This was a big day in the Owens’ family….A rite of passage…A symbol of continuity.  Today, Levi got his first motorcycle.

Motorcycles have been a part of my life since I was born.  I actually have a picture of Pop holding me in his arms with one hand and driving a motorcycle in the yard with the other.  Mother, obviously, was taking a nap!  Anyway, Joy and I grew up riding, and I rode to high school some.  Don and I had a motorcycle while we were in college at Samford in Birmingham.  Then our children came along…and as soon as they could hold one up…they were riding, and loving every minute of it.  My boys and Joy’s girls both rode.  Sure, they had falls and broke bones and cuts and scrapes.  They hit trees and the backs of parked cars.  But, they learned the right way to ride. *** Never without a helmet. *** Never with a passenger.  ***Always with an adult present.  And always knowing misbehavior while riding would warrant losing the privilege.  Ask Adam if we stuck to that.

***Adam on his first motorcycle…***

They rode most often off the road or only on a quiet cul de sac where my parents lived…until my boys got older.  The motorcycles were always kept at their house.  Then Adam began to ride to school, and out to Wallace Community College…and then his Pop took him on a two week trip from Dothan through Atlanta to North Carolina and on to West Virginia.  Wow..they made some great memories.  I think Adam was 17.

Ian was also quite a rider and rode frequently in school and while he was in college in Birmingham and back and forth to Birmingham.   I would ride anywhere with those two, they are such careful, skilled operators.  But, that doesn’t mean I did not worry.  I sure did.  Not so much about their skills as the fact that cars do not respect motorcycle riders and don’t look for them on the road.

Well, Levi has been riding with his Pa for a good while, off road only.  He is already developing a love for the sport just like his dad and uncles.  We decided to get him this tiny machine for Christmas…with his parent’s blessing.  But, it’s for off road use only.  As you see in these pics, he is riding on the little lane we live on.  But, there is very, very little traffic here.  He will never be allowed to ride without his Pa or his Daddy here with him.  And most of his riding will be in our wooded lot.  And you’ll see it has training wheels on it, and it will for a while.  He’s learning to balance, but this will give him more stabilization for a while.  Since Adam was working on Christmas Day, we made the day after Christmas the day of the big reveal!

“What’s in this box, Pa? Another Christmas present?”

“Wow!  it’s a real motorcycle helmet!  A real one!  Like you wear!”

“Look! It fits!  I like it!  And, it has a face shield, too!”

Don then told Levi there may be one more package under the tree for him!  He got the paper off that thing in a hurry,  “It’s a motorcycle!  A real motorcycle!”

“It fits me! It’s my size!”

Adam had some words of wisdom for Levi…

…they both had things to tell him…

…and some more things to tell him…Like where the BRAKES are!!!

Finally, he gives it a little gas…and off he goes…down the front path.

Eyes on the road…always look ahead…

Big turn here…Pa and Daddy close beside.

A few more words from Adam…and a little reassurance.

And there he goes!  Like a pro!

Now Uncle Ian is helping watch!

And Uncle Alex is close by, too!

“I did it Pa!  By myself!  I love it!”

“Thanks, Pa.  I’m going to ride some more, now!”

“Don’t worry Mommy and Lulu.  All is well!  I’ll be careful!  I’m a big boy now!”

It was a day for family and a day for fun.  Cherishing the beautiful gift of this little boy, and his Daddy and Uncles and Grandpa and Great Grandfather in whose footsteps he follows.  And Suzanne and I along to watch over it all…and shed a few tears.  Not sad ones…just wistful ones.  Time moves so quickly……and little boys become big boys and men right before your eyes.  Way before you’re ready for it!  Oh, that we remain wise in the leading!

“But from everlasting to everlasting the Lord’s love is with those who fear Him, and His righteousness with their children’s children…”   Psalm 103:17

Christmas Day…2016

We gathered at my house to eat and play and exchange gifts with one another.  Mostly to just be together. We were all together with the exception of Adam.  He is a paramedic and was on duty.  We sure did miss him…but thank him for his willingness to be available for those in need.

Here is a selection of the fun we had!  Around the table…

Trying to get a good picture of Levi and John Thomas in their Christmas pajamas…

Posing for posterity…

And some candids of the day…

And once again, we have celebrated the day.  But, more than that…we have celebrated the gifts He has given us.  The gift of love, the gift of family, the gift of togetherness and joy and happiness.  And, we have all of that because of the Gift He gave so long ago.  The gift of Jesus!  That is what makes all this possible.  And, for Him, we are most grateful!

