Crikey! It's been many moons since I've blogged the latest adventures of Macy Walker. Never fear, I HAVE been writing them down.
We are by no means a righteous family. We try really, REALLY hard to do what is right. To behave in ways that are pleasing to God and to just be overall good citizens of this fine world we live in. Every day we ask Macy to let the love of Jesus show in how she treats other people. This .... well ... it's not quite what we had in mind but eh, it's a start!
One day in May, we saw a youngster from Macy's class in our local grocery store. When we got in the car, this is the conversation that ensued.
Macy: "That was Seth. He's the one that doesn't believe in Jesus or God or anything. He doesn't even know anything about Him at ALL."
Me: "You should tell him about Jesus then!"
Macy: "I did but he didn't believe me. So I just said ... Well, enjoy it while you can!"
In other words, she told him hey buddy you have fun here on Earth cause hell's gonna be one bad (and not the good bad) mamma jamma.
If you ask Macy Walker, Heaven is NOT a place on Earth.
We're all works in progress, right? ;)
Tuesday, August 21, 2012
Monday, May 7, 2012
Macy The Project Manager
Apparently, we have a future project manager on our hands? Most of you know Macy’s birthday is up & coming. In preparation for said birthday, there is sure to be one heck of a shindig thrown by her Papa & yours truly (there always is, you know!). This year, the girl chose to gather at a local laser tag facility but in preparation, we had to ask her wonderful 3rd grade teacher, Mrs. Myers,(Have I said how much we LOVE her?!)for a listing of addresses/phone numbers for invitation purposes.
Mrs. Myers sent home contact information for those families who chose to participate in the class directory & Macy began making a list of those whom she’d grace with her presence on her special day ;)
I ordered invitations & sent them accordingly. When Macy knew I had addressed the envelopes, she gathered contact information for those whom were invited & began cold-calling. She wanted friends to be sure to “save the date”, if you will. I didn’t realize this is what she was doing until I noticed those she connected with “marked off” or with associated notes.
I thought this was the end of monitoring the progress/status of invitees as I had already mailed the invitations to each family’s home. Oh no ma’am, I was mistaken!
I got a voice message today from one little girl proclaiming:
I thought it was cute and awfully sweet for the little girl to call. Afterall, we never really expect folks to RSVP, who does that nowadays?
I text Casey to tell him about the message and to see if Macy wanted to phone back the little girl. Case promptly responded with:
EVENT PLANNER FOR HIRE.
Mrs. Myers sent home contact information for those families who chose to participate in the class directory & Macy began making a list of those whom she’d grace with her presence on her special day ;)
I ordered invitations & sent them accordingly. When Macy knew I had addressed the envelopes, she gathered contact information for those whom were invited & began cold-calling. She wanted friends to be sure to “save the date”, if you will. I didn’t realize this is what she was doing until I noticed those she connected with “marked off” or with associated notes.
I thought this was the end of monitoring the progress/status of invitees as I had already mailed the invitations to each family’s home. Oh no ma’am, I was mistaken!
I got a voice message today from one little girl proclaiming:
"Um, hi. This is _________ . I just wanted to call because Macy said I needed to meet the deadline of calling for her party and to let her know if I was or wasn’t going …"
I thought it was cute and awfully sweet for the little girl to call. Afterall, we never really expect folks to RSVP, who does that nowadays?
I text Casey to tell him about the message and to see if Macy wanted to phone back the little girl. Case promptly responded with:
"Macy must’ve given some directions to her friends today. She told me when I picked her up from school she advised her friends they needed to let her know today whether they would be attending her party because she needed to plan for their attendance. If they didn’t call, they weren’t going to be on the guest list."
EVENT PLANNER FOR HIRE.
Thursday, March 1, 2012
Squirrels & Self-Control: It's Not What You Think
If you wanna’ know why I said “It’s not what you think”, you can check here. In other news, Macy Walker has a pretty good idea of what she means when talking about squirrels.
