Purple Leaf

Nicholas and I were talking recently about possible names for his little sister. No, Stuart and I haven't started talking about names but I was just curious about names that Nicholas might come up with. He first said "Alyssa" but I explained that we couldn't name her after his 2 year old cousin although I had a hard time really explaining why not. I named off a couple of girl names off the top of my head to see what he thought of them. I mentioned Jennifer and he said, "No, Uncle Steve Owen's friend is Jennifer so we can't name her after Jennifer." I guess he's got me there.

A moment later, he said, "I'm just going to call her Purple Leaf!" Umm, OK....why??? He said, "Because girls like the color Purple and I like leaves!"

So, until we come up with something better, the little baby girl in my tummy is loving being referred to as Purple Leaf....Maybe Stuart and I should really get started on picking out names!

Gone Fishin'

We got outdoors today and had a wonderful time together. We went fishing! There is an awesome little pond nearby that is just packed with sunfish. But there is a little secret to catching them...they love hot dogs! Yes, all you need is a tiny piece of hot dog on a hook and as soon as the hook gets wet, you have a fish on your line. It's pretty amazing and it's a great place for young children to learn how to fish with confidence instead of boredom.

We've taken Nicholas fishing several times before but it's been a while. So Daddy took some time at the beginnning to go over again how the fishing rod works, how to cast the line and set the hook.





Then watch out! On his first cast, Nicholas caught one! Then he cast again and caught another...and another...and another! What fun!













After a while, catching fish got boring so Nicholas played at the gazebo and in the dirt and let Mommy and Daddy have a go at catching fish. It was fun!







Nicholas also had fun looking through Daddy's tackle box. What neat little rubbery critters there are in there!



While looking in the tackle box, Nicholas noticed a little ant had crawled in and was carrying away a piece of hot dog that was bigger than himself! We all stopped and watched for a while in amazement.



While we were using his fishing rod, Nicholas found a big stick and decided that he could use it as another fishing pole. He put a piece of hot dog on the stick and tried to fish with it. The hot dog kept falling off but he didn't care. I love his creativity in making his own fishing pole!

We miss our friend

Our friend Dwayne passed away Thursday night around 10:00 pm. We will miss him. I tried to find a few children's books about death and Heaven but unfortunately they were all checked out. However, Stuart sat down with Nicholas yesterday and explained the Mr. Dwayne had died and was in Heaven now. Nicholas was sad but he said, "The good news is that Dwayne was with Jesus now so that is ok."

Stuart and I worked together and made 200 ribbon pins so that everyone in the media department at church can wear one this weekend in honor of Dwayne. Nicholas even helped to make a few. Nicholas was at our friends, the Kofinks, last night while we were at the visitation and our neighbor's house this morning while we were at the funeral. He had fun both times and is doing fine. It's still hard for Stuart and I to look at the video camera at church where we usually see Dwayne's smiling face and not find him there.

Please Pray For Dwayne!

Our dear friend from church who is a camera operator with Stuart is very sick and in the hospital. He first got really sick back at Easter and was in the hospital for almost 2 weeks. The doctors thought they had a diagnosis and that he would get better but he has continued to get sick again off and on since then. Sunday he started having seizures and went back into the hospital. He was admitted to ICU so they could closely monitor him. He had some tests done but the doctors couldn't figure out the cause of the seizures. This morning he was supposed to have an MRI and more tests but before they could do the tests, Dwayne had a massive seizure and had to be rescusitated. He is currently in a coma and on life support and not expected to live. He is a wonderful friend and a compassionate Christian man. Please pray for him!

Nicholas really likes Dwayne. Stuart often brings Nicholas into the main sanctuary when they aren't rehearsing and shows him the camera equipment or lighting equipment so most of the media team knows who he is. But Dwayne really plays with Nicholas. He gets down on his level and makes faces, plays peek-a-boo and really has fun interacting with him. Last year, Dwayne was working camera for Adventure Weekend (our version of VBS) and he singled Nicholas out of the crowd and got a great camera shot of him that was shown on the big IMAG screens at the front of the sanctuary. Nicholas was so proud!

I told Nicholas this afternoon that Dwayne was sick. He got upset and said, "I don't want my friend to be sick. Is there anything I can do for him?" I was so touched by his caring and compassion for his friend. I suggested that we make Dwayne a get well card and bring it to the hospital tonight. Nicholas colored a wonderful card and put lots of great stickers on it. Then he told me what to write on it. He said, "Mr. Dwayne, I love you. Please get well and get out of the hospital soon. Your friend, Nicholas."

We brought the card to the hospital tonight. I stayed in the waiting room with Nicholas but Stuart brought the card back to Dwayne and prayed for him. Nicholas made instant friends with the volunteer at the desk in the waiting room. She showed him some teddy bears that she was making for patients at the hospital and also gave him some crayons and paper to play with while we waited. He also helped to cheer up Dwayne's family who were at the hospital and they were all very touched by the card he had made for Dwayne.

