Elephants, Frogs, and Butterflies...oh my!

MIZ...ZOU! Go Tigers!

Pirate Victories and Celebrations

My Father's Arms

I think it is so fun when you can take a specific moment in life and turn it in into a teachable moment about God’s love and protection for us. I had one of those moments the other day. Chris and I have been struggling lately with Sawyer who is going through a “frightened” stage in life. He seems to be frightened by a lot of things lately(one big one is train whistles, horns, or any loud noise that you might hear at a football game). It is not just a small fear that causes him to whine or cry, but it is a legitimate terror that causes him to scream in fear and even get sick at times. It is hard as a mom to watch your child be so scared of something that you know is so harmless. But it is also comforting to know that the one thing that makes him feel better is being wrapped in my arms. Something about my arms makes him feel safe and protected and helps him to calm down quickly. Just last Friday night I had one of those moments when he was screaming in fear and I wrapped him in my arms and the tears subsided and as he buried his head into me I felt his body calm down and relax.
Wow, what a picture of God’s love for us! How many times are you frightened about your future or your current situation and the only thing that helps you calm down is feeling the arms of your heavenly Father wrapped tightly around you? As I sat there holding my son and protecting him from the very thing that frightened him I thought about my Savior and how thankful I am that I can run into His arms when I am feeling that same type of fear.
2 Thessalonians 3:3 “The Lord is faithful, and He will strengthen and protect you from the evil one.”
Never be afraid to let your Father hold you. Sometimes it is just what you need!

Fall is Fun!!

I love fall, I love football, I love family!!

This has been an exciting couple of weeks. Here is a run down of what has been happening...

• The Pirates beat Ozark, our bitter rivals! It was a great game and it is always a fabulous feeling to beat the tigers of Ozark!
• Barbara and Doug came to town and we took Sawyer to Silver Dollar City. He loved the rides and had lots of fun!
• The Pirates had another big game this past Friday against Neosho. They played awesome the second half and came back to win! We are undefeated in district play and excited to see where the season ends up.
• My dad was honored at the Neosho game for his 25 years of coaching in Branson (39 years of coaching overall!!). He received a standing ovation from the crowd and it was a very surreal feeling to sit in the stands and see all those people supporting this man I love and respect so much. Wow, amazing!! There were shirts with his name and 25 on the back, cowbells with 25 on them, and the players wore stickers on their helmets with the number 25. What a fun celebration! I even saw a player with the number 25 shaved in the back of his head, ha ha!
• Chris and I headed to Columbia this past Saturday to watch the Mizzou Tigers beat Colorado! It was a fun game and we had a good time with Steph and Brian before the game. Big thanks to Meemaw and Peepaw for keeping Sawyer so we could enjoy a little day trip!
• While staying with Meemaw and Peepaw, Sawyer got to go to a pumpkin patch and pick his perfect pumpkin (or 2!) I think he had a blast!
• After all the excitement and fun of the last 2 weeks we spent Sunday afternoon watching the Chiefs play and relaxing. Sawyer took a 4 hour nap and I probably could have done the same!

Did I mention that I love Fall? :)

Acrobat in the making?

Wow, our life has sure been crazy lately! We have been go go go for the last month and I am just starting to feel that our whirlwind of a life is finally starting to calm down a bit. Whew! We have been to ballgame after ballgame, work function after work function, and weekend activity after weekend activity. We are so blessed to have so many things to keep us busy! But we are ready for some "down time." We are excited to have some time with family this weekend. We are headed to Silver Dollar City tomorrow with Barbara and Doug and it will be great weather and a super fun day (I hope!)!! I think Sawyer will love it. We haven't been since the Christmas after he was born!

The Pirates are now 2 and 3 with the hopes of knocking off Ozark tonight at Homecoming. It should be a fun game and a fun atmosphere at Pirate stadium. :)

Let me tell you my funny Sawyer story of the week...
The other day when we came home Sawyer decided to show us his newest skill, doing somersaults!! He was rolling from one end of the couch to the other. I don't know who taught him to do this, but I am guessing it might be his rolling cousin Kloey! The next night he came to me at 8:00 (30 minutes before bedtime) and he said, "I go to bed." I said, "You want to go to bed now?" He said, "yes." So we went to his bed, read a book, and he curled up and closed his eyes. I was amazed!! Later that night after posting something about it on facebook I learned from his teacher that the reason he was so tired is because he spent his naptime rolling somersaults on his cot instead of sleeping. Ha ha! She said it was so cute she couldn't get on to him, she just told him to roll quietly, and he did! Oh that kid, I LOVE him so! Maybe gymnastics is in his future?

I find myself, probably like most moms, dreaming and wondering what Sawyer might do with his life? Is he going to grow up and become a quarterback of the football team, be in choir or drama club, be super smart or just average intelligence? I am not worried about his future or what he will do, I am just curious and anxious to find out. (not TOO anxious though, I DO NOT want him to grow up) All I can do is hope and pray daily that he grows to be a strong man of God and that he is a leader among his peers, his coworkers, and his future wife and family. Wow, I can't believe I am already praying for his future wife and family!? I guess it is never too early to start.

Well, that is what is on my mind today. I hope you are enjoying this beautiful fall weather as much as we are!! :)

Funny Sawyer story

The other day I went to pick Sawyer up from preschool. I knew it had been a great day because when I took him that morning he ran to his teacher, yes I said ran! He is really starting to love preschool! When I got there to pick him up he ran to me all excited. I asked him what he learned that day and he immediately started saying his number 1-10. He was so proud! :) We talked some more about his day as we got in the car and headed down the road. About halfway home I realized that he was being completely silent (that is NOT normal for him). I turned to check on him and there he was, sitting in his carseat perfectly still with his hand raised in the air like he had a question. I immediately started laughing even though he was being totally serious. I said, "yes buddy, do you need something?" He said, "can I have a snack please?" He normally asks for a snack before we even get buckled in, but on this particular day he thought he should raise his hand and be called on before asking. It was SO cute and funny. I made him reinact it for daddy later that night. Ha ha, that kid is a hoot! In fact, one of his papers sent home from school this week had a note from his teacher that said, "Sawyer cracks me up all day. Really, he is So funny!" We might have a class clown on our hands.