Our new pet

Well, JR came home with a 'surprise' for the boys today. In the house he walked carrying a box with holes in it. He was told at work to trap this animal and kill it. He was able to trap it but obviously not kill it. So, we have a new pet, for now. Will be interesting to see how long we can keep him in our yard before he finds a way out.

Finally getting around to posting some pictures from JB's first birthday. Just had the two neighbor boys over for cupcakes. JB really enjoyed them.

Here is a picture that B took of us. He really enjoys taking pictures and seems to have a knack/interest in photography.

On JB's birthday, he performed his greatest stunt yet. He climbed up on top of the stove. Thankfully it was not on! If you look at the picture in the previous post of him on the white step-stool, he has figured out how he can stand on the top of the leg of the step-stool. I decided that I was going to take pictures of everything he climbed on in one day...did not get very far, with the camera that is but managed to snap another one.

Yesterday we were playing at some friends house. As we were getting ready to leave, I called up to the boys to start cleaning up. I heard a few words and then B said "come on let's clean up, I want to obey my mom!" I was so surprised. I have really been trying to work on not parenting from fear. I don't want the boys to do things because they fear the consequences but because it is what is right. A lot easier said than done.
Yesterday we went to the library and checked out a lot of books. B was looking at his monster truck book. He then exclaimed, "oh wow, this wreck would cause cancer". To which J asked to see and then B said "it is not an appropriate picture for a 3 year old"!
One last photo....

Happy First Birthday JB

Look who is forward facing now......

You love being able to see where we are going instead of where we have been, seeing me in the rearview mirror and being able to sit side by side with your brothers.

Can't believe it has already been 365 days. Happy birthday JB.

You are quite the little climber. I know you are my third, but boy you sure scare me with your determination to get to higher places. When anyone is standing on something, you throw quite the ruckus until you can get right up beside them, be it the couch, step stool, bean bag, chair, etc.


You have not yet said your first word, but I am not concerned, knowing you can't get a word in edgewise. You enjoy laying in your bed and babbling. I like sneaking in there in the mornings and just watching you as you stretch and wake up. You eventually see much, greet me with a huge smile and stand up.

You like to throw your food on the floor, we are working on that.

On command, when I say "what is in your mouth", you spit whatever out!
You like your dog Douglas and it brings comfort when the tears fall.

Just yesterday at Wal-mart you were sitting nicely in the cart, until it was time to check out. You were chewing on one of our purchases. Knowing you had one in each hand, I gave one of them to the lady to scan. You did not like that at all, you immediately threw the other one you were holding onto the floor. I gave it back to you (to see what you would do) and you threw it again. You made it very clear that you were not happy! Then when I told you no again, you got even madder because I would not give it back to you. We left the store as others turned to watch us walk out.

When you are really tired, I will pick you up and you will lay your head on my shoulder.

You enjoy giving high fives and if we lean in to you, you will head butt us.

You have the wet slobbery kiss down pat.

You love to play with your brothers in the shower. I still can't figure out how you escaped from the tub one time....had to have been a head dive over the side.

I love you little guy and are so thankful that God gave you to us to round out our 3 sons. You have already enriched our lives so much more...can't wait to see what the next 365 days hold.

Filling our summer days...

I was recently telling a friend of mine about a family member that lost a job. I had made the comment that they did nothing wrong to lose their job. B overheard me and started inquiring as to what I meant. I explained that they worked for a man that sold real estate and reminded him about our conversations about the economy and how it was bad and it meant people were not spending money. Therefore, the real estate guy could not sell any houses or buildings because no one had any money. So, he was not able to pay his employee and had to let them go. So, the person that lost their job, it was not their fault, they did not do anything wrong. B did not even wait a split second and he said "Oh, so it was the government's fault?" Stopped us in our tracks.

Several weeks ago I stopped by Michaels and Target and found all kinds of projects for the boys that cost very little. Wooden train cars that had to be glued together and then painted. Wooden automobiles that you punch out and then piece together. All kinds of educational and historical workbooks and flashcards. (Figured it would not hurt me to learn about landmarks, presidents and states too.) Super hero coloring and activity books. New markers, crayons and pencils, not to mention some special markers designed for windows and mirrors. The boys have loved it and well worth every penny I spent. B especially will sit for long periods and just color. He really enjoys the nights that the other 2 fall asleep on time and he can sit in bed with JR and draw.

We went out this morning and dug up rocks that were in the dirt. JB was the dirtiest for a while and then I engaged the boys in a 'who can get the other dirtiest' game. The boys loved throwing their rocks in an irrigation canal. JB though wanted to crawl in - no fear.


Spent some time yesterday at the splash park. Have not been there too often because it is all concrete and with JB not walking, just difficult. I decided to let him crawl in it with jeans and socks to protect his legs and feet. He had a ball.
He also enjoyed crawling in the tunnel at the park.

Then we came home and had homemade jello popsicles.


The common theme around our house continues to be forgiveness. The boys are learning what it means to ask for forgiveness, not only from the offended individual, but from God and to seek forgiveness. We recently talked about being a blessing and the boys decided they wanted to be a blessing to our neighbors by rolling all of the trash cans along the street (put out for garbage collection) up to the houses. Maybe I can incorporate being a blessing everyday and see what things we can come up with.

J is doing great with the potty training. Maybe one accident every couple of days. We are going tomorrow to buy him some pull-ups. I told him that once he is good at going in the potty that I would get him some pull-ups for night time. He has already decided that he will pick out Toy Story ones.

Just hanging out

Been staying close to home. Had two sets of friends (Pahals and Pankratz') last week that were in town and hooked up with them at different parks. Fun to see how the kids have grown and to watch everyone play together. This past weekend our missionary friend Naomi, from Zimbabwe, stayed here and spoke at our church.

B attended VBS last week and enjoyed it. This past weekend he went to a shooting sport activity through the Cub Scouts. Him and JR took the BB gun to a local shooting range where B got instruction on the parts of the gun, safety things, shooting tips, etc. He was quite excited to bring home his target for me to see.
School starts in 3 1/2 weeks. Should find out this week who his teacher will be.

I have been struggling with some inner ear issues that are causing dizziness. I think it has to do with some fluid in the ear but also what are known at crystal rocks in your ear. They seem to have come loose or displaced. My friend Naomi, who is a nurse and dad is a chiropractor, was around last night when it got really bad. It dropped me to my knees. Fortunately her dad was able to walk us through an exercise that helps to reset the rocks. So far so good.
This weekend is JB's first birthday. Hard to believe!
Here are a few pictures from a recent 'hunting' expedition JR took J and B on. Not to worry, it is a BB gun and safety is always first!

