Do I have something in my teeth?

My college friends have heard this question a thousand times.  It was just a normal part of our post meal routine for 4 years.  I have always been worried that after eating I would have a huge piece of food in my teeth and then go talk to someone and be really embarrassed.  So I always would ask, "Do I have something in my teeth?"  After a while it just became the routine for all of us to check for each other.  

I remember this one time when we dared Amy to put a huge lettuce leaf in her teeth and go up to some random guy in the cafeteria and start up a conversation with him.  She is the best because she totally did it, with a straight face, while the rest of us watched laughing the whole time.  

These memories still bring a huge smile to my face, but I have not been smiling very much the past two days (at least not in public).  Want to know why?  Well, yesterday I had that little procedure to have the cyst removed from my gums.  I was super nervous for nothing.  The shots to numb my mouth hurt more than getting the cyst removed.  The actual "surgery" took less than 2 minutes and it was so small that I didn't even need stitches.  The doctor just put some kind of acid stuff on the area to stop the bleeding.  I didn't even have to take any pain meds. 

 So that is all good and fine, but when I took the gauze out of my mouth about an hour after I got home, I noticed that my gums were nice and black in that area.  Really cute...it looks like I have a black bean stuck up above one of my teeth.  Or something even grosser.  I will quote Jacob, "Mom it looks like you have bird poop in your mouth!"  Lovely!!!  Tim said I look like I have major gum disease in that one spot.  So Pretty!!!  He wouldn't even kiss me yesterday...I don't know why :)  

Anyway, I am hanging out at home today and it looks a little better than yesterday.  I am just hoping that it is not too noticeable at church tomorrow.   I may have to give lots of close mouthed smiles to people.   I was trying to decide whether to put a picture in this blog or not, but I decided that it makes for a funny memory.  So as for the question, "Do I have something in my teeth?"  The answer is no...no black bean, no bird poop, no gum disease no, no, no.  Just a gross little scab that hopefully will be gone really really soon.  

 

The Busy Life of the Loomis Fam

Wow!  What at week!  Tuesday night we had our first family worship homegroup.  It went really well overall, but Tim and I had a really hard time trying to engage Micah.  He was all over the place and really distracting.  We are trying to figure out how to make this work for our family.  Jacob is at such a good age for this type of group and yet Micah is still a bit young.  I guess we'll learn as we go.  

Wed night Jacob had his first soccer practice of the season.  He had so much fun!  Tim was able to be there, but had to rush off to youth group right after.

Today Micah really took off with potty training.  He went pee pee in the potty 5 times today!  We went to Target after we picked Jacob up from school and he picked out some Lightning McQueen Underwear and we got some pull - ups for nighttime.  I can't believe that he is already potty training!  I was  not really expecting this so soon.  But I am going with it, since he is so excited.

Jacob bit into a sandwich this week and said, "ouch!"  Tim asked him if he had a loose tooth, and it turns out that he has not 1, but 3 loose teeth on the bottom.  I know he is 6 and this is normal, but it took me by surprise.  This is just one more reminder of how big he is getting.  He is doing so well in 1st grade and working really hard at learning to read.  

Well, tomorrow is Tim's day off...yippee!!!  I love when he is home with us.  But I have a bummer of a morning tomorrow.  I have to go get a little cyst removed from my gums.  Yuck!  I think it is a real minor procedure, but I know I'll have a couple of stitches and will have to be on pain meds for at least a day or two.  

Well, I'm off to watch some of the republican national convention.  Good night!

Family Worship Sunday

Yesterday was an exciting day for our church and for our family.   We had a Family Worship Sunday where all of the kids from 1st grade and up were in the service with the adults (we kept Micah in too).  I love our church!  I love that we are being challenged to do things that are outside of the norm.  I love that God is stretching me to try things that I would have never thought to do on my own and that our children are learning to worship with us even at the ages of 2 and 6.  At one point we were singing and I looked at the boys and both of them had huge smiles on their faces and both arms raised up in worship.  They are watching others model a posture of worship and are learning that this is a way to express their love for God.  The message was very visual and hands on.  Even Micah was even able to participate in building a piece of furniture out of playdough when we were talking about the significance of the altar.  He was actually really funny because he kept saying, "Dad, build a sleeping bag!"  Not exactly furniture, but...he's only 2. 