Phone Number vs. Address

Nicholas has known his phone number and address for well over a year now. However, for some reason he keeps getting confused as to which is which. If you ask for his address, he might give you his phone number and if you ask for his phone number you might get his address. He knows his number and address so I haven't bothered to try to hammer in the difference but as he gets older, it is more important for him to understand what he is being asked for.

We were reviewing the difference again today. When I asked his phone number he correctly gave it to me. Yeah! Maybe it has finally stuck! But then I asked for his address and he gave me his phone number again. Ugh! I explained again what the difference is and that it is important for him to be able to tell someone his address in case he were ever lost. He told me, "Aw, Mom! I'll just give them my phone number and they can call you to get my address!" Two points for him for good problem solving!

What A Short Trip!

We stopped by Grandmother Owen's house to say good-bye. As promised, she gave Nicholas a present for each day we were there. He just loved it! He got the phonics laptop, a cute little educatioanl robot, and a Toy Story/Buzz Lightyear RC car.



Nicholas also got a belated birthday present from his cousins, Jessica and Alyssa. He was surprised that it was a Star Wars Tie Fighter. How cool! He just loves anything related to Star Wars!





With Nicholas' toys and the wonderful nursery gifts from the Chances, our luggage was bulging. It seemed like a short trip to Baton Rouge but we rushes around as usual and at least we got to spend some quality time with everyone. We plan to go back again later this year soon after the baby is born so she can meet the rest of her family.

Happy Birthday, America!

Nicholas woke up bright and early this morning and we could hear him playing with Grandmother Chance in the living room. I love it when we're at home and he crawls into our bed in the morning to snuggle. However, I must say, it is especially nice to get to sleep late while Nicholas is happily playing with Grandmother - THANK YOU, Grandmother Chance!

Ed had brought home some incredible Bavarian Cream filled croissants from the bakery for us to have for breakfast. We had a leisurely morning talking with Ed and Janet. It was nice having some quiet time with them. Then we headed out to have lunch with some of our friends from college. Our little entertainer fell asleep on the way to the restaurant. Poor little guy just goes and goes until he finally crashes. I'm glad he got to catch up on a little bit of sleep.



We had a wonderful lunch with Kristina and her daughter, Grace, from New Orleans. They stayed with us during Katrina but we haven't had a chance to see them much since then. They gave Nicholas a travel size game of Hungry, Hungry Hippo which Nicholas just loved! We also enjoyed spending time with Denise and John and their daughter, Kira, who we met for the first time. Nicholas made friends right away with her and the three of them enjoyed playing Hungry, Hungry Hippos together at one end of the table.



We are heartbroken for Denise and John whose little boy drowned just last week at their home. Ryan Christopher Williams was 3 1/2 years old. With Nicholas being just a little older than Ryan, it really hit close to home for us and I can't imagine the pain and the difficult road ahead for them. We will keep their in our prayers and close to our hearts.

After lunch, we spent stopped back by Grandmother Owen's house and then headed to Uncle Steve Owen's house for grillin', chillin', and fireworks mania.







Nicholas really wanted to hold a sparkler and I hate to squash new experiences for him but safety is a bigger issue for me. I know they are fun and I remember loving them when I was little. However, I just didn't think it was a good idea for a four-year old to be holding anything that gets 3300 degrees hot! Fortunately, no one argued with me and Nicholas quickly found something else to get excited about.

We were all a little shocked to see just how far Steve had gone on the fireworks he had planned. He will forever be called the King of Backyard Fireworks in my book. Look at his collection!





Nicholas liked being surrounded by tiki torches but he kept trying to blow them out!



Nicholas had a blast at Uncle Steve's because Steve loves to act like a kid and play with Nicholas...and they both love Star Wars! Nicholas enjoyed the fireworks, although sometimes he got startled a bit. I enjoyed taking tons of pictures of his different reactions...











One of the fireworks was called, "Smiley Face" and when it explodes it really forms a smiley face in the sky. We didn't believe it but I've got the video to prove it. The video goes pretty quickly so you might have to play it again to see it and it doesn't help that the face is kind of upside down from my perspective. But it was still pretty cool.



We had hours of fireworks fun at Uncle Steve's. There were lots of other fireworks in his neighborhood but he had the best show hands down. When we walked out the front door to go to our car to leave, we couldn't help but notice that the entire street was smoky from all the fireworks. How funny!

We went back to the Chance house and got to spend some time with Nicholas' other Uncle Steve (Steve Chance), Aunt Donna, and cousins Jessica and Alyssa. Uncle Steve Chance also had some fireworks and sparklers. Although I was able to keep Nicholas from holding a sparkler at my brother's house, somehow I lost all input at the Chance house. Stuart was right there with him, not that he could have done much either with a 3300 degree burning stick. Nicholas enjoyed it at first but as soon as it started burning down, he changed his mind. I was quite relieved when he said he didn't want to do it anymore.



That was ok because he had more fun just playing with his cousin anyway! They have so much fun together!