http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ql-N3F1FhW4

I showed this video to mark several months ago because I thought it was so funny. I didn't quite know what to think when I discovered Mark has the ring tone set to the beginning of this song whenever I call him. I cracked up! I don't drive a minivan anymore but as the boys get bigger I may have to give up my sweet little Jetta. Since Mason will be taller than me in no time the backseat just won't be big enough for long. Maybe we need a Swagger Wagon ;-)

Tiny Tot Tuesday

This morning it was just Andrew and I heading to Ms. Ronda's house so he asked if we could stop and get a donut. We stopped and I ordered him two pigs in a blanket and a chocolate donut with sprinkles. He was nibbling away in the back seat and telling me all about his Lego Star Wars characters. When I looked in the rear view mirror I could see chocolate all over his face. I told him to get a napkin and wipe his face good before we went into Ms. Ronda's house. He looked in his little white bags and told me there were no napkins. I huffed a bit and said "this is the second time they didn't give us napkins." Andrew said, "that's OK mom" and I heard him crumple up one of the little white bags. I looked in the rear view mirror just in time to see him use the crumpled up bag to wipe his face and then look up to me and say, "did I get it all mom?" I just laughed and laughed. Such and industrious little guy. Who needs a napkin when you have a paper sack? Check Mary's blog to see what the other tiny tots had to say this week.

HOLY SMILE BATMAN!

Andrew has been wobbling his front tooth for weeks now. Earlier this week it got REALLY loose. On the way home from my office that day he and I stopped to get a snow cone. He was in the backseat of the car eating it when he started crying big alligator tears. When I asked him what was wrong, he said, "I don't want to be a big boy, I want to be your little boy." My heart just melted. He had overheard me saying to the babysitter that once kids loose their front teeth they are big kids. I had no idea he would take that to heart :-( He wants to be big enough to do everything his big brother does most of the time so I wasn't expecting that reaction. I told him he will always be my little boy even when he grows up to be as big as his daddy. In no time the tears were dried up and he was happily eating his snow cone gabbing away with me about his exciting day. That night I couldn't help but snuggle him a little longer when I tucked him in a bedtime.

Long Time, No Post...

Well hello! It sure has been a while! We have had busy days and changes for all of us. Mark's Grandfather passed away on June 16th. He was 95 years old. Mark absolutely ADORED his grandfather and so did everyone else. It was sad to say goodbye to him but he was ready to go be with the Lord. Grandma and Grandpa had been married for 71 years! That is a long time to have someone by your side. She is living with us now and we are THRILLED to have her with us. I know it isn't the same as having her husband with her but I hope she is comforted being with us. My boys adore her so I don't know who will end up more spoiled, Granny or us! She is such a blessing in our home. Please remember her in your prayers. She is a great lady and is working to get on with a whole new life here (at 89 years old). I hope I can have just a pinch of her resolve in my life.

The summer is flying by. We plan to take Granny to visit two of her sisters in Dallas while Mark and I take the boys to Six Flags. It will be nice to have a day of fun together. I just don't know if I can handle all of the big roller coasters that Mason loves now! Mark can do that while I ride the smaller stuff with Andrew ;-). I hope to get back to posting for the sake of journaling or daily life for the boys to enjoy reading later. I've missed catching up on my other bloggy buddies lives too! Here's to a new start!

Feeling Domestic...

I am feeling a bit domestic today so I decided to make monkey bread with the kids this morning. Monkey bread never turns out right unless you involve some monkeys in the making ;-)

Here they are in action.Here is the finished product...MMMMMM...needless to say, not low cal.

I may make Cranberry Chocolate Chip cookies this weekend. This recipe makes A TON of cookies so if you decide to make them you must share them as soon as they are done baking or you risk being tempted to eat way too many.

CRANBERRY CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES

1 1/2 CUPS (3 STICKS) BUTTER, AT ROOM TEMPERATURE

1 CUP SUGAR

1 1/2 CUPS LIGHT BROWN SUGAR

3 EGGS

1 TABLESPOON VANILLA

3 CUPS FLOUR

1 TABLESPOON BAKING POWDER

1 TEASPOON SALT

2 TEASPOONS CINNAMON

3 CUPS QUICK OATS (NOT OLD-FASHIONED)

2 CUPS CHOPPED WALNUTS

1 1/2 PACKAGES (8 OUNCES EACH) CHOCOLATE CHUNKS (3 CUPS)

2 CUPS COARSELY CHOPPED DRIED CRANBERRIES

HEAT OVEN TO 350 DEGREES. WITH ELECTRIC MIXER, CREAM BUTTER AND BOTH SUGARS. BEAT IN EGGS ONE AT A TIME, THEN BEAT IN VANILLA. ADD FLOUR, BAKING POWDER, SALT, CINNAMON AND OATS; SLOWLY BEAT UNTIL BLENDED. STIR IN WALNUTS, CHOCOLATE AND CRANBERRIES. DROP BY TABLESPOONFULS ONTO COOKIE SHEET COVERED WITH PARCHMENT PAPER. BAKE AT 350 DEGREES FOR 12 TO 15 MINUTES, UNTIL GOLDEN BROWN. MAKES ABOUT 8 DOZEN.

