Morning Glories

just gotta have it!

2012-01-26T21:29:00.000-06:00

When I was pregnant with Luke, I craved sweets--all the time! He was due in October, and that summer before, I was wanting/needing ice cream like you can't believe! Now, as a 6 year old, while Luke's still our health nut, he leans more on the sweeter side than the salty side. When I was pregnant with Charlie, I craved salty things (which is more my normal speed anyway). Now, as a 3, almost 4 year old, Charlie prefers salt to sugar. Take yesterday, when it was time for the boys after school snack, Luke wanted Girl Scout cookies from the freezer and Charlie wanted popcorn!! Me, I wanted both and got both. Thank you very much! Now, when I was pregnant with Miles, Chad says I craved Coca-Cola and drank it a lot! I do buy caffeine-free at home, but there isn't that option when I go through a drive-thru, so I also had caffeine, which my dr. was okay with (for the record). At any rate, I can't tell yet, if Miles will be our little Coca-Cola lover, because he's never had any---nor have my older boys. Keep them away as long as possible!!

Okay, so where am I going with this? Well, if what I craved during pregnancy has an impact on what our children like now, then Baby #4 is going to like EVERYTHING!!! I am out of control! I'm really craving everything. Not at once--though yesterday was one of those days. I ate popcorn and Girl Scout cookies, a bowl full of berries and handful after handful of carrots! I'm eating pepperoncinis from the jar and I almost went crazy last night when I desperately wanted a smoothie, but didn't have the right ingredients for one. Seriously. I didn't have orange juice or frozen yogurt, so I ended up on Google searching smoothie recipes. By the way, there are some disgusting sounding smoothies out there. Yuck. I'm not a health nut smoothie drinker. My favorite way to make a smoothie is with the following ingredients. . .a banana, frozen mixed berries, frozen vanilla yogurt and orange juice. Add a little here, add a little there. Since Chad is out of town, I couldn't run out to get the ingredients I was missing and I was bummed. So I went to sleep thinking about the smoothie and woke up thinking about it. So much so that I took all 3 kiddos with me to the grocery store in the pouring down rain, for smoothie ingredients!!! Never something I would do not pregnant!

But now, I am a happy little lark. Finished one smoothie and I'm about to go down another! Just wanted to share! *** OH, and my amazing little chef-of-a-sister is about to start a food blog! Get ready!! She's awesome! I think she may even roll out her new blog next week. . .I'll be sure to link up to her! I'm her biggest fan already! Even if she couldn't help me out with smoothie recipes last night--because she hates them! What??

And one more fun tidbit of my day. . .a quote from our cheese lady at our grocery store--we love Miss Gwen. . . upon finding out I am pregant with #4 she says, "Girl, maybe you and Chad should try playing Scrabble!" Hahahaha! Hilarious!!!

Okay, off to that smoothie!!!

an announcement of sorts. . .

2012-01-18T13:22:00.000-06:00

My hubby asked me a couple of days ago, what date it was. I told him the 16th. He informed me that at the time, it had been 11 days since I last blogged! Ahhh, yes, my blog! I do sooo enjoy blogging! I love sharing our adventures, my thoughts, memory keeping, etc. I have no plans to desert this spot! And I do appreciate how Chad loves to follow along (even though he experiences most of it daily) and gives me a little nudge here and there!
So, let me recap what in the world has kept us so busy! In no particular order. . .

#1 Little Lukey had eye surgery last week. It pretty much consumed me the few days before and the several after. The surgery, at this point, seems successful according to his dr. Praise the Lord! However, it was much harder on Luke and us, as parents, than any of us thought it would be! The anesthesia was a bear, the pain after coming out of it was rough, and now the keeping him from running and jumping for another week may do me in! It's hard to keep a 6 year old down, ya know? He's recovering quite well now, but his eyes are quite red and bloody looking. He thinks it's cool because he "looks fierce!" I'm really thankful for his perspective!!

#2 For the first time in a month and a half, we are sick. Poor little Miles is the worst. A raging ear infection and some viral something or other has him down. He can't breathe and his precious lips are dry and cracked. He has so much drainage that he is choking and throwing up. He is exhausted and just miserable. When I took this picture,

we were looking out our kitchen window at the wind chimes, which were ringing steadily, due to the wind advisories we've had over the past several days. I noticed that when it is cold and cloudy and rainy outside, the wind chimes sound melancholy to me. Yet, when it is sunny and the wind chimes are tinkling, I think they sound cheerful and they appear to look like they are happily dancing in the breeze. Ahhhh, isn't that a perspective on life? The first day Miles was sick, I remember telling Chad, "Wow. I know he's sick, but praise the Lord that no one has been sick for a month and a half!" The very next day, I was bummed out because Miles was so miserable. I wasn't feeling thankful at all. I'm re-reading, my very favorite book, One Thousand Gifts by Ann Voskamp, with a couple of friends. In it, she ponders how often we are thankful for only the good the Lord gives us (how easy it is), and not thankful for the bad (what a sacrifice that can be). I'm thankful to be reminded of this, because in the trenches of life (and ours isn't too deep) sometimes I forget!

#3 I think I mentioned in my last post (13 days ago), that we have decided to move. We want to be closer to church and schools. It's been in our thoughts for a while, but what put a fire under us, is actually what's in us (or who's in me, rather). . .

#4 and yes, I saved #4 to announce that our #4 is on his or her way!!! Shocker of all shockers, but we are beyond excited! He or she is obviously in the Lord's plan for our family, and why would we want anything different? So we think life is a little crazy and a LOT blessed now, but imagine what life will be like at the beginning of August?? A whole lot crazier and blessed more than we can dream!!

2012 word of the year

2012-01-05T14:32:00.000-06:00

I mentioned in my last post that I had picked out my word for the year, implying that it would be coming soon. Then, I was sucked back into soaking up Christmas break and I just haven't wanted it to end! But, it did, and January has been here for 5 days already! So, while new, fresh starts can happen on any ol' day, as my husband likes to remind me, there's no better time than a brand new month and a brand new year! After changing my word once or twice before the new year, this word has finally stuck with me, and I'm encouraged! My word for 2012 is. . .

focus

as in (according to dictionary.com)

fo·cus

noun

1. a central point, as of attraction, attention, or activity

verb

1. to bring to a focus, or into focus

2. to concentrate

2012 is going to be a busy year! I remember thinking last year, wow, this year has been so exciting (spending most of the year getting ready for my sister's wedding), what is next year going to be like? Well, it's not going to be boring! We've decided to sell our house and move in closer to our church and school and other ministries we want to be more involved with. We've never sold a house before. This is our first home! I have no firsthand experience, but we've had LOTS of friends move recently and I have some good insight into what's ahead. Craziness! I'm overwhelmed with the thought of trying to keep our house "show" ready with 3 little kiddos and all their belongings. Scary stuff! But, exciting stuff! We've been praying about this for quite some time and we know the Lord has a plan for us! Yes, we have desires and timetables and ideal scenarios already planted in our heads, but the Lord's will is what we want most. And the move is just one part of our year too! We know there is more and more will arise that we don't know about yet.

So, I am praying that, focus, will be a part of the small and big things yet to come! We want to focus on pointing our boys more and more toward the Lord! We want to focus on our marriage when our move and other things are swirling around us. I want to focus on important things and not be distracted by petty things in life! So my plan this year is to focus! Focus on glorifying the Lord and remembering that. . .

"The heart of man plans his way, but the LORD establishes his steps." Proverbs 16:9

Happy 2012!

blog header year in review!

2011-12-30T15:36:00.000-06:00

2011 is coming to a close! I'm not working on New Year's resolutions, as many people do, but I do have a word of the year that I will share soon! For now, I thought I'd share my blog headers of the past year! I did this last year too--you can see 2010 headers here. I do love putting them together, but wonder if I might need to recycle some--like I do every year with my December header---I just love it so!! ***After loading the headers, I noticed I am missing July's header. The summer must have gotten away from me, or I just decided June's would still work. Who knows!

Joy to the world!

2011-12-28T15:33:00.000-06:00

It's been nearly 2 weeks since I last posted. I usually try to never go that long without posting, but I just couldn't help but soak up family time and of course was busy trying to get things ready for Christmas! I really can't believe it has come and gone already---in a flash it was here and in a flash it has passed!

This was the year that both of our oldest boys understood the real meaning of Christmas! Charlie pointed out every "ah-tivity" scene he saw. The boys talked about Jesus being our most important gift ever. Joy to the World and Silent Night topped their most requested list at family devotional time. And while Santa wasn't as big of a focus, we were still excited about him! The boys loved seeing him at the Alpine Village and thought that was the best part of the entire event! He was SO nice! We enjoyed making cookies with Mimi and Grandpa and left some for Santa on Christmas Eve. Sprinkling reindeer food in the grass for Santa's buddies was fun too! This was the Christmas of Birds of Prey (books, posters, wings, toys) and Superheroes (books, toys, costumes, clothes) and balls (every size, color and flashing)! And usually, Christmas Eve service is one of my favorite moments of Christmas--a time when I can truly feel worshipful and joyful and full of anticipation--but this year, having Christmas on Sunday, was amazing and Chad and I wishing Christmas could always fall on a Sunday! How wonderful it was, to have family time and open presents at home, but then to go and worship and celebrate Jesus' birth, at church, on his birthday!!!

Oh, it has come and gone, but this Christmas was really special! Joy to the World, the Lord is come--indeed!!

FYI-Favorites on Friday

2011-12-16T20:41:00.000-06:00

A few of my favorite things of the week. . .

1. Luke's Christmas program -- It was really sweet and I was extra thankful for our little wiseman! A wise one indeed!

2. Quality time with Charlie -- Charlie and I had fun attempting to make cute little Rudolph cookies! However, we quickly discovered just how quick you have to be at adorning the cookies with the pretzels and M&M's. We weren't very successful, but a few of the antlers stayed on!

3. Spreading joy -- Our family absolutely loves this one house we drive by almost every single day, multiple times a day, on the way to and from school and church! We decided to let them know! So, we filled a little cup with candy cane Hershey kisses, printed a little note that said something along the lines of. . .thanks for bringing happiness to our family, we want to share God's love with you by spreading joy. . and we delivered it to the family. We don't know them at all and they don't know us. It was a random act that I will never forget! The mom that opened the door and listened to why we brought her family a little treat was BEYOND thrilled. She told us that WE made her day and she was beaming! She was so sweet to our boys and so completely grateful for a cup full of hershey kisses and some little people who told her that her decorations were our family's favorite! Once we left it was amazing for me to hear my boys talk about how excited she was and how fun it was to spread joy! And that's what this season is all about. . .JOY!

it was bound to happen

2011-12-14T14:55:00.000-06:00

Yep. This was our first trip to an Urgent Care for one of our littles. It was bound to happen, you know, having 3 boys and all! At around 5:30 last night, Luke and Charlie were rough housing. Not all that unusual. They are boys. They are physical. They have energy. It had been cold for a while (though today is quite warm) and dark early. It all just adds up to them wrestling and a big brother pushing a little brother into a wall. I was downstairs on the phone when I heard a bang and LOTS of loud crying. Hung up the phone and went up to hug and console Charlie. I pulled away from him to look at his face and get him to talk to me when I saw it. Blood everywhere!! I mean, pouring from the side of his head. I remembered that head wounds always bleed a lot, but this just seemed like A LOT!!! I kinda panicked and ran him to the bathtub, all the while he was screaming a break-the-glass kind of scream. I called Chad, though I knew he was driving to a meeting and told him I wasn't sure what to do. How do I know if it's just a lot of blood or serious enough for stitches? He didn't know. I called a couple of other mom friends to consult and ended up deciding to take him to Urgent Care. As I was gathering him and getting him dressed with blood still oozing, scooping up Miles and telling Luke to get his shoes on, Daddy walks in the door!

After a night to reflect. . .

Praise the Lord that Chad stayed home with Miles and Luke because Chuckles and I spent almost 3 hours in the Urgent Care (with all of the rest of our city) and the others could not have lasted that long! Praise the Lord that Rudolph was on in the lobby, even if it was quickly over! It was a good distraction! Praise the Lord for the numbing pack they put on Charlie, which took 45 minutes to take effect! Praise the Lord for a blue ice pop that quickly took Charlie's mind off of the 2 STAPLES that went in his head! Praise the Lord that I didn't faint when I watched and heard the staples go in! Praise the Lord that though I never want that to happen again, I would take that anyday over broken bones or much worse. Praise the Lord that He made Chuckles tough and brave! I was just so proud of him as he was slightly nervous, but so trusting and easily reassured! Praise the Lord that He gave us the wisdom to take him in to Urgent Care!

And, even after the events of last night, sweet Chuckles was ready to go for his little Christmas program this morning! He's front and center and did a wonderful job singing Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer, Joy to the World and We Wish You a Merry Christmas! My brain was still a little frazzled and I forgot my camera. Thank you, Ashley, for taking a few pics for us!! We loved your program, Charlie! And, we love you!!!

Thank you, Lord, for taking care of your precious Charlie!

FYI Friday--5 favorite Christmas books

2011-12-09T14:23:00.000-06:00

A tradition in our family every Christmas season, is to get our boys a new Christmas book! It started before we had kiddos, actually! We all love books so much, and it's such fun on the day when Read a new Christmas book appears in our Advent calendar! So, for FYI Friday, I thought I'd share several of our favorites in no particular order!

1. This is the Stable by Cynthia Cotten -- We love this book! It tells the story of Jesus' birth and has a rhythm that makes the words flow. The book paints a clear and simple picture of that special night long ago! A favorite that we enjoy reading together! A must have in your Christmas book collection!

2. You Are My Miracle by Maryann K. Cusimano -- If you've read You Are My I Love You, then you know how sweet this book is too! I love the illustrations in both books and the word choices she makes just jump out in pictures! Such a sweet book about Christmas traditions, the ones we love sharing with our boys!

3. Song of the Stars by Sally Lloyd-Jones-- This is our new book for this Christmas season! The boys immediately loved it, as it was told by animals! A precious viewpoint, as God's animals were telling of the amazing event of Jesus' birth that was happening. So glad we added this to our list!

4. Twas the Night Before Christmas by Clement C. Moore --A Christmas classic! There are all different kinds of copies of this rhyming story, but I particularly (along with the boys) like this one because of Mary Engelbreit's colorful and detailed pictures. There is so much to look at while listening to the fun rhymes!

5. The Legend of the Candy Cane by Lori Walburg -- This book hasn't been in our collection long. It's a more detailed story and not for toddlers attention spans. However, now Luke and Charlie can both appreciate it! I love it because it tells a story of the background of the candy cane, the real meaning behind Christmas and God's love for us. A perfect way to enjoy a Christmas season night---eating candy canes and reading of the story of Jesus!

Anyone want to share your favorite Christmas books?

a heart matter

2011-12-07T22:45:00.002-06:00

Our morning started as an unexpected winter wonderland! Beautiful, pouring white flakes were falling from the sky, and I of course was giddy! The cold wasn't freezing my heart. Yet. Skip through my day, a day spent with my Dad and sister, out shopping and having fun with family! However, once home with my littles, I was trying to soak them up, but they were full of cooped up energy and just boy energy. We had dinner and entertainment plans fall through, and I was weary after a long day and hubby being gone for a couple of nights already, trying to figure out what was next. After dinner, the cooped up, boy energy came to a head and littles were hurt, discipline insued. I felt like melting, but actually my heart frosty.

But then.

We sat down on the couch, boo-boo's healed, grace and forgiveness given and talked about our Advent message today. Give a gift to a child in need. We opened our Samaritan's Purse catalog and I began to read Franklin Graham's message about the true meaning of Christmas. I talked through some of the items in the catalog, reading their descriptions. Feed a hungry baby for a week, "for He satisfies the thristy and fills the hungry with good things" --Psalm 107:9, provide a blanket for a hurting child to snuggle with, supply a soccer ball for some children and lead them to an opportunity to hear about Christ, give a life-saving mosquito net, milk, food, a lovie, etc. I asked my littles to choose one thing each they would like to give to someone in need.

And then.

I could see the warmth in the eyes. I could hear compassion in his voice. "But Mommy, I can't just choose one!" My oldest little explaining to me that he really wanted to give food to a hungry baby and he also wanted people to be protected from the mosquitos bringing malaria. He wanted to give them milk to make their bones strong and a warm blanket to cuddle with. And sweet Chuckles, so sports minded, wanting to give a soccer ball for kiddos to play with and a Jesus Loves me Lamb for someone to snuggle and hear the song.

