The “money stealer’s”

My little boy.

Such an imagination, he never fails to keep me rolling with laughter with some of the things he comes up with.

Today, for example, he was out on the porch, standing there, in his jammies…looking menacingly at some young men who happened to be walking down the sidewalk.

There was a group of about 4 of them.

They were dressed in all of the latest attire…if you are a gangsta that is.

Now, while I cannot say that I am in the least impressed with kids who walk around with their britches around their knees, or shirts that are about 30 sized too big…to each their own I figure.

But back to Ricky.

I hollered at him:  “Rick, what are you doing out there in your jammies?”

He replied: “I’m keepin’ my eye on them money stealer’s!”

I said: “what? Come in here and tell me what you said.”

He comes in the house and says:  “mom, them was money stealer’s…I was keepin my eye on them.”

I said: “what are “money stealer’s”?

He says:  “they are guys that steal your money…”

I said: “how do you know they steal money?”

He says: ” Because they have that money sign on their hats mom…they are money stealer’s.”

It took me a second to figure out what he meant.

Then, of course, I had to explain that those hats don’t mean they steal money…they mean they like money.

I had to laugh at him, but really, he has quite an idea there….if everyone who committed a crime, wore a hat with some sort of symbol on it that distinguished what crime they committed…it’d sure be easier to “keep an eye” on them.

I’d love to say that my little man is completely wrong about these young men, but sadly, they are trouble makers.

I’m just glad that I know I have instilled a strong sense of right and wrong in my little man…strong enough that he felt the need to keep an eye on those guys….to watch out for what is his.

To have the courage to stand there, on the porch, at five years old. And without a word, convey to those boys that this is HIS house and to get in here you would have to go through HIM.

I hope he’ll always stand up for what is right.

It was bound to happen someday…

Clayton has discovered girls.

Now, some of you might be sitting there, thinking to yourself “well DUH Christi!”

But you need to allow me to exist in my own little fantasy world wherein this is a totally new development in the life of my teen aged boy.

Thankyouverymuch.

Something happened today that I thought I was at least a couple of years away from.

Clayton has a friend, Jacob, staying this week.

The boys wanted to go swimming…and I had no time to take them to the pool. So they asked if they could go on their bikes…

Sure…no biggie…he is, after all, thirteen.

*ouch..that still hurts to say.

A little while later, the boys came home.

But they were not alone.

Oh no…not even close to alone.

Lee was with him….and her friend.

There were two girls with my boys.

Lee and Clay are evidentially classmates.

(note to self…get involved at middle school)

They found each other at the pool today. She followed him home.

Yes…I do think she followed him…I know he would never encourage a girl to come to his house!

What kind of boy do you think he is???

Oh…normal..that’s right.

At any rate…he and Jacob are, at this very moment, walking these two girls home.

I’m not sure if I should laugh, cry, or break out his nekkie baby pictures and meet her at the door next time she shows up…and I’m sure she’ll show up again.

This is a whole new realm for me.

And I’m really not sure how to handle it.

part of me wants to tell the little harlot to take a hike and leave my innocent little boy alone.

The other part of me wants to high-five him…she is a cute girl.

Another part of me wants to sit him down and have “the talk”….again, and on a more serious and in depth level.

Another part of me wants to tell Brian to do it.

I guess I should be happy that he is a normal, thirteen year old boy.

Finding himself and noticing the opposite sex.

But I can’t help but be just a little sad…It seems like this year has been one leap into “grown-up-ness” after another for him.

I really just have to sit and wonder where this little guy went:

This little boy…who’s biggest worry was how many pokemon cards he had…or who had the latest version of the latest video game.

*funny little note about the above photo….Ricky wore those shorts last week. Man they grow way too fast.

Anyway, I know he’s not going to stay little forever…and he’s a handsome boy, so the girls are bound to notice.

they already have…he has one calling him almost daily.

But when they start coming over…well, I’m just not sure I’m ready for this.

Guess it’s time I got ready.

* update….apparently there was hand holding and  cheek kissing at the pool…per my spy….*sniff*….he’s growing up way too fast.

Finally! Other people’s kids!!!

I had so much fun on Sunday!!!