 Last week Jacob came home with a "font of blessing"  that he made the week before in his class.  It is a bowl that he painted and we filled it half way with water.  Every morning before we leave to go out the door, we dip our finger in the water and make a cross on our foreheads and pray a simple prayer like, "Jesus, help me to remember today that I am yours."  This has made a big impact on all of us, but has been especially significant for Jacob as he leaves for a full day of school each morning.  

I have also been reading a book called "Parenting in the Pew" by a pastors wife who brought her 2 boys into "big" church with her every week and very patiently taught them to worship the Lord along side of the adults.  Her perspective has been so refreshing and made me realize that I have had pretty low expectations for what my kids can learn on a spiritual level even at their young ages.  I have gotten super excited as I have been reading this book and I feel like we are all ready to try some new things.   In the past month or two we have seen a real shift in Jacob's heart toward the Lord and toward prayer.  He has become really open and willing to pray in a way we have never seen before.  I feel so thankful that God brought us to Emmaus!  

This week we are starting a small group to put some of these ideas into practice.  Our family has teamed up with the Haskins family to lead a Family Worship Small Group.  We are inviting people of all ages to meet together every Tuesday to worship and pray together and we are going to incorporate really hands on and experiential ways to involve even the youngest of children.  We met together yesterday to plan and just got really excited as we threw out different creative ideas!   I really feel like this is the beginning of an exciting season, not just for our family, but for many others as well.

Potty Time

Micah went pee pee in the potty for the first time today!  He was so proud of himself.  He has sat on the potty so many times, but never ever has he actually gone.  What a great day.  I am having visions of not having to spend $30-$40 a month on diapers...but who knows, it could still take a while :)  Oh well, today is a day to celebrate in the Loomis home :)

Fire Truck Parade

Today our cute little town had a Fire Truck Parade.  Micah is way into fire trucks right now and especially loves this little fire chiefs truck that he has.  We went downtown this morning to enjoy the parade.  The boys even got little hats to wear.  It was fun!  

Mr. 1st Grade

Jacob is a big first grader now!  He started school today.  He was a little nervous, but was very excited about the 3 recesses on the big playground (or apparatus as they call it at school).  He was so happy that he and his best friend Canyon were put in the same class.  We all went as a family this morning to drop him off.  He didn't want us to leave until all of the other parents were leaving, which was just fine with me.  It was weird to leave him after having him home all summer.  His day is twice as long as last year!  When we got in the car and drove away, Micah said, "Where's Jacob?"  We told him he was at school and he just got this sad look on his face and said, "Awwwww!"  When I picked Jacob up, he said it had been a great first day, and of course recess was his favorite part.  He was so proud that he got to walk from the playground to his classroom all by himself.  I think this is going to be a great year for him.  

BINKIES

Some kids have a favorite stuffed animal or a special blanket.  Some have an imaginary friend and others like Micah have binkies.  Micah is so attached to his binkies and I know that some day soon we will have to break the habit, but right now he is so funny about them and we will just let him enjoy these special moments with his "best friends" as we sometimes call them.  He hoards them.  He will carry around 5 at a time if he can and hum a little tune as he walks around.  When he sleeps at night he has to have at least 3 - one for his mouth and one for each hand.  He has a little car that he rides around the house on.  We have named it the "binkie mobile"  because he stores the binkies all around the steering wheel and then scoots around the house.  So yesterday morning Micah was sitting at the breakfast table with 3 of his "little treasures" and Tim and I were sitting on the couch.  We hear the binkies clinking on the table and then with a very affectionate voice, Micah says, "I love you bikies!  I love you binkies!"  I'm sure this will be one of those embarrassing stories that we tell when Micah graduates and when he gets married.