Pierce(isms)

I had such a great time this week with the kids. Brett came in one evening as I was working on the computer, and told me that I HAVE to start writing down all the Pierce(isms). Here are a few we heard this week...

1) "Dad, Pudge (bulldog) is sick. Can we give him some cold medicine? If we have to take him to the dr. can you please ask them NOT to take his privates off like they did last time?"

2) "Mom, which finger is bad if I stick it up, and why?"

3) "Mom, if you REALLY want to get a hangnail off, you have to wait a day...and a few hours. Then whichever way your hangnail is leaning, turn it the other way. Then twist really hard. If you wait a day...and a few hours, the skin will be dead and it won't hurt."

4) "MOM, COME QUICK! If you call this number we can get 250 Bendaroos."

5) "Mom, we really need to call this number. They are selling water globes for your plants. The number is 1-800-2-sell-homes!" (of course we have all silk plants)

6) "Mom, this is the BEST day of my life. Even better than Great Wolf Lodge." (without two front teeth it comes out Wolf Wolf Lodge!) haha

7) "Mom, do you need to lose weight? If so, there is this number you can call and they PROMISE you will lose weight. Promise, they said it will work." (thanks!)

I am home with Pierce every morning until he goes to school at 1pm. My jaws hurt by the time I get him to school from laughing. He is one of the most sweet, funny, inquisitive kids that I have ever been around.

I will keep them coming! At least now we will have them in print :)

Hudson's Easter program...

Here are a few pictures taken at Hudson's Easter program at daycare. He didn't cry...but he was a little "shell shocked" with all the people staring at him. He and Pierce had so much fun playing afterward.

Happy Easter!

He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed.
1 Peter 2:24

Actions

This was sent to me by a good friend. I loved the story and wanted to share...

One day, when I was a freshman in high school, I saw a kid from my class was walking home from school. His name was Kyle. It looked like he was carrying all of his books. I thought to myself, 'Why would anyone bring home all his books on a Friday? He must really be a nerd.' I had quite a weekend planned (parties and a football game with my friend’s tomorrow afternoon), so I shrugged my shoulders and went on. As I was walking, I saw a bunch of kids running toward him. They ran at him, knocking all his books out of his arms and tripping him so he landed in the dirt. His glasses went flying, and I saw them land in the grass about ten feet from him. He looked up and I saw this terrible sadness in his eyes my heart went out to him. So, I jogged over to him as he crawled around looking for his glasses, and I saw a tear in his eye. As I handed him his glasses, I said, 'Those guys are jerks.' They really should get lives. ' He looked at me and said, 'Hey thanks!' There was a big smile on his face. It was one of those smiles that showed real gratitude. I helped him pick up his books, and asked him where he lived. As it turned out, he lived near me, so I asked him why I had never seen him before. He said he had gone to private school before now. I would have never hung out with a private school kid before. We talked all the way home, and I carried some of his books. He turned out to be a pretty cool kid. I asked him if he wanted to play a little football with my friends He said yes. We hung out all weekend and the more I got to know Kyle, the more I liked him, and my friends thought the same of him. Monday morning came, and there was Kyle with the huge stack of books again. I stopped him and said, 'Boy, you are gonna really build some serious muscles with this pile of books everyday! ' He just laughed and handed me half the books. Over the next four years, Kyle and I became best friends..

When we were seniors we began to think about college. Kyle decided on Georgetown and I was going to Duke. I knew that we would always be friends, that the miles would never be a problem. He was going to be a doctor and I was going for business on a football scholarship. Kyle was valedictorian of our class. I teased him all the time about being a nerd. He had to prepare a speech for graduation. I was so glad it wasn't me having to get up there and speak Graduation day, I saw Kyle. He looked great. He was one of those guys that really found himself during high school. He filled out and actually looked good in glasses. He had more dates than I had and all the girls loved him. Boy, sometimes I was jealous! Today was one of those days. I could see that he was nervous about his speech. So, I smacked him on the back and said, 'Hey, big guy, you'll be great!' He looked at me with one of those looks (the really grateful one) and smiled. 'Thanks,' he said.

As he started his speech, he cleared his throat, and began 'Graduation is a time to thank those who helped you make it through those tough years. Your parents, your teachers, your siblings, maybe a coach...but mostly your friends... I am here to tell all of you that being a friend to someone is the best gift you can give them. I am going to tell you a story.' I just looked at my friend with disbelief as he told the first day we met. He had planned to kill himself over the weekend. He talked of how he had cleaned out his locker so his Mom wouldn't have to do it later and was carrying his stuff home. He looked hard at me and gave me a little smile. 'Thankfully, I was saved. My friend saved me from doing the unspeakable...' I heard the gasp go through the crowd as this handsome, popular boy told us all about his weakest moment. I saw his Mom and dad looking at me and smiling that same grateful smile. Not until that moment did I realize it's depth.

