Little Lamb

Joshua has a new name for Titus. Every time he says it, my eyes fill with tears.

Little Lamb.

Isn't that the sweetest thing you've ever heard?

He says, "Titus is my Wittle Wamb".

When Titus was born I made up a little song to sing over him. I know it may seem silly, but I believe that God sings over us (Zeph 3), so we should in turn sing over our babies. The good thing about that is that they have no idea how horribly I sing. Since I'm the Mama, they love my singing. Ha!

Anyway, here's my song for Baby Titus:
(to the tune of Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star)

Titus, Titus, Little Lamb
One day you'll be a mighty man.
Big and strong and brave you'll be,
A soldier in the Lord's Army.

Titus Titus, Little Lamb
One day you'll be a mighty man.

No making fun! :) So.............. yeah, it's nothing fancy or very clever or beautiful... but it's my prayer for him. So I declare it over him every day. And obviously, big brother has adopted the sweet new name for him too. :)))

Oh, and by the way - Titus can say JESUS. Tonight we were practicing everyone's name and I said, "Titus, can you say Jesus?" and he just belted it out! No greater name, no sweeter name, the name above all names. The name that every knee will bow to and every tongue confess. The name that heals, protects, restores, and sets free. The name that gives life. The name. The only name. As much as I love to hear your little voice say "Mama".......... it doesn't even compare to how much I love to hear you say Jesus.

Oh Baby Titus, choose Jesus just as soon as you can Baby. That's your mama's prayer.

Bustin Outta Here!

So I think the little boys were happy to see the sun shining after all the rainy cold days in a row... so they decided to make an escape. Right through my window screen!!!

TITUS - "FREEDOM!!! (imagine Braveheart) Let's go brother!"

JOSHUA - "I don't know Titus... it looks fun, but I don't know..."

TITUS - "Let's see, no one's looking... maybe if I just lean out a little."

JOSHUA - "Mmm, this is a good banana. I'm gonna wait to see if Titus gets busted."

Titus - "It's now or never. I'm going for it! I pulled more of the screen back so you can fit too."

Joshua - "You have fun Tunky. I think I'll sit this one out."

Emily Ann's Little Women

Emily Ann is in our local theatre (Emily Ann Theatre - cool huh?!) production Little Women. She hates this picture, but of course I think it's adorable! ;)

She has so enjoyed working with all of these wonderful people. Every practice and every show has ended with her in high spirits and kind things to say about everyone in the show.

Emily is playing the role of the Amy when she's older. This is her posing with younger Amy (whom she adores!)

I'm so stinking proud of my girl! I'm proud that she's so kind, so strong, so beautiful, so talented, so...........precious to our family. I'm proud that she's okay with being a little different than the rest of us. We tease her endlessly about not being athletic like the majority of our family. The truth is, she is athletic (she used to run, swim, dance, etc...), she's just not super competitive (unless we're playing scrabble). My girl's passions and gifts are not wrapped up in sports... She loves books, theatre, music, art, the library, museums, worshipping God, and all things creative. She's................. different. And I LOVE IT!!! I celebrate it! Go Emily!!! You are amazing girl!

The Bigger They Are, The Sicker They Get!

You know that old saying, "The bigger they are, the harder they fall" right? Well, around here, it's - the bigger they are, the sicker they get!

Poor Tay has had a nasty cold/maybe flu for a few days now. I even took him to the Dr. yesterday, but they said no meds necessary. He's got the nasty cough, ear aches, body aches, sore throat, headache, etc.... and his fever hovers around 100, disappears for a bit, and then comes back.

So, the big boy is on the couch or in his bed 24 hours a day. He devoured a whole book yesterday (Hunger Games) and enjoyed that, but feels like... well, doo-doo. ;) He even missed his basketball game last night. :((( (Not sure he's ever missed any game, even if he felt bad)

We had a funny moment a few minutes ago. His ear is really bothering him, so I got out the baby's numbing drops to give to him. The only thing is, he's so darn tall that we practically had to stretch him out on the back of the couch for me to be able to reach and put those drops into his ear canal. Ha! I'm not sure that my words are expressing how silly it was... Guess you had to be there. :P

And while I chuckle, I am mindful again of the fact that no matter how big he is, he'll always be my baby. He'll never outgrow his love for some mama-compassion. And I am grateful and weepy about that. What on earth will he do this time next year?! Oh, I know it's all gonna be fine... HE'S gonna be fine. But of course my mama-heart thinks of these things. And prays...

Signing Day

Today was the big day...Tay signed on the dotted line to play football at McMurry University! Hurray!!!

We went up to the school at 8:15 this morning and gathered with a few coaches, athletes, and family members to make it official and to honor and celebrate these young men for their success and future opportunities. It was a really special time. This is our family.... minus one, plus Coach Nelms. :) The minus one... well, this blog post is dedicated to him, the Daddy. He couldn't be there this morning because he had to work. It crushed him to miss this special moment. But you know what... not one single one of us doubted for a second (least of all Taylor) that he would have given anything to have been there. I wish he could have too. But in all truth, this was only a tiny blip in the whole story.

This story began 19 years ago when I was HUGE with a baby boy named Taylor in my womb. Even then, Troy was praying, dreaming, and hoping for Taylor to know the kind of success that we are now seeing. When we were brand new parents, Troy took 24 hours one semester of school AND worked so that we could make ends meet to provide for this sweet baby... Troy held, rocked, sang to, bathed, changed diapers, woke in the night (ok, that was mostly my gig, but he was willing), drove to the check-ups, bought medicine at the 24 hour pharmacy, took late night drives and walked the floor with Mr. Colic. God only knows how many times he's gotten up before the sun to do "daddy things". He cuddled and happily welcomed Taylor the "night-wanderer" into our bed. Every. Single. Night. For years. He encouraged and pampered the baby's nervous and immature mama, making it much easier for her to make the transition to her dream in life - motherhood. He worked all kinds of crazy odd jobs, took risks, struggled, but kept trying... He finished his master's degree with a 3.8 while working full time and tending to his family. He coached little league, helped with flag football, little dribblers, and soccer, and even 6man football, and played for COUNTLESS hours out in the yard, throwing, kicking, catching, dribbling, and chasing balls. He aired up flat balls, kissed boo-boo's, wiped tears, and cheered, and cheered, and cheered. He has driven all over the state and 1/2 the country to watch his boy. No one knows how many tickets to games he's purchased or how many t-shirts he's bought. He's been at every game, every sport, every season, every year... after year... after year. He has spoken words of life, love, and dreams over Taylor. This part has not ended. It never will.

So are we sad that he couldn't be there when Taylor signed his commitment to play college football? Yes, of course. But those few minutes hardly measure the amount of love, pride, and commitment he has in his heart for Taylor. The world groans and aches to see more daddies love their children the way that Troy has loved Taylor.

This is Tay with his Wimberley High Offensive Line Coach - Coach Saucier.

Here's Tay with his best pals, Niko and Brady. The giggling is because both of them were on their tippy-toes, trying to be taller. :D This is NOT their actual height.

Here's one last shot of us before we hugged him goodbye. We love you Taylor! Soooo proud of you! Go WarHawks!!!