The "Finnster, et al."

Well, last night Finn learned the meaning of true disappointment.  It all started when we went over to Uncle David’s house to watch WrestleMania.  This is like the Super Bowl of professional wrestling.  Finn has been looking forward to this event for a long, long time because his favorite wrestler was fighting in the main event. We got to David and Sharon’s house around 7:30.  We had church that evening so we missed a couple of the big events (Intercontinental Ladder Match, the Andre the Giant Match and the match between Randy Orton (another of Finn’s favorites) and Seth Rolllins. Once we were settled in, Uncle David brought out his WWE Heavy weight belt and the boys went nuts.  Sam and Finn were so pumped.  They wrestled and jumped off of things and cheered for a couple of hours.  Sam was really excited during the John Cena v. Rusev match – he sang John Cena’s entrance music and strutted around. We didn't get to stay for the main ...

On Thursday afternoon we took the boys to the Dentist.  They have dreaded this day for the past two years - approximately the last time they went to the dentist.  Despite my terrible scheduling, neither boy had a cavity.  I guess I do an awesome job brushing their teeth. Finn was pretty nervous, but for the most part was a pro.  He didn't squirm, cry or fuss. This is Sam watching Finn get his teeth cleaned. Next it was Sam's turn.  He was pretty excited at first. He liked wearing the glasses. Then he started to get a little nervous. Going . . . Going . . . Gone.  I didn't get any more pictures because I had to straddle Sam during the entire cleaning.  He cried the entire time.  He didn't want to open his mouth for Dr. Templeton  so I looked at him and say "say ahhh" (just like we do when we brush his teeth).  He opened his mouth as wide as he could and yelled "ahh."  He participated in the proces...

I love the weekend!  On the weekdays I get up at 5:00 to go workout in our dark, cold garage. But on the weekends, I get to sleep in until at least 8:00!  You may ask, what do you do with the boys? Well, now that they are older, we let them play in the playroom and watch cartoons. Over the past few days, Finn has really stepped up and has assumed the role of Sam's caretaker while Michael and I caught up on some sleep.  First he took Sam to the bathroom and then let Sam borrow some of his WWE Smackdown underwear.  Then Finn turned on something for Sam to watch.  More specifically, he ordered 3 movies off of pay per view.  He ordered "Big Hero Six" two times and the "Scooby Doo" movie; a total of $21.00.  Awesome . . . Then he made Sam a healthy breakfast of Doritos, Oreos and grapes. Then there was this . . . I guess it was bound to happen. Finn told me that before we "caught" them he had actually dragged Sam over the railing into the top bunk. ...

For the last several months Finn has had several conversations with us about Salvation. He has many questions about Heaven, Hell, Jesus and being a Christian.  On many occasions Finn has told us that he has prayed to ask Jesus into his heart and to forgive him of his sins.  We have been very cautious because we want to make sure that he truly understands.  After several nights of questions, Michael told me we should probably have him speak with a children's minister at church.  Michael mentioned it to Finn and he was "on board."  He also wanted Michael to ask about being baptized.  As an aside, Finn has started to practice being baptized in the bathtub. We did end up talking to a children's minister last week and he told us that Long Hollow Baptist believes that in most children, age 6 is an age where children can start to really grasp the concept that their sin makes them an enemy of God.  He encouraged us to keep working with Finn and bring him in ...

Yesterday, after picking the boys up from school, I decided to run a few errands.  It was really nice outside so making both boys walking into Kroger Marketplace did not seem so daunting.  Once inside Finn spotted a "Baymax" book that he really wanted to look at.  I didn't want to look at the Baymax book because I really didn't want to have the argument about my refusal to purchase the Baymax book.  Finn, bless his heart, is a tad . . .  how do I say this nicely . . . materialistic, self absorbed and greedy.  Yes, that sums it up about right. Once Finn realized that I was not going to acquiesce to his request (yes, I stole this line from Pirates of the Caribbean) he resorts to making statements that are designed to hurt me.  He would say things like: 1. "Mom, you are so mean." 2. "Mom, I am so mad at you." 3. "Mom, I can't believe you would so this to me." Sam, the sweetest child to grace the planet, raced to my defense.  Aft...

On Saturday we went with our friends Dustin and Elena to Climb Nashville.  Michael and I have never been indoor climbing so I was a little nervous that I wouldn't be strong enough to do it.  We got there about 5:00.  Before we were allowed to climb, we had put on our harness, our climbing shoes and had to take a belay course.  After the course we were free to climb.  This is a picture of the main climbing wall.  It was pretty daunting to look up at from the floor. I loved indoor climbing.  It was REALLY hard.  It killed my forearms and my hands.  By the end of each attempt up the wall, my forearms and hands would literally shake uncontrollably.  I was able to climb to the top of a 5.8. By the time I got to the top I was so out of breath that I could barely ask my belayer to let me down. Coming down is so much fun - it is almost just like repelling.  You just lean back, kick off the wall and go down.  It was awesome. ...

Today the boys started swimming lessons at Sea Star Swim School.  In preparation for the task at hand, we have been talking about taking lessons for months.  Finn has not been happy about the prospect of swimming lessons, because as he puts it, "I will surely die.".  Every time we talk about it Finn will say something along the lines of, "I don't want to do to swimming lessons because I will drown."  I have assured him  that he will be very well taken care of by his teacher. As always, Finn had a come back:  "Well, what if a bad guy comes in and hurts my teacher and then drowns me." Sheesh - this child has a lot of worry about. Sam's response has been a little different.  For the last few days Sam will walk up to me randomly and say, "and I will pop back up!?  It is somewhat of a statement/somewhat of a question. Then he waits for the reassurance that yes, in fact, he will pop back up out of the water unscathed. I must admit that  I have ...