Where do I even begin...

Well it's been two months since I've posted anything on the blog and I've had good reason--it has been nuts around here!! After Spring Break and our fabulous trip to NYC, life went into hyperdrive with all of the end of the year activities for school. Being room mom to Nicholas' class I had a lot to do. Multiple parties and programs to plan, teacher gifts, and the most time demanding were photo albums that I had to make for all of the kids plus the 2 teachers--13 in all. Well I believe the stress of all of it caused us to get sick. We are now entering into the 4th week of the boys and I being sick and I'm about to go insane!! It started with Nicholas getting a cold that turned into an ear infection and pink eye for him. Nolan got his cold and then I did. My cold turned into the worst sinus infection I've ever had (and I've had a lot). The pain was so great throughout my sinuses and into my jaw and teeth! I had to go to the doctor 3 times and finally the second round of antibiotics and shot gave me some relief. (I'll still be on the antibiotics for a while and I'm not 100% but much better. I'm going to an ENT doctor as soon as possible to get my sinuses checked out.) During the midst of my pain and on Nick's last day of school, he woke up with what I thought was a 24 hour stomach bug. The next day, Nolan spiked a high fever that lasted for 2 days and was a pitiful sick little boy. Ever since then, Nicholas has continued to complain of head aches and stomach aches so I took him back to the doctor today to learn that what he is really suffering from is Hand, Foot, and Mouth Disease!! Are you kidding me??!! So thus begins our fourth week of solitary confinement in hopes to get rid of these very contagious germs and not spread anymore to our friends. I am mortified that we went to Mady's 3rd birthday party on Saturday and church yesterday, unaware what we were carrying around with us! I pray that no one else will get sick.
I have to say that dealing with these illnesses like this is one of the hardest parts about being a mom to me. You just want to make your babies feel better immediately and so often there is so little you can do. It also always takes SO long for everyone to recover and when I'm so sick too on top of everything (which is always the case) it just makes it that much harder. But the one thing that being sick forces us to do is for us to hop off of the busy train of life and do nothing but stop and rest and take care of each other. There's nothing like the cuddles and hugs that you get and knowing that the most important things in my life are lying in my arms.

March moments

March has always been my favorite month, being my birthday and anniversary month, but this March has been really special this year. Graham and I celebrated our 7 year anniverary yesterday and tomorrow brings my 30th birthday. As I enter into this new decade in my life, I am overcome with gratitude for the life I lead and the blessings God has given me. My twenties were wonderful--I fell in love, graduated college, started my career in social work, got married, became a mommy twice over, made many wonderful friendships, and had so many wonderful memories. Of course there were hard times too, but it was through those times that God's love shined even brighter, and I am thankful even for those hard times. But I am looking forward to my thirties with great expectancy of what God will do in my life and the life of my family during these years. I have to say that I have felt God's hand on my life more so in these past three months than I can ever remember. It's not in one particular way that these 3 months have been different, but rather in a million different ways that God is showing me that he is transforming me in ways that I don't yet understand. The wonderful thing is that I see this in Graham's life too and it is so exciting to be a part of. I'm living in a state of expectancy now, excited for what He has in store for us.
Life with the boys has been particularly sweet these days. Nolan is just so much fun. He's not yet at the point of tantrums and other challenges that come as you get closer to 2, but yet he's not a "baby" any more either and he's just plain fun! He and Nicholas have so much fun playing and laugh all day long at each other. He's into everything and I can't keep the house clean, but that's the stage he's in. I love that he is still so cuddly and loves to snuggle up with his head on my shoulder. I pray that lasts for a long time!
Nicholas is in such a great stage now and it just keeps getting better the closer we get to 4. He has such a sweet heart and really tries hard to do the right thing. The poor guy was really tested last week though! At home, Nolan twice came up to him with a golf club and banged him on the head. Nicholas cried but did not do anything back to him in anger. On Wednesday while playing in the church nursery while I was at my "Growing Kids God's Way" class, a little girl bit him! It was just about time for the mommies to come so Nicholas told the other little girl, Katie, that it was time to clean up and they need to stop playing with the train table and get ready for their moms to come (is he a first born or what?). Well Katie didn't like that one bit, so she bit him on the arm. Thankfully it didn't break the skin but it did leave a bad bruise in the impression of Katie's entire set of teeth. Poor Nicholas was so scared and upset by this but he never did anything back to hurt her, instead he went up to her sobbing and told her he was sorry! Then on Friday at school, his two little buddies hit him in the stomach and scratched him. Again, he never did anything back to them in anger and was very proud to report that he did the right thing and was a friend to them. We are so proud of him for the little boy he is and how much he's growing and understanding. I think one of my favorite things of parenting is sharing our faith with him and seeing him start to understand biblical concepts and God's love. He has a heart for God and I can't wait to see what God will do in and through him.
So here's to March and the blessings it brings (if only it didn't come with pollen too!)

