Amaria the Nazi

In the spirit of Seinfeld & The Soup Nazi, we constantly refer to Amaria & each other as some sort of Nazi. If I don't change a light bulb as soon as it goes out, Amaria is all over me--she has been dubbed the Light Nazi. If I wake up in the morning--even though I may still be laying in bed--but I haven't brushed my teeth, Amaria will let me know that I have bad breath--she has been dubbed the Toothbrush Nazi. And don't even try to wear something that doesn't match--Amaria The Fashion Nazi will let you know.

So we've been using this stuff for a while now & never really thought twice about it. But, she stores that kind of stuff in her mind forever. So today, on the way home from church, Amaria starts on Heidi about Heidi needing to get her haircut. After a few minutes of going back & forth on the need, or lack of a need, for a haircut, Heidi finally dubbed Amaria The Haircut Nazi.

Amaria's curiosity finally got the best of her. "What's a Nazi?" she firmly asked.

Heidi went through an explanation of how a Nazi is someone who is always trying to dictate different things & control people, usually without having any authority to do so, etc.

After the brief explanation, Amaria's response convinced us that she understood. "Yep, I'm a Nazi!"

I hope this story doesn't get retold by Amaria to anyone else. I can only imagine how she would tell it, but more importantly, I don't know how we're going to be able to explain this one!

Thanks for reading, & God bless!

Where does the time go?

Today, my baby (who is going to turn 5 next month), has her pre-school graduation. And Cambree is 5 months old today. It seems like just yesterday that we were welcoming our first child into this world & now she is going through her first ever graduation ceremony. We got Amarai's progress report for this semester of school last week & we are so proud of her & thankful for the educators at First Baptist Church--Georgetown.

On an adult note, Heidi & I have decided to get into Children's Ministry. We will be working with 2nd graders on Sundays beginning in the Fall, & I have also signed up through the church to join a mentor program with Pflugerville ISD. We are nervous about this new endeavor, but know that God will be there every step of the way to guide us. We have a training on Sat. at the church, so please keep us in your prayers as we venture down this new path.

Thanks for reading & God bless!

Movie Watching

Heidi just asked me if the Netflix had come in. I said it had & Amaria immediately asked if she could watch it. I explained to her that she couldn't because it was a 'grown-up' movie. She said, "I can't wait until I'm a grown up so I can watch that grown-up movie. What kind of movie it is?" "It's a movie about a battle," I explained. She then gives me a thumbs up & says, "Good choice." Sometimes I wonder if she is 4 or 14.

On the go...as always!

If we ever stop going, our girls are going to freak out. I don't think they know what it means just to hang out at the house. It's going to be hard to convince them we aren't gypsies once they learn the definition of gypsies.

Here is a run down of the last week or so:

Friday, 4/23--we load up the family & head out to Hallettsville for a short camping trip with great friends. We usually stay out there all weekend, but we had to leave early.

Sat, 4/24--tear up camp, but help boil 120 lbs. of crawfish before we have to leave. Leave H-ville at 3:00. Get home in time for Heidi & me to clean up, give instructions to babysitter, & hurry to downtown Austin for the Hillsong United concert.

Sun, 4/25--church on Sunday morning, small group on Sunday night.

Wed, 4/28--drive out to Conroe. I have a training early on Thurs. morning, so we use Wed. night as an opportunity to catch up with some friends.

Thurs, 4/29--training in Houston until 1:00, drive to CS for a short stop, & then on to P-ville. LONG day!

Fri, 4/30--spend that night at a block party with some great friends from church.

Sat, 5/1--get up early & drive to EC. Hang out with my dad for a while, but then it's time to head to Sugarland. We have a wedding to attend in Sugarland at 2:00. Reception follows, we get back to EC about 9:15 that night.

Sun, 5/2--stop off & see my grandma before we leave town. Head home because we have to get to cooking...ribs & brownies are needed in Georgetown that night. Around 4:30, we head up to Georgetown to watch a dozen people from church get baptized in the San Gabriel River.

Don't ask me when we'll stop, or even slow down for that matter. Life is truly too short & we've decided that we have to live it to the fullest now because tomorrow is never promised....& we are so blessed to have 2 girls who enjoy it as much as we do. This summer is going to be even crazier, but I can't wait. Life is good!

Thanks for reading, & God bless!!

Family Update

Things have been pretty crazy around the Bruce household lately. We took Cambree in last week for her 4 month visit. She is now 12.7 lbs (25%) & 25 1/2 inches (90%), so it looks like she is going to be built like her sister...tall & skinny. Her eyes have stayed blue so far but her hair has definitely lightened up. After 4 months of breast feeding, it seems like she is just not getting enough food during those feeding times to meet her needs, so Heidi has started to introduce formula & bottles. Cambree has taken to that well & is sleeping much better at night.

