Welcome Back!

I suppose the title of this blog post is more for myself than any readers who are still checking for an update after over a year (you need help!). I realized recently that I absolutely LOVE blogging. I love that I have a written history of our family's daily goings-on. What I would give to have random writings from my mother about days from my childhood! I blame Facebook for sucking the time and energy right out of me, leaving me no time for the blog. But I'm committing to re-enter the blogosphere not only for myself, but for my family. I just know the children will adore these stories some day!

Taking Over The Church

Yesterday my hubby officially got involved with men's ministry at our church! With me being the Women's Ministry Director does that mean we have majority rule? Heaven forbid the Baysingers have majority rule over anything but our children. And with Mason in the mix...well...let's just say that's a challenge all its own!

I am thankful for a godly husband who is willing to use his gifts to serve the Father. I am thankful for a church that is willing to let him out of the box and go wild with said gifts! Secretly (and it remains a secret because no one reads this blog because I never update it anymore) I am thankful that he is rugged and wild - a manly man - while doing the church thing at the same time. Heaven forbid anyone think that all church men are sissies!

It's gonna be a great year!

Magic and Yetis

Mason asked me if magic was real, so we had a long conversation about why magic seems real and how magicians do tricks. I explained that the only "magic" we believe in is miracles - and that Jesus is the only one who can perform miracles. I know - lots of theology could be inserted here, but he's 6 and it's a good start. So...after my long explanation about magic he asks, "OK - but are Yetis real?".

More Mason and Max

This morning Max and the dog were sitting around the dog food bowl. Max would take one piece and eat it, then give a piece to the dog. I tried to dig the food out of Max's mouth, but he seems to like it and wouldn't spit it out.

At 11:30 am I told Mason that it was time to get ready for school. He said, "Great...let the torture begin."

Firemen and Hobos

This morning Max and Mason came downstairs at about 6:30 am and crawled in to bed with us. We snuggled and giggled and lots of gas was passed by the boys. Part of being a boy mom - enduring lots of gas. At one point, this was a conversation held between Blake and Mason:

Mason: "Know what I'm going to be when I grow up?"
Blake: "What."
Mason: "A hobo."
Blake: "I thought you wanted to be a fireman."
Mason: "Are you kidding!!?? That was before I knew they had to go IN to the fires!"

Messes and Moms

Today I got to thinking about messes. Specifically how many messes boys make and how many messes I cleaned up yesterday. For documentation's sake and the entertainment of my readers I will list them below. Warning: one of the messes is not for the faint of heart. Proceed with caution!

• We've been having trouble with our kitchen faucet. In fact, there's an entire blog post revolving around the day the cleaning ladies came and ended up soaking wet. Yesterday, the hose got stuck and Mason turned the water on full blast causing a jet stream of water to blast across the kitchen on to the ceiling. He got a horrible case of the giggles - the kind that immobilize you - so he couldn't move to shut it off. I was so stunned that I was a bit paralyzed myself but began screaming and trying to get across the kitchen to shut off the water. Max was in his high chair and in the path of the water arc. He wasn't getting terribly wet, but with all the commotion he was a little upset. I slipped and slided my way to the sink and got it shut down...and proceeded to clean up mess number one.
• After school Mason got a bottle of chocolate milk. He had consumed about half of it by the time we got home, so I asked him to make sure he didn't leave it in the van. We've had several bottles of milk end up "lost" in the van until the stench demanded a search! I went on in the house, and it wasn't long before I could hear Marcus and Mason fighting over whether or not Marcus was going to tell me something. Turns out Mason had dumped the leftover chocolate milk in to a water dispenser we have in the garage. There was no water bottle on top, so the milk went down in to the unit. I did make Mason help me with this clean up, but it makes this list at mess number 2.
• Blake and Marcus went hunting awhile back and Blake had left his muddy, bloody boots by the back door. At some point in the evening, one of the children put the boots on and tracked bloody mud through the living room. Lovely. At least it was dry and fairly easy to clean up...as if there's an upside to bloody mud in the living room. This was mess number 3.
• Now...I will confess that mess number 4 was my fault. But since it was a full blown mess, it makes the list all the same. I left a glass on the table within Max's reach. He got ahold of it and threw it at the television. It hit the table below and shattered. Mess number 4.

It must have been about this time that I simply sent all the children to bed. It's too risky to have them up and moving about. Being a mom is exhausting!

Kindergarten Visit

On Friday, I got to be the Family Fan in Mason's kindergarten classroom. I had asked Mrs. Pennington if I needed to bring anything or be prepared at all, and she encouraged me to simply "show up". I began to wonder if she and Mrs. Todd would just abandon me with all the kids and head to Starbucks for a break! If I were a kindergarten teacher I might consider that myself.

What a treat to be in their room for part of the day! Here are some things I came away with and some of my favorite, more memorable moments:

• C made two swords with Legos during table work time. He was wielding them around and M asked him what he was doing. C calmly replied that he's a ninja and was practicing.
• When J couldn't find a pencil in his folder the ENTIRE class chimed in to let him know it was in the back of his folder. J said, "Oh...silly me". Then L said, "I put the pencil there. I'm seriously magic."
• I got to sit on the carpet beside Mason during calendar time. This was quite a serious part of the day what with the weather report, tally marks, counting of school days and such. I was quite impressed with how each student participated so well in this section. About half way through, J turned around to me and out of the blue whispered very quickly, "My favorite show is Go Diego Go. He has a backpack that turns in to anything he needs"....and then quickly turned back around and went about his calendar work. OK.
• During carpet time, J kept scooting farther and farther back until he was nearly in my lap. He asked if I was staying for recess. I think he was asking me out.
• Mason drew a picture of a girl during table work time and put MOM on the top. He was so proud of it and we hugged when he showed it to me...until his favorite little friend Hannah showed up and he quickly erased MOM and put an H in its place. He then greeted Hannah and said, "Look what I made for you!". I was crushed. I think I'll ask Mrs. Pennington if she still has that drawing. What a fun keepsake from my trip to kindergarten.
• I left feeling like I couldn't wash my hands enough.
• I left feeling like I was surely coming down with something.
• I left with an odd feeling over the idea that someone else is teaching my child. I want to teach him everything he needs to know. I then wondered if God was planting a homeschooling seed. I then knew for sure that I was coming down with something!
• Mrs. Pennington and Mrs. Todd love their jobs, and I'm so glad Mason is in their class. They rock!
  
• I am so thankful that we can send out precious kiddo to a Christian school...a school that teaches Truth.
• And my favorite part of all...the children RAPPED their months of the year - just for me!