Someone very dear to our family frequently wears a wig. The wig isn’t used for medical purposes, but moreso for convenience. Do not be dismayed for one second that this lil’ child is not afraid to say what she feels it looks like!
One day, as this person’s wig lain in the sink ready to be washed Macy said,
“Are you gonna’ wash your squirrel?”
We pray every day before Macy Renee exits the car for school. Generally, we ask if there’s anything/one she’d want to pray for. Usually she’ll pray she can make good decisions or for whatever event may be going on and sometimes a friend. This day however, Macy prayed
“Please God, don’t let me act squirrely today ….”
She must have had many days of non-squirreliness because the ever elusive “Self-Manager Badge” was FINALLY bestowed upon the youngin’! Folks, when I say ever elusive I ain’t playin’! Macy is a great girl but this badge eluded her school year after school year. Several times per week she’d express high hopes she may soon be earning her badge but week after week, the let down was evident. No self-manager badge was ever granted.
The badge is awarded by a child’s teacher for consistently displaying characteristics of: enthusiasm, responsibility, self-discipline, citizenship, courtesy, tolerance, leadership, respect, integrity, caring & forgiveness … and Macy, she finally earned one! Trust me when I tell you, it’s worn about the neck like a prized gem!
Someone very dear to our family frequently wears a wig. The wig isn’t used for medical purposes, but moreso for convenience. Do not be dismayed for one second that this lil’ child is not afraid to say what she feels it looks like!
One day, as this person’s wig lain in the sink ready to be washed Macy said,
“Are you gonna’ wash your squirrel?”
We pray every day before Macy Renee exits the car for school. Generally, we ask if there’s anything/one she’d want to pray for. Usually she’ll pray she can make good decisions or for whatever event may be going on and sometimes a friend. This day however, Macy prayed
“Please God, don’t let me act squirrely today ….”
She must have had many days of non-squirreliness because the ever elusive “Self-Manager Badge” was FINALLY bestowed upon the youngin’! Folks, when I say ever elusive I ain’t playin’! Macy is a great girl but this badge eluded her school year after school year. Several times per week she’d express high hopes she may soon be earning her badge but week after week, the let down was evident. No self-manager badge was ever granted.
The badge is awarded by a child’s teacher for consistently displaying characteristics of: enthusiasm, responsibility, self-discipline, citizenship, courtesy, tolerance, leadership, respect, integrity, caring & forgiveness … and Macy, she finally earned one! Trust me when I tell you, it’s worn about the neck like a prized gem!
Sunday, December 4, 2011
A Fountain of Knowledge
We've been taking Macy to various events at the Oklahoma City Philharmonic since 
she was in Kindergarten, she's now in 3rd grade. We started out attending the Discovery Series in hopes she would gain an appreciation for fine arts. The Discovery Series is really geared toward young children, provides educational moments, and is generally a shorter program than any regular show but we eventually added in some POPS Series shows too.
She can read the program and keeps track of which song we're on but never really asks too many questions. Well, you know except for "Can we order some hot chocolate so it will be ready at intermission?" We oblige and go about our spectator experience. This time however, Macy Walker spewed orchestral knowledge I never knew she held in that brain of hers! Here are some of the phrases we heard during the show:
Keep in mind folks, neither Casey nor myself are musically gifted. None, zero, zippo, not one single iota of musical talent. We may not be able to PLAY an instrument but we certainly love hearing them and truly find it magnificent when they're all playing so beautifully together that's why we attend Philharmonic events. Well, that and someone in our house likes to dress up ;)
Stunned at the knowledge my kiddo seemed to have stored in her head, I wanted to know more! I didn't learn all that stuff until I was in college & took Music Appreciation courses as electives. How in the dickens did she know this in THIRD GRADE?!? Yeah, we take her to these events but I suspect all this info came from a great music teacher because we sure did not teach this stuff!
