A new sport discovery {Mama Braggin’ Monday}

Last week was about the busiest week we will have all summer long; we all participated in Vacation Bible School in the mornings and each of the kids participated in separate sports camps in the afternoons and evenings. 

When giving the kids the options of which sports camps they wanted to do, choices for Nathan were somewhat limited, so enrolling him in soccer camp wasn’t a big deal or surprise.  However, it really surprised Mike and I when Sarah decided she wanted to do basketball camp. 

Sarah has never played basketball before and had not really expressed much of an interest up to this point.  But she said she wanted to try something new. 

And from the looks of the outcome of what I guess were some competitions they did on her last day, I’m thinking she enjoyed it and did well.

So, it appears that we’ve discovered a new sport in our house and I’m thinking we’re going to have to find a basketball team for this girl next season.  And it would appear that the basketball goal we have out front may get used afterall… if we ever get a ball.

Oh and aside from several meltdowns from being so tired from the week and a random bloody nose all that made him, me and the bathroom floor look like a crime scene, I think Nathan had a good time a soccer camp. 

Baby? What baby? {Mama Braggin’ Monday}

Did you know I have a baby?  It’s a bouncing baby boy.

Did you also know that the last time my baby looked like this…

… was five years ago?

F-I-V-E, people.  FIVE.

And it’s been 4 years since he  had curly locks like this:

It’s been 3 1/2 years since he was this stinkin’ cute:

 

And now, at 5, he looks like this:

  And he is still stinkin’ cute if I do say so myself.  And he’s bright, and he makes us laugh SO hard. 

I love you, my little man.

Field Day {Mama Braggin’ Monday}

Field Day at school was a couple of weeks ago.  I did not get to attend this year.  Although now that I think about it, I’m not quite sure why I’m specifying this year since I haven’t attended field day since she was in Kindergarten because of work.  You know, there are only so many things that I can take off work for. 

But back to the story. 

Field day was a couple of weeks ago.  Sarah won a ribbon this year.  It’s kind of a big deal to me because this child, while not uncoordinated, has never really been fully inclined towards sports. 

The ribbon she won was for the long distance run.

She’s come a long way since her Pre-K field day when she was paired with one other girl for every race…. and lost…. every race.  That was the worst field day ever.

How did your kids do during Field Day this year?

I could learn a thing or two from her {Mama Braggin’ Monday}

I was going to post a picture today of my daughter with her 3rd place ribbon from Field Day.  But that will have to wait.  Because I think I have an even bigger reason to be proud of her.

When we started this school year, I was a little concerned about the grouping of girls in Sarah’s class this year.  It seemed like she was put in a class with an entire group of girls who have kind of banded together over the last year or two.  I could definitely see this group becoming the “IT group” once they hit the middle and upper school years.  There’s something about how they try to act so much older than they are.  But I never said a word to her about it.  I certainly didn’t want to put any ideas in her head if there was really nothing to be concerned about.

We went through most of the year with my husband and I seeing little things going on like Sarah usually eating lunch by herself and things like that.  But Sarah never said a word about it so I thought that maybe she didn’t notice.  Maybe that’s how she wanted things.

Then, as I felt prompted because of a Bible study that I was doing in January, I asked her if she had encountered any one that she would think of as a “mean girl.”  She immediately said yes.  But, I think she didn’t want to gossip, so she wouldn’t name any names… but told me all the girls in her class that it wasn’t. 

“There are three,” she said.  “And it’s not Cindy, Ali or Debbie.  So that gives you an idea.”  (There are only 7 girls in the class and I changed the names.)  It was cute the way she did it and I had to stifle a giggle.

As we have continued through this second half of the school year, the situation has just continued.  She even said one day recently, “I wish I was in a different class.”  Because truth be told, even though Cindy, Ali and Debbie aren’t what she would term as mean, they certainly are not being her friends.  Nor are they being very inclusive of her. 

And to be honest…. I feel it on the mom side as well.  It’s not that these moms are mean, necessarily, but they are a group that I just feel unwelcome around.

So as I have thought about it over the last couple of days, I took hold of an opportunity I had the other night to tell Sarah how proud I was of how she has handled it this year.

We were talking one evening after I got home from work and the subject of friends came up in a completely different context.  I was encouraging her to make sure she was inclusive of everyone in a particular circumstance.  She then began to talk about how she has felt excluded most of the year in her class and she actually teared up a bit.  Clearly this had affected her more than I had realized. 

