Splash Pad

Check out this cute place we went today with our early childhood team. It's really cool because unlike a pool you don't have to worry about drowning but it's still as much fun because of the water. Even Ezekiel got in on the fun. There are pressure points all throughout the space so the kids can turn the water on & off randomly. Eventually they figure it out but it's fun to watch them try to make the water come back on. There are different levels so all ages can enjoy. The best part is that it only cost $1 to get in and you only pay if you play. We had a great time.!!!

Little Guy

Last week we took Zeke to the doctor for his 1 year shots. He is growing like a weed. 22lbs, 31inches. I really didn't think another baby would keep me on my toes as much as Justus did but I've been proven wrong. Ez is motivated to keep up with Justus so he is learning things a lot faster than I remember J doing. But there are also areas where is a behind. One of those things is talking. HE says: mommy, daddy, ball and then squeals and grunts the rest. I am a bit concerned but the doctor says he's within the norm.

He has allergies like Justus & myself. And they have been pretty severe the past month or so. The doctor put him on two meds daily & a nebulizer every four hours as needed. Justus has to use occasionally but not nearly as much as Zeke. Here is a couple of pics. One while he is getting a treatment. And one of the nebulizer. Its a cow & came with a barn carrying case....very cute, not much fun though.

Comfortable much???

I'm not sure how he does it but this guy can fall asleep ANYWHERE! Can you tell that he is up on top of the back of our couch?? I'm glad I discovered him before he fell off. Tiles to the head would not feel so good!

Name that substance

And so the discoveries begin! He's already experienced ashes, rocks, and other random items. But I was able to catch these in action. He's keeping me on my toes!

Justus and I jumped on the trampoline yesterday while it was raining. He thought it was the greatest thing to be outside while it was raining. We were pretty filthy when we finally got to the house but it was SO fun slipping and sliding on the trampoline.

This weekend we have several birthday parties. Bowling. And on Sunday is the awards ceremony for Rainbows. Justus will be getting some badges for attendence, scripture memory and that kind of thing.

My brother and sister in law (niece too) will be moving up here a week from Monday so everyone is busy getting things ready for them. I'm glad they will be here rather than there.

Wildlife

The random rains around here have brought the 'wildlife' out & about in our backyard. Yesterday Justus discovered some tree frogs that were hanging out in the umbrella on the patio furniture. They fell out & scared him. But them we picked them up & held them for a few minutes. And then set them free before the got squished! Poor things! I think that they are the ones that gave us tadpoles by the pool. I"m trying to keep them alive so Justus can see the change from tadpole to frog.

Walmart-

Walmart was unusually crowded today. This actually worked to my advantage. I stuck stricktly to my list & got out quick! Normally we avoid busy times like after 5 and weekends especially. Maybe we should go when it is busy so we don't linger on the cookie isle or other tempting spots!!!!

Is grocery shopping tricky for you??? Do you end up spending WAY TOO MUCH? What are your strategies on avoiding the WALMART trap?

Can you help me??

Today the boys were playing together. Ezekiel had a blanket on his head & he was laughing his head off. Justus was chasing after him saying-'you're Jesus.....Jesus can you help me? Can you help me please.' They kept each other occupied for an hour or so, a very RARE occurence around here! I tried to get a picture but the head dressing had already been taken off.

Pictures...

These are from the fourth of July parade, our church Independence Celebration & Zeke/Leah's Birthday:















Oh yeah-----BOB melted! *Note: never put frosted cake in the oven even if you THINK it's cooled enough!

I'm the basketball player!

Tonight out of the blue Justus decided to tell Sam that he didn't want to play football. Sam was crushed (for a minute or two) but the conversation continued. And Justus said he wants to play basketball. Sam asked about baseball & Justus said 'no way, I'll get hit in the face.' Sport talk continued until they decided who would play what sport. My nephew Brandon will play soccer, Justus will play basketball & Zeke can play football when he gets bigger. Because Justus thinks Zeke is to small now! So that is the future as mapped out by Sam & Justus.