I have replaced the dried cranberries with dried cherries to make something a bit sweeter. I've done it with half cranberries and half cherries. You go with what suits you. They are wonderful. and hey, with all of those oats, the fiber must be good for you...right? Enjoy.

GRATITUDE

Our pastor shared this story yesterday before the honoring of our soldiers, past and present, during worship yesterday.

An 84 year old man was traveling to France recently and was asked to show is passport. Unprepared for the request he had to stop and look through his things to find it among his travel papers. The french immigration official was impatient and irritated and rudely quipped, "Have you ever traveled to France before?" The elderly gentleman simply answered yes. The french official then said, "Well you should remember that you are required to have your passport ready for inspection when entering our country." To this the man quietly explained that he was not asked to present his passport on his last visit. "That is impossible" the Frenchman huffed. "All Americans are required to present a passport when entering France, NO EXCEPTIONS!" As the gentleman handed his passport over he calmly said, "When I last arrived in France on Omaha Beach to help liberate this country on D-day; June 6, 1944; I couldn't find a single Frenchman to give my passport. You could have heard a pin drop in that immigration office.

Thank you to all of the courageous men and women who protect our freedoms every day and help ensure freedom to others around the world. May we never forget the sacrifice others have made for us and our children.

The Mommy Society

Happy Mother's Day to all the mom's and mommies to be. It is by far the greatest club I have ever joined. I always knew I would be a mom. I am the youngest in a very large family so I wasn't very familiar with taking care of younger ones...I was the one with big brothers and sisters taking care of me. So needless to say, when our first little man was born I was smitten with him but also taken aback by the unrelenting demands of motherhood. People had told me it was hard, but I was so blissful about having a baby that I just looked at it all through rose colored glasses. The first few weeks filled with
breast feeding - the first days were BRUTAL. Nursing bras, breast pumps, worrying if he was getting enough.
diapers - counting diapers each day to see if he was eating enough, washing at least one load of baby stuff each day to wash the spit up covered bibs or clothes covered in baby poo or pee...these were my clothes many days ;-)
colic - I am so thankful this only lasted a few weeks. No words can describe how awful this was for him and for me!
Sleep Deprivation - no more words needed.

If I was lucky I got a shower and was able to do it all again the next day...RINSE AND REPEAT! HAHA.

Eventually I found my groove in this mommy gig and I have to say it was with the help of so many other moms I know. Moms in the trenches with me with babies of their own helped me to know I was not alone having all of these mixed emotions. Moms with kiddos just a bit older than mine had great how to advice since they had just made it across this part of their journeys. Older moms with grown children gave the the vision that many of these challenges will pass and I will strangely miss them when they are gone...they were right! I don't know how I would make it through this journey without the other mommies encouraging me along the way. Now that I am a mom, i find myself trying to pass on the encouragement to others because boy do we need it! When I see a mom shopping with little ones and she is obviously been battling with the demands of the job, I always try to extend a smile her way and compliment or encourage her. I know some days the kindness and encouragement of a stranger meant the world to me.

So ladies, here's to motherhood...raising the next generation to know the Lord and live according to his purposes is a huge task we take on every day. These little people begin to see the heart of the Lord through us. We are their first loves and we hope through that love they learn to find an even deeper love with the Lord. This job requires a minimum of 16 hours each day and you are on call 24/7. It can be back breaking and will be heartbreaking. Good thing it pays better than any other job on the planet. The paycheck isn't dollars, mine have consisted of:
backyard flowers
pretty rocks
bugs in jars
a piece of gum...saved just for me
drawings
Lego creations
my favorite are the things that last forever...in my heart
hugs & kisses
happy smiles
snuggles & giggles
memories branded in my soul forever.

Happy Mother's Day to fellow society members :-)

LOVES

I love...
a productive day
half and half in my coffee
the smell of pine sol
cooking
a house full of kids
a shy smile breaking through when my kids are pouting
a neatly organized closet
the quiet of the morning when i am the only one awake
my family all together at the end of the day
sharing recipes with my sisters
Nothing edgy, extravagant or exciting really makes this list...I'm low maintenance.

