I love living here

It has been so pretty here this week. The windows are open, birds are singing, the kids can go outside to play ;). There was a lil fog the other morning after a night rain. So pretty.

Since we moved here I've been able to grow more vegetables. I am doing my normal tomatoes and corn, and this year I am trying ice box watermelons. I am really excited!! My kitchen window has cups full of sprouts, hopefully this weekend I can plant them.

More kid cuteness. Hard to believe Garrett will be TWO next week. Yeeeeesh. I got him a wagon as a preasent for him....and for me. I put it together early to help me in the madness of tball games. Garrett was also playing hide and seek with me the other day....so cute to hear giggles from the cabinet!!

Sorry about that last pics...had to edit due to nudity LOL and of course now it won't flip.

God speaks

Had an amazing thing happen at church today. The past couple of weeks had been hard. Garrett and Katie both got viruses which they ran 103+ fevers, little sleep, weird dreams of people telling me to prepare to lose Joe, someone I know committed suicide, and a run in with the IRS. So really...not a whole lot of fun lately. I didn't go to church last week because of Garrett being sick and I was nervous because up til yesterday Katie was running a temp as well. But she woke up fever free so I was taking off. A couple of months ago my normal Sunday School class dissolved due to several issues which lead me to attend a new class at a different hour. I've been going a little over a month now. Today was Missions Sunday. Where we focus on giving to world missions and listens to testimonies. There were probably 20 missionaries there today...at least. So after worship I go up to my new class, take a seat, have a yummy donut :). We are told we will have two guest speakers..a gentlemen who runs a home for adults here in TN and an international missionary. She gets up...I notice her name tag. Printed beneath her name says South Korea. My heart skips. I am thinking after these emotional times I hope I don't cry and need to excuse myself. She begins to discuss her experiences and how she took her baby boy, HARRISON, to Korea and raised him and eventually another son there. My eyes are welling up....even at the mention of her son's name. She mentions they are very close to a large military base. She asks if anyone of the military families is familiar with Korea but says we are probably too young. I say "My husband is there right now." "Now?" she asks. "Yes" I cried. I tried to cowboy up as she looks at me as tears fill her eyes talking about her appreciation. The rest of the room went to a blur. I hear most of them were in tears as well. And she invited me to talk to her after class. We spoke for a while...she is within an hour of Joe. And even though they have never met it was like a hug from Joe traveling to see me. It felt like God was saying "You are not alone. Joe is with you. I am with you." Out of all the places to be a missionary.....out of all the missionaries that could attend out service....out of all the classes in our church....this woman came to speak to my class...who even has a son who shares our last name. God was there...no coincidence no doubt...God was there. And as my heart aches to see my husband knowing that I touched a woman's hand today that may touch my husband's in a few weeks I find comfort. I find love. How can I not find hope in this? Just thought I would share..

Cuteness Quota

Everyone needs a cuteness quota....I think I can fill that :). Another busy week here. More rain...let's just say no one is talking about the drought anymore..hehehe which is good. Joe had his first tball game. It was cold and muddy but he had a great time! Didn't hit off of any of the pitches but did score two run :) He was so excited...screaming "I won! I won!" as he crossed the plate. His teacher and other people have made comments on him having "an old soul". I totally agree. The other day he say by the dining room window with it open listening to the rain and said "Mom, I love listening to the rain hist the ground. It's so nice." He also teared up at the Passion Play when Jesus was beaten and hung on the cross. Sometimes I wonder if he is 5 or 55...not that 55 is "old"..hehehe.


Joe's first run! Go Mets!!

Garrett is still super cute. Doing really well with potty training. He is basically perfect at home..we just need to work on going out in public. Part of that is my fault...lot harder taking three kids into a public rest room than one when Joe was training. Oh well..he is doing great. He wore Joe's batting helmet to the doctor's office last week. Had everyone cracking up.

The boys playing in a box the new bed came in.



Camped out for movie night..our new tradition!!

Katie is so sweet. Being so tiny is bittersweet. I am eating her up cuz I can still cradle her with one arm, but knowing that she isn't on the growth charts is still a concern. Luckily she has put weight on instead of losing...just need to keep going in that direction. She had her 6 month well check this week. She was 12.5 lbs. They didn't tell me her height. She got her pokes and lots of love. She is doing great developmentally even though she is so little. She has started to sit for short periods and she can hold a bottle now :) Still not sleeping through the night but I have given up on that battle for a while. One of these days I will want my kids to want me as bad as she does ....so I am going to cherish it while I can.

I may be little but I am mighty!!!! LOL how do you like Garrett's foot over there to the left?!?

Easter :)

Hope everyone has had a wonderful Easter. As usual it was a bit stressful here but we have had a great couple of days. Looking back some of it has been a bit funny. The eggs fell out of the car while trying to load 150lbs of dog and horse feed. Luckily only 4 broke. I should probably mention there were two little old men in lawn chair sitting outside of the store giggling at me me while I cursed the eggs and ranting about how I wished Joe was home. This morning I couldn't find Garrett's pants that I ordered and somehow the couch ate a sock. Maybe it was a sugar high or the fact that we have had late nights the past couple of days but the boys were wild as can be during church...had to have a stranger hold the baby while I removed Garretto (being a floppy fish) from the situation. But the boys had a great time dying the (unbroken) eggs...hehheeh, went for an egg hunt in the yard and they all looked stinkin cute in their clothes. Dad came over this afternoon and I made cornish hens, scalloped corn, green beans, and rolls. Dad brought an apple pie...yum ...and WINE!!! Which I plan on hitting again in uh about 3 hours...LOL. So here are some pics from today...enjoy!

Emotionally challenging

This week has been a bit tough. First of all it is Spring Break and it has rained A LOT. In a matter of 2 days we got 5 1/2 inches on this property. So trying to keep three kids entertained is not an easy feat. Then with all this rain there comes the job of mowing...this took several attempts. 1) mower started but as soon as in gear belt jumped off and no go mow 2) Dad to the rescue puts belt back late one night starts right up and drives but too late to mow 3) battery is dead 4) Dad returns and brings charger charges overnight 5) starts WOHOOO put in gear...belt again!!!! Ok If I owned a gun the mower would be shot...probably several times.

Next comes the baby swing. My wonderful cousins and aunt and uncle gave me a super cool swing when Joe was born. It was the first model that swung side to side. Well it has been on it's last leg since Katie's birth. Finally after spending 10 bucks every 2-3 weeks on batteries the swing quit. So...after 2.5 kids I had to buy a new one...which took going to 4 stores to find a reasonable price (there's not by the way).

Then there is the Bug (AKA Katie). I am 99.999% sure she is a moderate/severe refluxer. I have been dealing with it with just TLC and lots of burp clothes since day one. She was never excessively fussy until lately. Then she started losing weight....big red Mama flag there. More attempts 1)took her in...ear infection. Doc says weight loss probably related so not to worry come back in 3 weeks 2) come back ear is fine but has lost more weight..doc still not worried but Mama is 3)call civilian docs to see if I can get her in...nope 4) go back to post to see some one else...and finally get ball rolling

So needless to say I have had to be very persistent and patient this week. Tears have been shed, mowers have been kicked, and puke has gone everywhere...but as I speak a lawn service is mowing my grass and Dad (superDad) should be on his way to haul my mower off to the shop.
And the Bug is happily swinging in a new (ugh kinda spendy) swing with 2 meds in the closet/fridge with more appts ahead of her. But hey we are going in the right direction. And well...can you put a price on this smile :)