Happy 1/11/11!

On Sunday morning, our family missed going to church for the second week in a row. Caleb had been coughing, and we didn't want to risk getting the other kiddos in his classroom sick. But, we were grateful to Grandma for agreeing to watch the boys at her house that night so we could go to life group. They enjoy playing in her finished basement! We enjoyed having time as a adults with friends. Our evening included a video by a guy (whose name escapes me at the moment) describing a day when he, his wife and his son were shopping at the mall. His son desperately wanted a toy that wouldn't be good for him, and he threw a fit right there at the kiosk, saying "but I thought you loved me!" The father scooped up his two-year-old and took him to the car as he was kicking and screaming. But, the parents knew that they were heading across the street to the sporting goods store, which they had already been planning to do. There, they let the little boy pick out his own kickball, and the little boy was thrilled! The point of the message was that God is the giver of all good gifts, and there are times we think that we want something - to the point that we're upset with God - when He has something even better in store for us. As a group we went around and discussed the questions that were included with the video. It was a good reminder that God has good plans for us (Jeremiah 29:11), and we don't always see the bigger picture.

On Monday, my original plans were to take the boys to the mall to get Caleb's pictures that we had missed on Friday. But, he was still schnarky, so I called and rescheduled. Instead, Caleb fell asleep in my arms, and I played the 'question' game with Joshua. Cousin Jordon had given us a "Brain Quest" a long time ago that said it was for 5-6 year-olds that was to give children a 'smart start.' When we got it, it was a little too old for the Bean, but I pulled it out as we were reorganizing toys over the weekend, and I used that day to ask the first set of questions to Joshua. I was sincerely impressed that he knew 99% of the answers! The ones that he typically got wrong were dealing with money. I haven't taught him the value of the various types of coins, so he didn't know which ones would add up to 6 cents or would pay for a 35 cent toy, etc. But, the rest he did really well with. I was surprised. He enjoyed the questions game, and took it with him to bed when it was time for him to nap. We continued with the same theme into the evening, so Monday night was family game night at our house. We played Memory as a family, Dominoes, Chutes & Ladders, etc. The kids had a great time!

This date also started a week of palindromes. Each date would be read the same forward or backward. :)

I had been looking forward to Tuesday, January 11 for a long time. I recognized it as being 1/11/11, and I had scheduled a babysitter for that evening so Shawn & I could go out and celebrate (after all, 111 is a special number to me). It was also the start of the women's Bible study. But, the morning didn't go my way at all. Caleb was coughing so hard that he started vomiting. I called my sister, who thankfully took the Bean to preschool and brought him home. She also picked up my materials for me, but I hadn't gotten to go and participate that morning. Caleb was feeling better, but I wasn't sure if we'd get to go out or not. I was feeling a little bummed in general.

But, Grandpa Georgia said he didn't mind the cold that Caleb had so long as he wasn't still throwing up. He also said he didn't mind that the weather was calling for half a foot of snow that night. So, he came over anyway. And while Caleb was extremely pale, he did fine with Grandpa and ate some waffles for dinner (rather than the pizza I made for Joshua & Dad to eat). My husband brought home a beautiful bouquet of roses with him and we went to Carrabbas right down the street with my gift card from Christmas. While the roads were slick (Shawn slid once in the mile home), they were passable. We also ran into our next door neighbors at the restaurant. Great minds think alike! When we got home, the boys said "Daddy, Daddy, it's snowing! Merry Christmas!" We laughed. Silly guys! They were well behaved for Grandpa, who also slid on his way home. After the boys were in bed, Shawn & I started watching the second Narnia movie "Prince of Caspian." I am blessed to have such a wonderful husband. And I'm thankful to Grandpa for watching the boys and the boys for letting us go out and have a night to enjoy! Happy 1/11/11!