Family Night has come around again. Tonight is a Halloween theme. It was actually quite a big day from beginning to end. Papa Roy's son Jack and his wife Patsy came down from Virginia to visit Papa Roy's headstone and get their copy of his death certificate. I can not believe its almost been 2 months without him. Jack looks so much like Roy that it is quite startling and comforting at the same time.
The kids start every Saturday morning with Taekwondo. This is the one day out of three lessons a week that Edward takes them too. So I take the time to clean a bit and enjoy the quiet. Jack, Patsy and Grandmommy came over close to lunch time. It was a beautiful day. The sun was shining all day and there was a lovely breeze. The tide was out and the bayou was low so Jack and the kids couldn't fish before we left. This was a good thing since Edward was starving. We had plans to go to The Shed. It a local barbecue joint. I have seen people with bumper stickers on their cars that say "Donebeenfed@TheShed". So Southern.
We had a $30 gift certificate for The Shed. We had never been there. The gift certificate showed up on our front door one day. We thought maybe The Shed was trying to market business to people living on the bayou. They are up the bayou a bit and you can dock there and eat. But the amount I think was just too large for a giveaway. I think it is from a neighbor. His two Bassett Hounds have been getting out. The first time they came onto our property and our dachshunds about had a fit. I got them into the dog kennel. The dogs had collars with metal name plates bracketed to them. So it was easy to find their owner. By the end of the day they were retrieved. Not too many days later as the kids and I were leaving for school there they were again but this time on the main road with cars blowing their horns at them. I stopped at our neighbor's house and told them their dogs were out. It was not even 7am. I then went back to gather up the dogs. I got them into my car... three smelling BIG dogs and three kids packed into the car. Our neighbor arrived just in time to save us from the smell. Anyway... a week or so later there was this gift certificate on our door with no clue who put it there. Since that was my only good deed in a long while I am convinced that they left it there. It was a very strange coincidence because Edward and I had been talking about going there after living down the road from the restaurant for 2 years.
After eating we came back to the house and cast some poles. We have 6 acres on the bayou and our land is surrounded by water on three sides. We got home around noon and Jack was out there til about 4pm. Patsy threw herr pole in for a time. And Cullen got his pole out too though its way to big for him. He followed Jack around quite a bit. Jack never settled... he went from one end of the property to the other casting his line. The water was still low but he manage to catch a few fish. One he said was a barracuda with sharp teeth. Connor, our two year old reeled in a few lines with Patsy. We traipsed to the back section of land to find a secret hiding place for the kids but they were all freaked out about the tall grass and prickers. Gosh I remember living in the wood as a kid. I am so surprised that our kids are such scaredy-cats.
After our guess left, Edward and the kids got online and found a face for the pumpkin carving. Our Halloween family night commenced. The kids cleaned out the pumpkin and saved the seeds for roasting. And then the Jack-o-lantern carving happened. I was not there cause Connor and I lay down for a nap. At six I was awakened by Cullen telling me it was time for family night and I HAD to get up. I roasted the pumpkin seeds and had some dinner. Then Daddy pulled out the snacks. The kids had chosen their own candy treats at the movie store. M&M for Avery, a chewy treat for Cullen and chocolate covered raisin for Connor. He passed them up though for the M&M too. Edward had rented A Nightmare Before Christmas by Tim Burton. The main character of the movie was "Jack, the Pumpkin King." Cullen and Connor were sitting on my lap when Cullen said, "It's an all Jack day."
I am never excited about our family night movies. They are always kids movies and ones I have seen before. The last family night we watched part of Sound of Music. I was looking forward to that movie but the kids could not sit still through even an hour of it. So it got turned off. Family night was short that night.
After the movie, we shut off all the lights and took the pumpkin on the deck. We lit the candle and stepped back to see the smiling face on the pumpkin. Connor was especially delighted. The full moon was just rising over the water and the moment was quite special.
Three Jacks. One day. An All Jack Day!
The kids start every Saturday morning with Taekwondo. This is the one day out of three lessons a week that Edward takes them too. So I take the time to clean a bit and enjoy the quiet. Jack, Patsy and Grandmommy came over close to lunch time. It was a beautiful day. The sun was shining all day and there was a lovely breeze. The tide was out and the bayou was low so Jack and the kids couldn't fish before we left. This was a good thing since Edward was starving. We had plans to go to The Shed. It a local barbecue joint. I have seen people with bumper stickers on their cars that say "Donebeenfed@TheShed". So Southern.
