For Moms...

I came across this video and had to share it. If you are an old mom, new mom or just have or have had a mom, you'll appreciate this!

And thank you, Mom, for everything. You're awesome.

Locked Out of the House

So here's the story of getting locked out of the house.

I had found a new recipe for pancakes (oatmeal pancakes) the night before. I was so excited about making them, I dumped all the ingredients in the food processor and when I got to the end of the recipe, I realized I was missing eggs - a very essential ingredient. So, I ran over to the neighbor's house (in my pajama pants), telling Bo to stay put and pulling the door behind me. They gave me my ONE essential egg and I went back to the house to finish my recipe, only to find the door locked! I have no phone, no keys and don't know anyone's number besides Robert's cell, which he doesn't keep on b/c he's at school!!!

Bo was inside calling my name. Since he was at the door, I tried to explain to him how to unlock the door (that has no windows - so I couldn't see him and he couldn't see me), to no avail. I normally keep my keys in the same place, so I told Bo to go get my keys. There used to be a pretty big gap underneath part of the door, so I figured he could get my keys and possibly slide them through the gap and I could unlock the door. So off he goes to find my keys. After a little bit, I hear him playing. I ask, "Did you find mommy's keys?" To which he answers, "No." And he no longer wants to come to the door.

What to do now??? First thought, break out a window in the front room. Or go to the neighbor's to see what they say about the situation. Second thought, Robert would not be happy with a broken window, especially in the front of the house, where someone could easily break in during the time we are waiting to get it fixed...and it costs money...very important factor. Third, jump the wooden fence (since we keep it deadbolted) into the back yard and break out a back window, where at least the broken window wouldn't be seen by potential burglars. Go to the fence, realize it is taller than I thought and there's no way I'm getting over it, especially being pregnant.

Fourth and finally, go to the other neighbors' house, who have four kids and ask for help. Praise the Lord for neighbors who are believers!!! They welcome me in, and ask how they can help, reassuring me it's no big deal, that they've locked their kids in the car, left them at home, etc. We get in touch with Robert and the neighbor volunteers to drive to his school to pick up our house key.

Returning to the house, I hear Bo crying and the neighbor coaxes him to the front window and tells him to pull up the blinds, so at least he can see me. He does this, and I see the reason for his crying - not being able to get his pajama top off, which reassures me b/c it means he's not freaking out about being locked in the house by himself. We try to get him to unlock the window, but he's just holding the blind cord, staring out at us.

The key arrives and I am back in the house about an hour after I was locked out. I still have my precious egg, tucked away in the pocket of my sweatshirt. Boy, were those pancakes delicious. I spent the rest of the day recovering from this memory-making episode. It totally threw me off the rest of the day and I felt exhausted. But those pancakes sure were good. I'll just take my keys next time I go to borrow some eggs.

Update on Thanksgiving

Here are a few highlights, lowlights and things to be thankful for (and not so thankful for) from our Thanksgiving trip...

We started off with a bang...or more like a BARF! Yeah, Bo threw up on the airplane as we were descending. I think it was a combination of too much juice, getting too hot and the plane descending pretty quickly. There were some other passengers complaining of back aches and nausea as we deplaned. I don't think Bo's little body could handle it.

- I am not thankful for the flight attendant who had NO IDEA what to do about the throw up. REALLY?!?!? Has no one ever barfed on your plane before? She asked US what we needed. Uhhhhh, maybe some plastic bags and some napkins. So, genius that she is, returns with 2 plastic bags and TWO NAPKINS! SERIOUSLY. This is not just a little baby spit up. This is at least two sippy cups worth of water/juice with some french fries mixed in (sorry for the graphic details). TWO NAPKINS. Not really helpful.

- I am not thankful for the other flight attendant who didn't think to ask everyone to remain seated while we got the sick kid off the plane. No. Just wait like everyone else while mom and toddler smell like vomit. Thanks. She also asked US if she needed to call someone to come onto the plane to clean it up. No, lady, I'm sure your next passengers will love the smell of vomit in their seat and in the aisle. Tell them you're trying out a new air freshener and ask them for their comments.

