"Wanna be Sprinkler"

This past weekend we had gorgeous weather, so we took full advantage of it. We did yard work for HOURS and hours, and then decided to put Micah in his bathing suit and spray him with the hose (aka "wanna be sprinkler"). We quickly are realizing that a sprinkler or some sort of baby pool might be a must in this Alabama heat. Until then, the hose sufficed ;)

The beauty queen not so sure of her hat or glasses :)

Park, Please

With all the warmER weather, we have become frequent visitors to the park near our home. I cannot tell you how much a difference a little extra sunshine does for this momma AND babies. This was Jordan's first real time in the swing and she just kept giggling and giggling. I loved it. The park is pretty big and has several different playgrounds, so it was difficult for me to keep up with Micah. He quickly attached himself to some kids and ran all around with them. By the end of park time he was waving and yelling, "Bye friends!"

I was able to find him for a brief second and catch a quick pic :)

Growing Up Slowly

The other night I was putting Micah to bed and it just hit me that my little boy would be THREE in two months. We had the sweetest little conversation that I hope I'll always remember:

Me: "Micah, I don't want you to grow up."

Micah: "But, I want to grow up."

Me: "Why?"

Micah: "Because I want to work like Daddy."

Me: "Well, promise you won't grow up fast."

Micah: "Okay Mom. I'll grow up slowly. Don't worry."

A few days later, Paul came home from work and said, "Micah, you're getting to be a big boy." Micah looked back at Paul with a serious face and said, "No! I'm growing slowly." This totally melted my heart. If only he really would grow up slowly. Too bad I cannot freeze time because it sure seems to be flying.

Preschool Crafts

I absolutely love being a Mom. I especially love picking up my favorite little boy from preschool every Tues and Thurs afternoon. If I wasn't in the carpool line, I would pull out my camera to capture his big smile when he sees me drive up. There is almost always a fun craft that he is so proud of and can't wait to show me. Here are a few from February...

Vday Fondue

We had a pretty low key Valentine's Day. Basically, we had a sick little girl and didn't feel right getting a sitter just in case she woke up screaming. We thought JK was teething, but when I took her to her 9 month checkup I was informed that she had a double ear infection. Ugh. Not fun. I felt horrible for not picking this up quicker, but she never tugged on her ears or had a fever...only a runny nose, fussiness, and difficult sleeping. Since then, she has developed a 102 fever and bad cough :(

Anyway, we decided to stay in on Valentine's. Paul really wanted to do fondue since we hadn't done that in over 2 years. Fondue is probably one of his favorite meals, and he was really excited about it. To be honest, I didn't want to cook, but it ended up being a really easy dinner to get together...basically Paul did most of the cooking AND the clean up :) We had originally planned to wait until Micah was asleep to eat, but that didn't happen as we both we pretty hungry. Micah ended up learning how to fondue with us and he loved it. What a fun evening with my boy's!

A Sweet Treat

The other day Micah was eating a sucker and the next thing I know he was totally sharing it with his little sister! Ahhh. He said, "Look Mommy. Jordan likes this." Well, duh! Who wouldn't like a sweet treat when all your getting is milk, bland veges, and some pureed fruit. I allowed him to share it a few more times only in order to catch a few pics of the little beggar and my generous sharing sucker-boy.

PS. Granddaddy, Micah totally takes after you in this area since you gave him a jolly rancher when he was 5 months old!!

I'm also so thankful for my Valentine's. Oh what a joy they bring to my life daily.

Last Minute Trip

Recently, Paul and I took a last minute trip to Nashville to visit our close friends who had just received some really difficult news and were in the hospital. It was so good to see them, pray with them, cry with them and just love on them. I'm so thankful we got to go and have this time with them. Little did we know that 24hrs after we left them would be the most difficult day of their lives.

That same weekend, Tim and Anna were in Nashville, so we got to spend a little time with them as well. Micah always loves to see his cousin, Levi, and it was fun to see how much Judah had changed since Christmas.

Burdened

Within the past few weeks, we have had several close friends dealing with some major medical issues. All of the situations have really been burdening my heart, but I know that there is nothing I can do except for pray. Thankfully, I rest knowing the Lord is Sovereign and in control, and His will will be done. Although, none of these situations would have been what we would have planned, thankfully this didn't surprise our Lord. I can definitely say that I have seen each of our friends grow closer to Christ through it all and I have continually been humbled watching each of them give all the glory to God, no matter what the outcome may be. I also have absolutely loved watching them use their horrible situations to witness to nonbelievers and sharing the hope only found in Christ! I don't know how people make it without Christ. All of these situations have also reminded me how short our lives on this earth truly are and I pray that my life will daily reflect Jesus and point others toward Him.

Into EVERYTHING

I had forgotten what having a 9 month old was like. Oh my, they keep you on your toes. I'm constantly digging dust balls from our carpet, leaves, crumbs from Micah's food, etc out of Jordan's mouth. Not only that, but she is a quick little thing. She will be happily playing on the other side of the kitchen floor, but as SOON as she hears me open the fridge she is there in a matter of seconds. For example:

She would play in the fridge all day long if I'd let her. Lately, she's been into the wipes...

...and diapers.

Oh how I love you Jordan, but boy do you make me tired ;)

"His Job"

When my Mom was here she gave me the great idea of having Micah help me empty the silverware from the dishwasher. I knew at some point he'd be ready to help, but I wasn't sure when exactly that would be. Well, I decided to give it a try and put Micah to the test. Not only can he sort the silverware perfectly, but he is pretty much obsessed with doing so, and has claimed it "his job". For those of you that know me, I like to get things done fast, so it was rather difficult sitting back and watching him turn the knives into swords for 10 minutes or playing the game of "Which spoon/fork is bigger?" with every single one-when he clearly knew the answer. However, I know chores are so important and serve as a great learning process. He even got mad at me, tears involved, for doing "his job" the other day. I guess the best part is that he has no idea it is a "chore"...at least yet ;)

Little Bumped Head

Poor boy. Micah was playing underneath our desk while I was doing dishes. I heard a big bang followed by a loud scream. At first I ignored him as he is all boy and I hear something similar to this daily...seriously. However, when we came running into the kitchen with tears streaming down his face I thought I'd better check it out. Sure enough, there was a little blood running down a few strands of his wavy hair-it almost looked as if we'd dyed some pieces of hair red. I was more worried that stitches might be needed, but thankfully it was just a little gash and that wasn't the case.