More of Music City

Growing up, I loved our annual trips to Nashville more than just about any other place we went. That's one reason why it thrills me that Jones and Freddie get to spend so much time in Music City. I want them to love it like I did.

The bigger reason I love these trips, though, is that it means my boys are getting to be best buddies with the precious son of one of my best buddies. Brooke and I have planned, since before AJ was born, that our tiny trio would someday share a college apartment at the University of Tennessee. The memories they're making now are the foundation for that plan, and the pictures. Well, just imagine how AMAZING they'll look on the gallery wall of that apartment I mentioned.

And before you start, I acknowledge that most college boys don't have gallery walls of boyhood pictures in their bachelor pads. Still, it's fun for us to dream, and it's even more fun for us to make the memories that come with taking the pictures.

In short, it was another great visit. I really feel like these boys are the best versions of themselves whenever they're together. They are so sweet to each other - fits never ... well, RARELY ... happen. It's kind of astounding, to be honest, how well they do.

Here are a few "must-remembers" from this most recent visit:

1) the advent of the Push Pop - on the way to Nashville, the boys and I stopped at a convenience store, and Freddie emerged with his first-ever Push Pop, which he spent the rest of the day eating. As usual, he was very generous with it - Brooke said she saw him stop the Gator and, without saying a word, turn to A.J., pushing the Pop into A.J.'s unsuspecting mouth. He gave his buddy a couple licks of it at dinner, too.

The next morning, after Brooke took some photos of Jones and Freddie, I took all three boys to a convenience store, so each could have his own Push Pop. I imagine these treats will be a part of our lives for the foreseeable future.

2) Freddie still sleeps in bathrooms almost everywhere we go. He doesn't mind one bit. This time his digs were upgraded, though. Brooke's redone her guest bathroom, and it looks AMAZING.

3) While we were there, Brooke's neighbor brought a leaf blower over for A.J. to play with. The boys took turns playing with it. I imagine we will be buying a couple of leaf blowers before too long.

My favorite Mexican restaurant in America is right down
the street from Brooke's house.

4) Once again, we brought the Gator with us, and once again, the boys had a BALL riding it all over Brooke's amazing backyard. What was incredible was how they'd stop and switch drivers every so often, without having be told to. I was very impressed with how all three took turns.

I was somewhat scared by the way Freddie drove, which is nothing knew. He likes to ride right around the perimeter of the lot. At the back of their property line is a little lip that goes up, like a tiny hill. It's shaded by tree limbs, and this is probably Freddie's favorite place to drive - thankfully, A.J. rolls with it and instinctively leans away from the tree limbs that, let's face it, could maim them both.

It was another awesome visit. The boys had a ball - and have been asking when we can see A.J. again since we hit the road right around nap time today.

Here's some video footage of our little Kings of the Road.

I love seeing these three in a row.

He may still be sleeping in bathrooms,
but no more Pack & Plays!

the infamous Push Pop

sharing the Push Pop

Freddie doesn't ALWAYS make the
best decisions at dinner.
Then again, when baskets of chips
are involved, neither do I!

Yes. He drinks salsa {face palm}.

Freddie was using A.J.'s camera to take a
picture of me, Brooke, and Michael.
Jones stood behind him, doing tricks
to try to get us to smile.
Wonder where he's seen that before?

I am going gray. Fast.

Freddie did NOT want Jones trying to stop
the Gator by pulling on the flatbed.

Thanksgiving Parties at Preschool

At the boys' preschool Open House, there was a sign up sheet in both classrooms. I thought I was signing up to help at a party, which thrilled me, because, HELLO. PHOTO OP!  So I signed up for one party for Jones and one party for Freddie (the max we were allowed to sign up for).

Last Wednesday, I got a message from Mrs. Doris and Mrs. Janet. "Let us know what you need us to do for the Thanksgiving party!" Ohhhhh. So I guess I signed up to PLAN the Thanksgiving Party. Got it.

In a rush, I visited Amazon and Oriental Trading, my go-tos in such situations. They did not let me down, providing Jones's class with a Charlie Brown Thanksgiving Party, complete with story time and songs, a treat bag and a take-home craft.

What did mothers do before two-day shipping?

I'm thankful I'll never have to know.

It was awesome to be at school with the boys. Jeremy even came, which reminded me to be thankful for the kind of husband who'll take his lunch break at 9:30 a.m., so he can open 23 8 oz. water bottles.

After we'd set up in Jones's class, we got to sneak a peek at Freddie's. I guess Freddie's class had been told to not talk, because we waved and spoke, and he didn't so much as crack a smile - which made me proud to see, I assume, that he knows to obey the teacher even when your mama is making crazy faces through the Dutch door of your classroom.

After school, Freddie came out wearing an Indian headdress he'd made. I loved it so much that we stopped and took a picture of him on the way home.

Oh, and Jones brought home his "Turkey Book," in which he said that this is how you cook a turkey:

"You put eyes and a mouth and pepperoni on it. Put it in the oven (I'm kinda surprised he knew what this was, since it's so rarely used in our house). Cook it at 5 degrees for 4 minutes (again, where'd ever hear something like that??). Take it out and eat it."