- I AM thankful that Bo threw up on the descent, so it wasn't long that we were in the plane after the episode.

- I AM thankful that most of the throw up landed in the aisle.

- I AM thankful for other passengers who were very compassionate and helped by gathering napkins to pass to us.

- I AM thankful that we received NO dirty looks from other passengers! Everyone must have been in the Thanksgiving spirit - and were thankful they were not us!

We spent a great day on Saturday at Robert's grandmother's house to have an early Thanksgiving celebration. There were an aunt, uncle, cousin and his wife and daughter, brother and his wife and 2 daughters, another cousin's daughter, mom, dad and grandmother, and us.

- I AM thankful that nobody was stuck in the kitchen cooking and unable to hang out - thanks to Chik-fil-A and KFC!

- I AM thankful for relatives who LOVE Jesus and always have wise and kind words to share with a younger generation of parents.

Our time with Robert's parents was great. Church, a Thanksgiving service, a little shopping, and a night out to visit with his brother and awesome wife, and a visit from a friend of ours - Robert's partner in Mexico.

- I AM thankful for my mother-in-law who got up with Bo EVERY morning of our visit, so we could sleep in!! She also fed him breakfast and changed multiple dirty diapers! THANKS SO MUCH, Vineta!!

- I AM thankful for lots of toys at the grandparents' house that kept Bo enthralled, so we really didn't have to entertain him.

- I AM thankful for friends of parents that love on my child through gifts and bringing over cool toys to play with! Y'all are awesome and we always LOVE seeing you, Jean and Wayne!


Next post: the day I got locked out of the house

Two new things...

The big news...I am now officially on facebook. I fought for so long not to be on it, especially with having to keep the blog updated. I didn't want another thing on the internet to be addicted to. But after my brother said he joined, and he is pretty level headed and I trust his judgement (most of the time), and he said he was connecting with lots of old friends, and after much hounding from my good friend, Zeta, I swallowed my pride and signed up. I think it was a good decision...I have already enjoyed connecting with old friends and catching up. So, "friend" me. (I can't believe I just wrote that.)

The bigger news...BABY #2 IS ON THE WAY!! We are due June 22nd, but since we'll have another c-section, it will probably be the week of June 14th (if nothing happens before then). This baby is definitely making me feel yuckier than Bo did, which is why the doctor predicted it's a girl. A boy would be super convenient, since we already have all the "boy" stuff. And I already know what to do with boys. So, I am having some issues with the potential prospect of having a girl. I know...sounds really selfish, since lots of people can't even have kids, but I'm just being honest about my thoughts and feelings. Nevertheless, we are really excited, no matter what we have.

Fall Festival and a Day in the Country

The church we're attending had a Preschool Day in the Country recently. A retired couple in the church moved out to the country and hosts various groups at their home and property. (The husband told me they were blessed and wanted to use their home/property to bless others - I LOVE these kinds of people!!) We took a couple of tractor-pulled hay rides, made some fall-themed crafts, ate lunch, attempted to take some "pumpkin patch" pictures, and went cane-pole fishing. I was able to meet and chat with a few moms and make a few new connections. It was the perfect day!

Bo LOVED the tractor!! Immediately after our hay-ride was over, he wanted to go again. And he asked for other rides several times during the day.

Bo caught his first fish!!! It was more like the man caught the fish while Bo was holding the end of the pole, but we'll say it counts! And he touched it! It was a blue gill.

This was our attempt at getting a pumpkin patch picture. I wanted Bo to sit down on the hay and on the pumpkins, and he did, but not long enough for me to snap a picture. Oh, well, maybe next year!

