This girl is a John Deere Girl

She was feeling a little left out when the boys got their John Deere shirts. But no more, she now has her own John Deere apparrel, thanks to Papa!

We had a good day, starting and finishing some small projects. We even ventured to the pool with our friends. Wow, the water was cold at first but it was tons of fun for all of us.

Brian saw the Endo. Dr. today and it was a positive visit. She would like to see him do some things that could possibly rule out taking the medicine in the future. We are all for that!!!

A New endeavor

Ok, this is the way I see it.
It took two of us a solid 14 hours each to figure out the code thing to change our layout.
Of course that does take into account the claim that my resident blogger has the right to get the layout set and then decide it is too (fill in adjective here)...light, dark, nauseating, busy, or just not the right thing. What we end up with is an original work which comes to a total selling cost of $360.00. That is factoring in our labor at $6.00 per hour. Is it worth it?
mm hmm she says. If she is happy, so am I.

So anybody want a completely custom design for your page...drop us 4 C's and it will be yours.

b

Not Included

Yesterday, Camden got a birthday party invitation in the mail from one of HIS friends at school. Noah, quickly realized, that he was not invited to the party and BURST into big crocodile tears. He sobbed for quite a long time and very loudly. I tried to explain that they have different friends and he would much rather play baseball at the same time than to go to a 3-year olds party. Nothing seemed to satisfy him.

Camden didn't know what to think about his brother being so sad. He hugged Noah, gave him a kiss and told him that he loved him, to try to make it better. Since that didn't totally work, he told him that "you will get one in the mail next time, Noah". It was all very sweet!

The invitation now has mysteriously disappeared, which brings a whole new set of problems!

Spring Camping Trip

Enjoying the outdoors.





Just precious!


Roasting marshmallows for S'mores


Lunch time, we did some good eating!


Cousins all together.

Camden convincing his cousin he is not the one to marry.

Brian and Camden with Gigi in her new boat.

I have finally made my way through 7 or 8 loads of laundry and getting the kids back into a routine, so I will post about our weekend.

We had one of our best camping experiences to date last weekend. We tent-camped at Duane and Peggy's lake house in East Texas with Brian's cousins and had a mini-family reunion. We all had so much fun "fishing", swimming, roasting marshmallows and watching the kids run non-stop for three days straight. I have never seen my kids so exhausted as on the way home Sunday afternoon. They even took a 4 hour nap each on Monday just to catch up!

Noah and Camden both really enjoyed casting their fishing poles into the lake. Noah even fished for a little while with a hook and worm. He did a great job casting and not "hooking" anyone. (Brian, does that bring back memories?)

Noah and Camden also got lots of attention from one of their female cousins who couldn't quite decide which one she was going to marry the next day. In the end, no hearts were broken.

We hope to make this a new tradition each spring and maybe in the fall as well. Thank you Duane and Peggy for your wonderful hospitality and opening your home to us.

Check out Taylor's Treasures for more pics.

Oh Heavens, there has been a flood on aisle 4!!!

These were the words spoken to me at the store this morning when I told the sales associate that we had an accident that needed to be cleaned up. It was a flood that turned into a LONG river. It required 2 of those bright yellow "Caution, Floor is Wet" signs. When I asked if I could clean it up, she said "Oh No, Honey, this is going to require a BIG mop!" I was then asked "when was the last time **** used the bathroom, a week ago?"

Who was the culprit? None other than...

I just can't take her anywhere. Her special outing to the pet store to have her nails trimmed turned into one of those memorable experiences. Maybe it was the birds chirping or the water splashing in the fish tank or all the wonderful smells that overloaded her. We may never know, but she gave us all a good laugh!!!

Update on Camden's knee

A week and half ago I noticed a lump in Camden's knee that has not been there before. He was squatting down outside playing and by God's will I saw it. I didn't like the look of it and made an appointment with his Ped. The Ped. wasn't confident with diagnosing it and referred us to an Orthopedic.