Another big week

JB is finally pushing his 'walker' and getting up on his feet. He is too unsteady to walk all by himself but sure is proud of himself and his progress.
J has only had a few accidents this week in the potty training department. We are down to about 8 diapers and I have told him I am not buying anymore unless they are just for nighttime. He has also said goodbye to training wheels. He can't go more than 20 or 30 feet before getting distracted and crashing, but he is doing awesome.
Yesterday we attended our first Cub Scout event. Family campout. Unfortunately JR had to work most of the night so he was around just a few hours Saturday afternoon. A whole new group of people that I do not know, along with traditions that I will learn over time. We watched the flag ceremony where the colors are presented. The boys made rope (very interesting), chalk and rockets that they shot up to 30 feet in the air. All the food was provided and it was a tight run ship.
They had a flag retirement ceremony (I did not know they existed and certainly did not know they cut up the flag and burned it). All the scouts headed down to the river for the ceremony. The younger two and I got down there towards the tail end. When we walked up, I saw the scout master talking to B. I wondered what was up but figured he had done something wrong. Then we watched all the scouts put a part of the flag in the fire. B then walked over to me crying. He was very upset that the flag was being burned! The scout master was trying to tell him that it was okay, but to no avail. Then we had a campfire and the boys played with their ropes and ran around until dark. We all slept really well. The boys and I had a great time and my cub scout (tiger cub) looked great in his uniform. He insisted on the salute and would not smile!

Sayings

Just some of the things that have come out of the mouths of my babes lately that bring a smile to my face.
There are many nicknames I have had over the years...Red, North, Scooter, Carrot top and Mory but none as dear as Aunt Shoo (other than Mom of course). I just had to smile recently when we were in Ohio. B heard Aunt Shoo a lot from his cousins. One day B walked up to me, gave me a big hug and said "Mom, do you care if I call you Aunt Shoo?"

We have started working more diligently (again) on potty training J. He was putting on a pair of 'training pants' that does not have the front hole for boys for some reason. He said "Mom, why don't these underwear have a hole in them?" I told him that I did not know and he responded "maybe God should make my underwear".

These are just a few of the things that have been coming out of my mouth lately...
Why are you putting peanut butter on your brother?
Please don't use your real tools to work on the tv.
Did you just wipe your nose on the back of my shorts?
I don't care what kind of animal you eat like, just eat with manners.
You don't hit someone with a hammer, ever.
Please don't put your boogers there.
Why are you cutting your hair?

Believe it or not, I have spoken these words to both of my boys, not just little J.

A lot going on

Last week was a great week. Nothing particular and nothing on the calendar! I just hung at home with the boys - enjoying them and doing just what needed to be done to keep up the house. One day we baked cookies and then decorated them later in the week.

The boys did lots of coloring, playing with the plethora of toys and being outside.
Here is a picture of them with JR. I had bought some water bombs and they loved throwing them. They discovered big boxes are great shields.

One of the biggest things of the week is that B's training wheels came off! He loves riding his bike. He wanted to learn on his old bike so we lowered the seat way down so he could comfortably reach the ground with his feet. He has been outside on the bike everyday since. He does not yet want to try getting on his big bike. He looks so cute on that short little bike. We have slowly raised the seat up and have told him that when he complains of his knees hurting, that is why. He needs to be on the bigger bike. He is also gaining more independence. When I am outside with him I let him cross the street by himself on his bike. One of my biggest fears is the kids not being street smart and turning out in front of a car. He likes to let J know that he is a big kid now and is earning more privileges.
I have also seen some changes in him in regards to God working on his heart and attitude when he is ugly or rude to someone. On more than one occasion I have gotten on to him for something he said or did. A short while later he has come back on his own and apologized and asked for forgiveness (without my prompting). I have also heard him tell J several times that J has hurt his feelings. Building on what he learned at the Peacemakers Club a few weeks ago has been fun. Many occasions have arisen where we have talked about his attitude or what he did (ie name calling) and then talked about why it was bad and if it was on the continuum of escaping or fighting or working it out. Yesterday I was even on the phone with a friend and was being pretty direct with her and saying "no, you are not going to do that...there is no reason for that...". After I hung up he very loving came up and say "Boy mom, that sure was an argumentative tone of voice you were using..." Just a reminder of the things they take in and the many teachable lessons throughout the day.
J has had some success in potty training. Since we have been home a lot, he has been wearing a lot of underwear. On those days that I set my timer for 30 minutes and remind him to go, he stays dry. He is getting there!
JB now has 8 teeth and loves playing peek a boo. He is such a climber. Fun to watch him get up and over some of the stuff we pile up on the floor.
We decided this past weekend to paint the boys room. I just don't like white walls and amazing what paint can do, for a nominal cost. We picked out two paint colors to match a sports border I had picked up a few years ago. The painting went pretty well. I tried a new technique for getting a clean, crisp line where two colors meet and it worked perfectly. After we painted the two colors (one a light brown and one a darker blue) to match the sports border, I began looking at the sports border. It was self-paste but seems the glue was old and did not work well. Bought some wallpaper paste and the border went up without a hitch. I put the border up by myself, which is not recommended. Next time I will make sure there is another adult at least 5 feet tall nearby to help. It looks really good though (pictures did not do it justice). I am ready to paint our room and the bathrooms!
One really awesome thing with me the last 10 days or so is I feel like I have finally broken through a spiritual plateau/valley. For so long I have struggled getting up early in the morning or finding another quiet time during the day to read my bible, etc. Through a book I was reading about intimacy with God, it really encouraged me to just do it. I finally got out of bed recently and had an awesome morning. I ended up camping out on a verse in 1 Peter chapter 5. A very familiar one to me.... "Be self controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith.." I had always known about the be alert part, but not the self-controlled part. It struck a cord. I struggle with self-control and discipline in so many areas. However, after spending some time on that verse, the struggles are not what they were. I also started thinking about lions and their hunting habits. They are not real fast endurance runners so they can't win a long chase. They need to get close to their prey and they do it by blending in with their surroundings. Then when the prey is least suspecting, the lion goes in for the kill. Since scripture refers to the devil prowling around like a lion, I started looking at my life. With today's society it is very easy for the devil to blend in. Where is the tall grass in my life and where is he waiting to pounce? When I monitor those areas and keep them in check/cut the tall grass, I find I already put the devil at a disadvantage. He is then on the defense. I need to be alert and self-controlled! There have been numerous other things that I feel like God has shown/revealed to me but still trying to work through some of them. Just good to be at a place where I feel like I am moving forward in my relationship with Christ versus just sitting stagnant in the middle of a lake with no wind in my sails.
One last picture I recently took of my camo boys.