This is our little cowboy for Fall Festival or Halloween. We had picked up a last-minute Elmo costume at Target that he seemed pretty excited about. Once we were home, he wanted to put it on twice, but both times he wanted it off about 30 seconds later. I thought he might get more used to it before we left for the Fall Festival, but nope. This time he didn't want to put it on at all! So we opted for the cowboy outfit - once again. So, here's a comparison of our 2.5 year old cowboy and our 18 month cowboy...He's getting so BIG!!

What Do You Know For Sure?

Now, before you go all crazy about Oprah being on my blog, I have a great point. And I knew it would get your attention. hehehe

So, now that I have your attention...I did my grocery shopping after Bo went to bed Monday night. (yeah for toddler free shopping!!!!) I was in the check-out line skimming over the pictures and headliners for all those "lovely" supermarket check-out line magazines, when I read, in very large print, today's blog title on Oprah's magazine. Boy, was I curious about what I might find in this article. I was tempted to buy it just to have time to read the numerous pages dedicated to this topic. After skimming a few thoughts, I decided it wasn't worth it. But I made a point to remember the little I did read, and to decide this was a question worth some thought.

Two thoughts from others concerning "what they know for sure".

- The real first responders in a natural disaster are the people who go through it. (some lady, who I think is somewhat important somewhere)

- You can't get a good meat pie in LA. (the actor on that new show "The Mentalist".)


I asked myself, "What DO I know for sure?" I think it's extremely relevant right now, with a major election coming up, gas prices roller coastering and the economy - well, who knows what's going to happen with that.

So, I've decided to do my own short list of "What I Know For Sure".

1) I'm going to Heaven, no matter what.

2) Jesus LOVES me. He is very fond of me.

3) When someone loves my child, they are loving me even more.

4) When someone hurts my child, they are hurting me even more. (And making me extremely angry.)

5) Nothing is ever "free". Everything costs somebody something.

6) I'm a jeans and t-shirt type of girl.

7) I do not drink or like coffee, or anything that is coffee-flavored, and I never will. (feel free to check back with me many years from now, if you are at all doubtful that I will stick to this...I dare ya.)

8) "God is good. And everything He does is good." Psalms 119:68

9) You can not get auto or home insurance 3 days before a hurricane is projected to hit your city/town of residence.

10) Only mom can make my favorite meal taste so good.

11) Our nation's priorities - from top to bottom - are backwards. We pay more for entertainment than we do for education. Then we expect the schools, with the little money they do have, to save our children because they're not being raised with the right priorities and character in the home.


Your turn. What do YOU know for sure? I challenge all my blogging friends and nonbloggers to make your own list.

Post-Fire Truck Fun

No, we are not having a mid-life crisis. We have a Harley store near our house and Robert has gone there several times to take pictures for his photography classes. (At least that's what he says he's doing.) Bo likes going b/c he gets a sucker. Robert and I have really enjoyed the show Orange County Choppers. So visiting the Harley store is pretty sweet. I think we would both get a motorcycle if it was at all practical! My favorite is the first one in the pic, the red one. Maybe if I ever find $40,000 just laying around, I'll get one. Seriously, $40,000.



After the Harley shop, we stopped by Wing-Stop with a coupon for free wings. These were a necessity for our afternoon of watching the "Go Dawgs", as Bo would say. The first pic is Bo having his first ever chicken wing. I don't think he really knew how to eat something with a bone in the middle. The second pic is...well, I don't know what he was doing. Any suggestions?

Fire Trucks are Red

Last week, Bo came home with a saying that I had a really hard time putting together. It sounded like, "R, D, red", which I thought was, "already, red", which made absolutely no sense to me. A few minutes later while he was playing, I heard, "That spells red" and "Fire trucks are red". Now, my slow brain was finally putting the pieces together...He had learned a song about the color red! So what he really learned was, "R - E - D, red". Since that day, I've had the chance to listen to the song and now we can actually sing it together.

So, I thought the song was appropriate for this post about our visit to the Fire Department Open House. Some friends of ours were there with their two boys - the younger one is only 3 days younger than Bo. They all love playing together b/c they all love the same things - trains, construction vehicles and digging!