Yesterday we had our appointment with the Orthopedic. A series of X-rays were taken, an infrared light was shown on the lump (which Camden thought was pretty cool) and lots of poking took place. He believes it is cystic in nature and it is located near a ligament and cartilage material. (Sorry a little technical, but I want to remember all of this.) He mentioned a Ganglion Cyst which could have been caused by trauma (all that wild dancing at the wedding where Camden was throwing himself on his knees on the dance floor) and suggested Motrin for 10 days. We have a follow up in 2 weeks where we will discuss an MRI if it has not disappeared.

Please pray for God's will in this situation.

Fun in the Sun and Rain

Wow, it is finally nice to have a "normal" spring time in Texas. The flowers are in bloom (has anyone noticed the roses? They are just beautiful.), there is an ongoing buzz of lawn equipment and some days have brought a late afternoon rain shower. Just as it should be!

A recent rainy afternoon, we got out the boats and had boat races down the alley. The water was rushing pretty fast and made for some exciting racing. Today, the boys broke in their new swimming pool and had tons of fun. Jumping, sliding, golfing (is this a pool activity? It is in our pool), splashing and a little bit of shivering went on today.

We have noticed an abundance of butterflies in our yard this year. Have you? They also are quite beautiful and have captured the eye of the dog. Gracie captured one yesterday and the boys rescued it in with their bug net and put it in their bug jar. Today, while the kids were swimming, Gracie snuck off with the bug jar, opened it and waited patiently for the butterfly to emerge. I didn't have the heart to tell her or the boys that it died a very hot death yesterday trapped in the bug jar.

We hope you are enjoying this spring weather as much as we are. Happy Spring!!!

Noah's Last Day of Pre-School

Noah had an awesome last day of Pre-school. The day was full of fun activities such as making a water-stretcher (bubble wand), having a pizza party, riding bikes outside and indulging in Blue-Bell ice cream and a pizza cookie. His teacher handed out certificates and handmade booklets full of pictures from the year as well as the recipes they made. The books also have conversations about his likes and fears throughout the year. His teacher did a wonderful job putting it together and it will be cherished.

The kids made their own T-shirts that they wore today. The shirt has a caterpillar on it made from each child's hand. The purpose behind the shirt is to remind them of their friends they had in Pre-school every time they look at it. What a wonderful idea, because most of the kids will be going to different schools next year. Noah is pretty sad tonight about not seeing his friends and Mrs. Lisa again. Noah has always held his friends very close and today was hard on him. I also got caught up in the emotion of the day and didn't want it to end.

Noah, you have grown into a handsome big kid who is full of knowledge and very inquisitive. I love that you are sensitive to others and that you are not afraid to take charge and negotiate. I am so proud of you and all that you have accomplished this year. I look forward to watching you grow and seeing what you accomplish in the year to come.

I love you,
Mommy

Camden's Last Day of School

Camden is officially out for the summer. He had a great last day of school, complete with a pizza party and cupcakes for dessert. He was so excited to give Miss. Lisa the gift he made for her. He colored a pretty picture on one side and on the other he wrote his name for the first time! Yeah, Camden!!!

He didn't seem to have much emotion about it being the last day and not seeing his friends for awhile. He knows that when school is over, the pool opens up and we will be going swimming. This has been far more exciting to him than the last day of school. The only problem is, the pool doesn't open for at least two more weeks!

His teacher gave us a photo album of the events over the last year. It is fun to see how much he has grown and changed. On the first day of school he was sporting a black eye and on the last day of school he was sporting a scar over his eye from the stitches. Sometimes, things do not change enough!

Tomorrow is Noah's last day and it will be hard to say goodbye to a Pre-schooler and hello to a big Kindergartner.

We want your opinion!

We are on the hunt for a new vacuum cleaner. We have not had good experiences with the products we have owned in the past. (It may have something to do with the operator, but I don't think so.)

Anyway, please tell us what has worked best and least for you and why.

Camden's Big Day

Camden turned 3 years old somewhere in that week that we had a wedding and a trip to the hospital. We celebrated at a local park with friends from church and Pre-school as well as family. He of course, got a "Chick Hicks" cake that his teacher from school made. I thought it turned out really cute and tasted delicious. It was a very windy day, but that didn't stop the kids from playing and having a fun time on the playground. Camden took his time opening every card and looking at it before he opened his present. He was very serious about the whole process. I guess I shouldn't be surprised, that is how he approaches most things that are important to him. We were glad to have his Great Grand-parents and a Great-Cousin in attendance for the party.

