The Sandwich Jesus Made

Tommy and I were getting ready to eat sandwiches for lunch yesterday. I told him I needed to first change his diaper (nope, not potty trained yet) and then lunch would be ready. This was the conversation that followed:

Tommy: Mommy, who gives us our food?

Me (in a teachable moment): Well, Jesus gives us our food. That's why we thank him before we eat it.

Tommy: Jesus is making my sandwich now. He's gonna put it in the oven before I eat it.

I didn't really know how to respond to that one.

I'm Back!

I've actually been back for a few days, but I've been exhausted from traveling. Louisville was everything I was hoping it would be. I think I ate too much, but it was so worth it. We got to eat at all the restaurants we were hoping to, we got to sightsee a little, and we even caught an inning or two of a Bats game (as a side note, one of my very favorite things about going to Bats baseball games was "Dancin' Carl", who was about 65 years old in khaki shorts, tennis shoes, and a khaki button down shirt that had "Dancin' Carl" embroidered on the back. He would do a ridiculous dance to "Tootsee Roll" on the dugout. Sadly, he retired back in 2005 to become a full-time magician. True story).

I thoroughly enjoyed the Pastor's conference. We got to hear Francis Chan, who wrote Crazy Love (great book), Mike Huckabee, who played bass for the worship band after he finished speaking, and David Platt, pastor of The Church at Brook Hills, who was so amazing, I really can't describe him. I left that part very encouraged and challenged.

It was wonderful to get back and have Tommy wait up for us and run into my arms saying "Mommy!" Of course the next thing out of his mouth was "What did you bring me?" After I handed him the cars we had bought him, he happily went to bed and all has been well since then. It's good to be back.

Heading to the 'Ville

It's 11:09 and I'm feverishly packing for our trip to Louisville tomorrow for the Southern Baptist Convention (it's not as awful as it sounds). Rumor has it we're leaving at 6:30 in the morning... woo hoo! I am actually very excited about it. This is my fourth convention. The Pastor's Conference part is great and I kinda check out once the actual business part of the Convention occurs. But I'm really excited just to be back in Louisville for a few days. We're planning on having lunch Otto's downtown, which is in the hotel that I worked at. We'll be staying a couple nights with our good friends, the Smallwoods... always a good time. And no trip to Louisville is complete without visiting The Irish Rover, the Pie Kitchen, Graeter's Ice Cream (have to have their amazing chocolate chunks), and of course Claudia Sanders Dinner House for some fried chicken and incredible sides (mashed potatoes, anyone?). And I need to have a piece of Derby Pie while I'm up there too. Okay, I'm hungry now.

Tommy's already with MeMe and BeBe and he gets to spend the next few days with them eating ice cream every day, going to Chuck E Cheese, and all sorts of other secret things kids do with their grandparents.

I miss him already.

Some Things We're Working On This Summer...

Swim lessons with Jordan Cayson:


Hitting a ball off a tee (he's actually pretty good... Dean's so proud)


Potty training. We'll get there eventually.

Puppies, Puppies Everywhere!

Today we had lunch with my friend Danna and then afterward decided to go to her house to see her dog's litter of 5 week old puppies. They are so adorable and I think Dorsi needs a friend! Tommy had fun but was slightly overwhelmed.

Other cute puppy pics:

My Mom is so Tech Savvy...

This morning I was talking to my mom on the phone about her facebook account that she just discovered she had. She was wondering why someone would have messaged her to get my brother's phone number, rather than just call a few people to get my mom's phone number to call my mom to get his number (sounds easier, I know). Here was the conversation that ensued:

Me: "Mom, it's much easier to send a message on Facebook than to pick up the phone and call. Besides, lots of people have a Blackberry or something like it so they send and receive messages right from their phone"

Mom: "Well, I have blueberries and strawberries, not Blackberries."

Need a Cuppa Joe

This will be fueling me today.

I love being a mom. It is, without question, one of the best things that has ever happened to me. But then there are days like today. Let me back up. For a few months, Tommy had been sleeping until about 7:30 or 8:00 in the mornings. It was amazing. Yes, I was spoiled. Then he started waking up earlier and for the last few weeks has been up around 6:30 (I know if I'm watching the morning edition of "Between the Lions" then it's a bit too early for my liking). Yesterday he was ready to party at 5:45. I was really tired yesterday.

Today he came into our room earlier. Like 3:45 earlier. Are you kidding me?!? He wanted to sleep in our bed, which we've learned from experience is a really bad idea but when it's 3:45 you're not thinking clearly so we let him climb in between us. For the next two hours I had every little body part in my face, in my side, in my stomach, and I didn't sleep at all. I'm sure Dean didn't either. And apparently Tommy didn't either. When I was pretty sure he was sleeping, I picked him up to make the big transfer to his bed. And right when I laid him in bed he woke up and completely freaked out. It was 5:45 at this point and since we had done this yesterday, I figured we could do it again today.

So now we're both tired and grumpy. And I need more coffee.

Better Late Than Never

One of the things I'm learning about being the mom of a strong-willed two-year-old (or any two-year-old, for that matter) is the need for consistency and follow-through. Today I was trying to figure out what to do with Tommy since I had the entire day free (very rare occasion) and I decided he would love to go to the mall, play with the train set at the bookstore, and eat ice cream at Chick Fil A. Sounded like a good idea to me. It did to him too. Until I told him he had to clean up his toys first. At this he promptly threw himself on the floor and had a massive fit. I was really disappointed because I had my heart set on going to the mall and now realized I needed to stay home with my grumpy child. But never fear, lunch and naptime came swiftly and I caught a few winks while he slept too. Apparently we were both refreshed.

When I woke up, he was just getting up as well and was happily cleaning up his toys in his room. He was so excited to tell Dean that he was being "obedinint". So when he was done, I followed through and took him to the mall. And we had a great time. I even had a great picture to prove it but I can't get it off of my phone!

The Patient

I'm playing nurse today. Dean had to have his wisdom teeth removed this morning... all 4 (actually he originally had 5, but one was removed by the dentist a little while ago) and now he's sleeping peacefully. I'm not sure how good I am at this. Upon bringing him home, I freaked slightly when I saw his mouth dripping with blood. After I took care of yanking the gauze from his mouth and shoving new clean gauze in, I left him there bleeding and delirious because I had to go drop off his prescriptions. He's had to remind me twice to check the blood in his mouth and make sure it's slowing down a little. I'm thinking "Please don't bleed on our new couch!" Of course I haven't said this yet, but it's a thought I'm trying to push out of my head.

As the day goes on, I'm doing my best, but I realize that perhaps I was not cut out to be a nurse. Granted, I'm a mom so I guess it goes with the territory. But the upside of all of this is that I won't be making dinner tonight... we'll all be dining on smoothies and Frosty's!

Snips and Snails...

Tommy got a new gift from MeMe... a bug cage. Now I'm not the biggest fan of creepy crawly things, but when you have a little boy, you just have to go with it. So tonight after dinner we had our first "bug hunt". We walked down our street, bug cage in hand, looking for the little critters. Tommy would just stop periodically, put the cage on the ground and say in a sweet, inviting voice "Come in here, bugs!" So far none have voluntarily crawled in.

Now he's informed me that he doesn't touch bugs so Mommy can catch them and put them in there. Thanks MeMe.