One of the treats Bo received at the Open House was a toy fire truck. At one point, my friend pointed out the fact that all the boys were eyes to the ground playing with their cheap, plastic, break-on-the-way-home fire trucks not more than two feet away from the great, big, real fire truck! And I thought, what a true picture of us, our sin and our Great, big God. Eyes to the ground, so consumed with the little cheap, plastic things of the world that only last a little while, that we don't notice being right next to the God who made the universe. What are my toy fire trucks? What are yours?

While you're thinking (and confessing), enjoy the pics...


This was Bo's attempt at obeying "Look at the camera" while wanting so badly to keep his eyes on the oh-so-popular robotic fire hydrant.


Looks like an athletic pose, except with a fire truck and fire helmet, instead of a football and football helmet. I guess he's got the squat down.


Like I said, right on the real fire truck but is consumed with the little, plastic one.



In the driver's seat with the little fire truck.


Mommy got to hold a real fire hose! It was pretty heavy. Bo just liked the water coming out.



Dexter, Wilson and Bo.


Mommy and Bo in front of the fire truck with the really tall ladder.

Next post: what we did after the fire department...

Slacker Blogger = Slogger

So, before anybody else gets a chance to give me this label, I will go ahead and label myself. Ha, I beat you to it! I win.

Regardless, I don't really think about blogging unless I have new pics to post...since this blog is mostly about Bo anyways. And Robert has been taking our camera to work for his digital photography class, so I haven't been able to take any pictures here at home. So there's my excuse. But maybe, just maybe I will start thinking about blogging about things other than Bo that don't require pictures. Here's hoping...

Here are some highlights of the last couple of weeks...

-I'm going to a Wednesday night Bible study for women.

-My grandmother (Mimi) turned 90 and my parents had a party for her. We could not go, but were able to see everybody at the party via webcam and wish Mimi a Happy 90th Birthday.

-We had Bike Day at CDO. Talk about a little bit of chaos! Thank goodness each age group had their own time to ride around the parking lot. Ages 2 to 5 would have been a bit much. Sorry I don't have pictures...Just picture in your head, about 30 2 to 3 year olds riding around a small circular drive for about 15 minutes.

And probably the thing that I was most excited about during the last two weeks is....




Now before you go and say how sad my life is that I would be excited about a TV show...Really, this is the ONLY show that I would give anything to be able to do. Who wouldn't want to travel around the world in a race to win 1 million dollars?!?!?!

That's all for today. Check back tomorrow for pics from our morning at the Fire Station Open House! Here's a sneak peek. I promise Bo really did have fun.

Train Ride

Last Saturday we went on a fun family outing to a park where an organization of train lovers gives free miniature train rides. I found out about it just through searching the internet for fun, local, free activities for kids! And since Bo LOVES trains, I thought this would be perfect. And really, the day could not have been better!! We left about 9:30 AM and arrived shortly after 10. Since the hurricane we have had some really great weather and this day was no exception. We waited in line for our first ride for about 20 minutes. Talking with others in line, we found out that the line normally stretches out and around the building and you may have to wait for an hour to ride, not to mention that it's usually blazing hot! Because of the hurricane, we had great weather and a much, much shorter wait!! We didn't even have to wait for our second ride! The only thing we didn't get to do was ride the train with the steam engine. I guess we'll have to wait until next month - the free rides are only on the third Saturday of every month.

Power Restored!

After approximately 7 days and 13 hours, our power was restored. And let me say, I don't think I would have lasted much longer. I know that it could have been much worse. And I know that there are still people in Houston without power. Not to mention the state of Galveston island, which is officially "closed" according to a sign we saw today, while traveling on the interstate.

Here's our story...

