The Toothbrush

My kids teach me things all the time. It is amazing how much more I understand God's love for me since having them. One of those ah-hah moments happened this morning. John Curtis is OBSESSED with his toothbrush. He wants it all the time. After I brushed his teeth this morning, it was time to go. He cried when I took it away from him, then I shut the bathroom door so he couldn't get to it. He stood at the door and SCREAMED. I wanted to take him to the pool for a fun morning of swimming with friends, he wanted to chew on his toothbrush. He usually doesn't like it when he thinks I'm leaving him so I loaded up our pool stuff and walked out to the garage thinking he would follow me. Nope. He was still crying at the door wanting that toothbrush. I got everything loaded up (including Sophie) and still he hadn't budged. Finally, I had to pick him up and carry him, still crying, to the van. He pretty much cried to whole way to the pool - until we pulled into the parking lot. Since we go swimming most mornings he knew where he was. As soon as he saw the pool he started pointing (another obsession of his) and his whole face lit up with excitement. When we got to the pool area, the music was playing and John Curtis started dancing and laughing. I said, "Aren't you glad you came to the pool instead of staying home chewing on your toothbrush?" I'm sure he understood me:) Actually, he may not have learned anything new today, but I did. There have been specific times I can remember in my prayer life when I can visually see myself throwing a fit before God. I want something (or don't want something) so bad that I can't see how anything else would be better. What I want may be like chewing on a toothbrush. It's fun for a while. But God wants to take me swimming where it's so much fun that I dance and laugh. Now I'm not saying what God has for us is always more fun than what we want, but sometimes we might miss out on what's great for what is just good. Had I not physically moved John Curtis he might still be standing at the bathroom door screaming. I just wanted to say to him, "Trust me buddy. What I have planned for you today is so much better!" So I too am learning to trust and I'm thankful for the lessons I learn through my children.

John Curtis Pictures

Mom just sent some pictures of John Curtis from his week in Weatherford.

Sophie Week Part 3 - The Campout

We finished up Sophie Week with a camping trip to Abilene State Park. Sophie loves to camp. We went twice last summer, but John Curtis wasn't mobile then and just sat in his stroller or carrier. She's been asking to go this year, but I wasn't too excited about taking John Curtis. So we decided to pack one more thing into this busy week, and I'm glad we did. She had a great time fishing and hiking and playing in the tent. We chose Abilene because that is a good meeting place between here and Weatherford and Mom brought John Curtis there today. It ended up being a very nice State Park with lots of shade. So now Sophie week is over and we are glad to have John Curtis back with us. Life has returned to it's usual chaos. Only one more week until we begin our crazy 2 week vacation to Texarkana, Memphis, Vicksburg, and the beach in Gulf Shores, Alabama. Lot's to get done before then!

Sophie Week Part 2 - The Sleepover

Sophie has two very special friends that have shown up in some of my blogs in the past. Sophie hit it off with Gracie and Ellie right after we moved here 2 years ago. Their mother, Leia, who is one of my dearest friends really took me under her wing when I was new to San Angelo. Because of that, our families have become great friends and spend a lot of time together. When Taylor took me to San Antonio for my birthday a few months ago, Sophie had her first friend sleepover at their house. I thought this week would be a great time to return the favor since I was short one kid of my own. The girls had a great time together. We stayed at the pool on Wednesday until about one. After a rest time in front of a movie , the girls played hard all afternoon. They made their own pizzas for dinner and we went outside and made a crab craft (remember Sophie's ocean craft book she is obsessed with???). After bath time, I settled the girls in their sleeping bags on the living room floor in front of (another) movie. Yes - that is 2 movies in one day, but when you're in survival mode all rules go out the window. The idea was that the girls would be so tired from swimming and playing that they would conk out during the movie. Ellie did - Gracie and Sophie didn't. It took about another hour for the two of them to settle down, but by 10:00 (or shortly thereafter) all 3 girls were asleep.