Our church put on a little community thing called “Chalk Fest”, where they sold spaces in the parking lot and everyone made designs with chalk.  It was so much fun, and some of the designs were awesome!!!

(who knew those pesky Brown kids would show up and win it all! it is such a small world…really.)

Anyway, I brought the camera along and finally worked up the courage to ask our pastor if he would mind me taking photos of the event.

Of course he was more than happy to let me, so I had some new targets to torture!

My children, were understandably relieved.

It has been so fun taking pictures of other people!

And I just had to come share some of my favorite shots with all of you.

Whaddya think?

This little guy was so funny…he just would not look at me, so I had to hide behind a tree to get this shot:

This is our pastor’s wife and their oldest daughter..she didn’t want me to take her picture either, but I see a smile trying to peek out!

This is their younger daughter…she is sooooooooooo cute!!!

And this little guy…I have TONS of shots of him…he is quite a funny little man!

This is our other pastor’s (yeah, we have two of em…we’re lucky like that) son, and Ricky’s bestest buddy!

And his little sister…just love those curls!!!

I have to say, I really enjoyed taking the pics of the kids.  They are just such fun subjects!

Of course, I’ve never done a “shoot” with children before…I may not find them as fun if I’m trying to pose them!

Anyway…those are just some of the well over 200 shots I took at chalk fest.  I’m having a blast editing them and I hope that maybe, just maybe some of the folks I took pics of will maybe ask for more..that’d be totally cool.

But enough of my wishing and hoping and prayin’ and dreamin’….I’ll leave you with a little chalk art…

Selah

I’m sure you are asking “what language are you speaking Christi? What does “Selah” mean????”

Well…the truth is…we don’t really know.

But from what I have been able to learn from church and my own research, it means to pause, hang, weigh, or meditate on something.

It’s a term commonly found in the psalms.

And today….today I need to pause.

I need to hang.

I need to weigh.

I need to meditate on things.

And since the things I have to weigh, hang, and pause to meditate on are pretty heavy..and I don’t want anyone else to have to carry the load…I have decided to pause and meditate on something that gives me great joy.

Old barns.

I looooooooooooove old barns.

The older the better.

Of course, anyone who knows me knows I like old stuff.

But old barns are my favorite.

I can’t help but look at them and wonder how the world looked when they were first built.

I’m certain things were different then.

Things were slower…or so it seems.

One thing that is no slower, though, is time.

Time marches on and we become old, broken, worn, faded.

But some of us, like these old barns, still manage to stand.

Majestic in the center of our homesteads.

An image of strength and pride.

So, Selah.

Pause…enjoy the old barns.

Imagine the stories they could tell.

The things they have seen.

The changes they have witnessed.

The storms they have weathered.

The 4th of July (told on the 9th)

I am so not good at getting my blog updated at the appropriate time..but in my defense, I was camping. So, not only did I not have a computer…I had no internet.

And today was the first day I actually had the time to do this.

(and technically, I don’t have time..I’m avoiding chores.)

So…our 4th of July, 2008 is now in the history books.

And boy was it a fun time!!!

Well…most of it.

We (we being our family and my sister and brother-in-law) decided we would go camping for the 4th.

We decided this on memorial day weekend…while we were in a campsite…I still think we were delusional at the time.

We decided to go camping without reservations.

For the record…don’t do that.

We learned a valuable lesson.

At any rate.

We loaded up the truck, camper and boat with all of our belongings and hit the road to Ft. Spokane.

which is misleading because it isn’t a “Ft.” as I know them…it’s historical I guess.

Anyway, we got to the campground and found a spot..turns out that the “first come first served” spots can in fact be reserved.

That would have been nice to know in advance.

So after much debating and gnashing of teeth, we (Amy and I) decided to go to the overflow spots at two rivers.

That turned out to be a fantastic idea!

(us gals are smart like that)

So we got there, which I was thankful for considering the put together mere days ago and not road tested truck we were driving.  (more about this later)

We set up camp, launched the boat, and went about enjoying our camping trip:

As soon as the tents were put up, we sent the guard flamingo’s out to stand watch…

They did an awesome job.

