A long, long time!

I have really been bad at not blogging lately and I have no excuses! We haven't been busier than usual or traveling the world, just normal life in the good house!

Mike started his MBA a couple of weeks ago. We are really excited about that, it is something that he has always wanted to do and we figured why not now? He only goes 1 night a week for the next 2 years and then he will be finished. I am really glad that he has this opportunity and is following his dream. I could not go back to school at this point, I have no desire! So good for him!

Avery and Jake are doing well, they started school the beginning of Sept at Centennial Bible School, and they LOVE it! They are learning soo much! Not only are they learning alot about letters, numbers, shapes, sharing etc.. all the normal stuff that they go to preschool for, but they are learning bible stories!!! You should hear Jake tell you about Baby Moses being put in a basket and then he "floats" and Jesus took care of him until a nice lady took care of him! Too cute!!! They are really seem to "understand" the stories! I love it! I love that they are surrounded by people who teach them to live in our world for our saviour. That the rules we enforce are because that is what Jesus wants. How the bible stories apply to our daily lives. They are very happy there!

I have had a pretty good summer although over the past few days I have had a pretty weird and to be honest concerning headache/virtago/ dizzy spells. I can't really explain it and I am in no pain, I just don't know what is going on. I will figure it out though. No worries!

I will try to do better at keeping up!

WHEW!!

Finally, all caught up!!!

Touch A Truck

Today we went to the Carmel Touch A Truck @ the high school, and it was really cool! I had no idea what to expect, but nearly every stay @ home mom and kids in Carmel were there, and we had a great time!! We were joined by the Neales, Cooney's x2, Bracha's and all of the kids had fun learning about all of the firetrucks, army vehicles, school bus, John Deere digger and Indy Car! Too cute!!

We are blessed to have such a large group of old and new ( Hi Bracha's!!!) friends that share the same values, and experiences as us. The kids get along great and it is really fun to create great memories for them and with such great people on a daily basis.

July BBQ

We had some friends over on Saturday nite for a spur of the moment BBQ. We haven't done that for a while and it was very fun, relaxing and a great way to catch up! The kids had a ball too!

Babies Galore

There have been an awful lot of babies born among our friends lately, and I just wanted to update those of you who know them.

Brandi and Brad Neale had another girl, Estella Rose, on May 20th. Big sis Mallory is very proud!



Evan and Amy Hiple had another girl (their third) Parker Lynne July15th. Ella and Finley are keeping each other busy with dress up while mom is tending to the baby


Kristen and Steve Cooney had Kaitlyn Ashley on July 18th. Big brother Carter is as cute as ever and having a great time with all of the visitors coming to see them! I don't have a picture of them yet!
Jim and Julie Norman had their 1st baby last Friday nite Kendall Cassidy. I hear she is beautiful!
Finally, our friend Tammy Dock who lives in Atlanta, had her son today Eli. I hear he was 9 lbs! Go Tammy!!

Lots of happy families right now!! Congrats Everyone!!!

While we were gone!

As I mentioned, the kids and I were gone for 7 long days, and while Mike had a great time the first couple of days, (think poker, golf and more golf) after a while he started missing us and decided to redo the kids rooms! He painted Avery's and bought Jake a big boy bed and bedding! I had no idea that this was in the works! What a SURPRISE! Thankfully, my husband is talented and we have very similar tastes in decorating! Most women would shudder at the thought of their husband decorating with NO input from themselves, but I am lucky!

Pretty impressive huh?

Our trip to North Carolina

My mom, Aunt Edie, Aunt Agnes, the kids, the dog and I packed up my van and ventured out on a 12 hour drive to Raleigh, NC to visit my sister and her husband, Matthew. Crazy, you say? Probably! But we had a surprisingly low stress and smooth trip filled with lots of giggles and memories made! Mom, Agnes and I had done trips like this in the past, but it was the first time that Aunt Edie had joined us. She is my dad's sister, and the only girl in her family so a "girls trip" (sorry Jake and Matthew) is something she doesn't have much experience in. We did great!!

Julie and Matthew have a great house that was set up perfectly for us and we were all very comfortable. Avery and Jake surprisingly loved all 3 of their dogs, and Gizmo tortured them most of the time.

We went horseback riding and shopping. We did garage sales and landscaping. We checked ALL of Duke's campus (thank you Julz! haha), and went to consignment shoppes. The kids went to the Science Museum with Matthew and Julie, they had a BALL!! It was nice for me to be able to have some grown up time too!

We really missed Mike though and he missed us, as I will show in my next post!

