Carter the Regulator

Carter's bible class teacher told them they would be watching a video in class last night. Carter raised his hand and said, "Why are we watching a movie at church instead of reading the bible and learning about it?" She told them they were going to apply what they learned in the video. She emailed me because she thought it was very intuitive! I thought it was halarious!

Eli's First Birthday Party

ELI had a FABULOUS 1st Birthday!! It meant so much for all of you to be there. We have some priceless pictures of him with Will and ALL his cousins. Thanks Holly for a lot of those. Hugs & Kisses...

Halloween 2008

Okay, okay. I know. It's way too early to be thinking about Halloween, but this was, in fact, one of our conversation topics on the way to school Thursday morning.
When you're conversing with an 8-year-old and a 7-year-old, with occasional inserts from a 4-year-old, the conversation is bound to be scattered and, well, ... odd. Hence, our discussion of Halloween costumes.
Hannah Kay and I were desperately trying to convince Hattie that dressing up like her principal would be a great idea. Mrs. McWhorter is a stylish, feminine-business kind of dresser, so we thought Hattie would make a fine-looking "Mini-Me" version of her. Hannah Kay and I were making all kinds of suggestions and plans as Hattie emphatically turned down every one of our ideas. She obviously had no interest in being the principal.
As we were just beginning to relinquish and forget the whole idea, Hattie piped up. "Well, actually, I DO know who I want to be for Halloween this year...," lingering that last syllable as Hannah Kay and I eagerly awaited the name of the mysterious costume inspiration. "I'd really like to be... DOLLY PARTON!"
I burst out laughing as Hannah Kay leaked out a sheepish giggle in the back seat. "WHAT?!?" Hattie cried. "I just love her hair... don't you???"
Needless to say, it wasn't Dolly's hair that had me stumped in my costume-designer mode. It was... well, you figure it out!

The Bronc Rider

The 4 of us got to go to the FW Livestock Show and Rodeo on Monday. Will looks forward to it every January when he starts seeing ads on T.V. This was his 3rd year to go and definitely the most exciting for him so far. We are still playing pretend rodeo in our living room! He gets on his rocking horse, all dressed up in his chaps, vest, hat and spurs, and uses his belt to rope a bear rug on the floor. It is pretty funny!! Charlie and I realized after his reenactment of Monday night, how much he was really paying attention(with cotton candy in one hand most of the time). Now, this was actually Eli's 2nd rodeo...only last year it was the night before he was born, so he was in my tummy! I have to say it was a lot easier last year!! He got pretty tired of sitting there so we had to cut the night a little short. It was still a lot of fun and thought i'd share a couple pictures. Notice how thrilled Eli is..ha ha.

Here's a picture of Mr. E on the go. He's cruising more and more each day.... usually with a ball in one hand!

Eli's First Steps

Today, our baby boy finally got the courage to take those first steps all by himself. We knew it would be real soon since he has been standing up by himself and keeping balance for quite a while.... just not brave enough to move the feet. This morning while in the kitchen, I heard W yell "Mommy, Come look at Eli". I realized what he was doing and then ran for the video camera. I did get him taking a few steps, thank goodness, before the crazy thing ran out of battery. Hopefully I'll get a picture or even video to post soon but for now just the Newest News at the CJWEsnead household.

Will's Addiction

A few weeks ago Will went with me over to the land to work on the house and the old guy (Mr T) that is leasing our place for cattle came to feed. Mr T is about 70 and smokes like a freight train. I never noticed Will watching him or asking questions. A few days later we noticed Will carrying a play shotgun shell around in his front pocket and even noticed that he took it to church with him one night. When we got home from church that night we asked him why he thought he had to have the shell with him. Holding the shell between his middle and index fingers, he raised the shell to his mouth and exhaled. He began to explain that "old people have to get the air out." After trying to ignore his recent addiction (Ha!) and avoiding an antismoking discussion with a 4 year old, we decided it was time to tell him that was not good for his body and how it could really make him sick without using the words "smoking" or "cigarrette". Yesterday as Will was drawing on his chalk board, he casually put the chalk up to his mouth as Jen was taking a picture. Charlie says we have nothing to worry about because by the time Will would be able to buy cigs they'll be outlawed everywhere. Lets hope so!

Khaki's Kids

Mom wanted this picture of the grandkids at Christmas... the circle shot. What a hoot!

