Easter egg hunt and baseball

Once again, pictures I uploaded last week, a post I am writing today (which is Wednesday, April 7th). I just had to put them all at the top and then write at the bottom. One day I will have lots of time to do this and make it all pretty, but for now, I am about the business of informing you about my family! The first pictures are of my FAVORITE baseball player! Isn't he a hunk!?! These were taken at his practice game...believe it or not, I am going to try to post 2 more times today (whew!) just to update you and that will include pictures of his REAL first baseball game. But these were too good to pass up! He is doing so great and absolutely LOVING it! The other pictures were taken at our church Easter egg hunt on MARCH 27th!!!!! I should be ashamed that I am just now posting! They had the best time, but it was COLD!!!!!!!! We had a decent crowd, but not nearly the size we should have had for a church our size...it kind of made me sad! But, the kids got lots of eggs and lots of candy, so they were definitely NOT sad!

The pictures I promised

I know this is not exactly how you had envisioned that you would see these pictures...but as you can tell, I actually uploaded them last Thursday and have just had the chance to write something and actually post them today. It hasn't been a good week for getting "unnecessary" things done...and by unnecessary I mean the blog....you see, my family has pretty much demanded things like supper, and clean clothes, and baths, and my attention to homework...I know, I know....so selfish!!! Anyway, I promised these birthday pics and although they are not arranged beautifully, I was tired of fighting with blogger...it always wins! Anyway, here's to the birthday boy!

Happy Birthday to my First Born (only one day late)

Happy Birthday Leighton! I cannot believe that you are 6 years old! I spent most of the day Tuesday recounting the story of how my water broke during a meeting at school...blah, blah, blah....by the time you are old enough to read this I am sure you will have heard the story so many times you could write it word for word...but I still enjoy telling it....I just can't believe it has been 6 years since then. You are the light of my life. I have been head over heels in love with you from the fist time I laid eyes on you. From the moment of your entrance into the world (after 3 hours of pushing and with eyeballs that would have probably scared you to death had you been able to distinguish them - not that I am bitter or anything)you have been nothing but a blessing. You have a love for life that cannot be matched. You are so inquisitive. You ask questions about everything...always have. This year, just in the past few months, you have begun to mature into a boy, no longer the chubby cheeked baby that I long to rock...although you do still let me hold you and rock you, much to your daddy's dismay. Just the other day your daddy and me were talking about something you were doing and he said to me, "He is growing up." And in that moment, I wanted to burst into tears!!!! From pride, from joy, from happiness, from heartbreak, from devastation....it just goes by too fast! We are so proud of you...so thankful that God chose to give us you.....right now, this is what is going on in your world....
* You are smitten with baseball. This is your first year to play and you love everything about it...and you are very good....really, you are....I am not just saying that because you are my son....you have great strength in your throwing and exceptional accuracy. It is fun to watch you be a part of a team for the first time.
* Right now you have your first loose tooth...STILL! It is barely hanging on and the tooth behind it...that should be where it is...is almost half-way in. The thought of pulling it terrifies you....but I have a feeling that all will change once you loose this one and realize lost tooth equals money...you LOVE money.
* You are a terrific reader. And you LOVE to read...you are your mama's boy. You read EVERYTHING and what you can't read, you sound out. It is fascinating watching you figure it all out.
* We CANNOT fill you up....you eat so much and you eat all the time! Your favorite is probably pizza but you are also a sucker for some McDonald's chicken nuggets and Zaxby's Nibblers. But you eat pretty much EVERYTHING that I can come up with at home....if this is any indication of how you will eat as a teenager, I should probably look into a second job!

(I will still post pictures of our bowling birthday but I have only one picture from the actual DAY...one measley picture..after I put candles in his egg sandwich for breakfast, ate lunch with him at school, took him to eat at Mizu's....one measley picure....I was just caught up in enjoying the reality of it, I guess.....and a confession.....I staged this picture...it wasn't even on the real day. Can I blame it on 6 years of mommy brain?)

