Things I Wish I Could Still Have From My Childhood

(inspired by a blog Wes reads)

1. to have the whole day ahead of me without a hint of a plan.
2. to spend every dime I had on a single purchase, like a Barbie.
3. to spend the en-tire day at the pool.
4. to count down the days until Summer begins.
5. to be given $1 by my grandma and go the local gas station and spend it on whatever sweet thing I could find.
6. Grandma's chocolate cake.
7. to eat whatever I want, whenever I want without any second thought or consequence.
8. to play Barbies all day with Kayne.
9. the tree in my old backyard that we used to play in.
10. my grandfather.
11. riding in the golf cart all day long on my granfather's farm.
12. waking up to a rooster's crow.
13. having my bike as my transportation.

just for fun. But these things really do take me back. I had a wonderful childhood. Thank you mom and dad for providing that for me. I love you, family.

Peter

Peter. He gives me hope.
He was different before Jesus was crucified and resurrected.
Don't get me wrong. He had glimpses of being lead by the Holy Spirit (such as is recorded in the passage below).
And he had his moments of being left to his sin nature. Where he was a disgrace. A true sinner. Like me.
I am Peter.
I struggle with the same things he did. He loved Jesus. He doubted. He wanted more. He denied Him. Sounds so familiar.
And yet, what hope Peter gives me.
Because when we study Peter, we get to see his life prior Christs death and resurrection and we get to see his life post the death and resurrection.
And Peter was CHANGED. He was different after Jesus was resurrected.

And its in this passage that Jesus begins to tell of what will become of the CHANGED Peter. I just love this passage from Matthew 16:

When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples,

"Who do people say the Son of Man is?"

They replied,

"Some say John the Baptist;

others say Elijah;

and still others, Jeremiah

or one of the prophets."

"But what about you?" he asked.

"Who do you say I am?"

Simon Peter answered,

"You are the Christ,

the Son of the living God."

Jesus replied, "Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by man, but by my Father in heaven.

And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven."

Wow.

I also love Peter's speech to the Jews in Acts 3:17-24 where the beginnings of what Jesus refers to above is displayed in Peter.

To study Peter is to gain hope!

Cute Things He Said

The Wolf
Wyatt: Mommy, pretend that you said "Ahh! There's a wolf! Come help me!"

Me: "Ahh! There's a wolf! Come help me!"

Wyatt: Okay, but this is the last time.

Kris Meade
(After passing Kris in the car and speaking with him for a bit)
Wyatt: Was that Kris Meade?

Wes and I: Yes

Wyatt: And he is our friend.

Wes and I: Yes

Wyatt: I bet he has a machete.

Wyatt's Name
Wes: Wyatt, what does your name mean?

Wyatt: "Brave Warrior"

Wes: That's right. And what does a brave warrior do?

Wyatt: Fight for what is right.

Wes: That's right.

Me: Wyatt, what is "right"?

Wyatt: (thinking) Well. Killing a bear is right.


Cyp's Wedding
Me: Wyatt, today we are going to a wedding.

Wyatt: Do I get to go to the wedding?

Me: Not this time.

Wyatt: Daddy, are you going to the wedding?

Wes: Yes.

Wyatt: Daddy, will you be a prince today?

Wes: (little caught off guard) Um.Hmm.

Wyatt: And Mommy, will you be a princess?

Me: Um.Hmm.

Wyatt: (beaming) And I'll get to be your dog!

Not real sure what he thought was happening at that wedding, but it is sometimes neat to let the imagination in a child's mind be reality.

Blog break

Yeah, I needed one.
I've been busy with so many things! All truly relevant. All important.
We've been preparing our house to be shown, packing boxes, moving the clutter out, actually putting it up on the market, showing the house, and then you know, all the normal every-day responsibilities.

And some how, I've felt like I'm neglecting this blog. In the back of my mind, I've felt that little nag to get something posted.

Buy why?

I mean. Honestly. Where is the pressure coming from? And why?
It comes from me.
And somehow, all those sweet little moments in my life (pre-blog) now come with the pressure to have a camera and a blog post with it.

And I'm just trying to figure out when the good moments in life had to become great? And when the normal things that nobody sees had to become seen. and. posted?
When did I do this to myself?

What happened to a good old photo album? I mean, does anybody buy those anymore? When did that become not good enough? Believe me. I am saying this to myself. I did this to myself. I miss the simplicity of life pre-blog. Pre-digital film. And pre-scrapbooking. I miss the good that was truly good. A photo is good. A digital photo printed is good. A digital photo printed and placed in an album is good. But somehow compared with a good blog post or a sweet scrapbook page or better yet, one of those amazing photo books, it truly dims in comparison.

That's sad to me. That I've created these expectations and rules for the sweet moments when Walker makes a mess at his highchair or Wyatt swings his baseball bat in the yard.

Don't get me wrong - NONE of these things are not worthy of recording in some manner - its just the added pressure we (I) put on myself to capture those moments and stay culturally relevant. As oposed to simply being a loving eye-witness and a huge fan of the subject.

I know, probably over analyzing.
But, it's late.
And I needed to post.
I mean, it had been a few weeks and all.

:)