Oh yeah- an update

Busy as a bee! Ft. Myers MC were here last week. They did a MC glimpse. Teaching our students all about MC and the in's & outs. Our 'kids' really enjoyed it. Wednesday night MC's had control of the service & it was awesome. Ft. Myers sent their worship team INTERFACE, they're really good! Worship was great. Our students did a human video. And then one of the guys preached but basically he gave his testimony. He was at a school where they had a student kill two of his classmates. It was a powerful illistration of why you should reach out to others.

During the week the boys & I were at the church each day. I helped Katrina (pastor's wife) get lunches together, served, cleaned up. It was good to be helpful & I enjoyed seeing our students. Some other youth groups came too.

Thursday Sam & the youth group left for camp. They got back today. It was a long week without having Sam here but I had a great time with the boys. Justus & I were super silly! We went swimming almost everyday. I"m glad Sam is back!!

Now we're in hyper mode getting ready for our independence celebration at church on the 1st. Sam is in charge and it reminds me a lot of doing outreach. Trying to cover all our bases but I"m sure there is something we've forgotten.

After that my brother & sister in law will be here for a week. We will have a birthday party for my niece Leah & Ezekiel. They're only a few weeks apart so it will be fun. That about covers life here for the next week and a half. So see you then, hopefully with picture you can enjoy! For now here are two to tide you over.

Bob the builder???


I love bath time!!!!!

Last night-

We I decided to go with mom & dad to watch our youth team play volleyball. They won five out of six games, I think that's pretty good! The youth team plays once a week & then the adult team plays once a week as well. I usually don't go since Justus is hard to keep occupied but last night he did great so I may start trying again. It was a lot of fun to get out of the house and not just sit around.

Mom & Dad took us to get pizza before & ice cream afterwards! Not especially healthy but I wasn't going to argue free food and great taste!

When we got home the boys needed a bath since we ate ice cream in the car (not something I recommend). And after the bath the boys were pretty tuckered out. Zeke was sitting on the floor & Justus and I were on the bed. I was tickling J and realized I didn't hear Ezekiel anymore. I got scared because he has been climbing the stairs lately & fell down the bottom three this week.

Luckily he wasn't on the stairs but check out what was going on! That little stinker has somehow opened the bottom door on our wood stove & was munching on ashes. First of all YUCK!!!! Secondly, how did he get the door opened. And third; where in the world was his momma??!!! Seriously though this guy is fast! And quiet when on a mission aka making a mess! Needless to say he got a second bath & the floor got mopped AGAIN!

'Caught in the act'.


'Ash face'.

The week-

Today the boys & I went to a bible study. They're doing the purpose driven life; I've never read it but I'm willing to give it a try! We didn't start the study part today so I have a week to get the book & start reading. Hopefully it will be as great as everyone says it is.

I'm also reading a book by Dr. Dobson called Bringibg up boys and another called Free to be Me which I can't put my hand on at the moment so I'm not sure who wrote it. Both books have been good so far but tedious reading with 'nuggets' of useful information and encouragement. The next book I start will be purely for fun.

Tommorrow is church! No plans for Thursday but we have grad. parties this weekend so if I get the house clean there is a chance I can proudly say- MY HOUSE IS CLEAN for more than a split second. We'll see!

That's about it for now.
ps The excuses were from Justus not me, my legs work!!!!!

Top 3 Reasons not to clean up blocks-

#1 My legs are broken!
#2 I'm to old.
#3 I'm to BIG!

One Awesome Kid!!!!~

This guy gives me a run for my money in the energy department. We have a lot of fun trying to keep busy in the heat. Thankfully the pool is up so after a quick jump on the trampoline we can get in the pool and cool off!

Coloring the porch with chalk. J is really interested in letters right now so we talk about them and practice writing letters that are easy for him to recognize like X,T, and O.


Chalk fun!


Baking cookies for Nana


Sunny fun

Memorial Weekend....

