Matt's Wisdom

The other day as Matt and I were driving down the road, we passed a house with a newly built fence.  It wasn't your ordinary fence.  The fence began with a section of chain linked fence.  Then it continued into a board fence, but the board were nailed in a crooked pattern.  It ended with an old wire fence. 

After we passed this particular fence Matt said, "I like their fence."

I looked at him and wondered, Did he see the same fence I just saw?

So I questioned him, "Are you serious or are you just kidding?"

His reply was, "No, I'm serious.  They made use of what they already have."

Wow!  My husband amazes me sometimes.  It really put things into perspective.  There are times I make use of what I have.  For example, for Brazos' birthday party I used an old chest that was in the attic for a treasure chest.  I reused a dock that was built for our church's Sunday school.  I borrowed tables and chairs from others so that we would have enough seating.  I used old classroom posters for decorations.  But...I also bought new decorations.  More often than not, I want something new.

Matt's comment made me think:
Every day new stuff is being made.
Every day new stuff is being sold in stores.
What happens to all the old stuff?
Where is all the old stuff?
How come our houses aren't full of stuff everywhere?
How can we keep creating new stuff when we still have all the old stuff?

It just boggles my mind!

I just need to remember Matt's wisdom.  God has blessed me with more than I could ever imagine.  I need to be thankful for what I have and use the resources I've been provided with.  God is great!

(I'm ashamed to say that as I'm writing this I'm thinking about when I will make it to Wal-Mart to buy those cute plastic plates I saw the other day.)

Bubbles

Last night my mom came over to our house.  She couldn't stay too long, but she was here just long enough to have some bubble blowing fun with Brazos.  He laughed so hard at the bubbles.  It was the perfect ending to the day.

Let's Go Fly a Kite!

Today after church I asked Matt was his plans were for this afternoon.  I was surprised when he said he wanted to go fly a kite.  Normally, Matt takes all the time he can to do work around the house, because he rarely gets to do much at home during the week due to his job.  He then told me that for Lent he had given up working on Sundays.  I was impressed.

About two years ago, Matt had fun on a bulldozer and knocked down a bunch of trees in our backyard.  He said it would be the perfect spot to fly a kite one day.  Well today was that day.

Last Saturday Brazos was given a kite as a party favor from a birthday party.  We minus well make use of the wind that doesn't seem to want to go away.  Here's our kite flying experience.





Graham Crackers

When you become a mom you become familiar with every sound in your house.  You know the sound of cabinets opening and closing.  You know the sound every toy makes and can recite every song with the toys.  You know the sound of things being pushed across the floor.  Even when you go to sleep your ears are never turned off and you automatically hear the sound of your child crying in the middle of the night.

This afternoon I fell asleep on the couch.  I tried to get Brazos to take a nap with me, but he wasn't tired yet.  I had my ears turned on as I dozed off to sleep.  Within a few minutes, I heard the sound of silence.  As a mom you also know that the sound of silence usually means your little one has found some trouble and they're digging in it real deep.  So I got up off the couch and went to find Brazos.  Here is what I found...

He had found a box of graham crackers and was chompin' away.  I picked him up and put him in his high chair to finish his snack.  I laid back on the couch while he ate, and once again within a few minutes I heard silence.  I sat up to look at him and this time he was napping in his high chair.  Sweet dreams little one.

(Just to let you know, Matt was sleeping on the floor in the midst of all this and never woke up.  Once you become a parent, you realize that dads don't leave thier ears turned on when they go to sleep.  They hear nothing at all.)

Wave, Walk, Tell, Screw, Lick

Today wasn't a very eventful day, but Brazos kept us entertained.

• Brazos and I were outside when Matt arrived home from work.  As Matt's truck drove up the driveway, Brazos began to wave.  When Brazos waves, it looks more like he's waving at himself.  It's a backwards wave.  It was cute to watch because although he was waving at his daddy; it looked more like he was directing his daddy to keep on coming down the driveway.
• Lots of walking was going on this afternoon.  Matt would sit on one couch and I on the other.  Brazos had a ball walking back and forth between us.  He would get so excited and shake his hands so hard that he would lose his balance.  But he's a tough boy.  When he falls he always gets back up to try again.

• I couldn't figure out what Brazos wanted when he was fussing.  I gave him a bottle; he gave it back.  I gave him a cracker; he gave it back.  Then he crawled over to his diaper bag and pulled out his dried apple snacks.  I was shocked when he carried it over to me.  I guess that's what he wanted!
• Brazos will not drink water from his bottle.  It can only come from Ozarka bottled water.  I unscrewed the lid to give him a drink.  After a few gulps, he took the lid from my hands and screwed it back onto the bottle!!!
• We don't know why, but while daddy was watching t.v. Brazos decided to crawl over and lick daddy's legs.  Just one lick wasn't enough.  He needed about three or four.  Daddy must taste good.

St. Patrick's Day...Then and Now

Boy oh boy!  It's amazing how much a baby grows in just a year.  Here's just a quick look at Brazos last St. Patrick's Day and this St. Patrick's Day.  Last year he went with mommy to a doctor's visit with his green stocking and mittens.  This year mommy and daddy took him to "Movie in the Park" dressed in his green and black striped outfit.  He did not want to sit and watch the movie, so mommy and daddy took turns walking with him as he pushed his stroller around.  He'll be good help one day. ;)

A year ago this carrier looked way too big for him.  Now he doesn't even fit into this carrier any more.  Then, we had to carry out little man every where.  Now he rather be on his own.

A Tale of Two Trees

When Matt and I first got married, our neighbor gave us five fruit trees as a wedding gift.  We thought it was  a bit strange, but we were excited to have some homegrown fruit.  As the years passed, we learned that fruit is not produced the first few years in a tree's life.  We also learned that fruit trees have a strange shape to them.  Eventually we lost three of the trees, but two still survive today.  Matt has commented many times that he wouldn't mind just chopping the trees down, but I usually tell him "No."  It's not that I'm real fond of these trees.  It's just that once a year they grow the most beautiful flowers right before spring begins.  So these two trees are still in the ground, and will be, as long as I can enjoy their short lived flowers once a year.

I also have a two rose bushes planted in the yard.  Rose bushes aren't the most eye appealing plant either, except for when they have roses.  These two plants would also be chopped down, but their seasonal blooms keep them surviving.  Only one rose bush has started to bloom this year.