No Secrets

I got this email from Ezra's teacher today:

A funny story with Ezra today....
we were talking about families and family rules at home and he raised his hand and said...
"no one can open the door while mommy is in the shower except daddy" It made me laugh! Too cute!

Nice.

The Great Debate

The kids and I were sitting down and eating dinner tonight. Ezra said, "I don't have any idea what I'm going to be when I grow up. There are just so many good jobs out there." I assured him that he had plenty of time to decide. He went on to tell me that there was no way he'd be a fireman because it would be boring because you would only get to do stuff if there was a fire. I told him that firemen got to do other stuff, too, but he said he still wasn't doing that. He decided that being a policeman was definitely an option, though. Kaylen still wants to be a cheerleader (I have no idea where she got this idea), and after much discussion she decided that she would cheer for basketball.

Wanting to change their thinking a little, I asked them what job they thought Jesus would have if he were living in our city today. Ezra immediately answered that his only job would be to tell people all about God. Kaylen said, "No, he would work at helping people."

While I understand that these two things aren't mutually exclusive, I thought it was interesting that Ezra and Kaylen have taken "opposite sides" at such an early age. With Kelsey and I being in the short-term missions business, we've heard lots of discussions about the differences between "working" mission trips and "witnessing" mission trips (again, I know that these two are not mutually exclusive). I also know that I struggle with faith vs. works.

Maybe I'm reading too much into it, but interesting dinner conversation none the less.

First Day of First Grade

We got past the first day of the first grade with no tears or mishaps! When I picked Ezra up today he said, "I didn't even do one bad thing!" What more could one hope for? Ezra said he had a "Great!" day today. He got to go to P.E. AND recess and they had bean burritos for lunch. Life is good.

Walking to school with Dad.In front of the sign of the North Riverside Rockets.
walking into class

Praise the Lord for a great first day and many more to come!

Meet Your Teacher

We met Ezra's teacher last night. I brought the camera but completely forgot to take pictures. Anyway, you can start praying for Ezra's first grade year. You can specifically pray for Mrs. Briscoe.

We were going through the paperwork she gave us. One of the sheets was a question and answer about your child. One of the questions was, "What's your child's favorite subject?" So, I asked Ezra and he answered, "McKenna." (That's one of the girls in his class.) We're in such trouble!

Herndon Family Fun Week

Kelsey's family came to Texas a couple of weeks ago for a little reunion. We had even more fun than I expected! There were a total of 16 people sleeping in our house, but I think it worked out well. (You may have to ask Papa and Gramma to be sure, they had 4 kids sleeping on the floor of "their" room!)

Everyone arrived on Tuesday. Tuesday night we went to the Rangers vs. Yankees game. It was a great time! Wednesday we rode the train to downtown Fort Worth. We could have driven there quicker, but it was all about the ride! Thursday we went to the American Girl Bistro. Friday we went to the playplace at our church and watched the Olympic opening ceremonies (which were fantastic, by the way).

When we weren't out and about, the kids were singing karaoke, swimming, playing Legos, playing with their dolls, and just having fun together. All eight kids played SO well together. We were all amazed! Here are some pics of the fun.

Kelsey's 34!

Kelsey had a birthday yesterday! We went to Joe's Crab Shack for dinner and let the kids play outside while we got to talk. The kids had never seen anyone eat crab before and they were shocked! When Kelseys food came out, they were like, "You're not going to eat that, are you?" Fun times.

Howell Camping

Kelsey's still in Japan. The kids and I got back from a camping trip with my mom's side of the family last night. We had a great time. There were about 40 of us at a campground in Council Grove, Kansas. The kids swam, rode scooters, played at the park, rode on the boats, played with cousins, and lots more. Ezra stayed in a tent with his cousin. He thought he was pretty big stuff staying without mom and dad.

We were having so much fun I forgot to get out my camera until the last day. I missed some of the best pics. Kaylen rode the zip sled behind the boat. I wish I would have caught it on camera. She was so cute. She was riding behind the boat just singing and smiling!

Ezra on the boat with a couple of the boys.

Kaylen with my cousin's daughter. Kaylen wore her goggles most of the time, even when we weren't near the water.

Practicing riding the torpedo. Ezra liked to do anything behind the boat.

Kaylen at the beach - notice the sand moustache. Cute.

At the end of the weekend, my niece was baptized. So glad I was there to see it!

Couldn't have been better unless Kelsey was there!

Swimming Lessons

The kids finished swimming lessons a couple of weeks ago. I got some cute pics at parent's day, so I thought I'd post them for 'ya. Nothing like a good picture post to break the dry spell.

Kaylen looking cute.

Ezra diving over the hoop.

Kaylen working on her back float

Ezra's free dive.


Kaylen jumping through hoops

Ezra practicing the swim team entry.

Both the kids really enjoyed swimming lessons this year. It was challenging for Ezra, though. The other kids in his group were all about 9, so he had to work hard to keep up - which was good. He really started talking about joining the swim team!