2011 Book of the Year according to Joy

Yes, I know you remember her, Anne Rice- Interview with the Vampire. Well, she has a series of books out called "Christ the Lord." Only 2 so far, the first one is "Out of Egypt" and it is good. But number 2, "Road to Cana" is amazing. This is a fictional account of Jesus based on the gospels. Run, do not walk, to your library or book store and start it (or the first one) today!

Kenna's wedding

Picture slideshow made with Smilebox

Quick Post

I'm running to the computer to post before I forget all the funny stuff Luke said at bed tonight. First of all I laid with him in his bed and as he talks himself to sleep, I thought, no ordinary 2 year old says this stuff, he's gotta have some big brothers. First he says, "mom, what's Luke start with?" which he knows. Then, "mom, what bryan start with? what mommy start with? what Joy start with? what nate and henry start with? what Colin (the boy we had dinner with) start with? what colin's parents start with?" enough Luke!
Then he sings "jingle bells batman smells, robin laid an egg, batmobile lost a wheel, joker got away!"
Then I hear "knock knock? banana. banana who? knock knock? orange."

Somehow we end up in my bedroom. Bryan says, " boy, you need to sleep in your bed." Luke replies, "there's no tv in my room."

Bryan is eating yogurt with oreos. Luke says, "dad, you gotta stop eating dat yogurt. Dat is yunk (junk). It's yunk."

This post is mostly for my own benefit so I won't forget all these cute things my boys say.

Head Injury

Yesterday was ended up in the ER with Luke after a scary head injury. We had a playdate at McDonalds for lunch. Luke tripped on another little boys foot and fell, hitting his forehead on the floor. A typical fall, one he's experience frequently. I was standing right beside him so I quickly picked him up. He let out a big cry and then he went completely limp in my arms. His eyes rolled back in his head. At first I thought it was a seizure, but it turned out to be more on the lines of being knocked out. My girlfriend, Jennifer witnessed his behavior & after about 30 seconds or so we both said in a panic, "he's not acting right!" I dashed out the door dialing my pediatrician as I pulled into the ER parking lot. Oconee ER was fantastic. We were with a Dr in a matter of minutes and by this time Luke was acting better, whining and ready for a nap. We stayed around an hour for observation and the Dr. decided not to perform a CT scan because of the exposure to radiation. He said he probably had a concussion, but you couldnt' be sure without further testing. We have watched him closely all evening & night and I am taking him to the pediatrician this morning for a recheck. He went to sleep last night in his bed, as usual, but just before Bryan and I turned out the lights, Bryan carried him to our bed. I snuggled him all night thanking God for all His blessings and praying that He would continue to protect my children. I know with 3 rowdy boys I am bound to see broke bones & blood, but I want to keep the head injuries to a minimum!

The best weekend...

We had such a great weekend! Really made me ready for summer break. Friday night we kicked it off by having 2 boys spend the night. Henry had Stryder again and Nate had Evan Mainous. We ordered Dominos pizza, played outside, watched a movie & stayed up til 10pm! I had spend Thursday night in the hospital to help Tara who had just had her first baby, a precious little girl! She had a grueling 16 hours of tough labor followed by a c-section, also her bladder was beat up. We got around 2 hours of sleep (reminded us of 6th grade sleepovers) so I was still recovering. I crashed early with Luke and Bryan put the big boys to bed.

Saturday we worked in the garden and enjoyed our company as long as they could stay. Saturday night, we hired a babysitter!!! Gianna (see picture below) and the boys loved her! She is in 10th grade so we had to pick her up and take her home, but we only paid her $10/hour and I know she earned every penny! Lots of interesting stories came out the next morning. Apparantly she put Luke to bed (he was exhausted) and left the room (which he's not used to) and he cried, of course. She said that Henry settled him down. I asked Henry what he did and he said he took Luke an oreo and chocolate milk to bed and surrounded him with pillow pets and he rolled right over and went to sleep. Well who wouldn't be comforted by oreo's in bed! Chocolate crumbs were everywhere!

Also, the next morning Henry went over to the recliner and sniffed around. He said, "I can still smell her here!" They can't wait for her to come again. Don't worry Grandparents, you're still the favorite, but it would be nice to have some backups!

We got a babysitter so we could check out a new restaurant in town Sole and it didn't dissappoint! Sunday morning we did something we rarely do. We skipped church and went on a family hike to Yellow Branch. It was the first hike that Luke really enjoyed walking and the day was just beautiful! Nate found a huge toadfrog, and caught it of course! Henry was like a puppy, always about a quarter mile ahead of the rest of us, running back & forth. Luke enjoyed all the "junior trails" that his brothers made for him, helping him maneuver the rough spots.

Saturday afternoon, we hit the pool! At 3:30, it was just the 5 of us, but by 4pm, there were 14 kids swimming! What fun! I love living in a neighborhood where there are lots of children. This week is Luke's last week of preschool!
Ready or not summer, here we come!

Welcome Merritt Joyce Powell!

Born May 8, 2011 at 6:55 am, 8 pounds 4 ounces, isn't she beautiful! She is in Florida right now, but I hope to get my hands on her soon and give her lots of love! Nate, Henry & Luke are already crazy about her pictures and want to hear all about her. Can't wait to meet you sweet baby!