worker bee

One quality that Sam (and Molly too) has is DETERMINATION and a STRONG WORK ETHIC. When he wants to do something, when he wants you to do something, and when money is involved, or if he thinks it is 'man' work that either Pa or Daddy do he will get 'er done.Pa was going to get mulch for his flower beds at the mulch place (who knows what it is really called?) We needed some too, so I asked if he could drop a load off for us as well. Sam was the mulch helper. He was excited to go and see the hauler load the mulch into the truck. He knew it needed to be scooped out of the truck and into a pile on the drive way. This. Is. "MAN's". Work.

And work he did.

Scoop by Scoop by Scoop

I am sure proud of that little boy! (oh, and pretty thankful for the mulch delivery right to my door by Lupe as well ;) )

God's beautiful promises

We have had a lot of crazy big storms here lately. Tornadoes, hail, 80 MPH winds. But God has kept us safe, and the sun has always come out. We have been looking for rainbows all spring. It has been great to talk about what a rainbow really is and God's promise behind it. I know that the kids still don't quite grasp it, but they do know that our God is powerful, faithful and true. He keeps us safe, and keeps His promises.

It was ugly as we were driving home from church a couple of weeks ago. The sky was very dark in the East and sunny in the West and it was raining on us. Sam looked out the window and said "I see a rainbow!!" I looked over and sure enough, there it was. A. full .rainbow. We saw where it started and where it ended. I pulled the car over we looked at it and of course the kids sang the rainbow song- then sang it again and again and again... oh and then they sang it again...
Isn't our God good?!

But Mama, I am hungry AND tired!!!

We were all playing in the playroom upstairs. I got a phone call and was talking on the phone, Molly went missing... and was quiet... too quiet. I could here movement of some sort, but couldn't figure out what is was, or where it was coming from. I assumed (I know, I know, bad thing to do with Molly) that she was just playing in the hallway at the top of the stairs with the toys she had just recently dragged out there, but I did not see her there. I could hear something again, but still no Molly, I looked down the hall and into her room, then Sam's room. Uh oh I thought, what could she possibly be into... too quiet for too long. then I looked over the balcony and saw a cute little sight... unusual, but cute...
but why is the camera ALWAYS in the spot just past the child, so that you have to disrupt them by getting it?!... I digress.....
Apparently she was tired AND hungry... so she solved both issues at once. She had taken it upon herself to open up the cheerios container and fill up her cup (but not before spilling the cheerios all over the floor--- which she 'attempted' to clean up as to not show that she had made a mess :) ) grabbed her beloved blanket, headed to the bottom step and laid down. Then she munched on the cheerios in this horizontal position. and giggled when asked what she was doing!!!

M&M's are sooo sweet

Sam is in the M&M program at church (Music and Missions) on wed nights. For the last night they sang for the church... you can go here and here to see my sweet boy sing... (yup, proud mama moment!!) Isn't he just the cutest happiest little guy!!!! He is standing next to his friend (named none other than "Samuel") Thankfully he is known by his name and not "theothersamuel" hee hee. I know, I know, both of my kids have friends with the same name, you would think we picked the top names of the year or something!!
Just think, next year both molly and Sam will be up there singing--- can't wait (hopefully Molly will not replace the 'flasher' role ha ha!!!)

fireman

I set up a play group for some of our friends for each week during the summer. We have a lot of fun things planned (or at least I think so) Mainly parks and splash parks, zoo, etc... We started the summer off by visiting a local park. A friend of mine suggested visiting the local fire station that is right next to the park, so we did!!! i am so glad she suggested it, I think it was a hit with both moms and kids alike!

We had a nice caravan walking over to the fire station... Sam has developed a sweet friendship with Trent. Trent is 2 months older than Molly, but you see, he is a BOY. Poor Sam, ALL of his friends are GIRLS.... ALLLLLL of them! So, whenever Trent shows up, Sam gets pretty excited, even if he is 2 years older... you see, Trent likes to run and jump and play cars!!!! Molly could take Trent or leave him, but she tends to like him the most when Sam is around (he is "Sam-approved" therefore she can accept him!!)



Sam takes on the big-brother role when Trent is around as well.