And then.

That's when my frosty heart warmed again. If there is anything that Chad and I want for our children, the most important thing, is for them to know and love the Lord. And they are young. But to see and hear their hearts tonight, made this heart warm. Thank you, Lord, for these little warming moments!

"I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these. . .you did for Me."

--Matthew 15:40b

FYI Friday--faith

2011-12-02T14:31:00.001-06:00

Today, while we were having lunch, little Charlie asked, "Mommy, what does Rudolph (as in the red-nosed reindeer) mean?" I didn't know. He then asked me what the Grinch means. Then Frosty. And he was about to ask me another meaning, before I jumped in and explained that names usually do have meanings, and that parents think long and hard about naming their children and giving them special names. Charlie then asked me, "What does Miles mean?" I told Charlie (and I know we've told Luke and Charlie this before) that Miles means Heart of Compassion and went on to explain why we named him that. He seemed appeased, something else came up and we moved on.
And later I was reading and was reminded of Isaiah 9:6 and how the prophet tells us of the names that Jesus will be and is called and all of the names that have been given to our Lord. What a wonderful way to teach our boys more about the Lord! For a while now, we've been having family devotions at dinner (when we are all home). The boys love it! We all love it! Chad has been leading us as we've been following through the Bible, along the path that Chad is studying at Downline. Every night the boys ask for devotion time, which also includes praying, praising and hymn singing. However, now that Advent has begun, we've put our current path through the Bible on hold and are doing some Advent devotionals and talking about the birth of baby Jesus. I'm jumping in on some of those and think that one of our devotionals is going to be about names. Our boys names. Maybe even why Chad and I were named. And ultimately, the amazing names Isaiah spoke of before Jesus was even born! I may be wrong, but I think every parent spends time picking out special names for their children. It's with you for life. And Jesus' many names were with Him for life and continue to spread across our world!

"For to us a child is born, to us a son is given. . .and his name shall be called, Wonderful, Counselor, Almighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace." --Isaiah 9:6

stuffin' it in and wrapping up, now that we are stuffed and about to wrap. . .

2011-11-29T14:30:00.000-06:00

Wrapping up Thanksgiving before the real wrapping begins. . .

This year we went over the river and through the woods to Mimi and Grandpa's lakehouse in SC. What a fun trip it was! For starters, we were able to celebrate Thanksgiving together and with my sister and Kevin--their first year as a married couple! Over a few short days in SC we stayed up late playing Catch Phrase, watched some good (Baylor) and some sad (Penn State) football games, ate lots and lots, went on a couple of hikes, made s'mores, celebrated Mom's birthday, watched movies, and enjoyed some wonderful quality time together! Because we all live in the same city, you'd think we would get together often and this would be a regular occurrence, but it's not. We all have busy lives and different calendars and are in different stages of life. Sure, we get together, and it's great when we do, but sometimes it takes a trip away together to soak it all in! And that's just what we did!!

We loved going on the hike to the waterfall in NC. Luke was so excited about possibly seeing a bald eagle. He didn't, but did see 7 birds of prey on the trip up and back!

And one of our favorite parts of the trip was making s'mores for the first time with our boys! I might have enjoyed them the most--not sure if you can tell with my BIG open mouth!!

We are so very thankful for our entire family! The Lord has blessed us beyond belief!

we are thankful for. . .

2011-11-24T17:18:00.000-06:00

This Thanksgiving, our family is thankful for. . .

God's love, instruments, friends of Luke and Charlie, Mommy & Daddy, the rainforest, hymns & praise music, winter, date nights, God giving us a new creation, God's grace, my family, the great and first commandment, my wife, lovies that sing to the Lord, the ocean, Jesus' forgiveness, Mimi & Grandpa, my brothers, Joel & Cal, my Bible, Tracy going to India to tell others about the Lord, time with friends, 2 Cor. 5:17, work, Joshua in the Bible, food to eat, God's grace, Fernando, Poppy & Nana, God & Jesus, my friends, Fall, birds of prey, our church, Sarah & Autumn, Aunt Mary & Uncle Kevin, Chris & Martin Kratt (Wild Kratts), my friends spread over our country, Miss Gwen & Miss Lydia, God's love, teachers, my husband, owls, our house to live in, all of our family everywhere!

Happy Thanksgiving!!!!

favorite things Friday (from the littles)

2011-11-18T14:03:00.000-06:00

I thought I'd give the FYI Friday, and thus favorite things Friday a different spin. This one is from the boys point of view. These are their actual current favorite things. . . (they can actually be stretched to add to the "f" theme too. . .)

Luke's up first! Our future marine biologist is not giving up his future current day job, but insists that after he's done studying marine animals, like on the weekends, he intends to be an animal explorer, primarily focusing on birds of prey. Ahem. He's in the know on all of them, from hawks, to eagles, owls to falcons. So here is Lukey and his favorite place. . .the Mid-South Raptor Center

Chuckles is currently very into making forts! He designed this one all on his own! While I was unloading the dishwasher this morning, he went up to play in his fort. This is how I found him--reading (looking at) books under his fort. After I snapped a few pics, he wanted me to climb under there too. I managed to get halfway under and we read books together via a flashlight! Fun!

And finally, Miles has a current fave too! Oh my goodness, it warms my heart! Everytime we turn into the parking lot to the grocery store, I start hearing Miles pipe up. It starts as a happy little "cooing" sound and builds into a frantic "Ha" "Ha "Ha!" When I look back at him, he is busy waving and saying "Hi" to the big blow up characters outside our grocery store. Over Halloween, it was a friendly ghost popping out of a pumpkin. Miles loved it! Now, and he gets REALLY excited by them, are Santa, a reindeer and Frosty (though I was corrected by Luke that it isn't Frosty, but just a regular snowman)!! I love to walk Miles right up to them and see his face light up! And the way he waves! Sooo cute!! I didn't get a photo of his face lighting up or him waving (it was too cold to wait for it), but this is his current fave!

Happy Friday from our favorite little boys!!

all I need.

2011-11-15T22:04:00.000-06:00

Ahhhhhhhhh! That's not a scream. Just a deep sigh. So thankful for all the noises that come from within my house, but also very thankful for the peace and quiet of this moment. Around 5 this evening, as I let dinner simmer, I went to give Milesy a bath and let my oldest beggars watch a show. While bathing baby, unbeknownst to me, our Beagle decided to jump up to the counter and grab down a bag of green apples. She, of course, took them straight under the kitchen table on our newish rug to eat them. So, after I came out from bathing baby, I find her nearly choking on an apple core, and bits of ground in apple + juice on the rug. Uggghhh! There was only 1 apple left in the bag and there were 4 to begin with. Guess the other 2 apples were eaten whole!

As soon as I attempted to take care of the rug and send Mocha outside, baby pipes up as he tends to do at this hour. I see that the phone rang while I was bathing baby and return my parents call---don't know why--because baby is still crying. Scratch that. I do know why--because he won't stop crying and my parents needed me to call them back. So, I call them, while I am stirring dinner and frantically trying to get it ready for Chad, who is coming home for dinner and boys bedtime, only to go back out with a work get together. But, as I am trying to hear my Dad on the phone, my oldest 2 littles are bombarding me with questions like, "Did you see that, Mommy?" and "Mom, which bird of prey is your favorite? Mom? Mom!" (because I am ignoring him). So I get frustrated and yell, "Boys, stop talking!" I immediately know I shouldn't have yelled, while I am also embarassed that I yelled into the phone as I am talking to my parents. I'm quite convinced they think I've lost it. And, as I am talking to them (for only 3 minutes as all of this is happening), my hubby beeps in. I don't answer because I am wrapping up with my parents and he calls my cell. So, there's a baby crying, 2 children yelling, dinner simmering, me talking on the phone, my cell phone ringing and Mocha scratching at the door to come inside. Chaos. Pure chaos. I return Chad's missed call and he sweetly asks me how things are. I tell him. In a not so nice way. And then he tells me he's running late (not his fault) and I get short with him. We hang up. Awesome. So, I pull myself inside my brain to turn off all the noise and think, "Wow! This is crazy. Right now. This is insane. Right now. What am I supposed to be learning right now? And I know the Lord just wanted me to come to Him and throw my hands up and say, "I can't do this right now. Take it please!" But, I only thought to call Chad back and apologize for being short. I thought I can fix the rest of this.

But I couldn't. Minutes later, before he got home and dinner was getting cold there was more chaos. I was still crabby when he got home. I apologized again. I had to apologize again to my boys as well. I had to apologize yet again before Chad left. Ahhhhhhhh. Humbling, for sure.

So I learned that this evening was a good reminder of a verse that is being etched in my heart daily. . .

"My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." 2 Corinthians 12:9

Thank you, Lord, for making me weak, so I can see that your grace is all I need!

five things Friday

2011-11-11T14:33:00.002-06:00

Five random thoughts and things this Friday. . .

1. This week, as a loyal Penn State fan, has been tough. This week as a mother of young boys, in light of the horrific incidents in State College has been beyond tough. I so wish I could express everything that has been on my heart, but I don't know how. Words cannot express. My heart is breaking for those children first and foremost, and for Penn State University.

2. On a much needed and lighter note. I love fall. It seemed to take a while for it to get here this year (and with the forecast in the 70's next week--it's not the fall I think of) but I love the beauty of the leaves, those that are still on our trees!

3. Last year our family made a thankful chain and each added something we were thankful for everyday. This year, we made a thankful tree. We've really enjoyed adding to our tree daily. It melts me to hear our boys chime in with their thanksgiving! No doubt that sea creatures and birds of prey have made it on our tree, courtesy of our 6 year old!

4. Next week is Operation Christmas Child's National Collection Week. I'm excited to head out this weekend for our family's yearly tradition of going to the dollar store to find goodies and necessities for children all over the world who haven't heard of Jesus Christ and who won't get a Christmas without these shoe boxes. Did you know that American Idol's Scotty McCreery is demonstrating how to pack a shoe box this year?

5. Okay, lemme make it 4 things Friday! Happy weekend to all!

hit me like a ton of bricks

2011-11-08T20:27:00.000-06:00

There's nothing like a sick child that awakens the inner-Momma-lion. Yesterday, that inner-Momma-lion came out. My sweet youngest was on fire with fever from an ear infection and was feeling miserable. I had no infant Tylenol anywhere. Neither did Kroger. Neither did Target, at first. My poor little baby. I carried him in and he was radiating heat. I was hot holding him. I searched and searched and finally found some off brand tucked behind other items and grabbed it. I was already annoyed that they couldn't keep acetominaphen stocked and then I see 3 open lanes out of 20 with 10 people in each lane. I was starting to boil, partly because of the little oven in my arms, but mainly because I was watching 6 other workers, walk back and forth, seemingly doing nothing, and certainly not opening another lane. I was waiting in line 10 minutes when a manager decided to ask someone to open another lane. At that point, I couldn't keep my mouth shut. I, politely but firmly, told her they needed more lanes open. She responded with, "That's what I just did, but step over here and I'll check you out." True, that was what she just did, but my point was that it was crazy for all of us to have been waiting that long for her to do so. My inner-Momma-lion had been awakened and I was feeling bad for my little buddy who was feverish and crying.

And as I was walking out of the store, it hit me like a ton of bricks. Of course as a mother, I am supposed to protect and stand up for and advocate for my little ones. All mothers are supposed to do that and most of them do. But, not all mothers are in the same situations that I am in or that I presume most of you are in. We have the luxury of being able to drive to a store and more often than not, the store has medications we need and that we can afford to buy. By the world's standards, we are beyond wealthy and have medicine within our grasp. And yet, I was boiling because I had to wait with my sick, but barely sick (in the whole scheme of things) little boy for an extra 10 minutes to get some medicine.

Yuck.

I recently finished reading the book Kisses from Katie. If you haven't heard of it, you can read about it here. Basically, it is about an 18 year old girl from Nashville, who takes a trip to Uganda to help an orphanage and winds up being led by the Lord to live there and adopt 13 children. The book has led me to more tears than any other I can recall. It is heart gripping! I don't know why this book has impacted me like it has, but I know the Lord is working in my heart through this one. A sweet friend gave it to me, told me she prayed about who to give it to, and sure enough I was one of the blessed to receive it. It's had a crazy affect on me and I don't want it to stop. If you feel like you've been living too comfortably lately, you should read it. If you want to feel challenged or just encouraged, you should read it. If you want inspiration, you should read it. If you've been feeling the Lord tugging at you, you should read it.

If you do read it, then you'll understand why I felt like I was hit by a ton of bricks after leaving the store. If you have read it, then you already know. Let me know if you've heard of it, read it or plan to read it and then what you have been challenged by after doing so. I love comments, and though I don't often ask for them, I'd love to read some on this!

keeping it real

2011-11-02T11:29:00.001-05:00

I'm one of very few people I know that doesn't have a "smart" phone. It seems that on Monday, everyone was posting pics of their precious kiddos in their Halloween costumes on Facebook via their phone. Take a picture, post it on Facebook and voila, in no time, friends can see your treasures ready to head out for some sugar! Well, not only do I not have that capability (I have my camera to take the pics and then have to upload them at a later point and edit them if I so choose), but our Halloween was quite crazy.

We were in a rush to get out of the door, because Chad was heading out at 6:15 that night to catch a plane for a quick day trip meeting in Chicago. Of course, though our plans were to be done with dinner, dressed and ready to head out for a bit before Chad left, it didn't happen. It was still lighter outside than I thought it would be, Charlie hadn't eaten much dinner, and Miles still wasn't dressed. AND, I hadn't taken a picture of my littles all dressed up. So, around our house you could hear, "Charlie, hurry up! Honey, where is Miles' costume? Boys, stand over here. No. Move closer to your brother. BOYS, look at Mommy! Babe, I've got to go." Then cue our friendly neighbors, who all wanted to talk (which is normally great), while Chad just wanted to go to a couple of houses before he pulled out. He ended up leaving frustrated and I was left feeling frustrated not to have great pics and not to have met my husband's expectations, and not to have all gone together happily trick or treating! (Though, thankfully, the boys did have a great time and were oblivious to their parents expectations of the evening).

These things happen. Not everything is perfect. My friend Brittany posted about the bloggy world showing sweet little pics, and telling dreamy stories, and making stellar crafts, etc. etc. and how that's not the way life always is. I agree. I know I've shared about hard days before. And while I love to share about my family and things on my heart---sometimes they are wonderful memories and sweet pics, but sometimes not. Just because I don't always write about the crazy days we've had, doesn't mean we aren't crazy! I would never want anyone to read this blog and think "Boy, she or they have it all together!" My hope is that instead, you read and feel comfortable and know that our family is real, just like yours!

So, here are our less than stellar Halloween pics, not on Halloween night like many others, but already into November! Hope you all are enjoying the beginning of this thank-filled month!

First up, our ninja! This was taken before Halloween, so it's decent! Cute little boy, determined to be fierce!

Next up, Spiderman! Sweet thing struggled all night with his eye holes and ended up just wearing his mask up on top of his head like sunglasses!

And finally, cute baby cow! He did not want to be still for a shot so we could see just how adorable he was, but trust me, he was! Instead, here he is crawling in the grass, much like a cow (not that cows crawl)!

Last but not least---my attempt at capturing all 3 trick or treaters. Not perfect, but cuties nonetheless!

favorite moments Friday!

2011-10-28T06:00:00.003-05:00

This week has been a whirlwind. But, it's been good! Heartwarming. Lots of sweet moments. Encouraging moments! Seeing our boys grasp God's Word even more. Watching my hubby pour out his love on our littles and me. Getting some precious one on one time with each of my boys. Finishing yet another fantastic book this year. I could go on. No, not every moment of everyday has been stellar. It never is. But, I'm thankful for it all!

Some of my favorites of the week. . .

A beautiful orange Fall sunset

Pumpkin carving on a World Series game night! It's tradition in our house to do so! P.S. Did you see last night's game? Unbelievable! Here's to Game 7 and I must say, we are cheering for the Rangers in our house!

Going with Charlie on his first field trip! I loved it!

