Welcoming Summer. . .

with one of life's most simple pleasures. . .

an ice cold bottle of Coca Cola. . .

You'd have thought I had given the boys the moon!!!!

To our Joshua. . .

It is so nice to have you home during the day again. I've missed you, my sweet little helper friend! And, I think your brothers have missed you, as well.

So, welcome back, little man. Welcome back into the daily routine.

Your presence is a sweet addition to our day!! You add joy and laughter, creativity and fun to every minute! Man, how we've missed having you around all day.

We think you are pretty special.

I take that back, we know you are.

JCT-ball!!!

He has watched for two years as his big brother played a handful of sports. He has gripped the chain link fences, watching intently, waiting his turn, wishing, praying, asking, hoping. . .

And, his day finally came. . .

Finally, after years of waiting. . .

Only, bless his heart, it wasn't quite that easy. . .

His first scheduled T-ball game was cancelled due to a high school play-off game. His second game was cancelled again because the high school team won and moved on and once again was playing. . .

Finally, finally his team was scheduled to play their first game. We counted down the days, the hours. . . But, when that long awaited morning finally came, JCT woke up and said that his "neck" hurt. Daddy took JCT to work with him and tested my little man for strep.

Positive.

Then, Monday he woke up to a sunny happy day, this was, once again, to be his first t-ball game finally!! Hurray!!!!

"Will it rain today, Mommy? Will they cancel my game?" he asked. I assured him that it was sunny with only a 20% chance of rain!

Fast forward 6 hours, and the rain clouds rolled into our little town. And, as I drove around running errands, there was no denying the thunder and lightning that indicated that he would once again not be able to play. His little voice hopeful from the back of the van, "Maybe it will just rain a minute, and they will not cancel my game."

Tears shed with each and every cancellation.

But, last night FINALLY, my little man got to play in his first game EVER!!!!

Number 23 ~ like Lebron James. . .

One of my favorite things about t-ball is the way the entire outfield leaves their positions and runs for the ball after it is hit!!! You simply cannot stop them!!! So cute!!!

And, here he is, my little man, up to bat for the very first time. He waited a long time for that moment!!!!!!

Running to first. . .

Whoa! Wait a second! Who is that handsome coach watching him run??!!

Joshua helped out by placing the ball back on the tee. He loved being a part!!!

It was a good evening! I was so happy for my little man!!! He finally got to play!!!!!!!!

And, now somebody else is gripping the fence and waiting his turn. . .

It won't be long, little Lijah. . .

All A's All Year!!

Good job!! We are so proud of you, Buddy!!! You are truly growing in wisdom and stature faster than we ever imagined!!!

You have matured so much this year. If we have heard it once, we have heard it a thousand times, "Joshua is such a sweet boy." I love you, and I am proud of you no matter what grades you make. Because, you, my little friend, you, have what it takes. And, I can't wait to see what our God has in store for your life. You are unique and precious ~ our first amazing little gift from God.

I sat high up in the bleachers and watched you before the program began. I watched as you talked quietly with your friends. I'm so proud of you, sweet son.


You make mama's heart smile! :-) I love you!!

Kickin' it Old School

Lately, Joshua has been entertaining himself by watching an ESPN Classic game that Erik recorded for him. It is from sometime in the eighties, and it is a game between North Carolina and Georgia ~ staring MJ. Joshua was instantly intruiged by the short shorts and long socks!!

So, today he and JCT decided to play eighties basketball. Check out these knees. . .

I overheard Joshua tell JCT, "That's it now. . . Tuck your shirt into your shorts. Then pull your shorts up! Pull your shorts up as high as you can!! That's it!! As high as you can get them!! You got it, James! Now you look like they used to!!! That's it!!"

What will they come up with next????

The Swagger Wagon

Once in college Bible study some of the girls got into a discussion where they all agreed that they would never drive a mini-van when they had children!!! Then, suddenly one of them who has been to our home several times remembered that I just happen to drive a mini-van!! In an attempt to make up for the things they had just said, they compared Erik and I to the couple in the Swagger Wagon commercial. So, without further ado. . .

Erik says, "This is going out to all you sippy cup totin', chicken nuggets and fries on the floorboard, carseat clippin' mamas and daddys out there! Word!"

