Catch Up

To all of you people who are dying to read my blog.....I'm still alive! LOL!!! I don't even know where to start, but I'm just gonna bullet point the main points of our lives since my last post!

* Grayson graduated Pre-K. It was such a sweet little ceremony followed by a reception, and of course, Grayson got to choose where we ate for dinner.

* Dave and I celebrated birthdays! I turned the big 3-0 and he turned 37. We went to Alabama for a much needed visit with family.

* Griffin turned 2. He is such a firecracker--seriously, so stinkin' cute, but so frustrating at the same time. Somebody PLEASE tell me it's a phase! :-)

* We found out baby #3 is coming! There was a lot of sickness.....but, I'm finally on the mend. We find out what we're having on November 12th. I'm thinking pink thoughts. :-)

* Grayson started Kindergarten. It has been such a great experience for him so far! HE LOVES IT! I'm so grateful! I was a little worried because Grayson is SUPER smart and he pretty much knows all of the Kindergarten requirements. His teacher has been over-accomodating for him, so I'm thankful for her!

* Griffin and I started back to preschool.....we're just trucking along in that. Griffin actually has a REAL curriculum and is learning A LOT. He loves his teachers and they love him.

Well, those are the main highlights. Hopefully, I can update the blog a little more since I'm feeling pretty good now!

Griffinism at nap

Yesterday as I laid Griffin down for his afternoon nap, this is what I heard over the monitor. I will post it like it sounds, then go back and translate it for y'all! :-)

Go t'fweep, Go t'fweep, Go t'fweep my seet Giffin, Go t'fweep, Go t'fweep, Go t'fweep my Giffin

Translation: Go to sleep, Go to sleep, Go to sleep my sweet Griffin. Go to sleep, Go to sleep, Go to sleep my Griffin (sung to the tune of Lullaby)

Graysonisms.....again!

Well, once again, my sweet Grayson has said/done some things that I HAVE to write down and record before I forget! Seriously, he has THE sweetest heart.....I am so blessed! Enjoy!

*Grayson had not been having a good morning one morning a couple of weeks ago. I was beyond frustrated when we finally got into the car to leave when he said, "Mom, I decided that I'm going to be good for the rest of the day." My reply was, "Well, that's good! What made you decide that?" Then he said, "Well, I was listening to God, and He told me in my heart to turn away from my sins." Well, ok then. :-)

*We were in the car one day when he said, "Mom, I know why you and Daddy named me Grayson." I asked why and his response was, "Because it has the word grace in it and you and Daddy show me a lot of grace." VERY true!

*Last week during his soccer game, Grayson had the ball and was well on his way to making a goal. All of a sudden he stopped so one of his team mates could catch up. Then, he passed her the ball so that she could make the goal.

*Tonight was a fun night filled with making brownies, playing the wii, and watching part of the Ranger's game. It was in Seattle, so the game was late. Grayson was sent to bed around 9:45. All was quiet until 11:45 when Grayson began to loudly call Dave to come in his room. After Dave got in there, Grayson said, "Dad, what's the Ranger's score?" So glad my 5 year old is losing sleep over the Texas Rangers. :-)

Graysonisms and maybe the first Griffinism of many to come!

Graysonisms first.....

1. In our Thursday night worship service at church, we were reading verses on the screen. Basically, I was trying to whisper a kid friendly version into Grayson's ear while it was being read. While explaining the Last Supper to Grayson, I said something about Jesus holding up a cup of juice. He quickly stopped me and informed me it was wine.

2. Right before we partook in the Lord's Supper, Grayson whispered to me, "Mom, do you think I would like that bread and wine over there? I'm getting kind of hungry."

3. Last Thursday, Grayson had an Easter egg hunt at his preschool. It was pretty windy, so I got him a light jacket from his closet and encouraged him to wear it during the egg hunt. His teacher, not recognizing the jacket, complimented him by saying she loved it. His response was, "It's a special jacket. It breaks wind." Yes, I had told him it was a windbreaker. LOL!

4. This morning before school Grayson asked me how God was born. I don't think he ever quite understood.....not sure I understand it all either!



