for children. Matt and I are continually overwhelmed and overjoyed by the love that our brothers and sisters at the Bridge shower upon our children. It is a great earthly blessing. We love that our children are growing up influenced and shaped by these special "family" members.