The lake was beautiful..this is where the Spokane river and the Columbia meet.

The kids thoroughly enjoyed the lake…and it tuckered them out!!!

Ahhh..the lazy days of summer!

I think we all had a great time camping…and some friends even came and joined us..it was great.

Miss Chelsea:

Mr. Jason:

Miss Chloe:

Miss Mariah:

On the night of the 4th, we had a fantastic time roasting marshmallows.  They didn’t have any fireworks on the actual 4th so as to not compete with the display at Grand Coulee Dam.

S’mores get the thumbs up from Ricky!!!

The next night, the fireworks were awesome!!!

The trip was a blast, the food and friends were great, the fireworks were beautiful…I’d do it again in a heartbeat..and will for labor day.

The only downside to it all was the ride home, and even that worked out.  But I’ll leave you with a few parting words and this image:

steep hills, hot engine, melted spark plug wires, carburetor fire, pouring oil, non-existent head gaskets, God’s grace and some awesome in-law’s.

Just breathe it in!

We had a thunderstorm move through the area today.

That is sort of unusual for Washington, really.

But I have to say, I just love them…

Ok, not so much the storms, I still cannot shake the little twinge of fear I get having grown up in “tornado alley”

But I love the way the earth smells after they move through.

So fresh and washed clean.

I imagine that is how it must smell in heaven all the time.

Fresh, clean, new and exciting!

I can’t, actually, think of many other smells that are quite so wonderful as the world after a summer rain.

On my list are:

• the smell of the head of your newborn child. Nothing sweeter on earth.
• the smell of a barn, full of horses and sawdust and leather.
• the smell of my hubby’s pillow.
• new car smell (ok, that one is silly..but I love that smell!)
• the smell of a campfire and any food that is cooked over it.
• the smell of sheets that were dried on the line.
• the smell of irises, they remind me of summers spent riding a borrowed bike down the broken up sidewalk in Bellville Kansas.
• the smell of the county fair, a mixture of cotton candy, popcorn, exhaust from the rides and livestock.
• the smell of the pages of an old, well used bible.
• the smell of coffee brewing.
• the smell of homemade bread baking.
• the smell of pipe tobacco.
• the smell of my grandma’s house..always smells like home.

So, what smells can you think of that just make ya roll your eyes back in your head and breathe deep?

We’re going on a camping adventure…

To see what we can see…

Of course, we will most likely see really crowded campgrounds, sunburned people, wet labradors, and any number of drunk, obnoxious people.

Camping on the 4th of July will be a BLAST.

Actually, I am looking forward to it.  I really love camping.  It’s just been a really stressful week and I’m feeling a little less than motivated to get things rolling.

Which is most likely why I’m sitting here blogging instead of packing and cleaning and all of the other things I should be doing.

Do you ever get that way?  Just have so much come down on  you that you could just sleep for days?

I feel that way today.

I guess I could describe it as “overwhelmed”.

My dad is in the hospital again..because he refuses to take his meds like he should.

Why I don’t know.

Seems like a no-brainer to me to take your stinkin’ meds if they will keep you alive.

Then there is my Granny…she called me yesterday..twice…and once today.

I’m not upset that she calls…I love hearing from her, even if it does make me sad that she often forgets who I am.

But yesterday, she told me she was scared…didn’t feel safe.

That she wanted me to come there. (which I just can’t do right now…finances being what they are)

And when I offered for her to come here and live…she actually considered it…asked questions about moving and such.

I don’t know for sure how this is all going to turn out..but I do know that I am feeling led to step in and do something.

I guess I need to hit my knees and pray hard about it.

And I think I might just do a lot of thinking about it over this camping trip.

Really listen to what God is leading me to do.

And since I will be gone for awhile..and I have yet to procure a laptop to take camping with me…there will be no new blogs for about a week.

But I’m sure that I’ll be back with tons of fun stories and pics to share.

God bless everyone and have a happy and safe 4th!

Yard sale woes and pretty weeds.

I must be crazy.

That is the only reason I can come up with for the pile-o-junk sitting in my living room right now.

All of it complete with little masking tape price tags.

I have decided to have a yard sale.

Why?

Heck if I know!