Of course the fire truck was called out prior to us arriving, so we had to wait... what better place to wait then the curb :) Molly, Sam, Trent, and "theotherMolly" (believe it or not, Molly's little friend "Molly" is like 2 weeks older than her. unfortunately we have differentiated her and my Molly by saying "the other Molly" soooo, that means that that is what my Molly calls her--- "theotherMolly", that is her name. I have tried to change this, but not sure that it is working, so for now she will be called "theotherMolly" (sorry Molly)

The Firemen were soo good!! The audience was young, but they were super. We all got firemen helmets, stickers and coloring sheets!!











You could definitely tell the older kids "got" it more... but still fun. They showed us all of their equipment (and reminded the kids to not be scared if they ever saw this crazy get up!) The kids listened pretty well.

night, night. sleep tight

We have been problems with Molly staying in bed at night. (well, during nap time too--- but since she no longer naps who can expect her to stay in bed right?! GRRRRR)
Apparently the floor has been a better place for her. This is where we find her when we check on her right before we head to bed. This is where we find her when we get her up in the morning.
Remember this?!
We think it has a little bit to do with the fact that we have been without our best friend in the whole wide world (pacifier) She has been in mourning. literally. mourning. it has been rough. very rough.

for all my fellow nurses...

If you are a nurse, be sure to stop by Cinnabon between May 6th and May 12th and show your Healthcare Badge. You will get a FREE Cinnabon Roll. Yum!

for all my fellow nurses...

If you are a nurse, be sure to stop by Cinnabon between May 6th and May 12th and show your Healthcare Badge. You will get a FREE Cinnabon Roll. Yum!

deals around town

Participating Starbucks locations will be offering Half-Priced However-You-Want-It Frappuccino Blended Beverages starting May 6 – May 15 from 3 – 5 pm.

Be sure to check with your store before going to see if they will be participating!

“Chadwick’s”, is having a buy one get one free sale going on. Their site is: www.chadwicks.com and the coupon code is: CH30059 and is valid through May 12^th

Walgreens is offering a FREE 8×10 Collage Print thru Saturday when you enter the code FREECOLLAGE at checkout. You can pick it up at your local Walgreens when you are ready (don’t have to be same day).Update: You can also get a second 8×10 collage when you use the code FORMOM at checkout--- that is 2 FREE!!!

make lemonaid out of lemons

have you ever heard that phrase? That is what Sam decided to do when he found my ace bandages from when I sprained my ankle.
What else is a rambunctious little boy suppose to do when his mom wont take him anywhere and just sits on the couch when she is not hobbling around the house?
Steal her ace bandages and create roads for his cars...

where could they be?! I can't see!!!

It has been really windy here. Whatever is in the air (or as Kirk says, "my allergies") has really affected my eyes. I needed to take out my contacts and wear my glasses. I could not find them. Anywhere. I looked EVERYWHERE. They were gone. BUT I knew that I had last placed them on my new night stand beside the bed. It was not the problem of remembering where I last placed them, it was where could Molly have put them. I knew I was in trouble and had decided I might never find them. I had to wear a pair of glasses from like 10 years ago. They are twisted, a weaker prescription, uneven, paint stained and of course a wee bit out of style. I had no other choice. The next day something across the room caught my eye...

Something on top of my lamp was not quite right.

yup. it is. my glasses.

Now I know the where, but will I ever know how or why?

bluebonnets take 1

Well, it is that time yet again, time to head to the bonnets and get some beautiful pictures. Hmmm, well, I have seen MANY pictures that people have of their children sitting in a patch of bluebonnets, they are all so cute, so fun, so Texas! Then there is me. I have managed to go to the bluebonnets every year since Sam was born... yes, his initial blue bonnet exposure was when he was just a couple of weeks old. At first, I took the blame, I am not a good photographer, The sun was in the sky and the kids were squinting etc etc. But I have finally decided... it is not me, it is for sure my subjects... But still, I try....It was a nice day, but windy. very, very windy

She wanted to leave, as soon as we got there...

here are a few blasts from the past... wonder why I never posted last year?! :)2009 2008

bluebonnets take 2

It did not go so well in the first patch, so I thought I would break things up, get in the car and drive to another patch. It had to go better right?! Well, the GIRL still would NOT cooperate for ANYTHING. she would not look at the camera or smile--- this is the best shot I got of her face...

bluebonnets take 3

honestly, 3 times? well, as they say... 3rd time is the charm right? I decided to bring in the reinforcements (Kirk) It was a nice afternoon, still windy, but it had died down some. The 3rd bonnet patch was just beautiful--- this was going to be perfect, we even saw some friends of ours when we first got there...There were not a lot of smiles for some unknown reason. There were more bribes, deals made, and then eventually threats. None of which worked. Instead of smiles, this is what we got...

