Always Moving

Mason recently moved up to bigger wheels.

I can no longer keep up with him on foot. Bummer!

 Why must they do tricks while dad is at work ;)

Do women with 3 boys have more gray hair? I wonder if a study has been done.

 He is trying to keep up. See his feet blur?
He doesn't pedal (too small to reach yet) but he pushes himself along.
Quite fast, actually.

 Oh, Brother!

 The fall favorite.
Yes, the ball hit me. I should have chosen my words more carefully ;)

 at least they are smiling

 

oh my heart. the number of kisses he gets each day, too many to count!

Special Lunch Plans

Owen had a half day of school this week so we all had lunch together.

 So Fun!

Better

Today was better. Maybe had something to do with these homemade treats :)

Keeps me Laughing

This morning the trash collectors opted NOT to take our additional trash can of hurricane leftovers along with our regular trash. On the way to the bus stop, I commented that daddy would not be happy. Mason said, "yea poor daddy, he has problems. the Eagles lost and the trash wasn't picked up."

Oh to be 4 and think that daddy only has 2 problems ;)

I chuckled all the way to the bus stop. It was a good thing too b/c little did I know how our afternoon would go. NOT FUN! 3 weeks in and the breakdown finally happened. this afternoon took every ounce of my patience. I don't think it's over either.

Campers

Just received this picture today. Love it. 

These are the folks that made our 1st camping trip wonderful!

Mo' Fun

A few weeks ago, my bro-in law, Alex asked if we'd like to share an aerator rental with them. We said sure, but we don't have a tractor. He volunteered to do it for us and throw down grass seed! Awesome, right?

Well, it gets better. Fast forward to this weekend. It's been raining a lot. EJ needed to mow first. We didn't know how he'd squeeze it in before Alex showed up. No problem, he offered to mow at the same time. EJ was thrilled and secretly hoping I'd see how much faster it was and agree to us buying a riding mower ;) It was SO much faster. Hmm...

The real blessing for ME was that we had more time as a family this weekend to have fun without having to worry about the fall lawn care routine. You see, EJ was gone almost ALL of last week. We ALL missed him. It would have been really tough gearing up for another day without him around. Ryan wouldn't even let him (happily) out of his sight. Thank you Alex and Lissa from the bottom of this mama's heart!

And of course, it must be noted, both boys had a blast riding around the yard. It's not every day a man in fatigues shows up on a mower :)

I remember when...

painting a room in our house was not such a huge mind boggling task. The days before we were tripping over toys!
We have begun fixing up the guest room. It's going to be a looooooooong process. Not because it's going to be fancy and amazing, but b/c there is no time. Oh and my neck and shoulders aren't what they used to be ;)
It will totally be worth it. I hope.

Mason's Playtime

looking back (why take the pics if you aren't going to look back at them?)

 the present

Mason has always loved to play. He is incredible at playing on his own too. I am going to make a very good effort of staying home Thursday mornings b/c that is his only morning at home. I haven't done a great job at it yet. But that is my goal. He loves school and his only complaint is there are no legos :)

He is really getting big. He looks so much older. He has become tall and lean (but solid) and I can now talk to him just like I would anyone else.
So far I think, 4 yrs is my favorite age. 4 yrs was my favorite age with Owen too.

Ahh...

I HEART having older children! Just saying.

If you are in the 2-4 yr range, press on.  It's totally worth it :) (the hard work, that is) the kids are worth it too :)

ugh. I am about to be there AGAIN!

Like Father, Like Son

They just look a tad alike, don't ya think ;)

Don't you just love his 80s swim shorts?!?!

1st Camping Trip

We spent EJ's birthday in a very different way this year- our church's annual camping trip. He has always wanted to go and it has never worked out. So in honor of my hubby's big birthday, I encouraged him to go and gave him the option of taking the older 2 on his own or have us all go. I am not sure which would be easier, but we ALL went.

Keep in mind that he and I have never camped together let alone camped as parents. The trip was technically 2 nights, but we opted to just go the second night. Not knowing how the boys would handle sleeping outside we thought we'd play it safe. I honestly don't think Ryan could have handled missing another afternoon nap. The night wasn't so bad, but he was exhausted today.

We arrived Saturday after lunch. 

Since most of the campers had arrived the night before several guys offered their help.

We have acquired 2 tents over the years. EJ's mom gave us this 5 person tent.

 

A neighbor gave Owen and Mason this smaller 3 person tent when Ryan was born.

After setting up and saying hi to our new neighbors we headed to the lake.

The sun only came out twice on Sat., we welcomed it's warmth and were SO thankful it never rained.

The lake had a sandy beach area. In years past, the group has been able to swim and play in the sand. It was much too cold for that. It didn't stop the kids from playing. Ryan loved throwing pebbles into the water.

BW (was there for the day with his mommy, his sister and dad stayed sat night) and Ryan

BW's sister L and Mason had so much fun together.

