"Little Two Timer"

Here is Ben David hanging out with two of his favorite friends, Stella and Victoria. Looks like a little "two-timing" going on if you ask me!:)















Here is James, just taking it all in!

This week I had to make a trip to Selma,NC for work. A trip I didn't want to make in sight of the 3 hr drive with only a possibility of a 3 day job. Driving back I took the back roads to take me through the small town of Star,NC. Not only does it mark the geographical center of NC but is also is the roots of were I am from. As I went though the small town it brings back memories untold of going to the woods with Papa in his old white pickup truck. A old ford with a rusted floor that we would drop rocks through singing 'there's a hole in my bucket' and the occasional game of cow poker to pass the time. I was sadden that i couldn't remember the names of all the people that lived in the houses that Papa would always reminisce about as we passed. A story would come as how he would take his shotgun to school and leave it at the door so they could go rabbit hunting after. I wish I could have captured all the names and stories and even kept up with the relatives that have stayed but i have forgotten so much. Part of me thinks that it doesn't really matter since I will never probable move to star or even contact my 2nd,3rd or 4th cousins that i may be related to - but its hard to not feel like your letting your history go. I drove down coggin rd that has changed as they have clear cut the woods on both side of the road and somehow wish that nothing would have changed. I made it past Jacks house were before we would have never passed without stopping and saying hi to Jack, and down past Lilas house to visit Papa once more. Its sad to say that I haven't been back since the day nearly four years ago, but I made my way down the dirt road to the Coggin Cemetary. Its was refreshing to see it kept up and maintained as before some of the walls where falling and the grass overgrown. A flag pole now stands in the middle put up by Max Coggin dedicated to Nana and Papa. It shows how many peoples lives they touched and changed. Not many people have changed and shaped my life like Nana and Papa have. Many afternoons were filled by going to to their house and working with Papa in his shop. He taught me that 'what one fool can do, another can' and we would begin by making a steam engine or a slingshot. He trusted you to be able to do things he new were tough. I don't now how he was so trusting to let us use a knife at such a young age, not to mention the table saw, lathe, or band saw that we would always break because we didn't know how to use it. He took the time to teach you how to do it and that with enough patience anything can be done . I feel i have carried this on with many aspects of life and somehow crave the challenge of doing something I don't know how to do. Though i may loose the stories or names of the people that once lived in Star what Papa has taught me no one can take away. As I walked in the walls and saw Papa's stone I thought it would bring tears, but somehow i was just overjoyed with the memories and knowing that he was home, new again without pain. The silence of the woods brought back the best memories of walking through them with him. And though the charlie field is now a pine forest and the woods are changed, the memories i have and what Papa has left will never change. I am blessed to have known him and to have him shape my life. Driving back i couldn't help but full fill one more tradition of stopping to get ice cream as we drove back each time - it was either chocolate, vanilla, or swirl in a cup. This time i got vanilla.

Proverbs 3:5-6

Trust in the Lord with all your strength,and lean not on you own understanding.

In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight.

rainy day fun

today's raining day activities included multiple trips down the indoor sliding board (technically outdoor, but indoor on days like today), lots of fun with playdoh, a trip to the drive-thru starbucks, lunch with poppie at mcallisters, several cherub movies and....

FINGERPAINTING!!

here is ben david watching one of those cherub movies. he seemed annoyed and was muttering something under his breath about the poor quality of the tv screen. it seemed to be creating a glare...hence, the shades.

can somebody get this boy a plasma flat screen??

Dryers, Swingsets, and the Mighty Broccoli

Well life at the Wrights has been interesting. James is sick and having a hard time sleeping. This has created a lack of sleep for Christina and long hours of holding him at 330 in the morning trying to get him back to sleep. BD on the other hand just cant seem to get enough excitement going from one activity to the next. Sometimes when mr. potato head gets boring and its raining outside we divert to other fun toys in the house like the dryer...

Last weekend was the weekend to finish the new swing set (or at least try and finish). I did learn that the instructions were helpful and correct in that it will take 2 skilled men 20-24 hours to build - I guess that's suppose to encourage me when the set wasn't done this week. We did have 2 men working on the set though - one was just slowing the process down though...

Somehow the swing set looks smaller if you stand on top of it...
One thing i haven't figures out yet is how to slow the slide down - not sure if the set is on a slope and making the slide steeper than it should be but it shoots bd out the bottom of the slide so fast that he kept sliding on his belly in the grass. He is now scared to go down the slide...
And at last we have dinner time. Bd has always been a great eater until now. It seems that the mac and cheese, pasta, pb&j's have all lost their flave and BD wont eat. The only staple that he will it is the broccoli. BD loves his broccoli, in fact he like it so much that we have to save it until the end as desert or he will skip over everything and just eat that. When he gets the broccoli we always say 'oh hail the mighty broccoli' and this is what he does...

How Sweet It Is To Be Loved By You!

we are at that stage where falling asleep in the car is not a good thing. i bank on that afternoon nap, and if it starts in the car, there is no telling if it will continue. so, today...i was trying my absolute best to keep poor ben david awake on short 10min. commute home from running errands. i gave him a cookie, my cell phone...even my wallet to play with. finally, out of desperation, i cranked up james taylor and started singing, "how sweet it is to be loved by you." i sang at the top of my lungs, i clapped along, did hand motions..in fact, i got so carried away with my musical interlude that i forgot the intention of it. while enjoying my solo...i totally forgot that was trying to keep ben david awake. jolting back into reality and away from my "american idol" moment...i looked in the rearview mirror, only to find both boys fast asleep... oh well!
i switched the song to "rockabye sweet baby james"...more appropriate at this point, and enjoyed the moment!:) no photo for this one...didn't want to risk waking up the little ones. oh, and for those wondering, the transistion from car to bed went well this time!

A Day with Marmie

on wednesdays, ben david has the special treat of spending the day with his marmie. he has done this since he about 8 weeks old, and this has come to be a tradition that both ben david and his mother hold sacred. i don't know all of the fun things that ben david and marmie do together, but i can only imagine what a good time they must have. generally..ben david cries when marmie drops him off after the day is done as he loves her so much!:)

the only thing about wednesday is that you can't tell ben david that marmie is coming until about 5 min. before she arrives. otherwise, this he what he will do for the entire time (today was about 30min.) after you tell him until the time she gets there:

the diaper bag pictured is only used for going to marmie's house so as to avoid confusion, disappointment and major temper tantrums once ben david realizes he is actually just going on a errand with me!

all in all...i think ben david and i would agree that wednesday is the best day of the week!

well...off to get a shower without anyone banging on the shower door!!!

BD Gets a Nose Job

At the Wright's household we feel that early prevention of minor cosmetical changes that our kids may want to make down the road can be avoided by simple training of the proper use of playdough now. Following is a step by step process of how to achieve that perfect nose you always wanted:

Step One: Makeing it look cool on you first is key to getting your kids to want it aswell. We have found that most anything you have your kids will also want. Christina here displays the proper use of a minor nose lift and shows BD how to achieve it.


Step Two: Letting your kids be creative in creating the perfect nose they want (this may take all the concentration your kids can muster) BD is in the process of the form work.

Step Three: Take carefull atention to how well your new nose is attached. Not all noses stick the first time. Watch as BD shows the proper technic for testing the new nose. Well done BD!

Step Four: Enjoy your new nose. Though pointing is not neccesary it can draw attention to your new nose.