My favorite month (though it rivals December) is coming to a close, but not before a Fall Fest party, trick or treating at Daddy's work, a birthday party, Sunday worship, the Taylor Swift concert, and Halloween! I like this kind of busy!

food for thought Friday

2011-10-21T09:27:00.000-05:00

For the last full week of October, you need to make these!! I was given this recipe 5 years ago, made it once (did something wrong---don't know how) and never made them again until last week. Oooooh how we've been missing out! These chocolate chip pumpkin muffins are delish!!! We devoured them and Luke has been asking for more everyday. I'm making another batch today. So, so yummy!

Start with the dry ingredients first.

Then mix together the pumpkin, eggs and butter.

Combine both bowls and add the chocolate chips. Then put some cute Halloween or pumpkin cupcake liners in your muffin tray.

Fill the muffin cups up and bake!

In about 20-25 minutes these bites of heaven are ready!

Enjoy!!

Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Muffins

1 and 2/3 c. flour

1 c. sugar

1 tsp. pumpkin pie spice

1 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. cinnamon

1/4 tsp. baking powder

2 large eggs

1 c. canned pumpkin

1/2 c. melted butter

1 c. chocolate chips (I used a smidge less--shockingly)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix flour, sugar, pumpkin pie spices, cinnamon, baking soda, and baking powder in a large bowl. In a small bowl, beat eggs, pumpkin, and butter. Add this to the large bowl of dry ingredients. Stir in chocolate chips. Spoon mixture into greased muffin pan or use paper cups. Bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes. I filled the muffin cups all the way to the top because my recipe said they don't rise much---and that left me with 11 muffins. However, they rose more than I thought, so you can fill them up almost to the top and get 12 muffins!

hello pumpkins!

2011-10-18T16:11:00.001-05:00

Hello 50 degrees! Does this mean I can officially turn off our air-conditioning? Hello rain and warm sweaters! I am ready to pull out little Miles' flannel crib sheets and add the olders warm blankets on their beds! Hello yummy smell of chili simmering in the crockpot! Watching the countdown on the crockpot everytime I walk by it in the kitchen has been painful--I can't wait for comfort food tonight!

Just a few days ago it was hot, for October anyway! I think it might have been our first family trip to the pumpkin patch in shorts and short sleeves! Well, except for Miles--he had a pumpkin outfit that had to be worn anyway! But the heat didn't stop us. We climbed on the tractor and headed off to the pumpkin patch. . .

Where Miles discovered he loves pumpkins. . .

and wasn't going to sit still too long. . .

because he had a hay maze to tackle and a photo to pose for that will make the little girls (and his Mommy) melt. . .

And older brothers climbed huge barrels of hay. . .

and had a blast swingin' on a tire. . .

Do you think they enjoyed the pumpkin patch?

I think so! Thanks again Cedar Hill Farms! You never disappoint!

motivating the Monday

2011-10-17T00:00:00.002-05:00

Is this motivation enough for you? I'm often overwhelmed on Mondays with all I have to do after the weekends. Sometimes, I just don't know where to start. This quote sure helps me! Hope it helps you too! Happy Monday!

Fashion Friday!

2011-10-14T00:00:00.002-05:00

I have a confession to make. I am not a shoe person. My sister inherited those genes from my mom. Somehow, they skipped right by me. I've never really cared about shoes all that much. When I've been shopping with my mom and sis and they've been looking at shoes for hours, I just follow them around like a little lost puppy dog. Don't get me wrong. I know when I like something and when I don't, but I don't need that certain red pair of shoes to go with "that" outfit.

However, since meeting with my good friend, Kelly, of Kelly Bourland Personal Style, I've been bitten by the shoe bug (don't worry hubby---it's nothing like my mom and sis. . .yet)! Kelly "owns" fashion! She oozes style. All of our friends agree that Kelly always looks like a million bucks! And, you know what? She pays next to nothin' for her style! She's a great bargain shopper and finds most of her clothes straight out of TJMaxx, Ross, etc! I could go on and on, but you will need to check out her website for yourself. If you live in our area, she's started up a new fashion consultant biz and it's awesome! I had the fortunate opportunity of being a "guinea pig" for her, which is where not only did I start falling in love with getting dressed everyday, but she gave me big shoe and accessory tips too! Just a couple of hours with her and I had a handful of new outfits from mixing and matching old clothes tucked away in my closet! She just has a knack for fashion!

If you don't live in our area, don't fret! Kelly has all kinds of style tips on her blog---good for the budget and for encouraging us not to wear sweatpants everyday. Not that there is anything wrong with sweatpants---because I know I will be in them some on those cold winter days! Right now she is in the middle of new series--31 Days to a More Fasionable Life. So, stop by and check out her blog. Her fashion advice is worth it! Now, if only I had her shoe savvy thoughts or my sister's awesome shoe taste when I got married. . . .

This is a photo of my sister and brother in law on their wedding day 2 weeks ago! 11 years ago I would never have dreamed of wearing red shoes under my white dress! BUT---I love this!!!!! Don't you??

Photo credit: Jeff Rodgers of Allison Rodgers Photography

6 years old!

2011-10-12T20:34:00.000-05:00

It's birthday season around here! On Monday, our little Lukey turned 6! I think I thought 5 was old last year, but 6 is really old! I think I've thought every age he reaches is old (since he's our first to reach each age), but seriously, 6 is old. It seems Lukey has been building up 6 to be old too. You should have heard him around the house as 6 approached. "When I'm 6, I will get to watch Star Wars (really?)!" "When I'm 6, I will get to have Sprite (really?)!" "When I'm 6, I will get to. . ." you name it, he's probably planned it. And while we have never promised a Star Wars viewing when he turned 6 (maybe he will, maybe not), we did secretly plan to surprise him with Sprite on his big day!

Lucky Lukey had Fall Break on his birthday, so we planned a special day which included going to his favorite restaurant, The Flying Fish. Daddy, Mommy, Miles, Mimi, Grandpa, Aunt Mary and now Uncle Kevin all joined in on the lunch. Only Charlie had school that day, so he celebrated Lukey at our family dinner that night. We told Luke that he could have one present at lunch, but it wasn't one he could open. Luke was baffled, but in typical Lukey style, he processed and tried hard to figure it out! After we ordered, we headed to the fountain area to get our drinks. He, of course, saw the Sprite sign and was thrilled, but went to get water. When Chad told him he could get Sprite, his eyes were as big as dinner plates!! Sooooo, here's our beyond excited 6 year old and his first ever Sprite!

I so wish I had his immediate reaction to drinking the first few sips. He was not expecting the bubbles or the taste! He reminded me of a baby taking his first pickle bite! Squinched up face, but still excited! He continued drinking but kept saying it tasted like salt. After several more sips, he declared he still liked milk and water better, but he did like Sprite and then asked for water with the rest of his meal! Who knew that Sprite would be a rite of passage for our little 6 year old??!

That night we grilled out burgers per birthday boy's request and celebrated with family!

We were planning on cupcakes for dessert, but our fave cupcake place is closed on Mondays, boo! So, Luke's second choice was Baskin Robbins (you know it!) and he received his own bowl of rainbow sherbert, candle and all!

Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday Dear Lukey, Happy Birthday to you! Our first little baby to hold and a precious treasure you are! Lukey, we are so proud of the Lord loving, book reading, spy mastering, healthy eating, rule obeying, animal adoring, friend cherishing, soldier fanatic and so much more that you are! We love you with all of our hearts! Happy 6th Birthday!

FYI Friday!

2011-10-07T16:49:00.001-05:00

October kinda snuck up on me with all the preparations for my sister's wedding on October 1st. This entire week after her wedding, we've all been decompressing and trying to get things back in order, catching up on sleep and our DVR (which we aren't loving since we started liking virtually no tv during the summer) and playing with the free time of fall break.

However, it is October, and we love the Fall! I am busy trying to soak up yummy smells and pumpkin season. But, something startled me this week. Know what it was? Not Halloween, though my almost 6 year old thinks it's hilarious to try to scare me with spiders and ghosts! Nope, it was that Christmas is less than 12 weeks away! Does that startle you? In the past, I hadn't had that feeling until about Dec. 8th, when there was less than 3 weeks until Christmas and I haven't done much shopping. But last year, with my 3rd little newborn in the mix (you may remember I was frazzled), I vowed to be on top of the Christmas season from now on! And so, I've created a Christmas binder, similar to our Family notebook.

This is nothing earth shattering, but I'm hoping it's going to help me! Maybe you too? Let me break it down. . .

--I have a binder. It's red, for the season! I also have 5 dividers. I got the kind I could write on the tabs and erase as I see fit. So far, I'm good.

--Before the first divider, I printed off the calendar months of October, November and December from this website. Yes, I think it's good to start getting my act together in October, when there is less hustle and bustle and I'm living in my dream land of caramel scents, pumpkin patches, cooler weather, warmer clothes, fall leaves, and comfort foods! I then started putting things on the calendar (special Christmas events we attend each year, perfect weekend for putting up our tree, Christmas programs, mailing cards, etc) just to get started. Obviously, this will fill up as the season approaches.

--My first divider is labeled TO DO. I have a sheet with things that need to be done. For example, buy or make wrapping paper, get supplies, buy Christmas stamps, make new Christmas CD, prepare Advent calendar, decorate, send off gifts, etc. etc.

--My second divider is labeled BUDGET. Yuck. Don't like it, but it needs to be done in our family. We have a long history of getting carried away and that's just not what the Christmas season is about. There is a Christmas budget worksheet you can print here as well. Something to work on this year and have nailed down for the next.

--My third divider is labeled IDEAS/RECIPES. If/when I see ideas for decorating or parties, or delicious recipes I want to make, I will put them here. I find them each year and think "OOOoooh I want to try that!" Then I forget about it when the time comes or can't find it. Pinterest comes in handy here, but jotting it down and having it in my binder/hands is the way I roll.

--My fourth divider is labeled CHRISTMAS CARDS. I have a spreadsheet of our Christmas card list, but ideally want to have addresses all right here too---rather than flipping through my old, scratched out twenty times, very small address book I use throughout the year. So, for now, my spreadsheet will work.

--My fifth divider is labeled THANK YOUS. My mom always taught me the importance of thank you's. Sometimes I fail, but I always try to return thanks and want to teach my boys the same lesson. Having a sheet to write things down as presents are opened is a good way to keep track!

There you have it. I may be adjusting this binder throughout the season. If I do, I will update. If you already have this kind of system in place, please share your thoughts and suggestions! And now I'm off to enjoy Fall!!!!!

Happy 1st Birthday Miles!

2011-10-05T23:00:00.001-05:00

Our sweet baby is 1 year old now! Every milestone that comes, I find myself saying, "It's hard to believe!" Sure enough, it is! What a fun-filled and truly blessed year it has been with little Miles in our lives! He keeps us dancing and rockin' out with his little tongue clicks and side to side head bobbin! If ever we are distracted or flustered with life, Miles' sweet face and smile and seaching eyes meet ours and we can't help but melt into smiles right back!

As with all birthdays in our house, we greet the birthday star with singing! Miles didn't know what hit him, but he sure loved being serenaded!

Miles' birthday party was small and intimate, with only a smattering of family. Bigger brother, Charlie, had the stomach bug the day before and we were in the midst of Wedding Week for Mary and Kevin, so a family party was just what we needed! Nana flew in (Poppy arrived the next day) and Mimi and Grandpa braved the remnants of the stomach bug to come give birthday kisses!

We started in the afternoon with some present openings. After already having 2 boys, what does a 3rd 1 year old in the family need, anyway? Not a thing, but of course, big brothers had to get Miles' something. . .a new musical sea creature bath toy--that he loves! Chad and I got him his own iPhone. I don't even have one of those. We really didn't get him a real one. It's a toy one that plays all different tunes and fits perfectly in his hands. He loves it too! But the real hit of his birthday came via the attic. The beloved toy from our other boys--the Learn and Play or Laugh and Learn Home, don't remember the name. He adores it, and so do our older boys---still!! They were all thrilled with this present!!

And after presents, we, of course, had cake! It was time for Miles' very first bite of sweets! Our wonderful cake lady (call me if you need one) made a perfect and delicious tractor cake for Miles, as tractors and barns are some of his favorites. He loves Margaret Wise Brown's Big Red Barn book! Miles wasn't sure what to do at first. He got some on his hands and was concerned. Got some in his mouth and made a yucky face. Got more in his mouth and had second thoughts---maybe it wasn't so bad after all? And then finally, after playing in it for a bit, he was much more interested in the balloons above him and was ready to get down and play!

What a fun time we had celebrating our little Miles (aka Miles a Moo, Milesy, My-yull, Baby Goodness)! You are such a blessing to us, Miles. We love you with all of our hearts and have treasured your first year of life! We are looking forward to each day we have with you and so thankful for the gift the Lord gave us on Sept. 28th, 1 year ago!

Miles' 1 year old tidbits:

--big-time cruisin' but not walking yet
--is a maniac for the stairs and will make a bee-line for them if the gate is down; can make it up the stairs faster than you can say Lightning McQueen
--loves books and has said book, though usually says "ook"
--is a cracker fanatic
--sleeps with his monkey lovie (maybe named Bud-Bud, Stripes or Mono--his parents can't agree on a name and it may just become He-Who-Doesn't-Have-a-Name)
--adores music and going outside and his brothers and Mocha and the computer wires in the office

a year in review. . .

2011-10-03T14:26:00.000-05:00

Our baby turned 1 last week! Sniff, sniff, joy joy! Here's a look back over the past year. . more on his celebration to come!

fondly remembering Vancouver (while hubby is traveling the world)

2011-09-21T21:23:00.000-05:00

As I have been eagerly awaiting my hubby's return from a long business trip over in Europe and dreaming of one day going to Europe, just the two of us, I found myself thinking back to April. We were able to take a few days away, thanks to my sweet parents, and head to Vancouver, British Columbia! I've been to lots of different countries, but had never been to the one big country to our north! I know there are so many different beautiful areas of Canada, but I was thrilled to head to Vancouver since the Winter Olympics had just been there, and every shot taken from the venue was breathtaking!

I must say, while I thought Vancouver was pretty, I think the breathtaking parts were probably further out, near Queens Island and up in the mountains. We stayed right in the city---which was actually SO cool and SO much fun! We walked across the entire city--different parts on different days. It is quite easy to get around (though very hilly, which I chalked up to great exercise)! The food there is ah-MA-zing and we heard more than once that Vancouver prides itself on delicious food--indeed! We stayed at a bed and breakfast, the West End Guest House, and loved it.

The owners had everything decorated traditionally, a real vintage gem! They served sherry and snacks from 5-7 and encouraged guests to sit and chat with each other. They were all about forming relationships--which I appreciated! The owners also had wonderful recommendations about what to do and where to eat. It was so nice getting the inside scoop, instead of hitting up touristy type places!

So, Chad and I took off! We went to Granville Island, a must visit! We took a brewery tour, explored a huge farmers market (think Seattle's Pikes Place), had a blast trying on hats of all styles, window shopped in a HUGE kid's market, with tons of stores, while missing our kiddos, and ate at one of our now declared favorite restaurants ever, the Sand Bar. Yum, yum, yum with an awesome view of the harbor!

We also hiked around Stanley Park, went to visit the famous steam clock in Gastown, explored the English Bay side of Vancouver and the seawall, finding these purple shells all over and spent some time in Coal Harbor, enjoying the view of the mountains and even catching a Memphis Grizzlies NBA playoff game on tv!

I know Chad has seen some Swiss mountains over the past week, but if you get a chance to check out these mountains on your way to British Columbia, you won't be disappointed!

cake pops --so fun, so cute, so yummy!

2011-09-15T15:26:00.002-05:00

The super cute cake pops caught my eye a couple of years back when MckMama debuted them on her blog! I was definitely more interested in making them for photography purposes rather than eating them. After all, they are very pretty. Eye candy to me! However, after having my very first cake pop at Starbucks recently, I've fallen in love with them and have been dying to make them ever since!

Since my sister has also been eager to make them, we declared a girls' night (to be had after the boys were in bed) and convinced my mom to join us in the festivities! I'm going to share how I/we made them, though they are very similar to MckMama's recipe, and thus Bakerella's recipe. I will make a couple of adjustments the next go around, but overall, they received good reviews (you know, from my mom, my sister and me)!