Never underestimate the power of your actions. With one small gesture you can change a person's life. For better or for worse, God puts us all in each others lives to impact one another in some way... Look for God in others.

Dinner with James

This has been one of the best, very interesting, eye-awakening, weekends. First let me say, I had a wonderful weekend with my husband. We always have a great time when the kids are with us, but this past weekend we seemed to truly enjoy each other and the time we spent together. Friday night we went to dinner and saw some friends while we were out. We had a great time talking with them and dinner was great! Saturday Brett played golf with friends and I hung out and had a little "me" time...which is important for everyone. When he got home, we worked around the yard. We decided we would get dressed and go out to dinner. Literally, as we were driving toward Abuelos, Brett mentioned a new restaurant that he had heard about from one of the guys playing golf. You have to understand...we are creatures of habit. We never try new restaurants because we like our "favorites" too much. But not this time. We were feeling adventurous. So we headed to this new place (which I'll leave anonymous). Once there, Brett ran into someone he knew. He knows someone everywhere we go! haha Right off the bat, we loved the place. Server was great, they have more beer than Tapwerks, and their food was awesome!!! We had been sitting there about 30 minutes and in walks Bob Stoops. We laughed and said we guessed we were in the right place. I thought if we were going to go to a new place, I was going out on a limb and wanted to try new things. I had a Raspberry Cream and Banana Bread beer. They were the best i had ever tasted. We had been there about an hour and had just started eating our food (sandwiches and sweet potato fries)...when in walked James. James sat at the table next to us...which was a table for six. It was an awkward moment because I felt like everyone in the place stopped what they were doing and stared at him. You see, James was a homeless man. He had dirty hair, a huge hoop earring in one ear, a large gash over his nose (we were sure it was broken), dirty clothes and was obviously lit. Not sure if it was beer or drugs...but he wasn't all there. He hung his head and just sat there. Our sever walked up and asked if he would like a water or pepsi...he only had $2. He turned to say something to Brett and it was like the whole place went silent and looked at us. For some odd reason this was a very surreal moment. I felt like time almost stopped. Brett scooted over and started talking to him. As he was talking, a gentleman walked out from the back and leaned over and said, "we're going to have to ask you to leave." Brett looked up and said, "well, we have a problem then. I'm buying James dinner and a pepsi." The gentleman said that was fine, but no alcohol. For the next 30 minutes or so, we spoke to James, shook his hand or hugged him about a dozen times, and tried to let him know that we cared and wanted to talk to him. He spoke to Brett about Jesus and at one point he looked at me and said, "I don't want to offend anyone, but you're pretty." As we left, we asked James if he wanted to take our to-go box (which was half of an untouched sandwich and fries), and he said yes! We walked to the car, neither of us saying a word...and once inside, we both broke down and cried. We just sat there. Brett said he didn't feel good leaving him. I felt like everyone in that place looked at us like "what are you doing?" Maybe I'm wrong...hopefully I'm wrong. Maybe they were thinking...thank you for talking to him. I just know that no one said a word to James. On our drive home we only talked about James...how blessed "we" were to have met him. And I almost felt mad that "who am I" to think I'm any better than he is?? We don't know his story or his history. And sure, the downtown merchants have to deal with the homeless on a day-to-day basis. I know they may not have been happy that we bought him a meal or encouraged him to stay. But how do you just turn your back? What is wrong with our society today? It could be any one of us homeless at any given time. Again, there are probably circumstances we aren't aware of...all I know is that James made a huge impact on our lives. He was a kind human being and we feel very fortunate to have met him. He kept telling Brett he wanted to repay us. Brett told him the way he could repay us is to do something nice for someone else sometime. He said he promised he would.

Last...to top off a wonderful weekend, we went to Emanuel Baptist Church in Enid on Sunday. Brett's brother Wade is the pastor. This weekend William "Paul" Young, author of The Shack, was speaking at his church. I sat mesmerized as he spoke. I wish we would have gone to every service, but we only made it to one. He was incredible. When we got home from Enid, I started reading The Shack again for the second time. What a life changing book. And Paul Young was one of the nicest, most sincere people I have ever met.

What a great weekend!!