Packing Prowess

One of Paul's friends had a sleep-over birthday party Saturday night.  Paul was so excited that I decided to put his energy to good use: packing.  I told him to be sure he had something to wear to sleep and something to wear to church.  When he finished, I checked his bag.  The contents were: a shirt and a pair of shorts to wear to sleep, a church shirt and a pair of (too-small) khaki pants and nothing else.  There were no clean undies, no socks, no church shoes, no toothbrush, no pillow and no blanket.  Like any good mother would, I added these items and switched out the pants for a pair that fit.

When I unpacked the bag, I found the clean underwear, toothbrush and toothpaste untouched.  *Sigh*  At least he had the things he needed, even if he didn't use all of them.

Fun New Camera

I got a fun new camera, so here are my favorite pictures of my favorite subjects so far.

Paul Ties It Up

Paul's run brought the score to 8-8.  The Royals beat the Dodgers with the next run!

TJ is Famous!

I don't know how long it will stay there, but watch the loop of pictures for a familiar face at:
http://schools.birdvilleschools.net/wape

We Still Only Sit On Our Own Bottom

Driving home from baseball practice last night, this is a snippet from a conversation I had with Paul...

Me: Paul, that's one of the things I love about you.  There are lots of things I love about you; this is just one.

Paul: Mom, you love everything about me.

I'm glad he's sure of my love for him, but does he need to learn humility?  Maybe, but not from me.

Quotes from www.goodreads.com on humility:

“If anyone tells you that a certain person speaks ill of you, do not make excuses about what is said of you but answer, "He was ignorant of my other faults, else he would not have mentioned these alone.” 

― Epictetus

“On the highest throne in the world, we still sit only on our own bottom.” 

― Michel de Montaigne, The Complete Essays

“The greatest lesson in life is to know that even fools are right sometimes.” 

― Winston Churchill

“True humility is not thinking less of yourself; it is thinking of yourself less.” 

― Rick Warren, The Purpose Driven Life: What on Earth Am I Here for?

Nine Years Old!

Paul went through emotional highs and lows in the planning of this year's birthday party.  Coker tried to convince Paul he should invite two or three friends to a fun activity.  My older son loves his friends and loves to be surrounded by his friends.  Two or three would not cut it.  

What can we do for this monster party?  Paul is indecisive.  He may get that from me, or maybe from someone else.  He could not choose an acceptable venue.  Playing Skylanders with 20 kids upstairs at our house is not a good plan.  

Finally, I sent out an evite to my choice of 8 friends from his list for a pool party.  Of course he talked me into inviting more, but the girls couldn't make it, which was good for the girls.

His friends were asked to "bomb the birthday boy" with water grenades.

Once in the pool, it reminded me of a scene from Titanic.

TJ tells Reese to save himself while Colby climbs up on a wooden door.

Paul sprays Alec in the face.  Not in the face!  How many times did I say that?

Paul and Noah fight over the sprayer while Zachariah stays out of the way.

For snack time, Coker brought out the popcorn!

Cake time!

Does his wish come true?

No one died at the party, which was my biggest fear.  We did have two injuries, but they were minor.  It was a tough two hours for me, but I think Paul enjoyed it!

First Day of Third and First Grades

The first day was August 26, so I'm a little behind, but aren't they handsome?  Paul is in Mrs. Hallman's class and TJ is in Mrs. Krier's class.  TJ's best friend, Parker is in his class again this year!  Paul has 908 good friends, so everyone in his class is great.  His best friend goes to another school, but lives down the street.  Both teachers are wonderful, so this looks like an excellent school year!