Game Day

I think we officially have a new Fall tradition: Game Day Saturdays! The Wolves, Titus' soccer team, had another game this morning. Then we invited DJ & Cari Harris family over to watch college football. I made Beef, Barley, & Veggie soup. (Thank you, Harrises, for the Iowa beef from DJ's family farm!) Sorry about your Hawkeyes! :(

The kids had a blast playing with trains, dressing up in costumes, and bouncing in the "bouncy castle/jumpy jump" (whatever your preferred name is for those inflatable jumping things)...


Titus and Wyatt jumping.

Audra spinning in her dress up clothes!

Griffin is officially walking!

We have an open-door invitation if any of you want to come hang out with us on Game Day Saturdays and eat some soup! The only condition is that we Razorback fans have to put up with Scott's USC mania! :)

Snuggling

For the first four years of Titus' life I don't think he ever slept in our bed...maybe once or twice. Sometime in the past year, his Daddy has become a softy. I tend to be more of a rule-follower and I probably read in some parenting book that they need to be content sleeping in their own beds. Scott finally said to me one night, "You know, Ashley, one day our kids are going to be grown and gone and we're going to wish we had snuggled with them more." Point taken.

So, tonight Titus asked if he could fall asleep in our bed. I decided to let him (which I do every once in a while). I was walking him to my room to tuck him in when he turned to me and said, "Mommy, you can lay down beside me and snuggle up if you want to." (He's so transparent and adorable.) "You're my favorite Mommy." (Ok, now my heart has been won!)

Rub a Dub in the...Sink?

Fun City

Cari Harris and I took our kids to Fun City this morning. We had a great time. Thank you, "Sarris." (Audra's version of "Mrs. Harris")

I Surrender All

Justus and Audra playing at Bible Study:


Bible Study this morning was awesome. Tara (Lavey) Riley shared an incredible testimony and the worship was wonderful. Two of the songs that we sang were old hymns that I have loved for years:

I Surrender All

All to Jesus, I surrender,
All to Him I freely give
I will ever love & serve Him
In His presence, daily live.

I surrender all, I surrender all,
All to Thee, my blessed Saviour, I surrender all

All to Jesus, I surrender
Humbly at his feet I bow,
Worldly pleasures all forsaken
Take me Jesus, take me now

Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus

Turn your eyes upon Jesus,
Look full in His wonderful face,
And the things of earth will grow strangely dim,
In the light of His glory and grace.

Scott and I each chose a song to represent ourselves at our wedding. They were sung after everyone was seated, but before the wedding began. I chose I Surrender All. I long for this to be the anthem of my life.

Teething

What a face! For the past three weeks Justus has been teething. That combined with getting a cold has made the little guy miserable: fevers, crying, fussy, runny nose, coughing, waking up during the night, etc. I think it is finally over. His reward is that he is now the proud owner of a tooth on the bottom...with about three more bulging up agains his gums. His favorite remedy (other than being held by Mommy) is a big, cold carrot to gnaw on.

Audra's First Worship Ballet Class

After the soccer game, we invited Mimi & Gramps over for an afternoon of Gumbo and college football. It was a fun, relaxing afternoon and was so nostalgic for me. Dad loved to make a big pot of soup and watch college football on Fall Saturdays when I was growing up.

Since Titus got to show Mimi & Gramps his new soccer skills, I invited Audra to put on her new ballet outfit and dance for Mimi & Gramps. She goes to "Worship Ballet" class at First Baptist Church of Springdale on Thursday afternoons now. She has gone twice and absolutely loves it.

The video I took of her is adorable. Taking the pictures of her was a bit more challenging, because she was joyfully bouncing...er, dancing around all over the place. Most of the pictures were blurry. In case it isn't obvious...Picture #1 is a plie'. Picture #2 is her "Ta Dah" pose.

Titus' First Soccer Game!

Titus had his first soccer game yesterday! On the way there Scott was giving him the "pep talk" and we were both choking down laughs! He ended his inspirational monologue with, "Son, when you score a goal, you feel His pleasure!" (Remember that from Chariot's of Fire?) I burst out laughing! Scott informed Titus that he normally charges for his seminars, but he gets them for free because he is his son!

It was our very first sporting event as parents and we were rediculously excited! We all had a great time. Scott is Titus' parent coach and his job is to make sure that all the kids get rotated in and that the kids are running towards the correct goal...or any goal, really. This is highly competitive soccer here!

On the way home I said to Titus, "Titus wasn't that fun?!?! It was kindof like racing." (Thinking that comparing it to race cars would pique his interest.)

"It's not racing, Momma, you just have to kick the soccer ball," he corrected. "Only you have to be aggressible!"

Maybe, he was listening to his Daddy! :)

Both Your Guys' Lovin'!

Tonight at bedtime, we were getting Titus ready for his very first soccer game tomorrow. I brushed his teeth and laid out his soccer uniform. He really wanted to sleep in his shin guards in preparation for the big game tomorrow. I finally decided it was harmless and let him. (I hope they don't cutt off his circulation!) Scott came in to tuck him in and I was leaving to get Justus ready for bed when Titus asked, "Why are both of you tucking me in?"

I was planning to hand that job off to Scott, but answered, "Because we both want to tuck you in and we both love you."

I started to leave and Titus said, "Wait, Momma! I want both your guys' lovin'! Come snuggle and kiss me, too!"

Ha! How could I resist that?!?!?

Disclaimer

I noticed that most of my blog entries have been about conversations with Titus. As I thought about it I realized that Titus seems to be capturing more of my blogs, while Audra is capturing more of my home videos. I think it is because Titus is getting older and our conversations are becoming more meaningful and funny, while Audra is just...funny! You really have to capture her facial expressions on video and she is a total ham for the camera!

With that in mind, however, I thought I'd write a little bit about Audra tonight. Audra is so animated and definitely an entertainer. She will often punctuate an accomplishment or enter a room announcing, "Ta Dah!" For example, this morning during breakfast, she needed to go to the bathroom. When she came back (after putting her own panties and pj's on by herself) she re-entered the room, threw her hands up in the air and announced, "Ta Dah!" Watch out world!