4th of July

We had a busy week with B going to the Peacemaker Club this past week. He enjoyed it and accrued points throughout the week for memorizing verses and inviting friends. At the end of the week he was in first place!! He was quite surprised but a lesson in persevering. He went by himself the first day and then on Tues, Wed and Thurs, he invited a different friend. By the end of the week it was fun to drive around and pick up all the kids. I have enjoyed all the stages of my boys so far. I am entering one with B that I am really really enjoying. That is his friends being old enough to pick them up and go places. I love listening to them talk and laugh and cut up in the backseat.
This past week we also attended the first Cub Scout meeting. B got his uniform and everyone was divided up into dens. He has 5 other boys in his den and he knows all of them from school. During the meeting one of the Scout Masters was engaging the kids in some trivia. With the upcoming July 4th holiday close, he asked if anyone knew whose birthday we would soon be celebrating. Then he proceeded to ask if anyone knew if our country had a king. There were no answers and then he asked who ruled our country. B spoke up and said God. It got a chuckle from everyone but sure did bring a smile to my face.
We have had a lazy day. I watched Wimbledon this morning, went to church, had lunch and then most of us took naps. Went out to shoot off a few fireworks. One of the boys have been having problems disobeying and being disrespectful, so he has to stay inside all evening and not go outside to shoot off the rest of the fireworks. We cooked turkey dogs and marshmallows on the fire pit. JB loved his first taste of a marshmallow. The boys are showering and then most of us will head outside soon for all the fireworks put on by our neighbors.
Tomorrow we are heading to a nearby town to spend the afternoon with some friends. I hope later in the week to take them camping. JR is out in the backcountry and seems to be hopping every day or two to a different locale.

Happy 6th Birthday Buddy!

Happy 6th Birthday B!

What a joy you are....the endless conversations we have had, the many times you have kept me on my toes with your quick thinking and negotiating ways, listening to your sweet voice as you tell JB "good morning", your laughter as you and J play, your relentless picking of your scabs so that they take weeks to heal, the way you will hide your toys under your blankets after I put you to bed, the ease with which you make friends at the park, your phrases that you say that remind me of my words, your totally random questions like "how is your tongue connected to your mouth" as we stood in line to get ice cream and all bystanders' eyes fell to me with smiles as they awaited my answer, your sly little grin when you are trying to get your way, your amazing memory for details and scripture, watching you dance recently in the aisle at church as they played your favorite VBS song, watching you still (every once in a while) wear your shorts and shirts backwards, hearing you whine and your absolutely illogical thoughts when you are tired, your willingness to try 'no thank you' bites, your nurturing ways with younger kids and your insatiable desire to work on your hand/eye coordination through video/computer games. I am looking forward to seeing you learn to read, ride a two wheeled bike, perfect the 'pumping' while on the swing, running and playing with JB as he gets 'his legs', growing bigger and stronger and coming that much closer to outrunning me and hiding more of God's word in your heart the next 365 days.
We celebrated B's birthday on Saturday. 5 friends were invited to the park where they played, we made mini marshmallow guns out of PVC pipe, took swings at the homemade pinata (4 layers was not as strong as I thought it was, although it held up through most of the kids), threw waterballoons, opened gifts and had homemade ice cream sandwiches. (These were really good and did not require any plates, spoons, etc). I love celebrating birthdays but honestly the one thing I do not like is the presents. I always struggle when my boys have birthdays because I don't want more stuff, but I know kids like getting things. This year however, was different. Every gift received was just perfect and has not become more 'stuff'. He received a headlamp that had a cute little lego guy on it (very practical and all his for when we go camping), a nice super soaker that happens to be one that is also perfect for J's little hands to pump and shoot it, a slip and slide (ours was worn out last summer), an army tank, that although it has 27 pieces, has gotten much playtime already and some money for a Wii game. So begins hopefully many lessons on saving money for things he really wants. I think the Wii might finally be the one thing right now to learn more responsibility - hopefully.
The boys enjoyed VBS this past week. Several mornings J woke up not wanting to go, but of course quickly changed his mind when we got there. Every year the host church brings in a group from Alabama to help with the week. J connected with a guy named Josh and according to Josh, he will be back next year so will be fun to have that connection.
This week B will attend a Peacemaker club. It is a biblically based 'curriculum' on conflict resolution. It will be 2 hours each morning. Today we will drop him off and then afterward, go to pizza with one of his friends (to celebrate his actual birth day) then off to Game Stop to see if we can find a reasonably priced Wii game.
We have had amazing weather the last 2 weeks or so. Today, however, we are suppose to finally hit 90! (We had a lazy weekend but wanting to get back out this week with the kids and get some bike rides or walks in.)

Busy week

The older two have been at Vacation Bible School during the mornings this week.
JB is still working on his pulling up and stair climbing.
JR is plugging away at work, getting ready for a week off where he will go immerse himself in the backcountry, somewhere - location yet to be determined. He still has a week to figure it all out.
Me, I have been buying and cutting PVC pipe, paper-maiche-ing and filling water balloons for the big event this weekend!!!!

We are Home!

We safely arrived home on Wednesday, after a 14 hour day in the car. We did have to stop for about an hour due to a wicked looking storm. The wind was so strong, many cars were exiting the freeway.
4800 miles, 26 days, 11 states(North Dakota, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Indiana, Ohio, Illinois, Missouri, Nebraska, Iowa, South Dakota and Wyoming), 6 different beds, lots of sun and the only car problem we had was a dead battery. Fortunately it happened at my sisters, so it did not leave us stranded. Bought a new battery and had no more problems. We all stayed healthy and not a one of us ended up with a sunburn. (The cheapest gas I found was 2.39 in Chillicothe, Missouri!)
In North Dakota, which seemed like a long time ago, stayed with an good friend. Here is a picture of B just after he rolled down a grassy hill. I love this photo cause it is his nature grin, not the cheesy posed kind he loves to use.

In Wisconsin stayed with some friends who have 2 boys that are close in age to B and J. They use to go to church with us...here is a photo at the playground.

They loved all staying in one room, playing in the backyard and park and eating rootbeer floats.
We also had a short dinner stop with some other friends who we have almost known since moving to MT. They also have two small boys. We ate burgers and hotdogs and then headed to another park. Here are the two youngest
.
A night on the road in Indiana and finally arriving in Ohio. We saw my oldest niece graduate from high school, another niece run in two track meets, a third niece play soccer and my fourth niece play softball (they are a very active, busy family). We spent lots of days at the pool and I got out several times by myself to go shopping. We hit the beach (Lake Erie), ate lots of ice cream and just hung out. The day before we left, I took my four nieces and the three boys to the beach for donuts. It was a lot of fun. The weather was perfect, just about had the beach to ourselves, we all ran around and took some goofy pictures....