Camden has really grown over the last year. He has learned to share and take turns. He has learned to listen and follow directions about as well as any 2 year old can. Pre-school has been good for him and I am looking forward to this next year to see how he blossoms. He definitely takes after his mama in the strong-willed department. He knows what he wants and goes after it full throttle. He is also like his dad, in that he can be very reserved and shows little emotion. But most of all, Camden is Camden. We love his squishy marshmallow hugs and that he stills crawls up in our laps and wants to be cuddled. We love that he is all-boy and full of so much energy. We love that his "blue" still makes him feel safe. We love that he has great eating habits and prefers fruits and veggies over just about anything else. We love that he has No-Fear and is willing to try anything. We love how he adores his big brother and looks to him for everything.

WE LOVE YOU, CAMDEN!!!
Mommy and Daddy

Crazy Hat Day

No, these aren't swim caps. They are pull-ups. One of them didn't seem to matter that his had already been used...the right way.

Spring Storm

The last three weeks have been typical as far as spring storms go for this area. Each week they have been building in intensity and last night was by far the scariest. We cut short our errand running last night because the sky looked ominous. Not long after we arrived home the radar was light up with large shades of red and yellow. They estimate the winds at being between 75 - 100 mph last night. The boys and I spent some time in the bathroom, listening to it howl. Brian, of course, watched the storm laying on the couch without a care in the world. I tried to open the front door at one point and had to fight to shut it, it was intense. We lost power for about 3 1/2 hours but the boys had fun using our camping lanterns.

The pictures above are what it looks like out our front door. Leaves are everywhere, our Bradford Pear tree lost a limb and somebody's shingles are in our front yard. At first glance they don't appear to be ours (although I am secretly hoping they are, we need a new roof). We listened for hours as firetrucks raced past our area and stopped not far down the road. We prayed for safety for ourselves and for those less fortunate.

We are safe. God is good!

Wedding Highlights

Whew, what a week! It's official now, Mark and Tiffany are married! We couldn't be more excited and proud of the two of them.

The weekend started with a Bridal luncheon I attended on Friday. The rehearsal went smoothly and the boys behaved well despite having no nap that day. Camden did not make the rehearsal dinner and went home where he promptly fell asleep. There was good food and fellowship at the rehearsal dinner followed by an awesome video of Mark and Tiffany over the years growing up and ending with their engagement. Many wonderful toasts were made and it was clear that God has been in control of this relationship since before they were born.

Saturday arrived with hair appointments for myself and then Brian had lunch with the guys. I think a little NFL Draft was watched, but please don't tell Tiffany that! We arrived at the church at 1:30 p.m. for pictures and then we hung out waiting for the ceremony to start. The boys did fairly well with minimal rolling on the floor smashing their flowers and dirting their tuxes before the wedding.





The ceremony was beautiful and Tiffany was a gorgeous bride! It was very touching to watch them take communion and prayer with one another during the service. Several good friends added wonderful moments with scripture readings and singing. The boys fulfilled their duties as ring bearers and watched with awe during the ceremony.



The reception was equally as beautiful with the decorations and the food was awesome. Mark choose a Dallas Cowboy's jersey for his grooms cake, complete with his last name and wedding date as the numbers on the sleeves. Mark also surprised his guests with an ice cream bar so that everyone could enjoy ice cream with their cake. The dance floor was a hit with the kids. Camden did some wild dancing that included throwing himself on the floor about every 15 seconds. Noah took a little while to warm up to the idea of dancing but was soon throwing himself around the dance floor as well. Camden got a little challenging during the reception due to having no nap yet again. He was found several times at the elevator alone trying to get on and go for a ride. He also tried multiple times to pull over a three-tierd glass serving tray just so he could get the strawberries on the top. Loads of fun!




Mark & Tiffany walked under a canopy of bubbles and left in high style riding in a Rolls Royce.

Congratulations Mark & Tiffany!