Josh's Happy Lego

Let me get one thing cleared up before I go on with the post. JOSH is writing this post. NOT Tami!!!!!!!!!!! It is not on my blog so I will get more people looking at this. That's right! I have a BLOG! (I had one since I was eight.)That's the whole reason I'm writing a post. (If you're wondering, I'm writing in all caps to have more attention.)Look at MY blog, Happy Lego! Leave comments! If you're even wondering who I am, I AM TAMI'S SON! She's made posts about me! I'm the one in the picture above with the red shirt.

http://happylegoguy.blogspot.com

Bye for now.

Camping x 2

We had a great time beach camping this past weekend with several other families. We just stayed from Friday morning to Saturday morning, but it was plenty of time to enjoy the sun, sand, and good friends. The previous weekend was the annual Father & Sons campout. Chris, Josh, and Seth enjoyed themselves as always.

Here's our campground at the beach. It was a great group site just steps from the sand and with everything we needed close by. Notice the train tracks just behind the tent. We enjoyed watching the passenger and freight trains regularly pass by. It was a little unnerving hearing them roar past us as we slept though!

My favorite part was listening to the crashing ocean waves as I drifted off to sleep. I LOVE listening to the ocean. It is so relaxing and never gets old.

Here's Seth gathering rocks for his rock collection. He wanted to bring them all home, but when I saw the mountain of rocks he had collected, I had to limit what came home with us!

Annie spent much of her time playing in this water. Who needs the ocean when you've got a tap to turn on and off?

Seth eating his s'more at the Father & Sons campout. The boys requested s'more flavored Poptarts in place of the real thing so they wouldn't get their hands sticky. What have I done to my kids?!




Here are the guys taking it easy at Father & Sons. The campsite is on a soccerfield right off the freeway. At least one of my boys was very relieved that they would be far from bears and other wildlife.

Maybe some day we'll toughen up a bit and venture a little further into the wild! Good times!

A Challenge

This might come as a big shock to those that know me well, but last week I decided to develop a little self-discipline and go without treats/desserts for one month. I enjoyed my Mother's Day chocolate in a variety of ways as a final hurrah (without overindulging), and I have been dessert free since Monday. This is HUGE for me, but I am so determined. No, I didn't eat the leftover brownies or Milano mint chocolate cookies on Monday. I did not sample any of the scrumptious options from the fabulous dessert bar at my friend's baby shower on Tuesday. I did not sneak any chocolate chips from the freezer on Wednesday. Thursday? No way! I daydreamed about many delicious desserts on Friday while Annie and I enjoyed a girls' night (plus Blake)--what girls' night is complete without treats? I learned it is not impossible. And Saturday I again abstained from a variety of goodies following a church function. Then today Chris made a fabulous cake--LOTS of butter, LOTS of sugar. He had to spoon--not pour--the batter into the pan, and oh, it smelled so heavenly.

I'd say I'm doing pretty well so far. Chris frequently sets goals like this and has so much self-discipline. He is my inspiration. It has taken me, on the other hand, this long to even want to try something like this. But the desire, motivation, and commitment finally came, and here I am already a week into it. And now that I've let you all know about my goal I will be that much more likely to stick with it.

Mother's Day Thoughts

Although I did let my family pamper me today (and it was wonderful!!!), these words describe some of my thoughts and feelings on this Mother's Day:

"A Mother's Day Sonnet"

By Bertha A. Kleinman

No pedestal for me on Mother's Day,
Nay, rather let me seek my children's shrine,
And there on bended knee attempt to say
Some tithe of what is in this heart of mine.

I want no laurel wreathed about my head,
I so at fault, so human and remiss;
Mine be the hands to halo you instead,
Who gave to me a royal day like this.

I ask no recompense--I have it all;
Each day brims up my measure of content,
As your success, magnificent or small,
Becomes my own in double lavishment.
So love me for the all you may not see,
And hold me close for what I want to be.


And I think of my mother and mother-in-law (who have both faithfully completed this mortal journey) as I read this:

"A Parable for Mothers"

By Temple Bailey

A young mother set her foot on the path of life. "Is the way long?" she asked. And her guide said, "Yes, and the way is hard. And you will be old before you reach the end of it. But the end will be better than the beginning."

But the young mother was happy and she would not believe that anything could be better than these years. So she played with her children and gathered flowers for them along the way. And the sun shone on them, and life was good, and the young mother cried, "Nothing will ever be lovelier than this!"

Then came night, and storm; and the path was dark, and the children shook with fear and cold. But the mother drew close to them, and covered them with her mantle, and the children said, "We are not afraid, Mother, for you are near; and no harm can come to us."

And the mother said, "This is better than the brightness of day, for I have taught my children courage."

And the morning came, and there was a hill ahead and the children climbed and grew weary, and the mother was weary. But at last she said to the children, "A little patience, and we are there."

So the children climbed, and when they reached the top, they said, "We could not have done this without you, Mother."

And that night the mother looked up at the stars and said, "This is a better day than the last, for my children have learned fortitude in the face of hardship. Yesterday I gave them courage; today I gave them strength."

And the next day came strange clouds which darkened the earth--clouds of war and hate and evil, and the children groped and stumbled. The mother said, "Look up; lift your eyes to the light."

And the children looked, and saw above the clouds an Everlasting Light, and it guided them, and brought them beyond the darkness.

And that night the mother said, "This is the best day of all, for I have shown my children God."

And the days went on, and the weeks, and the months, and the years, and the mother grew aged, and she was little and bent. But the children were tall and strong, and walked with courage. And when the way was hard, they lifted her over the rough places. At last they came to a hill, and beyond the hill they could see a shining road and golden gates and they flung wide.

And the mother said, "I have reached the end of my journey. And now I know that the end is better than the beginning, for my children can walk alone, and their children after them."

And the children said, "You will always walk with us, Mother!"

And they stood and watched her walk through the golden gates, and the gates closed after her. And they said, "We cannot now see our mother, but she is with us still--she is a living presence."

Happy Mother's Day!