From March 24, 2004














to March 24 (or March 26), 2010















I love you to the moon....and back!

What will I NOT write about

See....I told you....I can't make a promise to write every day...or even every other day. I have had multiple posts taking shape about various things since last Friday. Needless to say, most of them seem not nearly as important now, but I do still think a recap is in order.

1. Last Friday (the last day of our spring break) the weather was absolutely gorgeous. We packed ourselves a little picnic and headed to the park. We had the best time....played until we were exhausted!




















































2. Tuesday night, we went to Leighton's art/music/technology night at his elementary school. We are extremely blessed to have all of these additional programs in our elementary school. They had art from each class displayed and they had a slide show that showcased some of their year....it was great. Then they ended the evening with the kids singing 4 songs they learned in their music class. If I was highly technical I would upload a video for you, but since I am not YET you will just have to take my word for it....it was a blessing! Then we wrapped up the night with a Pizza Hut birthday...the second in his series of 3 birthday parties.

























3. Wednesday....well, Wednesday was a HUGE day....Leighton turned 6....but that will be a post all to itself....needless to say it was wonderful and terrific and heartbreaking and....well, it was a little of everything...I can't believe he is six!
We celebrated ALL day long...none of which is evidenced by even on piece of photographic evidence.

4. Today, baseball practic was cancelled and I would be lying if I said I wasn't glad....we needed to be able to come home...it has been a busy week. I was catching up on catalog looking, because we all know that fewer things are as important as making sure that you have looked at each and every sales catalog that comes across your counter, even though most of them are exactly the same...just with a different cover! Anyway, the boys found themselves a little mudhole....and they had a ball! I had a horrific flashback of what we, um I, had to contend with last year...I think some of you have seen these.












Anyway, before we came upstairs to get STRAIGHT into the tub, Leighton says, "Mama, this is the best day ever because I get to play in the mud. I don't care about boots or shirts or anything." So, how could I argue with that?



















5. Speaking of Leighton and funny things, here are a couple of lines from this week:
We were listening to a Lady Antebellum song on the way to Alabaster yesterday. The words said something like "i'm just looking for a good time"....I happened to look into my rear-view mirror and saw his look of, well, I don't know what, and then he said, "Oh, mama...that man just said he was looking for a girlfriend."
Then, when we made it to the Japanese Steakhouse where we were having our birthday dinner, Leighton saw some other kids eating with chop sticks and asked if we could do that too. I said sure and asked the lady to bring us some when she came back. When she brought them, Leighton said, "Look daddy. Mama ordered us some chapsticks."
(Maybe both of these were location situations (I can't belive I just used that phrase)but they cracked me up....or maybe it was just the melancholy of the day)

6. In other news, I mean besides my family, this post by BooMama (Sophie) will get you so tickled. If you don't read her blog on a regular basis, you should. She is too funny! And, congrats to her for having an article published in the May edition of Home Life. If you read and enjoy, my all time favorite post of hers is this one about hot rollers. (I have a deep appreciation for this because of my own love affair with hot rollers.)

7. Just today I was introduced to this blog, and this post cracks me up! Mostly because I am pretty sure they used my direction giving skills as their material.

Okay, I have to go now....I must pay bills before I go to bed....before they come and repossess my car and take away my house....I just haven't had time to get them paid yet....but you could rest assured that I had imparted such great stories and unsightly wisdom that it could certainly be counted all as gain that I had written not one, but two, blogs during the time I should have been paying bills. I am a well, people...an overflowing well!

Please forgive the bizarre spacing of this post....I tried much longer than I should have to get it right and then I surrendered to the computer...I always do!

It Can't Be Almost Over!!!!!!

Wow! It has been such a nice week! The weather has been less than desirable, but just being off and being with my boys has been like a breath of fresh air....just what I needed before we hit spring IEP season running next week!

