Busy, Busy, Busy

The past few weeks have just flown by. I have lots of material to blog about, but no time to do it!

One funny item from each of the boys:

TJ--The other night we lost power after a storm. When we lose power, it almost always means a solid 24 hours before it is restored. One of the first things we did was remind the boys that when the power is out, it means we have no water, so they can't flush the toilet after every use. However, the nice thing about summer is the pool is filled with 7,000 gallons of water. As Bill was cautioning the boys about water conservation, I excitedly pointed out to Bill that there was lots of water in the pool to use in the toilets. TJ looked horrified and said, "We have to pee in the pool?!" We laughed and explained that Daddy was just going to fill buckets of water from the pool to flush the toilets with.

The down side of that method is you wind up with leaves and feathers in the toilet!

Sam--Sam has just been full of it lately. He still spends most of his time outside, watching our sprinklers or checking to see which neighbors are watering their lawns. Today, it was his turn to come grocery shopping with me (this is a big deal for the boys and they thoroughly enjoy one-on-one shopping with Mom). He chattered non-stop through the store, making all sorts of wise observations. Toward the end of our trip, I stopped and picked up a twin pack of charcoal (2 20-pounds bags wrapped together. It was about as much as I could manage on my own). Sam watched me struggling to stick the bags in the bottom of the cart and observed, "Mom, tonight would be a good night to cook on the girl." It becomes extremely difficult to maneuver bags of charcoal when you are laughing. Later, as we were checking out, Sam once again referred to the grill as the 'girl'. Poor girl!

Nolan--Nolan also has been full of it lately. He is very dramatic and loves to put on a show. He was in the pool with TJ for awhile tonight, and he was the first one I plucked out to get ready for bed. I wrapped him up in his towel and carried him upstairs. He looked like a cute blue bean, so I said, "Are you my bean?" He said, "No! I'm a berry!" That's a strange response, so I repeated it. "You're my berry?" At that point, he gave me the 'Mom, you are so dumb' look, and said "NO! I'm your baby!" Oh. Maybe Mommy's ears don't work so well...

Bill and I got a rather exciting letter in the mail on Friday. It was from Cookie Speet, the director of children's ministries at church, informing us that TJ made a first-time commitment to Christ at Vacation Bible School this week. Bill and I weren't totally shocked. When we've read the Bible and had discussions around the dinner table, TJ does seem to grasp the basic concept of salvation. It was just exciting to hear that he's ready to take that understanding and commitment public. I'm so proud of him!