Robert was out of school on Friday before the storm, and we spent most of the day watching the news and preparing for the hurricane. The winds kicked up around 9 pm with occasional gusts and got worse as the night went on. We put Bo to bed in his crib, but transferred him to his pack 'n play in the hallway around 9. I prepared my sleeping bag in the hallway and laid down around 11:30, getting through 2 songs on my iPod before it died - one preparation I wish I had remembered to make. I woke up occasionally and heard the winds, trying not to let it worry me. I was awoken early by Robert turning on the radio to hear the damage reports, and Bo saying, "I'm ready to get up."

Being in Sugar Land, we were on the calmer side of the storm. By God's grace, our house didn't get damaged. We had a few large branches that were either on the ground or hanging from trees. And a good bit of our fence was blown down.

We spent much of Saturday inside as the winds were still gusting in the morning. Bo and I took a short walk around the block later to look at the damage and just to get out of the house, as Bo was getting a little stir-crazy. We didn't see much damage to houses, just a few trees down some branches down or hanging and lots of leaves and debris. It wasn't until we went out that night that we saw this right outside our neighborhood...



We went to Sam's on Monday to find some ice. But we had to go to two other stores before we found milk, some of the last few jugs, and the bread aisle was completely empty. Tuesday, the big trucks arrived with ice. And Thursday, they had ice, water and MRE's - army meals...which I don't think I'm brave enough to try.

As I said earlier, I was getting closer and closer to the line of "okay, I've had enough". And I did say that I know it could have been much worse. This whole week without electricity actually hasn't been that bad. One reason is that God brought us some cooler weather. We opened some of the windows and enjoyed some cool breezes. We spent some great time outside as a family, since school was canceled for the week for Robert. Bo enjoyed helping Daddy wash the cars and helping Mommy rake the leaves and sticks.



Another reason it was not so bad was the generosity of our Christian brothers and sisters. Saturday, Sunday and Monday we were at different friends' houses grilling out the various meats and seafood that were thawing from everyone's freezers. Tuesday through Thursday we were fed by a local church who opened their doors to the public with free food, air conditioning, free WiFi and plenty of plugs to charge phones, laptops, etc. I really don't know what we would have done without the generosity of these people. I definitely would have come to the "I've had enough" line much, much sooner.

Hurricane Ike

It's 3 PM and we just heard the wind outside for the first time, and I am expecting the rain to start at any minute. It was super nice this morning...sunshine with a nice breeze, around the low 70's. Bo and I went for a walk around the neighborhood. He was enjoying pushing one of his ride-on toys for a little while, but soon was more excited about looking for stop signs and fire hydrants. So I had the pleasure of carrying the thing back home.

There were only a few houses with boards on the windows, but there may be a few more by nightfall. I heard an electric saw up the street when I went out for the mail.

I took a trip to the bank this morning and saw that most of the stores and restaurants were closed...except for Denny's. Robert made a trip to Home Depot, to find that it had closed at 8 AM, so he made his way over to Lowe's for some plastic sheeting. We've gathered some supplies - water, canned goods, flashlights/batteries, a radio, etc., just to be on the safe side. We are expecting to lose power, but I'm not sure for how long. Our biggest concern is flying debris that could damage windows and trees falling on the roof. The wind is expected to be at max 100 mph. It's a category 2 hurricane, as far as I know, right now, and may get up to a category 3. But it's also a very large storm, taking up 80% of the Gulf of Mexico.

This will be my last post until the storm passes. It's expected to make landfall early tomorrow morning (Saturday) between 1 and 3 AM and be gone by Sunday. Pray for the Houston/Sugar Land area. Also pray for those that decided to stay on the coast...I'm afraid they aren't going to make it through this one.

I will update the blog as soon as possible after the storm passes - depending on our power and internet situation. Thanks for your prayers.

Part Two of catching up

So, after moving, we headed to the beach...Destin to be exact. It just so happened that Destin is pretty much a half-way mark between here and where my parents live. So we met in the middle! We had a great vacation with my parents and grandmother. It was a great escape from the mess that we had in our house...so much of an escape that I didn't take any pictures. BUT, before you say that I'm an awful parent for not documenting our vacation, my dad and mom took plenty of pictures...that I'm hoping to get copies of. So, the only one on this computer is of us on the youth beach trip. Anyways, the vacation was just what we needed.