Way Behind!!!

I have no idea for the fact that I haven't been blogging lately, so I will spare you any lame excuses. I guess I have just been uninspired!!

So, let's start with July 4th...

We started the day with what has begun a tradition among our friends, the parade. This year it was raining, so it really put a damper on things. (I am so clever aren't I? ;) We introduced some new friends to the group and had a great time nonetheless. Later in the day we went to the Cooney's for a cookout and fun. I mentioned that it had been raining so it was pretty much a muddy mess, but all the better for the kiddos! They had a GREAT time. Then Mike (Cooney), Mike (Good) and Steve put on the best home firework show ever! A great time was had by all!!

School!

When does pre-school start again?

Not soon enough! Haha! We need a distraction!!!!

The funniest thing

Jake to me: "Mommy, you watering the flowers?"
Me: "Yes, Jakey"
Jake: "You Jesus Mommy?"
Me: "What?!!"
Jake "Jesus waters the flowers Mommy. You Jesus?"

How funny! I guess a 2 year old does get it!

Avery's Birthday

We had a great weekend celebrating Avery's 4th birthday. We started out @ the PBS in the park with Nana and Pop, Uncle Bubby and Kai Guy, and Mamaw and Papaw. It was a perfect day! Then on Sunday we had a birthday dinner and cake and Avery and Jake got a puppy!! They were sooo excited! He is really a great puppy! On Monday we had some of Avery's friends over for a party and a great time was had by all!!

I can't believe that Avery is 4 years old! Although she acts around 30 most of the time, it seems like yesterday that I was really questioning whether I would ever be able to get pregnant! God needed me to learn that everything is in his time. I thought that I had learned that lesson, until I unexpectedly got pregnant with Jake. I remember telling my mom, as I was in complete shock, that I had already been taught that lesson, she said "Apparently not!" You were right mom! God had the perfect plan for our family and I could not be more blessed. I wonder what the rest is? I know, I know, patience and trust! I am just nosey!

Avery is such a special little girl, filled with love and joy. She is the most nurturing little one I have ever seen. Papaw calls her his little nurse, because she is always making sure he has on his medical ID bracelet, that he has taken his blood pressure, his medicine and more. She is constantly chattering and although it often drives me crazy, her thirst for information is amazing. Often it is not trivial, things like "Why did Zacheous hide in the tree from Jesus mommy?", "How does Jesus keep us safe?" , "Why can't I go to heaven and meet pop's daddy?", or "Is mamaw Jones still in that chair in heaven?" Complicated questions from a complicated girl. Truly a gift from God!

Summer Time

We have been busier than usual this month with lots of birthdays, a spur of the moment trip to Cincinnati, the Great Wolf Lodge and Kings Island and father's day! For those of you who haven't been to Great Wolf Lodge it is a family friendly water park/hotel right next to Kings Island! A great time! Thanks for planning a fun trip honey!

Avery started gymnastics last week and she loves it!! It has been really great to see her so excited about it, and I love nothing more to hear her tell me her favorite parts.. "all of it!!" She is the most animated little girl I have ever known. She tries to talk to us just like an adult. It makes for really fun conversations with her hands waving and grown up animations. Just soo cute! Next week is her birthday so we will be updating with lots of pictures soon!

Jake is doing great, talking a TON, growing up very quickly and starting to show us his temper tantrums! Whew! He perfected them quickly!

Just as one child gets thru one stage, the other starts one. The joy of parenting!

We are looking forward to a fun summer with them both!

Have a good night!

The Sweetest Thing

Before I start this story, I will say, for the record, that there were 3 adults and 2 children that witnessed this event. Last Thursday Wanda, the kids and I went to Avon to visit my Aunt and cousins. While at lunch this is what happened:
Jake gets off of his seat and while I am in the middle of telling him to sit down until he is excused he comes to me, puts his hand on my knee and says "Mommy, you so pretty". Then he went and sat down.
My heart melted!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Have you ever heard anything so sweet? Everyone just busted out laughing, and then the jokes about how wrapped he has me, but seriously, who wouldn't be wrapped with a son who says things like that! I just had to share... The sweetest thing..

Pictures from the 500 Parade!

Pictures from the weekend!

Yummy Corn!

One Down, One to Go...

