No More Single Digit Kids!

Our youngest is now in double digits. That's kind of a big deal to us. I'm not sure how long it'll take me to process how old the kiddos are and what kind of stage of life we've entered.

I think I'll just enjoy it.

And of course a trip to Chuck E. Cheese ensued, where the monkey met his match.

Thesis Statement of Hebrews... By An Eight-Year Old

Okay, so the title above isn't exactly the truth, but it's close.

Sometime in April for our morning Bible study we started going through the theology-rich (and big-worded) Bible book titled "Hebrews". As of Day 2 something had to change. Apparently it was making everyone under the age of 36 cranky.

The Lord gave me the idea of making it a bit more enjoyable and engaging by having a different family member draw a picture of the main theme of each chapter each day. Some days it took more than one day to get through those chapters though. Some days it took more than one day to draw the picture.

After we finished drawing pictures of each chapter we used a method I learned in Bible college in which the main themes of each section are pulled together to make one theme of larger sections. Then  those large sections are pulled together to summarize the focus on even larger passages (one or two chapters) and so on until eventually one single full-letter-summarizing sentence is formed. It's actually really helpful in aiding good interpretation of the Bible. It keeps everything in context.

Here's our results. The first picture is, well, our pictures. Yes, Chapter 6 is about pizza, Chapter 7 is about babies and Chapter 8 is about monkeys.















This one is us trying to pull the themes together, plus a little nasty glare.

The third is the thesis statement that Nori made on her own. I couldn't have done any better.

So I say, not bad. It was definitely worth the two months we spent getting up and at 'em each morning at 7. I encourage all parents to carve out some time every day to spend together around the word. It has done wonders in our family. Not that it's all roses at 7 am, but I've found a little crankiness does wonders for growing us in how to show patience and grace to each other.

I doubt anyone else would get what we got based on the pictures, though.

Someone please give me advice on how to talk Christian out of wanting to do the book of the Revelation next.

Wyatt's Baptism

Our youngest has taken the plunge!

I was very excited to get to baptize Wyatt at this morning's church gathering. He's been waiting to do it for some time now. He was nervous but determined. And the water was heated.

A Little Rock And Roll For The Soul

The kids and I took last Friday as a day (actually, night) trip. We drove three plus hours up to Enid, Oklahoma to see a quadruple band show. The night started off with Manic Drive. Seventh Day Slumber and Group 1 Crew came next. 

The "headliner" was Audio Adrenaline featuring their new lead singer, Kevin Max. Some older folks will remember him from the group DC Talk. Extra credit for anyone that knows what the "DC" stands for. More importantly, he also happens share my Alma Mater, Liberty University. I'm a little surprised he didn't recognize me at the concert. I know he was busy, though. He doesn't come bothering me while I'm talking to airplanes or telling Airmen to do push-ups.

The show was great. My right ear recovered today and I can just barely hear the constant ringing as I write this.

The kids also took the opportunity to hone their photography skills. Apparently Nori and Christian bogarted the cameras, though. There's a clear lack of Wyatt below.

I've not listened to Seventh Day Slumber before and I couldn't hear a whole lot of what they were saying, but the lead singer had quite a testimony of God's grace, love, and faithfulness!

We got one picture with Manic Drive. We saw this Canadian crew in little ol' Altus a couple months back. They've become a family favorite since then. If you happen to see them, please let them know Altus, Oklahoma says "Hi" and follow it up with a "We love you!" That's generally what people say to super stars, especially if you're personal friends now.

Now we're just waiting for the call that Group 1 Crew is going to hand deliver the mini-guitar that we are going to win in the raffle we signed up for. I've got a good feeling about that raffle. A friend of mine generally wins at those things, but he wasn't there to win it for us. I hope my good feelings are as effective as his.

A Star is Born... Maybe Two of Them

So this is the day that Nori goes world wide. Mark it.

There's not enough words for this. Just enjoy.

 

July 4th, 2011

On the 4th of July weekend we traveled to Enid, OK, which is kind of unusual because it's not much different than Altus... still Oklahoma.  Enid however is a bit bigger and so they have their own Home Depot, their own Starbucks, and even though we didn't visit it I'm pretty sure they had a Dairy Queen somewhere in town.

Of course the only thing that could get us to Enid is dear friends. 


This just happened to be some friends that we were stationed in Japan with.  Between the two of our families there were five young ladies and two young men.  Within minutes of being in their house they had managed to drag a hose out, attach it to a toy slide, lay the end of the slide on a tarp and cover the tarp with dish soap. 

                                       Shablam! Insto-matic water park!




Shortly after, we went for a walk by the "pond."  That turned out to be a water hazard on the city golf course.  It was still a nice walk.

The definition of trust.

For memory's sake, this is the tree by which I ate my first ant - a surprisingly enjoyable citrus flavor.

Where's Waldo?

The second day was full of guy stuff.   

The fish didn't bite.  They were just plain scared.

 We walked a quarter mile across a lake (which only put us in three feet deep water) and laid out a trot line.  I was quickly education that it's not used to catch "trot." 

The rest of the afternoon was filled with the pictures below.






I'm proud to say that the boys are a pretty natural shot. 





 Christian nailed a bottle from about 25 feet.  Those rabbits on the base golf course need to be on guard.
 

Wyatt successfully shot my sunglasses somewhere in the range of 15 feet (they were on the bottle... not on me).

A pretty much unforgettable weekend. Thanks Phillips'!

It's Just You and Me, Pal

We will fight.  You will lose.  My Kung Fu is good.

A Fine Idea part 3

Wyatt and I went out last Thursday. When asked what he wanted to do he said Walmart (to look at toys), Target (same pursuit), Walmart again (you guessed it) and Dunkin Doughnuts. Candi suggested the Children's Museum downtown and Wyatt liked it. We spent a couple hours there and then proceeded with a miniature version of his original plan.
That's Storm Shadow at Toys-R-Us. What are the chances?

Held Hostage

There's never a dull moment with kids around. Take for instance when I go to download the digital camera and realize that at some point in time Nori has gotten a hold of it and snaps some doozies. I actually have a folder just for her special shots.

In all seriousness, I like it when she gets the camera, because she grabs memories that we either wouldn't see or wouldn't have time to seize. Behold.