Just imagine Erik and I singing this to you. It is sure to make you smile!!! :-)

EMBED-Toyota Sienna - Swagger Wagon - Watch more free videos

Erik's 40th Birthday Surprise Getaway!!!!

Make video montages at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Feeling a few inches lighter. . .

Mother's Day Happy

On Mother's Day the big boys had the grand idea to wash my van as a little happy for me. . .
But, I'm not sure who was more happy ~ me or the silly boys washing my van!!!!!

Sweet boys!! I love them so much!!!!!!

Fishing

Yes, we have a pond in our backyard, and, yes, our boys love to fish. So, why do we rarely walk out the backdoor and take our littles fishing??? Well, I'll tell you why I don't. . .

1.) I cannot bring myself to spear an innocent little wiggly worm. Cannot do it. Not now. Not ever. Never. And. . .

2.) I can hardly bear to watch the poor fish fight and squirm until we throw it back into the pond. And, I cannot stand the thought that we just tricked it into eating food with a hidden sharp surprise in it that was meant to hurt them for our pleasure.


It just seems wrong to me.


Maybe even a little mean. But, I will say it keeps my boys somewhat quiet and busy and content for a long period of time. And, for that I rather enjoy it!! I really have no problem with the idea of fishing as long as I don't have to be the one sticking a hook through a worm!! :-)


Pop took them fishing, and it was such a hit that Erik and I took them again later in the weekend after Pop left. "Erik and I" is actually not so true. I was present. I had nothing to do with the actual fishing, but I was present complete with. . .

my lawn chair, designer jeans, and chai latte.

Ahhh, country life!!!!!!

You gotta love it!

JCT's Preschool Graduation. . .

Last Thursday evening my 2nd oldest graduated from preschool!! I always love a reason to celebrate one of my children, so this was a fun occasion for mom and son!!!

First, all the kiddos came out and sang a few songs. . .


JCT is not shy, not at all, but he was very serious and focused throughout this event. That was so funny to me!!!


He is on the top row far left. Afton is on the second row, second child on the right. She smiled the entire time she sang, silly girl!!!

Then, the graduates left and came back in their caps and gowns!

My big little man. . .

Here he is with a few graduate friends of his. . .

This is J. Her mama works with Erik. . .

This is another little buddy. . .


This is one of JCT's ballgame buddies. He has a big brother Joshua's age, so JCT and this little guy play while their big brothers play their baseball games. I love the look on my little man's face. . .
And, here he is with his buddy/cousin/sister/whatever you'd like to call our sweet Miss A. I love how absolutely comfortable they are around each other!!!! And, how JCT looks all protective of her!!!They look so old!! Our babies are growing up!!!!

JCT with his sweet teacher. . .

Pop got to be here for this happy evening!!!! Here he is with his biggest fan. . .

And, here is a family picture minus Elijah!!! He kept moving in and out of the picture!!

I am so proud of you, little man!!! You are so smart and so sweet, and we love you so much!!! We think you have what it takes!!!!!!

Beware of the Tomatoes. . .

The last two weekends we have been bombarded by bad weather!! And, in preparation, we have turned chairs over, removed things from our back porch, etc. All the while we are making our storm preparations an adorable little red-headed, now three year old, is running around announcing, "The tomatoes are coming!! The tomatoes are coming!!!"

Obviously, he means tornadoes, but we are not correcting him because we think it is too cute!!!! :-) All of my sons have inherited a healthy fear of severe weather from their mama. I am just so thankful that I have a husband who keeps close tabs on the weather. Between him and Deana B, I know that I will always be alerted if severe weather is in our area. Erik watches closely, and he makes the call if and when we need to get in our "safe place."

I'm sorry, but I just love that terminology ~ "your safe place." That is what the meteorologists on our local TV stations say. They say, "If you live in northern such and such county, you have about 5 minutes before a very serious and dangerous tornado will be coming through your area. You need to get in your safe place at this time."

I just love the sound of it. When the kids are acting wild and crazy ~ tearing through the house like a tornado, I wish that I could just look at Erik and say, "Hey, I'll be back. I'm going to my safe place for a little while." I think, for me, my safe place would be a really comfy chair with a soft throw, a good book, and a cup of coffee.

Sorry, I got sidetracked!!! Here are the boys after the cute little weather girl suggested that a certain town near us go to their safe place and cover themselves with blankets and pillows to protect themselves from flying debris ~ an encouraging thought. :-( Anyway, the boys got every pillow on the lower level of our house and played under them.

