Kids Are Awesome...

A few things my son did today (that make me think he's lost is mind...)

1. I walked outside to find him doing "spit-takes" with his Sprite. Three of them in a row.
   
   
2. He spit bubble-gum on my back. Claimed it was an "experiment."
   
   
3. While at a family reunion, discovered that he packed 20 pieces of gum (from the dessert table) into one of his pockets.
   

Sheesh...
Kristen's really got her work cut out for her.

MY SON IS A PROPHET...

My son, Jonah, has always loved super heroes. He's never been a "train kid" or "sports kid." Ever since he was old enough to know the difference, he's been fascinated with the supernatural. Heroes, Star Wars, aliens, robots...the kid digs.

When he was really small, he got a lot of hero stuff for Christmas. In fact, Marvel used to make these kid-friendly hero action figures...little squatty versions of Captain America and Hulk and Wolverine...all smiles and age appropriate. He dug the Spider-Man movies because the commercials played constantly. Pretty normal hero fan stuff. Until we rented an animated Avenger's movie.

The movie was filled with heroes we had never heard of. Jonah enjoyed the movie, but he was most fascinated with a hero called IRON MAN. Suddenly, our four-year old could think of nothing else but Tony Stark's titanium alloy hero creation. The problem was that no one else seemed to know who Iron Man was. You couldn't find toys or movies or pajamas or anything with this little red man on it. But strangely, as Jonah turned five, we began to see more Iron Man toys. Why? Because Marvel knew something that we didn't.

When Jonah heard that there was an actual Iron Man movie being made, he lost his mind. It was a dream come true, and trust me, now we have the Iron Man pajamas. (They even light up.)

I found a strange pride in it...like my son had some sort of unique sense of what was cool long before the other kids did. (I'm kinda' messed up.) But we didn't dwell on it.

Chapter 2....

When we moved to Tyler, Jonah discovered a video game at a friend's house. The game was Marvel Ultimate Alliance. It had all the guys Jonah liked. But he didn't come home talking about Hulk or Iron Man. Suddenly, he was all about Deadpool. I'd never heard of Deadpool. I researched it a little, found out that Deadpool was one of the more creative, if lesser known, Marvel characters, and didn't think much of it.

And then, I see this...



Did you see the guy with the two swords? Red shirt? Flying around like a crazy man? Yep, you guessed it.

DEADPOOL.

Somehow, Jonah has picked another winner. And now, I'm reading rumors of a Deadpool movie in the works. Can it be? Does my son have some sort of sixth sense for marketable hero blockbusters?

Man, I hope so. Somebody get me Jerry Bruckheimer.

SEVEN

When Kristen was pregnant with Jonah, I remember a mentor of mine pulling me aside and saying,
"Cherish every moment, Todd."

I took his words to heart. I've tried to cherish this little guy...even in those times when I haven't felt like it.
Jonah turns seven today. I know it probably sounds silly to lots of people, but I will say it nonetheless:
The time has flown by.

This little boy has changed my life in more ways that I ever imagined.

Every day, I am amazed at what God's built into his little mind and soul.
Every day, I am perplexed as to how to raise him in a way that pleases God.
Every day, I am heartbroken to know that, in addition to new opportunities and wonders, the new year also brings new challenges, new hurts and new tears.

I don't know what God has planned for Jonah, but I know He has a plan.
He sees and knows this little one, my firstborn.
He knows what awaits my Jonah.
And I pray that I'll be smart enough and quiet enough to let the Father speak into me the things I need to love and raise my son right.

Jonah, words aren't enough. But here are a few that come to my mind when I think about you, buddy.

You can make me laugh, when all others fail
My shadows no match for your smile
Your voice, the sweetest, purest thing
Better and stronger than mine

Your mind moves faster than I could guess
Your heart beats so fast and so loud
You laugh, you cry, it's all the same
Same within, without

I thought I would teach you, and maybe I have
But it's reversed more often I feel
To have you, to love you, to be loved by you
A gift heaven in the now and the here

One more testament to God's good hand
One more reason to sing
One more smile, one more day, one more year to watch you
become what God made you to be
---
I love you, Jonah.
Happy Birthday.

DANCE PARTY!

Jonah wasn't content to let Finley have all the fame for internet dancing, so he made his own. This video started kinda' impromptu in Finley's room, but Jonah BROKE IT DOWN. Enjoy!


Dancing Family from Kristen Wright on Vimeo.