PART ONE…Thanksgiving Day…

Thanksgiving Day in our family is full of good food, wonderful family, and furious decorating!  We always have lunch at Pop’s with Joy in charge of the kitchen.  Due to the effects of the past few weeks, we had a lot catered this year, and paper plates were in order.  It was delicious!  Our Birmingham Boy, Ian, came bearing two delightful deserts…one made by his own hand!  Yummy!

While Lori slaved cleaning up the kitchen, all by herself, with a joyous attitude, Tara, Joy, Suzanne, Ian and I were busy seeing to the decorating of Pop’s house.   It has been our tradition since Mom moved to Heaven to spend the hours after Thanksgiving dinner getting Pop’s house into a Christmas mood.  Ian made 65 trips into the attic since he was the only male with young enough legs and strong enough arms to tackle the job.  The other men were all a ‘few’ years his elder. His 3 peers were needed elsewhere…. onewas urgently needed to help control the deer population…out in the wilds of Abbeville.  One was needed to sew and patch and transfer those who chose Thanksgiving and big sales as their clue to begin partying And, the last one was helping watch the youngest of the male members of our clan as they were showing their mad skills to each other and their grandfathers on various athletic equipment consisting of 2, 3, or 4 wheels!  (But, if you notice, in the pics below, one of the little boys has a busted lip, chipped tooth and skinned nose…Way to Watch, guys!)

After we finally got the tree fluffed, and plugged in, we set about finding and hanging the 586 ornaments Mother had on her ‘family tree’.  She also had a ‘Fancy Nancy tree’ elsewhere in the house, but the family tree has every single ornament any of her children or 5 grandchildren had ever made, or that anyone had given her.  Oh, my!  So many…and every one of them dear to her and Pop’s heart.  We did away with the fancy tree, but still put this one up right in the den where he sees it.  If Mother decorated something in years past…it must still be decorated now, according to our patriarch.  Oh, and it makes him so happy to know she would be so happy to see it still done so.  This means that 6 wreaths get hung, 3 light posts get adorned, arrangements on a dining room table, a kitchen table,  the island, and two tables in the hall.  AND the old ceramic tree with those tiny plastic bulbs that is as old as I, am goes in Pop’s study.  We had fun, as we always do when we are together.  Even Lori’s grumbling about people still using forks and glasses couldn’t stop our fun!  (just kidding…well not really, but she did say it with a smile in her eyes!)

Someone may or may not have fallen off a step stool, onto a 3 foot tree lying on the couch and continued rolling until he/she hit the floor.  And, the little tree may have been permanently altered.  However, it sits proudly in its spot…propped up by 2 books that are hidden by some burlap around the base…looking to all the world as if it is intended to be that way.  There can be beauty in the broken.  Mom would be so proud!

Anyway, back to the purpose of my post today.  John Thomas and Levi were so excited at the prospect of having another tree to decorate!  Oh, the ornaments were shiny and bright and wherever they put them was perfection!  John Thomas called the right to put up the star, with Uncle Ian’s help.

Let me just interject this observation.  John Thomas is most cooperative and gracious to anyone who may even think they want to make his picture.  He waits.  He poses.  He makes the most adorable smiles that make you just want to pitch his little cheeks!  In fact he wants to be in every picture made!

Sweet Levi, on the other hand, does not have the patience nor the ‘want to’ to smile sweetly for just a quick second while you try and catch a cute picture.  Pose?  Are you kidding?  You have to sneak around and usually the best I can do is get something from the side.  If you ever do get him from the front…his eyes are looking around furiously to see what he can do the minute he is released.  They are NEVER looking at the camera!!!  (Unless he is being threatened by someone whom he knows really means it!)  I always take 10 or 25 pictures of him in hopes of getting a good one!

You can not imagine what it took to get a good one of these 3 below…

Spot the difference in the two little boys?  God love ’em both!

All kidding aside, with this tradition, we honor the sweet memory of our Mother and Granny and take great pleasure in making the house as festive as she did, knowing what pleasure it gives to Pop.  And, he is so gracious and appreciative.

PART TWO…The Day After…

I ask for trouble.  I know it’s true.  Don’t mean to…but it happens.

Last year John Thomas was visiting me and asked me if we could paint a Christmas tree.  I told him that I did not have one but I would look around and see what I could do.  Well, things happened and people happened and life happened…and I did not get to carry out my plans. But, I told John Thomas that if I was able we would do it this year.  And I was…and we did.