And now for a Griffinism.....believe me, this is a funny kid, so I can't wait what these will be!

1. Griffin thinks every body of water is a water bottle. So, every time we pass one, his response very loudly is, "WALLA BALLA!"

2. Today I had put Griffin in his crib when we got home from school to see if he would rest some more. He didn't fall asleep, however, he was happy. I decided to leave him and turned up the monitor to listen to what he was doing. It was so sweet! He was counting to ten over and over and then he would go, "Yay Giffin!" (That's how he says his name!) So precious!


I know some of you might not think all of this is as great as I do, but I need to record it somehow so I will never forget these funny, precious moments with my boys!

Easter 2010

We started our Easter celebration on Thursday night with a service at our church, including the Lord's Supper. We took Grayson into this service to use the opportunity to teach him different things about the events leading up to Easter. He was awesome during the service, but said several funny things, which I will share in another post of Graysonisms. On Saturday night, we dyed easter eggs, and Sunday morning Grayson and Griffin looked forward to opening Easter goodies from Mom and Dad. (YES.....Mom and Dad. We DON'T do Santa, nor the Easter Bunny. You may disagree, but we have our reasons, i.e. Jesus is why we celebrate Christmas and Easter, not Santa and the Easter Bunny. Don't worry. We make it very clear that there are people who do, and that it doesn't mean that they are horrible people.) We went to church, had an awesome Easter service, and later went over to our friends' house for a late Easter lunch. Below are a few pics of the boys' Easter goodies and before church.

Grayson with his Easter basket

Griffin with some of his Easter goodies

My sweet boys

Sweet Gray.....he is so precious to me.

This kid melts my heart.....look at his eyes!

Grayson's first soccer game

Saturday was Grayson's first soccer game ever.......funny thing is, it was Dave's first too! They don't keep score in his league for the young ones, but he scored 2 goals! I was one proud mommy! He loved it and can't wait until the next game. I said this was Dave's first soccer game because he's our coach! Seriously, he wins "Dad of the Year." He just wanted to assist, but it turns out they were short on coaches, so he took on the role of head coach. He did really well considering his basketball playing, baseball playing background. Below are pictures of the fun game!

Coach and Grayson before we left for the game

We arrived at the fields and he said, "Now, I'm a little nervous!"

The Coach :-)

practicing before the game

Pre-game pep talk

stretching

On his way to score goal #1

After goal #1

After goal #2

Thumbs up for a fun time playing soccer

Contest

My sweet friend Jessica is having a contest on her blog to get a free blog makeover. I don't know about y'all, but I would love to win this! Here's a link to enter.

www.just4crows.blogspot.com

Cabin Fever

Apparently, this is what happens when it snows 13 inches outside and you're basically stuck in your house for 2 days with a VERY active 19 month old.

New things

So this is a new thing that Griffin has started.....not really sure why other than the fact that he feels free. :-) He won't keep his clothes on--really it's just his pjs. I have actually read somewhere that it's a beginning sign of being ready for potty training, but this child has got to stop. Below are pictures that show his determination in getting his pjs off. It's quite entertaining.

Valentine's Fun

Last night, Dave and I were able to go out for Valentine's Day because of a precious friend who offered to come hang out with our kids so we could go out. SO, she made it into a Valentine's party for Grayson. She and another sweet friend made a cake for Grayson and Erica to enjoy during our night out. There was also a special treat she gave him and Griffin. I think they had a really fun night! When Grayson tasted the cake, his response was, "This is better than pop tarts!" Seriously, if you knew this kid, you would know that's one of the best compliments he can give! :-) Below is a picture of Grayson and Miss Erica with the cake that was better than pop tarts.

When it finally stopped.....

Here are some more pics of our snow! This is truly something I have NEVER seen in my lifetime. When all was said and done, it measured around 13 inches--the most snow that DFW has ever seen.

Snow!

FYI.....I recorded this video on my regular camera, so it's turned sideways. :-/ Sorry! I'm sure the grandparents won't mind though. :-) Remember, if you want to watch the video, you have to pause the music player on the side. ENJOY!!!!