It's tradition for us to make a pit stop at The Cheesecake Factory for dessert after any show we attend at the Civic Center so following suit we did the same. This time though, I questioned our kiddo on the way just to see what else she knew. The child talked for TWENTY minutes straight about music/orchestras/instruments/the history of instruments & their families, etc. She told me if you're good at math (which she is) then you'll be good at playing music and
So I wondered, what instrument WOULD she want to play? Her answer: The piccolo.
She can read the program and keeps track of which song we're on but never really asks too many questions. Well, you know except for "Can we order some hot chocolate so it will be ready at intermission?" We oblige and go about our spectator experience. This time however, Macy Walker spewed orchestral knowledge I never knew she held in that brain of hers! Here are some of the phrases we heard during the show:
"See that? See when they pluck the strings? That's called pizzicato."
"Do you hear that drum? That's a timpani."
"That person playing the violin right now, that's the concert master."
"That over there is a harp. Did you know harps have 47 strings?"
"See that stick he's using? He's the conductor & that's a baton. It's made from wood."
Keep in mind folks, neither Casey nor myself are musically gifted. None, zero, zippo, not one single iota of musical talent. We may not be able to PLAY an instrument but we certainly love hearing them and truly find it magnificent when they're all playing so beautifully together that's why we attend Philharmonic events. Well, that and someone in our house likes to dress up ;)
Stunned at the knowledge my kiddo seemed to have stored in her head, I wanted to know more! I didn't learn all that stuff until I was in college & took Music Appreciation courses as electives. How in the dickens did she know this in THIRD GRADE?!? Yeah, we take her to these events but I suspect all this info came from a great music teacher because we sure did not teach this stuff!
It's tradition for us to make a pit stop at The Cheesecake Factory for dessert after any show we attend at the Civic Center so following suit we did the same. This time though, I questioned our kiddo on the way just to see what else she knew. The child talked for TWENTY minutes straight about music/orchestras/instruments/the history of instruments & their families, etc. She told me if you're good at math (which she is) then you'll be good at playing music and
"Have you ever just felt with all your heart you could do something? Like that no one will teach you but you can just pick up something and do it? Well, I feel like that about instruments. I feel like I can do anyyyyything. I feel like I could just pick one of them up and play it!"
So I wondered, what instrument WOULD she want to play? Her answer: The piccolo.
Sunday, November 20, 2011
The Principle of JOY
One of the things we focus on in our home is service. What does that mean?
It means we forget about the selfish nature we as humans naturally adopt. We put others’ above ourselves and seek to find ways to serve them. Does that mean we constantly roll over & get taken for a fool? No. Does that mean we don’t have a backbone and are weak? No. Does it mean you never have a say in things that happen in your life? No. What it means is you’re treating other people the way you would want to be treated and while not everyone may reciprocate, they will remember how you treated them. They will know how much you care and will listen to you when you have something to say. They will value your input and they will value you.
So what is this principle of joy I speak about? It’s putting the reasons you do things in life in this order:
Jesus first
Others second
You third
Today, Macy Walker was recognized as Student of the Month for the character trait of Citizenship. Citizenship was defined by her school as helping to make her country a better place to live & looking for opportunities to serve others. They may call it Citizenship but as for the Walkers, we call it JOY!
It means we forget about the selfish nature we as humans naturally adopt. We put others’ above ourselves and seek to find ways to serve them. Does that mean we constantly roll over & get taken for a fool? No. Does that mean we don’t have a backbone and are weak? No. Does it mean you never have a say in things that happen in your life? No. What it means is you’re treating other people the way you would want to be treated and while not everyone may reciprocate, they will remember how you treated them. They will know how much you care and will listen to you when you have something to say. They will value your input and they will value you.
So what is this principle of joy I speak about? It’s putting the reasons you do things in life in this order:
Jesus first
Others second
You third
Today, Macy Walker was recognized as Student of the Month for the character trait of Citizenship. Citizenship was defined by her school as helping to make her country a better place to live & looking for opportunities to serve others. They may call it Citizenship but as for the Walkers, we call it JOY!
Monday, October 24, 2011
Have You Been There?