But do you know what she has done all year?  She has gone into that classroom with her head held high and not let it stop her.  She continues to talk to these girls and show kindness to them.  There has not been one bad thing that she has come home and said about them.  There has been no report of her lashing out at them.  She just continues on in kindness, knowing that she has friends in other classes.

I was able to tell her that night that I admired how she has shown grace to those who have hurt her this year.  She has acted like the secure child of God that she is.  And as I told her, I wish I acted like that more often.

I also took hold of the teaching opportunity and pointed out what a blessing it was to learn how it feels to be excluded so that we know not to do it to other people.  She agreed.

So as I sit here, I wonder what causes these other moms, some of whom I know have been in the classroom quite a bit, to not notice the one girl that their daughters leave out of everything.  I know there are a lot of personalities and dynamics that I can’t go into here, but I have to wonder, do they not encourage inclusiveness to their daughters?  Does my own daughter truly have any idea what an example she has been to me this year?

I told her that this kind of stuff doesn’t go away as you get older and that I feel excluded a lot.  But I also told her that I believe God had granted her the grace to deal with the situation and that I admired the way she has shown grace to those around her.

Is there something that you admire about your own daughter or son?  Have you looked for something to admire in them?  Have you told them?  If not, find a way to do that today.

Jacks {Mama Braggin’ Monday}

Well, I’m sorry that you didn’t hear much from me last week, but you probably won’t hear a lot from me in the coming week as well.  I hate to admit it, but I got a speeding ticket a while back and now, most of my spare computer time when I might have written for the blog is taken up with an online defensive driving course. 

It is a beating, to say the least.

But I wanted to share this with you. 

Sarah received a set of jacks as a party favor from her teacher last Wednesday as the class celebrated her teacher’s birthday.  The sad thing is she had no idea what they were or any clue how to play with them.

So, I showed her and we talked about them for a while as she tried her hand at it.  We eventually set a couple of towels down to act as a barrier to keep the ball from rolling quite so far away every single time.  Before long, she really had a pretty good handle on it.

As she played, it dawned on me, and I told her, that this is a game that her grandmothers and great-grandmother would have played when they were girls her age. 

And as I thought about this fact, I found it a little sad that she had not heard of jacks before.  But it’s really no wonder with the advent of t.v., video games and computers.  I sat and imagined a little girl having to attend a meeting of some kind with her mother 50 years ago versus today.  50 years ago, that little girl might have carried a small doll, a book and a bag of jacks with her for entertainment.  Today’s girl might pack a book, but more than likely would just bring her Nintendo DS. 

So call me a little nostalgic, but it did my heart a little bit of good that day to see my daughter playing a game so simple as jacks and I felt like it gave us a little connection to the past.  The good ole’ days, if you will. 

Have you encountered a moment like this with your kids?  Do you encourage older games that require no electricity?  I challenge you to find one.  It may do your heart, and theirs, a little good.

Me & My Girl {Mama Braggin’ Monday}

On Saturday, Sarah and I attended a conference called You & Your Girl that is put on by Lifeway.  The keynote speaker at these conferences is Vicki Courtney, who is another favorite author and Bible teacher of mine.

I had known that Vicki would be doing one of these conferences here in my local area for quite a while, but only in January did I realize that they had broadened the age range enough for Sarah to attend.  I had been planning for quite a while to try to go to Atlanta in April to attend the simulcast event that Beth Moore was doing for her new book “So Long, Insecurity.”  But having this opportunity to go and do something with Sarah, just us… mom and daughter… well, it seemed a little more important.  A choice had to be made because I wouldn’t be able to afford to do both.  And since the point when she and I decided to go, we had been looking forward to it.

After 10 years of reading her books and doing and leading her Bible Studies, including her most recent “5 Conversations You Must Have with Your Daughter” book and Bible study,  it was really neat to get to hear Vicki speak in person.  And not only that, to get to meet her up close and personal during her “Meet & Greet” time. 

We had a really great time and I had to just share a couple of little stories.

In Vicki’s first session, she talked about how much we girls like love stories.  She talked a bit about movies and famous romantic movie quotes.  In with all this they showed a montage of romantic scenes from movies.  They ranged from the scene a-top the Empire State Building in Sleepless in Seattle to the beach in the rain scene from Sweet Home Alabama.  The last several scenes that were shown were scenes where the two characters kissed. 