This weekend we crossed a bridge... I realized that Avery can read her clock in her room and explained that she needs to wait to get out of bed until the first number is 6. That means no more coming into our bed @ 2, 3, 4 etc. She needs to stay in her bed like a big girl. She actually listened! It took a couple of tries, but she is doing it! Yeah!!! Now, on to Jake. He has never come into our bed.. until of course, Avery stopped! On Sunday night Mike heard a rustling on our duvet, which had slipped onto the floor and found him sleeping soundly on our floor at the foot of our bed. Complete with his pillow and 2 stuffed animals, Sal and Harpo. It was so sweet! Mike woke me up and told me it could be the cutest thing he has experienced thus far as a parent. He (Jake), never made a peep. We were not fully asleep when we found him, so he must have come in VERY quietly! Too cute!

We had a great family weekend last weekend. We spent time at the 500 Parade, planted flowers, went to church, went to a cookout, spent time with friends and family. GREAT! We did miss that there was no cookout @ Aunt Agnes' this year, so we didn't all get together but nonetheless, it was relaxing and we spent lots of time together, and that is what holidays are about.

Off to do the laundry!! Have a great week, it is supposed to actually feel like summer in the next couple of days!! Yeah!!!!!

Summer Break Begins!

Well, tomorrow is the last day of preschool for my kiddos and I am sad! We love their classes, friends and teachers and I know that we will miss everyone very much. Jake has really taken to his classmates and we didn't know how long that would take. It was a rough couple of months in the beginning. Avery has learned ALOT from her friends, not all good, but nonetheless, she does like them and will be asking about them daily! Notice I did not mention the fact that my time alone is gone for the next three months-- that has nothing to do with my sadness ;).

We are going to try to stay busy and have lots of fun this summer. Here are some of my goals:

Start a "chore/responsibility chart" for the kids. We need to reinforce our expectations. With Jake just learning them, the door is open for Avery to test them.

Practice writing with Avery. She has really come a long way in the past few months and she loves to "show off" her new talent.

Potty train Jake. He is not at all interested, so we will see how that goes. I won't push him too much.

Go to the zoo @ least 2x a month. We have to make use of our zoo pass right? Plus, its nice to visit our extended family! Hahaha! (you can decide for yourself which side they are on)

Stick to my yard work. Mike gives me a hard time about being strong out of the gate, but not much for stamina, so I want to work on that.

Feel free to check in on my progress, I sometimes need a thump on the head to remember all of the things I wanted to do.

PS. Larry came out of surgery well and should come home tomorrow.

PSS. We had our last MOPS meeting last night, and to any of you who may see this, I will miss you this summer and had a great time over the past few months. It was great to meet you all! It is really encouraging to know that there are so many other moms out there just doing the best they can to raise good, god fearing,well balanced children in this crazy unbalanced world we are in! See you in the fall!

Pray for Larry

Please pray for Larry as he has surgery today. From what I hear it is pretty routine, but extra prayers never hurt!!!

Pics from the week

At the zoo with Aunt Agnes, Grant and Tyler, Matt and Grandma Helen

Avery giving her baby a bath during our yard sale at Aunt Agnes' house
Jake was so enamoured with the peguins.
My to waddle, waddle, waddle buddies!
Oh how I love them!

The Days of our Lives

We have been going nonstop for the past few weeks, and it feels GREAT! Sometimes I feel like we do the same things everyday and it has been refreshing to have places to go and people to see.

The kids are growing up so fast and keeping me on my toes. Jake has started talking up a storm since we took his paci-wire, and I swear he has grown up 6 mos. worth in the past few weeks. It is great to hear his sweet voice all day. I have never heard "Why mommy?" sound so sweet and pure. It is truly a testament to God's wonderful plan. Kids are so innocent in this crazy world of ours. "Why hold your hand mommy?", "Why no spoon in my water?", "Why no running away from mommy?" Too sweet!

Avery, on the other hand, whew!! She has taken me on a ride the past few weeks! I have a almost 4 year old who is turning 15 soon. She is sweet and bossy, a caretaker and a toy taker, happy and angry, humble and snooty, thankful and greedy, all within a blink of an eye. We are banging heads at every single corner, and to be honest, I am at a loss. I am the only one she challenges in this way. I am sure it is because we are so much alike, but nonetheless, I have to figure it out and SOON! I can't figure out how to "Break the will, without breaking the spirit". Of course I know that this is installment #1 or 2 of hundreds we will have over the next years, I just want to start out on my feet.

Other than the above mentioned, things are great. Daddy gets home soon from the Philippines, and it will be good having him back on American soil. Wanda and Larry are home from Wilmington, and I am thankful to have them back in our state. Mike is home and doing well, putting up with me with a smile on his face. Thanks honey!

I will write more soon!