Ian is 3!

Today is my baby boys birthday. I can't believe he is 3 already. We are celebrating with family and friends this weekend- having a Spider Man birthday party (look for pictures later in the week). Here is a walk down memory lane:

8lb 2oz , 20 1/2 inches long- already flexin' his muscles

Sweet one year old- so serious!

Our little charmer- 2 years old

Our sweet big boy- always your own style

Happy birthday to our sweet boy! We are so blessed to have you and you always let us know just how much you love us. Thank you for being funny, serious, sweet and stubborn. We love you and thank God that he blessed our family with you!
Love Always,
Mommy, Daddy, Caleb and Riley


* Sorry this appeared so late- we are now using Linux on our computer and I couldn't get some things to work- I don't know how to use this operating system too well yet, but my amazing Hubby helped me get it done!

What is in a song

I heard Caleb singing this just a few min ago :

This is my commandment, that you love one another that your toys may be full, that your toys may be full, that your toys may be full, this is my commandment that you love one another that your toys may be full.


We have been singing songs here lately because he picks them up pretty good. He always gets the tune down on the first try and if he can't remember the words we get a who new "Caleb" Verse

Ian's Birthday weekend

This past weekend Ian went to my parents house for a birthday treat. That left us with just 2 kids! How nice it was. We went to the Louis Palau CityFest Downtown. It was a lot of fun. Caleb got to do the family fun zone and see Veggie Tales and 321 Penguins. There were blow-up activities and several art projects. There was a ton of food, too. Before the Action Spots demo, we all got Hawiian shaved ice and got our seat. It was really neat to hear bout the skateboarders, BMX bikers and Motocross men who are doing all of this for God. They go around, touring and competing in national events speaking about God. Caleb and Matt got right upfront for the events and Caleb LOVED every second of it. Needless to say he now wants to do Motocross. We all came home really tired and a little pink. The neatest thing was that the total event (minus Food) was free. We didn't stay to hear the artists-I don't think the kids would have done well standing in a humongous crowd to listen, but they had a lot of good ones preforming.

It took Caleb a day to get used to not having Ian to play with, but he enjoyed his mommy and daddy time a whole lot. Ian comes back today and we are really excited to see him and have him home. Grandma and papa hope to let all the kids have a birthday weekend from now on as part of their present to them.

A Dusty Morning

We enjoyed the nice cool air in the morning and had lost of fun!

Caleb helping Riley ride the bike

My handsome boys (and their shirts describe them so well)
In case you can't read the t-shirt:
I tried to be good, but I got bored

Our chalk art (I drew- they colored)
Copying Mommy's art

The Petting Zoo

After playing at the farm we went down to the Petting zoo. It is next to the winery and is beautiful. Once we got inside there are tons of pens with Goats, llamas, alpacas, turkeys, deer, chickens, bunnies, and a lot more. The goats have the neatest thing. As you can see if the first picture they are walking down a ramp. This walkway and ramp set goes all over the place and allows the goats to come and go from pen to pen as they please. There were several kids there and we were able to hold one of the littlest kids. Caleb help him, but Ian was not to sure. So I held it and Ian and Riley both petted him. They also had holes in the fence where the goats would stick their heads out to get some petting time. Riley was NOT happy about that and it freaked her out some. They got to feed some deer and then we found the bunny pen. These rabbits were the funniest things. There is a picture of one of the rabbits that was so excited to get some food. He would put his paws up on the fence and tremble them. The kids fed the ducks and chickens, but Ian got his finder nipped by a duck and from there on out- ducks were bad. It was a wonderful close to a fun filled day.

Hubers Farm

While we were in In we got to visit Huber's Farm. It is a completely wonderful place that is way kid friendly. This farm is amazing and so much fun. There were several ponds with ducks (which Riley is not a fan of quacking ducks!) and koi fish. We spent some times feeding the ducks after lunch and then went into the Barnyard area. They have a barn with rope swings, a huge slide, a feeding area along with several rides. We went on the wagon ride and were able to feed the goats. They saw us coming and run up to the wagon and tried to get in the wagon while we were feeding them corn. Then the boys rode the Cow Train. They took barrels and painted them like cows, but wheels on them and pulled them with the golf cart. They even have little mound in the field to go over. The kids had a blast and wanted to stay longer, but we had to head to the Petting Zoo....

Taking care of Miss. Grace

Linda recently had surgery and was not quite up to speed yet, so the kids and I headed up to help watch our favorite cousin. Riley was so excited that Kait could crawl around and play with her. It took Kait a while to warm up to me but once she was happy everything went smoothly and we got some good, quality time with her.

I did it

Well, today I finally sent off my application to Wilson County Schools. It has taken me FOREVER to get the thing complete since I had to track down certain documents that were needed. So now I keep my fingers crossed that they will hire me and that there are jobs available in Special Ed. Lord willing I will start in the Fall. Please keep this in your prayers- Thanks!

Time with my mom

This last weekend my mom and I got to spend the day together. We went to see Mamma Mia at TPAC. It was really good. The musical is really well written around the songs of Abba (which my mom can pretty much sing you each one) and the cast was really into it and energetic. At the end they did 4 songs with audience participation and it was a blast. We were in the nose bleed seats, but still enjoyed it. After the musical we headed to Olive Garden for dinner and a really good talk. It was nice to be able to spend time with my mom. We don't always get to talk and spend time together as we are both pretty busy.

Mr. Dramatic

We have no idea where the dramatic flair as come from, but he has one! I had made dinner and baked some sweet potatoes, thinking it would be a nice treat. Well everyone ate them and loved them- but my firstborn. Now we have a rule in the house, that if it is something new then you have to try it and if you don't like it then you don't have to eat it. Well he had to take at least 4 bites (a real good try). He was making himself gag, trying to convince me that it was making him sick. A fit ensued, mom stood firm knowing full well that he was faking the sick thing, firstborn gives in (and actually likes it) and proceeds to eat the whole thing!

What's He doing in there?

The other day the kids and I were singing some Bible class songs and Caleb asked me a question that I just had to share. As we finished up Jesus Loves Me, Caleb said "Jesus lives in my heart". I smiled and said that's right. He then asks me "what is He doing in there?". I had this mental image of what he was thinking: Jesus all scrunched up in his heart just a sittin' there. I got a real big smile on my face and told him that was a real good question. We talked about that when he was happy that Jesus was happy too and that when he was sad that Jesus was there hugging him and helping him not to be sad anymore, when he was riding his bike and having fun, Jesus was there riding on the bike too, enjoying His time with you. Then came the big one- that when he felt like doing something mean or wrong to his brother, Jesus was the one telling him not to hit or push- to do the right thing and to love Ian. Caleb thought about it for a while and then stated "Well, sometimes Jesus wants me to be mean to Ian. He tells me to." So then comes the delicate subject for a 4 year old that that is not always Jesus telling him to do that. Sheesh- talk about getting heavy with a 4 year old! But after our talk Caleb seemed satisfied, and was happy that Jesus did things with him.