When I read that to him later he corrected it, saying, "You cook it for four minutes; then you say the blessing and eat it."

Smart boy.

Tomorrow, they have a "feast" at school - KFC chicken tenders with potato wedges and a biscuit. Preschool is the BEST.

I'm pretty sure the little girl looking
at the camera is the one Jones walked
into school a few weeks go holding
hands with. He gets very shy when I ask,
but I THINK her name is Charlie?

Jones says his catechisms.

Tonite, Jones completed his first semester of Catechism class at Arden Pres. I have been so proud of how well he has done - and really impressed with his propensity to memorize. Being in Catechism has not only benefited him - but also the rest of the family, as we ALL get to review these truths with him.

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.

Here Comes Santa Claus!

I'm not typically one to skip over Thanksgiving and go straight from Halloween to Christmas, but when you see on Facebook that the one and only, inimitable Smokey Mountain Santa is visiting the Southern Porch in downtown Canton, you don your holiday best and get on down there.

The boys arrived with their lists in tow. They thanked Santa for bringing Stinky and the puzzles last year and asked for a trolley (Jones) and a drum set (Freddie) this year.

Santa pretty heavily implied that they are both on the Nice list, but we've got six more weeks to see how it all shakes out!

"Time for Your Check-up! Time for Your Check-up!"

When he picked out his hat this morning,
he wanted one with a "J" on it. THAT'S MY BOY.

I'm not sure the difference could be more stark between Jones's four year check up and his five year check up.

At both, he was perfectly healthy, thank God (he DOES have some warts on his shoulder - mosculum contagiosum - and when I put the Compound W on him tonite, he begged me not to, screaming, "GOD will 'feal' it! GOD will 'feal' it!"), but his reaction to being at the doctor - and to the things that happen at the doctor - just offered further evidence of the incredible amount of growing up my five year old has done here lately.

I hadn't even told him where we were going, until we were heading to the Pressleys' to drop Freddie off beforehand. When I dropped the bomb that we were heading for his check-up, he acted 1000% unphased. He whined a little when I started sining the "Time for Your Check-Up" song from "Doc McStuffins," but he was totally calm other than that.

Even sitting in the waiting room, he was cool as a cucumber. When "Robert" was called back, he still showed no fear. In fact, he stepped on the scale without any of the hesitation that had me forcefully holding him down this time last year. Even the hearing test, which he'd refused to do at four, was not a big deal at five ... well, it wasn't MUCH of a big deal.

The first go round, he'd wear the headphones but refuse to raise his hands when he heard the beep. After seeing Dr. O'Donnell, he'd relaxed enough to retry the test but still wouldn't raise his hand. I told him to slap his knee, instead. For whatever reason, that did the trick, and he passed the test without any issues.

The vision test? No big deal.

His booster shots? He took them like a boss.

I think part of this was because he didn't know what was coming when the nurse and I laid him out on the exam table at the end of his appointment. He and I were talking about trolleys (this is on his Christmas list, so I was distracting him, asking "Big trolley or small?"), while she got her gear ready. He screamed after the first stick, but as soon as the second was over, he was done. The whole thing last ten seconds, tops. I'd assumed he'd be mopey through check-out and even as we drove away, but nope.

Jones insisted on sitting on the same side of the booth
with me. I didn't mind that one bit.

Not Jones 5.0.

We left and headed to "Old McDonalds" - his request - where it took 30 minutes for them to work their way through a line that was four people deep, and no. I am not exaggerating. In fact, that trip to McDonald's was the only part of the day that gave me heartburn.

So far, five is fine by me - and with his hearing and vision tests passed, and his booster shots administered, my big boy is officially kindergarten-ready.

MAN, that happened fast.

Thank You, God, for Jones's excellent health. Please continue to protect and preserve him and to seal him as Your Own. In Jesus's name, Amen.

"Here I raise mine Ebenezer ..."

I'd planned to homeschool the boys. 

For a number of reasons, that seemed to be the best choice for us.  I had a nagging fear about teaching the boys to read, for some reason. It's just so foundational, and I knew if I screwed that up, I could really be handicapping their educations for years to come, but still, homeschool seemed to be the best fit for my boys, so we were ready to get Pressley Prep off the ground as soon as they'd graduated from preschool at Clyde First Baptist. 

But first, they started preschool. I enrolled them, thinking it might be good for Jones to be away from me some - maybe it'd help him to mature. I could never have anticipated the change in him that we've seen in the two months since he's started. In fact, Mrs. Doris, who taught him on the days he attended "camp" this Summer, told me last month, "He's not the same little boy I saw back in the Summer." 

I already knew it.

He's grown up SO much, since starting school. Freddie's done great, as well, but Freddie's success was never in doubt. It's Jones's flourishing that's been the most amazing. Seeing it, I started second guessing my plans to homeschool.

Maybe, I thought, Jones NEEDS school. 

So I started to pray for guidance - and to look at our options. Basically, there are two: Haywood Christian and Asheville Christian. I'd always written them off as either too small (HCA) or too far away (ACA). This, of course, fed into our decision to homeschool. 