I decided to get started prior to my sister and mom coming over, since the cake balls need to be refrigerated for a bit. So I attempted this after school, while all 3 boys were awake/playing/crawling into everything. That would be my first edit for next time. **Do not attempt to make cake balls while you have a crawling baby who has just learned to crawl up stairs, likes to play in toilets or your dogs' food bowl. The cake balls are a messy endeavor and I found myself calling to my almost 6 year old many times for help!! Next time, I will make them after kids are in bed and chill them overnight!

But I digress, here's how you start. . .
First, you bake a cake. Simple, right? Sure, though this was my first time to bake a cake. Ever. So, when it called for 3 egg whites, I was thrown for a loop. I called my friend and said, "What the heck?" and she told me to just throw in 3 eggs. Forget the separating. So I did. And, about 32 minutes later, the cake was done! Awesome and made our house smell delicious! Then, I let the cake cool--took maybe 15 minutes. Next, I started chopping up the cake with a spoon (our food processor wouldn't come on). Luke asked me why I was stabbing the cake! Ha! Basically, you just need to get the cake to very small pieces almost mealy looking. Then I started adding cream cheese frosting. Just scooped some in and stirred it around in the chopped up cake. ***This is my next edit. We decided I added a tad too much. I used about 3/4 of a can of cream cheese frosting. I think on my next go around I will use about half a can of frosting. However, you need enough to roll the dough balls. My recommendation would be to start slow. You can always add more, but it's impossible to take away. Once it's stirred together, I dug in. Literally. My hands were sticky and messy, but it's worth it! I made little balls about 1 inch in diameter. Some were bigger. Both worked fine. It took about 45 minutes to do so, although once my hands were goopey, was when all of my littles were needing something from me, of course! So, it may have taken less time if I wasn't stopping to help somebody with their craft, etc. After all the cake balls (at least 50 from one cake mix) were made, I chilled them in the freezer for 3 hours. They need to be chilled to keep their shape when you dip them in chocolate.

Then the party began! Mom and Mary arrived and we began melting the chocolate in a double boiler while we put the lollipop sticks into the cake balls. **Be careful not to melt the chocolate too quickly. We had a pretty green color to use for some of the cake pops, but the chocolate got too hot too fast and turned to putty. It just didn't work. So, we melted the white and chocolate chocolate and began dipping the cake pops and having fun! We went crazy with sprinkles and designs and we even created a little town of cake pop people! Our cake peeps!

Yes, we were a little delirious, my sister does that to me! She is hilarious and a nut case. See below.

It was a great time and we are thrilled with our cake pops! For the first time around, we think we did a good job. And, with the edits I mentioned, maybe your first time around will be perfect!

Cake pop recipe
1 box cake mix (I used white cake---but any kind can be used)
1/2 can cream cheese frosting (again, think any flavor will work?)
lollipop sticks
candy/chocolate melts (1 or 2 bags should work per cake)

As I explained in greater length above, bake the cake according to box, crumbled up the cake, stir in the frosting, form the cake balls with your hands, chill them for a few hours, put in the lollipop sticks, dip into chocolate and decorate! Sooooo fun! Pretty to look at and yummy to eat! Have any of you made these? Any comments or suggestions to add?

caught

2011-09-12T23:54:00.000-05:00

One of our little treasures caught the stomach bug and after a day of washing, cleaning and quaranteening (it actually could have been a lot worse), I needed a little therapeutic outlet. Blogging is that for me, so here's what's been caught lately (other than the stomach bug). . .

Caught: a precious little one finally able to crawl. This is completely overblown, but I love it!!

Caught: Luke reading the newspaper in the kitchen all alone. After we snuck in on him, he told us all about the hunter who was lost in the woods and had to eat worms and grubs to stay alive! So thankful he is such an avid reader, but it sure is scary to find him reading the newspaper with some of the sad and disturbing news out in the world these days. Glad this article was the one he found!

Caught: Charlie giving his little brother a hug! I was actually slipping quietly into the kitchen to watch the interaction going on between Charlie and Miles and crept around our island to get a better view. When I saw what was happening, I said something like, "Aww sweetness!" and they both turned their faces to me, suprised I was anywhere near!

Caught: All 3 of my Angels, flyin' their Blue Angels and SR-71's. Precious moments.

Caught: Somebody playing peek a boo!

I kinda like these caught in the act random pics. Next time, I hope my post won't be inspired by someone who was caught with the stomach bug!

Fair fun!

2011-09-06T22:30:00.000-05:00

This past weekend the fair came to town and some amazingly cooler weather came with it!

This Labor Day we were. . .

Pronto Pup eatin'

fast car racin'

farm animal feedin'

sky high swingin'

baby cow pettin'

and family time soakin'

Wishin' long weekends never had to end!!!

date your spouse OR the one where I get a little preachy

2011-09-01T17:02:00.000-05:00

Today marks one more month until my sister gets married! Hooray!! And, it has me thinking back to when it was a month until Chad and I were getting married. That leads me to our wedding day, and then to our first year of marriage and then to our life together in grad. school and a couple more years of marriage without kiddos, and then to the past almost 6 years of life with kiddos! Whew! That's a lot of married years together! A lot of good married years together! Not to say there haven't been some rough times, but overall, Chad and I define our marriage as amazing, healthy, the best and completely blessed!

There are a lot of factors that make our marriage strong. The first and foremost is the Lord. We aren't perfect and we fail each other plenty of times, but our hearts strive to seek the Lord and He has blessed us! I could go on about that, and if you ever want to know more, ask me about it! I'm happy to share!

But some other things Chad and I both think are critical to our marriage are. . .date nights! For Mary and Kevin, date nights are easy to come by right now (well maybe not right now--since they are busy with last minute wedding planning). They can see each other every night if they want to. Grab dinner right after work. Head to a movie. Up and run here and there, whenever. They don't have kiddos. Yet.

But a lot of us do have children in the mix now! Date nights aren't always at the top of our minds. Or maybe they are, but maybe you don't want to leave your children with a babysitter because you feel guilty. Maybe your children scream at the top of their lungs when they see a babysitter and you think a date night isn't worth the turmoil. Or, maybe you don't want to or can't spend the money on a babysitter AND pay for dinner and a movie. Trust me, we know! Or, maybe after your insanely busy week, you are beyond tuckered out and the last thing you want to do is make an effort to get ready to head out the door on a Friday night and attempt a conversation with your spouse over dinner.

My suggestion is to make date nights happen. No matter what! I have felt all of the following feelings at some point, so I feel like I can say. . .To those who feel guilty. . . leave the guilt at the door and head out. Your children need to see a healthy marriage. They need to see Mommy and Daddy putting their marriage first. If they know you are solid, they know your family is solid. Find a good babysitter and leave all the guilt behind! To those who hate hearing your children cry when you leave. . .just take a deep breath and drive away quickly! Your children will probably stop crying soon after you leave. If they don't, they aren't scarred for life. Your little ones will learn that you will come back for them. Eventually. After you've had some relaxing time with your spouse! In fact, you may need to go on more date nights to get them used to it! Don't "oooh and ahhh" over them. Don't linger and give lots of hugs and kisses as you leave. In fact, don't make eye contact with the little one who might start crying---that will make him cry for sure! You are probably projecting your own guilt/sadness/worry onto them and just imagining what they are thinking, when in reality, it's just them not getting their immediate desire! To those who don't want to or can't spend the money on a babysitter. . .this one is harder. We are all on some sort of a budget (I would guess). Add the cost of a sitter in at least once a month. Cut out the extra take out meals or Starbucks or go without the car wash. Have a garage sale. Whatever. You don't need me telling you ways to cut here and there. You just have to do it. You can also have very special date nights with a nice meal together after the kids are in bed. Grab a glass of wine and just sit and talk about what's been going on! Or rent a RedBox movie and sit in the same room, on the same couch, together! To those who are just beyond tuckered out. . .Put your date night on a calendar in advance. That way you know ahead of time and can be "gearing up" to stay out and up! Go to bed earlier the night before. Drink coffee (this is what Chad used to do, til I banned him from coffee so he could actually sleep)! Vow to go to sleep earlier the following night.

All of this said (in a truly not preachy voice), we need time away and alone with our spouses. These are the people that will be with us after our children have moved away (though our children plan to live in our backyard :) ). They are our most important earthly relationship! Don't take each other for granted. Cultivate your relationship. Date each other again. Make your marriage a priority! It's worth it!!

our trip to Dream World--not Disney!

2011-08-24T10:05:00.002-05:00

Though summer is technically over from our standpoint, it still feels like summer. So before it officially slips away, I bring you the ultimate budding marine biologist's dream visit. . .our trip to the Georgia Aquarium! We've been hearing about how amazing this aquarium is---they say (whoever "they" is) it's the best in our country! But, I'll get to that in a sec. Fortunately for us, some of our dear friends live in ATL! So, on our trip back from South Carolina this summer, we stopped in to visit with the Stouts, whom we miss dearly, after they moved to Atlanta 3 years ago. They have a daughter older than Luke and then 3 boys who are the exact same ages (well within 2 months of each other) of our boys! It was such a treat to get to spend some time with them, even though it was too short.

Micah, Coley, Luke, Parker and Charlie --our oldests of the bunch

And don't worry, Knox and Miles got to play too! Thanks for holding them still, Coley!

And as an extra bonus to the trip, after we said goodbye to the Stouts, we headed off to downtown Atlanta to check out this world famous aquarium! The boys had no idea where we were going until we were within minutes of the place. I wish you could have heard the squeals from Luke and Charlie when they discovered where we were going. Priceless! It turns out, the Georgia Aquarium, did not disappoint! To actually see whale sharks live and in person, was by far my favorite animal highlight! I think Luke, Charlie and Chad would agree, though Luke was pretty pumped to touch a hammerhead shark and we all loved seeing the Beluga whales! We also saw their highly touted Dolphin Tales, a show like nothing like you've ever seen. It was essentially a musical light show---as if we were at a theater! Amazing and yes, it made me cry! I'm pretty sure that was Charlie's favorite part of the experience as he named his new lovie, "Star" after a character from the show. I could go on and on, but I realize I cannot do our visit justice! You just have to go see for yourself. I will say though that having little ones so very interested in sea creatures and us having a passion for sea life as well, made it that much more enjoyable. I will never forget the awe and wonder of Luke's face and Charlie's too, as they soaked everything in!

Such an exciting trip for little Miles, that he was tuckered out!

We actually also made it to the National Aquarium in Baltimore this summer too! We went to DC to visit Chad's side of the family and Nana and Poppy thought our boys and their cousins would love to go. They were right. Sadly though, I didn't have my camera. Maybe Poppy will send me some pics! The sharks, and tons of them, and the moray eels, were big hits there! We also learned that the blue whale (the biggest animal in the world in case you didn't know) has a heart the size of a Volkswagen bug! So, don't say you didn't learn anything today! :)

time to lace!

2011-08-18T13:00:00.002-05:00

Do you see these? A new pair of tennis shoes (aka sneakers for those of you not in the South), right? Oh sure, but not just any new pair. These are Luke's very first pair of shoe lace tennis shoes. That's right, no more velcro shoes for him. He's big time now! According to his Kindergarten teacher, he and his fellow classmates must learn to tie their shoes before they turn 6, because she won't help them tie their laces after their 6th birthday! Yikes! Lukey has an October birthday! We need to get a move on! I do agree with her, everyone must learn to tie their own shoes and these velcro shoes have delayed the process for many. The last time we bought Luke new tennis shoes, though, was right before Miles was born. He was begging for some "tie shoes" and almost crying for them, because one of his friends had "tie shoes." The saleslady looked at me (keep in mind I was ready to pop) and said, "Honey, you don't need to be buying any lace up shoes at this point! Let him velcro himself and come back later on and get tie shoes!" Best piece of advice ever! :) However, based on the first few attempts of us teaching him to tie his own laces, I'm thinking I should've bought the shoes at the beginning of the summer to practice! So far, teaching one to tie shoes might be harder than potty training. . .anyone feel me??!! Once this milestone is accomplished, Luke's going to be so proud of himself. . .and so will we!!

the time has come. . .

2011-08-16T14:08:00.000-05:00

For a couple of weeks now, I've been a little emotional at the thought of Luke starting Kindergarten this year. Who am I kidding? It's actually been since the last day of school in May. Maybe even before that! Don't get me wrong, I love that he is growing up and I'm so excited about all that Kindergarten will be, all that he will learn and how he will grow and change this year. It's going to be a blast! But, what I've been dreading is the five full days a week my little boy will be off at school. This is big time now and off he will be for the rest of his school life. My little baby, in a uniform, off and away.

Luke has been really excited about starting school. His main reason---he gets to have lunch at school and bring his lunch in his new Cars 2 lunch box. I was telling a friend the other day about how my desire would be for him to have one of those cute, classic, simple designed lunch boxes, say in navy. But, I had to give in. It's just something not to battle. It's a way he can express himself and he's excited. Why squash that? Sure, he'll be *done* with his Cars 2 lunch box, but let him enjoy for now.

Something I am looking forward to this year, is some sweet time with Charlie and Miles. Charlie will be at a Parents Day Out for 2 days a week (equivalent to PreK age) but at home with me the other 3 days. I'm looking forward to having Mommy/ Charlie school and playdates together, as well as growing the bond between Charlie and Miles. As Charlie has been at PDO before, it hasn't been as big of an emotional pull. He's still with me and I'm soaking it up!

Charlie has, though, been feeding off Luke's excitement about school--thank goodness. Last year he had a hard time when we dropped him off at school. He definitely did not want to go in the class or have us leave (of course he raved about his day when he got home)! So, the past couple of weeks, we've been building school up. Charlie's main reason for being excited about school is that he will get to play with his friends!

So the big day came! We layed out clothes the night before, packed the backpacks, got the first day of school pics and headed off. Of course, I left my camera at home and had to bring it back today for the second day of school pic. . .as Luke's teacher said, "Hey, at least you got him here!" Amen to that! Getting 3 kiddos ready and out the door early, to fight traffic, is NOT an easy task! Ahhhh, I'm missing our summer sleep schedules already!

(this pic was taken today, because I forgot my camera yesterday)

I managed to say goodbye to Luke and Charlie without any tears, until I was driving home and heard Taylor Swift's song, "Best Day." I think that's what it's called. The boys call it the Mommy Song, because Taylor Swift is singing to her Mommy. She starts out by singing as if she was 5 years old. And so I lost it! This entire summer I've spent looking at Luke like he was SO old and big. And he is. But, when I walked him into his class and he was shy, and learning the ropes, he was little again. We said hi to his new classmates, and they were shy and it was just a precious picture of innocence. Still wanting their moms, still quiet on the first day of school. So, so sweet. And for Charlie it was the opposite. He still seems so little at 3, but on his first day of school, he was big! He walked on in and was elated to be at school! He showed his teachers his lovie, Froggy, and was off to read books. So very different from last year when we had to push him into his classroom. Charlie was all grown up in one sense, though still clutching his lovie and itty bitty and adorable. So I blame Taylor Swift for sending me over the edge. If you listen to that song, you will be over the edge too. Children or no children. It makes you want to be a child again and go cling to your Mommy's legs too.

And so now that the first day is behind us, I'm relieved. I am beyond thankful to our Lord for giving us our little treasures, big and small at the same time. So thankful that He has entrusted us to care for them and love them with all of our hearts. And while our babies won't be in our hands for 24 hours a day, 7 days a week anymore, we are confident that the Lord has them in HIS hands, and that is the safest place they can be!

dreamin' big

2011-08-11T22:37:00.000-05:00

Ohhhh how our little 10 month old wants to grow up! To be able to join in the fun and spray the water hose with his big brothers. . .to be able to walk and run and ride scooters instead of just scooting like an inch worm on the floor. . .yes, this is his dream!

But oh little Miles, you are growing so fast and I sometimes just want the world to freeze--just stop, so I can soak up these moments. Because to you and your brothers, it seems that getting older and bigger takes forever, but to us, your Mommy and Daddy, you are bigger in the blink of an eye!

sunflower season

2011-08-02T16:15:00.000-05:00

As you can see in our header, our sunflower tradition continues! It may or may not be my husband's favorite photo shoot. I'll let you guess. What, with the 100+ heat indexes and children who are more interested in making silly faces or running wild and free along the sunflowers, while the wife is desperate to get a sweet and perfect shot of her angels. . .what, you don't think it's Chad's favorite photo shoot of the year?