Coming back to a mess of a house was not on our list of "things we are excited about".

Alas, Robert started school and is getting to a place where his body is slowly catching up with his feet. He has been busy, busy, busy! But that is to be expected for a first year teacher. We are slowly adjusting to a school schedule, after being in a ministry schedule for so long.

Another big, new event is that Bo and I started last week at a Children's Day Out program! I am working as the music teacher on Tuesdays and a "floater" on Thursdays. I know, get all your laughs out now. Teaching music to toddlers thru 5 year olds. So, this year I'll be singing a lot of "Jesus Loves Me", "If You're Happy and You Know It" and "This Little Light of Mine". Keep laughing.

So, I am on Robert's computer and thought, "There are probably not any pictures on here I could use for the blog...but let me just check." This is what I found. I think Robert was "practicing" his photo skills for his classes. I had no idea. Sorry, honey, this is too funny.

Fencing or sword fighting with golf club.

Who knows...really.

"I love golf club."


"Me and my golf club are one. He helps me think."

And We're Back!!

Wow. Way too much happening in the last 2 months to give full details, so I've created a time-line...

July 13 - last day of Robert's youth ministry job

July 14 - start packing (probably should have started this sooner)

July 17 - moving guys come for the big stuff, church guys come for the boxes

July 18, 19, 20, 21, 22 - These were long days...

Go back and forth between new home and old apartment (too many times) getting everything else that wasn't previously boxed and moved (pretty much the whole kitchen, plus lots of other random stuff)

Go back and forth between Lowe's, Home Depot and Sears searching for a washing machine, dryer and refrigerator (trying to get a good deal)

Eat at Chik-Fil-A every other day, b/c we had no refrigerator and to take advantage of their free Wi-Fi, b/c we had no internet

Play "The Jungle Book" on the computer (b/c our TV wasn't set up yet) for Bo about a thousand times to keep him entertained and out of the chaotic mess of moving boxes and stuff

Have sweet, sweet friends take Bo off our hands so we could really get some work done

Kill numerous ants, spiders and roaches (the last of these are definitely bigger in Texas)

Clean, disinfect, de-germ, vacuum, mop, Clorox entire house

Have several different "fix-it" guys come by for a broken dishwasher, a broken oven and non-working electrical outlets


So much fun in so little time! And there's more to come...

Here's a random pic to enjoy while I try to find the memory card with all the most recent photos. Robert and Bo blowing bubbles on our old porch.

Airplanes...again.

As I said before, I only got one picture of our family at the beach. HOWEVER, I forgot that Robert took some pictures of a little father-son outing they went on when we were in Florida. To give me a break and some play time on the beach, Robert took Bo to the Naval Aviation Museum. How much fun for a two-year old to be able to see full-size airplanes and helicopters up-close and get to sit in the cockpits!! So here are my boys enjoying their day...



"May-day, may-day, I think I'm hit. Pull up, pull up!"





"I'm trying to fly here, Dad."

FWI - flying while intoxicated?

A long time ago, before we even had Bo, I think, I found these popsicle molds on clearance. I finally took them out for a nice summertime treat! Yummy raspberry lemonade popsicle on a hot, Texas day!


I really think my child is a genius sometimes. This is what I found on the fridge. Don't know what the "E" stands for. Maybe it's a message...what do you think?

Update on the housing situation: I think we finally have something. Long story, maybe for another day.

Bummer - 2x

The first bummer is a pretty big one. We had to terminate the contract on the house. Too many major issues and the seller couldn't budge on price or offer any money for repairs. So, I believe the Lord has something better for us in store. I am not so disappointed, only frustrated that we have to start the process over again, which is prolonging the unknown. More time to practice patience and perseverance! Oh, how I love these lessons in godly character.

