Undeserved Blessings

It happens almost every Sunday towards the end of church. I tear up. I get so choked up I can't even sing. Then as we're walking out from the pew saying goodbye to the people next to us I have to wonder, can they tell I have tears in my eyes? I get embarrassed about it. The prayers and music towards the end of our service really touch me.

I'm not deserving of anything good. I'm a sinner. I might not be as smart as others, might not be pretty as others, might not have as much as others, and although there are other things going on in my life that I find difficult, hard, and unfair, I am aware of all the gifts the Lord has blessed me. Family, friends, home, health, and faith. The list goes on and on. I don't deserve any of it. I just don't. Therefore, I praise and follow Him out of love and gratefulness. There are no guarantees that any of the blessings will last but even while times are hard I will put my faith in Him and know there is a perfect plan, His plan, and I will trust in Him.

Pardon Me Honey, But Where Are You?

David left Tuesday for a business trip. As he was on the plane I decided to check the flight schedule online to see when he lands at his destination. I suddenly realize, I have no idea where he's going. Isn't that TERRIBLE? I honestly had no clue what city and state he was going to visit. Maybe it's time for some one-on-one time with my husband. What an eye-opener. I've gotten so wrapped up in all the absolute CHAOS in our house that I didn't even know where my husband was flying to! Geez. Not to make excuses but he's been traveling a lot lately - almost every week and it's always somewhere different. It gets hard to keep up where he's going.

Bye Bye Toddler Bed

Hello crib rail! Night time was working out fine with the toddler bed. Nap time not so much. He did NOT take a nap today with the rail missing. I'm not ready to give up his afternoon naps yet...and by the way he's been acting this afternoon, he's not ready either. It's been a whippin'! Guess who's going to bed early tonight? E-V-E-R-Y-O-N-E!

I tried to find a photo where Benjamin is making an evil face - because that's how he was acting today (which always happens when a nap is skipped). Sorry kid, I'm tellin' on ya!

1st Attempt at the Toddler Bed

Last night was Benjamin's first night in his toddler bed. Surprisingly he did quite well. He got out of bed 5 times and each time I had to walk him back to his bed. Fortunately, each time we walked back to his bed he willingly got back in and didn't throw a fit. Finally, after the 5th time he curled up like a burrito in his blanket, put all of his stuffed animals on top of his head and went to sleep. He slept until 8am this morning. As I was walking into his room to check on him this morning (I wanted to make sure he didn't end up sleeping on the floor) he met me at his door. He was walking out as I was walking in so I never did get to see if he possibly rolled out of bed. I'll try to be more quick about it tomorrow morning. I'm so curious about it!

He was SO happy to be in a "big boy" bed!

Happy Birthday Andrew

We went to Andrew's (our nephew) 5th birthday party today. It was so much fun. Swimming, bounce house, and pinatas! Good job Abby for breaking out the candy for everyone! Once all the candy fell from the pinata Benjamin announced that it was quite messy. Typical of him.

I can't believe he's already 5 years old. Laura (his mom) was pregnant with him at our wedding over 5 years ago. Time is moving so quickly. It really saddens me at times. Unfortunately, the time just keeps going faster and faster the older we get. I'm trying to cherish every moment, slow down, and take a step back and soak it all in. But at times that can be difficult especially with a 2 year old and 5 month old. There's only one word to describe it at times - CHAOS. Although, a sweet chaos that I'll miss in a few years.

Birthday boy, Andrew.

















Birthday cake!












Savannah in her party outfit!


















Cousin Abigail and Savannah













Benjamin having BLAST in the bounce house.

Savannah's Song

As I mentioned a couple of weeks ago, I need to come up with a song for Savannah since Benjamin has his own special song. I finally did it. And again, as I mentioned in a previous post, like anyone cares, but blogging about this is more for documenting so I can refer to it years down the road if need be. At any rate, the song goes to the tune of "It's raining, it's pouring, the old man is snoring".

Savannah, Savannah, I love you sweet daughter.
You're the cutest little girl,
with a head full of curls
and my love for you won't falter.

There you go. Now both kids have their own special song.

Crib Climber

As per my previous post, Benjamin is climbing the bookshelves and climbing up on our countertops. Just when I thought there wasn't anything else he could possibly get into, he proved me wrong. Yesterday afternoon he climbed out of his crib 5 times! This is the first time he's ever done it. The babysitter was here while I was in the office working and while she was taking care of Savannah, in walks Benjamin who should've been napping in his crib. We actually didn't have such a hard time for bed time last night. He only climbed out twice before he actually stayed in his crib and went to sleep. Is it time for a toddler bed? I'm not sure what to do. At least the crib gives him some resistance from getting out - makes it harder.

He's a Thinking Man......

Benjamin has figured out that if he pulls the really thick books off of the bookshelf he can use them as a step to reach things higher on the bookshelves. He's also figured out how to use the handles on drawers as steps to climb up on our counters. Nothing is safe anymore, nothing.

