See My Lost Tooth!!!

Ava lost her first tooth a little over a year ago. . . and this was a huge deal in our house hold.  She was so excited!!! She couldn't wait to tell everyone she saw that would listen.  Well, while she was going through this process, there was a small younger brother watching in anticipation.  He started asking me if I he had any "lost tooths?"  Now, a year later, after watching his sister lose a total of 8 teeth, and many attempts to see if any of his teeth were loose yet, it finally happened!  He had a loose tooth!! When he realized that his own tooth was loose, he was ecstatic.  He couldn't wait to have it fall out.  He talked about his loose tooth all the time!!! We went to Matt and Jean's Wedding and while we were gone, his tooth got so loose that Pappy Bumbaugh almost had it worked out by Sunday night when he went to bed.  However, it was still there the next morning and the first thing he did was run out to see us and tell us, "I have a loose tooth!!!"  We knew this because he had been saying this for weeks, but he meant it was REALLY loose. :)  Daddy grabbed a tissue to pull it out, and without really even getting a good grip, it came out in the tissue.  Christian's face was so sweet.  He was jumping up and down and screaming. He kept running his tongue over it and looking in the mirror to see the gap.  I am pretty sure it was the ONLY thing he talked about all day in school.  However, he kept saying to his Grandma the night before, "If I lose my tooth, I put it under my pillow and it turns to money."  :)  He also continued to call it his LOST TOOTH, as he told people.  Instead of saying, "I lost a tooth" he would say, "see my lost tooth?"  Just another landmark to show how fast he is growing up. :)  I picture the below picture as what everyone had the honor of seeing every time he showed off his LOST TOOTH.

Kids Bringing Me Back to Prayer

We have been trying to encourage Christian and Ava with their verbal prayer life. I think it is important that they feel comfortable praying out loud and speaking to God without us having to always do it with them.  It has been comical to say the least, but it is also very heart warming when you start to see them really conversing with the LORD as they do with us.  As a parent, it has been amazing to watch their prayer life (so formal and somewhat robotic at times) turn into a FRIENDSHIP and real RELATIONSHIP with JESUS.  Sometimes they just out right talk to God, and have real conversations, as though they were talking to a friend or a parent.  It is amazing to watch them get to this point.  Ava is a year older and has a slight advantage on grasping this, with age.  The other day, she was in our car and we were driving past our little Baby J's house heading to Bleppies house and she said, "mommy, lets take a moment and pray for Baby J and his family."  Then she started to pray out loud and it was the sweetest most sincere dialogue and it literally brought tears to my eyes.  Oh, Ava, if your heart stays as sincere and sweet and your love for others stays with you, you will be good in life.  Christian immediately followed her most sincere and sweet prayer with the following:
Dear God,
Thanks for Thomas so we can eat.. (this has been his prayer for a few weeks now. . . followed by some major giggling.) Finally we asked him why he kept saying that and he said, "remember, Ava said it and it was funny?" Ava then reminded us that months ago, in a silly moment she did in fact say that as her prayer and we must have all laughed.  Christian always has to put the funny comical twist on things, but don't be fooled, he is taking in all the prayers his sister does say, because when he is having a RARE serious moment, he does actually blow my mind with his prayer requests too.  I love when he prays for a friend or a grandparent or for daddy to get a deer.  He is the one that is constantly saying, "guys, we forgot to pray!" 

This past year of my life has been a little rough. I feel as though I am tired and worn out and I have to be completely honest. . .I have questioned prayer and if it really works more than I have any other time in my life.  The year has been a journey and the questions I have taken before he LORD are tough ones.  However, I grew up praying to God and conversing with him about EVERY detail and thought I had. I have always kind of had an ongoing conversation with God, and never really started with Dear God - Amen.  God is my best friend and though I sometimes feel hurt or sad at what He decides is best for me, I am finally at the realization that no matter what life brings me, as long as I am in His will for my life, I am going to be okay!!  I guess that is what my children have brought me back to. . .that child like faith that God wants us all to have and that they both possess.  Their sweet and open, honest, innocent prayers and conversations with God help remind me how simple it should be to keep God where he belongs in my life!!! So as I have been trying to teach them how to pray,  because I believe they need to know this in life, they have in turn reminded me of what prayer really should be in my life.  God is Good in so many ways!