You know what my daughter said? “Why do they have to show the kissing when they know that there are 9 year olds here?”

I never knew my daughter was so “kissing scene” averse.

After that first session, there was a break-out session where Sarah went with all the other 3rd grade girls to do some activities and things while the moms stayed and listened to a panel discussion with Vicki and 3 other ladies (one of which was Amy Pierson from Prestonwood Baptist  - this is a young lady to keep your eye on. She has a book coming out soon on mentoring.) .  Then we broke for lunch.

Sarah had decided very early that we were going to Pei Wei.  And the fact that I had a kid that would in a heartbeat pick Pei Wei over, say, McDonald’s is a testament to God’s grace and mercy on me if anything is.

After lunch we went down to the Lifeway bookstore so that we could look around and I could meet Vicki.  I had decided that we might buy a CD from the Sonflowerz, who led worship, but that we weren’t going to spend a lot.

So when you daughter comes to you and says she has found another Bible that she really wants, what are you supposed to say?  When she says, “I want to have a variety kinds of Bibles,” can you in any way say, “No, you can’t have another Bible.”? 

Well, I couldn’t. 

So after another break-out session and a closing session with Vicki, which included a bit of fidgeting by Sarah and  a great skit by Vicki’s youngest son and some of his friends (a rare treat since he is not normally at these events), Sarah’s final analysis of the day was:

“It was long, but it was fun.”

Me and my girl. 

I hope you and your girl have a similar opportunity sometime soon.  It was priceless.

 

P.S. I hope to do a post this week about and unpack some of what we covered in the “5 Conversations” Bible study and what I learned from it.  Stay tuned.

Blessed by my quiver {Mama Braggin’ Monday}

You know, I love those moments when I can just sit back and witness my kids doing something on their own that I feel like I have worked so hard to teach them… and then to realize, it had nothing to do with me at all.

At lunch after church today Sarah really stepped up and displayed such a grown up and respectful attitude toward our waitress at the restaurant where we ate.  Without prompting even one time her speech was full of “Thank you,” “No, thanks,” and “Yes, please.” 

And it wasn’t just a forced response.  I could tell that her attitude was that of gratefulness and appreciation and that her speech was just over flowing from that heart attitude.  I could also tell that her attitude blessed our waitress.  And honestly, if I had my guess, she probably does not get treated as well from many adults who truly should know better.

As we walked to the car, I told her that her that it blessed me to see her interactions with our waitress.  She tried to say, “Well, you taught me well.” 

But I seriously I can’t take credit for this at all.  I explained that many parents try but the heart attitude is something that can’t necessarily be taught except by the Holy Spirit.  I simply told her that I appreciated her being sensitive to His leading and to those around her. 

It’s not a coincidence that my quiet time reading today was Psalm 127. 

“Children are a heritage from the Lord, offspring a reward from him.  Like arrows in the hands of a warrior are children born in one’s youth.  Blessed is the man whose quiver is full of them.”

I am blessed by my full quiver.  They bless me every single day.  I can’t seem to brag on them and what God is doing in them enough.

How about you?

A New Sport {Mama Braggin’ Monday}

Sarah has played soccer for the last few years.  This spring, in an effort to branch out, she is trying softball.

She and Nathan had mentioned being interested in playing base ball back in the fall.  Well, Santa heard about this and got all excited.  So they both got gloves and a bat to share for Christmas.

We finally got her signed up this spring to play softball and her team is the Tiggers (Yes, as in Winnie the Pooh… T-I-Double guh-ERRRRR).

She had her first game a few weeks ago and seems to be enjoying it.  I’m just thrilled that she is finally playing a sport that I have some knowledge of and understand.  (I played softball all through elementary school and on a church rec. team in high school.)

She has played catcher a few times.  I played catcher so I have a soft spot here.

At bat.  Her stance needs some work, but she’s getting the hang of it and making contact with the ball.  But this was her first game after only one or two practices.

Her first base hit.

She got to first then the next batter allowed her to get to 2nd.  She was forced out at 3rd, but not bad for her first time around the bases.

And, yeah, can you believe the face mask on her batting helmet?  When did THAT start?!?

She has also played 2nd base some and outfield.

The one thing that’s getting on my nerves is those darn chain link fences.  They get in the way of my picture taking. 

Her coach is really nice and is excellent about moving the girls around to try different positions.  And it’s coach pitch so the girls get like five chances to hit the ball at the plate.  She said she hasn’t been playing long enough yet to have a favorite thing or position, so we’ll see how the season goes.

