Apparently...

I like to change the appearance of our blog more than I like to publish posts on it.  

Actually, it's just easier to play around on the computer with 1 hand while holding a baby (or a big boy) with the other (although MckMama makes it seem so easy)! I know this for a fact because I'm bobbling a half-asleep baby's head as I type this, and keep noticing myself sticking my tongue out just a little bit in an attempt to hold my mouth just right! 

Wow! I've got a lot of catching up to do... 

The first weekend after Thomas, Ms. Dot came to our house!  We had a GREAT time hanging out with Gigi, & the boys LOVED having her all to themselves.  I thought Eli was going to wear her out the first day she was here... He and Sam are a lot heavier than their cousins!

The next weekend was Easter, and it was great! Clay, Jeri Ann, and the boys came to visit and the boys all had a blast playing and doing Easter stuff together.  We went to the preschool Easter egg hunt at our church- the boys were in heaven because the eggs were hidden on the playground... Double fun! We even got really brave (crazy?) and dyed Easter eggs together.  The boys actually did very well, but didn't understand much about eggs.  Eli proudly displayed his blue egg for about 2 seconds before putting it on the table and smushing it with his hand.  Mack decided his egg needed to go in the green dye and the orange, so it turned a really neat color, until he decided to "peel" it.

I've been having trouble with my camera, so any pictures I take at more than 6 feet away from the subject are blurry. So the only pics I have to share this time are of Eli on Easter morning... complete with reindeer pajamas that are just a wee bit snug! (He gets to choose his pj's these days, and those accidentally found their way back into the drawer.)  I also got to the church that morning only to realize that I had the camera bag, but no camera! (Grant goes to the church at about 6 on Sunday mornings, so the plan was to get a family Easter photo at church.) 

Maybe I can get everybody to wear their Easter clothes at the same time again and "stage" a picture...  Also, I have no Easter pictures of Sam because he slept through the egg hunt, at least until I gave up on taking pictures... Maybe my sweet friend Amanda is still willing to share some of her pics? And then again on Easter morning, he slept until the very last second before church... Then spit up on his outfit at church.... I stink at pictures, especially with a messed up camera!

Then, my mom came the next weekend! We had so much fun, and actually remembered to take pictures, but used her camera, so I guess I stink again... Sorry!

I do have a funny story to share, though.  I know this is really long, so I'll try to make it as quick as possible:

A couple months ago, Grant had to go out of town for the weekend and I decided to take the boys to see my family.  It was our first trip (5 hours one-way, but who's counting?) with just the 3 of us, but we made it there fine! Then, on the way back, the boys were traveling well again, but there was a winter storm that had brought some fierce winds, and I had to fight hard to keep the truck on the road all day long.  Well, I was about an hour away from home when the wind suddenly let up, and I realized that I was going fast (because there was no longer a headwind to push against).  The problem is, there just so happened to be a State Trooper at the bottom of that very hill when I topped it at 87 miles an hour... and Grant had both of the insurance cards for the truck in his wallet.  So I got $800 worth of tickets, but the officer told me that I could go to the court date with the insurance card & I wouldn't have to pay for that one...

Fast forward 1 month... I worked Wednesday night (after staying up all day, of course), came home Thursday morning & took a 1 hr nap, then got up, got ready, and traveled to Grenada for court.   After 2 1/2 hours of watching people go before the judge and then to pay their fines, they finally called my name, and I approached the bench.  

The judge said, "So it looks like you got 2 tickets: One for speeding, and one for no insurance.  Do you have proof of insurance for that date?"

"Yes, your honor."

"Well, since you had insurance at the time, I can waive this ticket... But you still have to pay $100 for not having your card in the vehicle with you... Is that okay with you?"

"Yes, sir."

"Really? That's okay with you?"

"Well, I guess it has to be!"

"Aw, don't worry about that one... Now tell me (leaning back in his chair and crossing his arms, as he announces to the entire courtroom), why in the world were you going 87 miles an hour in a 70 mile an hour zone? I know you've got a good reason!"