There’s a great retro-chic new lil’ dining place in OKC that serves a
delicious variety of hot dogs, called Mutt’s. Mutt’s Amazing Hot Dogs to be exact. A couple of my friends swear by the Kung Fuey but as for me, I stick with the Best in Show & make my own.
A few weeks ago we took Macy to Mutt’s to enjoy the atmosphere and to dine at a new joint. Yeah, there was only one slight problem I forgot to tell my family about. Mutt’s? …. Er… Um … well, it makes you sort of have to go to the bathroom. No worries, I planned it so we would go straight home. We no longer set foot in our home when each of us darted to an open bathroom. Thank GOD there are enough toilets in our home to cover each hiney.
Excuse the fowlness but hey, it fits the story, okay? After, we joked about our next adventure in dining at “Butt’s”. Shortly after, Macy’s teacher was either talking about her dog whom she referred to as a mutt or talking about her weekend and dining at Mutt’s ... Which of those, I’m not really too sure. What I AM sure about is my daughter’s tackiness! Take a read, you’ll understand:
A few weeks ago we took Macy to Mutt’s to enjoy the atmosphere and to dine at a new joint. Yeah, there was only one slight problem I forgot to tell my family about. Mutt’s? …. Er… Um … well, it makes you sort of have to go to the bathroom. No worries, I planned it so we would go straight home. We no longer set foot in our home when each of us darted to an open bathroom. Thank GOD there are enough toilets in our home to cover each hiney.
Excuse the fowlness but hey, it fits the story, okay? After, we joked about our next adventure in dining at “Butt’s”. Shortly after, Macy’s teacher was either talking about her dog whom she referred to as a mutt or talking about her weekend and dining at Mutt’s ... Which of those, I’m not really too sure. What I AM sure about is my daughter’s tackiness! Take a read, you’ll understand:
Macy: “Oooo, Mrs. Myers! Have you ever eaten at Mutt’s?”Wow! Really? Did she REALLY just tell that to her teacher. In class? To her teacher?!? Parent-Teacher conferences are this week. I want to know if this conversation took place as Macy described above but I’m afraid to ask. Maybe I should just buy Mrs. Myers a Mutt’s Amazing Hot Dogs gift certificate & see if she laughs?
Mrs. Myers: “As a matter of fact, my husband and I went there last weekend.”
Macy (laughing): “Yeah, well. We call it Butt’s cause it makes you have to go to the bathroom!”
A Penny for Your Thoughts
In our home, we believe in being fiscally responsible. Apparently, so does Macy Walker. Early in the week Macy bargained with Casey to earn $10 bucks. They negotiated an agreement on how she could earn the ten extra dollars with the stipulations the task would be completed every day without an adult reminder and that if even one day was missed the $10 would not be earned. Macy completed her end of the bargain & earned a crisp $10 bill on Friday. She also received a card from her Great-Nana with $10 in it. She now had a total of $20 bucks burning a hole in her pocket.
We taught her long ago the importance of tithing but try not to remind her about it when she gets money because it’s her responsibility. She watches us tithe, she watches us budget, she watches us save & invest. We’ve given her the knowledge to do the same, it’s up to her to apply that information.
I was out of town on Thursday & Friday, not arriving back in OKC until Macy was already retired for the night on Friday. Saturday morning the first thing she did was bring to me $18 dollars, saying “Mom, look! I have $18.” I knew about the arrangement she made with Casey to earn extra money but I wasn’t aware she infact received the card from my Nana so I was confused as to why she would have an odd sum of money. Why wasn’t it $10, $15 or $20? Why $18? Before I could ask her why, she pulled another $2 bucks from a separate pocket.
Macy, holding $18 in one hand and $2 in another I heard, “I have $18 and I’m gonna give this (holding up the $2) back to God.” Immediately it dawned on me she must’ve had $20 instead of $10. I asked her about the total sum when she admitted she received Great-Nana’s card.
