Oh Yeah, I'm Hip

Okay, I'm officially the hippest 40-something mom around! Thanks to some of my precious girlfriends, I am now the proud owner of this:

Oh yes, let's all stop and enjoy the beauty of this little ipod shuffle for a moment. Yep, I'm cool. I'm so cool that it took me 2.5 hours to figure out the blasted little guy, and as I was attempting to plug it in/charge it/download songs, I realized our computer didn't have enough usb ports because it's so stinkin' outdated. :-) That's how cool and hip I am. So I had to unplug the keyboard to plug in the ipod, but then when I needed to type, I had to do a little shuffling of my own. heh. Sweet mercy, I need a little updating around here.

Seriously, I absolutely love this thing. It's 12:30am, and I'm jamming to Big Daddy Weave while I type. I can barely even hear the sound of my fingers hitting the keys on the keyboard. The scary thing is, several times I've caught myself about to sing out loud, and I mean OUT LOUD! My poor babies would be frightened out of their beds.

To my girlfriends who celebrated me tonight, thank you so so much for blessing me with your friendships. And thank you for working together to make me one hip mama. You are deeply loved.

Now, how do I turn this thing up?

A Birthday Greeting

I've had such a lovely birthday and mother's day weekend. Cards, calls, messages, flowers, dinner out, and a lovely birthday greeting via blogger from my birthdaughter. It is so cute, I just have to share.

Addi's birthday message to me (click here).

I have more celebrating coming up which I am looking forward to! Thanks to everyone for making this a great day for me!

Conversations in Kindergarten

Yesterday when I picked Sam up from his "3rd to the last day of school" (ha), we went through the normal routine of talking through his day. It went a bit like this:

Me: Hey buddy! I missed you today! How did school go?

Sam: Well, it was okay. Jack had to leave early, and Ben pushed me down during recess.

Me: I'm so sorry about that. Bummer.

Sam: And then Gracie told me she doesn't want to marry me any more. She's gonna marry some guy from California.

Me: Really? Wow, that's awful! What's his name?

Sam: Oh, I don't really remember. I told her I'd be a good husband. All she'd have to do is relax. I'd take care of everything.

Me: She's really going to miss out then. You will make a great husband.

Sam: Yeah, I'm pretty sad.

The tenderness of his heart, the innocence of kindergarten. Precious.

The Concert

Today Scott and I attended a concert by Kirk Franklin at the Bass Performance Hall in Ft. Worth. First, if you've never been to the hall, it's a must see. It's one of the more beautiful concert halls I've been in. Scott and I have been there several times, and every time I go it happens to me all over again. They have concerts and musicals of all types, including children's concerts. You should definitely check it out. It's location in downtown Ft. Worth is ideal, surrounded by great restaurants, shopping, and culture.

This concert was amazing, and that's just a huge understatement. When Kirk came on stage, my first thought was, wow, he's really short. :-) Then he brought the house lights up so he could "see my people." He commented on how beautiful it was to look out and see a glimpse of what heaven will be like. All colors, denominations, educations and backgrounds. Scott and I were surprised to see as many white people at the concert as we did, yet still in the minority. And you know what, it didn't matter a bit. We worshiped together as one body, one voice, one heart. And yeah, I learned a few new dance moves and hand gestures. Look out! :-)

Early on, Kirk addressed the married couples in the audience. In a world where marriages are falling apart and families are under heavy attack, he encouraged us to stay strong. Then he played a funky beat and had us dance with each other! It was the best! There were couples young, old, and everything in between dancing in the aisles.

Other than the black gospel aspect of Kirk's music, I think another thing I'm attracted to is the "realness" of his songs. It's not fluff, it's not a bandaid, although you feel hopeful when listening - it's not intended to make you feel all sweet and sugary.

It's just real life. The pain, the hurts, the injustices, the failures. And God, all up in the middle of it.

The song on my blog today is from his latest album, and he sang it today. Bold stuff.

Thanks, baby, for blessing me with this great concert! I love you!

The Perils of Potty Training

My sweet Emma has been performing rather well at her potty-training task. She wears panties 24/7 and rarely has an accident. However, today has been quite challenging for her...she has a tummy bug. She has been running to the potty all day it seems.

At one point this afternoon, I went to check on her in the bathroom. While sitting atop her throne, Emma informed me: "Mommy, I'm tired of pooping. I've been pooping all day. I QUIT!"

Oh my word, that made me laugh so hard. Poor thing, I understand. Would be nice if we could just up and quit, huh?

Thank You Thank You Thank You!

Yes, I've been Amandanized! :-) She is utterly amazing and so, so talented. Thank you, Amanda, for this incredible design.