But when I started praying about it, I decided to visit both schools. My assumption was that HCA would be an immediate, unequivocal "NO;" ACA would be just as resounding a "YES," and the complication would be deciding whether or not I could convince myself that keeping two kindergarteners in the car for 2 hours a day was a wise use of their time. 

Our first visit was to HCA. It took MINUTES for me to know that my pre-conceived opinions about the school were wrong. I was almost instantly at ease with both the school and its mission. Jeremy was, too. I was shocked by how impressed I was and told Jeremy I'd feel completely comfortable with the boys going to kindergarten there. 

We're slated to visit ACA next Thursday. I told Jeremy this week, though, that I don't even know why we're bothering. I know it's a great school - and if HCA doesn't grow before the boys are in high school, it's a definite option for their later grades, but for now, the distance and, more convincingly, the mission of the school, make it a great fit.

So while I felt settled on the school we'd send them to if we were to send them to school, I still wasn't sure if we should send them. With a viable option ten minutes from home, the major hurdle became the money component.

So I prayed.

Then, on Thursday, I got my answer. That's why I'm writing this all down, by the way. I want the boys to know, first, how Jeremy and I came to make the decision that we did, and secondly, how amazingly God directed the choice and provided for their educations. 

The boys were at school, and I knew I needed to read my Bible. I had to FORCE myself to do it on this day - I really remember standing in the doorway to the kitchen, thinking, "Ugh. I have so much else I need to do," but I did it, anyway, and THANK GOD FOR THAT. 

Something I read reminded me of a friend, who's facing a really big decision. I read in Genesis 24 (the same lesson I taught my 3 year olds in Sunday school last week, as a matter of fact!) - it's the account of Abraham sending his servant to find a wife for Isaac. What I love most about that account are how the servant seeks God's direction for his journey and how God answers before the servant stops praying.

On this day, though, something else about the passage jumped out at me.

The servant has VERY SPECIFICALLY asked God to do something; He does it TO THE LETTER, and then the servant sits back to decide if God had blessed his journey. I do that SO OFTEN. God will do something only He can do, and then doubt will crowd my mind, and I'll wonder if it's really Him - or just coincidence (as if that's even a thing).

Reading this, of course, made me think of my friend, so I sent her a video message and told her about it. I then told her about how the servant doubted and how I always do that, too, and I used the example of the boys' school: 

"We're praying about the boys school. Homeschool? Go to school? And if they go to school, it's gonna cost (SUM OF MONEY). We don't HAVE (SUM OF MONEY). God could send us (SUM OF MONEY) TODAY, and I would still sit back and wonder if that what it was for."

That, I thought, was that. I closed my Bible and went on with my life.

At 3:30 that afternoon, I was driving to Greenville for a Children's Theatre board meeting. I checked my email, while I was sitting at a stoplight. I had a completely out of the blue, 1000% unsolicited email from the head of the Education Department at Furman (the one I worked for last Spring, the one who paid for our Disney trip ... even though it got cut in less-than-half (ANGST-Y FACE EMOJI)). In it, she asked me to teach one class this Spring and one class next Fall, the earnings from which, Y'all, WOULD EQUAL (SUM OF MONEY).

In other words, God DID send us (SUM OF MONEY) "today." I immediately knew the answer. The boys are to go to school, and their tuition is COVERED by God's totally unexpected, totally out of the clear blue provision. I was so certain that God was in this that my response was basically that I was so honored to be asked back and very interested in the job. I told them my circumstances had changed, though, and with my boys in school, I'd need them to change the schedule, so I could pick up my boys from school each day. 

I asked this more boldly than I've probably ever asked anything else in my entire life, because I KNEW God was in this. If He could provide the gig, He could EASILY rework the schedule. To be anything less than bold in my response seemed to say I was wavering in my certainty that this was His plan.

I emailed my need for a schedule change to the head of the department around 10 p.m. Thursday. By 11:15 a.m. Friday, it was signed, sealed, and delivered - the course was mine, at the same pay rate as last year and with the schedule that allows me to be back in Canton a full hour before I need to pick up the boys. 

I still get goosebumps when I recount this tale.

CAN YOU EVEN BELIEVE THAT????

As I was sharing it with some friends, it occurred to me that I'd have missed out on it altogether, if I hadn't FORCED myself into my Quiet Time that morning (shame on me that I had to FORCE myself). If I hadn't read the account in Genesis 24 that made me video message Leslie, then I wouldn't have unknowingly foretold the EXACT THING THAT GOD WAS PREPARING TO DO THAT VERY DAY. I'd have gotten Furman's email and been totally confused about what I should do - teach or not? And what about the boys??? 

But because the Holy Spirit made it SO CLEAR I HAD to read my Bible that morning, I instead had complete peace - the school decision was settled, and the question of how to pay for it was miraculously answered all by a God Who promises to direct our steps if we acknowledge Him in all our ways. 

I'm not saying they'll be in school forever. In fact, a big part of me would LIKE to bring them home for several years ... but not until AFTER they learn to read, which, we now know, they'll be doing at Haywood Christian Academy.

Go, Red Wolves. 

And THANK YOU, Father, for Your direction and provision.