Coming soon...

...more pictures from the beach. This one will have to suffice for now as a preview of what's to come.

Get ready for some good pics because the beach is an amazingly beautiful place, my husband is an extremely talented photographer, and I happen to believe that my family is pretty good picture taking material.

Motivation

It's been another hard day.

But this awaits, so it's all okay.

one of those days

I love these boys.

But today is one of those days that I really needed this encouragement from the Mother of Boys blog (written by guest blogger David Thomas, author of Wild Things):

"I think we’d all agree the world is short on strong and tender, courageous and humble, emotionally healthy, relationally committed, spiritually rooted men. What a privilege and responsibility we’ve been given to contribute to that shortage.

The next time you feel weary in this journey (maybe ten minutes from now), I would challenge you to ask God to give you a picture of who your son is becoming. Pray for attentiveness to see those moments when you are getting glimpses of the man he will be and for the courage to call that out and affirm him. Ask for the ability to enjoy the unique way he was designed and to steward him toward being all of who God made him to be. Pray for gratitude and wonder. And enjoy the wild, adventurous, sometimes complicated, mysterious, laughter-filled, frustrating, imaginative, passionate journey of raising a son."

Strangers

We read a book the other day about strangers and talked about what Mr. Mister should do if a stranger tries to talk to him, offer him a ride, etc. Ever since then, he asks us all the time to tell him stories about strangers. Usually we say something like, "If you're playing at the pool (or park, backyard, Bass Pro, etc.) and a stranger says, Little boy, do you want to come for a ride with me what should you do?"

So the other night, as Daddy was tucking him in for bed, Mr. Mister said, "Daddy, if you're at the pool and a stranger says Big man, do you want to come for a ride with me, what should you do?"

We cracked up at him saying big man in place of little boy. I just love watching him make connections as he figures out this world!

Little Fish

Mr. Mister has been a fish this summer. No matter how long he's been in the pool, he never wants to get out. He loves to jump in over and over and over and the vest he wears helps him be able to swim by himself. He even jumped in without it once and swam a little ways before needing help. I have it on video but couldn't get it to upload. Bummer. Anyway, it's been a summer full of swimming and I'm sure his brother will follow suit next summer! For now, he's just getting his feet wet. (pun intended)

More Summer Fun

Here are a couple more pictures from our weekend at Grandma and Papa's.

He caught his first fish! He did it all by himself with his Spiderman fishing pole. The first of many more, I'm sure!

Playing in the creek with his uncle. They're buddies.

Getting a little grandma time.

The oldest and the youngest people at the family reunion!

Summer Fun

Loving summer at the lake...

Pond Fest

A highlight of our fun 4th of July weekend was Pond Fest. Every other summer, our friends host a big 4th of July party at their house with a pretty amazing fireworks show. We didn't stay late enough for the fireworks this year, but we had tons of fun hanging out and watching Mr. Mister enjoy the pond.

This is my BFF since 6th grade. Her parents host the party.

Showing off the "big fish" he caught!

Going for a ride.

Going for another ride.

....Life at the pond is good...

Or it was. Until this happened.

On our way out, we stopped in the bathroom to have Mr. Mister wash his hands. For some reason, instead of drying them when he was done, he decided to hang on the towel rack. He pulled it right out of the wall, leaving a pretty big hole! That's drywall in his hair!

He carried the towel, still on the towel rack, to the homeowners and said, "Sorry I hung on this."

Good thing we have known them for 18 years. They laughed and were very gracious in not allowing us to feel bad about it. Oh, Mr. Mister. There's never a dull moment with you!

Look!

I learned to smile!

That's my mama I'm looking at!

Summer Cuties

love them.

Who needs fingers and toes anyway?

Poor Mr. Mister had a rough day today.

10:30am - Opens a heavy door into his foot, pushing back his big toenail. Blood and everything.

11:30am - Gets his hand in the way of the closing trunk! Thankfully, no broken bones. A mommy kiss and some books made it feel better.

2:00pm - Closes his finger in his bedroom door. Lots of tears but nothing serious.

Hopefully he got all of his injuries out of the way today and we can have a fun, injury free holiday weekend!