Dirty Words

If I were really mature, these things would not still make me laugh. But then I would have nothing to post about. And I'm not really that mature, so I'll share.

Two things happened today that made me laugh. I'm kind of a words nerd, so I might notice things that others don't notice. But these things anyone would notice. First I was reading Little Buddy a library book. It was Bob the Builder, and it was a story about Muck's Muddy Day. Little Buddy has some speech issues. It started as a delay. Now he has an appropriate number of words; he just lacks the articulation skills necessary for all people to understand him all of the time. For example, he still calls his milk "duck." We've gone over this a million times, with my saying "M-m-m-m-MILK" and his laughing and saying, "Mama mama mama mama DUCK!" I know he can say the "m" sound (he says mommy just fine). Sometimes he just chooses to randomly replace sounds with other sounds. M is one of those interchangeable sounds, especially when it begins a word. So today, reading about Muck. he chose the "f" sound to interchange with the "m." So every time we turned the page and saw Muck, he would get really excited and yell, "MUCK!" except with the "f" sound. I'm pretty sure that library book is getting returned tomorrow.

Then Big Sissy got home from school. She and Little Sissy were playing together in the front yard, but she kept being mean for some reason. I got frustrated and said something like, "That's not acceptable behavior, Little Missy." Well, Little Sissy jumped on the bandwagon then and kept calling her "Little Missy" and "Little Sissy." She got super mad (as she often does, unfortunately) and yelled, "I am NOT little. YOU are the little weenie sister."
Shocked, I made her come and sit by me on the porch.
"Weenie is not a nice word to call someone, " I said.
"Why?" She asked, clearly confused. "It must means very small, you know like teeny weeny."
"Oh. Now I see why you said that. Why didn't you just say teeny? Well, it's just not nice."

I guess I can't blame public school for everything. :)

Meet the Parents

Just in case you've ever wondered why I'm so goofy, all I can say is...don't blame me. It's genetic. Introducing...my parents.

Little Sissy's 4!

Little Sissy turned 4 this week. She's been so excited for so long. It's a little confusing for her because she turned 4 on Thursday but didn't have her actual party until Sunday. A couple of days before we had eaten vegetable soup for supper. She didn't want to eat it, so Hubby and I kept going on and on about how yummy it was, trying to persuade her. When I told her she could pick whatever she wanted for her birthday dinner, she decided that the kids could eat hot dogs and macaroni and the grown-ups could eat that leftover vegetable soup we liked so much. She made it easy for me to fulfill her birthday wishes. So after our gourmet birthday dinner, we went to DQ for treats and present time.

A princess Barbie AND a prince!

Talking to one of her aunts, who called to wish her happy birthday.

I can play music all by myself! YESSSSS!!!!!

First Cardinals Game

For the last few years we've gone to a Cardinals game with our church as a group event. Last year we got enough tickets for the family but then decided they weren't really old enough to stay out late. We got a babysitter instead and took our friends. It was a great double date, but this year we decided to make the plunge and take everyone. It was a perfect, cool night. I brought blankets in case we got chilly, which proved to be helpful when Little Buddy started getting tired. Between my Mommy bag and all the people around us, the children had approximately 27 snacks. Then there were fireworks afterwards. I'm pretty sure they've never stayed up that late, but they did great--except for all the walking from the van to the stadium and back. I refused to take a stroller. The unanimous vote is: "We love Cardinals games--especially the snacks!!!"

A is for Apple, and so is B and C and D...

I'm a nerd. I can't help it. We talk about letter sounds while we eat lunch. But today Little Buddy wanted to join in, and he was cracking me up. Lucky for you, I didn't record the whole alphabet.

The Hospital John

If you remember my post about The John in My Backyard you might be interested in hearing that this same uncle had a horrible accident about a week and a half ago. He fell from a balcony at his home, lay unconscious until he was found in the morning, and then remained unconscious until 2 days later. It REALLY didn't look good, and prayers were going up everywhere for him. He is well known in his community, and he had lots of people who wanted to visit (too many, actually) and know how he was doing. I last saw him on Tuesday. He was awake and was starting to recognize some people, but he didn't recognize me. His wife told him to turn to look at me, and one eye focused on me--sort of--but the other eye didn't really follow along. He kept rubbing his temple on the opposite side of where the knot on his head is. I really don't think he was using the other hand much at that point, and I think he was in lots of pain but couldn't really pinpoint the source of it. They were still keeping him pretty sedated, too. I know this has been painfully slow progress for those who are with him minute by minute, but I was able to go see him tonight, and he has made so much progress I had to fight not to tear up in front of him. All I can say is that God is doing miracle after miracle in him.

Tonight he was giving fist bumps to my kids, he didn't say my name but he talked about my dad and called him by name, so I know that he knew who I was. He was definitely confused and struggling to find the right words, but just hearing words out of his mouth brought so much joy to my heart. Even in his struggle he is still funny. The words he can think of are just funny. Like he said he was going to "oompa loompa" the idea of...(talking about staying in bed all day). He still needs prayer. No doubt about that. But God has already answered so many, and they anticipate a full recovery--eventually.

Tonight was the first night my kids have been able to see him. I think it puts a new perspective on "be careful or you might fall and hit your head." Probably not many preschoolers follow that up with terms like "brain injury." We've gotten some new books on how the body works, which has been helpful. We have one on the brain, and we have one on the heart since we also have an uncle who recently had a heart attack. I never wanted to have field trips to the hospital to visit people we love, but it is good for them to understand WHY it is important to pray for people. I've prayed from the day they were born that we would be a family who ministers together, so praying together for loved ones has been one way we can do that.

For those who know my family, thanks so much for your prayers. They have meant so much!

One World?

OK. I'm not saying Facebook is the anti-Christ. I'm just saying that it is creepy how it is uniting the whole world. And how so much of my personal information is out there even though I try to make my settings as private as possible. Someone in cyberspace has more information about me than I would share with a total stranger. But still I don't want to close my account. That's even weirder.

Since I've been on FB, here are some things that I've learned:

1. My ex-boyfriend is friends with a girl I knew when I was a teenager, who is also friends with said ex-boyfriend's ex-fiancee. (Doesn't that sound like a legal document?)

2. My husband's cousin knows my next-door neighbor. Turns out they were in choir and toured together in college.

3. A family friend of ours is married to a man who used to coach on a team who played the team my husband used to help coach.

4. My friend from church has a friend in Arkansas who is a mutual friend of my friend I met in Springfield.

I know that none of that is meaningful to you. But I am simultaneously awed and creeped out.