Ava Grace Bumbaugh

I have always LOVED children, all of them and especially babies and toddlers.  Babysitting was my FAVORITE past time since I was a kid myself.  Then one day I had my own. I Knew I would love my babies as babies and I knew I would love them as toddlers and preschoolers. I did in fact enjoy those years in both of their lives.  However, call me shallow, but I always wondered if I would love my kids after they hit the older years.  I was worried that when they were no longer "little or cute" that I would have a harder time connecting to them.  I have spent years with this thought in my head, wondering if I would like them when they were in those annoying ages. I know it sound so mean and awful but I am being honest.  It was a real fear of mine. My mom always said that when it was my own kids, I would love them and I wouldn't find them annoying.  I hoped she was right. . . .

So the other day, I walked into my little girls room to tuck her in bed and above is what I found.  All of a sudden, I crawled into bed and started crying.  There was my sweet baby girl. . she was no longer a baby, a toddler or a preschooler.  She wasn't even a kindergartner like my cute adorable son anymore.  She was seven and growing up fast.  The "little and cute" was gone . .. .so where did that leave me?  It was that moment that I realized my fear, the fear of not connecting with my kids when they grew up, was gone.  My mom had been right, it was going to be okay.  As I held her in my arms, I started thinking about how, "sure, the cute and little was gone, but in it's place stood a beautiful, strong and courageous young lady with strong beliefs and a sensitive loving heart.  She has a mind of her own and stands up for herself and others and for her beliefs.  She has lots to say about many matters and she is the best little conversationalist ever!  She makes me laugh and smile multiple times a day, and I have to tell ya, she is one of my most FAVORITE people to spend time with.  She has a great fun perspective on life and she is LOVES JESUS.  She is sensitive and wise and brave.  I couldn't be more proud of who she is and I know now that no matter where she goes in life and how old she gets, I will enjoy EVERY stage and it just keeps getting better.  Thank you Lord for my sweet angel in my life. . .Ava Grace Bumbaugh!!!

Ava's Baptism

 

When Ava first started talking about wanting to get baptized, I was a little nervous as to whether or not she understood what she was asking to do. She talked about it after she saw some others get baptized at church and asked Miss Karla what it meant. We thought we would wait it out and see if she brought it up later, and sure enough she did. Daddy and I sat down and talked to her about what it meant and why she wanted to do it. We shared why we decided to get baptized when we were younger and why we believe as a Christian you are called to follow this step.  We encouraged her to ask others, including grandparents, if they had been and why and what it meant to them.  She kept persisting and we decided that if she said she was ready, then she was, and thus we were ready too. So we went to the baptism class to hear more.  She learned she had to write a testimony to share of what God and Jesus did for her.  I posted her testimony below. 

When the day came, she told me quietly she was nervous, but she didn't back out.  She had no idea that there were so many coming to see her and support her.  Family and friends changed their schedules to be there to support her.  While we were waiting in the back, she peeked out the door to see daddy and there she saw, daddy, Christian, Pappy Sweetheart, Pappy & Grandma Bumbaugh, Her cousins, all of her aunts & uncles and many friends.  She closed the door and said, "mommy, did they all come to see ME???"  I told her yes because they all knew how important this day was for her and they all wanted to be there to see her make this commitment to her God.  Her smile was priceless as she contemplated and reiterated in her heart once again that the decision she was making meant.  Thanks to all who came and loved her through this Awesome Day!! To those who missed, we know you were there in heart. :)

Ava's Baptism Testimony that she wanted to share:

I recognized that I did bad things like not letting my brother come into the games I was playing.  I liked being mean to my brother and that didn't make Jesus happy.  It made him sad.  Sometimes I would lie to my mommy and then I would feel bad.  When I asked Jesus in my heart, I was in the car on my way to Nana and Pappy's house.  I was listening to my Bumbaugh's CD and the song talked about Jesus in my heart.  I asked him, "Jesus, please get in my heart."  I told mommy what I did and we talked about it and what it meant.

Now that Jesus is in my heart, I can be forgiven and go to Heaven.  I want to go to Heaven because I can see Jesus, and Jess, and Pap Pap.  I think Heaven will be nice because you won't get sick and you won't fight, you will be nice.

Sometimes I still want to do mean things, like when my brother makes me mad and I want to hit him, but sometimes I say no because I know Jesus wouldn't be happy.  Sometimes I don't want to do what my mommy and daddy ask me to do, but I try to do it anyway. I have to ask Jesus to forgive me LOTS.

 

We, along side both sets of her grandparents, have prayed for early salvation for this little girl since she was born. God has granted our requests and our hearts were as happy this day, September 16, 2012 as the day we first held our sweet ANGEL named Ava!!! God is a good and mighty GOD and He is now not only the God of my life and her daddy's life, but truly the one and only God of Ava's life too!!! What a day to celebrate and know that God has a purpose for this sweet angel of ours and He will do big things in her life!!!!! Our hearts sang as the tears were flowing!!! GOD IS GOOD!!!!