Ladies Night Out

Good food PLUS good wine PLUS good friends MINUS the kiddos EQUALS a fantabulous ladies night out! For the first time in a very long time I actually got out of the house kidless for some good quality girl time. Some of my friends from our Gymboree group met at Fireside Pies Wednesday night. We had the best time! It was a great way to recharge. Since David is out of town my mom came and stayed with the kids. Thanks Mom! You're greatly appreciated.

What a Blur!

Saturday was an absolute blur! We hit the ground running that morning and didn't stop until bed time. We started off at the circus. Benjamin hated it at first. As soon as the show started he was crying and kept trying to leave. All of the loud sounds and lights scared him. So we ended up abandoning our seats and convinced him to go towards the back of the venue where there was standing room. Thankfully, the standing area had a bar area with a table and chairs and actually had a great view. It was a rather large area so he was able to run around when he needed to let off some steam. It couldn't have worked out better. By the end of the show he was having a great time. He even woke up Sunday morning talking about elephants and tigers and cotton candy.

After the circus we were off to Lauren's birthday party at The Little Gym. Of course, we were extremely late (typical of us lately since having 2 kids). And of course, Benjamin did his own thing during the party. The kids were having a great time doing group activities but Benjamin wouldn't have anything to do with it. He had fun though and that's what counts, right?

Finally, we left the party early to celebrate Grandma Nancy's birthday at Buca di Beppo. He had a great time there with his cousins Abby and Andrew. Since there was a big group of us we sat in the Pope room. It was EXCELLENT for containing a rambunctious 2 year old.

Benjamin slept in until 9am Sunday morning. We wore him out!

Refusing to try cotton candy.













A little weepy....the cotton candy kind of freaked him out.

















Savannah actually slept during the show.














Benjamin finally enjoying the show with Granddaddy.













The birthday girl, Lauren

















Benjamin jumping with Paige (he finally did something with the other kids!)

















Buca di Beppo

Merritt Sparks

This post is from David.

Today the world lost a great one. Merritt Sparks (Uncle Merritt to me) died in his home this morning at age 83. He'll be sorely missed by any who knew him, and I'll carry many fond memories of him accumulated throughout my life. From his unique sense of humor to the wonderful harmonies he'd provide each Christmas with our family, I'll always have a smile when I think of Uncle Merritt. Beverly, Becca and Sam, we're grieving with you and we'll be praying for you. Merritt, thanks for being you and we'll all be together sooner than later! David

Benjamin's Song

Not that anyone probably cares about this but I sing a song to Benjamin while he's in his crib going to sleep. I made it up when he was a newborn and I sing it to him quite frequently as part of our bedtime songs. He requests it from time to time (however, he only requests it from me as I've never heard him ask David or anyone else to sing it. They probably wouldn't understand what he was requesting anyway, except for David). Another favorite song he requests most nights is the E-I-E-I-O song. The main reason I'm blogging about this is just in case years and years down the road if I happen to forget this song I can always look back on the blog to remember it. It goes to the tune of the ABC song and the words are:

I love Benjamin, yes I do
I love him more even more than my shoes
I like to give him kisses on the top of his head
And give him lots of hugs when he goes to bed
I love Benjamin, yes I do
I love him more even more than my shoes.

Okay, so now I have to come up with a song for Savannah. I was singing this song to her earlier but replaced "Benjamin" with "Savannah". Well, Benjamin DID NOT like that and threw an absolute fit. But he's right, Savannah needs her own song. Need to start working on that one....

Giving love to baby "seester"

First Bites

So the birthday weekend was great! Well, except for the fact that David had to leave on my actual birthday to go out of town on business. But he did let me sleep in that morning and surprised me with an iced coffee! So sweet. The night before my birthday we celebrated with my parents. It was so nice to spend the time with them.

On another note, the pediatrician cleared us to start Savannah on rice cereal. She's been eating about a teaspoon a day (when I say teaspoon I mean I scoop a teaspoon of the dry cereal and mix it with water). Surprisingly she's been doing well. She gets a little confused from time to time and the food will just sit there in her mouth. Sometimes it will start falling out but she figures it out and swallows it eventually. A whole body shiver usually accompanies the swallow. It's so funny.

What I'm finding frustrating right now is that I can't get her to take breastmilk from the bottle. She has taken it from me a few times in the past but now she won't have anything to do with it. So she'll eat food but won't take a bottle. Strange. I was hoping to have her acclimated to a bottle so I can actually be away from her for longer than just a couple of hours. Oh well, I'll keep trying.

First bites.












What was that?

Ms. Forgetful

We've been really busy this week with playdates, birthday parties, having friends over, and family in town. However, and sadly, I've completely forgotten to take pictures. I'm so disappointed. Yesterday Benjamin went to Thorne's birthday party and they had a real firetruck for the kids to see and sit in. Benjamin loved it! I was so sad that I forgot my camera because there were so many wonderful photo opportunities. I promise to try and be better now!

To try to make up for it, I took some pictures of Savannah. It amazes me how surprised she looks in most of her pictures. I think she sees the light on the camera that's focusing right before I snap the picture and it startles her. The picture below is the typical expression I get when I take her picture.