Frogs and Snails and Puppy Dog Tails

I have a confession to make.
I did not want to be a mom of boys. At least I didn't when I was younger. Growing up, we embraced everything "girl" and this was exactly how I wanted things to be. Boys were smelly, dirty, loud and wild and crazy. I had no interest in any car, train, truck, or toy gun. And being the girly girl that I was I often thought about being a mom in my future and never once did I think that I would be a "boy mom".
Luckily I grew up and met and fell in love with an amazing man and the thought of little Graham's running around our house became really cute to me. Even so, the "It's a Boy Ultrasound" definitely threw me for a loop! Fast forward 4 years and I now have, not one, but two adorable boys who I could not be more in love with. Add the hubby and the beagle to the mix and that makes me the lone female in this crazy house of boys. Now, am I just coming to this realization now you ask? Of course not, but what I am beginning to understand is how much I love my life exactly the way it is right now and how God knew best all along exactly what I needed. How many other amazing gifts in my life have I passed up because I thought that I knew best? I am sure that if God had given me the chance to pick the gender on that day in the doctor's office 4 years ago, I would have chosen a girl. And I would have missed out on these amazing boys that light up my world each and every day. These crazy wrestling, jumping, running, laughing, squealing, tickling, hugging, kissing, cuddling, love-me-like-no-one-else-can boys. God knew he needed someway to get this indoor loving, play-it-safe girl, out into His beautiful creation, embracing some adventure every once and while. And I have a feeling, my boys will get the job done. I find myself looking forward to watching all of their sports practices and games and going camping or canoeing or anything I can to embrace their "boyhood".
I look at them each day and am overcome by the possibilities their lives hold. I could be changing the diaper of a future doctor, teacher, pastor or athlete. Or reading books and tucking into bed an astronaut (as he currently wishes to be), congressman, comedian, or missionary. I don't care what their profession is, just that they would be strong Godly men, amazing husbands and fathers, just like their daddy. Only God knows their future, but what a humbling journey it is to be their mother and to try everyday to instill in them faith, love, and some manners ;) While all along they are teaching me more than they will ever know. And this weeks lesson happens to be: Mommy may not always know best, but God ALWAYS does!

I happened upon this poem last night that says it perfectly!

That Little Boy of Mine
Two eyes that shine so bright,
Two lips that kiss goodnight,
Two arms that hold me tight,
That little boy of mine.

No one could ever know how much your coming has meant.
Because I love you so, you're something heaven has sent.

You're all the world to me.
You climb upon my knee.
To me you'll always be,
That little boy of mine.

