Going Blind On Pictures!

I was nearly four years behind on putting photos in albums...can anyone relate?? Well, with a new baby coming and not having a single photo of Joshua in an album, I decided it was time to do something before I was hopelessly behind! So, about 3 weeks ago I set to it with a vengeance. I decided to start with Joshua's album and in a day had it done through 3/08. Yeay! Well, of course things can't be simple, so here's what happened. The album I did for Joshua was a completely different format from what I had done 4 years ago for Caleb and the family...you know the old magnetic pages? Well, this new format is WAAAYY nicer, so I went back out and bought some more albums. I then went and completely RE-DID all our pictures starting with when Philip I met through the present. In addition to the new format for the pictures, I also added "narration cards" explaining in general what was going on in our lives during about 3 month time periods so that the viewer would have some clue what they were looking at. :) Well, several weeks, MANY hours and hundreds of pictures later, I am finally almost done! I have complete albums for both boys and for our family, except for a couple more hours of work to do the finishing touches. I am so excited with how they turned out. I hope some of you can enjoy them soon! :) Maybe I'll take a picture and post it here so you can get a sneak peek. :)

Did Someone Turn The Valium Up?

That is what Caleb asked me at about 5:00 this afternoon. I quickly realized he meant "volume" and was talking about the CD player where Joshua was listening to VeggieTales, however, the question struck me as highly ironic. Ever just have "one of those days"? Today has been one for us. Perhaps it's because it was overcast and rainy, but everyone has just been a little off. I, for example, physically feel like I haven't gotten a thing done and have one of those "I have been sedentary all day" headaches, when in fact quite the opposite is the case. Before 10:00 this morning I had dinner in the crockpot and vegetable lentil soup cooking on the stove, as well as a load of laundry in the dryer and in the wash. I then proceeded to go through several bags and bins of clothing sorting things out to tag and sell at the upcoming (Saturday!) MOPS Consignment sale and had everything organized by lunch. This afternoon I continued my scrapbooking project...and got grumpier by the minute! I don't know where I went wrong, but clearly I was productive today. :) Anyway, when Caleb asked about the valium, I just had to laugh. It's been one of those days...

Not That Much Longer...

It's hard to believe I am already more than 32 weeks pregnant (the picture is from last night). Actually, that's not that hard to believe...I feel like I have been pregnant for about two years. What IS hard to believe that in the next 7-8 weeks, we're going to have another baby in this house! I think having the miscarriages has made "pregnancy = baby" a little harder to grasp. However, this little fellow certainly makes his presence well known. My sister, Deborah, got a kick out of watching the belly manipulations that occur quite frequently. It seems this guy is carrying differently than Caleb and Joshua did, so I really get a lot of those "ouch!" movements. It's annoying enough that it's making me wish for him to be born...soon! But then I remember what happens after a baby is born...sleepless nights, diapers, constant feeding for a while...and I think "maybe another 8 weeks is ok!" We also have lots to get done before baby arrives. Philip, bless his heart, is refinishing some furniture for the baby's room, and we also would like to paint. Assuming this all actually gets finished before we have a baby, I'll post pictures. :)

P.S. We are also officially done with the basement...which looks great and has already had it's first guests...but haven't been able to take all the pictures yet. It's on the agenda.

Easter Fun

My parents and Deborah were able to come visit us this past weekend for Easter. We had a great time and are so glad they came! The boys enjoyed horsing around with Grandpa and learning about birds from Grandma. And Caleb loved "puzzling" with Aunt Deborah. The weather wasn't terrific (why was Easter so early this year??), and we wound up doing our little egg hunt in the sprinkles...but they boys didn't mind! I divided the eggs by color, so each boy got exactly the same number and contents.

Then, of course after the eggs had been opened, things started to get a little silly. Here's the bug-eyed Joshua.
Sunday we went to a packed early service at church to celebrate the REAL reason for Easter. The boys were excited to finally get to Easter Sunday. They had been talking about Palm Sunday and Easter for weeks now.

A Little Goofy...

Today the boys were looking cute, so I whipped out the camera and took advantage. Here are the results! :) And just for fun, similar pictures of both of them from 2 years ago.

Attack of the Nesting Hormones

So today while on the way to the mailbox, I took a real look at the front yard and was horrified! I discovered what could be called "what happens when you don't touch your landscaping while living in your house for a year" syndrome. Very bad news. Man. The backyard was even worse. So, it was a nice day and my nesting hormones kicked in. I realized quickly I would need some cheap labor...I mean reinforcement...and called Philip to have him leave work a little early and come help. Then, I attacked our front yard. Weeds, leaves, dead bush stalks and ivy vines went flying everywhere. I think I am going to be UBER sore tomorrow!! Good thing Philip came to the rescue with his weed whacker when he did. Oh well. It looks SOOO much better! Next...the backyard. You may ask, what about the other potential cheap labor...also known as Caleb and Joshua. Well, they were about as helpful as...well, they tried. Joshua managed to move some leaves into the trashcan and Caleb succeeded in throwing mulch onto the driveway. We'll let them make up for it in a few year when they are old enough to mow the lawn or something. :)

However, I was bummed to realize (duh) that I missed the window to plant new bulbs for this year. I had bought some last year and they never got planted (are they still any good anyway??). Guess I have a project for this fa ll. Fortunately, the last owner was a real flower lover, so there are already lots of tulips and daffodils (my two favorites!), but I wanted to plant some more. Today I actually bought myself a "valentine" Tulip plant (since Philip didn't get me flowers this year) and I am going to plant it by the mailbox this fall.

29 weeks 3-1-08

God 7 7:8

Are you familiar with that chapter and verse in the Bible? Neither are we, but Joshua frequently quotes it. This usually happens in the car on the way to church when he is reading his Bible, particularly the story of Noah. "And God said, build an ark. God 7 7:8." "And God said...all the animals go onto the ark. God 7 7:8". And so on. Everything is from God 7 7:8. And for a long time all the Scripture memory verses we were learning could be found in John 10:11. Well, at least he sort of understands the concept of a reference!

Today, I had a big laugh (to myself) when Philip came home and was talking to Joshua. Unfortunately, Joshua was really disobedient this morning and dropped somethings from over the upstairs rail onto the wood floor that damaged the floor. He was disciplined by me this morning for it. Spanked to be exact. So when Philip comes in and starts talking to Joshua, he is quick to inform him, "Mommy already spanked me...you're too late!" It was quite interesting overhearing the whole conversation. It was a new look into Joshua's reasoning skills...and his attempt at negotiating himself out of more discipline!

Caleb's big news is that he read some words for the first time yesterday. Yeay!

Is It Still Winter??

This winter seems to just be going on and on...it hasn't helped that we hardly saw the sun in February. :( We have also (seemingly) had more ice and snow this year than usual. The boys are chomping at the bit to get back outside. 25* and windy just isn't that appealing...although they do occasionally brave the elements!

We are all hoping that March will bring some nice, Spring-ish weather! We're ready!