Well, you are right. It's not. But, because my husband is AHmazing and loving and selfless, he indulged me and off we went! This was also Miles first out of belly appearance at the sunflowers! He is 10 months old now. We started this tradition when Luke was 10 months old. Check out these 2 pictures.

I mean are they not identical as babies???!!! I can't even believe it!

Thanks Babe, for getting behind the camera and capturing your biggest fans!! I love you! ;)

farewell friends!

2011-07-29T00:00:00.000-05:00

"How lucky I am to have something that makes saying goodbye so hard." ---Winnie the Pooh

We recently had to say goodbye to our dear friends, the Robinsons, who have now moved across the state. But, before they left, I had the privilege of capturing their precious family in a Farewell Memphis photo shoot. We had a fun-filled evening with both of our families together and look forward to continuing our forever friendship. . .long distance!

Click here to see more photos from our shoot. Farewell for now! We love you!

patience in fishing

2011-07-27T00:19:00.000-05:00

I'm kinda enjoying my "Lakehouse" series of posts. It makes me feel like we are still there! It does amaze me that there is so much, yet so many simple things, to do in the middle of nowhere! For example, my dad had big intentions of teaching Luke and Charlie how to fish. He bought them fishing poles and proceeded to teach them how to cast. It was quite a dangerous undertaking---or could have been if my Dad hadn't been smart enough to not put a real hook on the poles! With all the flying of lines, if there had been a real hook on their poles, we would have been to the ER (where? i don't know) for sure! Chad got into it too--though really he spent his time trying to untangle Charlie's line--what a mess. . .Charlie worked on doing that too--which didn't really help!

The boys, especially Luke, REALLY wanted to catch a fish, but they had to gain control over their poles first. They came close, but it turned out to be a to-be-continued fishing event. Things learned: fishing requires patience, stillness and one being quiet. Not the easiest things for our little guys at the moment! Hang in there, Lukey--patience is a virtue!

blueberry pickin' or eatin'?

2011-07-21T14:42:00.001-05:00

One morning while on our lake trip, Chad took Luke down to the dock for a swim. Charlie decided to go with Grandpa and me to pick some blueberries. I was thrilled he wanted to go with us! See, he's not a big fan of bluberries. Most mornings he reminds me (ever so nicely of course) that he doesn't like blueberries, yet I continue to put them on his breakfast plate. They ARE one of the healthiest foods we can eat, come on! And, most mornings these blueberries sit on his plate until I pop them in his mouth. It's sad that we force feed Charlie blueberries.

Anyway, Charlie was very interested in coming along to pick the blueberries. Great! I figured he'd be quite the helper and not the eater. Boy, was I wrong! We got our boxes and baskets and found our blueberry bushes (on a perfectly overcast day, so it wasn't too hot) and started picking away. Grandpa mentioned that we could eat a few, taste them to make sure they were good. So, Charlie did, and very quickly emptied his blueberry box before I could say, "Holy blueberry eater!" Who knew? There must have been something about these freshly picked bites of deliciousness that Charlie also loved, because he went from being a super picker, to a super eater! My dad and I ended up doing all the work!

Figuring out the box. . .

Hard at work. . .

and hardly working. . .

The 2 Charlies!

And, who was the sign made for??? I'm not calling anyone out. . .Chuckles!

Ahhhhh!! A delicious treat awaits!

It was a fun time in Pickens, SC, the middle of nowhere, on a beautiful hill full of blueberry bushes as far as we could see! Thanks for the treat, Dad!

this, that and pickles!

2011-07-19T14:38:00.000-05:00

I promised that I'd have more stories and pics soon (in my last post), but I've not gotten anywhere fast. Just been busy. Summer busy. We've been finding ways to stay entertained and beat the heat. I'm trying to soak up the days of not having to be anywhere early. Not having to get showered and ready first thing before getting the boys up (like I try to do during the school year). Some days it helps though. Like yesterday, when I needed to be up and ready to get the boys dressed and fed and to the grocery store by 8:15, (which turned out to be 8:30) because Miles had a dr. appt. at 9:15 and I had to leave time to drop off the "cold" groceries at the house before the dr. appt. Then after the appt. we rushed home for Miles' nap and to fix lunches and apply sunscreen for our sprinkler park playdate. It's good for us to have some busy days, you know, to keep us on our toes since school starts in 4 weeks. Blah!

Anyway, while on our lake house trip, my mom, who is known as the "One who loves giving babies their first pickle bites" got to do exactly that! It was Miles' turn, and I'll let the pics do the talking. . .

Adorable sour face, Miles!

Hello July!

2011-07-11T16:14:00.000-05:00

We've just returned from our annual lake house trip in South Carolina and while I knew it was already July, it's hard to believe it's already almost the middle of July! After being gone a while, it seems there is much to do around the house. You know, like laundry, tidying up, grocery trips, more laundry, and trying to help the boys remember how to entertain themselves--not an easy task, since they spent the past 10 days being entertained by us, grandparents or others and ALWAYS had something to do!!

But back to July! I'm afraid I should have labeled my June header "Summer" instead of June. I don't think a July header is in the works. However, I have tons of pictures and stories to share and might as well fill you in on our 4th before its August 4th!

Ahhhh, the lake in the summer! Such a fun family time! You better believe we had a "F" day on the 4th too!

The 4th was filled with flag cake makin'

and of course flag wavin'

and no July 4th is complete without fireworks!!

My parents lake house community sets off fireworks a boat ride away from their house. For the past few years, we have joined up with friends and had a parade of boats from the entire community come together, tie up to each other and cheer on the fireworks. Last year, I was sick and didn't make the late night boat trip for the show, so this year, Chad stayed back at the house with Miles, while Luke, Charlie and I headed out with Mimi and Grandpa to be a part of the festivities!

We ventured out before it got dark. . .

a sweet couple, my parents, aka Mimi and Grandpa

Can you see all the boat lights??

The boys and I enjoyed the "pop pop booms" and a late night snack too!

Happy late 4th of July to you all! More fun lake trip pics and stories to follow!

Letter Days

2011-06-27T15:39:00.000-05:00

It's definitely been summer fun around here, but wanna know what's added to the fun? A little bit of learning! Little Chuckles hasn't quite nailed down all of his ABC's yet, so we've been having Letter Days around our house! So far, we've had a "B" day, a "P" day, a "C" day and an "L" day. Our boys now wake up every morning and ask for a Letter Day! We haven't had one everyday because they take a little pre-planning on my part, but at least they're excited!

Each of the mornings, I've drawn a big letter on computer paper (a visual for Charlie) and we've listed every word that comes to mind, on the paper around the letter. Having Luke helps for sure, because Charlie still throws out any ol' word assuming it starts with the letter of the day! Then, I bring out the coloring pages I've printed (the night before) of things that start with that letter. For "B" day they colored Belugas (as in whale--hmmm, who do you think enjoyed that?), baseballs and bats, beach pictures, etc. When you know your children's interests, you can tailor their print outs!

The rest of the day we do activities surrounding the Letter of the Day! For example, on "L" day we went to the library, had lemonade and lollipops, etc. On "B" day we had burgers at the Butcher Shop, read books, went on a bug hunt, etc. On "P" day we went to the park, had a picnic, and watched Peter Pan while eating pizza and so on and so on!

It's been a lot of fun doing the little things that keep their brains sparked during the summer. Really, we've done all the same things we would normally do, but with a small amount of planning ahead, we've combined the activities into a Letter day! Easy peasy and worth the extra thought--especially for their squeals of "Hooray!! It's a Letter Day!"

Popsicles for "P" day

Pizza and Peter Pan for "P" day!

Books for "B" day!

Miles participates when he can. . .Puffs for "P" day!

photo shoots

2011-06-21T22:01:00.000-05:00

What do these 3 people have in common?

Answer? Absolutely nothing!! Well, except they were subjects of my photo shoots lately! Click here if you want to see more!

potty train express!

2011-06-17T15:17:00.000-05:00

I sure was dreading potty training Charlie. His third birthday was in April and things were busy. I knew May was around the corner and SUPER busy with older brother having t-ball, swimming and the end of school. So we had passed that "magical" age of potty training (which I believed was 6 weeks before one turns 3) and I thought we were going to be in trouble! If you have been reading our blog for a while, you may remember Luke jumping aboard the potty train and it was a breeze! Easiest kid we've ever potty trained. Oh, wait, he was the only child at that point! Anyway, it was SO easy with him, that I was terrified of what would happen with Charlie. . .

BUT, shock of all shockers, he was even easier!! Didn't know that was possible, but he was. We had 2 accidents on Day 3 and that was the only tough day! We trained him by sitting and less than 2 weeks into it, he's already standing. In less than a week, Charlie had already conquered the automatic public flushing potties. In less than a week, (Mimi's or Nana's or friends without boys or kids you may want to skip the next few lines) he had managed to pee in a cup in the car (under dire circumstances) and also peed for the first time in the grass, with good aim and hoping to win the "furthest shot contest." Yes, we are proud boy parents and SO VERY proud of our little Chuckles!! He jumped aboard the Potty Train Express!!!!

As with Luke, Charlie had a potty train chart. He got to put a sticker on the chart for every time he successfully pottied! Once he finished his chart, which was yesterday, he was able to go pick out any toy he wanted. He's been planning this for a long time (even prior to potty training) and was thrilled to venture to Target to get the oh-so-coveted. . .

Glowing Lightsaber!!!

No, you can't see him, but you can see his outline and his most prized possession!!! A Jedi Master in the making!

makin' my own music!

2011-06-06T15:51:00.000-05:00

Hey out there! I'm overtaking my Mommy's blog again. This is a special shout out to all my sittin' up friends! Do your parents keep pulling out or buying new toys for you? I definitely have lots of toys that my older brothers played with. They are really colorful and play great music!

But, you wanna know a little secret? My mom got me a new toy the other day! At first, I wasn't really sure about it. I mean, it was white and didn't play any music. . .

So, I grabbed it and moved it from hand to hand. I banged it on the ground, and sure enough, I made music of my own!!

In no time flat, this new toy became a favorite! Best part about it. . .I can play with it right on the floor in the SAME room as Mommy!

Ahhhhhh, it's the little things in life, ya know? Little buddies out there, go tell your Mommy to get you one of these cool white toys too! We can start a band one day!!!

Peace!!

searching for strawberries

2011-06-01T16:57:00.000-05:00

It's become a tradition to take the boys strawberry pickin' so we loaded up last Friday afternoon (when it was still cool outside--don't know why the heat ever has to come) and did just that! We hit the tail end of the season due to our busy May, but found some perfectly ripe ones and were all smiles!

The boys searched

and searched

and even Miles helped look around, though his view was mainly straight out or straight down.

Luke proved to be the hard worker (he is older of course), while Charlie was still all smiles and had a blast jumping the rows, thus turning his strawberries into strawberry juice!

Luke and Charlie were obviously thrilled they were going home to eat yummy strawberries. And Miles, well he wasn't too pleased to find out he isn't old enough for strawberries yet!

t ball and jk wrap up

2011-05-27T15:47:00.000-05:00

Not the most creative blog post title but I realized I hadn't closed out Luke's JK year yet and needed to do so! I've been turning my blog into blog books--can't remember who started me on this, but I now have 2 (1 from my first 3 years of blogging and 1 from my last year of blogging) and plan on making a blog book at the end of each year! It is so much fun already going back and reading stories and the boys LOVE looking at themselves in the books and asking me to tell them about the pictures! So, click here if you ever want to make some blog books for your family. It's a perfect way to journal the big and small events in our lives!

So, on to making sure I document Luke's end of the year in JK! Grandparents Night and Open House were conveniently combined into one night! Luke had been talking about showing us all of his creations for weeks, so he was thrilled when the day finally arrived! Hooray that Mimi and Grandpa were able to come!

One of the last units in JK was studying the rain forests! He made a paper mache snake and was so proud! One of my favorite things they did in JK was his picture journal. They had journal titles at the top of each page of their journals and were to draw pictures of what the journal title described. For example, one was for the day the JK went to the pumpkin patch. Luke drew a picture and said he got stung by a bee and had fun kicking up dust. In fact, his bee sting was a HUGE deal for him and I remember being so thankful I was able to go on the field trip (less than 2 weeks after Miles was born) to comfort him! There were lots of other entries, but I know it will be something we pull out many times down the road---to remember the cute things he thought about when he was 5!

And what school year is complete without a Field Day? You know, one where the kids all run around on the lush green grass in May? Well, this year, we were inside the gym due to the torrential rain we had been having. It would have been a mud fest! But the gym was fine for the 3 legged race, which Luke and Sophie tore up! Good job team!! There was also good traction for the classic tug-o'-war! Great sportsmanship, Mrs. Patterson's class!

Luke also had an end of the year program, where he and the rest of JK sang songs about the seasons and different events that happened during their JK year. It was really sweet---or would have been--if Chad and I hadn't been so distracted by our little "shark!" See him in the middle?

Luke was determined to be a shark the ENTIRE program, making these ~~frightening~~ adorable faces non-stop. Chad and I kept looking at each other throughout the program thinking, "What are ya suppposed to do?" I apologize to all of the other JK parents out there whose lovely pictures of their children included a fiesty shark in them! I mentioned our shark to Luke's teacher after the program and she laughed and said she would try to encourage him to smile during the program and every time his eyes caught hers he made a fiercer shark face, so she stopped trying! Ha! Yeah, us too! Aaaahhh, my dear Lukey, one of these days you will laugh reading this!

And finally, Luke was up to bat again this year! His second year of playing t-ball had a stormy start. We had practices and games cancelled, but just wrapped up this week. Luke wasn't a fan of the outfield, because the players were told if they caught the ball to throw it to first base. There were some positions that never touched the ball which led to a bored Lukey--he even sat down in the middle of the outfield during one game! However, the games where he played short stop he was thrilled to run and dive for balls and was so proud to tell us he "fielded lots of balls!"

He loved batting of course and was thrilled to get a triple one game. That same game, after his triple and his next at bat, he ran right by several other teammates on base and was told to go back to first. He didn't get it--he wanted to keep going to home! We may need to hit up some minor league games this summer!! Way to play, Slugger!

What a fun school year this has been, Luke! We love you and are so proud of you!

sap. (not the tree kind)

2011-05-20T15:39:00.000-05:00

I'm a mess. Sappy and tired. I started out May up and running and it's nearing the end and I'm almost down for the count. We just had Luke's end of the year program and it took everything in me to hold back tears when I talked to his teacher as we left. She was amazing, truly loved our little boy this year, taught him well and gave him so much more confidence than he had at the beginning of the year. This JK year was so special, full of wonderful memories. And now, though summer is here (and we love it) I am already missing this sweet year and looking ahead to big-time Kindergarten with a little bit of dread. My first baby will be going to school ALL day next year. No more half-days where we can have Mommy/Lukey time or go on playdates with friends. I mean, I know there will be those days--holidays, etc., but this was it and I am a mess.

I really am considering moving to a farm and homeschooling my boys. They can rise at the crack of dawn and go feed the animals with Chad (who of course will have to become a farmer), come back in for breakfast and then get ready for studies while Chad works in the fields. I can keep them with me and teach them about what we want them to learn and Who we want them to learn about. We won't have to get in the car to go anywhere and the boys can play outside exploring every bug and insect they choose or pretend our fields are huge oceans they can sail in! Aaaahhhhhh!!! My dear friend, Rebecca, who is moving away from us this summer (and thus another reason I am so sappy) painted us this beautiful painting for our entryway, based on my ramblings to her of this new farmlife dream of mine. Tell me you don't want to move here and isn't she awesome?? When she opens her own business or sells more of her paintings, I'll be sure to let you know!

Anyway, when I get in my mushy moods, I tend to withdraw and want to hole up. I think this farm would be a good place to do so. I feel like if I lived on a farm I would have all the time in the world to dream and plan about raising our boys to know the Lord, which has just really been on my heart all the more lately. I know, in fact, that living on a farm would not be that way at all. It would be far tougher than anything I am used to! I am romanticizing that life for sure. I did read something today (which happen to be written by a farmers' wife raising 4 children) that really encouraged me. It's a beautiful viewpoint on being a Mommy, raising children and serving the Lord. It was just what I needed as I wanted to crawl into my cocoon and escape the end of the year, children growing older, and friends moving on mushy moments I am having.

