How cute are they?!

Justin was on his was home from work and was going to take the kids to Barnes & Noble while I did the grocery shopping. Gabe has become quite the Daddy's boy and couldn't wait for him to get home. So he sat outside on that very cold afternoon and waited...

It snowed!!!

The boys got quite a surprise the other day when they woke up to everything covered in snow! I had no idea it was coming! So naturally, at 7:00 that morning, they were out exploring. Here are a few pictures.

Daddy's arms...

After an evening of running wild around the house, the boys settled down on the couch to watch a show. At one point Gabe got off the couch and climbed up on Justin's lap. He was asleep within 60 seconds... and it was only 6:45!

Aunt Hairy!!!

I had been telling the boys last week that Aunt Hilary would be coming to spend the weekend at our house. This would send them into chants of "Hil-a-ry, Hil-a-ry, Hil-a-ry!" But all that Gabe could say was "Hairy!" it was so cute. We all had a lot of fun just hanging arould. As you can see, the boys didn't let her do too much relaxing!

belly update!

Well, here's the belly at 22 1/2 weeks. I still have a long way to go! Mama's gonna get big!

about the election...

My Mom forwarded this prayer to me a few days ago and it was so timely. I have had a very hard time this election season, finding a "side" I can believe in. To be honest, I flipped back and forth. It has been very confusing for me. No one "side" encompasses the way I feel in my heart... but this prayer does. After a lot of hard searching, I have come to the conclusion to not vote this year. I know some people have very stong feelings about that, and I completely understand. But at the same time, it just didn't feel right to throw my vote out there when I just don't feel sure. My Dad, a very passionate Republican, had strong views and knew what he believed. I am trying to find that, amidst the mess that our society is in. Raising young children today is a bit scary. What is accepted as "norm" just does not fly with me. The following prayer speaks to my heart. No President can "change" our nation... I truly believe it is up to us...

Billy Graham's Prayer For Our Nation
>
> 'Heavenly Father, we come before you today to
> ask your forgiveness and to seek your direction and
> guidance. We know Your Word says, 'Woe to those who call
> evil good,' but that is exactly what we have done. We have
> lost our spiritual equilibrium and reversed our values. We
> have exploited the poor and called it the lottery. We have
> rewarded laziness and called it welfare. We have killed our
> unborn and called it choice. We have shot abortionists and
> called it justifiable. We have neglected to discipline our
> children and called it building self esteem. We have abused
> power and called it politics. We have coveted our neighbor's
> possessions and called it ambition. We have polluted the
> air with profanity and pornography and called it freedom of
> expression. We have ridiculed the time-honored values of
> our forefathers and called it enlightenment. Search us, Oh
> God, and know our hearts today; cleanse us from every sin
> and Set us free. Amen!'

Halloween

Well, better late than never! Here are the boys enjoying the Halloween festivities in their new costumes that Grandma surprised them with! Ironman and the Red Ranger.

i... can't...wait...

... that first moment I lay eyes on him when they place him in my arms... my heart flutters just thinking about it!

IT'S A BOY!!!
We are excited to announce that in March we will be a family of 5 when Luke Arthur gets here!!! Or like the boys like to call him, Luke Skywalker! May the force be with me...

STAY TUNED!!!

The ultrasound got rescheduled for tomorrow morning at 9am!!! Check out the new poll in the sidebar...

GRANDMA!!!

My Mom came for a visit and it was great!!! I hated to take her to the airport. We made a Halloween/Birthday cake, played Cooties and Spiderman Memory, tried to go to the park ;) and surprised the boys with Ironman and Power Ranger costumes! It was short but we had a blast!

Showing off their Cooties! Grandma came from way behind and won!

Decorating the cake (Gabe ate more than he decorated!)
A surprise from Grandma! Their two favorite superheros!!! Grandma was well-protected!
Even Ironman gets tired!

Let's help find a cure!!!

Here are the boys decorating t-shirts for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Fund walk in support of my totally awesome nephew Zach who is 5 and was diagnosed with type 1 about a year ago. He is doing so well health-wise and spirit-wise in that he has adjusted to the pokes and the food guidelines like it's no big deal. He's quite the trooper and we're all very proud to support him. We love you Brick!!!

A moment of reflection

I don't intend to ever get too serious on this blog, but as I was sitting outside on a picture perfect day watching the boys and their cousin Conner playing, I had a moment of reflection. They were playing under the oak tree in the sandbox. We planted that oak tree the first spring that we moved into the house, Isaiah was about 6 months old. At the time, it was just barely taller than Justin. Now, as you can see, a lot of growing has been going on... including those special boys underneath it. I realized that almost 5 years have gone by. As I try to cherish every moment, time has a way of getting away from you. I am so in love with my little fellas and can't believe I get to meet another one before too long! I'm glad I had a moment to appreciate with awe and wonder the miracle that's in my lap.

I've got to share this!