Easter Weekend

We had a great Easter weekend. It went by so fast, but good times always do :-) We went to a WONDERFUL Good Friday service at our Methodist church in town. The youth did the service and it was phenomenal! It provoked very good questions from both of our boys and opened the opportunity for conversation about the sacrifice Christ made for us all.

We went "Easter Eggin" (as my friend April's little boy calls it...I love that too much not to say it here!) at our town Easter in the Park festivities. My kiddos love the sack races and Mason took second place this year. My camera died so I only have the one shot of Mason in action.

You gotta hold your tongue just right to win a sack race.

On Sunday morning we went to church for another wonderful service.

Don't these little guys look so handsome!

Our music minister always sings He's Alive on Easter Sunday. It makes me cry EVERY TIME! I guess I can just relate to Peter in the gospels, always wanting to put his whole heart into everything for the Lord but failing miserably sometimes. We had a nice lunch at home and hunted eggs again in the backyard, this time with money inside. It was fierce competition but once it was all done I was happy to see that both shared with each other nicely. We didn't ask them to so that made it even sweeter!

I love this picture of Andrew pulling his pants up as he runs to get some eggs! Excuse they yard...it looks like a plowed field since Mark is workingto level it out before we landscape.

Andrew was posing with his BIG Easter bunny.

The boys were so sweet they gave me an Easter bunny too. They know momma loves her chocolate...but what is wrong with this picture? (Beside the fact that I look like a line backer...what is with my GIGANTIC neck) My bunny must have shrunk! ;-)

We had a great weekend together. We hope you did too.

LITTLE BOY LINGO...

Every day there is something funny, sweet or just downright memorable my boys say or do and I always say I'm going to write that down. Most of the time I don't and find myself trying to remember. So here I go with my list of "little boy lingo" that I just have to document to remember these days filled with sweetness.

ANDREW: While fighting the bad guys as the Princess character on his Star Wars Lego game on his DS, "Don't be so rough with a ladaaaay" He said it in such a funny way, it was the cutest. I guess he has heard me tell him such things when we play around and wrestle. I always tell them I'm a lover not a fighter ;-)

Before we moved into the house and I was still spending the weekends painting, painting, and painting. It got quite tedious for me and especially so for Andrew. He would bring toys and play in the new game room but a little guy gets bored after hours and hours. During these long days Andrew would pop his head in the room I was painting to tell me something or ask a random question. I just had to document what some of the random thoughts go through the mind of this little 6 year old cutie.

What was your favorite toy when you were a little girl?

I built a new floor (out of leftover hardwood pieces) in my house (a large cardboard box).

What is an eyeball made of? Is it squishy?

______ is my favorite girl at school because she laughs at all my jokes.

What is 125 plus 9?

Sometimes I would just laugh out loud at the randomness of these things!

MASON: He is growing up and the conversations with him are getting so much more grown up. Mark has been reading Proverbs with him so he is learning a lot. One day as they were reading the subject was wicked women. The next day Mason told me that the bible says to run from bad girls. I said, "what is a bad girl?" He said, you know, the kind that want to kiss on boys a lot. I just nodded my head and said, "yeah, run fast!" I got so tickled but I am glad he is learning about God's word on subjects that will quickly be part of his life.

He has always had quite the insight on women. One day years ago when he was only 2 or 3 years old we had hired one of they boys from our church youth department, Hayden, to help Mark work to clean up an area we were about to build an addition onto our old house (yes, there is a pattern to our home remodel sickness) so we were having lunch together before they went back out to work. I asked Mark if he wanted me to come out and rake leaves to help them get finished before dark. Mason interrupted and said, "Girls don't rake leaves". I was a little indignant and said, "Oh, really? Why not?" He said that boys do that work and girls cook dinner. I was taken aback by his already accepted gender roles that he had seen in our home. Mark & Hayden thought it was funny and asked what else girls did. Mason said, "They wash dishes." Mark was just laughing and asked again, "what else". He quickly said, "They put band-aids in their underwear." It took me a minute but once I realized what he was referring to my jaw dropped & Mark was speechless (that says a lot since that almost never happens...he always has a witty comeback). Hayden either didn't understand Mason's baby talk enough to know what he said or was polite enough to pretend he didn't. Needless to say, privacy in the bathroom became a bigger priority after that conversation but how can you avoid taking your toddler in the bathroom stall with you at Wal-mart? This story will make us laugh for years!