The Next Jon Foreman?

My son Jude is 8. Three of his passions are: soccer, football, and music. He loves to sing while he bashes away sporadically at his drum kit. Now he has decided to venture into the world of lyrics. He decided it was more fun to rock out to his own songs rather than only cover others. He also decided his band would be loud, fast and Christian. I found some of his lyric sheets. Here is an excerpt of what he had written:

“OH DADDY”
The Lord is the reason we are living
Oh Daddy
The cross is the most painful memory
Oh Daddy

“RISE”
RISE…whoa whoa……..
Let’s get it going, the stars all RISE
The dead from the grave all RISE
We all RISE …to worship Him
Our savior, our rock, our protector
So let’s RISE……
He is our life. He is our blood and refuge. EVERYONE EVERYONE EVERYONE
RISE!!!! (X3)

So……I am going to jump on board here and say this is AWESOME ☺

Happy Birthday to Jude

Jude turned 7 this weekend! We had a big party. It began at the Chinese New Years Parade in Jacksonville, continued to lunch at Red Robin, and concluded at our house with presents, cake and ice cream and a rowdy game of basketball! A good time was had by all! Please enjoy these pics from the big party:

New Cutler Jersey

Van full of boys

partying at the parade

a Chinese treat

DRAGON!

Ducks in the creek!

Red Robin staff beware

fave gift of the day!

future NBA'ers

Jude's new fave"Mom's gourmet carrot cake!

Free Music Friday

Somehow the years are flying by! Our baby, our first born child, my son Jude turns 7 this weekend!!!! OH MY! I still remember his birth like it was yesterday. So....for today's song, this one is for Jude! It is currently his favorite song. Enjoy:

Jude United

Jude played his last soccer game today. He was fantastic! In 4 games, he led all players with 11 goals...not that I am bragging :).....

I am sure it will be a little harder when a goalie is involved. Here are some short clips:

Valentine's B-Day Boy

This weekend was a big one at our house. We had some very beloved company visiting from CO. They were there to help be a part of Jude's 6th birthday party celebration! It was a fantastic weekend. We held a party at the bowling lanes where the kids played, and laughed and enjoyed Jude's big day. He was sufficiently spoiled and loved on. Here are some pics from the event.

silly fun getting ready


the AWESOME cake


"How old are you Jude"....."Look at my shirt!"


A birthday kiss from an adoring lil' sis


What a stroke


The Kindergarden Krew


Air hockey!


Mama putting down some smack talk


His favorite gift of the day


Shooting on the new hoop!


Happy birthday buddy. I love you. I couldn't dream of a more special 6 year old

My Boy

Beautiful Boy


Man what a morning of mixed emotions. Our first born, and only son started school. Kindergarten kicked in for the Oak Grove Rams today. I never thought this day would actually come. How quickly 5 years has flown by! Just yesterday it seems I was holding him in my arms over his crib singing our “Night Night” song. Today he walked into a big scary school building with total confidence. I am so proud of my children. Jude is a precious boy. He is quite smart. He is very kind to younger kids and gentle with them. He LOVES God is quite the little theologian. He is a football fanatic, verging on nerd ! He is so funny. He is a deep thinker. He is a snuggler. He cares about people’s feelings. He is a thinker. He is my boy.
I struggle with the fact that they grow up. In one hand it is exciting, knowing the new adventures that lie before him. On the other hand, those adventures will bring challenges. He will meet his first bully. He will have his heart broken. Someone will make fun of him. It pains me to accept this. Other people will now have HUGE influences on his life and mind. Arghhh……..yet, I know that he will be fine. He belongs to the almighty God, and Jude is in His hands.
I love you son…..you are a HUGE blessing to me. May you be to Oak Grove Elementary as well.





Out on the ocean sailing away,
I can hardly wait,
To see you to come of age,
But I guess we'll both,
Just have to be patient,
Yes it's a long way to go,
But in the meantime,

Before you cross the street,
Take my hand,
Life is just what happens to you,
While your busy making other plans,

Beautiful,
Beautiful, beautiful,
Beautiful Boy,
Darling,
Darling,
Darling “JUDE.”
- John Lennon (Jude added by me!)

Slideshow Maturity

I could not have been prouder this weekend. Friday night was one of the greatest evenings I can remember in a long time. It won’t sound like much to you guys, but it was amazing. My son had all of his family over and gave us an amazing “Mexican Slide Show” from his recent trip with his daddy to a mission work trip to San Felipe Mexico.

He has seen me give one several times now on my trip to Uganda. He is also infatuated with cameras. So while we were there, he was constantly swiping my digital camera and snapping the weirdest, most random, and often incredibly cool and artistic shots. One night he said “Dad when we get back can I give everyone a slide show like you”? I thought it was cute and agreed and simply filed it away. But in his little heart and mind, a dream was born!

This last Friday it came to fruition. We worked hard to set it all up. We made all his favorite snack foods and everyone came over at 7. I was really not sure how he would do. He can get pretty shy at times. I was not going to be surprised if he started but got too shy and/or embarrassed quickly and walked away from it. I was expecting to have to help him and even possibly finish it for him.

Boy was I WRONG! He was amazing. He stood up with full confidence and just bloomed into a preacher in front of our eyes! “Let me start with a few questions about tonight” he said first (questions meaning “clarifying purpose statements of course :). “I want to show you pictures from my trip to Mexico to build houses and our trip to Six Flags. After that we have several snacks and you can all eat whatever you want and just hang out. Then if you want Dad can show you Africa pictures”…..and with that he was off. Looking at me with the eyes of a grown boy he said, “Go Dad” and the show was off.

Jude was amazing. In fact he was nothing short of brilliant! We couldn’t believe it. My jaw was dropped. He was so well versed in the story with each picture. He was so excited and animated. "This was just a fantastic place” he would say. Or “this was me carrying trusses. They build roofs”. His Mom and I had tears just streaming down our faces. It was as if we were literally watching him grow up in front of our eyes. I wasn’t even sure whose child I was watching.

I could not have been any prouder. He was amazing. The crowd of adoring friends was blown away! He finished and thanked everyone for coming. I still cannot believe it. It was one of those precious times you wished you could save in a time capsule. I will NEVER forget it. I wish I could have taped it, but I am not sure video could have captured the feeling of such an energetic and emotionally charged air.

I wonder what more our kids are capable of that we underestimate? I am so excited about the worlds and churches they will be building. I cannot wait to see what they do to this world.

GREAT JOB Jude………I am so glad to have taken you on that trip. I will never forget it my little man. Your Dad is a babbling crying ball of pride.