Runners on Your Mark

Get Set! Go!

{Powered by rain boots}

CW Egg Hunt 2016

 Praying with Daddy before the egg hunt

 Checking out his loot

{Ignore the candy ... Look at those blue eyes!} 

Brotherly love at its finest

A Whim and a Win

Andrew is a great expectation manager, 

but a trip Uptown to try to get scalped tickets

for Alekzander's first Panthers' game

exceeded all expectations.

On a whim, Andrew decided to 

try to take Alekzander 

to the Panthers - Saints game.

It was a perfect storm of wet weather,

the Saints in town with a losing record,

an injured Drew Brees,

and a risk-taking, negotiating Daddy ...

and the big boys gained entrance

to the Panthers game for a fraction

of the face value on the tickets

and had awesome seats right in the end zone.

 Though the game was loud and a little overwhelming,

Alekzander enjoyed his first NFL game

and was especially happy to report the Panthers' win!

Beach Day

It makes this mama's heart happy to see 

both kids so at home on the beach.

Sand between their toes,

eyes wide in wonder of the waves.

After seeing two sharks caught and released

within 12 hours, we opted for sand play,

but could not stop some shallow surf splashing.

Drip castles and shell hunting

kept us busy for hours

before the majority of the tourists were even awake!

Boys... You've Got Mail

Ashley and I heard/read about this idea somewhere and I had to share.  Setup an email account for your child (when you find out your pregnant, when they are born, when they are 5, 10, whatever)... just setup an email account and don't tell them.  Then proceed to send emails to them throughout the years with thoughts, memories, pictures and anything you want to share with them.  The idea is to not tell them about it until they graduate High School (or some other date when they are older).  They will have years and years worth of memories to go back through and read.

We setup accounts for both boys months ago when we first heard about this and it has been fun emailing them both (or individually) from time to time.  If you know and love our boys and want to share something then feel free... we created gmail accounts with their full names (ie. firstlast@gmail.com).

Now we'll just have to try and remember the password years from now. :)

True Grit :: Carver's Gap Adventures

Luckily the boys have inherited Andrew's sense of adventure.

And I am always in for an outdoor challenge as long as it does not push 

my 'cautious-I have to be in control' limits too much.

Our limits were pushed on our hike from Carver's Gap to Grassy Ridge Bald

in terms of elevation, length, and weather conditions, 

but we learned the true grit of our family 

- and I am proud to say that we are all pretty tough.

We knew that we were embarking on a little over 3 mile round trip picturesque hike

 that would include rolling hills to climb and descend, 

rocks to clamber over, zig-zag curves to zig and zag,

and Andrew even, fairly, warned us about unpredictable weather.

I thought I had us covered.  

Some long-sleeve shirts, sunscreen, and homemade bug spray.

We had snacks and water galore thanks to our pack mules, Andrew and Alekzander.

And a standing bribe for Alekzander :: 

If you can do this without whining, you can get your first Lego set.

It was relatively smooth sailing to our destination.  

My muscles burned and I was out of breath at the beginning -

though it surely had nothing to do with carrying a 28-pound 23-month old on my back!

Alekzander was a rockstar leading the way most of the time with his full hydration pack.

Clouds moved in and we encountered a few pop-up showers along the way,

but they made us giggle, 

especially as we saw people coming down the mountain in a hurry 

or fighting with bright yellow plastic rain ponchos.

As soon as the rain started, it would stop, so we never got too wet.

Winds swirled, but we were still game for an adventure.

When we reached Grassy Ridge Bald, quicker than we anticipated,

we celebrated a little before turning around to head back.  

As soon as we did, huge, heavy, cold, stinging raindrops started falling.

It was pouring, and there was nothing to do but forge ahead and laugh hysterically.

Anderson and I ran ahead and sang "It's Raining, It's Pouring" and "Happy Birthday" 

at the top of our lungs so that we could hear over the rain.

Andrew and Alekzander embraced the rain and traveled over slippery rocks 

and splashed in growing puddles.

When the rain finally stopped, 

we were soaked, cold, and exhausted,

but we were surrounded magically by clouds rolling by.

Anderson eventually zonked out on my back,

and Alekzander's personal mission was to stomp, jump, or splash

in every mud puddle on our descent.  

It was hilarious and exhilarating.

We made it:

with smiles on our faces, soaked to the bone, and mud caked on our shoes and calves.

We were made for adventure!

An Affinity for Hats

 I do not know what it is about a Swistak boy in a hat, 

but it makes me swoon.  

Almost 15 years ago when I first laid eyes on "Stack,"

I fell in love with the tall boy in a raggedy hat.

I told my grandma and my mom

that I was going to marry that guy.

