“My favorite ice cream is peach mint.” Everyone chuckled as my nephew, Grayton, explained this fascinating new ice cream flavor he loved. We were playing a game at dinner while we devoured chicken nuggets and fries. The game was simple. Whoever held the toy is able to talk. If you didn’t have the toy, you couldn’t talk. I presented the table with a question and passed the toy (R2D2 to be exact) around as we answered. We were having a…
“Okay, boys. Who do you want to pray for? I said. Knox replied, “Ozzie Albies, my Star Wars books and my fish pictures.” “Sounds good. Eli, what about you?” I asked. “Umm, Vera (his cousin) and umm.” Eli’s eyes disappeared as his smile grew wider. He looked attentively at my upper lip and placed his tiny index finger beneath my nose. He tapped it twice. “I wanna pray for your mustache.” “My mustache?!” I questioned with a silly voice. The…
“Who can tell me how to be a good teammate?” I asked as we huddled at the end of practice. Little dirt covered hands shot up everywhere. They could barely contain themselves for they knew a correct answer would win them one of those prized baseball cards that filled my sweatpant pockets. “Don’t beat anyone up!” yelled one t-baller. I couldn’t help but crack up laughing at this response even though he wasn’t wrong. “Cheer for your teammate!” said another….
We watched as the little Lego man circled the sink drain. He plummeted to his demise just as I reached out my hand to grab him. Eli’s lip curled as his silent face scrunched together and turned red. He then belted out, “No! My man! My man go down the sink!” I glanced over at Knox who was also brushing his teeth. He too witnessed the tragedy of Eli dropping him into the sink. A splendid balance of sadness and…
“Daddy, can you play outside with me?” he said as I got ready for a quick run one beautiful Sunday afternoon. “I promise buddy, as soon as I get back from my run we can play outside. Whatever you want to do,” I responded. He plopped down in a folding chair positioned in the driveway facing the lake and I finished lacing up my shoes. I gave Knox a quick wave and took off for my run. ( FYI –…
On September 18, 2003, Brian Hudson set a mind blowing world record in the United Kingdom by somersaulting 3,333 consecutive times on a trampoline. That’s amazing! I imagine that I’d be tired and dizzy after such an accomplishment. My sons and I get sweaty after only 33 seconds on the new trampoline they received for Christmas. Of all the things they do, I haven’t seen anything make them drip sweat like jumping on that trampoline. One night the kids asked…
Can you remember your favorite game as a kid? Some of us may think of family game nights with classics like Monopoly or Clue while others remember heated card games such as rummy, poker or canasta. Maybe your mind even takes you back to playing sharks and minnows with your neighbors in the community pool. If someone were to ask our boys Knox and Eli this question in 10 or 15 years, I’d bet they’d give you a less traditional…
“Why did God make popcorn, penguins, Moses, giraffes and everyone?” asked my four year old son, Knox. I thought, well that really covers the full extent of His creation doesn’t it? I responded with a terribly long pause. I was fortunate that he asked another question before I could respond to the first. “How can Jesus be in heaven and my heart at the same time?” Excited that I had a quick answer I replied, “because God is omnipresent buddy!”…
Have you ever struggled to find the right words to tell a story or express your feelings? Communicating effectively seems to be something we struggle with at home, work, and just about in every relationship. Everyone can relate with some form of miscommunication but parents of young children tend to constantly question what their baby or toddler wants as they work on their language skills. Luckily for us, we’ve had a surprising advocate that loves to help us figure out…
That old familiar sound of plastic wheels rolling on the asphalt echoed down our driveway as squirrels and frogs scurried out of the way to avoid a collision. However, the John Deere Gator carried an extra crunching noise this particular day that seemed to be in perfect rhythm with the rotation of the back tires. I asked my oldest son, Knox, to stop so I could investigate the problem. We slightly rotated the back tires only to find that they…