The sun made it's second appearance right before dinner. It was glorious! Just what we needed before the night chill set in. I am not sure what the temperature actually reached but it was predicted to be H65/L40. We had a wonderful dinner with the other 15 families.

 

The couple below organizes the trip each year.

my campers

 

Our tents (the green with silver and the dark green with red)

After Ryan went to bed (which thankfully went smoothly) our family made and enjoyed smores

I don't have any pictures of Owen b/c he spent the majority of his time playing football with the bigger boys. He is so sore today he can barely walk. He loved every second. He did so much better than I imagined he'd do with so many strangers. We only knew about half of the families. He was bummed that our stay was so short.
Mason did great too. He did revert to playing with his small collection of legos this morning, but for the most part he was off and running too.

The older 2 boys slept great. No problems. Ryan didn't do quite as well. I think it was just too cold. The plan was for Ryan to be in the smaller tent by himself. We just thought he'd sleep better without someone coming in after he was already asleep. The plan fell through about 2 a.m. I moved in. His body was warm enough (with 4 layers) but their wasn't much I could do about his hands. So we snuggled in my sleeping bag for a little while to get warm and then he fell back to sleep in his pack n play and slept great from then on. phew! I was able to sneak an extra blanket on him once he fell back to sleep. The camp started waking up around 7. It was fun hearing all the different voices while still in our tent. Ryan and I snuggled again in my bag for almost 30 minutes. He was still tired. I didn't mind :)

I loved coming out of my tent for the first time this morning and looking around at the various activities.

It was so peaceful and the sun was out! I think Ryan was a bit shocked to be outside too.

 

My silly boy kept himself busy around camp.

 

We had a very simple cold breakfast, packed up camp and then joined the group for a small worship service before heading home. I am so excited our first experience was such a good one. The boys were sad to leave and can't wait to go again next year. EJ and I had a good time too.We ALL took naps this afternoon and I am excited to sleep in a bed tonight :)

Party Time

It's somebody's birthday tomorrow!

 And I won't tell you how old he'll be ;)

Answers

I have learned something very important the past 2 weeks. I could feel badly for not learning it sooner, but I am choosing to trust God's timing is perfect. A lot has led up to this point, so I in no way doubt the timing.

I mentioned last week about feeling foggy with our fall routine. The fact that I would miss my intentional time in God's word with the older 2. I mentioned that God was answering my prayers.

So here is the lesson learned. Stop and ASK Him. Seems pretty simple. (Even if it's something really little). But how quickly do I turn to someone else or a book or a blog ;) ?? Don't just ask, STOP and listen, dwell with Him and wait for answers. (this past year in the Psalms, has shown me how to dwell)

This lesson alone would be grand enough. But my God is very generous. Over a period of a few days (I told you He was quick), I brought together some past ideas with our recent word studies and just kept thinking. I am very excited about what He revealed.

I will share, eventually, but considering what I just suggested, I am not going to do it yet. Just in case you could use some extra time asking Him for guidance about something.

EJ and I have a much bigger question for God. What God has shown me this week should lead me to do the exact same thing. Stop and ASK Him. But this question seems harder, more complicated.

Funny, how we put stipulations on Him. As if He won't answer the tough ones.

I think this one boils down to not really knowing if I want the answer ;)

And that is a whole other can of worms.

Thankfully He is not finished with me yet!

My Sunshine

Whenever I pull the camera out he says, take a picture of me.

Oh, the JOY this one brings me.

Today at lunch, he randomly says, "you know when the players throw the water?" 

Me: huh? oh, you mean dump the water (Gatorade) on the coach?

Mason: "yes! that is such a waste"

He Sits!

I know Ryan's 17 month update was all about being on the go. And that is how he spends 90% of his time. But lately, he has started really playing too. He recently started pushing cars along on the floor, playing with our toy castle and little people house. It's wonderful to watch him engage in something for more than a few seconds.

He wants desperately to be in the middle of everything. He would much rather sit on a stool at the counter than in his highchair (which I don't let him do at mealtimes). He has started climbing into the chairs at the dinning room table (sometimes onto the table, lovely!). I decided to pull out the booster seat. So now he can actually sit and see and play. He loves it and actually remains seated. And can't yet figure out how to get out. Perfect!

We bought this set for him for his 1st birthday. Obviously something for him to grow into. He has begun playing with it for extended periods of time. And if he were my first child, I am sure I'd be right there next to him, teaching him his colors and shapes :) Instead, I am thankful for the free minutes and doing any chore I can do within seeing distance! He'll learn his colors and shapes someday.

1st day of 4 yr old Preschool

Mason was very excited to go to preschool this morning. We were ready in record time. His teacher is new to the school and so far we are very pleased. His assistant teacher has known Mason for quite sometime and he will be very blessed to have her 3 mornings a week. He is in such good hands. I couldn't be more delighted. He had a great 1st (2 hr) day.

 

 His hair is quite a bit shorter. Not sure I love it, but I am getting used to it.

 

He looks so grown up in this picture. Oh my!

Ryan and I went to the grocery store. Ah, just one at the store is delightful!