Go Huskers!

Last weekend we had some friends over to watch the first Husker game of the season. The kids enjoyed the nice weather and played outside with only a few minor injuries (i.e. getting poked in the eye with an American flag).....and then spent the rest of the night in the basement playing "camp out" with flashlights...it is so fun to see the kids playing together and having fun!

Top to bottom: Madden, Parker, Hailey, Austin, Sage.

Broccamole

I was feeding Owen the other day and Parker exclaims, "Mommy, is Owen eating Broccamole?"

You know, Broccamole....it is a mixture of broccoli and guacamole. But it wasn't broccamole, it was peas...

And he is eating lots so he can try and keep up with Parker. He crawls like a crazy man and on Saturday I caught him crawling up the stairs! Lord help me!

That is my excuse for not blogging for a whole month....I forgot how much work it is to chase around a crawling 7 month old!

Pictures Schmictures....

I am not a scrapbooker/keepsake type of person.....I don't like clutter....I am annoyed by things that are useless but meaningful so you can't throw them away (i.e. wedding albums, scrapbooks, etc.).... so I haven't had alot of professional pictures taken of the boys. Honestly the last time I had Parker's picture taken was when her turned one. So I decided about a month ago that we should get some pictures taken so I can replace the picture hanging in the living room of Parker with a picture of Parker and Owen.....well, that and Sean was dying for a chance to get in front of a camera! HA! 

Anyway, I got the picture CD today and thought I would share some of my favorites....

If you are dying to see more go to www.kparrphotography.com....and you will have to email me jablott@yahoo.com to get the password :).....

wow...

Owen turned 6 months old on the 19th....I am not sure where the time has gone. I finally took some pics of him today since I haven't for awhile. He is just so cute! He is army crawling and working on sitting up....and he learned a new trick on our trip....he now takes a pacifier! Hooray!

And please don't tell Parker that Owen was touching his dump truck....

Swimming Lessons

This is the first day. Soooooo excited to go to swimming lessons!

Sitting on the edge and listening the teacher....

The next day at lessons, Rebekah decided to cry and Parker also had a hard time getting into the water....The third day Parker threw a fit when we got there and Rebekah refused to do anything.....She ended up not coming back, and Parker decided it wasn't so bad and finished the week out. He did get more brave everyday! I was so proud of him....

Here he is in his life jacket today before he jumped into the deep water! 

He was so proud of himself!

And the last 5 minutes of lessons they get to play on the slides.

When I asked Parker what his favorite part of swimming lessons was he says, "Oh, just the talking part." Oh, my....yes, he does have a lot to say and even if he doesn't know the answer to the question, he makes one up so he can talk.

Next week we will not be able to go to lessons because we are going on vacation to the Lake of the Ozarks.....I am disappointed he will miss lessons, but soooooo excited to get out of town with Sean and the boys for a whole week!!!! I'm off to do some major packing and praying.....8 hours in the car is going to require lots of patience :)! I will update you when we get home from our trip!

Sprinkler Park

Today it was HOT! For the first time it actually felt like it was summer.....our playgroup met at the sprinkler park this morning and the kids had a blast! 

The moms take turns watching the kids and working out and I will just say that my head nearly exploded while I was running! When I got back to the sprinkler park it was all I could do to keep myself from standing under the big bucket that dumped water on your head.....I did resist the urge and maintained my composure as much as possible....You know, just guzzling water and laying in the shade crying....

Owen was cool as a cucumber and napped in his stroller most of the morning.....and when he woke up he made sure not to crack a smile....sooooo serious Owen!

And Parker spent most of his time climbing the large, might I add HOT and dangerous, rock that was beside the sprinkler pad. Seriously, whose idea was it to put this rock right next to a large slab of wet pavement? Who would put something like this next to the sprinkler park? What 3-year-old boy could resist? 

Anyway.....we had a great time and I can't wait to go again.....minus the running 3 miles in 92 degrees.....

Oh, and when we got to the park there was an older boy riding his scooter through the sprinklers and Parker says, "Mom, you didn't tell me this was a SCOOTER sprinkler park!?!?" Ha!

$198.00

I do a pretty good job of living in a bubble. I take care of my kids, clean the house, do laundry, play at the park, spend time with friends and family, go to the local grocery store....you get the picture.....and I like it. I like to pretend we live in a world of peace, calm and cleanliness and no swine flu :). I like to keep my head buried in the sand, as DEEP as I can....but yesterday was different.

My sister-in-law, mother-in-law, the boys and I went to G.I. because I needed some stuff at Sam*s Club and we decided to head to the mall for a little bit....we walked into a store and there were jeans priced at $198.00 and I became ill....literally sick to my stomach, have to leave the store, want to go home, type of ill. I became fearful of the world Parker and Owen will grow up in....

Yes, I know not all jeans are $198.00. No, there is nothing inherently evil about $198.00 jeans. It was just such a shock to me to think that there is that kind of value placed in a piece of clothing....with HOLES in them no less! Yeah, I am probably starting to sound like a crazy old woman, but I don't care because the Lord spoke such truth to me through this experience as I prayed about it last night.

He reminded me that as Christians we will look different....we must. And not in the "I am so nice and don't swear and go to church on Sundays" kind of way. We will look different...and the more ugly the world gets the more different we must look if we are seeking Him. 

Fear and anxiety began creeping in.....

"But Lord, I don't want my kids to look so different that others won't like them. I want them to fit in and be accepted and well-liked. "

Really? Does that really matter? Is that really a priority? What does this say about my heart?

I am still processing what it looks like and am thankful I have some years to gain wisdom and understanding before I am faced with these issues in my children. BUT, I must begin to pray for courage.....

Courage to make the choice to be different even when it isn't comfortable. Courage to go against the "norm". Courage to choose Christ above all else. Courage to stand for what I believe when I am not in my bubble.....

$198.00......seriously, that is like 10 cases of diapers, enough food to feed our Compassion International child for 6 months.....I mean the sales tax on that pair of jeans is more than I would spend on a pair of jeans (without holes!)....