After we left Ohio (my camera never made it out of the car again), we headed to Illinois and stayed 2 days with a family I use to nanny for in North Dakota. The boys had a ball playing with the legos and the barbies/Ken dolls and their big convertible cars. (We have no GI Joes, barbies/Ken so it is interesting to see how much J enjoys playing with these when he can). They had a pool and a huge yard for the boys to run around. Was fun catching up with them and seeing how the 4 girls have grown. The oldest was 6 when I lived with them and the youngest was 18 months. Now they are a junior in college and 15 (the middle twin girls were not home that weekend).
We had a short breakfast stop with a cousin in Springfield before making the long haul to our next stop in South Dakota. Saw some friends that hopefully we will make it back to their wedding in September. Nate has the coolest yard, where the fence line was 2 rows of pine trees. The boys loved playing hide and go seek and running wild. I had hoped to stop at Mt Rushmore when we left but all the boys were sleeping and I had forgotten that it is not right on the highway. So, hopefully we can plan that stop in when we go back for the wedding.
All in all a great trip. The boys did really well, they loved seeing all the family and friends. They have made some friends back in Ohio so will have boys to play with on subsequent trips out there. Lots of sun. All three of the boys did really well in the different pools. B actually went down the long twisty slide several times and loved it. He did jump off the diving board at our friends in Illinois, so his comfort level in the water is much improved. We arrived back home to weather in the 50s, which was a nice change to all the humidity we had in Ohio.
JR sure was glad to have us back, chaos and all.

The last couple of days have been nice. Not much has been on the calendar. Hanging at the pool, kids playing games and outside. Today I took B and J to an Amish community (JB stayed at my sisters). We saw all kinds of buggies on the road and had fun talking with the boys about the amish and the life they live. B thought for sure that he could not live without electricity. Stopped at a good ol general store that had all the flavored sodas in bottles. My boys that it was cool how you had to pop the top off. Picked up several kinds of cheese. Several of our stops coincided with some tour buses. I have found that the older generation either ignores us, strikes up friendly conversation or gives us the "been there done that don't annoy me" look. We came back to the house, had dinner and my sister and I went for a bike ride. Then we took all the boys and one niece to the pool from 7-9. JB had a blast. One part of the pool goes from zero depth to 3 feet. I sat JB down on the edge and he instantly crawled until his chin was touching the water. We repeated this many times. He loved it.
Tomorrow and Friday should be beautiful so we are hoping to hit the beach in the morning and the pool all afternoon.
We will be leaving Ohio on Sunday. We hope to spend Sunday and Monday in Illinois (will be seeing the family I use to nanny for), Tuesday and maybe Wed in South Dakota, hit Mt. Rushmore and be back home next week.

Ohio

We obviously made it here safely. The boys did great. The only issue we had was I left a suitcase at our stop in Wisconsin. With the exception of Chicago, the driving was great. It was bumper to bumper through Chicago at 9pm at night. The only cool thing was as I saw the skyline just off to the left, there was a huge full moon.
It has been busy with graduation festivities, family, swimming and trying to keep B from playing the Wii all day. That kid is relentless. I will tell him no and often times I get the 'mom, just listen. would you prefer if I play in 10 minutes or 30 minutes.' To top it all off, my family decided to surprise B (more so a surprise for me) with a Wii for his birthday. So, I am already trying to figure out the best way to monitor this when we get home.
Tomorrow we head to Columbus to watch one of my nieces run in the state track meet. She is a freshman so will be neat to see how she grows in her abilities on the track throughout her high school career. My oldest niece Kelsey is now officially a high school grad and getting ready to head off to Western Michigan.
JB now has 5 teeth and has figured out how to climb up one step. He is pulling up more and walking along the furniture. B has been loving the pool, throwing and diving for objects. J alternates between playing in the water and wanting all the snacks in the pool bag.
A few pictures of our trip thus far......

We are in North Dakota. Fairly good trip. The boys are already exhausted and bedtime is a chore! We are at a friends in Fargo. Today we walked over this bridge that spanned the interstate (the boys have always wanted to go over things like that). They loved it and it was a good workout. Went to a few parks, some of which were packed with kids on end of year field trips. We wound up at a skate park. The boys got out their scooters and loved it. There was a kid there that was almost 4 and was really good on his board. Plus, he rode his bike (without training wheels) up and over the 'ramps'. He was so impressive, I asked his mom his name. I am convinced that I will see Moses at some point on You tube or in competitions on tv when he is older. Moses' mom commented about how natural J appeared. Maybe a sport I should expose him to more often.
JB has finally figured out the depth perception thing, I think. He will now crawl over to the side of the bed and just look down, watching. He still has not attempted to crawl up the steps, so don't have to worry about those just yet (atleast from the bottom). He loves to stand up in his crib and reach through the railing to see what he can touch/grab. Sometimes it is several Kleenex, sometimes he turns the radio down, sometimes he likes to drop his dog over the side, all the while just laughing.
Entered a whole new realm last Thursday with B. We went to an informational meeting for Cub Scouts...something I know nothing about. Seems that when kids are in first or second grade (they were doing early recruitment) that parents need to attend everything with them. Sounded a little overwhelming but we will give it a shot. I think he most enjoyed the cookies! I know that was his favorite part of t-ball. Getting the juice boxes and treats after the games. Last night was his last game (since we won't be here next week). The kids were all over the place. One inning the coaches pulled two kids and had them sit in the dugout. I thought it was cute when after the game the coach told the kids "I want you all to be checking your mailboxes this weekend because I will be sending you all an invitation to come back to earth before our next game".
J hopped on his bike after the game and rode the whole way home again!
Last Friday, since it was B's last day of Kindergarten, we went up to the school to have lunch with him. He gets to invite one friend to sit with us. Today it was Kynzi. She is such a cutie. We were talking today and she told me she knows a little boy who acts like a girl sometimes. I told her that was okay and that there are little girls that act like little boys. Her eyes got big and she looked right at me and said "I know, you are looking at one.". After lunch we went to the playground for their recess. There were about 15 kids that took turns pushing JB around in the stroller. J had a ball running around trying to keep up with everyone.
From there we went to the pharmacy to pick up some medicine for JB (eye infection and on the way to an ear infection). While we waited in line, J sat down on the floor and before I knew it, he had fallen asleep leaning against the wall. I had to wake him up and he promptly fell back asleep. Poor guy is just exhausted!
Off to Wausau Wisconsin tomorrow, Janesville, Wisconsin on Thursday and Cleveland, Ohio on Friday!
Hope to post some pictures this weekend.

My little catcher....


He loved playing catcher so much he begged the coach to let him play it the next game (no can do...everyone gets to play every position). He had a lot of fun running to the front of the plate and standing there tagging everyone, even without the ball. He has been so worn out lately, waking up before 6, that he told the coach at the last game that he did not want to play he just wanted to go to bed. I wish it were that easy to get him to sleep once we get home though.

