More Cute Baby Bo pictures!

Ohhh, he's so cute!!!  I love to pinch his little chubby cheeks!

Memorial Day

We had a fun Memorial Day, spent with lots of food, and hanging with friends.  Our Care Group came over, and we got to meet some of our neighbors!  I LOVE the idea of having everyone over for a good old-fashioned, all-American Memorial Day BBQ, complete with apple and peach pies!  I know, I'm a nerd... I am still excited to be in our house, and to be able to grill and have people over!  

(Isn't Steph already a natural mom, holding Bo?  She and Danae served me HUGE by holding him so I could get stuff ready... I'm not sure they really minded, though!)

Thanks, everyone, for coming!  We had a blast with y'all!

On The Roof

I just had quite the adventure!  I was putting Toby and CJ down for a nap upstairs, and Bo was crying in his swing downstairs, waiting to be fed.  I assumed I would take a few minutes to put the boys down, then come downstairs to feed Bo.  I had the boys' door open, and Toby slammed it shut.  I went to open it, turned the doorknob, kept turning, kept turning, and the door wouldn't open!  The doorknob somehow broke when the door was slammed.  Then I heard a hungry scream from downstairs, and realized there was no way I could get downstairs to feed Bo.  I tried everything I could think of to fix the doorknob, but nothing worked!  So, I opened the window, and, very self-consciously, yelled "Help!" like an idiot.  Then I realized it was 1:00 in the afternoon, and about 105 degrees outside.  No one was going to be just hanging out outside!  Then I found myself in one of those situations I stay awake at night thinking about... how would I get out of the house if I was stuck in one of the bedrooms?  I pulled off the screen from the window, opened it, and hoisted myself out the window and onto the roof.  Our house is built so that the boys' window faces about 4 other houses opposite ours, and there is a bit of roof underneath their window that covers our patio, if that makes sense.  So, I carefully slid down to the edge of the roof, planning on holding onto the edge of the roof and just dropping down to the ground, which would only be a few feet below mine.  However, as I mentioned, it was about 105 degrees, and the roof was much too hot to touch with my bare feet and hands.  Plus, there was a fence and nothing but gravel and rocks underneath me.  I thought about just jumping onto the grass a few feet from our house, but then realized breaking my neck wouldn't really help matters either.  So, I prayed that God would send someone, looked up, and saw a man getting his mail from the mailbox across the street.  Again, like an idiot, I shouted, "Excuse me!  Excuse me!  Can you help me?"  He had started to walk away, but then came back and looked at me, as I  explained the situation to him and asked him if he had a phone.  He smiled and said, "No, but I can get you one," and walked back to his house, came back, and threw his cell phone to me.  I called Keith, who after a couple calls, picked up, and explained to him what happened.  He came home about 15 min. later, and thankfully, the door opened from the outside.  I fed Bo while he fixed the door.  He is so handy!  Now we know how a doorknob works!  He got his tools and figured out what was wrong with the knob, and fixed it!  The boys kept saying, "Yay, Daddy!  Daddy fixed it!  Daddy saved the day!"  

As Keith was leaving to go back to work, I pointed out that I was a damsel in distress, and he came to rescue me! :~)

I am thankful, in all of this, how good and sovereign God is, over every little detail of my life.  In his wisdom, Toby slammed the door when I was in the room with the boys, and while Bo was strapped into his swing.  While I was waiting, no one could get hurt.  Although Bo was hungry, he could have easily gone another hour before eating (it was only 3 hours since I had last fed him).  Keith had his phone on and was able to answer.  The boys' window is in direct sight of the mailbox, and that man just happened to get his mail at the exact moment I needed help!  I sometimes struggle with fear about something happening to the boys, or them getting hurt.  What a reminder of how good God is to me (and my boys)!  Because of Jesus taking the punishment I deserve for my great sin against God, I am now loved by God!  He is sovereign over every little detail of my life, and works it all for my good!

Random Acts of Cuteness

I love that Toby and CJ are getting older, and more talkative!  Even Bo is at the fun age where he loves the sound of his own voice, and will look at me intently and talk like crazy!  Love it!

Toby has really started to talk a lot, like a little person, which I also LOVE!  I can actually have a conversation with him now.  The other day, we sat down to dinner, and Toby had this Thomas the train bowl he had been eating out of.  He looked at the Thomas the train at the bottom, and in his "pretending" voice, said, "Oh, Thomas bowl, will you play with me?"  Keith and I are just watching him, and as he's looking down, talking to his bowl, his eyes dart to Keith and I and he says, "Right... guys?"  Just like Keith... too funny!  He's also been in this phase that I hope lasts forever, where he wants to do everything "just like Daddy."  When the boys are fussy, Keith does his Michael Jackson dance (if you've ever seen Keith do this, you know how funny it is to watch him) and they boys LOVE it!  So, now, they try to copy him.  I have had the hardest time posting video here, but I've got a clip where Toby does this.  It is *hilarious*!  He kind of spins around, and then rubs his chest and tummy, and then looks at me and says, "Dance like Daddy!"

