etc...

1. My mom is in Russia right now...She has been there 3 weeks, she will be home in another 2. We are missing her so much. The boys are talking about her all the time these days. These trips always increase our appreciation for her and all she does. We are so thankful she is ours.

2. The other night Benjamin could not stop coughing, I gave him a breathing treatment and he was still coughing (he does this instead of wheezing). I started to panic (a combination of sleep deprivation and great concern) and I guess I started to pray...because all of the sudden Benjamin sat up and said, "can you talk to God quieter please...I am really tired."

3. Because I was concerned I just sat by the wall by his bed and watched him sleep. I thought he was sound asleep when he opened his eyes and said, "Is it going to bother you if I suck my thumb?"

4. My boys are both very detail oriented (just like their dad, nothing like their mom) they can always tell me where my keys are, where my brown shoes are, while I am scrambling they walk right to where something is and get it for me. I love this. I love it that Payton asks daily, "Mom are you sure you have your wallet?" I guess we have gone to walmart one too many times and then returned home for my wallet for his liking. I am used to their checklists for me and even appreciate them...I did laugh out loud on Friday when we were piling out of the car at the Dr.s office and Benjamin said, "Mom, did you remember your skirt?" the scary thing is I actually looked down to make sure...I want to assure everyone that though I have left my wallet many places along with numerous other things...I have never gone anywhere without my skirt (or pants)on.

5.The other day as we were walking into the gym Payton was dragging behind. I turned around and said, "Please hurry." He looked at me and said, "you have no idea how good it would feel for me to just lay on the couch with my eyes closed...20 minutes thats all I ask."

6. The other day we stopped for donuts and while we were there Benjamin started to throw a fit. I picked him up to say something when Payton said, "Benjamin, do you have any idea how disappointing it is when I try to do something special for you and you act like this...it makes me so sad." It is has become obvious to me that Payton is direct quoter.

7. Our boys favorite new show is America's Funniest Home Videos...I have discovered (the hard way) that both boys must empty their bladders before they watch this show...because a person falling out of a tree really is THAT funny.

8. Today I was explaining a situation to Payton that I was hoping, in the future, he could handle differently than he had in the past. He was listening so well and saying yes maam at the appropriate times so I thought we were tracking together...until the end when I stopped and he said, "mom, I am five years old, I know my primary colors, everything you just said I already know." Needless to say, at that point, we took a new turn with a different type of discipline....even though I was impressed he knew his primary colors...I chose to acknowledge that at a later point.

9. The boys and I have been talking a lot about how everything was created to reflect God's glory...This has lead to some great conversations and lots of laughter for all of us...As we discuss: Can a rock praise God? Can babies praise God? Can trees praise God? All of these they used to answer no to. Now we talk about how God's Word actually tells us that they can. That everything He created shouts praise to Him. That even when we sit still and quiet we declare His glory.We have had fun talking about these things as they say, "Look at that Taco Bueno just sitting there declaring God's glory." Obviously its a thought process we are working on, but as I hear myself talking about it with them I find myself thinking a lot about how thankful I am for the Lord...and for His creation that shouts...We have been praying as a family that those who don't know Him and those who do would hear those cries of glory...of the leaves changing, of the breeze blowing, of the sun shining...Its made a difference lately the in the way I look at things.

10. A while back my brother and I were driving around on the ranch when He pointed to a speck across the canyon and said, "See that group of deer running?" I did not until I looked through binoculars. I was impressed and asked how he can spot things like that. He explained how he has trained his eye to look for movement against a still landscape so that now from a great distance he can see an animal breathing, the flick of an ear, the turn of a head. It's a talent he has because he spent years training his eyes.

I have thought about this a lot in the spiritual sense...about how I have to train my eyes to look for the movement of God. Its a discipline I am trying to practice. We have several prayers that we are praying daily these days that require this discipline. We are not seeing any movement. Some of these prayers would require a miracle, others seem like they should be so easy for the Lord. (I recognize they are all easy for the Lord.)I feel like my eyes are in an actual squint as I trace the horizon of my life and the lives of others I am praying for, begging the Lord for a flicker of movement...and so we wait and know He hears...and that He is moving even if its invisible to my eyes. We wait in hope.

11. Here are the latest in the boys indoor baseball playing. Tony, undaunted by broken picture frames, has resumed their indoor batting practice. The other night as we watched the Yankee/Indian game while on commercial break from the Cowboys...Benjamin said "I can bat like those guys...everyone of them looks at the picture (how he says pitcher) and make this face....
href="">Payton prefers the happier look of baseball.