By Grace Wolgemuth

The boys they are a changin'

I feel like each week I say the same thing in my blog about how much the boys are growing, but this week both boys really blew me away. It started last Sunday night when Nicholas was up all night because of an ear infection. At 11:00 he started saying that he wasn't going to suck his thumb anymore. "Sure, Baby, uh huh" was my reaction. Now, we had attempted to get him to stop sucking his thumb months ago, even taking him to Toys R Us and telling him that he could pick out any toy if he showed us he could stop sucking his thumb for 2 weeks. His reaction back then was thanks, but no thanks. I like my thumb more than any toy in that store! We decided not to push the issue and instead made the rule that puppy and kitty (and therefore sucking his thumb) must stay in his room. So I'm a little ashamed to say that when he made this statement out of the blue, it did not even occur to me that he would actually follow through with it. But here we are more than a week later and he has not sucked his thumb (that I know of!). I am so proud of him! Also this week he started going to the bathroom completely on his own with no help and he's actually understanding privacy--woohoo! Then yesterday I read him a new book with sight words that we got from Mimi. I read it to him once and then he has read it to me multiple times since then, working on sight words. He is learning by leaps and bounds and it is such a joy to witness. Most of all I love seeing his sweet, kind heart. He loves to tell me, Graham, and Nolan how much he loves us all and he loves to talk about God and Jesus. It is my joy to dive into the Bible with him each day!

Nolan is off and running and loving life! His "orangatan" walk turned into "muscle man" (he shows of his gun show!) and then finally today he suddenly just walked around the house with his hands by his side like a pro. It's funny how that looked so strange after getting used to his other adorable ways of walking. In this last month of him walking, Nolan's personality has come out so much. He has so much fun exploring the whole house going from one place to another, picking up fun things along the way. He almost always carries something in one or both hands as he walks around--toy, clothes, remote, etc. Almost all of those items end up in our master bath tub, naturally of course. He's learned more words this week and is finally signing all the time! More, eat, all done, cup, mouth, head, nose, and blowing kisses are all signs that he learned this week and he's doing all the time now! It's unbelievable to see him in action.

This weekend we hosted our Sunday School class on Saturday night for Chili Night at our house. It was so much fun and we had a great turn out. A few of our new families were even able to make it so it was great getting to know them better. It was wonderful chaos inside and outside of our house with lots of very small kids and even more adults. My perfectly cleaned home was covered in toys in a matter of minutes! We have been so blessed by our group of friends and we are so happy to open our home for fellowship and fun.

A Disney Wedding

On Thursday morning we packed up the car and headed out for Disney. We were headed down for the weekend for Kari Wiedenbeck's wedding. Things got off to a bit of a rocky start as Graham got a horrible migraine headache right in the middle of our 7 hour drive to Orlando. He says that it was no coincidence that he felt at his absolute worst as we drove through Gainesville, FL. This migraine was so bad and the poor guy was stuck in a car for 7 hours with a 1 year old and 3 year old behind him. While there were some crying moments for Nolan, thankfully they were minimal. Graham started to feel a little relief by the time we made it to the beautiful Swan Hotel at Disney. We decided to stay behind at the hotel that night and not join the family out to dinner in order to make sure Graham was feeling all better. So we took the boys around and explored the beautiful hotels and the pool and game areas. That night we learned very quickly that all 4 of us sleeping in one room was going to be quite a challenge. Graham and I had to go to bed at the same time as the boys but Nolan still cried for a couple of hours until I finally brought him in to bed with Nicholas and me. Nolan spent the night rolling on top of his brother and me, kicking us, hitting us, and playing with our faces. Nicholas slept right through it. I did not.
The next day I joined the ladies at the Bridesmaid Luncheon and the guys and PopPop went to the Disney Boardwalk and ate at ESPNZone. Nicholas enjoyed playing some fun games there. That night while the rest of the family went to the Rehearsal dinner, our family of 4 went swimming at the pool, walked around the Boardwalk, rode a boat back to the hotel and then ate dinner. That night of sleep managed to be worse than the first as Nicholas coughed all night long in his sleep which kept waking Nolan up. I spent most of the night holding Nolan in a chair.
Saturday we had a Character breakfast in the hotel with Goofy and Pluto. Nicholas was so excited about meeting them and I was so proud of Nolan for not crying! Then Nicholas and I went swimming at the beautiful pool while Nolan napped in the room. Poor Graham spent much of the time there in a blacked out room while Nolan napped! That afternoon the babysitter arrived to watch the boys in the hotel while we went to the wedding. The wedding was so beautiful and I'm so glad that we were able to be there for it. I was quite emotional through the whole thing and couldn't stop crying! It was a great party too with wonderful food. Aunt Betsy did a wonderful job in her toast and blessing to the new couple, I know that must not have been easy to do on her own without Uncle Dick. Kari and Scott make such a cute couple and I know they will be very happy. The party was lots of fun but Graham and I ducked out to get back to the kiddos. They did very well for the babysitter thankfully!
On Sunday we packed up and headed home. We were all so exhausted after 3 nights of no sleep for Graham and me and poor Nolan was so frustrated in that hotel room with no space to walk around and none of his toys to play with. The drive home was a long one as Nolan cried for a while. But we made it home and boy was Nolan so glad to get home. He was so happy to be able to walk around and play with his toys, it was so funny to see! Nicholas had a great time on the trip, and while Graham and I did too, it was very nice to get back to home sweet home.

