I'm Not Gonna Brag....

Last night was the Father-Daughter dance at Tessa's school. I surprised her with a new dress to wear! It cost $7 at Once Upon a Child, but it was in perfect condition and who can resist gold and sparkly?

As per my last blog entry, Tessa has lost her two front teeth. And I was so glad to capture this very cute "kid" stage on camera. I wish you could hear her lisp.

I won't brag. Nope, won't do it. I won't go on and on relentlessly about how gorgeous and handsome these two people are. I won't bore you with a litany of lauds, an account of acclamations, or a series of sycophancies.

Suddenly, I'm feeling relieved of the pressure to brag...

Odds and Ends, but Mostly Odds

 The journey of a tooth (or two).....

First you have all:

Then you have minus one:

 Then you have minus two:

 After this, you're pretty much "in" with the tooth fairy.

Did you know that we got over 2 and 1/2 feet of snow?

We also were visited by Bella's unicorn cousin, Beatrice (and her plus one).

We got to go as a family to the Denver Stock Show rodeo. The kids were so excited they could hardly contain themselves.

Who really needs an excuse to wear plaid and cowboy boots?

Tessa has started sounding out messages and leaving them for us to find. This was stuck on her bedroom door the other day. It says "I am in here." Or I aminhere. I think she did a great job at her first attempt to spell aminhere. I mean, it's a hard word.

One thing worn, One thing Shared, One thing Gave Away

It is Sunday morning, and I am thankful for my jacket. Not my warm one. Because today's high is 55, and I am wearing a thin red corduroy jacket with a ruffle on the bottom. I love this jacket because it only cost $7 at TJMaxx, and it is sooooooo cute! I try not to preen or simper unattractively when I get compliments.

I shared a piece of my heart with Anthony today. It was harder than you might think. I had done something wrong. I had spoken of someone I know in a judgemental way. Just remembering my face as I spoke it makes my lip want to curl instinctively. I was proclaiming what "bothered" me about them. With lots of self-righteous indignation, I might add. Anthony wisely said nothing. He just listened. And then, this morning I walked into his Bible class on prayer and heard him read this:

^"9 To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everyone else, Jesus told this parable: ¹⁰ “Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. ¹¹ The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other people—robbers, evildoers, adulterers—or even like this tax collector. ¹² I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.’
¹³ “But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner.’
¹⁴ “I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.” (Luke 18:9-14)

And I was convicted in that piercing way that leaves you feeling sensitive and raw. Like new skin grown over a burn--not yet rough with life's using. I felt thankful and humbled. And later I shared this private heart-moment with Anthony on our walk. And I went home justified.

I gave away four quarters today. This small amount of money reflected as riches in my children's eyes. Well--in Jack's anyway. Our church has a worship segment called "Coins for Christ" where kids bring up money and drop it into buckets that goes to a few Compassion children. Seeing their excitement at being a part of something big never fails to make me feel grateful.

Sunrise Snuggles

I sit alone in the early morning quiet thinking big, deep thoughts until Jack stumbles into the kitchen and into my lap. His little body still smelling of sleep, his curls still warm from his cocoon of blankets. And he lays his head on my shoulder and his fingers twist in and out of my robe--something he has done with his blankets since he was very small. Like a cat kneading a blanket. And my deep thoughts--so wide before--are pulled into sharp focus. A pinpoint sized moment in my life is captured. And we sit together--frozen in time--me, so very thankful and he, drowsy with sleep and comfort. This. Thank you Lord today. Right now. For this.

Right here, Right now...

I received Ann Voskamp's book, One Thousand Gifts from my parents for Christmas. I already enjoy Ann's blog (www.aholyexperience.com) so I knew of her book. But I recently decided to try to take up the challenge of writing three things I am thankful for each day. She posts a guide for writing these gifts on her blog at the first of each month. My goal is to chronicle some of those 1000 gifts here. The goal--to be thankful and content right here, right now.

They call me Senor Chocolate Caliente

I Heart Fall

This was one of those beautiful Colorado Fall days. The sun was out, the breeze was gentle, and the temperature was in the mid to upper 60's. We decided a bike ride to the park would be fun.

 Where's Tessa, you ask? Wellllll.......She kinda sorta crashed. I saw the whole thing and after checking her over, discovered that she was more scared and embarrassed than hurt. She refused to get back on her bike. We were fine with that and all started walking up the hill to the playground. Tessa began......let's call it "overreacting". She refused to walk. So we continued to the playground and she sat pouting.

After about 20 minutes, she brought her bike up to the playground and then walked over to the restrooms nearby to........let's call it "pout".

 But eventually she came around. And Daddy's antics soon had the whole crew laughing.