Regroup. Reenergize. Refocus--on my purpose in life--to glorify the Lord in all that I do!

for me (and maybe their wives one day)

2011-05-17T14:42:00.002-05:00

Right now I want to remember. . .
--how every night over the past week Charlie wants his chat time to be about "chefs" and what he is going to make for me at his restaurant. . .pepperoni pizza and of course, it will have green olives (Mommy and Charlie's favorite, but not Luke or Daddy or Miles and then he dissolves into giggles because of course Miles can't have olives yet). Every night--and it has gotten old to him, and I love it so much when he grabs my face and says green olives for us and lays his head beside mine on the pillow!
He is also completely obsessed with Star Wars. When this stage first came about I was devastated. He was too young, I thought. I still do think my newly turned 3 year old is too young and of course we haven't let him OR Luke watch it yet. However, if you could just spend 24 hours with Chuckles and see his passion for anything big boy like Luke--it's adorable. He carries Luke's light saber around ALL the time and talks to me incessantly about Luke Skywalker, R2-D2, Annakin, "Darfa Vader" and so on. He colors his Star Wars coloring book (a present from Mimi and Grandpa) every day and will find one more piece of white on a page he didn't color yet---and mainly uses blue--he must have his blue crayon. These things are precious to me!
--how Luke is even more (if that's possible) mesmerized by the ocean and all its sea life. I am loving his absolute joy of getting to read his newest research guide chapters on dolphins and sharks with us at night! I love how he lays his head on my shoulder curled next to me telling me when he already knew that piece of information or already asking what sea creature I want to be when we play tomorrow.
He is also really into bugs after studying the rain forest at school and even convinced me to carry a plastic cup with dirt, a spider egg and LIVE spiders in my car (though I didn't know this until half way down the street after leaving school--at which time I freaked out and wanted to toss them out the car window but had panic squealing from the backseat and couldn't break his heart so I quickly and fortunately found a plastic ziploc bag in my car in which to contain them until we were home). He wants to find bugs with his magnifying glass all over our yard and even in our house (sadly we have them to find). For some reason, I am finding this so endearing and just fully embracing being a Mommy to boys! ** Oh, and how tonight at dinner (after I already posted this, so I am adding this) Lukey said, "Mommy, even if you weren't my Mommy, I would love you more than my Mommy, because you are the BEST Mommy!" Melt my heart! He followed it with. . .and Daddy is the best Daddy, and Charlie and Miles are the best brothers and Mocha and Sparky and his new pet spiders (above) are the best pets. . .etc!
--how Miles kicks his legs up and down bouncing his whole body in our arms when we finally pick him up out of his carseat---a place he finds himself often. His beaming eyes and smiles and the way he is starting to chatter so much now light me up! He is really exploring now, even if by accident. When he's getting tummy time, he pushes himself backwards and ends up in new places--sometimes he's thrilled, other times not so much. Milesy is loving books and before bed is still my favorite--when he smiles with that wide open grin and looks from me to the book and back to me. That and when he nuzzles his face into my neck--wanting a cuddle and some sleep. Sweet angel baby!

Thank you Lord for our precious Treasures!

all smiles!

2011-05-13T14:26:00.000-05:00

Hey Everyone! It's me, Milesy-Smilesy (except for when I have sinusitis induced bronchitis and an ear infection and wheezing, AND I'm on a steroid, breathing treatment and an antibiotic for 20 days, like I am now--then I don't smile as much)! Boo. But Mommy and Daddy still think I am a champ!

Anyway, I just thought I'd hijack my Mommy's blog and see if any of you know why I am smiling in these pictures. . .any guesses???

Okay, I'll tell you. It's because 2 of my biggest entertainers (minus Daddy) are busy entertaining me! Gosh, I love my big brothers and BIG bubbles!!

It's already HOT down here! Hooray for BUBBLE SEASON!!!

just a few of the numbers in my day

2011-05-05T21:04:00.000-05:00

13 diapers changed

75oz. milk/formula poured or made

$71.20 spent at the gas pump

Over 140 minutes spent in the car driving to and from school, t-ball practice and swimming lessons

48, 30 and 20--the number of lbs. my babies weigh (I know this because of the 5 dr. visits we've been to in the past month for the varying sicknesses we've had in our house.) Can you guess who is who? Sure you can, but do you see anything interesting about them?

150 times I've heard booty or pee pee or poo poo head in my house today (all said in a high pitch silly squeal, but very softly with little hands covering their mouths--so I don't hear them because they know I'm not a fan)

And lastly, at tuck in time. . .
1--I love you Mommy
1--I wuv you Mama and another I wuufffff you too, Mama!
and
1--"Heh huh heh, goooo" with a smile (which obviously means I love you too!)

long awaited beach trip and post---but worth it!

2011-05-02T22:59:00.000-05:00

You may be wondering if we've been swept away by floods, if you've seen the national weather lately. I assure you my lack of posting is not because we're sailing down any rivers, though when I lightly told the boys we might need to get a boat tonight because we might float away in all this rain, Luke genuinely asked me if I was teasing. Obviously, he's heard all the talk about the flooding in our area!

No, my lack of posting has just been our whirlwind life lately! I need to do some backtracking, so since ~~we are~~ I am talking about boats let me rewind to our latest beach trip to Destin!

We've been trying to get back to Destin for some time and our schedules just haven't allowed it. Ugggh. Schedules. I'm really not liking that word more and more. But finally, we found a long weekend that we could work a roadtrip there and headed out. That weekend was Charlie's birthday weekend. Yes, that morning, we woke Charlie, headed out to our favorite local donut shop for a celebratory breakfast, Luke went to school, Chad went to work, came home from work and we left late afternoon on Charlie's third birthday. He thought he was king because he also chose where we had dinner. Mickey D's. The big golden arches for his third birthday! Nice. Have I mentioned we took a long road trip on Charlie's birthday? Oh, and he was sick and Miles and Chad and me. Luke was the only healthy one. I was stressed at the time that Charlie was having a terrible birthday. It was all in my head, because he thought it was great! He and his big brother were thrilled to keep the party going when we finally arrived after 2:30am and didn't go to sleep until 4:30am. But hey, we were finally at the beach!!!!!

The first day there was pretty chilly, so I stayed inside with Miles and we lived it up in the condo and Miles found his feet!

The other boys played around and Charlie was reacquainted with the waves. It took a little bit, but then Daddy reminded him to try to jump over the waves and all was good after that! Luke wasn't hesitant at all, after all he's our future marine biologist and loves the ocean, no matter how cold the water is!! The next 2 days we all hung out on the beach (Miles slept in the pack n play one morning) in the morning or afternoon and enjoyed throwing the frisbee, making sand castles, looking for shells and taking walks. April is such a great month to be in Destin---but really, when isn't?

We also made a trip to Seaside. Such an adorable little town full of color and a variety of things to see and do. I think it will be so much fun to go when the boys are older and can ride bikes all through the area! We walked up and down some of the streets admiring the houses and exploring the town. And of course, we topped off the evening with some ice cream!

And speaking of food, one highlight of our trips to Destin is the yummy seafood! This time around, our boys were gobbling it down! A favorite is the Smoked tuna dip from our fave restaurant, The Back Porch. Charlie had chargrilled Amberjack while there and Luke is thrilled to tell you he tried Mahi-Mahi, Red Snapper and squid while on this trip! Soooo good! At another place we enjoy dining, the boys had a fun experience watching some fishermen bring in their catch. Luke's eyes were as wide as saucers when he saw the size of the Cobia these guys were bringing onto the dock. Big!! As soon as they knew the boat was docking beside us at the restaurant, they were waving like crazy trying to get a wave back---sure enough they did and a big story too!

Though the drive was long, the trip was well worth it! Charlie's third birthday, Miles' first trip to the beach, Luke ate squid and the Jackson 5 had some good, quality family time!

More fun pics can be found on my photoblog!

(late) Easter greetings to you!

2011-04-26T14:52:00.000-05:00

The past 3 weeks have been a whirlwind. From sickness throughout our family, to Charlie's birthday, from a quick beach trip, to a field trip, from Easter egg hunts to Easter worship, we haven't known up from down! Obviously, my blogging has suffered from the craziness, and if you are still reading, I have more posts to come! But, I wanted to go on and post about Easter because its special meaning to our family!

Lots of our days are spent in the car--going to and from school, church, or out and about. And much of our days over the past month, was spent listening to A Very Veggie Easter CD in our car. I actually don't mind most of the Veggie Tales music. It's tolerable and cute and teaches great lessons--if you can understand them. This particular CD was a big favorite for the boys and even me! One of my all-time favorite hymns, Christ the Lord is Risen Today, is on the CD and my boys were thrilled that we sang it in church on Sunday! But, my favorite part of the whole CD was the song "Hear the Bells Ringing." It is an incredible praise song and you can't help but sing it at the top of your lungs! Here are the lyrics:

Hear the bells ringing

their singing that we can be born again

hear the bells ringing they're singing

Christ is risen from the dead

the angel up on the tombstone

said he is risen

just as he said

quickly now go tell his disciples

that Jesus Christ is no longer dead

joy to the world, he is risen, hallelujah

he's risen hallelujah

Hallelujah

I loved the conversations that came up with my boys when this song came on. All about Jesus dying for our sins and rising again to save US!!! I will admit that our worship experience on Easter Sunday morning at church was not as worshipful as I had hoped it would be. It seems that our oldest 2 treasures had sugar poured down their throats along with triple shot espressos, and they were wild! Pretty humbling when we so long for their hearts to be captured by the Lord and try in vain to teach them to obey us, so in time, they will obey the Lord. That's the thing though--all Chad and I can do is plant seeds. The Lord must do (and will do) the rest! One comforting comment came from a woman behind us (my parents age) who greeted me with, "You are doing a great job!" She, knowing full and well we had our hands full, was gracious and encouraging. All of that to say, while I was hoping to put more into worshipping and hoping our little ones might actually hear something our minister said, I can be assured that this seed-planting (listening to and talking about Jesus dying for our sins and so much nore) is what our Lord is asking us to do.

In our house, we dyed eggs (and attempted to wait patiently). . .

hunted for them . . .

and received treats from the Easter bunny this Easter. . .

but most importantly, we were thankful and humbled, that our Savior took His place on the cross because he loves us more than we will ever be able to comprehend. Joy to the world! He is risen!

Charlie turns 3!

2011-04-26T00:00:00.000-05:00

This is a little late and there's more to come, but better late than never. . .

And just like that he turns 3! Happy 3rd Birthday sweet Charlie! You have truly grown up this year. Last year at this time, you weren't saying much. It was difficult for you to communicate. But wow! Look at what a year has done for you! You are so independent! We hear "No, I can do it by myself" all the time! You love to dress yourself, open things, put odds and ends together, help make breakfast, lunch and dinner. You are quite the little chef in the making! You are also often found in big brother's footsteps. Whatever he wants to do, you want to do! I'm struggling to let my little newly turned 3 year old like Spiderman---it seems too old for you. Luke didn't even know who Spiderman was at 3. Guess that's part of being a little brother. You have become quite the artist and really like Mommy and Charlie craft time. I do too! You still amaze us with your athletic ability and we can't wait to see what sport(s) grabs your interest soon.

You are incredibly thankful. It is precious to your Daddy and me how genuine your thank you's are. You thank us for getting yogurt from the grocery store, because it's one of the favorite parts of your meals. You thank us for little happies, for pushing you on the swing, for putting socks on you at bedtime, for so many things, and you are truly genuine! Charlie, you are known for your little shy grin and squint/wink you do, so cute, but you have become quite the social butterfly too--saying hello to everyone you meet and telling them your biggest or current passions! It is adorable to see.

The age of 2 was delightful! I loved it in so many ways. Your hugs and kisses and sweet high pitched "Good night! I wuv you!" melt me! I could go on and on Chuckles. We hope you know that your Daddy and I love you with all of our hearts. We think it is awesome to see how the Lord placed you as our 2nd boy, so special and unique. We can't wait to see how you grow this next year! We pray that as you start your 4th year of life, it is full of even more love and joy than the years before! Mommy and Daddy are beyond thankful for your precious life! We love you. Happy Birthday!!!

sweet birthday present

2011-04-05T00:00:00.001-05:00

For my birthday this year, all I could think that I really wanted from my boys was for them to let me take them (with sunny attitudes) on a photo shoot! My birthday arrived and it was pouring down rain, so a week later, we went for it! However, because Miles still takes a morning nap, the time of day wasn't great for wide eyes--everyone was squinty for sure! So, I worked with it and we found another spot with some ambiance and think I have some great shots of my boys! Thank you, precious family! If you want to see more from the shoot (Mom), click over to my photoblog.

watch out below

2011-03-31T20:40:00.000-05:00

So my last post was a "raise your hand if" post. I had one shout out with a hand raised. I'm going to try again with this one and see if anyone else wants to jump in and respond. Raise your hand if you are superstitious? Or, raise your hand if you've heard that things always come in 3's?

Well, I don't know that I would say I'm superstitious per say, but I won't open umbrellas inside or intentionally walk under a ladder. And, I do always knock on wood. So maybe I have a slight tendency to be supersitious. You may wonder why in the world I am bringing this up. Let me recap yesterday. . .

Being the super Mom I am, I would know to never leave a baby in a bouncy seat on the kitchen table. Especially if the baby is a crazy bouncing baby. Well, I being the terrible Mom I was yesterday, I did just that and it ended with Miles splat on the floor. It was horrible and dramatic and only by the grace of God is he okay. The Lord had him land on his very round and full--just plain chubby cheek and he was fine. My heart was not. Still might not be. Not a good way to start the day. Fast forward to later in the afternoon. I hear yet another crash, with my nerves already shot, and find that my dining room chandelier has fallen from the ceiling, smack onto our dining room table. What in the world?? By the end of the night I was kinda laughing about things, completely delirious and thinking a strong drink might do me some good!! I started thinking, hmmmmm, isn't there something about 3's, like bad things coming in 3's??

My mom called me today wondering what else had happened. Oh nothing at that point. But then this afternoon when I was bathing Luke, Charlie ran in to tell us that Mocha (our Beagle) was eating something. In. Miles'. room. Do you know what that was? Nope, not food. We don't have food upstairs. Hmmmm. Yep, sure enough, Mocha was eating one of Miles' dirty diapers. It was disgusting. I really can't think about it. And the clean up was terrible!! Uuuuggghhh, moving on.

So, that was thing #3. Surely we are all done, right? Anyone else have stories like this?? Please tell me you do!!!
***This is posted on March 31st, so you know I am not pulling an April Fool's joke!!!

6 months already!

2011-03-30T00:00:00.001-05:00

Raise your hand if you can't believe Miles is already 6 months old. I know! Me either!!! I feel like I say this every day, but really, time flies. Yep, our little chunk chunk is half a year old, plus 2 days, since technically his 6 month mark was Monday!

He's still living up to my favorite nickname, Milesy Smilesy! He gives out the sweetest, melt your heart smiles and turns me into a puddle on the spot! At this point, he's chugging along on sleep, a morning nap, an afternoon nap and a catnap (which he's close to done with). And then he's good to go through the night (with a dream feed around 11)! As far as food goes, Miles is kinda wishy washy with his breakfast. Some mornings he gobbles down his oatmeal and fruit, other mornings not a fan. He certainly loves his veggies though--carrots, peas, green beans, sweet potatoes and squash! Yummmmmy! Though his first feeding of carrots he wasn't too sure about . . .

He has a blast in his bouncy seat and loves to get his groove on in that thing! His exersaucer is also quite fun, but it doesn't beat watching his big brothers run around and act like the crazy kiddos they are, which ~~can sometimes be annoying when Miles is trying to drink his bottle and he's distracted~~ is really sweet! ;) He has rolled over both ways, but doesn't do this on a regular basis. Miles is much more into showing off his incredible ability to do push ups, something I'm sure he learned from his Daddy. He enjoys books, though he is especially intrigued by Moo, Baa, La La La, where he looks at the page and then up at me, back to the page and up at me with a smile! Precious! And lately, after waking, he squirms his way out of his swaddle in search of his feet or a random paci in his crib. He doesn't even take a paci. Just likes to play with it!

Miles we love you so and are very excited about the next half of your first year of life! What a treasure from the Lord you are!

hoorays and boos and God's plan

2011-03-22T20:57:00.002-05:00

Lately, I've tried to focus my morning prayers on thanking the Lord for the day He is laying out before me. Praying that His will be done. Praying that when I have hiccups in my plans for the day, that I might realize they aren't really my plans, but in fact are His. So here's the start to our day. . .

