Frogs and art ...

So ... I was listening to Bub at his guitar lesson, watching his fingers move ever so quickly from chord to chord, and I thought to myself ... "He's really good."
Later I watched him at football practice ... playing hard, catching his passes, tackling, and I thought to myself ... "He's a good little athlete."
His academic achievements have a similar feel ... he excels, pushes himself.
And all those things are great and I am proud of him. But something that stands out even more to me is his heart .... he's generous, loving, kind .... he has a gracious heart. He's a neat person ...


And as a mom, that is what I am most proud of. While all the other skills are exciting and fun to be a part of, it's the heart that shows what kind of person you are, your character. The stuff that really counts.

At football practice Pie and I were playing on the playground as we do so often on football nights. There was a little boy wanting his dad to play with him. He asked repeatedly and tugged on his father. But the dad was busily talking on his cell phone.

Also on a football on the same playground a little girl wanted her grandmother to play. She somewhat brushed the little girl off. She too was on a cell phone. And we heard her say to whomever she was speaking to, "Oh that's just Isabelle. You know she's not the brightest child." Not only once, but three times the little girl was referred to as "not the brightest." Once the comment was even directed directly to her.

I never want to be one who judges, (although at times I am definitely guilty). You never know the circumstances of others lives .... but my heart broke for these two children.
Life is busy and we live in a fast paced world, and there are times we all get caught up in that.

But those kiddos ... my kiddos ... all kiddos ... deserve time, attention, praise and encouragement ... To me time, undivided time, is so important. Whether its with a child, a spouse, a friend, giving your undivided attention speaks volumes. It's giving of yourself, your attention, your time.
Second Timothy, verse 7 refers to having a sound mind .... a self disciplined mind, one that is focused on the moment, being fully engaged.
I love that.
In our busy lives, which I get caught up in as everyone else, I constantly remind myself to have a sound mind.

Bub spent the day motorcycle riding, shooting bb guns and finding frogs .... He spent most the afternoon hunting for them and found one frog (which he and Pie named Charles) that he played with for the longest time.

Pie spent her time with a art project. We were at the local market where we were able to buy 25 feet of butcher paper for $1.00. It's unrolled across the family room floor with every art supply we have ... paint, colored pencils, crayons, markers, glue, and glitter. We have had so much fun ...

I love that. Forget all the expensive toys. $1.00 for butcher paper, a frog and time together, makes for hours of fun, laughter, time to talk, building memories.


Ok ... off to clean up the smoothie that exploded in the kitchen this morning!
Shop to Bub who is the last week grew out of all of his shorts and pants!
And perhaps work a bit before the day pulls me in too many different directions ....