Some people were having fun during the threatening weather. . .

And, some were taking the weather very seriously. . .Rain is not fond of severe storms with a lot of lightning and loud thunder. But, actually, the severe weather we experienced this past weekend, eerily, did not have a lot of thunder or lightning with it. In fact, most of the time the weather seemed very calm, but you knew that the tomatoes were just a county away, and you could feel the instability in the air. If you grew up in the south, you know what I mean. When it is extremely humid with a strange warm breeze and the sky is a funny grey/green, you know it is not a good thing. The tomatoes are lurking just around the corner!!!! Beware! Keep your weather radio on and stay close to your safe place.

Elijah kept telling us what he was gonna do to the tomatoes if they came to our house. He is our little tough guy, and he had a plan to beat up those tomatoes and throw them out of our town!!!

Well, thank, You, Jesus, we did not have to fight off any bad tomatoes!!! But, we did get 7+ inches of rain. This is a picture of the edge of our property. There is not supposed to be a pond there!!! The amount of rain was amazing ~ like nothing I have ever experienced before!!!

I just pray that those scary tomatoes will leave us alone for a while ~ makes me ready for summer!!!!

The little man is growing up! This week we, as a family, experienced Joshua's very first coach-pitch baseball game, and it was a very fun ordeal!! Joshua loved it, and JCT is more excited than ever about the beginning of his t-ball season!! This summer, for the first time, we will be juggling sports activities for two children!! Thankfully, we live in a small town with one very large park that hosts all of the city's baseball games including the high school and jr. college games! So, even if the boys have games at the same time, at least they will be at the same location!!

Now, on to some important pictures from this momentous occasion!! Here is the little man in the outfield, (he is the little boy in the center). . .Here he is hitting. . .

Now, running to first ~ "Go, Joshua, go!!! Run, run, run!!!!!!". . .
On third, waiting for a chance to run home. . .


Coming home for the first time in his little career. . .

I was a little concerned about Joshua playing baseball this summer. For starters he just turned 7, so he is as young as one can be and play in the league he is in. And, that kind of makes mama nervous! And, also, Erik and Sean are coaching JCT and Afton's t-ball team, so for the very first time in his life, his Daddy is not his coach. Yikes!! We skipped baseball last year, so not only is Joshua the youngest kid on his team, but he also has less experience playing the game than all the other boys.

So, months ago I began praying that God would give him a sweet and encouraging coach who would help him learn the game and catch up with the bigger boys. I was so afraid that he would get a coach who was more interested in winning than in teaching my little man to his best!

And, guess what? God is so good! He gave Joshua a great head coach!!! In fact, his first time up to bat, Joshua swung at and missed his first two pitches. Thankfully, he hit his third!! But, after each of his first two attempts, his sweet coach encouraged him from the pitcher's mound, "Good swing, Buddy!! That was a great swing! Now, keep your eye on the ball! Here we go. . ." I can't tell you what a relief his coach's attitude was to me!!!! And, they have played two games so far and won them both! Go Cardinals!!!!!

Now, here are some behind the scenes pics from the game. . .

How cute is this little darling. . .


Here are some cute little boys getting some love from "Nana Betty". . .

This is a good friend of ours, Mrs. Wendy's, mama, and she loves my boys. She and "Papa Don" have the boys over to their home for ice cream and coke and all sorts of good treats! We are thankful for how they love our boys. . .

And, one last look at the little baseball player. . .

The boys are really enjoying baseball season! JCT keeps asking when he gets to go to t-ball practice again. And, the little boys enjoy running ALL OVER the park chasing dogs and other children, etc. during games and practices. I am getting a workout, I assure you!! Thankfully, inevitably, someone will stop me from chasing one of my littles and let me know that Joshua is up to bat!!!

It will be a crazy summer, but I wouldn't have it any other way! And, I am thankful that while I watch my sweet boys play, I get to hang out with some of my very favorite people from my little town. And, I am thankful that people in small towns tend to have the "it takes a village" mentality. And, there are lots of eyes helping me look out for my littles and lots of arms that hold them and lots of sweet older couples who don't mind at all if my little boys want to make friends with them and distract them from watching their grandchildren!!!

It should be a fun summer!