Then the fun began. At about 3:45, I hear a little voice at my ear saying, "Miss Alyson, I'm having trouble sleeping." So Gracie climbed up in bed with us and fell right back to sleep. As she slept, she took over more and more of my side of the bed until I finally asked Taylor to go sleep in Sophie's bed. Problem solved - everyone was sleeping peacefully. Then at 5:00, Sophie started crying. You see, in the craziness of getting 3 little girls ready for bed I had not noticed when the last time Sophie went to the potty was. Who knows how long she had been holding it, but at 5:00 she stopped holding it. EVERYTHING was wet. We got Sophie up and cleaned off and put her in her own bed. Since the pallet the sleeping bags were on was wet we had to get Ellie up, too. Of course this woke her up and we had two giggly little girls. I went back to sleeping Gracie and Taylor laid down in between the other 2 girls. He said they finally fell back asleep after about 30 minutes. At 7:30, Gracie and I were awakened by giggly voices yet again and everyone was up. We went back to the pool at 10:00 and everyone went home to their own houses. I'm glad the girls had fun, but the parents have decided that sleepovers should cease until all 3 girls sleep through the night and don't wet their beds!

Taking a snack break at the pool

Making pizzas

Crab crafts

Picnic breakfast outside

Bathing beauties!!!

Sophie Week Part 1 - Swimming Lessons

We kicked off Sophie Week on Tuesday morning when we headed for the pool for swimming lessons at 10:00. Sophie is doing really well in the pool. She will kick her feet and push off the side, jump in, and go under water. However, for some reason she won't put her face in the water while she is pushing off the side and kicking under water. I've tried to explain to her that it is no scarier than going under and that is really all she needs to do before she is actually swimming. I'm hoping she will sometime before lessons are over. We've been to the pool every morning since Tuesday and stayed for a few hours. It has been fun to play with Sophie in the pool and let her jump in to me without worrying about John Curtis.

I Miss My Baby Boy!

John Curtis is in Weatherford with my parents for the week while we have "Sophie Week". In reality every week at our house is Sophie week, but Mom wanted some time with each grandchild individually so I decided to use the time alone with Sophie to do things we don't get to do when John Curtis is here. I'll blog about Sophie Week separately, but I was putting some pictures on the computer from this past week and I came across these of John Curtis from the hotel in Shreveport. He looks so sweet taking care of Sophie's baby and it just made me miss him so much! Five days didn't seem like a long time when we left him on Monday night, but now I'm counting the days until I get to see him on Saturday.

8 Years of Marital Bliss!

Today is our eight year anniversary and I can truly say it has been an amazing journey so far. I love being married to Taylor. As I look back on our eight years, I know I am blessed because I can not think of a "bad" year in those eight. We've had some rough patches, but looking back it all seems like a big adventure that has brought us where we are. Our years before kids when Taylor was in seminary were such fun and carefree times. We had so much together time traveling, roller blading, hanging out with friends, and just sitting on the couch watching TV. When Sophie came along, I got to see a whole new wonderful side of Taylor. He is such a great dad and our kids adore him. In Marlin we learned how to balance family, being in the ministry, and some loneliness. Without love, commitment, and a lot of creativity that could have been a rough time in our marriage. I have heard horrible stories about being a preacher's wife, but Taylor really makes it relatively painless (most of the time:). He is home in the evenings to play with the kids and put them to bed and then we still have a few hours together. I'm so thankful for the way he puts us first. Now that we are in San Angelo with two kids and more church responsibilities, life can get pretty crazy. Sometimes I wonder how we'll have enough time for everything, and yet we always find enough - little snippets of each day to be together. I'm so thankful for the memories of the last eight years and cannot wait to see what is ahead. I love you, Taylor!Our Wedding Day - June 3, 2000

Our little garage apartment in Waco

Taylor's graduation from Truett - May 2004

London - Summer '05

D.C. - Summer '07