Although Leighton's birthday isn't actually until next Wednesday (March 24th), we had his "birthday party" yesterday. This was actually our first party that really wasn't....up until this year, we have had typical birthday parties with cake, ice cream, pizza, and, you guessed it, goodie bags! Well, this year it just seemed like the time might be right to scale down a bit...it was either that or scale up to inviting his entire class, and, well, I just wasn't ready for that. So, in my finest mom fashion I mentioned that we could go do something really fun if he would agree to invite just a few friends in lieu of a big party....and it worked! Like a charm!

Now, don't misunderstand me, I am all about a party, and if he would have insisted, I would have obliged....but, since he seemed content, it was a go.....for bowling!!!!! And, as luck would have it, when I asked him which friend he would like to take, he said, "Well, mama, Sara Kate, Hallie, and Hunter....they are my best friends...who else would I ask?" Did I mention that this boy makes his mama so proud?!? Because this way, my 2 best friends will go too, and we can have a fun day to boot! He even WANTED Logan to go....how about them apples? So, we set out yesterday morning for the bowling alley....and we have a BALL!!!!! (Sorry for the pun...I just had to!!!) Oh, that I could show you a fantastic pictoral documentary of the day, but, guess who realized the battery to her camera was on the charger only when she got the camera out of the case at said bowling alley to take the first picture!?! Cry! Ugly Cry! I could have just cried! But, as my friends always do, Jill came through for me and documented the day. I just have to get the pictures from her and then I promise to wow you with a series of pictures that all pretty much look exactly the same....how many ways do you show someone bowling! A good time was had by all!

Then, we went to Dairy Queen for the birthday lunch. Now, there are those among you who are probably doubting my choice of venue for the birthday lunch, but where else can you get an Oreo Blizzard ice cream cake for the birthday boy?! Look, I may not be the world's best party planner, but I am all over getting a cake...a great cake! So, it was kids meals all around and then cake! The poor people at DQ...they were so patient with me...me, the mama who did not bring a candle, or plates, or a lighter, or even anything remotely birthdayish. But it was a great birthday lunch in spite of me! Leighton said he had a great time, and that is really all that matters. I just hope it sticks! Since we have a week until the "real" birthday, I hope he doesn't forget and request another party. That would make him, well, like me!!!! I like to stretch the celebration out. I love birthdays!

I promise to dazzle with you birthday pictures as soon as I get them....and, if we are lucky, I will have a picture of a snaggle-tooth boy one day very soon (although you probably won't want to hold your breath on that one....the permanent tooth is practicallly all the way in....BEHIND the tooth that is barely hanging on!) It also won't be long before I will have baseball news....practice is going well.....we have a practice game next week, with the opening day of t-ball season being next Saturday.

Speaking of practice, in honor of Leslie's Not Me Mondays which I haven't participated in yet and although it is not Monday, it certainly was NOT me who was yelling out phrases like "Good job, buddy!", "Great hit!", "Run all the way through the bag now!", "Don't slack up...keep running hard right through the base!", "Catch it..ohhh....yes, good job!" So it could NOT have been my son who came to the fence and said, "Mama, please don't talk anymore. You are giving me a headache."

Out of the mouths of babes!

Yes Virginia, there is a MamaCoppedge.......

When I started this blog, I really did believe that I would miraculously have time EACH and EVERY day to write a post....HA! These days my track record for regular posts isn't so good....waiting to write a post feels a bit like waiting for Christmas...although I am not sure you wait on the posts with matched anticipation!

So, where have we been...what have we done....what can I say....since my last post?

* Last Saturday it felt a little like Arbor Day at our house, only it wasn't. We went to our local nursery and bought 2 new trees for our yard. I could almost hear John Denver in his "tree commercial" from SEVERAL years back. "Plant a tree, for our tomorrows...." I don't really remember any of the rest, that just came to mind initially. And, to be honest, our motives for planting the trees were not entirely for the greater good of the environment. If you have ever been to our house, you know that we pretty much have ZERO trees around our house. We did finally get a little landscaping last spring, but as far as trees go, we have none...so we are working on that.

