Lake Chatuge 2019: Week One

Our first weekend of the year at Lake Chatuge was a lot like every other weekend we spend at Lake Chatuge. Well, I take that back. This one was different. First of all, it rained - torrentially and almost non-stop, which made for VERY peaceful sleep. It also left a lot of time for game-playing in the house. It precluded our traditional trip to the Treat Store (Boundary Waters), but it didn't keep us from "guarding Aunt Nancy's dock," as she told the boys to do, and it didn't keep us from participating in the weekend's Main Event - the Cardboard Boat Race!

Part of 31st Lake Chatuge Antique & Classic Boat Rendezvous, the race involved spending two hours building a boat using nothing but cardboard, an Exacto knife, and Duck Tape. Both boys were going to participate - one would work with Jeremy, the other with Mr. Pressley, but when we arrived - in a Saturday morning rain that could be characterized as "monsoon-like" - Jones decided to tap-out. That left the Pressleys and Jeremy to work on a boat for Freddie. 

Taking Randy Cunningham's advice that "Duck Tape is your friend," they fashioned a simple skiff and covered the entire bottom and most of the sides in gray tape, earning it the moniker "Old Gray Boat." Jeremy raced alongside Freddie, who did a fantastic job in his first race, while his proud and encouraging brother stood at the midway point, cheering, "That's my brother! That's my brother!" which, the more I think of it, may have been ripped off from a very similar boat-racing scene in "Stuart Little."

Sadly, the Boat Show won't be back at Chatuge next Summer, but it wouldn't surprise me if Freddie and his crew didn't follow it to Lake Lure this time next year!

Oh! And something else out-of-the-ordinary happened on this trip! Jones MAY have broken his nose. Whether it was broken or not, we aren't sure, but it was definitely busted, bloodied, black and blue, and swollen after a fall off of the porch swing. He cried when it happened but handled the aftermath like a champ!

This was the beginning of Croco-Mama & the Rhino Bros.

Jones lost a tooth!

You will NOT believe what happened tonite!

It all started with what happened a few weeks ago - Jones, FINALLY, got a loose tooth! It's probably been loose for two weeks or so. Every nite, I'd wiggle it as I sang to him at bedtime. Well, tonite, as I wiggled, it came almost all of the way out. It just dangled there, stuck by a single root. At that point, Jones took over. He popped it out, like a man with nerves of steel, without so much as a single whimper.

Did I tell you you wouldn't believe it?

It's probably easier to imagine his excitement in the aftermath of the loss. He proceeded to FaceTime most everyone that he knows to give them the news. Those he didn't FaceTime, he asked me to send his picture to (Luke, "Mrs. Holly Clackett," for instance).

He bounced around the back half of the house, Tigger on a pogo stick, until, finally, placing his lost tooth in the orange, plastic case Dr. Bill gave him two years ago. It went under his Captain America pillow. According to him, the Tooth Fairy brings golden coins. Where he got that idea, I don't know, but we'll find out if he's right first thing tomorrow morning!

Freddie's Artist Statement

For most of his life, Jones's artwork has been typified by being hastily done and monochromatic. In other words, he seems very uninterested in creating visual art. He just rushes through it to move on to the next thing.

By contrast, Freddie's art is usually meticulously done. Mrs. Shana at Clyde First Baptist taught him to not "scribble scrabble" when coloring, and it's a lesson he took very deeply to heart. He also uses colors a'plenty to create some of my favorite pictures on the planet.

Take, for instance, this beautiful drawing he did when he was waiting for last nite's Catechism class to start. Click on the video below the picture to learn more about the drawing.

Palm Sunday Celebrations

For as shocking as it is after two snow days last week, it's Palm Sunday.

On the way to church this morning, we read the account of Jesus riding into Jerusalem on a donkey as the people laid palm branches at His feet and said, "Hosanna!" We then sang Sandy Patti's "Hosanna" as many times as would fit into our 30 minute trip, because it quickly became Jones's new musical obsession.

It laid a great framework, though, for what the boys learned in Sunday school and then what they got to do in church. As the Arden kids do every year, they carried palm leaves around the sanctuary. Last year, Jones and Freddie did it, but I walked with them. This year, they walked on their own, though the idea of it made Jones ... shall we say ... uncomfortable. Still, he did it without whining or crying or clinging to me, and I stood in the back of the sanctuary, taking pictures and praising God (again) for the growth in my big boy. In fact, on this video, if you listen closely, you can hear me saying to my friend Elaine, "He's doing it! He's doing it! He's not waving anything, but he's doing it!"



