...that spells...

Here is my craft project for the week. Felt letters at a random store in the mall for 50 cents a piece + a roll of magnet tape from the newly opened "Ace Hardware" in said mall = Name Magnets!

I made Isaac's a couple years ago from some wooden letters I found at another mall in this country. So I thought it would be fun for Isaiah to have his own as well. They're not the same, but fun anyway with lots of A's, I's, and S's :)  I also included proof of my dumb moment. All the other letters are perfectly reversible. Doesn't matter what side the magnet goes on, it's still an "I" "A" or "H."  Isaac was "helping" me and there was super glue involved so I just wasn't even thinking when I got to the S as to what side the magnet should go on.  Luckily the letters are only 50 cents!

So last year when we were going to Disney World nearly every weekend, the thought crossed my Mama-Bear mind more than once that if Isaac ever got lost, or heaven forbid, someone ever took him, I would want him to know his name and be able to tell it to anyone, even spell it if necessary. 

So the name song was born. 
Thought this was an appropriate post to debut the song to the world.

Forgotten Words

While poking around old files on our computer, I (Anthony) came across something I wrote on September 11, 2009.  It was meant to be the first entry in a journal I hadn't yet purchased.  I keep a journal for each of our boys and I plan on giving it to them when they're older.  I completely forgot about this entry, however, until I stumbled on it tonight:

Every momentous day in human history started as a morning - most probably normal.  Most of those mornings were probably routine.  Coffee brewed.  Eggs burnt.  Sons waking up at 6:15am.  Wives kissed.

How should "momentous day" be defined?  There is one thing - a tipping point - that pushes a merely "good day" into the realm of a "momentous day."

God brings new mercies with the morning.  His mercy this morning?  Isaiah Kingston Rivers. 

Welcome to the family.

Wordless Wednesday

Playground

Anthony took the boys to a playground near Isaac's preschool the other day so I could study in peace at home. This neighborhood photo is pretty typical of middle-class suburb neighborhoods here. There is usually at least one playground in these types of neighborhoods.

 Isaac below being very adorable. He's such a willing subject for most photos most of the time.

 I love this picture because of Zay's feet in the flip-flops. He's nearly grown out of them now (they were Isaac's) but his little brown square feet just look so cute in them, I couldn't resist posting this pic. It's gonna be a little hard to get rid of them after he's done with them. They're pretty well worn out now :(

 And who wouldn't push their toy car down the slide?

 Isaiah. He is so round and cute. His profile is just so precious. I'm already praying my grandkids get that profile. :)

 Wonder what happened after this pic was taken?

 And even though this wasn't at the playground, I wanted to show our big man using his spoon. We think he might be left-handed as he eats, brushes his teeth, and often grabs things with his left hand.

The boys are doing great. Isaac LOVES preschool. Isaiah loves the one-on-one attention he gets at home with Mama and Daddy while Brother is at school. Though Mama and Daddy may or may not miss the helpful distraction Brother makes when he's home to play with Isaiah.
 You must also see what Isaac has learned to do finally after so many attempts to teach him and him trying at Grandmama and Granddaddy's house.

Snapshots of New Year's Eve...

Not that these events were related to New Year's Eve in particular, but just a couple things that happened on the Eve of 2011...

I gave the boys popsicles for their afternoon snack and instructed them to eat them on the porch because of the stickiness involved.

I was doing some reading and heard quiet chatting on the porch from voices that didn't belong to my boys...and came out to find half-a-dozen children standing there staring at my kids while they were sitting and eating the popsicles.

It takes some getting used to being stared at. For me it's one of the biggest culture stress/shock triggers out there. It doesn't get to me all the time, and can actually help gain lots of new friends, but sometimes I just get sick of it and that overwhelming feeling of Will-they-ever-not-notice-me-? and the extreme desire to blend-in makes me want to say, "I CAN SEE YOU STARING AT ME! THIS ISN'T A ZOO AND I'M NOT AN EXHIBIT!" But I don't, of course.

I'm just telling you all that so you can know that this little instance isn't out of the ordinary and is actually pretty well what we live every time we step outside our house, everyday. I often wonder if it will ever get on the boys' nerves or if they'll just think of it as the norm? They sure ate their popsicles like it wasn't a big deal.

However, when Isaac got up to go run around in the yard the kids, in a big clump, followed him around. He looked like Prince William and the paparazzi. At one point one of the girls stepped in front of him to attempt to pen him in.  He juked her pretty quickly and finally I asked them to take a picture... Isaac didn't want to stand with them and this is what I got. So cute. So telling.

Then we went to the beach near sunset.

 

We saw shells...

 

We found a "hidden mickey" in some driftwood..

 

 Enjoyed the coral sand...

 

 Then went home, took a bath (to wash the coral sand out of hair), and went to bed! Happy New Year!