Our little Marine

Mom and Dad brought these PJs for Ford at the PX in San Diego. Doesn't he look like a little Marine (I think his hairstyle helps!). I love camo on little boys for some reason. It just screams BOY and makes them look like they should be out in the woods building a fort or something. I guess there isn't a more manly fabric out there (come on gingham, really?). It is just a reminder that I'm not raising a little boy - I am raising a man. No pressure.

This would be a great time to mention a great book I read recently. It is called "That's My Son" by Rick Johnson. It's written specifically for Moms on how to better understand the world of boys (and hence men) and how to raise Godly men of character. I devoured it and learned a lot. For instance, did you know that if you need to have a "serious" talk with your son you should go do some activity with them while you have the conversation (like throw a ball, shoot baskets, go for a hike etc.) instead of having them sit down and talk??? I asked Rhett about this and his response was "Well, YEAH. Of course. You are just now figuring that out? The last thing any boy of any age wants to hear is "we need to sit down and have a talk" We check out before we sit down. Ugh, just thinking about sitting down for a long serious talk makes me all uncomfortable." I guess I missed that along the way. That's what we girls love to do. Sit down and hash it out and analyze it from every angle. You can still have the serious talk but just do some activity at the same time. Interesting.

This book addresses a lot of the issues that our favorite philosophers Rick and Bubba call the "Wussification of America". If you don't know who Rick and Bubba are or don't understand the term "Wussification" you probably don't have any business reading our blog so I will refrain from explaining either one. It boils down to the fact that for as long as time boys have been climbing trees, getting dirty, jumping off of high things (this especially applies to my husband) and all sorts of other things that girls don't understand. I guess these are stereotypes but mostly they are true so I'm fine with that. Rhett told me about someone he met in Peru who goes on a dirtbike tour of Peru every year with a bunch of his buddies. They ride hundreds of miles all across Peru on a dirt bike. They stop at villages and sleep underneath peoples homes in their dirtbike gear. They don't have a plan of where they are going or where they are going to eat or sleep. They just go on a big adventure. While Rhett was telling me this his eyes were dancing and he was getting all excited. I don't get it. Someone would literally have to pay me A LOT of money to spend a couple weeks on a dirtbike. It sounds utterly miserable and (this is where it gets important) dangerous. Exactly. Dangerous - that's the whole point. What fun is it to do something that is safe? (See I'm starting to understand!). Here are the selling points for the above mentioned adventure: 1. It's dirty 2. Its' dangerous 3. It's all men (acting like boys). The bottom line is that stuff like this is important to boys and to their character. They NEED to feel like they are conquering something, fighting for something or on a great adventure. I am facinated by this whole subject. I'm sure you'll hear more about it in days to come.

This book will be the first of a new feature on our blog called Required Reading. Whenever Rhett or I read a book that really moves us or makes us think we always call it "Required Reading" for the other. Some are deeper than others. Some are just favorites. Who knows you may find some good recommendations on there and don't worry there won't be any medical journals or such involved. I'll try to tell you a little bit about the ones we choose and I'd love to hear from you if you read them or if you already have. I'll go ahead a post an initial list then come back and explain why we chose each book and gave it the distinction of Required Reading. I'd also love to hear some of your suggestions!