After the "palm parade," we tried to keep Freddie in "big church" with us. That lasted through most of a single verse of "All Glory, Laud, and Honor" before I realized keeping him in there would be at the cost of my sanctification; back to the nursery he went.

Freddie picked Culver's for a quick lunch after church. As we ate, I showed them the video of what they'd done. Freddie said, "My favorite part is REAGAN." Then, as we left, a couple told the boys that they looked so handsome. Both boys said, "Thank you," and then Freddie embellished his appreciation with a very deep, very dramatic bow, which, of course, made the crowd seated around us go wild.

From there, we went to the Shriner's Circus at Furman - I will try to write about this in a separate post, but to be honest, there wasn't much to it, so we left at Intermission and took a few photos of the boys in their cute suits at "Mama's cah-wedge."

"Hit it, Freddie!"

Every now and then, I get lucky, and the boys put on a show in my very own office. Today, it was inspired by the re-introduction of my record player, with which Jones (not surprisingly) is especially enthralled.

Come Christmas, we'll be adding a drum set and a keyboard to their band of instruments. I know some moms hate loud toys. Not me. It's the quiet that scares me. Loud toys make the boys easier to keep track of.

In fact, I'm beginning to think I need closed circuit cameras throughout the house - not so much for security but so I can keep track of where my children are.

Jones would play, and then he'd come
over and grab my hand and kiss it
like this. No idea what cartoon he
saw that on, but it cracked me up.

When we got in from being out, Jones said, "Mama,
can we please hear a song on the record player?"

I love this picture and the way it shows the "new" playroom.
Also, let me just say it's a good thing he's holding that
guitar the way he is, if you know what I'm saying.

Monster Mash

Probably prompted by too many episodes of "Scooby Doo," Jones randomly told me tonite, "If you see a monster, just call me, and I will fight it." What ensued was a marathon of monster-mashing. His sidekick, of course, joined in the sparring.

At one point, Jones bellowed, "Weave my mama awone. She's da King of da Woold."

Well, at least, he's got THAT straight.

"Always Stay the Same"

Not long before she died, my Mayme sent me a card. She sent me a lot of cards throughout my lifetime, and I still have plenty of them - but none of them means as much to me as this one particular one.

On the inside, all it said was this:

"Always stay the same."

That level of love and acceptance - of liking me exactly like I was, a know-it-all, stubborn, somewhat-geeky teenager - still brings tears to my eyes. It also sums up exactly how I feel about Freddie Pressley's tender little heart when I tell you what happened tonite.

While the boys were at catechism, I decided to skip my own class (don't tell) and go to Target. Among other things, I wanted to look for winter hats that are actually big enough for my boys' colossal noggins.

It didn't take long to find the perfect one for Freddie. Probably prompted by too much "Scooby Doo," he's always running around, acting like a monster, so when I placed this hat on his head after church, he reacted exactly as I thought he would - full on monster-mode. We walked to Jones's classroom, and Freddie asked me to hold him up, so his big brother would notice him lurking in the upper half of the Dutch door.

When we got home, I asked him, "Are you gonna wear your new hat to school tomorrow?" He suddenly got very serious. "But I might scare Mrs. Shana," he said, oozing sweet sincerity. I later told him I thought it was okay, that Mrs. Shana wouldn't be scared. He said, "Yeah. I'm a nice monster. I won't be cross at her."

Hey, Freddie.

"Always stay the same."

(Also, a few weeks ago, I was tucking Freddie into bed when he said, "Let's kiss together." By that, he meant, "Let's kiss on the lips." Since then, "kissing together" has become a thing, and I finally got a Boomerang of it, so that I'll never forget the once upon a time that he wanted to "kiss together" with his mama.)

Jones's Preschool Party

For almost a year now, Jones has been telling me two things:

1) he wanted to be Gordon for Halloween, and
2) he wanted a Mystery Machine birthday cake.

Where in the world he conceived of a Mystery Machine birthday cake, I will never know, but today, his dreams came true. Jeremy, Mrs. Pressley, and I (my mom was sick, and my dad was en route to Kentucky) delivered a Mystery Machine pull-apart cupcake cake to Clyde First Baptist Preschool ... complete with the Scooby Doo "earrings" Jones requested when Hudsyn's class cupcakes came with Spiderman rings on top.

It was a quick little affair, after which Jeremy and I went to tour Haywood Christian Academy, as we begin to explore our "If we DON'T homeschool, what are our kindergarten options?" options.

Oh, and don't miss the video at the end of the post. It's proof that even BIG boys sometimes need a little help from their baby brothers.