I did not know anything else about him - 

except that he {in my eyes} was a BMOC

and he looked good in a hat.

I probably saw his blue eyes, but I couldn't even take a guess

at his hair style or hair color for the first six months I 'knew' him

as he always wore a hat!

I have been obsessed with hats for my boys 

since Alekzander was a baby.

Kiddo wore a hat just about every day...

more for fashion than function.

Anderson went through a stage where he hated hats,

and I was crushed.

Now, I can get them both to wear a hat -

and keep it on for a while.

It may just be me, 

but I think they both {all} look adorable in hats!

Donuts for Dad

 Donuts for Dad :: a preschool rite of passage

{which happened to fall on Wacky Wednesday in honor of Dr. Seuss!}

Complete with sugar donuts, a wacky tie, and sweet sentiments.

Such a precious time!

Merry Christmas Cards

Party Prep

Posing in front of the movie posters that Daddy drew

for Alekzander's Planes: Fire & Rescue viewing party.

The party plan :: 

Invite 13 TK classmates for an after-dinner, drop-off, movie-viewing, 

pajama-wearing, lovey-toting birthday party on a Friday night.

Simple refreshments.  Zero decorations.  Toys/distractions hidden.

Easy and fun.

We followed through with the Planes theme with a few special, early birthday presents

{Planes: Fire & Rescue movie, Planes sleeping bag, Planes: Fire & Rescue pajamas}

and had to test out the goods and the projector before Alekzander's friends arrived.

Brother had to be in on the pre-party action too.

Life Changing

Sometimes - all the time - it is so good to get outside of yourself ... outside of your comfort zone... outside of your head... away from your worries... by serving others.  

For the past few years, I have been so proud to be part of Rohr Rockstars - serving on the board, but also being a cheerleader for new programming and new ideas;  I am along for the ride, and the ride is fast, exciting, and life changing.  

With a new programming model in place, Rohr Rockstars partnered with Grier's Gallery to create the Artists in Residence {AiR}program; a monthly art education program that gets at the heart of what is important in life ::  finding a passion and sharing it with the world.  The first AiR artists had their work showcased at an art gallery in Uptown Charlotte - and a rocking reception/gallery opening.  To be sure that we could be part of this amazing event, we initiated a family date night.  Our time together - and the inaugural Grier's Gallery installation celebration - was a great success.  My heart is  so full!

 We'll pretend that Anderson was as amazed as I was!

THE Message Is In The Chalk

Looking for enCOURAGEment during rough times I turn to The Bible.  I found some much needed encouragement in Joshua 1:9 and decided to add it to our wall chalkboard in our entryway.

Have I not commanded you?
Be strong and courageous.
Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged,
for the Lord your God will be with you
wherever you go.
~Joshua 1:9

I had heard this verse before, and it was powerful writing God's words, and despite the fact that I had it memorized by the time the chalk hit the wall... the message didn't really hit me until the end.

Suddenly it was clear... THE message was in the chalk.  Not the chalk written on the wall... those words served for comfort and encouragement... the TRUE message I needed was in the actual piece (now pieces) of chalk that wrote the message.

To write these words I found a plethora of jumbo sized kids' sidewalk chalk and a tiny scrap of thin white chalk for the smaller letters.  The scrap ran out partway and I was briefly discouraged that I would have to use a jumbo piece to finish until I found it.  It... was a perfect, untouched, fresh new piece of thin white chalk.  The excitement of using a brand new piece of chalk may be a throwback to childhood, when we actually had real chalkboards in the classrooms, but something fired in me when I found that perfect piece.  I held it with pride and thought of how great my terrible handwriting would look with such an unblemished piece.  That is until I tried writing with it.  I struggled to write 'afraid' and 'discouraged' not because they were hard to bear with but because the chalk just wasn't working.  This piece of chalk that I thought was so great just wasn't doing its purpose.  I needed to share this message (God's word) and this unblemished piece of chalk was doing a poor job.

An outside force (read as curious 4.5yr old hands) soon swept through and accidentally shattered the chalk.  After briefly mourning the loss of the perfect unbroken chalk, I decided to pick up the scraps and finish the verse.  I didn't think much about how the chalk now worked perfectly and simply continued to finish the verse.

It wasn't until I lifted the chalk from the wall that I realized the message I needed to learn was in that actual piece (now pieces) of chalk.  We may think we have it all together and are doing just fine.  Our chalk may seem well put together and perfect.  But God (the master artist, author, and creator) might not be able to use us properly until we are broken.  In our brokenness we find meaning, we find beauty, and we (hopefully) can help write His message on the wall for others to see and hear.

His message is in my brokenness... His message is in the chalk.

Balloon Fest