Kids TV, Part I (Jonah Edition)

It happens to us all.

If you're a parent, you're going to be watching some television programming for children. Granted, some parents limit their kids' TV intake to a very thin stream. Others pretty much let their kids watch whatever they want, whenever they want.

But unless you're the most strict parent on the planet (or) you have a child that doesn't watch TV, you're gonna' see some of this stuff.

Jonah has always been a TV kid. He's always loved it...and we have to be careful with how much he watches. Here are some of his favorite shows (right now.)

BEN 10: ALIEN FORCE

Jonah loves Ben 10. I think were three seasons of the "normal" Ben 10, but now Cartoon Network has created a new version. Ben 10 Alien Force involves the same characters, but takes place 10 years later. At this point, Ben and his pals are older, wiser and more powerful!







THE SECRET SATURDAYS
Jonah got interested in this through Cartoon Network's "cryptid" promotion. The Saturdays are a superhero family that seeks out strange and unusual cryptid creatures around the world. Oh, and they fight evil.








THE MIGHTY B

This show is hilarious. Mainly because of Amy Poehler's fantastic voice work. (Poehler used this voice on SNL for a sketch about a hyperactive pre-teen.) The voice alone is worth thirty minutes of my time...plus I love the simplicity of the animation. In a high-tech world, the Mighty B looks almost like something created in my day.






DRAKE AND JOSH
This show isn't in production anymore, but that doesn't keep Nickelodeon from cashing in on it!

There's some funny stuff on this show, but it tends to make Jonah wild. (Josh tends to yell a lot. Or is it Drake? The one who lost all the weight tends to yell a lot.)

This one can pretty annoying.



STAR WARS: CLONE WARS
I don't know any six year old boy who's not into Clone Wars. Jonah and I caught the movie when it hit theaters. We loved it. Imagine his shock when the new Friday night TV series was unveiled. Watching Clone Wars is fast becoming our Friday night tradition.




iCarly

I love iCarly. It's hilarious. Great characters, great writing, great online presence/sub-culture. I'm partial to Sam. She's awesome.





SPONGEBOB SQUAREPANTS

This one is, by far, the most popular. I don't really have a problem with Spongebob. Sure, sometimes it's a bit crude, but six-year old boys like crude. At least, mine does. Other than that, it's a pretty silly show that can be, occasionally, pretty funny. (I've found that it gets funnier the more you watch it. Lunacy is like that, I think.)

No, my problem is that this show is on ALL THE TIME. Shortly after we got our DVR hooked up, Jonah tried to setup some recording. Being new to the remote, he picked "all" instead of "once." A day-and-a-half later, we had 18 episodes recorded.

18 episodes.

That's too much Spongebob, gang.

_______________________

So, moms and dads....what are YOUR kids watching?

Do you find yourself enjoying THEIR shows?

Trip To The Deer Least...

Trip To The "Deer Least" from Todd Wright on Vimeo.

Jonah calls it the "Deer Least." And so, now we all do.

Jonah was intrigued w/ my SuperNote and fascinated with Brookers' "Captain Video."

So he decided to join in...

Hold Up, Wait A Minute...

That, my friends is the album cover for Family Force 5's new release, Dance Or Die.
Jonah and I found three of the tracks on a EP a couple of months ago and we're excited to hear this record. (Which "drops" in mid-August, I believe.)

So far, the three pre-release tracks haven't impressed Jonah, who may be the world's youngest FF5 fan, but I really dig them.
I actually think it's going to be really interesting to watch what this record does in the market.

My Friday...

Finley woke up at 6:15. She's now discovered how to open the door to her room, so now, instead of calling us, we hear her rummaging around in the kitchen...which is something you do not want your 2-year old doing.

(While I as leading worship at camp, Kristen walked in one afternoon to find her at the kitchen counter eating peanut butter. With an ink pen.)

So, we hear Finley in the kitchen and Kristen mumbles...

"i got...first...yester...your...turn..."

It made me so angry. Doesn't she know I was up late watching Arrested Development and eating cereal? Don't I need my rest?

Anyway, I got up, got Finley her apple juice and we lounged in the living room while Jonah and Kristen slept.

And slept.

And slept.

Jonah woke up just before 8. Finley was so excited to see him she grabbed his hand and started kissing it. (We're really blessed in that our two kids really do LOVE hanging out together!)

Not long after, Kristen got up. I went through a little moral dilemma at that time - sleep or exercise.?