The day after Thanksgiving John Thomas and Sweet Levi showed up at my house at 10:00 sharp.  And, I was ready and waiting on them!  Time for our morning of fun to begin!  I had a huge sheet spread out on the floor.  Both boys had the same supplies…a bare tree, a palette of paint, brushes, an empty snow globe, two empty glass ornaments, a tiny truck, and a tiny tree.  I kept control of the paint bottles, and the supplies for the snow globe.

We began by swirling different colors of paint inside the glass ornaments…these turned out very pretty…but was not a hit with the boys. It took too long for the paint to run down the sides.  They needed fast results!

Then we started the trees.  Now this, they loved.  They discussed  which colors they would use.  Levi told John Thomas that he should copy him because he does art everyday.  John Thomas told Levi that he already decided which colors and not to copy him!  I think that ended all discussion of paint colors.  They both went to work and let their creative spirits soar.  I guess they didn’t notice they both had the same 4 colors.

The trees are hinged on the back so they will stand up.  They did a great job!  Then we washed up and sang a few Christmas carols to liven us up!

We made our little truck ornament for the tree, and then came time for the snow globe.  Oh my!

I found the neatest snow globes at Michael’s this year.  They are plastic and are in 3 pieces…the globe, a little platform for the characters you choose, and a twist on cap.  And, they are large enough that you can put more than one thing in it.  I had a snowman, a deer, trees, 2 elves, a house, a bicycle and two signs to the North Pole. And two bags of snow!  John Thomas chose first cause he said he was older.  Levi said, “Don’t you know I’m 4 now?”  JT told him it didn’t matter, he was still older.  Levi told him that he went to his birthday and he was four, too!  John Thomas just rolled his eyes and said, “Yeah, two years ago, Levi”  I didn’t stop at 4!”  Not sure Levi gets it yet, but we let JT go first.  He tried out several and decided on an elf and a tree and a sign.  So, I hot glued and then we opened the snow. OH! THE! SNOW!  I bought some somewhere that was teeny little styrofoam like balls.  BIG MISTAKE!  They immediately attach themselves to your hands and clothes and face and everything!  And, they are so very lightweight that every time you breath out or say a word the weight of your breath sends them into orbit.  They fall where they will and refuse to let themselves be picked up again!  I learned a lesson, for sure.

Levi and John Thomas were sure troopers though.  They got down on the floor and tried their best to corral the lost snow.  Oh if only it would really melt!  Needless to say, we grabbed what we could and dumped it in a bag and decided Levi would use the flaky snow!  He had been studying the pieces and finally decided that he would take the other elf and a tree and a sign…just like John Thomas!  I glued.  And told him to wait for me to open the bag of that lighter than air flaky stuff.  Somehow, his brain did not comprehend what those words meant and he bit a hole in the top of the bag and proceeded to pull it apart with all his might.  And he did…pull it apart.  And it really truly snowed in my studio.  A whole bag full.  I couldn’t speak.  John Thomas stared at me.  Levi laughed and said, “Come on, John Thomas, help me put it back in the bag and lets do it again!”  JT didn’t move.  He knew.   He’s 6.  The bag was quickly then removed from Levi’s hands and cleanup began.  OH ! My!  What Fun!  Here’s the two other ones we did.  See those little demon balls in the snowman?  NEVER buy them!

We finished up with the projects and put everything away.  They played with cars for a while, then John Thomas chose a book for me to read.    But, no.  Levi decided he would read to John Thomas.  He ‘read’ him a photo album of his K3 year of school.  I don’t think JT was particularly enthralled.  But, the dear boy was kind, and let Levi finish.

And this is the only bad picture of John Thomas known to be in existence!

And our fun morning came to an end.  The boys gathered their treasures together to take home and soon their Moms came to pick them up.  I tried everything to remove snow from my studio, and finally hit on a lint roller as the best tool for the job.  Used up all the sheets on the roll…but there’s very little snow left!

JT looked the the pics I took before he left and he told me I messed up on this one.  “You don’t have anything in this picture, Aunt Tonja, “he said.  “Oh yes, I do, Little Man!  There’s a little hand reaching into to a beautiful palette of paint!  He can paint anything he wants.  He can create a blue sky or a dark storm, or a truck or an airplane or even a family.   It’s all up to the artist.  I think it’s beautiful!”  He said it still looked like a wrong picture to him.  That’s OK.  He’s 6!

