The Olympics

Is anyone excited about the upcoming 2012 Summer Olympics?  Do you even know where they are this year?  Here's a hint, Princess Kate lives there.  I can remember as a kid my Mom, Dad, and I sitting down together every night to watch the Olympics.  Do families still do that?  I haven't religiously watched the Olympics in years.  But I can still remember getting chill bumps during Dominique Moceanu's floor routine to "The Devil Went Down to Georgia" and Kerri Strug nailing her second vault for gold on a hurt ankle during the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta.  And who could ever forget Russian gymnast Svetlana Khorkina, ew those Russians are some tough competitors!  Or how the dairy farmer's son, Rulon Gardner, turned the Greco-Roman wrestling games upside down defeating the Russians for the first time in 13 years!


What will the 2012 Summer games bring?  I'm pledging right now to lose myself in the games like I used to as a kid, to cheer on the USA, and to support the world's athletes coming together for 17 days of all out record breaking competitions.

Taking the Journey

Andrew loves our church!  Mostly because of J-Kidz on Sunday mornings.  We usually get to church a little early so we can get a Starbucks coffee and fellowship with our friends, Andrew heads straight to the J-Kidz auditorium.  Before church starts all of the kids meet and team up for Wii golf or tennis on the big screen it's pretty cool.  Andrew is also learning about tithing this summer.  He has been putting 10% of his weekly allowance into his "Give" bank and on Sundays he puts it into the offering basket during J-Kidz.  We shared with him the verses in the bible that tell us how and why we should tithe and give offerings to God, Leviticus 27:32, Luke 6:38, and 2 Corinthians 9:7.  He is so excited to break open his bank on Sundays, he is truly a cheerful giver!  A few Sundays ago in J-Kidz he shared a story about helping his friend Brady out....in front of everyone!  Which is about 30-40 kids since there are 3 services every Sunday.  We were so proud when we heard about his little testimony. :)

Andrew went to VBS last week and all I can say is VBS has come a long, long, way since I was a kid.  Holy moly, our church went all out.  Crafts, blow-ups, awesome snacks, but the program was what I loved the most, it was called "Sky, Everything is possible with God."  This first night Andrew was so excited when we picked him up, absolutely full of "Did you know..." statements.  "Did you know that with God I can do anything.  And no matter who you are or what you look like or what you may have done, God loves you?!"  It was pretty amazing watching him realize and understand how much God loves him, just the way he is.  After the first night they continued to learn about the miracles of Jesus.  Andrew's favorite was Jesus raising Lazarith from the dead...yes according to Andrew is was La-za-rith, not Lazarus.  You should hear him tell the story in his own words, he didn't miss a single detail!

We are so glad Andrew enjoys our church and learning about his heavenly Father, he has such a sweet and cheerful soul. :)

Oklahoma!

I can't wait to see my folks for the Fourth of July!  It's been a long time since we've been to visit them, usually they come to us.  But we wanted Andrew to visit the farm this summer and have them to ourselves.  When they are here, they are so busy trying to see everyone it's pretty hectic.  Dad sent me some pics of the farm last week, it's so pretty!  I can't wait to watch Andrew run/ride around on 160 acres feeding cows and fishing with my Dad, his Dad, and Jax.  I heart summer time!

  

D's and A's

I said I would post some of my favorite shots of Andrew from our Fathers' Day project, so here they are.

 These 3 are the ones he picked out to frame for his Daddy Day-O.  

I love his silly faces!

 D-A-D part two...

 Then I have a bunch of CUTE "A" pictures which I'm saying are "A" for Andrew pictures, so it works!  I have them all over my office.  His little smile and his Daddy's ears bring a smile to my face every day.

 This one is probably my favorite of all. <3

 I was making him giggle his little boy giggle and I love those feet!