This weekend was my birthday & we had a blast!! My brother & sis-in-law showed up with my niece on Friday morning and the fun kept coming until they left on Tuesday morning. Justus did really well with Leah but Zeke was pretty cranky on and off the whole time. Reguardless- we had plenty of family, friends & fun. And they will be back in about a month when we celebrate Leah & Zeke's first birthday.

Bethany and the kiddos were here each day as well so it was a very busy, busy time. The men put up the pool for us on Friday so that we could use it sometime during the weekend. I really thought it would be to cold but the kids got in and played for hours! We also went to see the third Pirates of the Carribean movie. And of course cooked out on Memorial Day.

If you throw in bath time, trips to Walmart and keeping the house presentable we ran out of time. It was like a mini vacation and we were all pretty tired by the end of four days.

TRYING for a picture of all the grandkids together. My baby grinch wasn't enjoying this moment at all.


Even the kiddy pool wasn't a hit at first. It did eventually warm up some so they came back to splash around.


Zeke on the slip n slide. The pool was a bit chilly but the babies liked this!


Drying out on the trampoline


Leah---fun in the sun (my niece)


Water Balloons!!!!


Andrew Thompson- Nathan's baby


Bathtime babies


My nephew Brandon wrote this for me on my birthday

WORDS WOMEN USE:

1.) FINE: This is the word women use to end an argument when they are right and you need to shut up.

2.) Five Minutes: If she is getting dressed, this means a half an hour. Five Minutes is only five minutes if you have just been given five more minutes to watch the game before helping around the house.

3.) Nothing: This is the calm before the storm. This means something, and you should be on your toes. Arguments that begin with nothing usually end in fine.

4.) Go Ahead: This is a dare, not permission. Don't Do It!

5.) Loud Sigh: This is actually a word, but is a non-verbal statement often misunderstood by men. A loud sigh means she thinks you are an idiot and wonders why she is wasting her time standing here and arguing with you about nothing. (Refer back to #3 for the meaning of nothing.)

6.) That's Okay: This is one of the most dangerous statements a women can make to a man. That's okay means she wants to think long and hard before deciding how and when you will pay for your mistake.

7.) Thanks: A woman is thanking you, do not question, or Faint. Just say you're welcome.

8.) Whatever: Is a women's way of saying Stick it up your ----- (edited for content)

9.) Don't worry about it, I got it: Another dangerous statement, meaning this is something that a woman has told a man to do several times, but is now doing it herself. This will later result in a man asking "what's wrong", for the woman's response refer to # 3

Just genius!!!!

Today I washed a load of water.....no clothes; simply water & soap. Need I say more????

My bebe's

The boys keep me on my toes so there is never a dull moment around here. Ezekiel absolutely adores Justus and is trying very hard to keep up. It's pretty funny to watch. For the most part Justus handles it pretty well. I am so thankful for that!

Justus has started pointing to letters & numbers and trying to identify them (incorrectly of course). I'm glad that he is finally taking interest. So this summer I want to work on that. He wasn't at all interested by them this time last year and I find that if I patiently wait until he's ready then it is so much easier than pushing him. We both enjoy the process so much more.

Ezekiel is growing by leaps & bounds. He likes to touch faces so he's learning boyd parts. So far sticking his finger up my nose is what gives him a kick. Believe me I avoid it at all cost but at least he knows what a nose is. Hehe. He also like ears & pulling out my earings -OUCH!!!!

He is also saying momma on a regular basis now. It's really cute. And he says 'num, num' when he's hungry. Sometimes he gets them confused or maybe I just hear it that way. He really likes balls & he will say ball too. Up to this point it's all been squeals & giggles so its great to hear him 'talk' a bit!!!

This week he has started taking more steps. He walked across the room in the nursery; I wish I had been there to see it!!!! At home he will take eight to ten steps at a time. Whew he is growing fast!!!!!

And now he's up from his nap so I've got to go.

Time for an update-

So, my world hasnt' fallen apart. And I've gotten lots of love from you all---Thanks!!!!!!