Forgive my crazy looking blog!!!! I wanted to change it up and am so frustrated after losing stuff and being at the computer for over an hour. I was getting tired of the stripes. I'm going to bed, and this will have to be a work in progress.
As we were leaving the house in the morning, a stray cat came up purring and rubbing against our legs. I paid no attention and went straight to the car, but Grayson made a new friend. it took us a while to leave the driveway, and that was only after Grayson asked me 2-3 times if we could keep the cat!! He knows about allergies so I tried to nicely explain to him that we would never have a cat as a pet, outdoors or in!!!
We then let Grayson choose 3 rides of his own. We walked by the swings, which boasted children only, so we asked Grayson if he wanted to go. He said yes with a lot of jumping and clapping so off he went. As we were waiting, I told Trevor that I though this was actually going to go up in the air and spin like a "real" swing ride, not be a little "joke" like the children's one at Busch Gardens. I was a little worried. It was at this time I saw another mom get on a swing by her child, so I went and asked if I too could swing. The operator said sure, so I gave my $3 tickets adn got on the swing next to Grayson. As it began and immediately lifted us off the ground, I reached over for Grayson's swing only to find he was grinning from ear to ear and proceeded to push my hand off saying, "It's okay mommy, I'm alright!" I'm so glad I gave Trevor the camera to capture this moment. I screamed the whole time and had a huge smile as I was in shock that Grayson was not only not freaking out, but loving every minute. I am so glad for that other mother who got on the ride first that allowed me to share this BIG moment with Grayson. Good thing it was me and not Trevor, he surely would have puked with all that real swinging!!
Although we couldn't convince him to ride either of the children's roller coasters, even with one of us, he accomplished something big last night. I still smile just to look beside me on the swing and see him beaming from ear to ear on that big swing ride. Another one of those moments, "yup, he's really growing up and letting go a little bit more".
Sweet Grayson, I loved seeing you take this big risk, even though at first glance it didn't look like a big one. May you always go after things that may seem a little bit scary, because you never know where the biggest blessings or enjoyment is going to come from. Take a step out of your comfort zone once in a while, you will surprised at what you may find there. Your Daddy steps out there too and has never been disappointed!!
My brother loves music, and so Trevor and I thought the best present we could get him for his birthday was a day at Busch Gardens (even though he doesn't ride roller coasters!). This year in May, they had "Glory at the Gardens" which brought Christian music concerts to the big stage. My brother and his girlfriend Jamie came in and amde a weekend out of it. The weather was beautiful so we headed down to the Ocean on Saturday. Grayson got to digging with his new favorite beach shovels (thank you Bradley and Alexander!!). We had a leisurely late lunch early supper at the Cheesecake Factory, and brought dessert home for the impending card game.
After Grayson hit the hay, we got the cards out. No gloating guys, but Trevor and I did win 3-3! It has been a long time coming, this spades rematch, but we beat the "champs"!! After getting to bed late, church came early the next morning. Trevor headed over to 8:00 with me to listen to our new pastoral candidate, and then the 4 of them headed up to Busch Gardens for the days opening. They had already enjoyed quite a day of rides and climbing when I got there at 1:30. We had to have BBQ for lunch, then hit some more rides before the concert area opened up for seating. We got great seats on the aisle and away from the speakers to try and appease Grayson as long as possible.
The turnout for this first concert day was huge!! Maximum capacity and they actually had to turn people away until the crowd thinned out later in the evening. The rest of the park was absolutely dead as Jamie and I headed back out to get 3 roller coasters in. Matthew West and Third Day were on stage and it was fantastic! The place was rockin'!! We all had a great time and left the park at 9:00. 
Grayson did great just hanging out and letting his imagination take him wherever it wanted as he played in the dirt and the aisleway perfectly. He did really love the music, and recognized a few of the songs. He got into clapping and dacing right along with everyone else! As I watched him, I think he was playing "Polar Express" with his "friends" and making sure they all got on the train and got their tickets punched! Love, Love, Love it!!!
Joel, I hope you had a great time celebrating your birthday a little late with us at the Gardens!!Yes, I've been away for a while and my schedule doesn't promise that I'll do a better job keeping up in the next month! I have enjoyed seeing what ya'll have been up to, although I rarely left a comment. I think you know what it's like to try and "catch up"--time consuming!!
Anyways, I've got a couple of entries to try and get added this week. Have a great week everyone!
Do you ever have those moments where you're watching your child (ren) and they do something that makes you hold your breath? You say to yourself, "when did you get to be such a big boy (girl), where did that come from, when did you learn that, etc"? And in that moment you get a huge smile on your face knwing that there's nothing you can do to stop it, so you smile, laugh, cheer them on!!
I had one of those "moments" this past week as I Grayson and I went to the 'Mall' to get some wiggles out. He's almost to the height limit which is sad becasue he's still just a brand-new 4! Anyways, I watch him playing and all of a sudden he's climbing on top of the hot dog, cupcake, dill pickle, and mushroom and jumping or should I say leaping off for all he's worth. Now this isn't just a little stepping-off-the-side-to-the-floor. He satnds up at the top so proudly, looks tomake sure no one is under him, throws his arms back, and leaps!! Since when did he get so brave?!
You might be thinking to yourself: are you kidding, my child does that kind of stuff all the time?! For my Grayson and this mommy, it was a big deal. His face was priceless the first couple times because you could almost see the expression saying, "Mommy did you see that!! I can't believe I just did that, and I landed on my feet, too!!!!!! I better do that again"
It was such a simple moment, but one I wanted to remember. Maybe the writing down of this memory will help me to remember the way his sweet, proud, 4-year old face looked tht day!