The second bummer is not so big. We only took one picture of our time at the beach (and it's not even on our camera)!! So we have no pictures documenting Bo's time on the beach or at the pool. There are good reasons...the biggest one being that I was with Bo by myself most of the time when we were on the beach, and I didn't feel like I could take pictures of him and keep him from drowning at the same time. He is just fearless when it comes to the water. Which is a blessing that he is not screaming bloody murder b/c he doesn't like the sand or the waves. But, I had to be the mother eagle, hovering over him as he would just take off by himself towards the water.

All in all, we had a great time digging in the sand and watching Bo enjoy the ocean. It is definitely exhausting taking a toddler to the beach!

So, what activities are exhausting for you, but well worth spending the extra energy?

I'll leave you with a picture of Bo enjoying some pancakes, made with freshly picked blueberries, given to us by some dear friends.

Big News...

View Larger Map

No, we are not pregnant. We are MOVING!! Robert has accepted a position teaching art and photography at a small Christian private school in a city called Sugar Land. It's just outside of Houston. (see map) We are really excited about this new job as it gets Robert back into art, which is a huge passion and a huge talent of his. Something some of you may have never known about him! He is a quiet man and definitely not one to boast.

The Lord has provided greatly for us in our search for a home. We put in a competing offer (which later we found out was the lower offer) on a house, and they accepted ours! As my good friend and mentor, Jody, would say, "God's fingerprints are all over this!" Through the process of transitioning and house hunting, I found myself becoming anxious (fear) and have been convicted of my lack of trust that the Lord would provide. Not that I was constantly not trusting, but it was very easy to fear that, well, frankly, I wouldn't get what I wanted! How selfish! Gross. But a quote from the little book entitled, Jesus Calling, helped me in my times of fear..."Let trust and thankfulness stand guard...". Trust to drive away fear and thankfulness to drive away discontent. I think whatever our situations, this is always a good word.

So, we are definitely excited about getting out of apartment living and into a nice little neighborhood, with a community pool!! We also have a great backyard (see below)and am so excited that we won't have to drive to the park just to play outside! And, a friend from church lives in the neighborhood, and her 2nd son is Bo's age! Why was I fearful and lacked faith?



Lord willing, the inspection will go well and our closing date will be on/around July 11th. Robert will start his new job Aug. 7th or 8th.

Also, Lord willing, we will be leaving tomorrow (Sunday), to head to Pensacola, FL, for our high school beach trip. We are meeting up with our old youth group from Memphis! I am so excited to get to go to the beach, and see old friends! This will be Bo's first extended time at the beach, so I am excited to see how he likes it!

Finally, I leave you with this...I call it, "Camo Cowboy Conductor" or "What happens when a toddler picks out his outfit in the middle of summer".

Happy Birthday, Bo! Again.

My friend, Nancy, and I decided to have a joint birthday party for Bo and her son, Ben. Their birthdays are 3 days apart. I really wanted to be able to celebrate with some of Bo's new little friends from church, so that's why we celebrated more than once. If this trend continues, Bo is going to think it's his birthday all the time - which means more cupcakes and more presents. He is still asking for more of both.

We had a construction vehicles theme because both the boys love them. It was great to have somebody to split the responsibilities with! I understand now why some parents are so reluctant to have these parties...especially at their own houses! Thank goodness the weather was nice, so we could have our party at the park! It worked out great! Even the pizza delivery guy delivers to the park!



Bo decided he only wanted the icing...giving me back the slobber soaked cake part after he was done licking.


This is our little friend, Ben, really enjoying his cupcake!


This is some of the chaos of a 2-year-old's birthday party...mom's wiping, boys with sticks...not too bad!
Remember our butterfly princess? She and Bo really love each other...most of the time. She was really sweet to him at his party, pushing him around in his big dump truck...what more could a man want? A ride in a big dump truck courtesy of a cute older woman, while enjoying a cupcake?