A Tale from Not-So-Long-Ago

(From 2004)

My nephew, Carter just turned 3 in October. While at my mom's this weekend in Abilene, we were happy audience members for many of his hilarious antics. Whether he was "playing" his arm guitar and tapping his foot while singing every single word to Chris LeDeux's "County Fair" or trying to convince my daughter that HE should wear her Barbie Swan Lake dress while they were playing, he did it all with the sweetest little spirit and the most precious twinkle in his eyes.

Perhaps his most comical response came on Wednesday night after my brother caught Carter and his two older cousins (my two girls) jumping on my parents' bed... obviously absent of any adult supervision. He scolded them for doing something they knew was wrong and punctuated his statement by telling them to never jump on Khaki & Papa's bed again.

Carter answered with an instruction to his two cousins, "Come on girls! Let's go to the other room and jump on that bed!"

Josh quickly stopped the action with an emphatic, "No, Carter! You aren't going to jump on ANY beds."

A bit broken-hearted but with a quick wit and a sharp tongue, Carter looked at his dad with a scowl and said, "Well then, we're gonna go play JEEEEE...SUS! JESUS & THE BIG BAD WOLF!"

~ Holly

Christmas 2007

In the midst of all the clothes, books, toys, tractors, video games, arms, legs and shrieks of pleasure, something caught my eye.

She was quietly going about her business, taking it all in and carefully examining each and every little thing she pulled from her Christmas bag. Lip gloss. No comment. A baby swing & high chair. No smile to speak of. A precious cheetah outfit. No screams of, "LOOK MOM!!!" A sundry other gifts for a girly little girl. Not much reaction at all.

Then she saw it. I suspect she was suspicious when she saw the shiny, pink plastic peaking from behind the wrapping paper. Quickly, like a mother bear rushing to her cub, she devoured the wrapping mess and quickly got to the present, itself, as if it was desperately in need of her rescue.

Her prize. A Barbie laptop computer.

Suddenly, the silent, almost morose little girl became a blubbering, stuttering squealer. "THIS IS JUST WHAT I WANTED!" she said over and over again to whomever was listening as a smile encompassed her sweet face and her eyes lit up like firecrackers. The excitement took over. The joy overflowed. She bounced to her feet and quickly ran about the room showing off her gift, telling everyone along the way, "THIS IS JUST WHAT I WANTED!" Her joy was our gift as we all watched and smiled, knowing and remembering a time when we, too, could get that excited about something so small. I wonder if we can still.

You see... God's gifts are pretty similar. We kind of go through life, not really getting too excited about all the little things He does. Sometimes we notice, and sometimes we don't. Sometimes we giggle and squeal with pleasure, and other times we stomp our feet, throw things and pout because it wasn't exactly what we wanted or someone else got what we'd been seeking for ourselves. Sometimes we remember to say, "Thank you," and other times we forget. Some days a simple "thank you" isn't enough, and we keep showing our appreciation in every thing we do. Other days we shrug our shoulders and turn our backs and simply walk away in disappointment, leaving a trail of disappointment behind.

He, like us, enjoys giving gifts and watching our reactions. I'm guessing He closely & carefully monitors the exact moments we receive His gifts, like an eager aunt awaiting her niece's reaction to a much-desired present. I'm sure that He is often a bit saddened by our ungrateful spirits and severely disappointed in our disappointment. But then I'm sure there are times that He is delighted and inspired by our reactions... just like we become when our little ones get so excited over the gifts they receive on Christmas morning.

Christmas comes but once a year, and the build-up and anticipation probably spawn much of the joy & excitement we enjoy. But God is in the gift-giving business every single day, and He hopes to delight us and bless us and thrill us with a Christmas-morning kind of joy each and every day. If we could only learn to react as children to all the many things He has done for us, can you imagine the joy that would fill our lives and contagiously spread around the world? Can you imagine the delight that would be ours in simply living? Can you imagine...

So maybe a Barbie laptop computer isn't at the top of your list today. Maybe there isn't anything you can buy in a store that will turn your hum-drum ordinary day into a Christmas-morning kind of event. But God can, and He's been working all day & night to make this day a special one for you. You know how I know? He said so...

"This is the day the LORD has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it," states Psalm 118:24. The passage is familiar and reminds us of a song we sang as children. But if you read a little further down, you catch a hint of what our responses should be... no matter if we get the Barbie computer or a box full of traffic jams & other yucky stuff.

David reminds us in verses 28 & 29...
"You are my God, and I will give you thanks; you are my God, and I will exalt you. Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his love endures forever."

Now that's one gift I won't be taking back or exchanging for a different size!

~Holly