(First of all, I was just planning on paying that one, so I hadn't really planned out a quick, to the point explanation.  Secondly, for those of you who haven't seen me in a while, my Southern drawl is still intact, and it gets "thicker and thicker" as I get sleepy.)

"Weeellllll...."

"Wellll?" (still leaning back, arms folded, waiting on my story)

"It was reee-yall windy..."

At that point, he burst into laughter and cut me off, "Jim, get up here... What's my policy when I hear an excuse I've never heard before?"

(Jim) "You let 'em go... But I gotta hear it!"

(announcing to the entire courtroom and using hand gestures for emphasis) "It was REALLLL windy, and the wind was just PUSHING her truck, making it go 87 miles an hour!"

At that point, the entire courtroom full of people was laughing at me, and I was still standing before the judge, completely embarrassed and trying to figure out what I was supposed to do... And the judge, still cracking up, said, "Get outta here, girl! But don't ever use that one again!"  So I laughed my way out of the courtroom... So thankful for mercy... And thinking my accent may be good for something!

The making of a Junior Engineer...

This past weekend marked a very special event in Eli's life:  the day he met Thomas! Our dear friends Ben and Lindsay found out several months ago that Thomas (the real life-size one you can ride!) was going to be in Birmingham, and we decided that we just had to take the boys.

We were a bit concerned about how this was all going to go, however.  (In case you don't know yet or have forgotten, meeting any character when you're 2 year olds can go either way: you have just as good a chance of loving it as you have of being absolutely terrified... Not to mention all the opportunities for tantrums at the Thomas festival after the ride.)  I'm happy to report that all 4 boys did SOOO well!

When we got to the museum, we had to park about a block away, so the big boys rode around on their daddys' shoulders and the baby boys rode in the strollers.  Eli spotted Thomas and started making train whistle sounds (complete with motions) at the top of his lungs.  People kept looking back to see why he was crying but then cracking up when they realized what he was doing!

By the time we actually got to Thomas, he was completely star-struck.  He kept saying, "I see Thomas! I wanna ride him!" We assured him that we were going to ride when it was our turn, then realized that he thought we were actually going to ride on the engine.  It took a little creative parenting to convince him that we were actually going to ride on Annie & Clarabel (the coaches) instead of on Thomas with the engineer.  He was so excited & kept telling everybody, "Thomas is going to push our cars!"

And that's exactly what he did:  Thomas pushed us up the track for 10 minutes, then pulled us back to the station.  It was exhilarating! The boys were in heaven... even the babies were excited!

After the fabulous ride, we got to walk around the little fair they had set up.  There were booths where we could shop at the Thomas store (by the way, I forgot to get Eli a shirt & now I really wish I had, so if you go, please pick one up for us... I'll pay you back, I promise!), play with trains and train tables, and Eli's favorite- meet (and shake hands with!) Sir Topham Hatt.

The boys were so sweet and cooperative all day long.  We really had a great time (even though I was recovering from a night with the stomach bug).

Incidentally, Sam had a great time too, and he got his very own Junior Engineer certificate just like his big brother's.  I'm not sure his counts, though.  We may get to do this all again one day!

Now you know...

Yes, now you know why I hesitated to start a family blog.... It's because I'm TERRIBLE at this sort of thing... So here's a little peek at what we've been doing the past month:

1...  I actually got a few pictures of Sam smiling with at least his diaper on.  Isn't he precious?!?! Yes, that is his diaper! Bless his heart, I tried about 4 different kinds of disposable diapers and wipes and every kind of diaper cream I could find before resorting to trying cloth diapers... Then his 6 weeks of horrible diaper rash resolved within 1 day and he's been all smiles ever since!

