A Very Special Day

Fifteen years ago today, Paul and I got married.
Fifteen years!

You know how it is--in some ways it seems like such a long time ago, but in other ways, it seems like just yesterday.


Here's a fun picture taken with Paul and his groomsmen--brother Brian, friend Todd, friend Carey, friend Bob; and brother Scott.

I'm afraid it's too late for you to run, Honey!



My handsome groom...
I don't think he's changed a bit.
Too bad I can't say the same about the bride. :)



The very happy couple...
In case your wondering, we were very kind to each other when eating the cake. No sloppy frosting pictures to share.



Thank you, Paul, for fifteen wonderful years. I thank God everyday that he placed us together. You truly are my best friend.

A Special Treat

Last weekend, my brother Rob came for a visit.

I thought it was fun to have them here, and I think that Joshua would agree.

New playmate!



Someone to hold him when he sleeps.



This next picture isn't from last weekend, but it is one of my favorites of Uncle Robbie--which is what the kids call my brother. (My favorite name came when Carrie was little--she used to call him Uncle Roggie.) :)
Josh doesn't look too happy in this picture, but as I recall, he was the one who just had to try on Uncle Robbie's boots.



Thanks for a super fun weekend, Rob. It seemed to go way too fast!

Success!

Success in our house begins with P!

O.K. That was pretty bad, I know. It just popped into my head, and I went with it. I have to tell you, though, I am pretty excited!

You guessed it! We've been potty training at our house. It's been just a little over a week, and Josh is in big boy underwear except for sleep times--but even then, he has had success in keeping his Pull-Ups dry while sleeping. And the most exciting thing to me is that even when he is wearing Pull-Ups, he still tells me when he has to use the bathroom.



We've all been celebrating success with popsicles. I haven't bought these for a long time, so they are new to Joshua. He loves them.




We all do!






To tell you the truth, I wasn't at all ready to potty train. I knew that it would be tough with a nursing infant in my arms a lot of the day.

I have to give gobs of credit to William! He has faithfully taken his little brother to the bathroom many, many times this past week. I told Paul that I think he and Josh get the credit for potty training.

I told William that someday his wife will be so impressed, knowing that he potty-trained his little brother.
He was speechless--which isn't natural for William. :)

The Fly Whisperer

Have you ever had a fly bite your ankles?

Call in the Fly Whisperer!




After catching this unsuspecting predator in a plastic popsicle tube, Matthew and I made our escape into the house.

*No animals were harmed in the making of this blog.
Carrie followed us into the house just moments later and said that she had to release the biting fly. She couldn't stand to think of it suffocating in the plastic.

The Little Mouse, The Red Ripe Strawberry, and The Big Hungry Bear

The Little Mouse, The Red Ripe Strawberry, and the Big Hungry Bear by Don and Audrey Wood...a favorite in our house!

This is one of Joshua's favorite books. It was one of William's favorites. And, it's one of my favorites too. It's so much fun to read!


Here's my Little Mouse. He adores strawberries! Last weekend we went to the local farm market to pick out some strawberries. I set them aside until I had time to clean them.



And here is a closer view of those Red Ripe Strawberries...



Irresistible, aren't they?

And now, The Big Hungry Bear (me) looks over at Joshua who is chewing something.

Bear asks, "What are you eating?"
Mouse replies, "A strawberry."
Bear says, "They aren't clean! Don't eat any more."
Bear continues to stare at Little Mouse.
Little Mouse says, "Go sit on couch!"
Bear asks, "Why?"
Mouse says, very honestly I might add, "So I can eat strawberries."

Grandma, who is visiting Little Mouse, says, "I'll go clean some strawberries for him."




This is just a sample of what she found...



"And this one must be from yesterday," she says. It was a little rubbery where he took the bite.



You can't keep a Little Mouse away from his beloved Red Ripe Strawberries!

Wordless Wednesday...Sleepy

All Me Fall Down!

Wing wound Wosies
Pocko-ful posies
Ackers
Ackers
All me fall down!




Practice makes perfect!

It occurred to me one afternoon, after Joshua's Grandma asked if he knew any kids' songs like "Old MacDonald," that he is more familiar with TobyMac than with Mother Goose! I guess having an older sister and brother contributes quite a bit to this. So, we've been working on learning age-appropriate songs. I still must admit, though, it's awfully cute to hear him suddenly break out singing and dancing to TobyMac for no known reason!



(This was a post that I wrote back in February but couldn't get the video to work. You wouldn't believe how Joshua's speech has improved since his tonsils and adenoids were removed and tubes were put in!)

Back in the Saddle Again!

The entire time that Joshua had his cast on, he never once mentioned his "green motorcycle."

This was a huge change considering that everyday before he broke his arm, he would ask about it, talk about it, and want to be on it.

I wondered if he would ever want to ride again.





Ah! The freedom of the driveway beckons!

Wordless Wednesday...See How I've Changed!

Baby's First Bath

It's amazing how much more comfortable I am giving Matthew his first bath than I was giving Carrie her first bath.

I remember how slippery Carrie seemed and how afraid I was that I would drown her. I remember how gently I washed her hair. It took me forever to get a bath done. As with so many other things, I thought there must be a definite right way and a definite wrong way to do it.

It's not that I am less careful with Matthew. And it's not that I don't still think that he is as slippery as a fish. It's just that now I have a lot more confidence when it comes to bathing a baby. I know that a bath won't break him. Or that his crying must be telling me something is dreadfully wrong. And I know that there is no one way that makes it "right."

Here are some pictures of Matthew's first bath.
No, I didn't just give him his first bath yesterday on his seven week birthday. :)
These are pictures from several weeks ago.









Many things have changed since that first bath. For one, he's chubbier. For another, he is sleeping for longer stretches of time in the night. And also, he started smiling at us last week. I love that! Now when he wakes me up in the middle of the night, he smiles at me. That makes everything better.

And on the subject of change, many things have changed since we brought Carrie home 12 years and 5 months ago.

I've changed in many ways.

But, sadly enough, many things have not changed. I am not as confident as I would like to be. I still check up on what other new moms are doing and how their babies are progressing. I'm not comparing babies, but rather I'm looking to see where I am falling short. I also listen to everyone's helpful advice--but instead of sifting it for what I can use, I let it condemn me.

I'm afraid that it's a constant battle that I face. One in which I listen far to often to the enemy of my soul than to the One who loves me more than I can imagine. I am so glad that He loves me just as He made me--silly quirks and all. I'm so glad that He is patient with me as I grow up in Him.

And one of these days, I will look this insecurity in the eye and tell it goodbye.

Ah! That will be the day!

Wordless Wednesday...How Time Flies!

October 2006

April 2008

William's Basket

I tried posting this video a couple of months ago, but I couldn't get it to work.

I can now post videos!

This is William making a basket at one of his basketball games in March. I just happened to be taping when this happened!