I chose exercise. Ran on the treadmill for a while, then grabbed a shower and got dressed. We didn't really have any plans for the day. (We've been trying to stay at home as much as possible, since gas prices are little bit higher than normal. Don't know if you've noticed...)

The kids were dressed so I decided to run up the road and visit with my grandparents. It's weird - they live literally fifty yards from us and yet we have a hard time meeting up. Gotta' fix that.

Anyway, Jonah, Finley and I hung out there for about a half-hour then ran back home to pick up Krist. We ran to the bank and then decided to pop in and see Kristen's dad, who works out of town during the week. We ended up eating lunch over there, which was nice. After hanging out and "visitin'," we headed back home.

Put Finley down for a nap, Jonah fired up the Wii, Kristen read a magazine and I snuck in a nap!

After the nap, we all went over to see visit my Dad for awhile. We had a really good time. Dad is moving around pretty good on the walker and doing a good job of dealing with all of the stuff that comes from having an accident like that. We ate supper, plowed through dozens of chocolate donuts (another story for another day...my Dad really needs a blog, by the way.)

The kids played, we all hung around and talked and laughed for a good while. We got home a little before 8pm and threw the kids in the tub. Finley went to bed (but not to sleep) pretty quick and Jonah went to sleep a little after 9. I ran to CVS to pick up some stuff then came back home. At one point earlier in the evening, Kristen had released me to go see Batman, but we're headed out of town tomorrow and a 3 hour superhero movie might be something I regret tomorrow morning. I'll get to it next week probably.

While Kristen lounged around, I actually hit the treadmill AGAIN! Yes...that's 2 workouts in one day. Why? Why not?

After exercise, showered, got some stuff together for the trip on Saturday and went to bed!
_________________
I asked this a few weeks ago: Won't somebody else do a "My Friday" post? It would be such a cool tradition! You could even use the little logo up top. We could start a worldwide blogging movement.

Live From The Backseat...

Driving home with Jonah on a Sunday afternoon, I hear him singing this song (to the tune of "He's A Jolly Good Fellow...")

The elephant's having a seizure,
The elephant's having a seizure,

The elephant's having a seizure.....



I'll say this - It's never boring around here!

MONDAY NIGHT!

What do the Wrights (sans Mommy) do on a quite Monday afternoon?

We make movies.



And, of course, we gotta' do for Jonah what we do for Finley...



We tried to capture Jonah and Finley's "Kick, Kick, Kick," but the lighting wasn't too good. But the audio from Jonah's laugh is priceless...hope your Monday night is turning out half as fun as mine!

Life With Jonah...

ME:
(leaving Jonah's room after tucking him in...)

"Night, night, baby. I'm gonna' go turn down the air."

JONAH:
(in strange half-curious/half-scared voice...)

"Don't I need air?"

My Friday...and it's a long one

Jonah woke up at 5:20 but thankfully went back to his bed (instead of climbing in ours...)

After I took him back upstairs, I sat in the living room for a minute or two while he went back to sleep. While I was waiting, I grabbed the laptop. (I know it's weird. It's what I do.)

I checked a few emails and looked to see if any of my night-owl friends had posted anything while I was sleeping. When I opened my browser my eyes immediately saw "Top 100 Guitar Songs Of All Time." Did I click it? What do you think?

I flew over to Rolling Stone's website and started reading through the list. My first thought was something mean and angry regarding their pick for number one. My second thought was "I must blog this."

So I opened up blogger and spend a few minutes pasting in Rolling Stone's top 30 picks. (Post forthcoming.)

After awhile I looked up and realized it was nearing 6am, so I went back to bed. Finley woke up about an hour later, but Kristen was kind enough to let me sleep. I woke up about 8 and took over. Krist laid back down for a bit. I got breakfast for the kids, cuddled with them on the couch, picked up the kitchen a bit...nothing major.

Once Kristen gets back up, Jonah and I head upstairs for a Transformer battle. He's been really into his Bionicle toys lately, but I think watching Optimus and his boys last night reminded the kid that he has dozens of Transformers in his room. We go upstairs and battle for awhile. Originally, Mudflap tried to ambush Hot Rod. Hot Rod couldn't stay in the fight and called in Optimus. Before Optimus got there, another Autobot named Landmine showed up and try to settle things down, but Mudflap knocked him down and stomped him until he was dead. But have no fear - Optimus showed up, went into "Super Mode" and destroyed the bad guy in just a few seconds.

