A Husband in Training

" Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it." Proverbs 22:6

I came across a blog the other day that captured my attention and got me to think. It was a blog about raising boys and in the middle of the blog she wrote, "we are raising someone's husband." That little phrase got my mind to spinning. She was right, absolutely right!!! I am training Joshua for his future wife. What a huge responsibility that is to carry, but how awesome it will be to see the young man that he turns out to be.

Joshua has two sides( no, not like Jekyll and Hyde). He has a side that is all out boy and then he has the sensitive, caring side as well. What a great combination to have. He can be rough and tumble and yet he can also be compassionate and loving. I think it is good to teach your child, especially a boy that it is ok to show emotion, no matter what it is. There is a way to express your emotions in a healthy way as well. Having an emotional side makes for a well rounded individual. Right now, we are in the process of trying to teach Joshua how to express his anger in a healthy way. It's a long road, but we are getting there. He hits out of frustration or anger and we are trying to teach him that while it is ok to feel those emotions, it is not ok to hit or throw things. You can verbally express how you feel and we will respect that. Like I said long road. Here is something that was also mentioned in the blog that I thought made perfect sense. "Never discipline for something you haven't taught." I am sure you are thinking well, duh but I have got myself disciplining instead of teaching a few times. Everything is new to them and everything is a learning process.

In raising my son, I want him to know that a marriage is a partnership. Nothing is wrong with the man cooking the dinner or doing the laundry or cleaning toilets, just like nothing is wrong with a woman mowing the lawn or taking out the garbage. I realize that when the time comes, he and his wife will sort it out how they want, but I want him to be knowledgeable on everything. He has a great example to follow, his daddy, Dan! Kudos to daddy's parents for raising such a wonderful man. Dan and I will do our best to train him in the right direction and always let him know that we are there for him, even when he becomes someone's husband.

"Motherhood is an investment not a sacrifice."

Gardening 101

On Friday, we planted a lemon drop tree. Joshua likes to call it "Joshua's tree", but none the less it is a tree. I have been wanting to plant some trees or flowers for awhile now, but we haven't really had the time to go and look for them or plant them. We had a 3 day weekend, and we were going to be home, so I decided this was a good time to do some planting. We decided on planting this tree that will hopefully produce lemonkuats in the backyard and we potted some marigolds in the front. Joshua's favorite part was watering the tree after it was planted. He actually asks if he can water HIS tree. Lucky for us this tree needs to be watered daily, so it is easy to let him water it, we just have to make sure he doesn't drown the tree. I love the fact that we have a tree in the backyard. Who knows if we will ever see it reach it's full potential in height, but I hope we can see it produce some fruit. I also bought a kid's starter garden for Joshua. It came with 4 different kinds of seeds, dirt, stickers and a little container. I didn't think it was going to work, but there are actually sprouts growing and I have no idea where I am going to put this garden once it gets to big for the plastic container it is in. I guess I better get to thinking. We planted marigolds, sunflowers, lettuce and cucumbers. I never dreamed they would sprout, so I wasn't worried about making it to the next step of actually having a garden and needing a bigger container. I actually would not mind having a garden. I have been looking into it and researching gardening. I just think it would be so neat to grow your own veggies, among other things. I also wouldn't mind having a chicken coop so I could have fresh eggs, but I don't think our home owners association or our neighbors would like that too much. So, until we move to the country(hahaha) I will have to settle for just a few trees and maybe a small garden. I love the fact that we planted the tree as a family and are taking care of it as a family. I posted some pictures below of the tree being planted. Enjoy!

Hopefully, next we will be planting a keylime tree and an avocado tree. I didn't even know they had avocado trees. So very excited!!

Blessings Out of Messes

There is a new song out by Francesca Battistelli called, "This is the Stuff". I absolutely love this song, so much that I downloaded off Itunes! After hearing it a few times and really listening to the lyrics it is a great reminder that God uses the little stuff in our lives to remind us that in the middle of our little mess, how much we are blessed. Having a three year old makes life a bit crazy and messy sometimes and then you add on laundry, baths, dishes, and taking care of a family and I sometimes have moments where I want to lock myself in a closet and never come out. Seriously! God is so awesome, because every time, I seem to have a bad morning or day, this songs comes on and I totally put everything back in perspective and think about the blessings that have come out of my messes that day. Let's take this morning for example: I woke up late, which sent me running around like crazy trying to get out the door with Joshua dressed and all of his stuff. I get in the car and then realize that I need gas NOW and I also have to go to the store to pick up a few things for work. Awesome! Luckily, Joshua was in a good mood and cooperated to some extent. After I got all of my before work errands done in a whirlwind, I was driving to work and what do you know, "This is the Stuff" came on the radio and I started smiling and thanking God for my extra time that I got to sleep, for my extra time with Joshua, and the fact that I was able to get up and do all of those things and still continue on with my day. Sometimes, I forget to see the blessings that are right in front of me and that God uses the everyday "messes" to show us how big we are truly blessed. God has blessed me with so much including this little guy below

my wonderful husband, my awesome family and friends, and the fact that I get to wake up with a roof over my head, eat yummy food and go to work(even when I don't feel like it). TRULY,TRULY blessed with so much more than I deserve.

Here is the video of the song and it shows the lyrics. The music is great, but the lyrics are the best, so take the time to read the lyrics and think about it. Maybe you will like it as much as I do and want to download it as your little reminder when you are standing in the middle of all your mess!

In The Meantime....

I have a blog post that I have been meaning to write, but I haven't had the time yet. So, in the meantime I will provide you with some cell phone pics of this cute little guy! Enjoy!

