Carlsons On The Move

I am blessed beyond measure to have happy healthy boys! They are growing up so quickly. I love the personalities that they are developing, their love for people and interest they have in loving others to Jesus.

Today Susanne and I took the boys to City Park to ride the rides. The boys had a great time and there were NO lines. Sunny, a bit muggy but not bad for New Orleans.

The boys and I took a quick road trip to Tuscaloosa, Alabama to see my sister who was working there this past week. We had a great time together. We spent the majority of our time at the hotel pool.

I have never met kids who love the water more than these four boys. Andrew and Nicholas had swim lessons in the morning and then played in the backyard pool and then after lunch they went with the Brantley boys to another pool. This pool is about 5 minutes away from us, and its FREE to swim! Bonus!

Today is the last day of swimming. The boys have each conquered some fears and gained confidence plus had a great time taking lessons. They both had amazing teachers, which always helps. Andrew can now float on his stomach while kicking, he is able to do the “crawl” stroke for at least one HUGE breath, he can jump in and continue swimming and getting the hang of floating on his back. Nicholas is an animal. He has gone from crying the entire lesson…to talking the entire lesson. He knows ALL of the swim instructors and constantly asks them questions…Where do you live? What’s your name? What is your favorite grocery store? Tell me a story about when you lied… He has also learned to swim. His favorite phrase right now is…”I want to swim myself”. And he does. He can push off the wall and kick to his teacher, he can jump in and swim. He isn’t graceful by any sort of the imagination, but he can do it himself.

Check out Amanda’s blog from yesterdays storm!

and so have the rains! This morning we woke up to thunder and lightning. It rained so hard that our street flooded and there was even a current. The typical things floating down the street…leaves, garbage bags full of stuff, poop, other things that get flushed down toilets…yucky stuff! Our basement is okay so far. Here are a few pictures from this morning.

Chad spent a week in San Fransisco with CRM’s InnerChange. He flew home today with two interns who will be living with our community for the next six weeks. Chad is home for 12 hours and leaves at 4am Sunday morning for Atlanta, GA to go help out at a Lacrosse Camp for a week. There are 30 plus High School kids who he coaches at Jesuit going to this camp. This is a great opportunity to build deeper relationships with them. Andrew and Nicholas were sure glad to see Chad. They had him reading stories and telling him everything about this past week.

Since you are out of town…here are a few more swimming pictures! Nicholas continues to do well in his class, but I think he likes talking to all the new people he meets better. Chad…thats your baby!

Nicholas meeting another swim teacher

Nicholas with his magic goggles on

Andrew jumping in and swimming

Andrew did an amazing at swimming today. His teacher was impressed with his strength in his arms and legs. Here are a couple video’s of his day.

Conversation on the way home from swimming with Andrew…

C: What was the best part about swimming today Andrew?

A: Well, I like the end.

C: You mean jumping in the pool?

A: No, when we sat on the steps and learned the rules.

Nicholas and Andrew started swim lessons today. Nicholas did everything his teacher, Ms. Bubba asked of him, but he cried the ENTIRE time. He thought he was going to be in the same class with Andrew, because that is what I was told. His teacher thought he did a great job, and wasn’t worried by the crying. Actually there was at least one kid in each class who cried the entire time. After class I asked Nicholas if he liked his class…”Yup, it was a good day. I think tomorrow I won’t cry.”

Today as a community, we went to Second Harvest Food Bank. We had a great time working together moving and sorting BIG boxes of food. We have volunteered several times and are building relationships with the people who work there.