Aunt Sally Rockin' with Tommy

On our beach vacation, Sally and Tommy made up a dance.  I don't remember what song they used, but it was absolutely adorable.  TDA served her well!  No wonder Tommy loves his aunt so much! (PS, sorry I can't get the pictures any bigger, but you get the idea)

A Calling

I just read this great post and it made me think.  And realize how often I lose sight of what I've been called to do.  I'm not saying I'm a bad mother (though I felt that way when I was eating my breakfast and looked up to see Ty climbing out of his high chair and crawling over the back of it).  But I'm quick to lose my temper.  Or just get annoyed. 

I've been reminded to show my boys that I'm totally present with them.  That's really hard in an age of cell phones, tweets, and online everything.  The other day when we were at a museum downtown, I went to pull out my cell phone to see if I had missed any calls while we were in the elevator and Tommy grabbed my hand and said, "Mommy, no!  Please stop being on your phone!"  I hadn't used my phone the whole time we were there, but it reminded me of how often I do make phone calls in the car or other "downtimes", when those are really the perfect opportunities to engage with my almost-five-year-old (that's how old he is if you ask him.  He's completely stopped saying he's four).

I try to cultivate relationships with friends who don't know Christ, and I need to continue to do so, but I also need to be constantly reminded that the two people I have the most influence on, possibly ever, live in the rooms down the hall from me.  And tomorrow morning they'll wake me up before I'm ready.  And I need to show them the gospel.

I'm preparing the coffee pot now.

Tommy and Mommy Time

The last four weeks have been wonderful.  It's been a whirlwind first half of summer and I can't believe that it's already winding down.  I'm not going to try to catch you up on what we've been up to, or even throw a bunch of pictures up.  Just know that it's been great.

But today was extra special for me.  I've been wanting to so something with just Tommy for quite some time, because I realized that we haven't had "Tommy and Mommy time" outside of the house without Ty since, well, since Ty was born.  So earlier this week I worked it out for Ty to spend the afternoon with MeMe while Tommy and I went to see the movie "Winnie the Pooh".  It was great.  I may or may not have cried a little before the opening credits when they showed the Disney castle with the fireworks shooting out of it.  And I also may have shed a tear or two in the preview of the movie "Chimpanzee" that will be out next year.  But that's all besides the point.

Tommy and I had an awesome afternoon together watching "Winnie the Pooh".  I was able to reminisce about watching it as a child and Tommy was able to experience it for the first time.  And on the whole way home, Tommy talked about the movie, asked questions, and decided to use his own stuffed animals to create adventures (which he already does) and make a movie of it.  That was so worth paying $5 for a small drink.