Jonah and I came downstairs and he found some other brand of toys he wanted to play with. I headed back to the treadmill and ran a few miles. I'm really enjoying the running these days. And the treadmill really helps me maintain my pace. I plan on marking off some running paths around the house here over the next few months to mix it up a little.

After the treadmill, I grabbed a shower and started getting ready for our date!

Friday was our Tenth Anniversary. For ten years, Kristen Carnley has filled my life with laughter and joy and purpose. She taught me how to be a better follower of Jesus, she's given me two amazing kids (who seemed to get all their good traits from her,) and she makes our home my favorite place to be.

Because we try to keep a pretty consistent routine for the kids at night, we try to do our dates earlier in the day. Kristen's mom got out of school at 1 and came home to take care of the kids.

We packed their bathing suits and headed over to mom-in-law's ("Sugar's") house. She had the kiddie pool pulled out for them and they could not wait to jump in! We got them settled and then headed to eat. The original plan had been to see a matinee and then grab an early dinner before picking up the kids. However, we were so hungry that we skipped the movie. Plus, there was nothing that we wanted to see. (Where are those summer blockbusters when you need them?) So, we chose "late lunch" over "early dinner."

As many of you know, restaurant options are not that great. I figured we'd do Olive Garden or maybe even head to Nacogdoches to eat. Imagine my surprise when Kristen tells me she wants salmon from Logan's! So we go to Logan's. (That was fine with me. Any place that keeps bringing warm yeast rolls to your table is a five-star in my book.)

Thanks to the generosity of my parents, I had a crisp, clean $100 bill in my wallet and we wanted to spend it! We decided that we'd live a little and instead of rushing out and buying each other a gift, we'd go out and buy our own. That might sound weird, but we thought it was really fun.

So, after lunch, we run by Target to pick up some stuff and I then I head over to Game Stop. Yes. I bought a video game with my money. I'm a nerd. But it was really cheap and it left me lots of cash leftover.

We hop back in the car and Kristen is driving.

"What do you want to do now?" I ask.

What happened next managed to fill up about four hours. However, to avoid "stealing thunder," I will simply direct you HERE to find out what happened. (Don't worry...I'll eventually fill you all in my experience when I'm able.)

After that, which you can read on Kristen's blog, we finally headed back to pick up the kids from "Sugar's." When we got there, they were tan, tired and ready to see Mom and Dad after a full afternoon of playing outside in the pool.

We gathered them up, packed up their gear and headed home. Finley fell asleep in the car (actually right at her normal bedtime!) Jonah lounged on the couch for about half-an-hour and then went to bed.

It was a great day. (And my new game is awesome.)

Daddy and Jonah!

Sorry the volume level isn't that great...crank up your speakers and enjoy. With Jonah, you never know what you're gonna' get!

Kids Change Everything...

Know what happens when you have a six-year old who LOVES Spongebob?
He gets "Crabby Patty" candy. And he wants you to eat it with him.

He likes it.
Me...not so much.

Six Flags Recap, Part II: Jonah

There was no doubt about it - the Wright boys had decided they were going to get the full Six Flags Experience.

I'm not sure which one of was more excited, but suffice it to say that we couldn't not wait to pull into the parking lot. (Mom was excited, too...but there's just something cool about a Dad and his boy riding roller-coasters, right?)

First off, Jonah was great. Those of us who know him well know that patience is not his strongest suit, but he really was great for the whole day.

Up until this trip, the toughest thing Jonah had ever ridden was a very very tame "kiddie koaster" at Fiesta Texas last year. Now, he loved it, but had yet to experience that flipping-stomach-involuntary-scream-experience. I wasn't sure he would want that on this go-round, but we decided to live a little.

First off, El Sombrero. Or "the el sombrero," as Jonah kept calling it. (Which as most of you Spanish speakers know is incorrect.) And that's when I knew...because this rides angled-spinning-lift-and-drop provide the perfect amount of flipping stomach effect. Not too much...just enough to get hooked.

And Jonah did get hooked. He screamed with pure joy for the whole ride and all I could do was laugh. It was great.

From there, we moved to other rides. He rode the Log Flume with Kristen and fell in love with it, asking over and over to get back in line. From there, we took Finley to Looney Tunes Land for some tamer rides. While there, all four of us rode some Wile E. Coyote roller coaster that amped up Jonah even more for the big stuff.