We went to church, Macy returned God’s portion to the storehouse and we carted ourselves to Barnes & Noble afterwards. We spent a good 2 hours reading books for free (don’t judge us!) but she wanted to make a purchase. We looked and looked and looked and looked some more for just the right book but nothing caught her eye. We ventured back to the CDs area when I suggested the Selena Gomez CD.
Macy asked, “How much is it?” as she flipped it over for the price. “Nah, it’s $15 dollars. I was hoping for something a little more affordable. I’ll only have about $2 left if I buy that.” More affordable? I thought. She’s 8! Since when does SHE care about affordability?!? I shrugged & said oh, okay then I guess we can keep looking. “What else do they have here? Besides all these CDs & books? These are too much money.” In my mind, I’m kind of giggling. It was funny for me to hear her replay all the things I think about when I shop and I’m a little bit impressed she’s trying to calculate the most wise decision.
At this point, I suggested she just save the $18 and go about her business. She didn’t want to do that saying “I already have $200 something in the bank. I asked to make this money so I could buy something.” Wellokaythen. So we kept looking. FINALLY, she found a set of 4 miniature puzzles that was $9.95 plus 50% off. “Mom, how much is 50%?” I told her she’d have about seven bucks or so left and she was okay with that.
The moral of this story is be very careful of your financial habits. Just like your language, your behaviors & your attitudes, your children will emulate those spending habits too! I am far better at 31 years old than I was at even 20 and I DO model all the things I’ve mentioned here but I am so blessed and so grateful our sweet eight year old daughter has apparently learned now to think about her pennies!
We taught her long ago the importance of tithing but try not to remind her about it when she gets money because it’s her responsibility. She watches us tithe, she watches us budget, she watches us save & invest. We’ve given her the knowledge to do the same, it’s up to her to apply that information.
I was out of town on Thursday & Friday, not arriving back in OKC until Macy was already retired for the night on Friday. Saturday morning the first thing she did was bring to me $18 dollars, saying “Mom, look! I have $18.” I knew about the arrangement she made with Casey to earn extra money but I wasn’t aware she infact received the card from my Nana so I was confused as to why she would have an odd sum of money. Why wasn’t it $10, $15 or $20? Why $18? Before I could ask her why, she pulled another $2 bucks from a separate pocket.
Macy, holding $18 in one hand and $2 in another I heard, “I have $18 and I’m gonna give this (holding up the $2) back to God.” Immediately it dawned on me she must’ve had $20 instead of $10. I asked her about the total sum when she admitted she received Great-Nana’s card.
We went to church, Macy returned God’s portion to the storehouse and we carted ourselves to Barnes & Noble afterwards. We spent a good 2 hours reading books for free (don’t judge us!) but she wanted to make a purchase. We looked and looked and looked and looked some more for just the right book but nothing caught her eye. We ventured back to the CDs area when I suggested the Selena Gomez CD.
Macy asked, “How much is it?” as she flipped it over for the price. “Nah, it’s $15 dollars. I was hoping for something a little more affordable. I’ll only have about $2 left if I buy that.” More affordable? I thought. She’s 8! Since when does SHE care about affordability?!? I shrugged & said oh, okay then I guess we can keep looking. “What else do they have here? Besides all these CDs & books? These are too much money.” In my mind, I’m kind of giggling. It was funny for me to hear her replay all the things I think about when I shop and I’m a little bit impressed she’s trying to calculate the most wise decision.
At this point, I suggested she just save the $18 and go about her business. She didn’t want to do that saying “I already have $200 something in the bank. I asked to make this money so I could buy something.” Wellokaythen. So we kept looking. FINALLY, she found a set of 4 miniature puzzles that was $9.95 plus 50% off. “Mom, how much is 50%?” I told her she’d have about seven bucks or so left and she was okay with that.
The moral of this story is be very careful of your financial habits. Just like your language, your behaviors & your attitudes, your children will emulate those spending habits too! I am far better at 31 years old than I was at even 20 and I DO model all the things I’ve mentioned here but I am so blessed and so grateful our sweet eight year old daughter has apparently learned now to think about her pennies!
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