Breakfast of Champions

Since Andrew has been home, we've been trying all kinds of healthy alternatives with him.  Like instead of fries, he loves eggplant and squash "fries," which are just baked with whole wheat bread crumbs. His favorite snack is peanut butter and organic agave nectar aka "honey" on a low-carb tortilla with a banana.  And he pouts when I go to the gym instead of running around the block with him after work!  I'm so glad he's eating healthier and being active.  I was a little worried he wouldn't be active enough this summer since he didn't want to play a summer sport.  AND we haven't had to give him Miralax at all!  I think diet and exercise have a lot to do with that, a natural alternative is always better than a synthetic, chemical one.  So says I. 


One of Andrew's favorite things we've made so far has been this healthy little number brought to us by Gina at Skinnytaste.com.  We've nicknamed it B.O.B.B, Baked Oatmeal Blueberries and Bananas.  I make a dish of it at the beginning of the week and Andrew and I eat on it all week.  Like tonight, I made a batch while he was at VBS.


Ingredients:

• 2 medium ripe bananas, (the riper the better) sliced into 1/2" pieces
• 1 1/2 cup blueberries
• 1/4 cup honey (or agave)
• 1 cup uncooked quick oats
• 1/4 cup chopped walnuts or pecans
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 3/4 tsp cinnamon
• pinch of salt
• 1 cup fat free milk (or any milk you desire)
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

For further instructions head on over to skinnytaste and enjoy!

Father's Day Weekend 2012

Drew said that this Father's Day was his best yet!  I hope he says that every year for a very, very long time.  I am so glad that Andrew will be with his Dad for every Fathers' Day, at least in the near future.  They are so funny together and the older Andrew gets the more like his Dad he looks and acts.  I just silently shake my head at them when they start feeding off of each other and roll my eyes.  Boys will be boys!

I am so proud of my husband and the Dad he has become.  Each year brings new challenges and new lessons and he rises to the occasion each and every time with dedication and determination.  Everything that is wonderful in my life is because of him:  Andrew, our home, our marriage, how he loves me, how I love him.  He is a great man inside and out. 

Thursday and Friday Andrew spent the night at Poppy and Willie's house so Drew could go to their camp in Bay St. Louis to build an extra bedroom downstairs as a surprise for Poppy on Fathers' Day.  His efforts were quickly thwarted by a nosy neighbor who called Drew Bob and spoiled the surprise but he was pretty excited Drew was finishing up the room for him.  (And I enjoyed a house all to myself Thursday night!)

Saturday Drew met Poppy, Andrew, Nee Nee, & Uncle Woody and went fishing in Woodville, MS.  They had a great time and caught 30 some odd bass, all of them keepers!  Drew caught one a little over 5 lbs.  Andrew is always excited to go fishing when he's home, because let's face it the Days have the best fishing holes around!

 Andrew was absolutely positive this was one of the fish he caught

(in between changing his bait 42 times.)

Saturday night we stayed in Clinton at Poppy and Willie's just enjoying family time.  And Sunday we got a jump start on Fathers' Day pretty early.  Shirley made tomato gravy and I made the cat head biscuits to go with it. (Yum!)

 Andrew and I had so much fun taking these pictures, he was so hilarious.  By the time he was finished hamming it up, I had 57 "D" and "A" pictures.  I'll have to post some of the best ones in another post.

I took Andrew last weekend to paint his Daddy some pottery for Father's Day also.

 This is the fighter chopper we saw together in Birmingham, he still talks about that helicopter!

He sure does love his Daddy.

 Chocolate-Bacon and Maples Frosted Cupcakes made of course by Erin!

For lunch, if it was lying around we fried it!  

Eggplant, squash cakes, green tomatoes, fresh bass, stuffed jalapenos, jambalaya balls, Paula Dean would have been proud to sit at our table!

Then we swam off some calories!

No floaties for this big boy!

We had a great day!  But I sure did miss my Dad.  I found the perfect card for him, so perfect I teared up in the aisle at Target.  It said exactly how my heart feels about him and while he wasn't with us to celebrate I know that my love for my Dad extends beyond state lines.  But there is nothing like giving your own Dad a hug on a day that's meant just for the great Dads out there.  I can't wait to see them on the 4th of July!

I hope you enjoyed Fathers' Day 2012 and were surrounded by some pretty great Dads too!