*The week itself was pretty uneventful, except for the fact that we did not make it home before 7:00 ANY night last week....not one! And we don't even have activities that we are involved in...I am not even sure why it was so late every night...well, let me think.
On Monday night we got to play at the park because the weather was beautiful, and
then we were able to enjoy a nice dinner out with Granddad. Thanks for the
dinner!
On Tuesday...well, that day completely escapes me....
On Wednesday night it was church as usual....
On Thursday, Leighton got to go home and play with his friend Mason...they had a
great time. I also got to do something fun....I got to judge cheerleader
tryouts for an out-of-county school, which was good..
On Friday, one of Leighton's best friends (and consequently,his cousin) had a
birthday party at the local skating rink. That is the cool thing to do these
days. And, to go there, man, it will take you back. I was taken back to tight
rolled blue jeans, hokey pokey, limbo, and did I mention the smell? It hasn't
changed in, well, EVER!!! It was so much fun and the birthday girl had a blast!

* On Sunday, guess who forgot about the time change?!? If you guessed us, you win!!!! We actually talked about it several times, but not before bed on Saturday night and certainly not when I looked at the clock the first 3 times Sunday morning...then at 8:40(!!!) Harmon tapped me on the shoulder and so sweetly reminded me that it wasn't 7:40 but was instead 8:40!!!! OH my word!!!!! And we both teach Sunday school....so from 8:40 to 9:25 we managed to get 4 people bathed and DRESSED (because that is essential for attending church - clothes)and get to church. So much for a relaxing morning! Then we ended our night with our friends coming over after church...after an AWESOME church service I mustsay. We had a group called Jews for Jesus come and give a presentation on Christ in the traditional passover meal. It was so neat. Once we got to our house, we had so much fun just eating and enjoying each other's company. Our little "group" has gotten together for several years after church on Sunday nights, but since the kids have started to "big" school we have not been able to get together as often as we would like. We count down the days until we are out of school on a Monday so we can get together....and we just long for the summer. (Incidentally, we really aren't too concerned with the guys work schedules since they are rarely off on Monday no matter what the time of year and we continue to get together because we are "all" off on Monday....)

* And now we are at Monday again...only this Monday is SPRING BREAK!!!! Oh blessed relief! It has been such a nice day...well, I guess nice is a relative term as it relates to my day....and what I mean is that I have not had to go ANYWHERE!!!! But I have done TONS of laundry. When I was reading Leslie's post today about her laundry issues from the weekend, well, I felt a certain laundry bond with her. I am notorious for washing it and drying it, but not so notorious for actually folding it and putting it up. About once a month I vow that I will never again wash laundry and not follow through all the way to the end..and that lasts until about the end of that day and I am back in my washing pit. So today, my only real accomplishment is getting all of the laundry done...and when I say ALL, I mean ALL....right downt to clean sheets on all of the beds and all the clothes where they belong. So today is a success.

Another note about today.....I adore being home with my children! It is so much fun and I enjoy getting a taste of being a stay-at-home-mom, but honestly, after only ONE day at home, I am pretty sure I would terrible at it! Maybe if that is what I did, I would do so much better....develop a schedule, actually get up at a decent time....but as it is, I sleep in until the kids get up, I have had my pjs on all day long, my children have nasty faces and still have on pjs too (actually Logan is down to just a t-shirt and diaper). Basically, we are pathetic! And my patience is wearing down at the end of this day! I have fixed approximately 152 different things to eat, changed 3 dirty diapers, cleaned up 2 spills.....but then, I have also dyed easter eggs (just as an assistant to my almost-6-year-old son), made crayons that have "sparkles" in them, cuddled my sweet just-over-2-year-old son when he woke up from his nap super grumpy, played in our playroom that we have visited only about 5 times since Christmas, and laughed and hugged and loved and played....
so today, above all else, I am thankful for the blessings of my life, the absoloutely wonderful and the not quite so pleasant, and all that comes along with being a wife a mom.