“…work with your own hands…” 1 Thessalonians4:11

And, it’s now nap time for the grown-up!

I first have to admit something.  I am an indulgent Lulu.  I have bought many toys for Levi…many…from the time he was an infant.  But, I am very particular in what I buy.  It has to be quality and it has to be used to teach …whether it’s learning about shapes in puzzle work, or cars that depict actual vehicles he may encounter…even to a baby doll that teaches the things daddies need to do for a little one.  And, of course, we have a plethora of art supplies.  I can’t even tell you how I love to buy art supplies to feed his creative mind!  Those things just jump in my cart without me even noticing!

I have, from the time he was old enough to understand, insisted that he take care of his toys.  We only throw those things intended to be thrown.  Every thing is put away in it correct container.  And, it is put gently in its box…NEVER thrown.  This has been an important lesson to him that things cost money and if he does not care for them they break and are gone forever.  We only replace broken things if it was truly an accident!  And, that’s MY call!

He’s really very good about following my rules on these things, and we have very little trouble with it! One of the things I have learned through out my 40 some years teaching and raising children is this…the RULES need to be shared first!  It’s exciting to have something new to play with or experiment with.  And, in the excitement, it is so hard to listen and remember the rules.  But, BEFORE the toy or art supply is in the child’s hand…he must hear the rules!  ***In the house, the balls stay on the floor.***  Play Doh is used only at the little table and can never leave!***Crayons are only for paper.***Caps go on markers immediately after using and before using another one.***Toys that are not treated gently or used properly are put in Toy Time Out for a week…in full few of the perpetrator, I might add!

Enough about that.  Last week, I discovered that my sweet boy had taken about 25 of his little cars into the pantry.  He said they were having a picnic.  That was fine.  I actually think a pantry is a pretty clever place to have a picnic, don’t you?  After playing around the food for a while, I suppose the smells got to him, and he decided it was time for him to picnic as well.

Lulu, I need a snack.

OK, Babe, pick up your cars and we’ll have something.

But, they are having a picnic and they are not finished.

Oh, OK, well when they finish, then I’ll get you a snack.

But, I’m really hungry now.

I understand.  Just take the cars back and put them away, and we’ll find something to eat.

OK.

He said OK…but he didn’t mean OK.  He was just kinda stuck there and couldn’t get going.  (Been there myself)  So, I went and got his grocery cart and wheeled it into the pantry.

Why don’t you put all your cars in the cart and then roll them back into the studio, that will be easier!  

He thought that was a good idea and set about the task at hand.  Then, I heard the sounds of two of his biggest trucks being thrown with great force into the cart.  They slammed together with a great crash! I walked into the pantry with a shocked look on my face.

Have you lost your mind?

Looking up at me in all innocence,   I don’t think so.

Did I?  Where did it go?

I was trying so hard not to laugh.  Did you forget about throwing your cars?  That’s not following the rules.  Put them away correctly.

In a minute or two I heard him call…Did you find it yet, Lulu?

I had moved on and thought he was talking about his snack.  Find what, Levi?

My mind…I don’t know where it is.

Well, what does it look like?  I’ll help you look.

It’s clear.  It’s shaped like a head.  It has all the things I think about in it.

OK, finish the cars, and I’ll find it.

He took the cars back to their place.

Did you get it yet, Lulu?

Come here, Little Man.

He came over to me and, I laid my ear on the top of his head.

Everything’s fine!  It’s in there.  I can hear it thinking!

Whew!  I’m glad.  Cause I don’t know where minds like to hide!  And, I want to keep all my ‘thinks’.

Now why I ever asked him a question like that, I’m not sure.  I’ve never said that to him before.  And, I won’t again.  I wasn’t using my mind…I forgot that preschoolers think literally.  What we use as an expression, is not understood in that way by a little one.

The next morning, I asked him to tell Pa and Uncle Alex about what happened to his mind.  He did and, his wise Pa reminded him of a very important Bible truth.

“…Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable.  Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise.”  Phillipians 4:8 NLT

Pa reminded him that he had a wonderful mind and these are the kinds of things God wants us to think about with our minds!  Levi told Pa that when his friends were hurt or sad it made unhappy ‘thinks’ in his mind.  Pa explained to him that that happens to all of us, but that’s the time we pray for God to take care of the things that make us sad.