2... The blue tricycle arrived and Eli and I couldn't wait for Grant to get home, so we put it together ourselves (in the middle of the kitchen floor with my pink tool set) and took it for a spin.  He LOVES it!
3... Time changed! We were so excited to get to go play on the church playground while Grant was at FAITH one night. Eli's favorites were the swirly slide and the police car.  Sam was just happy to be outside for a change.

Other news...

I started back to work a couple nights a week.  It's really fun to get to see my work buddies that I'd been missing, but we're having to make some adjustments at home to let me get a little sleep sometimes.

Grant's been really busy at church, starting the new semester of 365 and FAITH, so he's been getting home at around 8 every night... The good news is "the ball is rolling" so hopefully we'll get to see him more now!

Eli went to story time at the library with his buddies and had a BLAST listening to "5 Little Monkeys" but then left in alligator tears after a big mean girl bit him!!! He still has a mark, 3 weeks later! Maybe now he won't be a biter?

Eli has really been cracking us up with the stuff he says... He learned Ephesians 6:1 not too long ago and has proudly been declaring, "Cheerehn obey yur peerents inna Lord, for dis is RIGHT!"

So the other day, I was singing to Sam and Eli commanded me to "Stop dat singing, right now, Mama!" 

When I reminded him that he was not the boss, he said, "I'm a cheerehn!" 

Me: (trying not to laugh) That's right, buddy!

Eli: (shaking his head for emphasis as he stresses each word) I'm not a peerent. I don't have any cheerehn.
Me: (now laughing uncontrollably) That's right.

Pictures?

Okay, so the promise I made to post some pictures made me realize I've gotta take some new pictures this afternoon! 

I do actually have some fairly recent ones of Sam from his 2 month birthday... the problem is that the only way I could get him to stop crying and start smiling was to take all his clothes off (including his diaper)! His business is totally covered, but I'm still gonna refrain from posting those...

This one is my new favorite of Eli... He came into the kitchen after his nap, hence the awesome hair, and had shed his shirt and put Daddy's boots on all by himself (I guess they were by the back door) on the way!

Welcome to our Blog!

I've been so intimidated and overwhelmed by the idea of starting a family blog, but I'm deciding to do it anyway, because there are so many people that we love and miss so much, and this looks like a good way to keep connected and share up to date pictures! I also hate the fact that I get so caught up in the daily and hourly tasks of taking care of my precious boys that I sometimes forget to appreciate the huge blessings they are, and the little miracles that happen every day as they grow up.

So, here goes! Life around our house is beginning to settle down since Sam's birth and the holidays... We're so proud that he's sleeping through the night... from 10:30 pm til 8:30 am without a wimper... YAY for Sam!!! Eli, on the other hand, is working on a set of big boy teeth... 2 year molars! Those little boogers have been keeping us all (except Sam) up at night for a while now, but the bottom 2 are almost in!

Eli is really turning in to a big boy! He LOVES music... especially the drums.  His new favorite is to pick a song and ask me to sing it while he plays the drums... hilarious! He also loves playing outside and is sooooo excited that it's finally warming up enough to play outside again.  Sadly, the brand new red tricycle that that he got for his birthday in November was totaled after it accidentally got squashed by Daddy's truck... We're anxiously awaiting the arrival of the new blue tricycle scheduled to be delivered this Thursday!

Sam is also growing and growing! His wonderfully plump cheeks are pretty much famous around here! His current favorites are smiling and cooing, chubaka impressions, sucking his thumb, and sleeping! I'm not too excited about the thumb-sucking, but I'm also pretty sure it's the reason he sleeps so well (and it's adorable, right now!)...

Grant and I are doing well, too. Enjoying our precious boys so much and trying to keep up with everything else! Things are very busy for Grant at church, in a good way.  I am preparing my return to working at the hospital after a wonderful maternity leave.  I'm a little nervous about it, but I think it will be good... I work with a fabulous group of girls, and I only have to do it 2 nights a week... we'll see!

Okay, let's see if I can put some new pics on here... Might have to wait til Eli's nap time for that one!