I plan to do better posting this week...but honestly, I cannot promise...or I will not promise....because every day starts out looking promising for a post and then, the day actually begins.

Better late than......

Okay, so I know that I promised you on Wednesday that I would be back tomorrow (which would have been Thursday) with something else from God's Word that Rocked My World....well, I am a day late.....but better late than never, right? I won't even go into detail as to why this is late, but one of the reasons rhymes with Hogan and the other rhymes with Clayton....yesterday was a WILD day!

So, here goes......
As I was reading in Exodus, I came across the following passage(s):

Exodus 33:18
Then Moses said, "Now SHOW ME YOUR GLORY!" (I added the caps and exclamation)
.......
Exodus 33:22-23
When my glory passes by, I will put you in a cleft in the rock and cover you with my hand until I have passed by. Then I will remove my hand and you will see my back; but my face must not be seen.

Maybe no bells and whistles for you, but let me just tell you, that scripture blew me out of the water.....I have heard so many people say so many times before that it is okay to be bold with God...are you sure? Really? I have heard speakers, mentors, people whom I respect, friends...so many have said to me that they have questioned God, not disrespectfully but desperately, begging him to understand a circumstance....this has always made me nervous. But lately? I have been reading a lot more than normal (at least more non-fiction than normal) and time and time again I come across words that tell me that God is big enough for anything I might bring him...anger? He can handle it! Questioning? He can handle that too! So, after going through a tough season with God, can we demand for him to show us his glory, YOU BET! Don't you just love that about our God?!? We can say to him, SHOW ME YOUR GLORY and he basically says, Sure! Day in and day out, I know that I miss God's glory so much of the time....he shows it time and time again when I don't even ask, and then, don't you think he is kind of disappointed when we miss it. It is like when we think we have done this awesome thing for someone we love, like bringing home a favorite candy bar, buying tickets to something you think they would enjoy, washing their car...anything...and the response is just an "oh, thanks!" Aren't we sad?! I know that I am....so I am going to start noticing God's glory...below are just a couple of examples of how I already LIVE his glory everyday.....






















































(Maybe the middle one is glory only a mama could love, but isn't that the cutest thing?!?!)

And then God promises to protect us...sometimes when we ask things of him, he answers...and sometimes, we are just not prepared for his answers! At least, I don't think I am...sometimes his glory is just too much! But even if it isn't glory, he promises to protect us with HIS hand...sometimes you can be in a situation and, in the midst of it, we can't see God's hand at all, but maybe we just aren't meant to see everything all at once. I was reading somewhere the other day (probaby something Beth Moore wrote - I am a teeny bit obsessed!)and the writer was talking about this passage (before I read it) and they said that in some situations after it is all said and done, God removes his hand, and we can see his back...so all the time we thought he wasn't there, he was actually covering us, protecting us...and then, when he has seen us through the storm, he lets us see his back, to know he was there....seeing him? Well, that would be too much! But knowing he was there...he wants to make sure of that!

Then, just a few pages over in my One Year Bible, I was reading in Matthew 27:51 which says,
At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom....

So, not only does our God look at us when we come to him and say "Bring It!" (no matter what it is)...and not only does he cover us in the cleft of a rock when we can't handle it, through sending Jesus, Sweet Jesus, he made sure that that veil was torn so that we could have DIRECT communion with him...we can come directly to him and ask him to SHOW US HIS GLORY anytime we want. And you know what, he promises us that he will be with us...ALWAYS! No, his answers don't always come just like we had planned out in our minds, but His will, GREATER...his plan, BETTER!

And I don't know about you, but that kind of Rocked My World!

I have missed you so.......