Walk This Way, Talk This Way

Our precious Nolan is finally walking! He took his first steps on Sunday, January 23rd. Graham was out at his first Journey Bible Study meeting and I was home with the kids alone. It was after dinner and we were playing on the living room floor when I noticed that Nolan was standing by himself next to his ball popping toy. So I moved the toy a little bit away from him and I moved a few steps away and encouraged him to walk to me and he did!! Nicholas and I screamed in excitement and I threw Nolan into the air and he was so excited and proud of himself! Two minutes later Graham got home and got to see Nolan in action. We spent 30 minutes that night having him walk back and forth a few steps between us. We were all so excited for this new accomplishment in his little life! For that next week Nolan would take steps mostly when we would encourage him to come to us. Each day he would take more and more steps on his own initiative. Then last Monday while we were over at a play date at a friends house he just started taking off for the first time on his own and going all the way across the room! It was so exciting! The funniest thing is that because he spent the last many months walking with our assistance by holding his hands, he still walks with his hands held above his head and wobbles around! Graham calls him our little Orangutan--that's exactly what he looks like!
I also discovered last night that I believe he has been saying more words than I realized. He's always making noises and "talking" all the time but I thought that the only "words" he was actually saying were: Mama, Dada, bye-bye, Ni Ni (night night), mo (more) and an occasional BaBa for Baxter. The other night in the bathtub I realized that he was saying Brother (Bubba) and Nicholas (also NiNI). Every time I would say those words he would repeat them! Who knows what other sounds and words he's been saying that I have not figured out yet. Oops! Second child syndrome!

Papa, 92 years young!

With the start of this new year, I've just finished studying the book of Genesis again. Genesis is one of my favorite books of the Bible. I love reading about God's Creation and following the stories of God's people. My favorite thing about Genesis though is seeing God's love through each generation of the Four Fathers. It's amazing to me how when God blesses us for our faithfulness and love, He doesn't just bless that person, but He blesses them for generations to come and their descendents experience God's blessings, all because of that one person. I am certain that Papa has experienced that same generational blessing! What an amazing life he has led. It is quite an accomplishment to celebrate your 92nd birthday as Papa has done today, but it is even more remarkable to have lived 92 years full of faith, love, courage, generousity, dedication, and joy as he has done!! I am so thankful for his legacy both for my life, and for my boys. So often it is the other way around and families pass along generational sins and troubles. Instead when I look through our family line, I see God's love and faithfulness. I pray that we all will continue these blessings for many generations to come! Thank you Papa for your example of a life well lived!
Nolan, Ashley and I had fun taking Papa out to lunch at Jason's Deli today to celebrate. Then Papa came with me to pick up Nicholas at carpool and that was very exciting for Nicholas too. Tonight we celebrated again with dinner at the Olive Garden with Mimi, Graham, Ashley, Nicholas, Nolan, myself and of course the Birthday boy. It was a great day! And even though he doesn't look over his sixties as the waitress said, as Papa says "It adds up to 92!" And our celebration will continue this weekend with cousin Ryan coming into town for his birthday.
Here's to many more Papa! Maybe one day Willard Scott will tell him Happy Birthday!