What a sweet talk the four of us had together that morning.  It is such a blessing for us to have the opportunity to spend time with this sweet boy.  His other grandparents feel the same as his Pa and I.   It is such a privilege to share in his “training up”.   We do not take this responsibility lightly.  His parents do such a wonderful job of raising him in the knowledge of our Lord, he attends a church with a wonderful children’s program and he is in a terrific Christian preschool.  I thank God that this young man is surrounded by those who love him, cherish him, and continually point him toward Jesus!  ”

“Thank you, God, for sharing the gift of this delightful boy with all of us who love him!  Never let us fall down or be neglectful in our responsibilities to him.”

“I could have no greater joy than  to hear that my children are following the truth.”   3 John 4

FIRST THING…..

It seems I’m always sharing things with you, my FB friends.  But, when I find a ‘treasure’ or an unusual piece or a the perfect gift for someone, I just want others to share in it.  I guess I wish other folks would do the same and share some of their great finds!

Nevertheless, today, I want to share with you a Nativity set I found for Levi.

I found this in the toy section at TJMaxx.  It is made by Melissa and Doug, whose wooden toys are always superb, long lasting and full of play!  I paid $19.99 for mine, but I think they retail for about $30.00. It comes with all these pieces and then there is a stable in 3 pieces.   Levi was able to put it together by himself.  It has all the necessary characters to follow along with the Christmas story…Mary, Joseph, Jesus, shepherds, sheep, Wise Men, and angel.  All wood construction.  And remember, you can always Google for a coupon before you buy!

I did not intend to give this set to Levi until after Thanksgiving, but made the mistake of not hiding it quick enough!  But, as you can see…he got right into playing with it.  I don’t suppose it matters too much if he took Jesus on a ride in the back of a garbage truck …at least he let the angel follow along from the bed of a pick up truck to keep an eye on things!   The fact that he knows the characters and knows the part they played in the birth of our Savior is enough for me!  The joys of little boys!

I checked and you can get them at Toys R Us, Target, Kohl’s, and Amazon..and TJMaxx and sometimes Tuesday Morning.   Melissa and Doug toys are sold lots of places.

SECOND THING…

I am such a big believer in exposing children to art….in showing them how to do art…then letting them explore and figure out what works for them.  This does not require any thing fancy or expensive.  However, it does require patience on your part and a willingness to step back and not ‘help’.  We do art of some kind every day Levi is with me.   He has his own supplies and they are readily available for him.  On this day, I had found a large wooden letter in my craft closet that I don’t remember buying.  I had it laying on the art table.  He asked me what we were going to do with it.  I had to think a minute and told him we were going to cut and past the most beautiful colors we could find!  And, so out comes a stack of old magazines, and we set about finding patches of pretty colors we liked.  It took a little while before I could get him to see the color…and not just the picture.  But, he finally got it.  We cut and pasted for the longest time.  As we worked he began to cut triangles and squares and circles out of the colors.  It was such fun!  We glued them all on the letter.  I taught him about overlapping to cover up the wood.  After it all dried, I put a couple of coats of Mod Podge on it to seal it.  Then I sanded all the rough spots where it wasn’t even and ended with another coat of Mod Podge.  And showing him how to peel the glue off his fingers was a hoot!  Fun and a great learning experience.  (Another Levi/Lulu project).

THIRD THING……

Levi loves trucks and cars.  Big ones he can drive around…and little ones all over the house…literally!   He keeps most of them in my studio where I try to contain most of the clutter…but he is allowed a little stash our bedroom.  He and Don have put that road tape down and they have races in there after he gets ready for school.  Quite an incentive to get the clothes on and teeth brushed and hair combed, so there will be time left for racing.  He is very specific about their placement…there are 2 groups who are in perpetual race-offs.  So one group overnights it under a chair and the other group under a footstool.

Lately, I’ve seen some cars stashed in other unusual places…and started documenting just where a 4 year old decides is a good place to hide a car!  It’s like a happy surprise when I run across another one stuck in a place that so amuses me.

Under the ear of the zebra skin rug in the library….

Another one hiding atop a stack of his books in the library.  Those zebra stripes make excellent roads!

Hidden amidst the paint bottles on the art table…

Taking a rest in my hair product tray next to bathroom sink…

Adding his own touch to the little vignette I put together for him next to his place at the table…

The door handle next to his car seat…  I feel sure this one is just waiting here for him while he’s in school…

I have no clue why this one is in the Commentary…other than it’s in the bedroom and perhaps this is the winners circle…or something…

That’s all !  Just sharing!