J went to the dentist the other day. He said the tooth looks pretty good and that only time will tell if it starts to color. The dentist office has huge windows so they have all the kids put on glasses so the lights inside and out won't hurt their eyes and 'stuff' won't get on them when their teeth are cleaned. The dental hygenist did a remarkable job explaining all the tools. J never even flinched through it all and the best part, the Sponge Bob toothpaste he got when he was done. Here is a picture of him relaxing in the chair...

J has turned into quite the bicyclist. Twice this past week we have ventured out with the bike trailer and one bike, with the intent of B and J swapping out (riding and biking) when they were tired. J has twice rode about a mile both times. He just chats away and slowly but surely pedals his way down the street.
B is fascinated with Avatar. He has not seen the movie (and won't at this point) but loves looking at the movie or posters of it when we are out. He asked me the other day if he could watch it and I told him I thought it would be too scary right now. I picked up the movie and tried to explain to him the PG-13 rating. I think he finally understood because later he told JR that he would have to go rent Avatar because he was older than 13 and could watch it. (I found it interesting reading the PG-13 rating that they listed smoking....)
Today we were at Wal-mart. They are totally revamping the store. Tripling the electronics section, redoing the whole pharmacy, taking out part of the fabric section, etc. I was so turned around, everything had been moved all over the store. We saw 3 guys come running around the corner, one carrying a stick and the other carrying a trash can. They did not have the traditional Wal-mart garb on, so wondered what was up. They looked like they were having a lot of fun, whatever they were up to. A little later we saw the same three guys again. One of them said, "Oh I found him, over here." It was a mouse that they had been chasing around the store. I guess in their moving stuff around they had most of the aisles/displays elevated and maybe in got in or escaped from his 'home'. I turned to the boys and said "hey, let's watch this, this should be good". They three guys got a kick out of the audience. They successfully put the trashcan over the mouse and then got it scooped into the trashbag. Once they caught it, I thought they would have been a little quicker getting it out of the store, but they proudly paraded around with the see through trash bag.
Today we also went to the chiropractor. His daughter, who is right around 3 had a lizard. She took the lizard out and was just standing there holding it. It was probably 9 inches long and really cool markings but still a lizard. I guess J did not realize it was alive and he reached out to pet its belly and when it moved his eyes got huge and he jumped back. She just stood there squeezing that thing. I told her, where her dad could hear, that if she somehow let that thing go and it ran towards me I would scream. Thankfully none of the boys have taken much to reptiles or bugs. I have tried to never freak out around them though when the boys were around, as to not influence/scare them.
The cows are back in the field behind our house. They show up every spring for several weeks/months. They boys enjoy watching the calves and occasionally they will come up to our fence and we get close enough to touch them.
Finalizing the plans for Monday's departure.

JB went for his 9 month check up and is doing great. Found an upper tooth (one of the incisors) that had come in with 3 other teeth just days away! No wonder he has been a little grumpy and chewing on his hand. He loves to clap his hands and throw them up for the touchdown sign. Whenever he is eating, he loves to flail his arms and always seems to hit the spoon and make a big mess.
I have really started working with the older two about self control and not arguing, talking back or continuing to question me when an answer is given. For three days now we have had a reward system in place that rewards them at the end of the day. So far it is working pretty well. There were probably 5 times today when B asked me something and I said no. In which he said okay. Silence for about 5 seconds and then he would say "hey mom, I did not argue with you...I just said okay". Like the lightbulb is going on that he does not have to rebuttal everything I say.
We have had several discussions about our small backyard and today we were driving around. B commented about a certain house and I told him that would be a great house. To which he replied, "forget the house, I want the yard".
He recently overheard a conversation I had with a friend about how their church baptizes people. (Our church does not have a baptistry, so we baptize once a year in a nearby pond). As we passed our friends' church, B asked me if they did baptisms. When I said yes he replied "how can they, they don't have a pond".
Starting to collect all our items for our roadtrip. Most of the clothes are packed! We leave next Monday, May 24th. B will miss the last 4 days of kindergarten but I figured he won't be able to miss school for too much longer.

Mothers Day weekend

Yesterday we decided to drive a few hours away for an overnight. Nothing specific to do, except for a change of pace. We stayed at a hotel with a fun water playland. The kids enjoyed swimming. It was the first time for JB in the water and he loved it. He would have sat all day in his little float kicking and bouncing. He enjoyed taking in all the sights and sounds of the other kids. J liked hanging out in the hot tub more than the pool (I was happy to oblige). At one point he was running, yes, how many times have we told him not too, and sure enough, he fell. He was wearing his goggles and got a nice little cut on the corner of his eye. It swelled up a bit and had a little bruise. B was practicing swimming. He did great when he was focused on the task at hand. However, when he was playing on the play structures and fell into the water, he would freak out. He would just flap his arms and do the bob thing. One time I was watching him from across the room and realized that I did not think he could get to safety and the kids around him were clueless. I ran across the pull and grabbed him. I guess it is going to take being exposed to many different situations and just becoming comfortable without an adult right next to him. He can do it. When I remind him to put the top of his forehead in the water, that always gets him horizontal in the water.
Two weeks before we head out on our (the boys and I) road trip. Still not sure about specifics but know generalities. Our current route has us traveling about 83 hours on the road in 21 days and covering 10 states. We will definitely hit Niagra Falls and toying with a different route on the way back and hitting Mount Rushmore.
Attended my first Zumba class last week. I really liked it but there is only 1 class offered a week. At least the weather should be nice this week and hoping to go on some long bike rides with the boys.
T-ball is coming along. B is really enjoying it and I am enjoying getting to meet some different moms and kids.
Some friends let B borrow some beginning reader books for the summer and I am amazed at how many times he initiates wanting to read. I am afraid though that he is memorizing the words and keeps 'rereading' them and not really working on reading. Will need to try to find him some good online worksheets for the car. I am sure if I put them in a really cool superhero notebook, that would be all it would take.
Wanted to send out a great big Happy Mother's Day to my mom....thanks for all the countless hours you sacrificed for me. I am getting it, I really am.

