A Cowboy and His Party

Our little buckaroo wanted a cowboy birthday to celebrate turning 5, so that's just what we did. We had a great outside party planned, with pony rides and everything, but storms moved in that day. So, we had no choice but to move the party to our church gym. We were disappointed, but as we all know, as long as kids have room to run and play, they are perfectly happy!

I'll let the pictures do the talking...

A Message from Brent {Nicaragua 2012}

Laura started this blog to record events and changes in our family, and we are now printing it into a book. I just returned from a mission trip to Nicaragua that changed me, and I hope the change in me helps better our family. We have three sons for now to raise into respectable Christian men to be able to guide and protect their families.

Our team was broken up into three groups. We had a team that did bible school in the mornings and various projects throughout the afternoons. The Bible institute group helped the area pastors and men with Bible questions they had and taught various classes. Our hardest working team was the medical and dental group. The doctor and nurse saw about 150 patients and the dentist pulled over 200 teeth in 3 days of work.

We often gripe and complain about simple things that we take for granted. What I witnessed on the trip changed my view on several things that I have been frustrated with in the past. A two hour wait in the emergncy room is nothing when compared to someone having to ride a horse two hours and then wait two more hours to see a doctor once or twice a year, because that may be the only time doctors are available. Getting your teeth cleaned should not be looked at as a nuissance. People traveled and waited hours to get a tooth or multiple teeth pulled just to stop the pain.

The hardest time that I had was watching the litte children come to Bible school without shoes or their shoes had holes in them. Basic needs such as food and clothing for kids should not be a worry for them. Their faces would light up over a new pair of shoes or a new toy.

There were many instances that made me take a step back and realize how materially blessed I am. One man gave his testimony on how he has been blessed as a cattle farmer. He told us that he prays that he never wants to be materially hungry. He uses his money to bless other people in his community. He takes joy and receives a blessing from helping others since God has blessed him. We can't go to the extreme and help everyone that needs help. There are many things in my life that I could do without and help someone in need. I have realized most of my needs are wants.

We have been blessed so we can bless others. There are many ways to bless others and spread Christ's love. I hope our family can find the right ways to help others.

Brody's Interview {FIVE}

Last year, I did a little interview with Brody, when he was 4. It was so fun to hear his answers. I decided I would I do the same thing now that he is five, to see how his answers have changed. You can read his 4 year old interview here.

He wasn't really into the whole process this time, so I got some vague answers. But here they are, nonetheless. (My thoughts in RED.)

First, a few questions just about being 5...

~What is your favorite thing about being 5? The cowboy birthday party I had! (Which reminds me, I need to post his party pictures!)

~What's something that you can do now, that you couldn't do when you were 4? Hit the ball reeeaaally far!

~What's the hardest part of being 5? Writing my letters (Such a boy)

~What do 5 year olds like to eat? Chicken...anything chicken. (Are men just born needing to eat meat with every meal?)

~How did you grow so big? I ate.

~What do 5 year old like to play with? Motorcycles (I sure hope he means toy ones...)

~What do 5 year olds not like to play with? Baby dolls

~What do you want to be when you grow up? A baseball player for the Razorbacks (Sounds fun to me!)

~When is a person a grown up? When they are 13 or 14...or 15 or 16... (Keep going...)

~What is your favorite game? Battleship

~What is your favorite art activity? Making cards for my friends.

~What is your favorite animal? I like lions and tigers.

~If you could have any pet what would it be? I think...a cat. (Well, that was boring.)

~What do 5 year olds think about? Playing ball.

~What is your favorite thing to wear? My jerseys.

Now, a few questions about money...

~Do you like money? Yes! I buy beyblades with money! (Still obsessed)

~How much money do you have? $13 (Pretty close!)

~ How much money is in the world? Ninety-nine sixty-eight twelve sixty-nine

~How do you get money? You spend a lot of money and then you just get more! (Oh. Dear.)

~What is a bank? Where you go to get more dollars from your savings account.

~What would you do if you had $100? Buy fishing stuff!

~ How much money would you like to have? $169

Next, a few questions about Daddy...

~What is something Daddy tells you? Be good and listen

~What does Daddy do to make you laugh? Tickles me

~How old is Daddy? 29 (Close...31!)

~How tall is Daddy? 100 feet tall!! (Hehe)

~What does Daddy like to watch on TV? ballgames

~What is Daddy good at? Baseball

~What is Daddy not good at? Tennis

~What does Daddy do at work? He makes money

~What is Daddy's favorite food? Chicken and Biscuits (Daddy would not agree.)

~What makes you proud of Daddy? Because he likes to play baseball with me.

~If Daddy was a cartoon character, who would he be? Curious George (I seriously laughed out loud.)

~How are you and Daddy alike? We look kinda alike

~How are you and Daddy different? I don't have that black hair.

~How do you know Daddy loves you? Because he just loves me. (Best answer ever.)

~What does Daddy like about Mommy? He likes to eat supper with you.

~Where is Daddy's favorite place to go? To eat at Johnny B's! (Wrong. Daddy got sick the last time he ate there. Haha. )