But the girl is having fun and the team is doing pretty well so far.  She missed the team’s very first game because it was her birthday and, well, there was a party to be had.  So as far as a record goes, we lost first game she attended and have won the two since then. 

So here’s to trying new things.

Go Tiggers!

Next up…. 4 year old t-ball.  Now THAT should be fun.  Or excruciating. 

Climbing Trees {Mama Braggin’ Monday}

Oh Lord, have mercy.

I don’t know if I should call this braggin’ or not. 

My little man has learned to climb the big Magnolia tree in our back yard.

 

He’s so proud of himself and all I can think is, “Oh baby, you can’t fall because we don’t have any insurance.”

Which now that I think about it, I probably shouldn’t say too loudly any more for fear of being found out.  But I’ll not go down that political road in this post.

So, here’s to our soon coming first emergency trip to the ER.  Broken bones… broken head…. it’s coming.

Lord, have mercy.

Is it Picasso? Or a 4 year old? {Mama Braggin’ Monday}

Last Sunday, Nathan drew the greatest ever “Jonah and the Whale” picture during Sunday School.

No…. really. It is Jonah and the whale. My son just CLEARLY has a bit of a surrealist or even specifically a Pablo Picasso influence in his art.

Or maybe he’s just four.

Things I love about this:

1. The line drawn on the paper to show the trajectory of the whale’s burping up of Jonah. We’ve obviously watched the Veggie Tales version a time or two… or ninety.

2. He thought to draw the boat.

3. The belly of the whale. That’s just awesome. Especially since there is no body around it. Just teeth and a belly.

4. Jonah is a dot and is clearly insignificant to the story. But he did merit a mention.

But really, what’s NOT to love?

Have your kids drawn any great works of art for you lately? Tell me about them.

Milestones {Mama Braggin’ Monday}

Did you realize that the NHTSA (National Highway Traffic Safety Administration) has suggested guidelines for child car seat and booster seat usage that go beyond laws in most states?  In fact, until recently, Texas did not have a decent booster seat law.  (A new booster seat law went into effect last year.)

Personally I think many people allow their children to get out of their booster seats way too soon.  And their children find the shoulder strap does not fit them well and they may put it behind their backs making for a very dangerous situation in the case of a wreck. 

The guideline that the NHTSA encourages that I have always looked for when determining my kids readiness to leave the booster seat is, to quote the NHTSA site, “A child using a seat belt should be able to sit all the way back against the vehicle seat back with knees comfortably bent over the edge of the seat.”  And while I have not been legally required to have my daughter in a booster seat, she has remained in one until she met this guideline.

Well, as of this weekend, my now 9 year old daughter meets those guidelines.  Yes, people, I now have a child who is no longer in any kind of car seat or booster seat.  See for yourself:

It may not seem like a big deal to you, but this child of mine has been in some kind of a car or booster seat for the last nine years.  For her to now suddenly be big enough to not need one is just another one of those “passing of an era” moments.

Her daddy fussed at her pretty good when we realized all this.  We keep telling her to stop growing but she continually and habitually disobeys us. 

What are we going to do with her?

Can someone seriously please make time stand still?

Aren't these some cute kids? {Mama Braggin' Monday}

Just sharing some photos taken yesterday morning before church.

Sarah had on her American Girl Kit Kitridge outfit that my mom (Mimi) gave her for Christmas. Clearly, she was so cute that I had to take a picture.



And naturally, Nathan wanted me to take a picture of him as well.



Oh... no... hush.... yes, well, I know they're cute, but I'm biased. Oh, stop it.

*wink*

Church Choir {Mama Braggin' Monday}

My daughter's 3rd & 4th Grade choir sang in church yesterday morning.

I'm bragging not because of my mad iPhone photo taking skilz. But because while I was listening to them I thought that their teacher had included the voices from the track in their performance and was a little disappointed. But then I spoke to her choir teacher that evening.

"No," she said. "There were no voices piped in. What you heard was THEM? With the harmony part and everything."

She then went on to tell me that Sarah was one of the children who volunteered to sing the harmony part.

I was proud.

Not only because they sounded so good, but because I told Sarah before we went into worship service, "Just sing because you love Jesus."

And I believe she did.

2 things I like about Christmas {Mama Braggin’ Monday}

This came home in Sarah’s folder last week.  Reading it just made me smile.