Okay, below is the post that I started LAST THURSDAY AFTERNOON....and today is the first day that I have come back to it....lack of focus? I think not! Lack of interest? Most definitely not! Lack of time? ABSOSTINKINLUTELY....but the 2 things were 2 things that I thought still bore (is that a word?!?) mentioning:

I have 2 quick things before I get to my real post:
First of all, as I write, I am listening to the sound of my boys BELLY LAUGHING! They have been playing so hard, so surprisingly well, since we got home. There is no sweeter sound that their laughter. I love that they are joyful and happy! I love that they are mine..entrusted to me by my gracious heavenly father!

Second, I am just so excited....some friends of ours from Centreville actually just FOUND my blog today! How exciting! She saw that I had left a comment on another blog and sent me a comment. I tried to leave her a comment as well...my computer was acting up so I am not sure if it went through...if not, "Hey Amy! I will come back and leave another comment!" That is one of the main reasons that I wanted to start a blog...so we could stay in touch with people who we almost never get to see...for all of its faults, isn't the internet a nice thing?!

Now, for my real post.....

But, as for the real post, I will save that for tomorrow. Today, I must catch you up. So many things to say, so little brain power left in this day!

* Leighton has a LOOSE TOOTH! Aren't you excited? Well, if not, let me tell you something, he is!!!! Although I think he is also a little, um, concerned, about pulling the tooth...like to the point of tears...there has been much weeping and gnashing of teeth...honestly, I don't know where he gets it?! (I promise to post a picture once it has fallen out..notice I said fallen...because at this rate, it will have to FALL out...and that might be when he is 12.)

* Logan's discussion with H tonight:
Logan: "Why do I have to do dat, daddy?"
H: "Because I am the BOSS!"
Logan: (laughing) "You not the boss...you just daddy!"
H: "I am the boss because I am the daddy...daddy's are the boss."
Logan: "No, no...you just still daddy!"

* Week's sweetest sentiment:
On Tuesday I went a read to Leighton's class for Read Across America day. I read 2 books and also stayed for lunch...and I brought him a personal pan pizza, 3Reese cups (my love language, remember?) and a Mountain Dew (sorry Aunt Laurie!) When I asked him that afternoon what the best part of the day was, he said "When you came to read to me. And it wasn't just the best part of today...it made it the greatest day ever!" (Someone remind me of this when he is refusing to hug me when he is 14!)


* In our Word Dare class on Sunday nights, we are currently reading in Leviticus for our Old Testament reading. It has been really interesting reading so far...things that maybe I have read before, but mostly, I think that I haven't. It has been fascinating..but the last few chapters, Leviticus 9-13, well, they have just been gross. They have been in DEPTH, GREAT DEPTH, regarding the sacrificing of animals, the clean/unclean animals, and most recently, skin diseases/sores. I know that the Bible is God's word and I have more respect for it than I can convey, but I just couldn't figure this part out...when I asked H, he said that he that that part was in there solely for directions for God's people at that time. And, I guess that makes sense. If he had a way that he wanted them to do it, he had to let them know...but man, it has made for tough reading. I do think that it has given me a totally new perspective on the Bible though...all of the Old Testament reading has. It isn't just random verses here and there, but up to this point, it is an intricately woven story...like a great novel....and I guess maybe it is kind of neat to think about what all they had to do...and makes me all the more thankful for the fact that God, in his EXTREME love for us, sent Jesus so that we no longer have to sacrifice animals in that way....so that we no longer have to call ourselves "unclean" although we often are. The veil was torn so that we could have direct conversation with our GOD....and reading the Old Testament has given me a whole new perspective on the great gift of Jesus. Don't misunderstand, I have always recognized the sacrifice, the great love, but as I read this and thought how "gross" it seemed, it really sunk in that people actually had to do that....and it made me thankful for the day of my salvation all over again.

See you tomorrow with another post on something I found in the Old Testament that Rocked My World!