Man Boobs, Britney Spears, and Nuts...They've All Got Me Thinking

My children are growing up. They have all gone up a size in clothes and shoes recently. But it is more than that. They are GROWING UP. They are not little kids anymore. Zac is so close to being a teenager, it freaks me out. And Emily might as well be a teenager by the way she acts sometimes. It is taking some getting used to. Like the other day when Zac and his friends were playing in the front yard and I heard one of them say, "Ouch! He hit me in the _____." I don't even want to say it because it sounds so vulgar to me. I don't talk that way, Steve doesn't talk that way, I don't want my kids to talk that way. At first I started to go into freakout mode, not an uncommon thing for me. Then I took a deep breath and calmed down. I thought to myself, "You know, he isn't a little baby anymore. I am sure he hears that all the time at school." It is hard for me because I have tried to protect my children from the influences of the world going on 11 years now. There is so much yucky in the world. But they are getting to the age where they are going to be going out into the world and I just have to have faith that I have done a good job in raising them and teaching them. I hope I have prepared them enough so that they can go into the world and make good choices and decisions without having me looking over their shoulders all the time. It makes me very grateful for the gospel of Jesus Christ which plays such a prevalent part in my life and the lives of my children. I can't imagine life without it. I can't imagine what kind of mother and person I would be without it. I can't imagine how I would teach my children without it.

Wow. That got deeper than I planned. On a lighter note.....

Yesterday Zac brought home a book order flier and he showed the girls a book he thought they might like. It was entitled, "Oops, I Did It Again". So naturally I break into song, right? The thing that shocked the heck out of me was that Zac and Emily broke into song too. Right after I sang the first line, "Oops, I did it again", they finished it by singing, "I played with your heart, got lost in the game, oh baby baby". My jaw dropped open and I said, "HOW DO YOU KNOW THAT SONG???" Apparently it is on some computer game they play. Interesting. So you see what I mean? They are growing up and I am just going to have to get used to it.

Speaking of growing up, here is Emily's Christmas list she gave me (just in case any of you need to know what to get her):

i-pod

cat or bird

flat screen tv

candy

new clothes

new cell phone