 

 

 

 

After Church we all headed to Hoss's for some good food and fellowship. 

 

 

LEAVES!!!!!

Jumping in piles of leaves. . .memories for years.  Even now at this stage in my life, when I see leaves falling, I get excited.  It makes me think of raking and jumping in big piles of leaves. I never remember worrying about getting the leaves out of my hair when I was a kid. I also didn't worry about whether it would make it hard to breath jumping in the leaves. The kiddos love jumping in leaves though.  I will never forget their sweet faces and the leaves flowing EVERYWHERE!!!

Dad is Men

So the other day Micah sent Ava to her room because she had disobeyed him.  She takes this very personally when she gets into trouble.  She has great expectations of herself and she hates disappointing her daddy especially.  When I finally went in to check on her I found she was resting and the board she writes on had these words. . .
"dad is men."  I read it out loud and she got a weird expression on her face.  Then I realized she meant to say, "daddy is Mean."  I talked to her awhile and then later sent daddy in to talk to her.  He read the sign the same way I had and it took him awhile to figure out what she meant to say.  I think she was as frustrated that we read it wrong as she was still mad at him.  By the end of the ordeal, all three of us were laughing pretty hard.

Fall Fun with the Stifflers

The Stifflers came over to hang out with us and we had fun as we always do!  This family is so giving and generous and so funny and EVERY time we get together with them we find out something crazy and new about them that we NEVER knew!  hahaha. I am so glad they are in our lives.  We had Jamers with us for the weekend so we had him to play with Olivia. :) 

 

 

Ava's Writing Journal - Begining of 1st Grade

August 2012 – Beginning of 1^st Grade Year –  

-          Ther was a byoodf rebow    I Love boodf rebow.  I’s prpow and Green.  Kenzee and me and Noah   wr running undr the raboow.  (There was a beautiful rainbow.  I love beautiful rainbow.  It’s purple and green.  Kenzee and me and Noah were running under the rainbow.)

   

-          It was raning culrfll raning. I love culrfll raning.  (It was raining colorful raining. I love colorful raining)

-          We wr at the porc.  It was fun, soopr fun.  I love the pork.  Christian, Hailey, and me wr plaing at the porc.  Hailey is my best fred.  (We were at the park.  It was fun, super fun.  I love the park.  Christian, Hailey, and me were playing at the park.  Hailey is my best friend.)

-          Ther was thee grs.  Jennifer gianna and I were invid to a porte.  We gav her preses.  We had ies crem coc.  We got her presusis, pusaws, ds, diving stecs, and fogs.  We had cheps, hot dogs, and froot.  (There was three girls.  Jennifer, Gianna, and I were invited to a party.  We gave her presents.  We had ice cream cake.  We got her presents, puzzles, D.S., diving sticks, and frogs.  We had chips, hot dogs, and fruit.)

 

-          I broc My hand it hrt.  I crid it rele hrts.  I dod lic it.  Mabe I cood go to the dodr thas wat Im going to do.  I Love going to the docd.  It is fun.  Afdr the docd.  (I broke my hand and it hurt.  I cried it really hurts.  I didn’t like it.  Maybe I could go to the doctor that is what I’m going to do.  I love going to the doctor.  It is fun.  After the Doctors.

Happy 7th Birthday Ava!!!

Grandma and Pappy Bumbaugh invested in a pool this year!!!  It happened to be the greatest thing since sliced bread for the family and the kids especially.  So when I asked Ava what she wanted to do for her birthday, she claimed she wanted to have a POOL PARTY at Grandma and Pappy's house.  She said, "oh mom, I am so excited. . . I have always dreamed of having a pool party for my birthday!!!"  She couldn't wait.  So we planned the party for a Saturday afternoon and invited the family. 

 

 

Though this entry makes it look as though we partied first, on the contrary.  We started with the Pool part of the party first, in case it started to rain later on.  The water was a bit cold so not everyone got into the water, but of course all of the kids wanted to be in the water so some of us had to get in to be with them.  After the fun time spent in the pool, we headed down to eat our pizza and ice cream cake. She had so much fun and got to see so many of her cousins and family. She got princess diving sticks and an art easel and stuff for her baby dolls, a swimming Barbie for in the pool, her special birthday precious moments train piece from Grandma and Pappy, money and more. She was so happy and the party went smoothly.  .  The rain started shortly after we gathered under the carport for the party.  It rained so hard and the kids decided to run around in the rain.  They had so much fun, and they enjoyed dancing in the pouring rain as much as they enjoyed the pool itself. :)  For her birthday, Ava also received her Nintendo DS and she was so very happy about that.  She said it was one of her best birthday's ever!!!