Beach Weekend~

This past weekend I had the privelage of going away with some of the ladies from our Sunday School class to Myrtle Beach for the weekend. We had the BEST time. It was the first time that I have left both the boys and Ed for the weekend. The boys had a awesome time with their Daddy they have been telling me all about it since I got back and they were quite sad to learn he had to go back to work today and wasn't taking them for another polar bear swim (more on that to come later). I enjoyed so much this weekend while I was gone so I made a short list of my weekend blessings:

*Getting to share and learn more about some of the wonderful ladies I was with (19 of them!)

*not having to take care of anyone else for three whole days!

* staying up late and sleeping in until after 9am!

*eatting my dinner when it was nice and hot

* reading part of a book

* shopping without pushing a stoller

*going to the movie sand seeing an adult movie (Inception)

*going to the bathroom and showering all by myself (hey its the little things! =)

*laughing with other Moms

*Swimming in the ocean

*Riding in the car without handing over toys or listening to veggie tales

I could go on and on. I am so thanful that I was able to sneak away for a few day and greatful that my wondeful husband took care of the boys and even cleaned the house and had all of the laundry done when I got home. It was a much need break and I got some great R & R.

Wordless Wednesday~

Not exactly what I was trying to capture...

Zoo

This week Aunt Rhonda came in for a few days with Kayla and Aidan. We usually try to get together when the kids are out of school for a few days and this Summer was slipping away so we threw it into this week! We didn't take a lot of pictures but here are a few from the day we decided to head to the Zoo when it was 100+ degrees.

We got a picture of all 4 kiddos looking at us after taking about 20 of them but hey its worth it right.

Christian 3 Aidan 6 Benjamin 2 and Kayla 9. Love this picture of Benjamin grinning as he is "flying" the plane he is soooo mischevious! Another picture of all the kiddos climbing up on the JeepBenjamin and AidanBenjamin and Kayla Kayla & Aidan- they acutally like having their picture taken now.
It was a HOT day to be at the Zoo but the kids had a blast and we got to see a lot of the animals. We look forward to all going back again...when the weather is much cooler.

Homemade

Pizza!! This past weekend we made pizza at home with the boys. The LOVE when they are able to help in the kitchen.

I have come to realize that ordering pizza is not nearly as fun as making it at home (not to mention a lot less money). Here are the boys with our pizza crust super excited to help make dinner!

Spreading the sauce- he looks so big to me in this pictureBoth boys adding some cheese Pepperoni- they put some on the pizza but they also enjoyed a few pieces =) Waiting for it to bake Love this picture of Benjamin even those his mouth is full of delicious pizza My big man enjoying his pizza as well MMMM Good! Cheese- I cannot believe this boy is only 3 months away from being 4!!

Role of Love in Mothering~

I must admit that I am "stealing" this from a friend of mine (Thanks Pam). She posted it on her website and it stepped on my toes just a little bit. I felt like it was worth sharing. Enjoy~

"As I've thought about the role of love in mothering, I've been stimulated by 1 Corinthians 13, which I have paraphrased:


If I keep my house immaculatley clean, and am envied by all for my interior decorating but do not show love in my family-- I am just another housewife.

If I'm producing lovely-things --sewing, art; if I always look attractive, and speak intelligently, but am not loving to my family-- I am nothing.

If I'm busy in community affairs, teach Sunday School, and drive in the carpool, but fail to give adequate love to my family-- I am gain nothing.

Love changes diapers, cleans up messes, and ties shoes-- over and over again.

Love is kind, even though tired and frazzeled.

Love does not envy another wife-- whose children are "spaced" better, or in school so she has time to pursue her own interests.

Love does not try to impress others with my abilities or knowledge as a mother.

Love doesn't scream at the kids.

Love doesn't feel cheated because I didn't get to do what I wanted to do today--sew, read, soak in a hottub.

Love doesn't lose my temper easily.

Love doesn't assume that my children are being naughty because their noise level is irritating.

Love doesn't rejoice when other peoples children misbehave and make mine look good. Love is genuinely happy when others are honored by their children."

Wordless Wednesday~

365.....

days ago we sat in an office in Cary and signed a mound of papers so that..... we could once again be home owners!!
It is so hard to believe that we have already lived in our house for a year. We love our house and the memories that we have made, looking forward to creating many more this 2nd year!

Reason # 5,190,608......

I love my husband. He brings me flowers and on top of that gets a great picture of my boys with them!

Hot & Ready!

While we were at the beach the new Krispy Kreme in Wake Forest opened up! Its a Hot & Ready store!! So of course we made it one of our first stop Monday morning to give it a try.The boys were excited about their chocolate doughnutsLook at that excitment! MMMM Good! Love those chubby cheeks and big ol' brown eyes!Watching the doughnuts come off of the beltbut.....of course we celebrated by having doughnuts one morning at the beach =)

As he takes a bite...how many doughnuts did we get??
We have been fans of dalight doughnuts but I must say we may be in trouble now that Krispy Kreme has arrived in Wake Forest!

A Little Extra Fun~

I took Christian with me to run a few errands Sunday one of our stops was the mall. We had never been to kidfest I had seen signs about it but never knew exactly what it was. As we pulled into the parking lot we saw all kinds of fun things going on...bounce houses, side walk chalk, a man making balloon animals, face painting, train rides and more. We went over and stopped for a few minutes. Here are a couple of shots of the fun Christian had.

He was beside himeself with excitment about riding the train the first car looked like Thomas! Here he is already to go! He made it very clear he was riding by himself.
Heading out The whole train- Christian is in the red car in the back.The balloon man he asked Christian what he wanted him to make and right away he said an orange dog.
and an orange dog is what he got =) The sad part was when it popped and we had to get back in line for another 20 minutes to get a new one! It was a lot of fun and we now know that it happens every second and fourth Sunday through Septemeber. It is all FREE so you can bet we will be going back again! If you have never been you should try it.