CJ has started doing this thing where anytime we're leaving to go somewhere, he says good-bye to his toys.  I heard him say the other day, "Bye-bye, Spiderman!  See you later, bye-bye."

How do you not love these boys? :~)

Mother's Day

A couple weeks ago, Keith asked me what I wanted for Mother's Day, and I told him, "A nap!  Just take the boys for an afternoon and let me sleep!"  Well, not only did I get the nap, but he gave me these beautiful lilies, along with a box of chocolates...

He also let me get rid of this:
and bought me a brand-new dishwasher!!!  One that actually washes the dishes!!!  Ever since we moved into our house, we have had problems with our dishwasher flooding, smoking, not cleaning dishes, encrusting the dishes with detergent, you name it!  The GE service people were not exactly helpful, and by last month, I had to completely rinse the dishes of any speck of food before "washing" them, and they still came out dirty!  So, eventually, I had to hand-wash everything!  Not exactly something I have time for right now!  So, Keith surprised me with a new dishwasher!  I love it!!!  I can put completely dirty dishes in, and they get sparkling clean!

Later in the day, I enjoyed being reminded of why I love being a mom...

 

Happy Mother's Day!!!

"A mother... by her planning and industry night and day, by her willfulness of love, by her fidelity, she brings up her children.  Do not read to me the campaigns of Caesar and tell me nothing about Napoleon's wonderful exploits.  For I tell you that, as God and the angels look down upon the silent history of that woman's administration, and upon those men-building processes which went on in her heart and mind through a score of years; -nothing exterior, no outward development of kingdoms, no empire-building, can compare in beauty, and wonder, and admirableness, and divinity itself, to the silent work in obscure dwellings of faithful women bringing their children to honor and virtue and piety."  ~Henry Ward Beecher (from "Golden Thoughts on Mother, Home and Heaven, see sidebar).

"Whoever receives one such child in My name receives Me."  ~Matthew 18:5

Another way you know you have boys..

... you have Poison Control on speed-dial!

Seriously, do anyone else's kids eat crayons and markers on a regular basis?  Geez!

Cute CJ

Yesterday, while in the car, Keith and I hear from the back seat CJ's little voice say,

"Scooz me.  I toot!"

Ah, I love that boy!

You Know You're Sleep-Deprived When...

... you ask your husband upon waking up, "Do you want me to wheelbarrow first?"

You know he's sleep-deprived when he doesn't answer.

Strawberry-Banana Pancakes

I made these on Saturday for breakfast, to celebrate that Keith was home for an entire weekend!  They were really good!  Seriously, before these, I made horrible pancakes.  They were always burnt on the outside and uncooked on the inside!  These turned out to be a perfect golden brown, and are a great way to use fresh strawberries that are finally in season!

Strawberry-Banana Pancakes (modified from a couple different pancake recipes):

2 cups flour, sifted

3 T. sugar

2 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. salt

2 1/4 cups buttermilk (I used plain soymilk)

4 T. butter, melted (I used oil)

1/2 tsp. vanilla

2 eggs (again, substituted)

2 ripe bananas

about 1/2 cup chopped strawberries (I didn't measure, I just chopped up a couple)

In a large bowl, whisk all dry ingredients.  In another bowl, whisk milk through eggs.  Make a small well in the dry ingredients, and gradually add egg mixture to flour mixture.  Do not overmix.  In a small bowl, mash the bananas and add to the batter.  Fold in strawberries.  Heat a large skillet or frying pan over medium heat until water dances on pan.  Add puddles of batter, carefully checking undersides for doneness.  

Potty Party

Alright, after one potty party too many, we are ready to start the potty-training process!  Despite my plans of just waiting until they figure it out for themselves, I think Toby has made it very clear he is ready (I'm just not sure I am)!

So, Keith & I have a question for all you experienced moms... where do we start?  We really don't have any clue what we're doing here, so any and all ideas would be much appreciated!

Too Funny!

This was so funny to me... we were driving (I think to church) and stopped at a light.  I looked out the window to see a woman and her daughter riding together on a pink double bicycle, looking so happy.  Seriously, it was like they biked right off the front of a Mother's Day card or something.  I pointed them out to Keith and then, to fight the discontentment rising up in my heart, told him, "I LOVE boys, though!  I love-" and was interrupted by Toby and CJ screaming at the same time, "NO!  NO!  NOOOOO!" and Bo crying!  We looked back at the blissful mom and daughter, riding in the warm morning sunshine, and just had to laugh!

Then, the other night, we were eating dinner, and Toby and CJ were being so funny!  Keith and I kept laughing, and Keith turned to Toby and had this sweet father-son moment, and told him, "Buddy, I always wondered what my children would be like, and I am SO happy you--" and again was interrupted by Toby shouting, "NO!" at him.

Then, tonight, he was playing with Keith, and Keith asked him, "Can I tickle you?" and Toby looks right at him, and says, "I don't think so!" and walks away!

Oh, well.  So much for precious moments... at least they make us laugh!