HAPPY FRIDAY!

Pajama day at school today! His teacher built them a "reading tent". I know where Joshua will be all day!!

Pretending to be at the beach!

Wacky Tacky Day!

It is Spirit Week at school. Everyday this week, they have had something fun for the kids to do. Monday, it was inside-out day and Tuesday was hat day. Today is wacky tacky day or mismatch day! Joshua would not participate in the first two days so today he decided he would sorta of. He was fine with the shirt, shirt and socks, but when it came time to wear 2 different shoes, his "OCD gene", that his momma passed on to him kicked in and he could NOT wear mismatched shoes. I tried to convince him that it was for fun and that it would be fine for the day, but he told me, "no, I need other shoe like tis one!" I completely understood, so he wore matching shoes. I guess the stripes and the plaid together was wacky tacky enough! The other 2 days of the week are crazy hair day and pajama day! I don't know if he will let me fix is hair for crazy hair day, but Pajama day should be fun!

Wacky, Tacky Kid

One Helper and a Playdate

This past weekend the weather was perfect. Lots of sun and highs in the low 90s. We decided to take advantage of the weather and spend our weekend outside. On Saturday morning Joshua got to go play with a friend for a few hours and mommy and daddy got to go hang out and have a great lunch! I guess you can call this Joshua's first official play date without Dan or I being there. He went over to one of my co-worker's house to play with her grandson who is the same age as Joshua. They played trains, jumped through the sprinkler, blew bubbles, and watched a movie! Joshua was exhausted when he got in the car and in a matter of 30 secs he was asleep. Later that evening Joshua helped me wash my car. It desperately needed a bath. Joshua is such a great helper. Joshua paid close attention to the front of my car. I guess it was the dirtiest. He had fun filling up the bucket with water and dipping the sponge in the bubbles. He kept calling the foaming bubbles snow. On Sunday, while I was at the grocery store, Joshua helped Dan in the flower bed and clean out the pond. Once again, he had a lot of fun filling up the bucket with water and pouring the dirty water onto the trees. His reward for helping Daddy was he got to go to the park by our house. He loves the park or "playground". We had a pretty eventful weekend. It was a lot of fun! I love weekends like this! Sunny, but not too hot and blue skies! I have posted some pictures below of the little helper!! Enjoy!

After a hard days work, you need to put your feet up and relax with a Popsicle!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY AUNT LAVONA! HOPE YOU HAVE A GREAT DAY!!

LOVE, ALICIA

Dan Jumps Out of a Perfectly Good Airplane...Again!

When my grandmother decided to skydive on her 80th birthday, Dan said that he would jump with her. He told me, "Alicia, I can't let her jump alone!" I appreciated that, but I also think a little part of him was itching to do it again! He has sky dived in the past(about 8 yrs ago) and loved it! He always wanted to go back and jump again. He was just as excited as my Grammy and just as ready to jump! He was so sweet leading up to that day. He would answer any questions that Grammy might have and he did all the booking and everything. He was not nervous at all. He told me that he probably will get a little nervous when he gets to the door of the plane to jump, but he says that will probably always happen. Dan was the last one to jump out of the plane that day and he said the craziest part for him was when he saw Grammy jump out of the plane. He said he felt "paralyzed" almost. He said it was a mix of emotions when he saw Grammy jump, mostly excitement for her, but he also felt like there was nothing he could do if something happened! There really wasn't anything he could do, but how sweet of him to think that. Fortunately, everyone landed safely and both sky divers had a wonderful time. They both said that they will do it again! In fact, I think they are trying to get a few more family members to jump in about 6 months! YIKES!! Dan said he could jump over and over again and each time it would be like the first. When Dan landed on the ground, Joshua began to cry. I think he thought Dan had been hurt. That is the only think I can think of, because he was cheering and clapping right up until Dan's butt hit the ground. Joshua didn't leave his Daddy's side the rest of the day. I think Joshua got over it eventually though, because he asked Daddy where his parachute was a couple of hours later. I have posted pictures below of Dan. Enjoy!

Grammy and Dan, love this picture! So cute!

Look below for Grammy's skydive post as well!

80 and Flying

On Saturday, my Grammy(grandmother) turned 80 and decided that for her birthday she would skydive! Yes, that is what I said, SKYDIVE!! She has been wanting to skydive forever and Saturday was her day to fly!! Dan, my husband, decided that she shouldn't go alone, so he also jumped with her. About 31 family members were there to support her in her great adventure. It was one of the best days, I think I have ever experienced. She was not nervous at all and was so excited that she could barely contain herself. Leading up to this great event, she was questioned and some tried to talk her out of it, but she never questioned her decision to jump! She had made her mind up and she did it!! The weather was perfect jumping weather and she said that it was the experience of a lifetime. It was so great to see such genuine joy and excitement on her face after she landed. The pure joy was not because it was over and she had landed; it was the fact that she had accomplished something that she had set her mind to. Grammy inspired alot of people that day, young and old! My Grammy is an amazing woman inside and out! She loves the Lord with all her heart and I know that He gave her the desire of her heart that day! It could not have been a better day! I have never doubted that Grammy was a strong woman, but what she did on Saturday just moved her up a level in my book. Truly amazing and I know that she will never, ever forget that day or that jump and neither will her family or the strangers that cheered her on as she landed safely to the ground! I posted a few pictures of her skydive experience. Enjoy!

This experience is going to have to be put in 3 parts, because I have so much I want to blog about. I blogged about her first, because it was her big day! The next blog will be about Dan's jump! So check back for that and then I will post the videos of both skydives that I have!