Actually, I do know.

There are a few reasons actually:

1. I need to purge my home of the clutter.
2. Having the extra cash on hand for our camping trip over the 4th will be handy.

But I am honestly beginning to wonder if it’s all worth it.

I’m sure I will see the worth of it when all of the clutter is gone…yeah…that.

But, all of this sorting and pricing gets boring.

So here I sit, bloggity bloggin’ away…completely ignoring the mountain of toys I still have to go through and price.

(and we shall not speak of what awaits me in the basement.)

And just because garage sales are generally not fun to take pictures of or to look at, I will share some recent pics I took of sis….they are much prettier!

(is prettier a word?)

You guys enjoy those…I’m off to price toys and brave the basement!

Oh boy…here we go.

I am sure you are all familiar with this photo…

Well…I have my own version now…and I just have to share:

That would be my youngest on the right..and Mr. Kolby Brown on the left…Heaven help us.

That is all.

I’m a baaaad blogger.

But it isn’t totally my fault.

Summer vacation has hit our household and I’ve been busier than a one legged man in a butt kickin’ contest.

It’s only the first week and already we have gone swimming, fishing (sis fell in the lake..why oh why didn’t I have my camera!?), had tons of sleepovers, and even went to some VBS.

And today? Well…my sweet, adorable, gooberific husband made me breakfast.

Actually, he made himself breakfast and just happened to make enough for me.

He loves to cook…I love that he loves to cook.

Anyway…he woke me up at 6:30am to eat.

(do people really eat at that hour?)

So I ate and then went back to bed.

Oh yes, the turkey bacon, french toast and scrambled eggs went right to my thighs.

But it was nummy.

And I don’t get to cuddle with the hubster that often..so we cuddled.

And that is officially TMI for all of you so I will say no more about it and never mention it again.

When I got up the second time, I realized that a storm had gone through my home this week.

The storm that is children who are out of school.

So I have spent the majority of my day cleaning.

Such fun.

But I have neglected my blog..and the two people who read it regularly.

And when I logged in to see my blog stats and the little line on the chart was hanging, precariously, from the bottom edge of the  chart, I knew I had to post again.

So, to catch you all up on the happenings here:

• Saturday, we worked the yard sale at our church. We raised a fantastic amount of money. Clayton found a really cool bike at the sale, and to make a long story short, it’s amazing how God works. He asked for the bike and I balked at first. Then, as usual, I relented and let him get it…on the condition that he sell his old one and donate the $ to the church. He agreed.  We got home that evening, only to find his old bike had been stolen.  Seriously.   We have since located it and will be attempting to get it back tomorrow.  Hopefully he can still follow through with his donation.
• Sunday, we had church and then a little get-together at the in-laws for Father’s day.  We had a bbq and the kids swam. We had a great time making shrek and donkey references as Bri and Rob worked on taking an engine out of a truck that looks strangely like tow-mater. (note to self..stop watching animated shows)  Then Charlie stunk us all out…that dog is nasty. We were outside and he had us all retching.  Nasty dog.
• Monday, I took the kidlets swimming…and didn’t do much else.  That was enough. (ok, technically they swam and I worked on a bible study..it was awesome)
• Tuesday, the mother-in-law and I took the kids fishing.  M’Kayla fell in the lake (don’t worry..it wasn’t deep) and has been telling anyone who will listen about how she almost drowned…the drama queen.
• Wednesday, well…I don’t remember much from Wednesday.  There was much laundry doing and t.v. watching. My tooth was killing me.  I cannot wait for that dental appointment!
• Today, I cleaned. Though you can’t tell that I did a thing.  And then it dawned on me that I have yet to tell everyone about my new, trendy spectacles!!!  Oh yes, I finally got new glasses!  Only took me 11 years.   So, without further ado, here I am in my new specs…no photo critique necessary..I know it sucks.  And I apologize for any trauma my mug causes any of you. I know it’s frightening, but I figured that just a photo of the glasses wouldn’t even come close to showing you how trendy they are…

I.

am.

so.

trendy.

(barf)

Now, if only I could figure out what to do with my disgusting hair.  I need a new look. And at least now I can see it if I get one.