We kept walking the park. At one point, Jonah and I were going to do the giant parachute thing, but Jonah kept saying, "Um, maybe we'll ride that one later," which, in six-year-old speak means I'm terrified at even the idea of riding that thing, Dad.

Then, he and Kristen rode Crazy Legs, which he loved. Kristen...not so much. About halfway through, I noticed she had that vomit look, but she held it together.

And then, things got a little crazy. It happened when I said, "Jonah, do you want to ride Flashback?"

I don't know why I said it.

But he said yes.

They strapped us in and when they started backing us up that track, Jonah started saying he didn't want to do it. Too late.

All of sudden, the locks released and we plunged in so fast, immediately into a loop and then a spin and then I heard the tears. So while I'm fighting the G-force and trying to raise my head to comfort him, we launch up the other side, hold for a beat and then...plunge through all of it again, backwards.

And I kid you not, during one of the loops, I looked over at him and realized I'm looking at my six-year old son and we're running upside on a looping roller coaster. What's wrong with me?

Once we both got our bearings and walked out of the ride, he quickly told me he hated it.

An hour later, he was asking to ride it again. I said no.

From there, we did some carnival game stuff, the El Sombrero two more times, another ride on the Log Flume with the whole family and then another pass on Crazy Legs, which immediately gave ME the vomit look. We capped it off with Aquaman, which drenched us nicely, but we were on our way out of the park, so it was a great finish.

Kristen and I spent the day laughing with Jonah, throwing our hands in the air and screaming as we made all those plunges. We paid ridiculous amounts of money for watered-down drinks and we walked miles and miles in search of the next big thrill.

Since New Years Day 2002, that little boy has been filling my life with laughter and wonder. A day at Six Flags may not be ideal for some, but for me, it was one more chance to look at my son and know that I am highly blessed of God to call this child my own.

Dad Catches Jonah!

Jonah has a real problem w/ digital cameras. As in - he likes to grab them and burn up memory cards by making silly videos and taking pictures of people's backs.

Thursday morning, I walk in the living room and see that he has violated the "camera ban" that was recently imposed by the Queen.

The father in me knew that I had to get the camera.

But the videographer in me saw the potential for a great video.

And this is what happened...

Monday Fun...

I had a rehearsal Monday night for the Hunt the Spot event I'm doing for FBC here in town. The practice was in Nacogdoches (right next door to Lufkin,) and I figured it would be a long one.

Usually when I have music or church related stuff at night, I try to cut out of work early and be at home for awhile. So, I left the church around 3:30 to get home.

As I was walkign to my car and admiring what a beautiful day it was, I had a brilliant idea. Something Jonah and I usually do when Summer comes every year. We hadn't done it yet, as summer's not "officially" here yet, but Monday was just too perfect...


WATERGUN BATTLE!

It was great. And then, as we were winding down, Finley came out and played on the swingset. Here are a few pictures that perfectly capture the afternoon!

Okay, okay...that picture of Kristen isn't from the WATERGUN BATTLE.

But she looks super hot and I can't stop staring at it.

Jonah Wright, Actor Of The Year

Last week, Jonah and I were talking about our Nothing But Nets campaign at the church. I was telling him about how cool it was and how we needed to do everything we could to help out. At some point in the conversation, I mentioned maybe using him in a video to promote it.

You should have seen his face.

I wasn't aware of this, but lately, he's been telling Kristen that he wants to be on TV. Well, on Saturday, he got his chance.

Here is Jonah's commercial for our Nothing But Nets campaign. We're going to post on blogs and websites, but in addition, it will be featured in the local TV broadcast our church service on the first Sunday in April.

Jonah did a great job - most of it was "lines," be we let him go off script a little bit because it was so great. We're gonna' try to fire up Jonah's blog again...if you'd like to throw some love his way, go leave a comment on his site...

Two Funny Things My Kids Have Said

Last week, when Ross was promoting the Andy Gullahorn show, he posted this picture at his Ross King World Tour blog and titled his post "The Best Songwriter I Know."

Jonah who knows about blogs and can read like nobody's business, leans over and reads the title in his sweet little six-year old voice.


"The - best - song = writer - I - know."

He then looks at Kristen and me says, "That doesn't look like Daddy..."

______________________________________________


I was reading CNN online the other day and Finley crawled up on the couch. She sees a picture of Prince Harry and taps the screen quickly, saying,

"Da-da!"



So, one kid thinks I'm the world's best songwriter and the other thinks I'm British royalty.

Am I a great parent, or what?