Let it Snow!!!!

Well, it finally happened, and we were able to play in it! It snowed! We were out of town when it snowed on Christmas, and the last time we were here and it snowed, it melted before we got done with breakfast. Dave's work was canceled, and I called in because let's just face it.....I'm from Alabama, and there's no way I could have driven to work without wrecking. So, we took the opportunity to go outside and let the boys play in it for a little bit! They loved it! Grayson just had a huge smile on his face the whole time, and Griffin kept falling everywhere. Griffin didn't care though. He thought it was funny. Anyway, there was fun had by all. Enjoy the pictures, and I'm going to add a video to another post mainly for the Grandparents, but if you want to watch that's fine too. :-)

Long time, no blog

Well....this blog will probably cover a whole bunch of things considering it's been a while since I last posted!

1. First of all, in regards to my last post, I'm not pregnant. Seriously, I'm okay with that. It doesn't mean that Grayson was wrong in thinking that it might happen. Maybe it will be next Christmas. Who knows? :-)

2. Dave graduated! WOO HOO!!!! And before you go asking .......so far there have been no offers to move back to the Southeast yet (hint, hint) :-) so we'll be staying in Texas until God opens another door. Ultimately, we would love to be closer to home, but we are very content with what we have here in Texas until then.

3. After Dave graduated, we went on a fabulous 3 day trip to Nashville without kids. That was our first time to be away from them at the same time. We stayed in the Opryland Hotel, went to the Country Music Hall of Fame, ICE, and did lots of shopping. To say the least, it was a much needed trip.

4. We went to Alabama for Christmas. It never is long enough. Our families are SO big!!! It's next to impossible to have a free moment going from house to house to see our aunts, uncles, cousins, etc. I REALLY miss my Alabama friends, but it's always so hard to do all that traveling, especially with kids. One of these days, we will MAKE time!

5. We began a new year. We are so excited to see what this year is going to bring. The first 17 days have been great!


Pictures will come later, but until then, bye bloggy friends!

The faith of a little child......

About a month ago, I was sitting in Grayson's bedroom with him talking and he looked at me and said, "Mom, I love Daddy." I simply replied with, "Yeah, he's a really good daddy isn't he?" Then the conversation went on, which I will share in a minute, but before I do, I want you to know that this child was NOT making this up. He was sharing this from experience like it had happened to him yesterday. There were NO pauses or anything, and I honestly believe with all my heart that he knows what he's talking about because he's not that far removed from the spiritual realm... and we are....as heartbreaking as that is......it's funny how as we grow older, we sometimes forget about how we came to be from our Creator......now on with the story.

......the conversation continues

Grayson: "Mom, when I was up in Heaven with God, he let me choose Daddy."

Me: Trying to kind of take it all in, I said, "That's nice."

Grayson: "Well, he did! He let me choose who my Daddy was going to be, and I chose Daddy and got you as my Mommy too."

Me: Again, still trying to take it all in, I said, "Oh really?"

Grayson: "Yes, and then he let me choose Griffin, but He told me I had to go first because that's what He had planned. Then I chose Sissy. Yep, Gretchen looks just like you Mommy. She even has curly hair (side note: If we had a little girl, her name would be Gretchen. This was not new to him because that's what Griffin's name would have been.)."

Now, first of all, I'm not pregnant. Second of all, we want a number 3 and we do hope to have a little girl some day, but are perfectly content with whichever God blesses us with. SO, you can see how this would have had a little bit of an effect on me.

Okay, now fast forward to Saturday, he tells Dave out of the blue that while he was praying, God spoke to him and told him that Gretchen would be put in Mommy's belly at Christmas.

REALLY???????!!!!!!! What am I supposed to do with this? This child believes with everything that he is that God told him this. SO, I guess we'll find out soon.....even though, I'm not really sure that I'm ready to be in that boat again. Oh well....God can and will do what he pleases!

Graysonism

I was just getting Grayson up from nap and this is how our conversation went:

Me: Grayson, did you sleep?

Grayson: Mom....I don't want you to be upset. I slept for a little bit, but I don't want you to be upset.