After reading over my previous post it sounds like I think J's screaming is cute. Quite the contrary. He is in a phase of getting really angry and yelling, as I send him to his room, about how ug-a-ly I am being to him. We talk about how it is okay to be angry and express it but yelling is not appropriate. He always goes to his room, settles down and then comes downstairs to rejoin the activities. (I still love how he says ug-a-ly though).
I was playing with him today and noticed that is looks like his front tooth has a very slight grey tint to it. (He knocked his tooth several weeks ago). I sure hope the tooth is not dying. What do they do with a baby tooth like that? He does have an appt next week with the dentist so will see what he says or some possible options. J has also had a hard time this past week going to sleep. Even without a nap (which he is phasing out of) most nights he is not asleep until after 9pm. Have started giving him some sleepytime juice (chamomille tea in a sippy cup) which seems to be helping somewhat. I think he has a very small window of being ready to sleep and then getting overtired and not being able to wind down. T-ball twice a week until 7:30 does not help. (Something to look forward too...if B continues with baseball and J takes it up, in 2 years we will be at the ball fields 4 nights a week. Thank goodness the season is only about 5 weeks.
I have continued to sort through things at the house. I have pulled over 45 articles of clothing from my closet...mostly stuff that has be picked up over the years or at second hand stores. I remember one piece of clothing I bought in 1993 and think I have only worn it once in the last 10 years. Now all of my clothes, summer and winter, hang on one rod about 4 feet long, sweaters, sweats and jeans on 2 shelves and then my t-shirts and shorts on 1 shelf. My goal the rest of the week is to tackle atleast 3 more rooms. Our bedroom and front entryway have stayed clean now for several days. Yeah. The book I picked up, for $5 at Family Christian bookstore, is "The House That Cleans Itself". Nothing earth shattering in it but some simple things I had never really considered. Her premise is make your house fit your behavior versus trying to get your behavior to fit your house. One point she makes about decluttering is that everything costs you time. Time to clean it, maintain it, put it away, move it to get what you want, etc. That will come in very handy when I get to the kitchen and purge. Tired of having things around just for the boys to pull out and me to pick up.
JR enjoyed camping this past weekend. I have been winter camping once and can say, I prefer a nice warm bed...but kudos to him for doing it. He loved it. If you can't quite fathom what it is like, check out the photos.


B had another t-ball game last night. Did fairly well despite 40 mile per hour winds. The previous game we played in sleet, although it lasted only a few minutes. The coaches are still having problems with some of the kids and listening. There seems to be fine line between them having fun but also trying to focus enough. He does have a very young team, but my hat off to the coaches...the exude patience.
Here is a few of JB that I love. The one of the two of us a friend from church took it that does photography as a hobby.

Ramblings

Took B to the dentist recently for a cleaning. This is the second dentist that has told me they are a little 'concerned' about his teeth and the crowding with his baby teeth. Not sure what that means when the adult teeth start coming in but sounds like we could have a road ahead of us with that guy and his teeth. If he takes after me, it will be orthodontics and a few other things.....
I think I have finally hit the wall with stuff in this house. I have pulled all the clothes out of the boys room. They now have 5 shirts and 5 shorts/pants. That is it. I have no idea when I will pull/rotate other stuff out, but I am tired of their room and they are only 5! Guess this will mean I will have to do laundry more frequently, or better yet, teach at least B what it takes to run the washing machine. How in the world do you teach responsibility to kids. Whether it is clothes, library books, games, toys, baseball mitts, etc....I just can't get it down. I still have yet to find any reward or punishment that seems to motivate beyond the first hour or two. Yesterday both boys ended up in their room for most of the afternoon. They whined the first 15 minutes but then no big deal and did not really seem to phase them. Of course I am sure the key to teaching them responsibility is the one word I hate hearing...consistency.
JB is now standing up in his crib and loves reaching out to see what he can grab.
J is going through a stage where he is either very loving, hugging and telling us he loves us or screaming about how 'ug-a-ly' we are treating him (this is of course said as he is being sent to his room). I just crack up when I hear him say ugly that way. So cute.
JR went winter camping/bear hunting this past Friday/Saturday. He had a great time, although he did not see any bears (lots of other things though).
B has had 3 t-ball games now. They are slowing starting to get the hang of running into the field with gloves and coming back in to bat. The first two games I helped with the batting order and getting kids ready. It was a challenge. This last game one of the players' older sister helped out and she ran a very tight ship. I am not sure how she got them all to sit quietly and fall into place when they needed to, but she was great.
I am going this week to purge and purge. I have started reading a new book and I am hitting the ground running. My project is my closet and to get rid of all the stuff I like but don't wear. I am afraid I won't have much left when I am done.......

Red Sox and Yankees

Last night was the first t-ball game. Fortunately the game is set up so that each team bats through their entire batting order (one complete inning). The game is suppose to last 3 innings or one hour, whichever comes first (we got through 2 innings). The Yankees were obviously a much more advanced team, with about half of their players swinging at real pitches, instead of the ball on the t-ball stand. They would have proven the winners but the Red Sox did had fun. B had a very difficult time staying in his 'corner' of the field. He played the position to the left of the pitcher or basically half way between home and short stop. I can't count the number of times he would run over between 1st and 2nd to get a ball. The coach would just laugh and walk him back to his area. There were several times where all the boys piled up on top of each other in the infield trying to get the ball. They thought it was way more cool to dog pile than to throw a runner out at first base.



Sunday was the end of the Screen Free week. The boys did very well and honestly, did not miss it much. It helped that it was a very nice week and we got outside a lot. Several local businesses were offering incentives/rewards for kids. So on Sunday we went to free family swim at the swim center. A really nice pool but it is 84 degrees. Took me about half an hour to finally warm up in the water. B was not too keen on swimming though. He preferred to play on the floats. J put on a life jacket and would jump off the side of the pool and go down the slide. JB slept through it all.
We also went to a local climbing wall. JR, B and J were the only ones to climb. The boys enjoyed it but there were a lot of people, so did not get much climbing done, atleast not on the easier walls. Here is a picture of JR at the top of one wall - he is on the left.

Would love to go back sometime without all the kids and chaos. What a great workout.
More swimming lessons this week, T-ball on Wed and opening baseball ceremony and t-ball game on Sat, if the weather holds.