But something must have worked--- here are a few good ones...

the good ones

and out of 3 different bluebonnet patches, 227 pictures... HERE are the good ones...

See you again next year!

Life is great with a BIG pickle

It was late, the kids were tired and cranky, (as was their mommy) we ended up eating at McDonalds and then running into the store very quickly looking for something very specific. Though we did not find what we went for, we did manage to get several other things...
Including, but not limited to a HUGE jar of GIANT pickles.Sam experienced his first Giant pickle at the State fair last year and LOVED it. When we saw these at the store we just had to have them (Kirk included) It was an impulse buy

But I think it won a two thumbs up!!!

comfy?!

We have been having a LOT of trouble with Molly and bed time/nap time. I am sure it is partly because we have taken away her addiction (green pacifier) but now I think it is her "new routine"
After one very trying day (when are they not lately?!) It got quiet for a little bit so I thought I had better check on her and be sure she was not destroying her room etc... This is what I found.Is she seriously using the book case shelf as a pillow?!

5 years of Samuel

And here we go, 5 years of pictures...
You were late, I did not think you would EVER come I gotta tell you, it is hard to see thta due date come and then go! . The labor lasted for days, and Finally progressed once my water broke (on daddy's side of the bed no less :) ) We called everyone and headed to the hospital (during rush hour traffic on a Monday morning) I was brave for only so long--- I changed my mind and was able to get my epidural as soon as we arrived at the hospital--- I was at a 6!! You would be here very, very soon (or so we thought). About 7 hours later -- that sweet boy who had been doing flip-flops for months was on his way out (or so we thought) I pushed for about 2 hours--- you stopped tolerating it, I struck a fever and so a very quick c-section ensued... You did not look very good and did not scream so my NICU team rushed in to work with you for a few minutes. God is so good, He gave us a BEAUTIFUL, healthy baby boy. Such a miracle and an answer to many, many prayers.At one year you are FULL of energy. You do not stop for a minute. You rolled over by 3 months, started crawling at 4 months and 1 week and started taking steps around 8 months, though you refused to go passed that 7th step until right after your birthday... and boy, once you realized you could walk you decided running was even more fun! I enjoyed watching all of your milestones, even though it meant that you no longer wanted to sit and snuggle past 4 months!. You are very curious this first year and into everything!At 2 you are into even more things! What a curious little boy. During this year I realize why they call it the "terrible two's" Just 2 1/2 short months after you turned 2, your little world turned upside down ~ we added little Miss Molly into the mix and you were not quite sure about her. You did like all of the individual attention you got while mommy and Molly were in the hospital, but then we came home... You got to experience many fun and exciting new things this year, there were many trips to the park, the zoo, the fair, pumpkin patches etc etc. It takes you a little while to warm up to new things, but once you do you enjoy it all.At 3 you turned from the "terrible two's" into the "trying three's"!! This was more of a battle of wills year for you. You are gaining more independence, and love to learn new things. You love playing your friends and have developed a love/hate relationship with Molly. You like to help mommy and daddy with the chores, but also just like hanging out with us. I can already see your protective nature when I watch you with your sister. Though it has been a trying year, you are still very tender-hearted and sweet. You love to give out hugs and kisses and your smile can melt away anyone's bad day 4... boy, 4... what a unique year. Lot's of transitions take place this year. You are much more independent, though always have an eye on mommy or daddy. Your language has really taken off and you can hold actual little conversations with people. Molly is your best friend as well as your worst enemy, but if anyone was to mess with her--- they better watch out, you are a great protector and big brother. This is true to your sweet (though stubborn) nature. You still have a ton of energy, but I can see through the year how you are actually growing and maturing. You still like puzzles and outside play, but no one will ever accuse you of drawing or coloring too much! All of your friends are female, and you enjoy it! You love your bike, warm weather and winning at any game.

And here we are... 5 years old. You are so excited about being 5!! You know that by being 5 you are growing up and get a lot more privileges. You are so excited about starting school in the fall and ask about it nearly everyday. You are actually listening to us much better. You are FINALLY starting to realize that every action has a consequence and we can somewhat reason with you. You are really into DADDY right now and want to do EVERYTHING he does. We are really enjoying #5 so far (and it has only been a couple of weeks) and look forward to what all this exciting year holds.