Me: I'm not, but I hope you're telling me the truth. Lying is not a good thing. God even knows when we are lying.

Grayson: Sh! Do you hear Him talking in there (pointing at his Bible on the table by his bed)? That's how God talks to me. That's what he uses to talk to me. My Bible which is God's word, and everyone else's Bibles that are God's word.

Me: Yep....

That's the way to get out of it....start saying something sweet that blows me away. :)

Best Buds

One of my favorite things about having kids is the bond that they have with each other. Just like my brother and sister and I did when we were young, they still argue, but when it comes down to it, they adore each other. I'm starting to see it more every day. Griffin always wants to be with Grayson, and Grayson is always willing to entertain. Because it's been raining so much in Texas, I've probably let them watch more tv than normal, but at least it was Sesame Street. Maybe they learned something in the process. That's exactly what they were doing this morning when I took a picture of this...... :-)

What Griffin's Doin'

So....my sweet little man is growing up so fast! I thought I just might need to blog about the things he's been doing so I won't forget.....cause we all know and understand the "Mommy Brain"! To give an update on him, he is now 14 months old. He weighs 26 pounds, and I'm not really sure how tall, but to me he looks so big! We'll know a little more in detail when we go back for his 15 month checkup in October. Until then, here's a little taste of what he's been doing....oh yeah, and what kind of mommy would I be if I didn't post some pics too?!

Things he says.....
Momma, Daddy, hey, bye bye, juice, I love you, puppy, woof woof, moo, cow, meow, uh-oh, Bubba (what he calls Grayson), paci, Bible, eyes, two, alk which translates to walk, please (which he also still signs), row row (like row, row, row, your boat), A, B, C (when trying to sing the alphabet), alright, says uh huh when asked a question and nods his head

Things he does......
follows me around like a stranded puppy (it really is sweet on most days, unless I'm trying to shower), says, "AH CHOO" after someone sneezes, claps, does hand motions to "If you're happy and you know it," dances, attempts to sing songs with me, plays with Daddy's guitars, throws the ball, likes to get the magna doodle and draw on it, runs almost everywhere, loves to take baths, likes to read books, play with his big brother, and this kid would eat anything put in front of him....we haven't found anything he won't eat

23 GLORIOUS flavors!!!

Today, we went on a day trip to the Dr Pepper Museum in Waco with some friends. It was a special event where everything was free and there were games for the kids to play. It was a ton of fun, but very exhausting! Below are our pictures from the day!

We're on our way!

Cheese!

We're here!

Dave trying to wrangle the kiddos

If everyone knew my love for Dr Pepper......this was a sight to behold! :-)

First stop: Donut walk. Grayson chose a number real quick!

Dad decided to join in

I got a donut!

So did Dad!

Grayson and Jacob and their donuts

Griffin was having fun soaking it all in

Oh how we love the ChickfilA cow! He gave us coupons for free items and we took him up on his offer later! ;-)

Next stop: Fill up the bowl with ice using only your feet. Needless to say, the four year old didn't last long on this one!

Griffin still watching

So...here's a little bit of history: Grayson is sitting on the actual first counter that the first Dr Pepper was served from.

Here's some animatronic guy talking about Dr Pepper.

Look! Dr Pepper!

My favorite "old school" Dr Pepper can

This pic is blurry...but it's still cute of Grayson posing

Griffin LOVES Dr Pepper

Grayson with an old Dr Pepper delivery truck

Dave and the kids watching old Dr Pepper commercials

I think this is supposed to be an outstanding delivery man called "Foots". Weird name!

It may be a weird name, but I started loving "Foots" when I found out he went to The University of Alabama! ROLL TIDE!

Well, we learned a lot of interesting things today about Dr Pepper. First of all, there isn't a period after the Dr in Dr Pepper. Second, there is NOT prune juice in Dr Pepper. That's a myth. And finally, this place is one of the most visited places in Waco. Anyone want to guess what else people come to Waco for? Not to see the Baylor bears, my friends, but to go see where the Branch Davidians lived. NICE....