2 things I like about Christmas

Written by: Sarah

There are two things I like about Christmas.  The two things are celebrating Jesus’ birth and giving presents.  The first thing is celebrating Jesus’ birth.  I like this because Jesus came to die.  The second thing is giving.  I like giving because God gave His only son Jesus.  I like these two things because they remind me of Jesus birth.

Hello again and {Mama Braggin' Monday}

I know it has been a while since you've heard from me here on the blog. I'm around. Just very busy.

I have so much to tell you and catch you up on, but having the time to sit and write is just so difficult right now.

This next week and a half or so, in particular, are very busy. A committee at church, of which I am a part, is in the middle of some big decisions and we will be meeting 3 times over the next week or so. That's a lot of time away from home and away from my family. But I believe God will redeem that time as I am doing what He called me to do on this committee.

Amen.

Just know that I miss you right now, blogosphere.

So, until I can get back to some kind of normal around here, I thought I'd share with you my favorite Christmas present I received this year.




Mike took the kids to our local pottery painting place and they made me this awesome mug with their handprints on it. It sits so proudly on my desk and I use it for water because I don't want to see how bad coffee would stain it (because then that would make me wonder about my teeth).

I love putting my hand up next to theirs and seeing the difference in size. It reminds me of my job to take them by the hand each day and lead and guide them.

It's my favorite Christmas present.

My Future Rocker {Mama Braggin' Monday}

While my son is usually the one who does not want to perform in front of people, he certainly likes to show off from time to time. Especially when there is some good ol' rock 'n' roll involved.

It's not uncommon for us to be driving down the road and a good guitar riff to start off a song and him to break out into an air guitar or for him to grab pencils out of the chairs in the worship center at church and play along with the band on the backs of the chairs in front of him.

It just so happens that we love the book and the movie "The Polar Express." So much so that I bought the soundtrack a year or so ago and we have since all memorized the songs. This is evidence:

My future rocker from WayMoreHomemade on Vimeo.

A few observations:
1) I love his air guitar solo at :23.
2) Extreme closeup with tongue sticking out and everything a la Gene Simmons at 1:34.
3) Not sure what is up with all the summersaults. Maybe that's the 4 year old version of jumping into the crowd or something.
4) He ends with an extreme closeup and says, "Ma nah ma nah!" If you don't know what that is... google it.

As I said, we love the Polar Express. So much so that we drove several hours a few days before Christmas in the driving rain to ride on the Texas State Railroad's version of the Pol-Ex.

Everyone is encouraged to wear their pajamas. There was such excitement as we pulled out of the train station and everyone cheered and clapped as they played the main song from the movie. They play a recording of someone reading the book on the first leg of the trip.

During the book reading, the extensive staff on board, all dressed in chef costumes, served hot chocolate (at just the right temperature, I might add) and cookies to all the patrons. They are all so incredibly friendly and cheerful for the entire trip as they engaged the kids and adults alike to make it a festive and fun atmosphere.

Santa boarded the train once we got to "The North Pole" and gave each child a bell.

While Santa made his rounds, Christmas Carols were being played, everyone was singing and dancing and lots of fun was had.

If you ever get the chance to do the Polar Express train trip, do it. All of us had a blast. Even my dad who kept trying to negotiate being moved to an "Adults Only" car.

But watch out if they're playing "Rockin' on Top of the World." My son may be doing an air-band performance.

The end of another era… {Mama Braggin’ Monday}

Every once in a while you realize that something is passing out of your life as a mom and you know you will never see it again.  Kind of like when you changed that last diaper, washed that last sippy cup or took apart the crib.  We’re not always sad to see these things go (hello… diapers?) but on some level we are because it means that our little ones are just growing up too fast for our taste.  Before we know it we will be saying good-bye to Barbies, high school and our kids themselves as they go out into the world on their own.

Well, I feel like I’ve had another one of those moments this weekend. 

Ever since we left the training swallowable toothpaste behind when she was about 3, Sarah has used some sort of kids Princess toothpaste.  For five years I have known that my little girl loved her some pink princess toothpaste.  

Then, yesterday it happened. 

8 year old: “Dad, I need more toothpaste.”

Dad: “Sure, sweetie.  We’ll go to the store probably tomorrow.”

8 year old: “But, dad, can it not be the princess kind?”

Dad: “Sure. What kind do you want?”

8 year old: “I don’t really care.  As long as it’s not the princess kind.”

