SongS of the Week

I make the rules here so this week we have thr3e songs of the week. My girls and I are youtube junkies. It's a great way to expose my kids to good music. This week's songs are their favorites this week.

Annie- Her favorite song was "Shout Hallelujah" until we began singing "A New Hallelujah" at Western Hills.  Yesterday she asked to listen to this one 427 times.

Georgia-  I love doo-wop music.  It's fun.  Fun to listen.  Fun to sing.  A few days ago I clicked on The Edsel's "Rama Lama Ding Dong" and Georgia began dancing.  How can you not like a song that has lyrics like, "I've got a girl named Rama Lama Lama Lama Ding Dong..."  I think it will make your toes tap too. 

Jones- The only ZOEgirl song that I was ever familiar with was a song called "I Believe."  A few days ago, when we had finished listening to that one, Jonesy clicked on this one and now it's what she wants to hear when it's her turn to pick a song.  She doesn't dance or sing with it.  She just sits and watches and listens intently every time it plays.  This one will never make my favorites list, but I understand how a song can grab you.  Apparently, this one has grabbed Jones. When you look at the lyrics, it really has great application to her life of late, starting at a new school with lots of new people.

"You Get Me" by ZOEgirl

I may be misunderstood 'cause I wouldn't ever fake it

You're the only one who understands my pain

'cause you get me

Doesn't matter what they do what they think what they say

At the end of the day I'm okay anyway

'cause LORD you get me

Busy week

Sunday 8-22-2010
West is ready for Bible class and church.













After church we stopped at Pirtle and took a picture of Jones by the school sign.

The kids and I went to Kevin and Jamie's pool in the afternoon. I helped Jones practice swimming without her floats. She finally figured out how to swim under water and did a great job going from one side of the pool to the other underwater and coming up for breaths. Jones and Annie jumped off the diving board. Annie really liked it. As soon as she would come up out of the water she would yell "again" to Kevin, or as Annie calls him, Mr. Heaven. I think she wore him out! Georgia enjoyed floating around and practicing her kicks and scoops. Jamie cuddled West.





















Monday
We were all up early and ready to go to kindergarten. Jones thought our picture by the school sign on Sunday was sufficient and didn't want her picture taken again. I couldn't help myself. Justin took her to school and walked her in to her classroom. She put her bag in the cubby and took a seat out in the hall and read a book until the bell rang. She ate lunch in the cafeteria. She chose the chicken burger and she was excited that they had strawberry milk to drink. I picked her up from school and tried out the drive though pick up line. Thirty five minutes after the bell had rung I had my Jonesy back. We went to Sonic and had an ice cream and talked about her day. She was in a good mood the whole rest of the day and Chatty! She talked to all the grandparents and Aunt Sheila.
While Jones was at school, we went to Gym X, Justin mowed the lawn, we had lunch and rest time. AND, Annie is wearing panties! A few accidents, but overall she is doing fantastic.




































Tuesday
Today is Georgia's first day of preschool. Jones and Georgia were up when their alarm went off and they dressed head to toe before coming out of their room. We ate breakfast together and had our devotional Bible reading. Picture time was more cooperative this morning. Kirsten came over to stay with Annie and West while I took Jones and Georgia. I came home and got Annie and West and headed to Gym X and then to Target. Annie stays dry! I took Annie and West to Kirsten's house for school pick ups. I get Georgia and she had a good first day. Mary Ann tells me that Georgia didn't want to share the big box of goldfish that she brought to school to share with the class for the year. :) Georgia and I go sit at Sonic and have ice cream and talk about her day. She never mentions the goldfish incident. Georgia had a great day and she was in a good mood after her first day too. To pick Jones up, we park across the field and walk to get Jones from the gym. This was faster, but walking across the field in over 100 degree weather was hot! Jones had a good second day.

























Wednesday and Thursday

The mornings were good and went smoothly. Jones and Georgia had good days. We went to church on Wednesday night and I was prepared for a rough Thursday morning since they were up later, but everyone got up on time and they were not grumpy. :) Annie had only one accident each day.

Friday
The tiredness was here today. Jonesys' alarm went off for awhile this morning. She yelled at Georgia when Georgia turned on the light to get dressed. Jones called me into her room and asked me to hand her her clothes. She got dressed in bed. By the time she came to the table she was in a better mood. We were still early to school by 10 minutes. Good job, Brown girls!
I received a phone call at 10:51 from the school nurse. Jones went to the nurse complaining of her head hurting and that she was tired. The nurse called me after she had sent Jones to music. Jones did not have a fever and the nurse let Jones lay there for a little bit knowing that all the kindergarteners are tired by today. I think it's allergies. We all have had stuffy noses the past few days. Even West.
Since Georgia had a good Tuesday and Thursday and she was able to get a treasure out of the treasure box on Thursday when I picked her up from preschool. Good job Georgia!
No accidents for Annie!
After school we went to the splash pad with friends and Justin was home in time for dinner. It was a fun way to finish off the first school week!

First Day of Kindergarten

Being a husband and parent continues to teach me about God and our relationship to Him as His children and as the Bride of Christ. 