The 4 of us went on our first camping trip on Friday night. It was a great trial run as it was at a friend's ranch with a house on location--fortunately. I set up the tent on Friday afternoon & both girls absolutely loved it. I had Amaria's tent set up inside our big tent for her & Cambree's co-sleeper fit perfectly next to our air mattress. Both girls were sleeping great until about midnight when we got word of a tornado warning in the area until 4:00 am. We moved the girls & Heidi inside to the big house & I stayed up for a while to just watch the weather & see what it was going to do. Finally, around 2:30 or so, I was convinced that we weren't going to get anything too bad & went to crash in the tent. It held up to some pretty strong winds. I think we are ready for our big camping trip in May--a trip to the Palo Duro Canyon & Groom. It should be an interesting but fun trip.

Saturday, Heidi & I had an absolutely amazing experience. We attended the Hillsong United concert in Austin. (If you don't know Hillsong or any of their music, go youtube them). It was so cool to see so many people, from all ethnicities, & all different age groups, just completely sold out for the Lord. It really was a life-changing experience for both of us. I don't know when they'll be back in the states, but we have decided that we will go see them again when they get back on this side of the Earth.

Amaria is almost done with dance, & she couldn't be happier. She has endured through the class all year, but to say that she really doesn't like it would be an understatement. In an effort to find something fun for her to do, Heidi took her to a trial gymnastics class on Monday. AMARIA LOVED IT! She will be enrolling in gymnastics immediately. She is also signed up for swim classes this summer in an effort to fine tune the swimming skills she learned last summer.

I hope that catches you up on the family. I'll try to get back in the habit of posting more often, but sometimes life just gets in the way.

God bless & thanks for reading!

Do you like horns?

So Amaria just asked me, "Daddy, do you like horns?" I was thinking deer & big bucks, so without even thinking I said, "Of course!" I immediately got a very evil look. She said, "But you can't like horns." I was intrigued & confused all at the same time--"Why not?" "Because horns remind me of a certain team that wears orange & has a bull. Can you guess who it is?" I said, "AH....the longhorns...maybe I don't like horns after all." She finishes it up with, "Good, because horns remind me of the poor t-sips, & I sure would hate to quit talking to you if you like them." Laughter truly is the best medicine & that's why kids keep us so healthy.

God bless & thanks for reading!

Amaria in Rare Form

Yesterday was just one of those days for our eldest. She had her Spring Program at school last night & she was very excited about it. I had the luxury of dropping Amaria off in her classroom last night before the program, & amazingly enough, we were running early. We actually were the first ones to arrive. But, shortly after, her classmates started to file in. However, her teacher, had yet to arrive. Time for Amaria to take charge: She grabbed the book that they had used to learn about the letter X earlier in the day. She then instructed her classmates to sit on the rug at the front of the classroom as she stood in front of them. "Today, we are going to learn about the Letter X," she informs them. "But first, we need to know what day it is." So she grabs the finger pointer, turns to the calendar & proceeds to count the days on the calendar, stopping at 13. "Today is the 13th!" Fortunately, for all involved, Mrs. Doyle arrived as this was wrapping up.

The program went great, & Amaria sang & danced her heart out to Old McDonald. By the time we got home it was time for bed & everyone was running late, so I put Amaria to bed while Heidi fed Cambree. Amaria & I mutually agreed that we would both take part in her nightly prayers. I prayed first & then it was Amaria's turn:

"Dear God, please help me to be good in school & do what Mrs. Doyle says. And please take care of Kiki (our deceased dog) & Daddy's momma up in Heaven. And dear God, I can't wait to be with them in Heaven because it's going to be so cool. In Jesus name we pray. Amen!"

I told her how sweet her prayer was & then she says, "Daddy, I wish I was in Heaven." I explained that while it is going to be great to be in Heaven, we still have things that God wants us to do down here. And then she comes back with, "But Heaven is the greatest place EVER!"

It brings tears to my eyes to know that we are so blessed to have a little one who has such a great understanding of our Lord. I thank God every day for her & Cambree.

On that note...Cambree update. She has started to mock us. If we make an "aaaaahhhhhh" sound, she will repeat it. Same thing with an "ah, boo," sound. She is growing like a weed & it's really cool to see her progressing so rapidly. Heidi took the girls last week to have some pics taken in their Easter dresses. Hopefully, I can figure out how to post them soon. God bless & thanks for reading.