Plants, parks and such

The weather has been absolutely gorgeous....mid 75's the last couple of days.
On Sunday I wanted to take the boys to the swim center so I could get B back in the water. We made the 25 minute drive only to find out the swim center was closed due to a mechanical problem with the pump. When we pulled up I had to go to the bathroom so bad and J and JB were both in the car. I managed to get them out and up to the door, only to find it locked. I need a bathroom. We pulled out of the parking lot only to have a cop pull in behind us. Sure enough, he turned his lights on. Seems as I left the swim center parking lot, I was so focused on getting to a bathroom that I only paid attention to the stop sign and did not see the huge 'no left turn' signs. Fortunately, he was very understanding and did not keep me long, so I could 'take care of business' as he put it. I truly felt like the idiot that says No Sir, I really did not see the 6 signs in front of me.
Then we headed to a park for one last hurrah before we headed to bed. I stayed at the van with JB while B and J went to play. A few minutes passed when I saw J crying as he walked to the car. Then I saw the blood running down his chin. Looking further, I noticed his gums were bleeding a lot and one tooth was slightly crooked. Seems that, according to one mom, he tripped running up a step and hit his lip. After calling a few dentists the next morning, determined that there was nothing anyone could do. The tooth is crooked and unless it starts graying, no need to worry about it. (Once all the dried blood got cleaned up, the crooked tooth is not very noticeable - but the huge blue bruise on the chin is.)
The onions, lettuce and cilantro are all planted. What to do with all the left over seeds. Just hope we can keep the grasshoppers out of the lettuce. Will be interesting to see what we get, considering I just dug holes and dropped in seeds. I was not too concerned with spacing, etc.
This is turn off tv week and I must admit, it has been nice. I did watch The Biggest Loser last night but other than that, we have succeeded. Twice recently, it has been shown to me again why we should not watch tv, regardless of the programming or should I say how tv influences us. For Easter B got a Bible Man video. Bible Man is good versus evil and full of lots of scriptures. The video was about disrespect. About that time B was getting very short with me and talking back. After a few days, it occurred to me that he was using the same tone and lines from the disrespectful guy in the video. A great lesson to talk through with B. Just the last few days J has been saying the word shut up. He tells me he heard it in the movie "The Paper Brigade", which is a Family Feature Film. There can be 90 minutes of good and 1 minute of bad or negative and that is what the boys seem to remember.
I have started Bible Study Fellowship and we are finishing up the book of John. It is really nice because for the first time in 50 plus years they offer childcare for children younger than 2. The children's program is very good and the kids learn the same things the adults are learning. Fun to talk with J every week about what he has learned - today they talked about Jesus dying on the cross. Next year, in the fall, we will start a brand new study in Isaiah.
As I was getting ready for t-ball, I put JB in his car seat and put it by the front door. I heard J talking to JB and then they would both laugh, silence, then laughter. I was relishing the sounds until I walked downstairs. I had given JB a bottle and we have the bottles that you put disposable bottle liners in. J had figured out that he could stick his hand up the bottom of the bottle and squeeze the bottle liner and formula would squirt out. Yep, he had been squirting formula all over JB's face and head and they both thought it was hilarious.
Group swim lessons are going well. The instructor is convinced that B will be swimming the width of the pool on his own. Sure hope so, cause it will be nice not to have to 'worry' about him around water...plus he has said he would love to have a swimming party for his next birthday.
J, just the past week or so, has really gotten interested in saying hello to everyone he passes and waving. So funny for him to see older gentleman at the store and just wave and wave until they finally wave back. If they are close enough, he will even reach out and touch them.
JB is still JB...full of lots of smiles, laughs and curiousity as he explores his great big world. Getting faster on the knees so have to be really diligent about making sure I know where he is at all times.
Looking forward to the first t-ball game on Monday!

The first hike

I took the boys out hiking this morning. We did a very popular hike called The M. The boys had done the hike before and this time we decided to go up the hard, steep route. They did awesome! It was about 850 feet elevation gain and the trail was probably just under 3/4 of a mile! (For all you flatlanders, that means we climbed 850 feet up into the air in less than a mile, pretty steep) B just took right off on his own and was proud of J, he trudged along, using his arms and legs in certain spots. Of course JB loved the backpack. (I always love the spring in my step when I take the backpack off and feel so light.) It took us about an hour up and an hour down. Down was a little more tricky, but the boys made it. It was a great lesson in praying our way down for no fear, strength, safety, etc. Their motivation was a gatorade when we were done. Here is a picture from the top.

Swim lessons went well this week for B. J decided the last two lessons he did not want to swim. Being that he is only 3, I did not want to battle with him. (The boys were doing 5 semi-private lessons.) B now has 4 weeks of group lessons, with 2 other kids. He is gaining so much confidence. Hoping to hit the pool with them tomorrow.
J has really taken off on the big bike. I can't believe how well and fast he can go. He will even 'jump' off as he is rolling to a stop. A bad habit that I need to correct - maybe if I lowered the seat a bit.
Being at the hot springs this week I noticed with the humidity that JB has a definite wave in his hair (as I recall the same wave that J use to have). I would love another boy with wavy/curly hair.
Think I am going to head out on the bike to a local garden. Going to plant some lettuce, onions and cilantro tomorrow.

The Red Sox

Time for t-ball. Had our first practice this evening. There were 11 kids and it sure was fun watching them. The coaches have made it very clear that the goal is to let every kid play every position and to keep them alive and make sure they have fun. I like that attitude. They got their Boston Red Sox hats today and I am sure shirts are to follow. I think the best part for every kid is the snacks after the practice/game. The hour we were out there I think the temperature dropped 15 degrees and from what I understand, snow is on its way. It might be the only practice we get in this week. As I recall, there are 2 weeks of practice and about 4-5 weeks of games. It sure brought back lots of memories smelling all the concession food. I don't know how many hours I spent at the ball field watching my brother and friends play ball.
B does not know this yet, but JR is taking him tomorrow night to see the Harlem Globetrotters. Sure wish I would be along to hear all of his 'unbelievable' comments.
The other day it was nice out so B and J both got on their bikes and I put JB in the stroller. It was so fun because they are both getting much better on their bikes and the walks are now a brisk pace. I actually raced B a few times. I always won but what he did not realize is that I am faster at the beginning but the longer we go the further ahead he would pull. Just a matter of time before he figures that out and makes the races longer and leaves me in the dust.
JB is now pulling up onto his knees and is able to reach up to get things off the couch. I made about 60 jars of homemade baby food today (yeah, I was able to puree peas and green beans without gagging). I was thinking, well that will last me maybe 2 weeks. He loves to eat. Still pretty much doing veggies, fruits and rice cereal. He gets the occasional meat and crackers/nutri grain bars as his finger foods.
J has enjoyed making his lunch the last couple of days as you can tell in the picture. Jelly sandwiches. The other day when we were at the hot springs I had gone to the bathroom and left the boys to get dressed. A lady was watching them and was absolutely amazed that J dressed himself. She said her 4 year old could not do that and she really could not believe it when I told her he had been dressing himself since about 18 months. Independence!

7:15

It is 7:15 and guess where the two oldest are....asleep!! Yippee. I have left JB with JR tonight so I am gonna hit the bathtub and then read a book in bed - hopefully.
Swim lessons went better today. B is now diving down and retrieving things from the bottom of the pool. It always facinates me the different techniques that people have with swimming. The instructor was talking to me today about things to do, particularly with J. She said that often when a parent gets in the water with a child, they will carry them around and hold them tight. She said that you should hold them at arms length and very gently and loosely hold them under the armpits and have them keep their arms straight out. When a parent allows a child to cling in the water it sends the message that they should be scared. She is all about teaching them to learn to float and feel the bouyancy of the water. So, as B would glide across the top of the water and then start to go down for the torpedo, she would gently push his back until his stomach was almost on the bottom of the pool. She would also discourage him from kicking off the bottom of the pool to come back up so that he would again, feel the bouyancy (is that a word). He did awesome and repeated this many times. With J she is trying to get him to reach out into the water so as to break the habit of drawing everything in (arms and legs). Again, a technique that people use when scared. He was pretty clingy and cried a few times in the pool so the instructor and I have a new plan for next Tuesday.
My dental appointment...I have now had 2 different dentist tell me within the last year that my teeth look great but my gums are receeding (not the word they used but I can't remember what it was). They have both inquired about my toothbrush. I have been using an electric toothbrush the last year or so and seems that it is wearing down my gums, which do not heal themselves. (One tooth actually almost has the root exposed) So, time to get rid of the Oral B and the one they have both recommended is the Sonicare. Not sure how it works actually but a manual and regular electric seem to cause too much friction. I certainly did not think I was brushing too aggressively.
Off to have a nice quiet evening!