So Jon and Shannon invited us over for pizza tonight. Justin wanted to get in a bike ride today, so he decided he would ride to their house and the boys and I would drive and meet him there. Justin got a head start while I got the boys and myself ready to go. When I got the boys into the car I told them to look out their windows becausewe would be catching up with Daddy. Well after a few minutes, Isaiah got impatient since we hadn't caught up with Justin yet. In all seriousness he said "Mommy, where's Daddy? ...he's beatin' the crap out of us!" :o I had never heard that phrase come out of him before. I burst out laughing so hard I almost had to pull over! I guess that's not the most effective way of letting know that is unacceptable talk. We'll see if he tries to use it again.

some impressive bedhead... can anyone say ace ventura?

precious moments between a boy and his dog

Gabe saying "stormtrooper"

Emerald Isle

Isaiah singing in the bathtub

Isaiah loves when the water is just high enough to cover his ears when he lays down in the tub. Apparently he likes the way his voice sounds when he's listening under water :) So last night I got Gabe out to get his pajamas on and Isaiah wanted to stay in. He started making up this song. Unfortunatly, I hadn't downloaded the pictures from our beach trip soI didn't have much memory left on my camera. This is what I captured:

"Mommy is the best Mommy in the whole, wide, world... amen!"

cute stuff

I'm usually pretty good about writing down the clever, adorable and usually hilarious things the kids say, but lately I've been only keeping them in my head... things don't stay there very long. So, let me never forget these things:

Our neighbors Billy and Vonda are like an extra set of grandparents to my kids. They share food from their garden, always take the time to have patient conversations with the boys, they love playing with Angel and spoiling her with dinner scraps, share movie coupons all the time, and just plain love of them! It's such a wonderful feeling having them next door. Anyway, yesterday we were both mowing at the same time. I finished the front and took a break to push Isaiah on the swing. Billy got out his blower and cleaned off his driveway and then came over and cleaned off our driveway. Usually, I get blisters from using my tiny broom, so this was hugely appreciated! Isaiah looked at me with a very grown up face raising his eyebrows and said "he is a nice man". I couldn't have said it better myself!

The other day I put on a sundress to go to Justin's grandfather's birthday cookout. I never wear dresses, so when I came out of my room Gabe's jaw fell to the floor as he said "Mommy, you're a princess!!!" That totally cancelled out the time he spanked me and said "big butt!"

Isaiah got into the car after school today and showed my three stickers on his hands. That's the teachers way of communicating to the parents how the child behaved that day. Two stickers means they had a great day. One sticker means they got a warning for something. No stickers means they got put on the "Oops column" for not correcting a behavior after they were warned. Anyway, I didn't know they ever gave out three, and Isaiah said "I was like forty-one hundred good!".

Gabe is potty training a doing a great job. I am so proud of his enthusiasm for it. I knew I wanted to try to have him trained before the baby came, but my style is a lot more last minute! I never expected it to go this fast! It feels weird to hold him and not feel the bulky diaper. I still think of both boys as my babies. I'm a little scared of that moment that they walk into the delivery room to see their new little brother or sister. Isaiah looked so big right after I had Gabe. It makes me a little sad. But I am also very proud of having the two greatest little boys on the planet! (no offense, I'm sure yours are pretty good too! ;)

the belly

well, here it is!
15 weeks & 2 days

This is great... enjoy a great laugh!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1cNDSPutas8

Star Wars at the Durham Science Center!

Our neighbors told us about the museum having the Star Wars characters there on Saturday so we just had to go. Not only did Isaiah get to have his picture taken with a Stormtrooper, he also had his face painted like Ghostrider! It was a really fun day!

Soon to be partners in crime!

Here's Gabe holding his cousin Isaac in the stroller. It looks like Isaac thinks it's a bit crowded! I love the facial expressions!

Hello Second Trimester!!!

Well, I've been feeling much better lately! It's a good thing too. My household was out of control! Yesterday I got a burst of energy to take care of some major cleaning that needed to be done. Like my blogging friend "PioneerWoman" says, here's to keepin' it real:















This is the pile of... misc. that I swept up from the living room, dining room and kitchen. I guess it's a no brainer that I forfeit Mother of the Year. And while I was working on a glass design for a new customer, Gabe did this:



































And all he had to say was "Mommy, my fwip-fwop got wet!" Oh and you can be sure that was my first concern too... (insert sarcasm)

Westport 2008

Hello all. Sorry it's been a while since I've posted. I have escaped to a secret little place called Westport, NY, nestled on Lake Champlain in the Adirondack Mountains. It's just unbelievable here. The air is intoxicating, the sights are breathtaking, and best of all, I'm with my Mommy! :) That's just something you never grow out of!!! It's both hard and peaceful at the same time, in regards to being here without my Dad this time. Hard, in that he was the ultimate companion for outdoors activities. Just to listen to him enthusiastically "oooh" and "aaah" about the "vistas" and get excited about every little activity. Just like Clark Griswald, he did everything all-the-way. I hope I can let go enough to let that live on through me, for my boys sake and mine. It's peaceful, being here without him, in that I feel very close to him here. My boys keep me distracted enough during the day that I don't often get still and "be with" my Dad. Here, he's everywhere I turn. I can almost hear him talking. Well, I'm going to get off this computer thing and get back to some my favorite things, my boys, my Mom, and this beautiful place...

Our new campfire pit!

After about a year and a half of wondering what on earth to do with this random whole in the yard where we tried to plant a dogwood tree that didn't survive, it finally occurred to me... a fire pit!!! We have really enjoyed the calm evenings together outside, roasting marshmallows and watching the kids play. The kids love to camp out with Justin so this will be a perfect addition to their adventure!