This morning I woke up to my alarm, set at 6:48, hooray, because it means a certain newest member of our family didn't wake me up before that. Usually it is set earlier because I like to be up, showered, dressed with make up on before tending to the kiddos. However this morning, my lovely sister ran carpool, hooray, because my car is in the shop, Chad is out of town, and it takes a good 30 minutes to get all 3 kiddos buckled in his non-SUV, meaning I didn't have to wake as early. So, the aforementioned little one decided to sleep until 7:30, hooray normally, but today boo, because as I am quickly trying to get Lukey down for breakfast and feed Miles his bottle, Charlie also wakes up and decides THIS morning, boo, is the morning he will tell me for the first time that pee-pee is about to come out, hooray, and runs to the potty, hooray! So that means Miles' bottle gets put on hold, boo, Lukey's breakfast is cold and uneaten, boo, and we all parade into the bathroom to see if Chuckles will finally produce in the potty. Sure enough, he did, BIG hooray!! So, I, elated, jump for joy and knock down the shower curtain, scaring poor Charlie with his arms protecting his head, boo, and quickly check to see if there is any emotional damage. There is none thus far, hooray, and we give hugs, high-fives and dole M&M's out! We then all rush downstairs and Luke devours his breakfast, while Chuckles is on and off the potty another half dozen times, partly out of pure amazement that pee-pee came out, hooray, partly motivated to wear big-boy underwear like Lukey, hooray, and partly for M&M's, boo, but hooray too--whatever works! Luke heads off to school, Miles finally get his bottle an hour late, boo, but he was fine, so hooray!

And our day continued with a poop explosion so big it went all the way up to the back of baby's neck and was deep under my fingernails, BIG boo! It was also filled with doggy throw up all over our kitchen rug, boo--why do dogs always find the carpets or rugs??? But on top of that, our day was filled with elation when an old, funny board book was found, hooray--we read it 50 times over and yogurt with dinner, hooray (so easy to please sometimes)!

Today made me laugh--it was pretty comical all that went on. It's so nice and comforting that even the small details in life are part of His plan! Sometimes though, there are big hiccups in life. My friend, Jennifer, has a close friend who is having a MAJOR hiccup, to say the least, right now. I also pray that should we have a MAJOR hiccup in our life, I may be able to trust and remember the same thing. . .please pray for this family, whose 5 year old little girl has cancer. Sometimes it seems that Jeremiah 29:11 can become cliche, but it says the Lord has plans for us--to prosper us and give us hope. Let's cling to this. . .that the Lord has everything worked out already!

St. Patty's Day kiss

2011-03-17T21:26:00.001-05:00

Our little charmer, Charlie, hopes none of you were pinched today, though he and his big bro were quite excited to discover that Daddy wasn't wearing green for St. Patrick's Day! Ooops! So, if you were pinched and are feeling a little blue (instead of green), here's a sweet Irish kiss for you. . .

Thanks, Charming Chuckles!

no rush

2011-03-15T14:41:00.000-05:00

It's Spring Break where we are, but we are having a staycation! We aren't going anywhere dreamy, but it sure feels dreamy not to have to set my alarm to get up and get ready before the kids are up. Not to have to rush around feeding a baby, making breakfast, getting kiddos dressed and out the door for school at super early o'clock! It's also nice not having to rush them to bed to ensure good sleep for school or just for good attitudes. What it all boils down to is that I like not rushing. I like not having to be anywhere if we don't want to. I like playing around the house and doing much needed odds and ends, which is what we did all day yesterday. I like playing with friends when we want to, which is what we did today and have arranged for a couple of days this week. I am thankful for Spring Break, even if we aren't heading out on a vacation, because staying home certainly feels like a vacation sometimes! You feel me?

Last night we kicked off the Spring Break week with a pizza and movie night with the boys. We sprawled out on our den floor and ate, sang, danced, cuddled and answered thousand of questions about Beauty and the Beast (our boys first ever viewing)! The big boys stayed up later than usual and nothing felt rushed, just lots of fun! Thanks, Honey, for a super night!

Mesmerized!!

musically inclined

2011-03-08T15:01:00.000-06:00

Music moves me. It motivates me. It comforts me. It engergizes me. It soothes me. It makes me speed. Well, I guess music doesn't technically make me speed, but I would swear that it sends a signal from a brain to my foot that makes me put the pedal to the metal when a favorite song comes on! I'm not sure if my passion for music came from my piano lessons (though I was really into Madonna and Michael Jackson long before piano started), or if it came from my Dad's love of the Grateful Dead that he so annoyingly made us suffer through on long road trips when we were younger. Ha!

Anyway, Chad is the same way with music. Maybe he doesn't speed to a good song, but he's moved by music too. His love for the trumpet and jazz music has made a big impact on our kiddos. When Chad was in grade school, he started playing the trumpet, taking lessons, was in all kinds of ensembles and still played while we were in college. Then, life got busy and he put the trumpet down for a bit. However, he has always picked it up and played around here and there, especially at Christmas. This past Christmas, he played a lot and really rekindled his passion for the trumpet. Our boys LOVED it and became much more familiar with Christmas songs, a lot quicker this year, thanks to Chad! Recently, he started taking lessons again. Now, we have concerts in our home almost everyday, ranging from the Star Wars theme (our boys #1 request) to Chris Botti, from Glee Songs to Les Miserables. I love that between our iPods, CD's and Chad's intimate concerts, our boys are also being introduced to all genres of music!

I think maybe my love for music came from early exposure to it. I'm hoping that our boys' exposure to music will do the same for them. And, I'm thankful for my hubby who moves us with his music daily! We've been pondering the age at which we should let or encourage our boys to take lessons. Some of our friends are doing the same. Did you play an instrument growing up? When did you start playing?

time for a change. . .

2011-03-02T10:40:00.002-06:00

So March is here. Once again a new month--a perfect time for a change! I've been contemplating a blog name change for a while now. A few things have led me to this. One, I've been blogging for about 4 years with the same name. Time for something new. Another reason is that I didn't really want our name in our title. Our blog has been linked to several others through friends and other blogs and through my photography, so I just wanted to take our name out of it. I don't mind it being in our blog address for now, because often people just click on a blog name or through their Reader and don't even remember the blog address.

But my main reason for changing our little blog title is to recommit why I am blogging. I started this as a journal for our family, a place to keep records for our boys and us, and also to keep friends and family updated on the goings on of our lives. The everyday stuff and the milestones. But, I feel like our little blog has evolved some, and I'm realizing I'm sharing lots more about who our family is. I want to make sure that I am clear on what our family stands for. Or who. So, Morning Glories, came to mind.

When I was little, not even that little, my mom would always come in and wake us up in the mornings. She would, in a very sing-song voice come into my room, open the blinds right beside my bed and say, "Rise and Shine, Morning Glory!" Occasionally, on my grumpier mornings, this would annoy me. But, more often than not, I loved being her Morning Glory. It wasn't about the name she called me, but it was that she had a name for me (one of many) and more importantly, that she loved me--I always knew it and I still do. The care she took to greet my sister and me with cheerfulness and sunshine in the morning was not lost on me. So, Morning Glories is a tribute to my mom and that place of love she created for me!

It's in that same way, that Chad and I want to raise our children--to grow them up (not as flowers, but like flowers grow). We have been blessed to both be raised in love and to love the Lord. We want our children to know our love for each other in our marriage and our love for them, and we are confident they already do. And just as importantly, we want our boys to know of our love for the Lord. Our purpose in our marriage, in our family and in our lives is to glorify the Lord. The word, glory, means adoring praise or worshipful thanksgiving. And, while life is not about glorifying the Lord only in the mornings, starting our day giving glory to Him is what our family is striving for.

So, when I was thinking of a new blog name, Morning Glories, just seemed to fit us.

Hope you like the name change and if you don't, I hope it grows (I just had to) on you! I have no idea if this will change in your Reader or not, you may have to do it manually, or not. If I decide to change our blog url, then I will let you know! And, finally, since you read through all of that, here are a few pics, you know, since words can be boring alone and pics spice things up! Little Miles was baptized a week ago and it was such a special time. Just another step for our family to dedicate him to the Lord and to declare that we will raise Miles up to know Him!

Sweet Mimi loving her grandson!

Oscar night (and back by popular demand. . .)

2011-02-27T17:43:00.000-06:00

Pop quiz. . .what's today? No, not Sunday. I mean, it is Sunday, but what comes on tv tonight?? Anyone?? The Oscars. Or, the Academy Awards. Aka--my favorite tv night of the year!!! Pre-kiddos, every year this day/night came around, I was glued to the tv from 2pm-1am absorbing it all. I love movies. Love the artistic side, the critical side, the imaginative side, the emotional side, almost all of the sides of movies. I love the glitz and glamour and as my friend Bec likes to say, I love "watching pretty people do pretty things!"

Last year my sweet sister wrote me a poem for my Oscar night, or my "Christmas" as she likes to call it. It was quite brilliant, so I posted it here. Just today, she sent me my poem for this year, to get all pumped up for my vegging this evening (right now). Once again, I have to share. . .thanks Mary, you rock!! And the winner is. . . .

My Biffer’s Favorite Time of the Year
Written by: Mary Buchas ---MY sister (and a small edit by me)

(To the Tune of: “The Most Wonderful Time of the Year”)

It’s my Biffs favorite time of the year

With the red carpet rolling

And big stars a-strolling in designer gear

It’s my Biffs favorite time of the year

She’s the hap-happiest person of all

With Ryan Seacrest a-speaking, Miss Rivers critiquing

When a dress is too small

Biff’s the hap-happiest person of all.

James and Anne will be hosting

Biffer will be toasting

A glass of wine during the show

An award for the Kings Speech

A schoolgirl like screech when

The popcorn is ready to go

It’s my Biffs favorite time of the year

There’ll be Colin accepting

And Biffer expecting

To see her Tommy dear

It’s my Biffs favorite time of the year

Will Facebook be awarded?

Inception be thwarted?

Was Portman really the bomb?

Could Black Swan really win it?

(Even if it’s really weird

Watching it next to your Mom)

It’s my Biffs favorite time of the year

Whoa is that Bellatrix?

I hope all of my picks

Are the top of the tier.

It’s my Biffs favorite time…

I’m sick of writing this rhyme

Lindsay Lohan commited a crime

It’s Oscar night time…for the 83rd year!

family notebook

2011-02-23T14:32:00.000-06:00

Last year I read the book, Steady Days, by Jamie C. Martin. It was a great little book, one full of ideas and inspiration on managing my days as a mom and wife. A book that has encouraged me to finally take steps toward getting more organized. I've always thought I am somewhat organized, yet I live in clutter. Though I've still not been able to rid our house of clutter, I've finally created a family notebook that holds important keys to our family's organization. That way, even when my counters are full of clutter, I still know where to go to find things!! My next step is getting rid of clutter so when my boys are asked one day down the road, what is one thing you remember your mom saying as you were growing up, it won't be "Why are our counters always SO cluttered?! You need to find homes for all of these. . ., etc. etc."

Do you see what I mean? Full disclosure obviously. . .

Anyway, here's what is in our family notebook in case you are in need of something like this as well. You may have something like this already, but it has been so good for me, I want to share. . .

First off, I found a 3 ringed, 2 pocket binder. In the front pocket of the binder I keep some character traits and Bible verses we'd love to see developed in our boys. Next, in the front of our notebook is 12 months of calendars printed and hole punched. That way, when I'm making appointments or recording special days at school or needing to plan date nights, I can put it on the calendar and have it right there. Chad can look at this too and update his calendar. I don't have a personal agenda that I carry with me---I have a thousand other things like diapers, sippy cups, Purell, kleenex, etc.etc. So, this one spot in our kitchen is perfect for us!

I then have 7 dividers with index tabs. The first is Phone Numbers. I have a list of phone numbers ranging from our parents, neighbors, church, schools, doctors, to every home maintenance number we call (air, garage, plumbing, car, pest, etc). On the back on that sheet are Take-Out numbers, so we don't have to look things up in a phone book. Saving steps is quite helpful these days! Additionally, though I do have most of these numbers in my cell phone, we are the family that still has a land-line, so I choose to use it when I'm home anyway.

Our nex tab is for birthdays. Though I created my own sheet, here is a site that has hundreds of free printables you can download, among lots of other helpful tips to family/home organizing! I'm very picky about fonts and the way things are laid out visually. I love this site for so many of the items I've used in our notebook.

Our third tab is for Bible verses. I chose it to be third because I had a yellow tab and that makes me think of joy! So, here is where I have written some verses I want to commit to heart as well as some for our boys to learn too.

Our fourth tab is our Odds & Ends Master Plan. I have a sheet, again that I found on the site above, that enables me to list things that need to be done around our house. So often, we come up with things that need to be done, but forget about, when we have time to do them. This can be a place to list things like, buy/change air filters, change lightbulbs, print pictures out for new frames, hang this or that, pull clothes down from the attic, etc. Just a place for me to list things I'd like for us to do or work on that I can get out of my cluttered head!

Our fifth and sixth tab are currently empty, but I plan on using one of them for articles I rip out of magazines that I want to keep and peruse later. I have so many old issues of magazines with dog-eared pages that I want to return to. Therefore I have TONS of magazines sitting around--that equals clutter! So, I can recycle my magazines after I rip those articles out! The other tab, I am planning on using for expenditures. For example, this site I keep mentioning has a printable for health records. I have written down every dr. visit we have had already this year (which in less than 2 months down, has been A LOT). This way, I can look back at the end of the year and know how about how much to budget for next year. Yes, I'm sure there are online ways of doing this--but handheld things seem to work better for me. I'm hoping this and recording other things will help us as we get on track with our budget!

Our last tab is for our Family Mission Statement. Chad and I worked on this at the end of last year. We're still working on it, but we have goals and verses and our family mission laid out. We have it under this tab, so we can go back to it and update it as we see fit!

Behind all of our dividers are 3 separate folders with pockets. One for each of our boys. They hold things like flyers or reminder papers that come home from school, school calendars, or papers with milestones or funny quotes on them, so I can remember to put them in the boys' scrapbooks.

Then finally, I have 3 separate velcro folders, also hole punched. The first contains stamps and note sheets for teachers. The second contains, take-out menus, the third contains coupons.

Now that our family notebook is up and running, I am feeling more organized already. And though our house may still be cluttered (though that ~~will~~ hopefully will change, just you wait) at least my brain isn't!!

parenting different personalities

2011-02-18T15:14:00.000-06:00

Recently, I've been marveling at how very different my children are. My ALL boys children. I don't know why this surprises me. I mean my girlfriends are girls, but are very different--of course we have had different upbringings too. So, I think, okay, let's look at my sister and me. Sure enough, we are quite different from each other too, even with the same upbringing. But, is it really the same upbringing?

The fact is, we do parent each child differently. Sure, from a broader scope, we raise them the same, or at least we try to with our faith, values, etc. But because each child is created differently with unique personalities, we sometimes have to change our parenting steps along the way.

Some of this has come to mind over transitions that have or have not been occuring in our house lately. For example, Luke gave up his paci on his own at 15 months and was the easiest kiddo ever to potty train. Charlie eventually gave up his paci, somehow a lot easier than we anticipated, but it was much later and he's nowhere near ready for potty training at close to 3. But, Charlie can dress himself much earlier than Luke ever did, sleeps later and can play on his own! Miles, too, has his own way of doing things at 4.5 months old!

I am saying none of this to compare them to each other, but to highlight just how different our children are from each other. One needs more sleep, one needs more reassurance, one is more independent, one soaks up every moment of life, one holds back and assesses situations, one does the opposite. Again, I know this shouldn't amaze me, but it does. Sometimes I think, "Wow, it would be so much easier if so and so did this like so and so did!" But, how awesome it is to be able to nurture these little ones with their own unique personalities! I truly believe it helps hubby and I look at life in a different way each time around. It helps us appreciate different characteristics and keeps us on our toes! I am very thankful the Lord has given us the opportunity to learn how to parent each of our children differently and even more thankful for our sweet, unique little boys! Now, please remind me of this when we do finally start potty training Charlie!!

Happy Valentine's Day!

2011-02-14T14:52:00.000-06:00

We've been pretty busy around here! Valentine's Day cards have been in the works for weeks! For now, my boys are still enjoying hearts and glitter and reds and pinks, so I have been soaking up all the crafting that's been going on.