We had a $30 gift certificate for The Shed. We had never been there. The gift certificate showed up on our front door one day. We thought maybe The Shed was trying to market business to people living on the bayou. They are up the bayou a bit and you can dock there and eat. But the amount I think was just too large for a giveaway. I think it is from a neighbor. His two Bassett Hounds have been getting out. The first time they came onto our property and our dachshunds about had a fit. I got them into the dog kennel. The dogs had collars with metal name plates bracketed to them. So it was easy to find their owner. By the end of the day they were retrieved. Not too many days later as the kids and I were leaving for school there they were again but this time on the main road with cars blowing their horns at them. I stopped at our neighbor's house and told them their dogs were out. It was not even 7am. I then went back to gather up the dogs. I got them into my car... three smelling BIG dogs and three kids packed into the car. Our neighbor arrived just in time to save us from the smell. Anyway... a week or so later there was this gift certificate on our door with no clue who put it there. Since that was my only good deed in a long while I am convinced that they left it there. It was a very strange coincidence because Edward and I had been talking about going there after living down the road from the restaurant for 2 years.
After eating we came back to the house and cast some poles. We have 6 acres on the bayou and our land is surrounded by water on three sides. We got home around noon and Jack was out there til about 4pm. Patsy threw herr pole in for a time. And Cullen got his pole out too though its way to big for him. He followed Jack around quite a bit. Jack never settled... he went from one end of the property to the other casting his line. The water was still low but he manage to catch a few fish. One he said was a barracuda with sharp teeth. Connor, our two year old reeled in a few lines with Patsy. We traipsed to the back section of land to find a secret hiding place for the kids but they were all freaked out about the tall grass and prickers. Gosh I remember living in the wood as a kid. I am so surprised that our kids are such scaredy-cats.
After our guess left, Edward and the kids got online and found a face for the pumpkin carving. Our Halloween family night commenced. The kids cleaned out the pumpkin and saved the seeds for roasting. And then the Jack-o-lantern carving happened. I was not there cause Connor and I lay down for a nap. At six I was awakened by Cullen telling me it was time for family night and I HAD to get up. I roasted the pumpkin seeds and had some dinner. Then Daddy pulled out the snacks. The kids had chosen their own candy treats at the movie store. M&M for Avery, a chewy treat for Cullen and chocolate covered raisin for Connor. He passed them up though for the M&M too. Edward had rented A Nightmare Before Christmas by Tim Burton. The main character of the movie was "Jack, the Pumpkin King." Cullen and Connor were sitting on my lap when Cullen said, "It's an all Jack day."
I am never excited about our family night movies. They are always kids movies and ones I have seen before. The last family night we watched part of Sound of Music. I was looking forward to that movie but the kids could not sit still through even an hour of it. So it got turned off. Family night was short that night.
After the movie, we shut off all the lights and took the pumpkin on the deck. We lit the candle and stepped back to see the smiling face on the pumpkin. Connor was especially delighted. The full moon was just rising over the water and the moment was quite special.
Three Jacks. One day. An All Jack Day!
2 comments:
I loved reading about y'all's ALL JACK DAY. What a special one it is.
And Stephanie...you ARE a good mommy. Not perfect...only Father God is that...but you're an excellent mother who loves her children greatly.
Yes, your kids are going to have issues. Yes, Cullen is very fearful. But you know what? Even God's first kids...Adam and Eve...were full of issues. They had THE perfect environment and the perfect parent and they still were messed up.
Edward was so fearful and sensitive as a child that they were thinking ulcers before he'd hit the teen years. My mom and dad couldn't have been more patient and compassionate with him but he still worried and cried and got depressed.
Cullen is who Cullen is. Yes, as a parent you can do things that will really scar a kid for life like abuse them or desert them, but you can also be the best that you know how to be and love them and pray for them and they are still going to be imperfect creatures who will have to grow up and learn to trust God to make them whole.
And even then...even thru wholeness in Jesus...they still will have issues...because they are human.
I'm sprinkling you with some Mommy holy water this afternoon and telling you that you are exonerated. You love those kids like crazy and love covers a multitude of sins.
Cullen, Avery, and Connor are very blessed to have you and my brother as parents. You are giving them love, acceptance, safety, and provision...so much more than sadly, the majority of kids in the world.
Mommy Hugs,
Elysa
P.S. Read SET FREE (or maybe its BORN FREE) by Steve Brown or RAGAMUFFIN GOSPEL by Brennan Manning? You might want to give them a peruse if you've never read them. Good grace stuff.
Oh Elysa,
You made me cry! Thank you for the Mommy holy water. It is accepted and I am blessed by its sweetness. You words help to heal a wound. I hear the truth in them. Thank you for taking the time to minister to me.
I am reading a book by Steve Brown now... a Scandalous Freedom by your recommendation. =)
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