Ramblings

The boys started swimming lessons yesterday. We will go Tues and Thursday for the next 5 weeks. It did not take B long to get back into the swing of things. Before the short lesson, he was floating face down in the water for over 10 seconds. J did not take to it as well as I had thought. He was tired, even though it was 9am, and kept wanting to stay with me. Will have to figure out a way to watch from a far. It was loud inside the hot springs so the noise just lulled JB to sleep.
J has learned how to gargle and is very proud of himself and boy, is he good. I am not sure why, but he gargles as well as I do. Maybe because his voice is often times very gutteral. He has also gotten into singing songs like Ol McDonald, ABC and some songs off his Kids Sing Praise video.
B has discovered Bible Man all over again. It is amazing, again, how much he picks up and all the scripture in the videos. We have had some great examples of how to use scripture for situaitons you are going through. Sure is hard to say no when the kids want to watch videos that are helping them learn scripture.
For the first time ever, I went over my alloted cellphone minutes (not by much though - but it still bothered me). A little confused as to how that happened since I normally don't get anywhere close to my allotted minutes, I call the phone company. Comes to find out, and I never knew this, it costs me minutes to call and check my voicemail. Now I think that is just stupid. So, now when I am on vacation and talking to JR for more than 2 minutes at a time, I need to either check my voice mail from a land line or check them after peak hours. However, if I call my cell from a landline and it goes to voice mail, does that not count at a minute?? As I was talking to the guy on the phone, he inquired about our cable. I told him we did not have cable. He said you have just the basic. I said no, we have rabbit years. He laughed and said those still work. I told him yes and I was not interested in any more channels in our home because they will only cause a lot of grief. He tried to get me to upgrade my cell phone and told him no. He was shocked to find out that I don't text. Maybe someday I will be a more hip mom but for now, why do I need more distractions.
The other day I discovered the reduced produce section at the grocery store. I bought some stuff and brought it home to make babyfood for JB. I was so proud of myself when I went back a few days later and bought some more. I picked up a spaghetti squash and zucchini. I got home and mindlessly started peeling and cutting the zucchini. I was about 2 mintues away from being done when I realized that the zucchini was actually cuccumbers. Guess I need to either spend more time in the produce section, specifically vegetable section, or be more observant and aware when I am working with a knife.
I have started back up with Bible Study Fellowship. Although they only have a few weeks left of the John study, I will be all registered and ready to go when the new study Isaiah starts in the fall. Will be nice that J and JB can go now and that J is learing the same stuff I am.
Off to the dentist...which by the way. JR has been going to a dentist in town that is high tech and all that, whatever that means. Their whole approach to dental care is more natural, etc. I made him the very first appt because they came highly recommended and I thought they took our insurance. Turns out they don't but they were able to help JR tremendously with some very long standing problems, plus JR really like the office. Well, JR went back for his last cleaning, in a set of 3, and came home with an estimate to get some dental work done. 1 filling and 2 cavities and any idea what the estimate was for???? $1700!!! I asked JR about it and he said because they use gold for the filling. I still don't get it but time to get his next appt at the new dentist I am trying out.
The whole reason I sat down to write this was to post the latest family photo. I have found that if we set the camera to self timer and for it to take 10 continous shots, we almost always have atleast one good one, with all eyes open and looking somewhat at the camera.

Easter 2010

Up from the grave he arose;
with a mighty triumph o'er His foes;
He arose a victor from the dark domain,
and he lives forever, with his saints to reign.
He arose! He arose! Hallelujah! Christ arose!

HAVE A MOST BLESSED DAY CELEBRATING THE DEATH AND NOW THE MOST GLORIOUS RESURRECTION.
WHERE WOULD WE BE WITHOUT THE BIRTH AND THE CROSS!

Ramblins

J has totally gotten into the Lincoln Logs this week. I am amazed at what he can build and his creativity. This is the tall tower I helped him with. He got about half of it done and then I sat down to help. When I started I was laughing at him because he had put all of the really small logs inside the tower. I told him he was a goober. As I started building, I then realized the amazing support they provided so followed suit for the rest of the project. I think we used every 2 notched log we had (time to find some more this summer at garage sales).

He has also discovered that he can do a flip on the rings in the playroom. It is so neat to see the differences between B and J and to think they came from the same stuff, yet so unique. That is God for you...how fun would it be if we were all the same. Taking the very same DNA from 2 people and creating 2 drastically different, yet so similar kids.
I was watching (trying to organize) a bunch of video clips on the computer. I came across a lot from when J was 20 months and not talking. Not saying a word. Still so thankful that we got hooked up with speech therapy as early as we did. How his booming little voice just fills up our lives.

We discovered a tooth today for this little guy!

His cheeks are still red and with the tooth, thinking that had to be the cause. The poor kid has had nothing but zucchini and bananas mixed with rice cereal the last couple of days. He loves his new freedom now. He is getting around pretty well and wastes no time exploring everything that has been off limits.

B and J will start swimming lessons next week. B has taken them before but really needs a refresher before we travel this summer and are around the pool a lot. We are even looking into getting a family swim pass at the local swim center in the hopes of getting them in the water at least once a month.
The t-ball teams have been picked and B is anxiously awaiting the start of practices - hopefully within the next week or so.

I have been working on another t-shirt quilt. This one is proving to by much more difficult, but hopefully when it is all together you won't notice all the mismatched corners, etc. I registered today for the bone marrow registry. How cool would it be if I were able some day to save a life. While in town today I saw a bumper sticker that said "We have so much intelligence, we can't afford education". (Sadly, how true) Another thing that just made me laugh, I saw a for sale sign in front of the cemetery. Just never thought about anyone selling cemeteries. Now that the health care reform bill passed, we found out our insurance is going up
20%. I don't know that they are related but can't help but think they could be.

Looks like we are in store for a wet and very cool Easter weekend. Celebrating the death of Christ on the cross. Have enjoyed getting our Resurrection Eggs out with the boys. J is now old enough to really start getting in on the action.