Luke asked us this morning if Valentine's Day was the most special day of the year. We told him no, but that it's a very special day chosen to celebrate love and to share love with family and friends. Our boys have really enjoyed the build up, the candy, the cards, the crafting, the cookies, the giving. And, tonight we are making a special meal to celebrate the day of love with steaks, roasted asparagus, sweet potato chips. We let the boys pick out a special fruit just for the occasion (after all it's the little things they love) and Luke chose a star fruit, while Charlie chose kiwi.

But, while we have spent a lot of time talking about Valentine's and creating memories for the boys, I also want to let my husband know just how much I love him. I do have 4 special Valentines, but he's my biggest and the most important Valentine!

So, Sweetie, thank you. Thank you for loving the Lord, for loving me, for loving our boys. Thank you for being so darn adorable and sexy at the same time. Thank you for being loyal. Thank you for being encouraging. Thank you for being sincere and genuine. Thank you for overlooking my faults and highlighting the good. Thank you for still exciting me when you come in the door from work. Thank you for all the million things you do and don't do that make me love you and treasure you far more than I ever thought possible! Happy Valentine's Day, Chad! I love you!!!!!!!!!!

a snowy tale

2011-02-10T14:29:00.001-06:00

Once upon a time there lived a king and a queen who loved the snow more than anyone they knew! Because they lived in a southern town, they were never pounded with snow like many of their other friends who live north of them. Each year when snow was forecasted, the king and queen were giddy with delight! They would sit with their tea and hot cocoa and watch the snow fall for hours on their kingdom (when they didn't have other pressing business to attend to)! And what was even more exciting, was that the king and queen seemed to have passed their love for snowy weather on to their little princes.

But one day, the queen was talking to her princes about the wonderful news that more snow was on its' way. Suddenly, the princes became discontent and started jibber-jabbering about the summer and all the glorious things they could do when it's hot--like wearing flip-flops and going swimming! The queen became distressed and wondered who had put a spell on them. They had always loved the snowy, cold weather! And just the other day they were adoring their snow boots! She mentioned this to the king and her sister too, and they also wondered what had possessed the princes.

Finally, the forecasted snow made its way to their kingdom, and as the white fluffy flakes poured down, the queen began to hear a change in the princes tunes. Their squeals of delight returned and they were soon begging to play in God's beautiful creation! After they were bundled up and headed out into the snow, they were reminded of many things. . .

like the taste of snow. . .

and just how much fun it is to run around and make snow trails!

The king and queen have yet to figure out who cast the brief summer lovin' spell on them, but they are no longer worried about the princes' love for all things snow. Thank goodness and the end!

the elusive dress. . .found!

2011-02-08T15:58:00.000-06:00

Many of you know my little sister is getting married this year! We have to wait all the way until October, but this weekend made their engagement and upcoming nuptials finally seem SO real because . . . my Biffer found her wedding dress!!!! My mom, sister and I searched long and hard one weekend in ATL back in January and came back empty-handed. But, as we headed out of town this weekend in search of the elusive dress, we were thinking positive thoughts and sure enough "the one" was found! It was a quick trip, but she scored, and so will Kevin when he sees her on their wedding day! Wink, wink! :) Anyway, it was such a fun experience! The heavens opened and the light shone down on her when she put this dress on. Brought tears to all 3 of our eyes. What a gorgeous bride she will be in October! I had lots of memories coming back to me from 10 years ago when I was searching for my dress and my little sister was in high school! She was looking at me as such a grown up getting married and had visions of her future wedding and mate down the road. Now I am looking at her, all grown up and taking care of her wedding plans, and I am so excited about what's ahead for them. Marriage is the most important relationship the Lord blesses us with, aside from our relationship with Him, and I can't wait to see how the Lord blesses Mary and Kevin with each other!!

There was a huge mirror inside the botique and since I couldn't take a picture of my sister until she purchased a dress, I had fun taking a few shots of my mom to capture memories from our trip!

Lots and lots of dresses to try on. . .

Mom's face when we think this is the dress. . .

Mom's face when we know this is the one. . .

And of course, no one can see the bride in her dress before the wedding day (except for her mom and sister)! So, here's a peek of my beautiful and uber silly little sister in her wedding dress!

I love you, Biff!

a new read

2011-02-01T16:00:00.000-06:00

I am so excited for a new month! The month of love! And, just today, a new book I've been anxiously awaiting, arrived! A friend of mine from a Bible study a few years back sent me an email the other day. She told me of a blog, A Holy Experience, she has been reading that is incredible. I checked it out, and my friend was right. This woman, Ann Voskamp, is an amazing writer, storyteller and she loves the Lord! I poured through her blog one night and discovered she has just published a book. I was very interested and ordered it from Amazon right away! The very next day, I was reading through 2 other well known blogs (I do love to read blogs) and they also mentioned her new book. And after reading further, her book just landed on the USA Today's bestseller list after being released for only 2 weeks! This book, One Thousand Gifts, is sweeping the nation and I cannot wait to delve into it! It's about living a life of joy and of love and learning from the Lord. So tonight, I am planning to pour a cup of tea, sit under a warm blanket and begin reading this highly praised book! What a perfect way to spend the first night in February!

a week to forget, but we'll always remember!

2011-01-30T23:35:00.002-06:00

***Update to below. I actually wrote this on Friday during the boys' nap, but left it to answer a crying baby. I saved it to post later, just so one day we could remember this 2 week period from you know where, not that we'll ever forget it! Ha ha ha! Saturday morning, we woke up to find Lukey throwing up. Poor little thing. He watched 6 movies on Saturday and 3 today. That's more screen time than he's had in the past 6 months combined. Against every fiber of my being, but a necessity to spare Miles from getting the flu, and one that made Luke a quick fan. We may have created a movie buff! Anyway, my stamina waivered this weekend, especially tonight, when my hubby left for a week long trip. However, as I write this update, I know friends and family are praying for us, that the Lord is ALWAYS with us and I'm still thankful.
--------------------------------

I'm kind of in shock right now. Currently, in our house, we have RSV, the flu, 2 sinus infections and an ear infection. I thought it was bad when Miles came down with RSV, but now with Luke getting the flu, holy moley. I did have a friend remind me today that it could be a lot worse. This is true, and she's a good friend. If everyone got the stomach bug, I might throw in the towel, or drive downtown to my sister's office (she works in a tall building) and jump. Okay, not really, but I despise throwing up. Who doesn't, right? But really, I do the most. Really. I know it could be worse. And I'm jesting with all of this so I can laugh. We've spent $100 just on co-pays for dr. visits this week. We've spent over $200 on prescrips and over the counter meds at Walgreens this week.

But I have to say, I know that in the midst of our painfilled and inconvenient sicknesses, we are truly blessed. Yesterday, I was feeling overwhelmed and down. Today, I'm feeling overwhelmed but thankful. Thankful to our friends who have called to see if they can drop off food. Thankful to a sweet friend who brought us a portable tv for Luke so he can watch movies and be quarantined from Miles. Thankful for my parents who kept the older boys for a couple of nights as Miles struggled with RSV, and have made grocery runs and done countless other things for us. Thankful for family and friends who have called and sent emails checking on us. And very thankful for all of your prayers. We aren't in the hospital, no tragedy has come upon us. And, we are thankful to the Lord for that. We are just sick, but we feel LOVED.

still packing a punch

2011-01-25T14:51:00.001-06:00

The end of last week packed a punch on our family, and it's still punching! Charlie began last week with a fever and terrible cough, which turned out to be an ear and sinus infection. By midweek, Chad left town and I came down with the chills, extreme fatigue and fever--all leading to a pretty miserable sinus infection this weekend and now I have no voice. In desperate need of some Mucinex, my major friend during sinus infections, I dug through our medicine drawer. Oh. my. goodness. Apparently we hadn't done that in a while. I was in such shock that I took a picture of what I found to discard.

Want to know what's left in our drawer? Tylenol, Q-tips and Hydrogen Peroxide, and plenty of the last two if you need some. It was crazy how much we had in that drawer that had long been expired. Anyone know what you are supposed to do with old medicine? I'm a little ignorant when it comes to being green, but I've heard you aren't supposed to toss medicines. I'm just trying to be intentional, since that's my word of the year!

Anyway, Chad and Miles have now both come down with whatever upper respiratory infection Charlie and I have. Poor things. We are currently stocked with Vicks Vapo Rub for adults and babies and we are all really smelly! Sweet Lukey is the only one who hasn't come down with anything. . .yet. I know I should never write or say those things out loud, but I'm praying it won't work against me this time! He has his Pancakes and Pajama Day at school tomorrow and he is pumped! They are studying the letter P. Here's to Praying that our Pumpkin isn't feeling Puny on his Pancakes and PJ Day because we will surely have a big Pity Party if so! Stay healthy, Lukey!

healthiest foods

2011-01-17T16:13:00.000-06:00

Around our house lately, Lukey has been obsessed with all things healthy. His mission: to become the fastest person in the whole world. Every food that crosses our table or his mind must be labeled and/or evaluated by its degree of healthiness. In fact, the other day he turned down a snack because it had sugar in it and replied "sugar isn't the healthiest thing for us Mommy!" Ummm, okay. That's my 5 year old telling his mommy that. Now before you go thinking he's the healthiest eater ever and that we've taken the fun out of his life by denying him sugar, we haven't. He knows all about moderation and just yesterday was begging us to eat lunch at a place with hotdogs---his still all time favorite food. The nutritional value of hotdogs have been fully disclosed to him, so his healthy habits kick in only on his own time-table.

I bring this up because I started perusing my new Real Simple magazine yesterday and there was a list of the 30 healthiest foods determined by dieticians and nutritionists across the country. Luke was thrilled to hear the list and we all sat around our den while I read aloud the list--we should have had a drum roll, but we didn't. Anyway, as I read the list, we came across many of our favorites. Blueberries, oranges, broccoli, avacados, almonds, spinach, kiwi, etc. BUT, there were several things on the list that we have never had or don't cook with. I'm wondering if you eat these. And, if you do, how? How do you prepare them or add them to your meals? Do your kids eat them? Here's the list that doesn't exist in our house. . .barley, quinoa, lentils, bulgur, kale, and chard. Sardines are also on the list, but even if you said you ate them, I just can't. So do tell me. . .!!

welcome snow!!

2011-01-12T09:21:00.001-06:00

We just had our first snow of the new year and of course, we were beyond thrilled! I made it back from a weekend of wedding dress shopping with my mom and sister, and exited the airport to pouring down snow!!! As I walked inside to greet all of my boys, they were giddy (partly because I was home, but probably more for the snow)!! Daddy had already taken them outside to dance in the big flakes! He took this photo, which I thought was so cool--a reflection of our kitchen (with our Christmas cards still up) and the snow just starting to fall on the boys!

We ended up with between 3-4 inches of snow. Which was perfect! Just enough for Chad to stay and play a bit in the snow before eventually heading to work. A snow with beauty, just right for snowballs and snowmen, warm fires and snowcream! I told the boys about my mom (their Mimi) making my sister and me snow ice cream or "snowcream" when we were little girls. They thought that was the best idea ever, so we pulled out the vanilla, sugar, milk and then grabbed a big bowl full of snow! Our first attempt wasn't quite right---most definitely too much vanilla and not enough sugar or milk. Our second go around, with the right measurements was spot on and YUMMY! Brought back lots of fun memories for me as well!

Highlights of our first 2011 snow!

I love this pic of Luke--concentrating so hard on hitting a golf ball in the snow. I also love that this pic coloring is unedited--his lips and skin are that color!

Snow--we hope to see you again soon!

word of the year

2011-01-01T00:00:00.001-06:00

At the end of 2009, I decided to choose a word of the year for 2010. No resolutions. It was a new idea I picked up from someone--probably one of the blogs I read, but I don't know which one. You can read about my word for 2010 here. I remember starting to think about what word I would choose a couple of months ago. Nothing jumped out right away. However, over the past month or so, a word has really hit me and I keep coming back to it. So my word for this year, 2011, is . . .

intention

as in (according to dictionary.com)

in·ten·tion

1. an act or instance of determining mentally upon some action or result.
2. the end or object intended; purpose.
3. intentions,
a. purpose or attitude toward the effect of one's actions or conduct

I've found lately that I don't have as much time as I used to and I haven't been great at time management since Miles has been born. I'm planning to change that this year. It's not just about time management though. It's so much more. Chad and I want to live our lives for the Lord and raise our boys to do the same. We need to be intentional about doing so. I want to be thinking through decisions we make for our family. I want to know why we are doing this and that before we do it. I want the word intention and its meaning to be intermingled in everything we do this year. . .spending time with family and friends, budgeting, exercising, organizing, playing, living and most importantly growing in the Lord. I'm super excited to see what this year is going to bring and how I can live with intention! Anyone else choosing a word of the year?

blog header year in review

2010-12-31T15:21:00.001-06:00

I have a lot of fun creating my blog headers. I thought I'd give a year in review. If you follow in a reader, stop by our actual link sometime and check out the headers! I definitely have a few favorites this year. I really like April, June and November. Of course as I just looked back at them, I like other ones too. It's fun--we'll see what I come up with in 2011! Still don't have January yet, so it may be a tad late!!

Christmas memories

2010-12-27T00:12:00.002-06:00

All of the school programs have ended, Christmas cards have been sent and received, cookies were made and devoured, Christmas crafts cover our kitchen windows, our Candlelight service and Christmas day have passed, but we created wonderful memories!

This was the year that Luke wanted a blue Lightning McQueen and glowing stars for Christmas and Charlie wanted candy canes. This was the Christmas season that Charlie fell in love with all things snowmen and the boys were obsessed with the Grinch. Silent Night, Joy to the World and Christmas Canon topped our favorite Christmas carols (along with the Grinch and Frosty). This was Miles' first Christmas! Family time at my sister's, Christmas eve at our house and Christmas day at my parents was really special. Lots of memories were made . . .

It seems more than ever this year, that JOY was infused into Christmas. Our boys learned the words to Joy to the World, we all pondered what it meant to have joy in our hearts, we sang with joy throughout the season, we spent lots of quality, family time together filled with joy and we talked about what a glorious night it was thousands of years ago when baby Jesus was born! As our Christmas has come to a close, we hope you all had a very joyful Christmas season!

tough days happen

2010-12-22T15:43:00.001-06:00

This morning, I was done by 8:15am. You know, done with the day and with my cluttered and filthy house and with my wild boys. I thought about calling Chad at work and asking him if he slipped spoonfuls of sugar down the boys throats before they woke up. I actually just started writing all of the details of our morning, but erased it, deciding that wasn't the point. You would've had a good laugh though. Anyway, my point for writing is this: So often I write about the positives. I'm very lucky to have SO many more positives than negatives. But, there are tough days. I blog mainly for my family and for record and memory keeping. I love that I have other family and friends who read--it makes my day when I get comments about this and that. However, (and I may be fooling myself) I was thinking that maybe one day my sister or my future daughters-in-law might be having a rough day with managing the house or children and they may feel all alone. Like it doesn't happen to anyone else. It does and I want them to be encouraged! I also keep a personal journal and as I've been looking back at it, I realize I never write about the hard things--only the good. Just recently, I asked Chad if he remembered going through tough times with Luke and Charlie as babies. Did they cry? Did they nap? He remembers some of our struggles with each boy. I don't. Okay, I do in the broader picture, but not the day to day stuff. Part of me believes the Lord helps me with that. Part of me thinks that is a piece of my make-up. I think it's probably good for the most part that I remember things positively. But sometimes, that's not reality. So, I thought I would write that down. Have it on record that some days are just hard. You know, in case my sister or future daughters-in-law ever wake up with a cluttered house and kiddos that are W-I-R-E-D. In case you ever have to take your 3 boys to the dr. office and one isn't feeling well, the other is crying because he had to be woken from his nap and the other is screaming because he can't climb on the table or play in the trash can. In case you have to stop and feed your youngest in the grocery store parking lot before going in, but then find out you have to cut the feeding short because your oldest has to go to the bathroom and you suddenly find another meltdown on your hands because your other child really wants to see the giant blow up Frosty before going inside. In case, oh, I could go on, but just hope you know these days happen and you get through them. And you love your life even more (after you've had some quiet time during nap time to reflect)!! :) At least I do!!