I can’t believe I’m waxing nostalgic over toothpaste, but here I am… the mushy mom.  I just can’t help myself.  It just feels like this is the beginning of many more similar things to come and before I know it, she’ll be going to the prom.  Yes, it’s quite a jump to go from princess toothpaste to the prom, but you know what I mean.  It’s just one more little girl thing that I’m having to let go of. 

When I’d rather just stop time.

What has been your most recent “passing of an era” moment with your kids?

My Best Friend {Mama Braggin' Monday}

I love these kinds of conversations with my kids. Especially at four years old.

Son: "Mom, you know who my best friend is?"

Mom: "Who's that?"

Son: "Jesus."

Mom: "Yes, son. He really is."

Son: "And He's Sarah's best friend. And your best friend. And Daddy's best friend."

Yes, son. HE IS!

Dear friend in blog world, is Jesus your best friend?

Oh, and it was also Halloween {Mama Braggin’ Monday}

My mom called last week while I was gone one evening and invited us to come out to see them and their new house this weekend.  But as she and Mike talked about it for a moment, they realized that it was Halloween.  But once we talked about it, we realized that we had absolutely no plans during the entire weekend, so we said sure.  Because, seriously, the kids don’t care where they trick or treat as long as they get the candy, right?

Right.

I called her back and let her know that we did still have soccer games first thing on Saturday morning, but we would plan to leave right after that.  So off we went to Mimi and Papa’s house for Halloween.  This was a first for us.

I love that my kids spent that day doing a lot of this…

… and this …

… and being doted on like this…

Oh and they also dressed up because it was, after all, Halloween. 

We went to a little bity country church’s fall festival.    The kids played games, went on a hayride and ate corny dogs. 

And, of course, got candy and prizes.

So, in my opinion… Halloween just doesn’t get any better than the day we had on Saturday.  I hope yours came close to being as fun as ours.

A Slug of a Bug {Mama Braggin’ Monday}

As much as I want to be the one to talk to and teach my kids everything they need to know to have success in this world, there’s no way it is going to happen. That’s why we send them to school; because A) I am not gifted in teaching school-type subjects, and 2) there are certain real-life experiences that they will have in school that I can’t give them. There is a lot of non-book learning that goes on at school and I am thankful for a Christian school that provides a safe and Christ-centered environment for some of that learning to take place.

But really, I just got way deeper in that paragraph than what I’m really thinking of today.

Like I said, I want to be the one to teach my kids things, but I can’t do it all.

Enter the summer teen-aged babysitter.

The last two summers we have been blessed to have teens from our church come and babysit the kids during the summer months. If you babysat as a teenager, you know how young kids just love their teens; and my kids are no exception. They loved Miss K last summer and Miss S this past summer.

I mean, what’s not to love. They go to the pool, play Mario Kart, go to the local ice cream shop… it’s all fun. And at some point, in all the fun this past summer, Miss S taught Sarah about the game of “Slug Bug.”

Yeah. Do you remember that from your younger days? Apparently the kids… they still play it.

But Sarah, I think since she didn’t want to actually hit anyone (for fear of the wrath of mama), changed the rules a little bit. She sat down and assigned point values to each of the colors and on our trip to Destin(LINK) this summer, it became a competitive game to see who got the most points.

For a long time it seemed as though she was just making up the points as she went along. We weren’t sure that she wasn’t just pulling numbers out of thin air each time you called, “Slug Bug Green!”

But she assured us that she simply had the point values memorized. So, we took her at her word.

It all just seemed too arbitrary, though.

Until the other day.

Nathan initially did not really get what a Slug Bug is. He would yell, “Slug Bug” at a truck, a Corvette, or even sometimes he would yell, “Slug Bug Motorcycle!”

Yeah.

He recently has been demonstrating a greater understanding of what constitutes a Slug Bug. As we were headed home from piano lessons the other day, he yelled, “Slug Bug Red!” And you know what… it was actually a VW Beetle and it was actually red. I was so proud.

We actually saw several right in a row and Sarah was going back over the points that everyone got as I still marveled and thought to myself, “She’s just making stuff up about the point values.”

Until at one point she simply and matter-of-factly explained to Nathan that “The points are the order of the rainbow.” “WHAT?” I asked, “You mean there is an order to the points for the colors?” “Of course,” she responded, “Red is 1, orange is 2, then yellow, green, blue, and purple. After that is brown, black and white.”

Of course. What other explanation could there be?