Take a Picture With Me

Buddy was at school. The twins and I played all day. At one point, I thought it'd be fun to take a picture together!

Ha.

"Say CHEESE!!!"

..........Never mind.

The Art of Spinning

Buddy- "Look at me, Devyn!!! I'm a spinning tornado!!!!!! Watch out!!"

Brother- "Me too!!! Watch me too!!! I a 'pinning tomatoooo!!!!"

Where's the Compassion?

You only have to flip on the news lately to get an update on Lauren "Lo" Scruggs-- online magazine editor and model who was involved in an airplane propeller accident in early December. I've been following her story since the evening it happened, after receiving a prayer request about her the evening of the accident from our mutual friend, Jennefer. While most of the stories have been unbiased and informative, I've been appalled at how quickly reporters and commenters have become toxic. I've seen countless articles on where the blame of the accident should lie, whether her family is lying about her twin sister's sympathy pains for Lauren, speculation on Lauren's future, and on and on.

My question is this: when did Lo stop being a person in the eyes of the world media, and instead become a target?

Yes. She was in an accident. And by the grace of God she is going to be ok! Let's celebrate with her and her family!

Yes. Her life will have adjustments because of her injuries. Let's encourage her and pray for her! Don't dwell on the negative, no one needs that.

Yes. Her family is close-knit and they've been there every day encouraging her and helping her to heal. That's a priceless gift. Not one for the media to question and try to demean.

This is a real person. Not a news story. She's Mr and Mrs Scruggs' little girl, Brittany's sister, a friend, a cousin, a niece, a granddaughter, and (to me) a fellow classmate.

So directly to you, Lo, I wish you a quick recovery, pray for your pain, rejoice with you over your milestones and the love you're receiving through it all, and trusting God that His peace will guard your heart through everything.

Love and hope wins out over blame and doubt. Every time.

Fail-Proof Excuse

Brother has this excuse he uses for getting out of virtually anything (or **trying to** anyway). It's his go-to escape route for all situations involving siblings, vegetable intake, clean-up time, and more...

"Brother, no brownies until you finish your corn!"
"I can't eat corn. I sick."

"Give Sis back her baby doll."
"I can't! I sick."

"Time out. We don't punch people!"
"But!! But!! I sick!"

Clever. Let me try:

Dear IRS, I can't pay my taxes this year. I sick. Sincerely, Devyn.

This could work for me.

The Part Where You Messed Up

Everyone's got those personal chores that suck. Things they'd go out of their way to avoid doing. For some, it's mopping. Others hate laundry. I personally have a vendetta against deep dusting, which is to say, if my Walmart-brand feather duster can't get to it easily, then that dust is to be ignored.

For Buddy, it's wiping his rear.

I get it. I do. It's not a job anyone enjoys, but it's a fact of life. And since Buddy starts kindergarten in a few short months, we'd all cracked down on him bucking up and taking care of business on his own, like it or not.

Then slowly, things happen. You're in a hurry, so you do it for him quick just to get out the door on time. Or you take pity on his tears of frustration over his unpracticed ability. Or my personal downfall: he's been in there for almost half an hour, dang it, I gotta go so he's gotta move!!

But today he slipped. He made the rookie move. The classic mistake. He revealed his master plan.

I was in the living room, wrangling the twins and changing their diapers, while Buddy was on minute 19 in the bathroom.

"It's time to get out of there, Buddy! You're done, quit messing around in there!"

"I really can't do this Devyn! I need you to wipe!"

"Can't dude! Changing diapers!"

"I'll wait..."

"C'mon, man, you're five! You can do it, you've done it before! In kindergarten no one will be able to do it for you. You've got this!"

"DEVYN! I haven't had to do this in a million years. Its not my job to wipe my butt anymore. So I'm gonna wait for you, ok?!"

Ha. Nope.

See what you did there, dude? I'm on to you...