“For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known.”  1 Cor. 13:12

As Jonesy begins Kindergarten, the things that continually are on my mind are:

I hope she will behave and bring honor to us as her parents.

“Honor thy father and thy mother, as the LORD thy God hath commanded thee; that thy days may be prolonged, and that it may go well with thee, in the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee.”  Deut. 5:16

I hope she will resist and turn from evil she may encounter.

            “Depart from evil, and do good; seek peace, and pursue it.”  Psalm 34:14

I hope she will talk to us about things that go well with her and things that don’t.

“Is any among you afflicted?Let him pray. Is any merry? Let him sing psalms.” James 5:13

I hope her teachers and other kids at school will see how precious she is and treat her as such. 

“But when Jesus saw it, He said unto them, Suffer the little children to come unto me, and forbid them not: for of such is the kingdom of God.”  Mark 10:14

Shade Tree Fix-it Man

Many of you know that we completed Financial Peace University last spring. I’d like to share our most recent financial victory.

I drive a paid for 18 yr old pick-up. This has allowed me to remain free of the burden of a debt payment, but it also means that a little more maintenance and repair is required along the way. Over the last couple of months, it had been getting harder and harder to start. It was like it really wanted to, but just wasn’t getting enough gas to fire up right away. After talking to some guys at work that’ve made  livings as mechanics, I determined that my fuel pump was on its last days.
I’ve never been much of a mechanic. I can change a tire or a headlight and even explain how the internal combustion engine works, but diagnosing and fixing what is wrong has been beyond my ken. So I called to check on having a pro replace the fuel pump for me. He explained that the pump was inside the gas tank and that to replace it he would have to drain the fuel, drop the tank, replace the pump, filter the gas before replacing it, and then put it all back together. His best estimate was that it would cost over $700.
That was more than I wanted to pay, so I asked around, researched my internets, and found out that it was possible to change the pump without dropping the tank. I even found a you-tube video with two guys showing how they removed the bed of the pick-up for easy access to the top of the gas tank and the fuel pump.
A had a day off the other day and decided it was time to give it a try. I enlisted the help of the high school kid across the street, went to the parts store, and dove in. We ran into a few snags along the way, but we got it done.
The new pump, new injector hose, clamps, etc. cost me $190. I paid the kid who helped me $30. Total cost $220
$500 cheaper than it would have been to have the professional mechanic do it for me.
Because we’ve been budgeting money into an account for auto repairs, we had enough cash money to pay for this repair so we didn’t have to pay for it out of our emergency fund.

Lo que está pasando y la canción de la semana

I’ve been working a lot.
It’s been hot.
Jonesy starts Kindergarten soon. Makes me nervous.
Georgia is going to go to Princess Pea on Tuesdays and Thursdays like Jones did last year. I’m nervous for her teacher.
Annie makes me smile.
West is growing. Smiling more and is the best behaved of the four.
Leslie takes good care of all of us. Her behavior is pretty good most of the time.

Our good friend Bill Roberts passed away this last week. He and his wife Joyce were among the first people we met when we came to Temple. He will always stand out in my mind as a fine example of Christian manhood, although he often pointed to his faded tattoos from his Korean War days as he reminded me that he wasn’t always a Christian. He told and re-told the story of meeting his wife and how she led him to the Lord. I admired the way he loved her. A couple of years ago after a bout with some heart troubles he called me to his house and gave me all of his fishing stuff. That was one of the saddest and proudest moments of my life. Sad that he knew his fishing days were just about done. Proud that he thought enough of me to give me his tackle.

This week’s song is dedicated to Mr. Bill. It’s Vocal Union’s “Heavenly Music”. Many of you will recognize my old compañeros Cody Batten and Nick Gaultney. I haven’t seen either one of those guys in 5 or 6 years. If any of you have or do, let them know that they made TOTP. This particular line-up also features Brian the chiropractor, Gary Miller the best bass ever, and Steve Camping, my Nashville roommate for about 2 weeks until Ryan kicked him out. Amen.

West-2 months old

Curious George

I took the kids to see a summer special movie, Curious George, with several friends.
Jones, Georgia, Annie, Madalyn, Marin, Claire, and Bailey.




West with the best frown.

Song of the Week

I saw that they've come out with a new Karate Kid movie.  I hope it's not as awful as the previews indicated.

The original Karate Kid was great.  Karate Kid II was even better.  I was 10 years old and those movies made me a martial arts expert.  I still practice some of the moves I learned from Mr. Miyagi, Danielsan, and the Cobra Kai.  When I really want to disable my opponent I  just sweep the leg. 

This week's song is Peter Cetera's "Glory of Love" from Karate Kid II.  Enjoy the flashback to '86.

San Angelo

We made a trip to San Angelo to see Justin's Aunt, Uncle and cousins that were visiting from Japan. Justin set up his new three room tent down in the back acreage. Justin, Jones, Georgia, Annie, Molly and Ranger spent the night in the tent. Justin and Ranger didn't get much sleep.